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11861523 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the embodiments. FIG.1is a block diagram that depicts an arrangement100for accessing cloud services using end-user devices. In the example depicted inFIG.1, arrangement100includes end-user devices110, a Cloud System130, and third-party services190. This approach is depicted in the context of preparing Superbill data for sending, through Application System140and Storage Service194, to Cloud Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system192which is included in third-party services190and manages Superbill data. As used herein, the term “Superbill” refers to an itemized form used by healthcare providers that details services provided to a patient. Superbills typically include information about the provider, the patient, and the type of care provided, and are commonly used to create healthcare claims that are submitted to payers for reimbursement. End-user devices110include one or more input devices112and one or more client devices114. According to one embodiment, an input device112is a device that performs capturing of a Superbill image, such as scanner device, a smart device, etc. According to another embodiment, a client device114is a device that may perform displaying of an operation screen for creating, deleting or editing a parsing rule for parsing a Superbill image which is captured, such as on a web browser. End-user devices110may include computer hardware, computer software, and any combination of computer hardware and computer software for performing capturing an image. This may include, for example, scanning components, one or more processors, one or more memories, one or more communications interfaces, such as wired and wireless interfaces, an operating system, one or more processes for supporting and performing the functionality provided by end-user devices110, a display such as a touch screen display, etc. According to one embodiment, end-user devices110include one or more elements for communicating with other processes. In the example depicted inFIG.1, a client device114may include a Web browser120. An input device110may include a client application116, or alternatively, a Web browser118. The client application116is an application that is configured to communicate with Cloud System130and implements at least a portion of one or more application program interfaces (APIs) of Cloud System130. For example, a client application116may implement Web browser functionality to communicate with Cloud System130. Web browser118and Web browser120may be any type of Web browser for communicating with Cloud System130and allows end-user devices110to access functionality provided by Cloud System130. Cloud System130is a cloud environment that includes an Application System140and a Content Parsing Engine (CPE)150. Cloud System130may be implemented on one or more computing elements, such as network elements, servers, etc., and embodiments are not limited to any particular implementation for Cloud System130. Cloud System130may include fewer or additional elements than the elements depicted inFIG.1, depending upon a particular implementation, and Cloud System130is not limited to any particular implementation. For example, Cloud System130may be implemented by one or more processes executing on one or more computing systems. Cloud System130includes cloud applications142. Cloud applications142may be managed by one or more application server processes. Cloud applications142may include a wide variety of applications for performing various functions, including as connectors to services provided by Content Parsing Engine (CPE)150, as described in more detail hereinafter. In the example depicted inFIG.1, Cloud applications142include at least a Cloud EMR application144. Cloud EMR application144provides a user interface to a user of end-user devices110and access to Cloud EMR application144in Cloud system130. Third-party services190included Cloud EMR system192and Storage Service194. Cloud EMR system192may have specific requirements for registering Superbill data on Cloud EMR system192including, for example, formatting requirements, bibliographical information, etc. Bibliographical information to be registered on Cloud EMR system192has to be in accordance with items managed by Cloud EMR system192. Storage Service194provides a storage service to store data. Storage Service194may have a storage device to store data and a notification function which sends, to external services, such as Cloud EMR application144, a notification indicating data has been stored in the storage device. Embodiments are not limited to this application and other applications may be provided, depending upon a particular implementation. One example application not depicted inFIG.1is an application for converting data for mobile applications, e.g., a PDF conversion application for mobile printing. CPE150includes a Cloud EMR Application Manager160, Content Parsing Engine (CPE) modules170and Content Parsing Engine (CPE) data180. CPE may be implemented on one or more computing elements, such as network elements, servers, etc., and embodiments are not limited to any particular implementation for CPE150. CPE150may include fewer or additional elements than the elements depicted inFIG.1, depending upon a particular implementation, and CPE150is not limited to any particular implementation. For example, CPE150may be implemented by one or more processes executing on one or more computing systems. Cloud EMR Application Manager160manages processes including at least processing of parsing controlling, processing of requests to and from Application System140and third-party services190, and performing various administrative tasks for CPE150. Further, Cloud EMR Application Manager160manages creating, editing and deleting Parsing rule data182. CPE modules170are processes that each implement one or more functions. The functions may be any type of function and may vary depending upon a particular implementation. According to one embodiment, the functions include input functions, output functions, and process functions. In the example depicted inFIG.1, CPE modules170include several functions, including OCR172, Parsing174, Data Generating176and Communication178. OCR172provides OCR. Parsing174provides parsing of image data. Data Generating176provides to generate output data for sending to third-party services190. Communication178provides CPE150communication with third-party services190. These example modules are provided for explanation purposes and embodiments are not limited to these example modules. CPE modules170may be used by other processes to perform the specified function. For example, an application external to Cloud system130may use OCR172to convert image data to text using optical character recognition, although this requires that the application implement the API of OCR172. Content Parsing Engine (CPE) data180includes data used to configure and manage CPE150. In the example depicted inFIG.1, CPE data180includes Parsing Rule data182and Cloud EMR Communication data184. Parsing Rule data182, for example, may include a rule for parsing image data including at least information relating to an area of a Superbill from which information may be extracted so that OCR may be performed on the extracted information. Cloud EMR Communication data184may include information indicating where data may be sent to Cloud EMR system192included in third-party services190. This data may include, for example, Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) of Web-API or FTP address. This data is used, for example, to access Cloud EMR system192, as described in more detail hereinafter. FIG.2is a flow diagram200that depicts an approach for uploading and registering Superbill data captured by Input device112to Cloud EMR system192. In step202, Cloud EMR Application Manager160receives Superbill source data from Client device114. For example, Cloud EMR Application Manager160provides a user interface to Web Browser120of Client device114via a network. The user interface receives an input of Superbill source data. This Superbill source data is sample data that will be used to create a parsing rule in step204. A communication protocol between Cloud EMR Application Manager160and Web Browser120is, for example, Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). In step204, Cloud EMR Application Manager160creates a parsing rule for parsing a Superbill image based on the Superbill source data which has been received from Client device114. The created parsing rule may be stored as Parsing Rule Data182in CPE Data180. The creation process of the parsing rule for parsing a Superbill image is described in more detail hereinafter. After creating the parsing rule, in step206, Cloud EMR application144accesses to Storage Service194to detect whether Superbill image data has been stored. Accessing to Storage Service194may be through Web API provided by Storage Service194. Cloud EMR application144repeats accessing to Storage Service194during the time that the Cloud EMR application144does not detect that Superbill image data has been stored. Timing of repeat accessing may be performed by polling at predetermined timing. The predetermined timing may be a certain interval for example every one second. The stored image data is actual Superbill image data, as opposed to the sample Superbill image data obtained in step202to create the parsing rule in step204. The image data stored in Storage Service194is received from an Input device112. The image data sent from Input device112is Superbill image data captured by Input device112or another capturing device. In response to detecting that Superbill image has been stored in step208, Cloud EMR application144obtains the image data stored in Storage Service194from Storage Service194in step210. Cloud EMR application144, for example, accesses Storage Service194via a Web API provided by Storage Service194and downloads the image data from Storage Service194. Cloud EMR application144transfers the obtained image data to CPE150through a network. For example, the image data may be transferred via Web Application Programing Interface (API) provided by CPE150. In step212, CPE150parses the image data transferred from Cloud EMR application144based on Parsing Rule data182. In detail, OCR module172performs OCR on a region of the image data defined by Parsing Rule data182. After OCR is performed, Parsing module174conducts a parsing process on the result of the OCR process in accordance with Parsing Rule data182. In step214, CPE150generates output data for sending to Cloud EMR System192based on results of the parsing process. In detail, Data Generating module176generates output data suitable for a communication user interface provided by Cloud EMR System192. Output data, for example, may be generated by Extensible Markup Language (XML). The communication interface may include, for example, Web API of Cloud EMR System192. In step216, CPE150sends, to Cloud EMR System192through a network, the generated output data and the image data transferred from Cloud EMR application144. The output data and the image data may be sent via Web API of Cloud EMR System192. Alternatively, the output data and the image data may be sent via different interfaces. For example, the output data may be sent via Web API of Cloud EMR System192and the image data may be sent using a file transfer protocol (FTP). FIG.3is a flow diagram300that depicts a process for creating parsing rule for parsing a Superbill image by user operation on Web browser120. The detail of the creation process is described with reference to the user interface shown inFIG.4. In step302, Cloud EMR Application Manager160sends Web content data including a preview image of Superbill source data to Web browser120in response to receiving the source data from Web browser as described in step202.FIG.4AthroughFIG.4Fare user interface screens which receive an input of Superbill source data and display a preview image of the source data on Web Browser120.FIG.4Ais a user interface screen400that allows a user to login to Cloud EMR Application Manager160for receiving an input of User ID and Password from a user of Client device114.FIG.4Bis a user interface screen402that displays a parsing rule list for parsing Superbill data. For example, the user interface screen402is shown in response to a successful login of the user on the user interface screen402. In this example, the user has not yet added any parsing rules, so no parsing rules are listed on the screen. The user of Client device114starts to create a parsing rule on the user interface screen402.FIG.4Cis a user interface screen404that allows a user to create a parsing rule. For example, a four-step process is shown. The first step405A is for the user to upload a source file, such as a PDF or other document upon which OCR can be performed. The second step405B is for the user to add or modify one or more field labels in the parsing rule. The source file will be processed to detect the one or more field labels, but the user can also add or modify the one or more field labels. The third step405C is for the user to add additional information, such as parsing rule name or description. The fourth step405D is for the user to finish, which means preview the parsing rule before submitting it.FIG.4Dis a user interface screen406that allows a user to select Superbill data to be uploaded on Cloud EMR Application Manager160. This is the first step405A shown inFIG.4C. For example, the user selects a PDF file of Superbill data. The Superbill data may serve as the basis for creating one or more parsing rules.FIG.4Eis a user interface screen408that displays identification information of the selected Superbill data to be uploaded. After receiving user input on the user interface screen408to select the identified Superbill data, for example selection of the NEXT button409, the selected Superbill data is sent to Cloud EMR Application Manager160.FIG.4Fis a user interface screen410that displays a preview image of Superbill source data. In step304, Cloud EMR Application Manager160receives region information which was selected on the displayed preview image on Web browser120by the user, for example, by using a computer mouse.FIG.4Gis a user interface screen412that allows a user to select a region of the Superbill. For example, a region414on the user interface screen412is a region which is selected by the user, for example by clicking on the region with a computer mouse. In this example, the user may also select where one or more data fields are located relative to the one or more field labels, such as “Name,” “Address,” etc. within region414. In this example is a pop-up window showing options top, right, bottom or left for selection by the user. The user selected “right” in this example, meaning that the data fields are located to the right of field labels in region414. In step306, Cloud EMR Application Manager160performs OCR on the selected region414. In step308, Cloud EMR Application Manager160extracts the one or more field labels corresponding to field labels managed by a Bill data management system, for example, Cloud EMR System192. The field labels may be prestored in CPE data180, or alternatively obtained from Cloud EMR System192by accessing via a Web API of Cloud EMR System192.FIG.4His a user interface screen416that allows a user to select or deselect the extracted one or more field labels. This is the second step405B shown inFIG.4C, where the user can add or modify data fields in the parsing rule. For example, the extracted one or more field labels may be displayed on a popup screen418on the user interface screen416. In this example, extracted field labels from region414are listed, such as “Practice ID,” “Practice Details,” “Name,” “MRN,” “Address,” “Referral Source,” and “Comments.” In step310, Cloud EMR Application Manager160receives user selection of field labels to include in parsing rule via the popup screen418. In this example, the user may then “Select All,” “Unselect All,” or select any number of the field labels to be added to the parsing rule. In step312, Cloud EMR Application Manager160sends Web content data including results of extracting.FIG.4Iis a user interface screen420that displays the data in the data fields of the Superbill image that corresponds to the extracted one or more field labels selected by the user. In detail, in this example, the extracted one or more field labels421A selected by the user and data in the data fields421B of the Superbill image are displayed on the user interface screen420side-by-side. For example, in user interface screen420, “Practice Id” is one of the one or more field labels, “308” is actual data in the data filed corresponding to “Practice Id.” In step314, Cloud EMR Application Manager160creates a parsing rule including the region information from which OCR will extract field label information. A parsing rule may further include bibliographic information, for example, Parsing rule name and Parsing rule description. This is the third step405C ofFIG.4C, in which the user can provide such bibliographic information for the parsing rule. Cloud EMR Application Manager160stores the created parsing rule on CPE data180as Parsing rule data182.FIG.4Jis a user interface screen422that allows a user to enter bibliographic information for the parsing rule. Parsing rule name and Description may be input into the user interface screen422.FIG.4Kis a user interface screen424that allows a user to preview the created parsing rule before submitting it. This is the fourth and last step405D ofFIG.4C, in which the user can preview the parsing rule before submitting it to be saved. In this example, field labels and corresponding data fields of the parsing rule are shown side-by-side with the Superbill image for the user to preview. Some advantages of these parsing rule procedures are that they automate processing of EMR records and reduce the amount of data entry and time needed by a user in processing EMR records or that a user is able to create a parsing rule seeing a preview image of Superbill. Further, by using a storage service to upload actual captured Superbill image to a cloud system, a user is able to upload it easily by a user device, for example a personal computer, a smart device and etc. In addition, the supervised approach for creating parsing rules for processing Superbills increase accuracy, which in turn reduces the amount of computational resources required to process Superbills. According to one embodiment, the techniques described herein are implemented by at least one computing device. The techniques may be implemented in whole or in part using a combination of at least one server computer and/or other computing devices that are coupled using a network, such as a packet data network. The computing devices may be hard-wired to perform the techniques, or may include digital electronic devices such as at least one application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or field programmable gate array (FPGA) that is persistently programmed to perform the techniques, or may include at least one general purpose hardware processor programmed to perform the techniques pursuant to program instructions in firmware, memory, other storage, or a combination. Such computing devices may also combine custom hard-wired logic, ASICs, or FPGAs with custom programming to accomplish the described techniques. The computing devices may be server computers, workstations, personal computers, portable computer systems, handheld devices, mobile computing devices, wearable devices, body mounted or implantable devices, smartphones, smart appliances, internetworking devices, autonomous or semi-autonomous devices such as robots or unmanned ground or aerial vehicles, any other electronic device that incorporates hard-wired and/or program logic to implement the described techniques, one or more virtual computing machines or instances in a data center, and/or a network of server computers and/or personal computers. FIG.5is a block diagram that illustrates an example computer system with which an embodiment may be implemented. In the example ofFIG.5, a computer system500and instructions for implementing the disclosed technologies in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software, are represented schematically, for example as boxes and circles, at the same level of detail that is commonly used by persons of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains for communicating about computer architecture and computer systems implementations. Computer system500includes an input/output (I/O) subsystem502which may include a bus and/or other communication mechanism(s) for communicating information and/or instructions between the components of the computer system500over electronic signal paths. The I/O subsystem502may include an I/O controller, a memory controller and at least one I/O port. The electronic signal paths are represented schematically in the drawings, for example as lines, unidirectional arrows, or bidirectional arrows. At least one hardware processor504is coupled to I/O subsystem502for processing information and instructions. Hardware processor504may include, for example, a general-purpose microprocessor or microcontroller and/or a special-purpose microprocessor such as an embedded system or a graphics processing unit (GPU) or a digital signal processor or ARM processor. Processor504may comprise an integrated arithmetic logic unit (ALU) or may be coupled to a separate ALU. Computer system500includes one or more units of memory506, such as a main memory, which is coupled to I/O subsystem502for electronically digitally storing data and instructions to be executed by processor504. Memory506may include volatile memory such as various forms of random-access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device. Memory506also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor504. Such instructions, when stored in non-transitory computer-readable storage media accessible to processor504, can render computer system500into a special-purpose machine that is customized to perform the operations specified in the instructions. Computer system500further includes non-volatile memory such as read only memory (ROM)508or other static storage device coupled to I/O subsystem502for storing information and instructions for processor504. The ROM508may include various forms of programmable ROM (PROM) such as erasable PROM (EPROM) or electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM). A unit of persistent storage510may include various forms of non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), such as FLASH memory, or solid-state storage, magnetic disk or optical disk such as CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, and may be coupled to I/O subsystem502for storing information and instructions. Storage510is an example of a non-transitory computer-readable medium that may be used to store instructions and data which when executed by the processor504cause performing computer-implemented methods to execute the techniques herein. The instructions in memory506, ROM508or storage510may comprise one or more sets of instructions that are organized as modules, methods, objects, functions, routines, or calls. The instructions may be organized as one or more computer programs, operating system services, or application programs including mobile apps. The instructions may comprise an operating system and/or system software; one or more libraries to support multimedia, programming or other functions; data protocol instructions or stacks to implement TCP/IP, HTTP or other communication protocols; file format processing instructions to parse or render files coded using HTML, XML, JSON, JPEG, MPEG or PNG; user interface instructions to render or interpret commands for a graphical user interface (GUI), command-line interface or text user interface; application software such as an office suite, internet access applications, design and manufacturing applications, graphics applications, audio applications, software engineering applications, educational applications, games or miscellaneous applications. The instructions may implement a web server, web application server or web client. The instructions may be organized as a presentation layer, application layer and data storage layer such as a relational database system using structured query language (SQL) or no SQL, an object store, a graph database, a flat file system or other data storage. Computer system500may be coupled via I/O subsystem502to at least one output device512. In one embodiment, output device512is a digital computer display. Examples of a display that may be used in various embodiments include a touch screen display or a light-emitting diode (LED) display or a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an e-paper display. Computer system500may include other type(s) of output devices512, alternatively or in addition to a display device. Examples of other output devices512include printers, ticket printers, plotters, projectors, sound cards or video cards, speakers, buzzers or piezoelectric devices or other audible devices, lamps or LED or LCD indicators, haptic devices, actuators or servos. At least one input device514is coupled to I/O subsystem502for communicating signals, data, command selections or gestures to processor504. Examples of input devices514include touch screens, microphones, still and video digital cameras, alphanumeric and other keys, keypads, keyboards, graphics tablets, image scanners, joysticks, clocks, switches, buttons, dials, slides, and/or various types of sensors such as force sensors, motion sensors, heat sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, and inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors and/or various types of transceivers such as wireless, such as cellular or Wi-Fi, radio frequency (RF) or infrared (IR) transceivers and Global Positioning System (GPS) transceivers. Another type of input device is a control device516, which may perform cursor control or other automated control functions such as navigation in a graphical interface on a display screen, alternatively or in addition to input functions. Control device516may be a touchpad, a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating direction information and command selections to processor504and for controlling cursor movement on display512. The input device may have at least two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that allows the device to specify positions in a plane. Another type of input device is a wired, wireless, or optical control device such as a joystick, wand, console, steering wheel, pedal, gearshift mechanism or other type of control device. An input device514may include a combination of multiple different input devices, such as a video camera and a depth sensor. In another embodiment, computer system500may comprise an internet of things (IoT) device in which one or more of the output device512, input device514, and control device516are omitted. Or, in such an embodiment, the input device514may comprise one or more cameras, motion detectors, thermometers, microphones, seismic detectors, other sensors or detectors, measurement devices or encoders and the output device512may comprise a special-purpose display such as a single-line LED or LCD display, one or more indicators, a display panel, a meter, a valve, a solenoid, an actuator or a servo. When computer system500is a mobile computing device, input device514may comprise a global positioning system (GPS) receiver coupled to a GPS module that is capable of triangulating to a plurality of GPS satellites, determining and generating geo-location or position data such as latitude-longitude values for a geophysical location of the computer system500. Output device512may include hardware, software, firmware and interfaces for generating position reporting packets, notifications, pulse or heartbeat signals, or other recurring data transmissions that specify a position of the computer system500, alone or in combination with other application-specific data, directed toward host524or server530. Computer system500may implement the techniques described herein using customized hard-wired logic, at least one ASIC or FPGA, firmware and/or program instructions or logic which when loaded and used or executed in combination with the computer system causes or programs the computer system to operate as a special-purpose machine. According to one embodiment, the techniques herein are performed by computer system500in response to processor504executing at least one sequence of at least one instruction contained in main memory506. Such instructions may be read into main memory506from another storage medium, such as storage510. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in main memory506causes processor504to perform the process steps described herein. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions. The term “storage media” as used herein refers to any non-transitory media that store data and/or instructions that cause a machine to operation in a specific fashion. Such storage media may comprise non-volatile media and/or volatile media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage510. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as memory506. Common forms of storage media include, for example, a hard disk, solid state drive, flash drive, magnetic data storage medium, any optical or physical data storage medium, memory chip, or the like. Storage media is distinct from but may be used in conjunction with transmission media. Transmission media participates in transferring information between storage media. For example, transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise a bus of I/O subsystem502. Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave and infra-red data communications. Various forms of media may be involved in carrying at least one sequence of at least one instruction to processor504for execution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk or solid-state drive of a remote computer. The remote computer can load the instructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over a communication link such as a fiber optic or coaxial cable or telephone line using a modem. A modem or router local to computer system500can receive the data on the communication link and convert the data to a format that can be read by computer system500. For instance, a receiver such as a radio frequency antenna or an infrared detector can receive the data carried in a wireless or optical signal and appropriate circuitry can provide the data to I/O subsystem502such as place the data on a bus. I/O subsystem502carries the data to memory506, from which processor504retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received by memory506may optionally be stored on storage510either before or after execution by processor504. Computer system500also includes a communication interface518coupled to bus502. Communication interface518provides a two-way data communication coupling to network link(s)520that are directly or indirectly connected to at least one communication networks, such as a network522or a public or private cloud on the Internet. For example, communication interface518may be an Ethernet networking interface, integrated-services digital network (ISDN) card, cable modem, satellite modem, or a modem to provide a data communication connection to a corresponding type of communications line, for example an Ethernet cable or a metal cable of any kind or a fiber-optic line or a telephone line. Network522broadly represents a local area network (LAN), wide-area network (WAN), campus network, internetwork or any combination thereof. Communication interface518may comprise a LAN card to provide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN, or a cellular radiotelephone interface that is wired to send or receive cellular data according to cellular radiotelephone wireless networking standards, or a satellite radio interface that is wired to send or receive digital data according to satellite wireless networking standards. In any such implementation, communication interface518sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals over signal paths that carry digital data streams representing various types of information. Network link520typically provides electrical, electromagnetic, or optical data communication directly or through at least one network to other data devices, using, for example, satellite, cellular, Wi-Fi, or BLUETOOTH technology. For example, network link520may provide a connection through a network522to a host computer524. Furthermore, network link520may provide a connection through network522or to other computing devices via internetworking devices and/or computers that are operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP)526. ISP526provides data communication services through a world-wide packet data communication network represented as internet528. A server computer530may be coupled to internet528. Server530broadly represents any computer, data center, virtual machine or virtual computing instance with or without a hypervisor, or computer executing a containerized program system such as DOCKER or KUBERNETES. Server530may represent an electronic digital service that is implemented using more than one computer or instance and that is accessed and used by transmitting web services requests, uniform resource locator (URL) strings with parameters in HTTP payloads, API calls, app services calls, or other service calls. Computer system500and server530may form elements of a distributed computing system that includes other computers, a processing cluster, server farm or other organization of computers that cooperate to perform tasks or execute applications or services. Server530may comprise one or more sets of instructions that are organized as modules, methods, objects, functions, routines, or calls. The instructions may be organized as one or more computer programs, operating system services, or application programs including mobile apps. The instructions may comprise an operating system and/or system software; one or more libraries to support multimedia, programming or other functions; data protocol instructions or stacks to implement TCP/IP, HTTP or other communication protocols; file format processing instructions to parse or render files coded using HTML, XML, JPEG, MPEG or PNG; user interface instructions to render or interpret commands for a graphical user interface (GUI), command-line interface or text user interface; application software such as an office suite, internet access applications, design and manufacturing applications, graphics applications, audio applications, software engineering applications, educational applications, games or miscellaneous applications. Server530may comprise a web application server that hosts a presentation layer, application layer and data storage layer such as a relational database system using structured query language (SQL) or no SQL, an object store, a graph database, a flat file system or other data storage. Computer system500can send messages and receive data and instructions, including program code, through the network(s), network link520and communication interface518. In the Internet example, a server530might transmit a requested code for an application program through Internet528, ISP526, local network522and communication interface518. The received code may be executed by processor504as it is received, and/or stored in storage510, or other non-volatile storage for later execution. The execution of instructions as described in this section may implement a process in the form of an instance of a computer program that is being executed, and consisting of program code and its current activity. Depending on the operating system (OS), a process may be made up of multiple threads of execution that execute instructions concurrently. In this context, a computer program is a passive collection of instructions, while a process may be the actual execution of those instructions. Several processes may be associated with the same program; for example, opening up several instances of the same program often means more than one process is being executed. Multitasking may be implemented to allow multiple processes to share processor504. While each processor504or core of the processor executes a single task at a time, computer system500may be programmed to implement multitasking to allow each processor to switch between tasks that are being executed without having to wait for each task to finish. In an embodiment, switches may be performed when tasks perform input/output operations, when a task indicates that it can be switched, or on hardware interrupts. Time-sharing may be implemented to allow fast response for interactive user applications by rapidly performing context switches to provide the appearance of concurrent execution of multiple processes simultaneously. In an embodiment, for security and reliability, an operating system may prevent direct communication between independent processes, providing strictly mediated and controlled inter-process communication functionality. | 38,093 |
11861524 | In the figures, elements and steps denoted by the same or similar reference numerals are associated with the same or similar elements and steps, unless indicated otherwise. DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a full understanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to one ordinarily skilled in the art, that embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without some of these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and techniques have not been shown in detail so as not to obscure the disclosure. Embodiments as disclosed herein should be considered within the scope of features and other embodiments illustrated in the Appendix (13 pp), filed concurrently herewith. General Overview In contract platforms and other network applications where documents are exchanged and edited between multiple users, the availability of multiple networking platforms may create confusion as to which version of a document is circulating on electronic messages, which version is the most updated and legitimate version, and which version is stored in a database. The disclosed system addresses this problem specifically arising in the realm of computer technology by providing a solution also rooted in computer technology, namely, by providing a centralized verification process in which multiple networking platforms (e.g., electronic message, chat, and the like) are monitored by a centralized server. In some embodiments, the monitoring involves data encryption and use of related technologies to verify that source and recipients of electronic messages are legitimate parties to the contract, and the contract or other documents exchanged between parties are not tampered with or eavesdropped by an external, illegitimate, or unauthorized party. It is desirable that document handling in a contract platform be as frictionless as possible. In some embodiments, users may be tempted to, or naturally tend to, use multiple tools in the handling of a contract. Typically, this causes a loss of context when the consistency checks, documents updates, and unification steps are taken manually by one of the parties to the contract. In embodiments as disclosed herein, a workflow is created to handle a contract, and any further negotiation occurring over e-mail or any other electronic messaging tools are seamlessly incorporated into the workflow. This preserves a comprehensive scope of contract context within the platform, and provides the ability for verification to all parties. In some embodiments, an inbox tool brings information and documents sent via e-mail or any other electronic messaging tool into the contract platform workflow. This makes it easier to bring the process that happens outside of the contract platform back into the workflow in a manner that is available to all parties having access to it. Embodiments as disclosed herein provide a technical solution to the technical problem arising in the realm of computer network technology where a document exchange between multiple collaborating parties requires verification and update between multiple versions of the document that may be circulating via electronic messaging. In addition, embodiments as disclosed herein enable the seamless approval of the workflow at different stages by automatic control of the signatures and other verification steps. In embodiments as disclosed herein, an electronic message may include an electronic message, a chat message, an instant message, a data-enhanced text message, and the like. More generally, an electronic message as disclosed herein may include any type of remote communication between one or more parties, wherein a text document or a printed document may be electronically exchanged and/or altered between the parties. Example System Architecture FIG.1illustrates an example architecture100suitable for a smart contract workflow environment, according to some embodiments. Architecture100includes servers130communicatively coupled with client devices110over a network150. One of the many servers130is configured to host a memory including instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the server130to perform at least some of the steps in methods as disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the processor is configured to manage a contract workflow upon request by the user of one of client devices110. The contract workflow may include a contract document, and one or more counterparties that are signatory to the contract. Accordingly, server130may include an editor tool configured to create and modify documents in the contract workflow. For purposes of load balancing, multiple servers130can host memories including instructions to one or more processors, and multiple servers130can host a database that includes multiple contract workflows. Moreover, the contract workflow may be a collaborative project involving multiple users with client devices110accessing one or more servers130where one or more project documents are stored. In that regard, the user of client device110may be an enterprise owner, official, or supervisor, requesting server130to generate a contract workflow. In some embodiments, the user of client device110may be one or more collaborators assigned with at least one of multiple tasks in the contract workflow by server130. Moreover, in some embodiments, multiple users of client devices110may include the project master and at least one collaborator assigned with a task in the contract workflow. Further, in some embodiments, a user of client device110is an executor or counterparty to the contract in the contract workflow. Accordingly, client devices110may communicate with each other via network150and through access to server130and resources located therein. Servers130may include any device having an appropriate processor, memory, and communications capability for hosting the contract engine including multiple tools associated with it. A server130may be accessible by various client devices110over network150. Client devices110can be, for example, desktop computers, mobile computers, tablet computers (e.g., including e-book readers), mobile devices (e.g., a smartphone or PDA), or any other devices having appropriate processor, memory, and communications capabilities for accessing the contract engine on one or more of servers130. Network150can include, for example, any one or more of a local area tool (LAN), a wide area tool (WAN), the Internet, and the like. Further, network150can include, but is not limited to, any one or more of the following tool topologies, including a bus network, a star network, a ring network, a mesh network, a star-bus network, tree or hierarchical network, and the like. Network150may include a wired network (e.g., via fiber optic or copper wire, telephone lines, and the like) or wireless network (e.g., a cellular network, radio-frequency—RF-network, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and the like). FIG.2illustrates an exemplary network architecture to provide a contract platform200, according to some embodiments. Smart contract platform200includes a client device210and a server230communicatively coupled through network150. Embodiments as disclosed herein provide contract platform200through a contract engine242in a memory220-2of server230. Smart contract platform200serves enterprises and individuals who subscribe to the service, to create, manage, and store legal contracts with other counterparties. Each of the enterprise, individual, or any subscriber to the contract platform may access the platform through a client device as shown in the figure. Likewise, a counterparty to the contract may also receive and execute the contract from contract platform200via client device210communicatively coupled with the server. In some embodiments, a server as disclosed herein may also include an electronic messaging platform (e.g., an e-mail server) providing communication functionality between multiple client devices in the network. Client device210may be any one of a mobile device, a laptop, a desktop, a palm or pad device, and the like. Server230may be a computing device such as a workstation, including one or more desktop computers or panels mounted on racks, and the like. The panels may include processing boards and also switchboards, routers, and other network devices. Client device210and server230may access each other and other devices in the network via communications modules218-1and218-2(hereinafter, collectively referred to as “communications modules218”). Communications modules218may include radio hardware and software such as RF antennas, analog circuitry, digital to analog conversion circuits, and digital signal processing circuitry. In some embodiments, each of the client device or the server may be coupled to at least one input device214and an output device216. Input device214may include a mouse, a keyboard, a pointer, a stylus, a touchscreen display, and a microphone. Output device216may include a display (e.g., the same touchscreen display as the input device), a speaker, an alarm, and the like. Client device210and server230are generally computing devices, each of which includes at least a memory220-1or220-2(hereinafter, collectively referred to as “memories220”) storing instructions and a processor212-1or212-2(hereinafter, collectively referred to as “processors212”) configured to execute the instructions to perform, at least partially, one or more steps as described in methods disclosed herein. For example, memory220-1may include a browser227, and a network application225hosted by server230. Browser227or network application225may include commands for accessing contract platform200hosted by contract engine242stored in memory220-2. Further, browser227or network application225may be configured to display a contract dashboard for a user of client device210, upon access of a smart contract in contract engine242. The contract dashboard may include multiple visual features and actionable icons and buttons that enable a party to review, edit, approve, or reject a contract in the contract platform via client device210. The user of client device210may also send the contract workflow or at least a version of the contract workflow to a second party to the contract (e.g., a supervisor, and approver, or a counterparty), via the network. In that regard, at least one or more versions of the contract workflow may be stored in any one of memories220, or in a contract database252communicatively coupled to server230and to client device210through network150. Network application225may also include an electronic messaging application (e.g., an e-mail application, chat or instant messaging application, and the like) configured to send e-mails, chats, and instant text messages to other client devices through network150. Contract engine242includes multiple tools for execution by processors212to provide a contract platform as disclosed herein. Some of the tools in contract engine242may include a networking tool244, a settings tool245, an editor tool246, and an attributes tool247. Networking tool244may be configured to interact with the electronic messaging application in client device210to automatically include document attachments into a contract workflow so that different parties in a contract may exchange different versions of a document for review and signatures, seamlessly and transparently. In some embodiments, networking tool244may be part of a second server that is dedicated to electronic messaging through the network and that is communicatively coupled with contract engine242in server230. Networking tool244may include a client account configured to receive e-mails from members of a client organization. The second server may be configured to communicate with the contract platform to handle attachments and documentation (including the content of forwarded messages) into new or existing workflows for contract documents. The contract documents may include contracts between the client organization and a third party. Accordingly, any member of the client organization may receive an electronic message from the third party, including context or attachments relevant to one or more contract workflows. In some embodiments, the member of the client organization may not have direct access to the contract platform, or may not be familiar with the procedures and technicalities of the contract engine. Accordingly, the member of the client organization may simply forward the electronic message received from the third party to the client account, so that the context of the electronic message and/or any relevant document may be seamlessly incorporated into a new or already existing workflow automatically, by networking tool244. Settings tool245may enable a user to create, update, or edit different configurations of a contract workflow, such as conditions, counterparties, reviewers, preferences, and access privileges to the contract workflow. Editor tool246may include a document editor tool (e.g., a text editor application and the like), configured to create, update, and edit a text version of a contract document. In some embodiments, editor tool246may allow maintaining different versions of a contract document, or a redlined version of a contract document. Moreover, in some embodiments, editor tool246may allow a user to select any two versions of a document and create a redline version based on a comparison of the two selected versions. Attributes tool247enables a user to select contract properties such as counterparties, dates, governing law, and jurisdictions. In some embodiments, attributes tool247may also enable the user to set up logical conditions and other requirements to the contract workflow. For example, in some embodiments, a logical condition may include selection of specific template language in a contract document (e.g., via editor tool246) when the user selects a specific governing law, or location, or contract type. In this regard, the different tools in contract engine242collaborate with each other in a contract workflow to create a smooth and seamless workflow environment for the creators and issuers of the contract document, and also for the counterparties who sign/edit the contract document. In some embodiments, memory220-2may include an algorithm248or code that includes mathematical and logical operations for the different tools in contract engine242. Algorithm248may include a non-linear algorithm such as a neural network, an artificial intelligence, or machine learning algorithm, and is configured to resolve specific tasks according to a previous training using a carefully selected sampling universe. Some of the tasks for which algorithm248is trained may include semantic and syntax interpretation of a text, comparison between text documents, and correlating a text with a legal code to ensure that the text is consistent and complies with certain aspects of the legal code. In some embodiments, algorithm248may also include an encryption code configured to provide certificates, keys, and signatures to multiple users. Algorithm248may be configured to authenticate the certificates or signatures in documents returned by users, so that any tampering with the document or any unauthorized access may be identified and avoided. FIG.3illustrates a dashboard display300of an electronic message310from networking tool344in a contract platform, according to some embodiments. Dashboard display300may be provided by a network application or browser accessing the contract engine in a server from a client device (cf. network application225, browser227, client device210, contract engine242and server230). In some embodiments, electronic message310is configured with addressee fields312aand312b(hereinafter, collectively referred to as “addressee fields312”), a message field313, and a field314to select a document attachment (e.g., a version of the contract). The user of the client device accessing the contract engine in the server may be a party to, or a preparer of, the contract, and have an account in the server. The recipient of the electronic message may be a second party to the contract, or a user with the role of approver of the contract. In some embodiments, a contract platform as disclosed herein may be configured to verify that, when a contract document is attached to electronic message310, the recipients in addressee fields312are parties to the contract, or have otherwise authorization to receive and open the contract as an attachment (e.g., an approver or preparer of the contract). In some embodiments, networking tool344is activated from the contract engine and it automatically selects the addresses in addressee fields312, based on the counterparties or approvers associated with a contract to which the user is a party or a preparer. In some embodiments, the user may be a party to, or a preparer of, more than one contract. In such case, some embodiments may verify the recipient list of the electronic message based on the specific contract document attached to electronic message310. Electronic message310may also include a field316to select a type of attachment (e.g., a contract draft or ancillary document or affidavit), and a field318to indicate whether to add the document. In some embodiments, networking tool344will save replies to electronic message310in a log history of the contract workflow in a database (e.g., contract database252). More generally, in some embodiments, networking tool344stores the entire messaging thread to which electronic message310is a part of, in the database. FIGS.4A and4Billustrate dashboard displays400A and400B (hereinafter, collectively referred to as “dashboard displays400”) of an electronic message thread including document attachments in a contract platform, according to some embodiments. FIG.4Aillustrates a dashboard display400A of an electronic message thread415, including document attachments401A in a contract platform, according to some embodiments. Dashboard display400may be provided to a network application in a client device by a networking tool in a contract engine as disclosed herein (e.g., client device210, network application225, networking tool244, and contract engine242). Electronic message thread415may include an “X-ray” view of one electronic message410received by the user. The X-ray display includes metadata associated with electronic message410(e.g., sender address, date, time, and the like) and a listing of the attachments (e.g., a draft of contract401). Dashboard display400includes an “Add to Workflow” button421next to attachment401, for user selection. When the user selects the Add to Workflow button421, the networking tool opens attachment401A and activates a search for action items within attachment401A (e.g., redline edits, signature fields, approval tabs and checkmarks, and the like) to update and incorporate attachment401into a contract workflow. In some embodiments, dashboard display400may include different versions of “Add to Workflow” button421, without deviating from the general concept of incorporating attachment401and/or the message content into an already existing contract flow. To open attachment401, the contract engine executes one or more algorithms (e.g., algorithm248) to verify that the document is legitimate (e.g., the source of attachment401A is a known client device using a known and legitimate operating system). In some embodiments, to verify legitimacy of attachment401, the contract engine may apply a private encrypted key to a public key in the client device or in attachment401A. When the keys match, attachment401A opens and the user may access it knowing that it is a legitimate document from one of the parties to the contract. In some embodiments, electronic message thread415may also include a field416listing prior electronic messages in the thread. Field416may include a brief description of the messages (e.g., party A sent a message to party B, X seconds/minutes/hours/days ago), and links to prior versions of attachment401A included in the prior electronic messages. In some embodiments, dashboard display400may also include a workflow checklist420indicative of a given status of the contract workflow in electronic message thread415(e.g., “create,” “review,” “sign,” and “archive”). For example, in a “create” status, the user may include a preparer of a contract, in a “review” status, the user may include an approver of the contract, in a “sign” status, the user may include a party or counterparty to the contract, and in an “archive” status, the user may include a preparer of a new contract. Accordingly, the user accessing dashboard display400may have an overview of the workflow status while reviewing electronic message thread415. In addition, workflow checklist420may include a tab that the user may activate to send one or more electronic messages in electronic message thread415to a workflow record in a database (e.g., contract database252), to be added to a workflow feed. A field412cmay enable the user to include comments in electronic message thread415. In some embodiments, the contract platform may incorporate the comments into a workflow based on the context of the comment (e.g., using an algorithm as algorithm248). FIG.4Billustrate dashboard display400B of an electronic message thread including document attachments in a contract platform, according to some embodiments. Dashboard display400B may include multiple versions430or440of a contract document401B, which a user can select for review. FIG.5illustrates a dashboard display500of an update workflow prompt510provided by a networking tool in a contract platform (e.g., networking tool244), according to some embodiments. Update workflow prompt510may request the user input as to whether an attached document501and a text content of an electronic message are part of a new workflow, or if attached document501should replace an already existing document in an existing workflow. When attached document501and/or the text content of the message are part of a new workflow, a contract engine (e.g., contract engine242) resets the approval status for the contract, and requests approval from the reviewers (whether or not the reviewers have reviewed and approved prior versions of the document, if these exist). When attached document501or the text content of the message replace an existing document (e.g., by checking tab516), the contract engine saves attached document501as a new version512, preserving the old version. In some embodiments, the new version512is added as a new encrypted block in a database (e.g., contract database252). In some embodiments, the networking tool may further query whether prior approvals of the existing document should be preserved in the new version by checking a tab514. This may be the case when edits to a new version merit a renewed approval from all parties to the contract. In some embodiments, such a decision may be left to the users, and in some embodiments, the contract engine may be configured to automatically assess the relevance of the changes to the contract (e.g., vis-à-vis existing law on the subject in a given jurisdiction) using an algorithm (e.g., algorithm248). FIGS.6A and6Billustrate message inboxes600A and600B (hereinafter, collectively referred to as “inboxes600”) for a user of a contract platform, according to some embodiments. FIG.6Aillustrates a message inbox600A for a user of a contract platform, according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, message inbox600A is handled by a networking tool in a contract engine, in a server such as described above (e.g., networking tool244, contract engine242, and server230). In some embodiments, message inbox600A is displayed in an output device coupled to a client device handled by the user and running a browser or network application installed therein (e.g., output device216and client device210, application225and browser227). Message inbox600A may include an electronic message610A. In some embodiments, electronic message610A is forwarded from a user affiliated with the client (e.g., a member of the client organization). Electronic message610A may include an attached contract601A or context relevant to an existing workflow. The networking tool then transmits a second electronic message621to the user requesting a selection between multiple options623-1,623-2,623-3, and623-4(hereinafter, collectively referred to as “selections623”) based on attached contract601A or context. In some embodiments, the contract engine identifies one or more existing workflows associated with the client in a contract database, by an algorithm (cf. algorithm248) or an identifier based on attached contract601A or the context of electronic message610A. In some embodiments, to transmit electronic message621, the contract engine adds a preview link to the one or more existing workflows for the client that may be relevant to the attached contract or context. In option623-1, the contract engine starts a new workflow associated with the attached contract. In some embodiments, option623-1is desirable when a third party requests an original contract, and the user desires the contract engine to route the request for appropriate legal approval, e-signature, and file storage in a database (e.g., database252). In option623-2, the contract engine updates documents in an existing workflow of relevance to electronic message610A. In option623-3, the contract engine may upload a signed copy of the attached contract to the existing workflow, identified as above. In option623-4, the user may upload a recently updated workflow in the database. In some embodiments, the user may select one or more (e.g., all) of options623. In some embodiments, electronic message610A may include a system e-mail address612for responding. FIG.6Billustrate message inbox600B for a user of a contract platform, according to some embodiments. Inbox600B enables an e-mail recipient to select reply targets from a pull-down menu650. An attachment field610B may include multiple versions601B and602B of a document (including a redline version602B). FIG.7illustrates a dashboard display700with an electronic message thread715including a workflow checklist720, according to some embodiments. Dashboard display700may also include a list710of approvals to the workflow, and other data such as contact e-mail addres711, content description713and a link to a draft document701. Workflow checklist720may include a pull-down menu725with optional actions for the user. FIG.8illustrates steps in a method for receiving and managing electronic message attachments between parties in a smart contract network, according to some embodiments. Method800may be performed at least partially by any one of the server and client device illustrated inFIGS.1and2. For example, at least some of the steps in method800may be performed by one component in a system including a client device running code for a browser and an application to access the server or the database (e.g., contract engine242, browser227, or algorithm248). Accordingly, at least some of the steps in method800may be performed by a processor executing commands from tools and algorithms stored in a memory of the server or of the client device, or accessible by the server or by the client device (e.g., processors212, memories220, networking tool244, settings tool245, editor tool246, attributes tool247, and algorithm248). Further, in some embodiments, at least some of the steps in method800may be performed overlapping in time, almost simultaneously, or in a different order from the order illustrated in method800. Moreover, a method consistent with some embodiments disclosed herein may include at least one, but not all, of the steps in method800. Step802includes receiving, in a first networking platform, an electronic message directed from a first party to a workflow to a second party of the workflow. In some embodiments, step802includes accessing an electronic message thread between the first party to the workflow and the second party to the workflow, the electronic message thread supported by a second networking platform. In some embodiments, step802includes automatically updating an electronic message after syncing an electronic message account from the user affiliated with a client. More generally, in some embodiments step802may include receiving an electronic message from a first party to the workflow to multiple independent parties in the workflow. Moreover, in some embodiments, step802may include receiving an electronic message from multiple parties to a second party in the workflow. And in some embodiments step802may include receiving an electronic message from multiple parties to other multiple parties in the workflow (e.g., via a group chat and the like). Step804includes identifying a document attached to the electronic message as relevant to the workflow. In some embodiments, step804includes matching a metadata in the document with an updated version of the workflow stored in the database. In some embodiments, step804includes verifying that the document attached to the electronic message has not been tampered by an unauthorized third party. Step806includes identifying at least a portion of a text content in the electronic message as relevant to the workflow. Step808includes requesting an input from the second party to update a workflow associated with the workflow. In some embodiments, step808is optional, wherein other options may include automatically determining that the system should update the workflow. Step810includes updating the workflow associated with the workflow based on at least one of the document attached to the electronic message or the portion of the text content in the electronic message, when the second party provides the input. In some embodiments, step810includes verifying that a signature field in the document attached to the electronic message matches a signature of the first party stored in the database. In some embodiments, step810includes sending an electronic message to each of multiple parties associated with the workflow, including the first party and the second party. In some embodiments, step810includes providing to the second party an option to preserve an approval from at least one reviewer who has already approved the workflow. Step812includes storing the document attached to the electronic message in a database as a new version of the workflow. In some embodiments, step812includes encrypting the document and including an old version of the workflow. In some embodiments, step812includes displaying, for the second party, a log history of multiple actions associated to the workflow. In some embodiments, step812includes receiving, from the second party, an authorization to access incoming electronic messages in the first networking platform. FIG.9illustrates steps in a method for receiving and managing electronic message attachments between parties in a smart contract network, according to some embodiments. Method900may be performed at least partially by any one of the server and client device illustrated inFIGS.1and2. For example, at least some of the steps in method900may be performed by one component in a system including a client device running code for a browser and an application to access the server or the database (e.g., contract engine242, browser227, or algorithm248). Accordingly, at least some of the steps in method900may be performed by a processor executing commands from tools and algorithms stored in a memory of the server or of the client device, or accessible by the server or by the client device (e.g., processors212, memories220, networking tool244, settings tool245, editor tool246, attributes tool247, and algorithm248). Further, in some embodiments, at least some of the steps in method900may be performed overlapping in time, almost simultaneously, or in a different order from the order illustrated in method900. Moreover, a method consistent with some embodiments disclosed herein may include at least one, but not all, of the steps in method900. Step902includes receiving, in a pre-selected client account, a first electronic message forwarded from a user affiliated with a client, wherein the electronic message includes an attached contract or context relevant to an existing workflow. Step904includes transmitting a second electronic message to the user requesting a selection between multiple options, based on the attached contract or context. In some embodiments, step904may include transmitting information including, but not limited to, metadata, or a preview link, related to one or more existing workflows. Step906includes starting a new workflow associated with the attached contract when the user selects a first one of the options. Step908includes updating documents in the existing workflow when the user selects a second one of the options. Step910includes uploading a signed copy of the attached contract to the existing workflow when the user selects a third one of the options. Hardware Overview FIG.10is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computer system1000with which the client and server ofFIGS.1and2, and the methods ofFIGS.9-10can be implemented. In certain aspects, the computer system1000may be implemented using hardware or a combination of software and hardware, either in a dedicated server, or integrated into another entity, or distributed across multiple entities. Computer system1000(e.g., client110and server130) includes a bus1008or other communication mechanism for communicating information, and a processor1002(e.g., processors212) coupled with bus1008for processing information. By way of example, the computer system1000may be implemented with one or more processors1002. Processor1002may be a general-purpose microprocessor, a microcontroller, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), a controller, a state machine, gated logic, discrete hardware components, or any other suitable entity that can perform calculations or other manipulations of information. Computer system1000can include, in addition to hardware, code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or a combination of one or more of them stored in an included memory1004(e.g., memories220), such as a Random Access Memory (RAM), a flash memory, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD, or any other suitable storage device, coupled to bus1008for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor1002. The processor1002and the memory1004can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry. The instructions may be stored in the memory1004and implemented in one or more computer program products, e.g., one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a computer-readable medium for execution by, or to control the operation of, the computer system1000, and according to any method well-known to those of skill in the art, including, but not limited to, computer languages such as data-oriented languages (e.g., SQL, dBase), system languages (e.g., C, Objective-C, C++, Assembly), architectural languages (e.g., Java, .NET), and application languages (e.g., PHP, Ruby, Perl, Python). Instructions may also be implemented in computer languages such as array languages, aspect-oriented languages, assembly languages, authoring languages, command line interface languages, compiled languages, concurrent languages, curly-bracket languages, dataflow languages, data-structured languages, declarative languages, esoteric languages, extension languages, fourth-generation languages, functional languages, interactive mode languages, interpreted languages, iterative languages, list-based languages, little languages, logic-based languages, machine languages, macro languages, metaprogramming languages, multiparadigm languages, numerical analysis, non-English-based languages, object-oriented class-based languages, object-oriented prototype-based languages, off-side rule languages, procedural languages, reflective languages, rule-based languages, scripting languages, stack-based languages, synchronous languages, syntax handling languages, visual languages, wirth languages, and xml-based languages. Memory1004may also be used for storing temporary variable or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor1002. A computer program as discussed herein does not necessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, subprograms, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network. The processes and logic flows described in this specification can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. Computer system1000further includes a data storage device1006such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, coupled to bus1008for storing information and instructions. Computer system1000may be coupled via input/output module1010to various devices. Input/output module1010can be any input/output module. Exemplary input/output modules1010include data ports such as USB ports. The input/output module1010is configured to connect to a communications module1012. Exemplary communications modules1012(e.g., communications modules218) include networking interface cards, such as Ethernet cards and modems. In certain aspects, input/output module1010is configured to connect to a plurality of devices, such as an input device1014(e.g., input device214) and/or an output device1016(e.g., output device216). Exemplary input devices1014include a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which a user can provide input to the computer system1000. Other kinds of input devices1014can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well, such as a tactile input device, visual input device, audio input device, or brain-computer interface device. For example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, tactile, or brain wave input. Exemplary output devices1016include display devices, such as an LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user. According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the client110and server130can be implemented using a computer system1000in response to processor1002executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in memory1004. Such instructions may be read into memory1004from another machine-readable medium, such as data storage device1006. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in main memory1004causes processor1002to perform the process steps described herein. One or more processors in a multi-processing arrangement may also be employed to execute the sequences of instructions contained in memory1004. In alternative aspects, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement various aspects of the present disclosure. Thus, aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software. Various aspects of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component, e.g., a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g., an application server, or that includes a front-end component, e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of the subject matter described in this specification, or any combination of one or more such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The components of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication, e.g., a communication network. The communication tool (e.g., network150) can include, for example, any one or more of a LAN, a WAN, the Internet, and the like. Further, the communication tool can include, but is not limited to, for example, any one or more of the following tool topologies, including a bus network, a star network, a ring network, a mesh network, a star-bus network, tree or hierarchical network, or the like. The communications modules can be, for example, modems or Ethernet cards. Computer system1000can include clients and servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other. Computer system1000can be, for example, and without limitation, a desktop computer, laptop computer, or tablet computer. Computer system1000can also be embedded in another device, for example, and without limitation, a mobile telephone, a PDA, a mobile audio player, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, a video game console, and/or a television set top box. The term “machine-readable storage medium” or “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any medium or media that participates in providing instructions to processor1002for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as data storage device1006. Volatile media include dynamic memory, such as memory1004. Transmission media include coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiber optics, including the wires forming bus1008. Common forms of machine-readable media include, for example, floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read. The machine-readable storage medium can be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storage substrate, a memory device, a composition of matter affecting a machine-readable propagated signal, or a combination of one or more of them. In one aspect, a method may be an operation, an instruction, or a function and vice versa. In one aspect, a clause may be amended to include some or all of the words (e.g., instructions, operations, functions, or components) recited in other one or more clauses, one or more words, one or more sentences, one or more phrases, and/or one or more paragraphs. To illustrate the interchangeability of hardware and software, items such as the various illustrative blocks, modules, components, methods, operations, instructions, and algorithms have been described generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application. As used herein, the phrase “at least one of” preceding a series of items, with the terms “and” or “or” to separate any of the items, modifies the list as a whole, rather than each member of the list (e.g., each item). The phrase “at least one of” does not require selection of at least one item; rather, the phrase allows a meaning that includes at least one of any one of the items, and/or at least one of any combination of the items, and/or at least one of each of the items. By way of example, the phrases “at least one of A, B, and C” or “at least one of A, B, or C” each refer to only A, only B, or only C; any combination of A, B, and C; and/or at least one of each of A, B, and C. The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Phrases such as an aspect, the aspect, another aspect, some aspects, one or more aspects, an implementation, the implementation, another implementation, some implementations, one or more implementations, an embodiment, the embodiment, another embodiment, some embodiments, one or more embodiments, a configuration, the configuration, another configuration, some configurations, one or more configurations, the subject technology, the disclosure, the present disclosure, other variations thereof and alike are for convenience and do not imply that a disclosure relating to such phrase(s) is essential to the subject technology or that such disclosure applies to all configurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to such phrase(s) may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations. A disclosure relating to such phrase(s) may provide one or more examples. A phrase such as an aspect or some aspects may refer to one or more aspects and vice versa, and this applies similarly to other foregoing phrases. A reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically stated, but rather “one or more.” Pronouns in the masculine (e.g., his) include the feminine and neuter gender (e.g., her and its) and vice versa. The term “some” refers to one or more. Underlined and/or italicized headings and subheadings are used for convenience only, do not limit the subject technology, and are not referred to in connection with the interpretation of the description of the subject technology. Relational terms such as first and second and the like may be used to distinguish one entity or action from another without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various configurations described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and intended to be encompassed by the subject technology. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the above description. No clause element is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in the case of a method clause, the element is recited using the phrase “step for.” While this specification contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of what may be described, but rather as descriptions of particular implementations of the subject matter. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially described as such, one or more features from a described combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the described combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination. The subject matter of this specification has been described in terms of particular aspects, but other aspects can be implemented and are within the scope of the following clauses. For example, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. The actions recited in the clauses can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. As one example, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the aspects described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all aspects, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products. The title, background, brief description of the drawings, abstract, and drawings are hereby incorporated into the disclosure and are provided as illustrative examples of the disclosure, not as restrictive descriptions. It is submitted with the understanding that they will not be used to limit the scope or meaning of the clauses. In addition, in the detailed description, it can be seen that the description provides illustrative examples and the various features are grouped together in various implementations for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the described subject matter requires more features than are expressly recited in each clause. Rather, as the clauses reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed configuration or operation. The clauses are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each clause standing on its own as a separately described subject matter. The clauses are not intended to be limited to the aspects described herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language clauses and to encompass all legal equivalents. Notwithstanding, none of the clauses are intended to embrace subject matter that fails to satisfy the requirements of the applicable patent law, nor should they be interpreted in such a way. | 51,146 |
11861525 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG.1illustrates an exemplary environment100for providing simplified provisioning, including authentication of data store access, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. A client110communicates with a server130via a network120. The client110may include any type of device, such as a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer, etc. In some instances, client110may be a data-enabled device that can, for example, send and receive electronic-mail, receive and send short message service (SMS) messages, access the Internet and so forth. Any type of provisioning, which may include various forms of authentication, may be provided according to various embodiments of the present invention. For instance, the provisioning may include an event registering a user in response to a user request for services, a communication to the user offering services, a communication to the user including activation data, a communication to the user with a uniform resource locator (URL) where the user can obtain additional information regarding services, and so on (generally referred to as a “provisioning event”). Any type of provisioning event is within the scope of various embodiments of the present invention. Similarly, any type of services provided by a service provider managing the provisioning events is possible. For instance, the service provider may provide internet services, application services, wireless services, and so on. A common example of such a service includes electronic-mail access, which may be provided through an Internet electronic-mail account or through a server/data store as may be found, for example, in a commercial enterprise. The offering of electronic-mail services may also include an offering by a network provider or certain domain hosting companies that offer electronic-mail hosting as a value add to domain name hosting services. A provisioning module140may be coupled to the server130for providing provisioning event related services, which may include various forms of authentication. In one embodiment, the provisioning module140is included as a component of the server130. In some instances, the provisioning module140may be integrated and/or accessible to the storage medium150, which may sometimes be interchangeably referred to as a data store150. In another embodiment, the provisioning module140provides provisioning event related processing for various servers. In still another embodiment, the provisioning module140may provide provisioning event related processing for various storage mediums150. The server130may include or otherwise have access to one or more storage mediums150. Any type of storage medium150may be employed according to various embodiments of the present invention. InFIG.1, the server130is coupled to the storage medium(s)150for storing and accessing information included in the storage medium(s)150. This coupling may be direct (e.g., via software/hardware integration or may be a communicative coupling that may occur over a network). Storage medium(s)150may include internal mail servers at an enterprise or that may be offered by any variety of service providers. Storage medium(s)150may also include databases for storage of contact and Personal Information Management (PIM) data as well as calendar, notes, and task data. Storage medium(s)150may also include data stores for documents (e.g., file servers). In an exemplary embodiment, the client110contacts the server130via the network120in order to request and/or access services provided by a service provider associated with the server130. For example, a user at the client110may wish to subscribe to email services available by the service provider. The server130requests information about the user at the client110or about the client110itself before allowing the user to access services (i.e., authenticating access to the services and/or data). This information may include user ID and/or password information as well as data identifying the client device110such as phone number, static Internet Protocol (IP) address, dynamically assigned IP address, Electronic Serial Number (ESN). Mobile Identification Number (MIN), and/or International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) data. In order to verify that the client110or its proxy is genuine, the server130may access the storage medium(s)150to match data provided by the client110with information the server130stored in the storage medium(s)150as a result of prior encounters with the client110. In some embodiments, such information may be stored locally at the server130and the server130(as a proxy of client110) authenticates the client110and then accesses the storage mediums150. Access of the server130to the storage mediums150may require an additional authentication process. For example, if the storage mediums150are not integrated with the server130(e.g., server130and storage mediums150are overseen by separate parties), which may be similar to the authentication of the client110. Information may be provided automatically by the client110in response to a server130request or may be part of a manual query response whereby the user provides certain information. Some information may be dedicated to an automated response whereas other information may always require a manual response. Some types of requested information may be subject to automatic and manual response as may be determined, for example, by a client110device configuration or user setting. In some instances, a client110or server130based application may be implemented with respect to matching certain information to a particular format. In the instance of a telephone number, an automated response to a request by server130may include an area code, local prefix, and number (10 total digits). The necessary information may, in some embodiments, be identified as a part of the request. A user, however, may manually provide additional information not required for processing the response (e.g., a country code). The application may, in these instances, derive the necessary information or filter out unnecessary information in order to arrive at an information format appropriate for the particular operation (e.g., processing only the last ten digits of the numerical string provided by the user). Any manner of collecting information associated with the user and/or the client/device110associated with the user may be employed. The server130may collect the information from previous encounters with the client/device110, from other service providers associated with the user and/or the client/device110, and/or from any sources providing information about the user and/or the client/device110. The server130utilizes the provisioning module140to provide specified services and configurations for those services to the user at the client110. The provisioning module140may verify information associated with the client110in one embodiment (e.g., authentication). The provisioning module140may have access to the storage medium(s)150via the server130or via a direct connection to the storage medium(s)150. FIG.2illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary provisioning module140in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The provisioning module140may provide users with accounts, the appropriate access to those accounts, all the rights associated with those accounts (sometimes collectively referred to as authentication), all of the resources necessary to manage the accounts, and so forth. Provisioning may be utilized to refer to service activation and may also involve programming various databases, such as the storage medium(s)150, with the user's information, as discussed herein. Although the server130may be identified as performing various functions, any of the functions may be performed by the provisioning module140and/or components thereof. The provisioning module140may include an identification component210. The identification component210may perform various tasks related to identifying the client110and/or the user associated with the client110. The identification component210may assign an identifier to the client110and/or information associated with the user at the client110when the client110is connected to the server130. The identification component210may store the information in the storage medium(s)150according to the identifier the identification component210associates with the information. In one embodiment, the identification component210assigns a unique identifier, such as a number string (e.g., a token or a cookie), to the client110and stores the information associated with the client110according to the unique identifier. The identification component210may then forward the unique identifier to the client110as a communication, or part of a communication, so that the client110can provide the unique identifier when the client110connects to the server130on another occasion. The unique identifier may be provided as a matter of course by the client110in future connections with the server130or the server130may request the identifier from the client110as part of negotiating a connection between the two devices. In another embodiment, a phone number associated with the client110is utilized by the identification component210to store information associated with the client110. Accordingly, when the client110makes further contact with the server130, the phone number may be used to access the information stored according to the phone number. The user may provide the phone number associated with the client110and/or the client110may provide the phone number to the server130when initial access to the server130is gained by the client110. The identification component210may also compare information provided by the user of the client110with information stored in the storage medium(s)150related to the client110. The comparison may be performed in order to verify that the user of the client110is the same user of the client110about which the server130captured information during a previous encounter. The comparison may also be performed to ensure that the client110information in the storage medium(s)150is accurate. For instance, if the phone number is utilized as the identifier and the phone number provided by the user at the client110in response to a query is different from the phone number in the storage medium(s)150, the user may have entered the phone number incorrectly, the original information gathered at the server130may have been entered incorrectly, and so on. The information from the storage medium(s)150and the client110may be compared for any reason. As discussed herein, the server130may collect the information associated with the user and/or the client110during previous encounters with the client110and/or from any other sources. A registration component220may also be included with the provisioning module140. The registration component220can utilize information from the storage medium(s)150to “pre-fill” or to otherwise fill in information associated with, a registration for the user associated with the client110. The server130captures information about the user when the client110accesses the server130initially and/or from any other source, as discussed herein. For example, when the client110logs onto the server130to check email, the server130may capture the phone number of the client110, the username of the user associated with the client110, or any other information associated with the client110. The information is stored in the storage medium(s)150according to a unique identifier assigned by the identification component210, according to the phone number associated with the client110, or according to any other method. When the client110logs onto the server130again in order to request instant messaging services, for example, the registration component220accesses the information in the storage medium(s)150in order to complete a registration for the user at the client110requesting the services. The registration component220can then query the user for any information needed for registration that is not included in the information in the storage medium(s)150. In one embodiment, information associated with the user and the client110is collected by the server130from other sources, rather than from a previous encounter the client110had with the server130, as discussed herein. For instance, another service provider may forward information associated with the client110, the server130may access information about the client110on available databases utilizing the phone number or other information about the client110, and so forth. Any manner of gathering information about the client110to pre-fill the registration for services is within the scope of various embodiments of the present invention. The registration component220can register the user at the client110for any services offered by the service provider associated with the server130, or otherwise. In one embodiment, the registration component220can pre-fill information related to services being requested by the user other than identification information. For instance, the server130may store information related to user preferences in the storage medium(s)150. When the user requests services, the registration component220may utilize the user preferences information to pre-fill feature selections associated with the requested services. For example, the registration component220may pre-select calendar features for the user according to user preferences captured by the server130about user activity related to other services, whether those services are offered by the service provider or not. The registration component220may also be used for generating profiles such as a synchronization profile. Through a synchronization profile, the server130may only authenticate itself with those storage mediums150that are identified in the profile. For example, if a user has a number of data stores (e.g., storage mediums150) to access, the profile may indicate that only certain stores are to be accessed based on any variety of factors. Access to particular stores may be temporal (e.g., only access every two hours). Access may be conditional (e.g., only access when a particular event has occurred at the store such as the arrival of new data or a change to existing data or a particular type of new data or change to existing data). Access may also be manual such that a user manually indicates (via client110) the data stores that are to be accessed during a synchronization operation. Indication may be a manual input or a response to a query (e.g., ‘which stores do you wish to access?’). Different profiles amongst a group of profiles may be implemented subject to particular settings by the user at any given time. A billing component230may be included with the provisioning module140. The billing component230can track user activity of the services provided by the service provider. Accordingly, the billing component230can determine when to bill the user for the services being provided. The registration component220can provide user information to the billing component230that may be needed regarding where to bill the user, such as an email address, for instance. An application generator240may be included with the provisioning module140for configuring the application and/or services requested by the user for the device110associated with the user. The application generator240can also create the application for the user including any features the user desires. Any type of application generator240may be provided. In one embodiment, the application generator240may utilize provisioning templates to create the profiles for configuring various devices, such as the client110(FIG.1) associated with the user. For instance, the templates may provide the parameters for creating a particular application. The user can also specify customizations to the application, which can be used to modify the template for the application by the application generator240. In other words, the provisioning templates can provide parameters for configuring various devices for the services as well as customizing the actual service features. The application generation240may be utilized in the context of various synchronization profiles, as mentioned above. A communications interface250may also be provided with the provisioning module140. The communications interface250receives communications from the user and/or the server130and processes the input utilizing the components discussed herein. Any variety of communications interfaces250for a variety of communication mediums and protocols in addition to any number of interfaces may be implemented. As such, a communication interface250may be a software application (e.g., a driver) coupled to a hardware device (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB), serial. Ethernet, and so forth). Although the provisioning module140is described as including various components, the provisioning module140may include more components or fewer components than those listed and still fall within the scope of an embodiment of the invention. For example, the provisioning module140may also include business rules for building the applications, a customer service component for managing applications and errors, a protocol configuration component for managing a variety of protocols associated with various devices, and so forth. FIG.3shows a flow diagram of an exemplary process300for providing simplified provisioning in accordance with one embodiment. At step310, information associated with a user during a non-provisioning event is stored. As discussed herein, the information may be stored in the storage medium(s)150. The server130collects information about the user and the client110associated with the user when contact is made with the server130at a time when provisioning is not occurring. In one embodiment, as discussed herein, the server may collect information related to the user and the client110from another source, rather than from the client110, which also may constitute a non-provisioning event. In one embodiment, the information related to the user and the client110may be collected during one or more previous provisioning events. For instance, the server130may store information associated with the user and the client110during previous provisioning events in order to avoid or limit querying the user for the same information during future provisioning events. The information may be stored according to a phone number associated with the device110and/or according to a unique identifier assigned to the device110. For example, the server130may assign a unique identifier to the information collected from the device110when the device110is connected to the server130. In order to associate the unique identifier to the device110for recognition during future contact with the server130, a text message, for example, can be sent to the device110with the unique identifier. The unique identifier may then be sent back to the server130to identify the device110if the phone number, for example, cannot be accessed by the server130. As discussed herein, in one embodiment, the server130receives information about the user and/or the client110from a third party source and stores the information according to the phone number and/or a unique identifier. At step320, the information is utilized to pre-fill a registration related to a provisioning event. The information collected by the server130from the client110during a previous contact with the server130and/or from another source (e.g., phone network) is utilized to complete as much of a registration as possible without user input. Accordingly, the user at the client110is not required to provide information that the server130can access itself. At step330, one or more communications are forwarded to the user. The one or more communications are based on the information stored and request information to complete the registration for the provisioning event. In one embodiment, the information requested to complete the registration includes a user query to verify that the information used to complete the registration is correct. The information requested may include a user query to provide a password to complete the registration process, in another embodiment. By using the information collected by the server130during a non-provisioning event that occurred prior to a current provisioning event to complete a registration, or a portion of the registration, the user at the client110can provide less information than required if no information about the user was accessible or utilized to pre-fill the registration. Accordingly, the user at the client110is provided with simplified provisioning, which may also be applied to future authentication operations such as synchronization of data between the client110and storage medium150. Turning now toFIG.4, an exemplary process400for providing simplified provisioning in accordance with one embodiment is shown. At step410, information associated with a user is stored. As discussed herein, the information may be stored by the server130and/or to one or more storage mediums, such as the storage medium(s)150discussed inFIG.1. An identifier is assigned to the information at step420. The identifier may be assigned to the information in order to locate the information in the storage medium(s)150, in order to compare the information with other information provided by the user during future contacts with the server130, and so on. The identifier may be assigned to the information for any reason. As discussed herein, the identifier may be a phone number associated with a device of the user, such as the device110discussed inFIG.1, a unique identifier assigned by the identification component210of the provisioning module140associated with the server130, and/or any other type of identifier. At step430, the user is queried for identification during a provisioning event (e.g., a subsequent authentication operation as might precede a synchronization operation). The identification sought from the user may be confirmation of the identifier used to store the information at step420, such as the phone number and/or the unique identifier. The identification sought, however, may be any type of information from the user. For example, a “username” may be sought in order to match the username associated with the user with the username stored in the storage medium(s)150. At step440, the information is accessed in order to match the identification from the user with the identifier associated with the information in response to receiving the identification from the user. The provisioning module140accesses the information in the storage medium(s)150, directly or via the server130, associated with the user and compares that information with the identification received from the user in response to the query. By locating the information in the storage medium(s)150that was previously collected, the information can be utilized to register the user during the provisioning event at step450. The information can complete the registration or a portion of the registration associated with the services for which the provisioning event is taking place. By completing the registration or a portion of the registration with information existing about the user and the user device, such as the device110discussed inFIG.1, the user is only required to provide data for the registration not included in the information from the storage medium(s)150. Thus, the user experiences a streamlined provisioning process that is equally applicable to and inclusive of an authentication operation. In one embodiment, as discussed herein, the information is utilized to complete the registration and the user is queried to verify that the information utilized is correct. In another embodiment, the user is queried to verify the accuracy of the information utilized according to a length of time between the provisioning event and when the information was collected. For instance, if the information was collected by the server130less than one month prior to the provisioning event, the server130may not seek verification from the user that the information is still accurate. At step460, the user is queried for a password in order to complete the provisioning event. The password may help to ensure that an intended user receives services. For instance, the server130may forward the communication regarding services to a user that did not request the services or requested the services using another user's information. Provisioning related information may erroneously reach users for a variety of reasons. The user is queried for the password in order to verify that the user matches the intended user. For instance, if the provisioning information is sent to a “user b” rather than the intended “user a.” “user b” will likely not know the “user a” password and resultantly will not be able to receive the services intended to go to the “user a.” In some instances (as discussed below), the password may not be required in that the client110has otherwise been authenticated as valid by server130or some other device tasked with authenticating the client110. The provisioning event is completed in response to receiving the password at step470. The password is compared with a password in the storage medium(s)150. Provided the password matches the password known for the particular user, the provisioning event may be completed. In one embodiment, the server130accesses another database with user password information in order to confirm that the password provided is correct. Any method of verifying the password may be employed. As discussed herein, the information from the storage medium(s)150may be sufficient for completing the registration for the service provider. However, the service provider may require additional information to complete the registration. For instance, the information about the user and/or the client110associated with the user the server130originally captured may not provide enough information about the user and/or the client110required for the registration for the services associated with the provisioning event. Accordingly, more information may be collected from the user. As part of the simplified provisioning process described inFIG.4, or any other exemplary provisioning process, the user may be queried for additional information to complete the registration. In one embodiment, the server130stores information associated with the user during the client110connection with the server sometime prior to the provisioning event. Using the provisioning templates, discussed inFIG.2in connection with the application generator240, the server130may collect other information about the user from third party databases in order to complete registration for provisioning for many of the service provider's services based on the provisioning templates. Any type of method for gathering information about the user and/or the device110associated with the user for simplifying provisioning is within the scope of various embodiments. FIG.5illustrates an exemplary system500for providing delivery of electronic-mail or other data in, or substantially in, real-time in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. Delivery of electronic-mail and/or other data from a data store510may occur in, or substantially in, real-time to allow for increased synchronicity between a mobile device540and the data store510. References to real-time or substantially in real-time may generally be construed to mean ‘as quickly as possible.’ For example, if new data arrives at the data store510, the present system may undertake certain efforts to synchronize that with a mobile device540as quickly as possible. By further example, some systems may only attempt to synchronize data on a temporal schedule (e.g., every 15 minutes). Such systems are, in fact, out-of-synch between mobile device and data store in that a synchronization operation may take place and then new data arrives immediately following the conclusion of that operation. Thus the device and data store are out-of-synch for as long as 15 minutes (in the present example). By implementing real-time or substantially in-real time data synchronization, upon arrival of new data or a change to existing data at the data store510, various components of the present system will undertake certain operations to bring the data store510into synchronization (at least with respect to desired data) with the mobile device540as quickly as possible. The occurrence of network failures, loss of service, and other nuances of data communication that may delay or even prevent the synchronization of data should not be construed as causing the system to be a non-real-time data delivery system as the system may still undertake efforts to synchronize as quickly as possible. Notwithstanding, the various embodiments of the present invention should not be exclusively limited to a real-time or substantially in real-time delivery system. Such a limitation should be applied solely as governed by the particular limitations (if any) of the particular claim language as set forth below. Access to the data store510may be authenticated via a provisioning module (140) like that described in the context ofFIG.2and the various methodologies disclosed herein. The provisioning/authentication module may be present at the data store510, integrated with another application at the data store510such as connection application520(described below), and/or present at an intermediate computing device such as relay server530. Data store510may, in some embodiments of the present invention, be a mail server that receives electronic-mail data (e.g., e-mail messages) for a particular enterprise or service provider. Data store510may be associated with a particular enterprise such as an office environment but could also be an electronic-mail service provider/service such as Google (gMail), Yahoo! (Yahoo! Mail), or Microsoft (MSN Hotmail). Data store510should not be construed as being limited solely to electronic-mail and may include various other data (e.g., calendar, contacts and other PIM data, and documents) as well as other services like those discussed in the context ofFIG.1. While only one data store510is illustrated inFIG.5, the single depicted data store510may be representative of one or more data stores510implemented in the present invention. In those embodiments of the present invention wherein data store510concerns electronic-mail, the data store510(e-mail account) may utilize an IMAP4 or POP3 protocol. IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) allows for access of electronic-mail messages that are kept on a mail server via a client e-mail or other proxy application as if the messages were locally stored. For example, electronic mail stored at a data store510utilizing IMAP may be manipulated without the need to transfer the messages or files back and forth between remote computing devices. IMAP may be suited for use in a connected and disconnected mail session as messages remain on the mail server until expressly deleted by the user. The Post Office Protocol (POP), however, may be best suited for a single computing device due to POP support for ‘offline’ messaging whereby messages are downloaded and then deleted from the mail server. As such, users retrieve messages and then view and manipulate those messages without necessarily being connected to the mail server. POP could be used amongst a plurality of computing devices if, for example, they shared a common file system. Alternatively, a user could (via an electronic mail client or proxy) elect to leave all messages on the server. Notwithstanding, either protocol may be used in various embodiments of the present invention. Some embodiments of the present invention may further require a software application to be executed at a host computer such as a connection management application520. This connection management application520may be executed in the background of a computing environment without the need for user intervention. For example, on a Windows based-PC, the Windows Services Manager may administer such an application such that the application runs independent of any user control (other than possible administrative tools for configuration). This application520may launch automatically with the host computer and may facilitate delivery of electronic mail or other data to a mobile device automatically. The connection management application520, as a result of an installation operation or through user configuration (for example, through the aforementioned administrative tool), may read the name of a mail server and the IP address of the host computer from the host computer registry whereby the connection application520may identify the arrival of new electronic-mail at data store510or changes to presently existing data (e.g., a change in a calendar appointment or the creation of a new appointment in a calendar application) and properly inform relay server530of the arrival of/change to the same such that a synchronization operation may commence with any requisite authentication operations. Connection management application520may also be used for manipulating data such as task lists, memo lists, the aforementioned calendar data, and contacts. Connection management application520may also allow for interaction with data from other devices and/or software platforms. Connection management application520may also enable a user to introduce new software application to a mobile device540via an over-the-air update operation or through, for example, a synchronization cable. Connection management application520may also allow for back-up, filtering, and/or deletion of data. In some embodiments of the present invention, the aforementioned synchronization operation may be a manual operation that is initiated by a user. The user may enter a command on their mobile device540to commence synchronization with the relay server540and/or data store510and new mail or other data (both new and changed data) is provided to the user's mobile device540. In such an embodiment, the connection application520may not be necessary as the client device540and/or relay server530accesses the data store510utilizing the various provisioning/authentication operations discussed herein without regard for whether new or changed data actually exists at the data store510. The connection application520may be useful, however, with respect to informing a relay server530of the actual existence of new and/or change data. The relay server530may then inform the user's mobile device540of the existence of that data through, for example, an SMS and/or IP exchange as discussed herein. In such an embodiment, the user may still (via manual synchronization) make a decision of when to institute the synchronization operation upon receipt of some indicia of the existence of new and/or changed data. The relay server530may be implemented in any variety of computing devices as are generally known in the art. In some embodiments, the relay server530may operate as a central node for delivery of electronic-mail or other data. The relay server530, too, may control user/device validity (e.g., authentication and provisioning) and may also be used as a point of presence for a web-based interface. In some embodiments, the relay server530may be horizontally scalable. Horizontal scalability may be achieved, for example, by introducing new hardware instances to the system. The relay server530may also be redundant such that the failure of any single component will not result in system downtime. Redundancy may allow for the introduction of upgrades and additional scaling servers without resulting in system downtime. In some embodiments, the relay server530may be informed by connection management application520of the existence of new and/or changed data at the data store510. The relay server530, depending upon the particular implementation of the system, may authenticate access to the data store510and subsequently forward the data to the mobile device540(e.g., through a push operation). In other embodiments, the relay server530(upon indication by the connection management application520that new and/or altered data is present at data store510) may provide an instruction to an SMS service center550to ‘wake up’ the mobile device540via an SMS message such that a synchronization operation may take place or is at least desirable in light of the new and/or changed data. In still further embodiments, the relay server530may operate in conjunction with an IP connection manager560to institute an IP connection for synchronization of data. Through use of the IP connection, synchronization may occur asynchronously and in the background of other mobile device operations. A constantly open IP connection may, however, drain battery resources at the mobile device540and/or incur various bandwidth usage charges. As such, and in yet an additional embodiment, an SMS message may cause the device540to ‘wake up,’ which may then allow for the opening of an IP connection via the IP connection manager560in a ‘hybrid’ implementation. In this manner, the IP connection is opened and/or maintained only when new data and/or changed data is present at the data store510. The Short Message Service (SMS), as noted above, may be utilized to inform the mobile device540of the arrival of new mail (or other new or changed data) at data store510. SMS allows text messages of up to 160 characters (or 224 in a 5-bit mode) over a Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication network. The text-message characters are sent, received, and may even be generated (for example, with a user interface) via a SMS-gateway, which may be accessed directly as SMS center550or via a web-based interface in conjunction with relay server530. The SMS-message may be generated as the result of connection management application520reflecting the arrival of new and/or changed data at the data store510, this arrival being communicated to relay server530, which in turn causes a message to be generated and delivered from the SMS center550. SMS alerts may be utilized not only for electronic-mail arrivals at the data store510but also for generation of new calendar alerts or subject to various filtering mechanisms. For example, filters may be applied to identify messages or other data arriving from specific contacts, messages of a certain priority, and meeting requests scheduled for certain days and/or various hours and/or days of the week. In some embodiments, the SMS trigger may be encrypted. In any case, the receipt of the SMS-message may automatically initiate a synchronization operation wherein various authentication activities as discussed herein may be necessary. The SMS-message, in some embodiments, may simply inform the user of the mobile device540that synchronization is desirable in light of the presence of new and/or changed data at the data store510. In some embodiments of the present invention, IP-based triggers may be utilized. As noted above, IP-based asynchronous synchronization may allow for background arrival of messages such that the user is not interrupted by such an operation. A further benefit of IP-based triggering is that it may be carrier agnostic. An IP connection manager560may be implemented to keep track of active connections and/or for sending IP triggers when appropriate. The relay server530may shut down connections or define sync schedules while the client device540may have the ability to maintain a connection to the connection manager560. When an IP trigger is received, the client540may connect and perform a synchronization operation with data store510via relay server530. An incoming e-mail message at data store510may activate the notification framework, for example, via connection management application520. A notification generator at relay server530will cause an instruction to be delivered to the SMS center550for purpose of generating an SMS message to be forwarded to the mobile client or, alternatively, the notification generator at the relay server530may cause the IP Connection Manager560to open a connection with the mobile client through an IP trigger. In the SMS+IP trigger hybrid configuration, the SMS message may ‘wake up’ the device while an IP connection may be used for synchronization. The client540and server530may then negotiate the signaling mechanism based on client capabilities and available options. In the IP- and hybrid-trigger configurations, various values may be set by the server and may be updated including a keep alive frequency that may determine how often the client540‘pings’ the connection manager560, the time to maintain connection, and/or the amount of time the client540should maintain the connection when it is idle (e.g., no triggers are received from the server530. For example, in the hybrid-trigger configuration, the client540may maintain an IP connection for 30 minutes and if no email arrives in the time period, the connection may be terminated. When new email does arrive, the server530may send an SMS to wake up the client device540. In some embodiments of the present invention, connection manager560. SMS center550and relay server530may be integrated as part of a single computing device or in the sense that the devices may not be physically remote from one another (e.g., the devices may be independent computing devices but located in a single communications facility). The various devices, however, may also be physically remote depending on the particular configuration of a communications service provider. For example, in one example, the messaging bridge that communicatively couples data store510and client device540may be hosted by, for example, a cellular service provider. While real-time or near-real-time delivery of content may be achieved utilizing the various triggering mechanisms, synchronization may also occur periodically (e.g., every n minutes). Synchronization may also be manually initiated through any variety of mechanisms including user-initiated over-the-air or via a physical coupling as may occur through, for example, a synchronization cable. In addition to authentication authorization to access certain data stores510, the information used in such authentication operations or stored for the purpose of such authentication operations may be encrypted. Authentication operations may utilize end-to-end 128-bit AES and Diffie-Hellman secret-key negotiations. Further, embodiments of the system may avoid the use of store-and-forward solutions such that data is never stored or written to disk before or after transmission of data (accessed and/or authentication related). Data may be encrypted prior to being transmitted to the mobile device540. In such an embodiment, when data arrives in the operator network, it is still encrypted and only the mobile device540has the unique AES key required to decrypt the data. In some embodiments, the system may utilize a data-obliteration operation. For example, if a mobile device540is lost or stolen, a user may initiate a data-obliterate command via a computing device coupled to the connection management application520or the relay server530such that all data on the device540is removed (such as authentication and provisioning data). The user may also lock-down the device and prevent it from future use. As such, certain embodiments of the present invention may require the installation of client software at a mobile device540in order to receive and process certain communications from the host computer application. FIG.6illustrates an exemplary method600for accessing information at a data store in or substantially in real-time in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In step610, new data arrives at the data store (e.g., data store510ofFIG.5). New data may be electronic-mail, calendar data (e.g., meeting invitations, acceptance of meeting invites), electronic documents (e.g., Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel. Microsoft PowerPoint®, Adobe® PDF. Corel® WordPerfect®. HTML and ASCII), and so forth. Data may also be changed in step610. For example, the time or place for a meeting may be rescheduled. In optional step620, a filter may be applied by, for example, connection application520. The filter may concern particular senders of an electronic-mail message, message priority, subject of a message (as may be determined from a subject line of textual analysis of the message), address book, contacts, and so forth. The filter may also identify changes to already existing data (e.g., changes to the time or place of a particular meeting). In step630, connection application520informs the relay server (530) of the arrival of the new data/filtered data. Upon receipt of a notification at the relay server530from the connection application520, a trigger is generated in step640for the mobile device such that a synchronization operation should take place in light of the arrival of new, or a change to existing, data. In one embodiment of the present invention, the synchronization operation may be the result of a hybrid of SMS and IP triggers. As such, the triggering mechanism may initially be an SMS ‘wake up’ trigger generated at step650by SMS center550. After awakening mobile device540via the delivery of an SMS-trigger in step650, the mobile device540may then be in a state to allow for synchronization, the need for which may be indicated via an IP-trigger in step660, which may be managed via IP connection manager560. The IP-trigger generated in step660may be processed by the mobile device540via client-side software installed on the device540. The synchronization operation may include an authentication operation in step670whereby user name, password or other access data is provided to a particular data store (510), namely that store indicating that a synchronization operation is required or that is otherwise reflected by a particular synchronization profile or the manual instructions of the user. The synchronization operation may then commence in step680. In another embodiment of the present invention, the relay server530(and, in some instances, in conjunction with IP connection manager560), may issue the IP synchronization trigger in step660. In such an embodiment, issuance of an SMS wake up trigger (like that described in step650) may not be necessary if an IP-connection already exists and/or the device540is already ‘awake’ and configured for a synchronization operation. Upon issuance of the IP-trigger in step660, authentication to data stores may occur in step670and a synchronization operation may commence in step680. In a still further embodiment of the present invention, the mobile device540may be configured in such a way (for example, through client-side software) that an SMS-synchronization trigger is issued by the SMS center550in step690such that authentication may begin in step670followed by synchronization in step680. In some embodiments of the present invention, the user may only wish to access information at a particular data store (such as the store indicating the need for synchronization due to the arrival of new or a change to existing data). For example, a user may have multiple electronic-mail accounts but may only be interested with respect to messages being received at a particular account (e.g., a personal account). Rather than have the mobile device540and relay server530constantly authenticate access to a plurality of data stores510, which can take time, drain battery power, and consume network bandwidth (and which may result in usage charges depending on a particular network provider), the user may instead seek access and authentication to only a particular data store510or series of data stores510. The user may designate a particular data store510to be accessed prior to initiating an authentication operation or the mobile device540may query the user prior to initiating the authentication operation. Access to particular data stores may also be reflected via a synchronization profile. Various user interfaces may be utilized to indicate desired access to particular data stores or profile concerning access to such store may also be created such that authentication operations are carried out with respect to a particular profile. While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. For example, any of the elements associated with the provisioning module may employ any of the desired functionality set forth hereinabove. Thus, the breadth and scope of an exemplary embodiment should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments. Further, the disclosure of the present application should not be interpreted in any adverse fashion with respect to any parent application from which the present application claims a priority benefit. The present application may expand upon or provide more explicit support for the scope and disclosure of any preceding application. Such expansion or explicit recitation in the present application should not be construed as suggesting that any preceding disclosure lacked support for the same. Further, various methodologies disclosed herein may be included as programs embodied on computer readable mediums for executing the methods disclosed herein. | 49,657 |
11861526 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Systems and methods described herein relate to an image ranking system for generating and posting a new listing (e.g., accommodations, tours, transportation) or an existing listing on an online marketplace. For example, an online marketplace may provide various listings for services, such as trip items. Services or trip items may comprise accommodations hosted by various managers or hosts that can be reserved by clients or guests, such as an apartment, a house, a cabin, a camper, one or more rooms in an apartment or house, and the like. For example, one manager or owner of a home may list one or more rooms in his own home on the online marketplace, a second manager of a home may list an entire home on the online marketplace, a third manager may list an entire cabin on the online marketplace, and so forth. Such an online marketplace typically has millions of listings by different hosts, each unique in style, amenities, location, type, and so forth. The online marketplace may further provide listings for other services or trip items, such as experiences (e.g., local tours), car rentals, flights, public transportation, and other transportation or activities related to travel. The process for a user to newly list a service, such as an accommodation, can be cumbersome. For example, a user has to come up with a title for the listing, a description, a list of amenities, images (e.g., photos), booking settings, calendar and availability, pricing, and so forth. Moreover, the images for a listing are one of the most critical factors for decision-making when a guest is deciding whether to book an accommodation or other service. However, most users do not know which images are most attractive to a potential guest, may take photos that are low quality, may take some relevant photos and other irrelevant photos, and so forth. Furthermore, there are typically thousands, if not tens of thousands, of new hosts listing new services each month in an online marketplace. In addition, there are millions of listings in an online marketplace and there is no way to help a guest find the most informative images, ensure the information conveyed in the images are accurate, or advise hosts about how to improve the appeal of their images in a scalable way. Accordingly, there is a need to improve the process for a user to newly list a service, and, in particular, make it easier for a user to complete the step of adding and displaying images in a new listing. Further, there is a need to increase the booking success (e.g., conversion from a new listing to a first-time booked listing and future bookings) by determining the best images and best image order to display in a listing. Moreover, there is a further technical challenge of how to recommend images and determine a best image order to display in a listing in real time (or near real time) as a user is creating a new listing. There are also similar challenges with existing listings that may not have the most favorable order of images in the listing. In order to overcome these technical limitations, example embodiments described herein use machine learning methodology to determine which images uploaded by a host, and in which order, will give a new or existing listing the best chance to be booked by a guest. A typical online marketplace comprises millions of listings across the world. These listings comprise a variety of different types of listings, types and quality of images, locations, and so forth. Thus, example embodiments leverage data from these millions of listings to train machine learning models to determine scene types for an image, visual scores (e.g., visual attractiveness) for an image, diversity of images, and other factors to rank images and recommend the images that are most likely to aid the listing to get booked by a guest. Moreover, images can be analyzed, ranked, and recommended in real time (or near real time) to improve the time it takes a host to newly list a service. For example, embodiments described herein provide for a computing system to receive or access a plurality of images corresponding to a listing in an online marketplace, generate a scene type for each image of the plurality of images, and generate a base visual score for each image of the plurality of images based on the scene type. Optionally, the computing system can determine that a subset of the plurality of images are of a scene type not included in a predetermined group of scene types and discard images in the subset of the plurality of images that are of the scene type not included in the predetermined group of scene types to generate a list of candidate images comprising images that are of a type included in the predetermined group of scene types. For each candidate image of the list of candidate images, the computing system multiplies the base visual score by a feature importance weight to generate a first visual score, adds respective scene type bonus points to the first visual score to generate a second visual score, and adds diversity scoring points to the second visual score to generate a final visual score for the candidate image. The computing system can then rank the candidate images based on the final visual scores and provide a specified number of the top-ranked candidate images to be displayed on a display of the computing device. In other example embodiments, a computing system analyzes listing images to generate an overall visual or attractiveness score for the listing in the online marketplace. For example, the computing system receives or retrieves a plurality of images corresponding to a listing in an online marketplace, generates a scene type for each image of the plurality of images, and groups each image into a scene type group of a set of predefined scene types. Each group of images are inputted into a respective machine learning model specific to the scene type of the group of images to generate a visual score for each image in each group of images, and an attractiveness score is generated for the listing in the online marketplace based on the visual scores for each image in each group of images. FIG.1is a block diagram illustrating a networked system100, according to some example embodiments. The networked system100may include one or more client devices such as a client device110. The client device110may comprise, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, desktop computer, laptop, portable digital assistant (PDA), smart phone, tablet, ultrabook, netbook, laptop, multiprocessor system, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronic system, game console, set-top box, computer in a vehicle, or any other communication device that a user may utilize to access the networked system100. In some embodiments, the client device110may comprise a display module (not shown) to display information (e.g., in the form of user interfaces). In further embodiments, the client device110may comprise one or more of touch screens, accelerometers, gyroscopes, cameras, microphones, Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, and so forth. The client device110may be a device of a user that is used to request and receive reservation information, accommodation information, and so forth, associated with travel. The client device110may also be a device of a user that is used to post and maintain a listing for a service, request and receive reservation information, guest information, and so forth. One or more users106may be a person, a machine, or other means of interacting with the client device110. In example embodiments, the user106may not be part of the networked system100but may interact with the networked system100via the client device110or other means. For instance, the user106may provide input (e.g., voice input, touch screen input, alphanumeric input) to the client device110and the input may be communicated to other entities in the networked system100(e.g., third-party servers130, a server system102) via a network104. In this instance, the other entities in the networked system100, in response to receiving the input from the user106, may communicate information to the client device110via the network104to be presented to the user106. In this way, the user106may interact with the various entities in the networked system100using the client device110. The system100may further include a network104. One or more portions of the network104may be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a portion of the internet, a portion of the public switched telephone network (PSTN), a cellular telephone network, a wireless network, a Wi-Fi network, a WiMAX network, another type of network, or a combination of two or more such networks. The client device110may access the various data and applications provided by other entities in the networked system100via a web client112(e.g., a browser, such as the Internet Explorer® browser developed by Microsoft® Corporation of Redmond, Washington) or one or more client applications114. The client device110may include one or more client applications114(also referred to as “apps”) such as, but not limited to, a web browser, a messaging application, an electronic mail (email) application, an ecommerce site application, a mapping or location application, a reservation application, and the like. In some embodiments, one or more client applications114may be included in a given one of the client devices110and configured to locally provide the user interface and at least some of the functionalities, with the client application114configured to communicate with other entities in the networked system100(e.g., third-party servers130, the server system102), on an as-needed basis, for data and/or processing capabilities not locally available (e.g., to access reservation or listing information, request data, authenticate a user106, verify a method of payment). Conversely, one or more client applications114may not be included in the client device110, and then the client device110may use its web browser to access the one or more applications hosted on other entities in the networked system100(e.g., third-party servers130, the server system102). The networked system100may further include one or more third-party servers130. The one or more third-party servers130may include one or more third-party application(s)132. The one or more third-party application(s)132, executing on the third-party server(s)130, may interact with the server system102via a programmatic interface provided by an application programming interface (API) gateway server120. For example, one or more of the third-party applications132may request and utilize information from the server system102via the API gateway server120to support one or more features or functions on a website hosted by a third party or an application hosted by the third party. The third-party website or application132, for example, may provide various functionality that is supported by relevant functionality and data in the server system102. The server system102may provide server-side functionality via the network104(e.g., the internet or a WAN) to one or more third-party servers130and/or one or more client devices110. The server system102may be a cloud computing environment, according to some example embodiments. The server system102, and any servers associated with the server system102, may be associated with a cloud-based application, in one example embodiment. In one example, the server system102provides server-side functionality for an online marketplace. The online marketplace may provide various listings for trip items, such as accommodations hosted by various managers (also referred to as “owners” or “hosts”) that can be reserved by clients (also referred to as “users” or “guests”), such as an apartment, a house, a cabin, one or more rooms in an apartment or house, and the like. As explained above, the online marketplace may further provide listings for other trip items, such as experiences (e.g., local tours), car rentals, flights, public transportation, and other transportation or activities related to travel. The server system102may include the API gateway server120, a web server122, and a reservation system124that may be communicatively coupled with one or more databases126or other forms of data store. The one or more databases126may be one or more storage devices that store data related to the reservation system124and other systems or data. The one or more databases126may further store information related to third-party servers130, third-party applications132, client devices110, client applications114, users106, and so forth. The one or more databases126may be implemented using any suitable database management system such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, SAP, IBM DB2, or the like. The one or more databases126may include cloud-based storage in some embodiments. The reservation system124manages resources and provides back-end support for third-party servers130, third-party applications132, client applications114, and so forth, which may include cloud-based applications. The reservation system124provides functionality for viewing listings related to trip items (e.g., accommodation listings, activity listings), generating and posting a new listing, analyzing and ranking images to be posted in a new listing, managing listings, booking listings and other reservation functionality, and so forth, for an online marketplace. Further details related to the reservation system124are shown inFIG.2. FIG.2is a block diagram illustrating a reservation system124, according to some example embodiments. The reservation system124comprises a front-end server202, a client module204, a manager module206, a listing module208, a search module210, and a transaction module212. The one or more database(s)126include a client store214, a manager store216, a listing store218, a query store220, a transaction store222, and a booking session store224. The reservation system124may also contain different and/or other modules that are not described herein. The reservation system124may be implemented using a single computing device or a network of computing devices, including cloud-based computer implementations. The computing devices may be server-class computers including one or more high-performance computer processors and random access memory, which may run an operating system such as Linux or the like. The operations of the reservation system124may be controlled either through hardware or through computer programs installed in nontransitory computer-readable storage devices such as solid-state devices or magnetic storage devices and executed by the processors to perform the functions described herein. The front-end server202includes program code that allows client devices110to communicate with the reservation system124. The front-end server202may utilize the API gateway server120and/or the web server122shown inFIG.1. The front-end server202may include a web server hosting one or more websites accessible via a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), such that user agents, such as a web browser software application, may be installed on the client devices110and can send commands to and receive data from the reservation system124. The front-end server202may also utilize the API gateway server120that allows software applications installed on client devices110to call to the API to send commands to and receive data from the reservation system124. The front-end server202further includes program code to route commands and data to the other components of the reservation system124to carry out the processes described herein and respond to the client devices110accordingly. The client module204comprises program code that allows clients (also referred to herein as “users” or “guests”) to manage their interactions with the reservation system124and executes processing logic for client-related information that may be requested by other components of the reservation system124. Each client is represented in the reservation system124by an individual client object having a unique client identifier (ID) and client profile, both of which are stored in the client store214. The client profile includes a number of client-related attribute fields that may include a profile picture and/or other identifying information, a geographical location, a client calendar, and so forth. The client's geographical location is either the client's current location (e.g., based on information provided by the client device110) or the client's manually entered home address, neighborhood, city, state, or country of residence. The client location may be used to filter search criteria for time-expiring inventory relevant to a particular client or to assign default language preferences. The client module204provides code for clients to set up and modify the client profile. The reservation system124allows each client to exchange communications, request transactions, and perform transactions with one or more managers. The manager module206comprises program code that provides a user interface that allows managers (also referred to herein as “hosts” or “owners”) to manage their interactions and listings with the reservation system124and executes processing logic for manager-related information that may be requested by other components of the reservation system124. Each manager is represented in the reservation system124by an individual manager object having a unique manager ID and manager profile, both of which are stored in the manager store216. The manager profile is associated with one or more listings owned or managed by the manager and includes a number of manager attributes including transaction requests and a set of listing calendars for each of the listings managed by the manager. The manager module206provides code for managers to set up and modify the manager profile listings. A user106of the reservation system124can be both a manager and a client. In this case, the user106will have a profile entry in both the client store214and the manager store216and be represented by both a client object and a manager object. The reservation system124allows the manager to exchange communications, respond to requests for transactions, and conduct transactions with other managers. The listing module208comprises program code for managers to list trip items, such as time-expiring inventory, for booking by clients. The listing module208is configured to receive the listing from a manager describing the inventory being offered; a timeframe of its availability including one or more of the start date, end date, start time, and an end time; a price; a geographical location; images and descriptions that characterize the inventory; and any other relevant information. For example, for an accommodation reservation system, a listing may include a type of accommodation (e.g., house, apartment, room, sleeping space, or other), a representation of its size (e.g., square footage, number of rooms), the dates that the accommodation is available, and a price (e.g., per night, per week, per month). The listing module208allows a user106to include additional information about the inventory, such as videos, photographs, and other media. The listing module208further analyzes images uploaded by a manager for a listing to provide a recommendation on which images to include and/or which order to show the images in the listing, as explained in further detail below. The geographical location associated with the listing identifies the complete address, neighborhood, city, and/or country of the offered listing. The listing module208is also capable of converting one type of location information (e.g., mailing address) into another type of location information (e.g., country, state, city, neighborhood) using externally available geographical map information. The price of the listing is the amount of money a client needs to pay in order to complete a transaction for the inventory. The price may be specified as an amount of money per day, per week, per month, and/or per season, or per another interval of time specified by the manager. Additionally, the price may include additional charges such as cleaning fees, pet fees, service fees, and taxes, or the listing price may be listed separately from additional charges. Each listing is represented in the reservation system124by a listing object, which includes the listing information as provided by the manager and a unique listing ID, both of which are stored in the listing store218. Each listing object is also associated with the manager object for the manager providing the listing. Each listing object has an associated listing calendar. The listing calendar stores the availability of the listing for each time interval in a period (each of which may be thought of as an independent item of time-expiring inventory), as specified by the manager or determined automatically (e.g., through a calendar import process). For example, a manager may access the listing calendar for a listing, and manually indicate the time intervals for which the listing is available for transaction by a client, which time intervals are blocked as not available by the manager, and which time intervals are already in transaction (e.g., booked) for a client. In addition, the listing calendar continues to store historical information as to the availability of the listing identifying which past time intervals were booked by clients, blocked, or available. Further, the listing calendar may include calendar rules (e.g., the minimum and maximum number of nights allowed for the inventory, a minimum or maximum number of nights needed between bookings, a minimum or maximum number of people allowed for the inventory). Information from each listing calendar is stored in the listing store218. FIG.3illustrates an example user interface300for a description of a listing for a trip item (e.g., an apartment in San Francisco) in an online marketplace. The example listing shown inFIG.3is for accommodations in San Francisco. In other examples, the listing could be for a tour, local experience, transportation service, or other trip item. The listing may include a title301and a brief description303of the trip item. The listing may further include photos of the trip item, maps of the area or location associated with the trip item, a street view of the trip item, a calendar for the trip item, and so forth, which may be viewed in area307. The listing may include a detailed description309, pricing information311, and the listing host's information313. The listing may further allow a user to select a date range for the trip item by entering or choosing specific check-in date317and check-out date319. Returning toFIG.2, the search module210comprises program code configured to receive an input search query from a client and return a set of time-expiring inventory and/or listings that match the input query. Search queries are saved as query objects stored by the reservation system124in the query store220. A query may contain a search location, a desired start time/date, a desired duration, a desired listing type, and a desired price range, and may also include other desired attributes or features of the listing. A potential client need not provide all the parameters of the query listed above in order to receive results from the search module210. The search module210provides a set of time-expiring inventory and/or listings in response to the submitted query to fulfill the parameters of the submitted query. The online system may also allow clients to browse listings without submitting a search query, in which case the viewing data recorded will only indicate that a client has viewed the particular listing without any further details from the submitted search query. Upon the client providing input selecting a time-expiring inventory/listing to more carefully review for possible transaction, the search module210records the selection/viewing data indicating which inventory/listing the client viewed. This information is also stored in the query store220. The transaction module212comprises program code configured to enable clients to submit a contractual transaction request (also referred to as a formal request) to transact for time-expiring inventory. In operation, the transaction module212receives a transaction request from a client to transact for an item of time-expiring inventory, such as a particular date range for a listing offered by a particular manager. A transaction request may be a standardized request form that is sent by the client, which may be modified by responses to the request by the manager, either accepting or denying a received request form, such that agreeable terms are reached between the manager and the client. Modifications to a received request may include, for example, changing the date, price, or time/date range (and thus, effectively, which time-expiring inventory is being transacted for). The standardized form may require the client to record the start time/date, duration (or end time), or any other details that must be included for an acceptance to be binding without further communication. The transaction module212receives the filled-out form from the client and, in one example, presents the completed request form including the booking parameters to the manager associated with the listing. The manager may accept the request, reject the request, or provide a proposed alternative that modifies one or more of the parameters. If the manager accepts the request (or the client accepts the proposed alternative), then the transaction module212updates an acceptance status associated with the request and the time-expiring inventory to indicate that the request was accepted. The client calendar and the listing calendar are also updated to reflect that the time-expiring inventory has been transacted on for a particular time interval. Other modules not specifically described herein allow the client to complete payment and the manager to receive payment. The transaction module212may further comprise code configured to enable clients to instantly book a listing, whereby the online marketplace books or reserves the listing upon receipt of the filled-out form from the client. The transaction store222stores requests made by clients. Each request is represented by a request object. The request includes a timestamp, a requested start time, and a requested duration or reservation end time. Because the acceptance of a booking by a manager is a contractually binding agreement with the client that the manager will provide the time-expiring inventory to the client at the specified times, all the information that the manager needs to approve such an agreement is included in the request. A manager response to a request comprises a value indicating acceptance or denial and a timestamp. Other models may allow for instant booking, as mentioned above. The transaction module212may also provide managers and clients with the ability to exchange informal requests to transact. Informal requests are not sufficient to be binding upon the client or manager if accepted, and, in terms of content, may vary from mere communications and general inquiries regarding the availability of inventory, to requests that fall just short of whatever specific requirements the reservation system124sets forth for formal transaction requests. The transaction module212may also store informal requests in the transaction store222, as both informal and formal requests provide useful information about the demand for time-expiring inventory. The booking session store224stores booking session data for all booking sessions performed by clients. Booking session data may include details about a listing that was booked and data about one or more other listings that were viewed (or seriously considered) but not booked by the client before booking the listing. For example, once a listing is booked, the transaction module212may send data about the listing or the transaction, viewing data that was recorded for the booking session, and so forth, to be stored in the booking session store224. The transaction module212may utilize other modules or data stores to generate booking session data to be stored in the booking session store224. FIG.4illustrates an image ranking machine learning model architecture400, according to some example embodiments. The image ranking machine learning model architecture400comprises a computing system (e.g., server system102, reservation system124, or other system) that receives listing images404(e.g., photos) via a listing user interface402displayed on a computing device, such as client device110. In another example, the computing system can access listing images404via one or more datastores, such as database(s)126. The image ranking machine learning architecture400further comprises a scene type classification model406. This scene type classification model406takes the received listing images404as input and outputs a scene type classification for each image, as shown by reference number408. The scene type classification model406can be any classification model that has been customized by scene type (e.g., room type), such as deep neural network (DNN) models like a ResNet50 DNN classification model. In one example, a ResNet50 is customized by adding two extra fully connected layers and a Softmax activation in the end. It is to be understood that other classification models can be used in embodiments described herein. Also, in example embodiments the scene type comprises room types, such as a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, as well as an exterior type (e.g., images of the exterior of an accommodation, such as a house or building), a views type (e.g., images of a view (ocean, mountains, city) from a house or building), and/or other scene types. The image ranking machine learning model architecture400further comprises at least one visual scoring machine learning model410to generate a visual score412for each of the classified images408. The visual score412indicates an attractiveness of each image. In one example embodiment, the image ranking machine learning model architecture400comprises a visual scoring machine learning model410for each scene type. The visual scoring machine learning model410is also referred to as a scene type level visual scoring model(s) inFIG.4Aand scene type level image scoring model(s) inFIG.9. For example, one visual scoring machine learning model410is provided for each of a living room scene type414, bedroom scene type416, bathroom scene type418, kitchen scene type420and exterior scene type422. The classified images408are each input into a respective visual scoring machine learning model410. For instance, images classified as “living room” are input into a visual appeal living room model414, images classified as “bedroom” are input into a visual appeal bedroom model416, images classified as “bathroom” are input into a visual appeal bathroom model418, images classified as “kitchen” are input into a visual appeal kitchen model420, and images classified as “exterior” are input into a visual appeal exterior model422. In this example, room types of living room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and an exterior type are shown. It is to be understood that different or additional scene types can be used in example embodiments. In one example, the visual scoring machine learning model410is a neural network model, such as a multilayer perceptron neural network, a Keras neural network, or an XGBoost model used in conjunction with a neural network model that converts images into descriptive numerical embeddings.FIG.13is a block diagram illustrating a machine learning modeling system1300that may be part of the reservation system124or server system102. The machine learning modeling system1300illustrates aspects of the visual scoring machine learning model410. Client devices110interact with the reservation system124or server system102thereby generating data related to the interactions with the system. For example, a client device110may be used to search for services in an online marketplace, view a list of services available in a given location, view individual listings for services, book one or more services, send and receive messages to and from hosts or managers of a service, generate a review for a listing or host, and so forth. Moreover, a client device110may be used to list a service (including uploading photos to include in a listing for the service), manage a service, send and receive messages to and from guests interested in the service, generate a review for a user (e.g., guest), and so forth. These interactions and data associated with the interactions are stored in one or more databases. InFIG.13this is shown as online marketplace data1302. In other examples, this data may be stored in multiple databases, or in databases internal to the machine learning modeling system1300, external to the machine learning modeling system1300, or a combination of both. The online marketplace data1302may further comprise data about markets or locations of services. For example, the online marketplace data302may comprise location data for a market (e.g., neighborhood, city, state, country), number of services or listings available in a market, how many instant-book listings are available in the market, how many non—instant-book listings are available in the market, popularity of the market, proximity of nearby markets, and so forth. The market or location data may also be in one or more data stores and stored internally to the machine learning modeling system1300and/or externally to the machine learning modeling system1300. The data stored in the online marketplace data1302may be used for training a machine learning model, such as the visual scoring machine learning model(s)410. This online marketplace data1302may thus be received from client devices110, from other datastores within the server system102or reservation system124, and/or from third-party sources such as the third-party server130. A data extraction component1304extracts data from the online marketplace data1302and stores the data as training data1306. For example, the data extraction component1304may extract data related to users of the system, data related to hosts of the system, and data related to markets associated with the system. In one example, a visual scoring machine learning model410specific to a scene type is trained using historical listings in the online marketplace. Accordingly, the data extraction component1304extracts listing data from the online marketplace data1302. The data extraction component1304may extract listing data with specific characteristics, as described below. In another example, two different machine learning models are used. A first machine learning model, referred to as a visual luxury model, is trained on historical listings that have a high percentage of professional quality images exhibiting luxury attributes such as spaciousness, desirable design elements and luxury amenities. A second machine learning model, referred to as a visual quality model, is trained on historical listings with a low percentage of professional quality images that also exhibit desirable attributes such as design elements and amenities. Either the first or second machine learning model can be used for each visual scoring machine learning model410(e.g., scene type machine learning model), or both can be used and the scores from each synthesized (e.g., averaged or combined for each image) to generate the scene type group score902, described below. For example, the visual quality model can be used for living room scene type images and the visual luxury model can be used for each of the other scene type images. This is just one example; any combination of use of the two models can be used in embodiments described herein. A model builder1308uses the training data1306to train the visual scoring machine learning model(s)410to generate a score for each image input into the visual scoring machine learning model(s)410. As explained above, in one example embodiment the visual scoring machine learning model410is a neural network model, such as a multilayer perceptron neural network, a Keras neural network, or an XGBoost model used in conjunction with a neural network model that converts images into descriptive numerical embeddings. It is to be understood that other machine learning models may be used in other example embodiments. The visual scoring machine learning model(s)410is tested for accuracy until a final visual scoring machine learning model(s)410is trained and ready to use for generating visual scores for images. A visual score request component1312receives a request for a visual score from the client device(s)110. In one example, the request is for a visual score for images in a new listing or an existing listing. The visual score request component1312inputs images associated with the new or existing listing into the visual scoring machine learning model(s)410. In one example embodiment, the images associated with the new or existing listing are classified with an associated scene type by the scene type classification model406before they are input into the visual scoring machine learning model(s)410, as explained above and in greater detail below. The visual scoring machine learning model(s)410analyzes the features of each image to generate a visual score1316for each image. In one example, the score is a numerical value between 0 and 1 that indicates a visual appeal of the image. The image ranker system424analyzes the visual scores and provides the best N images based on the visual scores1316, as explained in further detail below. The best N images are provided to the requesting client device110. In another example, the overall image score generation for a listing component904generates an overall appeal or attractiveness score for a listing, as explained in further detail below with respect toFIGS.9and10. Any one or more of the modules or components described herein may be implemented using one or more processors (e.g., by configuring such one or more processors to perform functions described for that module) and hence may include one or more of the processors. Any one or more of the modules described may be implemented using hardware alone (e.g., one or more of the processors of a machine) or a combination of hardware and software. For example, any module described of the machine learning modeling system1300may physically include an arrangement of one or more of the processors (e.g., a subset of or among the one or more processors of the machine) configured to perform the operations described herein for that module. As another example, any module of the machine learning modeling system1300may include software, hardware, or both, that configure an arrangement of one or more processors (e.g., among the one or more processors of the machine) to perform the operations described herein for that module. Accordingly, different modules of the machine learning modeling system1300may include and configure different arrangements of such processors or a single arrangement of such processors at different points in time. Moreover, any two or more modules of the machine learning modeling system1300may be combined into a single module, and the functions described herein for a single module may be subdivided among multiple modules. Furthermore, according to various example embodiments, modules described herein as being implemented within a single machine, database, or device may be distributed across multiple machines, databases, or devices. Returning toFIG.4, the image raking machine learning model architecture400further comprises an image ranker system424that is a machine learning model trained on past listing data.FIG.14is a block diagram illustrating a machine learning modeling system1400that may be part of the reservation system124or server system102. The machine learning modeling system1400illustrates aspects of the image ranker system424. As explained above with respect toFIG.13, a data extraction component1404accesses listings in online marketplace data to extract training data1406for the image ranker system424. The model builder1408uses the training data1406to train the image ranger system424to rank and select images for a listing. The image ranger system424is tested for accuracy until a final image ranger system424is trained and ready to use for generating visual scores for images. The image ranker system424makes tradeoffs between image type, image attractiveness, and image diversity to select and provide the best N images426ranked in an order determined by the image ranker system424. For example, the image ranker system424takes into account image attractiveness where images with higher visual scores should be preferred. The image ranker system424further takes into account image type (e.g., scene type) where certain types of photos are more relevant to users when deciding to book a listing. For example, data gleaned from existing listings indicates that bedroom, living room, and kitchen photos are usually more relevant than a photo of a scenery or view. The image ranker system424also takes into account diversity such that the image ranker system424should prefer to show different types of photos. For example, instead of showing five bedroom photos, all else equal, it would be preferable to show photos of the bedroom, living room, and kitchen. One alternate way of ranking images may be to use a fixed heuristic for ranking. For example, living room⇒bedroom⇒kitchen⇒bathroom⇒pool. While this may work for a subset of listings, it will not be optimal for all accommodations because each accommodation is different and has different strength and weakness areas and spaces to showcase and highlight or exclude. For instance, one home might have an amazing living room but a mediocre bedroom, or vice versa. In another example, a second home may have mediocre interiors, but an amazing outdoor space. Further, a third home may have great living areas, but a less nice bathroom. In this example, highlighting the bathroom in the first few images could have a negative effect for a user deciding to book a listing. Thus, example embodiments comprise the image ranking machine learning model architecture400as described above and in further detail below. The modeling problem for the image ranker system424can be formulated with an objective of selecting the most attractive, most relevant, and diverse set of N images to maximize the chances of a listing converting to a booked listing (e.g., first-time booked listing (FTBL)) within a specified period (e.g., 30 days). The approach is to train a model for the image ranker system424to maximize the FTBL conversion likelihood based on past listing success data given the three parameters of the most attractive, most relevant, and diverse. It is to be understood that additional or different parameters could be used in example embodiments. In one example, a dataset of about 1.6 million new active listings onboarded in 2018 was used with FTBL success observed in 2019. In this example the dataset was filtered for listing for entire homes and listings that have five-plus images. In one example, a logistic regression model is used where the target variable is FTBL status within 30 days (1 or 0) and where predictor variables comprise cover photo type (e.g., bedroom, kitchen, living room), inclusion of a given photo type in the first N photos (e.g., five photos), and an average visual quality score of the photos. The model also includes calendar average daily rate (ADR) and the bed and bath counts to control for these variables to reduce confounding effects. The ADR means the average nightly price of a home over X number of days, coming from booking data or calendar prices. The coefficients derived from the logistic regression model are used in the image ranker system424, as explained in further detail below. The best N images selected and ranked426are then returned to the client device110, as further explained below. Returning toFIG.4, in the example image ranking machine learning model architecture400, a total of six different neural network models are utilized, each specializing in a different computer vision task. In one embodiment, a seventh neural network model is used (e.g., MobileNet V1) that converts photos into image embeddings before they are input into any of the neural network models shown inFIG.4. FIG.5is a flow chart illustrating aspects of a method500for generating ranked images utilizing the image ranking machine learning model architecture400, according to some example embodiments. For illustrative purposes, the method500is described with respect to the networked system100ofFIG.1, the reservation system124ofFIG.2, and the image ranking machine learning model architecture400ofFIG.4. It is to be understood that the method500may be practiced with other system configurations in other embodiments. In operation502, a computing system (e.g., the server system102and/or reservation system124) receives a plurality of images corresponding to a listing in an online marketplace. For example, a user (e.g., a host or potential host) may access a user interface on a computing device (e.g., client device110) to create a new listing for an accommodation, such as a home that the user wishes to list. There may be several steps for the user to enter information for the new listing, such as entering a location, entering amenities, uploading images (e.g., photos), entering a description for the listing, entering a title for the listing, entering booking settings, updating a calendar and availability for booking, entering pricing information, and so forth. FIG.6illustrates an example user interface600that may be displayed to a user to upload photos for the listing. In particular, the user interface600gives an explanation for uploading photos610, tips for capturing quality photos612, and an option614to have the listing system automatically arrange uploaded photos. Note that in the example user interface600the option614is provided, but it is to be understood that instead of such an option, the images may simply be automatically arranged without the user specifically selecting such a feature.FIG.7illustrates another example user interface700with an option710to automatically sort photos. The user can upload photos for the new listing via the user interface600or700, or another user interface. The computing device sends the images to be uploaded to the computing system. Thus, the computing device receives the uploaded images or accesses the uploaded images from one or more data stores (e.g., databases126). Returning toFIG.5, in operation504, the computing system generates a scene type for each image of the plurality of images received. As explained above with respect to the image ranking machine learning model architecture400, the computing system utilizes a scene type classification model406to classify each image with a scene type. In one example, the scene type classification model406is a classification model customized by scene type (e.g., room type), such as DNN models like a ResNet50 model. Other classification models can be used in example embodiments. The computing system inputs each image of the received plurality of images into the scene type classification model406. The scene type classification model406outputs a scene type for each image. Thus, each image is given a specified scene type, or is given a scene type of “other” if it does not fall into one of the specified scene types. In one example, only a subset of potential scene types are specified, such as room types of living room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, or an exterior type. In other examples, different or additional scene types can be specified. In operation506, the computing system generates a base visual score for each image of the plurality of images. As explained above with respect to the image ranking machine learning model architecture400, the computing system utilizes at least one visual scoring machine learning model410to generate a base visual score for each image of the plurality of images. The computing system inputs each image of the received plurality of images into the visual scoring machine learning model410to generate a base visual score for each image of the plurality of images. In one example, the score is a value between 0 and 1. In one example embodiment, the computing system generates a base visual score for each image of the plurality of images based on the scene type for each image. In this example, one visual scoring machine learning model410is provided for each scene type. For example, if there are five specified scene types, living room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and exterior, then a visual scoring machine learning model410is provided for each scene type, each specifically trained on the particular scene type. In this example, an image is input into the corresponding scene type classification model406based on the scene type of the image. For instance, if an image is classified as a bedroom, the image is input into a bedroom visual scoring machine learning model, if an image is classified as a living room, the image is input into a living room visual scoring machine learning model, and so forth. Having a separate visual scoring machine learning model that specializes in evaluating a specific category or type of image can reduce the noise that each model has to deal with and provides for a more accurate scoring when the model just specializes in identifying attractive bedrooms, for example. This reduces the amount of photo variance each model has to deal with. Each separate visual scoring machine learning model is trained on images specific to the scene type in which it specializes. In one example, the images may be grouped by scene type and then input into a visual scoring machine learning model corresponding to the scene type to generate a base visual score for each image. Once the base visual score is generated for each image of the plurality of images, the computing system then uses the plurality of images as a list of candidate images and calculates a final score for each candidate image utilizing a feature importance weight, scene type bonus points, and diversity scoring points. Before generating the final visual score, the computing system can optionally filter out images that are not of a particular scene type. For example, a predetermined group of scene types may be a subset of the total categories of scene types. In one example, the predetermined group of scene types comprises living room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and exterior type. Thus, any images classified with scene types other than the predetermined group of scene types would be discarded. For example, the computing system determines that a subset of the plurality of images are of a scene type not included in a predetermined group of scene types. The computing system would discard (e.g., remove from consideration) the images in the subset of the plurality of images that are not of the scene type included in the predetermined group of scene types to generate candidate images comprising images that are of a type included in the predetermined group of scene types. In this way, images that are not of the scene type desired are removed from consideration. In one example, the computing system can consider including some images that are not included in the predetermined group of scene types if the images have a base visual score over a predetermined visual score threshold (e.g., 0.75 or 0.79 or 0.8). For example, if the base visual score is very high (e.g., 0.8 or 0.9) for one or more images that are not of the predetermined group of scene types, then the computing system can include those images even though there are not of the scene type included in the predetermined group of scene types. For example, the computing system discards images in the subset of the plurality of images that do not have a base visual score over a predetermined threshold to generate a list of candidate images comprising images that are of a type included in the predetermined group of scene type and images in the subset of the plurality of images that have a visual score over the predetermined visual score threshold. In operation508, the computing system (e.g., via the image ranker system424), for each candidate image, multiplies the base visual score by a feature importance weight to generate a first visual score. In one example embodiment, the feature importance weight is derived using a logistic regression model, as described above. The logistic regression model is used as an example; it is to be understood that other machine learning models and other parameters can be used in embodiments described herein. In one example, the feature importance weight to be used to rank the photos are computed using the coefficients derived using the logistic regression model trained to determine the probability of a listing getting booked based on a cover photo, scene types of the first predetermined number of photos in the listing, and an average visual score for the first predetermined number of photos in the listing. For example, coefficients derived from the logistic regression model can comprise a score or value for various parameters or features analyzed by the logistic regression model that indicate a likelihood of a listing getting booked. Some example parameters or features include visual quality score, the scene type of the cover image, a scene type of an image in the first N number of photos (e.g., first five photos), and so forth. In addition, various other factors can be included in the model to control for confounding factors, such as listing price, capacity and property type (e.g. house vs. apartment). In one example, the visual quality score is an average visual quality score across all photos in a listing. In one example, a logistic regression model trained on 1.6 million listings in an online marketplace generated the listing visual quality score as the feature with the largest coefficient. This suggests that the visual quality score was the most important feature that was most highly correlated with a new listing converting to an FTBL. For instance, in the logistic regression model, the coefficient for the visual quality score was over 1 (e.g., 1.28) and the other coefficients were less than 1 (e.g., bedroom as the first image 0.59, kitchen as the first image 0.61, other as the first image 0.51) Thus, the visual quality score can be used as the feature importance weight to generate a first visual score when ranking photos. It is to be understood that another parameter or feature that had a larger coefficient value in other models can be used to generate feature importance weights to be used in the image ranker. To use a specific example, assume a user has uploaded a variety of images to be used for a new listing for a home. A simple example of six images that have been uploaded will be used: Image NumberScene TypeBase Visual Score1Other.972Living room.923Bedroom.674Living room.655Kitchen.556Living room.53 Further, assuming the feature importance weight in this example is 1.28, the computing system multiplies each base visual score by the feature importance weight to generate a first visual score: Image NumberScene TypeBase Visual ScoreFirst Visual Score1Other.97*1.28 =1.242Living room.92*1.28 =1.183Bedroom.67*1.28 =.864Living room.65*1.28 =.835Kitchen.55*1.28 =.706Living room.53*1.28 =.68 In operation510, the computing system (e.g., via the image ranker system424), for each candidate image, adds respective scene type bonus points to the first visual score to generate a second visual score. For this example, assume the logistic regression model generated the following coefficients for scene types (e.g., a value indicating how strongly a scene type appearing in a cover image (e.g., first photo displayed in a group of photos in a listing) lead to an FTBL): bedroom 0.59, kitchen 0.61, living room 0.66, other 0.51, pool 0.49, and view 0.50. Using these scene type bonus points, the second visual score would be generated as follows: Image NumberScene TypeFirst Visual ScoreSecond Visual Score1Other1.24 + .51 =1.752Living room1.18 + .66 =1.843Bedroom.86 + .59 =1.454Living room.83 + .66 =1.495Kitchen.70 + .61 =1.316Living room.68 + .66 =1.34 In operation512, the computing system (e.g., via the image ranker system424), for each candidate image, adds diversity scoring points to the second visual score to generate a final visual score for each candidate image. The purpose of diversity points is to be sure the first N images recommended by the computing system are also diverse and that the order is not just based on a scene type and the first visual score. For this example, assume that the logistic regression model generated the following coefficients for a scene type for images displayed in the first N images (e.g., first five images): living room 1.05, bedroom 0.87, kitchen 0.24, bathroom −0.79, pool −2.9, view −1.3, and other 0. These coefficients are used as diversity scoring points to generate the final visual score. In one example embodiment, the diversity scoring points are only added to an image with a highest visual score (e.g., second visual score) within a scene type. For instance, if there is more than one living room image, the diversity scoring points would only be added to the living room image having the highest visual score. In the example below, there are three living room images: image numbers2,4, and6. As can be seen, image number2has the highest visual score of 1.84 versus 1.49 and 1.34 for image numbers4and6. Thus, in this example, the diversity scoring points would only be added to image number2for the living room images. Using these examples, the third visual score is generated as follows: Image NumberScene TypeSecond Visual ScoreFinal Visual Score1Other1.75 + 0 =1.752Living room1.84 + 1.05 =1.893Bedroom1.45 + .87 =2.324Living room1.49 + 0 =1.495Kitchen1.31 + .24 =1.556Living room1.34 + 0 =1.34 Note that if there were images with a negative coefficient (e.g. bathroom, pool, or view scene type), these images would each be penalized using −0.79, −2.9, and −1.3, respectively, so that all photos in these categories are downranked in the sequence (e.g., the second visual score would be reduced by these amounts). For example, if there is an image of a pool, the second visual score would be reduced by −2.9. In operation514, the computing system ranks the candidate images based on the final visual scores. Thus, the images in the example above would be ranked in the order of image 3, image 2, image 1, image 5, image 4, image 6. The computer system then provides the images to the computing device to be displayed to the user in ranked order. In one example, only a specified number (e.g., five) images are provided to be displayed to the user in ranked order.FIG.8illustrates an example user interface800displayed on a computing device that displays a suggested photo order based on the ranked images. For example, the user interface displays five images including the first ranked image (e.g., image 3 in the above example) as the suggested cover photo802, and four additional images804in ranked order. The user can then select an option806to accept the photos in the order provided or an option808to cancel the suggestion and arrange the photos in a different order. If a user selects the option806to accept the photos in the order provided, the computing system will detect the selection (e.g., an indication of the selection will be sent from the computing device to the computing system) and store the images in the order suggested to be displayed in the listing once it is posted live. In one example embodiment, the specified number of the top ranked candidate images are provided to be displayed on a display of a computing device, with a goal of generating a photo ranking sequence maximizing a given objective. In one example, the objective is a listing booking or engagement in an online marketplace. The above examples are described in the context of creating a new listing. It is to be understood that the above example embodiments can also be used for existing listings. For example, the computing system can access images in an existing listing. The computing system can analyze and rank images included in a posted listing (as described above) and recommend a new order for the images to a host to increase the booking possibilities for the listing. In one example, the computing system can periodically do this for existing listings and provide a notification or send a message to a host with a recommendation to automatically reorder the images for the listing in the ranking order determined by the computing system (as described above). In another example, a photo auto-rank on/off feature is provided in the listing user interface402. If the user turns this feature on, the computing system will continually (e.g., periodically) and automatically reorder the photos (e.g., as the photo-ranking algorithm evolves). For instance, the computing system would detect that the auto-rank feature is selected by the user and, on a periodic basis, retrieve the images for the listing and rerank the images, as described above. The computing system would then automatically reorder the images in the listing according to the new ranking. These images would then be displayed in the list in the new ranked order. In addition to using visual scores to rank images for a listing, visual scores of images in a listing can be used to determine an attractiveness of the listing overall. An overall visual score for a listing can indicate a listing quality. Such visual scores can predict a higher listing realized lifetime value (LTV) at the time of listing creation. For example, on average listings scoring higher (e.g., 80+ in a scale from 0 to 100) have a 4× higher realized LTV compared to listings scoring on the low end (e.g., 0-10). Moreover, visual scores predict new active listing booking success, with higher scoring listings generating 80% more in their first year compared to those scoring lower. These visual scores can also predict new active listing to FTBL conversion, predict better review ratings, and predict better listing quality across multiple categories (e.g., amenities, cleanliness, respond time), among other predictions. FIG.9illustrates a visual attractiveness scoring model900for a listing in an online marketplace, according to some example embodiments. As described above with respect to the image ranking machine learning architecture400ofFIG.4, and labeled with the same reference numbers, the visual attractiveness scoring model900comprises the scene type classification model406that is used to classify images, such as listing photos404, into one or more scene types, as shown by reference number408. As also explained above, the classified images408are then input into a corresponding scene type level image scoring model410to output scene type image scores902for each scene type. The scene type image scores are then used to generate an overall image score904for the listing. FIG.10is a flow chart illustrating aspects of a method1000for generating a visual score for a listing utilizing the visual attractiveness scoring model900, according to some example embodiments. For illustrative purposes, the method1000is described with respect to the networked system100ofFIG.1, the reservation system124ofFIG.2, and the visual attractiveness scoring model900ofFIG.9. It is to be understood that the method1000may be practiced with other system configurations in other embodiments. In operation1002, a computing system (e.g., the server system102and/or reservation system124) receives a plurality of images corresponding to a listing in an online marketplace. In one example, the plurality of images are received as explained above with respect to operation502ofFIG.5(e.g., uploaded via a computing device of a host for the listing and sent by the computing device to the computing system). In another example, the computing system accesses images of an existing listing in an online marketplace, such as accessing the images via one or more databases126comprising the images for the listing, to retrieve the images corresponding to the listing. In operation1004, the computing system generates a scene type for each image of the plurality of images, as also explained above with respect to operation504ofFIG.5(e.g., a neural network classification machine learning model). In one example, the scene type can comprise one of a group comprising a living room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, or an exterior. In operation1006, the computing system groups each image into a scene type group of a set of predetermined scene types based on the classification for each image. For example, images classified as a living room scene type would be grouped into a living room scene type group, images classified as a bedroom scene type would be grouped into a bedroom scene type group, and so forth. In operation1008, the computing system inputs each group of images into a respective machine learning model specific to the scene type of the group of images to generate a visual score for each image in each group of images. This is also described above with respect to operation506ofFIG.5and with respect toFIG.13. As also mentioned above, having a separate visual scoring machine learning model that specializes in evaluating a specific category or type of image can reduce the noise that each model has to deal with and provides for a more accurate scoring when the model just specializes in identifying attractive bedrooms, for example. This reduces the amount of photo variance each model has to deal with. Each separate visual scoring machine learning model is trained on images specific to the scene type in which it specializes. As explained above, in one example, a machine learning model specific to a scene type is trained using historical listings in the online marketplace. In another example, two different machine learning models are used. A first machine learning model, referred to as a visual luxury model, is trained on historical listings that have a high percentage of professional quality images exhibiting luxury attributes such as spaciousness, desirable design elements and luxury amenities. A second machine learning model, referred to as a visual quality model, is trained on historical listings with a low percentage of professional quality images that also exhibit desirable attributes such as design elements and amenities. Either the first or second machine learning model can be used for each scene type machine learning model, or both can be used and the scores from each synthesized (e.g., averaged or combined for each image) to generate the scene type group score902. For example, the visual quality model can be used for living room scene type images and the visual luxury model can be used for each of the other scene type images. This is just one example; any combination of use of the two models can be used in embodiments described herein. In one example, an average of the visual scores in each group of images is used as the score for the images of each scene type. For example, if the group of living room photos is composed of three photos with visual scores of 0.92, 0.65, and 0.53, respectively, the average of these scores is 0.70, which is used as the living room images score902. In one example, each image is converted into image embeddings comprising a numerical representation of the image to represent the image as compactly as possible while trying to preserve as much signal as possible. Models such as a MobileNet V1 embeddings model can be used to convert each image into image embeddings. The converted images can then be input into the respective machine learning model specific to the scene type of the group of images to generate the visual score for each image in the group of images. It is to be understood that each image can be converted to image embeddings at any stage in the method500and1000to input the converted images into any machine learning model described herein (e.g., instead of the images themselves). In operation1010, the computing system generates the overall image score904(or attractiveness score) for the listing in the online marketplace based on the visual scores for each image in each group of images. In one example, the computing system can take an average of all image scores for all of the images. In another example, the computing system generates the attractiveness score by calculating an average visual score of the average visual scores for the groups of images. For example, if the average visual score for living room images is 0.70, the average visual score for bedroom images is 0.51, the average visual score for bathroom images is 0.47, the average visual score for kitchen images is 0.66, and the average visual score for exterior images is 0.50, the average of these scores is 0.57, which is used as the attractiveness score of the listing. The visual or attractiveness score of a listing can be used in a wide variety of use case scenarios. For example, the visual or attractiveness score for a listing can be used to provide more accurate calendar pricing suggestions to listing owners, generate better potential earnings estimates for a listing, create sets of comparable listings for hosts to get guidance and inspiration from, automatically score competitor platform listings, understand guest segments based on past listing engagement behavior, optimize supply and demand by identifying quality supply and demand imbalances, generate personalized search results for a guest to maximize conversion and minimize friction, and so forth. FIG.11is a block diagram1100illustrating a software architecture1102, which can be installed on any one or more of the devices described above. For example, in various embodiments, the client device110and server systems130,102,120,122, and124may be implemented using some or all of the elements of the software architecture1102.FIG.11is merely a nonlimiting example of a software architecture, and it will be appreciated that many other architectures can be implemented to facilitate the functionality described herein. In various embodiments, the software architecture1102is implemented by hardware such as a machine1200ofFIG.12that includes processors1210, memory1230, and input/output (I/O) components1250. In this example, the software architecture1102can be conceptualized as a stack of layers where each layer may provide a particular functionality. For example, the software architecture1102includes layers such as an operating system1104, libraries1106, frameworks1108, and applications1110. Operationally, the applications1110invoke API calls1112through the software stack and receive messages1114in response to the API calls1112, consistent with some embodiments. In various implementations, the operating system1104manages hardware resources and provides common services. The operating system1104includes, for example, a kernel1120, services1122, and drivers1124. The kernel1120acts as an abstraction layer between the hardware and the other software layers, consistent with some embodiments. For example, the kernel1120provides memory management, processor management (e.g., scheduling), component management, networking, and security settings, among other functionalities. The services1122can provide other common services for the other software layers. The drivers1124are responsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlying hardware, according to some embodiments. For instance, the drivers1124can include display drivers, camera drivers, BLUETOOTH® or BLUETOOTH® Low Energy drivers, flash memory drivers, serial communication drivers (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB) drivers), WI-FI® drivers, audio drivers, power management drivers, and so forth. In some embodiments, the libraries1106provide a low-level common infrastructure utilized by the applications1110. The libraries1106can include system libraries1130(e.g., C standard library) that can provide functions such as memory allocation functions, string manipulation functions, mathematic functions, and the like. In addition, the libraries1106can include API libraries1132such as media libraries (e.g., libraries to support presentation and manipulation of various media formats such as Moving Picture Experts Group-4 (MPEG4), Advanced Video Coding (H.264 or AVC), Moving Picture Experts Group Layer-3 (MP3), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) audio codec, Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG or JPG), or Portable Network Graphics (PNG)), graphics libraries (e.g., an OpenGL framework used to render graphic content in two dimensions (2D) and in three dimensions (3D) on a display), database libraries (e.g., SQLite to provide various relational database functions), web libraries (e.g., WebKit to provide web browsing functionality), and the like. The libraries1106can also include a wide variety of other libraries1134to provide many other APIs to the applications1110. The frameworks1108provide a high-level common infrastructure that can be utilized by the applications1110, according to some embodiments. For example, the frameworks1108provide various graphic user interface (GUI) functions, high-level resource management, high-level location services, and so forth. The frameworks1108can provide a broad spectrum of other APIs that can be utilized by the applications1110, some of which may be specific to a particular operating system1104or platform. In an example embodiment, the applications1110include a home application1150, a contacts application1152, a browser application1154, a book reader application1156, a location application1158, a media application1160, a messaging application1162, a game application1164, and a broad assortment of other applications, such as a third-party application1166. According to some embodiments, the applications1110are programs that execute functions defined in the programs. Various programming languages can be employed to create one or more of the applications1110, structured in a variety of manners, such as object-oriented programming languages (e.g., Objective-C, Java, C++) or procedural programming languages (e.g., C or assembly language). In a specific example, the third-party application1166(e.g., an application developed using the ANDROID™ or IOS™ software development kit (SDK) by an entity other than the vendor of the particular platform) may be mobile software running on a mobile operating system such as IOS™, ANDROID™, WINDOWS® Phone, or another mobile operating system. In this example, the third-party application1166can invoke the API calls1112provided by the operating system1104to facilitate functionality described herein. Some embodiments may particularly include a trip reservation application1167, which may be any application that requests data or other tasks to be performed by systems and servers described herein, such as the server system102, third-party servers130, and so forth. In certain embodiments, this may be a standalone application that operates to manage communications with a server system such as the third-party servers130or server system102. In other embodiments, this functionality may be integrated with another application. The trip reservation application1167may request and display various data related to an online marketplace and may provide the capability for a user106to input data related to the system via voice, a touch interface, or a keyboard, or using a camera device of the machine1200, communication with a server system via the I/O components1250, and receipt and storage of object data in the memory1230. Presentation of information and user inputs associated with the information may be managed by the trip reservation application1167using different frameworks1108, library1106elements, or operating system1104elements operating on a machine1200. FIG.1200is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine1200, according to some embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. Specifically,FIG.12shows a diagrammatic representation of the machine1200in the example form of a computer system, within which instructions1216(e.g., software, a program, an application1110, an applet, an app, or other executable code) for causing the machine1200to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein can be executed. In alternative embodiments, the machine1200operates as a standalone device or can be coupled (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine1200may operate in the capacity of a server system130,102,120,122,124, and the like, or a client device110in a server-client network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine1200can comprise, but not be limited to, a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an entertainment media system, a cellular telephone, a smart phone, a mobile device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance), other smart devices, a web appliance, a network router, a network switch, a network bridge, or any machine capable of executing the instructions1216, sequentially or otherwise, that specify actions to be taken by the machine1200. Further, while only a single machine1200is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include a collection of machines1200that individually or jointly execute the instructions1216to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. In various embodiments, the machine1200comprises processors1210, memory1230, and I/O components1250, which can be configured to communicate with each other via a bus1202. In an example embodiment, the processors1210(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) include, for example, a processor1212and a processor1214that may execute the instructions1216. The term “processor” is intended to include multi-core processors1210that may comprise two or more independent processors1212,1214(also referred to as “cores”) that can execute instructions1216contemporaneously. AlthoughFIG.12shows multiple processors1210, the machine1200may include a single processor1210with a single core, a single processor1210with multiple cores (e.g., a multi-core processor1210), multiple processors1212,1214with a single core, multiple processors1212,1214with multiple cores, or any combination thereof. The memory1230comprises a main memory1232, a static memory1234, and a storage unit1236accessible to the processors1210via the bus1202, according to some embodiments. The storage unit1236can include a machine-readable medium1238on which are stored the instructions1216embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. The instructions1216can also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory1232, within the static memory1234, within at least one of the processors1210(e.g., within the processor's cache memory), or any suitable combination thereof, during execution thereof by the machine1200. Accordingly, in various embodiments, the main memory1232, the static memory1234, and the processors1210are considered machine-readable media1238. As used herein, the term “memory” refers to a machine-readable medium1238able to store data temporarily or permanently and may be taken to include, but not be limited to, random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), buffer memory, flash memory, and cache memory. While the machine-readable medium1238is shown, in an example embodiment, to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, or associated caches and servers) able to store the instructions1216. The term “machine-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any medium, or combination of multiple media, that is capable of storing instructions (e.g., instructions1216) for execution by a machine (e.g., machine1200), such that the instructions1216, when executed by one or more processors of the machine1200(e.g., processors1210), cause the machine1200to perform any one or more of the methodologies described herein. Accordingly, a “machine-readable medium” refers to a single storage apparatus or device, as well as “cloud-based” storage systems or storage networks that include multiple storage apparatus or devices. The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, one or more data repositories in the form of a solid-state memory (e.g., flash memory), an optical medium, a magnetic medium, other nonvolatile memory (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM)), or any suitable combination thereof. The term “machine-readable medium” specifically excludes nonstatutory signals per se. The I/O components1250include a wide variety of components to receive input, provide output, produce output, transmit information, exchange information, capture measurements, and so on. In general, it will be appreciated that the I/O components1250can include many other components that are not shown inFIG.12. The I/O components1250are grouped according to functionality merely for simplifying the following discussion, and the grouping is in no way limiting. In various example embodiments, the I/O components1250include output components1252and input components1254. The output components1252include visual components (e.g., a display such as a plasma display panel (PDP), a light-emitting diode (LED) display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), acoustic components (e.g., speakers), haptic components (e.g., a vibratory motor), other signal generators, and so forth. The input components1254include alphanumeric input components (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen configured to receive alphanumeric input, a photo-optical keyboard, or other alphanumeric input components), point-based input components (e.g., a mouse, a touchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointing instruments), tactile input components (e.g., a physical button, a touch screen that provides location and force of touches or touch gestures, or other tactile input components), audio input components (e.g., a microphone), and the like. In some further example embodiments, the I/O components1250include biometric components1256, motion components1258, environmental components1260, or position components1262, among a wide array of other components. For example, the biometric components1256include components to detect expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facial expressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, eye tracking), measure biosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, perspiration, brain waves), identify a person (e.g., voice identification, retinal identification, facial identification, fingerprint identification, electroencephalogram-based identification), and the like. The motion components1258include acceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer), gravitation sensor components, rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope), and so forth. The environmental components1260include, for example, illumination sensor components (e.g., photometer), temperature sensor components (e.g., one or more thermometers that detect ambient temperature), humidity sensor components, pressure sensor components (e.g., barometer), acoustic sensor components (e.g., one or more microphones that detect background noise), proximity sensor components (e.g., infrared sensors that detect nearby objects), gas sensor components (e.g., machine olfaction detection sensors, gas detection sensors to detect concentrations of hazardous gases for safety or to measure pollutants in the atmosphere), or other components that may provide indications, measurements, or signals corresponding to a surrounding physical environment. The position components1262include location sensor components (e.g., a GPS receiver component), altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters or barometers that detect air pressure from which altitude may be derived), orientation sensor components (e.g., magnetometers), and the like. Communication can be implemented using a wide variety of technologies. The I/O components1250may include communication components1264operable to couple the machine1200to a network1280or devices1270via a coupling1282and a coupling1272, respectively. For example, the communication components1264include a network interface component or another suitable device to interface with the network1280. In further examples, communication components1264include wired communication components, wireless communication components, cellular communication components, near field communication (NFC) components, BLUETOOTH® components (e.g., BLUETOOTH® Low Energy), WI-FI® components, and other communication components to provide communication via other modalities. The devices1270may be another machine1200or any of a wide variety of peripheral devices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via a USB). Moreover, in some embodiments, the communication components1264detect identifiers or include components operable to detect identifiers. For example, the communication components1264include radio frequency identification (RFID) tag reader components, NFC smart tag detection components, optical reader components (e.g., an optical sensor to detect one-dimensional bar codes such as a Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code, multidimensional bar codes such as a Quick Response (QR) code, Aztec Code, Data Matrix, Dataglyph, MaxiCode, PDF417, Ultra Code, Uniform Commercial Code Reduced Space Symbology (UCC RSS)-2D bar codes, and other optical codes), acoustic detection components (e.g., microphones to identify tagged audio signals), or any suitable combination thereof. In addition, a variety of information can be derived via the communication components1264, such as location via Internet Protocol (IP) geo-location, location via WI-FI® signal triangulation, location via detecting a BLUETOOTH® or NFC beacon signal that may indicate a particular location, and so forth. In various example embodiments, one or more portions of the network1280can be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a VPN, a LAN, a WLAN, a WAN, a WWAN, a MAN, the internet, a portion of the internet, a portion of the PSTN, a plain old telephone service (POTS) network, a cellular telephone network, a wireless network, a WI-FI® network, another type of network, or a combination of two or more such networks. For example, the network1280or a portion of the network1280may include a wireless or cellular network, and the coupling1282may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) connection, a Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications connection, or another type of cellular or wireless coupling. In this example, the coupling1282can implement any of a variety of types of data transfer technology, such as Single Carrier Radio Transmission Technology (1×RTT), Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO) technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology, Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology, third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) including 3G, fourth generation wireless (4G) networks, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Long-Term Evolution (LTE) standard, others defined by various standard-setting organizations, other long-range protocols, or other data transfer technology. In example embodiments, the instructions1216are transmitted or received over the network1280using a transmission medium via a network interface device (e.g., a network interface component included in the communication components1264) and utilizing any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols (e.g., HTTP). Similarly, in other example embodiments, the instructions1216are transmitted or received using a transmission medium via the coupling1272(e.g., peer-to-peer coupling) to the devices1270. The term “transmission medium” shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying the instructions1216for execution by the machine1200, and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible media to facilitate communication of such software. Furthermore, the machine-readable medium1238is nontransitory (in other words, not having any transitory signals) in that it does not embody a propagating signal. However, labeling the machine-readable medium1238“nontransitory” should not be construed to mean that the medium is incapable of movement; the machine-readable medium1238should be considered as being transportable from one physical location to another. Additionally, since the machine-readable medium1238is tangible, the machine-readable medium1238may be considered to be a machine-readable device. Throughout this specification, plural instances may implement components, operations, or structures described as a single instance. Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustrated and described as separate operations, one or more of the individual operations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that the operations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures and functionality presented as separate components in example configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a single component may be implemented as separate components. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of the subject matter herein. Although an overview of the inventive subject matter has been described with reference to specific example embodiments, various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader scope of embodiments of the present disclosure The embodiments illustrated herein are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed. Other embodiments may be used and derived therefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. The Detailed Description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of various embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. As used herein, the term “or” may be construed in either an inclusive or exclusive sense. Moreover, plural instances may be provided for resources, operations, or structures described herein as a single instance. Additionally, boundaries between various resources, operations, modules, engines, and data stores are somewhat arbitrary, and particular operations are illustrated in a context of specific illustrative configurations. Other allocations of functionality are envisioned and may fall within a scope of various embodiments of the present disclosure. In general, structures and functionality presented as separate resources in the example configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or resource. Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a single resource may be implemented as separate resources. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements fall within a scope of embodiments of the present disclosure as represented by the appended claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. | 93,034 |
11861527 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The discussion below is directed to certain specific implementations. It is to be understood that the discussion below is only for the purpose of enabling a person with ordinary skill in the art to make and use any subject matter defined now or later by the patent “claims” found in any issued patent herein. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits and networks have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments. It will also be understood that, although certain elements of the invention and subject matter will be described in a certain order, the order is not intended to be limiting to the invention as many steps may be performed in a plurality of configurations to accomplish the invention of using various technologies to participate, trade and transact transportation and freight units as a physical forward commodity. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used in the description of the invention, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to also include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,” depending on the context. Similarly the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated condition or event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upon determining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [the stated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the stated condition or event],” depending on the context. Embodiments of a mobile computing device may be substituted for a fixed stationary computing device or a virtual reality headset or a mixed reality headset or an augmented reality headset or an audio interfaced computer device. Embodiments may also occur on a projection computing device or in any other method or system which communicates, transforms and integrates the use of a network, global positioning system network, mobile computing devices, servers, forward commodity forward market auction database, financial swap payment structure databases, grouping software instructions for hubs, virtual hub topology methods and systems, transparent open access user interface pricing systems, blockchain audit and safety methods, facial recognition, fingerprint recognition or photo recognition of users for security and identity check, algorithms for no arbitrage conditions and constraints with a user interface or graphical user interface formatted on mobile or stationary computing devices over various mediums which are connected through a network for the purpose of participating, transacting or trading transportation or freight capacity units between combinations of virtual hubs as a forward commodity in an auction and resulting financial swap payment structures. FIG.1illustrates in some embodiments the method and system communicates, transforms and integrates the use of a network, global positioning system network, mobile computing devices, servers, forward commodity forward market auction database, financial swap payment structure databases, grouping software instructions for hubs, virtual hub topology methods and systems, transparent open access user interface pricing systems, blockchain audit and safety methods, facial recognition, fingerprint recognition or photo recognition of users for security and identity check, algorithms for no arbitrage conditions and constraints with a user interface or graphical user interface formatted on mobile or stationary computing devices over various mediums which are connected through a network for the purpose of participating, transacting or trading transportation or freight capacity units between combinations of virtual hubs as a forward commodity in an auction and resulting financial swap payment structure. The diagram shows the transformed element of a securitized note110on a transportation or freight unit such as a single seat in a car by way of example but not limiting by example. Further the investor or pension fund130may receive the security notes110in exchange for cash151flowing into the special purpose vehicle financial swap140which then may allocate cash152to a driver, rider, freight or freight carrier150in exchange for the right to collect future rides120. The special purpose vehicle financial swap140may sell or buy future transportation units154with the transportation and freight capacity forward market155auction in exchange for future receivables153. Collateral for the overall structure100may be the actual transportation unit delivery mechanism such as a airline transport unit, subway transport unit, train transport unit, automobile transport unit, autonomous vehicle transport unit, bike transport unit, bus transport unit, limo transport unit, boat transport unit, moped transport unit, package transport unit, cargo transport unit, motorcycle transport unit, shuttle transport unit, taxi transport unit, space transport unit, virtual transport unit, atomic particle transport unit, underground transport, ship transport unit, sea transport unit or drone transport unit. FIG.2illustrates in some embodiments, exemplary user interfaces210. In some embodiments, the user3110may select one or more of the user interface elements to enter an origin/from address220and a destination/to address230as well as having the GPS network3150autofill the origin location220from the users3110present location. The mobile computing device3111may be substituted for a fixed stationary computing device, an augmented reality projection device, virtual reality projection device, mixed reality projection device, audio computer computing interface or any computing device which renders a visualization to a user3110for the purpose of displaying the transportation or freight capacity unit trading market platform auction GUI210. In some embodiments, the user3110may select the go button240after the origin/from address220and a destination/to address230have been input. In some embodiments, the GUI210may have a background map250relative to the location of the user3110. In some embodiments, the user3110may scroll to a world260location using the world icon260. In some embodiments, the user3110may select the “my routes” button280which may show the users3110most frequent transportation or freight capacity combinations so that the user can easily navigate to the most relevant transportation capacity markets. As an example, but not limiting by example, the user3110may have entered routes in the “my routes”280saved locations on the virtual hub database server3120, transportation forward market database server3130and network member database server3160locations such as “home to work”, or work to home” or “work to gym” or “gym to work” or “work to shopping” or “shopping to work” or “home to friend” or “home to school” or “home to downtown” or “downtown to home” or “home to shopping” or “home to yoga” or “home to airport” or “Freight facility to Delivery Route” or a plurality of the most common routes for a user3110. The hamburger graphic button270may allow the user to set many additional settings to set the market constraints for participating, transacting, or trading forward transportation or freight as a commodity. The hamburger graphic button270on the GUI210may also serve as a menu function for the application GUI instructions. As described previously the hamburger graphic270may be used to navigate throughout the various settings of the GUI for transportation or freight capacity as a forward commodity210by a user3110. FIG.3illustrates exemplary user interfaces210for participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight as a physical forward commodity between combinations of virtual hubs over various transportation modes. In some embodiments, user interface210includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Exemplary virtual hub combination311; Exemplary virtual hub origin/from location310with users312within the virtual hub location310; Exemplary specification summary of the market, level of service and time of delivery commencement327; Exemplary mode of transportation capacity type330; Exemplary transaction summary of the last trades quantity and price328; Exemplary virtual hub destination/to location322and user who is being delivered on the transportation capacity unit323; Exemplary bid/buy quantity title header315for an exemplary virtual transportation hub market; Exemplary bid/buy price title header316for an exemplary virtual transportation hub market; Exemplary offer/sell price title header319for an exemplary virtual transportation hub market; Exemplary offer/sell quantity title header326for an exemplary virtual transportation hub market; Exemplary bid/buy quantity314for the best bid quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination311; Exemplary bid/buy quantity313for the second-best bid quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination311; Exemplary bid/buy price318for the best bid price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination311; Exemplary bid/buy price317for the second-best bid price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation capacity virtual hub combination311; Exemplary offer/sell price321for the best offer price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation capacity virtual hub combination311; Exemplary offer/sell price320for the second-best offer price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination311; Exemplary offer/sell quantity325for the best offer quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination311; Exemplary offer/sell quantity324for the second-best offer quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation capacity virtual hub combination311; Exemplary safety dispatch “911” button329to enact video and audio recording of the user3110environment and dispatch of that information to authorities. Exemplary hamburger menu button270to move back to menu options and settings away from the participation, transaction, trading GUI210embodiment. In some embodiments the user3110may enter a transaction quantity and price for transportation or freight capacity units to participate, transact and/or trade by the GUI210detecting user3110contact with a bid/buy price318or offer/sell price321. The GUI210detects user3110contact with any of the GUI210buttons which have been aforementioned. Upon user3110contact with buttons on the GUI210, instructions are instantiated which allows the user3110to change the specifications of the respective virtual hub combination311. A plurality of prices and markets may be presented based on a plurality of contract specifications. For any given contract specification327and virtual hub series combination311the transportation or freight units are substitutable which is unique and novel to the invention and unlike any other prior art. In some embodiments, the best bid/buy price318may be moving up in price or down in price depending on the market conditions at any given time. In some embodiments the last trade or last transacted price for a given specification is listed to help the user3110understand how the market is moving so that the user3110may submit a competitive offer/selling price321or bid/buying price314. In some embodiments, users3110may adjust settings of the GUI210to show more bid/buying prices317or more offer/selling prices320. In some embodiments the matrix of market quantities and prices313,314,315,316,317,318,319,320,321,324,325,326may be referred to as market depth in the GUI210embodiment. In some embodiments the number of users3110may be displayed as user icons312or323for the amount of people logged in which desire to transact, trade or participate in a given virtual hub310to virtual hub322combination. In some embodiments, users3110may select the transportation mode330such that the user allows a market for only one form of transportation capacity as a commodity or the user3110may allow the system to show multiple forms of transportation capacity between two virtual transportation capacity hubs310,311,322. In some embodiments the GUI210may detect a user3110selecting the 911 button329which may activate voice and video recording functions on the mobile or stationary device3111and transmit the data with a confirmation from the user3110to the authorities to provide enhanced security while participating, transacting or trading forward transportation or freight as a commodity. In some embodiments the user may toggle between the GUI210market view screen inFIG.3and other menu270options and settings by the user3110selecting the hamburger button270and the GUI210detecting the user3110input or contact. In some embodiments the GUI210may instantiate instructions in the memory of the mobile computing device3111which then transmits transportation or freight capacity data through the network3140or wireless GPS network3150to call upon instruction routines and instruction sub-routines on the transportation forward market database server3130, virtual hub database server3120, network member database server3160, no arbitrage condition database server3180and/or instructions in the memory of the cloud and local CPUs3190which all interface together to make one system which may deliver transportation or freight capacity units to users3110from and to a plurality of virtual hubs310,322with a plurality of specifications at specific market prices. FIG.4illustrates exemplary user interfaces210for participating, transacting and/or trading transportation as a physical forward commodity between combinations of virtual hubs over various transportation modes. In some embodiments, user interface210includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Exemplary virtual hub combination311; Exemplary virtual hub origin/from location410with users412within the virtual hub location310; Exemplary specification summary of the market, level of service and time of delivery commencement427, in this particular embodiment the GUI210has moved to an international virtual market hub combination market such as within London; Exemplary mode of transportation capacity type430; Exemplary transaction summary of the last trade auction quantity and price428in the local currency or another currency set by the user3110; Exemplary virtual hub destination/to location422and user who is being delivered on the transportation or freight capacity unit423; Exemplary bid/buy quantity title header415for an exemplary virtual transportation hub market; Exemplary bid/buy price title header416for an exemplary virtual transportation hub market; Exemplary offer/sell price title header419for an exemplary virtual transportation hub market; Exemplary offer/sell quantity title header426for an exemplary virtual transportation hub market; Exemplary bid/buy quantity414for the best bid quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation capacity virtual hub combination411; Exemplary bid/buy quantity413for the second-best bid quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination411; Exemplary bid/buy price418for the best bid price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation capacity virtual hub combination411; Exemplary bid/buy price417for the second-best bid price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination411; Exemplary offer/sell price421for the best offer price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination411; Exemplary offer/sell price420for the second-best offer price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination411; Exemplary offer/sell quantity425for the best offer quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination411; Exemplary offer/sell quantity424for the second-best offer quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination411; Exemplary safety dispatch “911” button429to enact video and audio recording of the user3110environment and dispatch of that information to authorities. Exemplary hamburger menu button270to move back to menu options and settings away from the participation, transaction, trading GUI210embodiment. In some embodiments the user3110may enter a transaction quantity and price for transportation or freight capacity units to participate, transact and/or trade by the GUI210detecting user3110contact with a bid/buy price418or offer/sell price421. The GUI210detects user3110contact with any of the GUI210buttons which have been aforementioned. The GUI210may detect user contact3110with any of the GUI210buttons418,417,420,421or user3110voice interface with the application210method. Upon user3110contact with buttons on the GUI210, instructions are instantiated which allows the user3110to change the specifications of the respective virtual hub combination411. A plurality of prices and markets may be presented based on a plurality of contract specifications. In some embodiments, the best bid/buy price418may be moving up in price or down in price depending on the market conditions at any given time. In some embodiments the last auction trade or last transacted price for a given specification is listed to help the user3110understand how the market is moving so that the user3110may submit a competitive offer/selling price421or bid/buying price414. In some embodiments, users3110may adjust settings of the GUI210to show more bid/buying prices417or more offer/selling prices420. In some embodiments the matrix of market quantities and prices413,414,415,416,417,418,419,420,421,424,425,426may be referred to as market depth in the GUI210embodiment. In some embodiments the number of users3110may be displayed as user icons412or423for the amount of people logged in which desire to transact, trade or participate in a given virtual hub410to virtual hub422combination auction. In some embodiments, users3110may select the transportation mode430such that the user allows a market for only one form of transportation capacity as a commodity or the user3110may allow the system to show multiple forms of transportation capacity between two virtual transportation capacity hubs410,411,422. In some embodiments the GUI210may detect a user3110selecting the 911 button429which may activate voice and video recording functions on the mobile or stationary device3111and transmit the data with a confirmation from the user3110to the authorities to provide enhanced security while participating, transacting or trading forward transportation or freight as a commodity. In some embodiments the user may toggle between the GUI210market view screen inFIG.4and other menu270options and settings by the user3110selecting the hamburger button270and the GUI210detecting the user3110input or contact. In some embodiments the GUI210may instantiate instructions in the memory of the mobile computing device3111which then transmits transportation or freight capacity data through the network3140or wireless GPS network3150to call upon instruction routines and instruction sub-routines on the transportation forward market database server3130, virtual hub database server3120, network member database server160, no arbitrage condition database server3180and/or instructions in the memory of the cloud and local CPUs3190which all interface together to make one system which may deliver transportation or freight capacity units to users3110from and to a plurality of virtual hubs410,422with a plurality of specifications427at specific market prices. FIG.5illustrates an exemplary user interface210for listing timing specifications510on a portable multifunction device in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, user interface210includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Origin/From virtual hub timing510; Specification of quality of transportation capacity520; Destination/To virtual hub530; Setting button540to transmit the timings510and quality specification grade520; Hamburger button270to instruct the GUI210to take the user3110to the menu screen. In some embodiments, the user3110may select a plurality of timing options in the timing selection specification510. The timing specification constraint may be the time at which the transportation or freight capacity unit departs from the origin/from virtual hub410. As in any commodity market, if a user3110is late and they have purchased the transportation capacity unit, the user must still pay for the transportation or freight capacity unit regardless if the user3110is present at the time of departure or not. The user has the option if they know they will be late to sell back the transportation or freight capacity unit to the market at the then current price. Accordingly, for the purpose of example, but not limiting by example, if a user3110bought a transportation capacity unit for £9.90421and the user3110realized they would be late for the 8 am departure specification427, then the user3110may either pay for the transportation unit even though the user3110was present and did not take delivery of the transportation unit, or the user3110may preemptively sell back the transportation capacity unit to the market at the then current bid price418. The user3110would then have offset their obligation in a timely manner and another user3110on the network3140,3160may then purchase the available transportation or freight capacity unit. In some embodiments, virtual transportation or freight hub combination units may or may not have the available liquidity if the user3110were to wait too long before delivery of the transportation capacity unit to make an adjustment and therefore may need to take delivery even if they are not present. In some embodiments, the user3110may select a grade specification520. For the purpose of example, but not limiting by example, a plurality of specification grades may exist such as “premium” which may be defined by certain classes of transportation capacity units and/or certain quality levels. Similarly, for the purpose of example, but not limiting by example, a plurality of specification grades may exist such as “intermediate” or “basic” which may be defined by certain classes of transportation or freight capacity units and/or certain quality levels. In some embodiments, the user3110may select the destination/to virtual hub530to change the virtual hub combination. In some embodiments, the user3110, may contact the “set” button540to transmit the transportation capacity unit specification data by using the GUI210which may instantiate instructions in the memory of the mobile computing device3111which then transmits transportation capacity data through the network3140or wireless GPS network3150to call upon instruction routines and instruction sub-routines on the transportation forward market database server3130, virtual hub database server3120, network member database server3160, no arbitrage condition database server3180and/or instructions in the memory of the cloud and local CPUs3190which all interface together to make one system which may deliver transportation capacity units to users3110from and to a plurality of virtual hubs410,422with a plurality of specifications at specific market prices. FIG.6illustrates an exemplary user interface210for selecting the term specification610on a portable multifunction device in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, user interface210includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Term specification options610; Specification of quality of transportation or freight capacity620; Destination/To virtual hub630; Setting button640to transmit the term610and quality specification grade620; Calendar button650to select specification start dates and end dates for a plurality of virtual transportation or freight hub combinations; Hamburger button270to instruct the GUI210to take the user3110to the menu screen. In some embodiments, the term specification610may be used to participate, transact and/or trade in a specific virtual hub combination for a specific time period specification. Users3110may set the term to daily, weekly, monthly, annual, weekdays, weekends, specific days such as Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday or any combination of term selections the user3110sets as relevant for participating, transacting or trading in the transportation or freight capacity unit market. Not limiting by example, but for use of illustrating a possible subset of term selections, the user3110may select “weekdays”610during a specific calendar time period650of a given year. In some embodiments, specific time start dates and end dates may be set by the user with the calendar button650. In some embodiments a user3110may select “Mondays”610within a specification date window650. In some embodiments, the user3110may select “weekends”610during a specification calendar window of dates650. In some embodiments, the user3110, may contact the “set” button640to transmit the transportation or freight capacity unit specification data by using the GUI210which may instantiate instructions in the memory of the mobile computing device3111which then transmits transportation capacity data through the network3140or wireless GPS network3150to call upon instruction routines and instruction sub-routines on the transportation forward market database server3130, virtual hub database server3120, network member database server3160, no arbitrage condition database server3180and/or instructions in the memory of the cloud and local CPUs3190which all interface together to make one system which may deliver transportation capacity units to users3110from and to a plurality of virtual hubs410,422with a plurality of specifications at specific market prices. FIG.7illustrates an exemplary user interface210for selecting order time in force order types710as well as order types720on a portable multifunction device in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, user interface210includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Order time in force specification options710; Order type specification options720; Setting button740to transmit the order time in force specification710and Order type specification option720; Hamburger button270to instruct the GUI210to take the user3110to the menu screen. In some embodiments, user interface210may be used by the user3110to select a plurality of order time in force710specifications. In some embodiments, order time in force selections710may include a subset or superset thereof: day (DAY) order710; good till cancelled order (GTC)710; immediate or cancel order (10C)710; good till date order (GTD)710; day till cancelled order (DTC)710. Order time in force710specifications may be used to designate how long a user3110order may be valid. In some embodiments, the GUI210may display the definitions of a plurality of order time in force710characteristics so that the user3110may select the appropriate order time in force710specification for the transportation or freight capacity unit that the user3110may participate, transact and/or trade. In some embodiments, the user interface210may be used to select the order type720specifications. In some embodiments, order type selections720may include a subset or superset thereof: Limit720, Market720, Market if Touched (MIT)720; Snap to Market720; Snap to Mid720; Snap to primary720; Peg to benchmark720; adaptive custom720. In some embodiments, the GUI210may display the definitions of a plurality of order types720characteristics so that the user3110may select the appropriate order type720specification for the transportation or freight capacity unit that the user3110may participate, transact and/or trade. In some embodiments, the user3110, may contact the “set” button740to transmit the transportation or freight capacity unit specification data by using the GUI210which may instantiate instructions in the memory of the mobile computing device3111which then transmits transportation or freight capacity data through the network3140or wireless GPS network3150to call upon instruction routines and instruction sub-routines on the transportation forward market database server3130, virtual hub database server3120, network member database server3160, no arbitrage condition database server3180and/or instructions in the memory of the cloud and local CPUs3190which all interface together to make one system which may deliver transportation capacity units to users3110from and to a plurality of virtual hubs410,422with a plurality of specifications at specific market prices. FIG.8illustrates an exemplary user interface210for selecting virtual hub transportation capacity unit modes810on a portable multifunction device in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, user interface210includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Virtual hub transportation capacity unit modes810; Setting button840to transmit the virtual hub transportation capacity unit modes810; Hamburger button270to instruct the GUI210to take the user3110to the menu screen. In some embodiments, user interface210may be used by the user3110to select a plurality of virtual hub transportation capacity unit modes810specifications. In some embodiments, virtual hub transportation capacity unit mode selections810may include a subset or superset thereof: Automobile811; air812; autonomous vehicle813; bike814; boat815; bus816; drone817; limo818; motorcycle819; moped820; shuttle821; space822; subway823; taxi824; train825; fastest optimized826; cheapest route827; packages828; cargo829; virtual830. In some embodiments, virtual hub transportation capacity unit modes are simply that a user3110would have a virtual transportation or freight capacity unit seat in an automobile or an airplane as examples, but not limiting by example. In some embodiments, the user3110may bid on cargo829or package capacity828in any mode of transportation or freight capacity between a combination of virtual transportation hub locations. In some embodiments, the user3110may use one or multiple modes of transportation between a combination of virtual transportation hub capacity points. In some embodiments, the user3110, may contact the “set” button840to transmit the transportation or freight capacity unit specification mode data by using the GUI210which may instantiate instructions in the memory of the mobile computing device3111which then transmits transportation capacity data through the network3140or wireless GPS network3150to call upon instruction routines and instruction sub-routines on the transportation forward market database server3130, virtual hub database server3120, network member database server3160, no arbitrage condition database server3180and/or instructions in the memory of the cloud and local CPUs3190which all interface together to make one system which may deliver transportation or freight capacity units to users3110from and to a plurality of virtual hubs410,422with a plurality of specifications at specific market prices. FIG.9illustrates an exemplary user interface210for identifying the distance the user3110is from the virtual hub from a map and distance perspective on a portable multifunction device in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, user interface210includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Virtual hub transportation capacity unit pick up display910; Virtual hub transportation capacity unit pick up address920; Virtual hub transportation capacity unit drop off address930; Virtual hub transportation capacity pick-up target zone960; Virtual hub transportation capacity drop-off target zone950; Setting button940to transmit the virtual hub transportation capacity unit addresses920,930; Hamburger button270to instruct the GUI210to take the user3110to the menu screen. In some embodiments, user interface210may be used by the user3110to select a plurality of virtual hub transportation capacity unit address910specifications. In some embodiments, virtual hub transportation or freight capacity unit address selections910may include a subset or superset thereof: virtual hub pick up address920; virtual hub drop off address930. In some embodiments, virtual hub transportation capacity unit addresses920and930may be changed before delivery of a virtual transportation capacity unit. The user interface map and address tool910displays the users3110distance from the address of the virtual transportation or freight hub as well as a map to assist the user3110in finding the location of the virtual transportation hub. In some embodiments, user interface210displays the virtual hub pick up zone960on a map in context to the user's3110location. In some embodiments, user interface210displays the virtual hub drop off zone950on a map in context to the user's3110location. In some embodiments, the user3110, may contact the “set” button940to transmit the transportation capacity unit specification address data by using the GUI210which may instantiate instructions in the memory of the mobile computing device3111which then transmits transportation or freight capacity data through the network3140or wireless GPS network3150to call upon instruction routines and instruction sub-routines on the transportation forward market database server3130, virtual hub database server3120, network member database server3160, no arbitrage condition database server3180and/or instructions in the memory of the cloud and local CPUs3190which all interface together to make one system which may deliver transportation or freight capacity units to users3110from and to a plurality of virtual hubs410,422with a plurality of specifications at specific market prices. FIG.10illustrates an exemplary user interface210for identifying the constraints and no arbitrage settings1010the user3110selects on a portable multifunction device in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, user interface210includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Constraint and no arbitrage settings1010; Setting button1040to transmit the virtual hub transportation capacity constraints and no arbitrage settings; Hamburger button270to instruct the GUI210to take the user3110to the menu screen. In some embodiments, user interface210may be used by the user3110to select a plurality of virtual hub transportation capacity constraint and no arbitrage settings1010. In some embodiments, virtual hub transportation capacity unit constraint and no arbitrage selections1010may include a subset or superset thereof: cheapest route1011; single mode1012; multi-mode1013; fastest route1014; most scenic1015; highest rating1016; most available1017; highest volume1018; most frequent1019; service level1020; security and safety1021. In some embodiments, the “cheapest route setting”1011instantiates instructions in the memory of the CPU3190to complete a standard cost minimization linear program to assist the user3110to complete the transportation capacity unit between two virtual hubs with the lowest cost. In some embodiments, the “single mode”1012instantiates instructions in the memory of the CPU3190to set a constraint for the user3110to complete the transportation capacity unit between two virtual hubs with the only one mode of transportation. In some embodiments, the “multi mode”1013instantiates instructions in the memory of the CPU3190to set a constraint for the user3110to complete the transportation capacity unit between two virtual hubs with more than one mode of transportation. In some embodiments, the “fastest route”1014instantiates instructions in the memory of the CPU3190to complete standard linear programming equation to minimize travel time for the user3110to complete the transportation capacity unit between two virtual hubs with the shortest time. In some embodiments, the “most scenic”1015instantiates instructions in the memory of the CPU3190to complete an algorithm with the highest ratings for scenery to assist the user3110to complete the transportation capacity unit between two virtual hubs with highest scenery rating. In some embodiments, the “highest rating”1016instantiates instructions in the memory of the CPU3190to complete a rating algorithm to assist the user3110to complete the transportation capacity unit between two virtual hubs with the highest rating. In some embodiments, the “most available”1017instantiates instructions in the memory of the CPU3190to complete a algorithm to search for the route with the most open transportation capacity units to assist the user3110to complete the transportation capacity unit between two virtual hubs with the most available open seats or open transportation capacity units. In some embodiments, the “highest volume”1018instantiates instructions in the memory of the CPU3190to complete an algorithm to select the route with the highest volume of participants to assist the user3110to complete the transportation capacity unit between two virtual hubs with the largest number of users3110. In some embodiments, the “most frequent”1019instantiates instructions in the memory of the CPU3190to complete most frequent route analysis from a timing constraint perspective to assist the user3110to complete the transportation capacity unit between two virtual hubs with the most frequent departures. In some embodiments, the “service level”1020instantiates instructions in the memory of the CPU3190to align the constraint to select the service level to assist the user3110to complete the transportation capacity unit between two virtual hubs with the correct level of service. In some embodiments, the “security and safety”1021instantiates instructions in the memory of the CPU3190to run safety and security algorithms on the user's3110based on block chain performance of drivers and riders to assist the user3110to complete the transportation capacity unit between two virtual hubs with the highest level of safety and security. In some embodiments, the “group restricted”1022instantiates instructions in the memory of the CPU3190to run grouping limitation algorithms on the user's3110market auction based on limiting the pool of drivers and riders or freight providers and shippers to assist the user3110to complete the transportation or freight capacity unit between two virtual hubs with a limit on the pool of available users. A user3110pool for group restricted1022settings may limit the user pool displayed by email, security, sex, rating or a plurality of other restrictions. In some embodiments, the user3110, may contact the “set” button1040to transmit the transportation or freight capacity unit specification constraint and arbitrage data by using the GUI210which may instantiate instructions in the memory of the mobile computing device3111which then transmits transportation capacity security and safety data through the network3140or wireless GPS network3150to call upon instruction routines and instruction sub-routines on the transportation forward market database server3130, virtual hub database server3120, network member database server160, no arbitrage condition database server3180and/or instructions in the memory of the cloud and local CPUs3190which all interface together to make one system which may deliver transportation or freight capacity units to users3110from and to a plurality of virtual hubs410,422with a plurality of specifications at specific market prices in an auction format. FIG.11illustrates exemplary user interfaces210for participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight as a physical forward commodity between combinations of virtual hubs over various transportation modes. In some embodiments, user interface210includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Exemplary virtual hub combination1111; Exemplary virtual hub origin/from location1with users1112within the virtual hub location1110; Exemplary specification summary of the market, level of service and time of delivery commencement1127; Exemplary mode of air transportation or freight capacity type1130; Exemplary transaction summary of the last trades quantity and price1128; Exemplary virtual hub destination/to location1122and user who is being delivered on the transportation capacity unit1123; Exemplary bid/buy quantity title header1115for an exemplary virtual transportation hub market; Exemplary bid/buy price title header1116for an exemplary virtual transportation or freight hub market; Exemplary offer/sell price title header1119for an exemplary virtual transportation or freight hub market; Exemplary offer/sell quantity title header1126for an exemplary virtual transportation or freight hub market; Exemplary bid/buy quantity1114for the best bid quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1111; Exemplary bid/buy quantity1113for the second-best bid quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1111; Exemplary bid/buy price1118for the best bid price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1111; Exemplary bid/buy price1117for the second-best bid price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1111; Exemplary offer/sell price1121for the best offer price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1111; Exemplary offer/sell price1120for the second-best offer price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1111; Exemplary offer/sell quantity1125for the best offer quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1111; Exemplary offer/sell quantity1124for the second-best offer quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1111; Exemplary safety dispatch “911” button1129to enact video and audio recording of the user3110environment and dispatch of that information to authorities. Exemplary hamburger menu button270to move back to menu options and settings away from the participation, transaction, trading auction GUI210embodiment. In some embodiments the user3110may enter a transaction quantity and price for transportation or freight capacity units to participate, transact and/or trade by the GUI210detecting user3110contact or audio interface with a bid/buy price1118or offer/sell price1121. The GUI210detects user3110contact with any of the GUI210buttons which have been aforementioned. Upon user3110contact or audio interface with buttons on the GUI210, instructions are instantiated which allow the user3110to change the specifications of the respective virtual hub combination1111. A plurality of prices and markets may be presented based on a plurality of contract specifications. In some embodiments, the best bid/buy price1118may be moving up in price or down in price depending on the market conditions at any given time. In some embodiments the last trade or last transacted price for a given specification is listed to help the user3110understand how the market is moving so that the user3110may submit a competitive offer/selling price1121or bid/buying price1118. In some embodiments, users3110may adjust settings of the GUI210to show more bid/buying prices1117or more offer/selling prices1120. In some embodiments the matrix of market quantities and prices1113,1114,1115,1116,1117,1118,1119,1120,1121,1124,1125,1126may be referred to as market depth in the GUI210embodiment. In some embodiments the number of users3110may be displayed as user icons1112or1123for the amount of people logged in which desire to transact, trade or participate in a given virtual hub1110to virtual hub1122combination. In some embodiments, users3110may select the transportation mode1130such that the user allows a market for only one form of transportation capacity as a commodity or the user3110may allow the system to show multiple forms of transportation capacity between two virtual transportation capacity hubs1110,1111,1122. In some embodiments the GUI210may detect a user3110selecting the 911 button1129which may activate voice and video recording functions on the mobile or stationary device3111and transmit the data with a confirmation from the user3110to the authorities to provide enhanced security while participating, transacting or trading forward transportation as a commodity. In some embodiments the user may toggle between the GUI210market view screen inFIG.3and other menu270options and settings by the user3110selecting the hamburger button270and the GUI210detecting the user3110input or contact or audio instruction. In some embodiments the GUI210may instantiate instructions in the memory of the mobile computing device3111which then transmits transportation or freight capacity data through the network3140or wireless GPS network3150to call upon instruction routines and instruction sub-routines on the transportation forward market database server3130, virtual hub database server3120, network member database server3160, no arbitrage condition database server3180and/or instructions in the memory of the cloud and local CPUs3190which all interface together to make one system which may deliver transportation capacity units to users3110from and to a plurality of virtual hubs1110,1122with a plurality of specifications at specific market prices. FIG.12illustrates exemplary user interfaces210for participating, transacting and/or trading transportation as a physical forward commodity between combinations of virtual hubs over various transportation modes. In some embodiments, user interface210includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Exemplary virtual hub combination1211; Exemplary virtual hub origin/from location1210with users1212within the virtual hub location1210; Exemplary specification summary of the market, level of service and time of delivery commencement1227; Exemplary mode of train transportation capacity type1230; Exemplary transaction summary of the last trades quantity and price1228; Exemplary virtual hub destination/to location1222and user who is being delivered on the transportation or freight capacity unit1223; Exemplary bid/buy quantity title header1215for an exemplary virtual transportation or freight hub market; Exemplary bid/buy price title header1216for an exemplary virtual transportation or freight hub market; Exemplary offer/sell price title header1219for an exemplary virtual transportation or freight hub market; Exemplary offer/sell quantity title header1226for an exemplary virtual transportation for freight hub market; Exemplary bid/buy quantity1214for the best bid quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1211; Exemplary bid/buy quantity1213for the second-best bid quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1211; Exemplary bid/buy price1218for the best bid price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1211; Exemplary bid/buy price1217for the second-best bid price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1211; Exemplary offer/sell price1221for the best offer price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1211; Exemplary offer/sell price1220for the second-best offer price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1211; Exemplary offer/sell quantity1225for the best offer quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1211; Exemplary offer/sell quantity1224for the second-best offer quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1211; Exemplary safety dispatch “911” button1229to enact video and audio recording of the user3110environment and dispatch of that information to authorities. Exemplary hamburger menu button270to move back to menu options and settings away from the participation, transaction, trading GUI210embodiment. In some embodiments the user3110may enter a transaction quantity and price for transportation or freight capacity units to participate, transact and/or trade by the GUI210detecting user3110contact with a bid/buy price1218or offer/sell price1221. The GUI210detects user3110contact with any of the GUI210buttons which have been aforementioned. Upon user3110contact with buttons or audio interface on the GUI210, instructions are instantiated which allows the user3110to change the specifications of the respective virtual hub combination1211. A plurality of prices and markets may be presented based on a plurality of contract specifications. In some embodiments, the best bid/buy price1118may be moving up in price or down in price depending on the market conditions at any given time. In some embodiments the last trade or last transacted price for a given specification is listed to help the user3110understand how the market is moving so that the user3110may submit a competitive offer/selling price1221or bid/buying price1214. In some embodiments, users3110may adjust settings of the GUI210to show more bid/buying prices1217or more offer/selling prices1120. In some embodiments the matrix of market quantities and prices1213,1214,1215,1216,1217,1218,1219,1220,1221,1224,1225,1226may be referred to as market depth in the GUI210embodiment. In some embodiments the number of users3110may be displayed as user icons1212or1223for the amount of people logged in which desire to transact, trade or participate in a given virtual hub1210to virtual hub1222combination. In some embodiments, users3110may select the transportation mode1230such that the user allows a market for only one form of transportation capacity as a commodity or the user3110may allow the system to show multiple forms of transportation capacity between two virtual transportation capacity hubs1210,1211,1222. In some embodiments the GUI210may detect a user3110selecting the 911 button1229which may activate voice and video recording functions on the mobile or stationary device3111and transmit the data with a confirmation from the user3110to the authorities to provide enhanced security while participating, transacting or trading forward transportation or freight units as a commodity. In some embodiments the user may toggle between the GUI210market view screen inFIG.3and other menu270options and settings by the user3110selecting the hamburger button270and the GUI210detecting the user3110input or contact or audio instructions. In some embodiments the GUI210may instantiate instructions in the memory of the mobile computing device3111which then transmits transportation or freight capacity data through the network3140or wireless GPS network3150to call upon instruction routines and instruction sub-routines on the transportation forward market database server3130, virtual hub database server3120, network member database server3160, no arbitrage condition database server3180and/or instructions in the memory of the cloud and local CPUs3190which all interface together to make one system which may deliver transportation or freight capacity units to users3110from and to a plurality of virtual hubs1210,1222with a plurality of specifications at specific market prices. FIG.13illustrates exemplary user interfaces210for participating, transacting and/or trading transportation as a physical forward commodity between combinations of virtual hubs over various transportation modes. In some embodiments, user interface210includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Exemplary virtual hub combination1311; Exemplary virtual hub origin/from location1310with users1312within the virtual hub location1310; Exemplary specification summary of the market, level of service and time of delivery commencement1327; Exemplary mode of train transportation capacity type1330; Exemplary transaction summary of the last trades quantity and price1328; Exemplary virtual hub destination/to location1322and user who is being delivered on the transportation or freight capacity unit1323; Exemplary bid/buy quantity title header1315for an exemplary virtual transportation or freight hub market; Exemplary bid/buy price title header1316for an exemplary virtual transportation or freight hub market; Exemplary offer/sell price title header1319for an exemplary virtual transportation or freight hub market; Exemplary offer/sell quantity title header1326for an exemplary virtual transportation or freight hub market; Exemplary bid/buy quantity1314for the best bid quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1311; Exemplary bid/buy quantity1313for the second-best bid quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1311; Exemplary bid/buy price1318for the best bid price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1311; Exemplary bid/buy price1317for the second-best bid price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1311; Exemplary offer/sell price1321for the best offer price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1311; Exemplary offer/sell price1320for the second-best offer price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1311; Exemplary offer/sell quantity1325for the best offer quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1311; Exemplary offer/sell quantity1324for the second-best offer quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination1311; Exemplary safety dispatch “911” button1329to enact video and audio recording of the user3110environment and dispatch of that information to authorities. Exemplary hamburger menu button270to move back to menu options and settings away from the participation, transaction, trading GUI210embodiment. In some embodiments the user3110may enter a transaction quantity and price for transportation or freight capacity units to participate, transact and/or trade by the GUI210detecting user3110contact or audio instructions with a bid/buy price1318or offer/sell price1321. The GUI210detects user3110contact with any of the GUI210buttons which have been aforementioned. Upon user3110contact or audio interface with buttons or audio instructions on the GUI210, instructions are instantiated which allows the user3110to change the specifications of the respective virtual hub combination1311. A plurality of prices and markets may be presented based on a plurality of contract specifications. In some embodiments, the best bid/buy price1318may be moving up in price or down in price depending on the market conditions at any given time. In some embodiments the last trade or last transacted price for a given specification is listed to help the user3110understand how the market is moving so that the user3110may submit a competitive offer/selling price1321or bid/buying price1314. In some embodiments, users3110may adjust settings of the GUI210to show more bid/buying prices1317or more offer/selling prices1320. In some embodiments the matrix of market quantities and prices1313,1314,1315,1316,1317,1318,1319,1320,1321,1324,1325,1326may be referred to as market depth in the GUI210embodiment. In some embodiments the number of users3110may be displayed as user icons1312or1323for the amount of people logged in which desire to transact, trade or participate in a given virtual hub1310to virtual hub1322combination. In some embodiments, users3110may select the transportation mode1330such that the user allows a market for only one form of transportation capacity as a commodity or the user3110may allow the system to show multiple forms of transportation or freight capacity between two virtual transportation capacity hubs1310,1311,1322. In some embodiments the GUI210may detect a user3110selecting the 911 button1329which may activate voice and video recording functions on the mobile or stationary device111and transmit the data with a confirmation from the user3110to the authorities to provide enhanced security while participating, transacting or trading forward transportation or freight as a commodity. In some embodiments the user may toggle between the GUI210market view screen inFIG.3and other menu270options and settings by the user3110selecting the hamburger button270and the GUI210detecting the user3110input or contact. In some embodiments the GUI210may instantiate instructions in the memory of the mobile computing device3111which then transmits transportation or freight capacity data through the network3140or wireless GPS network3150to call upon instruction routines and instruction sub-routines on the transportation forward market database server3130, virtual hub database server3120, network member database server3160, no arbitrage condition database server3180and/or instructions in the memory of the cloud and local CPUs3190which all interface together to make one system which may deliver transportation or freight capacity units to users3110from and to a plurality of virtual hubs1310,1322with a plurality of specifications at specific market prices. FIG.14illustrates an exemplary user interface210for selecting menu options1410on a portable multifunction device in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, user interface210includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Menu options1410; Origin (From)/Destination (to) menu option1411; Market menu option1412; Timings and Specs menu option1413; Term and Specs menu option1414; Order time and type menu option1415; Modes menu option1416; Virtual Hubs menu option1417; No arb settings menu option1418; Orders and Confirms menu option1419; Pool Message menu option1420; Tax and Accounting menu option1421; Setting button1440to transmit the menu option; Hamburger button270to instruct the GUI210to take the user3110to the menu screen. In some embodiments, user interface210may be used by the user3110to select a plurality of menu options1410. In some embodiments, the user3110may select the origin (from)/destination (to) menu option1411which may instruct the GUI210to go to an address input rendering910and/orFIG.2. In some embodiments, the user3110, may contact the “market” menu option1412which my instruct the GUI210to render a market participation, transaction and/or trading screen such as300,400,1100,1200, or1300. In some embodiments the user may toggle between the GUI210market view screen inFIG.3and other menu270options and settings by the user3110selecting the hamburger button270and the GUI210detecting the user3110input or contact. In some embodiments, the user3110, may contact the “timings and specs” menu option1413which may instruct the GUI210to render a timings and specs screen such as500. In some embodiments, the user3110, may contact the “term and specs” menu option1414which may instruct the GUI210to render a term and specs screen such as600. In some embodiments, the user3110, may contact the “order time and type” menu option1415which may instruct the GUI210to render an order time and type screen such as700. In some embodiments, the user3110, may contact the “modes” menu option1416which may instruct the GUI210to render a mode screen such as800. In some embodiments, the user3110, may contact the “Virtual Hubs” menu option1417which may instruct the GUI210to render a virtual hubs screen such as900. In some embodiments, the user3110, may contact the “no arb settings” menu option1418which may instruct the GUI210to render a no arbitrage constraint screen such as1000. In some embodiments, the user3110, may contact the “orders and confirms” menu option1419which may instruct the GUI210to render the market orders and transaction confirmations for the user3110. In some embodiments, the user3110, may contact the “pool message” menu option1420which may instruct the GUI210to message either the actual transportation capacity unit170or the opposite seller user3110or buyer user3110depending on if the user3110was an opposite buyer or seller of the transportation capacity unit. In some embodiments, the user3110, may contact the “tax and accounting” menu option1421which may instruct the GUI210to render tax and accounting information for the respective user3110. In some embodiments the GUI210menu option selection1410may instantiate instructions in the memory of the mobile computing device3111which then transmits transportation capacity data through the network3140or wireless GPS network3150to call upon instruction routines and instruction sub-routines on the transportation forward market database server3130, virtual hub database server3120, network member database server3160, no arbitrage condition database server3180and/or instructions in the memory of the cloud and local CPUs3190which all interface together to make one system which may deliver transportation or freight capacity units to users3110from and to a plurality of virtual hubs410,422with a plurality of specifications at specific market prices. FIG.15illustrates an exemplary network configuration1500in one exemplary implementation of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity units in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, network configuration1500includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Wireless global positioning system (GPS) network1510; Network/s1511; Additional global positioning system (GPS) network1512; User member portable multifunction device1513; Virtual hub database server1514; Transportation forward market database server1519; Additional user member portable multifunction device1515; Network member database server1520; Network member user1516; Additional network member user1517; No arbitrage constraint database server1521; Cloud and Local CPUs1522; Transportation or freight capacity unit mode1518. In some embodiments, the software and/or instructions stored in memory of the cloud & local CPUs1522and portable multifunction devices1513,1515may include additional instructions to instantiate specification requirements, participation, transactions, and/or trading on the transportation or freight capacity unit network1511. In some embodiments, instructions may include standard database web services with the database as service provider (i.e. calling from the outside in, which lets the client GUI210or1513call each of the virtual hub database server1514and/or transportation forward market database server1519and/or network member database server1520and/or no arbitrage constraint database server1521and/or cloud & local CPUs1522through the wireless GPS network1510or network1511. In some embodiments, each of the virtual hub database server1514and/or transportation forward market database server1519and/or network member database server1520and/or no arbitrage constraint database server1521and/or cloud & local CPUs1522may instruct the network to instantiate the database servers1514,1519,1520,1521,1522as service consumers (i.e. calling from the inside out, which lets a SQL query or application module in the database session consume an external web service. In some embodiments, users1516and/or1517may use portable multifunction devices1513and/or1515to access the transportation or freight capacity unit market GUI210so that the users1516and/or1517may participate, transact and/or trade transportation or freight capacity units. In some embodiments, the virtual hub database server1514stores map tile data in addition to user location data which is utilized by the GUI210to display or render location of virtual hubs and user1516proximity to those virtual hubs200,300,400,900,1100,1200,1300. In some embodiments, the transportation forward market database server1519stores bid and offer data for respective quantities of users as well as transaction data and a plurality of market data for each virtual hub combination. In some embodiments, the network member database server1520stores user profile, user transaction, user trade, user settings, user specifications, user rating, user criminal history or background check data or facial recognition data or fingerprint recognition data or photo scan recognition data or ride history data, user track record, user bank data, user credit card data, user history data, user tax data and a plurality of other data. In some embodiments, the no arbitrage constraint database server1521stores data and algorithms to identify user3110constraints1000and run algorithm calculations for users on specific constraints to check for compliance with constraints. In some embodiments, network servers and CPUs1514,1519,1520,1521,1522,1513,1515my interface through the network1511and/or wireless GPS networks1510,1512such that transportation or freight capacity units may be participated in, transacted and/or traded efficiently in the context of a market for transportation capacity units. Included aforementioned data elements may be a subset or superset of data used for any specific calculation to participate, transact or trade transportation or freight capacity units. FIG.16illustrates a flowchart embodiment of steps a user may perform to participate, transact and/or trade transportation capacity units between virtual hub combinations. In some embodiments a user at a mobile or portable multifunction device and/or fixed computing device with a touchscreen or a computing device without a touchscreen or augmented, audio interface computing device, mixed reality non-screen display may detect user login to the transportation capacity unit network1610. In some embodiments, the GUI of the transportation capacity unit network may detect and receive origin location from user input or current GPS coordinate information and detect destination address from user input and transmission of data1620. In some embodiments, the GUI and/or CPUs and/or databases may generate and apply one or more optimization techniques to form a virtual hub with other users that have similar transportation requests within a geographic boundary1630. In some embodiments, the GUI and/or CPUs and or databases may generate instructions for a plurality of computing devices, network, virtual hub database server, network member database server and transportation forward market database server130to form a combination of virtual hubs and contract specifications for delivery of transportation services or transportation or freight capacity between the virtual hubs in a format presented by a graphical user interface which allows users to enter forward physical prices to sell (offer) or bid (buy) transportation capacity units between virtual hub combinations1640in an open market auction format. In some embodiments, the GUI and/or CPUs and or databases may generate instructions to interface a plurality of networks, global positioning systems networks, servers, forward commodity market auctions, grouping instruction software for virtual hubs, transparent open access pricing systems, blockchain audit and safety systems, virtual hub servers and systems, no arbitrage constraint condition systems which form one system to implement a forward commodity transportation or freight capacity unit forward market system and method1650. FIG.17illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a user3110most frequent transportation or freight unit routes1710in one exemplary implementation of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity units in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, most frequent my routes include the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Home to Work1711; Work to Home1712; Home to School1713; School to Home1714; Work to Gym1715; Home to Gym1716; Gym to Home1717; Home to Grocery1718; Home to Downtown1719; Downtown to Home1720; Freight Center to X where X is a delivery route or multi virtual hub combination1721; + Add Route1722; Edit1723; Setting button1740to transmit the My Routes data; Hamburger button270to instruct the GUI210to take the user3110to the menu screen. In some embodiments, the GUI210may be used to select, store and/or edit user3110frequent or preferred routes (“MY ROUTES”)1710for more efficient access to transportation capacity unit markets over various modes and specifications of transportation capacity. In some embodiments, the user3110may select, store and/or edit address and specification data for “Home to Work”1711and/or “Work to Home”1712and/or “Home to School”1713and/or “School to Home”1714and/or “Work to Gym”1715and/or “Home to Gym”1716and/or “Gym to Home”1717and/or “Home to Grocery”1718and/or “Home to Downtown”1719and/or “Downtown to Home”1720and/or “Freight Center to X”1721and/or “+ Add Route”1722. In some embodiments, the My Routes1710module may include any route a user3110may request on any transportation or freight capacity unit mode and/or specification. In some embodiments the user may toggle between the GUI210market view screen inFIG.3and other menu270options and settings by the user3110selecting the hamburger button270and the GUI210detecting the user3110input or contact. FIG.18illustrates an exemplary network topology configuration1800in one exemplary implementation of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity units in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, network configuration1800includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Large Virtual Hub nodes such as1801,1802,1803,1804,1805; Medium Virtual Hub nodes such as1810,1811,1809,1808,1807,1806; Small Virtual Hub nodes such as1812,1813,1814,1815,1816,1816,1817,1818,1819,1820,1821; In some embodiments, the overall network node topology1800is comprised of large virtual hub nodes1801,1802,1803,1804,1805and medium virtual hub nodes1810,1811,1809,1808,1807,1806and small virtual hub nodes1812,1813,1814,1815,1816,1816,1817,1818,1819,1820,1821, or a subset or superset thereof. In some embodiments a user may input a starting point of1815and an ending point of1818which represent specific geographic virtual hub locations in a city, multiple cities or even countries or multiple countries. In some embodiments, forward transportation market auctions may occur directly between two exemplary points such as1815and1818or the method and system may combine a series of smaller auctions to comprise a larger auction between two endpoints on the system. In some embodiments, a series of smaller auctions may be combined between1815and1811as well as1811and1802as well as1802and1805as well as1805and1808as well as1808and1818which would be added together to make a combined virtual hub auction. A combined series of smaller auctions may be constrained by instructions which form auctions based on cheapest transportation or freight route1011, single mode transport or freight auctions1012, multi-mode transport or freight1013, fastest transport or freight constraints1014, most scenic auctions1015, highest rating auctions1016, most available or liquid auctions1017, highest volume auctions1018, most frequent auctions1019, service level auctions1020, security and safety level auctions1021, group restricted auctions by sex, email, organization, gender or other1022. In some embodiments, the constraints allow for many types of auctions which are unique and novel for transportation and freight capacity units in a forward transportation and freight market. In some embodiments, the user3110may specify instructions that set forward market auction constraints based on one or a plurality of constraints. In some embodiments, the constrained auctions may have fungible units which allow many participants to transact in the auctions. In some embodiments, the transportation or freight unit auction substitutability dynamic creates a unique and novel invention that does not exist in the world today. In some embodiments, user3110input220,230instructions use constrained optimization to form one auction between two points or a series of multiple auctions that form one larger auction. In some embodiments, the forward transportation and freight unit auctions subject to various constraints may be presented as a linear programming cost minimization problem in the exemplary case where the user3110selects the cheapest route1011constraint. In such exemplary case, the series of auctions may be combined that utilize the lowest cost path between the start point1815and the ending point1818. In such exemplary case, the linear programming cost minimization function may select the following path of1815to1811to1802to1804to1805to1808to1818if that combination is the lowest cost auction path. In another such exemplary case, the user3110may select instructions for the auction to minimize both cost and shortest route. In such exemplary case the linear programming function may minimize cost subject to a constraint that time is the shortest along the path and the resulting auction may combine a different and unique series of auctions between the starting point of1815and ending point1818. Accordingly, the path may be optimized to minimize cost subject to the shortest path that yields a path of1815to1811to1802to1805to1808to1818. The plurality of combinations of linear programming sequences of auctions for transportation or freight units between two points may consider an infinite set of combinations and permutations. FIG.19illustrates an exemplary delivery and pick up status configuration1900in one exemplary implementation of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity units in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the delivery and pick up status configuration1900includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Computing device unit GUI210to display method of multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units. Hamburger menu toggle270to move between different application configurations; Virtual Hub1pickup address and Virtual Hub2destination address at a contract specification with regards to quality, day, date and time1910; Trip status for PickUp of transportation or freight unit1920; CheckIn passenger or freight status for transportation unit1930; Messaging texts and instructions between users to make pick up and delivery of transportation or freight capacity units1940; Call between users with number masking for privacy security1950; GPS map location of user3110who is a rider or if freight cargo location1960; GPS map location of user3110who is a driver or if freight, cargo carrier unit location1970; GPS map of transportation or freight unit delivery and pickup1980; Texting message window for freight or transportation unit communication between users1991; PickUp address data window during PickUp status1992; Security button to report security issues to911and system database1990; In some embodiments, the GUI210transmits delivery instructions to the users3110to help the user have a rendering or map of their GPS location1960relative to the selling user1970of freight or transportation units. In some embodiments, the GUI210displays the trips status such as PickUp1920status, the trip status may include subsets or supersets of various status conditions such as PickUp, start, leaving, on-going, in-progress, arriving, arrived or a plurality of other trip status conditions. In some embodiments, the trip view of the GUI210may include a CheckIn1930button to confirm a passenger or freight transportation unit has been moved into the transportation unit object which could be a car, airplane, autonomous vehicle, bike, boat, ship, bus, drone, limo, motorcycle, moped, shuttle, spaceship, subway, taxi, train, cargo or other type of transportation mode. In some embodiments, the user3110may transmit a message using the message1940button which may transmit audio, visual or text messages between users3110,1970,1960. In some embodiments, the users3110,1960,1970may call each other using the call1950button to communicate pickup or delivery instructions. In some embodiments, a user3110,1960,1970may message another user3110,1960,1970to communicate using the PickUp Message window1991which may utilize visual, audio or text communication modes as well as log a message history between users. In some embodiments the users3110,1960,1970may toggle to other modes of the application using the menu hamburger button270. In some embodiments the GPS display of a map with the relative position of a transportation or freight unit seller1970and a transportation or freight unit buyer1960are displayed to help users3110understand each others relative position and location on a map1980. In some embodiments the GPS location of the transportation and freight unit seller1970and transportation or freight unit buyer1960are tracked in real time with location updates on the map1980. FIG.20illustrates an exemplary CheckIn configuration2000in one exemplary implementation of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity units in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the CheckIn2050for a buyer or seller of a transportation or freight unit includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Computing device unit GUI210to display method of multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units with security CheckIn. Hamburger menu toggle270to move between different application configurations; Driver or Seller of transportation or freight unit scan check for finger print, face scan or picture photo scan to verify identity of user2051; Passenger or freight and transportation unit buyer unit scan check for finger print, face scan or picture photo scan to verify identity of user2052; Transport Verification confirmation window to confirm identities of users in the system at the application system level2053; Buyer and Seller of transportation or freight unit facial recognition confirmation2010; Buyer and Seller of transportation or freight unit finger print recognition confirmation2020; Buyer and Seller of transportation or freight unit photo recognition confirmation2030; In some embodiments, the GUI210of a computing device transmits and confirms the identity of users against identity records in the Network Member Database Server3160which also confirms security checks for criminal records or other activity that would suspend a user from the platform environment. In some embodiments, the driver verification window2051may fail an identity verification due to a user not being the registered user2010on the Network Member Database Server3160. In some embodiments, the passenger or freight verification window2052may fail an identity verification due to a user2010not being the registered user on the network member database server3160. In some embodiments, the transport verification window2053may instruct the user2010to proceed to destination if verification is successful. In some embodiments, the transport verification window2053may instruct the user not to proceed to the destination if the verification is not successful. The identity verification system is unique and novel and dependent on a novel and unique auction forward market for transportation or freight over multiple nodes or virtual hubs topologies. FIG.21illustrates an exemplary delivery and pick up status configuration2100once a transportation or freight unit delivery has started in one exemplary implementation of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity units in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the delivery and pick up status configuration2100includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Computing device unit GUI210to display method of multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units. Hamburger menu toggle270to move between different application configurations; Virtual Hub1pickup address and Virtual Hub2destination address at a contract specification with regards to quality, day, date and time2103of delivery of a transportation or freight unit; Trip status of started of transportation or freight unit2102; Finish trip passenger or freight status for transportation unit2104once a transportation or freight unit has been delivered; Messaging texts and instructions between users to make pick-up, on-going route status and delivery complete of transportation or freight capacity units2105; Call between system users with number masking for privacy security2106; GPS map location of user2109who is a rider or if freight, cargo location2109; GPS map location of user2108who is a driver or if freight, cargo carrier unit location2108; GPS map of transportation or freight unit delivery and pickup2110; Texting message window for freight or transportation unit communication between users2112; Starting point of virtual hub for forward transportation or freight units2107; Security button to report security issues to911and system database2111; Drop off address for delivery of passenger or freight for transportation or freight unit2111. In some embodiments, the GUI210transmits delivery instructions to the users3110to help the user have a rendering or map of their GPS location2109relative to the selling user2108of freight or transportation units. In some embodiments, the GUI210displays the trips status such as Started2102status, the trip status may include subsets or supersets of various status conditions such as PickUp, Started, leaving, on-going, in-progress, arriving, arrived or a plurality of other trip status conditions. In some embodiments, the trip view of the GUI210may include a Finish2104button to confirm a passenger or freight transportation unit has been delivered or completed by the transportation unit object which could be a car, airplane, autonomous vehicle, bike, boat, ship, bus, drone, limo, motorcycle, moped, shuttle, spaceship, subway, taxi, train, cargo or other types of transportation modes. In some embodiments, the user3110may transmit a message using the message2105button which may transmit audio, visual or text messages between users3110,2109,2108. In some embodiments, the users3110,2109,2109may call each other using the call2106button to communicate pickup or delivery instructions or other necessary communication. In some embodiments, a user3110,2109,2108may message another user3110,2109,2108to communicate using the Message—User window2112which may utilize visual, audio or text communication modes as well as log a message history between users. In some embodiments the users3110,2109,2108may toggle to other modes of the application using the menu hamburger button270. In some embodiments the GPS display of a map with the relative position of a transportation or freight unit seller2108and a transportation or freight unit buyer2109are displayed to help users3110understand each others relative position and location on a map2110. In some embodiments the GPS location of the transportation and freight unit seller2108and transportation or freight unit buyer2109are tracked in real time with location updates on the map2110. FIG.22illustrates an exemplary delivery and pick up status configuration2200once a transportation or freight unit delivery is ongoing in one exemplary implementation of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity units in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the delivery and pick up status configuration2200includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Computing device unit GUI210to display method of multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units. Hamburger menu toggle270to move between different application configurations; Virtual Hub1pickup address and Virtual Hub2destination address at a contract specification with regards to quality, day, date and time2201of delivery of a transportation or freight unit; Trip status of ongoing for transportation or freight unit2202; Finish trip passenger or freight status button for transportation unit2203once a transportation or freight unit has been delivered; Messaging texts and instructions between users to make pick-up, on-going route status and delivery complete of transportation or freight capacity units2204; Call between system users with number masking for privacy security2205; GPS map location of user2209who is a rider or if freight, cargo location2209; GPS map location of user2208who is a driver or if freight, cargo carrier unit location2207; GPS map of transportation or freight unit delivery and pickup2206; Texting message window for freight or transportation unit communication between users2211; Starting point of virtual hub for forward transportation or freight units2206; Security button to report and record security issues to911and system database2210; Drop off address for delivery of passenger or freight for transportation or freight unit2212. In some embodiments, the GUI210transmits delivery instructions to the users3110to help the user3110have a rendering or map of their GPS location2207relative to the selling user2208of freight or transportation units. In some embodiments, the GUI210displays the trips status such as On-Going2202status, the trip status may include subsets or supersets of various status conditions such as PickUp, Started, leaving, on-going, in-progress, arriving, arrived or a plurality of other trip status conditions. In some embodiments, the trip view of the GUI210may include a Finish2203button to confirm a passenger or freight transportation unit has been delivered or completed by the transportation unit object which could be a car, airplane, autonomous vehicle, bike, boat, ship, bus, drone, limo, motorcycle, moped, shuttle, spaceship, subway, taxi, train, cargo or other types of transportation modes. In some embodiments, the user3110may transmit a message using the message2204button which may transmit audio, visual or text messages between users3110,2207,2208. In some embodiments, the users3110,2207,2208may call each other using the call2205button to communicate pickup or delivery instructions or other necessary communication. In some embodiments, a user3110,2207,2208may message another user3110,2207,2208to communicate using the Message—User window2211which may utilize visual, audio or text communication modes as well as log a message history between users3110,2207,2208. In some embodiments the users3110,2207,2208may toggle to other modes of the application using the menu hamburger button270. In some embodiments the GPS display of a map with the relative position of a transportation or freight unit seller2208and a transportation or freight unit buyer2207are displayed to help users3110understand each others relative position and location on a map2209. In some embodiments the GPS location of the transportation and freight unit seller2208and transportation or freight unit buyer2207are tracked in real time with location updates on the map2209. In some embodiments, the GUI210may display the Drop Off Address2212of the transportation or freight unit. In some embodiments a user3110,2207,2208may use a 911 button2210to submit a recording to the system servers and to authorities who are connected to the system if anything has occurred that may compromise the security of any user or transportation unit. FIG.23illustrates an exemplary delivery and pick up status configuration2300once a transportation or freight unit delivery has arrived in one exemplary implementation of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity units in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the delivery and pick up status configuration2300includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Computing device unit GUI210to display method of multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units. Hamburger menu toggle270to move between different application configurations; Virtual Hub1pickup address and Virtual Hub2destination address at a contract specification with regards to quality, day, date and time2301of delivery of a transportation or freight unit; Trip status of arrived for transportation or freight unit2302; Finish trip passenger or freight status button for transportation unit2303once a transportation or freight unit has been delivered; Messaging texts and instructions between users to make pick-up, on-going route status and delivery complete of transportation or freight capacity units2304; Call between system users with number masking for privacy security2305; GPS map location of user2307who is a rider or if freight, cargo location2307; GPS map location of user2307who is a driver or if freight, cargo carrier unit location2307; GPS map of transportation or freight unit delivery and pickup2308; Texting message window for freight or transportation unit communication between users2311; Starting point of virtual hub for forward transportation or freight units2306; Ending point of virtual hub for forward transportation or freight units2307; Security button to report and record security issues to911and system database2309; Drop off address for delivery of passenger or freight for transportation or freight unit2312; In some embodiments, the GUI210transmits delivery instructions to the users3110to help the user3110have a rendering or map of their GPS location2307relative to the selling user2307of freight or transportation units. In some embodiments, the GUI210displays the trips status such as Arrived2302status, the trip status may include subsets or supersets of various status conditions such as PickUp, Started, leaving, on-going, in-progress, arriving, arrived or a plurality of other trip status conditions. In some embodiments, the trip view of the GUI210may include a Finish2303button to confirm a passenger or freight transportation unit has been delivered or completed by the transportation unit object which could be a car, airplane, autonomous vehicle, bike, boat, ship, bus, drone, limo, motorcycle, moped, shuttle, spaceship, subway, taxi, train, cargo or other types of transportation modes. In some embodiments, the user3110may transmit a message using the message2304button which may transmit audio, visual or text messages between users3110,2307. In some embodiments, the users3110,2307may call each other using the call2305button to communicate pickup or delivery instructions or other necessary communication. In some embodiments, a user3110,2307may message another user3110,2307to communicate using the Message—User window2311which may utilize visual, audio or text communication modes as well as log a message history between users3110,2307. In some embodiments the users3110,2307may toggle to other modes of the application using the menu hamburger button270. In some embodiments the GPS display of a map with the relative position of a transportation or freight unit seller2307and a transportation or freight unit buyer2307are displayed to help users3110understand each others relative position and location on a map2308. In some embodiments the GPS location of the transportation and freight unit seller2307and transportation or freight unit buyer2307are tracked in real time with location updates on the map2308. In some embodiments, the GUI210may display the Drop Off Address2312of the transportation or freight unit. In some embodiments a user3110,2307may use a 911 button2309to submit a recording to the system servers and to authorities who are connected to the system if anything has occurred that may compromise the security of any user or transportation unit. FIG.24illustrates an exemplary delivery and pick up configuration2400for a transportation or freight unit multi layered network node topology in one exemplary implementation of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity units in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the multi layered network node topology of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity configuration2400includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Computing device unit GUI210to display method of multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units; Hamburger menu toggle270to move between different application configurations; From node starting point2401of a multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units; To or destination node ending point2402of a multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units; Date module2403in GUI210of an auction for a multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units; Time module2404in GUI210of pickup and delivery of an auction for a multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units; Go button2405to form an auction for a multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units; My Routes button2406to quickly obtain common From2401or To2402points in an auction for a multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units for a user on the system; Multi-Hub network2407,2408,2409,2410which may form a single dual node auction2407to2408or2407to2410or any possible node combination or a multi-node auction series for a multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units for a user on the system. In some embodiments, the GUI210transmits a From node2401and To node2402with instructions to the users3110with a specific date2403and time2404of a multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units for a user on the system to perform an auction by pressing the Go button2405. The system may use a plurality of constraints such as but not limited by cheapest route1011, single mode of transportation1012, multi method mode of transportation1013, fastest route1014, most scenic route1015, highest rated route or highest rated driver1016, most available route1017, highest volume route1018, most frequent route1019, service level route1020, security and safety of route1021, group restricted email or group criteria1022to use any two node points2407,2408,2409,2410or any combination of points2407,2408,2409,2410. In some embodiments the system may use no constraint, one constraint or a plurality of constraints to allow the user3110to participate, transact or trade in a multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units in an auction. In some embodiments the auction for forward market transportation or freight units may be comprised of an auction between only two points or a plurality of points subject to a plurality of constraints. In some embodiments the from or starting point or starting virtual hub may be2407, but the system selects an auction between2408and2409rather than starting at2407because one or more constraints were selected to frame the auction for forward market transportation or freight units. In some embodiments, an auction may be comprised of multiple modes of transportation comprising a car ride transportation or freight unit auction between2407and2408points, followed by an airplane transportation or freight unit auction between2408and2409, followed by a ship auction between2410and2409for transportation or freight units. In some embodiments the various plurality of auctions may be displayed as one auction or a series of auctions. In some embodiments, auctions for a multi layered network node topology for a forward market of transportation and freight units may consist of any subset or superset of the aforementioned possibilities including any constraints1000or any plurality of modes800. FIG.25illustrates an exemplary setting configuration2500for a transportation or freight unit multi layered network node topology in one exemplary implementation of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity units in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the multi layered network node topology of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity configuration2500includes the following setting elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Computing device unit GUI210to display method of multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units. Hamburger menu toggle270to move between different application configurations; Open markets setting toggle2510which allows a user to see all market participants of a given auction on a multi layered network node topology for a forward market of transportation and freight units; Restricted markets setting By Organization2520, By Sex2530, By Rating2540, By Security2550or by any other restriction the user3110defines which limit the auction participants for the user; Privacy settings which restrict push notifications2560, location information2570; Sync with contacts2580, or other privacy settings; In some embodiments, a user3110may select open markets2510which show every participant in a given auction for a multi layered network node topology for a forward market of transportation and freight units. In some embodiments, participants or users3110may select to restrict the market view of the GUI such as400by organization email2520or by sex2530or by rating of driver2540or rating of user2540or by security2550or by a plurality of other restrictions but not limited to those restrictions. In some embodiments, users3110may change privacy settings which restrict push notifications2560, location settings2570, Sync with Contacts settings2580or a plurality of other settings. In some embodiments, the toggle switches2510,2520,2530,2540,2550,2560,2570,2580may be set to off or on depending on if they hold a right or left toggle switch position. The restricted market settings2520,2530,2540,2550may be a subset or superset of the aforementioned in the formation of an open market auction for a multi layered network node topology for a forward market of transportation and freight units. FIG.26illustrates an exemplary setting for a package or cargo scan configuration2600for a transportation or freight unit multi layered network node topology in one exemplary implementation of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity units in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the multi layered network node topology of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity configuration2600includes the following setting for a package or cargo scan elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Computing device unit GUI210to display method of multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units. Hamburger menu toggle270to move between different application configurations; Package or Cargo Scan module2610to document the status and position of forward market freight or transportation units; Package or Cargo Inbound or received module2692to scan a picture, universal product code barcode, QR code, or other transportation or freight unit identifier; Package or Cargo Inbound scan toggle switch2620to scan a picture, universal product code barcode, QR code, or other transportation or freight unit identifier; Cargo unit Inbound scan toggle switch2640to scan a picture, universal product code barcode, QR code, or other transportation or freight unit identifier; Trailer unit Inbound scan toggle switch2650to scan a picture, universal product code barcode, QR code, or other transportation or freight unit identifier; Container unit Inbound scan toggle switch2660to scan a picture, universal product code barcode, QR code, or other transportation or freight unit identifier; Package or Cargo Outbound or delivered module2693to scan a picture, universal product code barcode, QR code, or other transportation or freight unit identifier; Package or Cargo Outbound or delivered scan toggle2670to scan a picture, universal product code barcode, QR code, or other transportation or freight unit identifier; Cargo Outbound or delivered scan toggle2680to scan a picture, universal product code barcode, QR code, or other transportation or freight unit identifier; Trailer Outbound or delivered scan toggle2690to scan a picture, universal product code barcode, QR code, or other transportation or freight unit identifier; Container Unit Outbound or delivered scan toggle2691to scan a picture, universal product code barcode, QR code, or other transportation or freight unit identifier; In some embodiments, a user3110may select the package or cargo unit scan module2610to scan or take a picture of a package or cargo identification code such as a QR code, Uniform Product code or other identifying package or cargo characteristic. In some embodiments, the user3110may select the inbound Scan/Picture Package toggle2620which captures the identification characteristic which may include QR Codes, Uniform Product Codes, Serial Numbers or other cargo identification characteristics of a package or cargo transportation or freight unit. In some embodiments, inbound cargo may include a larger unit structure than a package such as a crate or large movable unit with identification characteristics which may include QR Codes, Uniform Product Codes, Serial Numbers or other cargo identification characteristics, for such larger units a user3110may use the Scan Cargo Unit toggle2640to capture the cargo identification characteristic for inbound receipt of the transportation or freight unit. In some embodiments, an inbound Scan Trailer Unit toggle2650option may be used by a user3110to instruct the system configuration that receipt of a large trailer unit such as an eighteen wheel trailer unit or smaller trailer, may be scanned to identify the transportation or freight unit. In some embodiments, an inbound Scan Container Unit2660toggle may be utilized to track the receipt or location of a shipping container. In some embodiments, a user3110may select the outbound package or cargo unit scan module2693to scan or take a picture of a package or cargo identification code such as a QR code, Uniform Product code or other identifying package or cargo characteristic to confirm delivery to a delivery address of the transportation or freight unit. In some embodiments, the user3110may select the outbound Scan/Picture Package toggle2670which captures the identification characteristic of a package or cargo transportation or freight unit once the unit is delivered to the delivery address. In some embodiments, cargo may include a larger unit structure than a package such as a crate or large movable unit with identification characteristics which may include QR Codes, Uniform Product Codes, Serial Numbers or other cargo identification characteristics, for such larger units a user3110may use the outbound Scan Cargo Unit toggle2680to capture the cargo identification characteristic for outbound receipt of the transportation or freight unit. In some embodiments, a outbound Scan Trailer Unit toggle2690option may be used by a user3110to instruct the system configuration that delivery of a large trailer unit such as an eighteen wheel trailer unit or smaller trailer, may be scanned to identify the transportation or freight unit and confirm delivery. In some embodiments, an outbound Scan Container Unit2691toggle may be utilized to track the delivery or location of a shipping container which has been delivered. In some embodiments, transportation or freight units may be a subset or superset of the aforementioned in the formation of an open forward market auction for a multi layered network node topology for a forward market of transportation and freight units. FIG.27illustrates an exemplary setting for a package or cargo market configuration2700for a transportation or freight unit multi layered network node topology in one exemplary implementation of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity units in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, user interface210includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Exemplary virtual hub combination from a shipping center location2711; Exemplary virtual hub origin/from location2710with users or freight originators2712within the virtual hub location2710; Exemplary specification summary of the market, level of service and time of delivery commencement2727; Exemplary mode of ground transportation or freight capacity type2730; Exemplary transaction summary of the last trades quantity and price2728; Exemplary virtual hub destination/to location2722and user who is being delivered on the transportation or freight capacity unit2723; Exemplary bid/buy quantity title header2715for an exemplary virtual transportation or freight unit hub market; Exemplary bid/buy price title header2716for an exemplary virtual transportation or freight hub market; Exemplary offer/sell price title header2719for an exemplary virtual transportation or freight hub market; Exemplary offer/sell quantity title header2726for an exemplary virtual transportation or freight hub market; Exemplary bid/buy quantity2414for the best bid quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination2711; Exemplary bid/buy quantity2713for the second-best bid quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination2711; Exemplary bid/buy price2718for the best bid price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination2711; Exemplary bid/buy price2717for the second-best bid price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination2711; Exemplary offer/sell price2721for the best offer price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination2711; Exemplary offer/sell price2720for the second-best offer price from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination2711; Exemplary offer/sell quantity2725for the best offer quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination2711; Exemplary offer/sell quantity2724for the second-best offer quantity from a plurality of users3110for an exemplary respective transportation or freight capacity virtual hub combination2711; Exemplary safety dispatch “911” button2729to enact video and audio recording of the user3110environment and dispatch of that information to authorities and system servers. Exemplary hamburger menu button270to move back to menu options and settings away from the participation, transaction, trading auction GUI210embodiment. In some embodiments, the user3110may enter a transaction quantity and price for transportation or freight capacity units to participate, transact and/or trade by the GUI210detecting user3110contact or audio interface with a bid/buy price2718or offer/sell price2721. The GUI210detects user3110contact with any of the GUI210buttons which have been aforementioned. Upon user3110contact or audio interface with buttons on the GUI210, instructions are instantiated which allow the user3110to change the specifications of the respective virtual hub combination2711. A plurality of prices and markets may be presented based on a plurality of contract specifications. In some embodiments, the best bid/buy price2718may be moving up in price or down in price depending on the market conditions at any given time. In some embodiments the last trade or last transacted price for a given specification is listed to help the user3110understand how the market is moving so that the user3110may submit a competitive offer/selling price2721or bid/buying price2718. In some embodiments, users3110may adjust settings of the GUI210to show more bid/buying prices2717or more offer/selling prices2720. In some embodiments the matrix of market quantities and prices2713,2714,2715,2716,2717,2718,2719,2720,2721,2724,2725,2726may be referred to as market depth in the GUI210embodiment. In some embodiments the number of users3110may be displayed as user icons2712or2723for the amount of people logged in which desire to transact, trade or participate in a given virtual hub2710to virtual hub2722combination for transportation or freight units. In some embodiments, users3110may select the transportation mode2730such that the user allows a market for only one form of transportation or freight capacity as a commodity or the user3110may allow the system to show multiple forms of transportation or freight capacity between two virtual transportation capacity hubs2710,2711,2722. In some embodiments the GUI210may detect a user3110selecting the 911 button2729which may activate voice and video recording functions on the mobile or stationary device111and transmit the data with a confirmation from the user3110to the authorities and system servers to provide enhanced security while participating, transacting or trading forward transportation or freight as a commodity. In some embodiments the user may toggle between the GUI210market view screen inFIG.3and other menu270options and settings by the user3110selecting the hamburger button270and the GUI210detecting the user3110input or contact or audio instruction. In some embodiments the GUI210may instantiate instructions in the memory of the mobile computing device3111which then transmits transportation or freight capacity data through the network3140or wireless GPS network3150to call upon instruction routines and instruction sub-routines on the transportation forward market database server3130, virtual hub database server3120, network member database server3160, no arbitrage condition database server3180and/or instructions in the memory of the cloud and local CPUs3190which all interface together to make one system which may deliver transportation capacity units to users3110from and to a plurality of virtual hubs2710,2722with a plurality of specifications at specific market prices. FIG.28illustrates an exemplary check in and security database configuration2800for a transportation or freight unit multi layered network node topology in one exemplary implementation of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity units in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the multi layered network node topology of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity configuration2800includes the following security configuration elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Exemplary uniform crime reporting (“UCR”) database2854from international agencies who report crime; Exemplary International State or Provincial crime reporting database2855from international governments who report crime; Exemplary International National Incident Based Reporting System (“NIBRS”) crime reporting database2856from international governments who report crime; Exemplary Interpol crime reporting database2857from international governments who report crime which connects National Central Bureaus (“NCBs”); Exemplary International application program interface and ABC (“API/ABC”) crime reporting database2860from international governments who report crime; Exemplary national crime reporting database2858from international governments who report crime; Exemplary internal system crime reporting database2859from crimes which occurred on system; Exemplary facial scan to identify user2810against a plurality of crime databases; Exemplary fingerprint scan to identify user2820against a plurality of crime databases; Exemplary photo or photo scan to identify user2830against a plurality of crime databases; Exemplary voice scan to identify user2810against a plurality of crime databases; Exemplary Computing device unit GUI210to display method of multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units. Hamburger menu toggle270to move between different application configurations; Exemplary Driver or Freight transport or freight or transport seller unit user interface2851to confirm identity verification against a plurality of crime databases; Exemplary passenger unit or freight unit user interface2852to confirm identity verification against a plurality of crime databases; Exemplary handshake verification user interface2853to confirm both buyer and seller of transportation or freight units were correctly verified against crime databases; In some embodiments, a plurality of crime databases UCR Database2854, State and Province Database2855, NIBRS database2856, INTERPOL database2857, API/ABC database2860, National database2858, Internal system database2859are used to confirm a user3110, has been confirmed not to have criminal history in accordance with instructions on the method and system. In some embodiments, transportation or freight unit security may be a subset or superset of the aforementioned in the formation of an open forward market auction for a multi layered network node topology for a forward market of transportation and freight units. Such security checks are standard in airports, but they are not automated and they are not utilized in other modes of transportation which degrades the overall safety of other transportation methods if they are not utilized. In some embodiments, the check in instructions may reject a user from confirmed verified transport if they fail the plurality of safety checks. In some embodiments, confirmed no crime history users3110do not have activity reported in the plurality of crime databases UCR Database2854, State and Province Database2855, NIBRS database2856, INTERPOL database2857, API/ABC database2860, National database2858, Internal system database2859and are confirmed to transport verified status2853in the system. FIG.29illustrates an exemplary user accounting configuration2900for a transportation or freight unit multi layered network node topology in one exemplary implementation of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity unit auctions in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the multi layered network node topology of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity configuration2900includes the following accounting elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Computing device unit GUI210to display method of multi layered network node topology for forward market of transportation and freight units. Exemplary hamburger menu toggle270to move between different application configurations; Exemplary account button2910to edit or confirm user account data; Exemplary deposit button2920to add transaction funds or transaction currency or transaction balances to the user account; Exemplary deposit method button2930to add transaction funds or transaction currency or transaction balances to the user account through Debit, Credit, Cash, Check, virtual currency, digital currency or a plurality of other payment methods; Exemplary withdrawal button2940to send transaction funds or transaction currency or transaction balances to the user account in a different institution; Exemplary withdrawal method button2970to send transaction funds or transaction currency or transaction balances to the user account at a different institution through Debit, Credit, Cash, Check, virtual currency, digital currency or a plurality of other payment methods; Exemplary balances button2950to confirm user account balances; Exemplary tax button2960to track user account activity for taxation reporting; Exemplary month to date tax reporting button2980; Exemplary year to date tax reporting button2990; Exemplary prior year tax reporting button2991; Exemplary “911” security button2991; Exemplary Network Member Database Server160; Exemplary cloud and CPU and Network configuration3190to send and receive Network Member account data; In some embodiments, user account2910data may be displayed with voice or screen or non-screen computing devices with instructions from the GUI210in accordance with instructions on the method and system. In some embodiments, user deposit2920data may be displayed with voice or screen or non-screen computing devices with instructions from the GUI210in accordance with instructions on the method and system. In some embodiments, user deposit method2930data such as Debit, Credit, Cash, Check, virtual currency, digital currency or a plurality of other payment methods may be displayed with voice or screen or non-screen computing devices with instructions from the GUI210in accordance with instructions on the method and system. In some embodiments, user withdrawal2940data may be displayed with voice or screen or non-screen computing devices with instructions from the GUI210in accordance with instructions on the method and system. In some embodiments, user withdrawal method2970data such as Debit, Credit, Cash, Check, virtual currency, digital currency or a plurality of other payment methods may be displayed with voice or screen or non-screen computing devices with instructions from the GUI210in accordance with instructions on the method and system to place money in the system account into a different institution specified by the user3110. In some embodiments, user balances2950data may be displayed with voice or screen or non-screen computing devices with instructions from the GUI210in accordance with instructions on the method and system. In some embodiments, user tax button2960data may be displayed with voice or screen or non-screen computing devices with instructions from the GUI210in accordance with instructions on the method and system. In some embodiments, user month to date tax data button2980, year to date tax data button2990, prior year tax data button2991may be displayed with voice or screen or non-screen computing devices with instructions from the GUI210in accordance with instructions on the method and system. In some embodiments, the accounting and tax information may be stored in the Network Member Database Server3160and transmitted through the cloud, network and CPUs3190to the GUI computing device210. In some embodiments, transportation or freight unit accounting and fund interfaces may be a subset or superset of the aforementioned in the formation of an open forward market auction for a multi layered network node topology for a forward market of transportation and freight units. FIG.30illustrates an exemplary network configuration3000for a transportation or freight unit multi layered network node topology in one exemplary implementation of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity unit auctions in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the multi layered network node topology of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity configuration2900includes the following accounting elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Exemplary Wireless GPS Network and Server3083; Exemplary Wireless computing device that is audio, video, screen or non-screen interfaced3082; Exemplary Network Member Database Server3050; Exemplary Transportation Forward Market Database Server3060; Exemplary Transportation Forward Market Database Server3060; Exemplary No Arbitrage Condition Database Server3070; Exemplary Virtual Hub Database Server3080; Exemplary Network, Network Cloud, and local CPUs3081; Exemplary Network Multi Layered Network Virtual Hub Node Topology for forward market transportation of freight unit auctions3010,3020,3030,3040. In some embodiments, the network topology3010may utilize a voice or screen or non-screen computing device3082to interface with system and method instructions over a Network and Network Cloud and Networked CPUs3081to use instructions on CPUs to order a constrained or unconstrained virtual hub network topology auction over two or more virtual hub nodes3010,3020,3030,3040over one or multiple modes of transportation or freight with instructions and data from the Virtual Hub Database Server3080, the No Arbitrage Condition Database Server3070, the Transportation Forward Market Database Server3060, the Network Member Database Server3050and the Wireless GPS Network Server3083. Network Data may be displayed with voice or screen or non-screen computing devices with instructions from the GUI210in accordance with instructions on the method and system. FIG.31illustrates an exemplary user In one implementation as illustrated in3100, a user3110may use a mobile computing device3111to login through a network3140to a network member database server3160. The mobile computing device3111may be substituted for a fixed stationary computing device, an augmented reality projection device, virtual reality projection device, voice interface computing device, mixed reality projection device, or any computing device which renders a visualization to a user3110. Once the user3110has logged into the network member database server which confirms user identity through multi-factor facial recognition, passwords, fingerprint recognition and photo scan3160through the wireless or wired network3140, a token will be passed to the mobile computing device3111and an authenticated session commences which allows the user3110access to an exemplary graphical user interfaceFIG.2. The user3110may input an origin/from location220and a destination/to location230on the mobile computing device210GUI. The user3110may also allow the instructions from the GUI on the mobile computing device3111locate the users origin/from address automatically through communication with the wireless GPS location network3150. The user3110may transmit the from/origin address location220and to/destination address location information230by depressing the go representation240on the GUI. The from/origin address location220and to/destination address location information230are transmitted by the user3110to the wireless or wired network3140to a cloud based CPU3190or a local CPU3190such that instructions may be performed in the memory of the CPU3190to form a virtual hub310with other users3110that are a part of the network member database server3160. The virtual hub location information is then saved in the virtual hub database server3120by the CPUs3190transmitting the corresponding data to the virtual hub database server3120. Once two or more virtual hubs have been logged into the virtual hub database server3120with corresponding physical location data, the instructions on the CPU3190request the corresponding pricing information from the transportation forward market database server3130through the network3140to present the current series of bid/buy and offer/sell prices for the combination of virtual hubs the user3110has requested. The user3110may set a series of conditions and constraints to give specific instructions to the CPU3190through the mobile computing device GUI3111. The specific conditions and constraints set by the user3110form the basis for the forward commodity contract between other users3110on the network member database server3160which form the basis for participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight capacity as a forward commodity and resulting financial swap payment structures from the transformation and interface with the financial swap database server3112. Further the user3110may set additional constraints on the mobile computing device GUI3111which then are transmitted through the network3140to the no arbitrage condition database server3180such that the commodity transaction may have important attributes which assist in increasing the liquidity of various transactions on the system and various financial swap payment incentives. Once a transaction has been completed using the plurality of CPUs, instructions, servers and networks, the user3110may then physically take delivery of the transportation or freight capacity commodity by getting into the vehicle3170and taking a unit of capacity as defined by the contract commodity specifications which were set by the user3110using the mobile computing device3111network3140and plurality of database servers such as the transportation database server3130, CPUs3190, instructions on CPUs3190, virtual hub database server3120, wireless GPS location network3150, network member database server3160and no arbitrage condition database server3180. Further a user3110may not only take physical delivery of the transportation capacity unit in a vehicle3170but they may also make physical delivery of the transportation capacity unit if the user3110is the owner of the transportation capacity unit. If the user3110is the buyer of the transportation capacity unit, they are taking physical delivery of the transportation capacity unit in the vehicle3170. To avoid confusion, the specifications for the transportation capacity unit mode may have been set for automobile, air, autonomous vehicle, bike, boat, bus, drone, limo, motorcycle, moped, shuttle, space, subway, taxi, train, fastest optimized, cheapest route, packages, cargo or virtual modes. Accordingly the vehicle3170in the diagram inFIG.31may be an automobile, air, autonomous vehicle, bike, boat, bus, drone, limo, motorcycle, moped, shuttle, space, subway, taxi, train, fastest optimized, cheapest route, packages, cargo, virtual, or other form of transportation. To be approved as a network member on the network member database server3160, the user3110must have input financial information into the network member database server3160such that the user3110has the ability to take payment for delivery of the transportation unit commodity or make payment for the transportation unit commodity from the transformation of the financial swap payment structure database3112. Safety and security also have preset configurations and approval levels for network members in the network member database server3160which are multi-factor to include passwords, facial recognition, fingerprint recognition and photo recognition and no arbitrage condition database server3180which are covered in more detail later in the drawings and detailed description. Virtual hub database server3120locations are added as a user3110requests transportation or freight capacity units or offers transportation or freight capacity units from various locations from the GUI on the mobile computing device3111in accordance with some embodiments. FIG.32illustrates an exemplary relationship between the forward price for the transportation or freight unit and the spot price of the transportation or freight unit. In some embodiments, the multi layered network node topology of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight and resulting transformed financial swap payment structure capacity configuration3200includes the following transformed math and transportation unit elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Exemplary general relationship between spot and forward price for the transportation or freight unit3210; Exemplary forward price at time zero for the transportation or freight unit3220; Exemplary spot price at time zero for the transportation or freight unit3230; Exemplary mathematical irrational constant ˜2.7183 approximation e to the power of the relevant interest rate multiplied by the year time period for the transportation or freight unit3240; In some embodiments, the transportation unit forward contract may be valued at $100 per unit in accordance with instructions on the method and system. A user discloses they want to enter into a forward contract that expires in one year. In some embodiments the current annual risk free rate may be 6%. Using the formula3210the forward price of the transportation unit is calculated as follows: F equals $100 multiplied by the irrational constant e to the power of six percent multiplied by 1 which equals $106.18 by way of example but not limiting by example in accordance with instructions on the method and system. FIG.33illustrates an exemplary relationship between the forward price for the transportation or freight unit and the spot price of the transportation or freight unit considering carrying costs. In some embodiments, the multi layered network node topology of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight and resulting transformed financial swap payment structure capacity configuration3300includes the following transformed math and transportation unit elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Exemplary general relationship between spot and forward price for the transportation or freight unit considering the cost of carry3310; Exemplary forward price at time zero for the transportation or freight unit3320; Exemplary spot price at time zero for the transportation or freight unit3330; Exemplary mathematical irrational constant ˜2.7183 approximation e to the power of the relevant interest rate plus the storage cost q less the convenience yield c which is an adjustment to the cost of carry, multiplied by the year time period for the transportation or freight unit3340; In some embodiments, the transportation unit forward contract may be valued at $1000 per unit in accordance with instructions on the method and system. A user discloses they want to enter into a forward contract that expires in one year. In some embodiments the current annual risk free rate may be 2%. Using the formula3310the forward price of the transportation unit is calculated as follows: F equals $1000 multiplied by the irrational constant e to the power of two percent plus 0.5% which is the storage cost q less the convenience yield c which is 0.25% multiplied by one which equals $1022.80 by way of example but not limiting by example in accordance with instructions on the method and system. FIG.34illustrates an exemplary net present value of the financial swap payment structure considering the transformed transportation units and cash flows from the forward prices of those transformed transportation units. In some embodiments, the multi layered network node topology of participating, transacting and/or trading transportation or freight and resulting transformed financial swap payment structure capacity configuration3400includes the following transformed math and transportation unit elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Exemplary general formula for the net present value of the financial swap payment structure for transportation and freight units3410; Exemplary net present value element or variable NPV3420; Exemplary initial cash flow C sub zero of the financial swap payment3430at time t equals zero; Exemplary cash flow C sub one of the financial swap repayment3440at time equals one; Exemplary cash flow C sub two of the financial swap repayment3450at time equals two; Exemplary cash flow C sub T of the financial swap payment3460at time equals T; Exemplary interest rate or discount rate which equals the variable r3470; Exemplary time to delivery of the transportation unit which equals the variable T3480; In some embodiments, the transportation unit forward contract3320may be a cash flow at time equals one3440or C sub one of $100 and another transportation unit forward contract3320which may or may not have a different value than the cash flow at time equals one3440and for purposes of example we will define that second cash flow as3450or C sub two with a value of $105. Each of the cash flows3440and3450would be discounted at a time of r3470at time t3480in accordance with a standard but transformed data structure to represent a physical forward contract for a transportation or freight unit. In some embodiments such as the aforementioned example the interest rate or discount rate r3470is 10% and time T3480is two years. The transformed resulting addition of the cash flows using the discounted cash flow model3410for transformed transportation units would yield the amount of payment that could be made to the user as the initial cash flow payment3430. The initial cash flow3430may be the financial swap payment in accordance with some embodiments which is then paid back by the delivery of transportation or freight units and resulting cash flows3440,3450and3460. The aforementioned description, for purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. | 136,501 |
11861528 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following detailed description is directed to an infringement detection system and methodologies and technologies that leverage and/or interact with an infringement detection system. While the subject matter described herein is presented in the general context of program modules that execute in conjunction with the execution of an operating system and application programs on a computer system, those skilled in the art will recognize that other implementations may be performed in combination with other types of program modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, and other types of structures that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the subject matter described herein may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Referring now toFIG.1, aspects of an operating environment100for various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein for providing and/or interacting with an infringement detection system will be described, according to an illustrative embodiment of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein. The operating environment100shown inFIG.1can include an infringement detection system102. The infringement detection system102can operate in communication with and/or as part of a communications network (“network”)104, though this is not necessarily the case. According to various embodiments, the functionality of the infringement detection system102may be provided by one or more and/or a combination of server computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, embedded computing systems and/or controllers, mobile telephones and/or smartphones, other computing systems or devices, or the like. It should be understood that the functionality of the infringement detection system102can be provided by a single device, by two similar or even identical devices, and/or by two or more dissimilar devices. For purposes of describing the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection system102is described herein as a computing device such as a server computer. It should be understood that this embodiment is illustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. The infringement detection system102can execute an operating system106and one or more application programs such as, for example, an infringement detection application108. The operating system106can include a computer program for controlling the operation of the infringement detection system102and/or components thereof. The infringement detection application108can include an executable program that can be configured to execute on top of the operating system106to provide various functions as illustrated and described herein. In some embodiments, the infringement detection application108can be executed as a web application by the infringement detection system102, while in other embodiments the infringement detection application108can be executed as a native application that can be installed on a computerized device to create the infringement detection system102. As such, the various functions illustrated and described herein with regard to the infringement detection application108will be described with reference to the infringement detection system102. It should be understood that this is being illustrative of various implementations of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein (e.g., some embodiments where the infringement detection application108is installed on a computerized device to form the infringement detection system102). Thus, it should be understood that the infringement detection system102and the functionality ascribed to the infringement detection system102can be provided by way of one or more processors executing one or more applications such as, for example, the infringement detection application108. Because the functionality illustrated and described herein can be provided on or by various devices and/or systems, it should be understood that this implementation is illustrative and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection system102can identify infringement or potential infringement of intellectual property assets by performing various operations as provided by the infringement detection application108. These operations include, in various embodiments, a coarse matching process that can use an image comparison engine or methodology and a refined matching process via shape fitting transformations. In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102can also perform a confirmation analysis of suspected counterfeits and/or infringing articles. In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102can be configured to trigger and/or perform various response actions in response to a confirmed potential infringement (or confirmed non-infringement). For example, the infringement detection system102can be configured to allege infringement, to present alleged infringement evidence to users or other entities, to communicate alleged infringement events to users or other entities, and/or to otherwise output results and/or to otherwise communicate results (e.g., via a computer network such as the network104). It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. The infringement detection application108can be configured to obtain one or more product image110. The product image110can be obtained for any specific domain of interest. As used herein, the phrase “domain of interest” can be used to refer to a particular classification, product, product type, and/or product category. The domain of interest can be used to limit and/or expand the types of product images110obtained during any particular analysis. The domain of interest also can be used to limit and/or identify various types of sketches, meshes, point clouds, models, drawings, and/or patent drawings that can be obtained for use in comparing the product images110to the sketches, meshes, point clouds, models, drawings, and/or patent drawings. A domain of interest can be broadly and/or narrowly defined. For example, the domain of interest for a specific analysis can include shoes, glasses, electronic devices, tires, automotive parts, toys, jewelry, luxury accessories, etc. According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection system102can be configured to identify or obtain an identification of (e.g., via a portal and/or other interactions with a user or other entity, based on a classification of a patent or other sketch that is being used for a comparison, etc.) a domain of interest. For purposes of illustrating and describing some example embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, an example domain of interest will be used for various examples. In particular, the example domain of interest used in some examples herein is “shoes,” which means the type of product being analyzed in this example is a shoe. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. The product images110can be obtained from one or more product image sources112A-N(hereinafter collectively and/or generically referred to as “product image sources112”). The product image sources112can include a computerized image generation source (e.g., a generative neural network, a CAD model, a LIDAR image capture, a video gaming world environment, etc.), a camera or scanning device (e.g., a video camera, a video stream, an x-ray scanning device or system, a two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional scanning device or system, a laser scanning device or system, a computer tomography (“CT”) x-ray scanning device or system, a computer axial tomography (“CAT”) scanning device or system, a light wave scanning device or system, a radiofrequency scanning device or system, other scanners and/or imaging devices, a positron emission technology (“PET”) scanning device or system, a magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”) device or system, etc.), and/or an image supply source (e.g., document image collections, collectible image collections, website pages that promote and/or offer products and content for sale, news sites that report on or advertise products for sale, other sites such as marketplaces, social media, search engines, or the like, photo databases, video databases, animation databases, combinations thereof, or the like). In some embodiments, a non-invasive imaging device or system (e.g., an x-ray device, a CT scanner, a CAT scanner, an MRI system, a PET scanner, a radiofrequency scanner, a laser scanner, or the like) is used as the product image source112. Thus, it can be appreciated that the product images110can correspond to actual photographs, drawings or sketches, and/or other imagery of real world items and/or can include computer generated imagery (e.g., meshes, point clouds, CAD models, computer generated solids, etc.). The product images110may be obtained from the product image sources112using various approaches. In some embodiments, the product images110can be obtained from the product image sources112via automated processes such as crawling, scraping, uploading, downloading, mobile device capture, frame-capture, X-ray scans, CT-scans, laser-scans, holography, and/or may be acquired by other methods. In some other embodiments, the product images110can be obtained from the product image sources112by user input (e.g., selecting an image, directing a camera at an image, scanning an image, downloading an image, uploading an image, etc.). The product image sources112can include various sources of imagery such as, for example, one or more website112A, one or more camera112B, one or more image generator112C, one or more image database112N, and/or other image sources. The website112A can include almost any type or kind of web-based site such as, for example, an online marketplace, an online catalog, an online news site, a social media site, other web platforms, combinations thereof, or the like. The website112A also can include pages or files that may or may not be accessible via the open Internet such as, for example, locally stored files, sites accessible via a small-area or private network (e.g., a corporate intranet), or other files or objects that may be formatted as web pages or web files (e.g., XML files, JSON files, HTML files, or other markup language files) and that may or may not be accessible via one or more network connections. Thus, the website112A should be understood as being almost any type of file or object including, but not limited to, web pages and/or websites. The camera112B can include various image sensing devices and/or image sources such as cameras, scanners, or the like. Thus, the camera112B can include a digital camera, an image scanner, an X-ray scanner or camera, a medium X-ray system, a backscatter X-ray scanner, a millimeter wave scanner, a radiofrequency scanner, and/or other scanners, cameras, and/or imaging devices. According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the camera112B illustrated and described herein can include other imaging devices and/or imaging systems that may use one or more devices that work together such as, for example, imaging devices and/or one or more emitters such as, for example, an infrared light emitter and an infrared camera. In one contemplated embodiment, the camera112B can include an X-ray system (e.g., a luggage scanner at an airport, a shipping container scanning device or other scanning device, etc.). It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Because almost any type of imaging system and/or imaging device can be used to provide the functionality of the camera112B, it should be understood that the example embodiments listed herein are illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. The image generator112C (labelled “Image Gen.” inFIG.1) can include various image generators such as, for example, gaming environments, rendering software, CAD software, sketch-to-image services, neural networks, and/or applications (e.g., various applications that may use one or more neural networks such as, for example, a deep convolutional generative adversarial network (“DCGAN”), a conditional generative adversarial network (“cGAN”), a cross-domain convolutional network, combinations thereof, or the like), and/or other image generation technologies to create an image, sketch, or the like. In some embodiments, the image generator112C can output a line drawing or sketch as the product image110. In some other embodiments, the image generator112C can output a simulated image as the product image110. Some examples of imagery that can be created by functionality such as that illustrated and described herein with reference to the image generator112C will be discussed below with reference toFIG.9. The concepts and technologies disclosed herein can be configured to compare images, simulated images, sketches, and/or other forms of imagery. Thus, these and other examples of product images110should not be construed as being limiting in any way. The image database112N (labelled “Image DB” inFIG.1) can include various image databases such as, for example, image directories associated with websites and/or marketplaces, web-based image search services and/or systems (e.g., the GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH service from Google, Inc.), image repositories, and/or other image data that may be accessible to any of the elements of the operating environment100illustrated and described inFIG.1. According to various implementations of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the image database112N also can include a SQL or non-SQL database. The image database112N can store images and/or other imagery (e.g., sketches, renderings, photographs, vectors of images, etc.), as well as data that can be mapped to relationships about known and suspect counterfeits, represented at least by images. In one contemplated embodiment, each image entry in the database can be associated with textual, numerical, and/or other qualitative and/or quantitative metadata such as, for example, identifiers, categorizations, classifications, prices, quantities, parties, provenance, historical backgrounds for the product, security indications, blockchain activity, product histories, seller histories, shipping histories, sales histories, feedback histories, in-process investigations indicators, rights statuses, and/or other facts or data that can be used, for example, to describe, provide context for, and/or to provide background for, a particular product image110that is obtained from the image database112N and/or other product image sources112. Of course, these and other types of information can be obtained from other product image sources112and/or other sources as illustrated and described herein without departing from the scope of the claims. According to various embodiments, the image database112N can store and/or can access natural language processed (“NLP”) data associated with images; e.g., top co-occurring phrases, extracted sentiments, extracted entities, relevant clusters, modeled topics, or the like. These and other NLP data can be obtained from, for example, page or article titles, abstracts, classifications, category names metadata, entity names, related feedback, descriptions, and/or other types of information. The image database112N also can store and/or can access category concordance information about the product images110, or about products or content represented by the product images110. Such category concordance information can represent, for example, a relationship between product images110of potential counterfeits and other taxonomies, e.g., Locarno classification identifiers such as, for example, identifying a shoe as a golf shoe, boot, pump, sandal, heel, or the like. Thus, the category concordance information can be used to enhance matching as will be explained in more detail herein. The product image sources112can store product images110in their as-acquired formats and/or in modified versions. For example, the product images sources112can store product images110as augmented images including, but not limited to, augmented or transformed versions of the product images110. As used herein, augmented images or transformed images (e.g., augmented or transformed versions of the product images110) can correspond to images created by way of modifying the product images110from an as-acquired format to a different format such as, for example, a format that can be more readily and/or more efficiently compared to a proprietary object image (e.g., a sketch, a patent drawing, a trademark drawing, a trade dress drawing, etc.) as will be explained in more detail below. These augmentations and/or transformations can provide variations that can be learned or that can be evaluated by the infringement detection system102by machine learning and/or programming. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection system102can augment and/or transform the product images110by way of applying various operations. For example, the product images110can be modified by the infringement detection system102(and/or other entities) by applying, to the product images110, various image modification operations such as rotation, skewing, padding, jittering, thresholding, edge detection, resizing, flipping, watermarking, mean-subtraction, inversion, posterization, simulating X-ray, colorization, color isolation, and/or other image modification operations. In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102and/or other entities can apply multiple operations to a product image110to obtain the augmented and/or transformed version thereof. Thus, in some embodiments the infringement detection system102can store and/or access operation workflows (e.g., a set of operations to be performed in a defined order or in no particular order) to augment and/or transform the product images110. As such, it can be appreciated with reference toFIG.1that product images110can be obtained from almost any type of image data source and that the product images110can be subjected to various types of modifications and/or sets of modifications in accordance with the concepts and technologies disclosed herein. Thus, the illustrated examples of the product image sources112are merely illustrative of some example embodiments and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102can be configured to identify the domain of interest (e.g., automatically and/or based on user input) and can send a product image request114to the product image sources112. According to various embodiments, the product image request114can include an explicit request (e.g., the product image request114can be generated as an explicit request), while in some other embodiments, the product image request114can correspond to a service call, a query (e.g., a query string, a web query, a SQL query, etc.), or other request. In various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the product image request114can specify the determined domain of interest as a parameter or search term. It can be appreciated that the product image request114can specify the domain of interest and/or other search parameters according to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein. Thus, in the example embodiment of shoes, the product image request114can indicate that “shoes” are the domain of interest and the product image request114therefore can effectively request “shoe images” from the product image sources112. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. The infringement detection system102can be configured to obtain one or more types of reference information to which to compare the product images110. According to some embodiments, the reference information can include photographs, video frames, sketches, line drawings, trade dress drawings, drawings from patents, combinations thereof, or the like, as well as various types of information that can provide details relating to these and/or other types of information such as ownership information, enforceability information, source information, combinations thereof, or the like. In some embodiments, as shown inFIG.1, the reference information can include patent data116(e.g., drawings from a patent and/or various types of information relating to patents such as ownership information, validity information, etc.), which can be obtained from one or more patent data sources118. It should be understood that this example is illustrative of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein for comparing a product image110to a reference image, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. As explained above with regard to the product image110, the patent data116can be obtained for a specific domain of interest that can be used to limit the types of patent data116obtained. Also, as will be explained in more detail below, the patent data sources118can store as-acquired versions of patent data116and/or augmented and/or transformed versions of the patent data116. According to various embodiments, the infringement detection system102can generate a patent data request120. The patent data request120can include data that specifies the domain of interest, and the patent data request120can be communicated by the infringement detection system102to one or more of the patent data sources118. In some other embodiments, a user or other entity can enter a patent number or other identifier, and various types of information associated with that patent can define the domain of interest (e.g., a classification system associated with the patent can define the domain of interest, in some embodiments). It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the patent data116can include at least one sketch, line drawing, patent drawing, or other form of imagery that can be used as a reference image to which the product image110will be compared. In the example shown inFIG.1(wherein patents are used as the reference information and the drawings from the patent are used as the reference image), the reference image can correspond to a patent drawing122. It should be understood that although patent drawings122and other patent data116are discussed with regard to the example embodiments illustrated and described herein, the concepts and technologies disclosed herein can be implemented with other types of drawings and/or sketches as mentioned above. As such, the embodiments illustrated and described herein for comparing product images110to patent drawings122should be understood as being illustrative of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. The patent data116also can include ownership data126and other data128, each of which will be explained in more detail below. The patent drawing122can include one or more patent drawings and/or modified forms of patent drawings. The patent drawings122can be obtained from one or more patent databases and therefore can correspond, in some embodiments, to one or more drawings for a design patent or industrial design. Thus, it should be understood that the patent data sources118can include one or more patent databases, in some embodiments. Because the patent drawing122can be used for additional and/or alternative reasons, and because the patent drawing122can be obtained from additional and/or alternative sources, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. As noted above with regard to the product images110, the patent drawings122obtained by the infringement detection system102also can be obtained in as-acquired formats (e.g., images from patents) and/or can be obtained in modified formats (e.g., augmented and/or transformed). In some other embodiments, the infringement detection system102can obtain the patent drawings122in an as-acquired format and can modify the drawings using operations and/or workflows. As noted above with regard to the product images110, the patent drawings122can be modified by the infringement detection system102by applying various image modification operations such as, for example, rotation, skewing, padding, jittering, thresholding, edge detection, resizing, flipping, watermarking, mean-subtraction, inversion, posterization, simulating X-ray, and/or other operations. In one contemplated embodiment, the infringement detection system102can use OCR text recognition or another neural network to recognize text in an image, indicating that the image is actually comprised of multiple sub-images (e.g., multiple labeled patent drawing figures on the same page of a design patent document). The augmentation workflow may further create bounding box proposals and save each bounded image region into a new, named image file with associated metadata relating to its parent image and source origin. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. The patent data116also can include ownership data126, as noted above. The ownership data126can reflect ownership information associated with any patent. Thus, the ownership data126can include assignment data, legal status data, family data, litigation data, inventor data, and/or any other type of information that can capture or indicate encumbrances and/or ownership (e.g., security interests, collateral agreements, etc.) of a patent. This information can be used by the infringement detection system102to determine if a potentially infringing site or image is co-owned, in some embodiments. Thus, it should be understood that the patent data sources118can include one or more patent databases, one or more assignment databases, and/or other sources of ownership information (e.g., news sites, court filings, etc.). Because the ownership data126can be used for additional and/or alternative reasons, and because the ownership data126can be obtained from additional and/or alternative sources, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. The other data128can include a host of other information that can be obtained from various patent data sources118. The other data128can include, for example, court proceeding history information, post-grant procedure information, and/or other proceedings that may impact the enforceability and/or validity of a particular patent. The other data128also can indicate, for example, other suits or proceedings involving a particular party (e.g., a potential infringer), in some embodiments. The other data128also can include, for example, geographic location information associated with owners, inventors, proceedings, manufacturing, combinations thereof, or the like. The other data128also can include other information as will be illustrated and described herein. Because the other data128can be used for additional and/or alternative reasons, and because the other data128can be obtained from additional and/or alternative sources, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Thus, the patent data sources118can include any reference set of patent drawings122and/or other images owned by a rights controlling party. In some embodiments, the patent data sources118can include a patent, trademark, copyright or other design corpus from a rights granting authority. The patent drawings122may relate to other images, e.g., the drawings contained on various pages in the same patent or patent family; or shown together on a single page of a patent; or contained within the same trademark image; or contained within the same copyrighted video frame; or contained in an augmented version of an image that is identical to or associated with a proprietary object image that functions as the patent drawing122. Thus, the patent data source118can also store and/or can access category information, unique identifiers, bibliometric data, legal status data, full text data, translated data, and NLP-extracted data about the image, among other types of information. According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection system102can initiate a comparison in a specified domain of interest. The domain of interest may be broad or narrow, e.g., all products sold on a particular website or a product category area where a stakeholder (e.g., a patent owner) maintains enforceable IP rights in a territory. Thus, in some embodiments, the stakeholder can include, for example, a shoe manufacturer, an eyewear designer, a consumer electronics company, or the like. It should be understood that these examples are illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In practice, the infringement detection system102can obtain the product image110and the patent data116as noted above and can begin the analysis to determine if product image110potentially infringes the patent associated with the obtained patent data116. In particular, the product images110can be obtained from the product image sources112based on some relationship to the domain of interest. For example, the product images110can include or can be associated with athletic shoes, sport sunglasses, over the ear headphones, or the like. The product image110may be selected for their content, provenance, category, or other attribute. In some embodiments, the product images110are obtained based on associated catalog categories or tags in a taxonomy or ontology, which can correspond to categories associated with particular patent drawings122that have been identified as being the basis on which an infringement analysis is being performed. Thus, in some embodiments the patent drawings122can be input by a user or other entity, the domain of interest can be defined by the user or other entity or by the classification or other information associated with the patent drawings122(e.g., a classification associated with the underlying patent), and the product images110can be searched for by the infringement detection system102to perform the analysis illustrated and described herein. In various embodiments, the product images110and the patent drawings122can be analyzed by the infringement detection system102using a two-part analysis, for example. In some example embodiments, the first part of the two-part analysis can include the infringement detection system102performing a coarse match analysis of the images (e.g., a patent drawing122and a product image110). In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102can include and/or can use or access an image comparison engine, as will be explained in more detail below. In various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection application108can include any number of neural networks124A-N (hereinafter collectively and/or generically referred to as “neural networks124”). Thus, the functionality of the “image comparison engine” discussed herein can be performed by the infringement detection system102and therefore functionality of the image analysis engine may be referred to herein as applying to the infringement detection system102and/or the infringement detection application108. In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102and/or the infringement detection application108can include (or can access and/or can be) a siamese convolutional neural network, which can enable a cross-domain comparison via deep learning. In this example embodiment, a first domain of the cross-domain siamese convolutional neural network can include line drawings, figures, or sketches (e.g., the patent drawings122), and the second domain of the cross-domain siamese convolutional neural network can include tonal photos, video frames, scanned images, rendered three-dimensional illustrations, X-ray images, or other images (e.g., the product images110). According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, various types of image domains can be coarse matched by training the infringement detection system102. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, the image comparison engine (and/or the infringement detection system102that includes the image comparison engine as shown inFIG.1) can be trained for cross-domain comparison of line drawings from patent figures (e.g., the patent drawings122) to product images110(e.g., images from online sellers). The training can include using two or more versions (subnetworks) of the same neural network design (e.g., fine-tuned AlexNet, GoogleNet, VGG or other architectures), which can be fine-tuned in a deep learning training environment such as Caffe (as maintained by UC Berkeley). It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102and/or a first subnetwork of the neural network124that can provide the functionality of the infringement detection system102as illustrated and described herein, can learn weights for suspect infringing product images110in their original (“as-acquired”) form and/or in their augmented forms, and can determine an independent (e.g., not shared) classification loss (such as a softmax loss) based on tags or category attributes associated with the product images110. Thus, for example, the infringement detection system102can prevent identifying infringement in unrelated goods (e.g., preventing a football from being suspected as being infringed by a blimp due to having similar shapes). In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102and/or a second subnetwork of the neural network124that can provide the functionality of the infringement detection system102as illustrated and described herein, can be configured to learn weights for proprietary object images such as patent drawings122. Thus, the infringement detection system102can learn images of items considered to be authentic (images may be in multiple original and/or augmented views), and can determine an independent classification loss based on categories associated with the images (e.g., US, IPC, CPC, Locarno, Madrid, Hague, F-Terms or other rights classification systems). In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102and/or a third subnetwork of the neural network124that can provide the functionality of the infringement detection system102as illustrated and described herein, may be identically weighted to the first and/or second subnetworks and may be used for triplet loss training, among other tasks. It should be understood, however, that other triplet neural network architectures are within the scope of the disclosure. Training a siamese neural network to perform cross-domain matching can include learning a shared embedding such that distances in the learned feature space can be related to structural and semantic similarity between the domains. The embedding distance may be calculated based on a learned loss function, which can include, for example, angular, histogram, contrastive, regression, softmax, Euclidean distance, triplet or “ranking” loss, or others. In various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, any loss functions can be used to train the neural network124or its subnetworks if the mean average precision (maP) is improved after training. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In one embodiment, the infringement detection system102is trained with triplet loss as the embedding loss. For triplet loss as used to train the infringement detection system102, supervision can be of the form “input a should be closer to input b than to input c.” Triplet training can utilize three subnetworks with input tuples of the form (S; I+; I−) corresponding to a sketch, a matching image (the ground truth), and a non-matching image. For triplet loss training, two subnetworks (any subnetwork that is not the first instance of the second subnetwork) can share weights. As a result, the siamese neural network versions of the infringement detection system102(e.g., neural networks124with two subnetworks that can create a match) and triplet network versions (with three subnetworks that can be trained with triplets for a learned embedding loss) can have one set of weights for the first subnetwork, anchor domain (e.g., S+ line drawings representing actual images of the product) and one set of weights for the second domain (e.g., the second subnetwork; e.g., I+ positive photo images representing product images110), and a third domain (e.g., the third subnetwork; e.g., I− negative photo images representing non-infringing images). The infringement detection system102can be trained to minimize a distance (e.g., a Euclidean distance or Cosine distance) from the anchor to the positive, and to maximize a distance (e.g., a Euclidean distance or Cosine distance) from the anchor to the negative. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. The triplet loss as illustrated and described herein is an approach that minimizes the distance (e.g., the Euclidean distance, the Cosine distance, and/or other distance) between an anchor and a positive (e.g., the S and I+ as discussed herein), both of which have the same identity, and maximizes the distance (e.g., the Euclidean distance, the Cosine distance, and/or other distance) between the anchor and a negative (e.g., the S and I− as discussed herein), wherein the I− (negative) has a different identity. Some embodiments of using triplet loss are disclosed by Schroff et al., “FaceNet: A Unified Embedding for Face Recognition and Clustering,” Proceedings of the IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition 2015, 2015, pages 815-823, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Some additional aspects of triplet loss are disclosed by Wang et al., “Learning Fine-grained Image Similarity with Deep Ranking,” “Learning Fine-grained Image Similarity with Deep Ranking,” CVPR '14 Proceedings of the 2014 IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, Jun. 23-28, 2014, pages 1386-1393, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In one example embodiment of training of the neural networks124, inputs for training can include a pair of images, where each pair can include a patent drawing122and a product image110. In some embodiments, these pairs can be generated based on known instances of infringement, though this is not necessarily the case. The respective components of the pair can be passed to the appropriate subnetwork (the patent drawing122to a first subnetwork and the product image110to a second subnetwork), and an indication whether or not the pair is matching can be known to the infringement detection system102that includes the neural network(s)124. In various implementations of the triplet loss network, the two branches will share weights, with one set of weights for the patent drawing122and one set of weights for the product image110. As disclosed in Sangkloy et al., “The Sketchy Database: Learning to Retrieve Badly Drawn Bunnies,” SIGGRAPH '16 Technical Paper, Jul. 24-28, 2016, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, a sketch-based image retrieval system that incorporates classification loss and triplet loss together resulted in a K=1 recall (i.e., an optimal match found for the reference sketch was found in the first retrieval result of one thousand two hundred fifty test photos) in about thirty seven percent of searches, meaning that a correct match could be determined in the top eight retrieval results approximately ninety percent of the time. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, triplets fed into the subnetworks for training of the infringement detection system102may be organized any number of ways. In some embodiments, sampling of I+ images and I− images for training triplets can involve sampling from within a single domain, category, and/or classification, and then delivering training triplets to the subnetworks in an order that can be advantageous to speed training, (e.g., hard negative mining). When triplet training is complete, one or more adjudicated case training triplets can have been fed into the three subnetworks, which can cause a learning event over one or more epochs that can adjust network parameters such as the learned embedding distance based on the triplet inputs. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In one contemplated embodiment, the infringement detection system102can be trained with a triplet loss function to be run in a siamese implementation, e.g., with two subnetworks that can map cross-domain features into a shared dimensional feature space. In one operating example, a suspect infringing photo in a database can be programmatically input into a first subnetwork and an authentic patent figure drawing can be input into the second subnetwork. The infringement detection system102can compute a loss function distance that, when compared to a reference (e.g., a learned, arbitrary, hyperparameter, or benchmark value), can indicate a coarse match. One or more coarse image matches returned by the infringement detection system102from running (or accessing) an image comparison engine may be deemed to be an initial prediction of infringement, subject to further refined matching. For clarification, input images from the database (and their augmented forms) may be compared in their entireties, or elements of the images may be identified, isolated or extracted first, e.g., using another neural network124to make region proposals (e.g., implementing Faster R-CNN or SSD: Single Shot MultiBox Detector). Integration of a region proposal neural network may occur as an external preprocessing step; as part of integrating another subnetwork within the image comparison engine; and/or as part of integrating relevant convolutional and fully connected layers within the architectures of the first through third subnetworks. It should be understood that these examples are illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Thus, outputs from the infringement detection system102(e.g., by running or accessing the image comparison engine) may consist of comparisons between images in the first subnetwork to the first subnetwork; the first subnetwork to the second subnetwork; the second subnetwork to the first subnetwork; the second subnetwork to the second subnetwork; or the like, and these comparisons can be further processed during a match refining stage as will be illustrated and described herein. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection system102can transform the images for comparison. In various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the image transformation can be performed before the match refinement stage is performed, though this is not necessarily the case. According to various embodiments, the transformation of the images can include transforming the patent drawing122of the patent data116into a model or vector for mapping and/or comparison purposes. Additionally, the product image110can be transformed to identify areas of interest and/or to modify the image to approximate a sketch or drawing (similar to patent drawings122) to improve comparison. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the patent drawings122and the product images110can be augmented and/or transformed for match refinement. With regard to the patent drawings122, augmentation can include adding relevant drawings, while for the product images110, augmentation can include adding photos for refined matching. For example, when a patent drawing122(e.g., a line drawing from a patent that also can be represented as a Locarno-classified numbered figure with live legal status in the database) is predicted to be an optimal match (to be a coarse match) for a product image110(e.g., an example photo of a product also associated with a catalog-categorized currently-online sales offer in the database), one or more collections of drawings and/or photos can be gathered for further comparison. In particular, a first collection can contain other numbered figures from the coarse-matched patent drawing122, potentially providing other views or details of the potentially infringed underlying design associated with the patent from which the patent drawing122was taken. A second collection can include database entries of similar or relevant sales offers associated with the coarse-matched product image110(as may be determined by Locarno class, catalog category, key word, modeled topic, seller identifier, product identifier, marketplace identifier, price range, image similarity, blockchain activity or other related data). It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the additional patent drawings122(e.g., from the first collection) can be further augmented to eliminate irrelevant matter before a refined match may be attempted. For example, dashed lines, hatched lines, dotted lines, dash-dotted lines, or other forms of broken lines (e.g., center lines, phantom lines, hidden lines, etc.) in US design patents can be used to denote unclaimed matter (e.g., in some instances subject matter that is not claimed may be bound by broken lines). The unclaimed matter, however, may aid in context and therefore may be considered during part of the analysis (and/or to define the domain of interest) and may be ignored in other parts of the analysis. Put another way, retaining subject matter denoted by dashed lines or other forms of broken lines in a design patent drawing can assist during the coarse match phase (e.g., to help recognized and/or match overall shapes), but may this subject matter may be removed for refined matching in some embodiments as that matter may be irrelevant to patent infringement. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the patent drawings122may be processed by a broken line detection algorithm or another neural network124, as will be explained in more detail below with reference toFIG.2A. The product images110in the second collection also can be augmented and/or transformed, for example, to modify the product images110such that they may resemble line drawings. In some embodiments, such modifications (to modify the product images110so that they approximate line drawings) can heighten the sensitivity of a match between the patent drawings122and the product images110. Various thresholding methods can be performed on the product images110to approximate line drawings such as, for example, edge detection and the like. These and other thresholding techniques are illustrated and described in more detail below with reference toFIG.2A. The infringement detection system102can compare the transformed product images110to the patent drawings122to determine if the product image110and the patent drawings122are similar and/or overlap. To do so, the infringement detection system102can apply a shape fitting process to determine if the augmented product images110and the augmented patent drawings122are a “tight fit.” A tight fit can be determined to exist when an LTS-HD (a least trimmed squares Hausdorff distance) result is close to, or less than, a desired minimum value that can be defined and/or learned by the infringement detection system102. The defined LTS-HD result, in some embodiments, can require a hyperparameter h that can be defined, or learned to be, a value of 0.60 to 0.80. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. More particularly, according to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the hyperparameter h associated with the LTS-HD result can be a directed distance that can be defined by a linear combination of order statistics (e.g., h (A, B), where the measure h (A, B) can be minimized by other distance values after large distance values are eliminated (and therefore can be insensitive to outliers and/or occlusions). Thus, it can be appreciated that this approach can be helpful in cases where the product image110includes noise or other degradations and/or where the subject of the product image110is partially occluded. Sorting and summation operations may be required in obtaining the LTS-HD measure. The hyperparameter h, which can range from zero to one, can vary based on an amount of occlusion, and a value of one can correspond to a modified HD measure. As noted above, in various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, an LTS-HD result with an h=0.60 to 0.80 can indicate an optimal match, though the exact parameters of the LTS-HD may not be accurately determined definitively (but can be determined experimentally, i.e., through learning) in some embodiments. In one contemplated embodiment of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the LTS-HD result for an optimal match can have an h of 0.70. Of course, many details of the LTS-HD result are known and are not repeated herein for the sake of brevity, as disclosed by Sim et al., “Object Matching Algorithms Using Robust Hausdorff Distance Measures,” IEEE Transactions on Image Processing, Vol. 8, No. 3, 1999, pages 425-429, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Because variations of the LTS-HD result and/or the h hyperparameter are possible and are contemplated, it should be understood that the above example embodiment is illustrative and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. The shape fitting process is illustrated and described in more detail below with reference toFIG.2A, but briefly can include attempting to fit the images to one another and outputting a value, vector, embedding distance, and/or other data that can indicate whether the augmented product image110is a tight fit (e.g., closely matches the augmented patent drawing122in such a way as to be confusingly similar to an ordinary observer). It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. The infringement detection system102can output information indicating the potential infringement of a patent by a product (e.g., by detecting a tight fit between the augmented patent drawing122and the augmented product image110). In various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection system102can detect (to a high degree of certainty and accuracy) that there is an infringement (and not merely a copy) of a particular intellectual property asset (e.g., a patent, a trademark, a trade dress, a copyright, a mask work, or the like), and therefore can avoid using image detection as an exclusive infringement indicator. If a potential infringement is determined, the infringement detection system102can be configured to trigger an optional confirmational analysis of the potential infringement and/or can trigger optional response actions, as will be explained in more detail below. According to various embodiments, the infringement detection system102can perform a confirmational analysis of the underlying patent (the patent from which the one or more patent drawings122are taken). A confirmational analysis as illustrated and described herein may include checks of counterfeit clues associated with refined infringement predictions, such as a legal metadata analysis in which the infringement detection system102can determine if the matched patent is enforceable with proper legal status in a relevant geographic territory (e.g., by accessing ownership data126and other data128that can indicate, for example, maintenance fee payment status, legal proceedings information, inter partes review (“IPR”) information, etc.); an authentic product check (e.g., is a product associated with the product image110listed on any suspected infringer lists or sites or otherwise associated with a known infringer such as, for example, a notorious/blacklist/whitelist/suspect location/market/site/IP address/blockchain); a price and/or terms check in which the infringement detection system102can determine if a product that is suspected as an infringing product is priced less than a known minimum advertised price or does a vendor's estimated stock, estimated sales, minimums, quantities on hand, or other information fail to comport with expected figures such as these; a behavior check in which the infringement detection system102can determine if the seller is active in unauthorized categories of sales and/or has been associated with negative feedback; a text and image anomaly check in which the infringement detection system102can determine if an associated image or text item includes misspelled words, inappropriate trademarks, or unacceptable ad claims; and a known counterfeit associations check in which the infringement detection system102can determine if the seller information matches prior identified suspicious criteria, if the seller is part of a suspect network under investigation, and/or if seller IDs, analytics codes and other identifiers have been associated with public or blockchain-listed suspicious activity. These and other checks can be performed by the infringement detection system102and the results can be analyzed to support or challenge the infringement finding. According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection system102can perform the confirmation analysis as well. In particular, the infringement detection system102can perform the confirmation analysis using a statistical model and a data model that can produce a weighted confidence score. The weighted confidence score can be configured to ascribe a weight to these and other factors, where a weighted confidence score can support (high confidence) or challenge (low confidence) a finding of infringement. In some embodiments, the weighted confidence score can include an average or other weighted combination of a first score that can indicate if the source address hosts infringing items, a second that can indicate the risk that terms of the offer are not typical/sanctioned, a third score that can indicate if the seller is exhibiting brand-harming characteristics; a fourth score that can indicate if the seller or item for sale is part of a known counterfeit network; etc. The confirmation analysis may also be achieved by yet another neural network124. A neural network124trained on e.g., bona fide and counterfeit sales listings may be used to learn counterfeit clues and to output a vector, value and/or embedding loss that predicts the risk that the listing is unauthorized to host the refined infringement prediction, enabling confirmation of infringement. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. If the infringement detection system102confirms a potential infringement identified during the match refinement phase (e.g., if the confirmation analysis confirms the infringement or if no confirmational analysis is performed), the infringement detection system102can be configured to take or to trigger one or more response actions. According to various embodiments, the infringement detection system102can be configured to generate an API call, to modify or enter data into a database, to draft and/or send a message or alert, to draft and/or send a report, to create and/or log a certificate, to associate information in a database, to perform a transaction, to generate a direct notification, to generate an official registration, to create an accurate legal complaint, to create and/or validate a distributed ledger entry, to create an artificial intelligence (“AI”) chatbot communication, to create an augmented rendering, to generate a two-and-a-half dimensional or three dimensional model image, or to take additional and/or alternative actions. These types of actions are briefly explained in the following paragraphs. Because other actions can be taken in various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, these examples of response actions should be understood as being illustrative and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, as noted above, if the infringement detection system102confirms a potential infringement, the infringement detection system102can be configured to trigger an API call to one or more devices. In particular, the infringement detection system102can be configured to trigger the sending or retrieving of data based on the prediction. For example, the infringement detection system102can be configured to trigger an API call to send data to a particular device (e.g., an infringement clearinghouse), to retrieve data from a particular device (e.g., sales information and/or traffic information), to initiate a new action (e.g., to access a book or report or list), combinations thereof, or the like. Thus, the API call can relate to programmatically actuating a new action, sending data, retrieving data, or other triggering actions that may be implemented over a computer network (e.g., accessing, creating, or modifying webhooks). Because other types of API calls can be triggered, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, as noted above, if the infringement detection system102confirms a potential infringement, the infringement detection system102can be configured to trigger an interaction with a database to create, read, modify, or delete a database entry. Thus, for example, the infringement detection system102can be configured to perform a database modification (create/replace/update/delete data in a database) in response to confirming the potential infringement. According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the database that is modified by the infringement detection system102can relate to an allegation of potential infringement. According to various embodiments, the database can be directly connected to the infringement detection system102or can be located remotely. The database therefore can include a local device, a remote device, a virtual server, a memory, or one or more databases accessible via one or more APIs. Because other types of database modifications can be triggered, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, as noted above, if the infringement detection system102confirms a potential infringement, the infringement detection system102can be configured to draft and/or send a message (or to trigger other devices to draft and/or send a message). In particular, the infringement detection system102can be configured to compose a message (e.g., an email message containing a subject and a body) that details the detected potential infringement. The infringement detection system102also can be configured to deliver the message via a messaging system to one or more users, devices, and/or token addresses. The deliver-to addresses may be public addresses or private addresses, and can be contained in the database or looked up from an external directory or list, as part of a response action. In various embodiments, the message can include emails, text messages, short message service (“SMS”) messages, multimedia message service (“MMS”) messages, audio messages (e.g., recordings), in-game messages, calls or conversation entries, any of which may be composed using images, text, and/or metadata. In some embodiments, the messages can be combined with a textual template using conditional logic and/or can include a generated narrative (e.g., using natural language processing). The message can be created, in some embodiments, by a generative neural network, a text summarizer, a conversational artificial intelligence chatbot, or other technology (or combination of technologies) to communicate the substance and/or evidence of the potential infringement predictions to a recipient. Because other types of messages can be triggered, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, as noted above, if the infringement detection system102confirms a potential infringement, the infringement detection system102can be configured to draft, display, and/or send a report (or to trigger other devices to draft and/or send a report). In some embodiments, multiple instances of potential infringement can be compiled into a visualized report. The visualized report can include, in some embodiments, information that can identify the subjects of the potential infringement, owners of the product that potentially infringes, overlaps of potentially infringed intellectual property assets and/or products, text/image/price/location/history/ownership and/or other metadata associated with the potentially infringing entities, and/or other information relating to the potential infringements. In some embodiments, compilation of the report can include formatting textual information (e.g., using CSS style sheets, programmatic design using templates, and/or element positioning, etc.) to a predefined layout. In some embodiments, the reports can be shared in a number of ways including, but not limited to, graphical formats such as formatted emails and/or web pages, application pages, augmented reality displays, or the like; or can be formatted as tables, documents, databases, or other document formats (e.g., PDF files), among other reporting methods. Because other types of reports can be triggered, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, as noted above, if the infringement detection system102confirms a potential infringement, the infringement detection system102can be configured to create a log and/or a certificate (or to trigger other devices to create a log and/or a certificate). In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102can be configured to record, as legally verifiable attestations containing, e.g., witness credentials and digital signatures, a log and/or certificate that can be viewed as attesting to the potential infringement. In some embodiments, attestations may be constructed using, e.g., expert rules, natural language processing or narrative generation to integrate potential infringement data to prepare a compliant declaration, statement or certificate that can be ready to be signed, notarized, apostilled or the like in order to be accepted by a party who can act on the properly formatted evidence. Because other types of logs and/or certificates can be created in various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, as noted above, if the infringement detection system102confirms a potential infringement, the infringement detection system102can be configured to associate a particular potential infringement with a document (or to trigger other devices to associate a particular potential infringement with a document). For example, the infringement detection system102can be configured to associate a potential infringement prediction in a database (e.g., having a reference identifier, image, IP address, etc.) with one or more authoritative documents or records such as, for example, a business license (an original, certified or facsimile), a granted patent, a registered trademark, a registered copyright, a shipping manifest, a customs approval, a bill of lading, a notarized document, an apostille authentication, a passport, other documents, combinations thereof, or the like. Because other types of documents or records can be associated with the potential infringement in various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, as noted above, if the infringement detection system102confirms a potential infringement, the infringement detection system102can be configured to perform a transaction (or trigger other devices to perform a transaction). For example, the infringement detection system102can be configured to treat a detected potential infringement as a trigger for an automated offer such as, for example, a licensing offer. Thus, for example, the infringement detection system102can be configured to generate a licensing offer for a number of authorized units in a relevant territory; which can be priced as a running or prepaid royalty. Licensing offers can be output by the infringement detection system102in any form (e.g., text form, etc.) and can be directed to one or more seller addresses to obtain an expression of interest on the license offer. The seller addresses can be identified, for example, via an email lookup or through an integrated messaging system that can be provided by web platforms, social media networks, ecommerce marketplaces, and/or other entities that can maintain messaging systems and that can be associated with (or correspond to) a host of the potentially infringing activity. In some other embodiments, a potential infringement match can initiate a buying transaction. For example, the infringement detection system102can be configured to purchase (e.g., as a test purchase or as an investment) an item, stock, financial security, or derivative that is associated with a potential infringement. In particular, in some embodiments the infringement detection system102can be trained to execute a purchasing or trading algorithm. Execution of the purchasing or trading algorithm can cause the infringement detection system102to acquire a financial security that could be an equity or a derivative of an equity or some other type of security (e.g., a bond or debt instrument). The purchasing or trading algorithm can take or obtain as input the detected infringement and/or a volume and/or a scope of infringement in making an investment decision for the security. These investment decisions can be calls or puts (buying or selling) and can be longs or shorts (decisions based on a long-term return and/or a short-term return). Thus, detection of a potential infringement can be used to trigger an investment decision based on the detected potential infringement and/or other parameters. Various parameters can be specified for the buying transaction such as, for example, price ranges, versions, availability, locations, terms, seller status, buyer status, and/or other factors. Test purchases can be performed by the infringement detection system102by constructing a purchase order (e.g., using a template) that can integrate potential infringement data with information for a product to be purchased, a quantity to be purchased, a price to be paid, a billing address, a shipping address, special instructions, combinations thereof, or the like. Purchase orders may be sent to marketplaces, merchants, buying services, or other entities that can specialize in test purchases, in some embodiments. Other buying, selling, trading, hedging, settlement, contractual, refusal, blockade, and/or negotiated transactions are possible as a transaction response action and are contemplated. Because other types of transactions can be performed in various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, as noted above, if the infringement detection system102confirms a potential infringement, the infringement detection system102can be configured to trigger a direct notification to one or more entities (e.g., stakeholders, or the like). In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102can be configured to trigger an immediate alert to one or more stakeholder. The alert can include match information and related metadata via any messaging technologies (e.g., emails, web browsers, SMS messages, MMS messages, push notifications, phone calls, other alerting services, combinations thereof, or the like). A direct notification can provide an alert to various entities (e.g., an operator of the infringement detection system102, a rights owner or assignee, a government agency, a consortium manager, a website portal administrator, a third party, combinations thereof, or the like). Because other types of direct notifications and/or recipients of direct notifications are possible, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, as noted above, if the infringement detection system102does not confirm a potential infringement, the infringement detection system102can be configured to trigger issuance of an official registration. In particular, the infringement detection system102can be configured to provide outputs that indicate that no close match (e.g., no potential infringement) is found. This indication can be understood as corresponding to a positive sign (e.g., to prospective patentees if nothing matches their design, to prospective sellers as indicating no infringement, etc.). Furthermore, the infringement detection system102can enable automated (or semi-automated) filing of intellectual property registration documents for the non-infringing design. For example, if the infringement detection system102determines that no close match exists, the infringement detection system102can be configured to generate a filing or official registration for an intellectual property asset (e.g., a copyright, a trademark, a design patent, or the like). This filing can include predicted infringement match data and/or metadata associated with the match, relevant stakeholders and other identifying information required for a registration. Another official registration type may be related to an online registration portal dedicated to serving stakeholders of potential infringement, such as one operated by a marketplace brand alliance, a government customs agency, a law enforcement authority, a rights-granting body, a banking entity, a payment processing entity, combinations thereof, or the like. Because other types of official registrations can be created in various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, as noted above, if the infringement detection system102confirms a potential infringement, the infringement detection system102can be configured to create (or to trigger other devices to create) a legal comparison. According to various embodiments, a visualized fit can be formatted as a patent claim chart that can provide quantitative and/or qualitative evidence when considering the legal standard applicable (e.g., the “ordinary observer test” for design patents). In one example embodiments, a design patent claim chart can present legally claimed matter (e.g., numbered line drawing figures) side-by-side with (and/or overlaid upon) a potentially infringing product photo. Alternatively, the visualized fit can include instructions for an augmented reality viewing system to display other metadata (e.g., patent or product information) anchored to the same tight fit region. Because other types of legal comparisons can be created in various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, as noted above, if the infringement detection system102confirms a potential infringement, the infringement detection system102can be configured to create (or to trigger other devices to create) a ledger entry and/or to validate a distributed ledger entry. One way to deter counterfeits can include providing product manufacturing and chain-of-ownership logistics data that can be shared via a public or private distributed ledger and/or shared via a smart contract stored on a blockchain. Data elements of a blockchain can be selectively encrypted and then accessed by multiple parties in a trusted manner, thus enabling product and consumer stakeholders with appropriate keys to obtain reliable information at any time (e.g., using QR codes). Potential infringement matches can trigger a response action that a) checks other blockchains to further confirm the allegation and/or b) reports potential infringements to a distributed ledger on a blockchain by contributing a block to the network containing properly hashed information. Because other types of create/validation distributed ledger entries can be created in various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, as noted above, if the infringement detection system102confirms a potential infringement, the infringement detection system102can be configured to trigger an AI chatbot communication. In particular, the infringement detection system102can be configured to trigger messaging (e.g., ongoing messaging, discrete messaging, and/or responsive messaging). The messaging can be between a deep-learning-trained artificially intelligent computerized assistant and a third party in order to communicate the prediction, allegation and/or data from the infringement detection system102. AI chatbots may engage in messaging, reporting, transactions and other activities in communication with a receiving stakeholder. Conversations from the AI chatbot may be captured for continuous deep learning, with the deep learning being adjusted, adapted, triggered, and/or terminated, and/or adding new actions based on learned responses. Because other types of AI chatbot communications can be triggered in various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, as noted above, if the infringement detection system102confirms a potential infringement, the infringement detection system102can be configured to trigger an augmented reality rendering. In particular, upon a predicted infringement match, a matching drawing can be overlaid on other images being viewed (e.g., images that can be projected or captured by a camera/imager in a computing device, or the like). Automatically overlaying objects can occur through augmented reality glasses, headsets, visors, projectors, holography, other wearables, or the like. Because other types of augmented reality views can be created in various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Briefly, then, the infringement detection system102illustrated and described herein can perform an infringement analysis. In some embodiments, a user or other entity can identify an intellectual property asset (e.g., a design patent, a trade dress registration, a copyright, a trademark, a mask work or other semiconductor image, or the like) as input (e.g., a patent number, the uploading of a file corresponding to the patent such as a PDF of the patent, or the like). The infringement detection system102can identify a domain of interest based on input and/or based on the identified intellectual property asset (e.g., the infringement detection system102can be configured to detect, to determine, and/or to look up a classification associated with the patent, an international class of goods and services, a description of goods, combinations thereof, or the like). The domain of interest can help focus and/or can limit the image search that is performed by the infringement detection system102. By way of example, the domain of interest can be defined as “shoes.” Based on the determined domain of interest, the infringement detection system102can obtain (e.g., by way of queries, service calls, requests, commands, or the like) product images110from multiple product image sources112. In some other embodiments, the infringement detection system102can begin its analysis with a product image110(e.g., a photograph, a sketch, a live scanner or x-ray imager, etc.) and can be configured to determine the domain of interest based on the product image110, and to obtain patent drawings122(or other reference images) based on the domain of interest. Thus, the infringement detection system102can obtain one or more product image110and one or more instance of patent data116that includes at least one patent drawing122, in either order, and begin the analysis to determine if any potential infringement is detected. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. According to various embodiments, the infringement detection system102can also obtain one or more authentic product images associated with a particular product and/or patent that has been identified as being associated with the one or more product image110and/or patent drawing122for purposes of training the infringement detection system102and/or for other purposes, though this training can happen at almost any time and need not occur after the product image110and/or the patent drawings122are obtained. Thus, it can be appreciated that the infringement detection system102can be trained at any time and need not perform training during a particular infringement analysis and/or infringement search. In various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection application108can be configured as a trainable application that can use machine learning to improve its search and identification processes. In various embodiments, the infringement detection application108can operate and/or can be provided by one or more neural networks124such as, for example, a siamese neural network, as noted above. In one embodiment of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection application108can operate as and/or can be provided by a siamese convolutional neural network that can use shared embedding using triplet loss. Of course future evolution of these networks can provide enhancements to the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, and therefore the use of this type of neural network124to provide the infringement detection application108should be understood as being an illustrative example and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, the infringement detection application108can use authentic product images110to train and/or learn how to match specific types of images and/or specific images to patent drawings122. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. The infringement detection application108can perform a coarse match operation wherein the one or more product image110is compared to one or more patent drawings122(or vice versa). During the coarse match operation, therefore, the infringement detection application108can identify, among the patent drawings122compared to the product image110, a patent drawing122that is the best match identified. It can be appreciated that the phrase “best match” as used herein can refer to a single patent drawing122from one or more patents, where the “best match” patent drawing122can correspond to the drawing from these one or more patents that is the most likely to be infringed by the product image110. Of course, as can be appreciated to one reading the entire disclosure, the “best match” patent may nonetheless be determined to not be infringed by the product represented by the product image110during additional analysis, as will be determined in a refined analysis operation. The closest coarse match can be output for additional analysis and/or shape fitting, as will be explained in more detail below. According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection system102can be configured to always output a best match at the coarse matching operation. Thus, output from the coarse matching operation can include the infringement detection system102identifying a patent associated with the closest matching patent drawing122and the infringement detection system102can proceed to another level of analysis, also referred to herein as a match refinement. In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102can be configured to determine that there is no coarse match and can take other operations as will be explained hereinbelow. It should be understood that these examples are illustrative, and therefore these features should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Upon identifying the “best match,” the infringement detection application108can perform an image augmentation and transformation process to begin a match refinement stage of the analysis or to begin preparing for the match refinement stage of analysis. In particular, the infringement detection application108can perform drawing augmentation and transformation on the patent drawings122and product images110. In particular, as is generally known, patent drawings122can include relevant matter (relevant to an infringement analysis) and in some instances, the patent drawings122also can include irrelevant matter (matter that is not relevant to an infringement analysis). Relevant matter in patent drawings122can be denoted by way of solid lines and irrelevant matter (if included) can be denoted by broken lines in patent drawings122. Additionally, a particular drawing from a patent can represent a first view of the subject matter of the patent drawing122. A particular patent can include multiple views of the subject matter of the patent drawing122. Thus, the infringement detection application108can be configured to augment and/or transform the patent drawings122by adding additional patent drawings122associated with a particular patent and by eliminating, from the multiple patent drawings122, irrelevant matter. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. With regard to the product images110, the infringement detection application108can be configured to perform various operations on the product images110such as, for example, edge detection, thresholding, and/or other operations. These operations can be performed to transform the product images110into a format that may be more efficient for the comparisons illustrated and described herein. Some example embodiments of the image transformation will be illustrated and described in more detail hereinbelow. The infringement detection application108can compare the augmented and/or transformed patent drawings122to the augmented and/or transformed product images110to perform a shape fitting process. The infringement detection application108can perform the shape fitting process to determine if there is a potential infringement, by a product represented by the product images110, of the patent represented by the patent drawings122. The shape fitting can be performed by attempting to match the augmented and/or transformed patent drawings122to the augmented and/or transformed product images110. In some embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection application108can be configured to build a three dimensional model of the product or the patented object using the transformed product images110and/or the augmented patent drawings122and to manipulate the three dimensional model to approximate the compared images (thereby enabling easier and/or more efficient analysis when, for example, a view of a patent drawing122does not match a view in a product image110). Thus, the shape fitting described herein can be performed by attempting to overlay drawings, by matching three dimensional structures, and/or otherwise matching the product images110and the patent drawings122. If the shape fitting process reveals a match between the product images110and the patent drawings122, the infringement detection system102can also perform a confirmation analysis as explained in detail above. If the confirmational analysis confirms the potential infringement, the infringement detection system102can take various response actions such as generating documents, generating alerts, filing complaints, combinations thereof, or the like. If the confirmational analysis does not confirm the potential infringement, the infringement detection system102can take other response actions such as outputting a certificate (e.g., a non-infringement certificate), generating alerts, combinations thereof, or the like. In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102generates an alert, notice, result, score, value, or other type of output (hereinafter “output”)130. The infringement detection system102can be configured to provide the output130to one or more recipients and/or devices. The output130can be used to prompt various actions for follow up, to alert owners or other entities about the potential infringement, to begin a confirmation analysis, and/or for other purposes as will be illustrated and described herein. If the infringement detection system102determines that a match has not been identified between the product image110and the patent data116, the infringement detection system102can determine that no infringement or potential infringement is found. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. AlthoughFIG.1illustrates and describes comparing product images110to patent drawings122, it should be understood that the concepts and technologies disclosed herein can be used to compare product images110to trade dress images, trade dress drawings, and/or other forms of drawings in addition to, or instead of, the patent drawings122. In particular, trade dress images and/or drawings can be similar, in some instances, to patent drawings122including, among other things, the use of solid lines, broken lines (e.g., dashed lines, hatched lines, dotted lines, center lines, phantom lines, hidden lines, etc.) to claim/disclaim matter, and the like. Thus, the concepts and technologies disclosed herein can be used to detect not only patent infringement, but also trademark infringement, trade dress infringement, and/or other types of intellectual property infringement, in some embodiments. Also, some embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein can compare product images110to mask works, for example, to determine if a particular semiconductor or other device infringes a mask work. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. FIG.1illustrates one infringement detection system102, one network104, four product image sources112, three patent data sources118, and one recipient132. It should be understood, however, that various implementations of the operating environment100can include one or more than one infringement detection system102; zero, one, or more than one network104; one or more than one product image sources112; one or more than one patent data sources118; and/or zero, one, or more than one recipient132. As such, the illustrated embodiment should be understood as being illustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Turning now toFIG.2A, aspects of a method200A for identifying a potentially infringing product using an infringement detection system102will be described in detail, according to an illustrative embodiment. It should be understood that the operations of the methods disclosed herein are not necessarily presented in any particular order and that performance of some or all of the operations in an alternative order(s) is possible and is contemplated. The operations have been presented in the demonstrated order for ease of description and illustration. Operations may be added, omitted, and/or performed simultaneously, without departing from the scope of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein. It also should be understood that the methods disclosed herein can be ended at any time and need not be performed in its entirety. Some or all operations of the methods, and/or substantially equivalent operations, can be performed by execution of computer-readable instructions included on a computer storage media, as defined herein. The term “computer-readable instructions,” and variants thereof, as used herein, is used expansively to include routines, applications, application modules, program modules, programs, components, data structures, algorithms, and the like. Computer-readable instructions can be implemented on various system configurations including single-processor or multiprocessor systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, personal computers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based, programmable consumer electronics, wearable devices, combinations thereof, and the like. Thus, it should be appreciated that the logical operations described herein are implemented (1) as a sequence of computer implemented acts or program modules running on a computing system and/or (2) as interconnected machine logic circuits or circuit modules within the computing system. The implementation is a matter of choice dependent on the performance and other requirements of the computing system. Accordingly, the logical operations described herein are referred to variously as states, operations, structural devices, acts, or modules. These states, operations, structural devices, acts, and modules may be implemented in software, in firmware, in special purpose digital logic, and any combination thereof. As used herein, the phrase “cause a processor to perform operations” and variants thereof is used to refer to causing a processor of a computing system or device, such as the infringement detection system102, to perform one or more operations and/or causing the processor to direct other components of the computing system or device to perform one or more of the operations. For purposes of illustrating and describing the concepts of the present disclosure, the method200A is described herein as being performed by the infringement detection system102via execution of one or more software modules such as, for example, the infringement detection application108. It should be understood that additional and/or alternative devices and/or network nodes can provide the functionality described herein via execution of one or more modules, applications, and/or other software including, but not limited to, the infringement detection application108. Thus, the illustrated embodiments are illustrative, and should not be viewed as being limiting in any way. The method200A begins at operation202. At operation202, the infringement detection system102can identify a domain of interest. According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection system102can be configured to provide a portal and/or other functionality to enable a user or other entity to interact with the infringement detection system102to specify a domain of interest. In some other embodiments, the infringement detection system102can be configured to receive or otherwise obtain an indication of a patent or product, and the infringement detection system102can determine, based on the indication and/or based on the patent or product, the domain of interest (e.g., a patent number can be entered and the infringement detection system102can determine a classification associated with the patent). Because the domain of interest can be determined in various manners as illustrated and described herein, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, the domain of interest can be specified broadly or narrowly. In the example mentioned several times herein, where the domain of interest is shoes, a domain of interest can be specified broadly or narrowly as, for example, “footwear,” “men's footwear,” “women's footwear,” “men's shoes,” “women's shoes,” “women's high heel shoes,” “women's open toe high heel shoes,” or the like. Thus, it can be appreciated that the domain of interest can affect the amount of analysis and/or searching that the infringement detection system102will perform by narrowing or broadening the domain of interest, in some embodiments. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the domain of interest can be selected from specified domains of interest such as, for example, items listed in patent classifications and/or sub-classifications (e.g., the cooperative patent classification (“CPC”) system, the US patent classification (“USPC”) system, or other classification systems), by accessing a trademark manual of classification, by accessing lists of items in specified international classes of trademark goods and services (e.g., the Nice classification system (“NCL”) or other classification system), combinations thereof, or the like. Thus, in some embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, operation202can correspond to the infringement detection system102obtaining, through a portal, request, service call, and/or other functionality, a designation or identification of the domain of interest. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. From operation202, the method200A can proceed to operation204. At operation204, the infringement detection system102can obtain (e.g., retrieve, request, access, receive, or otherwise obtain) images associated with the domain of interest specified in operation202. Thus, it can be appreciated that in operation204, the infringement detection system102can obtain one or more product image110from one or more product image sources112, and that the infringement detection system102can obtain one or more instances of patent data116(including at least one patent drawing122) from the one or more patent data sources118. As explained above, the product image sources112illustrated and described herein can include a computerized image generation source such as, for example, a generative neural network, a CAD model, a LIDAR image capture, a video gaming world, combinations thereof, or the like. Additionally, or alternatively, the product image sources112illustrated and described herein can include an image supply source such as, for example, document image collections; collectible image collections; Internet web sites (e.g., Internet addresses of website pages or marketplaces that promote and/or offer products and content for sale, social media, search engines, websites; photo, video and animation databases, or the like); or other sources. Thus, obtaining the product image110and/or the patent data116(e.g., the patent drawing122) can include receiving output from various computing environments, services, devices, systems, or the like. As noted above, the infringement detection system102can obtain the one or more product image110in response to the infringement detection system102sending, to the one or more product image sources112, a product image request114, which can include and/or can specify the domain of interest identified in operation202. As explained above, the infringement detection system102can interact with the one or more product image sources112and/or patent data sources118by way of service calls (e.g., via one or more APIs), via queries (e.g., SQL queries, search strings, etc.), and/or via other communications with or without explicit requests being generated and/or sent. Thus, it can be appreciated that in various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection system102can obtain the product images110via automated processes such as crawling, scraping, uploading, mobile-device-capture, frame-capture, X-ray scan, CT-scan, laser-scan, holography and images digitally acquired by other methods from other sources such as, for example, requests, service calls, queries, combinations thereof, or the like. Because the product images110can be obtained in additional and/or alternative manners, these example embodiments should be understood as being illustrative of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Similarly, the infringement detection system102can obtain the patent data116from the patent data sources118by way of the infringement detection system102sending, to the one or more patent data sources118, one or more patent data requests120and/or in other manners as illustrated and described herein. As noted above, the one or more patent data requests120can include and/or can specify the domain of interest identified in operation202. The patent data sources118can contain any reference set of images owned by a rights-controlling party such as, for example, patent drawings122for a particular patent, trade dress drawings for a particular trade dress registration, a diagram for a particular mask work, or the like. In some embodiments, a patent, trademark, copyright or design corpus from a rights-granting authority can correspond to one or more of the patent data sources118and therefore can be the source of the patent drawings122(or other intellectual property right drawings or images as illustrated and described herein). The patent drawings122may relate to other patent drawings122(e.g., a first patent drawing122on one page of a patent may be related to additional patent drawings122on other pages of the same patent, etc.). Similarly, patent drawings122may be related in that the patent drawings may be contained within a single trademark image or may be included in a single copyrighted video frame or may be contained in an augmented version of a patent drawing122that is identical to or associated with a patent drawing122. The patent data sources118may also contain category information, unique identifiers, bibliometric data, legal status data, family data, full text data, translated data, and NLP-extracted data about the image, as explained above with regard to the ownership data126, the other data128, and/or other aspects of the patent data sources118. These and other types of information and/or imagery can be obtained in operation204, according to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein. From operation204, the method200A can proceed to operation206. At operation206, the infringement detection system102can identify a coarse match (e.g., an optimal match) using the one or more product images110and the one or more patent drawings122. Thus, in operation206the infringement detection system102can compare the product images110to one or more patent drawings122to determine which of the patent drawings122is the closest match (e.g., the optimal match) to the product image110meaning, for example, which of the patent drawings122is most likely to be infringed among the patent drawings122based on the product image110. Thus, a coarse match can be understood as referring to a patent drawing122that is determined by the infringement detection system102as being the most likely to be infringed patent drawing among the patent drawings122considered by the infringement detection system102. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. According to various embodiments, the infringement detection system102can use an image comparison operation (or can trigger an image comparison engine) to compare the one or more product image110and the one or more patent drawings122to find the coarse match. Again, the “coarse match” can correspond to a patent drawing122that has a greatest amount of similarity to a product image110and/or the greatest odds of being infringed. Therefore, it can be appreciated that the “coarse match” can correspond, in various embodiments, to a patent that is most-likely-to-be-infringed by the product represented by the product image110from among a set of patents represented by the patent drawings122. As noted above, the infringement detection system102can access and/or can include a siamese convolutional neural network that can provide the image comparison associated with operation206to identify the coarse match. In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102can output one or more vectors, values or scores for each considered pair of images (e.g., a first pair can correspond to a particular patent drawing122and a first product image110and a second pair can correspond to the same patent drawing122and a second product image110). The image pair that corresponds to the vector, value or score indicating the highest level of similarity can be determined as the “best match.” It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Although not separately illustrated inFIG.2A, it can be appreciated that output from operation206can correspond, in some embodiments, to a potential infringement prediction. Based on the identified coarse match, the infringement detection system102can identify a patent associated with the patent drawing122determined to be the coarse match and can push or elevate that patent and the product image110to a second level of analysis and/or match refinement as illustrated and described herein. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. From operation206, the method200A can proceed to operation208. At operation208, the infringement detection system102can augment and/or transform the patent drawings122and the product images110. As explained above, operation208can include the infringement detection system102adding patent drawings122for the refined matching process. Thus, the infringement detection system102can identify the patent associated with the patent drawing122identified as the coarse match in operation208and obtain, from the one or more patent data sources118, additional patent drawings122from the associated patent. The additional patent drawings122obtained in operation208can correspond to additional views and/or embodiments, in some implementations. Thus, operation208can include the infringement detection system102adding additional views and/or additional embodiments for analysis in a refined matching stage of the analysis. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Additionally, or alternatively, the augmentation and/or transformation of the patent drawings122can include removing irrelevant matter from the patent drawings122for the refined matching analysis. For example, broken lines (e.g., dashed lines, hatched lines, dotted lines, center lines, phantom lines, hidden lines, etc.) in some patent drawings122can be used to denote unclaimed matter. The unclaimed matter, however, may aid in context and therefore may be considered by the infringement detection system102during the coarse match illustrated and described herein. Thus, retaining subject matter denoted by (e.g., bound by) broken lines (e.g., dashed lines, hatched lines, dotted lines, center lines, phantom lines, hidden lines, etc.) in the patent drawings122can help during the coarse match operation, but may negatively impact the refined matching phase. Thus, the subject matter determined to be irrelevant or unclaimed may be removed for the refined matching phase to improve results of the refined matching. In some embodiments, the patent drawings122may be processed by a broken line detection algorithm or another neural network124. In particular, the infringement detection system102can employ a broken line detection algorithm that can be configured to calculate the distances between, and angles of, broken lines (e.g., dashed lines, hatched lines, dotted lines, center lines, phantom lines, hidden lines, etc.). In some embodiments, the broken line detection algorithm can use a line-segment slope angle threshold to determine how much two line segments angles can vary from one another, while still being connected. Also, the broken line detection algorithm can use a line-segment gap distance threshold to determine how far apart (e.g., in terms of Euclidian distance) the line segments can be separated yet still be connected. These and/or other algorithms can be used by the infringement detection system102to analyze the lines in a patent drawing122. In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102can include another neural network124, trained on ground truth from the broken line detection algorithm, that may be utilized to predict broken line regions. Pixel regions within the detected line segments can be removed from the patent drawings122and/or from consideration, colored white, a background color, a median color, or another color to aid in refined matching. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. As noted above, operation208also can include product image110augmentation and/or transformation. In particular, the infringement detection system102can be configured to transform the product image110to more closely resemble a line drawing. This transformation of the product image110can be performed to enable and/or to make more efficient the comparison of the product image110and the patent drawing122. In operation208, the infringement detection system102can modify the product image110to more closely resemble a line drawing to heighten the sensitivity of the matching operation. According to various embodiments, the infringement detection system102can transform the product image110in operation208by using various thresholding methods such as adaptive; mean; Gaussian; binarization, combinations thereof, or the like. The thresholding operations can be used by the infringement detection system102to essentially convert the product images110to line drawings (e.g., in the black-and-white domain). The infringement detection system102can use edge detection to identify boundaries of brightness change to obtain edge maps that closely resemble line drawings (and therefore may closely resemble the patent drawings122). The infringement detection system102can use various edge detection algorithms such as, for example, Canny; Sobel; Structured Forest; Holistically-Nested; or others. Thus, in operation208, the infringement detection system102can obtain augmented patent drawings122and transformed and/or augmented product images110, the style of which may closely resemble the style of patent drawings122. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. From operation208, the method200A can proceed to operation210. At operation210, the infringement detection system102can perform a refined comparison operation, wherein the augmented patent drawings122and the transformed product images110can be compared to one another to determine if a match exists. In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102can perform a drawing to photo comparison; a drawing to drawing comparison; a photo to drawing comparison; and a photo to photo comparison. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. From operation210, the method200A can proceed to operation212. At operation212, the infringement detection system102can perform a shape fitting operation. The infringement detection system102can determine if the augmented and/or transformed patent drawings122match the augmented and/or transformed product images110. The infringement detection system102can output a value, vector, score, embedding distance, and/or other indicator that can indicate the results of the shape fitting. An output that indicates a high degree of similarity (e.g., a low embedding distance, a short vector, etc.) may indicate that the infringement detection system102has identified a “tight fit” between the product images110and the patent drawings122. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102can output the value with a photograph of the product represented by the product image110in a visualization (e.g., a user interface display). Thus, a tight fitting drawing photo pair may be presented to illustrate confusing similarity to an ordinary observer. In some embodiments, the visualization can include, for example, a false-colored overlay depicting at least one suspect refined matched patent drawing122in position over at least one refined-matched product image110. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments of operation212, the infringement detection system102can use a robust modified Hausdorff distance that can include a shape detection algorithm that can measure an extent to which each point of a “model” set of points can lie near some point of an “image” set and vice versa. A Hausdorff distance algorithm has several variants (e.g., a least trimmed square variant and other variants) that can be used for images with occlusions and noise such as some instances of the augmented and/or transformed product images110and/or the augmented and/or transformed patent drawings122as illustrated and described herein. The Hausdorff distance values may be compared to one or more learned or arbitrary values stored by and/or accessible to the infringement detection system102to indicate a tight fit, meaning that confusing similarity could be the result when a typical ordinary observer views the matched image photo pair. The values and/or thresholds used to determine a “tight fit” can be learned by the infringement detection system102, for example by using triplet training where the infringement detection system102is trained to minimize the distance (e.g., a Euclidean distance or Cosine distance) from an anchor of a triplet to the positive of the triplet, and maximizing the distance (e.g., a Euclidean distance or Cosine distance) from the anchor of the triplet to the negative of the triplet. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the image and metadata elements of each tight fit image photo pair may be considered as counterfeit candidates and/or the composite match values can be considered as refined infringement predictions. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102(or another trained device that can include or can correspond to a siamese neural network) can perform the shape fitting of operation210. For example, the infringement detection system102can use a generative-adaptive neural network124that can propose ever-newer and tighter shape fits in some embodiments. Also, the infringement detection system102can use a recurrent neural network124that may be ideal for a sequence of images in video. Thus, the infringement detection system102can output a fit prediction between a patent drawing122and product image110(e.g., as a vector or embedding distance) that may further enable generation of a composite image depicting the predicted best fit. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. From operation212, the method200A can proceed to operation214. At operation214, the infringement detection system102can determine, based on the refined comparison and shape fitting analyses illustrated and described above, if a potential infringement exists, e.g., if the product depicted in the transformed product image110potentially infringes a patent represented by the augmented patent drawings122. In operation214, then, the infringement detection system102can determine if the optimal match identified in the coarse match stage can still be determined (e.g., quantified) as still being optimal after a shape fitting analysis and/or other refined comparison. Thus, it can be appreciated that operation214can correspond to the infringement detection system102determining if the optimal match (coarse match) determined in operation206remains optimal (e.g., remains the optimal match) after the refined comparison. It can be appreciated that operation214can correspond to the infringement detection system102determining if the value or score output in the shape fitting of operation212represents a tight fit or other-than-tight fit. Because the infringement detection system102can determine if a potential infringement exists in additional and/or alternative manners, it should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. If the infringement detection system102determines, in operation214, that a potential infringement does exist, the method200A can proceed to operation216. At operation216, the infringement detection system102can trigger confirmation and response actions. As noted above, the infringement detection system102can perform a confirmational analysis for potential infringements. The confirmational analysis can include, for example, checks of counterfeit clues that can be associated with refined infringement predictions. The infringement detection system102can, for example, perform a legal metadata analysis in which the infringement detection system102can determine if the matched patent is enforceable with proper legal status in a relevant geographic territory (e.g., by accessing ownership data126and other data128that can indicate, for example, maintenance fee payment status, legal proceedings information, IPR information, etc.); an authentic product check (e.g., is a product associated with the product image110listed on any suspected infringer lists such or sites or otherwise associated with a known infringer such as, for example, a notorious/blacklist/whitelist/suspect location/market/site/IP address/blockchain); a price and/or terms check in which the infringement detection system102can determine if a product that is suspected as an infringing product is priced less than a known minimum advertised price or does a vendor's estimated stock, estimated sales, minimums, quantities on hand, or other information fail to comport with expected figures such as these; a behavior check in which the infringement detection system102can determine if the seller is active in unauthorized categories of sales and/or has been associated with negative feedback; a text and image anomaly check in which the infringement detection system102can determine if an associated image or text item include misspelled words, inappropriate trademarks, or unacceptable ad claims; and a known counterfeit associations check in which the infringement detection system102can determine if the seller information matches prior identified suspicious criteria, if the seller is part of a suspect network under investigation, and/or if seller IDs, analytics codes and other identifiers have been associated with public or blockchain-listed infringement activity. These and other checks can be performed by the infringement detection system102and the results can be analyzed to support or challenge the infringement finding. An example schematic flow diagram of one embodiment of the confirmation analysis is illustrated inFIG.3. It should be understood that this example is illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Operation216also can include one or more response actions. As explained in detail above with reference toFIG.1, the response actions can include, but are not limited to, the infringement detection system102taking or triggering various responses to the detected infringement. The various responses can include, but are not limited to, the infringement detection system102generating an API call; modifying or entering data into a database; drafting and/or sending a message or alert; drafting and/or sending a report; creating a log or certificate, associating information in a database; performing a transaction; generating a direct notification; generating an official registration; creating an accurate legal complaint; creating and/or validating a distributed ledger entry; creating an artificial intelligence (“AI”) chatbot communication; creating an augmented reality rendering; or taking additional and/or alternative actions. It should be understood that in some embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the confirmational analysis itself, e.g., the confirmational analysis illustrated and described herein, can be one of the response actions. Because other response actions can be taken, it should be understood that these examples are illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. From operation216, the method200A can proceed to operation218. The method200A also can proceed to operation218from operation214if the infringement detection system102determines, in operation214, that a potential infringement does not exist. The method200A can end at operation218. Turning now toFIG.2B, aspects of a method200B for identifying a potentially infringing product using an infringement detection system102will be described in detail, according to another illustrative embodiment. It should be understood that the operations of the methods disclosed herein are not necessarily presented in any particular order and that performance of some or all of the operations in an alternative order(s) is possible and is contemplated. The operations have been presented in the demonstrated order for ease of description and illustration. Operations may be added, omitted, and/or performed simultaneously, without departing from the scope of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein. It also should be understood that the methods disclosed herein can be ended at any time and need not be performed in its entirety. Some or all operations of the methods, and/or substantially equivalent operations, can be performed by execution of computer-readable instructions included on a computer storage media, as defined herein. The term “computer-readable instructions,” and variants thereof, as used herein, is used expansively to include routines, applications, application modules, program modules, programs, components, data structures, algorithms, and the like. Computer-readable instructions can be implemented on various system configurations including single-processor or multiprocessor systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, personal computers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based, programmable consumer electronics, wearable devices, combinations thereof, and the like. Thus, it should be appreciated that the logical operations described herein are implemented (1) as a sequence of computer implemented acts or program modules running on a computing system and/or (2) as interconnected machine logic circuits or circuit modules within the computing system. The implementation is a matter of choice dependent on the performance and other requirements of the computing system. Accordingly, the logical operations described herein are referred to variously as states, operations, structural devices, acts, or modules. These states, operations, structural devices, acts, and modules may be implemented in software, in firmware, in special purpose digital logic, and any combination thereof. As used herein, the phrase “cause a processor to perform operations” and variants thereof is used to refer to causing a processor of a computing system or device, such as the infringement detection system102, to perform one or more operations and/or causing the processor to direct other components of the computing system or device to perform one or more of the operations. For purposes of illustrating and describing the concepts of the present disclosure, the method200B is described herein as being performed by the infringement detection system102via execution of one or more software modules such as, for example, the infringement detection application108. It should be understood that additional and/or alternative devices and/or network nodes can provide the functionality described herein via execution of one or more modules, applications, and/or other software including, but not limited to, the infringement detection application108. Thus, the illustrated embodiments are illustrative, and should not be viewed as being limiting in any way. The method200B begins at operation220. At operation220, the infringement detection system102can obtain a product image110. The infringement detection system102can obtain one or more product image110from one or more product image sources112, as explained above. In one contemplated embodiment, the product image110obtained in operation220can correspond to photograph taken with a camera, a scan obtained by a luggage or body scanner, or other product image source112as illustrated and described herein. Thus, some embodiments of the method200B can use a product image110as an original input. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. As explained above, the product image sources112illustrated and described herein can include a computerized image generation source such as, for example, a generative neural network, a CAD model, a LIDAR image capture, a video gaming world, a scanner (e.g., X-ray, CT, CAT, MRI, etc.), combinations thereof, or the like. Additionally, or alternatively, the product image sources112illustrated and described herein can include an image supply source such as, for example, document image collections; collectible image collections; Internet web sites (e.g., Internet addresses of web site pages or marketplaces that promote and/or offer products and content for sale, social media, search engines, websites; photo, video and animation databases, or the like); or other sources. Thus, obtaining the product image110can include receiving output from various computing environments, services, devices, systems, or the like. From operation220, the method200B can proceed to operation222. At operation222, the infringement detection system102can identify a domain of interest associated with the product image110. According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection system102can be configured to provide a portal and/or other functionality to enable a user or other entity to interact with the infringement detection system102to specify a domain of interest (e.g., a user or operator could photograph a shoe and input, through the portal or other functionality, the word “shoe” as the domain of interest). It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some other embodiments, the infringement detection system102can be configured to receive or otherwise obtain an indication of product or product type and the infringement detection system102can determine, based on the indication and/or based on the product or product type, the domain of interest. In yet other embodiments, the infringement detection system102can use object detection, image matching, and/or other analysis to determine a domain of interest. Because the domain of interest can be determined in various manners as illustrated and described herein, it should be understood that the above examples are illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. From operation222, the method200B can proceed to operation224. At operation224, the infringement detection system102can obtain one or more patent drawings122that potentially are infringed by a product represented by the product image110obtained in operation220. The infringement detection system102can obtain the patent drawings122from the patent data sources118by way of the infringement detection system102sending, to the one or more patent data sources118, one or more patent data requests120and/or in other manners as illustrated and described herein. As noted above, the one or more patent data requests120can include and/or can specify the domain of interest identified in operation222, in some embodiments. The patent data sources118can contain any reference set of images owned by a rights-controlling party such as, for example, patent drawings122for a particular patent, trade dress drawings for a particular trade dress registration, mask works, or the like. In some embodiments, a patent, trademark, copyright or design corpus from a rights-granting authority can correspond to one or more of the patent data sources118and therefore can be the source of the patent drawings122(or other intellectual property right drawings or images as illustrated and described herein). From operation224, the method200B can proceed to operation226. At operation226, the infringement detection system102can identify a coarse match (e.g., an optimal match) using the one or more product images110and the one or more patent drawings122. The coarse matching of operation226can be substantially similar to the coarse matching illustrated and described above with reference to operation224of the method200A. From operation226, the method200B can proceed to operation228. At operation228, the infringement detection system102can augment and/or transform the patent drawings122and the product images110. The image augmentation and/or transformation of operation228can be substantially similar to the image augmentation and/or transformation illustrated and described above with reference to operation208of the method200A. From operation228, the method200B can proceed to operation230. At operation230, the infringement detection system102can perform a refined comparison operation, which can include the shape fitting analyses as illustrated and described herein. As explained above, operation230can correspond to the infringement detection system102determining if the optimal match (coarse match) identified in operation226remains the optimal match after the refined comparison illustrated and described herein. In operation230, the infringement detection system102can compare the one or more patent drawing122(augmented or not) and the transformed product images110to one another to determine if a match exists. The refined comparison of operation230can be substantially similar to the refined comparison illustrated and described above with reference to operation210of the method200A and/or the shape fitting illustrated and described above with reference to operation212of the method200A. From operation230, the method200B can proceed to operation232. At operation232, the infringement detection system102can determine, based on the refined comparison and shape fitting analyses illustrated and described above, if a potential infringement exists, e.g., if the product depicted in the transformed product image110potentially infringes a patent represented by the augmented patent drawings122. In operation232, then, the infringement detection system102can determine if the optimal match identified in the coarse match stage can still be determined (e.g., quantified) as still be optimal after a shape fitting analysis and/or other refined comparison. The determination of operation232can be substantially similar to the determination illustrated and described above with reference to operation214of the method200A. If the infringement detection system102determines, in operation232, that a potential infringement does exist, the method200B can proceed to operation234. At operation234, the infringement detection system102can trigger confirmation and response actions. The triggering of confirmation and response actions of operation234can be substantially similar to triggering confirmation and response actions as illustrated and described above with reference to operation216of the method200A. From operation234, the method200B can proceed to operation236. The method200B also can proceed to operation236from operation232if the infringement detection system102determines, in operation232, that a potential infringement does not exist. The method200B can end at operation236. While the above methods200A,200B have been described as comparing augmented and/or transformed product images110to augmented and/or transformed patent drawings122, it should be understood that in various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the patent drawings122may not be augmented and/or transformed. Rather, the patent drawings122may be compared to augmented and/or transformed product images110without any modifications to the patent drawings122. As such, the above example embodiments should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Turning now toFIG.4, some example images are shown. In particular,FIG.4illustrates an example patent drawing402, an example augmented and transformed version of the patent drawing404, an example product image406, an example augmented and transformed version of the product image408, an image410illustrating a shape fitting of a counterfeit candidate (e.g., the augmented and transformed patent drawing404) on the example product image406, and an image412illustrating a shape fitting of a counterfeit candidate (e.g., the augmented and transformed patent drawing404) on the example augmented and transformed product image408. The example images shown inFIG.4are provided for illustration of various aspects of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. FIG.5is a user interface (“UI”) diagram showing aspects of a UI for using and/or interacting with the infringement detection system102, according to some illustrative embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein.FIG.5shows an illustrative screen display500. According to some embodiments of the concepts and technologies described herein, the screen display500can be generated by the infringement detection system102and/or the infringement detection application108. In particular, according to various embodiments, the screen display500and/or other screen displays can be generated in conjunction with and/or based upon interactions with the infringement detection application108described herein, which can be configured to render the screen display500using data generated at the infringement detection system102and/or using data provided by the infringement detection system102. It should be appreciated that the UI diagram illustrated inFIG.5is illustrative of one contemplated example of the UIs that can be generated and/or displayed in accordance with the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. According to various embodiments, the screen display500can be presented, for example, when a user or other entity requests a report of potential infringement, when a user or other entity executes a check of a particular patent number, and/or at other times. Because the screen display500illustrated inFIG.5can be displayed at additional and/or alternative times, it should be understood that these examples are illustrative and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. The screen display500can include various menus and/or menu options (not shown inFIG.5). The screen display500also can include a filter window502. The filter window502can be used to create various search terms and/or to format a report and/or list that can be provided in a potential infringer view window504. The potential infringer view window504can be configured to present one or more potential infringement matches506A-D (hereinafter collectively and/or generically referred to as “potential infringement matches506”). One or more of the potential infringement matches506and/or the potential infringer view window504can present various types of information associated with one or more potential infringers of a particular intellectual property asset such as, for example, a patent. Thus, as shown inFIG.5, one or more of the potential infringement matches506can include a thumbnail image508, which can correspond to one or more product images110and various types of information associated with a seller or retailer offering the possibly infringing product represented by the thumbnail image508. Thus, for example, one or more of the potential infringement matches506can include seller information, a first seen date that can indicate the first date on which this product was offered for sale by the seller, a marketplace on which the sale was identified, search terms, a geographic location associated with the product and/or seller, a quantity of the product being offered, a quantity of the product that has been sold, a price at which the product is offered, a status of the sale of the product, activity information associated with the sale of the product and/or the seller, a link to details and/or other detailed information, other information, combinations thereof, or the like. The screen display500also can include a menu area510, which can include a number of actions that can be available. It can be appreciated that the menu area510shown inFIG.5includes options for various response actions as illustrated and described herein. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Because additional or alternative controls can be included in the screen display500, it should be understood that the example embodiment shown inFIG.5is illustrative and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Turning now toFIG.6, additional aspects of the infringement detection system102will be illustrated and described. In particular,FIG.6illustrates example images600. The example images600illustrate images from an x-ray system (e.g., a luggage scanner at an airport, a container scanner at a port, or the like). As explained above, various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein can include obtaining the product images110from a camera, scanner, video, or other source. Thus, images can be scanned by the infringement detection system102to determine if any objects in the images are potentially infringing. Thus, embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein can be used to scan at ports or other locations to detect pirated goods, for example. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Turning now toFIG.7, additional aspects of the infringement detection system102will be illustrated and described. In particular,FIG.7illustrates an example of detecting possibly infringing products in a video stream or other type of imagery (e.g., a photograph). The example shows a phone in a video frame, where the phone is determined by the infringement detection system102to potentially infringe a design patent. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. While the above description has primarily discussed the comparison of patent drawings122to product images110, it can be appreciated that the infringement detection system102and/or the functionality thereof can be extended to other use cases and/or can analyze and/or interact with other types of information. In particular, the concepts and technologies disclosed herein can be used to train the infringement detection system102to create imagery that does infringe a patent drawing122or that does not infringe a patent drawing122. For example, an input to the infringement detection system102may include a design patent drawing, and the infringement detection system102can be configured to create a product (or create a product image110) that does not infringe the patent drawing122. Thus, the functionality illustrated and described herein with reference to the infringement detection system102can be used to create non-infringing products (e.g., instead of performing infringement searches and/or obtaining right-to-mark opinions, the infringement detection system102can be used to design non-infringing products). It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Similarly, the functionality of the infringement detection system102illustrated and described herein can be used to predict products based on patents and/or patent drawings, sketches, and the like. Thus, for example, the infringement detection system102can be used for product development, in some embodiments. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Also, the functionality of the infringement detection system102can be used to create two-and-a-half dimensional or three dimensional models (as noted above) from patent drawings122or other reference images. The three dimensional models can be manipulated to match views shown in product images110, in some embodiments, to further improve the analysis illustrated and described herein. Thus, for example, a patent drawing122can be used to create a two-and-a-half dimensional shading map or texture map or three dimensional mesh or point cloud that can be manipulated to approximate a view shown in a product image110. By way of example, a scan of luggage may show the top of a shoe, but a patent drawing122may show a side elevation view of a shoe that is patented. The infringement detection system102can be configured, in various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, to create a three dimensional mesh of the shoe shown in the patent drawing122, and to manipulate the created solid or model to approximate the shoe shown in a scan or other output from the scan of the luggage (e.g., to the bottom of the shoe). The resulting view can be compared to the product image110. The three dimensional modeling can be used for other purposes, so the above example is illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection system102can be used for detecting medical implants and/or other foreign bodies in a human. For example, an imaging device can be configured to identify a medical instrument, implant, or other entity (e.g., in a body). An image of the entity can then be used as the product image110illustrated and described herein, and the entity can be identified based on patent information and/or other databases or libraries of, for example, medical implants, medical instruments, or the like. In one contemplated use case, a scan of a human can be analyzed, a tool can be identified in the image, and identified using the infringement detection system102illustrated and described herein. In some instances, this technology can be used to identify malpractice (e.g., a left tool from a surgery, etc.). In some other instances, this technology can be used for passenger screening and/or other anti-terror purposes (e.g., to scan passengers for implanted bombs, or the like). It should be understood that these examples are illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In some embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection system102can be used for detecting infringement of semiconductors (e.g., mask works). For example, an imaging device can be configured to identify a semiconductor device or other entity (e.g., in a product, in luggage, in a storage container, etc.). An image of the entity can then be used as the product image110illustrated and described herein, and the entity can be identified based on mask works, copyright registrations, patents, and/or other information. Thus, a scan of a product can reveal a potential infringement of an intellectual property asset associated with a semiconductor, in some embodiments. It should be understood that these examples are illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. It can be appreciated from the above description that the infringement detection system102can operate, in some embodiments, as a search engine that can use a product image110as a reference for a search, where the search can be executed against various intellectual property image sources (e.g., the patent data sources118illustrated and described herein), and that among the returned results, the infringement detection system102can find an optimal match (coarse match) among the first set of results and perform the refined comparison to output a result that is still deemed optimal after the refined comparison. Thus, in some embodiments the infringement detection system102can perform image retrieval (e.g., obtaining product images110and/or obtaining patent drawings122) based on a sketch, photo, or other type of image. In some embodiments, the infringement detection system102can perform a variation of sketch-based image retrieval and comparison across two domains, where the first domain of the cross-domain comparison can correspond to sketches (e.g., the patent drawings122) and the second domain can correspond to photographs (e.g., the product images110). The cross-domain image retrieval illustrated and described herein can find not only broad similarity between images (e.g., in the coarse matching stage) to detect one or more possibly optimal matches in retrieved images (e.g., patent drawings122) and a reference image (e.g., the product image110), but also fine-grained similarity (e.g., in the refined comparison stage) to verify that one or more of the possibly optimal matches remains optimal after the refined comparison. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the infringement detection system102can learn a shared embedding for patent drawings122and product images110such that distances in the learned space are related to structural and/or semantic similarly between the patent drawings122and the product images110. This approach can take into account multiple levels of similarity including, for example, a category level similarity (e.g., the product image110relates to a shoe and the patent drawing122relates to a shoe), as well as an instance level similarity that can determine similarity between the patent drawing122and product image110. It should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. The above description has used the terms “transform,” “augment,” and variations thereof. For purposes of the claims and description, the word “augment” can be used to refer to modifying an image (e.g., the product image110or the patent drawing122), adding matter to the image (e.g., the product image110or the patent drawing122), subtracting matter from the image (e.g., the product image110or the patent drawing122), and/or otherwise modifying the images in any manner as illustrated and described herein. As such, the word “augment” does not necessarily require matter to be added to an image, for purposes of the specification and the claims. FIG.8is a block diagram illustrating a computer system800that can be configured to provide the functionality described herein for the infringement detection system102and/or other computing devices, in accordance with various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein. The computer system800includes a processing unit802, a memory804, one or more user interface devices806, one or more input/output (“I/O”) devices808, and one or more network devices810, each of which is operatively connected to a system bus812. The bus812enables bi-directional communication between the processing unit802, the memory804, the user interface devices806, the I/O devices808, and the network devices810. The processing unit802may be a standard central processor that performs arithmetic and logical operations, a more specific purpose programmable logic controller (“PLC”), a programmable gate array, or other type of processor known to those skilled in the art and suitable for controlling the operation of the computer system800. As used herein, the word “processor” and/or the phrase “processing unit” when used with regard to the computer system800can include multiple processors or processing units distributed across and/or operating in parallel in a single machine or in multiple machines. Furthermore, processors and/or processing units can be used to support virtual processing environments. Because processors and/or processing units are generally known, the processors and processing units disclosed herein will not be described in further detail herein. The memory804can communicate with the processing unit802via the system bus812. In some embodiments, the memory804is operatively connected to a memory controller (not shown) that enables communication with the processing unit802via the system bus812. The memory804includes an operating system814and one or more program modules816. The operating system814can include, but is not limited to, members of the WINDOWS, WINDOWS CE, and/or WINDOWS MOBILE families of operating systems from MICROSOFT CORPORATION, the LINUX family of operating systems, the SYMBIAN family of operating systems from SYMBIAN LIMITED, the BREW family of operating systems from QUALCOMM CORPORATION, the MAC OS, iOS, and/or LEOPARD families of operating systems from APPLE CORPORATION, the FREEBSD family of operating systems, the SOLARIS family of operating systems from ORACLE CORPORATION, other operating systems, and the like. The program modules816may include various software and/or program modules described herein. In some embodiments, for example, the program modules816include the operating system106and the infringement detection application108. These and/or other programs can be embodied in computer-readable media containing instructions that, when executed by the processing unit802, perform the methods200A,200B illustrated and described in detail above with respect toFIG.2Aand/or other functionality as illustrated and described herein. It can be appreciated that, at least by virtue of the instructions embodying the methods200A and/or other functionality illustrated and described herein being stored in the memory804and/or accessed and/or executed by the processing unit802, the computer system800can be transformed into a special-purpose computing system that can facilitate providing the functionality illustrated and described herein for detecting potential infringers. According to embodiments, the program modules816may be embodied in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. Although not shown inFIG.8, it should be understood that the memory804also can be configured to store the product images110, the patent data116, the output130, and/or other data as described herein, if desired. By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media may include any available computer storage media or communication media that can be accessed by the computer system800. Communication media includes computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics changed or set in a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. Computer storage media includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, Erasable Programmable ROM (“EPROM”), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (“EEPROM”), flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (“DVD”), or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the computer system800. In the claims, the phrase “computer storage medium” and variations thereof does not include waves or signals per se and/or communication media as defined herein. The user interface devices806may include one or more devices with which a user accesses the computer system800. The user interface devices806may include, but are not limited to, computers, servers, personal digital assistants, cellular phones, or any suitable computing devices. The I/O devices808enable a user to interface with the program modules816. In one embodiment, the I/O devices808are operatively connected to an I/O controller (not shown) that enables communication with the processing unit802via the system bus812. The I/O devices808may include one or more input devices, such as, but not limited to, a keyboard, a mouse, haptic device, gestural device, or an electronic stylus. Further, the I/O devices808may include one or more output devices, such as, but not limited to, a display screen or a printer. The network devices810enable the computer system800to communicate with other networks or remote systems via a network, such as the network104. Examples of the network devices810include, but are not limited to, a modem, a radio frequency (“RF”) or infrared (“IR”) transceiver, a telephonic interface, a bridge, a router, or a network card. The network104may include a wireless network such as, but not limited to, a Wireless Local Area Network (“WLAN”) such as a WI-FI network, a Wireless Wide Area Network (“WWAN”), a Wireless Personal Area Network (“WPAN”) such as BLUETOOTH, a Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (“WMAN”) such as a WiMAX network, or a cellular network. Alternatively, the network104may be a wired network such as, but not limited to, a Wide Area Network (“WAN”) such as the Internet, a Local Area Network (“LAN”) such as the Ethernet, a wired Personal Area Network (“PAN”), or a wired Metropolitan Area Network (“MAN”). FIG.9illustrates an illustrative distributed computing environment900capable of executing the software components described herein for providing an infringement detection system102. Thus, the distributed computing environment900illustrated inFIG.9can be used to provide the functionality described herein with respect to the infringement detection system102. The distributed computing environment900thus may be utilized to execute any aspects of the software components presented herein. According to various implementations, the distributed computing environment900includes a computing environment902operating on, in communication with, or as part of the network904. The network904also can include various access networks. According to various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the functionality of the network904can be provided by the network104illustrated inFIG.1. One or more client devices906A-906N (hereinafter referred to collectively and/or generically as “clients906”) can communicate with the computing environment902via the network904and/or other connections (not illustrated inFIG.9). In the illustrated embodiment, the clients906include a computing device906A such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, or other computing device; a slate or tablet computing device (“tablet computing device”)906B; a mobile computing device906C such as a mobile telephone, a smart phone, or other mobile computing device; a server computer906D; and/or other devices906N. It should be understood that any number of clients906can communicate with the computing environment902. It should be understood that the illustrated clients906and computing architectures illustrated and described herein are illustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. In the illustrated embodiment, the computing environment902can include one or more application servers908, one or more instances of data storage910, and one or more network interfaces912. According to various implementations, the functionality of the application servers908can be provided by one or more server computers that can execute as a part of, or in communication with, the network904. The application servers908can host various services, virtual machines, portals, and/or other resources. In the illustrated embodiment, the application servers908can host one or more virtual machines914for hosting applications, services, modules, or other functionality. According to various implementations, the virtual machines914can host one or more applications and/or software modules for providing the functionality described herein for tag-based security policy creation in a distributed computing environment. It should be understood that this embodiment is illustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. The application servers908also can host or can provide access to one or more Web portals, one or more link pages, one or more Web sites, and/or one or more other sources or access points to various types of information (“Web portals”)916. According to various implementations, the application servers908also include one or more mailbox services918and one or more messaging services920. The mailbox services918can include electronic mail (“email”) services. The mailbox services918also can include various personal information management (“PIM”) services including, but not limited to, calendar services, contact management services, collaboration services, and/or other services. The messaging services920can include, but are not limited to, instant messaging services, chat services, forum services, and/or other communication services. The application servers908also can include one or more social networking services922. The social networking services922can include various social networking services including, but not limited to, services for sharing or posting status updates, instant messages, links, photos, videos, and/or other information; services for commenting or displaying interest in articles, products, blogs, or other resources; and/or other services. In some embodiments, the social networking services922are provided by or include the FACEBOOK social networking service, the LINKEDIN professional networking service, the MYSPACE social networking service, the FOURSQUARE geographic networking service, the YAMMER office colleague networking service, and the like. In other embodiments, the social networking services922are provided by other services, sites, and/or providers that may or may not explicitly be known as social networking providers. For example, some web sites allow users to interact with one another via email, chat services, and/or other means during various activities and/or contexts such as reading published articles, commenting on goods or services, publishing, collaboration, gaming, and the like. Examples of such services include, but are not limited to, the WINDOWS LIVE service and the XBOX LIVE service from Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Washington. Other services are possible and are contemplated. The social networking services922also can include commenting, blogging, and/or microblogging services. Examples of such services include, but are not limited to, the YELP commenting service, the KUDZU review service, the OFFICETALK enterprise microblogging service, the TWITTER messaging service, the GOOGLE BUZZ service, and/or other services. It should be appreciated that the above lists of services are not exhaustive and that numerous additional and/or alternative social networking services922are not mentioned herein for the sake of brevity. As such, the above embodiments are illustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. As shown inFIG.9, the application servers908also can host other services, applications, portals, and/or other resources (“other resources”)924. It thus can be appreciated that the computing environment902can provide integration of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein provided herein for an infringement detection system102with various mailbox, messaging, social networking, and/or other services or resources, as illustrated and described above, particularly with reference to the response actions. For example, the concepts and technologies disclosed herein can be used to generate the email messages that report potential infringements or the like. Because the creation of messages and/or mail items is optional, it should be understood that this example is illustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. As mentioned above, the computing environment902can include the data storage910. According to various implementations, the functionality of the data storage910is provided by one or more databases operating on, or in communication with, the network904. The functionality of the data storage910also can be provided by one or more server computers configured to host data for the computing environment902. The data storage910can include, host, or provide one or more real or virtual data stores926A-926N (hereinafter referred to collectively and/or generically as “data stores926”). The data stores926are configured to host data used or created by the application servers908and/or other data. Although not illustrated inFIG.9, it should be understood that the data stores926also can host or store the various data illustrated and described herein including, but not limited to, the product images110, the product image request114, the patent data116, the patent data request120, the output130, other data, and/or the like. The computing environment902can communicate with, can communicate via, and/or can be accessed by, the network interfaces912. The network interfaces912can include various types of network hardware and/or software (virtual and/or physical) for supporting communications between two or more computing devices including, but not limited to, the clients906and the application servers908. It should be appreciated that the network interfaces912also may be utilized to connect to other types of networks and/or computer systems. It should be understood that the distributed computing environment900described herein can provide any aspects of the software elements described herein with any number of virtual computing resources and/or other distributed computing functionality that can be configured to execute any aspects of the software components disclosed herein. According to various implementations of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, the distributed computing environment900provides the software functionality described herein as a service to one or more of the clients906. It should be understood that the clients906can include real or virtual machines including, but not limited to, server computers, web servers, personal computers, mobile computing devices, smart phones, and/or other devices. As such, various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein enable any device configured to access the distributed computing environment900to utilize the functionality described herein for an infringement detection system. Based on the foregoing, it should be appreciated that systems and methods for providing an infringement detection system have been disclosed herein. Although the subject matter presented herein has been described in language specific to computer structural features, methodological and transformative acts, specific computing machinery, and computer-readable media, it is to be understood that the concepts and technologies disclosed herein are not necessarily limited to the specific features, acts, or media described herein. Rather, the specific features, acts and mediums are disclosed as example forms of implementing the concepts and technologies disclosed herein. The subject matter described above is provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed as limiting. Various modifications and changes may be made to the subject matter described herein without following the example embodiments and applications illustrated and described, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of the embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein. | 165,236 |
11861529 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The description that follows includes systems, methods, techniques, instruction sequences, and computing machine program products that embody illustrative embodiments of the disclosure. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of various embodiments. It will be evident, however, to those skilled in the art, that embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In general, well-known instruction instances, protocols, structures, and techniques are not necessarily shown in detail. Users typically spend a great deal of time and effort making travel arrangements, such as looking for hotels, airfares, and car rentals that are within their budget. Existing travel sites allow a user to input various travel criteria, such as travel dates and destinations, to search for all the available hotels, airfares, and car rentals that match the travel criteria. The existing travel sites also allow the user to sort and filter results based on a specified cost. While such existing travel sites generally work well for making travel arrangements, there is often a large disparity among cost and availability for the same or similar hotels, airfares, and car rentals across different travel sites. This ends up burdening the user, as the user has to search through the available options across multiple travel sites to make sure he or she gets the best price within their budget. Searching through multiple travel sites takes a great deal of time and effort and forces the user to navigate through multiple pages of information and manually compare results to make travel arrangements. Even still, the travel arrangements the user finally settles on may not provide the user with the best available options for their budget. In addition, once a user finally finds a desired travel service, reserving the travel service requires the user to complete a checkout process by navigating through many checkout screens. For example, the user has to first select the desired travel service, then input various personal information on another screen, then navigate to a payment screen to provide payment information, and finally, the user can confirm reservation for the desired travel service in a confirmation screen. This further adds to the inefficient use of system resources for making travel service reservations using traditional systems and further wastes a user's time and effort. Some subscription-based travel services allow a user to reserve travel services for a fixed monthly or annual subscription cost. However, users who are unfamiliar with such subscription-based travel services may not be interested in trying out the travel services. Thus, while the subscription-based travel services could benefit a great deal of users, exposing users to such subscription-based travel services can be challenging. The disclosed embodiments improve the efficiency of using an electronic device by providing an improved way to expose users to subscription-based travel services to provide a better way for users to conduct travel, such as by making travel arrangements using the subscription-based travel service. The subscription-based travel service, according to the disclosed embodiments, allows a user to search for travel services and make reservations for travel services (e.g., such as hotels, rental cars, airfares, homes/residences, experiential travel, guided tours, cruises, train fares, private aviation, “glamping,” bespoke travel, event-based travel, and/or space travel) for a fixed annual or monthly subscription fee. The disclosed embodiments generate tokens that correspond to pre-purchased subscriptions to the travel services system. A new user or an existing user can receive the token (e.g., as part of a promotion or award) and can apply the token to the travel services system. After applying the token and verifying its validity (e.g., the token is not expired or is not fraudulent), the user can select a start date on which to begin the subscription to the travel services system. Then, based on a specified duration (e.g., 60 days) associated with the token, the disclosed embodiments compute an end date for the user's subscription. The user is then authorized to make an unlimited number of reservations for travel services without having to consider budgetary constraints starting from the selected start date and ending on the computed end date. While certain embodiments are described with reference to travel services, similar functionality can be applied to sporting event tickets, event tickets, concert tickets, entertainment tickets and restaurant reservations. In such cases, a subscription service can be provided that allows a user to pay a monthly or annual subscription fee and make an unlimited number of reservations for sporting event tickets, event tickets, entertainment tickets, concert tickets, and restaurant reservations without having to consider budgetary constraints. According to some embodiments, users can purchase tokens with specified subscription durations of same or different amounts. In response to receiving a user request to purchase a token, a token is generated. For example, an alphanumeric sequence, bar code, image, or video is created and stored and a specified duration is associated with the token. The token is provided to the user and can be associated with an expiration window of 12 months. After the token is unused by a user (e.g., if a subscription is not activated or started using the token) within the expiration window, the token becomes invalid. The user can gift, send, or sell the token to another user or can use the token themselves. The token can be input to the travel services system to begin a subscription to the travel services system on a user selected start date and ending on a date that is computed based on the specified subscription duration associated with the token. In some embodiments, a collection of tokens (e.g., 10 tokens) can be generated for a fixed fee. Each of the tokens in the collection may be associated with the same specified subscription duration. The tokens can be distributed to one or more users (e.g., as part of a reward or promotion) so the users can try out or use the travel services system. According to some embodiments, after a user activates their subscription, the travel service automatically identifies, curates, and generates a predetermined list of all of the best available travel service options for a specified travel period and destinations from which the user can select based on the user's estimated subscription value as a function of the booking start date (e.g., the date on which the user views and selects to reserve a given travel service) and the travel date (e.g., the date on which the selected travel service begins, such as the first night at the hotel). In this way, the amount of time and effort the user has to spend searching for travel services that meet the user's budget are significantly reduced. Also, by providing a single interface and travel site for making travel arrangements that automatically take into account various travel service costs in providing travel services options to the user, the number of steps, pages, and interfaces the user has to navigate through to make travel arrangements are reduced. This provides a better way for a user to consume travel. Namely, the user does not need to search through multiple travel sites and pages of information to find travel arrangements that satisfy the user's needs. After the user activates their subscription, to automatically provide the user with the list of available travel services, the disclosed embodiments receive travel information (e.g., automatically, before the user requests to view a curated list of travel service options or in response to the user specifying the travel information) with a travel date that is after the selected subscription start date and before the specified end date and, in response, compute a subscription value as a function of a booking date and the travel date. A list of travel services that are available on the travel date is searched to identify candidate travel services that each has a first cost (e.g., a cost available through a publicly available database or travel site) that exceeds a previously computed minimum travel value of the subscription value of the user. Then, a subset of the candidate travel services that each have a second cost (e.g., a cost available exclusively to subscribers of the travel service via the subscription travel services system database) that is less than a maximum purchase amounts is selected and generated for display to the user in a graphical user interface using one or more interactive visual representations. A given one of the displayed visual representations can be selected by the user to instruct the system to automatically reserve the travel service associated with the selected visual representation. Reserving a desired travel service can be performed very quickly and efficiently by selection of a reservation option. Reserving the desired travel service can be performed without navigating through multiple checkout and payment screens as the payment and user information needed to reserve the travel service is performed using the subscription information and subscription payments the subscriber makes. Specifically, the disclosed embodiments, store ahead of time various personal information about a user in a user profile and receive subscription payments from the subscribers. In this way, the disclosed embodiments can very quickly automatically reserve and pay for a user selected travel service using the previously stored personal information and the previously provided subscription payments avoiding the need to navigate the user through a checkout process. FIG.1is a block diagram illustrating a networked system100for a subscription-based travel service, according to some example embodiments. The networked system100includes one or more client devices such as client device110. The client device110comprises, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, desktop computer, laptop, portable digital assistants (PDA), smart phone, tablet, ultrabook, netbook, laptop, multi-processor system, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronic, game console, set-top box, computer in a vehicle, or any other communication device that a user may utilize to access the networked system100. In some embodiments, the client device110comprises a display module to display information (e.g., in the form of graphical user interfaces). In further embodiments, the client device110comprises one or more of touch screens, accelerometers, gyroscopes, cameras, microphones, global positioning system (GPS) devices, and so forth. The client device110may be a device of a user that is used to access and utilize subscription-based travel services via a travel services system124implemented by an application server102. For example, the client device110may be used by a user to navigate to a website of the travel services system124. In some embodiments, the client device110may include a dedicated travel services system124application with the same or similar functionality as the website. After accessing the website or the application on the client device110, the user inputs personal information (e.g., name, address, phone number, payment information, geographical location, home address, and so forth) to access the travel services system124. In some embodiments, access to the travel services system124requires a subscription fee to be paid. The subscription fee is paid monthly but can be paid on any other periodic interval (e.g., weekly, daily, every other month, annually, lifetime, and so forth). In some embodiments, the subscription to the travel services system124can be of a temporary duration based on a previously purchased subscription token. For example, a subscription token that enables access to the travel services system124for a predefined period (e.g., 60 days) can be provided to a user. The user selects a date on which to start the subscription (e.g., the date on which a first or initial travel reservation can be made by the user) and based on a specified duration associated with the token, provided by the user, the travel services system124computes an end date for the subscription. After subscribing to the travel services system124using the token and/or by paying a periodic subscription fee, the user is provided with login credentials that can be used to navigate and browse available travel services on the travel services system124and reserve or book travel services. For example, the user can access the travel services system124to browse hotel rooms available in various luxury categories in a selected geographical location on a particular date or range of dates. In some embodiments, the range of dates or particular date on which the user can browse and reserve hotel rooms is limited to be within the start and end date. In some embodiments, the client device110presents a graphical user interface with data entry regions allowing the user to input a subscription token and/or select a subscription start date. In some embodiments, after the user activates their subscription and during an active the portion of the subscription period (e.g., the period between a selected start date and a computed end date), the client device110presents a graphical user interface with data entry regions allowing the user to select from a predefined list of travel destinations (e.g., at various geographical locations) available on a travel date input by the user that is between the start and end dates. In some embodiments, the graphical user interface allows the user to manually type in a name of a desired geographical location destination and the desired travel date (e.g., the date the user plans to take the trip and consume the travel service). As the user types in the name of the desired geographical location destination, the travel services system124searches through travel destinations available on the travel date that are at the desired geographical location(s) and presents the available travel destinations to the user for selection. In some cases, the list of travel services that are presented to the user are selected based on a likelihood that the user will consume (e.g., reserve or book) the travel services. In response to receiving a user selection of one or more of the travel destinations, prior to or during selection of the destination, the client device110presents a data entry region for the user to input a specific travel start date (e.g., an arrival date at the hotel) and a number of days for the trip. In some embodiments, the list of available travel services is automatically searched for on a daily basis without receiving the user selection of the travel destination and/or travel start date. The travel services system124retrieves subscription information for the user specifying the amount the user pays on a monthly or other periodic basis. In some embodiments, when the user activates a subscription using a subscription token, the travel services system124computes estimated subscription information for the user specifying an estimated amount the user would have paid on a monthly or other periodic basis for the given subscription. In some embodiments, the estimated subscription amount is computed based on a price paid for the subscription token divided by the specified duration associated with the token. For example, the token may enable access to the travel services system124for a period of 60 days and may have been purchased for $2,000. In such cases, the travel services system124computes the estimated subscription amount to be $1,000 ($2,000/2 months). The travel services system124may compute an estimated daily subscription amount by dividing $2,000 by 60 days. In some embodiments, the estimated subscription amount is computed based on an average, minimum, or maximum amount paid by one or more other subscribers of the travel services system124on a periodic basis to receive the same travel services as those provided to the user accessing the system using the subscription token. Using the subscription information, the travel services system124computes one or more subscription values as a function of the booking date and the travel date. The booking date may be computed based on the current date on which the user selection of the travel destination is received and/or the current date on which a list of travel services is searched and curated. The travel services system124utilizes the subscription value and a value guard to search for travel services that satisfy the subscription value and the value guard. The value guard is used as a filter of travel services to ensure that the travel service options presented to the user have a cost and/or value that satisfies a minimum travel value amount and does not exceed a maximum purchase amount corresponding to the estimated or computed subscription value. After activating the subscription to the travel services system124(e.g., using the subscription token), the travel services system124provides matching travel services results to the client device110for presentation in the graphical user interface using one or more interactive visual representations. The graphical user interface of the client device110may be utilized to access reviews, comments, and additional information for each of the travel services represented by the interactive visual representations. In some cases, travel services that are presented to the user on the client device110may be ranked or sorted based on whether a given user is subscribed to the travel services system124using the subscription token or by paying a periodic fee. As an example, a first travel service that may be more desirable (e.g., a hotel that may be associated with higher rate category in a same location as another hotel) may be ranked higher (and presented at a higher position in the list) than a second travel service for a first user who is accessing the travel services system124using an subscription token. At the same time, the first travel services may be ranked lower than the second travel services for a second user who is accessing the travel services system124by paying a periodic fee. Accordingly, the first travel service may be presented at the top of the list of travel service results presented to the first user and may be positioned at the bottom of the list of travel services presented to the second user, or may not be presented at all to the second user. Alternatively, the first travel service that may be more desirable (e.g., a hotel that may be associated with higher rate category in a same location as another hotel) may be ranked lower (and presented at a higher position in the list) than a second travel service for a first user who is accessing the travel services system124using an subscription token. At the same time, the first travel services may be ranked higher than the second travel services for a second user who is accessing the travel services system124by paying a periodic fee. In this way, two different users may be presented the same set of results of travel services but in different ways (e.g., different rankings or organization) based on their subscription types. The client device110receives a user input selecting one of the interactive visual representations for a travel service and communicates the selection to the travel services system124. The travel services system124automatically reserves the travel service (e.g., holds and pays for a room at a hotel) corresponding to the selected interactive visual representation. The client device110may present a confirmation page to the user informing the user of the travel service that has been reserved and the travel start date. In some implementations, the travel services system124may limit the number of concurrent travel services the user can reserve. For example, the travel services system124may allow the user to select only one travel service reservation at a time, such that the user is prevented from searching for and/or reserving additional travel services until the currently selected travel service that has been reserved expires or is canceled. As another example, the travel services system124may only allow the user to reserve three travel services at a time, such that when one of the three travel services expires, the user can reserve an additional travel service. Namely, after the start and end dates for the travel service elapse indicating that the user has utilized the travel service, the client device110may allow the user to search for additional travel services to reserve in a similar manner as before if the user's subscription is still active (e.g., if the travel services is searched for between the start and end dates of the subscription). Alternatively, the user can navigate to a cancelation page or graphical user interface using the client device110and cancel any reservations previously selected within a cancelation window (e.g., within 72 hours prior to the travel start date). In response to receiving a user request to cancel the travel service, the travel service system124may cancel the reservation and the client device110may allow the user to search for a new travel service in a similar manner as before. In some embodiments, the travel services system124provides an improved way to expose users to a subscription-based travel system for users to consume travel. The travel services system124performs such improved techniques in various phases or steps. Initially, the travel services system124provides a user with limited access to the travel services system124using a subscription token associated with a specified subscription duration. The subscription token can be pre-purchased by the user, an organization or a friend and delivered to the user as an award, gift or promotion. The user uses the subscription token to select a start date to receive access to and start reserving travel services with the travel services system124. In the next phase or step, the travel services system124generates an inventory of travel services by searching travel destinations across a range of dates or specific dates throughout the year between the start and end dates of the user's subscription. The travel destinations are searched from publicly available information sources (e.g., databases of other travel sites available to non-subscribers of the travel services system124), by direct access to a predetermined set of travel services, third party sources, proprietary sources, and travel services that have direct relationships and contracts for travel services with the travel services system124. The travel destinations are searched periodically (e.g., nightly or weekly) using various combinations of travel dates and destinations. The search returns travel services available at various dates throughout the world and includes the total cost for consuming the travel services on the particular combination of dates along with the cancelation policy of each travel service. The cancelation policy may indicate the fee for canceling the travel service once booked which may be free or a nominal charge. As a result, the output of phase one or step one is a collection or database of tens of millions of combinations of travel services (and travel service types), at different ranges of travel start dates, with corresponding prices or costs, and with corresponding cancelation policies. In the next step or phase, the collection of the travel services identified in the previous phase is curated or filtered in accordance with one or more rules. Specifically, any, all, or a combination of the information associated with each travel service (e.g., the travel start dates, the prices, the travel service type, the destination, the transportation criteria, and the cancelation policy) is analyzed and compared with the one or more rules to exclude and select a list of candidate travel services. In an embodiment, the rules include various criteria (e.g., the booking date or date on which the reservation for a given travel service is made or requested, the price with taxes and fees (cost of the reservation), which are used to curate or filter the collection of travel services. The rules may vary between users of the travel services system124as different users are in geographically disparate locations. Specifically, the rules consider how much the travel services system124is willing or allowed (e.g., the maximum purchase amount) to spend for a given travel service which is leveraged against how far in advance the reservation is being made (e.g., the difference between the booking date and the travel start date). The maximum purchase amount may be computed based on various factors including payments received (e.g., the amount a subscriber will actually end up paying from the booking date to the travel date and an amortized amount by week of the subscriber's subscription cost and/or the estimated subscription value of a user who subscribed to the travel services system using a subscription token). Namely, one or more maximum purchase amounts may be computed to be used as a basis for filtering the travel services based on cost. In some cases, the amount the subscriber will actually end up paying may be computed by determining how many subscription cycles or how many payments will be collected between the booking date and the travel start date. In some cases, the amount of the subscription can be estimated based on the cost of the subscription token used and the specified duration of the subscription token and/or an estimated amount paid by subscribers who pay a periodic fee for the subscription services. For example, a subscriber may have a subscription that is activated on the first of the month and may be determined to have an estimated monthly cost that would have been paid on a first day of every month. The booking date may be in the middle of a given month and the travel start date is 2 months from the booking date. In such cases, the subscriber will have payed 2 cycles of subscription fees—two monthly payments—by the time the trip starts. The amortized amount is less granular and represents on a repeated time interval (e.g., daily, monthly, weekly, hourly) basis how much the subscriber would end up paying. The maximum purchase amount is then offset by a margin (weight) which may be positive or negative. The margin (weight) may vary based on how far in advance the reservation is being made (e.g., the difference between the booking date and the travel start date). In some cases, the margin may be greater for subscribers who pay a periodic subscription fee than subscribers who access the system using a subscription token for a limited duration. This causes improved or more desirable travel services to be presented to subscribers who access the system using a subscription token for a limited duration than those subscribers who pay a periodic subscription fee. This incentives the subscribers who access the system using the subscription token to become subscribers who pay the periodic subscription fee after their subscription time ends (e.g., after the end date of their subscription). The margin may vary based on the type of travel service being booked or reserved. For example, the margin may be greater for travel services that include or relate to cruises and smaller for travel services that include or relate to homes/residences. The travel services system124computes a minimum travel value representing the maximum a given user would be willing to pay for the travel service. This may be computed as a percentage (e.g., 80%) of the amount the subscriber would have paid by the time the trip begins. Specifically, the amount is a percentage of the number of subscription cycle payments the subscriber would have made by the travel start date starting from the booking date. This amount is used to remove any travel services that have a cost that is less than the minimum travel value as the subscriber can shop those travel services independently of being a subscriber to the travel services system124. The travel services system124eliminates any duplicates from the travel services and maintains those travel services that have a maximum duration of travel dates. For example, if the travel services system124identifies the same hotel having 2, 3 and 5 night stay options in the same time period, the travel services system124selects only the 5 night option and removes or filters out the 2 and 3 night stay options during the same time period. The travel services system124searches the actual price or cost of the various travel services and applies a margin to the cost of each travel service. The margin may be positive or negative and may depend on how far in advance the travel date is relative to the booking date. Again, the margin may also depend on the type of subscription used to access the system (e.g., whether the subscription is activated with a subscription token for a specified duration or whether the subscription is based on a periodic subscription fee paid by a subscriber). The travel services system124filters any travel service that has a cost that exceeds the maximum purchase amount and filters any travel service that has a cost that is below the minimum travel value. The travel services system124applies an additional filter based on cancelation policies of travel services that do not satisfy a given cancelation policy criteria. In some embodiments, the travel services system124presents the filtered list of travel services as options for the user or subscriber to select to make a reservation. The user can further filter the list based on various criteria (e.g., travel dates, travel destinations, etc.). In some embodiments, the travel services system124presents to a user a comparison of each travel service that is presented against what is available for the same travel service on a publicly available or other travel site. Specifically, the travel services system124presents next to each travel service or next to a portion of travel services an identification of another booking travel site that has the same travel service and the cost for booking that same travel service on the another booking travel site. This cost that is presented for comparison may be retrieved from storage based on what is in the collection that is analyzed and filtered to generate the list and/or may be determined automatically by accessing the other travel site, executing a search for the particular travel service and the particular range of travel dates, and retrieving the cost presented on the other travel site based on the executed search. One or more users may be a person, a machine, or other means of interacting with the client device110. In example embodiments, the user may not be part of the networked system100but may interact with the networked system100via the client device110or other means. For instance, the user may provide input (e.g., touch screen input or alphanumeric input) to the client device110and the input may be communicated to other entities in the networked system100(e.g., third-party servers130, server system108, etc.) via a network104. In this instance, the other entities in the networked system100, in response to receiving the input from the user, may communicate information to the client device110via the network104to be presented to the user. In this way, the user interacts with the various entities in the networked system100using the client device110. The networked system100further includes a network104. One or more portions of network104may be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a portion of the Internet, a portion of the public switched telephone network (PSTN), a cellular telephone network, a wireless network, a WiFi network, a WiMax network, another type of network, or a combination of two or more such networks. The client device110may access the various data and applications provided by other entities in the networked system100via web client112(e.g., a browser, such as the Internet Explorer® browser developed by Microsoft® Corporation of Redmond, Washington State) or one or more client applications114. The client device110may include one or more client applications114(also referred to as “apps”) such as, but not limited to, a web browser, messaging application, electronic mail (email) application, an e-commerce site application, a mapping or location application, an online home buying and selling application, a travel services application, a real estate application, and the like. In some embodiments, one or more client applications114are included in a given one of the client device110and configured to locally provide the user interface and at least some of the functionalities, with the client application114configured to communicate with other entities in the system100(e.g., third-party servers130, server system108, etc.), on an as-needed basis, for data and/or processing capabilities not locally available (e.g., to access location information, to access travel services information, such as cost and availability, to authenticate a user, to verify a method of payment, etc.). Conversely, one or more applications114may not be included in the client device110, and then the client device110may use its web browser to access the one or more applications hosted on other entities in the system100(e.g., third-party servers130, server system108, etc.). A server system108provides server-side functionality via the network104(e.g., the Internet or WAN) to one or more third-party servers130and/or one or more client devices110. The server system108includes an application server102that implements an application program interface (API) server120, a web server122, and a travel services system124, that may be communicatively coupled with one or more databases128. The one or more databases128may be storage devices that store data related to users of the system108, applications associated with the system108, cloud services, travel services data, one or more machine learning techniques and so forth. The one or more databases128may further store information related to third-party servers130, third-party applications132, client devices110, client applications114, users, and so forth. In one example, the one or more databases128may be cloud-based storage. The one or more databases128may store subscription information for one or more users of the travel services system124. The subscription information may identify users of the travel services system124, the subscription start dates of the users, the subscription end dates, the subscription type (e.g., whether the subscription is based on a subscription token or based on a periodic subscription fee), the subscription fee of the users and/or the estimated subscription fee for a subscription activated with a subscription token, the geographical locations of the users, the total amount paid-to-date for a subscription of the users, and/or one or more travel services activities of the users. The travel services activities may include any combination of the number of reservations made in a given time period (e.g., within a given subscription year) by each user, the subscription duration (e.g., measured from the subscription start date to the present date) of each user, the booking duration (e.g., measured from the booking date to the travel date) of each user, the distance to the travel destination of each user (e.g., measured from an address of the user and the location of reserved travel destinations), the margin amount (e.g., how much profit was made in aggregate during the course of the subscription) for each user, the cancelation frequency (e.g., how often the user cancels a reservation made), and/or the reservation frequency (e.g., how much time elapses on average between the end of one reservation and the start of another). The one or more databases128may store the reservations (e.g., the destination and the travel start date and/or duration) of travel services of each user or subscriber of the travel services system124. The one or more databases128may store a list of all the available, or a selected set, of travel services in one or more geographical regions or destinations along with reviews and/or detailed information about the travel services. The one or more databases128may store first and second costs on a nightly basis or on some other periodic interval (e.g., per 6 night basis) for each travel service. The first cost that is stored in the one or more databases128may represent the cost for the travel service that is provided to non-subscribers of the travel services system124and is available by directly making the reservation through a dedicated server of the travel service and/or by making the reservation through an existing travel service search interface. The one or more databases128may access a dedicated existing travel service search interface on a periodic basis (e.g., nightly or weekly) to obtain and download the first cost of each, or a selected set, of travel services. The first cost may be computed by selecting a specified travel duration (e.g., 6 nights) and multiplying the per night rate (provided by the travel service) by the specified travel duration. The second cost of each travel service may be a dedicated cost that is changed on an annual or monthly basis and is provided by contract between the travel services system124and the corresponding travel service. The second cost may only be available to users who subscribe to the travel services system124. The second cost of each travel service may represent the cost for consuming the travel service during a specified travel duration (e.g., 6 nights). The one or more databases128may store the cancelation policy of each travel service indicating how much time in advance of the reservation start date at a given travel service the travel service reservation can be canceled without penalty (e.g., to receive a full refund). The one or more databases128may store the cost for canceling a given travel service outside of the cancelation policy. The one or more databases128may store an expected margin on a per user basis. The expected margin may increase over time (e.g., for subscribers classified as very active) or decrease over time (e.g., for subscribers classified as not very active). The expected margin may increase or decrease based on the subscription type of a given user. The expected margin may change by a predetermined factor based on a difference between a booking date and a travel start date (e.g., the margin may change based on how far in advance a user is making the reservation). This may be used to reduce the maximum purchase amount by a first factor if the reservation is made less than a predetermined number of days in advance of the travel date. This may be used to increase the maximum purchase amount by a second factor if the reservation is made more than a predetermined number of days in advance of the travel date. The one or more databases128may store a list of active tokens associated with limited duration subscriptions to the travel services system124. The list of active tokens may be stored as images, bar codes, videos, alphanumeric sequences and/or hashes thereof. As subscription tokens are generated by the travel services system124, the subscription tokens are stored or added to the list of active tokens. Each token in the list of active tokens may be associated with a specified subscription duration (e.g., specifying how long the subscription to the travel services system124is authorized for starting from a selected start date). Each token in the list of active tokens may be associated with an expiration time or date on which the token becomes invalid. For example, the expiration time or date may be set based on a specified period of time from when the token is first generated and may be set to 12 months. This means that if the token is not used by a user to activate a subscription within 12 months or the specified period of time from when the token was generated, the token can no longer be used by a user to activate a subscription to the travel services system124. The server system108may be a cloud computing environment, according to some example embodiments. The server system108, and any servers associated with the server system108, may be associated with a cloud-based application, in one example embodiment. The server system108includes a travel services system124. The travel services system124includes one or more modules, storage devices, and databases. The storage devices in the travel services system124store various travel services activities for each user, travel services activities training data, and one or more machine learning techniques for classifying users of the travel services system124. The modules in travel services system124are configured to compute components of a subscription value, compute value guards, and search for available travel services to provide to the client device110in response to receiving a request for travel services at a given destination and time frame. The modules in travel services system124are configured to receive a user selection of one of the travel services matching the request and reserve the selected travel service for the user. The modules in travel services system124are configured to determine whether the number of pending reservations for a given user exceed an allowable number of pending reservations (e.g., more than one, or more than three) and, in response, prevent the user from making further reservations until the number of pending reservations is below the allowable number (e.g., by canceling a pending reservation or waiting for the reservation to expire). The modules in travel services system124are configured to train a machine learning technique to classify a given user or subscriber using the travel services activities of the user or subscriber by establishing relationships between known travel services activities and known or manually assigned classifications to users or subscribers. The modules in travel services system124are configured to filter the available travel services provided to a given client device110based on the classification of the user of the client device110, subscription types, and/or cancelation policies of the various travel services. The details of the travel services system124are provided below in connection withFIG.2. The networked system100further includes one or more third-party servers130. The one or more third-party servers130may include one or more third-party application(s)132. The one or more third-party application(s)132, executing on third-party server(s)130, may interact with the server system108via API server120via a programmatic interface provided by the API server120. For example, one or more the third-party applications132may request and utilize information from the server system108via the API server120to support one or more features or functions on a website hosted by the third party or an application hosted by the third party. The third-party website or application132, for example, may provide software version analysis functionality that is supported by relevant functionality and data in the server system108. Third-party servers130may include an existing non-subscription-based travel service. Such non-subscription-based travel services can be used to search for travel services at a first cost available to non-subscribers of the travel services system124. The travel services system124may query the third-party servers130on a periodic basis to obtain the first costs for the travel services provided by the travel services system124. The first costs may represent a per-night rate of the travel services multiplied by a predetermined number of nights (e.g., 6 nights). FIG.2illustrates a travel services system124, according to some example embodiments. The travel services system124includes a travel services training data module210, a machine learning technique training module220, a trained machine learning technique module230, a new travel service request module240, a subscription value module250, pre-purchased subscription token module270, a travel services search module260, and a travel value guard module252. In some implementations, some modules of the travel services system124may be implemented on server system108and others may be implemented on third-party servers130or client device110. In some implementations, all of the modules of the travel services system124are implemented on server system108, on third-party servers130, or on client device110. In such cases, server system108communicates information to third-party servers130based on the modules implemented and vice versa. Pre-purchased subscription token module270is configured to manage subscription tokens that correspond to subscriptions to the travel services system124of specified durations. A user may log into the travel services system124and communicate a request to the pre-purchased subscription token module270. Specifically, the user may request to purchase one or multiple subscription tokens. The user may specify the duration associated with each subscription token the user would like to purchase. For example, the user may desire to purchase a 60-day subscription for another user or for themselves. In response, the pre-purchased subscription token module270provides the user with a cost for purchasing the requested subscription token. In an embodiment, the user may request to purchase multiple subscription tokens at the same time each with the same or different subscription duration. In an embodiment, when multiple subscription tokens are purchased, the user may be provided with a lower price per token than purchasing the tokens individually. The price paid for the tokens may be stored in association with the tokens and used to subsequently compute the estimated aggregated subscription value and/or the estimated amortized subscription value. After payment is collected from the user for the tokens, the pre-purchased subscription token module270generates an alphanumeric sequence, image, video, or barcode for each generated token that is unique to each generated token. The generated alphanumeric sequences, image, video, or barcode for each generated token is provided to the user via email, as a webpage or text message. The pre-purchased subscription token module270adds each generated token to a list of active tokens and stores in association with each token an expiration date and the specified subscription duration. The user can provide a given one of the purchased tokens to a second user (e.g., as an award, promotion, or gift). The second user can log into the travel services system124to obtain a subscription to the travel services system124using the previously purchased token. The travel services system124displays an interface to the second user requesting input of the token. The user can manually type in the alphanumeric sequence of the token or upload the image or video or barcode of the token to the pre-purchased subscription token module270. The pre-purchased subscription token module270compares the token received from the second user with the list of active tokens. In response to identifying a matching token among the list of active tokens, the pre-purchased subscription token module270obtains the specified subscription duration associated with the matching token. The pre-purchased subscription token module270informs the second user about the specified subscription duration and prompts the second user to input a start date for the subscription. The start date input by the second user identifies the first day or date on which the user can start reserving travel services with the travel services system124. After receiving the selection of the start date from the second user, the pre-purchased subscription token module270computes an end date for the subscription based on the specified duration associated with the token input by the user. For example, the token may be associated with a 60-day subscription duration. In such cases, the pre-purchased subscription token module270computes the end date as being 60 days after the selected start date. The second user's subscription is then activated starting on the selected start date and ending on the end date. The second user can begin searching for and reserving travel services with the travel services system124starting on the selected start date until the computed end date. The new travel service request module240may communicate with the client device110to receive parameters and criteria for a new travel service request from the second user after the selected start date and before the computed end date. For example, via the graphical user interface of the client device110, the user can select a travel destination or geographical location and can, optionally, input the desired trip start date, end date, and/or trip length. The new travel service request module240may communicate this user selection to the travel services search module260to identify a list of available travel services. The new travel service request module240may communicate an identifier of the user of the client device110to the subscription value module250. In some embodiments, the parameters are automatically determined and computed on a nightly basis and used to curate a list of travel services over the course of a given user. In such cases, the user may enter a travel destination and the curated list is presented with previously selected travel dates (e.g., travel dates not inputted or selected by the user). In such cases, the new travel service request module240may, on a periodic basis (e.g., nightly) retrieve subscription values for one or more users. The new travel service request module240may also retrieve one or more travel destinations. The new travel service request module240provides the subscription values and the travel destinations, as the selection to the travel services search module260. In this way, the travel services search module260identifies available travel services across a range of dates for one or more users and curates such a list for subsequent presentation to the user. The user can simply enter a desired destination, and the available and curated list of travel services at the destination, together with the available travel dates, are presented to the user. The travel services search module260may communicate with the subscription value module250to obtain a subscription value for the user of the client device110. The subscription value module250may communicate with the databases128to obtain the booking date and the estimated or computed subscription cost of the identified user along with a geographical location of the user. The booking date may be the current date indicating when the travel services search module260conducts the search for available travel services and/or the date on which the user requests to view available travel services is received from the new travel service request module240. The subscription value module250may compute the subscription value based on various parameters: an aggregated estimated subscription cost parameter, an amortized estimated subscription cost parameter. For a given subscriber who is accessing the travel services system124using a subscription token, the aggregated estimated subscription cost parameter may be computed based on a cost of the subscription token divided by the monthly duration corresponding to the specified duration of the subscription token. For example, if the token cost $2,000 and is associated with a subscription duration of 60 days, the aggregated estimated subscription cost may be estimated to be $2,000 divided by 2 months (e.g., assuming 30 days per month during the 60 day duration) multiplied by the number of months between the booking date and the travel date. Assuming the number of months is 1 month, the aggregated estimated subscription cost parameter may be computed to be $1,000. For a given subscriber who is accessing the travel services system124using a subscription token, the amortized estimated subscription cost parameter may be computed based on a cost of the subscription token divided by the daily duration of the subscription token. For example, if the token cost $2,000 and is associated with a subscription duration of 60 days, the estimated amortized subscription cost may be estimated to be $2,000 divided by 60 days multiplied by the number of days between the booking date and the travel date. Assuming the number of days is 30, the estimated amortized subscription cost may be computed to be $999.90. In an example, the subscription value module250computes a subscription value as an average of the estimated aggregated and the amortized subscription cost parameters. As another example, the estimated aggregated and amortized subscription cost parameters may be determined based on the average, maximum or minimum amount other subscribers pay for their subscriptions on a periodic (e.g., monthly) basis. In such cases, based on the data provided by the user, the subscription value module250may determine that the trip is scheduled to start 10 weeks from the present time. In such cases, the subscription value module250computes an estimate of the total amount the user would have paid for the subscription by aggregating the total amount that would have been paid (e.g., based on the average, maximum, or minimum amount other subscribers pay) from the present time until 10 weeks from the present time. Namely, the subscription value module250assumes the user would have continued paying for the subscription (assuming the user were paying a monthly subscription fee even though the user is accessing the system using a subscription token that does not have a periodic subscription fee) until the travel start date from the booking date and estimates how much the user would have paid for the subscription from the current booking date until the future travel start date. As an example, if the subscription costs $2500 per month, the subscription value module250may determine that the trip will start 10 weeks from the present day and, in the next 10 weeks, three months' worth of subscription fees (e.g., $7500) will be paid (assuming the fee is paid on the first day of every month). Accordingly, the subscription value module250may compute $7500 as the estimate aggregated subscription cost parameter of the subscription value that will be paid from present time (the booking date) until the trip start time. The subscription value module250may also compute as the subscription value an estimated amortized amount of the subscription cost over an annual basis. For example, the subscription value module250may determine $30,000 as the total cost of the subscription for the entire year (e.g., by multiplying the number of months in a year, 12, by the monthly subscription fee, $2500). The subscription value module250may amortize the yearly subscription cost on a specified repeated period (e.g., daily, monthly, hourly, weekly) basis to determine the amount of the subscription fee that would have been paid from the booking date until the travel start date. For example, if the trip is planned to start in 10 weeks, the subscription value module250computes $5,769 as the amortized subscription cost parameter of the subscription value, which is a total of 10 weeks' worth of the weekly subscription cost (e.g., annual subscription fee $30,000 divided by 52 weeks per year and multiplied by 10 weeks). The subscription value module250may compute the subscription value as a function of the aggregate subscription cost expected to have been paid by the time the trip starts and the amortized subscription cost by the time the trip starts as measured from the booking date. For example, if the user plans the trip to start in 10 weeks from today (the booking date), the subscription value module250computes an average of $7,500 and $5,769. Then, the subscription value module250computes the subscription value by applying a first weight (e.g., multiplying) to the average and computes. The value of the first weight may be based on the subscription type of the user making the reservation. The subscription value module250provides the parameters of the subscription values to the travel value guard module252. The travel value guard module252is configured to compute a guard range having a minimum travel value and a maximum purchase amount based on the subscription values. The guard range ensures that the travel services identified by the travel services search module260satisfy minimum parameters that ensure a subscriber receives a better deal or bargain than making the same reservation for the travel service through another travel service system (e.g., a travel service system provided by the third-party servers130). The guard range also ensures that the travel services identified by the travel services search module260satisfy a margin amount that provides a positive or negative level of profitability to the travel services system124. The margin amount may be computed based on a difference between the booking date and the travel date, such that the margin is greater when the difference is smaller than a threshold and is lower when the difference is greater than a threshold. Namely, the minimum travel value is used to ensure that travel service results provided to the user have a value, as determined by the first cost associated with the travel services, that is greater than the minimum travel value. Also, the maximum purchase amounts of each subscription value are used to ensure that the travel service results provided to the user are not valued, as determined by the second cost associated with the travel services, greater than the respective maximum purchase amount. In some cases, the first and second costs may be the same values and in other cases they are different values. As an example, the travel value guard module252computes the minimum travel value as a function of the aggregated (or accumulated) subscription cost parameter of the subscription value. Specifically, the travel value guard module252computes the minimum travel value as 80 percent of the aggregated (or accumulated) subscription cost parameter. Accordingly, if the aggregated subscription cost is determined to be $7,500, the minimum travel value is computed to be $6,000 (e.g., 80 percent of $7,500). As an example, the travel value guard module252computes the maximum purchase amounts for each of the first and second subscription values as a function of an adjusted average of the aggregated and amortized subscription cost parameters and the corresponding first and second weights. The average may be adjusted based on a margin amount or value that is associated with the user retrieved by the travel value guard module252from the databases128. Specifically, the travel value guard module252computes a maximum purchase amount as an average of the aggregated (or accumulated) subscription cost parameter and the amortized subscription cost parameter offset by the retrieved margin. The travel services search module260receives the guard range from the travel value guard module252and searches for travel services that fall within the guard range and that satisfy the travel criteria (optionally) supplied by the user received from the new travel service request module240. As an example, the travel services search module260first searches for all of the travel services that are available on the travel date range (e.g., the travel start date and the travel duration) received from the client device110and/or received automatically by the travel service request module240. The travel services search module260restricts or limits the search to those travel services that are within a specified range (e.g., 25 miles) of the travel destination or geographical region received from the client device110and/or received automatically by the travel service request module240. In some cases, the travel services search module260accesses a predefined list of travel destinations and searches all of the available travel services available in 6-day periods (or other defined periods) during the course of the entire year. The travel services search module260searches various combinations of travel dates and destinations to generate millions of combinations of possible travel destinations at various periods. After travel services search module260identifies the list of travel services that are available on the travel start date and that meet the travel destination or geographical region parameters, the travel services search module260obtains first and second costs associated with each of the travel destinations from the databases128and determines one or more transportation criteria for a given user to reach each of the travel destinations. The travel services search module260compares the first or second costs of each of the identified travel services to the minimum travel value received from the travel value guard module252. The travel services search module260removes or filters from the list any travel service that has a first or second cost that is below the minimum travel value. The travel services search module260may also filter out and remove any travel destination that has a cancelation policy that fails to satisfy cancelation policy criteria. The travel services search module260removes or filters from the list any travel service that has a second cost that is above the maximum purchase amount received from the travel value guard module252. In some embodiments, to determine the first or second cost, the travel services search module260may multiply a nightly first and/or second cost of each travel service during the travel period by the number of days in the travel service request. In some cases, the travel services search module260communicates with the trained machine learning technique module230to obtain a classification for the user making the travel request and further filters or removes travel services based on the classification of the user. The travel services search module260provides the filtered list of travel services back to the new travel service request module240for provision to the client device110and presentation to the user for selection and requesting to make a reservation. To classify users, the trained machine learning technique module230is initially trained based on training data. Specifically, the travel services training data module210includes a list of travel services activities associated with various subscribers of the travel services system124. The travel services activities are obtained by the travel services training data module210from database128and/or from third-party server130. For example, the travel services training data module210obtains the number of reservations made by a user from database128and obtains the cancelation frequency from third-party server130. The travel services training data module210may access training data including the number of reservations made by each user, transportation criteria of each user that is typically experienced or used by the user booking a reservation, the subscription duration of each user, the distance to travel destination of each user, the margin amount of each user, the reservation frequency of each user, the cancelation frequency of each user, and an assigned classification of each user. The classification may represent a level of activity of each user from not active, to medium active, to very active. The classification is used to control and filter the types and quantity of travel services provided to different users. This can be used as a measure to ensure that users who are not very active are provided a greater quantity of a better type of travel services than a very active user to incentivize the non-active user to utilize the travel services system124. In some embodiments, machine learning technique training module220is trained to predict a classification for a subscriber of the travel services system124by establishing a relationship between one or more known travel services activities of other users provided by travel services training data module210and the corresponding known classification of the other users provided by the travel services training data module210. In some embodiments, machine learning technique training module220is trained to predict a likelihood of consumption of a given travel service for a subscriber of the travel services system124by establishing a relationship between one or more known travel services activities of other users (e.g., destinations the other users booked) and the locations of the other users provided by travel services training data module210and the corresponding transportation criteria such users experienced in reaching the destinations. Namely, the machine learning technique is trained to predict the types of transportation criteria a given user is willing to experience in reaching a destination. Machine learning is a field of study that gives computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed. Machine learning explores the study and construction of algorithms, also referred to herein as tools, that may learn from existing data and make predictions about new data. Such machine-learning tools operate by building a model from example training data (e.g., travel services activity information) in order to make data-driven predictions or decisions expressed as outputs or assessments. Although example embodiments are presented with respect to a few machine-learning tools, the principles presented herein may be applied to other machine-learning tools. In some example embodiments, different machine-learning tools may be used. For example, Logistic Regression (LR), Naive-Bayes, Random Forest (RF), neural networks (NN), matrix factorization, and Support Vector Machines (SVM) tools may be used for classifying a given user based on travel activities of the user. The machine-learning algorithms utilize features (e.g., various combinations of travel services activities performed by other users in interacting and making reservations with the travel services system124) for analyzing the data to generate assessments (e.g., a classification of the users). A feature is an individual measurable property of a phenomenon being observed. The concept of a feature is related to that of an explanatory variable used in statistical techniques such as linear regression. Choosing informative, discriminating, and independent features is important for effective operation of pattern recognition, classification, and regression. Features may be of different types, such as numeric features, strings, and graphs. In one example embodiment, the features may be of different types and may include one or more of a number of reservations made by each user, the subscription duration of each user, the distance to travel destination of each user, the margin amount of each user, geographical locations of the users and the destinations, the reservation frequency of each user, and the cancelation frequency of each user. The machine-learning algorithms utilize the training data to find correlations among the identified features that affect the outcome or assessment (e.g., the known or assigned classification of each user). In some example embodiments, the training data includes labeled data, which is known data for one or more identified features and one or more outcomes, such as the assigned classification of the user. Once the training data are collected and processed, machine learning technique training module220model can be built using either statistical learning or machine learning techniques. In one embodiment, regression analysis can be used to build the machine learning technique training module220model. Regression analysis is a statistical process for estimating the relationships among variables. There are a number of known methods to perform regression analysis. Linear regression or ordinary least squares regression, among others, are “parametric” in that the regression function is defined in terms of a finite number of unknown model parameters that can be estimated from training data. For days to pending prediction, a regression model (e.g., Equation 1) can be defined, for example, as: H≈(X,β), (Equation 1) where “H” denotes the known days to pending amount for a set of properties, “X” denotes a vector of input variables (e.g., any one of the travel services activities associated with the set of users), and “β” denotes a vector of unknown parameters to be determined or trained for the regression model. The training data that include travel services activities of various users and the corresponding classification (which can be manually or automatically specified for each user) provide a set of known H values (e.g., the classification of a user) having corresponding X values (e.g., feature vectors extracted from the travel services activities). Using these data, the model parameter β can be computed using data fitting techniques such as least squares, maximum likelihood, or the like. Once β is estimated, the model can then compute H (e.g., a user travel services classification) for a new set of X values (e.g., feature vectors extracted from a new set of travel services activities). As another example, the training data that include travel services activities of various users and the corresponding classification (which can be manually or automatically specified for each user) provide a set of known H values (e.g., the likelihood of consumption of a given travel service (based on geographical location of the travel service and a user) and/or the transportation criteria a given user is willing to experience) having corresponding X values (e.g., feature vectors extracted from the travel services activities). Using these data, the model parameter β can be computed using data fitting techniques such as least squares, maximum likelihood, or the like. Once β is estimated, the model can then compute H (e.g., a user travel services classification) for a new set of X values (e.g., feature vectors extracted from a new set of travel services activities). Machine learning techniques train models to accurately make predictions on data fed into the models (e.g., what was said by a user in a given utterance; whether a noun is a person, place, or thing; what the weather will be like tomorrow). During a learning phase, the models are developed against a training dataset of inputs to optimize the models to correctly predict the output for a given input. Generally, the learning phase may be supervised, semi-supervised, or unsupervised, indicating a decreasing level to which the “correct” outputs are provided in correspondence to the training inputs. In a supervised learning phase, all of the outputs are provided to the model and the model is directed to develop a general rule or algorithm that maps the input to the output. In contrast, in an unsupervised learning phase, the desired output is not provided for the inputs so that the model may develop its own rules to discover relationships within the training dataset. In a semi-supervised learning phase, an incompletely labeled training set is provided, with some of the outputs known and some unknown for the training dataset. Models may be run against a training dataset for several epochs (e.g., iterations), in which the training dataset is repeatedly fed into the model to refine its results. For example, in a supervised learning phase, a model is developed to predict the output for a given set of inputs and is evaluated over several epochs to more reliably provide the output that is specified as corresponding to the given input for the greatest number of inputs for the training dataset. In another example, for an unsupervised learning phase, a model is developed to cluster the dataset into n groups and is evaluated over several epochs as to how consistently it places a given input into a given group and how reliably it produces the n desired clusters across each epoch. Once an epoch is run, the models are evaluated and the values of their variables are adjusted to attempt to better refine the model in an iterative fashion. In various aspects, the evaluations are biased against false negatives, biased against false positives, or evenly biased with respect to the overall accuracy of the model. The values may be adjusted in several ways depending on the machine learning technique used. For example, in a genetic or evolutionary algorithm, the values for the models that are most successful in predicting the desired outputs are used to develop values for models to use during the subsequent epoch, which may include random variation/mutation to provide additional data points. One of ordinary skill in the art will be familiar with several other machine learning algorithms that may be applied with the present disclosure, including linear regression, random forests, decision tree learning, neural networks, deep neural networks, and so forth. Each model develops a rule or algorithm over several epochs by varying the values of one or more variables affecting the inputs to more closely map to a desired result, but as the training dataset may be varied, and is preferably very large, perfect accuracy and precision may not be achievable. A number of epochs that make up a learning phase, therefore, may be set as a given number of trials or a fixed time/computing budget, or may be terminated before that number/budget is reached when the accuracy of a given model is high enough or low enough or an accuracy plateau has been reached. For example, if the training phase is designed to run n epochs and produce a model with at least 95% accuracy, and such a model is produced before the n epoch, the learning phase may end early and use the produced model satisfying the end-goal accuracy threshold. Similarly, if a given model is inaccurate enough to satisfy a random chance threshold (e.g., the model is only 55% accurate in determining true/false outputs forgiven inputs), the learning phase for that model may be terminated early, although other models in the learning phase may continue training. Similarly, when a given model continues to provide similar accuracy or vacillate in its results across multiple epochs—having reached a performance plateau—the learning phase for the given model may terminate before the epoch number/computing budget is reached. Once the learning phase is complete, the models are finalized. In some example embodiments, models that are finalized are evaluated against testing criteria. In a first example, a testing dataset that includes known outputs for its inputs is fed into the finalized models to determine an accuracy of the model in handling data on which it is has not been trained. In a second example, a false positive rate or false negative rate may be used to evaluate the models after finalization. Ina third example, a delineation between data clusterings is used to select a model that produces the clearest bounds for its clusters of data. In some embodiments, the machine learning technique training module220is trained to establish a relationship to classify a user based on a logistic regression of one or more features (e.g., training data received from travel services training data module210). After being trained, the machine learning technique is provided to trained machine learning technique module230. In one example, the coefficient values of the machine learning technique (e.g., the linear model) are stored in a storage of trained machine learning technique module230. Trained machine learning technique module230is configured to receive new travel services activities of a new user from new travel service request module240. For example, the new travel service request module240receives a user input that identifies a desired travel destination and travel dates and accesses previously stored interaction information for the user (e.g., the number of prior reservations made by the user and the distance traveled by the user from the user's home address to the travel destinations). The new travel service request module240accesses database128and/or server130to obtain the travel services activities for the new user. For example, new travel service request module240obtains the number of reservations previously made by the user, the subscription duration of the user, the distance traveled by the user to the destinations, the margin amount stored for the user, the reservation frequency of the user, and/or the cancelation frequency of the user. The new travel service request module240instructs the trained machine learning technique module230to apply the trained machine learning technique using the previously computed coefficients to the data provided by the new travel service request module240. Trained machine learning technique module230provides a classification for the new user based on the data provided by the new travel service request module240. In another example, trained machine learning technique module230provides a likelihood of consumption for each travel service for the new user based on the data provided by the new travel service request module240. FIGS.3-4illustrate flow diagrams of processes of the travel services system124, according to some example embodiments. The processes300,400may be embodied in computer-readable instructions for execution by one or more processors such that the operations of the processes300,400may be performed in part or in whole by the functional components of the server system108; accordingly, the processes300,400are described below by way of example with reference thereto. However, in other embodiments at least some of the operations of the processes300,400may be deployed on various other hardware configurations. The processes300,400are therefore not intended to be limited to the server system108and can be implemented in whole, or in part, by any other component. Any operation in the processes300,400can be performed in any order or entirely omitted and skipped. At operation301, a computing system (e.g., server system108) receives a user request to access a travel services system. At operation302, the computing system receives a token from the user that corresponds to a previously purchased subscription to the travel services system. At operation303, the computing system determines whether the token matches one of a plurality of valid tokens. At operation304, the computing system in response to determining that the token matches one of a plurality of valid tokens, prompts the user to select a start date to begin reserving travel services with the travel services system. At operation305, the computing system authorizes the user to reserve a travel service with the travel services system starting from the selected start date until a specified end date. At operation401, the computing system receives travel information with a travel date for the user after the selected start date and before the specified end date. At operation402, the computing system computes a subscription value as a function of a booking date and the travel date. At operation403, the computing system determines a minimum travel value and a maximum purchase amount based on the computed subscription value. At operation404, the computing system searches a list of travel services that are available on the travel date to identify candidate travel services each having a first cost that exceeds the minimum travel value. At operation405, the computing system selects a subset of the candidate travel services that each have a second cost that is less than the maximum purchase amount. At operation406, the computing system generates for display in a graphical user interface to the user, one or more interactive visual representations of the selected subset of the candidate travel services. FIG.5is an illustrative graphical user interface of the travel services system124, according to some example embodiments. As shown inFIG.5, a user Julie may access the travel services system124. The user Julie may have a subscription token that is associated with a subscription of a specified duration to the travel services system124. After selecting an option to provide a subscription token, the travel services system124presents a graphical user interface with a token entry region512. The user Julie may input the subscription token into the token entry region512. The travel services system124may search a list of active tokens for a match with the token received from the token entry region512. In response to identifying a matching token within the list of active tokens, the travel services system124retrieves the subscription duration associated with the matching token. For example, the travel services system124may determine that the subscription duration associated with the matching token is 60 days. The travel services system124presents a prompt indicating that the token input in the token entry region512is valid and may indicate the subscription duration of 60 days. The travel services system124also presents a start date entry region514. In some embodiments, the user may already be paying a periodic subscription fee to access the travel services system124. In such cases, the travel services system124may discount or prevent charging the user the periodic subscription fee between the start and end date associated with a subscription token input by the user. For example, if the subscription token is associated with a subscription duration of 60 days, the user may not be charged for two months worth of subscription fees starting on the start date specified by the user in the start date entry region514. The user Julie can input a start date for starting the subscription to the travel services system124. The subscription start date identifies the first day or date on which the user Julie can begin making travel service reservations. The travel services system124computes a subscription end date based on the specified subscription duration of the token received from the user. The travel services system124may authorize the user Julie to make travel reservations starting from the subscription start date and ending on the subscription end date. In some embodiments, the travel services system124may allow the user Julie to extend the subscription after the subscription end date by a specified amount for a monthly or periodic fee. As shown inFIG.5, after the user Julie activates the subscription using the subscription token, the user (Julie) can input travel search criteria501. This travel criteria may include various parameters502including a travel destination, distance to the destination, start date of the travel, end date of the travel, number of days in the trip, quality of the travel services, and/or any combination thereof. The travel services system124processes the travel search criteria and automatically generates a list of matching travel services for presentation using one or more interactive visual representations503. In some cases, the travel services system124processes the travel search criteria and automatically selects one of a plurality of previously generated and curated lists of travel services for presentation using one or more interactive visual representations503. A user can select any one of the interactive visual representations503to instruct the travel services system124to complete a reservation for the corresponding travel service520(e.g., book a hotel room) associated with the selected visual representation. In some embodiments, the travel services in the graphical user interface ofFIG.5are generated using individualized travel service lists for the user based on travel behaviors, geographical location, demographics, or a margin target for the user. For example, the travel services system124may further filter or reorganize the list of available travel services presented to the first user inFIG.5based on a profile of the first user that indicates various attributes of the user (e.g., travel behaviors, geographical location, demographics, a subscription type, cancelation frequency, number of reservations made in a given time interval, or a margin target specific to the user or classification of the user). As an example, after receiving the search criteria from the first user (Julie), the travel services system124may obtain a list of travel services that are available and that match the search criteria. The travel services system124generates a subscription value for the first user (Julie). The travel services system124compares a cost of each travel service with the subscription value. Based on this comparison, the travel services system124generates a filtered or curated list of travel services and presents the list to the user inFIG.5. Specifically, the travel services system124provides a message510indicating to the first user (Julie) that the list of travel services the user can book are shown. FIG.6is a block diagram illustrating software architecture606, which can be installed on any one or more of the devices described above. For example, in various embodiments, client devices110and servers and systems130,108,120,122, and124may be implemented using some or all of the elements of software architecture606.FIG.6is merely a non-limiting example of a software architecture, and it will be appreciated that many other architectures can be implemented to facilitate the functionality described herein. In various embodiments, the software architecture606is implemented by hardware (including a hardware layer652with processing unit654, memory/storage656, and other hardware658) such as machine700ofFIG.7that includes processors704, memory/storage706, and input/output (I/O) components718. As explained below, the processing unit654is configured to execute instructions604that are stored in memory/storage656. In this example, the software architecture606can be conceptualized as a stack of layers where each layer may provide a particular functionality. For example, the software architecture606includes layers such as a presentation layer614, an operating system602, libraries620, frameworks618, and applications616. Operationally, the applications616invoke API calls608through the software stack and receive messages612in response to the API calls608, consistent with some embodiments. In various implementations, the operating system602manages hardware resources and provides common services. The operating system602includes, for example, a kernel622, services624, and drivers626. The kernel622acts as an abstraction layer between the hardware and the other software layers, consistent with some embodiments. For example, the kernel622provides memory management, processor management (e.g., scheduling), component management, networking, and security settings, among other functionality. The services624can provide other common services for the other software layers. The drivers626are responsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlying hardware, according to some embodiments. For instance, the drivers626can include display drivers, camera drivers, BLUETOOTH® or BLUETOOTH® Low Energy drivers, flash memory drivers, serial communication drivers (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB) drivers), WI-FI® drivers, audio drivers, power management drivers, and so forth. In some embodiments, the libraries620provide a low-level common infrastructure utilized by the applications616. The libraries620can include system libraries644(e.g., C standard library) that can provide functions such as memory allocation functions, string manipulation functions, mathematic functions, and the like. In addition, the libraries620can include API libraries646such as media libraries (e.g., libraries to support presentation and manipulation of various media formats such as Moving Picture Experts Group-4 (MPEG4), Advanced Video Coding (H.264 or AVC), Moving Picture Experts Group Layer-3 (MP3), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) audio codec, Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG or JPG), or Portable Network Graphics (PNG)), graphics libraries (e.g., an OpenGL framework used to render in two dimensions (2D) and in three dimensions (3D) graphic content on a display), database libraries (e.g., SQLite to provide various relational database functions), web libraries (e.g., WebKit to provide web browsing functionality), and the like. The libraries620can also include a wide variety of other libraries648to provide many other APIs to the applications616. The frameworks618provide a high-level common infrastructure that can be utilized by the applications616, according to some embodiments. For example, the frameworks618provide various graphic user interface functions, high-level resource management, high-level location services, and so forth. The frameworks618can provide a broad spectrum of other APIs that can be utilized by the applications616, some of which may be specific to a particular operating system602or platform. In an example embodiment, the applications616include built-in applications638including any one or more of a home application, a contacts application, a browser application, a book reader application, a location application, a media application, a messaging application, a game application, and a broad assortment of other applications such as a third-party application640. According to some embodiments, the applications616are programs that execute functions defined in the programs. Various programming languages can be employed to create one or more of the applications616, structured in a variety of manners, such as object-oriented programming languages (e.g., Objective-C, Java, or C++) or procedural programming languages (e.g., C or assembly language). In a specific example, the third-party application640(e.g., an application developed using the ANDROID™ or IOS™ software development kit (SDK) by an entity other than the vendor of the particular platform) may be mobile software running on a mobile operating system such as IOS™, ANDROID™, WINDOWS® Phone, or another mobile operating system. In this example, the third-party application640can invoke the API calls608provided by the operating system602to facilitate functionality described herein. Some embodiments may particularly include a subscription-based travel services application. In certain embodiments, this may be a stand-alone application that operates to manage communications with a server system such as third-party servers130or server system108. In other embodiments, this functionality may be integrated with another application. The subscription-based travel services application may request and display various data related to subscription-based travel services and may provide the capability for a user to input data related to the objects via a touch interface, keyboard, or using a camera device of machine700, communication with a server system, and receipt and storage of object data in a memory/storage device. Presentation of information and user inputs associated with the information may be managed by subscription-based travel services application using different frameworks618, library620elements, or operating system602elements operating on a machine700. FIG.7is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine700, according to some embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. Specifically,FIG.7shows a diagrammatic representation of the machine700in the example form of a computer system, within which instructions710(e.g., software, a program, an application616, an applet, an app, or other executable code) for causing the machine700to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein can be executed. In alternative embodiments, the machine700operates as a standalone device or can be coupled (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine700may operate in the capacity of a server machine130,108,120,122,124, and the like, as a client device110in a server-client network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine700can comprise, but not be limited to, a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a PDA, an entertainment media system, a cellular telephone, a smart phone, a mobile device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance), other smart devices, a web appliance, a network router, a network switch, a network bridge, or any machine capable of executing the instructions710, sequentially or otherwise, that specify actions to be taken by the machine700. Further, while only a single machine700is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include a collection of machines700that individually or jointly execute the instructions710to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. In various embodiments, the machine700comprises processors704, memory714, and I/O components718, which can be configured to communicate with each other via a bus702. In an example embodiment, the processors704(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) include, for example, a processor708and a processor712that may execute the instructions710. The term “processor” is intended to include multi-core processors704that may comprise two or more independent processors704(also referred to as “cores”) that can execute instructions710contemporaneously. AlthoughFIG.7shows multiple processors704, the machine700may include a single processor704with a single core, a single processor704with multiple cores (e.g., a multi-core processor704), multiple processors704with a single core, multiple processors704with multiples cores, or any combination thereof. The memory/storage706comprises a main memory714, a static memory, and a storage unit716accessible to the processors704via the bus702, according to some embodiments. The storage unit716can include a machine-readable medium on which are stored the instructions710embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. The instructions710can also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory714, within the static memory, within at least one of the processors704(e.g., within the processor's cache memory), or any suitable combination thereof, during execution thereof by the machine700. Accordingly, in various embodiments, the main memory714, the static memory, and the processors704are considered machine-readable media. As used herein, the term “memory” refers to a machine-readable medium able to store data temporarily or permanently and may be taken to include, but not be limited to, random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), buffer memory, flash memory, and cache memory. While the machine-readable medium is shown, in an example embodiment, to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, or associated caches and servers) able to store the instructions710. The term “machine-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any medium, or combination of multiple media, that is capable of storing instructions (e.g., instructions710) for execution by a machine (e.g., machine700), such that the instructions710, when executed by one or more processors of the machine700(e.g., processors704), cause the machine700to perform any one or more of the methodologies described herein. Accordingly, a “machine-readable medium” refers to a single storage apparatus or device, as well as “cloud-based” storage systems or storage networks that include multiple storage apparatus or devices. The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, one or more data repositories in the form of a solid-state memory (e.g., flash memory), an optical medium, a magnetic medium, other non-volatile memory (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM)), or any suitable combination thereof. The term “machine-readable medium” specifically excludes non-statutory signals per se. The I/O components718include a wide variety of components to receive input, provide output, produce output, transmit information, exchange information, capture measurements, and so on. In general, it will be appreciated that the I/O components718can include many other components that are not shown inFIG.7. The I/O components718are grouped according to functionality merely for simplifying the following discussion, and the grouping is in no way limiting. In various example embodiments, the I/O components718include output components726and input components728. The output components726include visual components (e.g., a display such as a plasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED) display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), acoustic components (e.g., speakers), haptic components (e.g., a vibratory motor), other signal generators, and so forth. The input components728include alphanumeric input components (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen configured to receive alphanumeric input, a photo-optical keyboard, or other alphanumeric input components), point-based input components (e.g., a mouse, a touchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointing instruments), tactile input components (e.g., a physical button, a touch screen that provides location and force of touches or touch gestures, or other tactile input components), audio input components (e.g., a microphone), and the like. In some further example embodiments, the I/O components718include biometric components730, motion components734, environmental components736, or position components738, among a wide array of other components. For example, the biometric components730include components to detect expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facial expressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, or eye tracking), measure biosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, perspiration, or brain waves), identify a person (e.g., voice identification, retinal identification, facial identification, fingerprint identification, or electroencephalogram based identification), and the like. The motion components734include acceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer), gravitation sensor components, rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope), and so forth. The environmental components736include, for example, illumination sensor components (e.g., photometer), temperature sensor components (e.g., one or more thermometers that detect ambient temperature), humidity sensor components, pressure sensor components (e.g., barometer), acoustic sensor components (e.g., one or more microphones that detect background noise), proximity sensor components (e.g., infrared sensors that detect nearby objects), gas sensor components (e.g., machine olfaction detection sensors, gas detection sensors to detect concentrations of hazardous gases for safety or to measure pollutants in the atmosphere), or other components that may provide indications, measurements, or signals corresponding to a surrounding physical environment. The position components738include location sensor components (e.g., a GPS receiver component), altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters or barometers that detect air pressure from which altitude may be derived), orientation sensor components (e.g., magnetometers), and the like. Communication can be implemented using a wide variety of technologies. The I/O components718may include communication components740operable to couple the machine700to a network732or devices720via a coupling724and a coupling722, respectively. For example, the communication components740include a network interface component or another suitable device to interface with the network732. In further examples, communication components740include wired communication components, wireless communication components, cellular communication components, near field communication (NFC) components, BLUETOOTH® components (e.g., BLUETOOTH® Low Energy), WI-FI® components, and other communication components to provide communication via other modalities. The devices720may be another machine700or any of a wide variety of peripheral devices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via a USB). Moreover, in some embodiments, the communication components740detect identifiers or include components operable to detect identifiers. For example, the communication components740include radio frequency identification (RFID) tag reader components, NFC smart tag detection components, optical reader components (e.g., an optical sensor to detect a one-dimensional bar codes such as a Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code, multi-dimensional bar codes such as a Quick Response (QR) code, Aztec Code, Data Matrix, Dataglyph, MaxiCode, PDF417, Ultra Code, Uniform Commercial Code Reduced Space Symbology (UCC RSS)-2D bar codes, and other optical codes), acoustic detection components (e.g., microphones to identify tagged audio signals), or any suitable combination thereof. In addition, a variety of information can be derived via the communication components740, such as location via Internet Protocol (IP) geo-location, location via WI-FI® signal triangulation, location via detecting a BLUETOOTH® or NFC beacon signal that may indicate a particular location, and so forth. In various example embodiments, one or more portions of the network732can be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a VPN, a LAN, a WLAN, a WAN, a WWAN, a MAN, the Internet, a portion of the Internet, a portion of the PSTN, a plain old telephone service (POTS) network, a cellular telephone network, a wireless network, a WI-FI® network, another type of network, or a combination of two or more such networks. For example, the network732or a portion of the network732may include a wireless or cellular network, and the coupling724may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) connection, a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) connection, or another type of cellular or wireless coupling. In this example, the coupling722can implement any of a variety of types of data transfer technology, such as Single Carrier Radio Transmission Technology (1×RTT), Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO) technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology, Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology, third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) including 3G, fourth generation wireless (4G) networks, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, others defined by various standard-setting organizations, other long range protocols, or other data transfer technology. In example embodiments, the instructions710are transmitted or received over the network732using a transmission medium via a network interface device (e.g., a network interface component included in the communication components740) and utilizing any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols (e.g., Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)). Similarly, in other example embodiments, the instructions710are transmitted or received using a transmission medium via the coupling722(e.g., a peer-to-peer coupling) to the devices720. The term “transmission medium” shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying the instructions710for execution by the machine700, and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible media to facilitate communication of such software. Furthermore, the machine-readable medium is non-transitory (in other words, not having any transitory signals) in that it does not embody a propagating signal. However, labeling the machine-readable medium “non-transitory” should not be construed to mean that the medium is incapable of movement; the medium should be considered as being transportable from one physical location to another. Additionally, since the machine-readable medium is tangible, the medium may be considered to be a machine-readable device. Throughout this specification, plural instances may implement components, operations, or structures described as a single instance. Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustrated and described as separate operations, one or more of the individual operations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that the operations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures and functionality presented as separate components in example configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a single component may be implemented as separate components. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of the subject matter herein. Although an overview of the inventive subject matter has been described with reference to specific example embodiments, various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader scope of embodiments of the present disclosure The embodiments illustrated herein are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed. Other embodiments may be used and derived therefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. The Detailed Description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of various embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. As used herein, the term “or” may be construed in either an inclusive or exclusive sense. Moreover, plural instances may be provided for resources, operations, or structures described herein as a single instance. Additionally, boundaries between various resources, operations, modules, engines, and data stores are somewhat arbitrary, and particular operations are illustrated in a context of specific illustrative configurations. Other allocations of functionality are envisioned and may fall within a scope of various embodiments of the present disclosure. In general, structures and functionality presented as separate resources in the example configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or resource. Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a single resource may be implemented as separate resources. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements fall within a scope of embodiments of the present disclosure as represented by the appended claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. | 108,267 |
11861530 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the application and uses. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary, or the following detailed description. As used herein, the term module refers to any hardware, software, firmware, electronic control component, processing logic, and/or processor device, individually or in any combination, including without limitation: application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide the described functionality. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be described herein in terms of functional and/or logical block components and various processing steps. It should be appreciated that such block components may be realized by any number of hardware, software, and/or firmware components configured to perform the specified functions. For example, an embodiment of the present disclosure may employ various integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements, digital signal processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, or the like, which may carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced in conjunction with any number of systems and that the systems described herein are merely exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. For the sake of brevity, conventional techniques related to signal processing, data transmission, signaling, control, and other functional aspects of the systems (and the individual operating components of the systems) may not be described in detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent example functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in an embodiment of the present disclosure. In various exemplary embodiments, the present disclosure provides systems and methods for an On-Demand Autonomy (ODA) service that extends a platoon and implements multiple control systems configured with the software of one or more leader vehicles (Lvs) coordinated to form virtual links using a distributed protocol with at least one subordinate or follower vehicles (Fvs) for guidance in an on-demand price model from one location to another for an on-demand service where some, most or all of either the Lvs and/or Fvs have been configured with minimum viable capabilities to request and confirm ODA service in response to communications broadcast and requests from a cloud-based ODA server. In the various exemplary embodiments, the present disclosure describes the minimum viable capabilities of vehicles requesting the ODA service of the feature set of the capability to communicate the essential and optional parameters required for the ODA service request, to communicate vehicle health parameters and preferences (e.g., multi-stop vs trip time/distance) to a central ODA server, and processes to receive commands and appropriately activate the actuators for the required sensor and vehicle information to send to other agents for the vehicle to vehicle (V2V)/vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) connected features for communication with leader vehicle(s) and the On-Demand Autonomy Server (ODAS). In various exemplary embodiments, the present disclosure describes systems and methods that broadcasts a valid trip request to potential leaders, receive a response from potential leaders, communicate and seek agreement from requesting followers, and identify rendezvous points for virtual coupling and decoupling with one or more leader vehicles. In various exemplary embodiments, the present disclosure describes systems and methods for state-machine-based trip status monitoring via heartbeat messages and selecting appropriate responses including control hand-off, adaptation (new route/leader identification), and termination. In various exemplary embodiments, the present disclosure describes systems and methods to change, reconfigure, or adapt an ODA service that is in progress between an Lv and Fv based on a request from either the Lv or Fv or monitoring of ongoing activities occurring while the ODA service is progressing. For example, after the virtual link, the health of the Lv while performing the ODA service and the virtual towing of the Fv in the vehicle platoon may require a change of the Lv or change of route because of health parameters monitored of either the Lv or Fv. In this case, the present disclosure describes systems and methods that enable the reconfiguration of the route, and the adaption by the ODA service to changed circumstances detected after commencement of the ODA service providing a basis or need to make changes from the original service request. In various embodiments, the present disclosure describes systems and methods to implement a server-based architecture for an On-Demand Autonomy (ODA) service that extends a platoon and implements multiple control systems configured with software to provide an on-demand autonomy to vehicles that are not built for full autonomy and a feature set that enables the minimum viable capabilities of vehicles to request and implement the ODA service. With reference toFIG.1,FIG.1describes an exemplary diagram of a vehicle10that in an embodiment is configured as a follower vehicle (Fv) with a Level 2 plus autonomous capability or in another embodiment is configured as a leader vehicle (Lv) with a Level 3, 4 or 5 autonomous capability. Both configurations of vehicle10have a minimal level of communication capability to communication requests with an on-demand autonomy (ODA) system shown generally at100and is associated with a vehicle10in accordance with various embodiments. In general, the on-demand autonomy (ODA) system100is implemented in an on-demand autonomy (ODA) service with programmed modules and communications systems that enable one or more vehicles of either type of the follower vehicles (Fvs) or leader vehicles (Lvs)) to receive a request/respond to requests, and to compute independently based on a price metric provided by an ODA server or using a utility function in response to the request to confirm an acceptance to the request and create a virtual link between either vehicle type the Fv and Lv to construct a vehicle pool where the control of vehicle operations is relinquished by the Fv to the Lv by communication links, and control systems implemented by exemplary embodiments of the vehicle10. In exemplary embodiments, the ODA system100includes an ODA server (e.g., ODA cloud server) which is configured with a scheduler7for adaptive scheduling to enable coordination between multiple Lvs and an Fv to fulfill an ODA trip request. In embodiments, the scheduler7can include adaptive scheduling processes enabling functionalities such as receiving a trip request from one or more Fvs requesting the ODA service, broadcasting a set of requests to Lvs using the various broadcast protocol to identify one or more leader vehicles on possible routes to fulfill Fv requests, electing one or more Lvs based on availability, optimizing trip plans based on Fv and Lv preferences, identifying safe rendezvous points for seamless connection hand-off in multi-leader scenarios, monitoring the trip status via heartbeat messages originating for both the Lv and Fv and adapting/optimizing the trip plan based on monitored status updates received from either vehicle. In an exemplary embodiment, the ODA service includes an ADS-equipped vehicle (i.e., vehicle10) that may extend its autonomous driving capability to other vehicles on request. In an embodiment, vehicle10is configured to lead a non-AV vehicle with little attention from the driver of the latter from point A to point B. In another embodiment, vehicle10is configured to follow an AV vehicle and to relinquish driving control to the AV vehicle for a trip as directed by the ODA service. In exemplary embodiments, the follower vehicle (Fv) may be configured with a private space for the occupants so that they can relax or attend to work. The leader vehicle (Lv) is capable of picking up and dropping the following vehicle safely at selected locations. The Fv is in constant communication with the ODA server throughout the journey including the initial phase of allocation and the final phase of dropping. The Lv can pick up one or more of the vehicles to follow to the drop-off. The Lv and Fv are configured with V2V and V2I communication capabilities. As depicted inFIG.1, vehicle10is for communication with the ODA server7and another vehicle type, and generally includes a chassis12, a body14, front wheels16, and rear wheels18. Body14is arranged on chassis12and substantially encloses components of vehicle10. Body14and chassis12may jointly form a frame. The wheels16-18are each rotationally coupled to the chassis12near a respective corner of the body14. In various embodiments, vehicle10is autonomous, and the vehicle ODA system82is incorporated into the autonomous vehicle10(hereinafter referred to as the autonomous vehicle10), and configured with different sets of modules with different programming if it is the Fv or the Lv The autonomous vehicle10is, for example, a vehicle that is automatically controlled to carry passengers from one location to another, or a vehicle10that performs a virtual tow operation of another vehicle to a location, while assuming all the control of another vehicle to the location. Vehicle10is depicted in the illustrated embodiment as a passenger car, but it should be appreciated that any other vehicle including motorcycles, trucks, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), recreational vehicles (RVs), marine vessels, aircraft, etc., can also be used. In an exemplary embodiment, the autonomous vehicle10is a so-called Level Two, Two plus, Three, Four, or Level Five automation system. A level Two or Two plus system indicates a system of the vehicle10(i.e., an Fv) that has capabilities to create and confirm a virtual link and enable another type of vehicle, the Lv to control the Fv to a requested location where the Fv has relinquished control of vehicle operation to the Lv during a planned trip. That is, for the Fv, the ODA system82would operate with less high-level programming to perform higher-level autonomous driving but still maintain a minimum capability (via the ODA system82) to communicate with an ODA server5, relinquish control to another vehicle, complete a virtual link with another vehicle, and respond to requests with another vehicle, and an ODA server5. Level Two or Two plus (the Fv vehicle) does not have control systems and other hardware necessary to enable higher levels of automation such as that found in Level four or five systems. The Level Four system indicates “high automation,” referring to the driving mode-specific performance by an automated driving system of all aspects of the dynamic driving task, even if a human driver does not respond appropriately to a request to intervene. A Level Five system indicates “full automation,” referring to the full-time performance by an automated driving system of all aspects of the dynamic driving task under all roadway and environmental conditions that can be managed by a human driver. Vehicle10would be configured with the Level 4 or 5 capabilities as the Lv and would also have the minimum communication capabilities of the Fv described above (via ODA system82) to communicate with the ODA server5, to form the virtual link with another vehicle, to respond to requests from the ODA server5. As shown, the autonomous vehicle10generally includes a propulsion system20, a transmission system22, a steering system24, a brake system26, a sensor system28, an actuator system30, at least one data storage device32, at least one controller34, and a communication system36. The propulsion system20may, in various embodiments, include an internal combustion engine, an electric machine such as a traction motor, and/or a fuel cell propulsion system. The transmission system22is configured to transmit power from the propulsion system20to the vehicle wheels16-18according to selectable speed ratios. According to various embodiments, the transmission system22may include a step-ratio automatic transmission, a continuously variable transmission, or other appropriate transmissions. The brake system26is configured to provide braking torque to the vehicle wheels16-18. The brake system26may, in various embodiments, include friction brakes, brake by wire, a regenerative braking system such as an electric machine, and/or other appropriate braking systems. The steering system24influences the position of the vehicle wheels16-18. While depicted as including a steering wheel for illustrative purposes, in some embodiments contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure, the steering system24may not include a steering wheel. The sensor system28includes one or more sensing devices40a-40nthat sense observable conditions of the exterior environment and/or the interior environment of the autonomous vehicle10. The sensing devices40a-40ncan include but are not limited to, radars, lidars, global positioning systems, optical cameras, thermal cameras, ultrasonic sensors, inertial measurement units, and/or other sensors. The actuator system30includes one or more actuator devices42a-42nthat control one or more vehicle features such as, but not limited to, the propulsion system20, the transmission system22, the steering system24, and the brake system26. In various embodiments, the vehicle features can further include interior and/or exterior vehicle features such as, but are not limited to, doors, a trunk, and cabin features such as air, music, lighting, etc. (not numbered). The communication system36is configured to wirelessly communicate information to and from other entities48, such as but not limited to, other vehicles (“V2V” communication) infrastructure (“V2I” communication), remote systems, and/or personal devices (described in more detail with regard toFIG.2). In an exemplary embodiment, the communication system36is a wireless communication system configured to communicate via a wireless local area network (WLAN) using IEEE 802.11 standards or by using cellular data communication. However, additional, or alternate communication methods, such as a dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) channel, are also considered within the scope of the present disclosure. DSRC channels refer to one-way or two-way short-range to medium-range wireless communication channels specifically designed for automotive use and a corresponding set of protocols and standards. The data storage device32stores data for use in automatically controlling the autonomous vehicle10. In various embodiments, the data storage device32stores defined maps of the navigable environment. In various embodiments, the defined maps may be predefined by and obtained from a remote system (described in further detail with regard toFIG.2). For example, the defined maps may be assembled by the remote system and communicated to the autonomous vehicle10(wirelessly and/or in a wired manner) and stored in the data storage device32. As can be appreciated, the data storage device32may be part of controller34, separate from controller34, or part of controller34and part of a separate system. The controller34includes at least one processor44and a computer-readable storage device or media46. The processor44can be any custom made or commercially available processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an auxiliary processor among several processors associated with the controller34, a semiconductor-based microprocessor (in the form of a microchip or chipset), a macro processor, any combination thereof, or generally any device for executing instructions. The computer-readable storage device or media46may include volatile and nonvolatile storage in read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), and keep-alive memory (KAM), for example. KAM is a persistent or non-volatile memory that may be used to store various operating variables while the processor44is powered down. The computer-readable storage device or media46may be implemented using any of a number of known memory devices such as PROMs (programmable read-only memory), EPROMs (electrically PROM), EEPROMs (electrically erasable PROM), flash memory, or any other electric, magnetic, optical, or combination memory devices capable of storing data, some of which represent executable instructions, used by the controller34in controlling the autonomous vehicle10. The instructions may include one or more separate programs, each of which includes an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions. The instructions, when executed by the processor44, receive and process signals from the sensor system28, perform logic, calculations, methods, and/or algorithms for automatically controlling the components of the autonomous vehicle10, and generate control signals to the actuator system30to automatically control the components of the autonomous vehicle10based on the logic, calculations, methods, and/or algorithms. Although only one controller34is shown inFIG.1, embodiments of the autonomous vehicle10can include any number of controllers34that communicate over any suitable communication medium or a combination of communication mediums and that cooperate to process the sensor signals, perform logic, calculations, methods, and/or algorithms, and generate control signals to automatically control features of the autonomous vehicle10. In various embodiments, one or more instructions of the controller34are embodied in the ODA system100and, when executed by the processor44, implement the methods and systems described herein. With reference now toFIG.2, in various embodiments, the autonomous vehicle10described with regard toFIG.1may be suitable for use in the context of a taxi or shuttle system in a certain geographical area (e.g., a city, a school, or business campus, a shopping center, an amusement park, an event center, or the like) or may simply be managed by a remote system. For example, the autonomous vehicle10may be associated with an autonomous vehicle-based remote transportation system. FIG.2illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an operating environment shown generally at50that includes an autonomous vehicle-based ODA server5(to perform the ODA service) that is associated with one or more autonomous vehicles10a-10nas described with regard toFIG.1. In various embodiments, the operating environment50further includes one or more user devices54that communicate with the autonomous vehicle10and/or the ODA server5(i.e., a cloud server) via a communication network56. The communication network56supports communication as needed between devices (i.e., Lv, Fv, and ODA server5), systems, and components supported by the operating environment50(e.g., via tangible communication links and/or wireless communication links). For example, the communication network56can include a wireless carrier system60such as a cellular telephone system that includes a plurality of cell towers (not shown), one or more mobile switching centers (MSCs) (not shown), as well as any other networking components required to connect the wireless carrier system60with a land communications system. Each cell tower includes sending and receiving antennas and a base station, with the base stations from different cell towers being connected to the MSC either directly or via intermediary equipment such as a base station controller. The wireless carrier system60can implement any suitable communications technology, including, for example, digital technologies such as CDMA (e.g., CDMA2000), LTE (e.g., 4G LTE or 5G LTE), GSM/GPRS, or other current or emerging wireless technologies. Other cell towers/base station/MSC arrangements are possible and could be used with the wireless carrier system60. For example, the base station and cell tower could be co-located at the same site or they could be remotely located from one another, each base station could be responsible for a single cell tower or a single base station could service various cell towers, or various base stations could be coupled to a single MSC, to name but a few of the possible arrangements. Apart from including the wireless carrier system60, a second wireless carrier system in the form of a satellite communication system64can be included to provide uni-directional or bi-directional communication with the autonomous vehicles10a-10n. This can be done using one or more communication satellites (not shown) and an uplink transmitting station (not shown). Uni-directional communication can include, for example, satellite radio services, wherein programming content (news, music, etc.) is received by the transmitting station, packaged for upload, and then sent to the satellite, which broadcasts the programming to subscribers. Bi-directional communication can include, for example, satellite telephony services using the satellite to relay telephone communications between vehicle10and the station. The satellite telephony can be utilized either in addition to or in lieu of the wireless carrier system60. A land communication system62may further be included that is a conventional land-based telecommunications network connected to one or more landline telephones and connects the wireless carrier system60to the remote transportation system52. For example, the land communication system62may include a public switched telephone networks (PSTN) such as that used to provide hardwired telephony, packet-switched data communications, and the Internet infrastructure. One or more segments of the land communication system62can be implemented through the use of a standard wired network, a fiber or other optical network, a cable network, power lines, other wireless networks such as wireless local area networks (WLANs), or networks providing broadband wireless access (BWA), or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the remote transportation system52need not be connected via the land communication system62but can include wireless telephony equipment so that it can communicate directly with a wireless network, such as the wireless carrier system60. Although only one user device54is shown inFIG.2, embodiments of the operating environment50can support any number of user devices54, including multiple user devices54owned, operated, or otherwise used by one person. Each user device54supported by the operating environment50may be implemented using any suitable hardware platform. In this regard, the user device54can be realized in any common form factor including, but not limited to: a desktop computer; a mobile computer (e.g., a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a netbook computer); a smartphone; a video game device; a digital media player; a piece of home entertainment equipment; a digital camera or video camera; a wearable computing device (e.g., smartwatch, smart glasses, smart clothing); or the like. Each user device54supported by the operating environment50is realized as a computer-implemented or computer-based device having the hardware, software, firmware, and/or processing logic needed to carry out the various techniques and methodologies described herein. For example, user device54includes a microprocessor in the form of a programmable device that includes one or more instructions stored in an internal memory structure and applied to receive binary input to create binary output. In some embodiments, the user device54includes a GPS module capable of receiving GPS satellite signals and generating GPS coordinates based on those signals. In other embodiments, the user device54includes cellular communications functionality such that the device carries out voice and/or data communications over the communication network56using one or more cellular communications protocols, as are discussed herein. In various embodiments, the user device54includes a visual display, such as a touch-screen graphical display, or other display. The remote transportation system52includes one or more backend server systems, which may be cloud-based, network-based, or resident at the particular campus or geographical location serviced by the remote transportation system52. The ODA server5can host an application for live advisor interaction with the Fv and Lv, or an automated advisor, or a combination of both. The ODA server5can communicate with the user devices54and the autonomous vehicles10a-10nto schedule (via a scheduler application) rides, dispatch autonomous vehicles10a-10n, and the like. In various embodiments, the ODA server5stores account information such as subscriber authentication information, vehicle identifiers, profile records, behavioral patterns, and other pertinent subscriber information. In accordance with a typical use case workflow, a registered user of the ODA server5can execute applications via the scheduler to create a ride request via the user device54. The ride request will typically indicate the passenger's desired pickup location (or current GPS location), the desired destination location (which may identify a predefined vehicle stop and/or a user-specified passenger destination), and a pickup time. The ODA server5receives the ride request, processes the request, and dispatches a selected one of the autonomous vehicles10a-10n(when and if one is available) to pick up the passenger at the designated pickup location and at the appropriate time. The ODA server5can also generate and send a suitably configured confirmation message or notification to the user device54, to let the passenger know that a vehicle is on the way. As can be appreciated, the subject matter disclosed herein provides certain enhanced features and functionality to what may be considered as a standard or baseline autonomous vehicle10and/or an autonomous vehicle-based ODA service. To this end, an autonomous vehicle and autonomous vehicle-based remote transportation system can be modified, enhanced, or otherwise supplemented to provide the additional features described in more detail below. In accordance with various embodiments, controller34implements an autonomous driving system (ADS)70as shown inFIG.3. That is, suitable software and/or hardware components of the controller34(e.g., the processor44and the computer-readable storage device46) are utilized to provide an autonomous driving system70that is used in conjunction with vehicle10. In various embodiments, the instructions of the autonomous driving system70may be organized by function, module, or system. For example, as shown inFIG.3, the autonomous driving system70can include a computer vision system74, a positioning system76, a guidance system78, and a vehicle control system80. As can be appreciated, in various embodiments, the instructions may be organized into any number of systems (e.g., combined, further partitioned, etc.) as the disclosure is not limited to the present examples. In various embodiments, the computer vision system74synthesizes and processes sensor data and predicts the presence, location, classification, and/or path of objects and features of the environment of the vehicle10. In various embodiments, the computer vision system74can incorporate information from multiple sensors, including but not limited to cameras, lidars, radars, and/or any number of other types of sensors. The positioning system76processes sensor data along with other data to determine a position (e.g., a local position relative to a map, an exact position relative to the lane of a road, vehicle heading, velocity, etc.) of the vehicle10relative to the environment. The guidance system78processes sensor data along with other data to determine a path for vehicle10to follow. For example, a path to a pick-up or drop-off location for the ODA service. The vehicle control system80generates control signals for controlling the vehicle10according to the determined path. In various embodiments, controller34implements machine learning techniques to assist the functionality of controller34, such as feature detection/classification, obstruction mitigation, route traversal, mapping, sensor integration, ground-truth determination, and the like. As mentioned briefly above, the ODA system100ofFIG.1is included within the ADS70, for example, as the ODA system82that provides communication requests, for example in one embodiment of Host vehicle configured for vehicle10to receive requests broadcast from an on-demand autonomy server configured with the autonomous based transportation system52. Also, in another embodiment of Robot Taxi (leader vehicle Lv) configured for vehicle10to accepts broadcast from an ODA server configured with the autonomous-based transportation system52. For example, as shown in more detail with regard toFIG.4and with continued reference toFIG.3, the ODA system82includes functionality in response to the request from an on-demand server to provide information about the vehicle10current status and a variety of different parameters, e.g. current location, distance, time to a location, type of vehicle, availability, ability to initiate virtual coupling, etc. for the ODA service to make the appropriate leader vehicle LV and follower vehicle FV selections. In embodiments, the ODA system82includes a set of modules of a user request module, a schedule selection module, a schedule execution module, and an indication module for ODA service activities disposed of in a follower vehicle (Fv) for communicating with an ODA server by receiving requests by the user request module of information from the Fv from the ODA server, and for processing and communicating the request information to the schedule selection module; by coordinating by a schedule selection module an arrival time information with the ODA server for picking up of the Fv based on requesting information, and communicating the arrival time information to the schedule execution module; by directing by the schedule execution module for directing the Fv for picking up at a point based on the arrival time information, and for communicating the pickup point to the indication module by alerting by the indication module, by the processor, for alerting vehicles in the vicinity of picking up of the Fv via the ODA service. In an embodiment, the user state monitoring module includes an onboard finite-state machine-based monitoring system that can detect and respond to intermittent failure conditions—switch to failsafe mode. In an embodiment, the user state monitoring module can include an observation-based new event generation mechanism for standard safety-oriented status that shall be communicated with the ODA server and vehicle leader(s). In an embodiment, the user state monitoring module includes communication parameters required for the ODA service that include communicating minimal vehicle (Lv and Fv) health parameters (e.g., battery/oil life) and personal preferences, generating and communicating various safety events or interrupts to server and leader(s) (e.g., rear left the door open). In an embodiment, the request elicitation module may automatically elicit responses based on various offers including offer sales, discounts, variable pricing, and flag Fvs based on multiple different criteria. The request processing module can be configured with time constraints and other constraints to make Fv offers attractive and put in time periods for acceptances and confirmations of requests. In an embodiment, the controller34is configured with the ODA system82that includes capabilities to confirm the acceptance to the request from the ODA server5(for the ODA service52) and to create a virtual link between the Lv and Fv. The ODA system may be configured with different software and functionalities for the Lv and Fv, for playing the different roles in the acceptance of the coordinated requests sent by the ODA server5for the ODA service52. In an embodiment, the ODA system82includes processing capabilities to independently make decisions based on price metrics and a set of weighting factors in an intelligent model as to whether to accept a request from an ODA server that has been broadcast to a number of Lvs, where the ODA server is coordinating the acceptances of multiple Lvs, and Fvs for requested location assistance and control of Fvs. The ODA system82includes processing capabilities to weigh multiple factors and to link and unlink an Lv in a multi-stage segmented route requested by the ODA server in response to assistance solicited for route control and navigation by an Fv. The ODA system82has the processing ability to participate in a vehicle platoon configured in response to responses solicited by the ODA server, where the Lv is replaced one or more times on a multi-segmented route to the requested destination as configured by the ODA server. In an embodiment, the ODA service52for the ODA server5can consist of software programmed to enable a process that bifurcates between a set of physical entities and digital entities of the participating Lvs and Fvs. For example, the process can consist of cloning Lvs, and Fvs. As an example of the programmed process, an L clone can be defined as a Leader clone with a digital twin entity with consolidated digital information. Next, an F1clone can be read as a Follower1clone with a digital twin follower and consolidated information of follower1where one of or more followers N can be configured. The ODA server5has only digital information of the entities, and the operating environment (i.e., the world), as well as the information and status on every specific service. The ODA server5can recalculate the optimized costs and if required reassign the Lv for an ODA service52requests. In this case, the ODA server5matches the Lv based on the operating environment and the digital information only, without any knowledge about the associated Lv or Fv. In embodiments, the ODA system82may include a neural network engine that has been trained for the objects of interest to vehicles, in one embodiment, that includes trained data, trained processes in the form of computer program instructions, and a processor for executing those instructions. Such objects of interest that form part of the training of the neural network engine include locations of interest, prior virtual couplings of an Fv and Lv, prior pickups, prior information about drop-off locations that the vehicle has performed, and cost metrics and route pricing information, etc. . . . . The exemplary embodiment of the ODA system82ofFIG.3is included in the autonomous driving system70. The autonomous driving system70is configured to execute steering and speed control maneuvers, amongst other possible autonomous driving possibilities, to avoid collisions and to move cooperatively with tracked objects based in part on the control commands. The autonomous driving system70operates known autonomous vehicle control computer instructions through a processor based in part on the control data. FIG.4shows a communication network of the on-demand service400between the various leader and Fvs in communication with cloud OAD server to configure virtual couplings between the various leader and follower vehicles in accordance with an embodiment. In embodiments, the on-demand autonomy (ODA) service400can configure a platoon to consist of one Lv configured to guide one or more FVs from one point to another in the ODA service. In embodiments, the On-Demand Autonomy (ODA) service400implements one or more electronic control systems and software, built on top of a platooning service that accepts requests from other vehicles via an ODA server (ODAS), selects one or more FVs, selects one or more FVs up at pre-decided points, commands the FVs to follow a selected one of multiple LVs in a vehicle platoon for navigation, guidance, and instruction for dropping off of one or more of the FVs at various designated points. In embodiments, the On-Demand Autonomy (ODA) service400provides one or more LVs serving or instructing one or more FVs configured with enhanced overheads like increased time and resources but compensated for based on a price metric generated by the ODA service using a cost-benefit (investment) model via an intelligent algorithm based on multiple weighted factors including for the more responsibilities and increases in equipment to provide increased revenue to the selected Lv. In embodiments, the ODA service400enables one or more LVs to receive a request and to compute or assess independently using a utility function or model in response to the request and information provided to properly fulfill or meet the request. The Lv may determine whether to confirm the acceptance of the request using an intelligent model-based upon different parameters, e.g., route of the requests, weather, lighting, revenue, etc. and to make a selection that maximizes the parameters made available of the utility function in offering the on-demand service. In embodiments, the On-Demand Autonomy (ODA) service400implements one or more electronic control systems and software, built on top of a platooning service that accepts requests from other vehicles via an ODA server (ODAS), selects one or more Fvs, selects one or more Fvs for pickup at pre-decided points, commands the Fvs to follow a selected one of multiple Lvs in a vehicle platoon for navigation, guidance, and instruction for dropping off of one or more of the Fvs at various designated points. In embodiments, the ODA service400can be modified, after commencement, and the ODA server to automatically detect events or changes in parameters corresponding to the health of the Lv or the health of the Fv that require appropriate scheduling changes or modifications to the original request or ODA service in progress. In embodiments, the ODA service400implements one or more LVs serving or instructing one or more FVs configured with enhanced overheads like increased time and resources but compensated for based on a price metric generated by the ODA service using a cost-benefit (investment) model via an intelligent algorithm based on multiple weighted factors including for the more responsibilities and increases in equipment to provide increased revenue to the selected Lv. In embodiments, the ODA service400enables one or more Lvs to receive a request and to compute or assess independently using a utility function or model in response to the request and information provided to properly fulfill or meet the request. The Lv may determine whether to confirm the acceptance of the request using an intelligent model-based upon different parameters, e.g., route of the requests, weather, lighting, revenue, etc. and to make a selection that maximizes the parameters made available of the utility function in offering the on-demand service. In embodiments, the ODA service400configures a platoon to consist of multiple Lvs configures amongst multiple segments of a route from with one or more Fvs about each route segment that makes up the route from one point to another point in the on-demand service. In various embodiments, the on-demand autonomy (ODA) service400can put forth a pricing model for a configured vehicle platoon that is made up of multiple route segments where each route segment can include differently created virtual links between different Lvs and an Fv. In embodiments, the ODA server (ODAS)425can be configured to enable multiple Lvs to accept requests coordinated by the ODA server with the Fv to create multiple virtual links between multiple sets of Lvs and Fvs to make up the route from one point to another in the on-demand service. InFIG.4, the ODA system100includes functionality to communicate with the on-demand autonomy (ODA) service400between a host (e.g., service requestor or Fv)405, an on-demand autonomy server425, and Robo taxi (e.g., leader or Lv)415. The ODA service400includes the functionality of receiving requests410that are transmitted between the on-demand autonomy server (ODAS)425and the host405, and accepted responses430that are transmitted between the on-demand autonomy server425and the Robo taxi415to initiate a trip (or virtual coupling between the Lv and Fv)470. In an exemplary embodiment, the ODA server425is configured with a scheduler427that receives a set of responses submitted by a group of Lv vehicles to a broadcast trip request from the ODA server425. The scheduler427identifies an Lv from the submitted responses from the group of Lvs who have sent responses based on an application process that uses a modeled clone (described in further detail inFIG.6) of a configured Lv with a set of functions suitable for the environment (i.e., world) of a locality of the Fv and the route or trip requested and planned for the Fv. The scheduler427in combination with processes of an adapt trip application490enables the modification of the trip request based on monitored events that include trip interruptions and other events that cause the ODA service to change or to terminate unexpectedly. In various embodiments, the scheduler427includes intelligent algorithms to coordinate one or more responses between the vehicles based on results of the matching operation to confirm an acceptance of the agreement between the Fv and the Lv. Prior to performing the matching operation of the Lv with the Fv, a monitoring application480configured with the ODA server425(or integrated with the scheduler427) assesses Lv (and also the Fv) for minimum operation viability to perform a requested trip and a planned trip route. The assessment by the monitoring application480can be based on a set of vehicle health parameters The ODA server425is also configured with the monitoring application480to monitor the trip progression and to provide data to generate periodic heartbeat messages or heartbeat type display that corresponds to the health of both vehicles based on a set of health parameters monitored in the ongoing trip of the Fv and Lv. In an embodiment, the monitoring application480can be configured to present to either vehicle, a set of options to modify the trip request or planned trip. For example, the options can include a modified or terminated trip plan, a change of the Lv and a location to meet and make the change, a degradation of the ODA service, and a confirmation of the acceptance to the modified or changed agreement terms. For example, a change of terms of the agreement can include early termination of a trip, and the cost to be charged for the early termination. In embodiments, the ODA server425is configured with applications that enable the creation of a trip plan for a trip request based on a set of preferences communicated by either or both the Fv and Lv. In embodiments, the ODA server425performs ODA service400functionalities to initiate the trip470and cause the virtual coupling between the Lv and Fv by initially broadcasting a request420for acceptance by a Robo taxi415whereupon the broadcast request420is accepted by an affirmation or an accept response430by a Robo taxi415or in an exemplary embodiment, by multiple Robo taxis (not shown). In an exemplary embodiment, the ODAS425may automatically put forth a notification to a driver or an Fv to initiate a request420for a trip470based on input data from the Fv including poor driving, difficult driving conditions based on weather reports, etc. In an exemplary embodiment, the ODAS425may promote various pricing for the Fv to initiate the request420to create a virtual link with the Lv. The ODA server425using a decision-making intelligent algorithm elects a leader440which consists of one or more Robo Taxi(s)415. In other words, based on multiple inputs that include the current state of the vehicle, route of the vehicle, weather, passenger preference, follower pick-up/drop-off locations, and past history, etc. the elected leader or leaders440are both identified and selected. The ODA server425identifies a rendezvous450and communicates trip details460to the host and leader to execute an on-demand action. In an exemplary embodiment, the Fv may request assistance to a location without actually having to perform driver operation. For example, the Fv may be configured with Level 2 plus capabilities that provide limited autonomous vehicle operations yet have communication capabilities to make requests for an on-demand service, enable a virtual link with the Lv where the Lv can be given sufficient operational control to virtual link and virtually tow the Fv to the desired location without the driver of the Fv actually having to operate the Fv. In an exemplary embodiment, the ODA service400can transport the Fv in a platoon configuration with the Lv for enabling an autonomous driving experience (i.e., a level 4 or 5 autonomous driving experience) without the Fv actually being configured or having level 4 or 5 autonomous driving capabilities. That is, by creating a virtual link between the Lv and Fv, the Fv can operate in a semi or nearly autonomous manner by reliance on the control operations provided by the Lv. In an embodiment, by relying on the Lv for control and navigation to the requested location, the Fv can simulate an autonomous driving experience without actually being configured with the necessary software, hardware, and control system for level 4 or 5 autonomous driving capabilities. In an exemplary embodiment, the driver of the Fv may desire a more autonomous driving experience and is willing to relinquish vehicle control for a route segment or entire route to the Lv. In this case, the follower vehicle (Fv) may send a request420to an ODAS425, the ODAS425would coordinate pricing and selection of an Lv using a distributed protocol to solicit requests from multiple Lvs, and to enable a virtual link between the Fv and Lv, to perform a virtual towing operation to the desired location chosen by the Fv. In various embodiment, multiple Lvs may be coordinated by the ODAS425to assist the Fv where the Fv is coupled by consecutive virtual links to multiple different Lvs selected in a coordinated process (i.e., distributed protocol solicitation of requests by the ODAS425) from a group of Lvs identified by the ODAS425, and who independently make a decision to accept a request based on a value score that each Lv and Fv independently computes based on cost metric information provided by the ODAS425for the route or route segments and can enable a virtual link with the Fv in the vehicle platoon configuration as put together by the ODAS425. In the various exemplary embodiment, the Fv in the linking operation creating the virtual link with the Lv is given the option to accept the linking request with a value score (or price metric) for the assistance provided by one or more Lvs. In this case, the ODAS425coordinates a set of responses from the Fv and one or more Lvs to complete or confirm a solicitation for a virtual link to control the Fv to the requested location based on a proposed price (i.e., value score/cost metric). The proposed price may be for the entire route, or a route segment where the decision to complete or confirm the transaction (i.e., the handshake between both parties) is coordinated by the ODAS425. In an exemplary embodiment, the cost metric or price charge by the Lv may be computed by the Lv independently or by the ODAS425. The price charge, as an example, can be determined using a weighting factor for parameters of a set of parameters based on empirical testing and past history of Fv and Lv operations in the ODS service. The weighting factors may allow for modeling of more accurate value scores, and for adjusting the value score to take into account revenue decreases and ride diffraction that can be applied if the Fv elects not to confirm the acceptance to the request from the ODAS425. In an exemplary embodiment, the ODAS425may put constraints such as time to accept, demand pricing to accept, or other real-time constraints to the proposed price for the assistance to be provided by the Lv to enable timely completion of the request and formation of virtual link between the Lv and Fv. In another embodiment, the Lv or a set of Lvs may respond to a request broadcasted (i.e., a broadcast of information) by the ODAS425based on a value score that the Lv independently computes from cost metrics that the ODAS425computes based on a set of weighted factors for the route and for assisting the Fv in the virtual tow operation to a destination requested. In an embodiment, the ODAS425, the Fv, and the Lv, each makes independent decisions using a value score that is a cost-benefit directly associated with operating factors for the Lv and Fv for the request and can use a plurality of weighted factors to determine a cost charge from the Lv and Fv perspective for the Lv to perform the navigation and the control of the Fv to the requested location. In an embodiment, a utility function is specified and executed by the ODA server425and cost values/metrics are sent to Lv and Fv for approval/rejection. The ODAS425generated cost metrics also allow the ODAS425to formulate an independent initial value score for each entity, the Lv and Fv. The Lv and Fv each may subsequently be based on the cost metrics provided by the ODAS425, Also each formulate their own value score from each entities perspective. Next, each entity, the Lv, the Fv, and the ODA server425can make independent decisions. For example, using the value score that the ODAS425itself generated, the ODAS425is able to coordinate and make independent decision on which Lvs and Fvs to coordinate a matching process. At a final stage of the coordination process, a decision is reached between all 3 entities or a “meeting of the minds” that is coordinated by the ODA server425. For example, a selection module of the Fv and the Lv is configured with an intelligent module for independently calculating and determining a value score from the Fv and Lv perspective whether to confirm the requests. In other words, the Lv, Fv, and the ODA server each are configured to determine an individual value score that is best suited for each other and may/may not be the same value score across all three entities, and negotiate in a limited time a confirmation and approval of the ODA service request. In an embodiment, the selection module of the Lv or Fv determines a value score which is personal or in either entity's perspective (the Lv or Fv) based on the broadcast information received from the ODA server that includes a cost metric of an amount provided by the ODA service for the Lv to perform the control of the Fv to the requested location or for the Fv to request the ODA service from the Lv. The value score is an independently calculated score of value based on factors associated directly with the Lv or Fv operation for the ODA service request from each entities perspective, that can include as an example, the current location, time to travel to the pick up location, opportunity costs to wait for another ODA request, etc. for one or both of the entities. In an embodiment, the Lv may be given a window of time to respond to the request and to agree (and can use its own value score to decide). The Lv and Fv may also propose different prices based on their values and provide this information to the ODAS425to coordinate the match. The ODAS425may also proposes an iterative round of price metrics based on the new information received for the Fv or Lv, and likewise, the Fv would be given a similar type of time constraint to make a decision. Once, the handshake or agreement is made by the coordinated process via the distributed protocol implemented by an algorithm of the ODAS425the platoon is configured by the created virtual links to assist the Fv for the route request. In various exemplary embodiments, the Lv may have a set of preferences, and a set of capabilities that can be provided to the ODAS425that can change the value score, or make the Lv, a more optimal choice to engage with the follower vehicle Fv for the route assistance and provide the virtual towing operation via the virtual link. In an exemplary embodiment, the Lv can be an advanced fully automated vehicle with Level 4 or Level 5 capabilities that can respond to the ODAS425in an automated manner. For example, the Lvs may be a fleet of pre-designated Robo-taxis with pre-configured capabilities to virtual link with Fvs to enable Fv with semi-autonomous or only communication capabilities for Lv autonomous control to traverse a route via a configured vehicle platoon by the ODAS425in an autonomous driving way. FIG.5is an exemplary diagram of a timing chart of the interaction of the ODA server, the host vehicle or Fv, and the Robo Taxi or Lv of the ODA service in accordance with various embodiments. InFIG.5, in an embodiment, at an initial time535(Time T1), the Fv510requests to use the ODA service for a location that is transmitted to the ODA server530. The ODA server530responds to the request received by using a distributed protocol to coordinate a set of solicitations for response amongst a group of Lvs and send Lv information to the Fv510at a time540(Time T2). In response, and with confirmation of the leader selection information at a time550(Time T3), the ODA server530then or nearly simultaneously sends a confirmation of acceptance to the Fv510at a time555(Time T4). Also, at time555, the platoon request is sent to the Lv520to configure the vehicle platoon via the virtual link. At time555(Time T5), the platoon link is received by the Lv520and the ODA service is confirmed, and periodic updates are also sent at time560(Time T5). Finally at time565(Time T6), upon the Fv510reaching the destination, the virtual link is unlinked between the Lv520and Fv510, and the service completion information is transmitted to the ODA server530. FIG.6shows a diagram of the set of ODA (cloud) server605, a set of algorithms610stored in an accessible data repository, and a coordinated matching process that enables a best-fit match operation of an Lv with digital information matched to a set of followers F1to N with digital information. That is the ODA server605creates a set of clone Lv (virtual Lvs)615, and sets of clone followers620,630, and parameters associated with the environment640to implement a coordinated matching process. The clone Lv combined with multiple different sets of clone functions in configured clone Lv plus followers of the set (F1to Fn)650, from which a leader vehicle Lv680is elected or identified that is compatible with the preferences of the Lv and Fv. Next, sets of clone follower sets are combined with a clone Lv and environmental factors for a combined set660,670consisting of the clone Lv, followers F1to Fn, and environmental factors to identify a list of prioritized suitable followers with F1685given the highest priority to Fn690. The modeling, clone set creations, and matching process ofFIG.6can be implemented by computer program instructions stored on a computer-readable medium executed by a processor such as at least one processor44(ofFIG.1). The ODA service may be carried out by the modules and sub-modules described inFIG.6for example and may also take in further aspects of the ODA system82and ODA server5described with respect toFIG.3. In an exemplary embodiment, an Lv615clone “L” is read at the leader clone with a digital twin of the leader clone, and consolidated information of the Leader. The follower (Fv) F1clone620clones are read at the follower1clone and the digital twin of the follow1with associated digital information of the follower1. There can be 1 or more followers and the count is referred to as “N”. In an example, the leader has the completed information about itself and the lead has the digital information of the other entities (i.e., the digital twin of the follower1to N, and the environment (i.e., the world)) that is received through multimodal linking of communication. In the case of a follower F1, the follower F1has the complete information of itself and the digital information of the entities (i.e., the digital twin of the Leader, other followers2to N, and the environment (i.e., the world)). The ODA server605has only the digital information of the entities and the environment (i.e., the world) as well as the status of all the specific service requests. This enables server605to use intelligent applications, to recalculate the costs, and if required to reassign or change leaders (Lvs) for a service request. FIGS.7A,7B and7Care flow diagrams of scheduling actions of the centralized scheduler (scheduler427ofFIG.4) for a trip request with the alternative flow because of trip interrupt requests in accordance with various embodiments. In an embodiment, an initial trip request Roat step710by executed by a source to a destination for an Fv and sent to the ODA server. At step715, the source of the trip request is determined by applications of the ODA server. For example, the source may be an Fv or may be a mobile device requesting a third-party Fv. In any event, once the source is verified by an authentication process then the destination is also validated. Both the source determination and validation of destination steps ensure detection processes of legitimate trip requests and filter out fraudulent requests (i.e., pranksters, spam requests, etc.), while still maintaining an openly accessible system for on-demand autonomy requests from Fvs or other requesters that have to yet been registered in the system or been prior authenticated. At step720, a decision is made as to the validity of the initial trip request Rothat is based at the very least on the parameters of the source request and destination request. Other parameters may include the feasibility of the route and the availability to fulfill the initial trip request, Ro. At step725, the ODA server is configured to assess the Fv and also potential Fvs for minimum operation viability to perform the trip request Robased on a set of vehicle health parameters by data that is transmitted from the vehicles. At step730, a validation of the health parameters is determined based on received data associated with the health parameter analysis from the vehicles. If the health parameters are not able to be validated, or not of a minimal level assessed for the trip request, or for that matter any of the other tests are deemed invalid including source and destination checks, then at step735the flow is terminated and the request of the initial trip request Rois canceled. Otherwise, if all the tests are validated including the health parameter levels checked, and the source and destination validated, then the initial trip Rois fulfilled at step740and continues to instigate the execution of the coordinated process to identify and elect the Lv for completion of the virtual link. In an exemplary embodiment, inFIG.7B, if an interrupt trip request R at step745, the process flow differs as the initial steps are obviated and by a feasibility determination process at step750to determine at step755if the request to interrupt an ongoing or progressing trip is feasible or appropriate. For example, if the route is nearly completed or the current route because of the road conditions prevents executing the interrupt trip request R then the interrupt trip request Riwould be deemed not feasible. In another example, at step755, monitoring application of the ODA server may determine in conjunction with the original trip interrupt request R that the trip interrupts request is warranted (based on data from the monitoring health parameters indicating that one of the vehicles is not suited to continue the trip or route). If it is deemed that the trip interrupt request R is feasible, then at step760, the scheduler or applications of the ODA server execute processes to seek either another Lv or Fv if required, to modify or revise various trip parameters such as the route, start, end, and seek confirmation and acceptance from each party (the vehicles in the platoon) of the revisions and changes suggested to the original agreement. At step765, if either the interrupt trip request R is deemed not feasible or an agreement is not reached for revisions or changes to the original agreement then the request for a trip interrupt (i.e., the interrupt trip request R) is terminated at step770. Alternatively, if both parties (i.e., the Fv/Lv virtually link) agree to the changes, the interrupt trip request Riis fulfilled and the changes are made to the original agreement at step775. InFIG.7C, once either of the initial requests is deemed to be fulfilled, then the flow proceeds to step780for the continuance of the initial trip Rorequest (not for continuance of the interrupt request R), and the scheduler broadcasts the requests to a group of Lvs to receive a set of responses at step785from a set of potential Lvs. The scheduler then using the modeled clone matching process (described inFIG.6), performs a matching operation to find the best fit Lv and to elect an Lv based in part on a set of preferences from the Fv and determinations of the route and other requirements (i.e., availability, location, etc.) at step790. Next, at step795, a determination is made if there is in fact an available Lv that matches or is a best to the clone and sets of functionalities that are desired. If there is no fit or Lv available, the request is terminated at step815. Alternatively, if there is identified and elected an Lv, the flow proceeds to step800to make an agreement with the Fv based on terms such as the elected Lv, the price, the planned trip, the pick-up location, etc. . . . . At step805, the identity and the rendezvous location point are communicated to the Fv and the Lv as determined by the applications of the ODA server, and at step810the virtual link is created for the platoon configuration of the Lv and Fv at step813. In another embodiment, if the interrupt request R is fulfilled then the flow continues to step820to adapt or change the trip plan to accommodate the interrupt request. For example, the Lv may be changed, the route to the destination may be changed, locations may be identified to hand-off in a multiple Lv configured route scenario, etc. . . . . At step835, a notification may be presented of an inactive interrupt. In an embodiment, if the adaptation is made, and a decision to degrade (at step840) is made, then the ODA service may be degraded and control may be handed off (at step825) to the Fv. When control is completed at830, then the request is terminated at step815. In an embodiment, during the route operation and the platooning of the Fv, the monitoring application of the ODA server continuously monitor data transmitted from the vehicles based on heart messages and adapt and optimize the trip plan based on the monitored status (i.e., the active state845of the vehicle). The monitor application can also present real-time heartbeat type graphical display data of the status of the vehicles based on the health and other parameters monitored that can give a visual indication of the health of the trip and the vehicles. In an embodiment, the adapt operation at step825consists of the options of initiating a controlled hands-off action to the host (Fv) vehicle, identifying a new Lv of a group of available Lvs and associated rendezvous points P or a location to pull over to a safe location or point in the case of an inactive status actuated or occurring for the Fv. FIG.8illustrates a diagram of a monitor display851that shows the platoon status of the ODA service in accordance with an embodiment. InFIG.8, the platoon status is displayed by a monitored communication link850with a window that is indicative of a range of the vehicle status of being inactive855in the platoon, to active860in the platoon. Changes in the status occur when the monitored communication link fails or the FIT (host) is out of a vicinity of an Lv due to interference from non-participating vehicles. It should be appreciated that the process ofFIGS.7A,7B, and7Cmay include any number of additional or alternative tasks, the tasks are shown inFIGS.7A,7B, and7Cneed not be performed in the illustrated order and the process ofFIGS.7A,7B, and7Cmay be incorporated into a more comprehensive procedure or process having additional functionality not described in detail herein. Moreover, one or more of the tasks shown inFIGS.7A,7B, and7Cmay be omitted from an embodiment of the process shown inFIGS.7A,7B, and7Cas long as the intended overall functionality remains intact. The foregoing detailed description is merely illustrative in nature and is not intended to limit the embodiments of the subject matter or the application and uses of such embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as exemplary is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, or detailed description. While at least one exemplary aspect has been presented in the foregoing detailed description of the invention, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary aspect or exemplary aspects are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing an exemplary aspect of the invention. It is understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplary aspect without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. | 66,559 |
11861531 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In accordance with various embodiments, mechanisms for providing direct and hybrid data acquisition approaches are provided. Generally speaking, the disclosed subject matter relates to using multiple learning approaches (e.g., logistic regression, support vector machines, Bayesian approaches, decision trees, etc.) for constructing classification models for classifying content. The disclosed subject matter provides an alternative to labeling of candidate examples when constructing computer-trained classification models through either random sampling or active learning. In particular, user classification approaches can be used to identify class-exemplary instances (sometimes referred to herein as “guided learning” or “a guided learning approach”). It should be noted that these learning approaches are particularly useful in situations where the classes under consideration are substantially skewed (e.g., pornography or adult content, child content, hate speech, bombs, guns, ammunition, alcohol, offensive language, tobacco, spyware, malicious code, illegal drugs, music downloading, particular types of entertainment, illegality, obscenity, etc.) and where there are limited resources for acquiring human-reviewed information. It should also be noted that these learning approaches are also particularly useful in situations having classes to be modeled that are made up of distinct, rare sub-concepts or disjunctive concepts (e.g., a certain rate type of hate speech or pornography). Gathering rare-class examples and exploring sub-concepts can be critical, where they may be difficult to gather even when its over-arching parent concept is more common. To do this, the present invention provides computer-implemented classification approaches requesting human-selected examples meeting certain criteria, such as a particular balance between the classes of interest, and user classification approaches for constructing classification models. In a more particular example, these classification models can be used for providing safe advertising. For example, these classification models can be used in a rating system to estimate and/or determine whether a web page or web site displays particular objectionable content (e.g., pornography or adult content, child content, hate speech, bombs, guns, ammunition, alcohol, offensive language, tobacco, spyware, malicious code, illegal drugs, music downloading, particular types of entertainment, illegality, obscenity, etc.). To make such a determination, the present invention can account for various data, such as the uniform resource locator (URL), the page text, the anchor text, DMOZ (the Open Directory Project) categories, third-party classifications, position in the network of pages, etc. The resulting classification models can be used to reduce the placement of on-line advertisements adjacent to such objectionable content. Rating systems in which the hybrid learning approaches described herein are further described, for example, in Attenberg et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/859,763, filed Aug. 19, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. It should be noted that, although generally described herein as using text data from a web page (e.g., the URL, the page text, the anchor text, etc.) as the raw feature data, any other suitable type of input can also be used. For example, image analysis can be conducted on one or more images contained on a web page. In some embodiments, these classification models can instruct human reviewing resources to search for particular instances. Alternatively, these classification models can be used in connection with directly querying exemplary web pages. In another suitable example, these classification models can be used to instruct an oracle (e.g., users in a micro-outsourcing system) for search engine queries that would tend to reveal the class of interest. In yet another suitable example, these classification models can be used to query for online resources that may contain many pointers to the classes of interest (e.g., a portion of DMOZ that relates to a class). These different sources of information can be combined in arbitrary mixes in accordance with any budget, class balance parameters, or any sampling ratio of any sub-concepts of interest. Additionally or alternatively, hybrid learning techniques can be utilized that combine guided learning approaches with active learning approaches and random sampling, thereby leveraging labelers for additional information. Accordingly, a learning application (sometimes referred to as “the application”) is provided that interacts with human reviewers to implement guided learning approaches and/or hybrid learning approaches based on budget and skew parameters. As mentioned above, the interaction of humans in the data acquisition phase of the process of building classification models from data is critical. Simply sampling cases uniformly at random is unlikely to be the optimal strategy. Settings with substantial or extreme class imbalance, as is generally the case with web content, further reduce the effectiveness of random sampling. In cases with substantial skew, active learning approaches do not find any minority-class examples—examples of the positive class (e.g., adult content, hate speech, etc.) appear too infrequently in the pool of cases considered for labeling. For example, using active learning approaches, a model selects from a set of unlabeled examples, labels the selections, reincorporates these labeled selections into the base model, and repeats. Even in moderately high skew settings, approaches for selecting examples automatically are more likely to select negative examples as opposed to examples of the positive class. As the minority class becomes more and more scarce, active learning approaches generally have increased difficulty finding instances that improve performance. In accordance with some embodiments, multiple resources for constructing classification models for classifying content are used. More particularly, these mechanisms incorporate human resources in the data mining process or classification process, such as labeling examples selected via active learning or random sampling or searching for examples. In some embodiments, active learning approaches can be provided in particular situations. Generally speaking, active learning is a machine learning approach that attempts to achieve greater accuracy with fewer labeled training instances if it is allowed to choose the data from which it learns. That is, an active learner can ask queries in the form of unlabeled instances to be labeled by an oracle (e.g., a human reviewer). In one particular embodiment, an uncertainty sampling approach can be used that selects the instances with the small margin from a large pool of unlabeled instances about which the model is least certain how to label. The margin can be calculated as follows: |p(0)−p(1)| In another embodiment, a boosted disagreement with a query-by-committee (QBC) approach can be used that involves maintaining a committee of models which are training on the labeled set, but represent competing hypotheses. This active learning approach is tailored to high skew settings utilizing boosted disagreement with QBC in order to gain a performance advantage in these difficult settings. In this embodiment, each committee member can vote on the labeling of query candidates, where instances can be ordered by a class-weighted disagreement measure that can be represented by: -∑j∈{0,1}bjV(kj)❘"\[LeftBracketingBar]"C❘"\[RightBracketingBar]"logV(kj)❘"\[LeftBracketingBar]"C❘"\[RightBracketingBar]" where V(kj) is the number of votes from a committee of size |C| that an instance belongs to a class kjand bjis a weight corresponding to the importance of including a certain class. It should be noted that a larger value of bjcorresponds to an increased tendency to include examples that are thought to belong to this class. From a window W of examples with highest disagreement, instances can be selected greedily based on the model's estimated class membership probabilities so that the batch selected from the window has the highest probability of having a balanced class membership. In accordance with some embodiments, the learning application can provide guided learning approaches for data acquisition. Generally speaking, guided learning is an alternative approach for using human resources for creating and developing classification models. For example, the application using guided learning approaches can ask or instruct one or more human reviewers to search for examples representing the different classes in some proportion, p. These instances can then be provided as input to classifier induction. Turning toFIG.1, in guided learning approaches, an oracle120(e.g., one or more human reviewing resources, a human reviewer in a micro-outsourcing system, etc.) can be instructed or tasked with searching for examples or class-exemplary instances through an instance space130that satisfy one or more criteria. Alternatively or additionally, guided learning approaches can include directly querying exemplary web pages, querying an oracle for search engine queries or using other tools that would tend to reveal the class of interest, or querying online resources that may contain many pointers to the classes of interest (e.g., a portion of DMOZ that relates to a class). In response to selecting one or more new instances140from instance space130, the selected instances140can be inserted or incorporated into the appropriate training data (e.g., training set110) for training the classification model. More particularly, as also shown inFIG.1, given an initial pool of labeled instances P with some subset of minority and majority instances, P+ and P−, respectively, along with a selection ratio, p, at each batch, the application using the guided learning approach can select p|b| instances from P+ at random and (1−p)|b| instances uniformly at random from P−, where |b| is the size of the batch selected at each selection epoch and where the randomness is governed by a hidden process conditioned on how individuals understand the classes of interest and access the example space. This can continue until further data acquisition is determined to be no longer useful—for example, when it is determined that the learning approaches provides diminishing marginal returns on increased model performance. FIGS.2A-2Fprovide illustrative graphs comparing the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) at various stages in learning in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. More particularly,FIGS.2A-2Fshow how the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve improves with additional labeled training data. Each ofFIGS.2A-2Fshows one of six data sets with similar characteristics, where each represents a task of separating examples of one minority class from examples of a diffuse collection of other topics. The illustrative data sets are as follows:1. Safe-Adult: A set containing about 35,000 pages labeled based on the presence of adult content, where positive instances are deemed unsafe for advertising and advertisers generally choose not to be associated with this type of content. This has a class skew of about 20:1.2. Safe-Guns: A set containing about 55,000 pages labeled based on the presences of guns, ammunition, bombs, or other destructive equipment, where positive instances are deemed unsafe for advertising and advertisers generally choose not to be associated with this type of content. This has a class skew of about 150:1.3. DMOZ-Science: A set containing about 130,000 instances, where positive instances belong to the top-level DMOZ category of Science and the minority instances belong to other categories. This has a class skew of about 200:1.4. DMOZ-News: A set containing about 100,000 instances, where positive instances are web pages found in the top-level DMOZ category of News and the minority instances belong to other categories. This has a class skew of about 100:1.5. DMOZ-Games: A set containing about 100,000 instances, where positive instances are web pages found in the top-level DMOZ category of Games and the minority instances belong to other categories. This has a class skew of about 100:1.6. 20-News-Groups: A data set derived from the popular 20 News Groups, where a positive instance or label is assigned to science-related articles and a negative label to other articles. This has a class skew of about 80:1. It should be noted that the data sets DMOZ-Science, DMOZ-News, and DMOZ-Games are taken from uniform resource locators (URLs) contained in the topical hierarchical taxonomy of the Open Directory Project. These and the other selected data sets are merely illustrative and any suitable data sets can be used. For example, a suitable data set can include predictive covariates for the application of classification models including, for example, uniform resource locators (URLs), page text, anchor text, and DMOZ categories. It should also be noted that classification and probability estimation are performed with logistic regression trained using stochastic gradient descent using feature hashing. FIGS.2A-2Fprovide a comparison of the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC), a measure that is substantially insensitive to the class prior in the evaluation set and also to the difference in class priors between the training and test sets. This is critical in a highly skewed setting where simply choosing the majority label for each instance would yield very high (and misleading) classification accuracy, and where one often wants to dope the training set with additional minority-class examples. As described previously, four different data acquisition approaches are used—e.g., uniform random sampling (line210), an active learning approach with uncertainty sampling (line220), an active learning approach tailored to high skew settings using boosted disagreement and query-by-committee along with random sampling (line230), and a guided learning approach with a proportion of 0.5 (line240)—for each of the data sets—Safe-Adult (FIG.2A), Safe-Guns (FIG.2B), DMOZ-Science (FIG.2C), DMOZ-News (FIG.2D), and DMOZ-Games (FIG.2E). As shown in each ofFIGS.2A-2F, guided learning approaches (e.g., line240inFIGS.2A-2F) that search for examples of each class in balanced proportion provides substantially more informative data to the modeling process. More particularly, guided learning approaches (e.g., line240inFIGS.2A-2F) quickly achieve good class separation (e.g., an AUC in the high 0.90 s) with considerably fewer examples required by active learning approaches (e.g., lines220and230inFIGS.2A-2F) or random sampling (e.g., line110inFIGS.2A-2F). In comparison, uncertainty sampling offers little benefits over simply selecting instances at random by requiring thousands of examples to achieve the performance levels of a few hundred instances selected through guided learning approaches. Boosted disagreement with QBC performs similarly to uncertainty sampling. It should be noted thatFIG.2F, which corresponds to the 20-News-Groups data set, shows that active learning approaches—i.e., uncertainty sampling (line220) and boosted disagreement (line230)—initially perform quite well prior to reaching a plateau. Only after exhausting a large number of seemingly uninformative examples do these approaches choose examples for labeling that again provide improvement over random sampling (line210). Thus, a disjunctive minority class exists, where portions of the class lie within the high certainty (of majority) regions of the example space. Examples from these disjuncts are selected when active learning approaches exhaust the less-certain instances. This means that little improvement is offered after repeated example selection. Accordingly, active learning approach can be ill-suited for learning highly skewed, possibly disjunctive concepts. In these situations, gathering rare-class examples and exploring sub-concepts can be critical. In active learning approaches, the base-learner often has a poor understanding of the problem space, thus making poor selection of subsequent instances as a result, in turn offering little improvement in model performance. Guided learning approaches, on the other hand, do not depend on the quality of the base-learner and rely on an oracle to explore the details of the space. More particularly, guided learning approaches excel at finding different examples of the minority class, while active learning approaches can fine-tune the decision boundary of the base model. It should be noted that the per-instance cost for a guided learning approach can differ from that for label-based active learning approaches. In some examples, searching for an example of an obscure class may require more effort than identifying or labeling if a given sample belongs to the class of interest. Alternatively, in other examples, using tools like web search engines, examples can be readily found, whereas labeling requires time-consuming analysis of each case. The relative costs of guided learning approaches and instance labeling in active learning approaches vary from setting to setting. FIG.3shows an illustrative graph comparing various instantiations of a guided learning approach with uncertainty sampling on a data set in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. In particular, each curve shows the increase in performance as a function of investment in human effort whether for labeling or search. The horizontal axis shows the total costs expended by each approach. ForFIG.3, the cost of labeling using an active learning approach (uncertainty sampling) is normalized at 1 (for acquiring one label) and the different instantiations of guided learning approaches vary the relative cost of search (γ) from γ=0.5 (half the cost of labeling) to γ=16 (16 times the cost of labeling). As shown inFIG.3, the performance-per-unit-cost of guided learning approaches declines gradually as the cost is increased. In particular, for the 20-News-Groups data set, the performance-per-unit-cost of uncertainty sampling (active learning approaches) is approximately equivalent to guided learning approaches when search is approximately 8 times the cost of labeling or γ=8. As described herein, guided learning approach may be used in cases where the class priors are extremely unbalanced and the cost structure is skewed in the opposite direction. That is, misclassifying an example that truly belongs to the minority class (predicting that is belongs to the majority class) is much more costly than predicting a majority example as belonging to the minority class. In a safe advertising example, a learning application implementing a guided learning approach is provided with a rating system. The learning application can collect class-exemplary URLs to facilitate the production of statistical models. For example, the learning application can work with one or more micro-outsourcing resources towards the construction of statistical models for use in a safe advertising system. A human reviewer in a micro-outsourcing resource is provided with the definition of a class under consideration and tasked with finding examples of this class using available tools. Responses can then be checked for duplication, and optionally passed through an explicit labeling system to ensure correctness, thereby reducing instances of noise and spam. The resulting URLs are then passed to a learning application or any other suitable machine learning system, where model induction is performed. More particularly, in order to determine whether the results indeed hold for such a production setting, human reviewers are tasked with finding examples of adult content and non-adult content in equal proportions. These results are held in a pool, where training instances are drawn to build models and produce learning curves. The induced models can then be compared to the models created through the guided learning approach that accesses the human user labeled data set, Safe-Adult. It should be noted that, in some embodiments, it can be preferable to ask for keyword queries that, when posed to a search engine, are highly or substantially likely to return class-representative examples. Alternatively, in some embodiments, it can be preferable to ask for directory pages, such as subsets of DMOZ likely to contain examples of interest. There queries can be performed, for example, in cases with rare of disjunctive sub-concepts (e.g., a rare type of hate speech). It should also be noted that, in some embodiments, when portions of a class are poorly represented, instructions can be altered to seek more examples from these portions of the problem space. It should further be noted that, in some embodiments, in substantially skewed settings, it can be preferable to select random unlabeled examples from the pool and assume a negative example, rather than seeking majority instances explicitly. Depending on the base rate, the number of mistaken labels that result from such a strategy may be far lower than the typical human error results from a human labeling system. In accordance with some embodiments, mechanisms can be provided that hybrid learning approaches that include active learning approaches and guided learning approaches. For example, the application can use active learning approaches to search for appropriate training data and, if it is determined that the active learning approaches have reached a plateau (e.g.,FIGS.2F and3), performing a search using guided learning approaches to inject additional information. FIG.4is a diagram showing an example of a process400for providing hybrid learning approaches in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. It should be noted that budget can be addressed by the hybrid learning approaches. As described herein, the hybrid learning approaches can be used to balance the usefulness-at-cost of guided learning approaches and active learning approaches, where guided learning approaches can be performed to search and gather whatever class balance (skew) is thought to be most useful independent of the class skew. Generally speaking, given a budget B, a data set D, and a cost structure C, policies for hybrid learning approaches that include active learning approaches and guided learning approaches can allocate budget B to a suitable combination of guided search (via guided learning approaches) and instance labeling (via active learning approaches). As shown inFIG.4, process400begins by instructing one or more human reviewing resources to search for an instance of a class that satisfies one or more criteria at410. More particularly, given a certain cost structure that represents the cost-per-query to an oracle performing a guided learning approach, the application can perform guided learning by selecting instances from both classes in proportion, p. After each phase of guided learning, the application estimates the performance, A, and uses this performance estimate to construct a learning curve at420. At430, when the expected gain for performing additional guided learning as a function of cost is sufficiently low or below a given threshold, τ, such that: ∂A∂c≤τ the application can switch from a guided learning approach (searching) to an active learning approach (labeling) that involves selecting examples from the pool for which to request labels. It should be noted that, to determine when to switch between learning approaches, the application determines how the performance of a model is changing under a given selection scheme as a function of that scheme's cost, ∂A∂c. This can involve estimation of the model's performance at each epoch. For example, the application can compute x-validated accuracy of the current model on the available pool of instances. Progress of the learning curve is estimated empirically and a LOESS regression is used in order to smooth the variances in estimated learning rates at each epoch. More particularly, the learning rate at any point is estimated by determining the slope of a least-squares linear regression fit to performance estimates local to that point. When the slope of accuracy as a function of cost drops below a given threshold, τ, the application change learning approaches from a guided learning approach to an active learning approach at440. At450, the active learning approach can include, for example, selecting examples from the pool for which to request labels. It should also be noted that, in the process flow chart400ofFIG.4, some steps can be added, some steps may be omitted, the order of the steps may be re-arranged, and/or some steps may be performed simultaneously. For example, as shown inFIG.4, the learning application starts with a guided learning approach to search for good training data (potentially at a higher cost-per-example) and, upon determining that the performance as a function of cost is less than a particular threshold, switches to an active learning approach that labels examples. Alternatively, the learning application can start with an active learning approach that labels examples and, upon reaching a plateau (as shown inFIG.2F) or any other suitable determination, can switch to a guided learning approach that searches to inject additional information. FIG.5provides an illustrative graph showing a comparison of a hybrid learning approach to guided learning approaches and active learning approaches (uncertainty sampling) in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. As shown, a switch from a guided learning approach (line520) to an active learning approach (line510) improves the learning rate beyond what is achieved by either learning approach alone. It should be noted that as the human cost approaches about 2,000 label units, the slope of the learning curve for the hybrid learning approach (line430) increases substantially as the application switches from a guided learning approach (searching; line520) to an active learning approach (labeling; line510). Accordingly, as shown inFIG.5, the hybrid learning approach (530) benefits from a strong exploratory phase that randomly samples instances from across both classes, thereby leaving it in a state amenable to refinement by an active learning approach. FIG.6is a generalized schematic diagram of a system600on which the learning application may be implemented in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. As illustrated, system600may include one or more user computers602. User computers602may be local to each other or remote from each other. User computers602are connected by one or more communications links604to a communications network606that is linked via a communications link608to a server610. System600may include one or more servers610. Server610may be any suitable server for providing access to the application, such as a processor, a computer, a data processing device, or a combination of such devices. For example, the application can be distributed into multiple backend components and multiple frontend components or interfaces. In a more particular example, backend components, such as data collection and data distribution can be performed on one or more servers610. Similarly, the graphical user interfaces displayed by the application, such as a data interface and an advertising network interface, can be distributed by one or more servers610to user computer602. More particularly, for example, each of the client602and server610can be any of a general purpose device such as a computer or a special purpose device such as a client, a server, etc. Any of these general or special purpose devices can include any suitable components such as a processor (which can be a microprocessor, digital signal processor, a controller, etc.), memory, communication interfaces, display controllers, input devices, etc. For example, client602can be implemented as a personal computer, a personal data assistant (PDA), a portable email device, a multimedia terminal, a mobile telephone, a set-top box, a television, etc. In some embodiments, any suitable computer readable media can be used for storing instructions for performing the processes described herein, can be used as a content distribution that stores content and a payload, etc. For example, in some embodiments, computer readable media can be transitory or non-transitory. For example, non-transitory computer readable media can include media such as magnetic media (such as hard disks, floppy disks, etc.), optical media (such as compact discs, digital video discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), semiconductor media (such as flash memory, electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), etc.), any suitable media that is not fleeting or devoid of any semblance of permanence during transmission, and/or any suitable tangible media. As another example, transitory computer readable media can include signals on networks, in wires, conductors, optical fibers, circuits, any suitable media that is fleeting and devoid of any semblance of permanence during transmission, and/or any suitable intangible media. Referring back toFIG.6, communications network606may be any suitable computer network including the Internet, an intranet, a wide-area network (“WAN”), a local-area network (“LAN”), a wireless network, a digital subscriber line (“DSL”) network, a frame relay network, an asynchronous transfer mode (“ATM”) network, a virtual private network (“VPN”), or any combination of any of such networks. Communications links604and608may be any communications links suitable for communicating data between user computers602and server610, such as network links, dial-up links, wireless links, hard-wired links, any other suitable communications links, or a combination of such links. User computers602enable a user to access features of the application. User computers602may be personal computers, laptop computers, mainframe computers, dumb terminals, data displays, Internet browsers, personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), two-way pagers, wireless terminals, portable telephones, any other suitable access device, or any combination of such devices. User computers602and server610may be located at any suitable location. In one embodiment, user computers602and server610may be located within an organization. Alternatively, user computers602and server610may be distributed between multiple organizations. Referring back toFIG.6, the server and one of the user computers depicted inFIG.6are illustrated in more detail inFIG.7. Referring toFIG.7, user computer602may include processor702, display704, input device706, and memory708, which may be interconnected. In a preferred embodiment, memory708contains a storage device for storing a computer program for controlling processor702. Processor702uses the computer program to present on display704the application and the data received through communications link704and commands and values transmitted by a user of user computer702. It should also be noted that data received through communications link704or any other communications links may be received from any suitable source. Input device706may be a computer keyboard, a cursor-controller, dial, switchbank, lever, or any other suitable input device as would be used by a designer of input systems or process control systems. Server610may include processor720, display722, input device724, and memory726, which may be interconnected. In a preferred embodiment, memory726contains a storage device for storing data received through communications link608or through other links, and also receives commands and values transmitted by one or more users. The storage device further contains a server program for controlling processor720. In some embodiments, the application may include an application program interface (not shown), or alternatively, the application may be resident in the memory of user computer602or server610. In another suitable embodiment, the only distribution to user computer602may be a graphical user interface (“GUI”) which allows a user to interact with the application resident at, for example, server610. In one particular embodiment, the application may include client-side software, hardware, or both. For example, the application may encompass one or more Web-pages or Web-page portions (e.g., via any suitable encoding, such as HyperText Markup Language (“HTML”), Dynamic HyperText Markup Language (“DHTML”), Extensible Markup Language (“XML”), JavaServer Pages (“JSP”), Active Server Pages (“ASP”), Cold Fusion, or any other suitable approaches). Although the application is described herein as being implemented on a user computer and/or server, this is only illustrative. The application may be implemented on any suitable platform (e.g., a personal computer (“PC”), a mainframe computer, a dumb terminal, a data display, a two-way pager, a wireless terminal, a portable telephone, a portable computer, a palmtop computer, an H/PC, an automobile PC, a laptop computer, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), a combined cellular phone and PDA, etc.) to provide such features. It will also be understood that the detailed description herein may be presented in terms of program procedures executed on a computer or network of computers. These procedural descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. A procedure is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. These steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared and otherwise manipulated. It proves convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. It should be noted, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Further, the manipulations performed are often referred to in terms, such as adding or comparing, which are commonly associated with mental operations performed by a human operator. No such capability of a human operator is necessary, or desirable in most cases, in any of the operations described herein which form part of the present invention; the operations are machine operations. Useful machines for performing the operation of the present invention include general purpose digital computers or similar devices. The present invention also relates to apparatus for performing these operations. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purpose or it may comprise a general purpose computer as selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. The procedures presented herein are not inherently related to a particular computer or other apparatus. Various general purpose machines may be used with programs written in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove more convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these machines will appear from the description given. Accordingly, methods, systems, and media for providing direct and hybrid data acquisition approaches are provided. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. Although the invention has been described and illustrated in the foregoing illustrative embodiments, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example, and that numerous changes in the details of implementation of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Features of the disclosed embodiments can be combined and rearranged in various ways. | 36,852 |
11861532 | Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate embodiments of the invention and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner. DETAILED DESCRIPTION While various aspects and features of certain embodiments have been summarized above, the following detailed description illustrates a few exemplary embodiments in further detail to enable one skilled in the art to practice such embodiments. The described examples are provided for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the described embodiments. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art however that other embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. Several embodiments are described herein, and while various features are ascribed to different embodiments, it should be appreciated that the features described with respect to one embodiment may be incorporated with other embodiments as well. By the same token however, no single feature or features of any described embodiment should be considered essential to every embodiment of the invention, as other embodiments of the invention may omit such features. In this application internet protocol, the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet protocol suite and the term TCP/IP are used interchangeably. In this application the use of the singular includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise and use of the terms “and” and “or” is equivalent to “and/or,” also referred to as “non-exclusive or” unless otherwise indicated. Moreover, the use of the term “including,” as well as other forms, such as “includes” and “included,” should be considered non-exclusive. Also, terms such as “element” or “component” encompass both elements and components including one unit and elements and components that include more than one unit, unless specifically stated otherwise. The following terms as used within the description of the invention are defined. The use of the term pass lock control information or pass code are used interchangeably. The use of the term “Employee” is valet, worker, supervisor, district manager etc. The use of the term “Customer” and “occupant” are an end user of resident apartment. The use of the term “Valet/Service Provider” are workers, employees or contractors who do the cleaning, pet walking, runners, concierge etc. and are used interchangeably. The term service can be any type of service such as trash collection, laundry service, food delivery, maintenance service, cleaning service etc. The use of the term “Timeslot” is a basic time unit used to divide the working hours of services and employees. The term timeslot and slot are used interchangeably to mean timeslot. The use of the term “Customer Service Requests/Service request/Order” is the basic object is used for all the operations. This is the order (shell/actual) containing service, customer, employee and other order details. The use of the term “Service” is home cleaning, pet walking, trash pick-up etc. The use of the term of Condominium, Co-Op, apartment, residence refers to a housing unit where the customers own their individual living unit or household. The use of the term of property refers to a multi-unit housing facility. The use of the term “Living Unit” or “Household” both refer the individual apartment which is inhabited by a customer. The use of the term “Virtual Valet” (Liv) is a default fallback valet who is presented to the customer or to whom the tasks are assigned if there is no automated fulfillment for service/assignment for a service or if all the valets are busy. The use of the term “Bookings” is a status with the following possible states Available, Reserved and Confirmed service. The use of the term “Service Slots” refers to the time interval when the service is offered, e.g., a two-hour duration for a standard cleaning will generate service slots for 7 am, 9 am, 11 am, 1 pm etc. The use of the term “Quota” refers to a list of available/eligible employees for all the service slots in a given period, e.g., available employee for each service slot in a day for a deep cleaning. The use of the term “Client” refers to the managers of the apartment or condominium property and the terms are used interchangeably in the specification. The use of the terms “access control”, “integrated security system”, “security system” and “access control management system” refer to providing access control to specific individuals at specific times. The use of the term “access electronic communication device” refers to electronic communication devices including smart phone and their applications, smart tablet and their applications and desktop computers and their application and any derivative thereof. The invention is a system for the management of service suppliers for customers or clients of an apartment or condo association. The system is based on Quotas which are used by the system to create and manage regions, markets, and each property in the above order of hierarchy. Quotas may be used to create and manage the roles of management and employees. Management may include of Regional Vice President (RVP), Regional District Operations Manager (RDO), and District Managers (DM) and employees may include Service Providers/Valets, e.g., door valets or home valets. Quotas may be used to create and manage skills, shifts and request for service/assignment of service providers/valets to their respective properties. Quotas may be used to inspect and manage tasks, task request for service/assignment and escalations across the country for an RVP, across assigned Regions for an RDO and across properties for a DM. RDOs will be assigned communities by the RVPs. DMs will be assigned communities by the and RDO or RVPs. Once an RDO has been assigned a district they will have access to the module and functionality to the “DM Management module” and have the same permissions as the RVP to this module. The structure may be a classical pyramid management structure. However, the structure allows flexibility so that the organization can provide excellent service and the roles to change as needed. Quotas may be used to view and accept/reject individual task request for a service/assignment or request across properties for valets. Service Providers/Valets can only view their individual schedules and task requests for service/assignment or request, across communities within a district/territory. Reassigning valets from one district to another can be done temporarily or permanently and is an HR page/function. A DM can manage service providers/valets shifts and schedules for their assigned district/territories and the communities within that area. An RDO has the ability to manage across their assigned regions. An RVP can access all the modules. Communities are organized by cities and each community has a main address, street address and building address. Each territory may be defined by a unique identifier. Each territory may be divided into districts. Cities may be associated with districts. Communities may be associated with cities. Communities may be assigned the following designators: included but not limited to 1) Concierge, 2) App only, or 3) Neither. Concierge designated communities have concierge hours recorded, services and sub services available and the time the services are available. Service Start and Service End may be defined at the service level or completely at the subservice level. Typical services include but are not limited to security services, vehicle valet and parking services, fitness and wellness services, event planning, grooming and beauty/salon services, physical therapy, laundry, doorstep, dog walking, cleaning, trash pickup, maintenance, repairs and painting. For each selected subservice, the system provides the ability to add/delete/edit tasks within a task list and the tasks are then displayed to the assigned to a valet. However, certain services such as doorstep service do not have a sub-service category. A DM, RVP and RDO via a module in the system app have the ability to view and manage valets who have been hired and preassigned to a district. This may be a list that comes from the HR module. This module allows them to assign valets from one community to another and to edit valet profiles, such as email, phone, name, skills, picture of valet, etc. The skills field may have three options: Trained, Untrained or Backup, who is also trained in the field. A valet may be associated with a community as primary or secondary, a valet can be assigned as primary or secondary to one or more communities but there must be at least one primary assigned community. The system also keeps track of earnings, tips, ratings and feedback for each valet. One embodiment of an embodiment of the invention eliminates the issues experienced by the property owners, property manager, i.e., clients, service providers such as telephone, cable, water, gas and electricity as well as the other inhabitants of the property by providing prequalified service providers that are trained and have access to the property via the security system of the property. That security system is unique and specific to each request for service/assignment or request service event and allows the service personnel to enter the property and only go to the specific living unit or household during a specific window of time and limits that access after the request for service/assignment is complete. The security system only allows access to the specific unit during a specified request for service/assignment to the unit being serviced. The security system of an embodiment of the invention is an integrated service platform with access control for the technology to communicate with door locks from an integrated application which resides on the service personnel smart phone. The integration of the device platform and an access control system for the method of accessing units creates a secure and safe method of providing services for a property which forms the basis for the access control management system to protect both the property and the customers and inhabitants of the property. One embodiment of the invention is designed to allow customers to schedule services needed using either a mobile application or computer and selecting the service they require. The process can be viewed from two perspectives. In another embodiment, the customer goes to the service provider selection tool and selects a specific service provider using the service provider selection tool or is provided with a general unspecified provider that is assigned by the system software that controls scheduling the providers. Once the customer has selected the provider, they may then select the time frame for the service needed based on the service providers current commitments and schedules. After having selected the provider and the desired time for the service, the customer can book the service and the security system of an embodiment of the invention schedules the access control for the specific door locks from an integrated access control management system which resides on the service personnel smart phone. In another embodiment, the customer goes to the service provider selection tool and selects the service they need. Then the customer can select the time they need the service which brings them to the service provider selection tool. The service provider selection tool allows them to select a specific provider or the system will provide them a general unspecified provider which is assigned by the system software that controls scheduling the providers. After having selected the provider and the desired time for the service, the customer can book the service and the security system of an embodiment of the invention schedules the access control for the specific door locks from an integrated access control management system which resides on the service personnel smart phone. If the customers cannot find a service provider to provide the desired service during the window of time they desire, the system will provide them with alternative times either prior to or after the desired time allowing them to select one of those service providers to meet their needs. The customer can also select alternate days and times until they find a time and provider that they are comfortable with. At the time of the service, the service provider is provided access to the property and the specific unit by way of the integrated security system. The system can book the service and the security system schedules the access control for the specific door locks from an integrated access control management system which resides on the service personnel smart phone. The clients who are the property owners or manager can access the system and they may allow the service provider(s) access by way of the access control management system. The clients can also review the service provider's qualifications, security documents and service record to ensure that the service provider is cleared for access to the property and qualified to perform the specific service. The service provider(s) can either be employers of the service company or independent contractors that subcontract work through the service company. This makes the service company responsible for maintaining adequate security, training, access control, schedule and location documentation on the service provider, which is available to the property manager, i.e., clients, and the customers. The system databases and are connected to all the modules including access management, order management, scheduling, personnel database, property data etc. and contains the relevant data to support the module objectives. The personnel data stored on the databases and included for each employee, e.g., doorstep valet personnel or home valet personnel their training, type of service, primary and secondary service locations, service qualifications and work hours. Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly toFIG.1, there is shown an embodiment of the architecture for an embodiment of the invention which provides a service system10for supplying trained and validated service provider doorstep valet personnel15or validated home valet personnel16, for occupants20and property manager30, i.e., clients, of an apartment/condo/condominium property35. The property manager30, i.e., the clients, are electronically connected to the server25using an electronic communication device such as a tablet/smart phone41or PC42which provides them access to the service providers managers40and to the individual doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider using tablet/smart phone60and application61. This type of configuration is used to provide services such as waste container99for the whole property such as trash removal, common area maintenance, lawn and garden care, and/or snow removal. Referring toFIG.1andFIG.9the property manager30can submit a request for service/request for service/assignment 1 required using tablet/smart phone41of PC42and application43and specify the service date1030and the service slot1050when the service is needed which corresponds to the time window when the service is needed. Specifically, the service slot1050refers to the time interval when the service99is offered or needed. The service slot1050window information may include service date1030, start time1031and length of the service in timeslots increments1050. The time slot increments1050are customizable, e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, or 30-minute segments. The processing system26utilizes server25then uses database93, load balancer program24, the integrated access management system28and the information entered by the property manager30and the scheduling software50to compare the availability of a doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider to provide the service and what timeslots1050they currently have available to perform the service99by way of an electronic communication device, such as a smart phone60running an application61. Only qualified doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider and those that are cleared by the property manager30, i.e., client, is displayed with their available timeslots1050. The list of available service providers is returned to the property manager30, i.e., client, and is arranged in order of preferred time slot1050. The manager30can then review the available timeslots1050for the service and the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider availability using their electronic communication device, such as a smart phone or tablet41and desktop42using application41. The property manager30can also review the qualifications and satisfaction report of the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider and then select the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider they want in the specific time slot1050. If there is not a specific doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider available, the system can return a generic service provider who may be assigned to that request for service/assignment 1 at the desired time slot1050. Once the service provider and time slot request for service/assignment 1 have been confirmed, the scheduling software schedules the service provider and returns a confirmation to the client. If required, the scheduling software, utilizing the integrated access control management system, schedules the access for the property and specific unit where the request for service/assignment 1 is requested. The scheduling software then sends the confirmation and request for service/assignment 1 to the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider with the necessary access control information. The access control information only allows access to the property and or unit to provide the service for a suitable period of time. The scheduling software also sends an invitation to the affected customers or property manager30, i.e., clients, providing them the window when the service will be provided. The scheduling process can be overridden or modified by the company manager40if there are conflicts with the request1or priorities change. The affected parties are notified via the processing system26, so they can confirm availability and acknowledge the change. The customer20can also send a service/assignment 1 to the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider using their Electronic communication device such as a smart tablet70and desktop72using application71. The load balancer program24which is part of processing system26residing utilizing server25optimizes the service/assignment 1. The embodiment ofFIG.1can be specifically demonstrated by the following example. The property manager30, i.e., client, needs to schedule door side trash removal which is a service/assignment 1. The manager30determines the need for the trash pickup and using the processing system26residing on the server25, they select a time slot1050and doorstep valet personnel15service provider for the service/assignment 1. The processing system26using the scheduling software50and the integrated access management system28, provides the schedule51to the doorstep valet personnel15service provider and access control information52. The scheduling processing system26alerts the customers that trash pickup will occur during the specific times1050and that they should have their trash placed appropriately outside their door between the following times service slot1051. The doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider arrives at the property35and provides the trash pickup. If a customer does not have trash outside of their door or the trash is inappropriately packaged the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider notes the condition using an electronic communication device such as their smart phone60using application61to capture the issue and the problem being reported. The application61can also capture the time and date that the service request27was provided. FIG.2shows an alternative embodiment of a service system10for supplying trained and validated personnel for occupants of an apartment/condo property with scheduling software, order management and fulfillment manager, all modules having access to the system database. This embodiment connects the individual customers with the service providers by using the system to select a service needing to be performed such as dog walking, pet sitting, cleaning, standard cleaning, laundry pick up, maintenance, painting, carpet cleaning, and/or food preparation. The customer can submit a request for service required and specify the service slot1050window when the service is needed. The service slot1050window that corresponds to service slots, refers to the time interval when the service99is offered or needed. That window information will include date, start time and window of the service. The system36utilizing server37then uses database94, scheduling software50, work queue manager98, information entered by the property manager30and the scheduling software50to compare the availability of a doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider to the requested service and determines the timeslots1050currently available to perform the service99by way of their electronic communication device such as smart phone60using application61and then uses that information and the scheduling software to compare the availability of a service provider to provide the service and what timeslots they currently have available to perform the service. Only qualified doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16and those that are cleared by the property manager30are displayed and their available service slot1050. The list of available doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers is returned to the customer and is arranged in order of preferred time slot. The client can then review the available timeslots for the service and the service provider available. They can also review the qualifications and the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers satisfaction report and select the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider they want and the specific service slot1050. If there is not a specific doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers available, the service system10can return a generic service provider who will be assigned to that request for the service/assignment 1 and service system10. Once the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider and service system10request for service/assignment 1 have been confirmed, the scheduling software50schedules the service provider and returns a confirmation to the customer. The scheduling software, utilizing the integrated access control management system, schedules the access for the property and specific unit where the request for service/assignment 1 is requested and then sends the confirmation and request for service/assignment 1 to the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider with the necessary access control information52. The access control information only allows access to the property and or unit to provide the service for a predetermined period of time during select service slots1050. The scheduling software also sends an invitation to the customers20and/or property manager30by providing them the service slots1050window when the service99will be provided. The scheduling process can be overridden or modified by the company manager40if there are conflicts with the request or priorities change. The affected parties are notified via the system10, so they can confirm availability and acknowledge the change. The embodiment ofFIG.2can be specifically demonstrated by the following example. The customer needs to schedule a standard cleaning service99. The customer, using the processing system36selects a service date1030, a service slot1050and doorstep valet personnel15or validated home valet personnel16service provider for the requested service/assignment 1. The service system10, utilizing processing system36using database94, the scheduling software50, order manager97, work queue manager98, administration module96and the integrated access management system28, provides the schedule to the doorstep valet personnel15or validated home valet personnel16service provider and access control information52. The processing system36alerts the customer20that standard cleaning will occur during the specific times conforming to service slot1050and that they should be prepared for the doorstep valet personnel15or validated home valet personnel16service provider, so they can complete the request for service/assignment 1. The doorstep valet personnel15or validated home valet personnel16service provider arrives at the property35and provides the standard cleaning service99. If a customer is not ready for the service99, the doorstep valet personnel15or validated home valet personnel16service provider notes the condition using their electronic communication device such as smart phone application61to capture the issue and the problem being reported. The electronic communication device such as smart phone application61can also capture the time and date that the service99was provided. FIG.3shows an alternative embodiment of a service system for supplying trained and validated personnel for occupants and managers of an apartment/condo property with scheduling software, order management and fulfillment manager with home access. The embodiment ofFIG.3connects the individual customers20and clients30with the doorstep valet personnel15or validated home valet personnel16service provider by using the service system10to select a service99needing to be performed such as lawn and garden services, trash pickup, dog walking, pet sitting, cleaning, laundry pick up, maintenance, painting, carpet cleaning and/or food preparation. The customer20or client30can submit a request for service required and specify the window when the service99is needed based on a service date1030and service slots1050. The window corresponds to service slots1050which refers to the time interval when the service99is offered or needed. That window information will include service date1030, start time and window of the service in service slots1050. The service system10then uses that information and the scheduling software50to compare the availability of a doorstep valet personnel15or validated home valet personnel16service provider to provide the service99and also determine available timeslots to perform the service. Only qualified doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16and those that are cleared by the property manager30are displayed with their available service slots1050. The list of available doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers is returned to the customer20and is arranged in order of preferred service slots1050. The client can then review the available service slots1050for the service99and the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider available. The client30or customer20can also review the qualifications and the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers satisfaction report and select the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider they want and the specific service slots1050. If there is not a specific doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider available, the system can return a generic service provider who may be assigned to that request for service/assignment 1 and desired service slots1050. Once the service provider and the time slot request for service/assignment 1 have been confirmed, the scheduling software50schedules the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider and returns a confirmation service request27to the customer. The scheduling software50, utilizing the integrated access control management system28, schedules the access for the property35and specific unit45where the request for service/assignment 1 is requested and then sends the confirmation service request27and request for service/assignment 1 to the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider with the necessary access control information52. The access control information52only allows access to the property35and or unit45scheduled to provide the service for a suitable period of service slots1050. The scheduling software50also sends an invitation to the customers20and/or property manager30by providing them the window service slots1050when the service99will be provided. The scheduling process can be overridden or modified by the company manager40if there are conflicts with the request or priorities change. The affected parties are notified via the processing, so that they can confirm availability and acknowledge the change. The embodiment ofFIG.3can be specifically demonstrated by the following example. The client or customer20needs to schedule a cleaning service99. For the customer20the service needed could be either a deep cleaning or a standard two-hour cleaning. Client30requested cleanings are usually final rental deep cleaning or move in cleaning. The customer20or client30using the processing system26residing on the server selects a service date1030and a service slot1050and doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider for the request for service/assignment 1. The system using the scheduling software50and the integrated access management system28provides the schedule service request27to the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider and access control information. The scheduling processing system26alerts the customer/client that cleaning will occur during the specific times and that they should be prepared for the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider to complete the request for service/assignment 1. The doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider arrives at the property and provides the cleaning service99. If a customer20or client30is not ready for the service, the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider notes the condition using their electronic communication device such as a smart phone application61to capture the issue and the problem being reported. The electronic communication device such as a smart phone application61can also capture the time and date that the service99was provided. UsingFIG.4provides a more detailed flow chart of how the system webserver communicates with the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers and employee and territory information to develop a schedule. The webserver has the following functions built into it to provide a scheduler function, an order manager97, work queue manager98, administration module96, work queue manager98function, and a load balance function24. The scheduler function is used to identify and schedule doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers for specific requests from customers and clients. The work queue manager98function allows the company management to see a complete picture of the workload with respect to individual doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers, an individual property35, individual communities, individual territories, regions, and is capable of rolling up to national reporting. The order manager97function allows the company manager to view the orders and manage staff and resources to meet the orders. The load balance function allows the company manager to adjust the load by moving resources and the administration module allows the company manager to update training, satisfaction records, schedule information, region and property information. The load balance also allows the property manager30to grant access to their property35. The applications are connected to the hosting webservers25and processing system36and the employees and managers through their electronic communication device such as devices smart phone80using application61, smart phone60using application81, smart tablet31and desktop32using application81. The employee's doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16can look at a request for service/assignment 1, completion information, lock information52, property information35and customer information20. For each employee, e.g., doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16, the system database93and94has their training, type of service, primary and secondary service locations, service qualifications and work hours. The systems410which include an embodiment of the invention App, Client Portal, instant invention Admin, Home App, Load Balancer, Webserver, Scheduler, Work Queue Manager, Order Manager, Administration communicates with both the workers430using I/O layer420applications and compiles the request/assignments activities440and the schedule450activity which reference the employee information460and the territory information470. The managers can manage request for service/assignment 1 and completion information and they may view the business such that it can be broken down by property, territory, e.g., a group of properties, client, sites, i.e., property, customer and request time. UsingFIG.5provides a more detailed flow chart of how the processing system26utilizing servers25and36communicates with the client30and customer20. The processing system26can view each territory520and resolve the territory520by clients30, property35and customer/resident20information. UsingFIG.6provides a more detailed flow chart of how the service system10server25communicates with the employees15,16, company managers40, clients30and customers20. The server25can view each territory and resolve the territory by clients30, property and customer/resident20information. The server25can accept customer20request for service/assignment 1 and then match them with a doorstep valet personnel15or a home valet personnel16service providers. UsingFIG.7provides a more detailed flow chart of how the system server25,36communicates with the client30and customers/resident20and provides information to the customers20on completion and time window for service. UsingFIG.8provides a more detailed flow chart of how the scheduling module of the server25,36interfaces with the customer and applies the system rules for the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider such as availability, primary property and secondary property. The server25,36also pairs the rules with scheduling software50having client information810, scheduling service module820, decision management service module830, decision management user interface840, cache850and data store860. UsingFIG.9provides a more detailed description of the scheduling service. Shown is a system resource that provides a single day1030quota1200for the requested customer-facing service, such as cleaning or pet-walking. The quota is the list of selected resources that can complete the job. Service required field900provides a list or graphics of the services99available in the specific property35for the customer20. The server25,36may also display the different type of services associated with the service99selected. In the example shown inFIG.9, the service required field900lists five services99available. The services99are, clean my house905, visit my pet910, deliver my package915, clean my cloths920, and pick up my trash925. For this example, the customer selects the clean my house905icon from the menu of services99available and the server25,36will display the different service quota menus930,935under the service required available for that menu item. In this instance, it displays standard cleaning930and deep cleaning935quota menus. The quota menus will also display the availability date, service slot and the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider available during the specific slot to provide the service. When selected, the service date940and the service slot950will display the price and will allow the customer to cancel, review or book the service. Once the service99is booked, the customer is billed for the service and sent a service request27notification reminding the customer of the date, time and who the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider is. Additionally, the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider will be notified and scheduled so they can supply the service. The scheduling service planner utilizes a time slot, a service slot1050, booking, order, task, service hours and employee working hours. The time slot is configurable for a minimal assignable time duration such as 30 minutes. However, the duration can be configured to suit the location and the request for service/assignment 1 types. The service slots may be a predefined period of configurable duration that can be booked by resident. Service slots are calculated based on service duration and service hours. Each community has configurable service slots for each service. The booking is a request for service/assignment 1 of a resource, with a specific skill, to perform the order at a specific time, e.g., service slot. The order is a customer work order to perform a certain job at their home. The task is an activity that can be performed by a single resource at one time during order fulfillment. Some orders contain a single task, e.g., a thirty-minute pet visit. Some orders include multiple tasks, e.g., two pet visits a day=two tasks. The service hours are hours of operations for the service at a given community. A given community has established service days and times which are community service hours. They are typically set by the property management or clients. However, the actual service hours may vary. The typical property can have between 200-300 units and takes time to collect the trash. So, the processing system26may schedule a doorstep valet personnel15service provider to collect multiple properties during their work hours. As such, sometimes a given community may be actually collected early in the “window” of time at the community and sometimes later. As an example, the first community will have actual service hours of 8:15 AM to 9:30 AM and the 2nd may be 9:45 AM to 10:00 AM. This enables the resident's visibility to the actual service hours nightly. The employee working hours are a doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider schedule for a given day. Note that a doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider may work at multiple communities, where they are available to be booked at any of these communities during the employee work hours, i.e., first come-first served. Referring now toFIG.10there is provided a typical manager's view1000of the communities1010in their territory1020on a specific date1030displaying the service hours1040available at the specific community1010and the service slots1050currently committed by type of service1060. Referring now toFIG.11there is provided a manager view1100of the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers1110, the bookings times1120and the type of booking1130with respect to their scheduled working hours1140for the requested date1160. Referring now toFIG.12there is shown a method for determining a quota1200for a doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers are selected for the Quota a specific day. The initial step required to find a suitable doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider is to use the booking request1210and booking time requested1211. Step1230then determines if the property35or customer20is eligible for the service and has doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers available input is from steps1210,1211and1220. If none are available, the system returns not eligible for service1275. If the property or customer are eligible and doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers are available step1230then the system determines if the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers have the skills step1235to meet the booking request step1210at decision point step1250. If they do not, then the system returns not eligible for service step1275. If the available doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers have the skills the system looks at the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider working hours step1240and determines if there is a match at decision point step1255. If no match is found, the system returns not eligible for service step1275. If the available doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers have the skills and are working during the booking time requested step1211, then the system determines if they are already booked during that time at decision point step1260. If they are already booked, the system returns not eligible for service step1275. If there are available doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers, the system creates a list of doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers available step1270. If there are no doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers available, a virtual doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider is assigned step1280and displayed to the Quota list step1200. If the system has at least one doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider available, the system scores the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers step1295. If there are more than one doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider available, the system returns the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers scores step1290and sorts the list by top score step1296. Then the system determines the number of qualified and available doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers. If there is only one available doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider, it is assigned at the decision point step1297to the request for service/assignment 1 step1299and lists it on Quota step1200. If there are more than one available doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider, the system randomly selects a doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider step1298and assigns to the request for service/assignment 1 step1299and lists it on Quota step1200. Referring now toFIG.13there is provided the Multi-Site Scheduling Requirements. Doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers properties step1310include the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers. Skills step1320has multiple selection options: Master which is a highly skilled and trained individual, or Untrained and individual who is not trained in that service, Apprentice is an individual who is in the process of training in the skills need for a particular service, they are in the process of being trained or has not completed the training yet, or Backup, an individual who has the required training. Service providers properties also include the service providers “Tie-in” step1330to the community has only 2 options: Primary or Secondary. A doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider can be assigned as primary or secondary to one or more communities but there must be at least one primary Tie-in. The service providers properties can also be enhanced by additional criteria step1340which include Rating step1350—Apply rating criteria with a knob to adjust the impact, Favorite Status step1360—Apply Favorite Status criteria with a knob to adjust the impact, Distance step1370to property and cost step1380. The system can also apply a Travel Allowance step1390, when the Valet has to travel between locations, thereby allowing for travel time. The basic travel time assumption is that travel time will equal one time slot or 30 minutes. The System requirements step1305for the scheduler logic incorporates the following additional selection criteria, i.e., decision tree1306, in the order of importance which is rate from 1 to 8 for selecting a doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider for a requested task/date/time using steps1307,1308,1309,1311,1312,1313,1314,1316. Referring now toFIG.14there is provided the method for the scheduling service. The scheduling software50allows for accommodation of doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider selection by the request for service/assignment 1 of Skill Mastery Levels1410which are rated as Level 3-Trained/Master/High1411, Level 2-Backup/Apprentice/Medium1412and Level 1-Untrained/Trainee/Low1413. It also provides for location request for service/assignment 1 priority1420where Level 21421is a primary location and Level 11422is a backup or secondary location that the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider can provide service to. The system also has the ability for the manager to assign onsite/off site priority1430. If during scheduling, the service provider scheduling software sees that the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider is onsite they will be assigned a booking as a priority if they have the time slot available. If the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider is not at the site, then the system applies travel time to the request for service/assignment 1. The system also has the ability to factor in Utilization1440and travel time1450into the selection criteria. Referring now toFIG.15there is provided the basic architecture for the scheduling portal1500. The scheduling service1505is capable of communicating with the customer and with electronic communication device such as client mobile1510and web1520enabled devices. The SQL database1530and E-portal recommendation engine1540creates the list of available doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers for the scheduling service. The graphing software1550provides management graphs for the monitoring of territories, regions, properties, services/booking request and doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers. Referring now toFIG.16there is provided the details of the Quota Scoring Process to determine a doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider score. The process sums the Skill mastery level1610, the Score for onsite/offsite booking1620, the score for the location level1630, the score for utilization1640, the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider ratings1650and a score for favorite rating1660resulting in a doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider score1670. Referring now toFIG.17there is provided the logic for an alternate doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider selected for the Quota for a specific date. The initial step required to find a suitable doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider is to use the booking request step1210and booking time requested step1211. Step1230then determines if the property or customer is eligible for the service and has doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers available step1220. If none are available, the system returns not eligible for service step1275. If the property35or customer20is eligible and doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers are available, in step1230the system then determines if the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers have the skills provided for in step1235to meet the booking request step1210at decision point step1250. If they do not, then the system returns not eligible for service step1275. If the available doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers have the skills, the system then looks at the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider working hours in step1240and determines if there is a match at decision point step1255. If not, the system returns not eligible for service step1275. If the available doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers have the skills and are working during the booking time requested step1211, the system determines if they are already booked during that time at decision point step1260. If they are booked, the system returns not eligible for service step1275. The system then evaluates adjacent booking timeslots at a different community step1710at decision point step1720. If there are available doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers, the system creates a list of doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers available1270. If there are no doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers available, a virtual doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider is assigned step1280and displayed to the Quota list step1200. If the system has at least one doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider available, then the system scores the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers in step1295. If there are more than one doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider available, the system returns the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers scores in step1290and sorts the list by top score step1296. The system then determines the number of qualified and available doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers. If there is only one, it is assigned at the decision point step1297to the request for service/assignment 1 in step1299and listed on Quota step1200. If there are more than one available doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider, the system randomly selects a doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider step1298and assigns it to the request for service/assignment 1 in step1299and lists it on Quota in step1200. Referring now toFIG.18there is provided detail as to the scoring algorithm used to select a doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider. Using the scoring outcome logic, the scoring system will select the candidate for each slot in the quota based on the following logic. Availability step1810, for each quota slot, the system will first select a list of available valets, including those who can serve the locations, have the necessary skills, work on the booking date, and have no conflicting bookings. Skill Level1820, based on skill level, each master will receive 150 points, while backups will receive 100 points On Location Presence1830, for each booking at the requested location, the valets who own the bookings will be given 4 points. Hence, the more bookings one has at the location, the higher the score. Location Presence Request1830for service/assignment 1 Priority, valet will receive 4 points if they are a primary employee for the requested location and 2 points if they are a backup. Those who are assigned as primary will be selected for the quota over the backup only if there is an even number of bookings between 2 valets. Location Assignment Priority1840: Valet will receive 4 points if they are a primary employee for the requested location and 2 points if they are a backup. Those who are assigned as primary will be selected for the quota over the backup only if there is an even number of bookings between 2 valets. Least Utilized Score1850, in the event all previous criteria yields an even score between two or more valets, the system will look to assign the quota spot to the least utilized valet. Least Utilization is calculated as 1 minus the total booked timeslots/totals timeslots in a workday. This calculation is mainly used to understand when certain valets with the same score have bookings at other locations, so the Least Utilized Score will promote a request for service/assignment 1 to an un-booked valet to get the first order at a location that no one else already serves. Random1860, if all scores are still the same, the system will pick a random Valet with the highest score. Referring now toFIG.19there is provided an example of a chart created by the on-site and offsite scoring logic method. Using the chart there are 15 possible doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers that could perform the request for service/assignment 1. Referring now toFIG.20there is provided the results of the analysis for on-site and off-site logic method using the 15 possible valets fromFIG.19. Looking now atFIG.20which demonstrates that first the scheduling service1505identifies the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers that are available during the time the service is requested. If there are no doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers available, the algorithm will respond to the customer with available times when doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers are available. If there are times when there are doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service providers available, the algorithm will rank each doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider by skill level. Skill levels are set at level 1, 2 or 3 with 3 being expert. The algorithm is then multiplied by 50 resulting in a skill level of 50, 100 or 150 which is the Skill Rating in column AG. This is done to force the selection algorithm to select the most qualified doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider. The algorithm then calculates the number of existing requests for service/assignment 1 at the specific site that the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider has at the specific site which is the number of requests for service/assignment 1 locations multiplied by column AG. The algorithm then calculates an onsite rating which is the number of requests for service/assignment 1 multiplied by 4 which is the Onsite Rating in column AI. The algorithm then assigns a location value which signifies if the location is a primary or secondary service site for the provider. The algorithm then assigns a 4 for primary and a 2 for secondary which is the Location Rating in column AJ. The algorithm then calculates the total available timeslots which the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider may provide the required service at the specific site and then calculates the availability score. The availability score is the available timeslots divided by 24, i.e., available number of hours, which is the Availability Score in column AL. The algorithm then calculates the sum of Skill Rating in column AG Onsite Rating in column AI, Location Rating in column AJ, and Availability Score in column AL. The doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider with the highest score is the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider recommended for the request for service/assignment 1. For example, referring to valet15,16shown inFIG.20, which looks at valets in properties X and property Y the algorithm would calculate a Score of 222.21 which is the highest recommendation value score. The score is calculated as follows Score=Skill Level+On Site Rating+Location Rating+Availability. Therefore, the score is the sum of Skill Rating (AG)=150, plus Onsite Rating (AI)=68 plus Location Rating (AJ)=4 plus Availability Score (AL)=0.21 for a total Score (AM) of 222.21. Based on this, the valet15,16would be the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider recommended first to the customer. The system would then retrace the order until the customer selects a doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider. The system using the scheduling software and the integrated access management system provides the schedule to the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider and access control information. The scheduling system alerts the customer that standard cleaning will occur during the specific times and that they should be prepared for the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider, so they can complete the request for service/assignment 1. The system is capable of integrating a number of different lock systems which all provide specificity of access time bypass lock control information or pass code to the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider/valet who provides them access to the specific property only at the time they are scheduled to provide the service. For example, if a property has an access control system that controls the main doors to the elevator lobby or allows onsite entrance defined as the main lock and then individual apartment door locks for the specific apartment defined as the apartment lock then the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider will be provided the access information for the main lock and then the access information for the specific apartment lock. An embodiment of the invention includes a system10that creates an account directly with an e-lock software application. Customer20at the community grant semi-permanent scheduled e-keys to the specified system10account within the Access management system2100. Customers20book services within the system10and select “Home Access Granted.” The valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider reviews orders and validates that an access control information was provided and then valet personnel15or home valet personnel16is provided access. An embodiment of the invention is designed to work with lock systems and software currently known in the market and has the capability to add lock systems and software as new products are introduced to the market. Present systems available include many Radio frequency and non-radio frequency lock systems including but not limited to DKS Door king systems, Delphian Systems, Lockitron®, Bolt which has Wi/FI and Bluetooth®, connectivity including remote access and share access with multiple people. Kisi which monitors access logs, shares keys with employees and unlocks the door remotely. Latch®, which provides door access, automated deliveries and access sharing for residents and easy management for property managers. Point Central which is an enterprise scale tool for property managers allowing one person to manage thousands of homes. Resort Lock which eliminates the issues with managing keys and early and late checkouts. OLA which has Bluetooth and fingerprint access capability. Westinghouse Nucli®, which has Wi/fi and fingerprint recognition, camera, voice mail and real time voice communication. Smartphone-based ACaaS platforms such as August Smart Lock®, HID®, Brivo API, Nuki, August®, smart Lock Pro 3rd Generation, Kwikset®, Kevo, Kwikset Kevo Convert, Kwikset Premis, Lockitron®, Bolt, LockState® RemoteLock, Schlage Connect, Schlage© Sense, Sesame Smart Lock, Ultraloq®, UL3 BT and Yale®, Assure Lock. Amazon®, Lock API and Kisi platform, Apple® HomeKit with Schlage Sense, August Smart Lock Pro, Amazon Alexa® with Kwikset Kevo, August Smart Lock Pro, Samsung® SmartThings Budget: Kwickset 910, Schlage Connect, iTunes with August Smart lock sets, DKS Doorking systems and Google® Play Kwikset Kevo. All provide locks which are compatible. An embodiment of the invention is designed to work with lock systems having integrated camera locks and software currently known in the market and has the capability to add lock systems with integrated camera locks and software as new products are introduced to the market. Present systems available included with integrated camera locks, bare Gate Smart Lock has Wi/Fi connectivity and two-way audio and video streaming. Built specially for the lock and August Doorbell Cam has HD video with night infrared and two-way audio. Referring now toFIG.21, the access management system is shown. Access management system2100is part of the Scheduling module2105that communicates with the scheduling module2110which communicated with the rule module2120and the customer using either smart phone2150or computer2160. Once the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider and the service time has been confirmed, the scheduling module communicates with the access module system2100and is issued the necessary access information depending on the location and lock configurations. The access management system can provide either a token to the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider electronic communication device such as smart phone2170or it could provide biometric data to the lock2180which would be scanned by biometric reader2185. Once the information is confirmed at the lock site, the lock can also send the information back to the scheduling module which confirms the security information with the access management system which returns the signal to the scheduling module and unlocks the door allowing the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider access to the apartment. As noted, the resident lock system from any of the suppliers of hardware and software provides the specific lock with either a unique token or biometric identification information to the locking device and limits the use of the information to open the lock for the specific doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider only during the specified times. The necessary token, either hardware or biometric identification process can be seen inFIG.21. The communication module used to communicate with the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider, wherein the processing system26and36may have a server25and37using an electronic communication method1700to communicate with customer electronic communication devices such as tablet/smart phone70and application41, client electronic communication devices such as tablet/smart phone41of PC42and application43, service provider electronic communication devices such as tablet/smart phone60and application61, manager electronic communication devices tablet/smart phone80and application81and the service provider electronic communication devices such as tablet/smart phone60and application61is in communication with a geo fence1600. The electronic communication method1700can be selected from the group consisting of TCP/IP, Wi/FI, Zigbee®, Z-Wave®, Bluetooth®, XHTML® Basic, Nokia's XHTML Mobile Profile, and WAP by the Open Mobile Alliance. Referring now toFIG.21, the access management system is shown. Access management system2100is part of the scheduling module2110that communicates with the scheduling module2110which communicates with the rule module2120and the customer using either smart phone2150or computer2160. Once the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider2190and the service time has been confirmed, the scheduling module communicates with the access module system2100and is issued the necessary access information depending on the location and lock configurations. The access management system can provide either a token to the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider smart phone2170or it could provide biometric data to the lock2180which would be scanned by biometric reader2185. Once the information is confirmed at the lock site, the lock can also send the information back to the scheduling module which confirms the security information with the Access management system which returns the signal to the scheduling module and unlocks the door allowing the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider access to the apartment. Expanding on the use with respect to doorstep trash collection which may include software for use with an electronic communication device such as a laptop or mobile device to provide management and communication of residential trash and recycling management. The system includes a customer/client interface and software for the resident to enter information about their trash collection needs which is communicated to a customer/client interface and software that a service provider uses to collect their waste. An embodiment of the invention provides the enhancement of directed collection, which reduces labor and improves safety by shortening the time that trash is placed out for collection. In addition, the service provider mobile software tracks the location of the service provider using geo position technology and positional beacons. This enables communication to the resident of the approximate time of collection specific to their home. Communication can be provided to residents/customers through the mobile application, phone notification capabilities, SMS messaging, or email. The integrated solution includes functionality to capture service quality observations using photographic evidence such as service violations and safety issues. It may be integrated with a building management system to enable reporting and compliance management. It includes a web-based portal for the service provider management and residential property management to schedule service, review reporting, and manage quality. The current technologies workers proceed through the property collecting from buildings in a path without any direction other than “nearest” next door. They collect from a building making trips back to the truck and then when the truck is full, they drive back to the compactor to empty it. There are multiple issues with this process. First, they make several trips over the same path because their tote will fill up before clearing a section. Second, the truck may fill up requiring a trip to the compactor before a building is clear. A third issue which is contributed by the first two issues is that they have no way to track where they left off in each trip. The current technology the geo-fence is limited to the outside of the building, so they are prone to missing units when they do not go back and start from exactly the same place that they left off. An embodiment of the invention trash collection feature entails the ability for residents to provide feedback to processing system26at any time outside the “Service Window” and “Set Out Window.” During the Service Window, the resident will be reminded that it is time to put their trash out. During the Set-Out window, they will be given a last chance to still put their trash out until (before) the Valet/service provider has Clocked out and inform processing system26of their action Referring toFIG.22andFIG.23, the processing system26using the scheduling software50and the integrated access management system28which has access to the system database, which is part of the processing system26, provides the schedule51to the doorstep valet personnel15service provider and access control information52. The doorstep valet personnel15service provider is connected to the part of the processing system26and scheduling software50by way of their smart phone60using application61. They are provided a route for collection based on the information as to the customers have uploaded as to setting out the waste container service99. The geo fence1600and SQL database1530and E-portal recommendation engine1540(shown inFIG.15) allow the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16to efficiently collect trash that is placed for removal and minimizes the window when trash is placed out for pickup. The SQL database1530and E-portal recommendation engine1540transfers the route to the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16smart phone60and smart phone60is in communication with geo fence1600which monitors the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16using their cell phone60and application61. It then provides the SQL database1530and E-portal recommendation engine1540information with respect to location of doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16and the smart waste container3011which has been picked up according to waste container service99and SQL database1530and E-portal recommendation engine1540and the smart waste container3011that still need to be picked up. The RFID tag3000may be applied such that it records the action of opening and closing of the receptacle cover. The system10utilizes doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16using their cell phone60and application61and the RFID reader3010which captures the presence and distance from the reader to the smart waste container3011and whether or not the container was opened. The access control management system28provides a closed network with secure and reliable access control features. It allows an embodiment of the invention to authorize or revoke control for another user can be done instantly from anywhere. In the absence of cloud connectivity devices switch to direct communication. No need for Wi-Fi routers and access points shared with other users, computers, TVs, and other peripheral devices. Particularly for high security access control purposes such as doors. No need to worry about power outages that can keep you locked outside the house or bring down your monitoring and surveillance systems. When the invention is viewed from the Internet of Things (IoT) perspective, an embodiment of the invention is conceived as an extensible IoT system solution, having firmware, software and cloud elements designed to interoperate, support end-to-end security, enable ease-of-use, and be mobile device friendly. An embodiment of the invention software defined attributes rapidly insuring compatibility across mobile device, embedded devices and the cloud. Compatibility is assured by standardizing on a common low power WAN based on the mature ANT stack from Dynastream and ubiquitous Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol enabled devices. Command and control of an embodiment of the invention enabled products is directly available through the mobile device application. An embodiment of the invention can be adapted to a wide range of apartment support applications due to the power and simplicity of the mobile device and network formed between the company managers40, clients30, customers20and doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider. Another embodiment of the invention allows for remote operation of the main door or the individual apartment doors. It turns any mobile and personal device into a secure global remote control. The access control management system28of an embodiment of the invention and the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider smart phone60using application61becomes the universal controller for everything that allows remote control. This controller can be shared with other users of mobile and smart devices. There is no need to carry or share keys, security codes, garage door or gate remote fobs, or disparate IR or RF controls for lights, or other devices. No need to re-key locks, re-program keypads, re-program RF remote control devices and no need to replace batteries frequently. Locks and other remote devices which can be connected to the access control management system28and may be controlled by the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider smart phone60using application61both directly and over the cloud. Powerful automation features give the company managers40, clients30, customers20and doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider more power to control smart devices. An embodiment of the invention eliminates the need for connecting disparate hardware and software, and dealing with firewall settings, eliminates the need for “buzzing” doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider in since they can be authorized to use their own mobile device based on timeslots1050. An embodiment of the invention can be extended to provide access control for the customers individual apartment door looks. An embodiment of the invention can eliminate issues about doors left unlocked since they can lock/unlock automatically in the absence or presence of a user. An embodiment of the invention can eliminate issues of letting family or visitor comings and goings, notifications come automatically to the customers20and allows the customers20to control the access. Looking atFIG.23the system10is expanded to support wireless sensor technology which provides the ability to track the individual home level assuring that all trash is collected. The technology consists of a RFID tag3000, which may or may not be powered, that is applied to the waste container service99used for collection which creates a smart waste container3011. The waste container service99is then associated within system10to the specific apartment45. The RFID tag3000may be applied such that it records the action of opening and closing of the receptacle cover. The system10utilizes an RFID reader3010that may be integrated into a smart phone60and is carried by the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider. As the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider passes apartment45, the RFID reader3010captures the presence and distance from the reader to the smart waste container3011and whether or not the container was opened. The information is transmitted wirelessly to the RFID reader3010which in turn communicates the information wirelessly to a processing system26and database93. Multiple containers can be individually tracked, and the information can track trash waste separate from recycling. RFID can be replaced by any suitable communication protocol such as but not limited to TCP/IP, Wi/FI, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth, XHTML Basic, Nokia's XHTML Mobile Profile, and WAP by the Open Mobile Alliance. The information can be used to provide service reporting that assures the trash is collected according to service level agreements. By comparing the distance to the smart waste container3011to the property configuration, it can be determined if each apartment has placed waste out for collection or not, how many smart waste containers3011were placed out, and whether recycling or trash containers were placed out. In addition, by tracking at the unit level, an embodiment of the invention can track the exact location of the service resource, enhancing quality and safety. This enables communication directly to customer20when the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider is nearing their home and when the waste has been collected. This process enables reduced time for the smart waste container3011to be placed in common areas, which reduces both tripping and potential fire hazards. Finally, customer20behavior data can be analyzed to provide optimized routing of doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider resources, which reduces labor and associated service cost. An embodiment of the invention is further enhanced when the RFID tag3000is a battery powered unit that provides a beacon that utilizes a Bluetooth radio frequency. This enables the system to read the beacon with a smartphone60without any additional equipment. In addition, there is motion detection capability that can be incorporated into the beacon. By embedding/attaching this type of beacon to the lid of the smart waste can3011, we can determine the distance between the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider and the smart waste container3011and whether the lid of the smart waste container3011was moved. When the smart waste container3011is deployed, the system assigns each smart waste container3011and the associated beacon to a customer20. The system10determines on a nightly basis how close the doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider came to each can and whether the lid was moved. This data will be combined with the geo-fence data as well as beacons attached to the physical property35and customer20to build a profile of doorstep valet personnel15or home valet personnel16service provider passage through the building. This data helps to determine: smart waste can3011that were placed out (proximity <1 m), smart waste can3011that were collected (proximity <1 m and lid movement), smart waste can3011that were not placed out (proximity >1 m when geo-fence/physical building attached beacons confirm the building was cleared), and can also provide an immediate alert when a can is passed without collecting (proximity <1 m and no lid movement). In another embodiment of the invention, there is provided connectivity of information to a service manager, a service provider, a client, and a customer residing in a property. The property has at least one door and it has a property security system which manages the at least one door. In addition, the property security system communicates with the internet using an electronic communications device having its own specific address and the electron communication device using a communication protocol such as TCP/IP, Wi/FI. As is known all devices on the internet have their own specific address which the invention utilizes when sending and receiving information used in the system. As such, the system webserver can also communicate with the internet using a second electronic communications device having its own specific address. The smart device used in the invention is capable of communicating with multiple devices such as a geo fence using a geo fence receiver which uses a communication protocol specific to the geo fence and with the internet electronic communications device having its own specific address and using a communication protocol for communicating on the internet and a smart trash can receiver which uses a communication protocol specific to the smart trashcan and receptacle cover. The webserver is enabled such that it can communicate access time slots, date and access control information to the internet and the information is directed to be received by a specific address. In addition, the property security system communicates with the internet using an electronic communications device having its own specific address and uses an internet-based protocol and receives the access time slots, date and access control information from the internet using an electronic communications device having its own specific address and using a communication protocol. The access control information allows access to the property by a service provider using a smart device that has a service provider mobile application on a smart device. Additionally, the system includes a webserver having a scheduler module having schedule information, a work queue management module having work queue information, an order management module having order management information, a fulfillment manager having order fulfillment information a service provider module having service provider information, a task quota module having task quota information, a scheduling module having scheduling information, a communication module in communication with an electronic communication device having its own specific address capable of communication with the internet using a protocol, an administration module used to manage the service provider and the property using the system. Further the webserver has an access control module, with access control information for the property security system. The smart device can also communicate with a smart trash can with a smart trash can receptacle cover which is capable of identifying the if the cover has been removed from the smart trash can. Both the smart trash can, and smart trash can receptacle cover use a protocol which can communicate with the smart device. The electronic communication method protocol for the geo fence, smart can, smart can receptacle cover and can be selected from the group consisting of TCP/IP, Wi/FI, Zigbee®, Z-Wave®, Bluetooth®, XHTML® Basic, Nokia's XHTML Mobile Profile, and WAP by the Open Mobile Alliance. The access control information used in the invention includes the following technology such as a pass code, token, biometric identification information, the timeslot, date, and information identifying a property door and an apartment door. While certain features and aspects have been described with respect to exemplary embodiments, one skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications are possible. Further, while various methods and processes described herein may be described with respect to particular structural and/or functional components for ease of description, methods provided by various embodiments are not limited to any particular structural and/or functional architecture. Hence, while various embodiments are described with or without certain features for ease of description and to illustrate exemplary aspects of those embodiments, the various components and/or features described herein with respect to a particular embodiment can be substituted, added, and/or subtracted from among other described embodiments, unless the context dictates otherwise. Consequently, although several exemplary embodiments are described above, it will be appreciated that the invention is intended to cover all modifications and equivalents within the scope of the following claims. In some embodiments the method or methods described above may be executed or carried out by a computing system including a tangible computer-readable storage medium, also described herein as a storage machine, that holds machine-readable instructions executable by a logic machine (i.e. a processor or programmable control device) to provide, implement, perform, and/or enact the above described methods, processes and/or tasks. When such methods and processes are implemented, the state of the storage machine may be changed to hold different data. For example, the storage machine may include memory devices such as various hard disk drives, CD, or DVD devices. The logic machine may execute machine-readable instructions via one or more physical information and/or logic processing devices. For example, the logic machine may be configured to execute instructions to perform tasks for a computer program. The logic machine may include one or more processors to execute the machine-readable instructions. The computing system may include a display subsystem to display a graphical user interface (GUI) or any visual element of the methods or processes described above. For example, the display subsystem, storage machine, and logic machine may be integrated such that the above method may be executed while visual elements of the disclosed system and/or method are displayed on a display screen for user consumption. The computing system may include an input subsystem that receives user input. The input subsystem may be configured to connect to and receive input from devices such as a mouse, keyboard or gaming controller. For example, a user input may indicate a request that certain task is to be executed by the computing system, such as requesting the computing system to display any of the above-described information or requesting that the user input updates or modifies existing stored information for processing. A communication subsystem may allow the methods described above to be executed or provided over a computer network. For example, the communication subsystem may be configured to enable the computing system to communicate with a plurality of personal computing devices. The communication subsystem may include wired and/or wireless communication devices to facilitate networked communication. The described methods or processes may be executed, provided, or implemented for a user or one or more computing devices via a computer-program product such as via an application programming interface (API). Since many modifications, variations, and changes in detail can be made to the described embodiments of the invention, it is intended that all matters in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Furthermore, it is understood that any of the features presented in the embodiments may be integrated into any of the other embodiments unless explicitly stated otherwise. The scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents. In addition, the present invention has been described with reference to embodiments, it should be noted and understood that various modifications and variations can be crafted by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing disclosure should be interpreted as illustrative only and is not to be interpreted in a limiting sense. Further it is intended that any other embodiments of the present invention that result from any changes in application or method of use or operation, method of manufacture, shape, size, or materials which are not specified within the detailed written description or illustrations contained herein are considered within the scope of the present invention. Insofar as the description above and the accompanying drawings disclose any additional subject matter that is not within the scope of the claims below, the inventions are not dedicated to the public and the right to file one or more applications to claim such additional inventions is reserved. Although very narrow claims are presented herein, it should be recognized that the scope of this invention is much broader than presented by the claim. It is intended that broader claims will be submitted in an application that claims the benefit of priority from this application. While this invention has been described with respect to at least one embodiment, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims. | 87,465 |
11861533 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG.1is a diagram of a system100for a network-based work assignment platform, according to an example embodiment. It is to be noted that the components are shown schematically in greatly simplified form, with only those components relevant to understanding of the embodiments being illustrated. Furthermore, the various components (that are identified in theFIG.1) are illustrated and the arrangement of the components is presented for purposes of illustration only. It is to be noted that other arrangements with more or less components are possible without departing from the teachings of providing and operating a network-based work assignment platform presented herein and below. The system100provides a platform by which establishments can quickly and efficiently fill work assignments and/or shift-based work with available workers. The system100permits pairing of underemployed workers with open and unstaffed shifts of employers in need. The workers are vetted in accordance with employer-defined requirements before being matched with a given employer. The system100provides a digital and network-based marketplace for temporary and shift-based work shortages of employers and workers in need of or desiring work for wages. Furthermore, a variety of worker payment methods are used including peer-to-peer (P2P) payment systems. The system100includes a registration, assignment, and management system110(may also be referred to herein as “registration system110,” “assignment system110,” and/or “management system110”), employer work scheduling systems120, employer payment systems130, P2P payment systems140, a plurality of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)150, worker devices160, and employer devices170. The registration, assignment, and management system110includes a plurality of software modules comprising executable instructions. A server or a plurality of servers logically organized as a cloud processing environment (cloud) comprises hardware processors and non-transitory computer-readable storage media having the executable instructions. When the executable instructions are executed by the processors from the non-transitory computer-readable storage media, the processors perform the processing recited herein and below for the registration, assignment, and management system110. Similarly, systems120,130, and140include a plurality of software modules comprising executable instructions that are executed by processors on servers or clouds causing the corresponding processors to perform the processing discussed herein and below for systems120,130, and140. APIs150are executable instructions representing commands or operations that are executed by processors associated with the servers or clouds for systems110-140and/or devices160and170. Worker devices160include a mobile application (app)/web-based interface161, which is executed as executable instructions by the corresponding processors of the worker devices160to perform the processing discussed herein and below for the mobile app/web-based interface160. Similarly, employer devices160include a mobile app/web-based interface170, which is executed as executable instructions by the corresponding processors of employer devices160to perform processing discussed herein and below for employer devices170. Mobile apps/web-based interface171of employer devices170are operated by employers in need of filling a temporary or shift-based job at an establishment of requesting employers. An employer-based interface is presented on employer device170, which permits the employer to define the job that is need, the time frame for the job, and requirements of an applicant seeking to take the defined job. The criteria for the job is defined through selections and entries made in the interface by the employer and mobile app/web-based interface171processes an API150to communicate the job and job criteria to registration, assignment, and management system110. It is noted that mobile app/web-based interface171also initially registers a given employer for the network-based work assignment platform through the employer-facing interface and APIs150. Employer registration may entail identification of appropriate APIs150that allow registration, assignment, and management system110to access the corresponding registering employer's work scheduling system120and payment system130. Initial employer registration may also permit an employer to register a P2P identifier or an account for a P2P payment system140. APIs150may be processed by employer payment systems130and P2P payment systems140for payment coordination and audit/compliance tracking. Employer registration may also require documentation to be imaged through the interface and provided to registration, assignment, and management system110using APIs150for such things as evidence of a valid liquor license, food safety certification, other certifications, licenses, and physical locations of establishments of a registering employer. In a similar manner, each of the individual workers operate interfaces provided by mobile app/web-based interface161on that individual's worker device160to register for temporary or shift-based work through the APIs150and registration, assignment, and management system110. The registering worker also provides a variety of information through the interface, which is vetted for accuracy and truthfulness. Such information may include existing licenses, existing certifications, work history, work references and contact details, age, name, bank account, P2P payment identifier, etc. Mobile app/web-based interface161also reports the corresponding worker device's geolocation when interacting with registration, assignment, and management system110. After registration, employers and potential temporary employers (workers) are accessible through a network-based work assignment platform via system100. The platform forms a network of employers and employees interconnected with one another via registration, assignment, and management system110utilizing or processing APIs150. An employer operates interface of that employer's device170to access the corresponding mobile app/web-based interface171that processes the corresponding APIs150and posts to the platform/network temporary work or shift with corresponding requirements/criteria for hiring a worker for that temporary work. This creates an opening for temporary work on the platform published and visible, in some cases, to corresponding workers seeking work through their mobile app/web-based interface161. Simultaneously, or even independently of the employer. A given employee may operating mobile app/web-based interface161of that employee's device160and post a request for work to the platform. So, employers can post specific jobs that need to be filled for specific locations and specific work and workers can post requests for work at specific dates, times of day, day of week, and specific types of work. In some cases, workers may also request work assignments with specific employers on the platform. Registration, assignment, and management system110also processes a matching algorithm to closely match specific workers with specific skill sets to specific employers for specific jobs. The matching can be based on a plurality of factors, such as ratings provided by registered workers for a given employer, ratings provided by registered employers for a given employee, criteria required by a given employer for the job posted, criteria requested or required by a given employee for a specific job and/or a specific employer, geographical location of the job relative to geographical location of the potential employees desiring the job, etc. In an embodiment, registration, assignment, and management system110processes a trained machine-learning algorithm that was trained on a variety of input variables such as: geographical locations of employers and workers, day of week for a given job, calendar day for the given job, time of day required for the given job, criteria for the job, criteria desired by the worker, ratings of the employer, ratings for the employee, work history of employee, wage offered for the job, type of job, etc. The trained machine-learning is trained on the input and outcome ratings obtained after a job is finished as provided by the employer and employee. The machine-learning algorithm is thusly optimized to provide a ranked listing of matches between a an employer with a given job and a requesting employee. Once the platform is populated with employers having jobs and workers requesting work, matches are made by registration, assignment, and management system110to match a given employer's posted job opening with a requesting worker. A single match or multiple matches of workers to a single job are sent via API150to mobile app/web-based interface171of the employer that needs to fill that job. The employer may see a ranked listing of potential workers to fill the job based on all the input provided for the job criteria and worker ratings. In an embodiment, the employer can when posting the job custom-define the criteria for ranking matches to the job. In an embodiment, mobile app/web-based interface161includes interface options that allows the employer to dynamically change the ranking and sorting of potential workers to dynamically re-render the rankings based on an employer-defined criterion or set of criteria made within the mobile app/web-based interface161. When an employer selects a worker for a given job while operating mobile app/web-based interface171, the employer can provide instructions, key codes (employee code for time clock, cash register, door, safe, etc.), contact numbers, contact emails, employer name, etc. needed by the selected worker for filling the job, and such job-specific information is sent from mobile app/web-based interface171through API150to registration, assignment, and management system110. Registration, assignment, and management system110notes the employer's acceptance in an audit trail maintained and forwards through the platform the offer for the job to the selected worker via API150to the corresponding worker's mobile app/web-based interface161. The selected worker can then decline the job or accept the job through mobile app/web-based interface161. In either case of acceptance or non-acceptance and audit trail is maintained by registration, assignment, and management system110. Assuming a selected worker accepts the job, the job-specific details are provided to the selected worker through mobile app/web-based interface161. The selected worker and corresponding employer may then communicate outside the platform directly through out-of-band communications if needed (out-of-band from the network/platform through direct device-to-device texting, voice calls, emails, etc. Once the worker completes the job based on an event raised or provided, such as the scheduled shift ends for the job and the event is raised through work scheduling system120through API150or the original posting employer or authorized delegate of the posting employer indicates through mobile app/web-based interface171the job is completed, registration, assignment, and management system110uses existing job criteria (wage rate or pay amount) to cause an invoice to be generated or a payment event to be raised through API150to a corresponding payment system130and/or P2P payment system140. Payment for a given job can be processed in a variety of manners including direct bank to bank transfers from the employer to the worker, direct P2P payments, end of week payments, check generated payments within a predefined period of time, etc. Payment timing and method of payment may also be detailed in the job criteria set by the employer when posting the job through the platform. In an embodiment, the platform provided by system100is subscription based for the employer and/or worker, such that a monthly fee is charged for accessing the platform. In an embodiment, the platform provided by system100is transactional based for employer and/or worker, such that predefined fees are collected for posting jobs, accepting jobs, and/or completing jobs. In an embodiment, the platform provided by system100supports real-time payments and on-demand payment options to both the employer and/or worker. A worker (through mobile app/web-based interface161) can opt-in to, and for a fee, be provided with an instant negotiated payment either at the time of acceptance by the worker or at a time that the worker clocks out. Any job that receives tips as part of its compensation can be provided a portion of the worker's tip share as well. Registration, assignment, and management system110generates invoices detailing payments and fees collected for the platform and can provide directly to the posting employer or the corresponding payment system130through APIs150. In an embodiment, the platform provided by system100can use a prefunded account to make payments for jobs on behalf of employers as jobs are completed. In this way, system100may not require access to the employer's banking information and payments are made through a prefunded deposit account, which the employer funded in advance of any completed job requiring payment. In an embodiment, the platform provided by system100can uses its own bank account or P2P payment account to make payments for jobs on behalf of the employer. In such cases, a fee for advancing payment for jobs may be charged to the employer when the platform invoices employer for advancing the payments at negotiated intervals of time. In an embodiment, each employer's hired workers are maintained by registration, assignment, and management system110and available for viewing and inspecting by the corresponding employer through mobile app/web-based interface171. Such information can include working contact details, working assigned employee number, work history with the employer and other employers that the worker performed work for on the platform, wages earned to date, worker ratings, any comments provided by an employer for a given job performed by the worker, etc. In an embodiment, registration, assignment, and management system110interacts with an employer's work scheduling systems120and/or Human Resources (HR) systems to integrated in a closed loop fashion all work history, comments, ratings, and payment history for any worker hired for a job of the employer. This may entail generating temporary time clock codes, employee codes, pass codes, etc. In this way, the platform of system100is fully integrated with existing systems of an employer and provides needed audit and compliance records for any hired worker (temporary employee). The platform provided by system100supports the gig economy, which the industry is rapidly evolving towards. Employers are saved a significant amount of management time associated with filling jobs and the jobs can be filled in real time, such that when an existing employee has an emergency or is sick that employee's shift can be quickly filled with a fully vetted gig worker through the platform (which may also in turn improve the quality of life of some managers who are forced to work when an existing employee calls in sick or is otherwise unable to work a given shift). The gig workers are provided more control and certainty over earning wages by matching the workers with jobs in real time. Moreover, workers in need of cash to pay bills/rent can be paid in real time after performing the job. The platform of system100is particular well suited to address shift-based jobs; although it may also be used for salary-based jobs that pay a set amount for a specific task. In an embodiment, devices160and170can include any of: mobile phones, laptops, desktop computers, wearable processing devices, and network-based voice-enabled network appliances associated with the Internet-of-Things (IoTs). In an embodiment, mobile app/web-based interfaces161and171support two-way video conferencing that permits the worker and the hiring employer to conduct interviews. In an embodiment and with acknowledgement of both parties, the video log is retained on behalf of the employer in an audit trail. In an embodiment, mobile app/web-based interfaces161support a post job set of comments or survey in addition to the employer-provided rating of the worker and worker-provided rating of the employer. Registration, assignment, and management system110may generate a summary of a plurality of workers for a given employer detailing answers to the survey, comments, and worker-provided ratings. Such information may be used for continuous improvement of the employer in its operations. In an embodiment, mobile app/web-based interfaces161and171provide a searching interface for employees and employers to defined criteria and search for corresponding workers and/or employers that currently satisfy the user-defined criteria and are available on the platform. In an embodiment, mobile app/web-based interface171provides options for an employer to reach out directly to workers not listed as being currently available for a given job. In an embodiment, the employer can modify and raise the payment amount for a posted job based on a lack of any acceptable match to any worker that is currently available on the platform. It is to be noted that system100may also be processed to coordinate offers (job shift offers) between workers to take each other's scheduled work shift. APIs may be processed through multiple mobile app/web-based interfaces161/171associated with multiple worker devices160or employer devices170for purposes of one worker posting an offer for a different worker to cover the posting worker's scheduled shift. For example, worker A may make an offer that is visible to worker B only or to all workers of a given employer) to take a scheduled shift for $20 (plus worker B who was not scheduled to work the shift of worker A receives payment for working the shift from the corresponding employer). Payment can be collected through a designated P2P payment system140of either worker A or worker B. Additionally, a manager associated with a given job performed may add payments to the worker that performed the job at the end of a shift that is separate from payment for performing the job. This may be used to add that worker's share of the tips that a worker had during a shift, which was not capable of being calculated until tips were calculated. So, workers of a same employer may utilize the platform to make offers for other co-workers to pay them for taking scheduled shifts and such payment can be made instantly via a P2P Payment system140. In fact, separate options may be presented to post within defined groupings of employees for a single employer to facilitate employees working out shifts on their own and making sure they are properly covered for the employer. Additionally, managers can facilitate late payments directly to a worker based on a discovered situation that necessitates additional payments beyond just an hourly rate for performing the job (which as stated above is particularly beneficial for tip-based jobs and workers). These and other embodiments are now discussed with reference toFIGS.2-4. FIG.2is a diagram of a method200for operating a network-based work assignment platform, according to an example embodiment. The software module(s) that implements the method200is referred to as a “work-assignment platform service.” The work-assignment platform service is implemented as executable instructions programmed and residing within memory and/or a non-transitory computer-readable (processor-readable) storage medium and executed by one or more processors of a device. The processor(s) of the device that executes the work-assignment platform service are specifically configured and programmed to process the work-assignment platform service. The work-assignment platform service has access to one or more network connections during its processing. The network connections can be wired, wireless, or a combination of wired and wireless. In an embodiment, the device that executes the work-assignment platform service is a server. In an embodiment, the server is a cloud processing environment that comprises multiple servers cooperating with one another as a single server. In an embodiment, the work-assignment platform service is all of or some combination of110-150. In an embodiment, the work-assignment platform service is provided as a subscription-based private network over the Internet representing a network-based work assignment platform. At210, the work-assignment platform service registers a plurality of employers and a plurality of workers on a network-based work assignment platform. In an embodiment, the network-based work assignment platform requires user identifications and credentials, which are enforced by the work-assignment platform service during a login into the network-based work assignment platform. In an embodiment, at211, the work-assignment platform service creates work profiles for the plurality of workers. Each work profile comprising information supplied by a registering worker. The information, by way of example only, comprising: worker contact information, a geographic range assigned by the corresponding worker (an indication as to the geographical area that the worker is willing to work within), a payment account of the corresponding worker (can be a bank account or a P2P identifier for a P2P payment service), types of work desired by the corresponding worker, work references and reference contact information, worker contact information, a work history, any certifications held by the corresponding worker, any licenses held by the corresponding worker, and worker-defined job criteria for any job desired by the corresponding worker. In an embodiment of211and at212, the work-assignment platform service creates employer profiles for the plurality of employers. Each employer profile comprising information obtaining from a registering employer. The information comprising, by way of example only, payment accounts and payment systems of the corresponding employer (banking accounts and/or P2P payment identifiers for P2P payment systems), work scheduling systems of the corresponding employer, human resources systems of the corresponding employers, types of jobs offered by the corresponding employer, certifications and licenses of the corresponding employer, geographic locations of the jobs offered by the corresponding employer, and employer-defined job criteria for each of the jobs. At220, the work-assignment platform service receives, on the network-based work assignment platform, a temporary job posting from a registered employer. In an embodiment of212and220, at221, the work-assignment platform service receives specific job requirements with the temporary job posting. At230, the work-assignment platform service matches, on the network-based work assignment platform a temporary job associated with the temporary job posting to a registered worker. In an embodiment of221and230, at231, the work-assignment platform service provides a trained machine-learning algorithm with the corresponding employer profile of the registered employer, the worker profiles, and the specific job requirements. The work-assignment platform service obtains from the trained machine-learning algorithm a ranked listing of potential workers with the registered worker being ranked first in the ranked listing. In an embodiment of221and230, at232, the work-assignment platform service searches the worker profiles using the corresponding employer profile of the registered employer and the specific job requirements for obtaining a listing of matching workers. The work-assignment platform service sorts the listing with the registered worker being ranked first in the listing. At240, the work-assignment platform service coordinates, on the network-based work assignment platform, performance of the temporary job and a payment to the registered worker when the temporary job is completed for the registered employer by the registered worker. In an embodiment, at241, the work-assignment platform service receives a selection made by the registered employer from a ranked listing of matching workers that identifies and includes the registered worker. The work-assignment platform service receives specific temporary job information with the selection and sends the specific temporary job information to the registered worker. The specific temporary job information can include a variety of information such as, by way of example only, a temporary employee number, a time-clock code, a pass code, contact information for a manager, directions to the temporary job site, and other information. In an embodiment, the work-assignment platform service maintains the specific temporary job information and supplies a link to the registered worker, which when activated from a worker device retrieves or displays the specific temporary job information. In an embodiment of241, at242, the work-assignment platform service receives an acknowledgment from the registered worker, provides the specific temporary job information to the registered worker, and sends the acknowledgement to the registered employer. In an embodiment of242, at243, the work-assignment platform service provides the corresponding worker contact information from the corresponding worker profile of the registered worker to the registered employer. In an embodiment of243, at244, the work-assignment platform service processes an API and schedules the temporary job with the corresponding worker's contact information in the corresponding work scheduling system from the corresponding employer profile of the registered employer. In an embodiment of244, at245, the work-assignment platform service processes a payment for completion of the temporary job based on an event raised from the corresponding work scheduling system using the corresponding payment account and the corresponding payment system of the registered employer along with the corresponding payment account from the corresponding worker profile associated with the registered worker. FIG.3is a diagram of another method300for operating a network-based work assignment platform, according to an example embodiment. The software module(s) that implements the method300is referred to as a “worker assignment manager.” The worker assignment manager is implemented as executable instructions programmed and residing within memory and/or a non-transitory computer-readable (processor-readable) storage medium and executed by one or more processors of a device. The processors that execute the worker assignment manager are specifically configured and programmed to process the worker assignment manager. The worker assignment manager has access to one or more network connections during its processing. The network connections can be wired, wireless, or a combination of wired and wireless. In an embodiment, the device that executes the worker assignment manager is a server. In an embodiment, the server is a cloud processing environment that comprises multiple servers cooperating with one another as a single server In an embodiment, the worker assignment manager is all or some combination of110-150, and/or the method200. The worker assignment manager presents another and, in some ways, enhanced processing perspective to that which was described above with theFIG.2. At310, the worker assignment manager provides worker interfaces to worker devices associated with workers. At320, the worker assignment manager provides employer interfaces to employer devices associated with employers. At330, the worker assignment manager obtains through the worker interfaces worker profiles for the workers. At340, the worker assignment manager obtains through the employer interfaces employer profiles for the employers. At350, the worker assignment manager provides a work assignment platform through network connections between the worker interfaces and the employer interfaces with the worker assignment manager. At360, the worker assignment manager matches, on the work assignment platform, particular workers to temporary jobs posted to the work assignment platform through particular employer interfaces of particular employers and based, at least in part, on the corresponding worker profiles of the particular workers, the corresponding employer profiles of the particular employers, and temporary job criteria that defines requirements for the temporary jobs. In an embodiment, at361, the worker assignment manager provides ranked listings of matching workers to the particular employer interfaces based on, at least in part, the temporary job criteria. In an embodiment of361and at362, the worker assignment manager sorts the ranked listings based on employer-provided sorting criteria provided through the particular employer interfaces. In an embodiment of361and at363, the worker assignment manager sorts the ranked listings based on worker ratings maintained on the work assignment platform for the matching workers through the particular employer interfaces. At370, the worker assignment manager processes, on or through the work assignment platform, payments from the particular employers to the particular workers once the temporary jobs are completed by the particular workers. In an embodiment, at371, the worker assignment manager receives employer ratings from the particular workers upon completion and payment for the temporary jobs. The worker assignment manager also maintains the employer ratings with the particular employer profiles on the work assignment platform. In an embodiment, at372, the worker assignment manager receives worker ratings from the particular employers upon completion and payment for the temporary jobs. The worker assignment manager also maintains the worker ratings with the particular worker profiles on the work assignment platform. In an embodiment, at380, the worker assignment manager provides searching and browsing operations through the worker interfaces and the employer interfaces for current posted temporary jobs and current available workers to take any posted jobs. The current posted temporary jobs and current available workers maintained by the worker assignment manager on the work assignment platform. FIG.4is a diagram of a system400for another network-based work assignment platform, according to an example embodiment. The system400includes a variety of hardware components and software components. The software components of the system400are programmed and reside within memory and/or a non-transitory computer-readable medium and execute on one or more processors of the system400. The system400communicates over one or more networks, which can be wired, wireless, or a combination of wired and wireless. In an embodiment, the system400implements, inter alia, the processing described above with theFIGS.1-3. The system400is the system100. The system400includes a network-based work assignment platform401comprising at least one server402having a processor403and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium404. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium404comprising executable instructions405. Worker devices410and employer devices420interact with the platform401and the server402through worker interfaces executing on processors of the worker devices410and through employer interfaces executing on processers of the employer devices420. In an embodiment, the executable instructions405is all of or some combination of: the registration, assignment, and management system110, the APIs150, the method200, and/or the method300. The executable instructions405when executed by the processor403from the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium404of the server401cause the processor403to perform processing comprising: 1) maintaining worker profiles for workers subscribed to the network-based work assignment platform401; 2) maintaining employer profiles for employers subscribed to the network-based work assignment platform401; 3) posting on the network-based work assignment platform401temporary job openings as defined by the employers; 4) matching select workers to the temporary job openings based at least in part on the worker profiles, the employer profiles, and job-specific criteria provided in the temporary job openings; and 5) monitoring and processing, on the network-based work assignment platform401, completion of temporary jobs associated with the temporary job openings and payments from the employers to the select workers. In an embodiment, the executable instructions405when executed by the processor403from the medium404further cause the processor403to perform additional processing comprising: 1) providing a first API to worker interfaces of worker devices410associated with the workers to interface from the worker devices410with the network-based work assignment platform401; and 2) providing a second API to employer interfaces to employer devices420associated with the employers to interface from the employer devices420with the network-based work assignment platform401. In an embodiment, the worker interfaces and the employer interfaces comprise one or more of: a mobile application and a web-based or browser-based interface accessible through a browser. In an embodiment, the at least one server401comprises a plurality of servers401logically organized and cooperating as a cloud processing environment (cloud). In an embodiment, worker devices410and employer devices420comprise one or more of: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktop computers, wearable processing devices, and network-based voice-enabled devices (IoTs devices). It should be appreciated that where software is described in a particular form (such as a component or module) this is merely to aid understanding and is not intended to limit how software that implements those functions may be architected or structured. For example, modules are illustrated as separate modules, but may be implemented as homogenous code, as individual components, some, but not all of these modules may be combined, or the functions may be implemented in software structured in any other convenient manner. Furthermore, although the software modules are illustrated as executing on one piece of hardware, the software may be distributed over multiple processors or in any other convenient manner. The above description is illustrative, and not restrictive. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of embodiments should therefore be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the foregoing description of the embodiments, various features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting that the claimed embodiments have more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Description of the Embodiments, with each claim standing on its own as a separate exemplary embodiment. | 35,572 |
11861534 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Therefore, there is a need for a technical solution including a system, method, and computer program that can automate the process to identify most effective interviewers to evaluate and validate different aspects of a job candidate in an objective and uniform manner, and a further need for scheduling a group of interviewers based on rules, where the rules may take into consideration availabilities of the potential interviewers and the predicted effectiveness of the interviewers. Implementations of the disclosure may provide a computer system which may include a software tool (referred to as an “intelligent scheduler”) implemented on a hardware processing device. The intelligent scheduler may use objective criteria to automate or facilitate the scheduling of a candidate interview with an organization, reducing or eliminating the reliance on the subjective judgement of the interview coordinator, and further saving the time for the interview coordinator used to manually arrange the interview agenda. The intelligent scheduler may take into consideration a first set of data points describing attributes of the candidate, a second set of data points describing the job opening, and a third set of data points describing a pool of potential interviewers available to the organization. The intelligent scheduler may further include a machine learning component that may had been generated using a training data according to performance criteria. The machine learning component may compute match scores of the potential interviewers with respect to an aspect to be evaluated and validated, and rank the potential interviewers according to the match scores indicating their predicted effectiveness to evaluate and validate the aspect during the interview. In one implementation, a pre-processor of the intelligent scheduler may first convert the first set of data points describing attributes of the candidate, the second set of data points describing the job opening, and the third set of data points describing a pool of potential interviewers into data inputs that are suitable to be processed by the machine learning component. Responsive to receiving the data inputs, the processing device may execute the trained machine learning component to determine interviewers whose knowledge and skills likely match those of the candidate. In one implementation, the machine learning component may calculate a match score for each one in the pool of potential interviewers with respect to the candidate, and rank the potential interviewers according to their match scores. The intelligent scheduler may further include a post-processor to select interviewers based on the match scores for different aspects and may further generate a personalized interview sheet for each selected interviewer. The intelligent scheduler may transmit an interview invitation to the corresponding selected interviewer along with the generated interview sheet. Compared to the manual process to arrange the candidate interview by the interview coordinator, the intelligent scheduler as implemented takes into multiple data points including those beyond the reach of or commonly considered by the interview coordinator and analyzes these data points using a machine learning model created according to objective criteria, thus resulting in the selection of more effective interviewers for the interview and achieving objective and comprehensive evaluations of the candidate. A machine learning model can generate outputs based on received inputs and the parameters. The model may be specified by parameters that may be tuned through a parameter training process. Further, the intelligent scheduler may also provide tools to reduce the workload of the interview coordinator. The tools may include a user interface for confirming the selected interviewers, presenting the interview agenda with time slots filled with the selected interviewers and their information, and generating branded notification (e.g., e-mail) to the candidate. Thus, instead of fully replacing the interview coordinator, the intelligent scheduler may produce optimal matches, measured using objective criteria, between the skill set of the interviewers and the candidate, and provide tools that may reduce the workload of the interview coordinator. To this end, implementations of the disclosure provide practical solutions that improve the process to schedule job interviews for an organization, improving the speed and quality to arrange an interview. FIG.1illustrates a system100for generating an interview schedule according to an implementation of the disclosure. System100can be a standalone computer system or a networked computing resource implemented in a computing cloud. Referring toFIG.1, system100may include a processing device102and a storage device104communicatively coupled to processing device102. Processing device102can be a hardware processor such as a central processing unit (CPU), a graphic processing unit (GPU), or an accelerator circuit. Processing device102can be a programmable device that may be programmed to implement an intelligent scheduler106which may include a pre-processor108, a machine learning component110, and a post-processor112. The intelligent scheduler106may optionally include an evaluation component120. Storage device104can be a hard disk or a cloud storage that may store data points used by the intelligent scheduler and the results generated by the intelligent scheduler. The data points used by the intelligent scheduler may include the candidate data points114, the interviewer data points116, and the job data points118. Candidate data points114include data sources that contain information pertaining to the candidate. Interviewer data points116include data sources that contain information pertaining to the pool of potential interviewers associated with the organization. Job data points118include data sources that contain information pertaining to the job opening. Processing device102may receive and process these data point to generate an interview schedule. In one implementation, processing device102may execute the intelligent scheduler including execution of pre-processor108that may convert these unincorporated data points into data inputs that may be processed by machine learning component110. Processing device102may further execute machine learning component110to process the data inputs to generate lists of ranked potential interviewers, where each list is associated with one or more aspects. The machine learning component110may include a machine learning model that had previously been created using a training data set. During the train step, parameters of the machine learning model may be modified until the machine learning component110reaches certain performance criteria. The generated lists of ranked potential interviewers may include interviewers identified based on match scores as suitable to interview the candidate. The machine learning component110may select interviewers based on rules such as, for example, selecting interviewers whose match scores are higher than a threshold value. The machine learning component110may also identify alternative interviewers to substitute the selected ones in case if any of the selected ones declines the interview. Processing device102may execute post-processor112to manage time conflicts for selected interviewers, generate personalized interview sheets, and notify the selected interviewers by sending the interview sheets. Based on the availability of interviewers and their match scores, post-processor112may select qualified interviewers and assign them in time slots in the interview schedule. Further, each interviewer may be identified to evaluate and validate a certain aspect of the candidate. For example, an interviewer may be assigned to evaluate and validate a programming skill (e.g., Python). To this end, post-processor112may provide a list of questions and answers for evaluating the programming skills on the interview sheet prepared for the interviewer, and transmit the interview sheet with the list of questions and answers to the interviewer. The following sections describe intelligent scheduler106in detail. In one implementation, pre-processor106may be used to prepare the data inputs for machine learning component108. Pre-processor106may retrieve unincorporated data points relating to the candidate, the pool of potential interviewers, and the job openings. These data points are unincorporated because they come from independent sources both internal and external to the organization. These documents may contain information that is useful for the machine learning component108and also information that is irrelevant to the machine learning component because these documents often contain diverse elements prepared to attract human readers' attention. Thus, pre-processor106may need to convert the diverse data points that may be suitable for human readers into data inputs in formats suitable for processing by processing device102executing the machine learning component106. In one implementation, processing device102may execute the pre-processor106to convert the candidate data points114, the interviewer data points116, and the job data points118into data inputs to data inputs to the machine learning component118.FIG.2illustrates a system implementing pre-processor116according to an implementation of the disclosure. Referring toFIG.2, processing device102may execute the pre-processor106to, at202, determine, based on job data points118and candidate data points114, aspects of the candidate to be evaluated208; at204, determine, based on the candidate data points, an enriched talent profile of the candidate210; at206, determine, based on interviewer data points, enriched talent profiles212of potential interviewers in the pool. In one implementation, at202, processing device102may determine, based on job data points118and candidate data points114, aspects of the candidate to be evaluated during the interview. The aspects to be evaluated during the interview may include job skills relevant to the job as well as personal traits such as, for example, the level of interest towards the job, the level of effort, team work attitude etc. Job data points118may provide a job description that may include public information such as, for example, the job title; responsibilities of the job; education, training, and certifications required for the job; skills required or preferred to perform the job; prior working experience. The job data points118may also include additional information implicitly related to the job. The additional information may include a profile of a qualified candidate previously hired for a same or similar position within the organization or predicted based on candidates previously hired for a same or similar position within the organization. The profiles of the qualified candidates may include their resumes, supplemental data (e.g., personal web pages, social network pages, professional work products such as technical publications, open source software contributions, awards) associated with the qualified candidates, and assessed skill levels of the qualified candidates. In one implementation, job data points may provide the job description and the additional information that are retrieved from independent sources (e.g., intranet sources and Internet source). Alternatively, job data points may provide the job description and the additional information from a single source. For example, the pre-processor108may combine the job description and the additional information into a calibrated job profile214and store calibrated job profile214on storage device104. Processing device may execute pre-processor108to retrieve information relating to the candidate to be interviewed from candidate data points114. The retrieved information may include a profile of the candidate to be interviewed and supplemental data relating to the candidate to be interviewed. The profile may include the candidate resume containing skills, past employments, responsibilities and duration of these employments, a training history, and an education history including schools, fields of study, grade point average (GPA), rankings, and degrees. The supplemental data may include personal web pages/blogs/video postings, social network pages (e.g., LinkedIn and or Facebook pages), professional work products (e.g., technical publications, open source software contributions), patents, professional references, awards etc. In addition to the first-order data points such as the profile and the supplemental data retrieved from different sources, processing device102may also receive or generate second-order information such as insights about the candidate. The insights can be predicted future job titles, predicted future employers, predicted future seniority levels, predicted future skills to acquire, and predicted tenure duration with the organization. These predictions may be calculated using a second machine learning model. In one implementation, pre-processor108may combine the profile of the candidate, the supplemental data of the candidate, and the second-order information to create an enriched talent profile object210for the candidate and store enriched talent profile210on storage device104. In one implementation, pre-processor108may further process the information extracted from job data points118and the information extracted from candidate data points114to generate aspects of the candidates to be evaluated and validated during the interview. As discussed above, the aspects may include job skills and personal traits. The job skills may include knowledge and experience relating to a programming language (e.g., Java, C, Python etc.), a development environment, a system design, or a circuit design. The personal traits may include the level of interest towards the job, the level of effort, team work attitude etc. The pre-processor108may include a comparator that may compare the information extracted from job data points118and the information extracted from candidate data points114to generate one or more aspects for evaluation during the interview. In one implementation, the comparator can be executable program code that, when executed by processing device102, may read the information extracted from job data points118and the information extracted from candidate data points114, and identify aspects that are specified in the job description and indicated to be possessed by the candidate. In addition to the aspects that are expressly specified in the job description, pre-processor108may also identify relevant aspects that are not expressly specified in the job description. For example, pre-processor108may identify certain aspects relating to the expressly specified aspects. These related aspects can be, for example, a pre-requisite to a specified skill. Evaluation of the pre-requisite skill may be useful for validating the skill specified in the job description. In one implementation, the comparator may perform keyword matching between the calibrated job profile214and the enriched talent profile210of the candidate. A keyword dictionary may define a list of keywords that each may match a corresponding aspect. For each aspect defined in the keyword dictionary, pre-processor108may determine whether the aspect is specified in the calibrated job profile214expressly or implicitly by relationship and whether the aspect is presented in enriched talent profile210of the candidate. Responsive to determining that the aspect presents both in the calibrated job profile214and the enriched talent profile210of the candidate, pre-processor108may designate the determined aspect as one to be evaluated during the interview. In one implementation, each keyword in the keyword dictionary corresponds to one aspect that can be evaluated. In another implementation, the keyword dictionary may include a relationship graph in which keywords are linked based on their similarities (e.g., a similarity measurements in a range of [0, 1] with zero representing no relation and one representing 100% correlation. Thus, pre-processor108may determine the aspect based on an approximate match among keywords. Pre-processor108may further provide a graphic user interface including a view to display the calibrated job profile214with aspects highlighted, a view to display the enriched talent profile with aspects highlighted, and a view to display the aspects, where each of the aspects is associated with a select element for the interview coordinator to confirm whether to select the corresponding aspect. Responsive to receiving an activation of the select element, the pre-processor may store the selected aspect in storage device104as aspects to be evaluated208during the interview. As discussed above, at204, pre-processor108may further, based on the candidate data points114, generate enriched talent profile210for the candidate. Further, at206, pre-processor108may, based on interviewer data points116, generate enriched talent profiles212of potential interviewers. The process to generate an enriched talent profile212for a potential interviewer may be similar to the one used to generate enriched talent profile210of the candidate. For each potential interviewer, pre-processor108may extract a profile of the potential interviewer and supplemental data of the potential interviewer from interviewer data points116, where the profile may contain the following interviewer information: past roles and jobs, skills, employers as well as responsibilities and duration of these employments, a training history, and an education history including schools, fields of study, grade point average (GPA), rankings, and degrees, and the supplemental data may contain the following interviewer information: personal web pages/blogs/video postings, social network pages (e.g., LinkedIn and or Facebook pages), professional work products (e.g., technical publications, open source software contributions), patents, professional references, awards etc. Pre-processor108may then combine the profile and the supplemental data of the potential interviewer to form the enriched talent profile of the potential interviewer. In this way, pre-processor108may construct a collection of enriched talent profiles of all potential interviewers associated with the organization. Since the pool of potential interviewers are likely current employees that are relatively stable workforce, the enriched talent profiles of all potential interviewers may be generated in advance and stored in storage device104. Intelligent scheduler106may further include machine learning component110to process data inputs generated by pre-processor108.FIG.3illustrates a system implementing the machine learning component110according to an implementation of the disclosure. As shown inFIG.3, in one implementation, machine learning component110may include a machine learning model300that receive data inputs including aspects208to be evaluated during the interview, candidate enriched talent profile210, and potential interviewers' talent profiles212from pre-processor108. Processing device102may further execute machine learning model300to generate lists of ranked potential interviewers302, wherein each list is associated with a corresponding one of the aspects208, and each list includes a number of potential interviewers identified by machine learning model300as suitable to evaluate the aspect associated with the list and ranked by machine learning model300according to calculated match scores indicating the suitability of potential interviewers for evaluating the aspect of the candidate. For example, for each one of aspects208determined by pre-processor108, processing device102may execute machine learning model300to generate a corresponding list (A, B, . . . , or N) containing potential interviewers ranked according to match scores calculated by executing machine learning model300. In one implementation, for each aspect, processing device102may execute machine learning model300to calculate a respective match score for each potential interviewer and construct the list of potential interviewers in a ranking order based on the match score values (e.g., higher ranking order for higher match score value). Thus, machine learning model300may, for each aspect (A, B, . . . , N), generate a corresponding list (List A, List B, . . . , List N) containing potential interviews ranked according to their match score for the aspect. Machine learning in this disclosure refers to methods implemented on hardware processing device that uses statistical techniques and/or artificial neural networks to give computer the ability to “learn” (i.e., progressively improve performance on a specific task) from data without being explicitly programmed. The machine learning may use a parameterized model (referred to as “machine learning model”) that may be deployed using supervised learning/semi-supervised learning, unsupervised learning, or reinforced learning methods. Supervised/semi-supervised learning methods may train the machine learning models using labeled training examples. To perform a task using supervised machine learning model, a computer may use examples (commonly referred to as “training data”) to test the machine learning model and to adjust parameters of the machine learning model based on a performance measurement (e.g., the error rate). The process to adjust the parameters of the machine learning mode (commonly referred to as “train the machine learning model”) may generate a specific model that is to perform the practical task it is trained for. After training, the computer may receive new data inputs associated with the task and calculate, based on the trained machine learning model, an estimated output for the machine learning model that predicts an outcome for the task. Each training example may include input data and the corresponding desired output data, where the data can be in a suitable form such as a vector of numerical alphanumerical symbols. The learning process may be an iterative process. The process may include a forward propagation process to calculate an output based on the machine learning model and the input data fed into the machine learning model, and then calculate a difference between the desired output data and the calculated output data. The process may further include a backpropagation process to adjust parameters of the machine learning model based on the calculated difference. Unsupervised learning methods may find structure in data based on only the input data. Thus, unsupervised learning methods may learn about commonalities about the data from test data that are not labeled, classified, or categorized. Unsupervised learning methods may identify commonalities in a dataset and make decisions based on the presence/absence of the commonalities in the dataset. Reinforced learning methods may use agents (e.g., software agents) to react in an environment so as to maximize a reward function. The environment can be represented using a decision process. Reinforced learning methods may assume no knowledge of the exact mathematical model of the decision process and thus can be used when the exact model is difficult to determine. In one implementation, machine learning model300is a deep neural network (DNN) implemented on processing device102. A DNN may include multiple layers, in particular including an input layer for receiving data inputs, an output layer for generating outputs, and one or more hidden layers that each includes linear or non-linear computation elements (referred to as neurons) to perform the DNN computation propagated from the input layer to the output layer that may transform the data inputs to the outputs. Two adjacent layers may be connected by edges. Each of the edges may be associated with a parameter value (referred to as a synaptic weight value) that provide a scale factor to the output of a neuron in a prior layer as an input to one or more neurons in a subsequent layer. The synaptic weight values are determined by a training process of the DNN. During the training process, synaptic weight values may be tuned to perform the specific task of selecting interviewers with respect to an aspect. The training may be carried out using training data that may include pairs of data inputs and corresponding target outputs. These pairs may have been generated and labeled based on prior interviews where interviewers evaluate and validate one or more aspects of a candidate. The prior interviews used as the training data may include positive examples where the interviewers effectively evaluate and validate one or more aspects of the candidate (e.g., either in possession of or lack of the one or more skills). The prior interviews used as the training data may optionally also include negative examples where the interviewers could not evaluate or validate any aspect of the candidate. FIG.4illustrates a training process400to train a machine learning model300(e.g., a DNN model) according to an implementation of the disclosure. At402, the processing device implementing the training process may assign edges with initial synaptic weight values (e.g., a constant numerical value or random values). At404, the processing device implementing the training processing may perform a forward propagation calculation using the DNN that generates outputs based on data inputs in the training data. The data inputs in the training data may include the enriched talent profiles of previous candidates and the enriched talent profiles of previous interviewers with respect to one or more aspects (e.g., skills). The forward propagation calculation may propagate from the input layer through the hidden layers to the output layer to generate outputs. The generated outputs can be match scores indicating the effectiveness of the interviewers for evaluating and validating the one or more aspects. At406, the processing device implementing the training process may compare the calculated outputs with the target outputs obtained by the forward propagation calculation at404. The comparison may result in differences (referred to as errors) between the calculated outputs and the target outputs, where the outputs are match scores. At408, the processing device implementing the training process may determine whether the errors are within target performance ranges for the DNN. Responsive to determining that the errors exceed the target performance ranges, at410, the processing device implementing the training process may perform a backpropagation calculation that, according to pre-determined rules, adjusts the synaptic weigh values to toward reducing the errors. After adjusting the synaptic weight values, the processing device implementing the training process may repeat the forward propagation calculation and the backpropagation iteratively. Alternatively, responsive to determining that the errors are within the target performance ranges for the DNN, at412, the processing device implementing the training process may generate the DNN model that may be used at the machine learning model300as shown inFIG.3. In one implementation, the training process400can be offline training, where the machine learning model is trained in advance and the parameters of the machine learning model are not further adjusted after completion of the training. In another implementation, the training process can be online training, where the parameters of the machine learning model may be further updated responsive to receiving new results during the execution of machine learning component110as shown inFIG.2. As described above in conjunction withFIGS.3and4, processing device102executing the trained machine learning model300may receive candidate enriched talent profile210and interviewers' enriched talent profiles212and use trained machine learning model300to generate lists of ranked potential interviewers302with respect to one or more aspects208. Each of the lists associated with an aspect may contain potential interviewers ranked according to their corresponding match scores indicating the calculated effectiveness of the interviewer with respect to the aspect. Intelligent scheduler106may further include a post-processor112to select qualified interviewers for interviewing the candidate with respect to the one or more aspects.FIG.5illustrates a system implementing the post-processor112according to an implementation of the disclosure. As shown inFIG.5, in one implementation, post processor112may determine qualified interviewers and their availabilities, select interviewers (and back-up interviewers) based on rules, generate interview sheet personalized for each selected interviewer and notify the selected interviewers with the corresponding interview sheets. At502, processing device102executing post-processor112may, for a pre-determined interview schedule, determine qualified interviewers from the pool of ranked potential interviewers identified in the lists generated by machine learning model300. The interview schedule may have been set based on a schedule of the candidate. For example, the interview schedule may be set according to the time slots when the candidate makes an onsite visit to the organization. The qualified interviewers can be those whose match scores for one or more aspects indicate that they are qualified to evaluate and validate these aspects during an interview. In one implementation, processing device102may determine the qualified interviewers according certain rules such as, for example, assign a certain number (e.g., five) of top ranked potential interviewers for each aspect as qualified interviewers. Further, processing device102may determine the availabilities of these qualified interviewers. Processing device102may access the public calendar of these qualified interviewers to determine their availabilities in view of the interview schedule. In one implementation, processing device102may eliminate those qualified interviewers that are not available during any time slots of the interview schedule, and place those qualified interviewers that are available for at least one or at least partial one time slot of the interview schedule in the pool of interviewers for selection. At504, processing device102may further select the interviewers and optionally back-up interviewers for the one or more aspects based on rules. In one implementation, the rules may take into consideration both the match scores associated with each qualified interviewer with respect to an aspect and the availability of the qualified interviewer. For example, the rules may associate each time slot in the interview schedule with one or more aspects, determine qualified interviewers pertaining to the one or more aspects, and then assign one or more qualified interviewers available for the time slot and with the high combined match scores with respect to the one or more aspects to the time slot. In one implementation, the rules can be configured to account for internal hierarchy of the organization. For example, one rule may provide that at least one peer of the role is included as an interviewer. The ranking of the match scores can be then tailored to the peer population for the peer interviewer slot. Another rule may provide that all interviewers may have an equal or more numbers of years of experiences than the candidate. Yet another rule may provide that the interviewers include at least one female and at least one male, and the female-to-male interviewers ratio needs be balanced. A machine-learning classifier trained and executed on the same processor can be utilized to identify female and male pools of interviewers and the relative ranking of matching scores within the pool. Beyond the female-to-male ratio, other diversity classes may be accounted for including race. Other categories to enhance the configurability of the rules include the schools that the candidate went to, or similar schools, and military experience, if any, of the candidate. In one implementation, the rules may take into consideration qualified interviewers who are available for only a portion of a time slot. For example, a qualified interviewer may be available only 20 minutes for a 30 minute time slot based on his calendar. Instead of eliminating the qualified interviewer altogether, the rule may calculate a time weighted match score. For example, the time weighted match score can be calculated as MS′=(Tavail/Ttotal)*MS, where Tavailis the partial time available, Ttotalis the total time for the time slot, MS is the match score, and MS' is the time weighted match score. When Tavailis the same as TtotalMS′=MS. Using the time weighted match scores, qualified interviewers with partial availability may also be considered for the interview. Alternatively, the processing device may assign the partially available qualified interviewer with other qualified interviewers to conduct group interview. Additionally, processing device102may further select one or more back-up qualified interviewers for each of the selected qualified interviewers. The back-up qualified interviewers may be similarly selected based on rules taking into consideration both the match scores and availability for each time slot. The back-up qualified interviewers may substitute in the event that the selected qualified interviewer declines the interview task or becomes unavailable due to conflicts. At506, the processing device102may generate interview sheets personalized for each selected interviewer and notify the selected interviewer with the interview sheet. An interview sheet is a document prepared to help the interviewer conduct the interview. The document may include information about the candidate (e.g., the candidate's resume), and the time and location of the interview. Implementations may further personalize the interview sheet for each interviewer with customized questions. In one implementation, the processing device102may generate interview questions for evaluating the one or more aspects assigned to the interviewer for evaluating and validating during the interview. The questions may be selected from a question bank that stores questions linked to different aspects using a relationship map. Alternatively, the questions may be generated online based on the one or more aspect to be evaluated and validated. Responsive to determining the questions relating to the one or more aspects, the processing device102may add the questions to the interview sheet to create a personalized interview sheet for the interviewer, and then generate a transmittal including the personalized interview sheet to the interviewer, inviting the interviewer to participate in the interview of the candidate. After the interviews, the personalized interview sheets can be gathered and fed back into an evaluation module120as shown inFIG.1, where the candidate is rated on the likelihood of success at the organization or likelihood of advancing to the next stage of the hiring process or both. The likelihood scores are measured through inference results of a machine learning module trained on past interviewees and hires at the organization and similar hires for similar titles at other companies. Based on the likelihood scores, the candidate may be recommended through a user interface to advance to the next stage or be rejected at the current stage, or may be automatically advanced or rejected based on thresholding. Interviewers may develop associated additional data dimensionalities as they interview more and more candidates. Each interviewer may be rated by the candidate. The ratings may then be incorporated in evaluating qualified interviewers, the matching score calculation, or as part of filtering rules for future selection of interviewers for a future candidate. FIG.6illustrates a flowchart of a method600to identify interviewers for interviewing a candidate according to an implementation of the disclosure. Method600may be performed by processing devices that may comprise hardware (e.g., circuitry, dedicated logic), computer readable instructions (e.g., run on a general purpose computer system or a dedicated machine), or a combination of both. Method600and each of its individual functions, routines, subroutines, or operations may be performed by one or more processors of the computer device executing the method. In certain implementations, method600may be performed by a single processing thread. Alternatively, method600may be performed by two or more processing threads, each thread executing one or more individual functions, routines, subroutines, or operations of the method. For simplicity of explanation, the methods of this disclosure are depicted and described as a series of acts. However, acts in accordance with this disclosure can occur in various orders and/or concurrently, and with other acts not presented and described herein. Furthermore, not all illustrated acts may be needed to implement the methods in accordance with the disclosed subject matter. In addition, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that the methods could alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states via a state diagram or events. Additionally, it should be appreciated that the methods disclosed in this specification are capable of being stored on an article of manufacture to facilitate transporting and transferring such methods to computing devices. The term “article of manufacture,” as used herein, is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device or storage media. In one implementation, method600may be performed by a processing device102executing intelligent scheduler106as shown inFIG.1. As shown inFIG.6, processing device102may identify a candidate to be interviewed for a job opening with an organization. For example, the candidate may be identified by his/her name entered by an interview coordinator using a user interface into the intelligent scheduler system. At602, processing device102may generate a calibrated job profile based job data points. The calibrated job profiles may include information from a job description and additional information. The information from the job description may include public information such as, for example, the job title; responsibilities of the job; education, training, and certifications required for the job; skills required or preferred to perform the job; prior working experience. The additional information profiles of qualified candidates previously hired for a same or similar position within the organization. The calibrated job profile may provide more information than that in the job description. Responsive to identifying the candidate for the interview, processing device102may receive candidate data points containing information relating to the candidate. The candidate data points may include the candidate's resume submitted to the organization and other information publicly available to the organization. At604, processing device102may use the candidate data points to generate an enriched talent profile of the candidate. As discussed above, the enriched talent profile may include both the profile of the candidate (e.g., the resume) available at the organization and supplemental data collected from other sources. The content of the enriched talent profile of the candidate may include variables such as the name; the contact information; past roles and jobs; skills; employers as well as responsibilities and duration of these employments; a training history; an education history including schools, fields of study, grade point average (GPA), rankings, and degrees; personal web pages/blogs/video postings, social network pages (e.g., LinkedIn and or Facebook pages); professional work products (e.g., technical publications, open source software contributions); patents; professional references; awards etc. Each category may be represented using a string of words (including numerical values). The value of a variable may be encoded using a vector representation whose values can be words or numerical values. At606, processing device may extract, from the enriched talent profile of the candidate and the calibrated job profile, one or more aspects that need to be evaluated and validated during the interview. For example, the aspects can be technical skills, where different aspects may require interviewers with different knowledge sets to conduct the interview. Additionally, at610, processing device102may receive enriched talent profiles of potential interviewers associated with the organization. The potential interviewers can be employees or contractors associated with the organization. The intelligent scheduler system may select qualified interviewers from the pool of potential interviewers. These enriched talent profiles of potential interviewers may have been calculated offline in advance because the employees and contractors may have known in advance At608, processing device102may execute a machine learning model to calculate a match score for each potential interviewer with respect to an aspect. The data inputs to the machine learning model may include the one or more aspects to be evaluated, the enriched talent profile of the candidate, and the enriched talent profiles of the interviewers. The machine learning model can be a DNN or other types of neural networks that had previously trained based on training data as discussed above. For each aspect, processing device102may execute, based on the data inputs, the machine learning model to calculate a respective match score for each potential interviewer in the pool, and create a list of ranked potential interviewers based on their match scores. Further, processing device102may proceed to calculate a corresponding list for each aspect (or a group of similar aspects). At612, processing device102may determine qualified interviewers for each aspect based on the corresponding list of ranked potential interviewers. The qualified interviewers for an aspect are those determined to be suitable to evaluate and validate the aspect. Alternatively, for efficiency, processing device102may determine qualified interviewers for a group of similar aspects. At614, processing device102may retrieve available times from the calendar of the qualified interviewers, and select an interviewer to evaluate and validate the one or more aspects based on rules. The selection of the interviewer may take into consideration time slots in the interview agenda, the availabilities of the potential interviewers, and their corresponding match scores. In one implementation, processing device102may assign the interviewer with the highest match score as the selected interviewer to a time slot. In another implementation, processing device102may calculate a time weighted match score to take into consideration of partial availability and select the one having the highest time weighted match score. In another implementation, processing device102may determine a best combination of interviewers for a group interview to determine more than one aspects of the candidate. At616, processing device102may generate a personalized interview sheet for the selected interviewer. The personalized interviewer sheet may include the interviewer information, the time and location of the interview, and further questions relating to the one more aspects assigned to the interviewer. The questions in the interview sheet may assist the interviewer to evaluate and validate the one or more aspects of the candidate. Processing device102may send a transmittal to invite the selected interviewer to the interview. Implementations may also provide a graphic user interface that provides one or more views. In one implementation, the one or more views may include an aspect view including panels, each panel being associated with one or more aspects that are to be evaluated and validated during the interview and an interviewer selected by the intelligent scheduler assigned to evaluate and validate the one or more aspects. Aspects may include different skills or personalities to be evaluated and validated. Each panel may be expanded to drill into details about the one or more aspects and the assigned interviewer. In one implementation, the one or more views may include a time view. The time view may include suggested times and specific times. The time template may include a first view showing a date and times of the date associated with each interviewer, and a second calendar view showing the arrangement for a specific date. The intelligent scheduler may assign potential interviewers to interview time slots based on the availabilities of the potential interviewers during the time slots. To this end, the intelligent scheduler may perform conflict management by looking into the calendar of each potential interviewers and determining an interview agenda by matching the time slots with interviewers based on time conflict management rules. In one implementation, the one or more views may include an alternative interviewer view. The alternative interviewer view may include back-up interviewers and their time availabilities determined by the intelligent scheduler. When a scheduled interviewer becomes unavailable due to cancellation, implementations may provide an “options” associated with the unavailable interviewer where the options may include “find alternative interviewers,” “remove the unavailable interviewer,” and “schedule an alternative interviewer” options to allow an interview organizer to make the action. FIG.7depicts a block diagram of a computer system operating in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. In various illustrative examples, computer system700may correspond to the processing device102ofFIG.1. In certain implementations, computer system700may be connected (e.g., via a network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet) to other computer systems. Computer system700may operate in the capacity of a server or a client computer in a client-server environment, or as a peer computer in a peer-to-peer or distributed network environment. Computer system700may be provided by a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a server, a network router, switch or bridge, or any device capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that device. Further, the term “computer” shall include any collection of computers that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methods described herein. In a further aspect, the computer system700may include a processing device702, a volatile memory704(e.g., random access memory (RAM)), a non-volatile memory706(e.g., read-only memory (ROM) or electrically-erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM)), and a data storage device716, which may communicate with each other via a bus708. Processing device702may be provided by one or more processors such as a general purpose processor (such as, for example, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, a microprocessor implementing other types of instruction sets, or a microprocessor implementing a combination of types of instruction sets) or a specialized processor (such as, for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), or a network processor). Computer system700may further include a network interface device722. Computer system700also may include a video display unit710(e.g., an LCD), an alphanumeric input device712(e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device714(e.g., a mouse), and a signal generation device720. Data storage device716may include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium724on which may store instructions726encoding any one or more of the methods or functions described herein, including instructions of the intelligent scheduler106ofFIG.1for implementing method600. Instructions726may also reside, completely or partially, within volatile memory704and/or within processing device702during execution thereof by computer system700, hence, volatile memory704and processing device702may also constitute machine-readable storage media. While computer-readable storage medium724is shown in the illustrative examples as a single medium, the term “computer-readable storage medium” shall include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of executable instructions. The term “computer-readable storage medium” shall also include any tangible medium that is capable of storing or encoding a set of instructions for execution by a computer that cause the computer to perform any one or more of the methods described herein. The term “computer-readable storage medium” shall include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, optical media, and magnetic media. The methods, components, and features described herein may be implemented by discrete hardware components or may be integrated in the functionality of other hardware components such as ASICS, FPGAs, DSPs or similar devices. In addition, the methods, components, and features may be implemented by firmware modules or functional circuitry within hardware devices. Further, the methods, components, and features may be implemented in any combination of hardware devices and computer program components, or in computer programs. Unless specifically stated otherwise, terms such as “receiving,” “associating,” “determining,” “updating” or the like, refer to actions and processes performed or implemented by computer systems that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices. Also, the terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” etc. as used herein are meant as labels to distinguish among different elements and may not have an ordinal meaning according to their numerical designation. Examples described herein also relate to an apparatus for performing the methods described herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for performing the methods described herein, or it may comprise a general purpose computer system selectively programmed by a computer program stored in the computer system. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer-readable tangible storage medium. The methods and illustrative examples described herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general purpose systems may be used in accordance with the teachings described herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform method300and/or each of its individual functions, routines, subroutines, or operations. Examples of the structure for a variety of these systems are set forth in the description above. The above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Although the present disclosure has been described with references to specific illustrative examples and implementations, it will be recognized that the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and implementations described. The scope of the disclosure should be determined with reference to the following claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which the claims are entitled. | 52,103 |
11861535 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those of ordinary skill in the art may easily carry out the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. And, in order to clearly describe the embodiment of the present disclosure in the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted. The terms used herein are used only to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The singular expression may include the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present specification, it may be understood that the terms “comprise”, “have” or “include” are intended to specify the presence of a feature, a number, a step, an operation, a component, a parts, or a combination thereof described in the specification, but do not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof. In addition, configuration units shown in the embodiments of the present disclosure are independently illustrated to represent different characteristic functions, and does not mean that each configuration unit includes separate hardware or a single software configuration unit. That is, each configuration unit is listed and described as a respective configuration unit for convenience of description, and at least two configuration units of each configuration unit are combined to form a single configuration unit, or one configuration unit may be divided into a plurality of configuration units to perform a function. Integrated embodiments and separate embodiments of each of the configuration units are also included in the scope of the present disclosure unless departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, the following embodiments are provided to more clearly explain to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the shapes and sizes of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for more clear description. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG.1is an exemplary diagram for explaining a process of registering and selling a contents manuscript according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring toFIG.1, the contents manuscript in a contents manuscript registrant terminal100may be, for example, a broadcast manuscript, a movie manuscript, a documentary manuscript, or an animation manuscript, and a contents manuscript registrant may be various writers such as a broadcast writer, a screenwriter, a documentary writer, or an animation writer, or a writers association, etc. Also, in a voice actor (VA) terminal300, a VA may be a voice actor, an actor, or a singer who is a performer of various types of manuscripts. For example, a writer such as the broadcast writer may register the contents manuscript in a contents management server200through the contents manuscript registrant terminal100, and sell the manuscript through the contents management server200, so that the VA who is the performer may purchase the manuscript through the VA terminal300. At this time, a charging method between the contents manuscript registrant and the VA may a contract in various ways, such as a lump sum payment and a running guarantee. When a manuscript fee is deposited through the VA terminal300, the royalty may be paid to the contents manuscript registrant according to a predetermined contract type through the contents management server200. In addition, when a manuscript is purchased and downloaded from the VA terminal300, it is possible to prevent the reuse of the manuscript by another VA by giving a different serial number to each manuscript. More specifically, when the VA terminal300purchases the contents manuscript, a serial number related to the corresponding contents manuscript is generated, and when registering a voice source generated by the VA terminal300in the contents management server200, the voice source is registered only when the corresponding serial number is input, and thus, it is possible to determine whether to register the voice source based on the validity of the received serial number. FIG.2is an exemplary diagram for explaining a process of registering and selling a voice source (contents) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring toFIG.2, the VA may generate the voice source or voice contents based on a purchased contents manuscript, and register the generated voice source or voice contents in the contents management server200. In addition, the contents management server200may provide various registered voice sources to a user terminal400through an online platform provided through the contents management server200, and a user may create video contents based on the voice source provided through the user terminal400. The video contents may be generated by the user terminal400by combining a plurality of voice sources generated by a plurality of VAs. At this time, the video contents created by the user, that is, an n-th work, may be registered in the contents management server200. In addition, the contents management server200may perform a function of distributing profits generated based on the consumption or distribution of the video contents created by the user of the online platform, and provide part of profits generated based on the consumption and distribution of the n-th work newly generated by the user terminal400to the VA as royalty. FIG.3is an exemplary diagram for explaining a process related to vocal changing of a music work according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, taking an idol group consisting of five group members as an example, first, a music copyright holder, who is the original copyright owner, may separate music recorded (MR), which is a background music, and a vocal part of each group member and register the MR and the vocal part in the contents management server200. At this time, each of the five group members may upload the vocal part to the contents management server200in the form of vocal pieces by collectively digesting each part of the corresponding entire song. As described above, the MR and a plurality of vocal sources registered in the contents management server200may be provided to the user terminal400, and a user may combine a plurality of vocals of each group member according to his or her preference with the MR provided by default to create and enjoy his or her own music in the final mixed form. As such, an n-th work reproduced by the user terminal400may be registered through the contents management server200, and part of profits generated by the consumption or distribution of the n-th work may be returned to a music copyright owner as royalty so that a new profit may be created. That is, by newly giving the distribution of vocal of each group member in the original song from the user's point of view, music contents regenerated with different tastes may be created by the user. The example ofFIG.3may be seen as corresponding to performing the role of the VA inFIG.2through the vocal of each group member, the voice source inFIG.2may correspond to the vocal source inFIG.3, and the video contents created by the user inFIG.2may correspond to the music contents newly created by the user inFIG.3. FIG.4is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a contents management server according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring toFIG.4, the contents management server200for online contents registration and management may include a user information management unit210, a contents manuscript registration management unit220, a voice source registration management unit230, a contents registration management unit240, a sales processing unit250, etc. Each of the user information management unit210, the contents manuscript registration management unit220, the voice source registration management unit230, the contents registration management unit240, and the sales processing unit250be a program module in the form of operating systems, application program modules, and other program modules stored in the memory of the server200. The processor of the contents management server200executes the program module to perform functions described below. The user information management unit210may be configured to register and manage user or member information of a platform managed through the contents management server200, and also provide a voice source (contents) and video contents registered in the contents management server200to a legitimate user to download or play the voice source (contents) and the video contents. In addition, the user information management unit210may provide MR together with a voice source composed of a plurality of vocals to the user terminal400, and the user may create new music a combination of the plurality of vocal sources accordingly. The contents manuscript registration management unit220may be configured to register a contents manuscript and may be configured to manage the registered contents manuscript. For example, a VA may purchase the contents manuscript through the contents manuscript registration management unit220. Also, the contents manuscript registration management unit220may generate a serial number related to the contents manuscript when the VA purchases the contents manuscript. The voice source registration management unit230is configured to register the voice source (contents) generated by the VA or the MR and the plurality of vocal sources based on the registered contents manuscript, and manage the registered voice source (contents), MR, and vocal sources. The voice source registration management unit230may determine whether to register the voice source based on the validity of the serial number received from the VA terminal300when registering the voice source generated by the VA. The contents registration management unit240is configured to register video contents created by the user based on the voice source or music contents newly created by the user based on vocal changing, and manage the contents registered by the user. For example, the contents manuscript may be a broadcast manuscript, and the contents created by the user may be video contents created based on a plurality of voice sources generated by a plurality of VAs. The sales processing unit250may be configured to distribute profits generated based on the consumption or distribution of the generated video contents or music contents, and pay at least part of profits generated by the consumption or distribution of an n-th work created by the user to a contents manuscript registrant, a VA, or a music copyright owner as royalties based on a predetermined method. The contents management server200according to the present disclosure may include the voice source registration management unit230as a server that stores voice contents that a consumer, a user and a recipient are able to directly cast, and may include the contents registration management unit240as a server that stores contents, which is an n-th work composed of images, music, effects, etc. and newly generated. Various voice sources and voice contents must be produced and uploaded in the voice source registration management unit230so that many choices are possible. To this end, for example, a structure and method in which a broadcast manuscript supplied with a payment from a producer may be supplied to an actor who wants to record and upload the broadcast manuscript must be preceded. There is also no system for writers to put broadcast manuscripts in the air and protect their rights and make transactions, but through the configuration of the sales processing unit250of the contents management server200according to the present disclosure, a method of uploading dubbed manuscripts written by broadcast writers and other writers, charging together with copyright registration, and making transactions may be provided. To this end, the present disclosure may also include the contents manuscript registration management unit220that may upload and store manuscripts of broadcast writers by field, by work, and by casting, and may also safely protect the copyright of a writer and the copyright of a resulting product of voice contents through an online platform capable of charging when selling the contents manuscript to a person who wants the contents manuscript. In addition, the present disclosure may be developed to a method of giving editing rights including casting rights to the user, and thus, the user may edit the source provided to the producer in various ways, upload the source to the server, and provide the source to the user by part, and the user may provide the online platform capable of combining parts of the source, combining voice (acting) files, and producing and consuming various video resulting products with a new atmosphere. FIG.5is a flowchart for explaining a method for generating, registering, and selling n-th audio book contents according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring toFIG.5, a contents manuscript registrant may be a publisher, produce audio book contents through the contents manuscript registrant terminal100(S510), and register a produced audio book contents manuscript in the contents management server200(S520). Audio book contents may be provided to book actors through an online platform through the contents management server200, and a book actor who is a VA may purchase a desired manuscript through the VA terminal300(S530). The book actor may produce the n-th audio book contents based on his/her own voice based on a purchased manuscript (S540), and may register the generated n-th audio book contents in the contents management server200(S550). The contents management server200may provide the n-th audio book contents registered through the VA terminal300to users (S560), and a user of the online platform may select the audio book contents through the user terminal400, select and output a vocal to which the user wants to listen, and listen to the n-th audio book contents produced with a book actor's voice. As such, based on profits according to the n-th audio book contents consumed through the selection of the user terminal400, royalties may be appropriately distributed to the contents manuscript registrant and the book actor by a method previously determined by the contents management server200. FIG.6is a flowchart for explaining a generation, registration, and selling method of an n-th work according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. First, a contents manuscript may be registered in a contents management server (S610). For example, a broadcast manuscript may be registered as the contents manuscript by a broadcast writer. The contents manuscript may be sold by a VA such as an actor or a voice actor selecting a desired contents manuscript through the contents management server (S620). The VA may produce a new voice source and voice contents using his/her own voice based on the purchased contents manuscript, and may register the produced voice contents in the contents management server (S630). The user of the online platform may produce new video contents based on a plurality of voice contents registered by various VAs and register the produced video contents in the contents management server (S640). For example, the user may combine a plurality of voice contents of a desired VA and edit the video contents to upload and publish the video contents produced by the user. As such, based on profits generated by publishing and consuming the video contents produced by the user to and by online platform users, royalties according to consumption and distribution of the n-th work may be distributed a VA, a contents manuscript registrant, a video contents creator (user), etc. according to a predetermined standard (S650). Although operations are illustrated in a particular order in the drawings of the present disclosure, it should not be understood that such operations are performed in the illustrated particular order or in a sequential order, or that all the illustrated operations need to be performed to achieve a desired result. Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to the embodiment shown in the drawings, which is merely exemplary, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Accordingly, the true technical protection scope of the present disclosure should be determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims. DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 100: contents manuscript registrant terminal200: contents management server300: voice actor (VA) terminal310: music copyright owner terminal400: user terminal | 17,092 |
11861536 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference will now be made in detail to implementations, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various described implementations. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the various described implementations may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the implementations. Community-Based Spend Analysis Techniques for community-based spend analysis in a software as a service computing environment are disclosed. Here, the community may be defined as a set of customers that use a spend management cloud service in the software as a service computing environment for spend analysis and potentially other spend management functions. Unconventionally, the techniques leverage information available about community spend to provide new insights into a particular customer's spend. The new insights result from using a trained deep learning classifier to classify spend data lines from both the community of customers and the particular customer in standard spend categories. The spend data lines may be from invoices, requisitions and purchase orders, for example. Using the trained deep learning classifier, the spend data lines are classified into a set of standard spend categories where each standard spend category in the set represents a standard category of spend (e.g., “furniture and furnishings,” “software,” “telecom services,” “office equipment,” etc.) according to a standard hierarchical taxonomy of commodities. For example, the set of standard spend categories may be from the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC). However, other standard hierarchical taxonomies of commodities can be used, including for example Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV), GS1 Global Product Classification (GPC), or eCl@ss. According to some of the techniques, after classifying the spend data lines in standard spend categories, a highly accurate community-based comparison between spend of the community versus spend of the particular customer in a particular standard spend category is provided. The highly accurate comparison is provided even if the spend data lines have inconsistent or new text descriptions of commodities (e.g., never before seen description or for a new commodity) in the particular standard spend category. The highly accurate comparison results from using the trained deep learning classifier to classify spend data lines in standard spend categories with high accuracy (e.g., greater than 95% accuracy). According to some of the techniques, the highly accurate comparison is provided to the particular customer in a graphical user interface. For example, the graphical user interface may include a bar chart or other type of chart that compares: (1) a monetary amount of total spend by the particular customer during a period of time (e.g., 12 months) in a particular standard spend category with (2) a monetary amount of total average spend per customer in the community during the period of time in the particular standard spend category. The community can include all customers that use the spend management cloud service or a subset of all customers, such as a set of customers in a selected industry. With such a graphical user interface providing this community-based comparison, the particular customer can more easily monitor supplier spend in the particular standard spend category and more easily determine whether they are over spending in that particular standard spend category compared to the community. It should be noted that while an aggregate (e.g., average, mean ignoring NaN values, median, sum, etc.) computed over a set of classified spend data lines for a particular customer or a community of customers may be an aggregate of monetary amounts, an aggregate computed over a set of classified spend data lines can be a count of spend transactions (e.g., requisitions, invoices, purchase orders, or a combination thereof) from which the classified spend data lines originate. In addition to a text description of a commodity (e.g., a product, good or service available from a supplier), a spend data line may specify or be associated with a particular supplier that supplies that commodity. With this additional supplier information, additional highly accurate community-based comparisons can be provided based on classifying the spend data lines in standard spend categories. For example, a graphical user interface may include side-by-side listings of top suppliers for the particular customer against top suppliers for the community. For example, the listing for the particular customer may list the top X number of suppliers by total monetary amount spent by the particular customer in the particular standard spend category during the period of time. And the listing for the community may list the top Y number of suppliers by average total monetary amount spent per customer in the community in the particular standard spend category during the period of time. With such a graphical user interface providing this side-by-side community-based comparison, the particular customer can easily compare their top suppliers in the particular standard spend category against the top suppliers in the particular spend category for the community. From the comparison information presented in the graphical user interface, the particular customer may make better informed spend optimization decisions including better informed supplier diversification and supplier consolidation decisions. For example, the particular customer may discover that their top supplier in the particular standard spend category is different from the top supplier in the particular standard spend category for the community and take appropriate action. According to some techniques, by classifying the spend data lines in standard spend categories, community-based spend optimization recommendations for the particular standard spend category are made to the particular customer. For example, a recommendation to regroup requisitions, purchase orders or invoices for the particular standard spend category to improve spend transaction efficiency may be made based on the number of spend transactions for the particular standard spend category by the particular customer during the period of time exceeding, by a threshold percentage (e.g., 50%), the number of spend transactions for the particular standard spend category by the community during the period of time. The disclosed techniques for community-based spend analysis in a software as a service computing environment provide benefits over conventional approaches for spend analysis. By using a trained deep learning classifier to classify spend data lines, the trained classifier may make highly accurate inferences of the correct standard commodity category for a given spend data line, even if the classifier has never “seen” the spend data line previously. For example, the trained classifier may infer that a spend data line having a text description of a commodity such as for example “plastic, 500 ml, Crystal Geyser” should be classified with a standard commodity category for “bottled water.” Because of the highly accurate classifications by the trained classifier, more insightful comparisons may be made between the spend of a particular consumer and the spend of a community of consumers. Without using a trained deep learning classifier to classify spend data lines in standard spend categories, different spend data lines including never before seen spend data lines may be incorrectly classified into different spend categories even though they belong to the same spend category, which would reduce the effectiveness of comparisons with the community. Computer-Based Implementation FIG.1is a block diagram of a computer system100in which techniques for community-based spend analysis in a software as a service computing environment may be embodied. The techniques may be performed as a method or process by a computing system having one or more processors and storage media. The one or more processors104and storage media110of the computing system may be provided by one or more computer systems100. The storage media of the computing system may include one or more computer programs having instructions configured to perform the method or process. In addition, or alternatively, the techniques may be embodied as instructions of one or more programs stored on one or more non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., main memory106and/or storage system110of one or more computer systems100) and configured for execution by one or more processors (e.g., one or more processors104of one or more computer systems110) to perform the techniques. In addition, or alternatively, the techniques may be embodied as instructions of one or more programs stored on storage media of a computing system and configured for execution by one or more processors of the computing system to perform the techniques. Computer system100and its components is described in greater detail below. Software-as-a-Service Computing Environment for Community-Based Spend Analysis FIG.2is a schematic diagram of a software as a service computing environment200in which techniques for community-based spend analysis in a software as a service computing environment may be embodied. Environment200includes customers202with their respective personal computer systems, enterprise resource planning (ERP) computer systems204, suppliers206and their respective personal computer systems, third-party computer systems208, data communications network210(e.g., the public internet), and public cloud212hosting spend management cloud service (SMCS)214. Generally, SMCS214provides business spend management services to customers202of suppliers204. Such services may include collecting, cleansing, classifying and analyzing spend data for the purpose of decreasing procurement costs, improving efficiency and monitoring compliance. Other purposes of using SMCS214may include inventory management, budgeting and planning and product development. Each customer202may be a business, organization, corporation, school, governmental agency, or other entity. Each customer202may have one or more user accounts with which users (e.g., employees) of the customer202can authenticate and access SMCS214over network210. At a high-level, customers202may use SMCS214for analysis of their spend data. Customers202may include buyers, sourcing managers, sourcing administrators, supplier managers or other spend or procurement administrators of businesses. Spend data may encompass requisitions (both submitted and approved), invoices, and purchase orders. The goal of conducting spend analysis using SMCS214may be to answer crucial questions affecting business spend, including: What is business purchasing? Who is the business purchasing from? Is the business getting what has been promised for that send? Customers202may use SMCS214to conduct other spend management activities, including for example commodity management and strategic sourcing. By using SMCS214to conduct spend management activities, customers202can improve their business profitability, improve regularity compliance, reduce cycle times, discover new areas of savings through supplier consolidation and supplier diversification, and retain past areas of savings that they have already negotiated. Customers202use their personal computers to interact with SMCS214over network210according to one or more online interaction protocols. The personal computers can include desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, mobile phones, or like personal computing devices. The online interaction protocol(s) may be supported by both a client application that executes at the personal computers of the customers202and a server application that executes at one or more server computers that host the SMCS214. For example, the client application and the server application may exchange data over network210using the HTTP/S networking protocol. The data exchanged may be formatted in a variety of different ways including for example as HTML, CSS, Javascript, XML, JSON, etc. The client application may be an industry-standard web browser application or a mobile application, for example. SMCS214may cause particular graphical user interfaces (e.g., web pages with particular content) to be displayed by the client applications at the personal computers of the customers202by using the online interaction protocol(s) and network210to send information to the personal computers of the customers202for processing by the client applications. Customers202may interact with SMCS214by directing user input (e.g., keyboard, pointing device or touch input) to the graphical user interfaces, thereby causing the client applications to use the online interaction protocol(s) to send information over network210to SMCS214for processing by SMCS214. Suppliers204may likewise use their personal computers to interact with SMCS214over network210according to the online interaction protocol. SMCS214may be hosted in public cloud212. Public cloud212may include computing services offered by third-party providers over the public internet (e.g., network210), making them available to anyone who wants to use or purchase them. The computing services may be sold on-demand, allowing the SMCS214provider to pay only per usage for the CPU cycles, storage or bandwidth consumed. Even though the provider of SMCS214may not also provide the public cloud212computing services, the SMCS214provider may still be responsible for management and maintenance of the SMCS214within the public cloud212, including putting the SMCS214in service on network210. Customers202may integrate ERP systems204and third-party systems208with SMCS214via network210. The purpose of the integration may be to import spend data into and export send data from SMCS214. Spend data imported into SMCS214from ERP systems204and third-party systems208may be processed by applications of the SMCS214including an application that implements techniques for community-based spend analysis in a software as a service computing environment. The integration over network210may be accomplished using one or more spend data integration protocols. One possible integration protocol is using flat files uploaded to and downloaded from a secure file transfer protocol (SFTP) server operated by the SMCS214provider. The flat files may be CSV files, for example, that contain spend data. Another possible integration protocol for importing/exporting spend data is using a REST API offered by servers of the SMCS214. For example, the flat file integration protocol may be used for bulk import and export of spend data, and the REST API integration protocol may be used for real-time import and export of spend data. The general types of data imported into SMCS214from ERP systems204and third-party systems208may include master data and transactional data (also referred to as spend data herein.) Master data may include general ledger account codes, supplier information, exchange rate information, budget line information, and user information. Transactional data (i.e., spend data) may include requisitions, purchase orders, invoices, approved invoices, receipts, purchase order revisions, invoice voids, credit memos, invoice payments and expenses. Some types of information may be only imported from ERP systems204and third-party systems208into SMCS214(e.g., general ledger account codes, user information, payments), some types of information only exported from SMCS214to ERP systems204and third-party systems208(e.g., purchase orders and receipts), and some types of information both imported and exported between SMCS214and ERP systems204and third-party systems208(e.g., supplier information and invoices.) Transactional data may be imported and exported more frequently than master data. For example, transaction data may be import or exported between SMCS and an ERP system204or a third-party system208on an hourly basis while master data may be imported or exported between those systems on a daily basis. ERP systems204may include ERP software as a service systems (e.g., NetSuite™) and more traditional ERP systems (e.g., SAP™ Oracle™, Great Plains™, etc.). Third-party systems206may include non-ERP systems that provide or use spend data including for example, accounts payable systems (e.g., Scan One™) invoicing systems, corporate credit card systems, and data warehouse systems. Example Procure-to-Pay Process In addition to importing spend data from ERP systems204and third-party systems206, SMCS214may create spend data as a result of customers204and suppliers206using a procure-to-pay application feature of SMCS214.FIG.3is a flowchart of a procure-to-pay process that may be provided to customers204and suppliers206as an application feature of SMCS214. At step302, a customer204shops online through SMCS214for commodities the customer wishes to purchase. For example, the customer may browse or search catalogs uploaded to SMCS214by suppliers206. At step304, the customer uses the SMCS214to create a requisition in the SMCS214for one or more commodities that the customer has selected. If the requisition is approved306, then the SMCS214creates308a purchase order in the SMCS214corresponding to the requisition. If the requisition is not approved, then the customer may return to shopping302and create304a new requisition. At operation310, a supplier206receives the purchase order from the SMCS214. At operation312, the SMCS214receives an invoice corresponding to the purchase order from the supplier and submits it to the customer. At operation314, the SMCS214determines if there is an accounts payable hold314on the invoice. If so, then SMCS214places payment of the invoice on-hold318until the hold is released or the invoice is deleted320. If there is no hold on the invoice or the invoice is released from a hold, then the SMCS214determines if payment of the invoice is automatically approved316. If so, then the SMCS214approves the invoice for payment. If payment is not automatically approved316, then the SMCS214waits for approval324by the customer. If the customer does not give approval324, then the customer can use the SMCS214system to dispute326the invoice which can result in the disputed invoice being deleted328or resubmitted316for approval, possibly with modifications. On the other hand, if the customer approves324the invoice, then the SMCS324approves the invoice for payment. The above procure-to-pay process is merely an example of one type of spend management process that SMCS214may aid or implement that results in the creation of spend data by the SMCS214. Other types of spend management process that SMCS214may aid or implement that results in the creation of spend data by the SMCS214include for example sourcing (e.g., for customers204to run sourcing events coordinated by the SMCS214with suppliers206to save money), contract management (e.g., for customers204to use a contract repository provided by the SMCS214to access approved contracts and to leverage their negotiated pricing at the time of purchase), catalog management (e.g., for customers204to use as a shopping and catalog management front-end to their ERP systems204) and expense management. Spend Management Cloud System for Community-Based Spend Analysis FIG.4is a more detailed schematic diagram of the spend management cloud service214in the software as a service computing environment ofFIG.2. As shown, the SMCS214may be divided into geographic regions. While two regions are shown inFIG.4, there may be more than two regions or only a single region in an implementation. The regions are selected based on the geographic locations of the customers204and suppliers206that use SMCS214. For example, Region-1 may be the United States and Region-2 may be the European Union. As such, customers204and suppliers206in the United States may use the servers of SMCS214in Region-1 while customers204and supplier206in the European Union may use the server of SCMS214in Region-2. By dividing the SMCS214into geographic regions, the SMCS214can be more responsive to application requests over network210from customers204and suppliers206in that region. Region-1 includes a plurality of application regional instances402-1, a spend classification system404-1, a regional data/object storage and regional spend aggregation system406-1. Similarly, Region-2 includes a plurality of application regional instances402-2, a spend classification system404-2, a regional data/object storage and regional spend aggregation system406-2. Within each region are SMCS instances402. Each SMCS instance402serves a particular customer204in that region. As mentioned, each customer204may hold one or more user accounts that allows users (e.g., employees) of the customer to authenticate and access their SMCS instance402over the network210. Each SMCS instance402may include a number of servers including web servers, application servers, database servers, and other servers that provide application functionality to customers204and suppliers206of the instance. SMCS instances402can be implemented in public cloud212using a multi-tenant architecture where a single application instance is configured to provide every tenant a separate share of the application instance including for example data, configuration, user management, etc. However, it is also possible to implement SMCS instances402using a multi-instance architecture where separate application instances serve different tenants. In operation, spend data is regularly (e.g., daily or hourly) extracted, transformed and loaded from all regional SMCS instances402to regional data storage. The spend data may be composed of spend data lines. Each spend data line may include a text description of a commodity. For example, the text description may be a line item description from an invoice, purchase order or requisition. The invoice, purchase order or requisition may be one from which the spend data line is derived or extracted. In some instances, in the interest of privacy, a customer204can voluntarily opt-out their SMCS instance402from participation in the community-based spend analysis. In this case, spend data obtained and created by the SMCS instance402is not collected at regional data storage and their spend data is not used in the community-based spend analysis. Whether a customer204voluntarily opts-out their SMCS instance402from participation in the community-based spend analysis, all spend data collected at regional data storage may be anonymized with respect to customers204in the interest of privacy. This anonymization may be accomplished by referring to spend data lines associated with a particular customer204by a message digest of unique identifier of the particular customers'204SMCS instance402. In this way, spend data lines can be associated with a particular SMCS instance402without revealing the identity of the customer204of the particular SMCS instance402. Each spend data line may also include a monetary amount for the commodity. For example, the spend data line may specify the monetary cost or invoicing, purchasing or requisition amount for the commodity described by the text description. A spend data line may also contain or be associated with an identifier of a supplier. The supplier may be one for example that received a purchase order from a customer via SMCS214or submitted an invoice to a customer via SMCS214. Other spend context information may include whether the spend data line was derived or extracted from an invoice, a purchase order or requisition, or otherwise indicate the type of spend transaction from which the spend data line was derived or extracted. A date or a date and time associated with the spend data line may also be part of the spend context information. The date or date and time may be derived or extracted from an invoice, purchase or requisition, for example. Spend data lines collected and stored in regional data storage may be classified by a regional spend classification system404. The regional spend classification system404may include a trained deep learning classifier. At a high-level, the trained deep learning classifier performs sequence classification using a trained long short-term memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network (RNN) with word vector representations and embedding layers (e.g., Word2Vec or the like) to predict a category for an input sequence. The trained LSTM/RNN is adept at handling a very large vocabulary of input symbols that requires the LSTM/RNN to learn long-term context of dependencies between symbols in the input sequence. The LSTM/RNN may be trained based on actual or synthetically generated spend data lines with corresponding spend category labels. The spend category labels may be standard commodity categories, or codes therefore, from a standard taxonomy of commodities such as one of those mentioned in the next paragraph. Once trained, the regional spend classification system404classifies spend data lines stored in regional data storage in a set of standard spend categories where each standard spend category represents a standard category of spend (e.g., “furniture and furnishings,” “software,” “telecom services,” “office equipment,” etc.) according to a standard taxonomy of commodities. For example, the set of standard spend categories may be from the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC), the Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV), the GS1 Global Product Classification (GPC), or the set of eCl@ ss code. The standard taxonomy of commodities may be hierarchical. For example, the foregoing standard taxonomy systems each have four hierarchical classification levels from more general to more specific respectively and named as follows: TABLE 1Standard Taxonomy SystemHierarchical LevelsUNSPSCLevel 1 (most general) → SegmentLevel 2 → FamilyLevel 3 → ClassLevel 4 (most specific) → CommodityCPVLevel 1 (most general) → DivisionsLevel 2 → GroupsLevel 3 → ClassesLevel (most specific) → CategoriesGPCLevel 1 (most general) → SegmentLevel 2 → FamilyLevel 3 → ClassLevel 4 (most specific) → BrickeCl@ssLevel 1 (most general) → SegmentsLevel 2 → Main GroupsLevel 3 → GroupsLevel 4 (most specific) → Commodity Classes The regional spend classification system404may classify spend data lines from regional data store into a particular hierarchical level of a standard taxonomy system. The particular hierarchical level may be one that is above the individual commodity level so as to provide a high-level categorization of individual commodities. For example, the particular hierarchical level may be family level of the UNSPCS, the groups level of the CPV, the family level of the GPC, or the main groups level of the eCl@ ss. However, it is also possible to classify spend data lines at other levels (e.g., at the segment, family, class and commodity level of the UNSPSC) or at all levels from the most general level to the most specific level. For example, the regional spend classification system404may obtain a spend data line from a purchase order with a text description of a commodity such as for example “Ball End Hex Key Set Measurement Type SAEMetric Handle Type L-Shaped Ann Type Long Blade Material Chrome Vanadium Steel Fish Chrome Plated Number of Pieces 22 Arm Length 2.80 to 8.80 in. Sizes included 0.050 116 564 332 764 18 964 532 316 732 14 516 38.” After extracting nouns verbs and adjectives from the text description, those features may be classified together by the regional spend classification system404in the following UNSPSC hierarchy levels: TABLE 2UNSPSC Hierarchy LevelStandard Spend CategoryCommodity“Hex keys”Class“Wrenches and drivers”Family“Hand tools”Segment“Tools and general machinery” In a similar way, all spend data lines in regional data storage may be classified by regional spend classification system404in standard spend categories. The regional spend classification system404may do this on a continuous or periodic basis (e.g., hourly or daily) for example as new spend data lines are received from the regional SMCS instances402and stored in the regional data storage. As a result, the regional spend classification system404may store or update a classification mapping at regional data store. The classification mapping maps classified spend data lines to one or more standard spend categories. The classification mapping may be stored and maintained at the regional data storage. Regional spend aggregation system406may use the classification mapping stored at the regional data storage to periodically aggregate spend data lines stored at the regional data storage on an aggregation interval based on standard spend categories. The aggregation interval may be hourly or daily, for example. On the aggregation interval, the regional spend aggregation system406may compute per-SMCS instance-based and community-based spend aggregates based on new spend data that has not been aggregated since the prior aggregation interval. For example, the regional spend aggregation system406may compute spend aggregates hourly or daily based on the past hour's or past day's spend data collected at the regional data storage. On the aggregation interval or on a longer periodic interval, the regional spend aggregation system406may “roll-up” spend aggregates computed on the aggregation interval into spend aggregates covering longer intervals of time. For example, hourly spend aggregates may be rolled-up to daily spend aggregates, and those daily spend aggregates rolled-up to monthly spend aggregates, and so on. According to some techniques, the regional spend aggregation system406computes a rolling window of monthly spend aggregates for the past twelve months. Regional spend aggregation system406may compute a variety of different spend aggregates. According to some techniques, the following community-based spend aggregates are computed from a set of spend data lines at regional data storage. The set of spend data lines may be from spend data collected from a plurality (a community) of regional SMCS402instances. The aggregates may be computed from the set of spend data lines for each distinct unordered combination of supplier and Level 2 standard spend category in the set of spend data lines. The Level 2 standard spend category may be the family level of the UNSPSC, for example. TABLE 3CommunityDescriptionAggregateNumber ofThe number of distinct Level 4 standard spendDistinctcategories in which the set of spend data lines in theIndividualLevel 2 standard spend category for the supplier areCommoditiesclassified. The Level 4 standard spend category mayPer Familybe the commodity level of the UNSPCS, for example.Spend CategoryPer Supplier.Number ofThe number of distinct customers in the set of spendDistinctdata lines in the Level 2 standard spend category forCustomers Perthe supplier.Family SpendCategoryPer Supplier. According to some of the techniques, the following additional community spend aggregates are computed by the regional spend aggregation system406from a set of spend data lines at regional data storage. The set of spend data lines may be from spend data collected from a plurality (a community) of regional SMCS402instances. The aggregates may be computed from the set of spend data lines for each distinct unordered combination of supplier, Level 2 standard spend category, customer industry, and spend transaction type in the set spend data lines. The Level 2 standard spend category may be the family level of the UNSPSC, for example. The customer industry may be selected from a predefined set of high-level industry categories such as for example the set of top-level industry groups of the standard industrial classification (SIC) system or the set of top-level business sectors of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), or the like, or a subset, or a superset thereof. The spend transaction type may be one of invoice, purchase order or requisition. TABLE 4Additional CommunityAggregatesDescriptionAverage Per-CustomerThe average per customer spend amount inSpend Amount.the set of spend data lines for the supplier,the Level 2 standard spend category, the customerindustry, and the spend transaction type.Average Per-CustomerThe average per customer number of spendSpend Transactiontransactions in the set of spend data lines for theCount.supplier, the Level 2 standard spend category, thecustomer industry, and the spend transaction type. According to some of the techniques, the following additional per-instance spend aggregates are computed by the regional spend aggregation system406from a set of spend data lines at regional data storage. The set of spend data lines may be from spend data collected from a particular regional SMCS instance402(as opposed to from a community of regional SMCS instances402.) These per-instance aggregates may be computed from the set of spend data lines for each distinct unordered combination of supplier, Level 2 standard spend category, customer industry, and spend transaction type in the set spend data lines. TABLE 5Per-Instance AggregatesDescriptionTotal Spend Amount.The total spend amount in the set of spenddata lines for the supplier, the Level 2standard spend category, the customerindustry, and the spend transaction type.Total SpendThe total number of spend transactionsTransaction Count.in the set of spend data lines for the supplier, theLevel 2 standard spend category, the customerindustry, and the spend transaction type. In the above, if customers are anonymized in the region spend data, then the regional SMCS402instances may be used as a proxy. For example, instead of computing the average-per customer spend amount, the average per-instance spend amount may be computed instead. Further, instead of computing an average as in, for example, an average per-customer spend amount, a mean, median, mode or midrange many be computed instead. Alternatively, one of more these aggregates may be computed in addition to the average. Global spend aggregation system408may aggregate regional spend aggregates computed by the regional spend aggregation system406including commodity aggregates (Numbers of Distinct Individual Commodities Per Family Spend Category Per Supplier, Numbers of Distinct Customers Per Family Spend Category Per Supplier), the additional community aggregates (Average Per-Customer Spend Amounts, Average Per-Customer Spend Transaction Counts) and the per-instance aggregates (Total Spend Amounts, Total Spend Transaction Counts). The global spend aggregates may be stored in global data/object storage where they are used to build and maintain indices by global indexing system410. The indexes are used to efficiently provide configurable community-based spend analysis in graphical user interfaces to customers204at their personal computing devices. To do this, customers204may send requests for community-based spend analysis over network210to their respective regional SMCS instances402which in turn access the indexes at global indexing system410to obtain the information of the requested community-based spend analysis for transmission over network210to the customers'204personal computers for presentation in graphical user interfaces at the customers'204personal computers. Example graphical user interfaces for community-based spend analysis are described below with respect to certain figures of the drawings. Indexing for Community-Based Spend Analysis FIG.5is a schematic diagram of index entries for efficiently conducting community-based spend analysis. As shown, there are three different types of entries for three different indexes. The first index contains entries502, the second index contains entries512, and the third index contains entries522. The first index may be used to efficiently look up the “Number of Distinct Individual Commodities per Family Spend Category per Supplier” global community aggregate and for efficiently looking up the “Number of Distinct Customers per Family Spend Category per Supplier” global community aggregate for a given supplier and family standard spend category. The first index is also useful for efficiently aggregating over the Number of Distinct Individual Commodities per Family Spend Category per Supplier global community aggregates for a given supplier, or for efficiently aggregating over the Number of Distinct Customers per Family Spend Category per Supplier global community aggregates for a given supplier. Each entry502of the first index has a field503for the supplier id, a field504for the standard spend category code (e.g., a code from the family level of the UNSPSC), a field505for the Number of Distinct Individual Commodities per Family Spend Category per Supplier global community aggregate computed by the global aggregation system408for the supplier503and standard spend category504of the entry502, and a field506for the “Number of Distinct Customers per Family Spend Category per Supplier” global community aggregate computed by the global aggregation system408for the supplier503and standard spend category504of the entry502. The second index may be used to efficiently look up the “Average Per-Customer Spend Amount” global community aggregate and for efficiently looking up the “Average Per-Customer Spend Transaction Count” global community aggregate for a given supplier, family standard spend category, a customer industry, a month, and a transaction type. The second index is also useful for aggregating those global community aggregates for a given supplier and one or more but less than all of a family standard spend category, a customer industry, a month, and a transaction type. Each entry512of the second index has a field513for the supplier id, a field514for the standard spend category code (e.g., a code from the family level of the UNSPSC), a field515for the customer industry, a field516for the month, a field517for the transaction type, a field518for the Average Per-Customer Spend Amount global community aggregate, and a field519for the Average Per-Customer Spend Transaction Count global community aggregate. The third index is like the second index but for the Total Spend Amount per-instance aggregates and the Total Spend Transaction Count per-instance aggregates. Each entry522of the third index has a field523for the instance id, a field524for the supplier id, a field525for the standard spend category code (e.g., a code from the family level of the UNSPSC), a field526for the customer industry, a field527for the month, a field528for the transaction type, a field529for the Total Spend Amount instance aggregate, and a field530for the Total Spend Transaction Count instance aggregate. Community-Based Spend Analysis in Multiple Spend Categories FIG.6depicts an example graphical user interface600for community-based spend analysis across a plurality of top spend categories. The GUI600provides a global selector602with user interface controls (e.g., drop-down selection lists) to the user for selecting what information is displayed below the global selector602. The GUI600may be presented to a particular customer204at a personal computing device of the particular customer204after the particular customer204has successfully authenticated with a user account associated with the particular customer's204regional SMCS instance402. The particular customer204may use the global selector602to configure/filter the spend analysis that is displayed in the GUI600. For conducting spend analysis, the global selector602provides four filters for filtering the information that is included in the displayed spend analysis. The type filter603selects whether spend or count aggregates are included in the displayed spend analysis. In this example, spend aggregates are selected. Generally, a spend aggregate is an aggregate of spend amounts. For example, in GUI600, the total invoice spend by the particular customer during the selected period across all industries in the “Furniture & Furnishings” standard spend category is between $110,000 and $120,000, while the average invoice spend in the community during the same period across industries in the same standard spend category is between $70,000 and $80,000. Both the total invoice spend (SUM) by the particular customer and the average invoice spend in the community (AVERAGE) are spend aggregates. A count aggregate is an aggregate of a number of spend transactions of a particular type. For example, a count aggregate may be a count of a number of invoices paid by a particular customer during a period of time across all or selected industries, or an average number of invoices paid by a community of customers during the period of time across all or the selected industries. By default, all spend transaction types are included. The transaction filter604may be used to limit the spend transaction types that are included to one of invoices, purchase orders, purchase requisitions, or expense reports. In this example, the spend analysis is limited to invoices. The industry filter605may be used to limit the industry of the spend analysis from the default of including all industries. The industry filter605is useful for selecting a community of customers for the spend analysis that are in the same industry as the particular customer. Finally, the period filter606may be used to limit the time period of the spend analysis. In this example, the time period of the spend analysis is limited to the past twelve months. Other selectable options may include for example the past month, the past two months, the past three months, or other selected range of time. Based on the selections by the particular customer in the global selector602, the spend data panel604includes a bar graph that charts invoice spend for a set of top ten standard spend categories for the particular customer according to invoice spend. For each of the top ten standard spend categories, a comparison against average invoice spend for the community for the standard spend category is provided. For example, from spend data panel604, the particular customer can see that the average per-customer invoice spend for the community in the past twelve months for software was more than the invoice spend by the particular customer for software. Based on the selections by the particular customer in the global selector602, two supplier count charts608are also provided. One chart specifies the number of distinct suppliers associated with invoice spend by particular customer in the past twelve months in the top ten standard spend categories. The other chart specifies the average number of distinct suppliers per customer in the community associated with invoice spend in the past twelve months in the top ten invoice standard spend categories. From the supplier count chart608, the particular customer can see that they used more suppliers in the past twelve months for the top ten standard spend categories for invoice spend than customers in the community did on average. Based on the selections by the particular customer in the global selector602, two supplier tables610are provided in the GUI600. One table lists the top ten suppliers in terms of invoice spend by the particular customer in the past twelve months for the top ten standard spend categories according to invoice spend. The other table lists for comparison the top ten suppliers in terms of average invoice spend per customer in the community in the past twelve months for the top ten standard spend categories according to invoice spend. Finally, GUI600provides recommendations611for spend optimization. The recommendations611displayed are automatically selected according to a recommendation rule set. Each recommendation611is accompanied with user interface controls in the GUI600which the particular customer can invoke to begin a respective spend optimization process. Note that while in the above example GUI600, the spend data under spend analysis is for ten standard spend categories, the spend data under spend data analysis could be for more the ten standard spend categories or for as few as a single selected standard spend category. Community-Based Spend Analysis in a Single Spend Category FIG.7depicts an example graphical user interface700for community-based spend analysis in a single selected spend category. The GUI700provides a global selector702with user interface controls (e.g., drop-down selection lists) to the user for selecting what information is displayed below the global selector702in the chart area707. The GUI700may be presented to a particular customer204at a personal computing device of the particular customer204after the particular customer204has successfully authenticated with a user account associated with the particular customer's204regional SMCS instance402. The particular customer204may use the global selector702to configure/filter the spend analysis that is displayed in the GUI700. For conducting spend analysis, the global selector702provides five filters for filtering the information that is included in the displayed spend analysis707. The commodity filter712selects a single standard category for the displayed spend analysis707from among a plurality of standard spend categories available for selection. In this example, the “Computer Equipment and Accessories” standard spend category is selected. The type filter703selects whether spend or count aggregates are included in the displayed spend analysis707. In this example, spend aggregates are selected. By default, all spend transaction types are included. The transaction filter704may be used to limit the spend transaction types that are included in the displayed spend analysis707to one of invoices, purchase orders, purchase requisitions, or expense reports. In this example, the spend analysis is limited to purchase requisitions. The industry filter705may be used to limit the industry of the displayed spend analysis707from the default of including all available industries. The industry filter705is useful for selecting a community of customers for the spend analysis that are in the same industry as the particular customer. Finally, the period filter706may be used to limit the time period of the spend analysis. In this example, the time period of the spend analysis is limited to the past twelve months. Other selectable options may include for example the past month, the past two months, the past three months, or other selected range of time. Based on the selections by the particular customer in the global selector702, the displayed spend analysis707includes a bar graph that charts purchase requisition spend for a single spend category by the particular customer during the past twelve months. A comparison against average purchase requisition spend in the standard spend category by the community during the past twelve months is also provided. For example, from displayed spend analysis707, the particular customer can see that the average per-customer purchase requisition spend by the community for computer equipment and accessories in the past twelve months was less than 2.5% of the total per-customer purchase requisition spend by the community in the past twelve months, while the particular customer's purchase requisition spend for computer equipment and accessors in the past twelve months was over 7.5% of the total purchase requisition spend by the particular customer in the past twelve months. As depicted in GUI800ofFIG.8, based on the selections by the particular customer in the global selector802, two supplier count charts808are also provided. One chart specifies the number of distinct suppliers associated with purchase requisition spend by particular customer in the past twelve months for the selected “Computer Equipment and Accessories” standard spend category. The other chart specifies the average number of distinct suppliers per customer in the community associated with purchase requisition spend in the past twelve months for the selected “Computer Equipment and Accessories” standard spend category. From the supplier count chart808, the particular customer can see that they used far fewer suppliers in the past twelve months for the selected “Computer Equipment and Accessories” spend category for purchase requisition spend than customers in the community did on average. Based on the selections by the particular customer in the global selector802, two supplier tables810are provided in the GUI800. One table lists the top suppliers in terms of purchase requisition spend by the particular customer in the past twelve months for the selected “Computer Equipment and Accessories” spend category. The other table lists for comparison the top suppliers in terms of average purchase requisition spend per customer in the community in the past twelve months for the selected “Computer Equipment and Accessories” spend category. The suppliers in the tables810are also associated with customer and community ratings, respectively, so that the particular customer can compare the customer's ratings to the community's average ratings. For example, from tables810, the particular customer can see that the top supplier for the particular customer “IFN RESEARCH LLC” has relatively low average ranking in the community. From this, the particular customer may decide to switch to a higher rated supplier such as, for example, “AMCE COMPUTING” listed as the top-rated supplier for the standard spend category by the community. As depicted in GUI900ofFIG.9, recommendations911are provided for spend optimization. The recommendations911displayed are automatically selected according to a recommendation rule set. Each recommendation911is accompanied with user interface controls in the GUI900which the particular customer can invoke to begin a respective spend optimization process. While in the embodiments ofFIG.6,FIG.7, andFIG.8, a bar chart is used to compare a particular customer's spend against the spend of the community, other types of charts may be used for the comparison including, but not limited to, a column chart, a Mekko chart, a pie chart, a line chart, a scatter plot chart, a bullet chart, etc. Community-Based Spend Optimization Recommendations According to some of the techniques, different recommendation types are possible, each having their own respective recommendation rule that governs when the recommendation is made to a particular customer in a graphical user interface (e.g., GUI600or GUI900) The recommendations may be based on the spend data selected by the particular customer using the global selector (e.g.,602or702). One type of recommendation recommends that the particular customer should consider diversifying suppliers. This recommendation may be triggered when the number of distinct suppliers for the particular customer is less than one-half (or other suitable threshold) the number of distinct suppliers on average in the community according to the spend data selected by the particular customer using the global selector (e.g.,602or702). Another type of recommendation recommends that the particular customer should consider consolidating suppliers. This recommendation may be triggered when the number of distinct suppliers for the particular customer is greater than one and one-half (or other suitable threshold) the number of distinct suppliers on average in the community according to the spend data selected by the particular customer using the global selector (e.g.,602or702). Yet another type of recommendation recommends that the particular customer should drive more spending using a sourcing feature of the SMCS214. This recommendation may be triggered when the requisition spend amount is greater than one and one-half (or other suitable threshold) the average requisition spend amount per customer in the community according to the spend data selected by the particular customer using the global selector (e.g.,602or702). Yet another type of recommendation recommends that the particular customer should drive more spending using the sourcing feature of the SMCS214. This recommendation may be triggered when the number of requisition spend transactions is greater than one and one-half (or other suitable threshold) the average number of requisition spend transactions per customer in the community according to the spend data selected by the particular customer using the global selector (e.g.,602or702). Yet another type of recommendation recommends that the particular customer should drive more spending using the sourcing feature of the SMCS214. This recommendation may be triggered when the number of requisition spend transactions is greater than one and one-half (or other suitable threshold) the average number of requisition spend transactions per customer in the community according to the spend data selected by the particular customer using the global selector (e.g.,602or702). Yet another type of recommendation recommends that the particular customer consolidate spend into fewer purchase orders. This recommendation may be triggered when the number of purchase order spend transactions is greater than one and one-half (or other suitable threshold) the average number of purchase order spend transactions per customer in the community according to the spend data selected by the particular customer using the global selector (e.g.,602or702). Yet another type of recommendation recommends that the particular customer use more electronic invoicing channels. This recommendation may be triggered when the number of invoice spend transactions is greater than one and one-half (or other suitable threshold) the average number of invoice spend transactions per customer in the community according to the spend data selected by the particular customer using the global selector (e.g.,602or702). Yet another type of recommendation recommends that the particular customer use top rated community suppliers. This recommendation may be triggered when the number of top suppliers for the particular customer is less than one-third (or other suitable threshold) of the number of top suppliers on average number per customer in the community according to the spend data selected by the particular customer using the global selector (e.g.,602or702). Yet another type of recommendation recommends that the particular customer review their high-risk suppliers. This recommendation may be triggered when the number of high-risk suppliers for the particular customer is more than one-third (or other suitable threshold) of the total number of top-N(e.g., ten) suppliers for the particular customer according to the spend data selected by the particular customer using the global selector (e.g.,602or702). Yet another type of recommendation recommends that the particular customer review the health of certain suppliers. This recommendation may be triggered when the number of high-risk suppliers for the particular customer is more than 50% higher (or other suitable threshold) than the number of high-risk suppliers on average per customer in the community according to the spend data selected by the particular customer using the global selector (e.g.,602or702). Example Computer System FIG.1is a block diagram that illustrates a computer system100with which techniques for community-based spend analysis in a software as a service computing environment may be embodied. Computer system100includes a bus102or other communication mechanism for communicating information, and a hardware processor104coupled with bus102for processing information. Hardware processor104may be, for example, a general-purpose microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU) or a core thereof, a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a system on a chip (SoC). Computer system100may include one or more hardware processors104coupled with bus102. Thus, reference in the following to a single processor104is intended to encompass multi-processor104computer systems100. Computer system100also includes a main memory106, typically implemented by one or more volatile memory devices, coupled to bus102for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor104. Main memory106also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions by processor104. Computer system100may also include a read-only memory (ROM)108or other static storage device coupled to bus102for storing static information and instructions for processor104. A storage system110, typically implemented by one or more non-volatile memory devices, is provided and coupled to bus102for storing information and instructions. Computer system100may be coupled via bus102to a display112, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT), for displaying information to a computer user. Display112may be combined with a touch sensitive surface to form a touch screen display. The touch sensitive surface is an input device for communicating information including direction information and command selections to processor104and for controlling cursor movement on display112via touch input directed to the touch sensitive surface such by tactile or haptic contact with the touch sensitive surface by a user's finger, fingers, or hand or by a hand-held stylus or pen. The touch sensitive surface may be implemented using a variety of different touch detection and location technologies including, for example, resistive, capacitive, surface acoustical wave (SAW) or infrared technology. An input device114, including alphanumeric and other keys, may be coupled to bus102for communicating information and command selections to processor104. Another type of user input device may be cursor control116, such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating direction information and command selections to processor104and for controlling cursor movement on display112. This input device typically has two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that allows the device to specify positions in a plane. Instructions, when stored in non-transitory storage media accessible to processor104, such as, for example, main memory106or storage system110, render computer system100into a special-purpose machine that is customized to perform the operations specified in the instructions. Alternatively, customized hard-wired logic, one or more ASICs or FPGAs, firmware and/or hardware logic which in combination with the computer system causes or programs computer system100to be a special-purpose machine. A computer-implemented process may be performed by computer system100in response to processor104executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory106. Such instructions may be read into main memory106from another storage medium, such as storage system110. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in main memory106causes processor104to perform the process. Alternatively, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to perform the process. The term “storage media” as used herein refers to any non-transitory media that store data and/or instructions that cause a machine to operate in a specific fashion. Such storage media may comprise non-volatile media (e.g., storage system110) and/or volatile media (e.g., main memory106). Non-volatile media includes, for example, read-only memory (e.g., EEPROM), flash memory (e.g., solid-state drives), magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk drives), and optical discs (e.g., CD-ROM). Volatile media includes, for example, random-access memory devices, dynamic random-access memory devices (e.g., DRAM) and static random-access memory devices (e.g., SRAM). Storage media is distinct from but may be used in conjunction with transmission media. Transmission media participates in transferring information between storage media. For example, transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the circuitry that comprise bus102. Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave and infra-red data communications. Computer system100also includes a network interface118coupled to bus102. Network interface118provides a two-way data communication coupling to a wired or wireless network link120that is connected to a local, cellular or mobile network122. For example, communication interface118may be IEEE 802.3 wired “ethernet” card, an IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) card, a IEEE 802.15 wireless personal area network (e.g., Bluetooth) card or a cellular network (e.g., GSM, LTE, etc.) card to provide a data communication connection to a compatible wired or wireless network. In any such implementation, communication interface118sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information. Network link120typically provides data communication through one or more networks to other data devices. For example, network link120may provide a connection through network122to a local computer system124that is also connected to network122or to data communication equipment operated by a network access provider126such as, for example, an internet service provider or a cellular network provider. Network access provider126in turn provides data communication connectivity to another data communications network128(e.g., the internet). Networks122and128both use electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams. The signals through the various networks and the signals on network link120and through communication interface118, which carry the digital data to and from computer system100, are example forms of transmission media. Computer system100can send messages and receive data, including program code, through the networks122and128, network link120and communication interface118. In the internet example, a remote computer system130might transmit a requested code for an application program through network128, network122and communication interface118. The received code may be executed by processor104as it is received, and/or stored in storage device110, or other non-volatile storage for later execution. EXTENSIONS AND ALTERNATIVES While techniques for community-based spend analysis in a software as a service computing environment have been described in some detail with specific reference to an exemplary embodiment and certain alternatives, there is no intent to limit the techniques to that particular embodiment or those specific alternatives. For example, those skilled in the art will appreciate that modifications may be made to the exemplary embodiment without departing from the techniques of the present disclosure. | 63,422 |
11861537 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Through one or more of its various aspects, embodiments and/or specific features or sub-components of the present disclosure, are intended to bring out one or more of the advantages as specifically described above and noted below. The examples may also be embodied as one or more non-transitory computer readable media having instructions stored thereon for one or more aspects of the present technology as described and illustrated by way of the examples herein. The instructions in some examples include executable code that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the processors to carry out steps necessary to implement the methods of the examples of this technology that are described and illustrated herein. FIG.1is an exemplary system for use in accordance with the embodiments described herein. The system100is generally shown and may include a computer system102, which is generally indicated. The computer system102may include a set of instructions that can be executed to cause the computer system102to perform any one or more of the methods or computer-based functions disclosed herein, either alone or in combination with the other described devices. The computer system102may operate as a standalone device or may be connected to other systems or peripheral devices. For example, the computer system102may include, or be included within, any one or more computers, servers, systems, communication networks or cloud environment. Even further, the instructions may be operative in such cloud-based computing environment. In a networked deployment, the computer system102may operate in the capacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-client user network environment, a client user computer in a cloud computing environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The computer system102, or portions thereof, may be implemented as, or incorporated into, various devices, such as a personal computer, a tablet computer, a set-top box, a personal digital assistant, a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wireless smart phone, a personal trusted device, a wearable device, a global positioning satellite (GPS) device, a web appliance, or any other machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while a single computer system102is illustrated, additional embodiments may include any collection of systems or sub-systems that individually or jointly execute instructions or perform functions. The term “system” shall be taken throughout the present disclosure to include any collection of systems or sub-systems that individually or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructions to perform one or more computer functions. As illustrated inFIG.1, the computer system102may include at least one processor104. The processor104is tangible and non-transitory. As used herein, the term “non-transitory” is to be interpreted not as an eternal characteristic of a state, but as a characteristic of a state that will last for a period of time. The term “non-transitory” specifically disavows fleeting characteristics such as characteristics of a particular carrier wave or signal or other forms that exist only transitorily in any place at any time. The processor104is an article of manufacture and/or a machine component. The processor104is configured to execute software instructions in order to perform functions as described in the various embodiments herein. The processor104may be a general-purpose processor or may be part of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The processor104may also be a microprocessor, a microcomputer, a processor chip, a controller, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a state machine, or a programmable logic device. The processor104may also be a logical circuit, including a programmable gate array (PGA) such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or another type of circuit that includes discrete gate and/or transistor logic. The processor104may be a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both. Additionally, any processor described herein may include multiple processors, parallel processors, or both. Multiple processors may be included in, or coupled to, a single device or multiple devices. The computer system102may also include a computer memory106. The computer memory106may include a static memory, a dynamic memory, or both in communication. Memories described herein are tangible storage mediums that can store data as well as executable instructions and are non-transitory during the time instructions are stored therein. Again, as used herein, the term “non-transitory” is to be interpreted not as an eternal characteristic of a state, but as a characteristic of a state that will last for a period of time. The term “non-transitory” specifically disavows fleeting characteristics such as characteristics of a particular carrier wave or signal or other forms that exist only transitorily in any place at any time. The memories are an article of manufacture and/or machine component. Memories described herein are computer-readable mediums from which data and executable instructions can be read by a computer. Memories as described herein may be random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), flash memory, electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), registers, a hard disk, a cache, a removable disk, tape, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disk (DVD), floppy disk, blu-ray disk, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Memories may be volatile or non-volatile, secure and/or encrypted, unsecure and/or unencrypted. Of course, the computer memory106may comprise any combination of memories or a single storage. The computer system102may further include a display108, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a flat panel display, a solid state display, a cathode ray tube (CRT), a plasma display, or any other type of display, examples of which are well known to skilled persons. The computer system102may also include at least one input device110, such as a keyboard, a touch-sensitive input screen or pad, a speech input, a mouse, a remote control device having a wireless keypad, a microphone coupled to a speech recognition engine, a camera such as a video camera or still camera, a cursor control device, a global positioning system (GPS) device, an altimeter, a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, or any combination thereof. Those skilled in the art appreciate that various embodiments of the computer system102may include multiple input devices110. Moreover, those skilled in the art further appreciate that the above-listed, exemplary input devices110are not meant to be exhaustive and that the computer system102may include any additional, or alternative, input devices110. The computer system102may also include a medium reader112which is configured to read any one or more sets of instructions, e.g. software, from any of the memories described herein. The instructions, when executed by a processor, can be used to perform one or more of the methods and processes as described herein. In a particular embodiment, the instructions may reside completely, or at least partially, within the memory106, the medium reader112, and/or the processor110during execution by the computer system102. Furthermore, the computer system102may include any additional devices, components, parts, peripherals, hardware, software or any combination thereof which are commonly known and understood as being included with or within a computer system, such as, but not limited to, a network interface114and an output device116. The output device116may be, but is not limited to, a speaker, an audio out, a video out, a remote-control output, a printer, or any combination thereof. Each of the components of the computer system102may be interconnected and communicate via a bus118or other communication link. As illustrated inFIG.1, the components may each be interconnected and communicate via an internal bus. However, those skilled in the art appreciate that any of the components may also be connected via an expansion bus. Moreover, the bus118may enable communication via any standard or other specification commonly known and understood such as, but not limited to, peripheral component interconnect, peripheral component interconnect express, parallel advanced technology attachment, serial advanced technology attachment, etc. The computer system102may be in communication with one or more additional computer devices120via a network122. The network122may be, but is not limited to, a local area network, a wide area network, the Internet, a telephony network, a short-range network, or any other network commonly known and understood in the art. The short-range network may include, for example, Bluetooth, Zigbee, infrared, near field communication, ultraband, or any combination thereof. Those skilled in the art appreciate that additional networks122which are known and understood may additionally or alternatively be used and that the exemplary networks122are not limiting or exhaustive. Also, while the network122is illustrated inFIG.1as a wireless network, those skilled in the art appreciate that the network122may also be a wired network. The additional computer device120is illustrated inFIG.1as a personal computer. However, those skilled in the art appreciate that, in alternative embodiments of the present application, the computer device120may be a laptop computer, a tablet PC, a personal digital assistant, a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wireless telephone, a personal trusted device, a web appliance, a server, or any other device that is capable of executing a set of instructions, sequential or otherwise, that specify actions to be taken by that device. Of course, those skilled in the art appreciate that the above-listed devices are merely exemplary devices and that the device120may be any additional device or apparatus commonly known and understood in the art without departing from the scope of the present application. For example, the computer device120may be the same or similar to the computer system102. Furthermore, those skilled in the art similarly understand that the device may be any combination of devices and apparatuses. Of course, those skilled in the art appreciate that the above-listed components of the computer system102are merely meant to be exemplary and are not intended to be exhaustive and/or inclusive. Furthermore, the examples of the components listed above are also meant to be exemplary and similarly are not meant to be exhaustive and/or inclusive. In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, the methods described herein may be implemented using a hardware computer system that executes software programs. Further, in an exemplary, non-limited embodiment, implementations can include distributed processing, component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing. Virtual computer system processing can be constructed to implement one or more of the methods or functionalities as described herein, and a processor described herein may be used to support a virtual processing environment. As described herein, various embodiments provide optimized methods and systems for identifying, quantifying, classifying, and reducing organizational waste in real time. Referring toFIG.2, a schematic of an exemplary network environment200for implementing a method for identifying, quantifying, classifying, and reducing organizational waste in real time is illustrated. In an exemplary embodiment, the method is executable on any networked computer platform, such as, for example, a personal computer (PC). The method for identifying, quantifying, classifying, and reducing organizational waste in real time may be implemented by a Waste Identification and Quantification (WIQ) device202. The WIQ device202may be the same or similar to the computer system102as described with respect toFIG.1. The WIQ device202may store one or more applications that can include executable instructions that, when executed by the WIQ device202, cause the WIQ device202to perform actions, such as to transmit, receive, or otherwise process network messages, for example, and to perform other actions described and illustrated below with reference to the figures. The application(s) may be implemented as modules or components of other applications. Further, the application(s) can be implemented as operating system extensions, modules, plugins, or the like. Even further, the application(s) may be operative in a cloud-based computing environment. The application(s) may be executed within or as virtual machine(s) or virtual server(s) that may be managed in a cloud-based computing environment. Also, the application(s), and even the WIQ device202itself, may be located in virtual server(s) running in a cloud-based computing environment rather than being tied to one or more specific physical network computing devices. Also, the application(s) may be running in one or more virtual machines (VMs) executing on the WIQ device202. Additionally, in one or more embodiments of this technology, virtual machine(s) running on the WIQ device202may be managed or supervised by a hypervisor. In the network environment200ofFIG.2, the WIQ device202is coupled to a plurality of server devices204(1)-204(n) that hosts a plurality of databases206(1)-206(n), and also to a plurality of client devices208(1)-208(n) via communication network(s)210. A communication interface of the WIQ device202, such as the network interface114of the computer system102ofFIG.1, operatively couples and communicates between the WIQ device202, the server devices204(1)-204(n), and/or the client devices208(1)-208(n), which are all coupled together by the communication network(s)210, although other types and/or numbers of communication networks or systems with other types and/or numbers of connections and/or configurations to other devices and/or elements may also be used. The communication network(s)210may be the same or similar to the network122as described with respect toFIG.1, although the WIQ device202, the server devices204(1)-204(n), and/or the client devices208(1)-208(n) may be coupled together via other topologies. Additionally, the network environment200may include other network devices such as one or more routers and/or switches, for example, which are well known in the art and thus will not be described herein. This technology provides a number of advantages including methods, non-transitory computer readable media, and WIQ devices that efficiently implement a method for identifying, quantifying, classifying, and reducing organizational waste in real time. By way of example only, the communication network(s)210may include local area network(s) (LAN(s)) or wide area network(s) (WAN(s)), and can use TCP/IP over Ethernet and industry-standard protocols, although other types and/or numbers of protocols and/or communication networks may be used. The communication network(s)210in this example may employ any suitable interface mechanisms and network communication technologies including, for example, teletraffic in any suitable form (e.g., voice, modem, and the like), Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTNs), Ethernet-based Packet Data Networks (PDNs), combinations thereof, and the like. The WIQ device202may be a standalone device or integrated with one or more other devices or apparatuses, such as one or more of the server devices204(1)-204(n), for example. In one particular example, the WIQ device202may include or be hosted by one of the server devices204(1)-204(n), and other arrangements are also possible. Moreover, one or more of the devices of the WIQ device202may be in a same or a different communication network including one or more public, private, or cloud networks, for example. The plurality of server devices204(1)-204(n) may be the same or similar to the computer system102or the computer device120as described with respect toFIG.1, including any features or combination of features described with respect thereto. For example, any of the server devices204(1)-204(n) may include, among other features, one or more processors, a memory, and a communication interface, which are coupled together by a bus or other communication link, although other numbers and/or types of network devices may be used. The server devices204(1)-204(n) in this example may process requests received from the WIQ device202via the communication network(s)210according to the HTTP-based and/or JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) protocol, for example, although other protocols may also be used. The server devices204(1)-204(n) may be hardware or software or may represent a system with multiple servers in a pool, which may include internal or external networks. The server devices204(1)-204(n) hosts the databases206(1)-206(n) that are configured to store data that relates to software development project management and data that relates to personnel and operational issues in connection with the software development lifecycle. Although the server devices204(1)-204(n) are illustrated as single devices, one or more actions of each of the server devices204(1)-204(n) may be distributed across one or more distinct network computing devices that together comprise one or more of the server devices204(1)-204(n). Moreover, the server devices204(1)-204(n) are not limited to a particular configuration. Thus, the server devices204(1)-204(n) may contain a plurality of network computing devices that operate using a master/slave approach, whereby one of the network computing devices of the server devices204(1)-204(n) operates to manage and/or otherwise coordinate operations of the other network computing devices. The server devices204(1)-204(n) may operate as a plurality of network computing devices within a cluster architecture, a peer-to peer architecture, virtual machines, or within a cloud architecture, for example. Thus, the technology disclosed herein is not to be construed as being limited to a single environment and other configurations and architectures are also envisaged. The plurality of client devices208(1)-208(n) may also be the same or similar to the computer system102or the computer device120as described with respect toFIG.1, including any features or combination of features described with respect thereto. For example, the client devices208(1)-208(n) in this example may include any type of computing device that can interact with the WIQ device202via communication network(s)210. Accordingly, the client devices208(1)-208(n) may be mobile computing devices, desktop computing devices, laptop computing devices, tablet computing devices, virtual machines (including cloud-based computers), or the like, that host chat, e-mail, or voice-to-text applications, for example. In an exemplary embodiment, at least one client device208is a wireless mobile communication device, i.e., a smart phone. The client devices208(1)-208(n) may run interface applications, such as standard web browsers or standalone client applications, which may provide an interface to communicate with the WIQ device202via the communication network(s)210in order to communicate user requests and information. The client devices208(1)-208(n) may further include, among other features, a display device, such as a display screen or touchscreen, and/or an input device, such as a keyboard, for example. Although the exemplary network environment200with the WIQ device202, the server devices204(1)-204(n), the client devices208(1)-208(n), and the communication network(s)210are described and illustrated herein, other types and/or numbers of systems, devices, components, and/or elements in other topologies may be used. It is to be understood that the systems of the examples described herein are for exemplary purposes, as many variations of the specific hardware and software used to implement the examples are possible, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the relevant art(s). One or more of the devices depicted in the network environment200, such as the WIQ device202, the server devices204(1)-204(n), or the client devices208(1)-208(n), for example, may be configured to operate as virtual instances on the same physical machine. In other words, one or more of the WIQ device202, the server devices204(1)-204(n), or the client devices208(1)-208(n) may operate on the same physical device rather than as separate devices communicating through communication network(s)210. Additionally, there may be more or fewer WIQ devices202, server devices204(1)-204(n), or client devices208(1)-208(n) than illustrated inFIG.2. In addition, two or more computing systems or devices may be substituted for any one of the systems or devices in any example. Accordingly, principles and advantages of distributed processing, such as redundancy and replication also may be implemented, as desired, to increase the robustness and performance of the devices and systems of the examples. The examples may also be implemented on computer system(s) that extend across any suitable network using any suitable interface mechanisms and traffic technologies, including by way of example only teletraffic in any suitable form (e.g., voice and modem), wireless traffic networks, cellular traffic networks, Packet Data Networks (PDNs), the Internet, intranets, and combinations thereof. The WIQ device202is described and illustrated inFIG.3as including a waste identification and classification module302, although it may include other rules, policies, modules, databases, or applications, for example. As will be described below, the waste identification and classification module302is configured to implement a method for identifying, quantifying, classifying, and reducing organizational waste in real time. An exemplary process300for implementing a mechanism for identifying, quantifying, classifying, and reducing organizational waste in real time by utilizing the network environment ofFIG.2is illustrated as being executed inFIG.3. Specifically, a first client device208(1) and a second client device208(2) are illustrated as being in communication with WIQ device202. In this regard, the first client device208(1) and the second client device208(2) may be “clients” of the WIQ device202and are described herein as such. Nevertheless, it is to be known and understood that the first client device208(1) and/or the second client device208(2) need not necessarily be “clients” of the WIQ device202, or any entity described in association therewith herein. Any additional or alternative relationship may exist between either or both of the first client device208(1) and the second client device208(2) and the WIQ device202, or no relationship may exist. Further, WIQ device202is illustrated as being able to access a historical software development project management data repository206(1) and a personnel and operational issues database206(2). The waste identification and classification module302may be configured to access these databases for implementing a method for identifying, quantifying, classifying, and reducing organizational waste in real time. The first client device208(1) may be, for example, a smart phone. Of course, the first client device208(1) may be any additional device described herein. The second client device208(2) may be, for example, a personal computer (PC). Of course, the second client device208(2) may also be any additional device described herein. The process may be executed via the communication network(s)210, which may comprise plural networks as described above. For example, in an exemplary embodiment, either or both of the first client device208(1) and the second client device208(2) may communicate with the WIQ device202via broadband or cellular communication. Of course, these embodiments are merely exemplary and are not limiting or exhaustive. Upon being started, the waste identification and classification module302executes a process for identifying, quantifying, classifying, and reducing organizational waste in real time. An exemplary process for identifying, quantifying, classifying, and reducing organizational waste in real time is generally indicated at flowchart400inFIG.4. In process400ofFIG.4, at step S402, the waste identification and classification module302receives a user request to identify, quantify, and classify waste in the context of a software development project. Then, at step S404, the waste identification and classification module302identifies a plurality of tasks to be performed within the software development project. In an exemplary embodiment, the identification of the tasks may be performed by using an issue tracking tool, such as, for example, Jira, which is a widely used software application used for issue tracking and project management. At step S406, the waste identification and classification module302determines, for each task, whether a waste of resources has occurred. In an exemplary embodiment, the resources may include any one or more of a cost, an amount of time spent by a person, such as an engineer who is working on the software development project, and/or an amount of effort expended by the person. For example, for Project X, there may be three tasks: Task A, Task B, and Task C; and Engineer Z may have been assigned to work on Task A and Task C. In this scenario, the waste identification and classification module302may determine that the planned amount of time expected to be expended by Engineer Z on Task A was H hours and that the actual amount of time spent by Engineer Z on Task A was H+2.5 hours, and that the planned amount of time expected to be expended by Engineer Z on Task C was J hours and the actual amount of time spent by Engineer Z on Task C was J+0.8 hours. As a result, the waste identification and classification module302would determine that for Task A, there are 2.5 man-hours of waste that are associated with Engineer Z, and for Task C, there are 0.8 man-hours of waste that are associated with Engineer Z. At step S408, the waste identification and classification module302uses the issue tracking tool (e.g., Jira) to provide a label, also referred to herein as a tag, to at least some of the tasks. In an exemplary embodiment, the tag may include alphanumeric text, symbols, and/or codes to convey information that corresponds to the determinations made in step S406. In this aspect, when using Jira, a predefined set of keywords and codes may be used in tagging each task. For example, a tag may have a predetermined data structure that includes a category field, a sub-category field, and a number of wasted hours field, and the waste identification and classification module302may select entries for each field from a predefined set of keywords, codes, and symbols. In an exemplary embodiment, a tag may be provided only for tasks that have been determined as having an associated waste of resources, and tasks for which no waste has been identified may not be tagged. Alternatively, a tag may be provided for all tasks identified as being within the software development project, regardless of whether any corresponding waste has been identified. At step S410, the waste identification and classification module302generates a resource wastage report. In an exemplary embodiment, the resource wastage report includes information that identifies amounts of various resources that have been wasted for each task in the project. The resource wastage report is then transmitted to the user that submitted the request in step S402. At step S412, the waste identification and classification module302uses the results of the waste identification, quantification, and classification process to identify organizational friction points. In an exemplary embodiment, the waste identification and classification module302may use information included in the resource wastage report in conjunction with historical information that is stored in the historical software development project management data repository206(1) to analyze patterns of data in order to identify individual persons and/or groups within the organization that are associated with identified resource wastages. FIG.5is a process flow diagram500of a method for identifying, quantifying, classifying, and reducing organizational waste in real time by using Jira, according to an exemplary embodiment. As illustrated in the process flow diagram500, in a first stage, a software development project is depicted as a set of Jira stories, and each Jira story is tagged with a label that provides data indicating resource waste that has been identified and quantified. In a second stage, the data is extracted from the labels and classified. In a third stage, the data is analyzed in order to visualize the dimensions of friction points within the organization. In a fourth stage, the identified wastages and friction points are used to prioritize issues to be addressed and potential solutions to be applied within the organization, in order to reduce future resource waste and to enhance engineer experience. Accordingly, with this technology, an optimized process for identifying, quantifying, classifying, and reducing organizational waste in real time is provided. Although the invention has been described with reference to several exemplary embodiments, it is understood that the words that have been used are words of description and illustration, rather than words of limitation. Changes may be made within the purview of the appended claims, as presently stated and as amended, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure in its aspects. Although the invention has been described with reference to particular means, materials and embodiments, the invention is not intended to be limited to the particulars disclosed; rather the invention extends to all functionally equivalent structures, methods, and uses such as are within the scope of the appended claims. For example, while the computer-readable medium may be described as a single medium, the term “computer-readable medium” includes a single medium or multiple media, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term “computer-readable medium” shall also include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by a processor or that cause a computer system to perform any one or more of the embodiments disclosed herein. The computer-readable medium may comprise a non-transitory computer-readable medium or media and/or comprise a transitory computer-readable medium or media. In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, the computer-readable medium can include a solid-state memory such as a memory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatile read-only memories. Further, the computer-readable medium can be a random-access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally, the computer-readable medium can include a magneto-optical or optical medium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device to capture carrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmission medium. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any computer-readable medium or other equivalents and successor media, in which data or instructions may be stored. Although the present application describes specific embodiments which may be implemented as computer programs or code segments in computer-readable media, it is to be understood that dedicated hardware implementations, such as application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays and other hardware devices, can be constructed to implement one or more of the embodiments described herein. Applications that may include the various embodiments set forth herein may broadly include a variety of electronic and computer systems. Accordingly, the present application may encompass software, firmware, and hardware implementations, or combinations thereof. Nothing in the present application should be interpreted as being implemented or implementable solely with software and not hardware. Although the present specification describes components and functions that may be implemented in particular embodiments with reference to particular standards and protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards and protocols. Such standards are periodically superseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentially the same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocols having the same or similar functions are considered equivalents thereof. The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended to provide a general understanding of the various embodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a complete description of all the elements and features of apparatus and systems that utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many other embodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from the disclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, the illustrations are merely representational and may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions within the illustrations may be exaggerated, while other proportions may be minimized. Accordingly, the disclosure and the figures are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. One or more embodiments of the disclosure may be referred to herein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merely for convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of this application to any particular invention or inventive concept. Moreover, although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangement designed to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments. Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the description. The Abstract of the Disclosure is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, various features may be grouped together or described in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter may be directed to less than all of the features of any of the disclosed embodiments. Thus, the following claims are incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as defining separately claimed subject matter. The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, and not restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications, enhancements, and other embodiments which fall within the true spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, to the maximum extent allowed by law, the scope of the present disclosure is to be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the following claims, and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoing detailed description. | 36,228 |
11861538 | While embodiments are described herein by way of example for several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments are not limited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit embodiments to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word “may” is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words “include,” “including,” and “includes” mean including, but not limited to. When used in the claims, the term “or” is used as an inclusive or and not as an exclusive or. For example, the phrase “at least one of x, y, or z” means any one of x, y, and z, as well as any combination thereof. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatus for automating the process for identifying optimal strategies (or combinations of strategies) to be used for providing content pertaining to network-accessible offerings of an organization to potential customers or consumers of the offerings. Such offerings may include, for example, items available for purchase or rental from a store web site, membership of a user group with an associated set of privileges and benefits (such as free or low-cost delivery of ordered items), subscription to a service (e.g., a service which allows a particular number of movies or television programs to be viewed per month), discounts, enrolments in classes of various kinds, and so on. The types of content which may be provided to individuals or groups selected using the optimized strategies may include, for example, images, videos, audio items, coupons in paper or electronic form, and so on. A given content presentation strategy may, for example, indicate which subset of potential or current customers of an organization should be provided particular subsets of content to achieve a concrete set of goals (referred to as an objective) of the organization. The strategy may use machine learning and other techniques to assign probabilities for targeting different customers for a given objective. Numerous strategies may be proposed for a given objective by a set of strategy generators, and optimization techniques (such as techniques based on multi-arm bandit algorithms) may be used to select the best combination of strategies (or single strategy) to be used. By using the disclosed optimization methodology, different subsets of the customer population may be provided the types of content most likely to be of interest to them and most likely to result in customer actions desired by the organizations providing the offerings, while reducing the overall consumption of computing and communication resources associated with the presentation of the content. As one skilled in the art will appreciate in light of this disclosure, certain embodiments may be capable of achieving various advantages, including some or all of the following: (a) substantially reducing the overall amount of computation, storage and networking resources required to disseminate content associated with organization offerings to achieve specified organizational goals, (b) improving the user experience of customers of the organizations, e.g., by avoiding presentation of content which is likely to be of less interest to the customers, and/or (c) providing a taxonomy for specifying objectives associated with content presentation using easy-to-use interfaces, and generating machine readable versions of such objectives in a standard format which can be consumed by a variety of strategy generators. According to some embodiments, a system may comprise one or more computing devices. The devices may include instructions that upon execution on or across the devices cause the devices to obtain, e.g., via one or more programmatic interfaces of an analytics service of a provider network or cloud computing environment, values of a plurality of attributes of an objective associated with an offering set. The offering set may include one or more network-accessible offerings of an organization. The values of the attributes may indicate, for example, (a) one or more types of desired user actions with respect to one or more web sites of the organization, (b) one or more channels for presentation of content associated with the objective, and/or (c) one or more offering set-specific metrics associated the desired user actions. A machine-readable representation of the objective may be transmitted or provided to one or more registered strategy generators (e.g., respective sets of programs that have been registered earlier at the analytics service, which can automatically generate strategies for selecting user subsets for content presentation) in various embodiments. Several user selection strategies may be obtained from the registered strategy generators for the objective in at least some embodiments. A given user selection strategy may assign respective selection probabilities associated with receiving at least some content associated with the offering set to individual users of a user population in various embodiments. In some embodiments, one or more of the strategy generators may use machine learning models to generate the selection probabilities. From among the set of strategies obtained for the objective, an initial subset of candidate strategies for optimization may be identified, e.g., based at least in part on an analysis of a knowledge base such as a repository of records associated with one or more other objectives associated with respective offering sets. In some embodiments, the machine readable, standardized representations of the objectives may simplify the task of identifying similar objectives stored in the repository. Strategies that are similar to successfully-employed past strategies for an objective similar to the current objective may be included as the initial subset of candidate strategies. A number of strategy optimization iterations may be conducted on at least a sub-sample of a user population of the organization, using the initial subset of candidate strategies to begin with, until an optimization termination criterion is met in various embodiments. A given optimization iteration may comprise several steps. One such step may involve computing respective aggregated selection probabilities for individual users of the sub-sample based at least in part on (a) per-strategy selection probabilities for the individual users, obtained from the candidate strategies and (b) respective non-negative weights assigned to individual candidate strategies. Another step may involve initiating, based at least in art on the aggregated selection probabilities, presentation of at least some content associated with the offering set to at least some users of the sub-sample via a channel indicated in the objective in some embodiments. An optimization iteration may also include collecting one or more feedback metrics over a selected time interval, including at least one offering set-specific metric indicated in the objective, and updating at least some weights assigned to the candidate strategies based at least in part on (a) analysis of the feedback metrics and (b) an exploration-exploitation tradeoff parameter. In some embodiments, the iterative optimization technique used may represent an implementation of a variant of a contextual bandit learning technique with expert advice. After the iterations are terminated, in at least some embodiments, weights which were updated for the candidate strategies (e.g., in the final iteration) may be used to present content associated with the offering to at least some members of the user population which are not in the sub-sample. That is, the content may be presented to a larger subset of the population using those strategies which has been found to be more successful than others being evaluated during the optimization iterations. Furthermore, results of the optimization, e.g., records indicating the current objective and the set of strategies which were found to be successful for it, may be added to the knowledge base or repository, thereby adding to the information which can be used to select good starting candidate strategies for the optimization procedure in the future. In at least some embodiments, in addition to using the respective weights of the candidate user selection strategies being considered in an optimization iterations to identify users to whom the content pertaining to the offering set is provided, a group of hold-out users may also be selected, to whom the content is not provided. The hold-out group may act as a control group; similar metrics may be collected from the hold-out group as are collected from the users to whom the content is provided, and these metrics may also be analyzed to determine how to update the weights assigned to the candidate strategies. Some of the candidate strategies may be based on heuristics rather than on machine learning models in various embodiments. According to at least one embodiment, the iterative optimization process may be performed in response to one or more requests received via programmatic interfaces of the analytics service. In some embodiments, the machine readable version of an objective O1 associated with a set of offerings may be transformed into an embedding vector EV1, e.g., using machine learning techniques. Similarity scores between EV1 and a set of earlier-constructed embedding vectors EV2, EV3, EV4, . . . for other objectives O2, O3, O4, . . . for which optimal combinations of strategies have been found may be obtained. The initial set of candidate user selection strategies may then be selected with the help of the similarity scores—e.g., strategies which were successfully employed for some number of the most-similar objectives to O1 may be chosen as members of the initial set. In at least one embodiment, an easy-to-use interface may be provided to enable clients of the analytics service to specify attributes of objectives which comply with a standard taxonomy for objectives defined by the analytics service. Such an interface may, for example, provide the equivalent of an easy-to-fill questionnaire, or drop-down menu interface elements enabling clients to choose attribute values from a list, pre-filled default values for some objective attributes, and so on. In at least one embodiment, a list of objective attributes for which values are required (as opposed to other attributes which may be optional) for the initiation of automated strategy optimization iterations may be provided to clients via programmatic interfaces. According to some embodiments, a client of the analytics service may provide, using programmatic interfaces, an indication of one or more parameters or hyper-parameters of the optimization iterations such as one or more of: (a) the exploration-exploitation tradeoff parameter, (b) a sampling parameter to be used to select the sub-sample of the user population for an iteration, (c) the termination criterion for the optimization iterations, or (d) a time period during which the feedback metrics are to be collected in an optimization iteration. Objectives such as O1 may include additional attributes in some embodiments, such as deadlines, eligibility criteria for identifying users to whom content should be provided, publicly-advertised events associated with the offering (e.g., a special holiday sale), geographical regions within which users are to be identified, indications of portions of a web site with respect to which the user actions are desired, and so on. Desired user actions may include, among others, clicks on one or more web pages or web links, electronic purchases of items available from store catalogs, joining a user group, changing a state of a user-specific item list associated with a store catalog (e.g., moving an item from a “wish list” to a “shopping cart”), and so on. In some embodiments, the feedback metrics considered when deciding how (Or if) to change weights associated with the strategies may include a measure of the efficiency of the presentation of content—e.g., resource usage metrics associated with the provision of the content to the users during the iteration may also be taken into account. In at least one embodiment, a respective context vector based at least in part on a representation of a particular user's state with respect to an individual iteration may be computed, e.g., based on data collected on the user's actions. The user state (and hence the context vector) may change from iteration to iteration, and the aggregate selection probability for a given user may be computed based at least in part on the current iteration's context vector for that user. In at least some embodiments in which the offerings are associated with items of a store inventory accessible via one or more web sites, a first set of metrics about user interactions with the web sites over a long duration (e.g., one or more months or years) prior to the initiation of the strategy optimization iterations may be collected to generate a baseline set of user context information. Such metrics may include, for example, the number of interaction sessions of a given user with the web site during the time interval, the number of distinct items viewed, the number of web site pages views, the number of searches conducted by the user, and so on. Shorter-term metrics may then be collected iteratively (e.g., every H hours or every D days while the optimization iterations are conducted), and the shorter-term metrics may be aggregated with the baseline user context information. As a result of such aggregation, in at least some embodiments the user context information used to modify weights assigned to strategies may take user events/actions which occurred prior to the initiation of the optimization iterations, and may not rely entirely on user events/actions which are responsive to the presentation of the content during the optimization iterations. User-specific reward values may be computed based on users' actions in some embodiments and analyzed as part of the feedback metrics. According to at least one embodiment, an analytics service may enable programmatic registration of strategy generators from which the candidate user selection strategies are obtained for the optimization iterations. Using programmatic interfaces of the analytics service, metadata (such as network addresses to which machine readable representations of the objectives can be transmitted) about automated strategy providers may be submitted in registration requests, and such metadata may be stored in a registry of strategy providers at the analytics service. When a new objective is obtained, notifications of the objective may be provided to some or all of the registered strategy generators, so that candidate strategies can be prepared for evaluation/optimization. In effect, the analytics service may serve as an impartial judge of the strategies generated by different registered strategy generators in such embodiments. In at least some embodiments, logic similar to that indicated in the following example pseudo-code (EPC) for contextual bandits with expert advice may be employed for content strategy optimization iterations. Note that in the example pseudo-code, the number of iterations to be performed (T) is assumed to be known in advance; that is, the optimization termination criterion is simply the completion of T iterations. In various implementations, other types of termination criteria may be used as indicated above; as such, the logic of the algorithm may be modified somewhat based on whether T is known in advance or not. Further, in the example pseudo-code, the problem of selecting the specific content to be presented is not addressed and only the selection of users for presentation of some assumed known content is addressed. In at least some implementations, the selection of content may also be addressed probabilistically in the strategies. - - - Start Example Pseudo-Code EPC for Optimization Algorithm - - - 1: Input:2: User sets Ui, . . . , Ukwith respective selection probabilities pk,ufor each member u, \\ provided by K strategy generators 1, . . . , K, each providing one strategy;3: T: the number of iterations to be conducted;4: Initial non-negative weights (wi(1), . . . , wk(1)) assigned to K strategy generators5: δ: Exploration-exploitation parameter6: optimize( ){7: pMIN=sqrt((log K)/(2*7))8: for t in (1 . . . 7) do9: for each user u in Ui, . . . , Ukdo10: get per-strategy selection probabilities pk,u11: Wt=Σkwk(t)12: # compute aggregated selection probability for user u13: p(u)=(1-2 pMIN)Σk((wk(t)pk,u)/Wt)+pMIN14: determine whether content is to be presented to user u based on p(u) and \\ present content if u is selected15: compute user-specific reward function r(u) based on feedback from u16: set adjusted reward r′(u)=r(u)/p(u)17: end for18: // modify weights based on feedback and exploration-exploitation parameter19: for k in (1, . . . , K) do20: // compute intermediary terms yk(based on feedback) and vk21: yk=Σ(u in Uk)pk,ur′(u)22: vk=Σ(u in Uk)(pk,u/p(u)+(1−pk,u)/(1−p(u))23: wk(t+1) α wk(t)exp((pMIN/2)(yk+yk(sqrt(log(K/δ)/2T)))24: end for25: end for26: } // end optimize( ) - - - End EPC - - - In lines 2-5 of the example pseudo-code EPC, the inputs to the optimize( ) function used for the optimization iterations are indicated: respective groups of users for whom strategies are provided by K strategy generators, the number of iterations to be conducted, the initial weights assigned to the strategies, and the exploration-exploitation parameter. Each optimization iteration is associated with a respective value of t in the for loop starting in line 8. Aggregated selection probabilities for individual users are generated in line 13, based on the current weights and the per-strategy selection probabilities. User-specific reward functions are computed based on the feedback received from individual users, as indicated in lines 15 and 16. The weights for the different strategies are adjusted based at least in part on the feedback/rewards and on the exploration-exploitation parameter in lines 21-23. According to some embodiments, as suggested earlier, an optimization methodology of the kind introduced above may be implemented at a network-accessible analytics service of a provider network, e.g., in response to one or more programmatic requests directed to the analytics service by its clients. The term “provider network” (sometimes simply called a “cloud”) refers to a large pool of network-accessible computing resources (such as compute, storage, and networking resources, applications, and services), which may be virtualized or bare-metal. The cloud can provide convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be programmatically provisioned and released in response to customer commands. These resources can be dynamically provisioned and reconfigured to adjust to variable load. The resources of a provider network may in some cases be distributed across multiple data centers, which in turn may be distributed among numerous geographical regions (e.g., with each region corresponding to one or more cities, states or countries). For example, a cloud provider network can be formed as a number of regions, where a region is a geographical area in which the cloud provider clusters data centers. Each region can include two or more availability zones connected to one another via a private high speed network, for example a fiber communication connection. An availability zone refers to an isolated failure domain including one or more data center facilities with separate power, separate networking, and separate cooling from those in another availability zone. Preferably, availability zones within a region are positioned far enough away from one other that the same natural disaster should not take more than one availability zone offline at the same time. Customers can connect to availability zones of the cloud provider network via a publicly accessible network (e.g., the Internet or a cellular communication network). A provider network may include numerous network-accessible services, such as a virtualized computing service (VCS), one or more storage services, database services and the like, as well as an analytics service (which may also be referred to as a machine learning service). A VCS may also be referred to as an elastic compute service, virtual machines service, computing cloud service, compute engine, and/or cloud compute in various implementations. Example System Environment FIG.1illustrates an example system environment in which automated optimization of content presentation strategies may be performed, according to at least some embodiments. As shown, system100comprises resources and artifacts of an analytics service102, including a machine learning model library141, a strategy generator registry144, a set of internal strategy generators145, one or more automated strategy optimizers148, one or more strategy workflow coordinators152and a set of interface managers155. The analytics service102may define and/or publish an objective specification140in the depicted embodiment, which indicates required and optional attributes of objectives for network-accessible offerings (such as items displayed on web pages) available from one or more organizations. A given objective may, for example, comprise the logical equivalent of “increase the engagement level of end users in country C with portion P of website W”. In some embodiments, one or more of the offerings may be accessed by users without using a network—e.g., some offerings may be obtained by a user visiting a brick-and-mortar store or office. Offerings metadata120may include various types of information about the offerings for which the objectives are defined (such as the names of various items of a web-accessible catalog, item categories, descriptions, sizes, weights, etc.) Offering related content121may include images, videos, and/or audio in addition to text descriptions of the offerings, coupons, and the like in at least some embodiments. The analytics service102may also have access to end user population metadata122in the depicted embodiment, comprising user names/identifiers, demographic information which the users have agreed to provide via opt-in interfaces, records of user interactions and transactions with respect to offerings, and so on. Such user metadata may be used to generate context vectors representing individual users, which are then utilized in the computations of strategy optimization iterations. Knowledge base181may store records of earlier optimization efforts, indicating for example how successful different types of strategies have been in the past for various types of objectives. One or more metrics collection services180may be employed to gather metrics of user actions and feedback to the presentation of content in the optimization iterations. A number of strategy implementation resources185may be employed in different embodiments to present content associated with offering sets to users, such as store web site customization programs which can modify the content made available to different users of a store web site, email generators, and the like. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the content associated with an offering set may be presented to users in the form of advertisements, e.g., on television, radio, web sites or social media platforms, newspapers, magazines, and so on. The analytics service102may implement a set of programmatic interfaces177in the depicted embodiment, such as one or more web-based consoles, command-line tools, graphical user interfaces, application programming interfaces (APIs) and the like. Clients of the analytics service may use the interfaces177to submit messages and requests pertaining to strategies to be used to achieve objectives associated with offerings, such as messages indicating objectives, requests to register external strategy generators183, requests to initiate or terminate strategy optimization iterations and so on. Interface managers155may obtain the requests submitted via interfaces177from a variety of client devices171in the depicted embodiment, such as desktops, laptops, phones, tablets, and the like. The interface managers155may then send respective internal versions of the requests to other components of the analytics service102, and transmit responses generated at the other components back to the clients. Interface managers155, strategy workflow coordinators152, internal strategy generators145(e.g., programs developed at the analytics service itself to produce strategies for achieving objectives), external strategy generators183(e.g., programs developed by third parties of analytics service clients to produce strategies for achieving objectives), metrics collection services180and/or strategy implementation resources may respectively utilize hardware and software of one or more computing devices in the depicted embodiment. According to at least some embodiments, values of a plurality of attributes of an objective associated with a set of one or more offerings represented in offerings metadata120, for which respective content items are to be presented to at least a portion of a user population represented in end user population metadata122, may be obtained via programmatic interfaces177. The attributes of an objective may include, for example, (a) types of desired user actions (e.g., actions users may take with respect to one or more web sites of an organization), (b) channels for presentation of content associated with the objective, and (c) offering set-specific metrics associated with the desired user actions. A machine-readable version of the objective may be provided to one or more registered strategy generators, e.g., including internal strategy generators145and/or external strategy generators183. The strategy workflow coordinators152may, for example, receive the objective from an interface manager, generate the machine-readable version, and cause the machine-readable version to be stored at a repository from which internal and external strategy generators may access the machine-readable version in some embodiments. In other embodiments, the machine-readable version may be transmitted to an automated strategy optimizer148, which may in turn notify one or more strategy generators about the objective. Internal strategy generators145may comprise one or more machine learning models of library141, for example, that consume some combination of objective representations, end user population metadata122, and offerings metadata120as input, and produce probabilistic rules for selecting users to whom content associated with an offering set indicated in the objective is to be presented. External strategy generators183may comprise programs run at resources external to the analytics service (e.g., programs run at client premises or at third party premises) which provide similar functionality as internal strategy generators145. In effect, an indication of the objective may be broadcast to several registered strategy generators, in the expectation that one or more of the strategy generators will propose respective strategies on how best to achieve the objective. For a given objective whose machine-readable representation is provided, several different user selection strategies may be obtained at an automated strategy optimizer148in various embodiments from the strategy generators, with the strategies differing from one another depending on the logic and/or heuristics being employed at the respective strategy generators145and/or183. A given user selection strategy may assign respective selection probabilities to individual users of a user population, associated with receiving at least some content associated with the offering set of the objective. In some cases, a strategy may include a set of rules for generating the probabilities for any given user; in other cases, a strategy may simply provide the actual probabilities. In at least some embodiments, a strategy may also include rules for selecting the particular content items to be provided to users, or indicate the actual content to be provided. In the embodiment depicted inFIG.1, if the number of strategies received exceeds a threshold, an automated strategy optimizer148may identify an initial subset of candidate user selection strategies for optimization from the strategies proposed by the internal and/or external strategy generators. The selection of the initial subset may be based at least in part on an analysis of a repository of records (such as knowledge base181) associated with other objectives associated with respective offering sets in some embodiments. If the number of strategies received is small, the automated strategy optimizer148may not have to select a subset of strategies; in effect, all the received strategies may be considered part of the initial subset with which the optimization iterations are started in such scenarios. In various embodiments, the automated strategy optimizer148may conduct, with respect to at least a sub-sample of the user population, a number of strategy optimization iterations using at least the initial subset of candidate user selection strategies. The iterations may be conducted until an optimization termination criterion is met—e.g., until a desired level of user engagement/actions is reached, a deadline associated with the objective expires, a set of resources deployed for the optimization have been exhausted, and so on. A given iteration may comprise computing respective aggregated selection probabilities for individual users of the sub-sample based at least in part on (a) per-strategy selection probabilities for the individual users, obtained from the candidate user selection strategies and (b) respective weights assigned to the candidate user selection strategies. As such, a weighted aggregation of the probabilities assigned by the candidate strategies may be obtained for a given user. At least some content associated with the offering set may be presented to some of the users via the channel(s) indicated in the objective, e.g., with the help of strategy implementation resources185. Feedback metrics (which may comprise offering set-specific metrics indicated in the objective) may be collected for the iteration for some time interval after the content is presented, e.g., using metrics collection services180. Note that at least on some embodiments, the feedback metrics may include more global metrics which are not necessarily tied to the offering set itself (and are thus not offering set-specific); for example, the impact (of presenting the content) on other offerings of the organization may also be determined and used as feedback. Based at least in part on the collected feedback metrics and/or on an exploration-exploitation tradeoff parameter, the weights assigned to one or more of the candidate strategies may be modified as part of the iteration by the automated strategy optimizer in the depicted embodiment. In one embodiment, an exploration-exploitation tradeoff parameter may not be used, and the weights may be modified based on the feedback metrics alone. After the optimization iterations are completed, the weights which were assigned to the strategies (e.g., in the final completed iteration) may be employed to expand the scope of the content presentation with respect to the objective in some embodiments. In effect, the optimization iterations may represent a preliminary experiment, carried out using a relatively small set of users, to determine a successful combination of strategies, and then the successful combination may be applied to a larger user population. As such, content associated with the offering set may be provided to at least some users which were not part of the sub-sample of users affected by the optimization iterations. In addition, in at least some embodiments, records indicating the results of the optimization iterations, along with the objective for which the iterations were conducted, may be stored in a repository of records (such as knowledge base181) which can be helpful in selecting initial candidate strategies for subsequent optimization efforts. As more such records are accumulated, the quality of the initial selection of strategies by the automated strategy optimizers may improve in various embodiments, thereby reducing the amount of time and resources needed for optimization. FIG.2illustrates factors which influence the attainment of objectives associated with organization offerings, and the tradeoffs of using different types of analytics algorithms for achieving the objectives, according to at least some embodiments. Objective attainment attempts with respect to the offerings of a given organization may be a continuous cyclical process in various embodiments. As shown, objective attainment cycles280may comprise obtaining offering-set related objectives210, target users selection and content selection215for the objectives, capturing metrics of user behavior in response to content presentation220. The behavior of the users may in turn impact subsequent objectives210, leading to additional cycles. The set of offerings of the organization may change substantially over time, and the manner in which offerings are grouped into related offering sets may also change, as indicated by the ongoing offering generation/classification element201. Furthermore, there may be ongoing changes in user population202, as well as ongoing enhancements to the available content203which can be presented to the users. A large organization may conduct hundreds or even thousands of objective attainment cycles simultaneously in some embodiments, each associated with a respective distinct objective. The dynamic changes to available offerings, user population and available contents all tend to increase the complexity of the strategy selection problem, leading to the use of analytics tools such as various types of machine learning models. Graph290show tradeoffs between the technical difficulty (shown increasing along the X axis) and the potential benefits (shown increasing along the Y axis) of different types of analytics tools and algorithms, including machine learning models, statistical models and the like. Descriptive analytics270may be used to analyze historical data collected with respect to organizational objectives to discover how successful different strategies have been in the past. In effect, descriptive analytics models and tools may be used to answer questions of the form “What happened in the past?” or “What is the best way to quantify and understand what happened in the past”? In contrast, predictive analytics272, which is typically more difficult to perform than descriptive analytics and provided more benefits to the organization (e.g., in avoiding actions which may not be helpful), attempts to answer questions such as “What is likely to happen if a content presentation action A is taken?” Tools for predictive analytics may include supervised machine learning models, propensity models and the like. Prescriptive analytics274, which is the most complex and most beneficial of the three approaches, involves answering more complex questions of the form “What combinations of actions are most likely to achieve objectives?”, based for example on measurements obtained from optimization iterations of the kind introduced above. Models used for descriptive analytics and predictive analytics tasks may be referred to as observational models, while models used for prescriptive analytics may be referred to as interventional models, as they involve active intervening in the system being modeled (by, for example, presenting content associated with the objective to a subset of a user population). Example approaches used for prescriptive analytics include multi-arm bandit algorithms, contextual bandit algorithms, reinforcement learning algorithms, and the like. In various embodiments, a combination of analytics tools involving descriptive analytics, predictive analytics and prescriptive analytics may be employed at an analytics service similar to analytics service102ofFIG.1. Example High-Level Optimization Workflow FIG.3illustrates an example high-level workflow for identifying or combining strategies to be used to present content to a user population, according to at least some embodiments. Analytics service clients321may provide values of various attributes of an objective pertaining to a set of offerings to strategy workflow coordinators352in the depicted embodiment as indicated by the arrow labeled1, e.g., using programmatic interfaces of the analytics service. In some embodiments, front-end request handlers of the analytics service, similar to interface managers155, may obtain the objective attribute values from the clients and transfer them to the strategy workflow coordinators352. A machine-readable version of the objective may be stored at a repository385of the analytics service in the depicted embodiment, as indicated by the arrow labeled2. A unique objective identifier (ID) may be generated for the objective, and provided to the strategy workflow coordinator352. Repositories385may be accessible to strategy optimizers348and to strategy generators344, so that, for example, a machine readable version of the objective can be retrieved from the repository using its ID. The repositories385may also store information about registered strategy generators344, knowledge base entries which can be used to select a set of initial candidate strategies, and so on in the depicted embodiment. After the objective has been stored in the repository385, a strategy workflow coordinator may send the objective ID to a strategy optimizer348, as indicated by the arrow labeled4. The strategy optimizer may broadcast the objective ID to some number of strategy generators344as indicated by the arrow labeled5; in effect, the strategy optimizer348may inform or notify a set of strategy generators that a new objective has been received at the analytics service, and that the strategy optimizer is willing to accept proposed strategies for achieving the objective from any or all of the notified strategy generators344. Individual strategy generators344may use a variety of approaches for generating user selection strategies for the objective in the depicted embodiment. Some may rely on heuristics, others may use relatively simple machine learning models, while yet others may use complex deep neural network-based models. Information about a user population to which content associated with the offering set may be obtained from a repository385in some embodiments, and the state of individual users may be converted to a vector format to be consumed as input by a machine learning model of a strategy generator in some embodiments. The strategy optimizer348may collect strategies produced by the strategy generators344for some time period after the notification regarding the objective has been provided, as indicated by the arrow labeled6. The strategy optimizer348may then select an initial subset of the strategies as candidates, e.g., based on analysis of records pertaining to earlier optimization efforts, and initiate a set of optimization iterations as indicated by the arrow labeled7. In a given iteration, aggregated probabilities for selecting a given user of a sub-sample of the user population may be generated using weights assigned to the candidate strategies, and content may be presented to sub-sample members based on the aggregated probabilities (e.g., with the help of offering content presenters355). Feedback (e.g., including values of metrics indicated in the objective attributes, as well as more global metrics) to the presentation of the content may be collected, and weights of the different strategies may be adjusted based on analysis of the feedback. Eventually, a single most-successful strategy or a combination of several successful strategies may be identified based on the feedback, and the successful strategies or combinations may be transmitted to the strategy workflow coordinators352as indicated by the arrow labeled8. In one embodiment, one or more of the strategy generators344may optionally conduct their own generator-specific optimization iterations, as indicated by the arrow labeled5a, e.g., to identify an improved set of parameters for their respective strategies before providing the strategies to the strategy optimizer348. In at least some embodiments, the strategy workflow coordinators352may then send content presentation requests to a set of offering content presenters355, enabling the successful strategies to be deployed on a larger population of users than were targeted during the optimization iterations. The larger group of users may be provided the content associated with the offering set, and ongoing results of the presentation (e.g., similar feedback metrics as were obtained during the optimization iterations) of the content may be provided to the analytics service clients321in the depicted embodiment. In some embodiments, variations of the workflow shown inFIG.3may be employed—e.g., objective identifiers or IDs may be provided to analytics service clients, and the clients may initiate the process of optimization according to their own schedules by sending an optimization request to the analytics service. In at least one embodiment, strategy workflow coordinators352may not be used. Example Elements of Offering Set Objectives and Strategies FIG.4illustrates example elements of an offering set objective which may be provided to an analytics service, according to at least some embodiments. Offering set objective410may include an offerings list420(e.g., a set of one or more items accessible from a particular portion of a store web site) for which the objective is defined, as well as desired user action types422pertaining to the offerings list420. Examples of user action types may include, among others, clicks on one or more web page links, electronic purchases or rentals of one or more items available via a store catalog, joining a user group, changing a state of a user-specific item list associated with a store catalog, and so on. In some embodiments, a client of an analytics service may indicate one or more user eligibility criteria424, which may be utilized to determine a sub-population of users (from a larger population) to which content associated with the offering set can be presented. Note that applying the eligibility criteria may result in the identification of a very large number of users, and that a smaller sub-sample of users may be selected from the eligible users for the optimization iterations in at least some embodiments. For example, an eligibility criterion similar to the following may be specified: “all users who have placed an item of item set S in a wish list of a web site in the last T days but have not completed the purchase of that item”, which could match millions of users. A set of one or more content presentation channels426may be specified as part of the objective in some embodiments. Examples of such channels may include e-mail, push notifications, voice-driven personal assistant devices, televisions, radio, newspapers, and the like. One or more feedback metrics428to be collected based on the actions (or lack of actions) of users in response to the presentation of content associated with the offering set, and/or from users to whom the content is not presented, may be indicated in the objective410in various embodiments. Examples of such metrics may include detected counts/rates of user actions of the desired types, as well as estimated long-term benefits of actions of the desired types. The estimated long-term benefits may be obtained, for example, using one or more machine learning models. The estimation of long-term benefits may take into account the potential side effects of increasing the rates of some user actions—for example, could increasing the rate of beneficial action type A1 associated with the objective410actually cause the rate of a different action type A2 (which is not indicated in the objective410but is nevertheless a beneficial action from the perspective of other objectives of the organization) to fall, thereby resulting in a net negative impact to the organization? In some embodiments, a given objective may have a deadline430(e.g., a major holiday) or a publicly-announced event432(e.g., a special sale period) associated with it; that is, the desired user actions are intended to be performed by the deadline or in conjunction with the publicly-announced event. In one embodiment, a given objective of a large global or national organizational may be directed to one or more geographical regions434. In some embodiments, objectives may comprise combinations of elements other than those shown inFIG.4. FIG.5illustrates example elements of content presentation strategies, according to at least some embodiments. One or more strategy generators530may obtain an indication of an objective520with respect to an offering set, end user metadata521pertaining to the population of users to whom the offering set may be made available, and offering related content522in the depicted embodiment. Individual strategy generators530may prepare strategies of different levels of sophistication or complexity in different embodiments. Some strategies such as540A may comprise one or more rules541(e.g., based partly on user properties or state information expressed as context vectors) for selecting a subset of end users for presenting content, and probabilities or confidence levels associated with the selections of the individual users, Strategy540A may also include one or more rules542for selecting the specific offering-related content to be provided to individual end users; rules542may also be probabilistic in some embodiments. Other strategies such as strategy540B may be simpler— e.g., instead of providing rules for selecting end users, they may simply provide lists544of end users with associated confidence levels or probabilities, and/or content545to be provided to the individual end users. Methods for Optimizing Presentation of Offering-Related Content FIG.6is a flow diagram illustrating aspects of operations that may be performed to optimize presentation of content associated with offering set objectives, according to at least some embodiments. As shown in element601, attributes of an objective Obj1associated with a set of offerings (e.g., a group of one or more related items/services available via web sites) of an organization may be obtained, e.g., via programmatic interfaces of an analytics service similar in features and functionality to analytics service102ofFIG.1. Obj1may include, for example, values of some or all of the attributes shown inFIG.4. In at least one embodiment, the analytics service may implement a graphical user interface which can be used to populate the values of objective attributes, e.g., using drop-down menus and pre-selected default values for some attributes, thereby reducing the effort required from clients of the service to provide objective information in a standard schema. In some embodiments, the analytics service may publish or advertise the schema or taxonomy used for objectives, e.g., including a set of required attributes and/or optional attributes whose values need to be specified to initiate strategy optimization for the objectives. A machine-readable version of Obj1may be generated and stored in a repository of the analytics service, and provided or transmitted to one or more registered strategy generators in various embodiments (element604). Such a notification or transmission of the machine-readable representation may trigger a process of creating user selection strategies at the strategy generators. A given strategy generator may use any of a variety of techniques to generate strategies—e.g., complex neural network-based machine learning models may be used, relatively straightforward heuristics may be used, and so on. A plurality of user selection strategies corresponding to Obj1may be obtained, e.g., at an automated strategy optimizer of the analytics service in the depicted embodiment from the strategy generators (element607). A strategy generator may provide one or more strategies. A given strategy may assign respective selection probabilities to individual users or groups of users from a user population in various embodiments. If the strategy is implemented, users selected according to the probabilities assigned by the strategy may receive at least some content associated with the offering set for which Obj1was created. In various embodiments, an initial subset of the received strategies may be selected as candidate strategies for iterative optimization. Respective non-negative weights may be assigned to individual candidate strategies, and a sub-sample of the user population may be chosen for conducting at least the initial optimization iterations in various embodiments. In some embodiments, the sub-sample may be selected using random selection. A number of optimization iterations may be conducted in the depicted embodiment, until a termination criterion is satisfied. A variety of termination conditions may be used in different embodiments, e.g., based on input received from the analytics service client on whose behalf the candidate strategies are being analyzed. For example, in some cases the iterations may be conducted until a specified time period expires or until a specified amount of resources have been consumed for the iterations. In other cases, the optimization iterations may be terminated if the positive or affirmative feedback obtained from a given iteration exceeds a specified target, or if the rate at which measured feedback changes from one iteration to the next falls below a specified limit. During a given iteration started in operations corresponding to element610, aggregated selection probabilities for users of the sub-sample may be computed based on per-strategy selection probabilities and per-strategy weights (element613). Presentation of content to the sub-sample users may be initiated based on aggregated selection probabilities in various embodiments; some users may be put in a hold-out group (i.e., a group to which content associated with the offering set of Obj1is not provided) (element616). Feedback metrics may be collected with respect to the presented content (or, in the case of the hold-out group, without presenting the content) (element619) for some time period in the depicted embodiment. Some of the feedback metrics collected may be local, in that they may be associated specifically with the offering set of Obj1in various embodiments; other feedback metrics may be global, in that they may be associated with the entire set of offerings of the organization. For example, if the offering set of Obj1comprises a group of tennis shoes available from a web site W1, and the web site also offers other types of shoes, some local feedback metrics may indicate a change in a rate at which tennis shoes were purchased over a time period T, while a global feedback metric may indicate a change in a rate at which all shoes of W1were purchased during the time interval T. In at least some embodiments, feedback metrics may include measures of efficiency of content presentation—e.g., how much network bandwidth and/or how many CPU cycles were consumed in preparing and presenting the content. After the feedback metrics for a particular iteration are collected, a determination may be made as to whether the optimization termination criteria have been met in the depicted embodiment (element622). If the criteria have not been satisfied, at least some of the weights assigned to the candidate strategies may be modified in various embodiments (element625), e.g., based on an analysis of the feedback metrics and/or on an exploration-exploitation tradeoff parameter. The tradeoff parameter may introduce an element of variability to the weight assignment, such that it becomes less likely that the optimization procedure ends up remaining stuck in a local optimum region within the overall optimization space in such embodiments. The next iteration may be initiated after adjusting the weights, and operations corresponding to elements610onwards may be performed for the next iteration. If the termination criteria are satisfied, as also detected in operations corresponding to element622, further iterations may not be conducted. After the iterations are terminated, one or more of the best-performing strategies (as determined from the feedback metrics) may be deployed on a larger group of users of the user population in at least some embodiments (element628). One or more feedback metrics collected from the larger group of users may be provided to the client who specified Obj1in some embodiments. It is noted that in various embodiments, some of the operations shown in the flow diagram ofFIG.6may be implemented in a different order than that shown in the figure, or may be performed in parallel rather than sequentially. Additionally, some of the operations shown inFIG.6may not be required in one or more implementations. Example Programmatic Interactions FIG.7illustrates an example graphical user interface which may be used to specify content presentation objectives, according to at least some embodiments. In the depicted embodiment, web-based interface702may include an introductory message region777, followed by a plurality of elements for respective attributes of an objective. In the introductory message region777, a client of an analytics service may be informed that while a set of drop-down menu options are available, the client may instead provide custom entries for various attribute fields if desired. The message region777may also indicate that a machine-readable version of the objective will be provided to strategy generators, and the most effective strategies will be implemented. Interface element703may be used to specify a user-friendly name for the objective in the depicted embodiment, such as “MyObjective Q4 2020”704. Interface element705may be used to indicate the set of offerings for which the objective is to be achieved. A drop-down menu icon778may be used to select from a set of pre-populated options in the depicted embodiment, such as website catalog items group IG1707. The “Required” label708associated with offering set element705may inform the client that a value for the offering set is required in order to generate the machine-readable version of the objective and to initiate the automated optimization procedure. Interface element712pertains to desired user actions, for which a drop down menu is also provided to enable clients to select from commonly-specified types of user actions such as “Click on link to item”714. Interface element718may be used to indicate eligibility criteria for users; a default setting “All users are eligible”720is shown, indicating that all the users of the user population of the organization for which the objective is being specified are assumed to be eligible unless the client indicates otherwise. The “Optional” label722indicates that a client is not required to provide user eligibility criteria. Interface element724enables clients to specify deadlines or events associated with the objective; by default, the deadline “1 month from today”726is used. Interface element730allows users to specify content channels for the objective, such as emails, push notifications732and the like. Feedback metrics, such as clicks/second738for the objective may be specified using element736. Optimization termination criteria742, such as deadline expiration744, may also be specified if desired by the client using web-based interface702. The specification of the termination criteria and the deadline/event information may be optional in the depicted embodiment, as indicated by “Optional” labels746and728. The specification of content channels730and feedback metrics736may be required, as indicated by the “Required” labels734and740. Default values for some attributes of the objective may be chosen in some cases based on analysis of values supplied by the client for other attributes of the objective in some embodiments—e.g., as soon as the client specified an offering set of a particular type via interface element707, a default desired user action (based on the type of offering set) may be provided for interface element714. By using the “Save” interface element, a client of an analytics service may cause the provided information about the objective to be stored at a repository in the depicted embodiment. If the client wishes to view information about the strategy generators (e.g., the entities that have been registered as strategy generators, the types of machine learning algorithms or heuristics being used by the different strategy generators, etc.), the element “View strategy generator info”768may be used. To initiate an iterative optimization procedure of the kind described above, the “InitiateOptimization” element769may be used. Other types of programmatic interactions may also be supported by an analytics service in some embodiments.FIG.8illustrates example programmatic interactions pertaining to optimization of strategies for content presentation, according to at least some embodiments. Programmatic interfaces877implemented by analytics service812, similar in features and functionality to analytics service102ofFIG.1, may include a set of application programming interfaces (APIs), command-line tools, graphical user interfaces and/or web-based tools similar to interface702ofFIG.7in the depicted embodiment. If a client810wishes to submit a programmatic descriptor of an objective in a markup language such as XML (Extended Markup Language), YAML (Yet Another Markup Language) or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), instead of using a web-based interface702, an ObjectiveDescriptorFile814may be submitted via programmatic interfaces877. The contents of the descriptor may be parsed for correctness, converted into a different internal machine-readable format if needed and stored at a repository of the analytics service812in the depicted embodiment. An ObjectiveSaved message815may be sent to the client in at least one embodiment. In some embodiments, submitting an objective to the analytics service may represent an implicit request to initiate strategy optimization iterations with respect to the objective. Clients of the analytics service may submit registration requests indicating strategy generators in at least some embodiments. A RegisterStrategyGenerator request817may, for example, provide identification information about an entity (e.g., the submitter of the request, or some other entity proposed as a strategy source), network addresses to which notifications of newly-defined objectives for which strategies are needed are to be sent, and so on. In response, the provided identification and networking metadata of the strategy generator may be stored in a repository of the analytics service, and a StrategyGeneratorRegistered message821may be sent to the client810in the depicted embodiment. In at least one embodiment, a client810may provide preferred values of one or more hyper-parameters of the optimization procedure to be used on the client's behalf, e.g., by submitting one or more OptimizationHyperParameters messages823via the interfaces877. Such messages may be used, for example, to indicate (a) the exploration-exploitation tradeoff parameter used in the optimization iterations, (b) a sampling parameter to be used to select the sub-sample of the user population used for at least some optimization iterations, (c) the termination criterion for the optimization iterations, or (d) a time period during which the feedback metrics are to be collected in a given optimization iteration. In some embodiments, the hyper-parameters may indicate one or more criteria for selecting the candidate strategies for the optimization iterations from among the group of strategies proposed by the strategy generators. The hyper-parameters may be stored at the analytics service, and a HyperParametersSaved message825may be sent to the client810. A client810may view intermediate trends in the feedback collected while the optimization iterations are underway in the depicted embodiment, e.g., by submitting a ShowlnterimFeedbackTrends request828. Changes in the values of the collected feedback metrics from one iteration to another may be presented via one or more FeedbackTrends messages833. Based on viewing the trends or for other reasons, a client810may wish to terminate the optimization iterations being conducted on the client's behalf in some embodiments. A TerminateOptimizationiterations request841may be sent to the analytic service in such a scenario. The optimization process may be terminated, and an IterationsTerminated message843may be sent to the client in at least some embodiments. In some embodiments, a different combination of programmatic interactions pertaining to optimizations of content presentation strategies may be supported than those shown inFIG.7andFIG.8. Example Provider Network Environment In some embodiments, as mentioned earlier, an analytics service at which strategy optimization techniques similar to those described above are executed may be implemented at a provider network.FIG.9illustrates an example provider network environment in which an analytics service may be used to optimize content presentation strategies, according to at least some embodiments. In the depicted embodiment, provider network901may comprise resources used to implement a plurality of services, including for example a virtualized computing service (VCS)903, a database/storage service923, and a parallel computing service933as well as an analytics service971within which at least some phases of an iterative technique for optimizing content presentation strategies may be implemented. The analytics service971, which may also be referred to as a machine learning service or an artificial intelligence service, in turn may comprise algorithm library975, one or more automated strategy optimizers947, optimization workflow coordinators949, and machine learning-optimized execution servers976in the depicted embodiment. The parallel computing service933may comprise various server clusters937, each comprising a plurality of servers, on which parallelizable workloads may be distributed by a set of server cluster managers935in the depicted embodiment. Some of the algorithms implemented at the analytics service971may be parallelizable, and may utilize the server clusters937in at least some embodiments. For example, optimization iterations for several different objectives (of different clients or the same client of the analytics service) may be run in parallel using respective server clusters in one embodiment. Components of a given service may utilize components of other services in the depicted embodiment—e.g., for some analytics service tasks, virtual machines implemented at computing servers such as905A-905D of the virtualized computing service903may be used, server clusters937and/or cluster managers935may be utilized for parallelizable computations of the analytics service as mentioned above, data sets (e.g., offering metadata, user metadata etc.) and/or output produced at the analytics service may be stored at storage servers925(e.g.,925A-925D) of storage service923, and so on. Individual ones of the services shown inFIG.9may implement a respective set of programmatic interfaces977which can be used by external and/or internal clients (where the internal clients may comprise components of other services) in the depicted embodiment. In some embodiments, at least some aspects of the optimization techniques described herein may be implemented without acquiring resources of network-accessible services such as those shown inFIG.9. For example, a standalone tool implemented at one or more computing devices which are not part of a network-accessible service may be used in one embodiment. Use Cases The techniques described above, of iteratively identifying the best combinations of proposed strategies for selecting users to whom content associated with offerings of an organization is presented may be extremely beneficial in a variety of scenarios. For example, such techniques may be used to ensure that content which is most likely to result in desired actions from users of web sites, without presenting content unlikely to be of interest to the users, is provided to the users while minimizing resource usage. Illustrative Computer System In at least some embodiments, a server that implements the types of techniques described herein (e.g., various functions of an analytics service), may include a general-purpose computer system that includes or is configured to access one or more computer-accessible media.FIG.10illustrates such a general-purpose computing device9000. In the illustrated embodiment, computing device9000includes one or more processors9010coupled to a system memory9020(which may comprise both non-volatile and volatile memory modules) via an input/output (I/O) interface9030. Computing device9000further includes a network interface9040coupled to I/O interface9030. In various embodiments, computing device9000may be a uniprocessor system including one processor9010, or a multiprocessor system including several processors9010(e.g., two, four, eight, or another suitable number). Processors9010may be any suitable processors capable of executing instructions. For example, in various embodiments, processors9010may be general-purpose or embedded processors implementing any of a variety of instruction set architectures (ISAs), such as the x86, PowerPC, SPARC, ARM, or MIPS ISAs, or any other suitable ISA. In multiprocessor systems, each of processors9010may commonly, but not necessarily, implement the same ISA. In some implementations, graphics processing units (GPUs) and or field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) may be used instead of, or in addition to, conventional processors. System memory9020may be configured to store instructions and data accessible by processor(s)9010. In at least some embodiments, the system memory9020may comprise both volatile and non-volatile portions; in other embodiments, only volatile memory may be used. In various embodiments, the volatile portion of system memory9020may be implemented using any suitable memory technology, such as static random access memory (SRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM or any other type of memory. For the non-volatile portion of system memory (which may comprise one or more NVDIMMs, for example), in some embodiments flash-based memory devices, including NAND-flash devices, may be used. In at least some embodiments, the non-volatile portion of the system memory may include a power source, such as a supercapacitor or other power storage device (e.g., a battery). In various embodiments, memristor based resistive random access memory (ReRAM), three-dimensional NAND technologies, Ferroelectric RAM, magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), or any of various types of phase change memory (PCM) may be used at least for the non-volatile portion of system memory. In the illustrated embodiment, program instructions and data implementing one or more desired functions, such as those methods, techniques, and data described above, are shown stored within system memory9020as code9025and data9026. In one embodiment, I/O interface9030may be configured to coordinate I/O traffic between processor9010, system memory9020, and any peripheral devices in the device, including network interface9040or other peripheral interfaces such as various types of persistent and/or volatile storage devices. In some embodiments, I/O interface9030may perform any necessary protocol, timing or other data transformations to convert data signals from one component (e.g., system memory9020) into a format suitable for use by another component (e.g., processor9010). In some embodiments, I/O interface9030may include support for devices attached through various types of peripheral buses, such as a variant of the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus standard or the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard, for example. In some embodiments, the function of I/O interface9030may be split into two or more separate components, such as a north bridge and a south bridge, for example. Also, in some embodiments some or all of the functionality of I/O interface9030, such as an interface to system memory9020, may be incorporated directly into processor9010. Network interface9040may be configured to allow data to be exchanged between computing device9000and other devices9060attached to a network or networks9050, such as other computer systems or devices as illustrated inFIG.1throughFIG.9, for example. In various embodiments, network interface9040may support communication via any suitable wired or wireless general data networks, such as types of Ethernet network, for example. Additionally, network interface9040may support communication via telecommunications/telephony networks such as analog voice networks or digital fiber communications networks, via storage area networks such as Fibre Channel SANs, or via any other suitable type of network and/or protocol. In some embodiments, system memory9020may represent one embodiment of a computer-accessible medium configured to store at least a subset of program instructions and data used for implementing the methods and apparatus discussed in the context of FIG.1throughFIG.9. However, in other embodiments, program instructions and/or data may be received, sent or stored upon different types of computer-accessible media. Generally speaking, a computer-accessible medium may include non-transitory storage media or memory media such as magnetic or optical media, e.g., disk or DVD/CD coupled to computing device9000via I/O interface9030. A non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium may also include any volatile or non-volatile media such as RAM (e.g. SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, RDRAM, SRAM, etc.), ROM, etc., that may be included in some embodiments of computing device9000as system memory9020or another type of memory. In some embodiments, a plurality of non-transitory computer-readable storage media may collectively store program instructions that when executed on or across one or more processors implement at least a subset of the methods and techniques described above. A computer-accessible medium may further include transmission media or signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals, conveyed via a communication medium such as a network and/or a wireless link, such as may be implemented via network interface9040. Portions or all of multiple computing devices such as that illustrated in FIG. may be used to implement the described functionality in various embodiments; for example, software components running on a variety of different devices and servers may collaborate to provide the functionality. In some embodiments, portions of the described functionality may be implemented using storage devices, network devices, or special-purpose computer systems, in addition to or instead of being implemented using general-purpose computer systems. The term “computing device”, as used herein, refers to at least all these types of devices, and is not limited to these types of devices. Conclusion Various embodiments may further include receiving, sending or storing instructions and/or data implemented in accordance with the foregoing description upon a computer-accessible medium. Generally speaking, a computer-accessible medium may include storage media or memory media such as magnetic or optical media, e.g., disk or DVD/CD-ROM, volatile or non-volatile media such as RAM (e.g. SDRAM, DDR, RDRAM, SRAM, etc.), ROM, etc., as well as transmission media or signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals, conveyed via a communication medium such as network and/or a wireless link. The various methods as illustrated in the Figures and described herein represent exemplary embodiments of methods. The methods may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof. The order of method may be changed, and various elements may be added, reordered, combined, omitted, modified, etc. Various modifications and changes may be made as would be obvious to a person skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. It is intended to embrace all such modifications and changes and, accordingly, the above description to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. | 73,569 |
11861539 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION A command center synchronizes real-time multi-dimensional data on one or more display devices. The data may include content of social media messages, metrics for the social media messages, and any other financial or business data. Displaying and synchronizing social media content together with other metrics provides insight into both the statistical performance of a campaign or event and the ground level customer response to the campaign or event. The command center provides ad-hoc search and navigation through different dimensional topic levels that allow users to better analyze and correlate data. For example, the command center not only generates and displays content and metrics associated with an event, but can also generate and display in real-time content and metrics for other topics, products, and/or services related to a currently displayed topic. The command center enables a user to navigate through the different dimensional levels simply by selecting items displayed by a remote control application. The command center also automatically synchronizes the content and metrics for any selected dimension to a same corresponding time period. FIG.1shows an example command center100. An analytics engine114may connect to different display devices, such as a portable notebook, portable tablet, smart phone, smart watch, or personal computer102. Display devices104and106may comprise display screens, such a light emitting diode (LED) screen, a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, or any other type of flat screen or any other display device. Analytics engine114also connects to a tablet, smart phone, smart watch, or any other portable device110that can select what data is displayed on display devices102,104and106with touch, voice, or gesture input. Command center100may access data from different data sources112, such as social networks, client networks, and third party websites. Social networks112may include websites, such as Twitter®, Facebook®, Instagram®, or the like. Client networks may include websites for a company, individual, or other entity associated with the data displayed on display devices102,104, and106. For example, command center100may display data for an event sponsored by the Acme company. Client networks112may include the www.acme.com website and other Acme company databases. Command center100may download sales data, user visits, etc. associated with the web pages on www.acme.com from web analytic data sources as well as download any other data from the other identified Acme company databases. Third party data sources112may include websites such as Adobe® or Google® analytics that monitor, measure, and generate metrics for other data sources or websites. Another example third party data source may include customized databases, such as created by Salesforce®, Salesforce® Radian6, or Sysomos® that provides access to marketing and sales data. Some data sources112may provide more subjective data, such as content from posted messages that indicate what a user thinks of a particular event, service, or product. Some data sources112may provide more objective numerical data, such as company sales data, inventory data, financial data, spreadsheet data, website ecommerce data, wrist band radio frequency identification (RFID) reader data, number web page views, number of unique page views, time on web pages, starting web page, bounce rates, percentage of exists from web pages, or any other structured data contained in database systems. Command center100uses application program interfaces (APIs)124and126to access data from data sources112A and112B, respectively. Some of data sources112A and112B may be the same, but are shown as separate sources inFIG.1for explanation purposes. For example, analytics engine114may use APIs124to extract real-time streaming data128from data sources112A. A collection server116may use APIs126to extract and store data114from data sources112B in a database118. Streaming data128may be similar to data114but may include real-time updates to data currently stored in database118. A computer122, such as a laptop, personal computer, notebook, or smart device identifies what data to extract from data sources112. For example, a user may enter a keyword, data string, term, or any other combination of characters into computer122associated with a dimension130. Dimension130may include any topic, segment, data category, gender, geography, time, content, metric, product, service, event, label, hashtag, gender, geography, time, content, metric, etc. For example, dimension130may comprise the name of company or person, a name of a product or service, a brand name, a name for a campaign or event associated with a company or person, a name of a department within a company, a name of an account on a social website, a name of a subject or account, a hashtag associated with the person or company, a name of a competitor or competitive product, etc. Dimension130also may identify a particular content or category of data. For example, dimension130may specify content, such as celebrity posted messages associated with a particular product or event. Dimensions130also may specify a particular metric, such as number of posts, shared messages, responses to messages, comments on messages, likes, and/or trending items associated with the product, service, event, or topic. Computer122may submit a list of dimensions130to a management server120. Management server120may direct collection server116to extract data from data sources112B associated with dimensions130. Management server120also may direct analytics engine114to connect to data sources112A and access streaming data128associated with dimensions130. Analytics engine114extracts and/or generates different metrics131from data128and114. For example, analytics engine114may access sales data associated with dimension130and generate an associated graph131A. In the case of social media, analytics engine114may download messages131B sent by different celebrities, messages131C sent by different journalists, and images131D sent by any variety of different users. Analytics engine114may accumulate all web traffic associated with dimensions130and generate time graphs131E that identify the number of messages generated for the dimensions130for different time periods, such as every 30 minutes or every hour. Analytics server114may generate additional content and metrics. For example, analytics engine114may generate a histogram131F that identifies the number of messages associated with the most popular topics associated with Acme and generate a geographic map131G that identifies the origination locations and numbers of social media messages associated with Acme. Analytics engine114also may generate a subset of content and metrics131H for display on device102. These are just examples of any variety of content and metrics131that may be downloaded and generated by analytics server114. Command center100provides the unique operation of synchronizing different content and metrics for different adhoc selected dimensions. For example, command center100displays corporate sales figures on timeline131A and social media traffic in timelines131E over the same time period. In addition, command center100may display content131B and131C from messages posted by different celebrities and journalists, respectively, over the same time periods associated with timelines131A and131E. Command center100also may display images131D posted by different users over the same time periods. Displaying these disparate data items together over a same relative timeline or time period allow a viewer to better correlate more objective metric data with more subjective social media content. For example, a user can not only view sales figures and web traffic131A and131E, respectively, for a particular product or event, but can also view the social commentary131B-131D for the same product or event during that same time period. This allows the viewer to better understand customer objective and subjective responses to product, services, topics, and/or events. For example, command center100may display the number of people attending an event in metric131A and display content of messages131B-131D posted by different users attending the event. A large number of attendees identified in metric131A may initially indicate a successful event. However, the people attending the event may provide mixed reviews of the event in messages131B-131D. Thus, command center100may provide financial, economic, or other objective metrics for the event, product, or service and also provide content that indicates the actual impressions and responses of attendees regarding the same event, product, or service. A user may change the dimension130displayed by command center100simply by selecting different icons154displayed by a remote control application156operating on device110. Remote control application156sends an input vector135to socket server108identifying the selected dimension103. Socket server108sends input vector135to different display modules operating with applications on display devices102,104, and106. Display modules142request analytics engine114to upload content or metrics associated with the new dimension130. Display modules142then automatically display the associated content or metrics for a same synchronized time period. Synchronizing metrics131A and131E with content131B-131D allow an event operator to react to real-time social reviews. For example, a peak in graph131E may indicate a significant event. The messages131B-131D associated with the peak in graph131E may identify a problem associated with the event. The event operator may send personnel to event locations to resolve the complaints regarding long waiting times or a poor sound system discussed in content131B-131D. The event operator also may exploit positive content by posting associated messages131B-131D on display devices102,104, and106or on a corporate website. FIG.2shows another example of data displayed by command center100. In this example, a company Acme is hosting an event launching one or more products. The Acme company creates an account @acmelive on one or more websites. In addition, the Acme company may create accounts @widgetA and @widgetB and hashtags #widgetA and #widgetB for two new products widget A and widget B, respectively, being announced at the event. The Acme company may want to view in real-time different sales data and social media content associated with the event. Referring toFIGS.1and2, an employee from Acme company may enter a list of dimensions130into computer122that includes Acme, acmelive, widgetA, and widgetB. Management server120may generate a set of search terms that search data sources112for data associated with dimensions130. For example, command center100may identify messages, tweets, comments, hashtags, images, likes, posts, etc. containing, referring to, or associated with the search terms Acme, acmelive, widgetA, and widgetB. A function of the management server is to choose an appropriate query based on the dimension name for the third party data source. For instance, if the dimension name was “Widget A”, management server120might try and find analytic data on all posts on connected social networks that mention “Widget” and “A” while at the same time find analytic data on all posts with the hashtag “#WidgetA” with no additional input or instruction from the user other than typing in the name “Widget A”. Command center100then generates content and metrics132for the identified data and displays content and metrics132on display devices102,104, and106. Command center100may initially display the content and metrics associated with the acmelive event. For example, inFIG.2the analytics engine114may identify in metric132A the total number of Twitter® messages (tweets) generated from the @acmelive account or referring to the @acmelive account and the number of those Twitter® messages generated per minute. Command center100inFIG.2may display content132B from some of the messages generated by celebrities attending the event. For example, analytics engine114may identify any users with a particular influence score or number of followers above some threshold level as a celebrity. Command center100also may store a predetermined list of celebrities. Command center100may display messages132B generated by any of the identified celebrities that refer to the @acmelive account or are generated from the @acmelive account. Analytics engine114also may display journalist messages132C. For example, command center100may display messages generated from particular publisher accounts that refer to the @acmelive event or are generated from the @acmelive account. Command center100also may store a white list of journalist accounts and display messages from the list that refer to the @acmelive event. In another example, command center100may display random messages sent from the general public. Command center100may display a running time and remaining time132D for the acmelive event. Command center100also may extract and display an image132E from the acmelive account, such as a company logo. For example, command center100may copy an image displayed in the @acmelive webpage. Analytics engine114inFIG.2also may generate a topic graph132F linking different terms used in the acmelive messages. For example, analytics engine114may generate graph132F from the list of topics @acmelive, @widgetA, and @widgetB provided by the Acme company employee. Analytics engine114may generate a circle with a diameter proportional to the total number of messages associated with @acmelive. Analytics engine114then may generate other circles with diameters proportion to the number of @acmelive messages that include terms @widgetA and @widgetB. Command center100may identify any other topics in topic graph132F associated with @acmelive either based on the topic list received via computer122or adhoc. For example, analytics engine114may identify the other most frequently used terms, labels, hashtags, etc. in the @acmelive messages and possibly in the @widgetA and @widgetB messages. Analytics engine114then generates circles in graph132F with diameters proportional to the number of adhoc messages that include the terms and creates links that indicate which messages contained the terms. For example, topic graph132F indicates that a first number of @acmelive messages included the term #acme, a second number of @acmelive messages included the term #acmephone, and a third number of @acmelive messages included the term #IOS8. Topic graph132F also indicates a number of @widgetA and @widgetB messages also included the term #IOS8. Command center100allows the viewer to search further into identified terms. For example, the viewer may discover a relatively large number of @acmelive messages include the term #IOS8. The viewer may enter the term IOS8 into remote control application156inFIG.1or may simply click on the circle in topic graph132F associated with #IOS8. Command center100then may conduct a new search that identifies and generates content and metrics132associated specifically with the #IOS8 dimension. The newly generated content and metrics may provide further insight on what customers at the event are thinking and saying about #IOS8. Analytic engine114inFIG.2also may generate different timelines132G that identify the number of messages generated over the same relative time periods for different topics. For example, a first graph140A may identify the number of @acmelive messages generated over different 30 minute time periods. A second graph140B may identify the number of @widgetA messages generated during the same 30 minute time periods, and a third graph140C may identify the number of @widgetB messages generated during the same 30 minute time periods. Timelines132G may reflect the popularity for different portions of an event or different products announced during the acmelive event. For example, a peak in graph140B may correspond to the announcement of widgetA during the acmelive event and a peak in graph140C may correspond with the announcement of widgetB during the acmelive event. The larger number of messages associated with graph140C may indicate consumers are more interested in, or like, widgetB more than widgetA. In another example, a peak in graph140A also may indicate a problem or other relatively significant event during the acmelive event. The application operating on display device104may include separate display modules142A-142G that each display different content or metrics132for the selected dimension. For example, display module142A may be responsible for displaying the number of Twitter® messages sent per minute and total Twitter® messages132A associated with the @acmelive event. Display module142B may be responsible for displaying the contents of celebrity Twitter® messages132B. Display modules142automatically synchronize content and metrics132for the selected dimension over a same relative time period. For example, display module142G displays timelines132G identifying the number of Twitter® messages generated for the @acmelive event for 30 minute time periods on the day of the @acmelive event. Display module142C displays the content of journalist Twitter® messages132C for the same time periods during the same day. For example, display module142C may continuously display and update journalist messages132C for each thirty minute time period on the day of the @acmelive event. FIG.3shows another example of data displayed by the command center. Referring toFIGS.1and3, a user may select a different dimension via remote control application156for displaying on display devices102,104, and106. For example, the user may select the dimension or topic widgetA via selection of one of icons154displayed on device110. In response to selecting icon154, command center100generates and displays content and metrics133associated with widgetA. For example, display modules142receive a new input vector135from socket server108identifying the new widgetA dimension. Each display module142then requests new data from analytics engine114for widgetA. For example, display module142A may send a request to analytics engine114for the number of Twitter® messages associated with @widgetA. Separately, display module142B may send a request to analytics engine114for celebrity messages associated with @widgetA. In response to the request sent by display module142A, analytics engine114may calculate the number of messages generated per minute and total generated messages133A associated with @widgetA. In response to the request from display module142B, analytics engine114also may identify content in celebrity messages133B that refer to @widgetA. InFIG.3, command center100also identifies and displays images133C from messages associated with @widgetA. For example, per a request from display module142C, analytics engine114may extract images133C from Instagram® messages that are generated from the @widgetA account or refer to @widgetA. Command center100also displays a new image133D representing widgetA. For example, per a request from display module142D, analytics engine114may extract an image displayed on the web page of the @widgetA account. Display module142D also may change the background color on display device104either to a color corresponding to the home web page for the @widgetA account or change the background color on display device104to any other color different from the background color previously used inFIG.2. The change in background color on display device104and displaying image133D provides a visual indication that the information on display device104has changed and is now associated with a different widgetA dimension. In response to a request from display module142E, analytics engine114generates a new topic graph133E that now identifies the topics, hashtags, labels, etc. most frequently used in the messages associated with @widgetA. For example, topic graph133E indicates that #processor6 is one of the most frequently used terms in the @widgetA messages. In response to a request from display module142F, analytics engine114also generates a new set of timelines133F associated with @widgetA. For example, graph140B may be the same graph previously shown inFIG.2showing the number of messages generated for @widgetA. However, graphs140A and140C now show changes in the number of messages for other topics specifically associated with @widgetA. For example, graph140A may show the number of messages associated with a processor6 used in widget and graph140C may show the number of messages associated with a software application running on widgetA. Analytics engine114and display modules142generate and display content and metrics133for widgetA adhoc and in substantially real-time based on input vectors135received from remote control application156operating on device110. The different display modules142D automatically synchronize content and metrics133for the new selected widgetA dimension over the same relative time periods. For example, either via a time value included in input vector135or based on a preconfigured time period, each of display modules142will display the associated content or metric133for a same relative time period. For example, each display module142may display the associated content or metrics for the same corresponding 30 minute time periods over a current day. Thus, a user can navigate through different dimensions associated with events, products, services, topics, etc. simply by selecting different icons displayed on device110inFIG.1. All of the different content and metrics associated with the selected dimension is then automatically synchronized to the same relative time period. This navigation capability allows the viewer to better monitor, analyze, and correlate different data for different topics. FIG.4shows remote control application156operating on device110in more detail. As described above, an operator may provide a list of dimensions150associated with a particular entity, event, or topic. In this example, a top level dimension150A may be associated with the Acme company. Sub-dimensions150B-150D may include products, services, topics and/or events associated with the Acme company, such as widgetA, widgetB, and acmelive, respectively. Referring toFIGS.1and4, device110may comprise a smart phone, tablet, watch, laptop, or any other portable computing device that operates remote control application156. Application156displays a set of icons152A-152D associated with dimensions150A-150D, respectively. The viewer may select any of icons152A-152D to view the content and metrics associated with dimensions150A-150D, respectively. For example, as shown above, the operator may change from viewing content and metrics associated with the acmelive event150D inFIG.2to viewing content and metrics associated with widgetA150B inFIG.3simply by selecting icon152B. Remote control application156also may display a field154for entering other dimensions that are not currently displayed. For example, a user may enter any dimension, brand, account, hashtag, label, or topic150E into field154. Application156may send dimension150E to management server120, analytics engine114, and display modules142inFIG.2. Management server120may cause collection server116and analytics engine114to connect and download data from multiple data sources112associated with dimension150E. Analytics engine114may generate metrics from the data and display modules142operating in applications on display devices102,104, and106may display the content and metrics. Remote control application156also may display icons162associated with different content and metrics. For example, application156may display an icon162A associated with Twitter® messages132A, display an icon162B associated with Instagram® messages133C, display an icon162C associated with geographic data132E, and display an icon162D associated with celebrity messages132B. A user may change the content or metrics generated and displayed on display devices102,104, and106by selecting associated icons162. Display modules142inFIGS.2and3may initially display a group of content and metrics132as shown inFIG.2. The user may change the types of content and metrics displayed by display modules142inFIG.2by selecting different icons162inFIG.4. For example, the user may cause display module142C to change from showing journalist messages132C inFIG.2to displaying images133C from Instagram® messages inFIG.3by selecting icon162B inFIG.4. Similarly, the user may cause display module132F to change from displaying topic graph132F inFIG.2to displaying location map131G inFIG.1by selecting icon162C inFIG.4. An icon164allows the user to enter any other data category, content, metric, etc. that is not currently associated with one of icons162. Icons162also may include screen location identifiers (not shown) that indicate where to locate the associated content or metric within the display devices. In one example, the application operating on at least one of display devices102,104, and/or106inFIG.1also may display the same icons152and/or162and fields154and164displayed on device110. The user may touch the screen of the display device or touch the screen of device110to then select any of the icons152or162, or enter values into fields154or164. In another example, remote control application156inFIG.4may display a portion of the associated content or metric within icons152or162. For example, remote control application156may display a sparkline166within icon152B that corresponds with the number to Twitter® messages for graph140B inFIG.2. A spike in sparkline166may provide a visual indication of event associated with widgetA. Remote control application156may generate a notification identifying the event in sparkline166. For example, analytics engine114may detect a volume of messages above a normal threshold. Analytics engine114then may push a notification message to application156indicating the number of Twitter® messages associated with widgetA has reached an all-time high. Application156then displays the message on device110. Remote control application156also may display a timeline168. A user may move a scroll bar169to select different time periods for the content and metrics displayed by the display modules142. Application156sends the time value selected by scroll bar169as part of input vector135inFIG.1. The display modules in the display devices102,104, and106then display their associated content or metrics for the selected time value. Thus, command center100creates adhoc multidimensional searches for data contained in different data sources. Command center100without any additional programming then generates and displays synchronized content and metrics for other selected dimensions enabling users to visually compare different types of data and then navigate through other dimensions and associated content and metrics simply by selecting different items from the remote control application156. FIG.5depicts an example process for generating content and metrics. Referring toFIGS.1and5, command center100in operation170A receives a list of data sources. For example, an operator may enter a list via computer122that includes links to different social network websites, company websites, third party websites, and other data, such as spreadsheets, inventory databases, sales databases, reports, etc. In operation170B, command center100receives a list of dimensions via computer122or remote control device110. As explained above, the list of dimensions may include any combination of products, events, services, topics, labels, etc. that a user wishes to monitor. In operation170C, command center100generates a list of search terms associated with the list of dimensions. For example, command center100may convert the word ACME into search terms, such as acme, @acme and #acme. In operation170D, command center100connects to the different data sources and searches for data associated with the search terms. For example, command center100uses APIs124and126for the different data sources112A and112B, respectively, to download data associated with the search terms. For example, collection server116may search an ACME account on a Twitter® website, a Facebook® website, and an Instagram® website. Collection server116also may search a WWW.acme.com website. Collection server116downloads data114from the different data sources112B into database118, such as content and associated metrics for messages, posts, images, etc. Analytics engine114also may download real-time streaming data128from data sources112A. The user may enter different dimensions associated with a corporate product hierarchy into computer122or command center100may determine the dimensions based on a URL hierarchy. For example, a user may enter the dimension ACME into computer122. Collection server116may identify a first acme directory or acme web page in data sources112with the most volume as a root dimension and identify a widgetA sub-directory or sub-web page with a second largest amount of volume as a first sub-level dimension of the acme directory or web page. Collection server116also may search for the closest string matches for widgetA, widgetB, and acmelive below the www.acme.com web page as www.acme.com/widgetA, www.acme.com/widgetB, and www.acme.com/acmelive. Collection server116may assume that every web page below a root web page is associated with the same root web page. For example, analytics engine114may count all user visits and messages to web page www.acme.com/widgetA and all visits to web pages below www.acme.com/widgetA as associated with widgetA. In operation170E, collection server116captures metadata associated with the dimension data. For example, command center100may identify time stamps and geographic data associated with the dimension and/or identify any other profile information associated with the user that accessed the web page or posted the message associated with the dimension. In operation170F, command center100may receive filter terms. For example, command center100may extract data from different data sources that are unrelated to the dimension. For example, a user may enter the dimension @acme for an account operated by a company that makes smart phones. However, command center100may identify additional data related to a @acme1 account operated by a company that sells shoes. Command center100may display the two terms @acme and @acme1 to the user and the user then may select terms for filtering, such as @acme1. In operation170G, collection server116and/or analytics engine114either does not download the data associated with @acme1 or deletes downloaded data associated with @acme1. In operation170H, the downloaded data is normalized based on the associated metadata. For example, the metadata may include timestamps. Command center100may download different data from different data sources and generate different metrics for the different data based on the time stamps. For example, sales data from a first data source may include times and dates of sales for widgetA. Twitter® messages related to widgetA from a second Twitter® website may include times when messages were sent by users. Command center100may accumulate data from the first and second data source for 30 minute time periods over the same day or week. Analytics engine114then generates a first graph showing the number of sales of widgetA for each 30 minute time period during a given day. Analytics engine114generates a second graph that shows the number of Twitter® messages associated with widgetA and content for some of the Twitter® messages for each 30 minute time period during that same day. Thus, both the sales figures and Twitter® messages are normalized over the same time periods. This normalization provides more intuitive visual correlation between the objective sales data and the more subjective social media content. In operation170I, the display modules display the content and metrics associated with the selected dimensions. Real-time content and metrics may be combined from data previously collected and accumulated over previous time periods. For example, analytics engine114may continuously receive the latest real-time streaming data128associated with a particular dimension. Analytics engine114may continuously accumulate and combine the real-time data with the previously accumulated data contained in database118. The latest content associated with the dimension may be displayed and the associated metrics readjusted on display devices102,104, and106. FIG.6shows an example process for varying the content and metrics currently displayed by the command center. Referring toFIGS.1and6, remote control application156on device110in operation180A displays different dimensions, content, and/or metrics. In operation180B, application156detects a selection of an icon associated with a dimension, content, and/or metric that is not currently displayed on display devices102,104, or106. Application156sends an input vector to socket server108inFIG.1and the socket server sends the input vector to the display modules operating in the display devices. In operation180C, the display modules send requests to the analytics engine for data associated with the selected dimension. For example, a first display module may ask the analytics engine to generate a graph displaying the number of Twitter® messages generated each 30 minutes for the selected dimension. A second display module may ask the analytics engine to provide images from Instagram® messages sent over the last 30 minutes for the selected dimension. As mentioned above, the user may select a specific time period for the dimension using timeline168inFIG.4. In operation180D, display modules142and/or analytics engine114determine if data for the selected dimension and time period are currently being streamed and/or stored from data sources112. If not, command center100connects to data sources112and searches for data associated with the selected dimension. In operation180F, analytics engine114merges the data from the different data sources112associated with the selected dimension. For example, analytics engine114merges real-time streaming data128with the data downloaded into database118. Merging real-time data128with stored data114allows analytics engine114and display modules142to generate, display, and continuously update content and metrics associated with the selected dimension. In operation180G, one of the display modules142may display a background color and/or image associated with the selected dimension. For example, one of display modules142may identify a color and/or image displayed on a top web page associated the selected dimension and display the color and image on display devices102,104, and106. The display module may change the background color or font on the display devices to indicate content and metrics are now being displayed for a new dimension. In operation180H, different display modules142display synchronized content and metrics for the selected dimension, time period, location, etc. The displayed content and metrics may depend on the data provided by the data sources. For example, a data source such as Google® analytics may identify the number of user visits, time on page, etc. for each web page. A data source such as Salesforce.com® may contain reports for sales figures, inventory, etc. Display modules142may display metrics for the user visits provided Google® analytics and display metrics for the sales figures provided by the Salesforce.com® reports. As explained above, the display modules display content and data for the same synchronized time periods. FIG.7shows how messages are exchanged between different applications in command center100. The applications running on the devices in command center100operate as a real-time multi-dimensional search engine that synchronizes together different content and metrics for selected dimensions. In one example, messages and data are exchanged between the different applications operating in command center100via an Internet network109. Of course, command center100may use any combination of wide area networks (WANs), local area network (LANs), wireless cellular networks, or WiFi networks109. Devices104,108,110114,116,120, and122may operate separate applications that are all part of a single universal resource locator (URL). If loaded on display device104or display device106, the URL operates a set of display modules that display content and metrics131. If loaded on device110, the URL transitions into remote control application156described above inFIG.4. As explained above, remote control application156uses socket server108to control display modules142operating in display device104. Socket server108allows browser sessions operating on the different command center devices to talk to each other and transfer data. Socket server108also allows remote control application156to send asynchronous input vectors135to display modules142without display modules142constantly polling application156for a current list of selected dimensions. A user enters one or more dimensions200into computer122or enters one or more dimensions200into remote control application156. Computer122may forward any received dimensions200to management server120and to remote control application156. Remote control application156may display dimensions200received from computer122as icons152or162. Remote control application156may send an input vector135that identifies dimensions200both to management server120and to socket server108. Management server120maintains a list of all available dimensions and determines if the selected dimensions200are contained in database118. If not, management server120may direct collection server116and/or analytics engine114to connect to data sources112and search for data associated with dimensions200. Socket server108sends input vector135to display modules142that identify dimensions200selected via application156. Display modules142then send messages204to analytics engine114requesting data associated with dimensions200. For example, display module142A may send a message204A requesting sales data associated with dimension200and display module142B may send a message204B requesting celebrity Twitter® messages associated with dimension200. Analytics engine114provides data206back to display modules142containing the content and metrics available for dimension200. For example, analytics engine114may send metrics206A back to display module142A identifying the number of sales associated with dimension200for the last 24 hours. Analytics engine114may send content206B back to display module142B comprising celebrity Twitter® messages associated with dimension200. Display modules142continue to ask for new data from analytics engine114and coordinate how the new data is displayed and merged with other data. For example, display modules142determine what content and metrics are displayed on the display device and how updates to the content and metrics are integrated with previously displayed data. If additional data is needed, display modules142may direct analytics engine114and/or collection server116to download additional data associated with dimensions200. Another socket server (not shown) may be connected between data sources112A and analytics engine114. Analytics engine114may not only warehouse data or pass data through to display modules142, but may combine the data from the different data sources112together into a hybrid set of content and metrics. Analytics engine114and display modules142also provide real-time updates to the content and metrics displayed on display device104. Some information loses value after a short amount of time. Therefore, the real-time streaming by analytics engine114and display modules142allow a user to identify trending topics and select, search, and generate more up to the minute content and metrics associated with those topics. Analytics engine114also may archive data for playback. For example, computer122may display a timeline or application156may display timeline168inFIG.4. The user may choose other time dimension ranges or even scroll a timeline to display data associated with specific points in time within a larger time period. Analytics engine114may store data for different selected and non-selected dimensions in database118. The user may replay the stored data for any event or dimension regardless if the event or dimension was ever previously selected by the user. In summary, remote control application156generates input vectors135that may include dimension200and/or a time values. Socket server108sends the input vectors135to each of the different display modules142. Display modules142then separately communicate with analytics engine114requesting different content or metrics131. Display modules142then display the associated content or metric for the same synchronized time periods on display device104. Input vectors135in combination with control display modules142allow command center100to automatically display synchronized content and metrics for any selectable dimension on any display canvas configuration. For example, one command center100as shown inFIG.1may include multiple display devices102,104, and106. A command center administrator simply configures different display modules142to different locations within the different display devices102,104, and106. Display modules142operating on the different display devices102,104, and105then automatically take over responsibility for displaying the associated content or metric131for any received dimension received via input vector135. Command center100may display a set of selectable display modules142. A user may select display modules142for displaying different types of data on display device104. For example, display device104may display a set of display modules142in a toolbar and the user may drag and drop different display modules142into different locations in display device104. In another example, computer122and/or remote control device110may display the display modules in a tool bar and drag and drop display modules142into different locations of a virtual image of the display device104. The selected display modules142then take over displaying associated types of data in the selected locations of display device104. Dynamic Topic Correlation FIG.8displays remote control device110in more detail. As mentioned above, a dimension may include any topic, segment, data category, gender, geography, time, content, metric, product, service, event, label, hashtag, gender, geography, time, content, metric, etc. The example below uses the term topic interchangeably with dimension. Referring toFIGS.7and8, remote control application156may provide a user interface240for dynamically selecting and displaying different categories256and/or different topics260. In response to selecting icon250, remote control application156may display a field254for entering a category256. In response to selecting icon252, remote control application156may display a field258for entering a topic260. Category256and topic260may include any subject that the user would like to view on display device104. In this example, the user creates a politicians category and creates topics under the politicians category for different political candidates. The user may enter the word “politicians” into field254as category256. However, the user may enter any word, phrase, term, etc. into field254and create any number of categories256. In this example, the user enters the word “Chris Farris” into field258as a candidate topic260underneath politicians category256. The user also may enter any word, phrase, term, etc. into field258and create any number of topics260for category256. For example, the user may enter other candidate topics260into field258, such as Mary Hartson and Kevin Mason. Remote control application156may save categories256and associated topics260in memory. Remote control application156may display categories256and associated topics260in response the user selecting other icons in user interface240. For example, remote control application156may display all of the categories previously entered by the user on a first screen of user interface240. In response to selecting politicians category256, remote control application156may display the associated politicians topics260A-260C for Chris Farris, Mary Hartson, and Kevin Mason, respectively. The user may enter other categories256or topics260into remote control device110. Command center100then may identify any related topics. For example, the use may enter a category for sports into remote control device110and command center100may identify different related topics, such as hockey, basketball, football, and baseball. Command center100may search different data sources112for data associated with the three topics260A-260C entered by the user for politicians category256. In another example, command center100may dynamically identify topics260. For example, the user may not enter any topics260for politicians category256, or the user may only enter a few topics260. Command center100may automatically identify additional topics260for politicians category256and display the identified topics260on user interface240. Automatically generating topics260is described in more detail below inFIG.9. Remote control application156may display view icons262next to category256and associated topics260. Remote control application156may cause command center100to search for data related to topics260or generally to category256in response to selecting view icons262A-262D. For example, command center100may search for data related to politicians category256in response to a user selecting view icon262D. In another example, command center100may search different data sources112for data associated with Chris Farris topic260A in response to a user selecting view icon262A. Command center100may start searching data sources112as soon as the user enters a category256and/or topic260into remote control device110. Otherwise, command center100may search for data associated with selected categories256and/or topics260and display the data on display devices104in response to the user selecting view icons262. In another example, remote control device110and/or computer122may include voice recognition software. The user may utter voice commands into remote control device110and/or computer122to create and view categories256and/or topics260. For example, the user may speak into a microphone on remote control device110and give the oral command “create topic.” Remote control application156may display field258in response to the voice command. Remote control application156may create topic260A in response to the user then uttering the voice command “Chris Farris.” Remote control application156may display data related to topic260A in response to the user then uttering a voice command, such as “view topic Chris Farris.” Remote control application156also may change topics and display data associated with the new topics in response to voice commands. For example, command center100may currently display data for Chris Farris and also display a metric showing the number of messages posted over the day for Chris Farris, Mary Hartson, and Kevin Mason. The user may utter the voice command “view topic Kevin Mason” into remote control device110. Remote control application156sends the new topic “Kevin Mason” to command center100and command center100then searches and displays data for “Kevin Mason” on display device104. FIG.9depicts an example process for dynamically identifying topics and correlating data for the identified topics. Referring toFIGS.7,8, and9, command center100dynamically correlates data from disparate data sources112with different topics260. The user may identify the primary topic and command center100may automatically identify related topics. A user simply enters a topic260into remote control device110to view the correlated data associated with that topic260. Command center100enables users to dynamically navigate and view correlated data for other related topics260simply by selecting topic inputs on remote control device110. In operation280A ofFIG.9, command center100may detect selection of a topic. For example, the user may enter a topic name into device110as described above inFIG.8. In operation280B, command center100may identify patterns in different data sources112based on data structures used in data sources112. For example, a first data source112may include structured data from a company website. As explained above, the website may have a root directory associated with the company and include subdirectories for different products, services, or activities associated with the company. The subdirectories for the different products, services, or other activities may include additional subdirectories for associated campaigns, activities, etc. Command center100may use the root directory and subdirectories to identify related topics. In the example above, the user may select the politician Chris Farris as a primary topic. Command center100may search the website operated by Chris Farris and identify a root directory and subdirectories on the website identifying different political topics. For example, one sub-directory may relate to foreign policy and a second sub-directory may relate to immigration. In operation280C, the command center may identify both foreign policy and immigration as topics related to Chris Farris. In operation280D, command center100extracts data for the identified topics. In this example, command center100may extract metric, image, and/or any text data from the Chris Farris website related to foreign policy and immigration. Data center100may use webpage analytics to help identify patterns and related topics. For example, web analytic services may identify the number of visits, clicks, dwell times, data selections, etc. for webpages. Command center100may extract data and identify topics from the directory names and webpages with the most visited webpages. Command center100may identify other patterns and topics for data sources112with other data structures. For example, command center100also may search a social media account @Chris Farris. The social media account may not have a directory structure with a root directory and subdirectories like the privately operated website. Command center100may identify patterns in the social media account based on conversations, influencers, keywords, hashtags, message reuse, or the like, or any combination thereof. For example, some social media websites identify messages or accounts with the largest number of likes or highest trending scores. Social media websites also may identify messages posted by users with the largest number of followers or largest influence. Social media messages also may include links, hashtags, accounts, and other content. In operation280B, command center100may identify patterns and related topics based on the conversations, number of likes, influencers, keywords, hashtags, content, etc. associated with the messages in the social media account. For example, command center100may identify messages posted in the @Chris Farris account from large influencers or with a large number of likes. The messages may repeatedly refer to campaign funding. Command center100may identify campaign funding as a new topic associated with Chris Farris. In the operation280D, command center100extracts data for the topic selected by the user and may extract data for related topics. For example, command center100may extract and store metrics, text, and images for the selected topic Chris Farris, and also extract and store metrics, text, and images for the dynamically identified related topics of foreign policy, immigration, and campaign funding. In operation280E, command center100may correlate the data extracted from the different data sources112. As explained above, command center100may use timestamps to correlate the different data with a same time period. For example, command center100may identify metrics from a first structured data source112identifying website usage on the Chris Farris private website for each hour of the day. Command center100also may identify messages from the @Chris Farris social media account posted by the biggest influencers or with the most likes. Command center100identifies the messages with timestamps for the same hour time periods during the same day. In operation280F, command center100displays the correlated data for the selected topic and for possibly related topics. As explained above, some display modules142may display data related to a user-selected topic, such as for topic Chris Farris. For example, one display module142may display the metrics for the webpage usage metrics from the Chris Farris private website and a second display module142may display the most popular messages posted on the @Chris Farris social media account. Other display modules142may display content for related topics. For example, as described above inFIG.8, the user may have entered three topics260A-260C into remote control device110for Chris Farris, Mary Hartson, and Kevin Mason, respectively. One display module142may display metrics that show the number of messages posted each hour on Chris Farris, Mary Hartson, and Kevin Mason social media accounts. Another display module may display the dynamically discovered topics for foreign policy, immigration, and campaign funding. The display module correlates the foreign policy, immigration, and campaign funding topics in time with the other data for Chris Farris, Mary Hartson, and Kevin Mason. In operation280G, the user may select a new topic. For example, the user may select one of the other politician topics260B or260C displayed on remote control device110inFIG.8or the user may manually enter a new topic into remote control device110. The user also may select topics that command center100automatically discovered while searching for previous topics and then displayed on user interface240of remote control device110. In operation280H, command center100searches and displays the data for the new topic. For example, remote control application156sends the selected topic to display modules142that then request and display the data associated with the new topic. In another example, the user may want to track a candidate debate between three politicians. The user may enter the three politician topics260A-260C into remote control application156as described above inFIG.8. Remote control application156may cause command center100to search and display data related to all three politicians260A-260C. During the debate, one of display modules142may track the number of messages on a social media site for each of the politicians. The number of messages may spike for politician Mary Hartson during the debate. The user may use remote control application156to select view icon262B inFIG.8to view additional data for Mary Hartson. Command center100may display messages posted on the @Mary Hartson social media account that refer positively to a comment made by Mary Hartson during the debate. Command center100also may display metrics from the @Mary Hartson social media account that also indicate a large number of people liked the posted message. Thus, command center100may identify in real-time the overall positive or negative public response to comments made during the debate. The following are example types of data and metrics command center100may use to identify data related to a topic and identify other topics related to a selected topic. A. User Generated Content (UGC) Posts 1. Volume by network by date2. Stream of all posts, list and Geo3. Total Posts4. Impressions5. Top Influencers that have used a hashtag sorted by followers6. Top Posts that used hashtag sorted by engagement7. Top Hashtags also mentioned in posts by popularity8. Top Keywords in posts by popularity9. Top @Replies in posts by popularity10. Network by volume11. Audience Attitude (sentiment) B. Brand1. Followers by Network for brand2. Top Posts posted by brand using the hashtag sorted by engagement3. Number of posts by network for brand posts using the hashtag4. Klout influence score for brand C. Demographics of Participants1. Gender by percentage2. Age range by percentage3. Income by percentage4. Ethnicity by percentage5. Countries by percentage sorted by popularity6. State/Province by percentage sorted by popularity7. City by percentage sorted by popularity8. Top Interests sorted by popularity9. Top Brands sorted by popularity10. Top Influencers (of that audience) sorted by popularity11. Top TV Shows sorted by popularity The user may configure command center100to display content for different time periods, such as for each hour over 24 hours, or for each minute over an hour. Display modules142then may request and display metrics for the selected topics for the configured time periods. Command center100may display data with background images and colors associated with the topic. For example, command center100may identify the root page for a topic associated with a corporation or brand. Command center100may extract a portion of the root webpage for displaying as background on display devices104providing a similar look and feel for the corporation or brand. Command center100also may identify a primary color on the root webpage and use that primary color to display metrics for that corporation or brand. These social media display enhancements are also described in U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 62/165,479, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. Hardware and Software FIG.10shows a computing device1000that may be used for operating the command center computing devices and performing any combination of processes discussed above. The computing device1000may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a server-client network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. In other examples, computing device1000may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a smart phone, a web appliance, or any other machine or device capable of executing instructions1006(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. While only a single computing device1000is shown, the computing device1000may include any collection of devices or circuitry that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the operations discussed above. Computing device1000may be part of an integrated control system or system manager, or may be provided as a portable electronic device configured to interface with a networked system either locally or remotely via wireless transmission. Processors1004may comprise a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), programmable logic devices, dedicated processor systems, micro controllers, or microprocessors that may perform some or all of the operations described above. Processors1004may also include, but may not be limited to, an analog processor, a digital processor, a microprocessor, multi-core processor, processor array, network processor, etc. Some of the operations described above may be implemented in software and other operations may be implemented in hardware. One or more of the operations, processes, or methods described herein may be performed by an apparatus, device, or system similar to those as described herein and with reference to the illustrated figures. Processors1004may execute instructions or “code”1006stored in any one of memories1008,1010, or1020. The memories may store data as well. Instructions1006and data can also be transmitted or received over a network1014via a network interface device1012utilizing any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols. Memories1008,1010, and1020may be integrated together with processing device1000, for example RAM or FLASH memory disposed within an integrated circuit microprocessor or the like. In other examples, the memory may comprise an independent device, such as an external disk drive, storage array, or any other storage devices used in database systems. The memory and processing devices may be operatively coupled together, or in communication with each other, for example by an I/O port, network connection, etc. such that the processing device may read a file stored on the memory. Some memory may be “read only” by design (ROM) by virtue of permission settings, or not. Other examples of memory may include, but may be not limited to, WORM, EPROM, EEPROM, FLASH, etc. which may be implemented in solid state semiconductor devices. Other memories may comprise moving parts, such a conventional rotating disk drive. All such memories may be “machine-readable” in that they may be readable by a processing device. “Computer-readable storage medium” (or alternatively, “machine-readable storage medium”) may include all of the foregoing types of memory, as well as new technologies that may arise in the future, as long as they may be capable of storing digital information in the nature of a computer program or other data, at least temporarily, in such a manner that the stored information may be “read” by an appropriate processing device. The term “computer-readable” may not be limited to the historical usage of “computer” to imply a complete mainframe, mini-computer, desktop, wireless device, or even a laptop computer. Rather, “computer-readable” may comprise storage medium that may be readable by a processor, processing device, or any computing system. Such media may be any available media that may be locally and/or remotely accessible by a computer or processor, and may include volatile and non-volatile media, and removable and non-removable media. Computing device1000can further include a video display1016, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)) and a user interface1018, such as a keyboard, mouse, touch screen, etc. All of the components of computing device1000may be connected together via a bus1002and/or network. For the sake of convenience, operations may be described as various interconnected or coupled functional blocks or diagrams. However, there may be cases where these functional blocks or diagrams may be equivalently aggregated into a single logic device, program or operation with unclear boundaries. Social Media Enhancement FIG.11shows an example social media processing system (processing system)1100. A collection server1104accesses different social networks1102, such as Twitter®, Facebook®, Instagram®, Google®, or any other website associated with a company, individual, or any other entity. Collection server1104collects and stores social media1106from social networks1102in database1110. Social media1106may include messages, tweets, pictures, images, audio, video, text, posts, or any other data. A data set1120may include any combination of keywords1122, rules1124, images1126, or any other data1128. A user may create data set1120via a user device1114, such as a portable notebook, portable tablet, or personal computer1102. The user may create a data set associated with a particular company. For example, the user may add a keyword1122A such as Acme Soda into a field1116displayed on the screen of user device1114. The user may enter and associate one or more rules1124, images1126, and/or any other data1128with keywords1122. For example, the client may create a rule1124that associates the keyword Acme Soda with an Acme Soda logo1126B and an image of an Acme Soda can1126C. An enhancement manager1112may operate in an application server within processing system1100and enhance social media1106based on data set1120. Enhancement manager1112may identify social streams in social media1106associated with the Acme Company. For example, enhancement manager1112may identify messages within social media1106sent to a @Acme social network account or that include a #Acme hashtag. Enhancement manager1112may curate the identified messages for rendering on a display screen1130. For example, enhancement manager1112may filter out derogatory or obscene messages and/or identify messages with positive comments regarding Acme Soda. In one example, enhancement manager1112identifies a message1108that includes the text: I LOVE ACME SODA. Enhancement manager1112compares the words in message1108with keywords1122in data set1120. In this example, the term Acme Soda in message1108A matches keyword1122A in data set1120. Enhancement manager1120identifies images1126B and1126C in data set1120specified by rules1124associated with the matching keyword1122A. Enhancement manager1112adds images1126B and1126C as enhancements to message1108and displays both as enhanced post1132on display screen1130. Data set1120may associate other keywords1122with other images1126. For example, the user may associate another image1126A in data set1120with the keyword LOVE. Enhancement manager1112then may identify the additional word LOVE in message1108and add the associated image1126A prior to rendering enhanced message1132on display screen1130. Enhancement manager1112may add other data1128from data set1120to message1108, such as a price of the product and/or a location for purchasing the product mentioned in message1108. Data1128in data set1120also may identify different fonts and font sizes for associated keywords1122. For example, data1128may identify a font used on Acme Soda cans. Enhancement manager1112may further enhance message1108by changing the font originally used in message1108to the font used on Acme soda cans. Enhancement manager1112also may identify images contained in message1108. For example, a user may post a message that includes a company logo. Data set1120may include the logo as part of keywords1122and enhancement manager1112may use an image detection system to detect any messages1108that contain the logo. Enhancement manager1112then may include a rule and associated images and/or data for adding to message1108based on the detected logo. Enhancements1126increase the visual connection of a product mentioned in post1108with viewers. For example, logo1126B and soda can1126C immediately connect viewers with Acme Soda. In addition, heart image1126A immediately notifies viewers that message1108is a positive endorsement of Acme Soda. Thus, enhanced message1132combines the increased visual impact and viewer association of images1126with the user endorsement contained in message1108. The same or different data sets1120may include different keywords1122, rules1124, images1126, and data1128for different products, services, and events. For example, a first set of keywords1122, rules1124, and images1126may be associated with a first type of soda and a second set of keywords1122, rules1124, and images1126may be associated with a second type of soda. A third set of keywords1122, rules1124, and images1126may be associated with a particular campaign or event associated with Acme Soda, such as an athletic event or concert. Processing system1100may associated different data sets1120with different clients. For example, a first dataset1120may contain the keywords, rules, image and/or data for a clothes manufacturer and a second dataset1120may contain the keywords, rules, image and/or data for a movie studio. Users via user device1114or datasets1120may identify which social media streams for applying to different data sets1120. In another example, processing system1100may include multiple display screens1130and a different data set1120or group of rules in a same data set1120may be associated with each display screen. For example, the multiple display screens1130may be located in a sports stadium and enhancement manager1112may displayed enhanced messages1132on each of display screens1130associated with different players from a sports team. FIG.12shows another example of how the processing system may add enhancements to social media. In this example, a movie company may create a data set1120A within social media processing system1100with keywords and associated rules1122A including the name of a movie and names of actors in the movie. Processing system1100may collect social media posted on the movie company social network accounts or any other social media that mentions the movie, movie company, actors in the movie, or any other associated context. In this example, a user may post a message1108A stating: THE NEW JILL SMITH MOVIE “SAILING AWAY” IS GREAT! The user may post message1108A on one of the social media accounts for the movie company that distributes the movie or may have referenced the movie name or movie company name in a hashtag. Processing system1100compares keywords1122A with the terms in message1108A and identifies matches for the movie name SAILING AWAY and the actor name JILL SMITH. Data set1120A may include a first rule that directs processing system1100to add an image1140A from the movie and add an image1140B with the name and logo of the movie company based on the movie name match. The first rule also may specify a particular font to use for message1108A. Based on the keyword match with actor name JILL SMITH, data set1120A may include a second rule that directs processing system1100to add image1140C for the actor Jill Smith to message1108A. Thus, resulting enhanced message1132A may have substantially more visual interest than original message1108A. Processing system1100may receive another message1108B relating to the same movie including the text: I LIKED THE NEW MOVIE WITH TREAVOR HARRIS! Processing system1100compares keywords1122A with the terms in message1108B and identifies a match with the actor name Treavor Harris. Data set1120A may include a rule associated with the Treavor Harris keyword1122that directs processing system1100to add enhancements1142to message1108B. In this example, enhancements1142may include an image1142A of Jill Smith and an image1142D of Treavor Harris. Enhancements1142also may include an image1142B of the movie company name and logo. In this example, the rule also may direct processing system1100to add an advertisement1142C identifying the name of the movie and names of actors in the movie when not already mentioned in message1108B. Thus, processing system1100may apply different enhancements based on the content in messages1108. FIG.13shows another example of enhancements added to social media. In this example, a sports organization may create a data set1120B in processing system1100with keywords and associated rules1122B including the name of the basketball team, names of players on the basketball team, and names of other basketball teams. Processing system1100may collect social media posted on the sports team social network accounts or any other social media that mentions the basketball team, players on the basketball team, other basketball teams, or any other associated context. In this example, a sports fan may post a message1108C stating: SHOCKERS UP BY 5 ON SEATTLE PULSE AT HALFTIME. Processing system1100compares keywords1122B with the terms in message1108C and identifies matches both for the sports team Shockers and for another sports team Seattle Pulse that is currently playing the Shockers. Matches of keywords1122B may include an associated rule that directs processing system1100to add enhancements1144to message1108C. Enhancements1144may include a logo1144A for the basketball team and an image1144B of a leading scorer for the basketball team. Enhancements1144also may include a picture of Portland that processing system1100adds as background to message1108C when message1108C also includes the term Portland. Processing system1100may receive message1108C during a basketball game with the Seattle Pulse. Based either on the coinciding times of the basketball game and message1108C and/or based on message1108C also mentioning the Seattle Pulse basketball team, a rule in data set1120B may direct processing system1100to include a current record1144C between the two basketball teams and also may include an image1140D of the opposing team logo. Data set1120B also may include the current score of the basketball game. In this example, the rule in data set1120B also may display data1144E identifying a next home game for the Portland Shockers. Thus, enhancements1144provide additional information regarding current and future events associated with the sports team mentioned in message1108C. Processing system1100may receive another message1108D stating: LARRY THOMPSON IS GOING CRAZY FOR THE PORTLAND SHOCKERS! Processing system1100compares keywords1122B with the words in message1108D and identifies a match with the basketball team name Shockers and the basketball player name Larry Thompson. Based on the two matches another rule in data set1122B may direct processing system1100to add a different set of enhancements1146to message1108C. In this example, enhancements1146may include an image1146A of the team logo, an image1146B of the player mentioned in message1108D, and statistics1146C for the player mentioned in message1108D. Statistics1146C may include statistics of the mentioned player either for the year or for the current basketball game with the Seattle Pulse. Enhancements1146also may include an advertisement1146D for a product endorsed by the player mentioned in message1108D. Thus, enhancements1146also provide additional information regarding a specific person mentioned in message1108D. In another example, different brand names may be associated with different sports. Data set1120B may contain different sport images associated with the different brand names. For example, a first brand name may be associated with basketball and a second band name may be associated with golfing. Data set1120B may include a first keyword1122B for the first brand name that includes an associated image of a basketball player and include a second keyword1122B for the second brand name that includes an associated image of a golfer. In another example, a user may post a self picture (selfie) with an attached message that mentions a sports figure. Processing system1100may add a picture of the mentioned sports figure to the posted message. FIG.14shows one example process performed by the social media processing system. In operation1150A, the processing system collects social media from different social networks. For example, the processing system may collect messages posted on different accounts on different messaging services, such as Twitter®, Facebook®, Instagram®, Google®, etc. In operation1150B, the processing system may contain a general set of keywords and rules and add a general set of enhancements to any message with matching terms. For example, the processing system in operation1150C may add the heart image shown inFIG.11to any messages that include a positive endorsement term, such like, love, admire, happy, etc. In operation1150D, the processing system may define different social streams for additional enhancements. For example, an operator may configure the processing system to identify messages posted on particular accounts or that include a particular hashtag. In operation1150E, the processing system may curate the messages for the defined social streams. For example, an operator, or the enhancement manager1112inFIG.11, may select different messages from the social streams for displaying on a display screen. In operation1150F, the processing system may determine if a second client specific data set exists for applying to the curated messages. For example, a client may create a data set with a specific set of keywords and rules for applying to messages associated with a particular product, event, day, location, or any other criteria. In operation1150G, the processing system enhances the curated messages based on the client specific data set. For example, the second data set may include a set of rules that direct the processing system to add corporate specific, product specific, location specific, date specific, time specific, and/or event specific enhancements to the messages based on different matching keywords. The second data set also may have different sets of keyword, rules, and images for different time periods. For example, the second data set may direct the processing device to use a first set of keywords, rules, and images for a first time period and use a second set of keywords, rules, and images for a second time period. FIG.15shows one example set of rules that a data set may use for enhancing social media. This of course is just one example of an almost limitless combination of keywords, rules and images that may be applied to a social media message. In operation1160A, the processing system may identify a message including a term associated with a company. For example, the message may mention the name of the company or the name of a product sold by the company. In operation1160B, the processing system may add a company image to the message. For example, the processing system may add a company logo or add an image of a company product to the message. In operation1160C, the processing system may determine if the message is associated with a particular event. For example, the data set may associate a set of keywords with event specific information. The processing system in operation1160D may add event information to any messages associated with the event. For example, processing system may add a picture from the event or add information about the event, such as where and when the event in taking place. In operation1160E, the message may mention a participant or product associated with the event. For example, the message may mention a speaker at the product launch event or a player in a sporting event. In operation1160F, the processing system may add information to the message about the event participant or product. For example, the processing system may add an image of the speaker and/or add information about the speaker. In operation1160G, the processing system may periodically change the enhancement data. For example, the data set may have different sets of images associated with the same keywords. To prevent enhanced messages from becoming stale, the data set rules may cause the processing system to use different sets of images for different time periods. For example, a first company logo may be added to messages in the morning and a second company logo, advertisement, and/or image may be added to messages in the afternoon. In operation1160H, the processing device may add any other information associated with the matching keywords, such as information regarding upcoming events. In operation1160I, the processing device displays the enhanced message on a display screen. FIG.16shows another example of rules that a data set may use to enhance social media. In operation1170A, the processing system may identify a message that contains a first term associated with a particular company, such as the term Acme. In operation1170B, the processing system may search for a second term associated with a first product sold by the company, such as Diet Acme. If the second term is identified, the processing system in operation1170C may add a first style and image to the message associated with the first product. For example, the processing system may add a silver and black background to the message that corresponds with the colors on an Acme diet soda can and also may add an image of the Acme diet soda can. In operation1170D, the processing system may search for a term associated with a second product sold by the company, such as Orange Acme. If the third term is identified, the processing system in operation1170E may add a second style and image to the message associated with the second product. For example, the processing system may add a second orange and white background image to the message that corresponds with the colors on Acme orange soda cans and also may include an image of the Acme orange soda can. In operation1170F, the processing system may add a general company style and image to the message. For example, the processing system may add a general logo or background used on all Acme products. In operation1170G, the processing system then displays the enhanced message on a display device. These of course are just a few examples of rules used by the processing system to enhance social media. Thus, the enhanced social media may create additional visual connections. Digital Signage Content Curation Based on Social Media Digital signage is used in many different businesses. The digital sign may display different creative featuring products, services, advertisements, promotions, and/or interstitials associated with the businesses. For example, a digital sign at a fast food restaurant may continuously display creative featuring different products sold by the restaurant. The creative displayed on digital signage screens are often scheduled manually weeks or months in advance across multiple locations and regions. Therefore, the digital sign operator is left to speculate far in advance of what displayed content may be most interesting to customers across large regions of store locations. Manual content curation can miss what might be the most effective or most popular content, specifically as certain topics begin to trend in real time. A processing system dynamically determines which creative to display on digital signage based on trends emerging in social media data. The social media contains specific conversations regarding a brand and associated products. Social media monitoring is set up by an operator by creating topics, which are queries, that are used to fetch data from social media networks. Once stored, segments of the data that align to the brand, like features of a newly released product, can be analyzed. Once this segmentation is set up, results are used to determine which prepared creative content to feature on digital signage for the brand. For instance, if the brand is a fast food restaurant, a digital sign facing the street may promote the most popular breakfast items in the morning and the most popular sandwiches at lunch and dinner without any manual curation by the brand. This solution may determine which creative ads or promotions to dynamically feature. No manual curation of what content to feature is necessary. The processing system saves time and effort as well as taps into real time consumer trends. FIG.17shows a system that curates creative content for digital signage based on social media. A processing system1200includes a scheduler1206that displays different images1218A-1218C on a digital sign1204based on metrics1215generated by an analytics engine1214from different social media1216. In the explanation below, images1218are alternatively referred to as creative and may refer to any reviewed content that a company may want to use as advertisements for related products. However, image1218may include any content that a company or any other entity may want to display responsive to social media metrics1216. Scheduler1206may receive metrics1215from analytic engine1214indicating a most “liked” shoe on social media1216. Social media1216may indicate the most liked shoe sold by a company Acme, Inc. is the Acme Sky. Accordingly, scheduler1206may display creative1218B for the Acme Sky shoe in digital sign1204. Processing system1200prevents marketers from having to guess which creative1218to use for advertising different products. For example, prior to a marketing campaign, a company may produce multiple different creative advertisements showing different products, or users of products, that are part of the campaign. The advertiser may manually display different advertisements over different time periods at different locations. However, over time it may be determined that a particular product is not popular with customers and another product is very popular with customers. Unpopular advertisements may not provide much sales or “lift” when displayed in stores. Instead of manually replacing unpopular creative advertisements, processing system200determines in real-time which products are most popular on social media, and then automatically displays the creative advertisements1218associated with the most popular products. It should also be understood that processing system1200may display different creative1218based on an aggregation of social media1216positively referring to a product associated with that creative1218. For example, processing system1200may display one of creative1218when an associated product has a largest number of positive posts, highest positive sentiment, most positive engagement, largest volume of likes of posts referring to the product, or the like, or any combination thereof. Processing system1200may store rules1210that determine which creative1218to display on digital sign1204. For example, a rule1210may include a set of keywords1217associated with different creative1218. Rule1210also may include a metric identifier1219for selecting one of creative1218. For example, keywords1217may include the names of the three Acme shoes Flyer, Sky, and Cross. Metric identifier1219may direct scheduler1206to display one of creative1218associated with the shoe with the most positive mentions in social media1216. Scheduler1206accesses analytic engine1214to determine which of the three shoes includes the most positive mentions in social media1216. In this example, the Acme Sky shoe has received the most positive mentions over a particular time period. Scheduler1206then displays creative1218B for the Acme Sky shoe on digital display1204. Scheduler1206can dynamically and automatically change which creative1218is displayed on digital sign1204based on any real-time changes in social media1216. For example, over time a particular shoe may lose popularity while another shoe may gain in popularity. Scheduler1206may continuously monitor metrics1215to identify any changes in shoe popularity and then automatically display creative1218associated with the latest most popular shoe. In another example, a particular product may have a largest number of mentions, but the sentiment for that product may be mostly negative. For example, a product recall or an overall negative consumer response to a product may generate a large number of negative mentions on social media1216. Rule1210may direct scheduler1206to only display creative1218associated with the product with the most number of positive mentions. Other rules and metrics are described in more detail below. Digital sign1204may be located at a business location, on a website, or at any other point of sale where a customer may purchase a product or service. For example, digital sign1204may be located in a shoe store1202in-between or adjacent to racks of shoes. In another example, digital sign1204may be located above the sales counter at a fast food restaurant. In yet another example, digital sign1204may be located in a grocery store next to food items sold by a particular food manufacturer. Of course, digital sign1204could be located in any other location. In one example, analytics engine1214may aggregate the number of positive messages related to a particular company and associated product. In another example, analytics engine1214may identify a largest number of followers associated with a particular company, product, and/or service. In yet another example, analytics engine1214may identify the total number of positive Twitter® messages (tweets) generated from a particular company account, such as an @acmelive account or referring to the @acmelive account, and the number of those Twitter® messages generated per minute. In yet other examples, analytics engine1214may identify the number of likes for posts related to different products. Analytics engine1214may generate any other metric that may indicate the aggregated social media popularity, engagement, volume, sentiment, etc. of a particular product or service. In one example, analytics engine1214may receive metrics1215from third party data sources, such as Adobe® or Google® analytics that monitor, measure, and generate metrics for different data sources or websites. In another example, analytics engine1214may receive metrics1215from customized databases, such as created by Salesforce®, Salesforce® Radian6, or Sysomos® that provide access to marketing and sales data. As explained in copending application Ser. Nos. 15/160,694 and 14/997,013, social media1216may include any message, tweet, picture, image, audio, video, text, posts, or any other data generated on any social media platform by any combination of users. Analytic engine1214may generate social media metrics1215based any combination of social media1216. Generating social media metrics1215is known to those skilled in the art and is therefore not described in further detail. FIG.18Ashows another example where processing system1200identifies and displays creative1218based on social media metrics in different geographical regions. Digital signs1204may be located in different geographic regions. For example, digital sign1204A may be located in a store on the East Coast of the United States and digital sign1204B may be located in a store on the West Coast of the United States. Social media metrics1215may be different in different geographic regions. An operator may create a rule1210that directs scheduler1206to display the creative for the most popular shoe on social media in each geographic region. For example, rule1210may direct scheduler1206to display creative1218for the shoe with the most likes in each geographic region. Analytic engine1214may generate metrics1215A for social media1216generated on the East Coast and may generate metrics1215B for social media generated on the West Coast. East Coast metrics1215A may identify the Acme Flyer shoe as having the most likes and West Coast metrics1215B may identify the Acme Sky shoe as having the most likes. Accordingly, scheduler1206may send creative1218A for the Acme Flyer shoe to digital sign1204A located on the East Coast and may send creative1218B for the Acme Sky shoe to digital sign1204B located on the West Coast. Thus, regional digital signs1204A and1204B may display different creative1218based on trending social media in those areas. Again, creative1218may be displayed based on any social media metric1215, such as sentiment, volume, or engagement. FIG.18Bshows another example where processing system1200identifies and displays creative for a particular model, color, style, pattern or other distinguishing feature of a product. An advertising firm may generate multiple creative1242A-1242C for different colors of the same product. Prior to launching a campaign, the shoe company and their associated advertising firm may have no idea which model, color, or style of a particular product may be the most popular. Instead of guessing, the advertising firm may produce multiple layers of creative1218and1242that include different brands, models, styles, colors, features, etc. For example, another layer of creative may show each of the different shoe colors in either a high top version or a low top version. An operator generates rules1210directing scheduler1206to determine which of the product models, styles, colors, features, etc. are most popular in social media1216. Scheduler1206receives metrics1215from analytic engine1214that identifies the yellow Acme Sky as the most liked shoe. Accordingly, scheduler1206sends creative1242C for the yellow Acme Sky shoe to digital sign1204. In one example, processing system1200may initially cycle through creative1218and1242for all shoe models and colors to determine which shoe model and color is most popular with customers in different geographic regions. Processing system1200then displays one of creative1218or1242for the most popular shoe model and color indicated by metrics1215. Processing system1200can be programmed for any number of creative to correspond with any combination of product models, styles, colors, features, etc. Creative1218and1242can be broken into different layers where each component of the creative is determined by a segmentation. FIG.19shows another example where processing system1200automatically displays promotions1209based on metrics1215derived from social media1216. An operator may store data1208in processing system1200that includes a promotion1209or any other content that may be combined with creative1218. In this example, promotion1209is for 25% off. The business owner may determine that sales are slow between the hours of 2:00 pm-4:00 pm. To increase sales during this slow period, operator may create rule1210that directs scheduler1206to display promotion1209for a highest trending Acme shoe between the hours of 2:00 pm-4:00 μm. Scheduler1206reads data1208and rule1210and identifies a highest trending Acme shoe for some designated time period, such as for the last week. In this example, metrics1215identify the Acme Flyer shoe as the highest trending shoe. Based on rule1210, scheduler1206displays creative1218A and promotion1209between the hours of 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm on digital display1204. Thus, processing system1200automatically generates promotions that may help increase sales for a particular product that may be trending on social media1216. Data1208may include any other image, audio, text, or video that may be displayed based on social media1216and/or rules1210. Rules1210also may direct scheduler1206to display curated social media posts1244with creative1218. For example, scheduler1206may identify a positive post1244regarding the highest trending Acme Flyer shoe. Scheduler1206displays post1244with Acme Flyer creative1218A to add an additional dimension of authenticity. FIG.20shows an example user interface1220that operates in conjunction with processing system1200. User interface1200may include an array of control elements1222A-1222I that can control, program, and/or configure any combination of analytic engine1214, rules1210, scheduler1206, and data1208. In one example, control elements1222may be a series of drop down menus. However, any mechanism can be used for entering data and programming processing system1200, such as any combination of control icons and fields. The operator may select control element1222A to enter a group topic, such as a company or any other general category. The operator may select different topics associated with the topic group with control element1222B. For example, the operator may select different shoe models with control element1222B sold by the Acme company. Analytic engine1214may extract social media1216associated with the topic group and topic selected with control elements1222A and1222B, respectively. The operator may select a metric time period with control element1222C associated with the identified topic. The metric time period may define the time window of social media used for generating associated metrics. For example, the operator may select a time period for a last week. Analytic engine1214then may identify social media1216generated during the last week that includes the topics selected with control elements1222A and1222B. The operator may select a metric with control element1222D for the identified topic. For example, the operator may select a mentions metric with control element1222D. Analytic engine1214then may identify which of the topics selected with control element1222B has the most positive mentions over the last week. Any of the metrics described above may be used for determining which associated creative1218to display on digital sign1204. For example, metrics may be any social trend, volume, positive volume, sentiment, or engagement. Social media1216containing the topics may comprise posts, blogs, tweets, re-tweets, sentiment indicators, emails, text messages, videos, wall posts, comments, photos, links, or any other type of message or the like, or any combination thereof. The operator may select different filters using control element1222E. For example, the operator may select a gender filter with control element1222E that directs analytic engine1214to generate metrics from social media1216generated by the selected gender. Any filter may be selected with control element1222E, including but not limited to, age, sex, demographic, geographical location, type of social media, or the like, or any combination thereof. The operator may use control element1222F to select the different creative content1218for displaying on digital signs1104. For example, the operator may select creative1218A for displaying with topics associated the Acme Flyer shoe, select creative1218B for displaying with topics associated the Acme Sky shoe, and select creative1218C for displaying with topics associated the Acme Cross shoe. The operator may use control element1222G to select a display time for using a particular set of rules generated with control elements1222. The operator may select a first set of rules that include topics, metrics, filters, and associated creative for a first time period and select a second set of rules for a second time period. For example, it may be determined that an older demographic visits shoe stores in the afternoon and a younger demographic visits shoe stores in the evening. The operator may create a first rule with a filter using only social media1216generated by the older demographic and generate associated metrics for the older demographic during the afternoon hours. The first rule also may include creative1218for products more commonly purchased by the older demographic or include creative1218more appealing to the older demographic. The operator may create a second rule with a filter using social media1216generated by a younger demographic and generating associated metrics for the younger demographic during the evening hours. The second rule may include creative1218for shoes more commonly purchased by the younger demographic or include creative1218more appealing to the younger demographic. The operator may use control element1222H to associate a particular set of rules with a particular digital sign1204. For example, each digital sign1204may have an associated universal resource locator (URL). The operator may create a first set of rules1210associated with a first digital sign1204A located on the West Coast. The first set of rules1210may include filters directing analytic engine1214to generate metrics from social media1216generated by users on the West Coast of the United States. The operator may create a second set of rules1210associated with a second digital sign1204B located on the East Coast. The second set of rules1210may include filters directing analytic engine1214to generate metrics from social media1216generated by users on the east coast of the United States. In another example, processing system1200may automatically generate rules for different geographic regions. For example, an operator may generate a rule that directs scheduler1206to display creative1218associated with the shoe with a highest positive sentiment. Processing system1200may automatically generate different filters1222E for display signs1204A and1204B in the different geographic regions. For example, processing system1200may generate a first filter1222E for display signs1204A on the East Coast that only uses social media1216generated on the East Coast and may automatically generate a second filter1222E for display signs1204B on the West Coast that only uses social media generated on the West Coast. Thus, the operator only has to create one rule1210that automatically customizes/filters based on the geographic region where the associated digital display1204is located. The operator may use control element1222I to generate any other data associated with a particular set of rules1210and/or creative1218. For example, the operator may create a promotion such as a 2 for 1 promotion for a particular time period when shoe sales are slow. Rules1210may cause scheduler1206to display the 2 for 1 promotion during the time period with slow shoe sales. Processing system1200also may display real-time metrics1224associated with different topics and associated creative1218. For example, processing system200may display the number of mentions1224A,1224B, and1224C for each of the different Acme Flyer, Sky, and Cross shoes, respectively. This allows the operator to select and adjust rules1210based on real-time customer feedback to different products. FIG.21is an example process performed by processing system1200. Referring toFIGS.20and21, in operation1226A, processing system1200generates creative content, such as images1218for particular products or services. As mentioned above, creative1218may include creative content created by an advertising firm, or any other media that may promote the sales of an associated product or service. In operation1226B, processing system1200generates rules1210linking the creative to different social media metrics. As explained above, the rules may direct processing system1200to display a particular creative, image, promotion, etc. when an associated topic produces a particular metric in the social media. In operation1226C, processing system1200monitors social media1216. For example, analytic engine1214generates metrics for particular topics in social media1216. In operation1226D, processing system1200determines if the social media metrics satisfy conditions of rules1210that trigger the display of creative. For example, rules1210may direct processing system1200to display different creative for topics having a highest aggregated social media metric, such as a shoe with the largest number of likes. In operation1226E, processing system1200displays the creative associated with the topic with the highest metric. FIG.22shows some example rules generated by processing system1200. This example shows three different rules1210A,1210B, and1210C. Each rule1210may have an associated display identifier1228A. For example, rule1210A may be associated with three digital signs having a URL1, URL3, and URL4. Rule1210B may be associated with the digital sign having URL1, and rule1210C may be associated with a digital sign having URL2. Each rule1210may have an associated set of topics1228B. In this example, rules1210are all associated with the same set of topics that identify the three different Acme shoes. Each rule1210also may have associated metric identifiers1228C. For example, rules1210A and1210C may have metric1228C for a largest number of positive mentions and rule1210B may have a metric for a largest number of likes. Each rule1210may have associated filters1228D. In this example, rule1210A has a filter1228D directing the analytic engine to use social media associated with the geographic region of the digital sign. For example, if URL1is located on the East Coast, the scheduler would only use metrics from social media generated on the East Coast to identify the Acme shoe with the largest number of mentions. If URL3is located in Spain, the scheduler would only use metrics from social media generated in Spain to identify the Acme shoe with the largest number of mentions. Rule1210B has a filter1228D directing the scheduler to only use social media generated by users between the ages of 21-34 when identifying the Acme shoe with the largest number of likes. A display time1228E may indicate when the processing system displays the content associated with rule1210. For example, rules1210A and1210C may be used all day and rule1210B may only be used between the hours of 6 pm-10 pm. Creative identifiers1228F may identify the creative images associated with different topics1228B. For example, each rule1210includes three creative images associated with the three topics Acme Flyer, Acme Sky, and Acme Cross. Of course other images could be associated with any combination of rules1210and topics. Data1228G may associate any other content or parameter with rules1210. As explained above, different promotions may be associated with different rules1210. Any other parameter or condition can also be added to any rule1210as described above inFIG.20. FIG.23Ashows another example of how the processing system curates creative content based on social media metrics. In this example, processing system1200displays different content on movie bill boards based on social media. In this example, a movie entitled Sailing Away is being shown at different movie theaters around the country. The two main actors in the movie are Trever Harris and Jill Smith. The movie studio would like to increase movie ticket sales by promoting the actor most popular with audiences. Typically, the movie studio creates multiple posters that each promote a different actor or promote different combinations of actors. However, the movie studio may not know which actor, or which character played by the actor, will be most popular with audiences. Further, different actors may be more popular with different age groups or more popular with audiences in different cities. The operator may enter parameters1228for rules1210into user interface1220operated on a computer1232as described above. Rules1210may include keywords or topics1228B that include the name of the movie and the name of the actors in the movie. Rule1210also may include metrics1228B that direct analytic engine1214to identify the number of positive mentions for each of the different actors in the Sailing Away movie. Rule1210also may include filters1228C that in this example direct analytic engine1214to identify the number of positive mentions for all age groups. Rule1210also may identify the creative1248associated with each actor and any other data1228G displayed in conjunction with creative1248. Analytic engine1214extracts social media1216from any combination of social networks1102and generates metrics1236identified by rule1210. In this example, analytic engine1214determines that Trevor Harris generates the most positive mentions for the movie Sailing Away in Los Angeles and Jill Smith generates the most mentions for the movie Sailing Away in New York. Rule1210directs scheduler1206to display creative1248for the actor with the most positive mentions in Los Angeles on digital sign1204A and display creativel248for the actor with the most mentions in New York on digital sign1204B. Accordingly, scheduler1206displays creative1248A for Trevor Harris on digital sign1204A and displays creative1248B for Jill Smith on digital sign1204B. If metrics1236A and1236B change over some specified time period in either Los Angeles or New York, scheduler1206may automatically update creative1248A and/or1248B with the creative of the new actor with the most mentions. As also described above, rules1210may include different filters and time periods. For example, older customers may attend matinees in the afternoon. The operator may create a filter that causes analytic engine1214to generate metrics1236for users above the age of 50. Scheduler1206then may display the creative1248for the actors with the most mentions by users above the age of 50 between the hours of 12:00 pm-5:00 pm. Of course any other filter or time period also may be programmed into rules1210. FIG.23Bshows how processing system1200overlays multiple creative1250based on social media metrics. An operator may store different groups of creative images1250in processing system1200. In this example, a first group of creative1250A may include actors in the movie Sailing Away, a second group of creative1250B may include drink products sold at the movie theater showing the movie Sailing Away, and a third group of creative1250C may include food products sold at the movie theater showing the movie Sailing Away. In this example, rules1210direct scheduler1206to interlay actor creative1250A, drink creative1250B, and food creative1250C based on related social media metrics. For example, scheduler1206first may identify one of the actors in the movie Sailing Away with the most likes in social media1216. In this example, scheduler displays creative1250A for Trevor Harris on digital sign1204for a predetermined time period T1. Rules1210also directs scheduler1206to automatically overlay a second drink creative1250C over actor creative1250A. Scheduler1206identifies one of a list of drink products sold by the theater with the most likes and displays the associated creative1250B on digital sign1204for a time period T2. Rules1210then directs scheduler1206to automatically overlay a third food creative1250C over drink creative1250B. Scheduler1206identifies one of a list of food products sold by the theater with the most likes and overlays the associated creative1250C on digital sign1204for a time period T3. Rules1210may direct scheduler1206to repeat the display process by then overlaying an actor creative1250A with the most likes. The social media based overlays inFIG.23Bcan be used for any combination of items. For example, a restaurant may serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner items. An operator may include three sets of creative1250A,1250B, and1250C associated with breakfast, lunch, and dinner items, respectively. Rules1210may direct scheduler1206to display one or more breakfast creative1250A associated with a breakfast product with highest social media metric during a first time period associated with breakfast, display one or more lunch creative1250B associated with a lunch product with a highest social media metric during a second time period associated with lunch, and display one or more creative1250C associated with a dinner product with a highest social metric during a third time period associated with dinner. FIG.24shows another example of how processing system1200may automatically generate different promotions. A manufacturer may sell mayonnaise products on shelves1252of a grocery store. Digital display1204may be located adjacent to shelves1252. An advertising team may generate a series of creative images1254showing mayonnaise used with different food products. For example, creative1254A may show the mayonnaise used with deviled eggs and creative1254B may show the mayonnaise used on a sandwich. A third creative1254C may show a generic picture of a mayonnaise container. An operator may generate a set of rules1210that direct processing system1200to display different creative1254based on social media metrics. For example, rules1210may direct analytic engine1214to aggregate social media that refers to food items and the manufacturers mayonnaise. Rules1210also direct scheduler1206to display data1208that contains a 20% off promotion1209. Based on rules1210, analytic engine1214generates metrics from social media1216referring to food items in conjunction with the manufacturer's mayonnaise. Analytic engine1214also identifies which of the food items has a highest sentiment metric1215. In this example, analytic engine1214identifies deviled eggs as having a highest social media sentiment1215. Rules1210associate creative1254A with the topic deviled eggs. Scheduler1206then displays creative1254A on digital sign1204that shows the mayonnaise being used with deviled eggs. Rules1210also may direct scheduler1206to display a promotion1209that offers 25% off the mayonnaise. As explained above, promotion1209may be displayed for a particular time period, location, or any other condition. Rules1210also may direct scheduler1206to display social media messages1256associated with the highest sentiment food item. As explained above, displaying social media messages1256may provide more customer interest in the creative1254displayed on digital sign1204. Social media sentiments for different food items may change based on the time of year or time of day. Processing system1200automatically changes creative1254based on the food item with the current highest sentiment. Advertisers can then create a series of creative advertisements1254and allow processing system1200to select the particular advertisement1254most appealing to consumers. FIG.25shows a computing device2000that may be used for operating processing system1200and performing any combination of processes discussed above. The computing device2000may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a server-client network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. In other examples, computing device2000may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a smart phone, a web appliance, or any other machine or device capable of executing instructions2006(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. While only a single computing device2000is shown, the computing device2000may include any collection of devices or circuitry that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the operations discussed above. Computing device2000may be part of an integrated control system or system manager, or may be provided as a portable electronic device configured to interface with a networked system either locally or remotely via wireless transmission. Processors2004may comprise a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), programmable logic devices, dedicated processor systems, micro controllers, or microprocessors that may perform some or all of the operations described above. Processors2004may also include, but may not be limited to, an analog processor, a digital processor, a microprocessor, multi-core processor, processor array, network processor, etc. Some of the operations described above may be implemented in software and other operations may be implemented in hardware. One or more of the operations, processes, or methods described herein may be performed by an apparatus, device, or system similar to those as described herein and with reference to the illustrated figures. Processors2004may execute instructions or “code”2006stored in any one of memories2008,2010, or2020. The memories may store data as well. Instructions2006and data can also be transmitted or received over a network2014via a network interface device2012utilizing any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols. Memories2008,2010, and2020may be integrated together with processing device1000, for example RAM or FLASH memory disposed within an integrated circuit microprocessor or the like. In other examples, the memory may comprise an independent device, such as an external disk drive, storage array, or any other storage devices used in database systems. The memory and processing devices may be operatively coupled together, or in communication with each other, for example by an I/O port, network connection, etc. such that the processing device may read a file stored on the memory. Some memory may be “read only” by design (ROM) by virtue of permission settings, or not. Other examples of memory may include, but may be not limited to, WORM, EPROM, EEPROM, FLASH, etc. which may be implemented in solid state semiconductor devices. Other memories may comprise moving parts, such a conventional rotating disk drive. All such memories may be “machine-readable” in that they may be readable by a processing device. “Computer-readable storage medium” (or alternatively, “machine-readable storage medium”) may include all of the foregoing types of memory, as well as new technologies that may arise in the future, as long as they may be capable of storing digital information in the nature of a computer program or other data, at least temporarily, in such a manner that the stored information may be “read” by an appropriate processing device. The term “computer-readable” may not be limited to the historical usage of “computer” to imply a complete mainframe, mini-computer, desktop, wireless device, or even a laptop computer. Rather, “computer-readable” may comprise storage medium that may be readable by a processor, processing device, or any computing system. Such media may be any available media that may be locally and/or remotely accessible by a computer or processor, and may include volatile and non-volatile media, and removable and non-removable media. Computing device2000can further include a video display2016, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)) and a user interface2018, such as a keyboard, mouse, touch screen, etc. All of the components of computing device2000may be connected together via a bus2002and/or network. For the sake of convenience, operations may be described as various interconnected or coupled functional blocks or diagrams. However, there may be cases where these functional blocks or diagrams may be equivalently aggregated into a single logic device, program or operation with unclear boundaries. Dynamic Campaign Analytics Via Hashtag Detection Analytic systems measure social media performance across different conversations and social accounts. The analytics are generally very broad and are only specific on a custom report basis. For example, custom software is typically developed to display specific custom reports associated with a particular business entity and/or social media campaign. Data obtained from social network participation may identify marketing trends and effectiveness of media campaigns for particular products or branding projects. For example, the data may identify the number of participants registering or joining a particular social media network and gauge the interest level in an associated product. The social media participants may have profiles, including date of birth, gender, credit score, etc., that help identify what audiences or consumer demography are most interested in a product. It may be difficult to identify and track all the social media associated with different social media campaigns. For example, a company may continually launch different product campaigns on different social media networks. Custom reporting software may not track every campaign launched on every social media network or track campaigns launched after development of the custom report software. Therefore, existing analytic systems may not provide a complete picture of brand performance over different social media networks. Companies, organizations, or individuals post messages on different social networks, sometimes multiple times a day. The posted messages often include hashtags. Repetitive use of the hashtags may actually indicate the beginning, end, and current campaigns and the importance of a campaign to a brand. A hashtag analytic system may use the hashtags to identify social media campaigns and generate analytics for the campaigns. An operator only has to enter a name of a company, product, or any other entity into a user interface. The hashtag analytic system then automatically discovers social media campaigns associated with that entity based on hashtag or keyword usage in associated posted messages. The hashtag analytic system may automatically discover the social media accounts for the entity and then scan messages posted on the social media accounts for hashtags. The hashtag analytic groups together posted messages that include campaign related hashtags and generates analytics for the groups of messages associated with the same campaigns. The hashtag analytics provide marketers valuable insight into types of audiences and subjects of interest to those audiences. The hashtag analytics can be extrapolated as representations of target audiences for other marketing campaigns or target consumers for products or services. For instance, by collecting the specific audience of participants that include specific hashtags in their posted messages, a marketer may determine specific subjects of interest to that audience. A marketer then may identify broader advertising campaigns for identified subjects that may do well if placed in related environments, media, or publications. The hashtag analytic system may evaluate posted messages for a particular product or branding campaign from groups of otherwise unrelated participants to better understand the overall effectiveness of a marketing strategy. The hashtag analytic system also may cross-reference between one or more communities of participants to evaluate what products and/or services a select group of participants may more likely buy or use. FIG.26shows a hashtag analytic system3100(analytic system) that automatically identifies social media campaigns associated with a particular company or other entity and then automatically generates analytics associated with the identified campaigns. A user may access analytic system3100via a computer3122, such as a laptop, personal computer, notebook, or smart device. The user may enter a search term3092into computer3122associated with any entity, such as a company, brand, person, name, event, service, product, subject, issue, etc. For example, a user may enter the name of a company Acme into a field on a user interface operating on computer3122. Analytics system3100may assume that the search term Acme is the name of an entity associated with a universal resource locator (URL), such as Acme.com. Analytics system3100may use the URL to identify different products and social media associated with Acme. For example, analytic system3100may identify links3113A,3113B, and3113C on a www.acme.com webpage identifying different social media accounts. In this example, link3113A may identify an Acme Facebook® social media account, link3113A may identify an Acme Instagram® social media account, and link3113C may identify an Acme Twitter® social media account. Alternatively, analytic system3100may assume Acme operates certain social media accounts, such as www.facebook.com/acme; www.instagram.com/acme; and www.twitter.com/acme. Of course these are just examples and analytic system3100may identify any account on any social media network associated with any entity. Analytics system3100also may automatically create a map of different products associated with Acme. For example, Acme may sell multiple different brands of soft drinks. The different brands may include separate webpages and/or have a webpage hierarchy on the Acme.com website3112A. Analytics system3100may identify the different brands or products on the Acme website3112A and also identify the links to different social media accounts for each of the identified brands or products. Automatically identifying different products or bands associated with an entity is also described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/160,694, Entitled: Social Media Enhancement, filed May 20, 2016, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. Analytics system3100accesses social media accounts3112B-3112D identified in Acme website112A. For example, analytic system3100may scan and/or download messages3104A-3104C posted by the Acme Facebook® social media account3112B. Similarly, analytic system3100may scan and/or download messages3104D and3104E posted on the Acme Instagram® account3112C, and messages3104F and3104G posted on the Acme Twitter® account3112D. Analytics system3100may assume most campaigns launched by a company have associated hashtags, keywords, or mentions. For example, the Acme company may post messages3104that include certain hashtags3106associated with different social media campaigns. In this example, Acme may post a message3104A on social media account3112B that includes the hashtags #olympics and #drinkacme and may post a message3104C that includes the hashtags #drinkacme and #zonkcola. Acme may post message3104D on social media account3112C that includes the hashtags #drinkacme and #zonkcola and post message3104E on social media account3112D that includes the hashtags #drinkacme and #zonkcola. Analytics system3100may identify hashtags associated with campaigns based on the number of times the hashtags are used in posted messages. For example, analytic system3100may associate any hashtag3106with a campaign when used in two or more messages3104posted by the same and/or different Acme social media accounts3112. In this example, two messages3104A and3104C posted by the @Acme Facebook® account include #drinkacme hashtag3106A. Accordingly, analytic system3100associates hashtag3106A with a campaign. Based on the identified campaign, analytic system3100may generate metrics associated with the #drinkacme hashtag. For example, analytic system3100may generate metrics for any messages3104A-3104C on the Facebook® social media network that include the #drinkacme hashtag. For example, analytic system3100may identify impressions, views, posts, influencers, likes or any other type of participant engagement with the #drinkacme campaign. Analytics system3100also may identify demographics for the participants interacting with the #drinkacme campaign. Analytic system3100may discover other campaigns launched by the same entity. For example, analytic system3100may identify a second hashtag3106B used multiple times in messages posted in social media account3112C. Accordingly, analytic system3100may download all of the messages posted on social media account3112C that include #zonkcola hashtag3106B and generate associated metrics. Analytics system3100also may compare analytics for different identified campaigns, such as comparing the number of impressions, user posts, demographics and any other user generated content (UGC) for the #drinkacme and #zonkcola campaigns. If a campaign is identified in any one social media account3112, analytic system3100may identify posted messages on other identified social media accounts3112that include the associated hashtag and generate associated analytics. In another example, analytic system3100may associate a hashtag with a campaign when the same hashtag is used in messages posted in two or more social media accounts3112. For example, social media accounts3112B,3112C, and3112D have all posted messages that include the #drinkacme and #zonkcola hashtags. Thus, analytic system3100automatically identifies any campaigns launched by an entity and automatically generates analytics associated with the identified campaigns based on a single search term3092entered into computer3122. Analytic system3100generates real-time less expensive social media analytics with more comprehensive views of all social media campaigns without having to create custom campaign reports. FIG.27shows initial search results from the analytic system. Referring toFIGS.26and27, a user enters a search term3092, such as Acme, into a field displayed on computer3122. Analytic system3100may access a webpage and/or social network accounts associated with the Acme search term as described above inFIG.26. Analytics system3100scans the social media accounts as described above to identify different hashtags. Analytics system3100may identify a first group of hashtags3090A as possibly associated with Acme campaigns. For example, analytic system3100may list hashtags3090A used in multiple Acme posted messages as possible campaigns. Analytics system3100may list other highest trending hashtags3090B that are not used multiple times in multiple Acme posts and/or are used in messages posted by Acme account participants. Analytics system3100may display a first column of check boxes3094A that a user may select to confirm which hashtags3090A are associated with actual Acme campaigns. Analytic system3100may generate analytics for hashtags selected in boxes94A. Analytics system3100may display a second column of check boxes3094B that the user may select to identify hashtags3090A that are not Acme campaigns. In one example, analytic system3100may generate analytics for the non-campaign hashtags selected in boxes94B. Analytic system3100may display a third column of check boxes3094C for trending hashtags3090B that are not initially identified as associated with campaigns. For example, Acme accounts may post messages that include popular hashtags that are not necessarily associated with Acme products or services. These are typically indicated by a single post or a couple of posts in one day. A user has the option of directing analytic system3100to generate metrics for trending hashtags3090B by selecting associated boxes3094C. For example, the user may be interested in viewing the demographic data for a trending hashtag3090B associated with the summer Olympics. Based on the demographics, the user may add the trending hashtag and/or other related content to messages for a particular campaign. Analytics system3100may display a fourth column of check boxes3094D that a user may select to identify hashtags that were initially identified as trending hashtags but are identified by the user as associated with Acme campaigns. Analytics system3100may move hashtags3090B selected in boxes3094D to hashtags list3090A. FIG.28shows hashtag analytic system3100in more detail. An analytics engine3114may connect to different display devices3102and3104. For example, display device3102may include a portable notebook, portable tablet, smart phone, smart watch, personal computer, or the like, or any combination thereof. Display device3104include a display screen, such a light emitting diode (LED) screen, a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, or any other type of screen or display device. Analytics engine3114also connects to a computer3122that may include a personal computer (PC), laptop, tablet, smart phone, smart watch, or any other computing device that can initiate a campaign search. Analytic system3100may access different data sources3112, such as social networks, client networks, or any other source of social media content or analytic data. As mentioned above, social networks may include social media websites, such as Twitter®, Facebook®, Instagram®, or the like. Client networks may include websites for a company, individual, or any other entity associated with social media. For example, client networks may include the www.acme.com website and other Acme company databases. Third party data sources3112may include websites such as Adobe® or Google® analytics that monitor, measure, and/or generate metrics for social media, data sources, websites, etc. Another example third party data source3112may include customized databases, such as created by Salesforce®, Salesforce® Radian6, or Sysomos® that provide access to marketing and sales data. Some data sources3112may provide content, such as posted messages, and other data sources3110may provide more numerical data such as, analytic data, company sales data, inventory data, financial data, spreadsheet data, website ecommerce data, wrist band radio frequency identification (RFID) reader data, number web page views, number of unique page views, time on web pages, starting web page, bounce rates, percentage of exists from web pages, impressions, Klout, or any other analytic data that may be relevant to a social media campaign. Analytics engine3114and collection server3116may use database application programmer interfaces (APIs)3124to access data from data sources3112. For example, analytics engine3114may use APIs3124to extract real-time streaming data3128from data sources3112. Collection server3116also may use APIs3124to extract and store data3126from data sources3112in a database3118. Streaming data3128may be similar to data3126and may include real-time updates to data already stored in database3118. A user may enter search term3092into computer3122. For example, the user may enter any keyword, data string, term, value, or any other combination of characters into computer3122. In one example, search term3092may include the name of company or person, a name of a product or service, a brand name, a name of a campaign or event associated with a company or person, a name of a department within a company, a name of an account on a social website, a name of a subject or account, a hashtag name associated with the person or company, a name of a competitor or competitive product, or the name of any other service, item, topic, data category, content, event, or any other entity identifier. A management server3120may direct collection server3116and/or analytics engine3114to identify and extract data from data sources3112associated with search term3092. For example, management server3120may direct collection server3116or analytics engine3114to search for different social media accounts on the www.acme.com website and extract or scan data for different products or services sold on the www.acme.com website. Collection server3116may download links to the social media accounts and product information into database3118. Management server3120then may direct collection server3116to download content from the social media accounts identified on the Acme website. For example, collection server3116may download or scan posted messages from the www.facebook.com/acme social media account into database3118. Alternatively, a user may enter the social media account directly into computer3122as search term3092. Management server3120and/or analytics engine3114then may identify campaigns launched by Acme based on the hashtags in the posted messages. As mentioned above, analytic system3100may count the number of times the same hashtag or keyword is used in different posted messages. Analytic system3100may identify any hashtag or keyword used more than some threshold number of times in Acme posted messages as associated with a campaign. Analytic system3100then may cause collection server3116to download messages posted by the Acme account or posted by Acme account participants that include the identified campaign hashtag. Analytic system3100may download any other analytics associated with the downloaded messages, such as participant influencer data. Analytic system3100then may cause analytics engine3114to start downloading real-time streaming data3128from data sources3112that include, or are associated with, the identified campaign hashtag. Analytics engine3114may group together content based on the identified campaign hashtag. For example, an identified campaign may include all of the messages posted by the Acme account that include the identified campaign hashtag and include all of the messages posted by participants underneath the Acme posted messages, such as posted messages, replies, comments, etc. The campaign data may include any other data associated with the campaign hashtag. Analytics engine3114may generate and display content and analytics related to the campaign hashtag on display devices3102and/or3104. For example, analytic system3100may display a menu3130that identifies a selected campaign hashtag, such as #drinkacme. The user may select brand analytics, user generated content (UGC) analytics, or demographics from menu3130. Some analytics are described in more detail below and are just examples of any analytic data that may be downloaded and/or generated by hashtag analytic system3100. In response to the user selecting UGC analytics from menu3130, analytics engine3114may identify a number of messages3132posted by different participants on different Acme social media accounts that are part of the #drinkacme hashtag thread. Analytics server3114also may display analytics3134that identify the number of impressions, number of followers, number of acme posts and Klout for the #drinkacme campaign. Analytics system3100may identify the top influencers3136that posted messages including the #drinkacme hashtag. Top influencers3136may include participants with the largest number of followers, such as celebrities, journalists, experts, etc. Analytic system3100also may display histograms3138identifying the number of messages posted by participants on the different social media account over different days of the past month. Analytics system3100also may display highest trending user posts3140, posts with the largest number of likes, or participants with the largest number of followers. Again, these are just examples of any combination of content and analytic data may be downloaded, generated, and displayed by analytic system3100. A user may enter a new search term3092into computer3122. Management server3120may identify previously grouped social media associated with the new search term3192. If content does not currently exist, management server3120may direct collection server3116and analytics engine3114to search data sources3112for associated websites and social media accounts associated with the new search term3092as described above. Analytic system3100then identifies the campaigns and generates the associated metrics as also described above. Thus, analytic system3100provides the unique features of identifying different campaigns for an entity and then automatically generating metrics for the identified campaigns based on a single search term. FIG.29shows an example campaign identification process. In operation3150A, the analytic system receives a search term. As mentioned above, the search term may include any identifier of any type of entity, including a company name, product or service name, campaign name, hashtag, keyword, event, or the like, or any combination thereof. In operation3150B, the analytic system searches websites, or any other data sources associated with the search term, for social media accounts. For example, the analytic system may search for any links or content on a brand website identifying social media accounts. In operation3150C, the analytic system may download content from the identified social media accounts. For example, the analytic system may download messages posted both by the identified social media account and by participants interacting on the social media accounts. Alternatively, the analytic system may just scan the posted messages for specific data without first downloading the posted content into the analytic system database. In operation3150D, the analytic system may identify hashtags or other keywords, used in the downloaded social media. The analytic system then identifies hashtags or keywords associated with campaigns. For example, analytic system may count the number of times a particular hashtag or keyword is included in messages posted by the social media account. The analytic system may use different criteria for determining if the hashtag is associated with a campaign. For example, the analytic system may determine that any hashtag used two or more times on the same social media account as potentially associated with a campaign. Other criteria may identify campaigns based on the number of times the hashtag is used in messages posted on different social media accounts. In operation3150E, the analytic system groups social media content together based on the identified campaigns. For example, the analytic system may group together a thread of all posted messages and associated analytic data associated with the identified campaign hashtag. In operation3150F, the analytic system may generate and display analytics and content associated with the campaigns. As explained before, the analytic system may generate analytics for all of the messages posted by a social media account that include the campaign hashtag. The analytic system also may generate metrics for the participants posting messages or otherwise responding to the social media account posted content, such as impressions, number of participants, participant posts, etc. The analytic system also may generate demographic data for the participants, such as age, sex, race, interests, geographic locations, etc. The analytic system may use known filters to remove spam posts that could alter the campaign analytics. The analytic system may continually monitor any identified social media accounts for new campaigns and update previously generated campaign analytics. For example, the Acme company may start a new campaign on a new soft drink. The analytic system may automatically identify the hashtag used in the new soft drink campaign, generate metrics for the new campaign, and display the newly identified campaign and associated analytics. As mentioned above, the analytic system may generate analytics based on any group of social media associated with the identified campaign hashtag. In one example, the analytic system may generate analytics based only on posts that include the hashtag or may generate analytics that include other content associated with the social media accounts. Analytics generated for a specific set of posted messages that include the campaign hashtag may be more tailored to specific campaign topics and audiences. FIG.30shows example brand related analytics generated by the analytic system. The analytic system may display menu3130in a top corner of display device3104. Menu3130may display a selected campaign hashtag3126in a first field. The user may select between brand analytics, UGC analytics, and demographic analytics within menu3130. The user also may select a time period3131for the selected analytics such as, from June 5thto June 25th. In response to the user selecting brand analytics from menu3130, the analytic system may identify the number of followers3160on each Acme social media account. Followers are participants that subscribe to a social media account and/or choose to view posted messages from a particular social media account. The analytic system may display a chart3162that graphs specific social media activity at specific points in time overlaid on top of a trending line chart3166. For example, item3164may be a post from an Acme Instagram® account that discusses the Summer Olympics. Line chart3162may identify the total number of participants that have joined, registered, viewed, or otherwise interacted with posted messages and/or participated in a social network forum as a function of time. The analytic system may display posted message3164in combination with a set of layered circles3168that each represent a different score based on volume for item3164. For example, an outer circle3168A may represent the number of likes for posted message3164and an inner circle3168B may represent the number of comments for posted message3164accumulated over the selected time period. The effect of a particular hashtag post3164attracting or eliciting participation in the broader social network forum may be determined from chart3162. For example, there may be a correlation between the numbers of likes and/or comments associated with a particular hashtag posted message3164(as indicated by the size of one or both layered circles3168) and the effect of message3164on the total number of participants identified by line chart3166. In some cases a particular posted message3164having relatively few comments and/or likes may nevertheless drive a disproportionately large increase in total participation in line chart3166, or vice versa. For example, messages3164posted by participants having large user followings, such as celebrities, may be more influential in attracting additional participants compared with messages3164posted by participants having fewer followers. The analytic system also may display analytics3170identifying the number of impressions and number of followers for the social media account and posted message associated with campaign hashtag3126. Impressions in the context of online advertising indicate the number of times an advertisement is fetched from its source. The analytic system also may generate a Klout score typically a number between 1 and 100 that represents an influence of the social media campaign. The more influential the campaign, the higher the Klout score. Impressions, followers, and Klout scores are known to those skilled in the art and therefore are not described in further detail. The analytic system may identify the total number of messages3172posted on each social media account that include hashtag3126. The analytic system also may identify the most popular messages3174posted by the social media accounts that include hashtag3126. For example, posted messages3174and associated sub-tree messages may have the largest number of likes. FIG.31shows one example of user generated content (UGC) analytics associated with hashtag3126. In response to selection of the UGC icon in display menu3130, the analytic system may identify the number of messages posted by participants on different social media accounts3180that include hashtag3126. The analytic system may display a histogram chart3182that identifies the number of user posted messages for a selected one of social media accounts3180over a selected time period. The analytic system also may identify the top influencers3188that posted messages including hashtag3126. For example, top influencers3188may be celebrities with large numbers of followers. The analytic system also may display the top messages3186posted by participants, such as with the largest number of likes. The UGC analytics represent earned social media marketing created by participants other than the entity that operates the social media account. For example, photos in messages186may provide insight into what content customers use in responses. The brand may then use similar photos to increase participant engagement or sponsor related types of events. The analytic system also may display analytics with brand colors. For example, the analytic system may extract a brand color scheme from a brand avatar and use the color scheme as a background for displaying brand analytics. Using brand themes is also described in described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/160,694, Entitled: Social Media Enhancement, filed May 20, 2016, which has been incorporated by reference. FIG.32shows example user hashtag related demographics generated by the analytic system. In response to selecting the demographics icon in display menu3130, the analytic system may generate different demographic data associated with hashtag3126. For example, pie chart3190may indicate the percentage of male and female followers for the Acme social media accounts or related to hashtag3126. The analytic system also may generate charts3192that identify the percentages of Acme account followers by age, ethnicity, education, and income. Charts3194may identify the percentage of Acme followers in different countries. The analytic system also may display charts3196that identify top interests of the social media account followers. For example, top interests for 59% of the Acme followers may be climbing, soccer, and skiing. Of course top interests may be identified for any subject, such as national news, national parks, politics, international news, bird watching, geology, etc. The analytic system also may identify top brands and/or top TV shows with the most number of followers, participants, fans, etc. The analytic system also may display a world map3198that identifies the geographic locations of the Acme followers for hashtag3126. The analytic system generates analytics for any participants and any participant interaction associated with the social media campaign. For example, participants may include anyone posting messages, or liking, sharing, viewing, commenting, mentioning, replying, or retweeting posted messages that include the campaign hashtag. The analytic system may not have direct access to user profiles for some participants. The user profiles for theses participants may be separately obtained from a social network or other service provider and then linked to the message posted by the participant that includes the specific hashtag. The analytic system also may use other services to analyze different participant segments or may send captured data to third party services for analysis and providing specific insight on the different participants. The analytic system may organize participants into verified and unverified groups. Verified groups are confirmed as associated celebrity or influential user accounts. FIG.33shows a computing device4000that may be used for operating the analytic system computing devices and performing any combination of processes discussed above. The computing device4000may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a server-client network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. In other examples, computing device4000may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a smart phone, a web appliance, or any other machine or device capable of executing instructions4006(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. While only a single computing device4000is shown, the computing device4000may include any collection of devices or circuitry that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the operations discussed above. Computing device4000may be part of an integrated control system or system manager, or may be provided as a portable electronic device configured to interface with a networked system either locally or remotely via wireless transmission. Processors4004may comprise a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), programmable logic devices, dedicated processor systems, micro controllers, or microprocessors that may perform some or all of the operations described above. Processors4004may also include, but may not be limited to, an analog processor, a digital processor, a microprocessor, multi-core processor, processor array, network processor, etc. Some of the operations described above may be implemented in software and other operations may be implemented in hardware. One or more of the operations, processes, or methods described herein may be performed by an apparatus, device, or system similar to those as described herein and with reference to the illustrated figures. Processors4004may execute instructions or “code”4006stored in any one of memories4008,4010, or4020. The memories may store data as well. Instructions4006and data can also be transmitted or received over a network1014via a network interface device4012utilizing any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols. Memories4008,4010, and4020may be integrated together with processing device4000, for example RAM or FLASH memory disposed within an integrated circuit microprocessor or the like. In other examples, the memory may comprise an independent device, such as an external disk drive, storage array, or any other storage devices used in database systems. The memory and processing devices may be operatively coupled together, or in communication with each other, for example by an I/O port, network connection, etc. such that the processing device may read a file stored on the memory. Some memory may be “read only” by design (ROM) by virtue of permission settings, or not. Other examples of memory may include, but may be not limited to, WORM, EPROM, EEPROM, FLASH, etc. which may be implemented in solid state semiconductor devices. Other memories may comprise moving parts, such a conventional rotating disk drive. All such memories may be “machine-readable” in that they may be readable by a processing device. “Computer-readable storage medium” (or alternatively, “machine-readable storage medium”) may include all of the foregoing types of memory, as well as new technologies that may arise in the future, as long as they may be capable of storing digital information in the nature of a computer program or other data, at least temporarily, in such a manner that the stored information may be “read” by an appropriate processing device. The term “computer-readable” may not be limited to the historical usage of “computer” to imply a complete mainframe, mini-computer, desktop, wireless device, or even a laptop computer. Rather, “computer-readable” may comprise storage medium that may be readable by a processor, processing device, or any computing system. Such media may be any available media that may be locally and/or remotely accessible by a computer or processor, and may include volatile and non-volatile media, and removable and non-removable media. Computing device4000can further include a video display4016, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT) and a user interface4018, such as a keyboard, mouse, touch screen, etc. All of the components of computing device1000may be connected together via a bus4002and/or network. For the sake of convenience, operations may be described as various interconnected or coupled functional blocks or diagrams. However, there may be cases where these functional blocks or diagrams may be equivalently aggregated into a single logic device, program or operation with unclear boundaries. Having described and illustrated the principles of a preferred embodiment, it should be apparent that the embodiments may be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles. Claim is made to all modifications and variation coming within the spirit and scope of the following claims. | 153,656 |
11861540 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following description of various illustrative embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown, by way of illustration, various embodiments in which aspects of the disclosure may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized, and structural and functional modifications may be made, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. It is noted that various connections between elements are discussed in the following description. It is noted that these connections are general and, unless specified otherwise, may be direct or indirect, wired or wireless, and that the specification is not intended to be limiting in this respect. As a brief summary, the present disclosure provides systems and methods for leveraging natural language processing (NLP) techniques to provide automated performance evaluation and training. In short, a computing platform may utilize NLP and modeling techniques to identify and define interaction events with consumers and customers. This may enable the computing platform to diagnose proficiency of producers and effectiveness of their processes when engaging in various customer interactions. In doing so, the systems and methods described herein may improve efficiency and effectiveness of process and interactions between enterprise organizations (e.g., such as insurance organizations) and their consumers and/or customers. Accordingly, the described systems and methods will ultimately drive revenue for the company through increased growth and retention. More specifically, the computing platform may monitor agency interactions with consumers and customers, and may derive performance measures from call recordings to drive improved consumer and customer interactions. Based on the derived performance measures, the computing platform may generate recommendations in real time (or near real time) to individuals (e.g., agents or producers) to further their ability to adjust their interactions and techniques during the interactions and improve the chance of success (e.g., in closing a sale). The computing platform may analyze structured data to determine differences in performance between individuals (e.g., who is the best at a particular skill). In addition, the computing platform may tag text in unstructured data from audio transcription files to identify what is driving differences in performance between successful and unsuccessful performers. Accordingly, by collecting and analyzing both structured and unstructured data, the computing platform may not only identify top performers, but may also identify what these top performers are doing differently. By analyzing audio transcript data, the computing platform may identify data related to multiple individuals participating in a call, which may ultimately help to improve performance (e.g., provide insight into how an agent attempted to make a sale and insight into how the target consumer/customer objected). For example, among other things, the computing platform may identify data related to relating and building rapport (e.g., consumer intention or whether an agent and customer found common ground), assessing customer needs (e.g., did agent attempt to discuss assets or how receptive was a consumer to the offer), product recommendations (e.g., did agent suggest broader protection needs and associated coverage for risks), generating tailored quotes (e.g., was a three question quote for homeowners insurance discussed, or what types of objection rebuttals work best), binding and establishing onboarding expectations (e.g., did the agent ask for the sale or just offer to send a proposal, or is this a sale or just fulfilling a consumer ask), or the like. The computing platform may then utilize this voice data (e.g., from audio transcription files) to identify what actually occurred on a call (e.g., close rates), what is expected to occur (e.g., a benchmark/expected close rate), and what is causing the difference between the actual and expected occurrences (e.g., ask for sale percentage). For example, the computing platform may determine that person #1 has a close rate of 15%, person #2 has a close rate of 20%, and person #3 has a close rate of 25%. The computing platform may output this information to a user device associated with a manager of person #1, person #2, and/or person #3. Accordingly, the manager may determine that person #3 is a high performer, person #2 is an average performer, and person #1 is a poor performer, and similarly, that the manager needs to coach person #1 and person #2 to be more like person #3. Additionally or alternatively, the computing platform may determine that person #1 is 3% above an associated benchmark close rate of 12%, a second person is 1% above an associated benchmark close rate (19%), and person #3 is 2% below an associated benchmark close rate (27%). The computing platform may output this information to the user device associated with the manager of person #1, person #2, and/or person #3. Accordingly, the manager may determine that person #1 is a high performer, person #2 is average, and person #3 is a poor performer, and similarly that he or she needs to coach person #2 and person #3 to be more like person #1. Additionally or alternatively, the computing platform may determine that person #1 asks for the sale 75% of the time, person #2 asks for the sale 50% of the time, and person #3 asks for the sale 25% of the time. The computing platform may output this information to the user device associated with the manager of person #1, person #2, and/or person #3. Accordingly, the manager may determine that person #1 is a high performer and often asks for the sale, person #2 is an average performer and sometimes asks for the sale, and person #3 is a poor performer and rarely asks for the sale, and similarly that he or she may improve the performance of person #2 and person #3 by coaching them to ask for the sale more frequently. In doing so, the computing platform may go beyond the calculation of traditional staff level metrics such as close rate, linked quote, quotes, production, or the like that provide minimal context to good or bad or what is driving performance. The computing platform may provide emerging metrics such as agency level close rate benchmark, agency level 92 day retention, or the like, which may provide context to what should have happened (e.g., indicating whether a call was successful or unsuccessful, but not why). To address the deficiencies of these traditional staff level metrics and emerging metrics, the computing platform may determine staff level benchmarks that provide finer and more granular details at a staff level for detailed troubleshooting on whether the associated individual is a good or bad performer. Furthermore, the computing platform may derive voice metrics for each staff member to enable tailored recommendations informed by observation and analysis of calls reducing need for generic best practices. Accordingly, by extracting such detailed and granular metrics associated with conversations, the computing platform may not only identify whether an individual (e.g., an insurance agent) is a high, average, or low performer, but may identify what actions, performed by the individual, are leading to the success and/or failure. In some instances, the computing platform may identify that an individual is successful in certain areas but not others. Accordingly, rather than merely identifying that the individual needs to improve his or her performance, the computing platform may offer specific guidance to the individuals, based on what has been successful for other individuals, in order to improve overall performance and to give managers a more detailed scorecard of their employees' performance and/or improve their coaching. Accordingly, this may result in improved efficiency and effectiveness of process and interactions between individuals (e.g., agents and customers), and may drive sales revenue through increased growth and retention. Furthermore, this may provide insight to agency owners and staff with respect to the sales process. In doing so, agency owners may have more transparency into how their staff are performing and provide tailored coaching accordingly. For example, some organizations (e.g., insurance companies), may have many different local offices and processes, with only one or two employees at each (e.g., insurance sales agents). Furthermore, these organizations may experience high turnover rates. In these instances, it may be difficult for local branch owners to evaluate performance of their local employees. For example, a local insurance branch may have a manager and six employees. The manager may be able to identify one of the employees as being deficient in following through on sales at high prices. Using one or more of the systems and methods described herein, the manager may be able to leverage data associated with the organization as a whole to compare the deficient employee to others across the organization (e.g., not merely the local branch) and to identify ways to improve performance based on techniques used across the organization from other employees who have been successful in areas where the identified employee is deficient (e.g., in following through on sales at high prices). FIGS.1A and1Bdepict an illustrative computing environment for automated training and performance evaluation using improved natural language processing techniques in accordance with one or more example embodiments. Referring toFIG.1A, computing environment100may include one or more computer systems. For example, computing environment100may include natural language processing platform102, claim monitoring system103, audio transcription system104, first enterprise user device105, and second enterprise user device106. As illustrated in greater detail below, natural language processing platform102may include one or more computing devices configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein. For example, natural language processing platform102may include one or more computers (e.g., laptop computers, desktop computers, servers, or server blades). In one or more instances, natural language processing platform102may be configured to perform natural language processing techniques in audio transcript file analysis to identify one or more events (e.g., ask for the sale, multiline offer, objection handling, or selling effort time) and/or evaluate performance based on the audio transcript files. Additionally, the natural language processing platform102may maintain a model for dynamic performance evaluation and training that may be used by the natural language processing platform102to analyze the audio transcript files and may be dynamically updated by the natural language processing platform102as additional audio transcript files and/or performance data are received. In one or more instances, the natural language processing platform102may be associated with an organization or entity (e.g., an insurance agency, or the like). Call monitoring system103may be a computing device configured to monitor and record (e.g., with appropriate permissions) calls (telephonic, video, voice over internet protocol, or the like) for further analysis. In one or more instances, call monitoring system103may be configured with one or more microphones to enable recording capabilities. In some instances, call monitoring system103may be a computing device (e.g., server or server blade) that is configured to record and transmit such recordings to another computing device (e.g., natural language processing platform102). In one or more instances, the call monitoring system103may comprise a single computing device. In other instances, the call monitoring system103may comprise multiple devices. In one or more instances, the call monitoring system103may be associated with an organization or entity (e.g., an insurance agency). Audio transcription system104may be a computing system configured to receive audio files and transcribe them into text files. In some instances, the audio transcription system104may be maintained by the same company or organization associated with the natural language processing platform102. In other instances, the audio transcription system104may be maintained by a different company or organization than that associated with the natural language processing platform102. For example, the audio transcription system104may be maintained and operated by a third party transcription vendor. In one or more instances, the audio transcription system104may be a computing device configured with transcription and word processing capabilities. In these instances, the audio transcription system104may be a laptop computer, desktop computer, tablet computer, smartphone, server, server blade, or the like. First enterprise user device105may be a computing device (e.g., a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, or smart phone) that may be used (e.g., by a representative of an organization such as an insurance company) to perform sales activities (e.g., sale of home insurance or vehicle insurance). It should be understood that first enterprise user device105is not necessarily usable exclusively by a representative of an insurance company. Rather, first enterprise user device105may be a user device configured for use by a variety of users. In one or more instances, the first enterprise user device105may be a computing device configured to receive information (e.g., from the natural language processing platform102) and to generate/display graphical user interfaces (e.g., performance feedback interfaces) accordingly. Second enterprise user device106may be a computing device (e.g., a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, or smart phone) that may be used (e.g., by a manager of an organization such as an insurance company) to manage and/or otherwise oversee sales representatives and/or activities (e.g., sale of home insurance or vehicle insurance). It should be understood that second enterprise user device106is not necessarily usable exclusively by a manager of an insurance company. Rather, second enterprise user device106may be a user device configured for use by a variety of users. In one or more instances, the second enterprise user device106may be a computing device configured to receive information (e.g., from the natural language processing platform102) and to generate/display graphical user interfaces (e.g., manager dashboard interfaces) accordingly. It should be understood that although the application describes first enterprise user device105and second enterprise user device106, which are operated by an individual and that individual's manager respectively, it should be understood that any number of enterprise user devices may be used (e.g., by agents or managers) to perform the methods described herein. Computing environment100also may include one or more networks, which may interconnect one or more of natural language processing platform102, call monitoring system103, audio transcription system104, first enterprise user device105, second enterprise user device106, or the like. For example, computing environment100may include a network101(which may, e.g., interconnect natural language processing platform102, call monitoring system103, audio transcription system104, first enterprise user device105, and/or second enterprise user device106). In one or more arrangements, natural language processing platform102, call monitoring system103, audio transcription system104, first enterprise user device105, second enterprise user device106, and/or the other systems included in computing environment100may be any type of computing device capable of and configured for receiving a user interface, receiving input using the user interface, and communicating the received input to one or more other computing devices. For example, natural language processing platform102, call monitoring system103, audio transcription system104, first enterprise user device105, second enterprise user device106, and/or the other systems included in computing environment100may, in some instances, be and/or include server computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, smart phones, sensors, or the like that may include one or more processors, memories, communication interfaces, storage devices, and/or other components. As noted above, and as illustrated in greater detail below, any and/or all of natural language processing platform102, call monitoring system103, audio transcription system104, first enterprise user device105, and second enterprise user device106may, in some instances, be special-purpose computing devices configured to perform specific functions. Referring toFIG.1B, natural language processing platform102may include one or more processors111, memory112, and communication interface113. A data bus may interconnect processor111, memory112, and communication interface113. Communication interface113may be a network interface configured to support communication between natural language processing platform102and one or more networks (e.g., network101). Memory112may include one or more program modules having instructions that when executed by processor111cause natural language processing platform102to perform one or more functions described herein and/or one or more databases that may store and/or otherwise maintain information which may be used by such program modules and/or processor111. In some instances, the one or more program modules and/or databases may be stored by and/or maintained in different memory units of natural language processing platform102and/or by different computing devices that may form and/or otherwise make up natural language processing platform102. For example, memory112may have, store, and/or include natural language processing module112a, a natural language processing database112b, and a machine learning engine112c. Natural language processing platform102may have instructions that direct and/or cause natural language processing platform102to execute advanced natural language claim processing techniques, as discussed in greater detail below. Natural language processing database112bmay store information used by natural language processing module112aand/or natural language processing platform102in transcription analysis, evaluating performance, providing performance feedback, and/or in performing other functions. Machine learning engine112cmay have instructions that direct and/or cause the natural language processing platform102to perform transcription analysis, evaluate performance, provide performance feedback, and to set, define, and/or iteratively refine optimization rules and/or other parameters used by the natural language processing platform102and/or other systems in computing environment100. FIGS.2A-2Fdepict an illustrative event sequence for providing enhanced and optimized performance evaluation and training using improved natural language processing techniques in accordance with one or more example embodiments. Referring toFIG.2A, at step201, the natural language processing platform102may receive one or more audio transcription files. In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may receive the audio transcription files from an audio transcription system (e.g., audio transcription system104). In some instances, in receiving the one or more audio transcription files, the natural language processing platform102may receive audio transcription files associated with a plurality of individuals (e.g., insurance agents or customers) and the audio transcription files may correspond to a particular type of audio (e.g., recordings of insurance sales calls). In one or more instances, the natural language processing platform102may receive the audio transcription files via the communication interface113. At step202, the natural language processing platform102may automatically generate an interaction proficiency diagnostic model based on the one or more audio transcription files received at step201. For example, the natural language processing platform102may apply natural language processing techniques to identify features in the one or more audio transcription files indicative of one or more performance events (e.g., asking for the sale, multiline offering, sales objection, closing a sale, or phrases used) and/or additional metrics associated with the one or more audio transcription files (e.g., selling effort time, amount of time speaking by each participant on a call, or duration of silence). In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may identify whether or not a sale was executed in each audio transcription file, and may tag performance events and/or additional metrics associated with the respective audio transcription file as successful or unsuccessful accordingly (e.g., successful if a sale was executed, or unsuccessful if a sale was not executed). In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may identify that a subset of the one or more performance events and/or additional metrics in a particular audio transcription file should be tagged as successful even though a sale was not ultimately executed (e.g., an agent had the sale wrapped up based on applied techniques but then was unable to complete the sale at the very end) and/or should be tagged as unsuccessful event though a sale was ultimately executed (e.g., an agent saved the sale with later applied techniques). Accordingly, the natural language processing platform102may generate a natural language processing model that may be able to identify successful and unsuccessful aspects of the audio transcription files for purposes of providing performance feedback and evaluation. At step203, the call monitoring system103may generate one or more additional audio files (e.g., generated once the interaction proficiency diagnostic model described at step202has been trained). For example, in generating the one or more additional audio files, the call monitoring system103may record a conversation (e.g., between a customer and an agent) over one of a plurality of mediums (e.g., telephone, voice over internet protocol, or video conference). In these instances, the call monitoring system103may receive a permission indication from a user device and may record the calls based on receipt of the permission indication. In generating the one or more additional audio files, the call monitoring system103may generate an audio file corresponding to a conversation between a customer and an agent regarding an insurance claim. In some instances, the call monitoring system103may generate the one or more additional audio files in real time (e.g., during a conversation between an agent and a customer). Additionally or alternatively, the call monitoring system103may generate the one or more additional audio files after the fact (e.g., upon conclusion of the conversation between the agent and the customer). In generating the additional audio files, the call monitoring system103may generate a plurality of audio files each corresponding to a conversation between various customers and a common agent (e.g., a collection of a particular agent's conversations). At step204, the call monitoring system103may establish a connection with the audio transcription system104. In some instances, the call monitoring system103may establish a first wireless data connection with the audio transcription system104to link the call monitoring system103to the audio transcription system104. In these instances, the call monitoring system103may identify whether a connection is already established with the audio transcription system104. If a connection is already established, the call monitoring system103might not reestablish the first wireless data connection. If, however, the call monitoring system103does not already have an established connection with the audio transcription system104, the call monitoring system103may establish the first wireless data connection as described herein. Referring toFIG.2B, at step205, the call monitoring system103may send, share, or otherwise provide the one or more additional audio files, generated at step203, to the audio transcription system104. In one or more instances, the audio transcription system104may send the one or more additional audio files to the natural language processing platform102while the first wireless data connection is established. In some instances, the call monitoring system103may send each of the one or more additional audio files as they are generated. In other instances, the call monitoring system103may send the one or more additional audio files in batches and/or all together. At step206, audio transcription system104may receive or otherwise access the one or more additional audio files sent at step206. In one or more instances, the audio transcription system104may receive the one or more additional audio files while the first wireless data connection is established. In one or more instances, rather than receiving merely an audio file, the natural language claim processing platform102may receive a video file (e.g., from a video conference) and may separate the audio file from the video file. At step207, the audio transcription system104may generate an audio transcription file for each of the one or more additional audio files received at step206. At step208, the audio transcription system104may establish a connection with natural language processing platform102. For example, the audio transcription system104may establish a second wireless data connection with the natural language processing platform102to link the audio transcription system104to the natural language processing platform102. In some instances, the audio transcription system104may determine whether a connection is already established with the natural language processing platform102. If a connection is already established with the natural language processing platform102, the audio transcription system104might not reestablish the second wireless data connection. If a connection is not already established with the natural language processing platform102, the audio transcription system104may establish the second wireless data connection as described herein. At step209, the audio transcription system104may send, share, or otherwise provide the audio transcription files, generated at step207, to the natural language processing platform102. In one or more instances, the audio transcription system104may send the audio transcription files to the natural language processing platform102while the second wireless data connection is established. In some instances, the audio transcription system104may send the audio transcription files in real time as they are generated. In other instances, the audio transcription system104may send the audio transcription files in batches (e.g., based on a predetermined/configurable period of time or number of files). At step210, the natural language processing platform102may receive, or otherwise access, the audio transcription files sent at step209. In receiving the audio transcription files, the natural language processing platform102may receive the audio transcription files via the communication interface and while the second wireless data connection is established. Referring toFIG.2C, at step211, the natural language processing platform102may identify one or more audio events in the audio transcription files. For example, the natural language processing platform102may analyze the audio transcription files using the interaction proficiency diagnostic model to identify language in the audio transcription files consistent with asking for the sale, making a multiline offer, handling an objection, or the like. In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may process each of the audio transcription files sequentially. Alternatively, the natural language processing platform102may process the audio transcription files simultaneously. At step212, once the natural language processing platform102has completed identifying the one or more audio events in the audio transcription files, the natural language processing platform102may group the events by event type and may calculate a proficiency score for each event type. For example, the natural language processing platform102may identify that, at step211, a first individual (e.g., an agent) asked customers to complete a sale in eight audio transcription files associated with the first individual, but not in a remaining twelve audio transcription files. Accordingly, in this example, the natural language processing platform102may calculate that the first individual has an “ask for the sale” proficiency score of 40%. Additionally or alternatively, the natural language processing platform102may identify that a second individual (e.g., another agent) asked customers to complete a sale in three audio transcription files associated with the second individual, but not in a remaining seven audio transcription files. Accordingly, in this example, the natural language processing platform102may calculate that the second individual has an “ask for the sale” proficiency score of 30%. As another example, the natural language processing platform102may identify, at step211, that the first individual made a multiline offer to customers in nine of the audio transcription files associated with the first individual (e.g., which may or might not include the eight audio transcription files in which the first individual asked for the sale), but not in a remaining eleven audio transcription files. Accordingly, the natural language processing platform102may calculate a “multiline offer” score of 45%. As yet another example, the natural language processing platform102may identify, at step211, that customers objected to offers made by the first individual in four of the eight audio transcription files in which the first individual asked customers to complete a sale. In this example, the natural language processing platform102may determine that regardless of the objections, the first individual was successful in completing a sale in two of these four identified audio transcription files. Accordingly, the natural language processing platform102may calculate an “objection handling” proficiency score for the first individual of 50%. In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may calculate additional metrics associated with the audio transcript files, such as average speaking ratios (e.g., how long one individual is speaking in comparison to another), average duration of silence, average sentence length, average selling effort time, or the like. For example, the natural language processing platform102may determine (e.g., based on timestamps in the audio transcription files) that the first individual has an average call length of 125 minutes. In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may use these additional metrics as proficiency scores. In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may calculate individual proficiency scores and/or metrics for each audio transcription file, and may combine (e.g., average) the proficiency scores and/or metrics to calculate proficiency scores for each event type and/or metric (e.g., a single score for each of: ask for the sale, multiline offer, objection handling, selling effort time, close rate, or the like associated with a particular individual (e.g., an agent)). In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may determine whether proficiency scores and/or metrics have been calculated for each individual associated with one of the audio transcript files received at step210. If additional individuals remain, the natural language processing platform102may return to step211to identify audio events associated with a subsequent remaining individual (e.g., to calculate proficiency scores for each of a plurality of agents at an insurance company). If proficiency scores have been calculated for each individual, the natural language processing platform102may continue to step213. At step213, the natural language processing platform102may apply the interaction proficiency diagnostic model to the proficiency scores and/or metrics calculated at step212to generate comparison metrics. In some instances, based on the audio transcription files received at step201that were used to train the interaction proficiency diagnostic model, the natural language processing platform102may calculate benchmark proficiency scores and/or metrics (e.g., an average value representative of agents in a particular region, practice, job title, or the like). In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may calculate the benchmark proficiency scores and/or metrics for groups defined using multiple factors. For example, the natural language processing platform102may calculate a benchmark close rate by calculating an average close rate of individuals who are both located in a particular geographic region and have a particular job title. In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may have identified, at step212, that a first individual had a close rate proficiency score of 20% (e.g., the first individual closed a sale on 20% of his or her calls) and that a second individual had a close rate proficiency score of 25% (e.g., the second individual closed a sale on 25% of his or her calls). In this example, it would appear that the second individual is a better salesperson. In some instances, however, the natural language processing platform102may identify that a benchmark close rate associated with the first individual is 19% and that a benchmark close rate associated with the second individual is 28% (e.g., because the second individual is selling in a better market, for example). Accordingly, when compared to the benchmark, the first individual is actually 1% higher and the second individual is 3% lower than their respective benchmark close rates. Thus, although the natural language processing platform102may calculate a higher close rate for the second individual, the natural language processing platform102may identify the first individual as a better performer in context. By generating such comparison metrics, the natural language processing platform102may add further detail to the proficiency scores and/or metrics calculated at step212by showing how each individual compares against each other and against the benchmark values. In one or more instances, the natural language processing platform102may dynamically adjust the benchmark values as audio transcription files are processed. For example, if a particular geographic region is associated with a benchmark close rate of 20%, and the natural language processing platform102calculates, based on subsequent audio transcription files, that a plurality of individuals associated with the particular geographic region have raised their individual close rates to 40%, the natural language processing platform102may adjust the benchmark close rate to reflect this increase in performance (e.g., by raising the benchmark close rate). In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may dynamically and continually adjust the benchmark values so that they reflect an average value for individuals in a group associated with the given benchmark values. At step214, the natural language processing platform102may calculate an overall proficiency score for each identified individual (e.g., using the interaction proficiency diagnostic model and based on the proficiency scores and metrics calculated at steps212and213). In some instances, in calculating the overall proficiency score, the natural language processing platform102may compute an average or weighted average of the proficiency scores and metrics calculated at steps212and213. For example, in one instance, the natural language processing platform102may have calculated an “ask for sale” proficiency score of 40%, a “multiline offer” proficiency score of 45%, and an “objection handling” score of 50% for a first individual. In this example, the natural language processing platform102may calculate an average of these three scores, thus resulting in an overall proficiency score (e.g., a sales effectiveness score) of 45. In yet another example, for the first individual, the natural language processing platform102may have calculated a close rate of 20%, a linked quote proficiency score of 35%, a benchmark close rate of 19%, an “ask for the sale” proficiency score of 40%, a “multiline offer” proficiency score of 45%, an “objection handling” score of 50%, and a selling effort duration of 125 minutes for the first individual. In this example, the natural language processing platform102may feed this data into the interaction proficiency diagnostic model, which may compute (e.g., by applying various weights, as determined by the natural language processing platform102, to the various pieces of data) an overall proficiency score of 54. In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may assign different weights to different data in the overall proficiency score calculation for different groups (e.g., by region, job title, or the like). For example, the natural language processing platform102may apply more weight to selling effort time in a first geographic region (e.g., a region where a language barrier often causes increased call length) than in a second geographic region (e.g., a region without a language barrier). In these instances, the natural language processing platform102may dynamically adjust the weights based on recognized trends (e.g., disappearance of the language barrier described above may result in the natural language processing platform102reducing the weight applied to selling effort time in the overall proficiency score calculation). In one or more instances, prior to calculating the overall proficiency score, the natural language processing platform102may return to step211to identify audio events in another audio transcription file, received at step210. In these instances, the natural language processing platform102might not calculate the overall proficiency score until all of the audio transcription files, associated with the respective individual, have been analyzed. In one or more instances, the natural language processing platform102may perform steps211-214automatically without receiving a user input. In other instances, the natural language processing platform102may perform steps211-214in response to receiving a user input requesting that such steps be performed (e.g., from an enterprise user device). Referring toFIG.2D, at step215, the natural language processing platform102may dynamically update the interaction proficiency diagnostic model based on the audio transcription files received at step210and the subsequent analysis of such audio transcription files. For example, the natural language processing platform102may update benchmark values, weight values, or the like as described above at step214. Additionally or alternatively, the interaction proficiency diagnostic model may iteratively refine one or more machine learning datasets used by the interaction proficiency diagnostic model to analyze the audio transcription files. As an example, a particular phrase used by an agent in a particular circumstance may have been previously successful in handling an objection, but the natural language processing platform102may determine that the particular phrase is no longer associated with positive sales results. Accordingly, in this example, the natural language processing platform102may modify the interaction proficiency diagnostic model to recognize this particular phrase and to no longer classify the particular phrase as a successful objection handling technique. In some instances, in updating the interaction proficiency diagnostic model, the natural language processing platform102may identify whether events identified in the audio transcription files at step211had an effect on close rate. For example, the natural language processing platform102may determine whether or not asking for the sale (and the “ask for the sale” proficiency score) has an effect on close rate. If the natural language processing platform102determines that a particular event does not have an effect on close rate, it may update the interaction proficiency diagnostic model so that the particular event is not analyzed in further audio transcription files (e.g., to conserve processing power and/or computing resources). If the natural language processing platform102determines that the particular event does have an effect on close rate, it may reinforce the interaction proficiency diagnostic model so the particular event continues to be analyzed in future audio transcription files. In doing so, the natural language processing platform102may engage in an iterative process of building events, analyzing the effect of the events on close rates, and tuning the events accordingly. This may allow the natural language processing platform102to determine events that are actually useful, valuable, or the like in comparison to those that are not. If the natural language processing platform102determines that an event is not valuable, it may determine that the event is not worth conveying (e.g., via a manager dashboard interface or feedback interface). At step216, the natural language processing platform102may generate a manager dashboard interface based on the proficiency scores and metrics calculated in steps212-214. In generating the manager dashboard interface, the natural language processing platform102may compile the proficiency scores and metrics calculated in steps212-214into a single dashboard, which may comprise one or more pages. For example, the natural language processing platform102may generate an interface containing, for each identified individual, a representative identifier, a close rate, a linked quote percentage, a benchmark close rate, a difference between the close rate and the benchmark close rate, an “ask for the sale” score, a “multiline offer” score, an “objection handling” score, a selling effort time duration, an overall sales effectiveness score, or the like. Accordingly, by generating such a manager dashboard interface, the natural language processing platform102may use voice metrics to determine why an individual is achieving their corresponding level of performance (e.g., instead of merely identifying that the individual is a poor performer without additional context). In doing so, the natural language processing platform102may identify what is driving the corresponding performance and how to improve it if necessary. In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may generate one or more commands directing an enterprise user device (e.g., first enterprise user device105or second enterprise user device106) to display the manager dashboard interface. In some instances, rather than generating the manager dashboard interface itself, the natural language processing platform102may generate manager dashboard interface information that may be used by an enterprise user device (e.g., first enterprise user device105or second enterprise user device106) to generate the manager dashboard interface. At step217, the natural language processing platform102may establish a connection with the first enterprise user device105. In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may establish a third wireless data connection with the first enterprise user device105to link the natural language processing platform102to the first enterprise user device105. In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may identify whether or not a connection is already established with the first enterprise user device105. If a connection is already established with the first enterprise user device105, the natural language processing platform102might not reestablish the connection. If a connection is not already established with the first enterprise user device105, the natural language processing platform102may establish the third wireless data connection as described herein. At step218, the natural language processing platform102may send the manager dashboard interface (or manager dashboard interface information) and the one or more commands directing the first enterprise user device105to display the manager dashboard interface. In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may send the manager dashboard interface and the one or more commands directing the first enterprise user device105to display the manager dashboard interface via the communication interface113while the third wireless data connection is established. At step219, the first enterprise user device105may receive the manager dashboard interface (or manager dashboard interface information) and one or more commands directing the first enterprise user device105to display the manager dashboard interface. In some instances, the first enterprise user device105may receive the manager dashboard interface and the one or more commands directing the first enterprise user device105to display the manager dashboard interface while the third wireless data connection is established. Referring toFIG.2E, at step220, the first enterprise user device105may display the manager dashboard interface in response to the one or more commands directing the first enterprise user device105to display the manager dashboard interface received at step219. In some instances, in displaying the manager dashboard interface, the first enterprise user device105may display a graphical user interface similar to graphical user interface405, which is shown inFIG.4. For example, the first enterprise user device105may display metrics, proficiency scores, or the like, calculated by the natural language processing platform102for a plurality of individuals (e.g., sales representatives at an insurance company). In some instances, in displaying the manager dashboard interface, the first enterprise user device105may display a dashboard that may navigate to one or more different interfaces in response to receiving a user input. At step221, the natural language processing platform102may identify, for each individual and using the interaction proficiency diagnostic model, one or more successful and/or unsuccessful tactics applied in their associated audio transcription files. For example, the natural language processing platform102may identify one or more ways an individual asked for a sale, proposed a multiline offer, handled a customer objection, or the like. Additionally or alternatively, the natural language processing platform102may identify a ratio of how much the individual spoke in comparison to how much a customer spoke, average sentence length, duration of silence, selling effort time, or the like. At step222, based on the tactics identified at step221and/or the proficiency scores and/or metrics calculated at steps212-214, the natural language processing platform102may generate a feedback interface. In generating the feedback interface, the natural language processing platform102may automatically identify, based on the proficiency scores, one or more areas for improvement, and may automatically determine, based on the one or more areas for improvement, performance feedback tailored to a target recipient of the feedback interface. In generating the feedback interface, the natural language processing platform102may generate an interface that displays one or more successful and/or unsuccessful tactics applied by an individual (e.g., an agent for whom the feedback interface is intended), successful tactics applied by other individuals, and/or other recommendations to improve performance of the individual (e.g., with regard to improving their close rate during insurance sales calls or the like). For example, there may be multiple ways for an agent to ask for a sale based on analysis of audio transcription files from a plurality of agents, and the natural language processing platform102may generate an interface that indicates the most effective way based on comparison of close rates between agents and the techniques employed by the most effective agents. In generating the feedback interface, the natural language processing platform102may identify a type of feedback that may be most advantageous to an individual (e.g., what feedback is most valuable to the agent) and may generate the feedback interface based on this identified type of feedback. For example, the natural language processing platform102may determine that, based on the proficiency scores and/or metrics calculated in steps212-214, providing feedback to the agent related to improving an “ask for the sale” performance of the agent may be more valuable than providing feedback to the agent related to improving the agent's “multiline offer” performance (see e.g., representative #3 who, as shown inFIG.4, has a low “ask for the sale” proficiency score but a high “multiline offer” score). In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may additionally identify value at even a more granular level. For example, after determining that feedback should be related towards asking for the sale, the natural language processing platform102may identify specific areas for improvement related to asking for the sale, determine the value of each, and generate the feedback interface to include one or more types of feedback based on the corresponding values. For example, the natural language processing platform102may identify that an agent is using language to ask for the sale that is typically effective (e.g., as determined by performance of other agents across the organization), but is asking too early in a call and thus is not effective in closing a sale. Accordingly, the natural language processing platform102may determine that providing feedback related to such timing is more valuable than providing feedback related to specific phrases to use in asking for the sale, and may include such timing feedback in the feedback interface. It should be understood that in a similar manner, the natural language processing platform102may continue to identify value associated with increasingly granular performance data, and in doing so, may identify feedback that is specifically tailored to various individuals so as to maximize each of their performances. In some instances, in generating the feedback interface, the natural language processing platform102may identify specific examples in which the individual did or did not apply effective techniques (e.g., techniques shown to improve close rates). Additionally or alternatively, in generating the feedback interface, the natural language processing platform102may identify specific examples in which another individual within the organization did or did not apply effective techniques (e.g., techniques shown to improve close rates). In these instances, the natural language processing platform102may generate the feedback interface so as to include these examples. In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may also identify, using one or more machine learning algorithms, a most effective method for providing training and/or feedback to the individual, and may generate the feedback interface accordingly. For example, the natural language processing platform102may identify whether the individual is an audio learner, visual learner, hands on learner, or the like, and may generate the feedback interface accordingly so as to deliver the feedback and/or training in a method that may be most effective in improving performance of the feedback recipient. In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may generate one or more commands directing the second enterprise user device106to display the feedback interface. In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may generate feedback interface information, rather than the feedback interface itself, that may be used to generate the feedback interface. In one or more instances, the natural language processing platform102may perform steps221and222automatically without receiving user input requesting that they be performed. In other instances, the natural language processing platform102may perform steps221and222in response to receiving a user input (e.g., from an enterprise user device, or the like) requesting that they be performed. It should be understood that any of the methods described at step222with regard to generation of the feedback interface may be applied by the natural language processing platform102in generation of the manager dashboard interface at step216. At step223, the natural language processing platform102may establish a connection with the second enterprise user device106. In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may establish a fourth wireless data connection with the second enterprise user device106. In some instances, the natural language processing platform102identify whether or not a connection is already established with the second enterprise user device106. If a connection is already established with the second enterprise user device106, the natural language processing platform102might not reestablish the fourth wireless data connection. If a connection is not already established, the natural language processing platform102may establish the fourth wireless data connection as described herein. Referring toFIG.2F, at step224, the natural language processing platform102may send the feedback interface (or feedback interface information) and one or more commands directing the second enterprise user device106to display the feedback interface. In some instances, the natural language processing platform102may send the feedback interface and one or more commands directing the second enterprise user device106to display the feedback interface via the communication interface113while the fourth wireless data connection is established. At step225, the second enterprise user device106may receive the feedback interface (or feedback interface information) and the one or more commands directing the second enterprise user device106to display the feedback interface. In one or more instances, the second enterprise user device106may receive the feedback interface and the one or more commands directing the second enterprise user device106to display the feedback interface while the fourth wireless data connection is established. At step226, the second enterprise user device106may display the feedback interface in response to the one or more commands directing the second enterprise user device106to display the feedback interface. In some instances, in displaying the feedback interface, the second enterprise user device106may display a graphical user interface similar to graphical user interface505, which is shown inFIG.5. For example, the second enterprise user device106may display feedback to improve performance of an individual viewing the graphical user interface505(e.g., specific techniques or phrases that the individual should use to increase his or her close rate). In some instances, such feedback may be identified by the interaction proficiency diagnostic model at step222. In some instances, the second enterprise user device106may display the feedback interface in real time (e.g., a call may be transcribed and analyzed in real time so feedback may be provided to an agent in real time). In some instances, the second enterprise user device106may display an interface prompting an individual to ask for a credit card number, account number, or the like. At step227, the natural language processing platform102may determine whether or not a performance improvement occurred for an individual associated with the second enterprise user device106in response to the feedback displayed at step226. For example, the natural language processing platform102may identify whether or not additional audio transcript files, received after the feedback interface was displayed, indicate that the individual modified their techniques based on the feedback. Similarly, the natural language processing platform102may identify whether or not the individual's close rate improved as a result of the modified techniques. At step228, the natural language processing platform102may update the interaction proficiency diagnostic model based on the determination at step227of whether the feedback provided at step226improved performance. If the natural language processing platform102determines that the close rate increased, the natural language processing platform102may reinforce the interaction proficiency diagnostic model to emphasize that the recommended techniques remain successful. If the natural language processing platform102determines that the close rate decreased, the natural language processing platform102may adjust the model to reflect that the recommended techniques did not improve success (and/or that they reduced success). In these instances, if the natural language processing platform102determines that a proposed technique decreases a number of close rates that exceeds a predetermined threshold, the natural language processing platform102may determine that the proposed technique should no longer be supplied as feedback to improve performance. Subsequently the event sequence may end. Accordingly, one or more aspects of the systems and methods described herein may be used to address technical difficulties associated with performance improvement and training. By incorporating natural language processing, the process of analyzing performance and providing corresponding feedback may be increasingly automated, thus conserving time traditionally spent in manual performance evaluation. Furthermore, more in depth analysis may be performed and ultimately used to diagnose performance proficiency with increased accuracy, and ultimately to provide more effective tailored training (after the fact and/or in real time) to individuals accordingly. Individuals (such as insurance agents or the like) may make many calls (sales calls, or the like). By recording, transcribing, and analyzing the transcripts associated with these calls, computing platforms may automatically tap into each individual's strengths and weaknesses, and may boost sales by leveraging this information to guide the individuals accordingly (e.g., in real time, after the fact, or both). By performing this analysis across a plurality of individuals associated with an organization (e.g., an insurance organization), the systems described herein may alleviate strain on managers who may be managing a high employee turnover rate in, for example, a remote branch office, and may be unable to adequately assess strengths and weaknesses of such employees. For example, the systems may identify strengths and weaknesses of individuals (e.g., independently or in comparison to their peers), and may automatically provide feedback and/or training accordingly to improve performance. By computing baseline metrics across an organization and within subsets of the organization (e.g., based on region or job title), the systems described herein may have further reference data for assessing individual performance. Furthermore, by automatically providing such feedback, the systems described herein may reduce an amount of time spent by managers manually reviewing performance data and providing live feedback. In addition, by assessing transcripts to identify techniques used by individuals at a granular level, the systems described herein may not only provide tailored, non-generic performance feedback, but may automatically identify value associated with the feedback and in doing so, may provide the most valuable feedback available and efficiently and effectively improve performance. Then, by dynamically maintaining and adjusting the interaction proficiency diagnostic model, the systems described herein may continually modify their understanding of best and most effective practices so as to potentially improve performance. It should be understood that the steps described in the illustrative event sequence may be performed in any order without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Furthermore, it should be understood that any of the steps described in the illustrative event sequence above may be performed automatically, without being requested by a user input. FIG.3depicts an illustrative method for automating training and performance evaluation using improved natural language processing techniques in accordance with one or more example embodiments. Referring toFIG.3, at step305, a computing platform having at least one processor, a communication interface, and memory may receive one or more audio files. The computing platform may generate an interaction proficiency diagnostic model using the one or more audio files received at step310. At step315, the computing platform may select an individual (e.g., an insurance agent). At step320, the computing platform may receive audio transcription files associated with the selected individual. In some instances, the computing platform may receive a plurality of audio transcription files associated with a plurality of individuals, and may then select a first individual from the plurality. At step325, the computing platform may select an audio transcription file associated with the selected individual and may identify events in the audio transcription file. At step330, the computing platform may apply the interaction proficiency diagnostic model to the audio transcription file to identify scores and/or metrics associated with the audio transcription file. At step335, the computing platform may determine whether an additional audio transcription file associated with the individual should be analyzed. If so, the computing platform may return to step325to select another audio transcription file. If not, the computing platform may proceed to step340. At step340, the computing platform may calculate event proficiency scores for events identified in each of the audio transcription files. At step345, the computing platform may calculate an overall proficiency score based on the event proficiency scores. At step350, the computing platform may determine whether another individual should be analyzed. If so, the computing platform may return to step315to select another individual. If not, the computing platform may proceed to step355. At step355, the computing platform may generate comparison metrics to compare performance of the various selected individuals. In some instances, the computing platform may generate the comparison metrics before calculating the overall proficiency score at step345, and may use the comparison metrics to calculate the overall proficiency score. At step360, the computing platform may update the interaction proficiency diagnostic model. At step365, the computing platform may generate and send one or more manager dashboard interfaces to enterprise user devices associated with managers of the various selected individuals. At step370, the computing platform may generate and send one or more feedback interfaces to enterprise user devices associated with the various selected individuals. At step375, the computing platform may determine one or more performance improvements or deficiencies caused by the one or more feedback interfaces. At step380, the computing platform may update the interaction proficiency diagnostic model based on the one or more performance improvements or deficiencies. It should be understood that while the systems and methods described herein in the illustrative event sequence, system diagrams, and methods, are primarily described in the context of insurance sales, the systems and methods described herein may be applied to any number of other fields and applications to assist with performance evaluation, training, or the like based on natural language processing without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the outlined systems and methods may be applied to a wide variety of use cases beyond insurance sales and may be applied by any user/individual (e.g., not merely an insurance representative or manager). Furthermore, it should be understood that while the application primarily discusses calls, the systems and methods described herein may apply to any type of communication (e.g., video, audio, text, instant message or electronic communication) between any type of user (e.g., any call center, employee, or individual). It should also be understood that the methods described herein, such as the generation of feedback interfaces may, in some instances, occur in real time as a call is happening. One or more aspects of the disclosure may be embodied in computer-usable data or computer-executable instructions, such as in one or more program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices to perform the operations described herein. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types when executed by one or more processors in a computer or other data processing device. The computer-executable instructions may be stored as computer-readable instructions on a computer-readable medium such as a hard disk, optical disk, removable storage media, solid-state memory, RAM, and the like. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments. In addition, the functionality may be embodied in whole or in part in firmware or hardware equivalents, such as integrated circuits, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and the like. Particular data structures may be used to more effectively implement one or more aspects of the disclosure, and such data structures are contemplated to be within the scope of computer executable instructions and computer-usable data described herein. Various aspects described herein may be embodied as a method, an apparatus, or as one or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions. Accordingly, those aspects may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, an entirely firmware embodiment, or an embodiment combining software, hardware, and firmware aspects in any combination. In addition, various signals representing data or events as described herein may be transferred between a source and a destination in the form of light or electromagnetic waves traveling through signal-conducting media such as metal wires, optical fibers, or wireless transmission media (e.g., air or space). In general, the one or more computer-readable media may be and/or include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media. As described herein, the various methods and acts may be operative across one or more computing servers and one or more networks. The functionality may be distributed in any manner, or may be located in a single computing device (e.g., a server, a client computer, and the like). For example, in alternative embodiments, one or more of the computing platforms discussed above may be combined into a single computing platform, and the various functions of each computing platform may be performed by the single computing platform. In such arrangements, any and/or all of the above-discussed communications between computing platforms may correspond to data being accessed, moved, modified, updated, and/or otherwise used by the single computing platform. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the computing platforms discussed above may be implemented in one or more virtual machines that are provided by one or more physical computing devices. In such arrangements, the various functions of each computing platform may be performed by the one or more virtual machines, and any and/or all of the above-discussed communications between computing platforms may correspond to data being accessed, moved, modified, updated, and/or otherwise used by the one or more virtual machines. Aspects of the disclosure have been described in terms of illustrative embodiments thereof. Numerous other embodiments, modifications, and variations within the scope and spirit of the appended claims will occur to persons of ordinary skill in the art from a review of this disclosure. For example, one or more of the steps depicted in the illustrative figures may be performed in other than the recited order, and one or more depicted steps may be optional in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. | 69,145 |
11861541 | While the present disclosure is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail below. The intention, however, is not to limit the present disclosure to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the present disclosure is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the present disclosure is practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the present disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments can be utilized and that structural changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. Similarly, the use of the term “implementation” means an implementation having a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, however, absent an express correlation to indicate otherwise, an implementation may be associated with one or more embodiments. Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the subject matter described herein may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. FIG.1illustrates an example of a computing device100, or computing system, for organizing and conducting a computer-implemented simulation to support an exercise, which may be a turn-based or scenario-based role-playing exercise in troubleshooting or problem-solving, as suitable. The device100is operatively coupled with a primary or configuration terminal102which is controlled by a designer (who is responsible for authoring and developing the scenario and incorporate it into the simulation exercise) to create or adjust the computer-implemented simulation and a secondary or player terminal104which is controlled by a player during the simulation to review the status of the simulation and make decisions on action to be implemented during the simulation as suitable. The example includes one configuration terminal102and three player terminals104A,104B, and104C for three players, as shown, but it is to be understood that there may be any suitable number of primary and player terminals as suitable. Each terminal may be an electronic device capable of displaying a graphic user interface (GUI) that is specific to that terminal, such as a desktop or laptop computer, smartphone, television, tablet computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), gaming console, etc. The device100includes a processor106and memory108. The processor106may be any suitable means of processing data provided to and from the user via the GUI, including but not limited to a central processing unit (CPU) of a computing device, a virtual CPU of a virtual machine, a multicore CPU, a system on a chip (SoC), etc. The processor may be a programmable processing or micro-processing device of a solid-state, integrated circuit type that includes one or more processing units and memory. Processors can include one or more Arithmetic Logic Units (ALUs), CPUs, memory devices, and/or different circuitry or functional components, etc., as would occur to those skilled in the art to perform the desired implementations. The processor may be located remotely from the terminals and communicatively coupled therewith via any suitable means of digital communications including but not limited to the Internet, a cloud computing network, or a personal area network such as WLAN/WPAN connectivity, either via wired or wireless communications. In some examples, the processor106may be implemented in one of the terminals. In some examples, there may be a plurality of processors106which are functionally coupled together and therefore operate together. The terminals may also be located remotely from each other to allow the players to participate in the simulation from any convenient location. The memory108may be any suitable means of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium which can be local, remote, or distributed. The memory may include, among others, random access memory (RAM), such as dynamic RAM (DRAM) and static RAM (SRAM), for example. The memory may also be a non-volatile storage such as a magnetic floppy or hard disk, a magnetic-optical disk, an optical disk, a read-only memory (ROM), such as a CD-ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM, a magnetic or optical card, or another form of storage for large amounts of data. Some of this data is often written, by a direct memory access process, into memory during execution of software on the computer system. The memory may also store software or computer program codes which, when executed by the processor, performs methods and algorithms to transmit GUIs to the terminals, receive user inputs from the terminals via the GUIs, and process the user inputs to determine the next GUIs to transmit to the terminals, as further disclosed herein. FIG.2shows an example of a configuration GUI200as displayed on a computer display of the configuration terminal102. The computing device100transmits the GUI200to be displayed so as to provide the user, which in this case is the designer of the simulation, with information necessary to create or adjust the simulation as well as its details as further disclosed herein. The GUI200may be separated into different sections or windows to allow the designer to switch from one section or window to another. Each section or window, as shown, includes any suitable numbers and types of user input means, such as clickable buttons, data input windows, dropdown menus, and/or selectable tables, for example. Using the GUI200, the user may input information regarding elements202, agents204, attributes206, first or designer-implemented events208, injects210, and/or roles212, among others. In some examples, the functional blocks shown are available to the designer, but they are not all simultaneously presented in a single GUI; that is, there may be separate GUIs for the designer to enter the different information as shown. The designer inputs configuration data via the GUI200, where the configuration data represents at least the elements, agents, interorganizational relationships, and one or more first events, in order for the computing device100to generate a framework for the simulation based on the configuration data. In some examples, the memory108may store data of the framework for the simulation as well as the configuration data therefor, as determined via the configuration GUI200, until the simulation starts. At the start of the simulation, the processor106uses the framework data and the configuration data stored in the memory108to initiate the simulation and to determine the player GUIs300to be displayed on the respective player terminals104. The term “element” as used herein describes an entity such as an institution or organization including but not limited to for-profit and non-profit organizations as well as any suitable type of business entities, governmental entities, and/or regulatory entities, for example, as further explained herein. Each element may be stationary and immobile in the sense that it is associated with a predetermined location. In some examples, an element may be referred to as a node or organizational node in a network or an origin or destination in a flow network, where the flow network may be associated with the flow of intangible products such as data and currency or tangible products such as oil, minerals, manufactured goods, or people, to name a few examples. The term “agent” as used herein describes any suitable type entity, such as a business entity or entities, which provide any suitable means to interconnect two or more of the elements, or organizational nodes, as further explained herein. An agent may also be referred to as a pathway or organizational pathway of a network, where the agent may be capable of providing unidirectional or bidirectional product flow within the network or flow network. The agent may be stationary and immobile in the sense that it is associated with a predetermined location, or mobile in the sense that it includes a plurality of movable parts to form the product flows between two elements, such as from an origin to a destination. The agent may include any suitable means to facilitate flows of intangible products such as data and currency or tangible products such as oil, minerals, manufactured goods, or people, to name a few examples. The term “interorganizational relationship” as used herein, also referred to herein as a topology of a system or network, defines how the organizations such as elements and the agents are interconnected with one another within the product flow network as well as the parameters associated with the product flow facilitated by the interconnected elements and agents. The interorganizational relationships may include the attributes of the product flows and the attributes concerning the elements and agents, as further explained herein. The interorganizational relationship may determine which agents may be associated with which elements in order to form the product flow to or from the elements. In some examples, the interorganizational relationships are flexible and dynamic such that the agent may be capable of connecting different pairs of elements at different times, or the element may be associated with different agents during the course of operation. The term “attribute” as used herein, or more specifically a flow attribute, describes the specific metrics or units related to the product flow in the flow network, as further explained herein. In some examples, the flow attributes may define the absolute value of the product flow passing through each agent/element (i.e., how much of the product flow is allocated through each of the agents/elements), as well as the inherent factors associated with the agents/elements which may also be placed into consideration by the players during the simulation when making decisions to change certain flow attributes. For example, some of the inherent factors associated with the agents/elements may include capacity, availability, efficiency, cost/price, etc. The attributes determine the parameters of each agent such that different agents provide different types and qualities of services to facilitate the product flows. An attribute may also be considered as part of the interorganizational relationship due to the product flow being dependent upon the status such as capacity, availability, etc., of organizations such as the elements and the agents forming parts of the product flow network. In some examples, the computing device100may receive such attributes including but not limited to capacity, availability, efficiency, cost/price, etc. of the elements or agents via the configuration GUI, in response to which the attributes are changed by the computing device100and stored in the memory108to be referred to during the simulation. The term “event” as used herein are any suitable events which occur during the simulation that are capable of causing damages or changes in the interorganizational relationships among the elements and the agents, as further explained herein. For example, the event may be capable of modifying product flow by affecting the attributes of certain agents, or modifying operation of certain elements. As used herein, such events may include natural disasters such as hurricanes, winter storms, forest fires, flooding, blackouts, etc., or manmade events such as cyberattacks, vandalism, terrorism, warfare, etc. The scale of the event may differ in different situations, as further explained herein. The term “inject” as used herein is defined as the messages or events that are injected into the exercise during the simulation. The injects may include notifications of the events showing the effects of the events on the interorganizational relationships. The term “role” as used herein is defined as a role in which each player or terminal is assigned to for the simulation. In some examples, each role may have certain limitations as to what actions the player in the role may take as well as what information may be provided to the player in the role, and the actions of different players in different roles may have different effects or consequences as determined. The term “breakpoint” is defined as a period of in-game time during the simulation in which the players are able to provide inputs in response to the current situation. The term “timestep” is defined as a period of in-game time between two consecutive breakpoints in which status of the simulation is updated. There may be multiple timesteps occurring between two breakpoints. FIG.3shows an example of a player GUI300as displayed on a computer display of the player terminal104. The GUI300includes a plurality of sections to serve different purposes. For example, a message section302of the GUI300may display messages to be shown to the player, including but not limited to the predetermined injects such as simulated emails or letters, as well as messages sent among the players participating in the same simulation for private or group discussions. For example, the messages may be transmitted from the computing device100and displayed on the player GUI300only in response to certain condition(s) being fulfilled, such as in response to a user input which fulfills a condition for such message to be displayed, in which case the message is an input-triggered event. Whether the message is triggered by user input or not may be determined during a timestep, for example. In some examples, a player category is assigned to the GUI300, and a message category is assigned to each of the messages, such that the messages are transmitted from the computing device100to be displayed via the GUI300only in response to determining that the player category assigned to the GUI300is the same as the message category assigned to the messages, and at least one user input may be received in response to the displayed messages. An update section304of the GUI300may display information (for example, updates on the simulated exercise, among other types of information as suitable) during a breakpoint, including but not limited to the updated status of the product flow, availability of the agents, storage capacity of the elements, etc., which may be beneficial for the players to determine their next course of action. Then, a decision section306of the GUI300may receive user inputs regarding the next course of action to take with respect to the simulated exercise. For example, the player may select from a list of available actions to take, or the player may input the action via the decision section306. The decision section306may also be used for providing the player's responses to questions that are configured to ascertain the player's understanding of the scenario, in some examples. Thereafter, the user input is transmitted to the computing device100to be processed, after which the computing device100transmits the GUI300, as updated according to the user input, during the next breakpoint. In some examples, the GUIs200and300are generated by the computing device100in a standalone software application, for example a computer program, whereas in some examples, the GUIs may be generated via a web application which generates and transmits the GUIs to be displayed on the displays of their respective terminals. The user input may or may not be requested at every breakpoint, and the player may opt out of providing user input in some of the breakpoints if thus inclined. In some examples, there is also an in-game clock and/or timer shown on the GUI300indicating the current in-game time and/or the remaining amount of time the player has in the breakpoint to make decisions. In some examples, the speed of the timer or the time limit may be adjusted according to the timeframe of the exercise. FIG.4shows an example of a simulation framework400which may be generated based on the configuration data input by the designer via the configuration GUI200. In the example, an origin402and a destination406are provided, as well as a plurality of agents404, in this case three agents404A,404B, and404C, each capable of connecting the two institutions402and406together. In this example, the first agent404A is a train company, the second agent404B is a bus company, and the third agent404C is an airline, and the purpose of these agents is to transport a certain number of people from the origin402to the destination406. In this scenario, the origin402and the destination406are the elements, for example the airports and bus/train stations. The agents404define the different means of transportation (that is, commuter rail systems, bus companies, and airlines are all business organizations). The event may be a natural disaster which modifies the default or preexisting attributes related to one or more of the origin402, the agents404, and/or the destination406in response to which the allocation of passengers is redefined to accommodate movement of a group of people from the origin402to the destination406, thus affecting the interorganizational relationship of each of the agents404with respect to the origin402and the destination406. The attributes may include numerous factors such as the availability of the trains/buses/airplanes, the price of transporting people using these means of transportation, the time it takes for the means of transportation to complete each trip, etc. FIG.5shows an example of a process500or method performed by the computing device100before and during the simulation. In step502, the device receives configuration data from the designer via the configuration GUI. The configuration data, in some examples, includes the elements or organizational nodes, the agents or the organizational pathways, the interorganizational relationships which includes attributes, the product flow allocations for the organizational pathways, and the one or more first events configured to change one or more of the interorganizational relationships. The first events may be determined by a “master event sequence list” which provides the list of events that are determined by the designer to occur during different stages of the simulation. Based on the configuration data, the device generates a framework of the simulation in step504. The device may determine the specific timing in which the first events are to occur during the simulation. The timing for such events may be predetermined by the designer, for example at specific in-game time, specific timesteps regardless of player actions, or conditional, for example in response to the players taking certain actions or making certain decisions as predetermined by the designer. In some examples, the designer may choose an in-game scenario time without concern to the timestep in which it occurs. Scenarios may also be laid out with timestep(s) selected to provide information updates at a desired rate. In step506, the framework of the simulation is stored in the memory unit until the simulation starts. For example, the memory unit stores thereon the configuration data associated with the framework, and the configuration data may be altered, changed, or updated during the simulation, depending upon the user input(s), as further explained herein. During the simulation, in at least one breakpoint thereof, the device receives one or more user inputs via the player GUI to dynamically change at least one of the allocations of product flow through the agents and/or elements in response to at least one of the first events, in step508. One or more additional events are then determined based on the user inputs in step510during the breakpoint. These additional events are also referred to as “second events” to distinguish from the first events set forth by the designer in that the second events also affect the interorganizational relationships but are not predetermined by the designer before the simulation begins. Instead, only the user inputs determine the second events (that is, the second events are player-created/participant-created or caused by the actions of the players/participants during the simulation). In some examples, the second events may affect the interorganizational relationships differently from the first events. In some examples, the second event based on the player inputs may or may not be preceded by the first event. For example, the device may determine the second events such that the second events dynamically change the configuration data stored in the memory unit that represent one or more of the interorganizational relationships differently from the first events. The device then automatically updates the interorganizational relationship(s) in response to the second events that take place during the breakpoint, in step512, causing the status of the simulation to be updated. For example, the configuration data stored in the memory unit and representing the interorganizational relationships of the framework of the simulation, may be updated and stored in the memory unit in the same allocated location within the memory unit, or alternatively stored in a different location within the memory unit. In some examples, the second events dynamically affect the interorganizational relationship(s) with certain complexity such that the relationships among multiple elements and agents are affected by each of the second events. In some examples, a single second event may simultaneously affect multiple elements and agents in various degrees, and multiple second events may simultaneously or consecutively affect the same element or agent. In some examples, the effects of the multiple second events may accumulate or alternatively nullify each other depending upon the framework, which is then updated accordingly and stored in the memory unit. In some examples, the interorganizational relationship(s) is updated automatically in response to the current values of flow attributes as determined by scenario inputs and the first and second events. The updated status of the simulation may then be displayed via the player GUI. Specifically, the one or more of the interorganizational relationships of the framework of the simulation are updated in response to applying the second events in a second period of time following the first period of time. The updated interorganizational relationships (or the updated framework in general) may be stored in the memory unit as well for future access or reference. After this step, the simulation returns to step508where, after one or more timesteps, the device receives further user input(s) via the player GUI to dynamically change the product flow allocations in response to another one or more first events during a subsequent breakpoint. The cycle may continue until the end of the simulation. The simulation may end when the in-game time reaches a predetermined time, for example. In some examples, the device may perform step512instantaneously or near-instantaneously (for example, in less than 1 minute, less than 30 seconds, less than 10 seconds, or less than 1 second, or any other range of time therebetween, as suitable) so as to avoid participants or players from waiting a long period of time before the next breakpoint. In some examples, the user inputs may be provided in response to additional or alternative events such as the second events created or caused by the player(s). For example, when there are multiple players participating in the simulation, the user input from a first player during a breakpoint may cause a second event in response to which a second player is to provide a second user input during the same breakpoint or in a subsequent breakpoint. As such, the user input from the first player may start a chain event of events affecting the product flow, and the other players may additionally provide user inputs to further change the product flow. This flexible and dynamic approach is advantageous in emulating the real-world situations of cause-and-effect in a larger scale, where the action of one party may cause long-lasting effects. In some examples, the availability of at least one of the elements and agents may be changed or reduced based at least on both the first and second events. For example, a simulated natural disaster or cyberattack (first event) may render some of the elements and agents unusable, so other options must be considered. In some examples, the simulation framework is generated by flexibly adjusting preexisting interorganizational relationships of a preexisting simulation framework to different interorganizational relationships based on the configuration data, or by adjusting preexisting organizational nodes and pathways to different preexisting organizational nodes and pathways based on the configuration data, for example by adding, removing, editing, or relocating any of the elements or agents, or changing the attributes via the configuration GUI. FIGS.6through11illustrate numerous nonlimiting examples of the topology of a flow network or a system of flow networks, as disclosed herein, provided for illustrative purposes only. The topology may be determined or developed by the designer using the configuration GUI200, or may be predefined and flexibly adjustable by the designer via the GUI200, such that the topology emulates the network of connections between the business entities or organizations in the sector. FIG.6shows an example of a simulation framework600where storage capacity is assigned to each of the elements and agents. The elements in this example are referred to as a generation element602and a destination element610, and the agent connecting the two elements602and610is referred to as a transport agent606. Note that this is a simplified example and any suitable number of elements and agents may be involved. The framework600illustrates a primary product flow where the transport agent(s)606must account for the entire product flow from the generation element602to the destination element610, and the agent606also has rules and times for passing the product flow. Storages604,608, and612are associated with the elements and agent, as shown, to account for the mismatch of product flow at each stage of product flow (that is, from the generation element602to the agent606and from the agent606to the destination element610, or example). The flow attribute parameter, or the product flow allocation parameter, determines the amount of product flow assigned to each agent or element, for example. During simulation, in some examples, no element or agent may be permitted to receive more products than is permitted by the capacity of the storage associated therewith, or if an element or agent exceeds allowed storage, the excess is tracked. Depending on the type of product flow and the scenario requirements, this may be represented as a loan given or received, as a transfer of ownership, or even simply ignored, as suitable. In some examples, the generation element602includes the organizations responsible for the production as well as the facilities used by these organizations to create and control the product flow. When there are multiple agents606, each of these agents may have a differing time schedule for transporting the product and also may have different rules for the allowed amount or quality of the product, and the agents (either alone or in total) account for 100% of the product flow. The destination element610include receiving organizations or facilities that accept delivery of the product flow. In some examples, only the destination element610that is required for the scenario may be explicitly defined; the remaining flow may be assigned to be received by one or more additional entities such as additional destination elements. In some examples, they may be a default element that provides or receives some or all of the product flow that is not accounted for by the input-defined elements. FIG.7shows an example of a simulation framework700which incorporates counterflow agent(s)702which flows in the direction opposite from the direction of product flow in the transport agent606. In some examples, the counterflow agent702may represent the financial sector of the product flow, where banks and brokers facilitate the financial transaction from the destination element610(or a product-receiving organization, which may be referred to as a customer) to the generation element602(or a product-providing organization, which may be referred to as a seller). There may be a plurality of counterflow agents702such that portions of the total flow of financial transaction are handled by different agents, instead of relying entirely on a single agent. The computing device may be capable of changing the product flow allocations or the capacities of the agents as determined based on the counterflow agents702, or more specifically the status of payment or other financial transaction. FIG.8shows an example of a simulation framework800which incorporates a chain of flow networks. That is, the element610is identified both as the destination element for a first product flow network (which includes the generation element602, transport agent606, and destination element610) and the generation element for a second product flow network (which includes the generation element610, transport agent802, and destination element806). The transport agent802and the destination element806also includes suitable storages804and808, respectively, to accommodate for the product flow assigned to the agent and element. There may also be additional elements and agents following the destination element806, as suitable, where each flow network may have the same structure or a different structure. In one example, this framework may be suitable in simulating the extraction and delivery of raw materials (first flow network), which may then be stored and transported in bulk at wholesale level (second flow network subsequently following the first flow network), after which the materials are provided to end users via retail delivery (third flow network subsequently following the second flow network). In some examples, this three-level structure (that is, first through third flow networks) is common to many sectors, although the structure may be masked by vertical integration where a single corporate entity may control two or all three stages. In some sectors, there may be several three-stage chains, due to branching to accommodate multiple product transformations. Each of the three stages may each replicate the entities and the flows in the basic flow network structure, but may differ in some aspects. For example, the differences may be in the number of generation and destination elements, the timing of flow amounts during the day, and the organizations and formats that are active in the contracts, payment, and liquidity groups as previously mentioned, which may be associated with the different flow networks within the three-level structure. FIG.9shows an example of a simulation framework900which incorporates a plurality of transport agents606(with storage608) and902(with storage904) capable of transferring product between them. In one example, this framework may be used in simulating payment flows between banks, where the generation element602is a first bank sending the payment from a first account (storage604) and the destination element610is a second bank receiving the payment for a second account (storage612). The transport agents606and902may be different organizations or systems capable of sending payment from the first account to the second account. For example, the agent606may be the Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS) which is a private clearing house in the United States for large-value transactions, and the agent902may be the Federal Reserve of the United States, where the storage608represents the collateral at the CHIPS and the storage904represents the account balance at the Federal Reserve. The initial (or default) attributes of the agents may be predetermined accordingly, with the Federal Reserve and the CHIPS each having different attributes, such as the scale of the capacity which can be handled by the agent, the ability of making immediate payments or if there are delays involved in settling the transactions, as well as the technology involved in facilitating the transactions, among others. Furthermore, in the example as shown, each of the bank-to-bank payment systems represented by the agents606and902includes a plurality of U.S. member banks (i.e., elements), each of which performs a fraction of the total payment transactions. As such, an agent is also understood to be able to include a plurality of elements in some examples, and each element within the agent may be capable of facilitating the product flow as assigned. In the example as shown, the flow percentage assigned to each member bank of the Federal Reserve may be determined by the percentage of market cap for each bank as divided by the total U.S. bank market cap, and the flow percentage assigned to each member bank of the CHIPS may be greater than the flow values for those in the Federal Reserve, for example about 50% greater. Some of the member banks may also be able to selectably perform payment transactions via the first payment method via CHIPS or the second payment method via the Federal Reserve, while other member banks can only perform payment transactions via one method (e.g., only via the Federal Reserve because such banks are not members of the CHIPS, in which case the flow percentage via the CHIPS for such banks is 0%). FIG.10shows an example of a simulation framework1000which incorporates extraction element1002providing product to a plurality of different generation elements602and1006to be transported and distributed. For example, the framework1000may apply to an oil-gas chain of flows, where the extraction element1002represents oil and gas wells and the storage1004represents the terminals temporarily storing the extracted oil and gas. A transport agent1005facilitates transporting the product (oil and gas) from the respective wells or storage to the suitable generation element602or1006for the product. The generation elements602and1006represent the natural gas pipelines from the processors to underground storage as well as crude oil pipelines from the basin to refineries, both of which are independently operated to transfer the respective product (oil or gas) to the destination. Although not explicitly shown, it is to be understood that each of the agents and elements may include any suitable storage means, as discussed herein. The transport agents606and1008represent the natural gas pipelines from the underground storage to the local distribution terminals (for gas) as well as pipelines, trucks, and rails from the refineries to local distributers (for oil). In some examples, there may be a plurality of pipeline operators but only a single pipeline, in which case there is only a single agent responsible for the product flow, thereby having no allocation of product flow among multiple agents. The destination element610represents the natural gas distribution pipelines (for gas) whereas there may be multiple different destination elements1010and1012for oil, such as the different local distributors which have their own means of distribution that are separate and independent from each other, such as distributors for jet fuel, gasoline, and distillate fuels such as heating oil and diesel, for example, and the distribution may be geographically dependent. The attributes may be the amount of flow by volume, price per unit volume, and the computed monetary value of the product. FIG.11shows an example of a simulation network1100which is a variation of the oil and gas well extraction flow network. The multiple generation or extraction elements602(for crude oil) and1002(for natural gas) are all connected to the transport agent606which represents the crude oil and natural gas gathering pipelines. In some examples, the network includes a saltwater disposal system coupled with the generation/extraction element1002where the crude oil and salt water are separated in a settling tank, and the water is transported to a salt water disposal. The crude oil and natural gas are then distributed separately to the destination element610(which represents the distribution terminals for the crude oil) and to a destination element1102(which represents the processors for the natural gas). In some examples, the destination element610further includes off-airport terminals, heating oil distributors, diesel fuel terminals, and gasoline terminals, among others. In some examples, the transport agent606may also include trains and trucks in addition to the pipelines. The flow of the product (oil and gas) throughout the network may be monitored using Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. SCADA is a computer-based system for gathering and analyzing real-time data to monitor and control equipment that deals with critical and time-sensitive materials or events, and in the examples as shown, the SCADA sensors and controllers are dispersed throughout the system, such as coupled to each of the elements and agents, in order to monitor and control equipment pertaining to the product flow. There may be a plurality of such devices coupled to one element or agent for increased accuracy or as backup in case one of the devices fails to operate. In events such as cyberattacks, the SCADA sensors and controllers may be the likely target of attack, such that if one or more of the elements or agents are rendered incapable of facilitating product flow, the players must decide which of the other elements or agents must be used to facilitate the product flow instead. In this regard, the sensors and controllers of SCADA may be implemented in the system similar toFIG.7, where the generation element602represents a system sector of the network which may include a processor(s) and memory which stores the status of the system, the transport agent606represents the SCADA monitoring devices such as sensors. Although technically not a product flow but a data flow, in such examples, the destination element610represents an operations control sector which may include a processor(s) and memory which receives the sensor information and determines a control output. The counterflow agent702(thereby forming a feedback loop) represents a SCADA controlling device(s) such as controllers which receive the control output and control the status of the system accordingly. It is to be understood that there may be multiple SCADA devices, and one or more of the devices may be capable of both sensing and controlling the status of the product flow. FIG.12shows an example of an organizational structure1200of any one of the elements or agents, as suitable. As previously explained, the configuration GUI200allows the designer of the simulation to associate certain players with one of the predetermined roles212within an organization, in order to emulate the communications that different members or employees of the organization facilitate in order to make a decision as a group in response to an event. Communication may be facilitated between players of different roles or categories, or between players of the same role or category. There may be any suitable number of groups1202, such as those labeled from A through I, where players in each role may be limited as to with which of the other roles they can communicate, as well as whether or not the communication may be unidirectional or bidirectional. For example, role A may be a management role where the players are the executives of the organization, and they may only facilitate unidirectional communication with role B, which may be the public relations role, to give instructions. However, role A may facilitate bidirectional communication with role C, which is an investor relations role with an incident response team who provides status information of the incident and incident response to the role A. In this regard, role D may be an operations role with control room operators, role E may be a systems role responsible for monitoring and controlling the system, role F may be an accounting role responsible for the billing and payments, role G may be a contracts role with contracting officers, and role G may be a legal role with a team of lawyers. Role I may be the information technology role responsible for computers and networks communications, whose players are capable of communicating with any of the preceding roles. In some examples, under the instructions from the management (group A), role I may be able to take the systems offline to perform system analysis, for example. As this example is for illustrative purposes only, there may be more or less roles than, or different roles with different roles and responsibilities from, those as shown. The number and types of roles may be determined as suitable for the simulation by the designer via the configuration GUI200. Described below are an exemplary relationship between the different sectors of a business entity or organization. The “management” role A receives reports from all functional roles and monitors performance against expectations. The amounts of incoming and delivered flow are scheduled by role A to conform to contract obligations or market opportunities. Role A also schedules the operation of individual flow systems for load balancing, planned maintenance, or in response to equipment failures. The “systems” role E receives product flow from an external source and provide product flow to an external receiver. Role E connects a destination element in a first flow network to a generation element in a second flow network to include some processes that transform the product. Role E may have product storage facilities to accommodate a mismatch between the flow received and the flow delivered. If the flow system includes a transformation, a separate storage may be included for the product both before and after the transformation. The “operations” role D is the central hub which controls one or more systems roles E and provides information and coordinates efforts for other functional roles in the organization. Role D receives inputs that represent the status of role E at each stage, controls the rate of transformation, and directs incoming flow to storage or transformation and from transformation to storage or external delivery in accordance with schedules of flow provided by role A. Role D reports the incoming and delivered product flows to the “accounting” role F to update accounts payable and accounts receivable. Both roles D and F have external links to suppliers and customers; role D has the external links for coordination of product flows, and role F has the external links for billing and payment flows. Suppliers and customers also have a link to the “contracts” role G and the “legal” role H, both directly for negotiations or executing contracts. The “public relations” role B functions under role A that monitors news and social media for references to the business entity, and transmits messages prepared or approved by role A to the necessary channels for informing shareholders, employees, vendors, customers, and the general public. The flow of information about the business entity is a separate additional flow in the model, for example. The “information technology” role I of the business entity maintains and operates all computers and networks used in each of the functions shown above. Role I is responsible for maintaining network and computer firewalls and intrusion monitoring, and for taking action to isolate and neutralize malware that is detected. As directed by role A, role I may take the systems offline, and when role E is remote from role D, role I is responsible for the SCADA systems that provide monitoring and control of remote product flows. The control and monitoring signals are another non-product flow that may be included in the simulation model. Communications, both internal and external, is a flow that includes web interfaces, email, text messaging, and audio and video telephony. The “incident response” role C is activated, for example, when a cyber-attack, or its effect, is recognized. Role C may have a team leader who is authorized to fill all or part of the role of role A in responding to a casualty and provides a link to role A. The team leader is supported by team members from each functional area, either in a dedicated role or at least by immediate communications links. FIG.13shows a general flow1300of performing the simulation using the computing device100and the terminal(s)104after the framework of the simulation (with the elements and agents interconnected in a flow network) as well as the parameters are determined and/or adjusted by the designer via the configuration GUI200. In step1302, the computing device100initializes the simulation by setting the initial variables based on the configuration data provided by the designer. The initial variables may include any of the parameters of the elements, the agents, and the attributes. In step1304, the computing device transmits the inject message(s) at the beginning of a timestep or a breakpoint, as suitable, to be displayed on each player's GUI. The computing device determines whether the inject message(s) and/or the first event(s) causes change in the initial variables, in step1306. If the initial variables are changed, in step1308, the variables are updated accordingly based on the inject message(s) and/or the first event(s), after which the updated variables (e.g., the flow attributes over time that result from the current attribute values as determined by the scenario input and as modified by first and second events) are transmitted to be displayed on each player's GUI in step1310. If there are no changes in the initial variables, the process skips over step1308and proceeds to transmit the variables, unchanged, to be displayed on the GUI according to step1310. The player or players then provide the player input(s) via the player GUI in response to the displayed information, where the input(s) or response(s) is received by the computing device in step1312. Thereafter, based on the player input(s) or response(s), the computing device determines the next inject message(s), second event, and/or variables in step1314. This step may also include the computing device calculating or determining the specific parameters associated with the second event based on the player input(s) or response(s), where the second event is a player-caused event, and the parameters may include the changes in the interorganizational relationships of the product flow network. In step1316, the computing device determines whether the simulation has reached the end of simulation, which may be determined manually by a person such as a moderator for the simulation (for example a controller determines that the exercise objectives have been achieved or that players' choices/decisions have altered the conditions so greatly that no useful training can be accomplished by continuing), or automatically by determining if the in-game time of the simulation has reached a preset time as initially set by the designer. In some examples, whether the simulation is to end depends on whether the players have achieved a predetermined goal or set of goals, such as achieving certain parameters including but not limited to meeting or exceeding a threshold of the amount of product reaching the destination element(s), among other factors determining the successful completion of the simulation. In some examples, the end of simulation may be determined by the players' failing to meet certain thresholds, thereby concluding the simulation for failure of the players to minimum product flow, for example. If the computing device determines that the end of simulation has not been reached, in step1318, the simulation proceeds or continues to the next timestep or breakpoint, as suitable, thereby repeating step1314with different inject message(s) from the previous timestep/breakpoint, and/or with the updated variables caused by the previous player input(s) or response(s), for example. Otherwise, if the computing device determines that the end of simulation has been reached, in step1320, the computing device generates a result of the simulation based on the final variables as set or updated in the final timestep/breakpoint of the simulation. The result may be summarized and output via the player GUI such that the players may analyze how well they performed in the simulation. In some examples, the timesteps are internal to the simulation and is generally a rather short time (for example, 1 minute, 15 minutes, 1 hour, or any other suitable time therebetween) that provides sufficient granularity for representing normal time-dependent changes in the product flow through the system. During a breakpoint in the exercise, the simulation is paused while players assess conditions and make responses. The system clock may also be paused or slowed down (that is, delaying the beginning of a subsequent timestep) to allow the players more time to decide the next actions to take. As disclosed herein, the configuration GUI allows for much greater flexibility in the number of exercises, the number of participant organizations (agents and elements), and the number of roles that can be implemented in the simulation. The simulation software also supports extensive reuse of inputs between exercises and promotes efficiency at each stage of the exercise life cycle; that is, a previously designed framework may be adjusted or revised via the configuration GUI to accommodate the new exercise. Furthermore, in some examples, the configuration GUI also provides improvements by expanding the scope of potential scenarios by enabling a chain of product flow networks, and in some cases also a data flow network, across one or more sectors, instead of being limited to a single product flow network as known in the art. In some examples, the configuration GUI may display the simulation framework in real-time in the form of graphical representation of the framework on the display of the terminal. The configuration GUI may also facilitate drag-and-drop feature to allow the designer to move or relocate the individual components shown on the display, for example the elements and/or agents, with respect to each other in order to alter the interorganizational relationships or topology of the framework. In some examples, the attributes of the individual components may be superimposed on the displayed components when the designer selects the component or a mouse cursor hovers over it temporarily. In some examples, the configuration GUI may automatically adjust the positions of the individual components in response to detecting the designer moving the icon(s) of the component(s) on display, or in response to determining the hierarchical relationship of the individual components with respect to each other. The sizes of the icons displayed may also be automatically adjusted based on the number of the icons being displayed. It is to be understood that persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that methods and apparatus for simulating flow of product in a sector and all related supporting flows. Specifically, the simulation software system disclosed herein may use a secure distributed model wherein each business entity or organization in the sector receives and generates a specified portion of the total flows in the sector and is able to control its systems to modify each of the individual flows in response to normal and casualty conditions, and the actions of other business entities or organizations. The foregoing description has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the example embodiments disclosed. Other modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. It is intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description of examples, but rather by the claims appended hereto. The present subject matter may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other implementations consistent with the disclosed embodiments are possible. The above detailed description and the examples described therein have been presented for the purposes of illustration and description only and not for limitation. For example, the operations described can be done in any suitable manner. The methods can be performed in any suitable order while still providing the described operation and results. It is therefore contemplated that the present embodiments cover any and all modifications, variations, or equivalents that fall within the scope of the basic underlying principles disclosed above and claimed herein. Furthermore, while the above description describes hardware in the form of a processor executing code, hardware in the form of a state machine, or dedicated logic capable of producing the same effect, other structures are also contemplated. | 54,514 |
11861542 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS While this technology is illustrated and described in a preferred embodiment, a system for detecting information of assets stored in communication tags and communicating the assets information over a communication network may be produced and described in many different configurations, forms and various methods, without deviating from the scope of the present invention. There is depicted in the drawings, and will herein be described in detail, as a preferred embodiment of the invention, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and the associated functional specifications for its construction and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. Those skilled in the art will envision many other possible variations within the scope of the technology described herein. FIG.1illustrates a block diagram of a system100for detecting information of assets102stored in communication tags104and communicating the assets information over a communication network. The system100includes a bi-directional communication reader106and a server108. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the communication tag104and the bi-directional communication reader106are RFID based. However, it would be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various types of the communication tag104and the bi-directional communication reader106may be envisioned without deviating from the scope of the present invention. The antenna119receives and communicates with the communication tags104. The bi-directional communication reader106has at least one antenna. The bi-directional communication reader106processes the received assets information from the communication tags104. The server108communicates with the bi-directional communication reader106. The function of antenna119is explained in detail in conjunction withFIG.4of the present invention. The bi-directional communication reader106communicates with the assets102according to the ISO 18000-6C Gen 2 or future protocol. The assets operate according to the ISO 18000-6C Gen 2 protocol and have five operational modes. The operational modes are explained in detail in conjunction withFIG.3of the present invention. The bi-directional communication reader106supports up to two monostatic antennas, which cover a RFID tag read distance that is over 30 feet and further distances. The bi-directional communication reader106has five different operational modes. Further, the reader106features brown out recovery and flash redundancy support with live upgrade capability and requires no user programming. The server108stores and processes a software application110. The software application110includes a front end application module112, an event module113, a back end application module114, and a communication module116. The front end application module112receives at least one operational mode from a user. The server may be located either locally or in the cloud. The operational mode relates to the setting of the operation of bi-directional communication reader106. The operational modes are explained in detail in conjunction withFIG.3of the present invention. The event module113reads the asset information from the database118and alerts the user if a certain event occurs. The event module is configured by the front end application module to set a specific rule that triggers an event. The scalability to support an unlimited number of antennas is achieve by repeating the modules113,114and116to communicate with each106. The event module113is explained in detail in conjunction withFIG.10of the present invention. Examples of an event include alerting the user when an asset is present or missing or if an asset is about to expire. Additional examples of events include, but are not limited to, finding assets in a warehouse, tracking wandering patients in a hospital, tracking people in event management, inventory management etc. The examples are explained in detail from paragraph70of the present invention. The back end application module114is configured via the front end application module112. Further, the back end application module114configures the bi-directional communication reader106as per the selected operational mode to process the required information from the communication tags104. The communication module116receives processed asset information from the communication tags104via the bi-directional communication reader106from a specific antenna. Further, the communication module116communicates the processed asset information over the communication network. Examples of the communication network include, but are not limited to, TCP/IP over internet, LAN, Bluetooth, WiFi and other similar communication modes. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the communication tags are created and customizable. The communication tags may be customized with customer specific information and company specific information to make them accessible for the specific customer in their bi-directional communication reader. FIG.2illustrates a screenshot showing the front end application module112for setting up an event module113using the alert setup202. The event module113is configured in the front end application module112to setup the alert. Further, the event module113using the alert setup202is configured by the front end application module to send alert messages of missing assets as per the selected alert setting over the communication network based on asset information read from the database118. The asset information in the database118is stored by the back end application module114. As shown inFIG.2, the user may enter details via the front end application related to either an email or text204to allow the event module to send text or email alerts. The details contain the email ID206or the phone number208. Generally, the event module113using the alert setup202reads the assets that are located in the database118and compares the time of the last read with the current time. If the asset is missing for a period of time, then a text or email message is sent to the user(s) from the event module depending on the text and/or email message setup. Another alert is sent again based on the recurring time that is set by the front end application and configuration by the user. The user may set up different types of alerts based on user specified entries. Alerts may be text or email or other communications forms. The monitoring mode (shown inFIG.3) is set by the front end application using the mode setting in302to allow the back end application to communicate with the bi-directional communication reader. FIG.3illustrates a screenshot showing the front end application module112for selecting an operational mode302in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The front end application module112receives at least one operational mode302from a user. Examples of the mode302include but are not limited to monitoring mode, discovery mode, detection mode, check-in mode and real-time mode. The monitoring mode allows the user to set up priorities for monitoring discovery of assets through the front end application module. Examples of the priorities for discovery of assets are low priority, medium priority and high priority. The low priority instructs the back end application module to attempt to detect the asset last. The medium priority instructs the back end application to read the asset as a middle priority. The high priority instructs the back end application to read the asset first or beginning of the cycle. Further, the monitoring mode, configured in the back end application module, reads the communication tags one at a time based on the assets priority. Furthermore, the monitoring mode compares and confirms the presence of assets in the server. The assets are located in the vicinity of the antenna. The discovery mode is configured in the back end application module to read the assets information received from the bi-directional communication reader. Further, the discovery mode configured in the front end application module allows the user to read all assets simultaneously and only update the assets with current assets that are located in the database or server. The discovery mode allows the reader to detect the current tags. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the asset is located in the database, a flag of present is added next to the asset. Further, the return signal strength is updated, the antenna number is updated and the latest time/date of discovery of the asset monitored is updated. The back-end application repeats the process an infinite number of times until the front-end application112tells the back-end application to stop detecting. The start and stop setting is explained in detail in conjunction withFIG.5of the present invention. The detection mode, configured in the front end application module, informs the back end application module to read and store new assets in the database if the assets do not currently reside in the database. Generally, in the detection mode, if the assets are located in the database, a flag of present is added next to the asset and the time/date of detection is added into the database. The advantage of the detection mode is it allows the user to add new assets to a current database and not override assets that are already in the database. If the assets are not located in the database and are discovered, then a new asset is added to the database with the time/date of detection. The back-end application module repeats the process an infinite number of times until the front application module is configured by the user to stop detection mode. The check-in mode provides status of the assets in the database over the communication network. The check-in mode includes at least one of check-in status to mark the entry of the asset and the check-out status to mark the exit of the asset from the database. The real time mode is configured in the front end application module and allows the user to detect the presence of the assets in the database at a fast rate. Further, the real time mode configured in the back end application module sets the number of antennas and further detects if any asset is missing based on the time when the asset is last detected. FIG.4illustrates a screenshot showing of the front end application module112of reader settings of antenna. The front end application112allows the user to provide a range of power and communicates with the assets at different frequencies and ranges. Further, any mode or the real-time mode sets the antenna to locate assets depending on the number of antennas. In a preferred embodiment, the antennas may either be bistatic or monostatic. A monostatic antenna is able to transmit and receive RF signals to and from the items. As shown inFIG.4in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the user is allowed to set up the antenna of the reader. The user is able to add information associated with setting up the antenna such as: Select NA for North America or EU for the European regionRX Antenna: 2Select 2 if Antenna is connected to Antenna 2Select 1 if Antenna is connected to Antenna 1TX Antenna: 2Select 2 if Antenna is connected to Antenna 2Select 1 if Antenna is connected to Antenna 1Ant Group Enable: no then click ApplySelect yes if both Antenna are enabled With the communication mode, the bi-directional communication reader communicates at different frequencies and reads the item numbers from a specific antenna and sends the data back to the configuration server in the back-end application module via the communication module116using the proprietary RFR protocol. The RFR protocol is used by the communication module116to allow the backend software to control the reader and set the specific control settings to enable the backend protocol to read the tags from the reader based on important settings such as protocol configuration setting, the region, the timeout settings, check whether the reader is alive, the version of the reader as well as the number of tags that are read. Based on the communication mode, the back-end configures the reader using the communication module116that uses the handshake mode proprietary RFR protocol. The reader operates in real time as opposed to archived in a configuration file. FIG.5illustrates a screenshot showing the front end application module112of start/stop setting502. The front end application allows the user to select either start or stop setting, to control the operation of the bi-directional communication reader. The start or stop setting results in stopping or starting of the bi-directional communication reader. FIG.6illustrates a screenshot showing the front end application module112for setting up of a database118set up602. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the software application further includes a database setup602to allow user to set up the database118for secure access. The database118setup may be setup from the front end application module by providing a secure database username, password, and network information. The database, for example, may be setup by applying the following steps: Keyword: dbsetupLocal: yesIf you are using an external Database, Select no.Database: Select reader_control (database name) then Click ApplyTable: Select readerWareHouse then Click ApplyA connection established connected to readerWarehouse is displayed.Congratulations, you are now connected to the databasereader_control and table readerWarehouse! or similar language. FIG.7illustrates a screenshot showing the front end application module112of a table702. The front end application further includes a table setting702for allowing the user to create a table based on user entries in the database118. For exemplary purposes as shown inFIG.7of the present invention, the following are the table entries for an inventory/Warehouse: Table Name: readerWareHouseColumn1: priceColumn2: expirationDateColumn 3: vendorColumn4: contatinfoColumn5: contactNameSubmit: Save Entries FIG.8illustrates a screenshot showing the front end application module112of table reader entries802from the database118. The front end application further includes a table reader entries802for allowing the user to access the entries indicating the status of communication tags in the vicinity of the antenna119. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the following instructions indicate the presence of assets in the table reader802. Keyword: accessTable EntriesTable reader_warehouse: Indicates the current tableTagnumb: Tag numberTagname: Tag nameStatus: Norm-Indicates that the status of the tag is idleAlert: NULL-Indicates that the alert is not setup yetThis is expected, since we have not setup the alerts yet.Time: Indicates the time of last detection.The values are irrelevant, since the reader is not running yet FIG.9illustrates a screenshot showing the front end application module112of filter search setting902. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the filter search setting902allows the user to setup a filter for display purposes of the database entries. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the following instructions indicate the operation of the filter search setting902. Keyword: dbfilterThe table filter menu allows you to filter entries within the databasebased on your entry.Entry: Select an entry based on the definition below:tagnumb: Enter the tag number with as it appears in the databasetagname: Enter the tag name as it appears in the databasedetectstat: PRES or MISSexecpriority: NORM, MED, or HIGHexecstat: NORM, OKcmd: READrssi: 0-0xffantid: not currently supportedalert: start or stopalertsign: equal, greater, smalleralertvalue: PRES, MISSalerttype: detectstattimeinterval: depending on the value set (5 . . .)eventstart: start time yyyy-mm-day hh:mm:secaccess: start time yyyy-mm-day hh:mm:secValue: Enter a value based on the entries above.Filter Enable: Select true to enable filterExample:Entry: tagnameValue: sportsandhealthFilter Enable: true FIG.10illustrates a screenshot showing the front end application module112to show the status of the event module113in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The event module113allows the user to obtain the status of the event. For exemplary purposes, the instructions for checking on the status of the event module113are as follows: Keyword: a reviewEvent Monitor St: yesThe Event Monitor needs to be enabled to receive alerts.Enable Alerts: yesThe Alerts need to be enabled to receive alerts.Congratulations! You can now receive alerts when a tag is missing. EXAMPLES Non-limiting, exemplary embodiments of the present invention are as follows: Example 1: Warehouse—Finding Metal Parts The present invention may be installed in an industrial workroom to allow users to find the location of metal parts, parts containers, and work orders, which accompany each part located in the workroom. Metal parts to track vary in size from a few inches to a few feet with smaller parts assigned in plastic bins. A work order accompanies each part or container. In the warehouse, there may be 30 work zones to cover with each zone roughly 12 feet×12 feet in dimension. The configuration of desks or workspaces within each zone is not set as the furniture or workbenches may be set up differently depending on the project being worked on at the time. Each asset may be tagged by an RFID UHF 18000-6C Gen2 tag specifically designed for the specific end-user. As configured and described herein, the present invention provides the user with location information of any asset within a zone in real time. The present invention may store the data information in the cloud using cloud services or on premise using a database server. The present invention provides alerts to the customer via text or e-mail based on the customer's settings. The antennas may be located on the ceiling or on a desk. The readers may be powered using POE 24V switches or a power supply. Example 2: Wandering Patient in a Hospital, Rehab Facility or Assisted Care Center In this example, the goal is to develop a solution that informs the staff when patients access the hallways at any time during the day or night or leave a facility. Each patient may be fitted with an ISO-18000-6C Gen 2 tag around their neck or other comparable location. As configured and described herein, the present invention detects patients who access the hallway. The hallways may contain one or more antennas. The readers may be connected via a 24V output POE switch. The gateway may be installed in a control room or ceiling with a UPS emergency power supply. As the patient moves throughout the facility, the reader is configured to send the patient location in real time to the gateway. The information stored may contain the location of each patient. The data stored may also contain the date and time of last detection for each patient in a designated area. FIG.11illustrates another block diagram showing a system100for detecting information of assets stored in communication tags and communicating the assets information over a communication network in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention. The system100further includes the options of a global positioning system GPS unit1102, and/or a camera1104, and/or a communication/wireless unit1106, and/or a relay switch1109, and/or an Image Recognition Engine1119. The system100may be configured to include any combination of the options of a global positioning system GPS unit1102, a camera1104, a communication/wireless unit1106, a relay switch1109, or an Image Recognition Engine1119. The bi-directional communication reader106and the server108can be in separate enclosures or in one enclosure. It is not obvious to one skilled in the art and in the industry for the bi-directional communication reader106and the server108to be contained in the same enclosure or same box. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the software application110further includes the option of selecting one or more of a GPS communication module1112, and/or a relay communication module1110, and/or a camera communication module1111, and/or a motion detector communication module1108, and/or a jitter control module1113, and/or an IR communication module1115. The GPS unit1102is operably connected to identify location of the server108and the bi-directional communication reader106. Further, the GPS unit1102communicates the location of the server108and the bi-directional communication reader106to the GPS communication module1112. In some embodiments, the GPS unit1102is operably connected to identify either the location of the server108or the server and the bi-directional communication reader106if located in one enclosure. The GPS communication module1112processes the information retrieved from the GPS unit1102. In an embodiment of the present invention, the GPS communication module1112monitors the status of the GPS unit1102. The GPS communication module1112confirms the location of the reader106and the server108. If the location of the server108and the reader106is in one enclosure, then the GPS locates both the reader106and server108. The GPS unit1102communicates with the GPS communication module1112to determine the location of the server108and the reader106and stores the location, date and time in the database118. The location, date and time of the system is particularly useful when the system is installed on moving vehicles such as a forklift. In this particular instance, the event module113communicates with the GPS communication module1112to retrieve the particular GPS coordinates associated with the event based on location, date and time. The location information is associated with a particular event and stored in the database118. Based on the location, date and time from the GPS communication module1112, the event module113is able to associate an event with the location, date and time of the event. The front end application112configures the GPS unit1102via the GPS communication module1112by starting, stopping or resetting the GPS unit1102. The GPS communication module1112stores the coordinates in a table based on date and time on a continuous basis. When the event module113triggers an event based on date and time, the GPS communication module1112retrieves the location information from the GPS table based on date and time, and stores the information in the table. Examples of GPS unit1102include but are not limited to the United States (“U.S.”) Navy Navigation Satellite System (“NNSS”) (also known as TRANSIT), LORAN, Shoran, Decca, TACAN, the Joint Program Office (“JPO”) Global Positioning System known as NAVSTAR etc. In an embodiment of the present invention, the camera1104is operably connected to the server108. The motion detector module1108sends visual data to the server108and stores the images on the server108. Further, the motion detector module1108triggers the camera communication module1111to start capturing the images for a specific period of time. When the time expires, the camera communication module1111combines these images into a movie file, and stores the movie file by date and time into a table in a database. When the event module113triggers an event at a particular date and time, the camera communication module1111retrieves the image file based on date and time and associates the video file with the event. The user can have a visual representation of the event. Examples of the visual data include but are not limited to images, video, and other similar digital data. It would be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various types of camera1104may be envisioned without deviating from the scope of the present invention. The front end application112configures the camera1104via the camera communication module1111to set the image retention time, number of frames to be taken per second, number of images to store on the server108and checks on the status of the camera1104. In some embodiments there may be a communication/wireless unit1106operably connected to the server108. The wireless unit1106performs bi-directional communication with the server108. Examples of the wireless unit1106include but not limited to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, GSM, CDMA or similar communication networks etc. In some embodiments, the system100may include a battery1114and battery adapter120. The battery adapter120is operably connected to the battery1114and the server108. The battery1114powers the server108and if the reader106and server108are in one enclosure, then the battery1114powers both the reader106and server108. Examples of battery1114include but not limited to lead batteries, lithium batteries, primary batteries, second batteries etc. The battery adapter120automatically switches between DC power and battery power. The battery adapter120automatically switches off the system when the temperature is too high and turns on the heater if the battery is too low. The battery adapter120informs the server when running in battery mode. In battery mode the server shuts itself after a specific amount of time to conserve power. In an embodiment of the present invention, the relay switch1109may be operably connected to the server108. The relay communication module1110receives events from the event module113and operates the relay switch1109by turning on and off power to the relay switch1109. The relay switch1109may be configured for use as an alarm with audible sound, to lock a door or cabinet or other external device, and the like. The front end application112sets up the relay configuration and through the relay communication module1110checks the status of the relay switch1109. The database118stores the data. In an embodiment of the present invention, the Image Recognition (“IR”) communication module1115receives an event from the Event Module113indicating that an object within the video or an image needs an attribute associated with the object to be generated. The IR communication module1115retrieves the image and tag ID information from the database118, and issues a requests the Image Recognition Engine (IR Engine)1119to generate the attribute of that particular object. The IR Engine1119responds to the IR communication Module1115with the attribute of the object using the Tag number. The IR communication Module1115then stores the attribute of the object based on the tag ID into the database118. The IR Engine1119may be operably connected to the server108. In an embodiment of the present invention, the Image Recognition (“IR”) communication module1115receives an event from the Event Module113based on the object tag ID indicating that an object within the video or an image needs to be matched with the current image stored in the database118. The IR communication module1115retrieves the new image and stored image based on the tag ID information from the database118, and issues a requests to the IR Engine1119to generate a match or no match of that particular object. The IR Engine1119responds to the IR communication Module1115with a match or no match result using the Tag number. The IR communication Module1115then stores the match or no match result based on the tag ID into the database118. The IR Engine1119may be operably connected to the server108. In an embodiment of the present invention, the jitter control module1113reads the last time a Tag ID is updated from the database118. If the Tag ID access time is less than a specific amount of time set by the user, the entry is not added into a jitter table1120. If the tag ID access time is larger than a specific amount of time set by the user, the tag ID is added to the jitter table1120. The jitter table allows the user the ability to get access to prevent the user from accessing data that may be invalid particularly when the data is being reported improperly when an asset is physically located in an invalid area of the RF beam. The jitter control module1113filters these events to prevent invalid information from being stored in the jitter table1120. In an embodiment of the present invention, the reader control module1116starts and stops the reader when a motion is detected by the Camera Control module1113. When a motion is detected on the camera1104, the Motion Detector Communication Module1108notifies the Camera Communicate Module1111that an image is present. The Reader Control Module1116communicates with the UI Front End Application Module112to start the Back-End application module114for a user set amount of time. After a specific amount of time configured by the user, the Reader Control Module1116communicates to the Front End Application Module to stop the reader. Starting and stopping the reader at specific amounts of time reduces RF interference when multiple readers are present. It would be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various similar types of units/devices and corresponding modules may be operably connected to the server to increase the efficiency of the working of the system without deviating from the scope of the present invention. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the subject invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering this specification and the accompanying drawings which disclose the preferred embodiments thereof. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention, which is to be limited only by the claims which follow. In an embodiment of the present invention, the Remote Configuration Module1121accesses the content of the Remote Configuration Table1122to determine if there are some events that need to be executed on the system. When a sequence of events is detected, the Remote Configuration Module1121reads the command, and sets a flag on the Remote Configuration Table1122indicating that a command execution is in progress. When the command is executed, the Remote Configuration Module1121stores the status of the event back to the Remote Configuration Table1122. The Remote Configuration Module1121currently supports configuring the Relay Communication Module1110and Event Module113to control access control applications remotely. However, it should be apparent to someone skilled in the art that the Remote Configuration Module1121will be able to control the Front End Application Module112, Camera Communication Module1111, GPS Communication Module, and future modules. In an embodiment of the present invention, each and every time the RT Module1123receives a tag number and RSSI value from the Back-end Communication Module114, the RT Module1123accesses the RT Module Table1124to determine if a write operation on the tag needs to occur. If an entry for the tag number is available in the RT Module Table1124and the RSSI is greater than a customer set value, the RT Module1123writes the data to the tag. After the operation is completed successfully, the RT Module1123attempts to read the same tag, and verifies the content of the tag to ensure a successful write operation. Based on the data verification, a tag is marked with a status of success or failure in the RT Module Table1124for reporting purposes. | 31,630 |
11861543 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present disclosure relates to a package loading system that optimizes cubic utilization during the loading of packages into a defined loading space (e.g., vehicle trailer, vehicle interior, compartment, container, pallet, etc.). Specifically, the package loading system of the present disclosure is configured to guide an agent (e.g., person, automated system, etc.) in constructing package walls within the defined space by (1) determining an optimal placement for incoming packages that minimizes air gaps and empty spaces within the defined space and (2) notifying the agent of the optimal placement. The optimal placement for the incoming packages is determined according to a current loading configuration in the defined space and package data (e.g., volume, mass, type, etc.) associated with incoming packages. Typically, as vehicles arrive at facilities, agents manually load packages into the vehicle (e.g., vehicle trailer, compartment, interior, container coupled to vehicle, etc.) and/or other type of loading space. Packages can be loaded into a vehicle by building walls of packages. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, cubic efficiency of a loading space can be improved by determining an optimal placement for incoming packages, thereby reducing loading time and costs associated with the loading of packages onto vehicles for delivery. According to various embodiments, three-dimensional (3D) sensors (e.g., RealSense™ cameras) can obtain point cloud data that can be used to determine a current loading configuration (e.g., current placement of packages already loaded in the current wall being built) of the defined space. Package data (e.g., mass, volume, type of package, etc.) can be determined using sensor data obtained via a sensor on a conveyor system that transports packages to be loaded onto the vehicle. For example, the sensor on the conveyor system can scan a package identifier associated with a package. The package identifier can then be used to obtain package data associated with the particular package. For example, the package identifier can be used to identify package data stored in a data store associated with the facility. According to various embodiments, the current loading configuration and the package data can be used as inputs to an optimization engine that is configured to determine the optimal placement and orientation for incoming packages such that the amount of empty space within the delivery vehicle is minimized and the cubic efficiency is improved. With reference toFIG.1, shown is an example scenario of a package loading system100of the present disclosure being used to notify an agent103of the optimal placement of a package106into a vehicle109. As shown inFIG.1, the package loading system100is projecting, via an identifying device112(e.g., a projector), a light onto empty spaces115within the vehicle109. This light can assist the agent103by highlighting the optimal placement location for an incoming package106as determined by the package loading system100. According to various embodiments, the packages106may comprise boxes, pails, containers, special packaging envelopes, and/or any other type of packaging. The package loading system100can comprise an identifying device112, one or more 3D sensors113, at least one computing device114, a display209(FIG.2), and/or any other component as can be appreciated. In some embodiments, the package loading system100further comprises a mobile unit118that allows the package loading system100to be repositioned during the loading process. For example, the mobile unit118can comprise a cart, autonomous vehicle, robotic unit, and/or any other type of device that can move in any direction for repositioning and/or reorientation. The components of the package loading system100(e.g., identifying device112, 3D sensor(s)113, computing device114, display209, etc.) can be disposed on the mobile unit118. According to various embodiments, the 3D sensors113can obtain data that represents a current layout configuration403(FIG.4) of the packages106already positioned and/or oriented within the vehicle109. While the layout configuration403ofFIG.1illustrates the vehicle interior having a rectangular cross-section, it should be noted that the vehicle interior is not limited to a rectangular cross-section and can comprises any shape as can be appreciated. In addition, it should be noted that the vehicle interior can comprise various protrusions (e.g., wheel wells), compartments, etc.), and/or other features represented by the cross-section of the vehicle that corresponds to the layout configuration403. As shown inFIG.1, incoming packages106to be loaded into the vehicle109can be transported to the vehicle109via a conveyor system121. According to various embodiments, package data212(FIG.2) (e.g., mass, volume, package type, etc.) associated with the incoming packages can be obtained and used to identify the incoming packages. In some embodiments, the conveyor system121can comprise conveyor sensors215(FIG.2) that can be configured to scan packages106being transported on the conveyor system121. For example, the conveyor sensor215can scan a package identifier218(FIG.2) affixed on a package106. The package identifier218can then be used to obtain package data212associated with the particular package106that can be stored in a data store. According to various embodiments, the package loading system100can use the current loading configuration403obtained from the 3D sensors113and the package data212associated with the incoming packages106on the conveyor system121to determine an optimal placement of the incoming packages106. The optimal placement can be determined according to a package sequencing assigned to the incoming packages106and the identified empty space(s)115associated with the loading configuration403. For example, the package loading system100can determine a package sequence for loading based on the incoming packages106. As such, the next arriving package106being transported via the conveyor system121may not correspond to the first package106in the package sequence. In such instances, the agent103can place the next arriving package106in a secondary location (e.g., off to the side, in a container, etc.) until notified to load the particular package106. Once an optimal placement is determined for one or more incoming package106, the package loading system100can assist the agent103in placing the first package106in the package sequence in the optimal location. For example, as shown inFIG.1, the package loading system100can cause the identifying device112to direct a light at the empty space115where the next package106is to be placed. In some embodiments, the package loading system100can generate a user interface221(FIG.2) to be rendered via a display209that includes an identification of a package106(e.g., identification of specific package, type of package, etc.) and a location of where the package106is to be placed. In some embodiments, the package loading system100can emit an audio signal which can include the identification of the package106and/or location of placement in order to assist the agent103in placement of the package106. The package loading system100can repeat the above discussed process of capturing images of the loading configuration and determining an optimal placement of incoming packages106until there are no more incoming boxes and/or the current wall being constructed is complete. If there are additional incoming packages106to be loaded following the completion of a package wall, the package loading system100can be repositioned to begin the building process of an additional wall. It should be noted that although the agent103ofFIG.1is shown to be a person, in some embodiments, the agent103can comprise an automated system, such as, for example, a gantry system configured to pick up a package arriving on a conveyor system121, orient the package106in an orientation (e.g., XYZ, YXZ, ZYX, etc.) determined by the package loading system100, and place the package106in the appropriate orientation within the optimal package placement location. It should also be noted that the package106can comprise an item, a product, a package, a box, a tote containing one or more items, a bucket, and/or other type of item and/or container. It should also be noted that although the defined space for the packages106to be loaded is referred to as a vehicle109and/or vehicle interior, the defined area can comprise a vehicle trailer, vehicle interior, compartment, container, pallet, and/or any other type of space for loading packages106as can be appreciated. In the following discussion, a general description of the system and its components is provided, followed by a discussion of the operation of the same. With reference toFIG.2, shown is a networked environment200according to various embodiments. The networked environment200includes a computing environment224, the package loading system100, and a conveyor system121, which are in data communication with each other via a network227. The network227includes, for example, the Internet, intranets, extranets, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wired networks, wireless networks, cable networks, satellite networks, or other suitable networks, etc., or any combination of two or more such networks. The computing environment224includes one or more computing devices including at least one processor circuit, for example, having a processor and a memory. Various applications and/or other functionality may be executed in the computing environment224according to various embodiments. Also, various data is stored in one or more data stores230that are accessible to the computing environment224. The components executed on the computing environment224, for example, include a facility application233, and other applications, services, processes, systems, engines, or functionality not discussed in detail herein. The facility application233is executed to facilitate management of facility information. For example, the facility application233can obtain package data212associated with packages106(FIG.1) being created, sorted, transported, etc., within the facility. The facility application233can be used to receive requests for package data212associated with the packages106within the facility. The facility application233can further be used to provide package data212to requesting devices, such as, for example, the conveyor system121, the package loading system100, and/or other systems as can be appreciated. The data stored in the data store230includes, for example, package data212, and potentially other data. The package data212comprises information about packages106associated with the facility. For example, the packages data212can correspond to packages being packaged and/or sorted within the facility. The package data212can comprise a package identifier218, package attributes236, and/or any other type of information. The package identifier218can comprise an identifier that is unique to the package106. For example, the package identifier218can comprise an alphanumeric code, a barcode, quick response (QR) code, radio frequency identifier (RFID) and/or other type of identifier. The package attributes236can correspond to a package mass, a package volume, package dimensions, a package type, and/or any other type of package attribute as can be appreciated. The conveyor system121may include a belt conveyor, a line shaft roller conveyor with a plurality of rollers, a chain conveyor, and any other conveyor system that can advance packages106from one location to another. In some embodiments, a portion of the conveyor system121is positioned inside of a vehicle109(FIG.1). In other embodiments, the entire conveyor system121is positioned outside of the vehicle109. The conveyor system121comprises one or more conveyor sensors215configured to obtain data associated with packages being transported on the conveyor system121. For example, according to various embodiments, the conveyor sensor215can scan a package identifier218affixed on a package106being transported on the conveyor system121. The package identifier218can be used to identify and obtain package data212associated with the particular package106. The package loading system100can determine an optimal package placement of incoming packages106to be loaded into a vehicle109and instruct an agent103(FIG.1) in placing a particular package106in the optimal location in order to maximize cubic efficiency within the vehicle109. The package loading system100comprises a sensing subsystem239, at least one computing device114, a display209, a mobile unit118, an audio device242and/or any other component as can be appreciated. The sensing subsystem239comprises an identifying device112, 3D sensors113, and/or other components. The identifying device112can comprise a projector, a head mounted display, and/or any other type of device configured to identify a space. For example, the identifying device112can comprise a projecting device configured to direct a light into a particular space. The 3D sensor113can comprise an imaging device with depth perception to replicate three-dimensional elements in the form of point cloud data. For example, the 3D sensor113can comprise a 3D RealSense™ camera. The package loading system100can comprise one or more computing devices114. The computing devices114may comprise, for example, a processor-based system such as a computer system. Such a computer system may be embodied in the form of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, smartphones, set-top boxes, music players, web pads, tablet computer systems, game consoles, electronic book readers, smartwatches, head mounted displays, voice interface devices, or other devices. The computing device114may include a display209. The display209may comprise, for example, one or more devices such as liquid crystal display (LCD) displays, gas plasma-based flat panel displays, organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, electrophoretic ink (E ink) displays, LCD projectors, or other types of display devices, etc. Also, various data is stored in one or more data stores251that are accessible to the one or more computing devices114. The computing device114may be configured to execute various applications such as an optimization engine245, an agent application248, and/or other applications. The optimization engine245can be executed in the computing device114to determine an optimal placement within a current loading configuration of incoming packages106to be loaded into a vehicle109. The optimization engine245can also assist an agent103in identifying the determined optimal placement for a particular incoming package106. The agent application248can be executed in the computing device114to generate content that can notify the agent103of the identification of the optimal placement of incoming packages106. As such, the agent application248can render a user interface221on the display209. The agent application248can further provide additional information related to the package loading system100such as, for example, whether the package loading system100needs to be repositioned due to a completion of a package wall, a detected error in placement, and/or any other information as can be appreciated. It should be noted that in some embodiments, the optimization engine245and the agent application248are executed by different computing devices114. For example, the optimization engine245can be executed by a first computing device114and the agent application248can be executed by a second computing device114. The data stored in the data store251includes, for example, package data212, sensor data254, vehicle data260, and potentially other data. The package data212comprises information about packages106associated with the facility. For example, the package data212can correspond to packages being packaged and/or sorted within the facility. According to various embodiments, the package data212can comprise a package mass, a package volume, package dimensions, a package type, hazardous classification, fragility classification, and/or any other type of package attribute as can be appreciated. The package data212can be obtained, via the optimization engine245, from the conveyor system121, the facility application233, and/or other application with access to the data store251. The optimization engine245can store the obtained package data212in the data store251. The sensor data254can comprise the data obtained via the sensing subsystem239. For example, the sensor data254can comprise point cloud data associated with the layout configurations of the vehicle109. In some embodiments, the sensor data254can further comprise data associated with the calibration of the 3D sensors113as can be appreciated. The vehicle data260can comprise data associated with the vehicle109into which the packages106are being loaded. For example, the vehicle data260can comprise vehicle dimensions (e.g., height, length, width), weight restrictions, capacity restrictions, and/or other information as can be appreciated. The mobile unit118can comprise a cart, autonomous vehicle, robotic unit, and/or any other type of device that can move in any direction for repositioning. The components of the package loading system100(e.g., identifying device112, 3D sensor(s)113, computing device114, display209, etc.) can be disposed, mounted, affixed, etc. on the mobile unit118. The audio device242can comprise a speaker and/or other type of output device. The audio device242can be configured to broadcast audio signals associated with communications and/or other inquiries generated by the agent application248and/or optimization engine245. For example, in some embodiments, an agent103can be notified of an optimal placement for incoming boxes via an audio notification. Next, a general description of the operation of the various components of the networked environment200is provided, as illustrated inFIG.3. According to various embodiments, the process of loading the vehicle109with packages106(FIG.1) can begin by positioning the package loading system100at a predefined distance from an existing wall of packages106. If a wall has not yet been constructed and/or started, the package loading system100can be positioned at a predefined distance from a back wall of the vehicle interior and/or any other location where the packages106will begin being loaded. Once positioned, the 3D sensors113are calibrated based on the current position of the package loading system100. In one non-limiting example, the 3D sensors113can be calibrated by projecting a light, via the identifying device112, and using sensor data254(FIG.2) (e.g., a point matrix of known spacing) to allow the 3D sensors113to calibrate known distances, as can be appreciated. The 3D sensors113are re-calibrated when package loading system100is repositioned. Once the 3D sensors113are calibrated, the 3D sensors113can generate data corresponding to the current loading configuration403(FIG.4) within the vehicle109. For example, the generated sensor data254can correspond to point cloud data that can be used to identify the packages106already placed within the vehicle109as well as the current empty spaces115(FIG.1). According to various embodiments, the optimization engine245obtains sensor data254representing the current loading configuration403from the 3D sensors113of the sensing subsystem239. The optimization engine245can also obtain package data212(FIG.2) from the computing environment224via the facility application233. For example, incoming packages106to be loaded into the vehicle109can be transported to the vehicle109via a conveyor system121(FIG.1). According to various embodiments, package data212associated with the incoming packages106can be obtained and used to identify the incoming packages106. For example, in some embodiments, the conveyor sensors215(FIG.2) can be configured to scan package identifiers218affixed on packages106being transported on the conveyor system121. According to some embodiments, the facility application233can receive the package identifier218and use the package identifier218to identify the corresponding package data212that is stored in the data store230(FIG.2). Once the loading configuration403and package data212are determined, the optimization engine245can determine the optimal placement of the incoming packages106with an aim for complete utilization of the inner space of the vehicle109by constructing consecutive walls that minimize the distance and/or amount of white space between the walls and packages106. Each package wall can be denoted by i; =1, . . . I. Each package wall can be divided into layers. For example, there can be three layers in each wall. Each layer can be denoted as k; k=1, . . . . K. There are a total of K layers that can be formed in a wall. The bottom-most layer can be k=1 and the top-most layer can be k=K. Each package106(uniquely identified) can be denoted by j; j=1, . . . , J. The total number of packages that need to go into the vehicle interior (or can reasonably fit into the interior) is J. The optimization function used by the optimization engine245in calculating maximum utilization of the vehicle interior is Z=max∑i=1I∑j=1J∑k=1KvjxijkVmax(1) The parameters defined in Table 1 can be used by the optimization engine245in maximizing utilization of the vehicle109. However, according to various embodiments, any type of parameter and maximum limit can be used. In addition, in some embodiments, the optimization function used by the optimization engine245can be extended to include multiple vehicles109being loaded simultaneously by adding another index. TABLE 1ParameterDefinitionljLength of package j (FIG. 5)hjHeight of package j (FIG. 5)wdjWidth of package j (FIG. 5)wjWeight of package jvjVolume of package jLmaxiMaximum length of wall i. The value will dependon the inner dimensions of the vehicle interiorHmaxiMaximum height of wall i. The value will dependon the inner dimensions of the vehicle interiorWDmaxiMaximum width of wall. The value will depend onthe inner dimensions of the vehicle interiorWmaxiMaximum weight of wall.LmaxMaximum length of vehicle interior.VmaxMaximum volume of vehicle interior. Additionally, the variables for maximizing utilization of the vehicle109are defined in Table 2. TABLE 2VariablesDefinitionStandardxijk= 1, if package j goes in the wall, layer k.xijk= 0, otherwise.Binary Variables foryijj′k+1= 1, if constraint 12 is true.Sequencing Constraintszijj′k+2= 1, if constraint 14 is true. Various constraints that can be used by the optimization engine245in maximizing the vehicle utilization are as follows: ∑i=1I∑j=1J∑k=1Kvjxijk≤Vmax(2)∑i=1I∑j=1J∑k=1Kwdjxijk≤Lmax,∀i(3)∑j=1J∑k=1Kljxijk≤Lmaxi,∀i(4)∑j=1J∑k=1Kwdjxijk≤WDmaxi,∀i(5)∑j=1J∑k=1Khjxijk≤Hmaxi,∀i(6)∑j=1J∑k=1Kwjxijk≤Wmaxi,∀i(7)∑j=1I∑k=1Kxijk=1,∀j(8)∑j=1Jwjxijk≥∑j=1Jwjxijk+1≥∑j=1Jwjxijk+2,∀i,k(9)∑j=1Jvjxijk≥∑j=1Jvjxijk+1≥∑j=1Jvjxijk+2,∀i,k(10)ljxijk×hjxijk×wdijk=vjxijk,∀i,j,k(11) In some embodiments, the optimization engine245can apply all of the constraints. In other embodiments, the optimization engine245can apply a subset of the constraints, as can be appreciated. As discussed, the optimization engine245can determine a package sequence for all incoming packages106. The package sequence corresponds to a sequence in which the packages can be loaded to maximize cubic efficiency within the vehicle109. The sequencing constraints of the optimization engine245with a preference for higher layers being given to packages closer to volume of lower layers are the following: ∑j=1Jvjxijk+1≥vj′xij′k+1+M(1-yijj′k+1)(12)∑j=1Jvjxijk+1≥vj′xij′k+1+M(yijj′k+1)(13)∑j=1Jvjxijk+2≥vj′xij′k+2+M(1-zijj′k+2)(14)∑j=1Jvjxijk+2≥vj′xij′k+2+M(zijj′k+2)(15) It should be noted that in Constraints 12-15, a maximization function (“M( )”) returns the maximum optimized value of the boundary condition associated with each constraint. A package wall can be built in layers of progressive mass and volume. For example, large and heavy packages106(e.g., exceeding a weight and/or dimension threshold) that are tagged by the optimization engine245will form the base of each wall. Similarly, a total of K layers can be built according to the empty spaces115and available packages. The output of the optimization function corresponds to the optimal placement for the incoming packages106. According to various embodiments, the agent application248(FIG.2) and/or the optimization engine245can generate a user interface221including the identification of the next package106and/or an area associated with the location of the empty space115for placement of the package106. For example, the identification of the next package106can comprise a package identifier218, a type of package106, a dimension of the package106, and/or other identifying attribute associated with the package106. The location of the empty space115can comprise a general region (e.g., lower quadrant, upper quadrant, right quadrant, left quadrant, etc.), or a specific location. In some embodiments, the agent103can be notified of the optimal placement location for the package106via the identifying device112. For example, the identifying device112can project a light highlighting the area where the package106is to be placed. In some embodiments, the agent103can be notified of the optimal placement location for the package106via an audio signal broadcasted via the audio device242(FIG.2). In some embodiments, the agent103can be notified of the orientation of the package106for the particular empty space115. Once the agent103has been notified of the optimal placement, orientation, and/or package106to be loaded, the agent103can proceed with loading the package106in accordance with the received instruction. The sensing subsystem239can continually update the sensor data254based on the changes in the loading configuration, and the package loading system100can repeat the optimization determination and notification process until there are no more incoming boxes and/or the current wall being constructed is complete. If there are additional incoming packages to be loaded following the completion of a package wall, the package loading system100can be repositioned to begin the building process of an additional wall. Turning now toFIG.4, shown is an example view of a two-dimensional view of the layout configuration403within a vehicle interior as seen by the 3D sensor113(FIG.1) according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The layout configuration403ofFIG.4illustrates packages106(e.g.,106a-106h) stacked in a particular configuration having empty spaces115(e.g.,115a,115b,115c). The optimization engine245(FIG.2) can use the layout configuration403obtained from the 3D sensor113to determine the empty spaces115and determine the types of packages106and/or orientation of packages106for each empty space. Assume that the incoming packages106correspond to Package A, Package B, Package C, Package D, and Package E. The incoming packages106can vary from one another with respect to volume, dimensions, mass, etc. The optimization engine245can determine the volume associated with each space by using classical geometry and X, Y, and Z coordinates. The optimization engine245may determine that only Package A and Package B can fit in empty space115a, only package C can fit in empty space115b, and Package D and Package E can fit into empty space115c. Further, as discussed with respect toFIGS.5A-5C, the optimization engine245can determine an optimal orientation of the packages for each empty space115. Referring next toFIGS.5A-5C, shown are example orientations of a package106(FIG.1) that can be considered by the package loading system100according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, each space115on a wall can be viewed by the sensing subsystem239(FIG.2) in the form of point cloud data. Based on this information, X, Y, and Z coordinates can be identified. Using classical coordinate geometry, the axial coordinates can provide an approximate volume for each empty space115, and a type of package106and an orientation of the package106that would fit well in the empty space115can be determined. For example, if a baseline is set that X is the length, Y is the height, and Z is the width, the volumes of the three could be (lbh)=XZY, ZXY, and YZX. The different volumes can represent the different box orientations. As such, the package loading system100can further determine and provide orientation options associated with the best fit for the package106in the identified empty spaces115. Referring next toFIGS.6A and6B, shown are example user interfaces221that can be rendered on the display209(FIG.2) of the computing device114(FIG.1) according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. For example,FIG.6Ais an example user interface221athat can be rendered on the display209to assist an agent103(FIG.1) identifying the next package106(FIG.1) to load in the vehicle109(FIG.1). In the example ofFIG.6A, the user interface221aincludes an identification of a type of package106and orientation for the package106that is to be loaded into the vehicle109. The user interface221afurther provides a location of where the package106should be loaded onto the vehicle. For example, the user interface221aincludes a general region603(e.g., “lower left quadrant”) of where the package should be loaded as well as pictorial view606of where the package106should be loaded. Turning now toFIG.6B, shown is an example user interface221bthat can be rendered on the display209of the computing device114. The user interface221bincludes a notification609that notifies the agent103(FIG.1) that the package loading system100(FIG.1) needs to be repositioned. For example, the cross-section of the package wall being constructed is complete and there are no more available spaces for the upcoming packages106, the optimization engine245(FIG.2) can notify the agent103that a repositioning of the package loading system100is required to build a new wall for the incoming packages106. The user interface221bfurther includes a selectable component612that when selected can notify the optimization engine245that the package loading system100has been repositioned. A selection of the selectable component612can instruct the optimization engine245to recalibrate the 3D sensors113and begin building the next wall of packages106. Referring next toFIGS.7-9, shown are flowcharts that provide examples of the operation of portions of the optimization engine245(FIG.2) according to various embodiments. It is understood that the flowcharts ofFIGS.7-9provide merely examples of the many different types of functional arrangements that may be employed to implement the operation of different applications as described herein. As an alternative, the flowcharts ofFIGS.7-9may be viewed as depicting examples of elements of methods implemented in the package loading system100(FIG.1) according to one or more embodiments. FIG.7is a flowchart700that provides one example of the operation of a package loading system100according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Beginning with box703, the package loading system100is positioned at a predefined distance from an existing wall of packages106(FIG.1) and the 3D sensors113of the package loading system100are calibrated. If a wall has not yet been constructed and/or started, the package loading system100can be positioned at a predefined distance from a back wall of the vehicle interior and/or any other location where the packages106will begin being loaded. The predefined distance corresponds to a distance that is sufficient for the 3D sensors113(FIG.1) to capture the loading configuration403(FIG.4) within the vehicle109(FIG.1). The predefined distance can be set according to a type of vehicle, a depth of the vehicle, a width of the vehicle, capabilities of the 3D sensor (e.g., focal length, sensor resolution, etc.), and/or any other features. The 3D sensors113of package loading system100are calibrated according to the position of the package loading system100. According to various embodiments, the 3D sensors113can be calibrated by projecting a light, via the identifying device112(FIG.1), and using a point matrix of known spacing to allow the 3D sensors113to calibrate known distances, as can be appreciated. According to various embodiments, as the 3D sensors113are calibrated, the positioning of the package loading system100can be readjusted as needed until calibration of the 3D sensors is complete. At box706, the optimization engine245determines the current loading configuration403. The current loading configuration403is determined by obtaining sensor data254(FIG.1) from the 3D sensors113. The 3D sensors113are configured to generate point cloud data representing the current view within the vehicle109. The point cloud data can be used to determine a current loading configuration403of the packages106currently stacked with the vehicle109. The loading configuration403corresponds to a representation of a layout of packages106stacked within the cross-section of the vehicle109where the current package wall is being built. At box709, the optimization engine245identifies incoming packages106that are to be loaded into the vehicle109. According to various embodiments, the optimization engine245can identify the incoming packages106via data communication with the conveyor system121(FIG.1) and/or the computing environment224. For example, incoming packages106to be loaded into the vehicle109can be transported to the vehicle109via a conveyor system121. In some embodiments, the conveyor sensors215(FIG.2) of the conveyor system121can scan package identifiers218(FIG.2) affixed on packages106being transported on the conveyor system121. In some embodiments, the conveyor system121can send the package identifier218to the optimization engine245that can then request package data212from the computing environment224. In other embodiments, the conveyor system121can send the package identifier218to the computing environment224and request the corresponding package data212(FIG.2). At box712, the optimization engine245identifies the optimal package placement according to the incoming packages106and current loading configuration403. According to various embodiments, the optimization engine245employs the optimization function of Equation (1) to determine a package sequence of the incoming packages106and optimal placement for the incoming packages106. The package sequence corresponds to a priority in which the incoming packages106are to be loaded into the vehicle109. For example, although Package A may be the next package on the conveyor system121to arrive at the vehicle, Package B may be the most optimal package to be loaded into a particular empty space115(FIG.1). As such, Package B may be listed before Package A in a package sequence. In other examples, if the first layer of a package wall is being built, the incoming packages106that meet certain size and dimensions requirements (e.g., heavy, large, etc.) may be listed in the sequence before smaller and/or lighter packages106. The output of the optimization function corresponds to the optimal location for the incoming packages to be placed in order to maximize cubic efficiency within the vehicle109and minimize an amount of empty space within the vehicle109. At box715, the package loading system100notifies an agent103(FIG.1) of the optimal placement for the incoming packages106. According to various embodiments, the agent application248(FIG.2) and/or the optimization engine245can generate a user interface221(FIG.2) including the identification of the next package106and/or an area associated with the location of the empty space115for placement of the package106. For example, the identification of the next package106can comprise a package identifier218, a type of package106, a dimension of the package106, and/or other identifying attribute associated with the package106. The location of the empty space115can comprise a general region (e.g., lower quadrant, upper quadrant, right quadrant, left quadrant, etc.), or a specific location. The agent application248can cause the user interface221to be rendered on a display209(FIG.2) of the computing device114(FIG.1). In some embodiments, the optimization engine245can determine that some of the incoming packages106(e.g., envelopes) are too small and/or do not meet predefined thresholds for stacking individually. In such situations, the optimization engine245can notify the agent that the incoming packages106should be placed into a container and/or other type of packaging that when filled to a particular capacity is stacked in the vehicle109. In some embodiments, the optimization engine245can instruct the identifying device112to project a light highlighting the area where the package106is to be placed. In some embodiments, the agent103can be notified of the optimal placement location for the package106via an audio signal broadcasted via the audio device242(FIG.2). In some embodiments, the agent103can be notified of the orientation of the package106for the particular empty space115. Once the agent103has been notified of the optimal placement, orientation, and/or package106to be loaded, the agent103can proceed with loading the package106in accordance with the received instruction. At box718, the package loading system100verifies that the package106has been placed in the optimal package placement location. In some embodiments, the optimization engine245can obtain point cloud data from the 3D sensors113following placement of the package106and determine whether the agent103loaded the correct package106and/or loaded the correct package106in the notified location using the obtained point cloud data. For example, the optimization engine245can compare a loading configuration403obtained prior to the placement of the package106with a loading configuration403corresponding to the obtained point cloud data following the placement to determine whether the package was placed in the correct location. In some embodiments, the package loading system100can notify the agent103of an improper placement and/or package106if detected. For example, the package loading system100can notify the agent103of an improper placement and/or package106via a user interface221rendered on the display209of the computing device114. In another example, the package loading system100can notify the agent103of an improper placement via an auditory signal via the audio device242. In other embodiments, the package loading system100does not notify the agent103of a detected improper placement and/or package106. As such, the package loading system100can proceed with determining the next optimal placement using the loading configuration403associated with the improper placement. At box721, the package loading system100determines whether to continue loading the vehicle109. For example, if there are additional packages106to load and vehicle109has not yet reached capacity, the package loading system100will determine that loading should continue and will proceed to box724. Otherwise, at least this portion of the process for loading packages106in a vehicle109ends. At box724, the package loading system100determines whether the package loading system100needs to be repositioned. For example, if the cross-section of the current package wall within the vehicle109is full (e.g., no more room for additional packages), the package loading system100will need to be repositioned to begin building a new package wall. If there are still empty spaces in the current package wall where incoming packages106can be placed, the package loading system100may continue loading packages106without repositioning. If the package needs to be repositioned, the package loading system100proceeds to box703. Otherwise, the package loading system100proceeds to box706. According to various embodiments, package data212associated with the incoming packages106can be obtained and used to identify the incoming packages106. For example, in some embodiments, the conveyor sensors215(FIG.2) can be configured to scan packages identifiers218affixed on packages106being transported on the conveyor system121. According to some embodiments, the facility application233(FIG.2) can receive the package identifier218and use the package identifier218to identify the corresponding package data212that is stored in the data store230(FIG.2). Referring next toFIG.8, shown is a flowchart800that provides one example of the operation of the optimization engine245according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In box803, the optimization engine245obtains the sensor data254(FIG.2) from the 3D sensor113(FIG.1). According to various embodiments, the sensor data254obtained from the 3D sensor113replicates three-dimensional elements in the form of point cloud data. In the present case, the sensor data254corresponds to a representation of the packages106(FIG.1) stacked in the vehicle109(FIG.1). TABLE 1ParameterDefinitionljLength of package j (FIG. 5)hjHeight of package j (FIG. 5)wdjWidth of package j (FIG. 5)wjWeight of package jvjVolume of package jLmaxiMaximum length of wall i. The value will depend on the innerdimensions of the vehicle interiorHmaxiMaximum height of wall i. The value will depend on the innerdimensions of the vehicle interiorWDmaxiMaximum width of wall i. The value will depend on the innerdimensions of the vehicle interiorWmaxiMaximum weight of wall i.LmaxMaximum length of vehicle interior.VmaxMaximum volume of vehicle interior. At box806, the optimization engine245identifies the loading configuration403(FIG.4) generated via the sensor data254. According to various embodiments, and the empty spaces115(FIG.1) in loading configuration403can be identified. For example, using the sensor data254, X, Y, and Z coordinates can be identified and the axial coordinates can provide an approximate volume for each empty space115within the loading configuration403. At box809, the optimization engine245identifies the incoming packages106. In some embodiments, the incoming packages106are identified according to data obtained via a conveyor sensor215(FIG.2) of the conveyor system121(FIG.1). For example, the conveyor sensor215can obtain a package identifier218(FIG.2) on a package106being transported on the conveyor system121. The obtained package identifier218can be used to obtain package data212(FIG.2) that can be then transmitted to the optimization engine245. The package data212can be used to identify the incoming packages106. At box812, the optimization engine245identifies the optimal configuration and placement of incoming packages106. For example, the optimization engine245determines the optimal configuration and placement of incoming packages to maximize cubic efficiency and minimize the amount of air gaps between packages106and/or walls within the vehicle interior. According to various embodiments, the optimization engine245uses the optimization function of Equation (1) to generate a package sequence and determine an optimal position and/or orientation of the incoming packages according to the current layout configuration403and identified incoming packages106. Once the optimal configuration and placement of incoming packages106is identified, this portion of the optimization engine245ends. Turning now toFIG.9, shown is a flowchart900that provides one example of the operation of the optimization engine245according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In box903, the optimization engine245can obtain conveyor sensor data from the conveyor sensor215(FIG.2). The conveyor sensor data corresponds to data associated with the packages106(FIG.1) being transported to the vehicle109via the conveyor system121(FIG.1). For example, the conveyor sensor data can comprise a package identifier218(FIG.2) and/or any other identifying feature of a package106. At box906, the optimization engine245identifies incoming packages106according to the obtained conveyor sensor data. For example, the optimization engine245can send a request to the facility application233(FIG.2) requesting package data212(FIG.2) associated with the packages106associated with conveyor sensor data obtained from the conveyor sensor215. At box909, the optimization engine245determines package attributes associated with the incoming packages106. For example, the optimization engine245can obtain package data212from the facility application233in response to a request for package data212. The optimization engine245can analyze the package data212to determine package attributes, such as, for example, package mass, package volume, package type, package dimensions, etc. The package attributes can be used by the optimization engine245in determining the optimal placement and package sequence in order to maximize cubic efficiency within the vehicle and minimize air gaps between packages and/or package walls. Upon determining the package attributes, this portion of the optimization engine245ends. Next, a discussion of the technical devices of the network environment200is provided. Stored in memory are both data and several components that are executable by one or more processors. Also stored in the memory can be a data store230,251and other data. The term “executable” means a program file that is in a form that can ultimately be run by the processor. Examples of executable programs can be, for example, a compiled program that can be translated into machine code in a format that can be loaded into a random access portion of one or more of the memory devices and run by the processor, code that can be expressed in a format such as object code that is capable of being loaded into a random access portion of the one or more memory devices and executed by the processor, or code that can be interpreted by another executable program to generate instructions in a random access portion of the memory devices to be executed by the processor. An executable program can be stored in any portion or component of the memory devices including, for example, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard drive, solid-state drive, USB flash drive, memory card, optical disc such as compact disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, magnetic tape, or other memory components. Memory can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory and data storage components. In addition, a processor can represent multiple processors and/or multiple processor cores, and the one or more memory devices can represent multiple memories that operate in parallel processing circuits, respectively. Memory devices can also represent a combination of various types of storage devices, such as RAM, mass storage devices, flash memory, or hard disk storage. In such a case, a local interface can be an appropriate network that facilitates communication between any two of the multiple processors or between any processor and any of the memory devices. The local interface can include additional systems designed to coordinate this communication, including, for example, performing load balancing. The processor can be of electrical or of some other available construction. Although the facility application233, optimization engine245, agent application248and other various systems described herein can be embodied in software or code executed by general-purpose hardware as discussed above, as an alternative the same can also be embodied in dedicated hardware or a combination of software/general purpose hardware and dedicated hardware. If embodied in dedicated hardware, each can be implemented as a circuit or state machine that employs any one of or a combination of a number of technologies. These technologies can include discrete logic circuits having logic gates for implementing various logic functions upon an application of one or more data signals, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) having appropriate logic gates, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other components. The flowcharts show an example of the functionality and operation of an implementation of portions of components described herein. If embodied in software, each block can represent a module, segment, or portion of code that can include program instructions to implement the specified logical function(s). The program instructions can be embodied in the form of source code that can include human-readable statements written in a programming language or machine code that can include numerical instructions recognizable by a suitable execution system such as a processor in a computer system or other system. The machine code can be converted from the source code. If embodied in hardware, each block can represent a circuit or a number of interconnected circuits to implement the specified logical function(s). Although the flowcharts show a specific order of execution, it is understood that the order of execution can differ from that which is depicted. For example, the order of execution of two or more blocks can be scrambled relative to the order shown. In addition, two or more blocks shown in succession can be executed concurrently or with partial concurrence. Further, in some examples, one or more of the blocks shown in the drawings can be skipped or omitted. Also, any logic or application described herein that includes software or code can be embodied in any non-transitory computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system such as, for example, a processor in a computer system or other system. In this sense, the logic can include, for example, statements including program code, instructions, and declarations that can be fetched from the computer-readable medium and executed by the instruction execution system. In the context of the present disclosure, a “computer-readable medium” can be any medium that can contain, store, or maintain the logic or application described herein for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system. Disjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, or Z,” unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with the context as used in general to present that an item, term, etc., may be either X, Y, or Z, or any combination thereof (e.g., X, Y, and/or Z). Thus, such disjunctive language is not generally intended to, and should not, imply that certain embodiments require at least one of X, at least one of Y, or at least one of Z to each be present. It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims. | 51,375 |
11861544 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION For ease of description, each of the exemplary systems presented herein is described with reference to an illustrative example. Some examples may not describe or illustrate all components of the systems. Other exemplary embodiments may include more or fewer of each of the illustrated components, may combine some components, or may include additional or alternative components. FIG.1illustrates aspects of a transportation system100for implementing conditional delivery according to various embodiments of this disclosure. In the non-limiting example ofFIG.1, the transportation system100includes a plurality of transport containers140,150,160,170, and180, a plurality of transport vehicles145,147, and155, a transport resource allocation server115, a transport order database120, a docking attachment point110, a media monitoring service195, and a communication network125. Referring to the non-limiting example ofFIG.1, one or more of the transport containers140,150,160,170, of180are subject to instructions to defer performance of a delivery operation until a specified condition is satisfied. As used herein, the term “condition” encompasses both singular conditions as well as logical combinations (for example, “if this, then that . . . ”) of conditions. In a particular aspect, a condition is based on a result of inference by a machine learning algorithm. A condition can be based on a value exceeding a threshold (e.g., a temperature value or a time value), a payment verification, a shipper location, a recipient location, or a combination thereof. As used herein, the term “delivery operation” encompasses, without limitation, movement of a transport container, actuation of a component, such an anchor connection (e.g., the docking attachment point110), an action performed on items within the transport container, etc. Examples of actions performed on contents within a transport container include, without limitation, applying heat to food in the transport container, mixing contents within the transport container, or applying a chemical to an item in a transport container (for example, a cleaning or deodorization agent). According to various embodiments, the term “delivery operation” encompasses actuating a component (for example, a locking mechanism on a door to a secure space of the transport container) to permit access for a service to be performed on an item located in the secure space of the transport container (for example, an item to be cleaned or repaired). In a particular aspect, the service can be performed on the item while the item is located in the secure space of the transport container. In a particular aspect, the item can be removed from the secure space of the transport container during or for performance of the service. As an example, performing the service includes removing the item from the secure space, washing the item outside the secure space, placing the washed item in the secure space, and drying the item while the item is located in the secure space. As used herein, the terms “delivery order” and “transport order” are used interchangeably. As used herein, the terms “transport resource allocation server” and “delivery management server” are used interchangeably. As used herein, the terms “transport vehicle” and “delivery vehicle” are used interchangeably. As used herein, in some embodiments, an instruction to defer performance of a delivery operation until a specified condition is satisfied comprises an instruction to a component within transportation system100(for example, the first transport vehicle145or the first transport container140) to perform an operation provided as part of an overall process of taking possession of an item to be held within one of transport containers140,150,160,170, and180and to retain the items within one of transport containers140,150,160,170, and180in the transportation system100, and to defer delivery until the specified condition is satisfied. The specified condition can include, for example, the passage of a specified period of time, a state of the item (e.g., cooked, frozen, melted, or dissolved), completion of a service request (e.g., cooked, laundered, ironed, etc.), receipt of a triggering piece of data (e.g., an order for the item), or an environmental condition. According to certain embodiments a shipper (not shown) releases one of the transport containers140,150,160,170, and180into the transportation system100with an instruction that delivery is conditional on satisfaction of one or more specified conditions. In various embodiments according to the present disclosure, a transportation system100provides to the shipper (not shown) the advantage of clearing the shipped item out of retained inventory immediately while allowing the recipient (also not shown) to enjoy the advantage of delivery timed to a specified condition, rather than to inherent transportation intervals of the transportation links, such as the transport vehicles145,147, or155 Five transport containers140,150,160,170, and180are provided as an illustrative example. In some aspects, the system100includes fewer than five or more than five transport containers. The plurality of transport containers140,150,160,170, and180are illustrated inFIG.1as boxes including a body and a cover. In some embodiments, the plurality of transport containers140,150,160,170, and180can include transport containers similar to those described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/498,012, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,842,449, entitled “SECURE TRANSPORT CONTAINER,” filed Apr. 26, 2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Three transport vehicles145,147, and155are provided as an illustrative example. In some aspects, the system100includes more than three or fewer than three transport vehicles. Referring to the non-limiting example ofFIG.1, the plurality of transport vehicles145,147, and155are trucks, which can be autonomous or human-operated. In some embodiments, one or more of the plurality of transport vehicles145,147, or155include, without limitation, manned flying vehicles, unmanned flying vehicles (e.g., drones), robots, boats, or any other type of vehicle capable of transporting one or more of the plurality of transport containers140,150,160,170, or180from one location to another location. One or more of the plurality of transport vehicles145,147, or155includes manned vehicles, autonomous vehicles (for example, autonomous transport robots), or semi-autonomous vehicles (for example, autonomous vehicles as described in U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 16/247,470 “SYSTEM AND METHOD OF LAST MILE DELIVERY” filed Jan. 14, 2019). In certain embodiments, the communication network125includes a wired network, a wireless network, or both. The communication network125may be implemented using various networking protocols, including, without limitation, Internet-based communication protocols, short-range communications protocols, wireless communication protocols, a public switched telephone network, or a combination thereof. In a particular aspect, the Internet-based communication protocols include a technical report 069 (TR-069) protocol, hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), or both. In a particular aspect, the short-range communications protocols include BLUETOOTH® (a registered trademark of BLUETOOTH SIG, Inc., Kirkland, Wash.), near field communication (NFC), or both. In a particular aspect, the wireless communication protocols include longterm evolution (LTE®, a registered trademark of Institut European des Normes, Valbonne, France), Wi-Fi® (a registered trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance, Austin, Tx.), or both. In a particular aspect, one or more of the plurality of transport containers, the plurality of transport vehicles, the transport resource allocation server115, or other components illustrated inFIG.1communicate with each other using one or more of the above-described networking protocols. In some embodiments, communications with other external devices (not shown) occur over the communication network125. Additionally, according to certain embodiments, elements within the transportation system100may communicate via peer-to-peer or sidelink communications, as illustrated inFIG.1by the link between the first transport vehicle145and the third transport vehicle155. The transportation system100illustrated inFIG.1is provided as one example of such a system. The methods described herein may be used with transportation systems with fewer, additional, or different components in different configurations than the transportation system100illustrated inFIG.1. For example, in some embodiments, the transportation system100includes fewer or additional servers and may include fewer or additional databases. In a particular example, the first transport container140is configured to perform one or more operations described herein with respect to the transport resource allocation server115. In a particular aspect, the transport resource allocation server115includes a distributed system and one or more components of the distributed system are configured to perform one or more operations described herein with respect to the transport resource allocation server115. In a particular aspect, the transport resource allocation server115includes one or more components that reside within an edge computing system associated with a transport vehicle, a transport container, or both. Having the one or more components reside within the edge computing system enables particular operations of the transport resource allocation server115to be performed at the edge computing system, e.g., when Internet connection is unavailable. FIG.2Aillustrates an example of the first transport container140. The first transport container140illustrated inFIG.2Aincludes a body205, a cover210, a locking mechanism215, a locking bar217, and a reporting system220. In the embodiment illustrated inFIG.2A, the cover210is pivotably coupled to the body205via one or more hinges225. In other embodiments, the cover210is coupled to the body205via other types of connectors (for example, sliding connectors). The body205is, in certain embodiments, generally box-shaped and defines a cavity230. The cavity230holds the object or objects being transported and functions as a secure space within the first transport container140. As an illustrative example, a package235is placed within the cavity230inFIG.2A. In a particular example, the package235includes, without limitation, prepared food, groceries, medicine, electronic media (e.g., computer tapes, hard files, etc.), money, securities, or a combination thereof. In various embodiments, the body205may have a generally cylindrical shape (not shown) defined by an opening, a base, a cover and at least one side wall defining a cavity. Other configurations of the body205are possible and within the contemplated scope of this disclosure. In some embodiments, the second transport container150, the third transport container160, and any other transport containers included in a transportation system for implementing conditional delivery (for example, the transportation system100ofFIG.1) can include all or some of the various components described herein with respect to the first transport container140. FIG.2Billustrates an example of a reporting system220incorporated as part of a transport container (for example, the first transport container140), according to certain embodiments of this disclosure. In the non-limiting example ofFIG.2B, the reporting system220includes an electronic processor240(for example, a microprocessor or electronic controller), memory245, a transceiver250, a user interface255, and a plurality of sensors and actuators260. The electronic processor240, the memory245, as well as the other various modules are coupled by a bus265, or are coupled directly, by one or more additional control or data buses, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the reporting system220may include fewer or additional components in configurations different from the configuration illustrated inFIG.2B. The reporting system220includes the transceiver250as an example of a container communication interface. In other implementations, the container communication interface includes the transceiver250, another type of communication interface, or both. The memory245includes read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), other non-transitory computer-readable media, or any combination thereof. The electronic processor240is configured to retrieve program instructions and data from the memory245and execute, among other things, instructions to perform the methods described herein. Additionally or alternatively, the memory245is included in the electronic processor240. The transceiver250is configured to provide communications between components of the first transport container140and components of the transport vehicles or other components within the transportation system100. The transceiver250transmits signals to one or more communication networks and receives signals from the communication network125. According to certain embodiments, the signals include, for example, data, data packets, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the transceiver250includes separate transmitters and receivers. The user interface255can include any combination of digital and analog input devices to achieve a desired level of control for the first transport container140. For example, the user interface255can include a display, a camera, a video camera, a speaker, a fingerprint sensor, a plurality of knobs, dials, switches, buttons, and the like. In some embodiments, the user interface255includes a touch-sensitive interface (for example, touch-screen display) that displays visual output generated by software applications executed by the electronic processor240. Visual output includes, for example, graphical indicators, lights, colors, text, images, graphical user interfaces (GUIs), combinations of the foregoing, and the like. The touch-sensitive interface includes a suitable display mechanism for displaying the visual output (for example, a light-emitting diode (LED) screen, a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, and the like). The touch-sensitive interface also receives user input using detected physical contact (for example, detected capacitance or resistance). Based on the user input, the touch-sensitive interface outputs signals to the electronic processor240which indicate positions on the touch-sensitive interface currently being selected by physical contact. According to various embodiments, the user interface255is fully physically integrated into the first transport container140, such as through a built-in touch screen or keypad. According to some embodiments, the user interface255is embodied in whole or in part on physically separate hardware than the first transport container140, including, without limitation as an application on a smart phone, or through a remote or console communicatively connected (for example, through a network cable, or over a Bluetooth Low Entergy radio link) to the first transport container140. In some embodiments, the sensors and actuators260include various sensors configured to detect various conditions within, around, or otherwise associated with the first transport container140. The sensors and actuators260can include, without limitation, location sensors (e.g., global positioning system (GPS) sensors), environmental sensors (e.g., temperature sensors, water sensors, or humidity sensors), movement sensors (e.g., acceleration sensors that can detect dropping), atmospheric sensors (for example, barometers or hygrometers), audio sensors, electrical sensors, or any combination thereof. In a particular aspect, a location of the first transport container140is communicated to the first transport container140, via a physical connector or wireless communication, by an anchor point to which the first transport container140is attached. When the first transport container140is placed at a non-powered anchored location, the location of the first transport container140may be based upon the last location information that was provided by a transport vehicle. In a particular aspect, the first transport container140may determine the location by communicating with a unique anchor location transponder device which is fixed and broadcasts position data or a unique identification signature which is mapped to a physical location of the anchor location transponder device. In a particular aspect, the first transport container140(e.g., an acceleration sensor), in response to sensing movement after the first transport container140has been anchored to a non-powered location, generates a package security issue indication that a theft condition is underway. In a particular aspect, package location sensing may include the ability for self-locating via techniques such as GPS. Self-locating is useful when the first transport container140is orphaned, i.e., when the first transport container140is not associated with a location services provider such as a transport vehicle or a powered anchored location (e.g., an anchor point). Self-locating also provides a way to validate that the location services provider position data (e.g., position data generated by the transport vehicle or the powered anchored location) aligns with the self-location position data generated by the first transport container140. Validation of the position data can be useful to detect errors or security issues. Self-locating may be useful for transport containers (e.g., the first transport container140) which are used to transport high valued items such as cash and securities, medical prescriptions, data storage devices, etc. Additionally, in certain embodiments, the sensors and actuators260are coupled to devices, such as motors with motor encoders, which, in addition to providing sensor data or feedback, can also operate in response to control signals. For example, the sensors and actuators260may comprise an encoder motor coupled to a latch or locking mechanism of the first transport container140, which can report on the current status of the latch, (for example, determining whether the latch is locked or not) and can also change the status of the latch. In some aspects, the sensors and actuators260include one or more location sensors. The location sensors (for example, global positioning system (GPS) sensors) determine an absolute or relative location of the first transport container140. In some embodiments, the location sensors determine the location of the first transport container140periodically. According to various embodiments, the location sensors determine the location of the first transport container140in response to receiving a request (for example, via the transceiver250). For example, the recipient or sender of the first transport container140sends a request signal to the reporting system220, via the transceiver250, requesting a location of the first transport container140. In response, the reporting system220determines a current (or last known) location of the first transport container140, via location sensors, and transmits the location to the recipient or sender, via the transceiver250. In some embodiments, the reporting system220determines the location of the first transport container140based at least in part on one or more location signals received via the transceiver250. In some aspects, the sensors and actuators260include one or more environmental sensors. The environmental sensors (for example, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, barometric pressure sensors, chemical sensors, or a combination thereof) determine environmental conditions of the first transport container140. For example, the environmental sensors may be placed within the cavity230of the first transport container140and configured to detect the temperature, the humidity, the barometric pressure, a chemical, or a combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the reporting system220determines whether predetermined environmental conditions exist within the transport container. For example, when the first transport container140is transporting an object that requires a temperature below a set threshold, the reporting system220continuously determines the temperature within the cavity230of the first transport container140, via environmental sensors, and transmits an alert signal when the temperature rises above the set threshold. In some embodiments, the first transport container140is configured to preserve the environmental conditions within the transport container140. For example, the first transport container140may include thermal insulation, weatherproofing, heatsinks, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the first transport container140is configured to be airtight, for example, to maintain an inert atmosphere within the first transport container140. In some aspects, the sensors and actuators260include one or more movement sensors. The movement sensors (for example, an accelerometer, gyroscope, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, or a combination thereof) detect movement of the first transport container140. The ability to detect movement of the first transport container140provides a plurality of benefits. For example, while a normal level of movement is to be expected while the first transport container140is being transported, an excessive amount of movement (for example, movement caused by the first transport container140being dropped) may indicate mishandling. In some embodiments, the reporting system220uses movement sensors to detect when the amount of movement is above a set threshold and transmits an alert signal to, for example, the sender, the recipient, the shipping company, or any combination thereof. These alert signals may be used to determine the cause of damaged packages. In some aspects, the sensors and actuators260include one or more audio sensors. The audio sensors (for example, a microphone) record noise present around the first transport container140. For example, the audio sensors can record audio during a potential theft of the first transport container140. The recorded audio can later be used to determine the identity of the party attempting to steal the first transport container140. In some aspects, the sensors and actuators260include one or more image sensors. The image sensors (for example, a camera or Far Infrared sensor) records electromagnetic radiation incident upon the first transport container140. For example, a camera can capture images periodically, or a camera can be trigged by a Far Infrared sensor detecting human proximity. Alternatively or additionally, image sensors can be used to determine one or more environmental conditions, for example, daylight cycles. In some embodiments, the reporting system220determines and reports status information of the first transport container140. Status information includes, without limitation, information associated with environmental conditions (detected by one or more of the plurality of sensors and actuators260), the current state of the locking mechanism215(for example, locked or unlocked), the current state of the locking bar217(for example, locked or unlocked), a remaining state of charge for a battery, various reservoir levels, or a combination thereof. According to various embodiments, the reporting system220determines and reports a location of the first transport container140. For example, the electronic processor240determines a location of the first transport container140based on information received from one or more of the plurality of sensors and actuators260, and sends the determined location via the transceiver250. FIG.3illustrates an example of a transport vehicle (for example, the first transport vehicle145ofFIG.1) according to various embodiments. The first transport vehicle145illustrated inFIG.3includes a plurality of attachment points305, a local data reporting system310, and a remote wireless communication system315. Referring to the non-limiting example ofFIG.3, the plurality of attachment points305are configured to store transport containers. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of attachment points305includes an anchor point for securing a transport container to the first transport vehicle145(for example, a bar). In such embodiments, a transport container can be secured to the anchor point of the attachment point via the locking bar217. The locking bar217illustrated inFIG.2Aand the plurality of attachment points305provide, in certain embodiments, a mechanism for securing transport containers to (or storing transport containers in) the plurality of transport vehicles. The locking bar217and plurality of attachment points305can include any appropriate form of complementary locking structures (for example, clamps, hooks, levers, etc.). In addition, in some embodiments, the plurality of transport containers are securely attached to the plurality of attachment points305via magnet locks. In some examples, the first transport vehicle145includes an electromechanical interface to couple or decouple the transport containers with the plurality of attachment points305. For example, a first control command to the electromechanical interface activates a magnetic lock of a first attachment point of the attachment points305to couple the first transport container140to the first attachment point. As another example, a second control command to the electromechanical interface deactivates the magnetic lock to decouple the first transport container140from the first attachment point. In a particular aspect, the transport resource allocation server115is configured to send one or more control commands to the electromechanical interface. In a particular aspect, a vehicle communication interface of the first transport vehicle145is configured to receive one or more control commands, and the electromechanical interface is configured to couple or decouple transport containers responsive to the received control commands. In some embodiments, the first transport vehicle145includes one or more sensors configured to detect a presence of the first transport container140. For example, the first transport container140is securely attached and locked to the first transport vehicle145. The presence of the first transport container140is verified by information from the sensors of the first transport vehicle145. For example, the first transport container140includes a tag (e.g., a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag, a NFC tag, or both), and the first transport vehicle145includes a tag reader (e.g., a RFID reader, a NFC reader, or both). The local data reporting system310receives information related to one or more tags detected by the tag reader. The local data reporting system310receives data from each transport container of a plurality of transport containers. For example, the local data reporting system310receives data from the reporting system220of the first transport container140when the first transport container140is secured to one of the plurality of attachment points305. Data includes, among other things, environmental data or statuses of the plurality of transport containers. In some embodiments, the local data reporting system310include components or combinations of different components, including all or some of the various components described above with respect to the reporting system220of the first transport container140. The remote wireless communication system315reports data to the transport resource allocation server115(for example, data received from transport containers, data received from the tag reader, or a combination thereof) and receives instructions detailing the routing of transport vehicles and the allocation of the plurality of attachment points305. In some embodiments, the remote wireless communication system315include components or combinations of different components. FIG.4illustrates an example of a transport resource allocation server115according to various embodiments of this disclosure. In the non-limiting example ofFIG.4, the transport resource allocation server115includes a processor405, server memory410, a server transceiver415, and a server user interface420. The processor405, the server memory410, as well as the other various modules are coupled by a bus425, or are coupled directly, by one or more additional control or data buses, or a combination thereof. In other embodiments, the transport resource allocation server115may include fewer or additional components in configurations different from that illustrated inFIG.4. The transport resource allocation server115includes the server transceiver415as an example of a delivery platform communication interface and as an example of a transmission system. In other implementations, the delivery platform communication interface includes the server transceiver415, a receiver, a network interface, an antenna, another type of communication interface, or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the transmission system of the transport resource allocation server115includes the server transceiver415, a transmitter, a network interface, an antenna, another type of communication interface, or a combination thereof. The processor405includes a condition detection interface407, a rules engine409, or both. The condition detection interface407includes a media scraping interface430, a sensor translation interface432, a condition extraction parser434, or a combination thereof. The media scraping interface430is configured to receive external notifications from published sources. For example, the media scraping interface430is configured to receive information regarding weather conditions, weather forecasts, traffic conditions, election results, sports news, or a combination thereof. In a particular aspect, one or more remote condition sensors are deployed in areas geographically separated from the transport resource allocation server115. The sensor translation interface432is configured to receive external notifications from the remote condition sensors. The condition extraction parser434is configured to convert the external notifications received by the media scraping interface430, the external notifications received by the sensor translation interface432, or a combination thereof, into condition parameters. The rules engine409is configured to determine, based on the condition parameters, whether a specified condition is satisfied. As an illustrative example, a delivery order indicates that during a particular time period (e.g., 1 year) a delivery operation is to be performed (e.g., a snack is to be delivered to a particular destination) on any day that a specified condition is satisfied. For example, the specified condition includes detecting a particular weather condition (e.g., rain) for more than a threshold duration (e.g., 30 minutes) in an area including the particular destination. In a particular aspect, the media scraping interface430, the sensor translation interface432, or both, receive a first external notification at a first time indicating that the particular weather condition (e.g., rain) is detected in the area. The media scraping interface430, the sensor translation interface432, or both, receive a second external notification at a second time indicating that the particular weather condition is detected in the area. The condition extraction parser434, responsive to receipt of the first external notification, receipt of the second external notification, and a determination that the second time is within a threshold duration (e.g., 1 hour) of the first time, generates a condition parameter indicating that the particular weather condition has been detected from the first time to the second time in the area. The rules engine509, based on a comparison of the condition parameter and the specified condition indicated by the delivery instructions751, determines that the specified condition has been satisfied. The rules engine509, in response to determining that the specified condition has been satisfied, generates a command to execute the delivery operation. For example, the command includes one or more movement commands to pick up a transport container, to place the object in the transport container, and to deliver the transport container to the particular destination. The server memory410stores program instructions and data. The server memory410may include combinations of different types of memory, including the various types of memory described above with respect to the memory245included in the reporting system220of the first transport container140. The processor405retrieves program instructions from the server memory410and executes the instructions to perform a set of functions including all or part of the methods described herein. The server transceiver415transmits signals to and receives signals from transport containers, transport vehicles, and other components included in the transportation system100ofFIG.1, such as through the communication network125or directly. In some embodiments, signals include, for example, data, data packets, or any combination thereof. The server user interface420includes any combination of digital and analog input devices required to achieve a desired level of control for the transport resource allocation server115. For example, the server user interface420can include a computer having a display, a keyboard, a mouse, speakers, a microphone, a camera, and the like. In some embodiments, the transport resource allocation server115interfaces with, or includes the transport order database120ofFIG.1. According to certain embodiments, the transport order database120includes data representing the identity and current status of components or combinations of different components, including all or some of the various components described above with respect to the transport resource allocation server115. Additionally, the transport order database120includes data associating orders, transport containers, delivery operations, specified conditions triggering the performance of delivery operations, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, multiple transport containers are used to fulfill a single delivery order. For example, a delivery order indicates a first environmental profile (e.g., temperature above a first threshold) for a first item (e.g., an entrée) to be delivered and a second environmental profile (e.g., temperature below a second threshold) for a second item (e.g., ice cream) to be delivered. The transport resource allocation server115selects a first transport container140based on the first environmental profile and selects a second transport container150based on the second environmental profile. In a particular aspect, the transport resource allocation server115initiates transportation of the first transport container140to pick up the first item, transportation of the second transport container150to be pick up the second item, or both. In a particular aspect, the transport resource allocation server115initiates placement of the first transport container140and the second transport container150in the same transport vehicle for delivery to the final destination indicated in the delivery order. In a particular aspect, the transport resource allocation server115initiates performance of a service request on the first item, the second item, or both. For example, the transport resource allocation server115initiates heating or cooking of the first item within a threshold time of an expected delivery time of the first transport container140. In a particular example, the delivery order indicates that the same type of items (e.g., soup and bread) are to be delivered in multiple containers (e.g., individual servings). In a particular aspect, an item is previously prepared (e.g., cooked) or prepared in transit (e.g., at an intermediate attachment point or aboard a transport vehicle). In a particular aspect, the items are prepared collectively and apportioned into one or more transport containers for delivery. According to certain embodiments, the transport resource allocation server115allocates transport vehicles based on transport orders. In general, a transport order can include a request to pick up an object from one location and transport the object to another location. The transport order is created, for example, in response to a customer ordering an object from a retailer. Alternatively, the transport order may be created, for example, in response to a business ordering a plurality of objects from a distributor. Further, the transport order may be created as a division of another order. For example, a first transport order is created responsive to a business ordering a first plurality of objects from a distributor. A second transport order and a third transport order are created from the first transport order responsive to the distributor ordering a second plurality of objects from a first supplier and a third plurality of objects from a second supplier, the second and third pluralities of objects comprising portions of the first plurality of objects. FIG.5illustrates operations of a method500of allocating, by a transport resource allocation server115, transport vehicles for moving transport containers based on transport orders, according to certain embodiments of this disclosure. Referring to the non-limiting example ofFIG.5, the method500includes the transport resource allocation server115receiving a transport order (at block505). In some embodiments, the transport resource allocation server115receives the transport order over the communication network125from the transport order database120. In some embodiments, the transport order indicates locations (for example, an object pick-up location and/or an object drop-off location), a time attribute of the transportation (for example, an expected pick-up and/or delivery timeframe), attributes of an object to be transported (for example, size, weight, monetary value, and an environmental profile), or a combination thereof. The environmental profile indicates, for example, temperature requirements, humidity requirements, barometric pressure requirements, chemical requirements, fragility requirements, and motion requirements. In some embodiments, the transport order also includes sender information (for example, the sender's name or customer number), recipient information (for example, the recipient's name or customer number), or both. At block510, the transport resource allocation server115determines a security profile of the transport order. The security profile includes the environmental profile discussed above, anti-theft requirements, monitoring requirements, or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments according to this disclosure, anti-theft requirements include requirements related to the security of transport containers against unauthorized access and removal of objects being transported. In some embodiments, the security profile indicates anti-theft requirements such as the minimum acceptable grade of the locking mechanism215, the minimum acceptable grade of the locking bar217, and the level of security required to unlock the locking mechanism215(for example, code entry, biometric, retina scanning, facial recognition, or a combination thereof). In a particular example, at a first level of security, only a possession factor (e.g. a key or RFID tag) is required to unlock the locking mechanism215. At a second level of security, a knowledge factor (e.g. a password, pin, or pattern) is required to unlock the locking mechanism215. At a third level of security, an inherency factor (e.g. biometric or retina scanning) is required to unlock locking mechanism215. At a fourth level of security, at least two factors are required to unlock locking mechanism215. The fourth level may require similar factors (e.g. inherency factors), or may require dissimilar factors (e.g. a knowledge factor and a possession factor). Anti-theft requirements can also include requirements related to the security of the transport vehicles against unauthorized access and removal of transport containers being transported. In some embodiments, the security profile indicates anti-theft requirements such as the minimal acceptable grade of anchor point that must be included in each of the plurality of attachment points305. In certain embodiments according to this disclosure, monitoring requirements include environmental condition monitoring requirements. For example, the environmental profile can indicate that the object being transported requires constant temperature monitoring. Monitoring requirements can also include location monitoring requirements. For example, the security profile can indicate that the current location of the object being transported needs to be reported on demand. In some embodiments, the monitoring requirements are directly related to the transport containers, the transport vehicles, or both. For example, the environmental profile can indicate that an object being transported can only be transported in a transport container that includes temperature sensors. As a further example, the security profile can indicate that an object being transported can only be transported in a transport vehicle that includes location sensors. In some embodiments, the transport order indicates the security profile, the environmental profile, or both. In various embodiments according to this disclosure, the transport resource allocation server115determines the security profile, the environmental profile, or both, of the transport order based in part on information included the transport order. In some embodiments, the transport resource allocation server115determines anti-theft requirements for the security profile based the data included in the transport order (e.g., data indicating the monetary value of the object being transported). For example, an object flagged as having a high value will have greater anti-theft requirements than an object indicated as being of lesser monetary value. Further examples of objects triggering higher anti-theft requirements include, without limitation, prescription medications (for example, prescription medicines with psychotropic properties) or irreplaceable personal items (e.g., heirlooms). In a particular aspect, the transport resource allocation server115determines anti-theft requirements based on sender or recipient information included in the transport order. For example, the transport resource allocation server115may determine that all transport orders for a specific recipient require a high amount of anti-theft requirements and monitoring requirements, regardless of the monetary value of the object being transported. In another example, the delivery order includes information associated with a drug prescription, and satisfaction of a specified condition is based in part on detecting from a medical record, that a delivery of a drug is indicated by the drug prescription. Returning to the illustrative example ofFIG.5, at block515, the transport resource allocation server115receives container data from the transport containers. The container data indicates a location for each transport container. For example, the container data can include an address of a building in which the first transport container140is currently located or last detected. The container data can further indicate the locations of transport containers within a building. For example, the container data can indicate a specific room or part of the building where the first transport container140is located. According to certain embodiments, the container data includes security features of each transport container such as anti-theft features, monitoring features, environmental features, or a combination thereof. Additionally, in certain embodiments, the container data comprises data regarding the status or availability of a transport container, which can be maintained as a calendar or other temporal data structure. Additionally, the container data includes, without limitation, data regarding analytical metrics pertaining to the transport container itself, such as a unitized cost to operate the transport container. Anti-theft features include, for example, the complexity of the locking mechanism215and the amount of security required to unlock the locking mechanism215in each transport container. Monitoring features include, for example, the quantity or quality of different sensors included in each transport container. For example, the container data can indicate that the first transport container140includes sensors which determine and report environmental conditions of the first transport container140such as location, temperature, motion, or a combination thereof. Environmental features include, for example, temperature regulation, humidity regulation, barometric pressure regulation, movement regulation, chemical regulation (e.g., sealing capabilities), or a combination thereof. For example, the container data can indicate that the first transport container140is configured to regulate the temperature within the cavity230. As a further example, the container data can indicate that the second transport container150is configured to regulate temperature and humidity. As an additional example, the container data can indicate that the third transport container160is configured to regulate motion of objects being transported. For example, the third transport container may include one or more reaction wheels, momentum wheels, or control moment gyroscopes. As another example, the container data can indicate that the fourth transport container160is configured to seal (e.g., a water-tight seal, a hermetic seal, or both) the objects being transported. According to various embodiments, the container data includes sizes of each transport container. For example, the container data indicates, among other things, the outer dimensions of each transport container, the dimensions of the cavity230within each transport container, or both. At block520, the transport resource allocation server115receives vehicle data from the transport vehicles. The vehicle data includes a location for each of the transport vehicles. For example, the vehicle data can include a street address near the current location (or a last detected location) of the first transport vehicle145. If a transport vehicle is moving, the vehicle data can indicate its current location (or a last detected location), traveling speed, and a destination location. The vehicle data also indicates the capabilities of each of the transport vehicles. For example, the vehicle data can indicate the total quantity of attachment points for securing transport containers included in (or currently available in) each of the transport vehicles. In some embodiments, the vehicle data also indicates security features of each transport vehicle. In some embodiments, security features include anti-theft features, monitoring features, environmental features, or a combination thereof. Additionally, in certain embodiments, the vehicle data comprises data regarding the status or availability of a transport vehicle, which can be maintained as a calendar or other temporal data structure. Additionally, the vehicle data includes, without limitation, data regarding analytical metrics pertaining to the transport vehicle itself, such as a unitized cost to operate the transport vehicle. Anti-theft features include, for example, the complexity of anchors included in the plurality of attachment points305and the amount of security required to release a transport container from an attachment point. Monitoring features include, for example, the quantity or quality of sensors included in each transport vehicle. For example, the vehicle data can indicate that the first transport vehicle145includes sensors that determine and report environmental conditions of the first transport vehicle145such as location, temperature, movement, or a combination thereof. Environmental features include, for example, temperature regulation, humidity regulation, barometric pressure regulation, chemical regulation, movement regulation, or a combination thereof. For example, the vehicle data can indicate that the first transport vehicle145is configured to regulate the temperature within a cargo hold. At block525, the transport resource allocation server115selects one of the plurality of transport containers to carry out the transport order. In some embodiments, the transport resource allocation server115selects one of the plurality of transport containers based in part on the security profile of the transport order and the security features of the plurality of transport containers included in the container data. For example, the transport resource allocation server115may select the first transport container140because the locking mechanism215of the first transport container140is compliant with anti-theft requirements included in the security profile of the transport order. As a further example, the transport resource allocation server115may select the second transport container150because the security profile of the transport order requires constant location reporting and the second transport container150is configured to determine and report its location on demand. As an additional example, the transport resource allocation server115may select the third transport container160because the third transport container160is configured to refrigerate the cavity230and the security profile (e.g., the environmental profile) of the transport order indicates that the object being transported is perishable and needs to be kept below a temperature of 35 degrees. In some embodiments, the transport resource allocation server115additionally selects one of the plurality of transport containers to carry out the transport order based on the locations and sizes of each of the plurality of transport containers. For example, when the first transport container140and the second transport container150both have security features that are compliant with the security profile of the transport order, the transport resource allocation server115may select the first transport container140over the second transport container150because the first transport container140is located closer to the pick-up location than the second transport container150. At block530, the transport resource allocation server115selects a transport vehicle to carry out the transport order. In some embodiments, the transport resource allocation server115selects the transport vehicle based in part on the security profile of the transport order and the security features of the transport vehicle, which can be included as part of the vehicle data. For example, the transport resource allocation server115may select the first transport vehicle145because the plurality of attachment points305of the first transport vehicle145are compliant with anti-theft requirements included in the security profile of the transport order. As a further example, the transport resource allocation server115may select the second transport vehicle147because the security profile of the profile of the transport order requires constant location reporting and the second transport vehicle147is configured to determine and report its location on demand. In some embodiments, at block530, the transport resource allocation server115selects a transport vehicle to carry out the transport order based on data indicating the locations and capabilities of each of a plurality of transport vehicles. For example, when the second transport vehicle147and the third transport vehicle155both have security features that are compliant with the security profile of the transport order, the transport resource allocation server115may select the third transport vehicle155over the second transport vehicle147because the third transport vehicle155is located closer to the pick-up location than the second transport vehicle147. As an additional example, when the first transport vehicle145and the third transport vehicle155both have security features that are compliant with the security profile of the transport order, the transport resource allocation server115may select the first transport vehicle145over the third transport vehicle155because the first transport vehicle145has an available attachment point to allocate to the selected transport container and the attachment point(s) of the third transport vehicle155are all occupied or allocated to other transport containers. In some embodiments, the selected transport vehicle may not perform all of the delivery tasks associated with the entire transport order. For example, the selected transport vehicle may transport the selected transport container from a starting location to an intermediate location and another transport vehicle may transport the selected transport container from the intermediate location to a destination location of the transport order. At block535, the transport resource allocation server115sends a movement order to the selected transport vehicle to pick up the selected transport container. In some embodiments, the movement order includes an order to move the selected transport vehicle from its current location to the location of the selected transport container. For example, when the selected transport container is located at a first location and the selected transport vehicle is located at a second location, the movement order can include an order to move the selected transport vehicle from the second location to the first location in order to pick up the selected transport container. In certain embodiments, the movement order includes an order to alter the current driving route of the selected transport vehicle. For example, when the selected transport vehicle is traveling to a first location, the movement order can include an order to detour to a second location where the selected transport container is located, or add the second location as a new stop after the stopping at the first location. Referring to the non-limiting example ofFIG.5, the movement order includes an order to place the selected transport container in the selected transport vehicle. For example, when the selected transport vehicle and the selected transport container are both located at the same facility, the movement order can include an order to place the selected transport container in the selected transport vehicle. As a further example, when the selected transport vehicle is traveling to the location of the selected transport container to pick another transport container, the movement order can include an order to place the selected transport container on the selected transport vehicle along with one or more other transport containers. In certain embodiments according to this disclosure, the transport container is designated as having a fixed location, and the movement order further includes an order to deliver, to the transport container, an item to be placed in the transport container. According to various embodiments, the movement order further includes an order to receive an item at the transport container. In some embodiments, at block530, the transport resource allocation server115selects a transport vehicle to carry out the transport order based on one or more previously transmitted movement orders. For example, when the first transport vehicle145is traveling to a location to pick up another transport container based on a movement order, the transport resource allocation server115may select the first transport vehicle145to also pick up the selected transport container when the two transport containers are located with a predetermined distance of each other. For example, the two transport containers can be located next to each other, at the same storage facility, at separate nearby storage facilities, in the same neighborhood, or in the same city. Given the potential for different combinations of security features among transport containers, it may be difficult for certain users of transportation system100(for example, a small retailer) to store every possible type of transport container at their facilities. As described above, the transportation system100can allocate transport vehicles to move the plurality of transport containers based on transport orders. However, when the plurality of transport containers are not located (or stored) at the locations where objects to be transported are picked-up, additional time is needed to transport the plurality of transport containers to the pick-up locations. Thus, in some embodiments, the transportation system100allocates transport vehicles to move transport containers based on container need. FIG.6illustrates operations of a method600of allocating transport vehicles for moving transport containers based on container need according to certain embodiments of this disclosure. Referring to the non-limiting example ofFIG.6, at block605, a transport resource allocation server115receives container data from transport containers. The container data includes, among other things, locations, security features, and sizes of each of a set of transport containers whose operation is managed, at least in part, by transport resource allocation server115, as described above in relation to block515inFIG.5. In various embodiments, at block610, the transport resource allocation server115receives vehicle data from transport vehicles. The vehicle data includes, among other things, locations, capabilities, and security features of the transport vehicles, as described above in relation to block520inFIG.5. As shown in the non-limiting example ofFIG.6, at block615, the transport resource allocation server115determines a container need for a location (for example, a first location). The container need indicates a need for transport containers with specific attributes at the first location. The first location can include, for example, a storage warehouse of a product manufacturer or retailer. The specific attributes of transport containers needed at the first location are represented in a security profile included in the container need. The security profile can include environmental requirements, anti-theft requirements, and monitoring requirements, as discussed above in relation to block510inFIG.5. In some embodiments, the container need indicates a quantity of transport containers needed at the first location. For example, the container need can indicate that three transport containers with a specific security profile are needed at the first location. In some embodiments, the container need indicates that a transport container is designated as having a fixed location. According to various embodiments, at block615, the transport resource allocation server115determines the container need based in part on the container data. For example, the transport resource allocation server115determines a quantity of the transport containers located at the first location based in part on the container data. The transport resource allocation server115then determines the container need of the first location based in part on the quantity of the transport containers located at the first location. For example, when two transport containers with a specific security profiles are located at the first location and a total of five transport containers with the specific security profile are needed at the first location, the transport resource allocation server115determines a container need of the first location for three transport containers with the specific security profile. In some embodiments, at block615, the transport resource allocation server115determines the container need of the first location based in part on one or more transport orders. For example, the transport resource allocation server115may receive a transport order including the first location and a plurality of attributes of an object to be transported. In some such embodiments, the transport resource allocation server115determines the container need of the first location based on the one or more of the plurality of attributes of the object to be transported that are included in the transport order. In some embodiments, the transport resource allocation server115determines the container need of the first location based on a plurality of previously received transport orders. For example, based on a plurality of previously received transport orders, the transport resource allocation server115may determine that a great number of objects requiring refrigeration are picked-up from the first location at the beginning of every month. Thus, the transport resource allocation server115may determine that the first location needs to have a set number of transport containers with refrigeration capabilities at the start of every month. In various embodiments, at block620, the transport resource allocation server115, selects one of the plurality of transport containers based on in part on the security profile of the container need and the security features of the plurality of transport containers included in the container data. At block625, the transport resource allocation server115selects a transport vehicle to move the selected transport container to the first location. In some embodiments, the transport resource allocation server115selects a transport vehicle based in part on the vehicle data, the security profile, or both. Referring to the non-limiting example ofFIG.6, at block627, the transport resource allocation server115selects a holding location (for example, docking attachment point110inFIG.1) as a staging location for holding the transport container pending satisfaction of a specified condition. In a particular aspect, the holding location is selected based on geographical proximity to the final delivery destination. Upon receiving data notifying the relevant actor(s) within transportation system100(for example, a transport container or delivery vehicle) that the delivery condition has been satisfied, the delivery process resumes, and remaining delivery operations (for example, releasing the transport container from an attachment point, unlocking the container) are performed. At block630, the transport resource allocation server115sends a movement order to the selected transport vehicle to pick up the selected transport container. The movement order can include one or more of the movement order described above in relation to block535inFIG.5. For example, in some embodiments, a movement order includes an order to deliver, to the transport container, an item to be contained in a transport container, the transport container designated as having a fixed location. FIG.7Aillustrates a data structure for container data700according to various embodiments of this disclosure. Referring to the non-limiting example ofFIG.7A, the container data700can include data indicating a status710of the container (for example, an operational state or condition, e.g., in-use, idle, offline, etc.), data indicating a location720of the container, data indicating security features730of the container, data indicating a size740of the container, and data associated with delivery instructions751for the container. The data associated with the location720includes the GPS coordinates and street or building address of the container. According to various embodiments, the data indicating the security features730include anti-theft features, monitoring features, and regulation features. The data associated with the size740may include one or more dimensions of the container, such as an outer dimension, radius, height, or the like. According to certain embodiments, the container data700further comprises data associated with delivery instructions751for the container. According to various embodiments, delivery instructions751include, without limitation, data specifying storage conditions (e.g., environmental conditions) to be maintained within the container, security parameters (for example, authentication operations required before a container can be opened), and digital evidence (for example, entries to be added to a block chain, distributed ledger or other trusted data format) of the container having been loaded, delivered or otherwise made subject to a delivery operation. As illustrated by the non-limiting example ofFIG.7A, the delivery instructions751comprise deferral conditions755. According to certain embodiments, the deferral conditions755comprise data representing (for example, in a markup language) gating conditions for the performance of delivery operations. As an example, the deferral conditions755comprise an operation:condition pair, indicating that the specified delivery operation is not to be performed until the specified condition is satisfied. To illustrate, the deferral condition755can include an operation:date pair, in which case the operation specified in the operation value of the operation:date pair is not be performed until a date specified in the date value of the operation:date pair. FIG.7Billustrates an example of a data structure for vehicle data750according to certain embodiments of this disclosure. As shown in the non-limiting example ofFIG.7B, the vehicle data750includes data indicating a status760(for example, an operational state or condition, e.g., in-use, idle, offline, etc.) of a vehicle (e.g., the first transport vehicle145), data indicating a location770of the vehicle, data associated with the capabilities780of the vehicle, and data specifying the security features790of the vehicle. In certain embodiments, the data showing the status760of the vehicle (e.g., a delivery vehicle) includes a speed of the vehicle and a current or future destination of the vehicle. In various embodiments according to this disclosure, data specifying the location770of the vehicle includes GPS coordinates, a street or building address, or the like. Data showing the capabilities780of the vehicle includes, in certain embodiments, data showing a quantity of attachment points included on the vehicle and a quantity of available attachment points. In some embodiments, data indicating the security features790includes data specifying anti-theft features, monitoring features, regulation features, anchor complexity, and security levels provided by the vehicle. FIG.8is an example movement diagram reflecting various modes of conditional delivery using elements of the transportation system ofFIG.1, according to some embodiments. Referring to the non-limiting example ofFIG.8, a transportation system800utilizes components described with respect toFIG.1.FIG.8illustrates three exemplary scenarios in which a delivery order is executed such that performance of one or more delivery operations are deferred until a specified condition is satisfied. In a first scenario, a transport container830A (represented at three different times in the delivery process as830A-1,830A-2, and830A-3) moves through the transportation system800. In this example, conditional delivery of the transport container830A is achieved by holding the transport container830A-2after retrieval from a reception point860A for a period of time855at an intermediate attachment point860B. The transportation system800receives an item for delivery and handling according to specified conditions via secured transport container830A-1. In this example, the secured transport container830A-1is received (e.g., picked up) at a reception point860A by a delivery vehicle845. The parameters of the delivery are determined and transmitted to the delivery vehicle845and the transport container830A-1via an orchestration platform (for example, the transport resource allocation server115ofFIG.1). The delivery vehicle845is associated with (e.g., under control of) a delivery management server (e.g., the transport resource allocation server115ofFIG.1). The delivery management server receives a delivery order indicating a future condition and including instructions to defer delivery until the specified condition is satisfied (e.g., the passage of the time855). Delivery by a delivery vehicle845to a delivery attachment point860C is deferred until detection that the specified condition is satisfied. Responsive to the detection that the specified condition has been satisfied, the delivery management server transmits, to a delivery vehicle845(e.g., an autonomous delivery vehicle), an instruction to perform delivery of the transport container830A to a delivery attachment point860C. According to various embodiments of this disclosure, in a first delivery scenario, deferring delivery of the transport container830A until the specified condition is satisfied includes instructing anchored storage at a reception point (e.g., intermediate attachment point860B) to have environmental parameters within ranges compatible with the handling parameters indicated by a delivery order for the object. For example, the transport order indicates the handling parameters for controlling environmental conditions of the object until the specified condition is satisfied. According to certain embodiments, the delivery vehicle845performs a first transportation leg870A and a second transportation leg870B to move the transport container830A-1from the reception point860A to the intermediate attachment point860B, where the transport container830A is labeled as transport container830A-2. Responsive to a specified condition being satisfied, such as the passage of a time855, the delivery management server transmits to a delivery vehicle845(e.g., an autonomous delivery vehicle), an instruction to perform delivery of the transport container830A-2(e.g., a secure package container) to a delivery attachment point860C through a third transport leg870C and a fourth transport leg870D. While in this explanatory example, the first transport leg870A and the second transport leg870B are shown separately, the first transport leg870A and the second transport leg870B could be parts of a single trip. Similarly, while the third transport leg870C and the fourth transport leg870D are shown separately, the third transport leg870C and the fourth transport leg870D could also be part of a single trip. In a particular aspect, the transport container830A is labeled as a transport container830A-3at the delivery attachment point860C. In a second scenario, (represented by transport containers830B-1and830B-2, which represent a single transport container830B at different stages of a delivery process), conditional delivery is achieved by the transportation system800through holding the transport container830B-1for a period of time850on a delivery vehicle845after a pickup operation870E. In this example, one or more items for handling and delivery under controlled conditions to a delivery attachment point860C are received (e.g., picked up) in a secured transport container830B-1at a reception point860A by a delivery vehicle845. The delivery vehicle845is associated with (e.g., under control of) a delivery management server (e.g., the transport resource allocation server115ofFIG.1). The delivery management server receives a delivery order indicating a specified condition, such as the passage of a time850. In certain embodiments, the delivery order includes instructions to defer delivery until the specified condition is satisfied. The delivery vehicle845, under direction of the delivery management server defers delivery until the specified condition is satisfied. Responsive to the specified condition being satisfied (e.g., the passage of time850), the delivery management server transmits to an autonomous delivery vehicle, such as delivery vehicle845, an instruction to perform delivery of the transport container830B (e.g., a secure package container) to the delivery attachment point860C, where the transport container830B is labeled as the transport container830B-2. In a third scenario (represented by transport containers830C-1and830C-2, which depict a single transport container at two different times as it moves through the transport system800), conditional delivery is achieved by transportation system800through holding a transport container830C-1for a period of time850on a delivery vehicle845after a pickup operation870G and then returning a transport container830C-2via a delivery operation870H to the same reception point860A from which transport container830C was originally extracted. The delivery vehicle845receives (e.g., picks up) at a reception point860A in a transport container830C-1(e.g., a secured delivery container) one or more items for handling and delivery under controlled conditions to the reception point860A. The delivery vehicle845is associated with (e.g., under control of) a delivery management server (e.g., the transport resource allocation server115ofFIG.1). The delivery management server receives a delivery order indicating a future condition, such as the passage of time850. In some embodiments, the delivery order includes instructions to defer delivery until the specified condition is satisfied. The delivery vehicle845, under direction of the delivery management server, defers delivery until detection that the specified condition is satisfied. The delivery management server, responsive to the detection that the specified condition is satisfied (e.g., passage of the time850), transmits to an autonomous delivery vehicle, such as the delivery vehicle845, an instruction to perform delivery of the transport container830C (e.g., a secure transport container) to the reception point860A. In a particular aspect, the transport container830C is labeled as a transport container830C-2upon delivery to the reception point860A. In a particular aspect, each of the reception point860A, the delivery attachment point860B, and the delivery attachment point860C receives a transport container (e.g., the transport container830A,830B, or830C) from the same delivery vehicle845. In an alternative aspect, at least one of the delivery attachment points860A,860B, or860C receives a transport container (e.g., the transport container830A,830B, or830C) from the delivery vehicle845and another one of the delivery attachment points860A,860B, or860C receives the same transport container from another delivery vehicle that is distinct from the delivery vehicle845. FIG.9illustrates operations of a method900for conditional delivery, according to various embodiments of this disclosure. Referring to the non-limiting example ofFIG.9, at block905, a delivery vehicle receives (e.g., picks up), at a reception point, one or more items for handling and delivery under controlled conditions to a delivery point in a secured delivery container. Further, according to certain embodiments, the delivery vehicle is associated with (e.g., under control) of a delivery management server. In some embodiments, at block910, the delivery management server receives a delivery order indicating a specified condition, and the delivery order includes one or more pieces of data comprising instructions to defer delivery until the specified condition is satisfied. At block915, delivery is deferred until a delivery management server detects that the specified condition is satisfied. At block920, responsive to detecting that the specified condition has been satisfied, the delivery management server transmits an instruction to perform delivery of the secure package container to an autonomous delivery vehicle. FIG.10illustrates operations of a method1000for conditional delivery according to various embodiments of this disclosure. Referring to the non-limiting example ofFIG.10, at block1010, a delivery order indicating a future condition, including at least instructions to defer delivery until the specified condition is satisfied, is received. At block1015, defer delivery until detection that the specified condition is satisfied. At block1020, responsive to the detection that the specified condition is satisfied, orders are issued to perform delivery of the secure package container. Referring toFIG.11, an example of a method for conditional delivery is shown and generally designated1100. The transport resource allocation server115determines that an object is to be dropped off or has been dropped off at a drop-off location (at block1102). For example, the transport resource allocation server115receives a transport order over the communication network125from the transport order database120. The transport order indicates the drop-off location, a drop-off time, or both, for an object that is to be transported. Alternatively, the transport resource allocation server115determines that an object is to be picked up from a pick-up location (at block1104). For example, the transport order indicates the pick-up location, a pick-up time, or both, for an object to be transported. In a particular aspect, the reception point860A corresponds to the drop-off location or the pick-up location. The transport resource allocation server115selects a transport container (e.g., the first transport container140) to perform at least part of the transport order, as described with reference toFIG.5. For example, the transport resource allocation server115selects the first transport container140based on a security profile (e.g., the environmental profile) indicated by the transport order, security features of the first transport container140, a location of the transport container140, a location of the reception point860A, or a combination thereof. The transport resource allocation server115selects a transport vehicle to perform at least part of the transport order, as described with reference toFIG.5. For example, the transport resource allocation server115selects the first transport vehicle145based on the security profile (e.g., the environmental profile) indicated by the transport order, the security features of the first transport vehicle145, a location of the first transport vehicle145, an availability of an attachment point of the first transport vehicle145, a location of the reception point860A, or a combination thereof. At block1106, the transport resource allocation server115initiates transportation of the object using the selected transport container (e.g., the first transport container140) and the selected transport vehicle (e.g., the first transport vehicle145), as described with reference toFIG.5. For example, the transport resource allocation server115sends to the first transport vehicle145a first movement order to go to the location of the first transport container140, a second movement order to place the first transport container140in the first transport vehicle145, a third movement order to transport the first transport container140to the reception point860A, a fourth movement order to place the object in the first transport container140, a fifth movement order to transport the object in the first transport container140to a destination, or a combination thereof. The destination could be a destination for the object indicated in the transport order or an intermediate destination (e.g., a holding location, as described with reference toFIG.6). In a particular aspect, the transport resource allocation server115sends one or more movement orders to the first transport container140concurrently with sending one or more movement orders to the first transport vehicle145. For example, the transport resource allocation server115transmits a sixth movement order to the first transport container140to receive the object in the first transport container140. The transport resource allocation server115initiates performance of one or more rule-based actions (at block1108). In a particular example, the first transport container140is kept at a holding location, such as a docking attachment point110, a reception point860A, the attachment point860B, one of the attachment points305of the first transport vehicle145, the delivery vehicle845, or a combination thereof until a specified condition is satisfied. To illustrate, a rules engine (e.g., the processor405) of the transport resource allocation server115determines whether a specified condition indicated by the delivery instructions751is satisfied. The rules engine includes program code that, when executed by the processor405, causes the rules engine to, responsive to determining whether the specified condition is satisfied, determine service actions for handling of the first transport container140until satisfaction of the specified condition. For example, the service actions include storing the first transport container140at a holding location (e.g., a reception point860A) that satisfies one or more storage parameters. In a particular aspect, the storage parameters are based at least in part on a determination of a minimum expected delivery time for the first transport container140. For example, the delivery instructions751indicate that a temperature of the object is to be maintained below a temperature threshold. The container data700of the first transport container140includes security features730indicating that the first transport container140is capable of maintaining an internal temperature below the temperature threshold for a first duration (e.g., 3 hours). The transport resource allocation server115determines the storage parameters based on the first duration. For example, the transport resource allocation server115, in response to determining that the minimum expected delivery time (e.g., 4 hours) is greater than the first duration (e.g., 3 hours), selects storage parameters that include the ability (e.g., refrigeration) to maintain the temperature below the temperature threshold for at least the minimum expected delivery time. In a particular aspect, the storage parameters are based at least in part on a value of a parameter associated with security of the first transport container140, as described with reference toFIG.5. In a particular aspect, deferring the performance of the delivery operation includes transmitting, from the transport resource allocation server115to the first transport vehicle145, instructions to route the first transport container140to a delivery target (e.g., a destination) on a route determined to provide continuous transportation on the first transport vehicle145until the specified condition is satisfied. For example, the delivery instructions751indicate that an object (e.g., flowers and balloons) are to be delivered to a particular destination upon satisfaction of a specified condition (e.g., a particular contestant wins an election). The first transport vehicle145could be assigned to make deliveries in an area that includes the particular destination. The transport resource allocation server115transmits instructions to the first transport vehicle145, instructions to route the first transport container140(e.g., carrying the flowers and balloons) to the delivery target (e.g., the particular destination) on a route (e.g., around the area) to provide continuous transportation on the first transport vehicle145until the specified condition is satisfied. In a particular aspect, the media scraping interface430ofFIG.4receives an external notification indicating a result of the election. The rules engine409, in response to determining that the external notification indicates that the particular contestant won the election, generates a command to deliver the first transport container140. The transport resource allocation server115sends the command to the first transport vehicle145. The first transport vehicle145, responsive to receiving the command, delivers the first transport container140at the particular destination. Alternatively, the rules engine409, in response to determining that a second specified condition is satisfied (e.g., another contestant won the election), generates a command to route the first transport container140to another location. In a particular example, the rules engine409generates the command to route the first transport container140for return to the reception point860A. In another example, the rules engine409generates the command to route the first transport container140to a second destination associated with the other contestant who won the election. In a particular aspect, the rules engine409determines a delivery target (e.g., a first destination associated with a first contestant or a second destination associated with a second contestant) based on a delivery target rule indicated by the delivery instructions751of a delivery order. For example, the delivery target rule indicates that the object (e.g., the flowers and balloons) is to be delivered to a destination associated with a contestant who wins the election. In a particular aspect, the transport resource allocation server115sends a notification to a device associated with the delivery target (e.g., a contestant or a destination associated with the contestant) to indicate that the object is to be delivered. The transport resource allocation server115receives a performance request or a return request responsive to the notification. For example, the contestant may refuse delivery of the object and send a return request responsive to the notification. The transport resource allocation server115, responsive to receiving the return request, generates a command routing the first transport container140for return to the reception point860A. As another example, the contestant may accept delivery of the object and send a performance request responsive to the notification. The transport resource allocation server115, responsive to receiving the performance request, generates a command routing the first transport container140to a destination associated with the contestant. In a particular aspect, the performance request, the delivery instructions751, or both, may indicate one or more delivery conditions. For example, the delivery conditions indicate that a service is to be performed on the object. To illustrate, the delivery conditions indicate that the balloons have to be filled with helium. The rules engine409, responsive to determining that the delivery conditions are satisfied, generates a command routing the first transport container140to a destination associated with the contestant. The transport resource allocation server115sends the command to the first transport vehicle145. At block1110, the first transport vehicle145transports the first transport container140to the destination indicated by the command. At block1112, the first transport vehicle145delivers the first transport container140to the location indicated by the command. In a particular aspect, the transport resource allocation server115updates an entry in a distributed ledger in response to determining that a specified condition is satisfied, determining that the command has been sent to the first transport vehicle145, or both. In a particular aspect, the command includes instructions to update the distributed ledger upon receipt of the command, upon delivery of the first transport container140, or both. In this aspect, the first transport container140updates the entry in the distributed ledger in response to receiving the command, in response to delivery the first transport container140, or both. Some additional examples of conditional delivery are further described with reference toFIGS.12-16. Referring toFIG.12, an example of a method for conditional delivery is shown and generally designated1200. The transport resource allocation server115determines that an object is to be picked up from a pick-up location (at block1202). For example, a shipping order indicates that an object is to be picked up from the reception point860A ofFIG.8. In a particular aspect, the shipping order indicates one or more pickup rules1220. For example, the pickup rules1220indicate a condition (e.g., shipping order is complete) that activates a trigger and an action (e.g., dispatch transport for pickup) that is to be performed when the trigger is activated. The shipping order also indicates one or more delivery rules1224. For example, the shipping order indicates a plurality of conditions that activate various triggers and indicates actions that are to be performed when a corresponding trigger is activated. For example, the delivery rules1224indicate that a first condition (e.g., expected delivery time before 5 PM and a location of a recipient detected at work) activates a first trigger, and a first action (e.g., delivery to recipient work address) is to be performed when the first trigger is activated. As another example, the delivery rules1224indicate that a second condition (e.g., expected delivery time after 5 PM) activates a second trigger, and a second action (e.g., delivery to recipient home address) is to be performed when the second trigger is activated. In a particular example, the delivery rules1224indicate that a third condition (e.g., receipt of a recall request prior to completion of delivery) activates a third trigger, and a third action (e.g., delivery to shipper) is to be performed when the third trigger is activated. The transport resource allocation server115initiates transportation of the first transport container140(at block1204). For example, the rules engine409, in response to determining that a condition (e.g., shipping order is complete) indicated by the pickup rules1220is satisfied, initiates performance of a corresponding action (e.g., dispatching transport for pickup). To illustrate, the transport resource allocation server115selects the first transport container140and the first transport vehicle145, as described herein. The transport resource allocation server115sends a command to the first transport vehicle145to pick up the first transport container140, to go to the reception point860A, to place the object in the first transport container140, or a combination thereof. In a particular aspect, the rules engine409determines a first expected delivery time of the first transport container140to a first location (e.g., recipient work address) and a second expected delivery time of the first transport container140to a second location (e.g., recipient home address). The rules engine409determines, based on the first expected delivery time and the second expected delivery time, that a particular condition of the delivery rules1224is likely to be satisfied. The rules engine409generates a command in preparation of performance of an action corresponding to the particular condition that is likely to be satisfied. For example, the rules engine409generates a command to route the first transport container140to the first location in response to determining that a corresponding condition (e.g., first expected delivery time before 5 pm on a workday when the recipient is expected to be at work at the first expected delivery time) is likely to be satisfied. Alternatively, the rules engine409generates a command to route the first transport container140to the second location in response to determining that a corresponding condition (e.g., first expected delivery time after 5 pm or the recipient is not expected to be at work at the first expected delivery time) is likely to be satisfied. The transport resource allocation server115sends the command to the first transport vehicle145. In a particular aspect, the transport resource allocation server115receives a recall request. The rules engine409, in response to receipt of the recall request and a determining that delivery of the first transport container140has not been completed, generates a command to route the first transport container140to a sender address, the reception point860A, or another location. The transport resource allocation server115sends the command to the first transport vehicle145. The method1200thus enables conditional delivery of the first transport container140to a particular location based on an expected delivery time and a recipient location. The method1200also enables the first transport container140to be recalled prior to delivery. Referring toFIG.13, an example of a method for conditional delivery is shown and generally designated1300. A shipping order indicates one or more pickup rules1320, one or more service rules1322, one or more delivery rules1324, or a combination thereof. Each of the rules indicated by the shipping order indicates a condition and an action to be performed responsive to the condition being satisfied. The shipping order indicates a pickup location (e.g., a reception point860A). The transport resource allocation server115initiates, based on the pickup rules1320, pickup of an object to be delivered (at block1302). The rules engine409, in response to receiving the shipping order, determines that a first condition (e.g., shipping order is complete) indicated by a first pickup rule of the pickup rules1320is satisfied. The rules engine409, in response to determining that the first condition is satisfied, performs a corresponding first action by selecting the first transport container140based on an environmental profile (e.g., temperature controlled) and generates a command for transportation of the first transport container140to the reception point860A. For example, the rules engine409selects a delivery vehicle to pick up the first transport container140from a first location and move the first transport container140to a second location and sends the command to the selected delivery vehicle. In a particular example, the first transport container140may be moved from location to location by various delivery vehicles until reaching the reception point860A. The rules engine409, in response to receiving the container data700indicating that the first transport container140is attached to an anchor point, determines that a second condition indicated by a second pickup rule of the pickup rules1320is satisfied. The rules engine409, in response to determining that the second condition is satisfied, initiates pickup and transportation by the first transport vehicle145of the first transport container140from the reception point860A (at block1304). At block1306, the rules engine409initiates one or more service rule actions based on the service rules1322. For example, the rules engine409determines that a condition indicated by the service rules1322is satisfied in response to determining that the first transport container140is to be kept at a holding location (e.g., the attachment point860B ofFIG.8), that an estimated delivery time is greater than a threshold duration (e.g., 24 hours), and that the shipping order indicates an environmental profile. The rules engine409, in response to determining that the condition indicated by the service rules1322, initiates performance of the corresponding action. For example, the rules engine409generates a command indicating that the first transport container140is to be attached to an anchor point (e.g., with temperature-controlled storage) that satisfies the environmental profile. The rules engine409sends the command to the first transport vehicle145. The rules engine409determines that a condition indicated by the delivery rules1324is satisfied in response to determining, at a time, that the time is less than a threshold duration (e.g.,24hours) from the expected delivery time. The rules engine409, in response to determining that the condition indicated by the delivery rules1324is satisfied, initiates performance of a corresponding action. For example, the rules engine409generates a command to pick up the first transport container140from the holding location and deliver the first transport container140to a delivery destination indicated by the shipping order. The transport resource allocation server115sends the command to a delivery vehicle. The delivery vehicle, responsive to the command, transports the first transport container140(at block1308) and delivers the first transport container140at the delivery destination (at block1310). The method1300thus enables conditional storage of the first transport container140in an environment-controlled (e.g., temperature-controlled) storage. For example, the first transport container140is stored in the environment-controlled storage based on a remaining time until the expected delivery time. Referring toFIG.14, an example of a method for conditional delivery is shown and generally designated1400. A shipping order indicates one or more pickup rules1420, one or more service rules1422, one or more delivery rules1424, or a combination thereof. The transport resource allocation server115initiates pickup based on the pickup rules1420(at block1402). For example, the transport resource allocation server115, in response to receiving a completed shipping order, initiates transportation of the first transport container140to a pickup location (e.g., a reception point860A). The transport resource allocation server115, in response to determining that a cover210(e.g., a lid) of the first transport container140is closed, initiates pick up, by the first transport vehicle145, of the first transport container140with one or more objects to be shipped. The first transport vehicle145transports the first transport container140(at block1404). In a particular aspect, the first transport vehicle145transports the first transport container140to an intermediate attachment point860B. In another aspect, the first transport container140is kept on the first transport vehicle145from pickup to delivery. The transport resource allocation server115initiates performance of one or more services based on the service rules1422(at block1406). For example, the transport resource allocation server115initiates a laundry service to clean contents of the first transport container140. In a particular aspect, the laundry service is performed on the first transport vehicle145. In an alternative aspect, the laundry service is performed outside the first transport vehicle145. For example, the first transport container140is removed from the first transport vehicle145for performing the laundry service. In a particular aspect, the laundry service is performed within the first transport container140. For example, the service is performed on the contents of the first transport container140without removing the contents from the first transport container140. In another aspect, the contents of the first transport container140are removed from the first transport container140during at least part of the performance of the service and placed back in the first transport container140. The first transport container140is available for delivery after completion of the laundry. The transport resource allocation server115initiates transportation of the first transport container140for delivery based on the delivery rules1424(at block1408). For example, the transport resource allocation server115initiates transportation of the first transport container140by the first transport vehicle145or another transport vehicle to a delivery location indicated by the shipping order. The transport resource allocation server115initiates delivery of the first transport container140(at block1410). For example, the first transport container140is detached from the first transport vehicle145(or another transport vehicle) in response to a command from the transport resource allocation server115. The method1400thus enables conditional performance of services on contents of transport containers. Referring toFIG.15, an example of a method for conditional delivery is shown and generally designated1500. A shipping order indicates one or more pickup rules1520, one or more service rules1522, one or more delivery rules1524, or a combination thereof. The transport resource allocation server115initiates pickup based on the pickup rules1520(at block1502). For example, the transport resource allocation server115, in response to receiving a completed shipping order, initiates transportation of the first transport container140to a pickup location (e.g., a reception point860A). The transport resource allocation server115, in response to determining that a cover210(e.g., a lid) of the first transport container140is closed and that the first transport container140is attached to a docking anchor point, initiates pick up by the first transport vehicle145of the first transport container140. The first transport vehicle145transports the first transport container140(at block1504). The transport resource allocation server115initiates performance of one or more services based on the service rules1522(at block1506). For example, the transport resource allocation server115determines that the shipping order indicates a service request for an escrow service. The transport resource allocation server115confirms whether the object (e.g., merchandise) indicated by the shipping order is in the first transport container140. In a particular aspect, the transport resource allocation server115, in response to determining that a tag (e.g., a RFID tag, an NFC tag, or both) detected in the first transport container140matches a tag identifier indicated by the shipping order, that an image captured by a sensor of the first transport container140matches an image indicated by the shipping order, that a user input indicates that contents of the first transport container140have been verified by a user to match the shipping order, or a combination thereof, determines that the object indicated by the shipping order is in the first transport container140. The transport resource allocation server115confirms whether the payment indicated by the shipping order has been received. For example, the transport resource allocation server115receives an indication from the transport order database120that the payment for the amount indicated by the shipping order has been received. The transport resource allocation server115, in response to determining that the object is in the first transport container140and that the payment has been received, releases the payment to the seller (e.g., the merchant) and authorizes delivery of the first transport container140to the buyer (e.g., the destination indicated by the shipping order). The transport resource allocation server115initiates, based on the delivery rules1524, transportation (at block1508) and delivery (at block1510) of the first transport container140. In a particular aspect, the transport resource allocation server115, in response to determining that the object does not match the object indicated by the shipping order, that a payment matching the amount indicated in the shipping order has not been received within a particular duration of receiving the shipping order, or both, routes the first transport container140for return to shipper, authorizes refund of any payment received, or both. The method1500thus enables the transport resource allocation server115to provide an escrow service that reduces risks for individual buyers and sellers. In a particular aspect, the rules engine409is coupled to or includes a smart contract engine based on blockchain. The smart contract engine ensures that payment and delivery actions are performed in lock step. FIG.16illustrates modules of a non-transitory computer-readable medium16110which includes program code for managing a transportation network in performing conditional delivery, according to various embodiments of this disclosure. Referring to the non-limiting example ofFIG.16, non-transitory computer-readable medium16110is, in certain embodiments, embodied as program code installed on one or more computing platforms (for example, transport resource allocation server115, first transport container140, or first transport vehicle145) within a larger environment of networked actors for implementing conditional delivery of transport containers according to various embodiments of this disclosure (for example, transportation system100inFIG.1). For the purposes of illustrating its operation, non-transitory computer-readable medium16110is described as a series of logical modules, which operate in concert to ingest inputs (for example, user input1622, user notifications1610and user instructions1650) from a user side, as well as inputs from a system side (for example, notifications1660, logs1670and instructions1655), and provide updated system side instructions (for example, instructions1655) controlling and triggering operations of elements of a delivery network (for example, instructions1655). According to certain embodiments, when executed by a processor (for example, a processor on a server), non-transitory computer readable medium16110, provides a user-side interface1612. In some embodiments, user-side interface1612comprises a graphical user interface (for example, an application or website) provided at the server, or on a client machine through which a user interacts with a transportation system via non-transitory computer-readable medium16110. In certain embodiments, user-side interface1612comprises a set of application programming interfaces or middleware through which non-transitory computer-readable medium16110interfaces with one or more applications or processes associated with a user (for example, an address book maintained on a user's device or another application with which the user interacts, such as a shopping program or a website through which food delivery orders can be placed). Referring to the non-limiting example ofFIG.16, user input1622comprises data generated in response to a user's interactions with an application linked to user-side interface, or with an actual interface presented to the user. According to certain embodiments, user input1622comprises one or more pieces of user-provided data associated with conditional delivery of a transport container, including, without limitation, an instruction to initiate a delivery process, or await satisfaction of a condition specified in user instructions1650. In some embodiments, user notifications1610comprise user-provided data adjusting one or more parameters associated with conditional delivery of a transport container. User notifications may be provided to non-transitory computer-readable medium16110as part of a user input (for example, user input1622). According to various embodiments of this disclosure, user instructions1650comprise user-specified definitions of the underlying parameters of an order for conditional delivery by components of a transportation system. Thus, while user input1622, is, in certain embodiments, a triggering input, (e.g., an instruction by the user authorizing or triggering the performance of an operation by the transportation network), user instruction1650comprises a definitional set of data. According to certain embodiments, user instructions1650includes data specifying a delivery target, handling requirements (for example, security or refrigeration requirements), and specified conditions triggering a delivery operation (for example, the container is not to be opened until a certain credential is presented by a certain authenticated user). According to various embodiments, non-transitory computer readable medium16110continuously, or semi continuously updates at least three types of system side data—notifications1660, logs1670, and instructions1655, which are maintained in a storage medium1640, and programmatically distributed to actors within a networked transportation system (for example system100inFIG.1. According to certain embodiments, such updating is achieved through continuously implementing, by non-transitory computer readable medium16110, one or more processes corresponding to the modules shown inFIG.16. In various embodiments according to this disclosure, non-transitory computer-readable medium16110includes program code, which when executed, performs processes for implementing a real-time communication module1646. As shown in the non-limiting example ofFIG.1, real-time communication module1646receives user-side inputs (for example, user inputs1622, user notifications1610and user instructions1650) and normalizes and reformats the inputs for ingestion by processes performed by other modules of non-transitory computer-readable medium16110(for example, analytics module1644). Additionally, real-time communication module packages the outputs of other modules within non-transitory computer readable medium16110in one or more system-side formats (for example, as notifications1660, logs1670or instructions1655) expected by other actors within a transportation system. According to various embodiments, logging module1618handles recording changes to the system side outputs of non-transitory computer readable medium, and maintaining a confirmed record of user-side inputs. In this way, when a specified condition is associated with performance of a delivery operation having a legal dimension (for example, certified delivery of a transport container, or receipt of a signature), the logging module1618provides a mechanism for assured recordation of data associated with the delivery operation. Referring to the non-limiting example ofFIG.16, sensor/actuator communication module1638, receives and processes inputs from sensors disposed among actors (for example, transport containers and delivery vehicles) within a transportation network. According to certain embodiments, sensor/actuator communication module1638receives, without limitation, location data (for example, data from GPS sensors), motion data (e.g., data from accelerometers and gyroscopic sensors), environmental data (for example, data regarding the temperature or humidity within a storage hold of a transport container, and security data (for example, data regarding the status of a locking mechanism on a transport container. In some embodiments, sensor/actuator communication module1638aggregates, pre-processes (for example, excludes data from noisy or unreliable sensors) and passes the pre-processed data to analytics module1644. According to various embodiments, sensor/actuator communication module1638further manages control inputs for actuators (for example actuators of sensors/actuators260inFIG.2) and actuated components (for example, locks and HVAC units) of a transport container. As shown in the non-limiting example ofFIG.16, analytics module1644receives formatted data from other modules within non-transitory computer readable medium16110, and performs a determination as to whether a system side item of data needs to be updated in response to the received data. For example, the analytics module may receive, from logging module1618, a confirmed date and time when a transport container whose contents include a perishable item was secured to an attachment point, the analytics module may further receive, from resource status module1614, an indication that a particular delivery vehicle is nearby and able to perform a transit operation to a destination specified by data maintained in delivery instruction module1647. Accordingly, analytics module1644may update an instruction1655to be stored at storage medium1640and transmitted via a network (for example, communication network125inFIG.1) to the available delivery vehicle. According to various embodiments, delivery instruction module1647manages the passage of delivery instructions into and out of non-transitory computer-readable medium16110. For example, when delivery instructions are contained in a user instruction1650received via user-side interface1612, delivery instruction module1647analyzes the delivery instructions and performs a mapping of the delivery instructions to resources or actors within the transportation system. For example, as part of mapping delivery instructions to system resources, delivery instruction module1647may identify which transport containers and transport vehicles are capable of performing delivery as specified, and pass the mapping to analytics module1644. In this way, delivery instruction module1647can pre-process certain calculations associated with determining whether system-side information needs to be updated, and simplify calculations to be performed by the analytics module1644can be simplified, thereby conserving computation resources. In some embodiments, network monitoring module1642performs at least the following functions: monitoring communications from entities within the transportation network to the server or computing platform executing non-transitory computer-readable medium16110, and monitoring the status of network links within a network supporting the transportation network (for example, network125inFIG.1). Referring to the non-limiting example ofFIG.16, resource status module1614manages the collection and maintenance of data indicating the status (for example, in use, available, available, but with limitations on functionality) of resources (for example, transport containers, delivery vehicles, and components of transport containers and delivery vehicles, such as locks, climate control and communication systems. This disclosure is not limited in its application to the examples provided, the embodiments discussed, or to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the foregoing description or drawings. The disclosure is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. | 113,759 |
11861545 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of a shipping ecosystem in which tokens corresponding to shielded shipping data record are provided for usage of shielded shipping data in accordance with concepts herein is shown inFIG.1. In particular,FIG.1shows shipping environment100including a plurality of entities, including merchants110aand110b, purchasers120aand120b, shipping service provider130, shipping support services140, data shielding service150, and electronic marketplace170providing operation to facilitate purchase of items and/or related functionality (e.g., functionality related to item shipment), as described further below. It should be appreciated that the particular numbers of merchants, purchasers, shipping service providers, shipping support services, data shielding services, and electronic marketplaces shown in the example ofFIG.1are illustrative and are not indicative of the scale of the shipping ecosystem of shipping environment100. Although the environment in which merchants110aand110b, purchasers120aand121b, shipping service provider130, shipping support services140, data shielding service150, and electronic marketplace170are interacting is referred to herein as a shipping environment, it should be understood that some or all such entities may not themselves be directly involved in or facilitate shipping functionality. For example, data shielding service150may provide data shielding services utilized by one or more entities performing some aspect of shipping (e.g., an entity shipping an item, a shipping management software as a service provider, a shipping service provider transporting an item in shipment, a recipient of a shipped item, etc.) without the data shielding service itself providing any shipping functionality. Similarly, electronic marketplace170may provide a software platform facilitating sales, and ultimately shipment, of items, but may nevertheless itself not provide any shipping functionality. In accordance with some embodiments, any such system of shipping environment100may provide shipping functionality. For example, data shielding service150may provide shipping functionality in the form of address cleansing, customs processing, postage indicia generation, shipping management, shipping label generation, etc. Network160provides communication links with respect to and between merchant systems, purchaser systems, shipping service provider systems, shipping support service systems, electronic marketplace systems, data shielding service systems, and/or other systems of shipping environment100for facilitating operation as described herein. Accordingly, the links of network160are operable to provide suitable communication links for facilitating cooperative interaction and data transfer as described with respect to embodiments of the invention. Network160of embodiments may thus comprise one or more of a local area network (LAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), wide area network (WAN), wireless LAN (WLAN), the Internet, intranet, extranet, cable transmission system, cellular communication network, the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and/or the like. Purchaser systems121aand121bof embodiments herein provide systems by which a purchaser of items may interact with merchants to facilitate procuring items by the purchaser. Accordingly, a plurality of merchants (e.g., merchants110aand110b) may conduct transactions with a plurality of purchasers via purchaser systems121aand121b. The merchants may offer various items, shown as items112aand112b, for purchase by purchasers120aand120bdirectly through merchant systems111aand111band/or indirectly through electronic marketplace system171of electronic marketplace170. Purchaser systems121aand121bof embodiments may comprise any number of system configurations used by a user for selecting, purchasing, or otherwise requesting one or more items to be procured by the purchaser from a merchant. For example, either or both of purchaser systems121aand121bmay comprise a general purpose processor-based system (e.g., personal computer (PC) having a processor, memory, suitable input/output (I/O) functionality, and operating system (OS)) operating under control of an instruction set (e.g., a client application such as a PC client, web client, mobile client, tablet client, etc.) to interface with any of merchant systems111aand111band/or electronic marketplace system171and provide operation as described herein. Additionally or alternatively, either or both of purchaser systems121aand121bmay comprise a processor-based mobile device such as a smart phone, a tablet device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance (e.g., a processor-based electronic commerce appliance), etc., having the requisite instruction set and processing and I/O resources. As another example, either or both of purchaser systems121aand121bmay comprise a smart speaker (e.g., Amazon ECHO, Google HOME, etc.) or other voice interface (e.g., Apple SIRI, Google Assistant, etc.) operating on a processor-based platform and operable to provide functionality as described herein. Purchaser systems121aand121bmay be configured to cooperate with various systems of the shipping ecosystem (e.g., merchant systems111aand111b, shipping service provider system131, shipping support services system141, data shielding service system151, electronic marketplace system171, etc.) to facilitate purchase of items and/or related functionality. Although not shown in the illustrated example of shipping environment100, purchaser systems121aand121bmay include or otherwise utilize various peripherals and/or devices, such as printers, scanners, electronic pointing devices, voice command interface devices, credit card readers, etc. Merchant systems111aand111bof embodiments are configured to cooperate with purchaser systems121aand121band/or electronic marketplace system171, such as to conduct item sale transactions (e.g., e-commerce sales transactions, such as may include order processing, payment processing, remittance to intermediaries or other parties for items sold, etc.) with various purchasers of the merchant's goods (e.g., via purchaser systems121aand121b), and/or item fulfilment operations (e.g., inventory management, item picking and packaging scheduling, shipping/delivery label and/or other documentation generation, etc.). Merchant systems111aand111bmay additionally or alternatively be configured to cooperate with various other systems of the shipping ecosystem (e.g., purchaser systems121aand121b, shipping service provider system131, shipping support services system141, data shielding service system151, electronic marketplace system171, etc.) to facilitate purchase of items and/or related functionality. Merchant systems111aand111bof embodiments may comprise processor-based systems operable under control of an instruction set or instruction sets defining operation as described herein. For example, merchant systems111aand111bof embodiments each comprise one or more processors (e.g., a CORE or PENTIUM processor available from Intel, Inc.) and requisite processor readable (e.g., computer readable) memory (e.g., RAM, ROM, flash memory, disk memory, SSD memory, optical memory, and/or the like) and input/output components (e.g., display, NIC, keyboard, digital pointer, printer, and/or the like) coupled to a processor of the one or more processors via a data bus. Merchant systems111aand111bmay include or otherwise utilize various peripherals and/or devices, such as printers, scanners, electronic pointing devices, voice command interface devices, etc., such as printers113aand113bas shown in the illustrated example of shipping environment100. Printers113aand113bmay, for example, comprise printer equipment (e.g., ink jet printer, laser printer, thermal printer, etc.) used by merchants110aand110bto print pick tickets, invoices, packing lists, shipping labels, postage indicia, bills of lading, customs forms, etc. Electronic marketplace170may comprise one or more electronic marketplace systems171(e.g., web server, electronic commerce server, computer workstation, enterprise computer network, user interface portal, etc.) of an electronic marketplace, such as eBay, Amazon Marketplace, Shopify, etc. In accordance with some embodiments, electronic marketplace system171may comprise one or more processors (e.g., a CORE or PENTIUM processor available from Intel, Inc.) and requisite processor readable (e.g., computer readable) memory (e.g., RAM, ROM, flash memory, disk memory, SSD memory, optical memory, and/or the like) and input/output components (e.g., display, NIC, keyboard, digital pointer, printer, and/or the like) coupled to a processor of the one or more processors via a data bus. Electronic marketplace system171may be configured to cooperate with various systems of the shipping ecosystem (e.g., purchaser systems121aand121b, merchant systems111aand111b, shipping service provider system131, shipping support services system141, data shielding service system151, etc.) to facilitate purchase of items and/or related functionality. Although not shown in the illustrated example of shipping environment100, electronic marketplace system171may include or otherwise utilize various peripherals and/or devices, such as printers, scanners, electronic pointing devices, voice command interface devices, payment processing devices, etc. Items purchased within shipping environment100are typically shipped to the purchaser or a location designated by the purchaser. For example, shipping service provider130(e.g., USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, ride sharing service, local courier, regional courier, etc.) may be utilized to provide shipping services to convey items purchased from merchants110aand110bto purchasers120aand120b, as well as to handle return of items from purchasers120aand120bto merchants110aand110b. Shipping service provider system131may thus be configured to cooperate with various systems of the shipping ecosystem (e.g., merchant systems111aand111b, purchaser systems121aand121b, shipping support services system141, and/or electronic marketplace system171) to facilitate item shipment. For example, shipping service provider system131may provide an interface for requesting shipping services with respect to items to be shipped, dispatching carriers to pick up item shipments, to report tracking information regarding shipped items, to route items during shipment, etc. Shipping service provider system131may comprise one or more systems (e.g., web server, electronic commerce server, computer workstation, enterprise computer network, user interface portal, etc.) of a shipping service provider, such as USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, ride sharing service, local courier, regional courier, etc. In accordance with some embodiments, shipping service provider system131may comprise one or more processors (e.g., a CORE or PENTIUM processor available from Intel, Inc.) and requisite processor readable (e.g., computer readable) memory (e.g., RAM, ROM, flash memory, disk memory, SSD memory, optical memory, and/or the like) and input/output components (e.g., display, NIC, keyboard, digital pointer, printer, and/or the like) coupled to a processor of the one or more processors via a data bus. Shipping service provider system131may be configured to cooperate with various systems of the shipping ecosystem (e.g., purchaser systems121aand121b, merchant systems111aand111b, shipping support services system141, data shielding service system151, electronic marketplace system171, etc.) to facilitate purchase of items and/or related functionality. Shipping service provider system131may include or otherwise utilize various peripherals and/or devices, such as printers, scanners, electronic pointing devices, voice command interface devices, etc., such as route carrier device132, printer133, and scanner134as shown in the illustrated example of shipping environment100. Route carrier device132may, for example, comprise a mobile device (e.g., notebook computer, tablet device, smart phone, PDA, ruggedized field terminal, etc.) used by route carriers to scan tracking numbers, postage indicia, address information, tokens, and/or the like (e.g., whether present in human readable form, in machine readable form, or a combination thereof), to obtain recipient signatures (e.g., using a touch screen, digital input pad, etc.), to print delivery attempt notices (e.g., using an internal or external thermal or ink jet printer), to exchange data with shipping service provider system131(e.g., using a wired or wireless communication interface), etc. Printer133may comprise printer equipment (e.g., ink jet printer, laser printer, thermal printer, etc.) used by shipping service provider130to print shipping labels (e.g., package over-labeling), postage indicia, postage indicia cancellation marks, revised/updated address information, etc. Scanner134may comprise scanner equipment (e.g., optical scanner, barcode reader, image capture device, etc.) used by shipping service provider130to capture information on shipped items, documentation, etc. (e.g., shipping labels, postage indicia, tokens, address information, etc., whether present in human readable form, in machine readable form, or a combination thereof). Shipping support services140may provide various functionality with respect to shipment of items to, for, or on behalf of one or more entities of the shipping ecosystem. For example, shipping support services system141of shipping support service140may provide one or more shipping support services functionality, such as address cleansing, customs processing, postage indicia generation, shipping management, shipping label generation, etc. In accordance with some embodiments, shipping support services system141may comprise one or more processors (e.g., a CORE or PENTIUM processor available from Intel, Inc.) and requisite processor readable (e.g., computer readable) memory (e.g., RAM, ROM, flash memory, disk memory, SSD memory, optical memory, and/or the like) and input/output components (e.g., display, NIC, keyboard, digital pointer, printer, and/or the like) coupled to a processor of the one or more processors via a data bus. Shipping support services system141may be configured to cooperate with various systems of the shipping ecosystem (e.g., purchaser systems121aand121b, merchant systems111aand111b, shipping service provider system131, data shielding service system151, electronic marketplace system171, etc.) to facilitate purchase of items and/or related functionality. Although not shown in the illustrated example of shipping environment100, shipping support service system141may include or otherwise utilize various peripherals and/or devices, such as printers, scanners, electronic pointing devices, voice command interface devices, payment processing devices, etc. In an example, shipping support services system141may comprise a shipping management system configured to provide automation of tasks associated with the purchase and sale of items performed using purchaser systems120aand120b, merchant systems110aand110b, and/or electronic marketplace system171in shipping environment100. For example, shipping support services system131may provide functionality for the management of item orders, managing the picking and packing of items for order fulfilment, generation of invoices, packing slips, manifests, shipping labels, and postage or other prepaid shipping indicia, and/or tracking of shipment of items through a shipping service provider. Shipping support services system141of some embodiments may, for example, comprise some or all of the functionality of a shipping management system, such as the SHIPSTATION shipping management system provided by Auctane LLC of Austin Texas, such as may be adapted to further facilitate tokenized shielded shipping data according to the concepts herein. Additionally or alternatively, shipping support services system141may comprise a shipping indicia generation system configured to provide generation of value bearing indicia (e.g., postage meter stamps) for use with respect to shipping items purchased using purchaser systems120aand120b, merchant systems110aand110b, and/or electronic marketplace system171in shipping environment100. For example, shipping support services system131may provide functionality for obtaining and securely storing value, accepting various shipping information for value bearing indicia generation in association with a shipment, debiting value from an appropriate vault or triggering payment processing from an assigned payment method, generating value bearing indicia (e.g., information based indicia) acceptable to a shipping service provider for shipment of items, and providing generated value bearing indicia to appropriate systems of shipping environment100. Shipping support services system141of some embodiments may, for example, comprise some or all of the functionality of an online value bearing indicia generation system, such as the POSTAGEONDEMAND value bearing indicia generation system provided by Stamps.com Inc. of El Segundo California, such as may be adapted to further facilitate tokenized shielded shipping data according to the concepts herein. Shipping environment100of the illustrated embodiment includes data shielding service150facilitating controlled and/or protected use, storage, access, dissemination, etc. of shielded shipping data with tokenization. For example, a token or tokens corresponding to a shielded shipping data record, or some portion thereof, may be provided by data shielding service system151for usage of shielded shipping data. Such shielded shipping data may include information for which regulatory protection is provided (e.g., PII protected by regulations of GDPR, CCPA, etc.), information for which protection is desired or otherwise advantageous with respect to a shipper/merchant, intended recipient, etc. (e.g., information regarding the shipper, the merchant, the items shipped, payment, shipping preferences and services, etc. for which some level of controlled and/or protected use is to be provided for the benefit of one or more parties). Various systems of shipping environment100(e.g., merchant systems111aand111b, purchaser systems121aand121b, shipping service provider system131, shipping support services system141, and/or electronic marketplace system171) may, for example, interface with data shielding service system151, such as via network160using an application programming interface (API) and/or other suitable interface facilitating interaction as described herein, for use, storage, access, dissemination, etc. of tokenized shielded shipping data. Data shielding service system151of embodiments is configured to cooperate with merchant systems111aand111b, purchaser systems121aand121b, shipping service provider system131, shipping support services system141, and/or electronic marketplace system171to provide tokenization of shipping data provided to the data shielding service system, to enable and control a permitted accessors usage of shielded shipping data, to manage and maintain shielded shipping data in accordance with applicable regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA, etc.), according to applicable rules (e.g., insurance requirements, shipper/merchant guidelines, appropriate usage rules, etc.), etc. Data shielding service system151of embodiments may thus comprise processor-based systems operable under control of an instruction set or instruction sets defining operation as described herein. For example, data shielding service system151of embodiments may comprise one or more processors (e.g., a CORE or PENTIUM processor available from Intel, Inc.) and requisite processor readable (e.g., computer readable) memory (e.g., RAM, ROM, flash memory, disk memory, SSD memory, optical memory, and/or the like) and input/output components (e.g., display, NIC, keyboard, digital pointer, printer, and/or the like) coupled to a processor of the one or more processors via a data bus. Although not shown in the illustrated example of shipping environment100, data shielding service system151may include or otherwise utilize various peripherals and/or devices, such as printers, scanners, electronic pointing devices, voice command interface devices, etc. Tokenization of shipping data by data shielding service system151may be implemented in association with one or more other services (e.g., one or more shipping support services) provided with respect to the shipping data. For example, various entities (e.g., shipper, merchant, electronic marketplace, shipping management provider, shipping service provider, recipient, etc.) performing some aspect of shipment processing may provide shipping data for application of one or more functionalities (e.g., shipping support services, such as address cleansing, customs processing, postage indicia generation, shipping management, shipping label generation, etc.). Accordingly, in addition to data shielding logic152configured to provide shipping data shielding using shielded shipping data tokens according to concepts herein, data shielding service system151of embodiments may include shipping support services logic configured to provide functionality of one or more shipping support services. For example, data shielding service system151is shown in the example ofFIG.1including address cleansing logic142configured to provide shipping support services in the form of address cleansing. Data shielding service system151is further shown in the example ofFIG.1including customs processing logic144configured to provide shipping support services in the form of customs processing. In accordance with some embodiments, shipping data may be provided to data shielding service system151for performing a shipping support service (e.g., address cleansing by address cleansing logic142and/or customs processing by customs processing logic144), whereby data shielding logic152tokenizes some or all the shipping data in addition to providing the shipping support services functionality. It should thus be appreciated that, although data shielding service150is shown in the example ofFIG.1as separate from shipping support services140, data shielding service150may itself comprise an instance of a shipping support service. Nevertheless, data shielding service150may provide shipping data shielding functionality to and/or in association with one or more shipping support services (e.g., shipping support services140). Logic of data shielding service system151may, for example, may comprise one or more instruction sets (e.g., program code) executed by a processor or processors of data shielding service system151to provide functionality as described herein. Data shielding logic152, address cleansing logic142, and customs processing logic144may each comprise an appropriate instruction set stored in memory of the data shielding service system which when executed by one or more processors of the data shielding service system provides functionality as described herein. Various other instruction sets, such as may be configured to provide other functionality described herein, may additionally or alternatively be stored in memory of the data shielding service system for execution by one or more processors of the data shielding service system to provide corresponding functionality. In accordance with embodiments of the invention, data shielding service system151is available for use by one or more parties associated with shipment of items of shipping environment100. Accordingly, data shielding service system151of the illustrated embodiment includes data shielding logic152configured to tokenize some or all shipping data provided thereto. Shielded shipping data of the tokenized shipping data may be stored by data shielding service system151in shielded shipping data database153for usage of shielded shipping data (e.g., in accordance with rules, regulations, guidelines, requirements, etc. of data shielding protocols database154) by a permitted accessors using corresponding shielded shipping data tokens. FIGS.2and3show operation of a data shielding service according to some embodiments of the invention. In particular, flow200ofFIG.2shows example operation providing tokenization of shipping data by data shielding service system151of some embodiments. Correspondingly, flow300ofFIG.3shows example operation implementing shielded shipping data access management by data shielding service system151of some embodiments. Referring first to the example operation providing tokenization of shipping data ofFIG.2, data shielding service system151receives shipping data from another system of shipping environment100at block201of flow200. For example, a merchant or electronic marketplace may be conducting a purchase transaction with a purchaser and solicit information for item shipment (e.g., collect address information, recipient contact information, shipping preferences, customs clearance information, etc.), and may initiate processing with respect to some portion of shipping data (e.g., recipient information, customs information, item information, etc.), whereby shipping data is provided to data shielding service system151. As another example, a merchant may be processing items for shipment (e.g., generating a shipping label, working to complete customs forms, working to determine a shipping service provider to use for the shipment and/or shipping rates, etc.) and thus may initiate processing with respect to some portion of shipping data (e.g., recipient information, customs information, item information, etc.), whereby shipping data is provided to data shielding service system151. In some scenarios, a merchant (e.g., one of merchants110aand110b) may utilize a corresponding merchant system (e.g., one of merchant systems111aand111b) to conduct purchase transactions and/or process items for shipment, wherein the merchant system may itself interact with data shielding service system151to provide shipping data thereto and/or receive data in response. For example, merchant110amay be utilizing merchant system111ato conduct an ecommerce transaction with purchaser system121afor purchase and shipment of one of items112a. Likewise, merchant110amay be utilizing merchant system111aand printer113ato produce a shipping label for shipping an item purchased by purchaser120aas one of items112a. Merchant system110amay thus provide shipping data, such as may include the recipient address and purchaser contact information to data shielding service system151in association with the purchase transaction, when processing the item for shipment, etc. (e.g., for address cleansing). In another scenario, a merchant (e.g., one of merchants110aand110b) may utilize functionality of one or more other systems (e.g., shipping service provider system131, shipping support services system141, electronic marketplace system171, etc.) for various operations, such as to conduct transactions with purchasers, to process items for shipment, etc., wherein a system other than the merchant system may interact with data shielding service system151to provide shipping data thereto and/or receive data in response. For example, merchant110amay utilize merchant system111ato interact with electronic commerce functionality of electronic marketplace system171for facilitating ecommerce transactions with purchaser systems for purchase and shipment of items112a. Similarly, merchant110amay utilize merchant system111ato interact with shipping management functionality of shipping support service141or of electronic marketplace system171for producing a shipping label to be printed by printer113afor shipping an item purchased by purchaser120aas one of items112a. Shipping support services system141or electronic marketplace system171may thus provide shipping data, such as may include the recipient address and purchaser contact information to data shielding service system151in association with processing the item for shipment (e.g., for address cleansing). As another example, merchant110amay utilize merchant system111ato interact with shipping management functionality of shipping support service141or of electronic marketplace system171for customs documentation for shipping an item purchased by purchaser120aas one of items112a. Shipping support services system141or electronic marketplace system171may thus provide shipping data, such as may include the recipient address and purchaser contact information, passport information, tax ID, item information, and/or merchant information, to data shielding service system151in association with processing the item for shipment (e.g., for completing customs documentation). As yet another example, merchant110amay utilize merchant system111ato interact with value bearing indicia generation functionality of shipping support services system141for producing a postage indicia to be printed by printer113afor shipping an item purchased by purchaser120aas one of items112a. Shipping support services system141may provide shipping data, such as may include the recipient address and purchaser contact information and merchant information to data shielding service system151in association with processing the item for shipment (e.g., for address cleansing). It should be appreciated that, although examples given above describe data shielding service system151receiving shipping data from or on behalf of a merchant for shipping support services functionality, receipt of shipping data by data shielding service system151is not limited to these examples and scenarios. In accordance with some embodiments, data shielding service system151may receive shipping data from any system of shipping environment100. Such shipping data may or may not be in association with shipping support services functionality. For example, merchant110amay utilize merchant system111ato interact with shipping service provider system131for determining to a shipping rate for shipping an item purchased by purchaser120aas one of items112a, wherein some portion of shipping data handled by shipping service provider system131may be provided by the shipping service provider system to data shielding service system151for data shielding functionality (e.g., tokenizing the shipping data, without performing shipping support services). Similarly, shipping data may additionally or alternatively be received by data shielding service system151from merchant systems111aand111b, purchaser systems121aand121b, shipping service provider system131, shipping support services system141, and/or electronic marketplace system171for facilitating data shielding functionality in a variety of other scenarios. The shipping data received by data shielding service system151may be provided to the data shielding service system without the particular system providing the shipping data itself storing the shipping data in other than transitory memory. For example, merchant systems111aand111bor electronic marketplace system171may operate to obtain recipient information from a purchaser in a purchase transaction and quickly pass this information directly to data shielding service system151without storing the information in non-transitory memory. In some scenarios, a particular system may not obtain the shipping data, or some portion thereof, whatsoever. For example, where merchant110autilizes electronic marketplace system171to conduct a purchase transaction with a purchaser, electronic marketplace system171may obtain shipping data on behalf of merchant110aand pass that information to data shielding service system151(e.g., without storing the information in non-transitory memory of electronic marketplace system171) without ever providing the shipping data, or some portion thereof, to merchant system111a. In operation according to flow200of the example shown inFIG.2, data shielding service system151having received shipping data may perform one or more shipping support services using the shipping data at block202. For example, where shipping data is provided to data shielding service system151merchant for shipping support services functionality, appropriate shipping support services logic may be implemented with respect to the shipping data, or some portion thereof, by the data shielding service system. According to a scenario in which shipping data is provided to data shielding service system151for address cleansing, the data shielding service system may invoke address cleansing logic142to perform address correction, validating, updating, standardization with respect to address information of the shipping data, etc. According to a scenario in which shipping data is provided to data shielding service system151for customs processing, the data shielding service system may invoke customs processing logic144to complete customs forms, report customs information, schedule customs agent handling, etc. Although shipping support services performed by data shielding service system151are described above as comprising address cleansing and/or customs processing, it should be appreciated that data shielding service system151of embodiments may provide additional or alternative shipping support services functionality (e.g., postage indicia generation, shipping management, shipping label generation, etc.). Further, some embodiments of data shielding service system151may not provide shipping support services functionality, and thus performance of shipping support services may not be performed (e.g., omitting block202of flow200) according to some implementations. The shipping data received by data shielding service system151may include information for which its use, disclosure, and/or retention is protected or which is otherwise to be shielded in some manner. For example, intended recipient information (e.g., as may include recipient name and contact information) of the shipping data may comprise PII, which is protected in a number of ways under the GDPR, the CCPA, and/or other data privacy regulations. As another example, information regarding the items shipped, or even information regarding the merchant, of the shipping data may provide an indication of the contents of a shipment and pose a significant enough increase in the loss risk for the shipment that insurance for the shipment may be unavailable if such information is not protected, and thus comprise information to be shielded. Likewise, various usage rules, guidelines, requirements, etc. may be established with respect to various shipping data, such as by various entities that handle the shipping data or are otherwise associated with its use. Tokenization of shipping data, or some portion thereof, is implemented by data shielding service system151at block203of example flow200to provide shielded shipping data and corresponding one or more shielded shipping data tokens for usage (i.e., controlled and/or protected use, storage, access, dissemination, etc.) of the shielded shipping data by permitted accessors. For example, data shielding logic152of data shielding service system151may include tokenization logic155configured to tokenize shipping data and generate shielded shipping data tokens utilized with respect to shielded shipping data. In accordance with some embodiments of the invention, tokenization logic155may analyze received shipping data (e.g., as received from a system of shipping environment100and/or as processed by shipping support services functionality of the data shielding service system) to determine if the shipping data, or some portion thereof, is to be shielded. Data shielding protocols database154may comprise information with respect to rules, regulations, guidelines, requirements, etc. (e.g., obtained from regulations, such as the GDPR, CCPA, etc., provided by various entities of shipping environment100performing some aspect of shipment processing, such as shippers, merchants, electronic marketplaces, shipping management providers, shipping service providers, etc., obtained from third parties, such as insurance providers, underwriters, privacy advocacy groups, etc.) and information with respect to the data (e.g., types, categories, classifications, sources, etc. of data) to which they pertain. Accordingly, tokenization logic155may reference data shielding protocols database154in analyzing shipping data to identify shipping data for shielding. In tokenizing shipping data according to some embodiments, tokenization logic155may store, as shielded shipping data (e.g., in shielded shipping data database153), at least that portion of the received shipping data identified for shielding. Storage of shielded shipping data in shielded shipping database153of embodiments of the invention is for a time (e.g., permitted storage duration, deleted upon appropriate request, etc.) and/or in a manner (e.g., encrypted, stored in a subscriber specific, non-comingled database, etc.) in accordance with any applicable rules, regulations, guidelines, requirements, etc. of data shielding protocols database154. Storage of shielded shipping data by embodiments of the invention may implement shielding protocols in addition to or providing shielding in excess of that specified by rules, regulations, guidelines, requirements, etc. of data shielding protocols database154. For example, shielded shipping data may be encrypted for storage in shielded shipping database153despite encryption not having been specified by any rules, regulations, guidelines, requirements, etc. of a particular data shielding protocols database154implementation. Similarly, shielded shipping data may be encrypted for storage in shielded shipping database153according to a high level of cryptography despite a lower level of, or no, cryptography having been specified by rules, regulations, guidelines, requirements, etc. of a particular data shielding protocols database154implementation. As shown inFIG.4, shielded shipping data may be stored as a plurality of records, shown as Record1, Record2, through RecordM in the example. Such records may correspond to shipping data of a particular transaction, entity, etc. Additionally or alternatively, records of shielded shipping data database153may correspond to particular portions of shipping data to be shielded. In accordance with some aspects of the invention, some or all the records of shielded shipping data database153may include demarcation of sub-portions of the shielded shipping data, shown as Field1, Field2, through FieldN (e.g., Record1including data sub-portions Data11, Data12, through Data1N, Record2including data sub-portions Data21, Data22, through Data2N, and RecordM including data sub-portions DataM1, DataM2, through Data1N. For example, a record of shielded shipping data database153(e.g., Record2) may comprise recipient information, such as may include PII. The record may comprise a field (e.g., Field1) including the recipient's name (e.g., Data21), a field (e.g., Field2) including the recipient's delivery address (e.g., Data22), a field (e.g., FieldN−1) including the recipient's email address (e.g., Data2N−1, not shown), and a field (e.g., FieldN) including the recipient's telephone number (e.g., Data2N), and so on. A token or tokens corresponding to the shielded shipping data record, or some portion thereof (e.g., data field), is generated for usage of the shielded shipping data according to embodiments of the invention. For example, tokenization logic155may generate one or more shielded shipping data tokens for shielded shipping data of the received shipping data. A shielded shipping data token of embodiments of the invention may be uniquely tied to, associated with, and/or derived from the corresponding shielded shipping data record. For example, a shielded shipping data token may comprise a hash, digital signature, or other one-way abstraction of the corresponding shielded shipping data. As shown inFIG.5, data of a shielded shipping data record (e.g., shielded shipping data501, such as may comprise Datax1, Datax2, through DataxNof RecordX, or some sub-portion thereof) may be provided to tokenization logic155for application of one-way abstraction functionality555(e.g., providing hash, digital signature, or other one-way abstraction functionality) and generation of one or more shielded shipping data tokens503. A shielded shipping data token of embodiments of the invention may additionally or alternatively be uniquely tied to and/or associated with one or more permitted accessor. For example, a shielded shipping data token may comprise, or be based at least in part on, identification credentials for the one or more permitted accessor (e.g., integration ID, IP address, ESN, passphrase, PIN, etc.). In accordance with some embodiments, for example, shielded shipping data tokens may be matched or otherwise associated with one or more permitted accessor through embedding or linking identification credentials for a respective permitted accessor in the shielded shipping data token. As one example, identification credentials may be concatenated with the shielded shipping data prior to implementing hash, digital signature, or other one-way abstraction functionality used in generating the shielded shipping data token to thereby link the identification credentials and the shielded shipping data token. As shown inFIG.5, data of identification credentials (e.g., identification credentials data502, such as may comprise integration ID, IP address, ESN, passphrase, PIN, etc. for a permitted accessor) may be provided to tokenization logic155for application of one-way abstraction functionality555(e.g., providing hash, digital signature, or other one-way abstraction functionality) and generation of one or more shielded shipping data tokens503. Identification credentials utilized according to embodiments may be provided with the received shipping data, obtained in association with receiving the shipping data, provided by entities when registering for or otherwise provisioning systems for the data shielding service, etc. For example, identification credentials in the form of an IP address or ESN may be provided in or with a data packet containing the shipping data received by data shielding service system151. As another example, identification credentials in the form of integration ID, passphrase, or PIN may be provided as part of a session handshaking protocol establishing or maintaining a communication link through which the shipping data is received by data shielding service system151. In situations where a system other than or in addition to the system providing the shipping data to data shielding service system151is to be provided access to shielded shipping data, identification credentials for that system may be provided to data shielding service system151by the system providing the shipping data (e.g., in a data packet provided in association with a data packet containing the shipping data, as part of a session handshaking protocol establishing or maintaining a communication link through which the shipping data is received by data shielding service system151, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, data shielding service system151may itself obtain identification credentials for a system other than or in addition to the system providing the shipping data to data shielding service system151(e.g., in a data exchange initiated as part of the tokenization functionality, when registering for or otherwise provisioning the system for the data shielding service, etc.). A shielded shipping data token (e.g., TokenA and TokenD ofFIG.4) may correspond to one or more shielded shipping data records (e.g., Record2) and permit access to the entire shielded shipping data record(s) by permitted accessors, such as in accordance with applicable rules, regulations, guidelines, requirements, etc. of data shielding protocols database154. Additionally or alternatively, a shielded shipping data token (e.g., TokenB and TokenC) may correspond to one or more sub-portions of one or more shielded shipping data records (e.g., Field1of Record2by TokenB and Field2of Record2by TokenC) and permit access to the respective sub-portion(s) by permitted accessors, such as in accordance with applicable rules, regulations, guidelines, requirements, etc. of data shielding protocols database154. It should be appreciated that an instance of shielded shipping data (e.g., Record2) may have a plurality of shielded shipping data tokens (e.g., TokenA and TokenD) associated therewith. For example, each time shipping data for a particular instance of shielded shipping data (e.g., a cleansed address record for a particular shipping recipient) is received by data shielding service system151, tokenization may be performed with respect to the shielded shipping data, thus providing multiple shielded shipping data tokens for that shielded shipping data. As another example, there may be multiple permitted accessors (e.g., electronic marketplace170/electronic marketplace system171that provided the shipping data to data shielding service system151and merchant110a/merchant system111aon whose behalf the shipping data was provided to data shielding service system151) with respect to for a particular instance of shielded shipping data, and thus tokenization may be performed with respect to the shielded shipping data to provide multiple shielded shipping data tokens for each such permitted accessor. The use of multiple shielded shipping data tokens with respect to any particular instance of shielded shipping data according to embodiments facilitates anonymizing of the data, such that repeated usage of the shielded shipping data instance does not reveal the data or even its repeated use by one or more permitted accessor. Shielded shipping data tokens may comprise or otherwise be associated with information regarding the particular shielded shipping data or portion thereof for usage, the permitted usage(s), etc. (e.g., usage information504ofFIG.5). For example, in addition to a hash, digital signature, or other one-way abstraction of corresponding shielded shipping data, a shielded shipping data token may comprise information regarding the shielded shipping data (e.g., types, categories, classifications, sources, etc. of data) and/or its usage (e.g., permitted uses, prohibited uses, etc.) useful to systems of shipping environment100in usage of the shielded shipping data. As another example, a shielded shipping data token may comprise information regarding the viability, validity, etc. of the shielded shipping data token itself (e.g., a time period in which the shielded shipping data token is valid, a geographic location in which the shielded shipping data token may be used for obtaining shipping data of corresponding shielded shipping data, etc.). Such usage information may be provided in or with a shielded shipping data token in a form decipherable by a permitted accessor system (e.g., in clear text, encrypted using a key or key pair to which a permitted accessor system has access, etc.), despite other portions of the shielded shipping data token (e.g., a hash, digital signature, or other one-way abstraction of corresponding shielded shipping data) being indecipherable by a permitted accessor system. One or more shielded shipping data tokens are returned by data shielding service system151to one or more systems of shipping environment100at block204of example flow200, such as for facilitating usage of the corresponding shielded shipping data by permitted accessors. For example, one or more shielded shipping data tokens may be provided by data shielding service system151to a system (e.g., merchant system110aor110b, shipper system121aor121b, shipping service provider system131, shipping management system141, or electronic marketplace systems171) that provided corresponding shipping data to the data shielding service system. A shielded shipping data token provided to a system that provided the corresponding shipping data to the data shielding service system may be for use by that system, may be for provision by that system to another system (e.g., a system upon whose behalf the shipping data was provided to the data shielding service system), or a combination thereof. Additionally or alternatively, one or more shielded shipping data tokens may be provided by data shielding service system151to a system (e.g., merchant system110aor110b, shipper system121aor121b, shipping service provider system131, shipping management system141, or electronic marketplace systems171) other than the system that provided corresponding shipping data to the data shielding service system. In accordance with some embodiments of the invention, data shielding service system151may, in addition to providing one or more shielded shipping data tokens, provide some or all of the shielded shipping data to one or more systems of shipping environment100at block204. For example, the system initially providing the shipping data to data shielding service system151may be generating a shipping label for which address cleansing is desired. Data shielding service system151may provide address cleansing functionality and tokenization of the cleansed address data. The cleansed address information of the shielded shipping data may be returned with one or more shielded shipping data tokens, such as to facilitate a system passing the cleansed address data to a printer for printing of a shipping label (e.g., without storing the shielded shipping data other than in transitory memory). The system receiving the shielded shipping data tokens from data shielding service150may store one or more of the shielded shipping data tokens (e.g., in non-transitory memory) for later usage of the shielded shipping data and/or forward one or more of the shielded shipping data tokens to another system of shipping environment100. Referring now to the example operation implementing shielded shipping data access management ofFIG.3, data shielding service system151receives a shielded shipping data token from another system of shipping environment100at block301of flow300. For example, merchant111amay be processing items for shipment (e.g., generating a shipping label, working to complete customs forms, working to determine a shipping service provider to use for the shipment and/or shipping rates, etc.) and thus may have a need for some portion of shielded shipping data (e.g., recipient information, customs information, item information, etc.) which is not stored by the system or systems being used by the merchant (e.g., merchant system111a, shipping support services system141, electronic marketplace system171, etc.) due to the shipping data being shielded shipping data according to concepts of the present invention. Merchant system111amay thus provide a shielded shipping data token corresponding to the relevant shielded shipping data to data shielding service system151for facilitating usage of some portion of shielded shipping data with respect to shipment processing. As another example, a route carrier may be handling an item (e.g., item112) in shipment (e.g., for sorting, delivery, etc.) and thus may have a need for some portion of shielded shipping data (e.g., recipient information) which is not printed in human readable form on the item shipping label (e.g., a shielded shipping data token may be included on the shipping label in place of recipient information) due to the shipping data being shielded shipping data according to some aspects of the invention. Accordingly, route carrier device132may be used by the route carrier to scan a shielded shipping data token on the item being handled and provide the shielded shipping data token to data shielding service system151for facilitating usage of some portion of shielded shipping data with respect to handling the item. It should be appreciated that, although examples given above describe data shielding service system151receiving shielded shipping data tokens from or on behalf of a merchant or from a route carrier, receipt of shielded shipping data tokens by data shielding service system151is not limited to these examples and scenarios. In accordance with some embodiments, data shielding service system151may receive shielded shipping data tokens from any system of shipping environment100. For example, purchaser120amay utilize purchaser system121ato interact with shipping service provider system131for tracking shipment of an item purchased from merchant110a, wherein some portion of shipping data for the shipment comprises shielded shipping data (e.g., recipient address and contact information, shipper address and contact information, item information, etc.). In such a scenario, purchaser system121aand/or shipping service provider system131may provide a shielded shipping data token (e.g., generated by data shielding service system151in association with processing the item for shipment by merchant110a) to data shielding service system151for facilitating usage of some portion of shielded shipping data with respect to the tracking and/or reporting. Similarly, shielded shipping data tokens may additionally or alternatively be received by data shielding service system151from merchant systems111aand111b, purchaser systems121aand121b, shipping service provider system131, shipping support services system141, and/or electronic marketplace system171for facilitating data shielding functionality in a variety of other scenarios. In accordance with some embodiments of the invention, data shielding service system151may, in addition to receiving a shielded shipping data token, receive information associated with the shielded shipping data token and/or the corresponding shielded shipping data. For example, identification credentials utilized according to embodiments may be received with received shielded shipping data tokens or obtained in association with receiving the shielded shipping data tokens, such as for use by data shielding service system151in determining if a shielded shipping data token is received from or in association with a permitted accessor. As another example, information regarding the particular shipping data of the shielded shipping data desired, the intended usage of shipping data of the shielded shipping data, one or more instructions regarding data shielding service handling of the shielded shipping data, etc. For example, in a scenario where a shielded shipping data token (e.g., TokenA) permits access to entire one or more shielded shipping data record(s) (e.g., Record2) and only a sub-portion of the shielded shipping data is desired (e.g., the recipient's delivery address), additional information included with or in association with the shielded shipping data token may indicate the desired sub-portion (e.g., Field2). In a situation where data shielding protocols associated with the shielded shipping data proscribes certain use of the shipping data, additional information included with or in association with the shielded shipping data token may indicate the intended usage for use by data shielding service system151in determining compliance with applicable data shielding protocols. Additionally or alternatively, additional information included with or in association with the shielded shipping data token may provide instructions regarding handling of the shielded shipping data by data shielding service system151(e.g., instructions to return shipping data of the shielded shipping data to a requesting system, to update or revise shipping data of the shielded shipping data, to delete the shielded shipping data from shielded shipping data database153, etc.). Such additional information may, for example, be provided in or with a data packet containing the shielded shipping data token received by data shielding service system151, in a data packet provided in association with a data packet containing the shielded shipping data token received by data shielding service system151, provided in a separate communication to data shielding service system151, etc. At block302of flow300in the illustrated example, data shielding service system151operates to perform validation processing with respect to the received shielded shipping data token. For example, data shielding logic152of data shielding service system151may include token validation logic156configured to perform validation with respect to shielded shipping data tokens. In accordance with some embodiments of the invention, token validation logic156may analyze received shielded shipping data tokens for determining validity of the token with respect to usage of shielded shipping data. For example, token validation logic156may analyze a received shielded shipping data token and corresponding shielded shipping data to determine if the shielded shipping data token corresponds to shielded shipping data present in shielded shipping data database152. As shown inFIG.6, one or more received shielded shipping data tokens (e.g., shielded shipping data tokens601, such as may comprise any or all of TokenA, TokenB, TokenC, and TokenD, or some subset thereof) may be provided to token validation logic156for application of one-way abstraction analysis functionality656(e.g., providing comparisons of hash, digital signature, or other one-way abstraction functionality results with some portion of a shielded shipping data token) for determining validity, viability, etc. of the shielded shipping data token in association with usage of corresponding shielded shipping data (e.g., Record2). A determination of validity of a shielded shipping data token may be based at least in part on whether the token has been received, or is otherwise being processed for, a permitted accessor. Accordingly, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention, token validation logic156may analyze information regarding an entity or system intending to use shipping data of the shielded shipping data. For example, token validation logic156may analyze a received shielded shipping data token and associated identification credentials (e.g., integration ID, IP address, ESN, passphrase, PIN, etc. of or for a system providing the shielded shipping data token and/or that is intending to use shipping data of the shielded shipping data) to determine if usage of shielded shipping data is by or on behalf of a permitted accessor. As shown inFIG.6, identification credentials (e.g., identification credentials602, such as may comprise integration ID, IP address, ESN, passphrase, PIN, etc.) may be provided to token validation logic156for performing shielded shipping data token validation. For example, is a scenario where identification credentials are concatenated with the shielded shipping data prior to implementing hash, digital signature, or other one-way abstraction functionality used in generating the shielded shipping data token, one-way abstraction analysis functionality656may be applied with respect to shielded shipping data tokens601and identification credentials602for determining validity, viability, etc. of the shielded shipping data token in association with usage of corresponding shielded shipping data. In accordance with some embodiments of the invention, token validation logic156may analyze information regarding data shielding protocols for the shielded shipping data, intended usage of shipping data of the shielded shipping data, etc. to determine if the shielded shipping data token is valid in the particular context for performing action with respect to corresponding shielded shipping data. For example, token validation logic156may analyze data shielding protocols database154for data shielding protocols pertaining to shielded shipping data corresponding to a shielded shipping data token being validated to determine viability of the shielded shipping data token in the current context. As an example, data shielding protocols may be analyzed with respect to a shielded shipping data token to determine if the token is being presented in a time period within which the shielded shipping data token is valid, is being presented from or for use with respect to a geographic location within which the shielded shipping data token may be used for obtaining shipping data of corresponding shielded shipping data, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, additional information (e.g., additional information603, such as may comprise information indicating the intended usage of the corresponding shielded shipping data, information indicating a particular sub-portion of the corresponding shielded shipping data for usage, etc.) in determining viability of the shielded shipping data token in the current context. At block303of flow300, data shielding logic155may make a determination regarding whether validation of a shielded shipping data token is successful. For example, results of validation and validity analysis (e.g., token validation information604) performed by token validation logic156may be utilized to determine if validation of a shielded shipping data token is successful (e.g., the shielded shipping data token corresponds to shielded shipping data present in shielded shipping data database152, usage of shielded shipping data is by or on behalf of a permitted accessor, usage of shielded shipping data is supported, permitted, etc. in a current context, and/or the like). If it is determined that validation of a shielded shipping data token is not successful, processing according to the illustrated embodiment proceeds to block304wherein a failure message is returned. For example, data shielding service system151may return a message to a system from which a shielded shipping data token was received indicating that shipping data of corresponding shielded shipping data will not be provided. Such a message may include information detailing a reason for failed validation of shielded shipping data token validation (e.g., indicating that an intended usage is not permitted, that the intended usage is not within a permitted time period, associated with a permitted geographic location, is not by or for the benefit of a permitted accessor, etc. If it is determined that validation of a shielded shipping data token is successful, processing according to the illustrated embodiment proceeds to block305wherein shielded shipping data corresponding to the shielded shipping data token is accessed. For example, shielded data access management logic shielded shipping data management logic157of data shielding logic152may use a shielded shipping data token of received shielded shipping data tokens701to identify one or more records (e.g., records of Record1, Record2, through RecordM corresponding to a received instance of TokenA, TokenB, TokenC, or TokenD) of shielded shipping data database153for accessing. As shown inFIG.7, one or more received shielded shipping data tokens (e.g., shielded shipping data tokens701, such as may comprise any or all of TokenA, TokenB, TokenC, and TokenD, or some subset thereof) may be provided to shielded shipping data management logic157for use in accessing corresponding shielded shipping data of shielded shipping data database153. In accordance with some embodiments, shielded shipping data access management logic157may use information in addition to or in the alternative to shielded shipping data tokens as received by data shielding service151. For example, information identifying the particular shipping data of shielded shipping data database153may be included as part of the results (e.g., token validation information604) provided by the analysis performed by token validation logic156, whereby shielded shipping data access management logic157may utilize this information to identify corresponding shielded shipping data, its intended use, one or more permitted accessor, etc. Accordingly, shielded shipping data access management logic157may utilize information provided by token validation logic156in accessing corresponding shielded shipping data of shielded shipping data database153. Shielded shipping data access management logic157may use additional information included with or in association with the shielded shipping data token for accessing shielded shipping data of shielded shipping data database153. Accordingly, as shown inFIG.7, additional information (e.g., additional information702) may be provided to shielded shipping data management logic157for use with respect to accessing corresponding shielded shipping data. For example, additional information (e.g., information indicating the intended usage of the corresponding shielded shipping data, information indicating a particular sub-portion of the corresponding shielded shipping data for usage, instructions regarding handling of the shielded shipping data by data shielding service system151such as instructions to return shipping data of the shielded shipping data to a requesting system, to update or revise shipping data of the shielded shipping data, to delete the shielded shipping data from shielded shipping data database153, etc.) received with or in association with a received shielded shipping data token may be used by shielded shipping data access management logic157in accessing shielded shipping data. Access of shielded shipping data by shielded shipping data access management logic157is in accordance with data shielding protocols of data shielding protocols database154applicable to the shielded shipping data, the permitted accessor, the particular context for performing action with respect to corresponding shielded shipping data, etc. Accordingly, shielded shipping data access management logic157may access one or more data shielding protocols of data shielding protocols154corresponding to the shielded shipping data for managing access to the shipping data in accordance with applicable data shielding protocols. At bloc306of flow300shown inFIG.3, data shielding logic155may return data (e.g., return data703) in accordance with shielded data access management functionality implemented by shielded shipping data access management157. For example, data shielding logic155of embodiments may provide shipping data of the shielded shipping data to permitted accessors (e.g., transmitting shipping data of shielded shipping data database153corresponding to a received shielded shipping data token from data shielding service system151to one or more systems (e.g., one or more of merchant systems111aand111b, purchaser systems121aand121b, shipping service provider system131, shipping support services system141, and/or electronic marketplace system171that originally provided the shielded shipping data token to data shielding service system151, on whose behalf the shielded shipping data token was provided to data shielding service system151, etc.) of shipping environment100. Where shipping data of the shielded shipping data is returned to other systems of shipping environment100, the shipping data is provided to those systems by data shielding service system151to the extent and in accordance with applicable regulation(s)/rule(s), etc. of data shielding protocols154according to embodiments of the invention. Information (e.g., additional information702, as may be provided in or with a received shielded shipping data token) may, for example, provide instructions to return shipping data of the shielded shipping data to a requesting system, another system of shipping environment100, etc. Return of data in accordance with shielded data access management functionality implemented by shielded shipping data access management157according to some scenarios may not provide shipping data of the shielded shipping data to other systems of shipping environment100. For example, information (e.g., additional information702, as may be provided in or with a received shielded shipping data token) indicating the intended usage of the corresponding shielded shipping data may provide instructions regarding handling of the shielded shipping data by data shielding service system151. Such information may indicate that shipping data of the shielded shipping data is to be updated or revised by data shielding logic152, that shielded shipping data is to be deleted from shielded shipping data database153by data shielding logic152, etc. (e.g., a deletion instruction may delete particular shielded shipping data from shielded shipping data database153, may propagate deletion requests throughout the systems of shipping environment100that have been provided shielded shipping data, etc.). Accordingly, where such instructions are in accordance with data shielding protocols of data shielding protocols database154applicable to the shielded shipping data, the instructed action may be taken with respect to the shielded shipping data and an appropriate message returned in accordance with shielded data access management logic157. For example, data shielding service system151may return a message to a system from which a shielded shipping data token was received indicating that shipping data of corresponding shielded shipping data has been updated, revised, deleted, As can be appreciated from the foregoing, a shielded shipping data token may be utilized by a permitted accessor to obtain usage of shielded shipping data, such as on-demand, in real-time, etc., without systems of the permitted accessor storing shielded shipping data for extended periods of time, or at all. A data shielding service system shields usage of shielded shipping data in accordance with applicable regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA, etc.), according to applicable rules (e.g., insurance requirements, shipper/merchant guidelines, appropriate usage rules, etc.), and/or the like. A retail platform (e.g., merchant systems111aand111b, electronic marketplace system171, etc.) and/or other platforms of the shipping environment (e.g., shipping service provider system131, shipping support services system141, etc.) may avoid storing information which its use, disclosure, and/or retention is protected or which is otherwise to be shielded in some manner (e.g., certain forms of delivery information, which can be considered PII) and which is becoming a liability to store. For example, a retail platform may store one or more shielded shipping data tokens with an order when the order is placed. Such shielded shipping data tokens may be obtained by the retail platform upon successful address cleansing, such as performed as part of the order processing. When shielded information for a particular order is needed (e.g., PII used with respect to shipping label generation or other shipment processing), a corresponding shielded shipping data token may be used by the retail platform or other system of the shipping environment (e.g., shipping management system of shipping support services system141) to perform a task (e.g., print a shipping label including PII), wherein the shielded information is discarded or otherwise not retained after performing the task. Shipping data of shielded shipping data may be provided to the retail platform or other system in a form suitable for further processing by that system (e.g., shipping data suitable for generation of a shipping label by that system) or in a form in which further processing by that system is limited or restricted (e.g., a data packet configured for printing a shipping label acceptable to a shipping service provider, thereby allowing that system to print a shipping label including the shielded information without directly processing the shielded information). In some examples, shielded shipping data tokens may be disseminated within shipping environment100for shielding the data and/or alleviating various systems from handling shielded shipping data. For example, rather than providing shielded shipping data to a retail platform or other or other system of the shipping environment printing a shipping label to include shielded shipping data (e.g., PII), a shielded shipping data token may be provided for printing on the shipping label. The shielded shipping data token of this shipping label may be used in routing an item (e.g., item112) to an intended recipient, to a shipment processing station, etc. For example, a route carrier may use route carrier device132to scan the shielded shipping data token on the item being handled to provide the route carrier (e.g., using a display of route carrier device132, such as through an augmented reality user interface) with sufficient information for routing the item. The information provided to the route carrier may be limited according to the context of routing the item, so as to only provide that information needed by the route carrier to facilitate the item traveling to its next point in the shipping route. Accordingly, some or all PII of the shielded shipping data may be withheld, if not necessary in the current context. Additional or alternative protections may be implemented using shielded shipping data tokens of embodiments, such as to implement geographic location restrictions (e.g., the route carrier may only successfully obtain shipping information of shielded shipping information when at a pickup location for the item, when on the carrier's route, etc.), time restrictions (e.g., the route carrier may only successfully obtain shipping information of the shielded information during working hours, within a valid time for the shielded shipping data token, etc.), usage restrictions (e.g., the route carrier may only successfully obtain shipping information of the shielded information at a point in a workflow a next valid usage is to be performed, may obtain the shipping information a limited number of times, etc.), and/or the like. A shipping service provider may, for example, use scanner134to obtain a shielded shipping data token printed on a shipping label and generate a label including shipping data (e.g., recipient address information, possibly including PII) for over-labeling the item. In this example, a retail platform (e.g., merchant systems111aand111b, electronic marketplace system171, etc.) may be alleviated of not only storing some shielded shipping information, but also printing that shielded shipping information and the processing associated therewith. Although embodiments have been described above with reference to examples wherein tokenization of shielded shipping data is implemented with respect to shipment of items by or for a merchant to a purchaser or other intended recipient of items, the concepts of the present invention are not limited to use in these illustrative scenarios. In accordance with some embodiments, tokenization of shielded shipping data may be implemented in association with return shipment of items, such as to return an item to a merchant from a purchaser or other recipient of the item. For example, purchaser120amay utilize purchaser system121ato interact with merchant system111afor processing return of an item purchased from merchant110a, wherein some portion of shipping data for the return comprises shielded shipping data (e.g., merchant110amay comprise a customer-to-customer (C2C) type merchant wishing to protect their personal contact and address information). In such a scenario, purchaser system121amay be provided a shielded shipping data token, such as for printing on a return shipping label (e.g., for later over-labeling the item by a shipping service provider). Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. | 76,805 |
11861546 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Described herein are techniques for providing delivery confirmation regarding the placement of packages at delivery locations. In some embodiments, the techniques can be utilized to generate interactive visual guidance that assists deliverers (e.g., individuals who are responsible for delivery of packages to delivery locations of customers) while the deliverers are identifying drop-off locations at the delivery locations of the customers. In particular, a deliverer may capture images, video, or other location information upon arrival to an area surrounding a delivery location. Additionally, location information associated with the delivery information can be analyzed according to the described techniques to assist identification of the delivery location by the deliverer. Further, the location information can be analyzed and utilized to generate indications of appropriate or approved drop-off locations for the customer package(s), package drop-off location approval (before or after placement), package drop-off location rejection (before or after placement), and rejected or disapproved drop-off locations. Accordingly, verification of both delivery location and package placement within the delivery location can increase the number of successful package deliveries and reduce the number of packages that are actually delivered but not received by customers. In some embodiments, the techniques described herein enable a deliverer to obtain assistance in delivering a package for a customer to a safe location where the customer can later obtain the package at their discretion. In particular, through the utilization of a user device (or a deliverer device), a deliverer can be provided with an interface that provides accurate package placement information that is tailored to the customer associated with the package and/or the location in which the package is being delivered. The deliverer can receive the guidance provided by the described techniques through alerts, notifications, user interface elements, and other communication pathways utilizing the user device associated with the driver. In some embodiments, the user interface can include an augmented reality interface configured to provide one or more indications of package placement locations, locations to be avoided, safe drop-off locations, unsafe drop-off locations, and other indications that provide delivery location specific information to the deliverer. Additionally, in some embodiments, the deliverer can provide location information and receive guidance in real-time upon arriving to an area surrounding the delivery destination associated with the customer. It should be noted that while the deliverer is commonly referred to as an individual and/or a human, the deliverer does not need to be human. In at least one embodiment, the deliverer can be an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a ground-based delivery robot, or another autonomous/semi-autonomous entity configured to deliver a package to a delivery location of a customer. For instance, delivery of a package may be automated and controlled by the delivery instructions and/or a computing device that generates the delivery instructions, determined in an analysis environment, and transmitted to the deliverer. Additionally, the analysis environment can determine whether the autonomous delivered has placed the package in a rejected drop-off location and transmit additional instructions that cause the autonomous deliverer to relocate the package to an approved drop-off location. In some embodiments, the techniques described herein further verify package placement at the delivery location associated with the customer. As noted above, a user device associated with the deliverer can provide location information associated with an area surrounding the delivery location. The area can include other houses that are nearby a house of the customer, an apartment building that include numerous residences besides the residence of the customer, and other environments that are located at the general area surrounding the delivery location where the package is to be delivered. It should be noted that, while global positioning systems, navigation tools, and other guidance systems can be capable of directing a deliverer to the general area associated with a delivery location and/or a customer, such guidance systems may struggle to ensure that the package is actually delivered to an appropriate drop-off location for the customer. Accordingly, the location information received from the user device can be utilized to identify appropriate drop-off locations while preventing the package from being placed at inappropriate drop-off locations. Further, the user device can be utilized to confirm placement of the package at the delivery location for both the deliverer and the customer. In some embodiments, the described techniques can utilize machine learning algorithms and/or other artificial intelligence (AI) techniques (e.g., neural networks) to analyze location information and generate the interactive visual (or audible) guidance displayed (or audibly output) for the deliverer. In particular, machine learning algorithms (or other AI techniques) can be utilized to identify an area associated with the delivery location and determine that the package is placed in an approved drop-off location. For instance, one or more delivers can be instructed or otherwise caused to capture location information associated with a delivery location when completing one or more deliveries at the delivery location. Additionally, the results of the one or more deliveries can be tracked and associated with the location information captured by the one or more delivers at the delivery location. Alternatively, or in addition, one or more customers can provide location information associated with the delivery location including indications of appropriate or approved drop-off locations and inappropriate or disapproved drop-off locations for packages. Further, the location information, customer indications regarding the drop-off locations, delivery results (e.g., customer received package, package was delivered not received, customer reported a complaint with the delivery, etc.), and other delivery information can be associated within a database. The location information and delivery information associated with the delivery location can be analyzed and utilized to confirm package placement at the delivery location and ensure that packages are effectively delivered to customers. In some embodiments, a user device associated with the deliverer can be utilized to verify package placement at the delivery location. In particular, the user device can be utilized to capture images, video, and other location information associated with an area that the deliverer has been directed to for package delivery. Additionally, the user device or a server associated with the user device can receive the captured images and location information during and after delivery of the package to verify that the package has been delivered to the delivery location and that the package has been correctly delivered to an acceptable drop-off location. For instance, the algorithms can receive one or more images of the delivery location and/or the package placed at the delivery location. Further, the algorithms can analyze the one or more images and identify unique features within those images and compare those unique features to known features that have been recorded for the delivery location in the past. From the comparison of the unique features captured in the one or more images and the known features associated with the delivery location, the algorithm can verify the delivery location and confirm that the package is being placed at the correct delivery location. Additionally, in some additional embodiments, the one or more images can depict the package placed at the delivery location. Accordingly, the algorithms can determine whether the placement of the package at the delivery location satisfies one or more delivery criterion or whether the package is to be relocated at the delivery location. Currently, delivery confirmation guidelines are provided to deliverers based on a location associated with the deliverer. For instance, a user device associated with a deliverer (e.g., a driver or other personnel tasked with delivering a package) can utilize GPS geofencing and WiFi fingerprinting to guide and/or place a deliverer, at best, within a general area of the delivery location (e.g., approximately ten meters of a delivery location). While the delivery confirmation guidelines based on the location of the deliverer reduce the rate of packages that are actually delivered but are not received by customers, the delivery confirmation guidelines based on the location of the deliverer remain flawed. Deliverers, upon arrival at a delivery location, attempt to identify the correct location where the package is to be left. However, due to the manual location of placement locations, deliverers can easily place a package meant for a customer at a delivery location in a separate location that is associated with a different delivery location/customer or in a location that does not effectively prevent the package from being stolen/exposes the package to unnecessary risk of theft. Additionally, these issues may be exacerbated in areas having high population density (e.g., cities, apartment buildings, etc.), fewer security measures (e.g., unsecured communities, low light environments, little to no security surveillance, etc.), and/or areas lacking sufficient identification of delivery locations (e.g., duplex homes with obscured addresses, unmarked/difficult to identify doors in apartment buildings, etc.). Development of a database for training algorithms to efficiently identify packages and delivery locations enable a driver to be provided with real-time instructions and adjustments to package drop-off locations to avoid the problems inherent in manual delivery location identification. Accordingly, the described systems and methods allow for the identification of appropriate and inappropriate delivery locations that can be utilized as guidance for a driver attempting to deliver a package to a customer. Further, the described systems and methods enable package placement verification, on-site and during delivery of the package, to ensure that risk related to the package is reduced. FIG.1illustrates an example delivery environment for determining whether delivery of a package has been successfully completed at a delivery location. In particular,FIG.1illustrates a user device102that can be utilized to capture location information related to a delivery environment104and a package106. Additionally, the location information and other information associated with the delivery can be transmitted, as delivery information108, to an analysis engine110. Further, the analysis engine110can be configured to generate one or more delivery location instructions112based on the delivery information108. The delivery location instructions112can be displayed by a user interface associated with the user device102to provide a delivery location indication114and/or a delivery location suggestion116. It should be noted that, whileFIG.1depicts a particular delivery environment104, a package106, a delivery location indication114, and a delivery location suggestion116, the delivery information108can include additional images of the delivery environment104, the package106, and the area surrounding the delivery environment104. Similarly, the delivery location indication114and the delivery location suggestion116can be individually omitted or replaced with alternative delivery location indications and alternative delivery location suggestions. In some embodiments, a deliverer can cause a user device102to capture location information associated with a delivery environment104. The delivery environment104can include a structure, for example a residence (e.g., house) or an establishment (e.g., building associated with a business), that is associated with a customer that has placed an order for one or more items to be delivered. Alternatively, or in addition, the delivery environment104can include an entry way to a portion of a building (e.g., an apartment), an area external to a building (e.g., a driveway, sidewalk, porch, etc.), or other delivery location that is associated with the customer, but not necessarily a building or a structure. In at least one embodiment, the user device102can provide instructions regarding one or more features of the delivery location that should be captured via the user device102. For instance, the user device102can cause the deliverer to capture location information from a defined perspective (e.g., a view of a building from the street, internal images of an apartment building, etc.), at a distance from the delivery location, and/or after one or more steps of the delivery have been completed (e.g., after the package106has been placed for delivery). Alternatively, the deliverer can cause the user device102to capture location information associated with the delivery environment104at the discretion of the deliverer. In some embodiments, the user device102can generate delivery information108from the location information associated with the delivery environment104and/or one or more indications generated by the user device102. In particular, the delivery information108can include an indication of a location at which the deliverer has arrived, such as a global positioning system (GPS) location determined by the user device102. Alternatively, or in addition, the delivery information108can include one or more user inputs provided by the deliverer via a user interface of the user device102. The delivery information108can be provided to an analysis engine110configured to determine whether the package106has been or will be placed at the delivery location associated with the customer and that the package106has been placed at an approved drop-off location. In some embodiments, the analysis engine110can determine, based on the delivery information108, whether the package106is being delivered to and/or is associated with an intended delivery location. For instance, the analysis engine110can receive the delivery information108associated with the delivery environment104from the user device102and determine, based on one or more images that depict the delivery environment104and/or an indication of user device102location, whether the deliverer has been directed to the delivery location of the package106. In particular, the analysis engine110can identify unique features associated with the one or more images of the delivery environment104to determine that the package106is being delivered to the correct delivery location. For example, the unique features identified by the analysis engine110can include features of a structure within the delivery environment104(e.g., garage door markings, doorways, residence siding panels, brick coloring, brick patterns, barriers, fences, windows, landscaping (e.g., plants, trees, etc.), stairs, etc.). Additionally, the analysis engine110can determine that the delivery environment104includes the correct delivery location of the package106based on a comparison of the unique features associated with delivery environment104with one or more additional images that have been previously associated with the delivery location and successful deliveries to the customer. The one or more additional images of the delivery location can be captured during previous deliveries to the delivery location, provided by a customer associated with the delivery location, and/or otherwise be obtained and verified for the delivery location. Accordingly, the analysis engine110can verify that the deliverer has arrived at the delivery location. In some embodiments, the analysis engine110can determine, based on the delivery information108, that the package106has been placed within the delivery environment104. In particular, the analysis engine110can determine that one or more images of the delivery information108include a depiction of the package106within the delivery environment104and that the package106is within a drop-off zone of the delivery environment104. The drop-off zone can be determined based on one or more previous deliveries to the delivery environment104, wherein the one or more previous deliveries are associated with an indication that the delivery was successfully completed, or was associated with a customer complaint, and an additional indication of a specific location at which a previously delivered package was left within the delivery environment104. Accordingly, the drop-off location can be determined from the one or more previous deliveries, and the additional indications of previous package delivery locations, associated with the indication of a successful delivery. In some embodiments, the one or more images including the package106can be captured in response to a prompt displayed on the user device102, associated with an indication that the package106is within the one or more images, and/or identified as containing the package106by an internal algorithm of the analysis engine110. Additionally, the analysis engine110can determine, based on the unique features of the delivery location depicted by the delivery information108, that the package106has been placed within a drop-off zone. For instance, the unique features of the delivery location can include structural features of the customer residence, patterns/designs associated with a garage door or a doorway, brick patterns associated with a structure or a sidewalk, landscaping features, fences, barriers, and other features included in the delivery information108. Additionally, the unique features of the delivery location can be identified based on a plurality of images previously evaluated and associated with the delivery environment104. Further, the analysis engine110can be configured to correlate a set of the unique features from the plurality of images as indicators of the drop-off zone for the package106within the delivery environment104. For example, the drop-off zone for a delivery environment104can be a front porch of a customer residence and the set of unique features include a fence surround the front porch (e.g., the unique features related to the fence can include slate spacing, coloration of the fence components, thickness of a handrail, height of the fence, etc.), landscaping features near the front porch, a brick wall of the residence that the front porch extends from, a doorway from the residence to the front porch, and other unique features that enable the identification of the drop-off zone for the delivery environment104. Accordingly, the analysis engine110can determine that the package106has been placed in proximity to the set of unique features and that the package106has been placed in the drop-off zone. In some embodiments, the analysis engine110can compare the drop-off zone associated with the package106with one or more known drop-off locations associated with the delivery location. The one or more drop-off locations can include unsafe drop-off locations (e.g., locations associated with package theft), rejected drop-off locations, and/or approved drop-off locations (e.g., locations where deliveries have been successfully completed). Additionally, the one or more drop-off locations can be associated with previous deliveries of packages to the one or more drop-off locations. For instance, the unsafe drop-off locations can be associated with customer feedback that previous packages identified as delivered to the unsafe drop-off locations were not received, were received with damage, or were taken/stolen by an unauthorized person (possibly indicated by security surveillance images/video). Further, the approved drop-off locations can be associated with positive customer feedback associated with package delivery or no further communication from the customer after previous packages were delivered to the approved drop-off locations. Accordingly, the analysis engine110can determine whether the drop-off zone associated with the package106within the delivery environment104matches or is within one of the one or more drop-off locations (e.g., unsafe drop-off locations, rejected drop-off locations, approved drop-off locations, etc.) associated with the delivery location. In some embodiments, the analysis engine110can generate delivery location instructions112for the deliverer. In particular, the analysis engine110can determine, based on the determination that the delivery environment104is associated with the delivery location and/or that the package106has been placed in a drop-off zone at the delivery location, the delivery instructions112that are to be completed by the deliverer. Additionally, a user interface of the user device102can display the delivery location instructions112to the deliverer via an augmented reality overlay, a marked image of the delivery environment104, an interface capable of providing instructions to the deliverer regarding the delivery location indication114and/or the delivery location suggestion116. In at least one embodiment, the delivery location indication114can be configured to provide information to the deliverer regarding the package106depicted within the delivery environment104. The delivery location indication114can be generated by the user device102and/or the analysis engine110based at least on the unsafe drop-off locations, the rejected drop-off locations, and/or the approved drop-off locations associated with the delivery location. In particular, the delivery location indication114can be an indication that the current drop-off zone associated with the package106is rejected (e.g., the cross projected over the package) and that the package106is to be relocated within the delivery environment104. Similarly, the delivery location indication114can be an indication that the drop-off zone associated with the package106is approved and that the delivery can be/has been completed. In at least one additional embodiment, the delivery location suggestion116can be provided via the user device102to assist in the placement of the package106at the delivery location. In particular, where the drop-off zone of the package106is rejected, unsafe, or otherwise unacceptable, the delivery location instructions112can include an indication of one or more approved drop-off locations within the delivery environment104. Similarly, the analysis engine110can include a delivery location suggestion116in the delivery location instructions112where the one or more images of the delivery environment104are determined to not include the package106. Accordingly, the delivery location suggestion116can provide an indication of where the package106is to be placed for completion of the delivery at the delivery location. In some embodiments, the analysis engine110can generate delivery location instructions112for the deliverer. In particular, the analysis engine110can determine, based on the determination that the delivery environment104is associated with the delivery location and/or that the package106has been placed in a drop-off zone at the delivery location, the delivery instructions112that are to be completed by the deliverer. Additionally, the delivery instructions112can be audibly output via the user device102as audible instructions for delivering the package106to a drop-off zone within the delivery environment104or relocating the package106from a rejected drop-off location to an approved drop off location. For example, the delivery location indication114can be audibly presented to the deliverer, via one or more speakers and/or audio outputs associated with the user device102, as an audio segment configured to inform the deliverer that the package106has been placed within a rejected drop-off location. Additionally, the delivery location suggestion116can be audibly presented to the deliverer as an additional audio segment configured to identify an approved drop-off location within the delivery environment104. Further, upon determining that the package106has been placed at the approved drop-off location an audible indication can be provided that delivery has been completed at the delivery environment104. Accordingly, the analysis engine110can be configured to generate audible indications for directing the deliverer within and/or to the delivery environment104, relocating the package106placed at a rejected drop-off location based on the delivery location indication114, placing the package106according to the delivery location suggestion116, and other instructions associated with the delivery environment104. The audible indication output by the user device102may include words, beeps, chimes, buzzing sounds, alarms, ringing sounds, or any other sound that indicates that the deliverer has placed a package in an approved drop-off location and/or a rejected drop-off location associated with the delivery environment104. Accordingly, utilizing an analysis engine110to identify drop-off locations associated with a delivery environment104and provide delivery location instructions112can improve customer satisfaction and operational efficiency associated with delivery operations of a service provider (e.g., an entity associated with causing the package106to be delivered to the customer from a third-party merchant or from an internal merchant) associated with the analysis engine110. In particular, providing the delivery location instructions112can improve chances of the package106(or packages) being delivered within the delivery environment104such that the package106will be received by the customer associated with the delivery environment104. Additionally, the delivery location instructions112can reduce the chances of the package106(or packages) being delivered to the delivery environment104, but either being damaged before the customer can retrieve the package106or the package106being stolen or otherwise lost before retrieval by the customer. The delivery location instructions112can improve deliverer completion of delivery orders, placed by the customer, with the service provider. Providing the delivery location instructions112, based on delivery information108obtained from the delivery environment104during delivery of the package106, can improve the customer and the deliverer experience in placing the package106at an approved drop-off location. Similarly, the delivery location instructions112can reduce logistics costs and project management resources consumed by individual delivery orders by reducing the number of delivery orders that require intervention by the service provider to remedy lost packages, damaged delivery goods, and other issues that cause customer dissatisfaction with the service provider. Alternatively, or in addition, the delivery location instructions112can reduce financial and logistics resources consumed in reacquiring delivery goods from third-parties in scenarios where a customer did not receive the package106. Accordingly, the service provider can benefit from increased customer goodwill and reduced operational costs by providing delivery environment specific instructions to deliverers based on the delivery information108obtained via the user device102. FIG.2illustrates an example analysis environment for generating augmented reality overlays that provide guidance to deliverers at a delivery location. As noted above, a user device can be utilized to capture one or more images of a delivery environment. For the purposes of this discussion, the term “image” or “images” may include still images, panoramic images, videos, or any other type of image that visually depicts a delivery location of a customer. The one or more images can include a pre-delivery environment202and/or a post-delivery environment204. Additionally, the user device102can collect user device information206such as a location of the user device102, networks available to the user device102, and other indications that can be utilized identifying the delivery location. The one or more images and/or the user device information206can be provided to an analysis environment208that includes local recognition algorithm(s)210, global recognition algorithm(s)212, a delivery location database214, and/or an augmented reality overlay216. Accordingly, the analysis environment208can generate a drop-off location overlay218and/or an indication of a delivery overlay220. As noted with respect toFIG.1, the analysis environment208can be provided by a service entity that either provides delivery services for customer goods provided by the service entity or provides logistical services for delivery of goods from a third-party manufacturer to the customer. In some embodiments, one or more images may be captured by a camera, a sensor, or other imaging component of the user device, wherein the one or more images can include pre-delivery environment(s)202and/or post-delivery environments204. In particular, the pre-delivery environment202can depict a delivery environment that the deliverer has arrived at based on navigation instructions before a package has been placed within the delivery environment. Similarly, the post-delivery environment204can depict the delivery environment where the package has been placed in a drop-off location identified by the deliverer based on the navigation instructions and manual identification of appropriate drop-off locations. Accordingly, the pre-delivery environment202and/or post-delivery environment204can be provided to the analysis environment208to confirm delivery of the package and verify placement of the package in an approved drop-off location at the intended delivery location. In some embodiments, the analysis environment208can be configured to utilize a local recognition algorithm210, a global recognition algorithm212, and a delivery location database214to determine whether the delivery location that the deliverer has arrived at is an intended delivery location for the package and whether the package has been placed at an approved drop-off location at the intended delivery location. The local recognition algorithm210can be trained on a per-address basis such that the local recognition algorithm210is configured to identify unique features associated with an address/an intended delivery location based on a plurality of images that have been previously analyzed, graded, and/or associated with the intended delivery location. In particular, the local recognition algorithm210can be trained to recognize unique features that are specific to the intended delivery environment for a package and generate delivery environment dependent determinations (e.g., determining where approved and rejected delivery locations are located within the delivery environment based on the unique features of the delivery environment). Additionally, the global recognition algorithm212can be trained to recognize images features (e.g., package dimensions, package coloration, package features, landscaping elements, driveways, sidewalks, mailboxes, location addresses, etc.) that can be common to multiple delivery locations. For instance, the global recognition algorithm212can be trained to identify packages within the delivery environment, generate a three-dimensional (3D) model of the delivery environment, identify generic features of the delivery environment (driveways, walk ways, lawns, porches, etc.), and other features that can be identified for multiple delivery locations. Further, the global recognition algorithm212can be trained to recognize images features that may exist in a plurality of delivery environments and may not be specific to the intended delivery environment of the package and associated with the local recognition algorithm210(e.g., the global recognition algorithm212can recognize delivery environment independent features). It should be noted that, while the local recognition algorithm210and the global recognition algorithm212are commonly discussed independently of one another, the local recognition algorithm210and the global recognition algorithm212can be components of a single unified algorithm of the analysis environment208. In particular, the local recognition algorithm210can be a local recognition algorithm model. Similarly, the global recognition algorithm212can be a global recognition algorithm model. Additionally, an algorithm utilized by the analysis environment208can comprise the global recognition algorithm (model)212and the local recognition algorithm (model)210, wherein the algorithm utilized by the analysis environment208is tailored to the delivery location based on the incorporation of the local recognition algorithm210. Accordingly, while the discussion of global algorithms and local algorithms may be specific to individual algorithms, global algorithms can be utilized as global models by an algorithm and local algorithms can be utilized as local models, specific to the delivery location, by the algorithm. In some embodiments, and as noted above, the local recognition algorithm210can be trained and utilized on a per-address basis. The local recognition algorithm210to be utilized for the pre-delivery environment202and/or the post-delivery environment204can be identified based on user device information206that indicates a general geographic location associate with the deliverer, the package, and/or the delivery environment. The geographic location can indicate that the deliverer is within a vicinity of the delivery location and/or an address where the package is to be delivered. Accordingly, the user device can determine that the deliverer has arrived at or near the delivery location and can utilize the local recognition algorithm210to further verify the location. In particular, the local recognition algorithm210can analyze the pre-delivery environment202and/or the post-delivery environment204to determine whether the deliverer has arrived at the correct delivery location. In some additional embodiments, the local recognition algorithm210can be trained on the per-address basis from one or more images that have been associated with the delivery location. In particular, the local recognition algorithm210can be trained based on one or more images of package deliveries that have been successfully completed at the delivery location. The one or more images of the package deliveries may be taken by previous deliverers, of the delivery location, upon arrival or after delivery of the package. Further, the one or more images can be evaluated to ensure that the one or more images are captured at the delivery location. For example, a previous package can be delivered to a delivery location for a customer, an image be captured of the package at the delivery location, and a notification provided to the customer based on the delivery being complete. Where the customer provides a positive response or review to the notification, the image can be evaluated as an accurate image of the delivery location. Similarly, where the customer does not provide a response to the notification, the image can be evaluated as an accurate image of the delivery location. However, where the customer provides a negative response or review of the delivery, the image can be evaluated as an inaccurate image of the delivery location. Additionally, the negative response and/or review can be further evaluated to determine whether the delivery location of the package was an incorrect delivery location (e.g., package was placed at the wrong address or wrong delivery location) or an unsafe delivery location (e.g., the package was placed at the correct delivery location, but was stolen or taken before the customer could retrieve the package). Similarly, the images evaluated as accurate images of the delivery location can be associated with safe (or safer) delivery locations. The one or more images (accurate and/or inaccurate) can be stored in association with the delivery location, after evaluation, in the delivery location database214for further consideration and/or matching operations executed by the local recognition algorithm210. In some additional, or alternative, embodiments, the local recognition algorithm210can be trained based on one or more images provided by the customer associated with the delivery location. In particular, the customer can provide one or more images that include preferred delivery locations, approved delivery locations, unsafe delivery locations, do not deliver locations, and other locations within the delivery environment. Additionally, the customer can provide indications and/or tags for the one or more images identifying whether packages can be delivered to the location(s) depicted by the one or more images. Accordingly, the one or more images provided by the customer can be evaluated, associated with indications of approved and restricted delivery locations within the delivery environment, and stored in the delivery location database214for utilization by the local recognition algorithm210. Further, the local recognition algorithm210can be trained based on the one or more images to determine whether the pre-delivery environment202and/or the post-delivery environment204captured by the user device are associated with the delivery environment where the package is to be delivered. In some embodiments, the global recognition algorithm212can be trained based on one or more images stored by the delivery location database214. In particular, the one or more images utilized to train the global recognition algorithm212can be associated with one or more delivery environments. Additionally, the global recognition algorithm212can be trained to identify packages, areas and/or zones of the delivery environment, generic features of the delivery environment, and other indicators that may be utilized in generating the augmented realize overlay216. Further, the global recognition algorithm212can be trained to locate the package and/or the indicators within a 3D environment of the delivery environment. As noted above, a customer can provide indications of approved and unapproved delivery locations within the delivery environment. From the indications provided by the customer, the global recognition algorithm212can be configured to determine whether the post-delivery environment204includes the package placed at an approved delivery location or if the package is to be relocated to another delivery location, if the package is placed at an unapproved delivery location. In some embodiments, the analysis environment208can be configured to receive the pre-delivery environment202and/or the post-delivery environment204and generate, based on at least one of the local recognition algorithm210and the global recognition algorithm212, the delivery location environment218and/or the indication of delivery220. In particular, the delivery location environment218can be configured to display approved delivery locations222and unapproved/rejected delivery locations224within the delivery environment. It should be noted that while the delivery location environment218does not include the package, the delivery location environment218can be generated from the pre-delivery environment202and/or the post-delivery environment204based on the one or more images provided by the deliverer and/or the user device associated with the deliverer. Additionally, the approved delivery location222and the rejected delivery location224can be determined based on customer provided indications, status of past deliveries to the delivery environment, outcomes of past deliveries to the delivery environment, regions of interest associated with the delivery environment and/or other delivery environments, and other indicators that can identify delivery locations as desirable and/or undesirable. Further, the delivery location environment218can be generated by the augmented reality overlay216for display via the user device and/or a user interface associated with the deliverer. In some additional embodiments, the delivery location environment218can include the pre-delivery environment202and/or the post-delivery environment204augmented with additional information and/or indications related to the delivery environment associated with the customer. In particular, the delivery location environment218can include one or more approved delivery environments222, one or more rejected delivery environments224, one or more representations of a package, and other information to be presented to the deliverer. The approved delivery location(s)222can include delivery locations within the delivery environment where packages have been delivered to the customer without complaint, issue, or other negative feedback related to the delivery and/or with positive feedback. Similarly, the rejected delivery location(s)224can include delivery locations within the delivery environment where packages have been delivered to the customer with complaint, issue, loss of package, delivered not received indications, and other delivery problems. Additionally, the rejected delivery location(s)224can include delivery locations within the delivery environment that are associated with a risk of package damage and/or other hazards (e.g., in a driveway, in front of a doorway, etc.). In some further embodiments, the delivery location environment218can be generated by the analysis environment208based at least on the local recognition algorithm210and/or the global recognition algorithm212. In particular, the local recognition algorithm210can be configured to identify that the pre-delivery environment202and/or the post-delivery environment204comprise the intended destination for the package. Additionally, the local recognition algorithm210, trained from one or more images associated with the intended delivery environment, can be configured to identify approved delivery locations222and rejected delivery locations224within the pre-delivery environment202and/or the post-delivery environment204based at least on one or more images associated with the delivery environment stored by the delivery location database214. Similarly, the global recognition algorithm212can be configured to identify whether the pre-delivery environment202and/or the post-delivery environment204include features such as the package, high-risk package placement areas (e.g., driveways, walkways, unsecured portions of the delivery environment, etc.), and other features that may be shared between delivery environments. Further, the global recognition algorithm212can be configured to identify approved delivery locations222and rejected delivery locations224within the pre-delivery environment202and/or the post-delivery environment204based at least on one or more images of delivery environment features associated with the intended delivery environment and/or one or more additional delivery environments. In some embodiments, the augmented reality overlay216can be generated by the analysis environment208based on indications of approved delivery locations222and/or rejected delivery locations224generated by the local recognition algorithm210and/or global recognition algorithm212. As displayed byFIG.2, the approved delivery locations222can be indicated by being highlighted, encircled, and/or otherwise associated with focus indicators that are associated with positive feedback indicators (e.g., green colors, checkmarks, “approved” or “correct” tags, audible commands, audible indicators, etc.). Similarly, the rejection delivery locations224can be indicated by being highlighted, encircled, and/or otherwise associated with focus indicators that are associated with negative feedback indicators (e.g., red colors, crossed out indicators, “rejected” or “unsafe” tags, audible commands, audible indicators, etc.). Additionally, the approved delivery locations222and/or rejected delivery locations224can be overlaid onto an image of the intended delivery environment or onto a video feed associated with the intended delivery environment. Further, the augmented reality overlay216can generate and update the approved delivery locations222and/or rejected delivery locations224onto the image and/or the video feed in real-time (i.e., updated in a substantially instantaneous and/or constant manner) such that as the point of view of the user device changes, the approved delivery locations222and/or rejected delivery locations224alter to reflect the modified point of view. In some embodiments, the indication of delivery220can be generated by the analysis environment208to provide further instructions regarding the delivery of the package. In particular, the indication of delivery220can include an indication that the package has been placed within an approved delivery location222or is not placed within a rejected delivery location224, wherein the indication is a completed delivery indication226. Additionally, the indication of delivery220can include instructions to relocate the package due to the package being placed within a rejected delivery location224and/or not being placed within an approved delivery location222. Further, the indication of delivery220can indicate that the delivery environment depicted by the pre-delivery environment202and/or the post-delivery environment204is not the intended delivery environment for the package and provide instructions to cause the deliverer to relocate to the intended delivery environment. In some embodiments, the analysis environment208can be configured to determine whether a deliverer has mistakenly navigated to an incorrect delivery environment. In particular, the analysis environment208can receive the pre-delivery environment202, the post-delivery environment204, and/or the user device information206and determine whether the deliverer has misplaced the package within the delivery environment. For example, the misplacement of the package may be due to the placement of the package within a portion of the delivery environment (e.g., a driveway, a lawn, in a patch of trees, etc.) that has been explicitly rejected as a potential delivery location and/or has been associated with customer dissatisfaction. Additionally, the portions of the delivery environment can be classified as egregious placement errors within the pre-delivery environment202and/or the post-delivery environment204. Further, the egregious placement errors or egregious placement locations can be determined by the local recognition algorithm210or the global recognition algorithm212. As noted above, the local recognition algorithm210can be configured to recognize portions of the delivery location environment218that have been previously determined, on a per-address basis, to upset or otherwise cause the customer to be dissatisfied with delivery of packages and provide an indication of the rejected delivery location224based on that association. Alternatively, or in addition, the global recognition algorithm212can be configured to recognize portions of the delivery environment218that have been previously determined to be generally unacceptable delivery locations based on one or more delivery environments. Accordingly, the analysis environment208can be configured to identify rejected delivery locations224based on previous interactions between the customer associated with the delivery location environment218and/or additional customers associated with additional delivery environments. FIG.3illustrates a flow chart for completing delivery of a package to an intended delivery environment and verifying package placement within the intended delivery environment. At block302, a deliverer can be directed to a delivery environment by navigation software and/or GPS directions. Upon arrival at the delivery environment, the deliverer can attempt to deposit the package within the delivery environment for the customer. In particular, the deliverer can manually attempt to locate and place the package for delivery. Alternatively, or in addition, the deliverer can activate package placement and/or package verification software to identify the delivery environment as an intended delivery environment and confirm placement of the package within the intended delivery environment. Additionally, at block304, the deliverer can indicate that the package has been placed or is to be placed within the delivery environment. In at least one embodiment, the package placement verification can be initiated by the deliverer attempting to complete the delivery of the package within the delivery environment. Accordingly, the deliverer can trigger the package placement verification system to collect device information at block306, obtain local algorithms relevant to the delivery environment308, and obtain global algorithms configured to assist in the placement of the package within the delivery environment. At block306, a user device associated with the deliverer can collect device information associated with a location of the deliverer. The location of the deliverer and/or the user device can be utilized to confirm that the deliverer has arrived in an area around the intended delivery environment and identify nearby addresses/delivery locations besides the intended delivery environment. Additionally, or alternatively, the user device can activate a camera, a sensor, or other recording device configured to capture visual and/or other data related to the delivery environment. For example, the user device can cause the deliverer to capture one or more images of the delivery environment before and/or after the package has been placed for delivery. Alternatively, or in addition, the user device can capture a video or a video feed (e.g., a continuous recording of video data from the user device that is displayed via a user interface to the deliverer). Generally, the user device can be utilized to capture information regarding the delivery environment and/or the package within the delivery environment. At block308, the user device associated with the deliverer can obtain a local algorithm(s) associated with the intended delivery environment. In particular, and as noted above, a local algorithm can be trained based on delivery environment information obtained by previous deliverers within the delivery environment, provided by customers associated with the delivery environment, and/or otherwise obtained from the delivery environment. Additionally, the local algorithm for the delivery environment can be maintained by a central server that receives training data for the local algorithm and updates local algorithms for utilization in package placement verification. In at least one embodiment, the local algorithm can be configured to operate on a per-address basis (e.g., the local algorithm is trained based on delivery environment data from a single delivery address). In at least one additional embodiment, the local algorithm can be configured to recognize multiple delivery locations within a delivery environment (e.g., multiple residents associated with a structure, numerous residences within a short distance, etc.). Accordingly, the user device can obtain/receive a local algorithm for the delivery environment. In some embodiments of block308, the user device can obtain the local algorithm for a delivery environment at the beginning of a delivery route for the deliverer. In particular, the local algorithm and one or more additional local algorithms can be received by the user device with a batch of packages to be delivered by the deliverer. Additionally, the local algorithm and the one or more additional local algorithms can be configured to function local to the user device during package placement verification. For example, the local algorithm and the one or more additional local algorithms can be stored within the memory of the user device and activated when the user device determines that the deliverer has arrived at the address associated with the local algorithm. In some additional embodiments of block308, the user device can communicate, via a communication network, with a server that the deliverer has arrived at the delivery environment. Additionally, the server can be configured to determine the local algorithm associated with the delivery environment, receive information (e.g., images, video, audio, etc.) from the user device, and utilize the local algorithm to analyze the information from the user device. Accordingly, while the below examples will be primarily directed to the user device, a remote server can be utilized to execute operations of the local algorithm. At block310, the user device associated with the deliverer can obtain global algorithms for utilization during package placement verification. In particular, the global algorithms can be trained based on delivery environment information obtained by previous deliverers, provided by customers, and/or otherwise obtained from the delivery environment and/or one or more additional delivery environments. Similar to the local algorithms, the global algorithms can be trained and maintained by a server configured to receive delivery environment information, evaluate the delivery environment information, and incorporate the delivery environment information into the training of the global algorithms. Additionally, the global algorithms can be loaded onto the user device before a series of package deliveries and/or executed by the server for the user device(s). It should be noted that the server can be provided by a service provider that organizes and manages the delivery of customer goods to the customer based at least on delivery order placed with the service provide. Alternatively, or in addition, third-party entities may utilize the service provider to complete deliveries to customers to fulfill customer orders. Independent of the source of the customer order for delivery, the service provider can track and utilize the delivery of customer goods to train and maintain the local algorithms and global algorithms utilized to provide delivery instructions for the delivery environment. At block312, a user device interface can be generated based at least on the device information collected at block306. In particular, the user device interface can include notifications for the deliverer, information regarding the delivery environment, and other indications of delivery information associated with the delivery environment. Additionally, the user device interface can include navigation information for reaching the delivery environment, instructions for capturing device information, indications of a determined package location within an image or video captured within the delivery environment, notifications that the deliverer may not be at the correct address, and interactable interfaces for feedback regarding the package placement verification process. Further, the device user interface can present delivery environment information including customer information, address information, and contact information associated with the package being delivered. At block314, the local algorithms, independently or in combination with other aspects of the package placement verification process, can generate delivery instructions associated with the delivery environment. In particular, the local algorithm(s) can be configured to determine whether the delivery environment is the intended delivery environment, determine whether deliverer relocation instructions are to be provided, and other operations within the delivery environment. In at least one embodiment of block314, the local algorithm(s) can be configured to compare the device information collected from the user device with delivery environment information stored in a delivery environment database (e.g., delivery location database214). In particular, the local algorithm can be configured to analyze the device information collected by the user device, identify unique features within the delivery environment, and determine whether the device information matches environment information for the intended delivery environment. For example, the local algorithm can receive and analyze the device information to identify unique features based on local features and global features within the device information. Local features can relate to the package and/or the structure within the device information. The local features can include doors, building siding, architectural features, windows, and other features within the collected device information. It should be noted that the local features can vary widely between local algorithms and delivery environments, the local features utilized to identify the delivery environment(s) are identified by the local algorithm during training of the local algorithm. Accordingly, a first local algorithm can utilize a first set of local features to determine whether a delivery environment in the device information is an intended delivery environment, a second local algorithm can utilize a second set of local features that can be partially or wholly different from the first set of local features. In contrast, global features can be abstract in comparison to local features. For instance, global features can include lighting patterns, environmental features, alignment of various features within the device information, and other related features. Similar to local features, a first global algorithm can utilize a first set of local features to determine whether a delivery environment in the device information is an intended delivery environment, a second global algorithm can utilize a second set of local features that can be partially or wholly different from the first set of local features. In at least one additional embodiment of block314, the local algorithm(s) can compare the local features and the global features determined from the device information with known local features and known global features associated with the intended delivery environment within a delivery environment database. In particular, the local algorithm can generate a score for the local features and the global features identified in the device information when comparing the device information to the delivery environment information stored in the delivery environment database for the intended delivery environment. Additionally, the local algorithm can determine the score by determining a number of unique features (e.g., local features and global features) are shared between the delivery environment and the intended delivery environment, determining a similarity between the unique features shared by the delivery environment and the intended delivery environment, and other evaluations of the unique features of the delivery environment against the unique features of the intended delivery environment. It should be noted that the local algorithm can be trained against a dataset of delivery environment information collected from the intended delivery environment by previous deliverers, the customers associated with and/or previously associated with the intended delivery environment, and from digitally modified/simulated delivery environment information generated from the delivery environment information. By receiving and/or generating iterations of different perspectives, lighting environment, seasonal impacts, and other aspects of the intended delivery environment, the local algorithm(s) can be trained to effectively identify whether unique features within the device information associated with the delivery environment match unique features associated with the intended delivery environment. It should be noted that, sets of unique features can be identified from a plurality of data points (e.g., images) associated with the intended delivery environment to identify data point clusters (e.g., a set of images of the intended delivery environment). Additionally, the data point clusters can be utilized by the local algorithm to efficiently match the delivery environment with the intended delivery environment. The set of unique features can be utilized with additional sets of unique features as priority identifiers that reduce the number of data points associated with the intended delivery environment that are to be compared with the device information collected from the delivery environment. Accordingly, the set of unique features can form a cluster of data points that are shared unique features utilized as high priority identifiers to streamline the comparison of the device information with the delivery environment information of the intended delivery environment. In at least one further embodiment of block314, the local algorithm(s) can determine whether the collected device information is associated with a neighboring delivery environment. In particular, the local algorithm can be trained to recognize unique features within the device information that are associated with neighboring delivery environments and/or outskirts of the intended delivery environment. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more additional algorithms associated with one or more neighboring delivery environments can be further utilized to determine whether the unique features identified from the delivery environment match the neighboring delivery environment rather than the intended delivery environment. As noted above, with respect toFIG.2, the local algorithm and the one or more additional algorithms associated with the one or more neighboring delivery environments can be models that are utilized by a single algorithm implemented for analysis of the delivery environment. Accordingly, the local algorithm and the one or more additional local algorithms can provide an indication that the delivery environment associated with the device information, and the deliverer by extension, is not the intended delivery environment. Further, the local algorithm and/or the one or more additional algorithms can provide instructions for navigating the deliverer to the intended delivery location. At block316, a global algorithm can be utilized to identify a package within the device information. Similar to the local algorithm(s) above, the global algorithm can be trained based on a plurality of images comprising a package placed at a plurality of delivery environments. Due to the global algorithm being non-specific to an address, the global algorithm can be configured to identify a package (or packages) within any delivery environment. Additionally, the delivery environment database utilized to train the global algorithm can comprise deliverer generated images of packages within delivery environments, customer generated images of packages within delivery environments, and computer generated/modified images of packages within delivery environments. As noted above, with respect toFIG.2, the global algorithm can be a global algorithm model that is utilized by an algorithm, implemented for analysis of the delivery environment, that also includes a local algorithm model and/or one or more additional algorithms associated with neighboring delivery environments. Accordingly, the global algorithm can be utilized to identify and locate package(s) within the collected device information associated with the delivery environment. At block318, a global algorithm can be utilized to determine a three-dimensional (3D) layout of the delivery environment. Where the global algorithm of block316and the local algorithm of block314identify features within the collected device information, the global algorithm of block318can be configured to determine a spatial orientation of objects and features relative to other objects and features from the collected device information. The global algorithm can be configured to utilize a single picture or multiple pictures to determine a 3D layout and/or a 3D model of the delivery environment. While the global algorithm can be trained to generate 3D models of the delivery environment in a manner similar to that discussed above for the previous global algorithm and the local algorithm, the global algorithm can also be configured to continuously construct a 3D model for the intended delivery environment from the device information and the previous delivery environment location information. Accordingly, the 3D model for the delivery environment can be constructed from the device information and/or from the previous delivery environment location information captured by previous deliverers. At block320, the user device interface and the package recognition algorithm can be configured to recognize the package within the device information and present an indication, via the user device interface, identifying the package to the deliverer. The deliverer can be prompted to provide an indication that the package has been correctly identified. Additionally, the user device interface can be configured to highlight package(s) that have been identified within the device information. Further, while discussed in more detail at block326, the user device interface can include an augmented reality overlay generated by the 3D modeling algorithm. The package recognition algorithm can interact with the user device interface and the augmented reality overlay to locate the package within the 3D model. At block322, the local algorithm can be configured to identify approved delivery locations within the delivery environment. In particular, the local algorithm can be trained to identify approved delivery locations within the delivery environment based at least on previous deliveries to the delivery environment, customer feedback regarding previous deliveries to the delivery environment, customer provided information associated with the delivery environment, and other indications of approved locations for delivery within the delivery environment. For instance, locations that have been repeatedly delivered to in the past without customer complaint can be identified as approved delivery locations for the delivery environment. Similarly, a customer can provide an indication of a preferred delivery location that can be prioritized over other approved delivery locations for the delivery environment. Additionally, positive customer feedback of a package and/or delivery of the package can indicate that the delivery location is an approved delivery location for the delivery environment. Further, delivery locations that are sheltered from weather, hidden from individuals passing the delivery environment, and other potential risks to the package can be identified as approved and/or preferred delivery locations. It should be noted that different types of packages can be associated with different approved delivery locations within the delivery environment. For example, a high value package can be associated with more secure/protected delivery locations and be restricted from exposed delivery locations. Similarly, heavy and/or durable packages that are difficult to handle can be associated with different delivery locations due to the limited threat of theft, damage, and other risk factors for the package. At block324, the local algorithm can be configured to identify rejected delivery locations within the delivery environment. Similar to above, the local algorithm can be trained to identify rejected delivery locations within the delivery environment based at least on previous deliveries to the delivery environment, customer feedback regarding previous deliveries to the delivery environment, customer provided information associated with the delivery environment, and other indications of rejected locations for delivery within the delivery environment. For instance, locations that are associated with previous delivered not received notifications, customer complaints regarding damaged packages, and/or other indications of package risks can be identified as rejected delivery locations within the delivery environment. Additionally, the local algorithm can be configured to identify and reject delivery locations within the delivery environment that are associated with customer dissatisfaction such as driveways, positions that block doorways, landscaping features, and other portions of the delivery environment that should not be utilized as delivery locations. At block326, the global algorithm can be configured to generate an augmented reality overlay for the delivery environment depicted by the device information and the user device interface. In particular, the augmented reality overlay can be configured to display the approved delivery location(s) identified at block322and the rejected delivery location(s) identified at block324via the user device interface. Additionally, the augmented reality overlay can be configured to provide highlighted regions of the 3D model to indicate approved delivery locations and rejected delivery locations, outlines where packages should be placed, ghost (e.g., translucent or transparent package representations) packages at approved delivery locations, and other indications of approved delivery locations and rejected delivery locations. It should be noted that augmented reality overlays can be configured as real-time interfaces that are overlaid onto a video feed captured by and displayed on a user device associated with the deliverer. Additionally, as the user device perspective changes, the augmented reality interface can be configured to update and adjust the various indications of approved delivery locations and rejected delivery locations. Accordingly, the augmented reality interface can be configured as a substantially real-time display of approved delivery locations and/or rejected delivery locations. Further, the augmented reality interface can be configured to indicate identified package locations, directions from neighboring delivery environments to the intended delivery environment, modifications in user device perspective that are needed to locate approved delivery locations and/or the package, and other indications that may prove to be useful for the deliverer within the delivery environment. At block328, the package can be located with the 3D model and/or the augmented reality overlay and displayed to the deliverer via the user device. As noted above, where the global algorithm identifies a package within the device information collected within the delivery environment, the user device can be configured to display a highlight and/or an indication of the package within the delivery environment. The deliverer can be prompted for feedback regarding the location of the package within the delivery environment, manually identify the package where the global algorithm has failed to identify the package, and/or otherwise provide input regarding the package location within the delivery environment. At block330, the approved delivery location(s) can be located with the 3D model and/or the augmented reality overlay and displayed to the deliverer via the user device. In particular, the local algorithm can identify the approved delivery locations within the delivery environment for the package and cause the user device, the user device interface, and/or the augmented reality overlay to display the approved delivery locations that are visible from the current perspective of the deliverer. Additionally, the local algorithm and/or the global algorithm can be configured to locate the approved delivery locations within the 3D model of the delivery environment. Further, the user device can be configured to generate, based at least on the 3D model of the delivery environment and/or the augmented reality overlay, an indication of a location in the delivery environment where the deliverer can access the approved delivery location. Alternatively, or in addition, the user device can be configured to indicate a direction to and/or an obscured location associated with an approved delivery location. Accordingly, the user device can be configured to display, via the user device interface and/or the augmented reality overlay, an approved delivery location where the package is to be placed. At block332, the rejected delivery location(s) can be located with the 3D model and/or the augmented reality overlay and displayed to the deliverer via the user device. In particular, the local algorithm can identify the rejected delivery locations within the delivery environment for the package and cause the user device, the user device interface, and/or the augmented reality overlay to display the rejected delivery locations that are visible from the current perspective of the deliverer. Additionally, the local algorithm and/or the global algorithm can be configured to locate the rejected delivery locations within the 3D model of the delivery environment. At block334, the package delivery can be approved based on the package location being determined to fall within an approved delivery location. In particular, the user device can determine whether the package location within the delivery environment is within an approved delivery location. Additionally, the user device can provide an indication that the delivery was completed at the delivery environment. At block336, the package delivery can be rejected based on the package location being determined to fall within a rejected delivery location. In particular, the user device can determine whether the package location within the delivery environment is within a rejected delivery location. Additionally, the user device can provide an indication that the delivery cannot be completed while the package remains within the rejected delivery location. Further, the user device can cause, via an indication and/or instructions, the deliverer to relocate the package to a new position (e.g., to an approved delivery location). Accordingly, the package can be relocated from a rejected delivery location to an approved delivery location such that the delivery is completed. Alternatively, the package can be repositioned and the package position be reevaluated at block302. FIG.4illustrates an example computing environment representing a package placement verification system for confirming delivery of a package to a customer. In particular, the computing environment can include a user device402, a server404, and a database406. Additionally, the user device402can include a delivery schedule408, a location tracking function410, a delivery location information module412, a local algorithm(s)414, a global algorithm(s)416, an augmented reality overlay418, and a user interface420. Similarly, the server404can include a scheduling function422, a local algorithm storage function424, a global algorithm storage function426, and an algorithm maintenance function428. Further, the database406can include previous delivery information430and customer feedback432. It should be noted that the modules, functions, and operations of the user device402, the server404, and the database406can be configured to provide the operations and techniques described above with respect toFIGS.1-3. In some embodiments, a user device402can be configured to provide deliverer location verification and package placement verification functionality. In particular, a deliverer can receive one or more packages to be delivered, according to a delivery schedule408, to one or more intended delivery environments. Additionally, the user device402associated with the deliverer can receive one or more local algorithms414associated with the one or more intended delivery environments, wherein the local algorithms414are individually trained based on delivery environment information associated with a single delivery environment. In at least one embodiment, the local algorithms414can include local algorithms trained based on one or more neighboring delivery environments associated with the one or more intended delivery environments. Similarly, the user device402can receive one or more global algorithms416, wherein the one or more global algorithms416can be trained based on delivery environment data associated with the one or more intended delivery environments and/or one or more additional delivery environments. In some embodiments, a delivery schedule408can be a sequence of deliveries that are to be completed by the deliverer. It should be noted that the delivery schedule408can be a delivery itinerary that provides details regarding the deliveries that are to be completed by the deliverer. The delivery schedule408can be specific to the deliverer and/or the user device402and can describe one or more packages that are to be delivered to one or more delivery environments. Additionally, the delivery schedule408can include delivery timing information, delivery location protocol to be completed by the deliverer (e.g., leave package at approved delivery location, knock on door after delivery, ring doorbell after delivery, obtain customer signature for delivery, leave note and/or delivery receipt, etc.). In some additional embodiments, and as noted above, user device402can be configured to provide redirection of the deliverer from one or more neighboring delivery environments to an intended delivery environment. In particular, the delivery schedule408can include the intended delivery environment for a package. Additionally, the intended delivery environment can be associated with one or more neighbor delivery environments that share a border with the intended delivery environment and/or are within a threshold distance of the intended delivery environment. Accordingly, the user device402can receive a local algorithm414associated with the intended delivery environment and one or more additional local algorithms associated with the one or more neighbor delivery environments for the intended delivery environment. Further, the one or more additional local algorithms can be utilized by the user device402to determine whether the deliverer has arrived at the intended delivery location based on the delivery location information412. In particular, the user device402can utilize the local algorithm414and the one or more additional local algorithms to determine whether the deliverer has arrived at the intended delivery location or at the one or more neighbor delivery locations. Additionally, the user device402can provide navigation instructions to the deliverer that cause the deliverer to leave the one or more neighbor delivery environments and arrive at the intended delivery environment based at least in part on the local algorithm414and the one or more additional local algorithms. In some embodiments, a location tracking function410of the user device402can be utilized during deliverer navigation and activation of the local algorithms414for the intended delivery location. As noted above, the location tracking function410can utilize GPS, WiFi fingerprinting, cellular network functions, and other means of determining the location of the user device402relative to an intended delivery location. Accordingly, the user device402can determine that the driver has arrived at the intended delivery location based on the location tracking function410and activate the local algorithm414for the intended delivery environment based on the user device402being near and/or within the intended delivery environment. In some embodiments, delivery location information412can be collected by the user device402at the intended delivery environment. In particular, the user device402can be configured to capture images, video, audio, location, and other data associated with the intended delivery environment upon activation of the package placement verification process. In at least one embodiment, the collection of delivery location information412can be automatically initiated upon the deliverer arriving at the intended delivery location. In at least one additional embodiment, the collection of delivery location information412can be manually initiated by the deliverer for placement of the package at the intended delivery environment and/or after the package has been placed within a delivery environment. Accordingly, the delivery location information412can be provided to the local algorithms414and the global algorithms416as described above with respect toFIGS.1-3. Additionally, the local algorithms414and the global algorithms416can be configured to display drop-off instructions (e.g., indications of approved delivery locations, rejected delivery locations, identified packages within the delivery location information412, etc.) onto a video feed or other user interface420via an augmented reality overlay418. Further, the user interface420can provide fields for deliverer feedback, deliverer input to the local algorithms414and the global algorithms416, deliverer overrides, deliverer confirmation of drop-off location/package identification, and other deliverer workflows associated with package placement verification. In some further embodiments, the user device402can be configured to forego the utilization of the augmented reality overlay418. In particular, the user device402can lack the computational capacity to generate the augmented reality overlay418or can otherwise determine that the augmented reality overlay418is not to be utilized by the user device402. Accordingly, the user device402can utilize the local algorithms414and the global algorithms416to generate, via the user interface420, a planar bounding box. Additionally, the planar bounding box can be an indication, displayed via the user interface420, configured to identify whether the package has been placed within an approved delivery location or within a rejected delivery location. For example, where the package has been placed within a rejected delivery location, the user interface420can utilize the planar boundary box to identify the package (e.g., a red box overlaid onto an image of the package) within an image for the deliverer and provide delivery instructions to the deliverer for relocating the package within the delivery environment. In some embodiments, the user device402can be configured to communicate with a server404via a wireless and/or wired connection. In particular, the user device402can receive, from the server404, the delivery schedule408from the scheduling function422, the one or more local algorithms414from the local algorithm storage function424, and the global algorithms416from the global algorithm storage function426. The server404can include a scheduling function422that is configured to generate a delivery path/route and a schedule of deliveries for the deliverer based on a plurality of packages to be delivered to one or more customers. In some embodiments, the server404can be configured to generate, train, and maintain the local algorithms414of the local algorithm storage function424and the global algorithms416of the global algorithm storage function426via the algorithm maintenance function428. In particular, the algorithm maintenance function can be configured to continuously, periodically, and/or aperiodically cause the local algorithms414and the global algorithms416to utilize previous delivery information430and customer feedback432, as described above byFIGS.1-3, to update associations between image features and delivery environments, packages, 3D positioning, and other elements of the local algorithms414and global algorithms416. Due to the local algorithms414and global algorithms416being trained based on a plurality of evaluated data sets (e.g., an image of a package that has been determined to include a properly placed package within an intended delivery environment for a customer), incorporation of updated training data, and optionally weighting the updated training data more heavily than older training data, ensure consistent accuracy of the local algorithms414and global algorithms416. In some embodiments, the server404can be configured to utilize and train machine learning algorithms for storage as local algorithms414and global algorithms416. The machine learning algorithms can be trained based on a plurality of training image pairs (e.g., a “new” picture that is compared against an “evaluated” picture, wherein the new image simulates and image captured by a user device402and the evaluated picture represents a picture that has been previously determined as associated with the intended delivery location) that are analyzed by the machine learning algorithms to determine whether a first picture, optionally captured by the user device402, depicts the intended delivery environment of a second picture. As noted above, the machine learning algorithm can determine a score for how the first picture matches the second picture. The first picture can differ from the second picture in perspective, distance between sensor and the package/delivery environment, coloring, lighting, and other aspects. Accordingly, the machine learning algorithm can be configured to match the first picture and the second picture based on unique features such as door patterns, number, location, and orientation of windows, brick patterns, walls within the delivery environment, stairs within the delivery environment, etc. It should be noted that in some embodiments, the machine learning algorithm may evaluate only the similarity of the unique features between the first picture and the second picture and not identify the unique features themselves. Further, regions of high unique feature concentration may be identified by the machine learning algorithms and be utilized to expedite future matching of images to evaluated images by prioritizing the identification of high unique feature regions within new/incoming images. FIG.5illustrates an example flow diagram that describes delivery of a package to an approved drop-off location and verification that the package was delivered to the intended delivery location. It should be noted that the system described byFIG.5can be internal to a user device or a remote device in communication with the user device via wireless and/or wired communications. At block502, a system can receive an indication that a deliverer has arrived at a delivery location associated with a package. The indication can be manually sent by the deliverer upon arrival to the delivery location or automatically transmitted based upon the user device associated with the deliverer determining that the deliverer has arrived at the delivery location. For example, a GPS signal, WiFi fingerprinting, network locations, or other indications of user device location may be provided for determining whether the deliverer has arrived at the delivery location. At block504, the system can receive one or more images associated with the delivery location, wherein the one or more images depict at least the package placed at the delivery location. In some embodiments, the deliverer can provide the one or more images, a video, audio data, and other delivery location information upon arrival to the delivery location and/or after placement of the package at the delivery location. In some additional embodiments, the user device can activate one or more sensors to generate the one or more images, the video, the audio data, and other delivery location information upon arrival to the delivery location. It should be noted that the delivery location information can be collected by the user device on a continuous, periodic, and/or aperiodic basis. At block506, the system can identify, based on an intended delivery location, a local algorithm configured to verify that the delivery location depicted by the one or more images matches the intended delivery location for the package. In particular, the local algorithm associated with the intended delivery location can be configured to compare the one or more images of the delivery location with one or more additional images associated with the intended delivery location. Additionally, the local algorithm can be configured to identify unique features associated with the one or more images and additional unique features associated with the one or more additional images. Further, the local algorithm can determine an image matching score based at least on a comparison of the unique features and the additional unique features. At block508, the system can determine, based on the local algorithm associated with the intended delivery location, that the delivery location depicted by the one or more images is the intended delivery location. Continuing from block506, the system can determine that the delivery location associated with the one or more images is the intended delivery location of the one or more additional images based at least on the image matching score exceeding a threshold. Alternatively, the local algorithm can determine that the image matching score for the delivery location and the intended delivery location exceeds one or more additional image matching scores between the delivery location and one or more additional delivery locations (e.g., neighboring delivery locations). In some additional embodiments, the local algorithm can determine that the image matching score indicates that the delivery location is not the intended delivery location, but is instead a neighboring delivery location or other nearby delivery location. Accordingly, the system can generate, and provide to the deliverer, navigation instructions to relocate from the delivery location to the intended delivery location. At block510, the system can determine, based on the local algorithm and a global algorithm, whether the package is placed within an approved drop-off location at the delivery location. In particular, the local algorithm can identify one or more approved delivery locations and one or more rejected delivery locations for the delivery location. Additionally, the global algorithm can be configured to identify whether a placed package is within the location information collected by the user device. The global algorithm can further be configured to determine a location of the placed package at the delivery location and determine, with the local algorithm, whether the location of the placed package falls within an approved delivery location or a rejected delivery location. At block512, the system can generate, based on the local algorithm and the global algorithm, one or more package delivery instructions for the delivery location. In particular, the package delivery instructions can cause the package to be relocated from a rejected delivery location to an approved delivery location. Alternatively, the delivery instructions can indicate that the delivery is ready for completion by the deliverer and that the placement of the package has been verified. FIG.6illustrates an example flow diagram that describes a method for generating an augmented reality overlay for verifying package placement at an intended delivery environment associated with a customer. At block602, a method can include receiving an image associated with a delivery environment. In general, block602can be completed in a manner similar to those described above with respect toFIGS.1-5. At block604, the method can include receiving a local algorithm configured to identify the delivery environment as an intended delivery environment and a global algorithm configured to verify placement of a package within the intended delivery environment. In general, block604can be completed in a manner similar to those described above with respect toFIGS.1-5. In addition, the local algorithm and the global algorithm to be utilized at the delivery environment can be transmitted by the central service to the user device in response to a determination that the deliverer has arrived at the delivery location. As noted above, this indication can include a GPS signal, a network location associated with the user device, a deliverer provided indication, and other indications of deliverer and/or user device location. Accordingly, while the user device may be provided with the local algorithm and the global algorithm for all deliveries in a sequence of deliveries at a single time, the serve may also be configured to provide various local algorithms (e.g., associated with the intended delivery environment, neighboring delivery environments, nearby delivery environments) and global algorithms (e.g., package recognition, 3D modeling algorithms) upon arrival by the deliverer at the delivery environment. At block606, the method can include determining a set of delivery instructions for the delivery environment. In particular, a local algorithm associated with an intended delivery environment can be configured to determine whether the delivery environment is the intended delivery environment and generate the set of delivery instructions. Additionally, the set of delivery instructions can include delivery instructions for one or more delivery locations within the delivery environment. Further, the set of delivery instructions can identify approved delivery locations and rejected delivery locations, identified based at least on previous deliveries to the delivery environment and customer feedback, within the delivery environment. At block608, the method can include determining, based at least in part on the global algorithm, a three-dimensional (3D) model of the delivery environment. the 3D model generated by the global algorithm includes one or more features of the delivery environment, the one or more features comprising a package, an approved delivery location identified based at least in part on the set of delivery instructions, a rejected delivery location identified based at least in part on the set of delivery instructions, customer preference locations (e.g., locations where they customer prefers packages be delivered and/or locations where the customer experiences dissatisfaction with the delivery when packages are placed in the locations). At block610, the method can include generating an augmented reality interface configured to display the set of delivery instructions via the user device. In particular, a system and/or the user device can receive, from a camera of the user device, substantially real-time video of the delivery environment. Additionally, the system (or use device) can utilize the substantially real-time video of the delivery environment to generate, based at least in part on the set of delivery instructions, a modified video feed. The modified video feed can include the substantially real-time video that has been modified to include at least an approved delivery location and a rejected delivery location. Additional information associated with the delivery location can also be provided via the modified video feed such as customer preferences regarding delivery location. Further, the modified video feed can be updated with the delivery instructions in substantially real-time as a perspective of the user device and/or the deliverer changes. Accordingly, the modified video feed can be displayed, via a user interface of the user device, for the deliverer as the augmented reality interface/overlay. In some additional embodiments, the augmented reality interface can be further configured to identify the package within the delivery environment and provide indications that the package has been placed within the approved delivery location and that the delivery can be completed. At block612, the method can include causing the package to be placed within the delivery environment at a delivery location of the one or more delivery locations. In some embodiments, where the package has been successfully placed within an approved delivery location, the deliverer can be instructed to complete the delivery at the delivery environment and proceed to the next delivery. In some additional embodiments, causing the package to be placed within the delivery location can include determining, based at least on in part on the image and/or the video captured by the user device, that the package is placed within a rejected delivery location. Additionally, the augmented reality overlay can be configured to include an indication that the package is to be relocated from the rejected delivery location to an approved delivery location. Further, the augmented reality overlay can be updated based on a determination that the package has been effectively relocated to the approved delivery location. Accordingly, the placement of the package within the intended delivery environment can be verified and the delivery operation completed. FIG.7illustrates a block diagram of a user device configured to determine whether a package has been placed at a delivery location for a customer and verifies that the package has been appropriately placed at the delivery location. In some embodiments, system702can interact with or correspond to any of the systems and/or implement the methods discussed inFIGS.1-6. As illustrated, system702is generally comprised of one or more processors704, one or more transceivers706, and memory708. In some embodiments, the one or more processors704can include one or more central processing units (CPUs), one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), both CPUs and GPUs, or other processing units or components known in the art. For example, the one or more processors can include one or more processing units configured as controllers, microcontrollers, computational devices, microprocessors, and/or other computational devices configured to control and/or cause a user device to execute the operations described above. In some embodiments, the one or more transceivers706can include one or more wired or wireless transceivers. For instance, the transceivers708can include a network interface card, a network adapter, a LAN adapter, an address associated with a network connection, or another device permitting communications to be sent and received. Additionally, the one or more transceivers708can comprise any wireless transceiver capable of engaging in wireless, radio frequency (RF) communication. Further, the one or more transceivers708can also include other wireless modems, such as Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Bluetooth, and/or infrared communication modems. Accordingly, the one or more transceivers708can be configured to transmit input parameters, feedback reports, the baseline solution, and the one or more candidate solutions between a user device and the solution generation and qualification system. In some embodiments, memory708can be volatile (such as RAM), non-volatile (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.) or some combination of the two. The memory708may include removable storage, non-removable storage, and other forms of computer-readable media including, but not limited to RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, other memory technologies, CD-ROM, DVDs, content-addressable memory (CAM), other optical storage, magnet storage, and any other medium which can be used to store the desired information in a format that the system702accesses during execution of the above methods and/or operation of the above systems. The memory708can comprise one or more modules that cause the processors to execute one or more instructions and perform the operations discussed above with respect toFIGS.1-6. Further, the memory708can comprise additional modules that can be executed by the processors704and cause the processors704to perform additional operations associated with the system702. The additional modules can comprise delivery environment recognition modules710, package recognition modules712, package delivery instruction data714, and package placement verification modules716. In some embodiments, and as noted above, the memory704includes delivery environment recognition modules710. In particular, the delivery environment recognition modules710can be configured to utilize local machine learning algorithms to identify unique features within an image of a delivery environment. Additionally, the delivery environment recognition module710can be configured to compare the unique features of the image with additional images associated with an intended delivery environment, neighboring delivery environments, and other nearby delivery environments to identify whether a deliverer has successfully reach an intended delivery location or if further instructions are necessary to place the package at the intended delivery location. Further, the delivery environment recognition module710can generate a matching score between the unique feature of the delivery environment and the other delivery environments being compared to the delivery environment. Accordingly, the delivery environment recognition module710can determine whether the delivery environment is the intended delivery environment, a neighboring delivery environment, and other delivery environment based at least on the match score exceeding a threshold or other match scores associated with the various delivery environment types (e.g., match score for the intended delivery environment is higher than the match score for the other types of delivery environments). In some embodiments, memory704includes resource package recognition modules712that operate to identify the package within the image of the delivery environment. In particular, the package recognition module712can be configured to identify whether the package is within the image and, if the package is determined to be within the image, determine a location of the package within the delivery environment. As noted above, a 3D model of the delivery environment can be generated based at least on the image. Accordingly, the package recognition module712can determine the location of the package within the image and display a representation of the package at a corresponding location within the 3D model. The package recognition module712can be further configured to identify a package type and confirm that the correct package is being placed within the delivery environment based in part on package size, package markings, shipping labels, and other identifying features of the package. In some embodiments, memory704includes delivery instruction data714that provides indications of approved delivery locations and rejected delivery locations. Additionally, the delivery instruction data714can include information regarding the reason for the classification of the approved delivery location and rejected delivery location to the deliverer. For instance, a first approved delivery location can be indicated as a preferred delivery location by the customer, wherein the first approved delivery location is to be given priority for package placement. However, the first approved delivery location may be unavailable, causing the package to be placed at a second approved delivery location within the delivery environment. Accordingly, the delivery instruction data714can be utilized to generate indication of where packages are to be placed within the delivery environment and directions for navigating to the delivery locations. In some embodiments, memory704includes package placement verification716. In particular, the package placement verification716can operate as final confirmation that the package has be appropriately placed within the delivery location. Additionally, the package placement verification716can determine that the package has been placed within an approved delivery location or that the deliverer has overridden the package placement verification716and provided a reason for the override. For example, a gate may be locked that prevents the deliverer from placing the package within an approved delivery location due to all approved delivery locations being within the gate. Accordingly, the deliverer can be permitted to place the package in an otherwise rejected location. Although the subject matter presented herein has been described in language specific to computer structural features, methodological acts and computer readable media, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features, acts, or media described herein. Rather, the specific features, acts and media are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims. Moreover, the subject matter described above is provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed as limiting. | 104,553 |
11861547 | DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The present invention is described below in detail based on embodiments illustrated in the drawings. The present invention has a configuration described below, in order to provide an environment history acquired from the environment in a container during transport of articles, and execute quality control of the articles in real time by ascertaining the transport status including a transport route of the articles and the like. That is, a delivery management system according to the present invention comprises a delivery unit for delivering a container in which an accommodated article is cooled by a refrigerant, and an article management server that communicates with the delivery unit during transport via a communication network, wherein the delivery unit includes a GPS receiver that receives each GPS signal from a plurality of GPS satellites to calculate location data based on each of the GPS signals, adds a unique device code to the location data, and transmits the location data to the article management server, a temperature measurement unit that measures a temperature in the container, a first memory unit that memorizes therein the temperature data measured by the temperature measurement unit in a time series, and a first transmission unit that adds a unit number of the delivery unit to temperature data acquired from the first memory unit and transmits the temperature data regularly and/or irregularly to the article management server via the communication network, and the article management server includes a second memory unit that memorizes therein the location data and the device code received from the GPS receiver in association with each other, a third memory unit that memorizes therein the temperature data received from the delivery unit regularly and/or irregularly associated with each unit number, a fourth memory unit that memorizes therein the unit number and a serial number of the article in association with each other, and a transport-status-data generation unit that generates transport status data representing a serial number, location data, and temperature data of the article during transport based on location data acquired from the second memory unit corresponding to the device code, temperature data acquired from the third memory unit corresponding to the unit number, and serial number acquired from the fourth memory unit corresponding to the unit number, by using a set of a certain unit number and a device code as a key. By having the above configuration, the environment history acquired from the environment in the container during transport of the articles can be provided, and the transport status including a transport route of the articles and the like can be ascertained, thereby enabling to execute quality control of the articles in real time. Characteristics of the present invention described above are explained in detail with reference to the drawings mentioned below. Note that, unless otherwise specified, constituent elements, types, combinations, shapes, and relative arrangements thereof described in the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention solely thereto and are only explanatory examples. Characteristics of the present invention described above are explained below in detail with reference to the drawings. <Delivery Management System> FIG.1is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a delivery management system according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the following descriptions, like constituent elements are denoted by like reference signs and explained. A delivery management system100is configured to include a client terminal (manufacturer)1, a client terminal (delivery destination)3, communication networks N1, N2, and N3, an article management device5, a delivery unit17, and a logistics management server19. The article management device5is configured to include a front end server7, an article management server9, and a database (hereinafter, DB)11. In the present embodiment, the client terminal (manufacturer)1, the client terminal (delivery destination)3, the delivery unit17, and the logistics management server19are configured by a plurality of units. However, these units may be configured by one unit. Further, the communication network is divided into N1, N2, and N3. However, these networks may be configured by the same network. The front end server7has a function of receiving data from the client terminal (manufacturer)1and the client terminal (delivery destination)3via the network N1, to manage a direct access service to the client terminal (manufacturer)1and the client terminal (delivery destination)3and change of a display format, and includes a first delivering unit7ato a third delivering unit7cthat perform delivery to each terminal. The first delivering unit7adelivers input screen data generated by a first input-screen-data generation unit9cto a user terminal3. The second delivering unit7bdelivers input screen data generated by a second input-screen-data generation unit9eto the user terminal3. The third delivering unit7cdelivers temperature status data generated by a temperature-status-data generation unit9fto the user terminal3(seeFIG.1). The client terminal (manufacturer)1is a terminal operable by a manufacturer and the client terminal (delivery destination)3is a terminal operable by a delivery destination, and each includes first to sixth user reception units. The article management server9receives data of the delivery unit17via the communication network N2to manage the state of each delivery unit17. The article management server9includes therein a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), reads an operating system OS from the HDD and expands the OS on the RAM to activate the OS, and reads programs (programs indicated by various flowcharts described later) from the HDD to perform various processes under control of the OS. The database (DB)11is connected to the article management server9and includes second memory unit11bto fifth memory unit lie. The second memory unit11bmemorizes location data received from a GPS receiver37in a GPS information file F1in association with a device code unique to the GPS receiver37. The third memory unit11cmemorizes temperature data received from the delivery unit17regularly and/or irregularly in a temperature history file F5in association with each unit number of the delivery unit17. The fourth memory unit11dmemorizes a unit number of the delivery unit17in a trace file F7in association with a serial number of an article. The fifth memory unit lie memorizes transport status data generated by a transport-status-data generation unit9a. Here, the transport status data represents a serial number, location data, and temperature data of an article during transport. More specifically, the transport-status-data generation unit9acreates a serial temperature history file F9regarding the temperature data by using the temperature history file F5and the trace file F7and memorizes the serial temperature history file F9therein. Meanwhile, the transport-status-data generation unit9acreates location data by using the GPS information file F1and the trace file F7and displays the location data. In the delivery unit17, the GPS receiver37receives each GPS signal from the GPS satellites. The delivery unit17then calculates location data based on each GPS signal, adds a unique device code thereto, and transmits the location data to the article management server9via the communication network N2. It suffices that the unique device code provided to the GPS receiver37is, for example, a MAC address (Media Access Control address) of the GPS receiver or a unique management number set beforehand. The logistics management server19is arranged in each warehouse that stores each article therein or in each warehouse that stores a plurality of articles therein, to execute control for shipping a relevant article to a client, upon reception of a request from the article management server9. <Functional Block Diagram of Article Management Server> FIG.2is a functional block diagram of the article management server9according to one embodiment of the present invention. The transport-status-data generation unit9aacquires temperature information from the temperature history file F5based on a unit number in the trace file F7and date and time. Further, the transport-status-data generation unit9amemorizes therein the acquired information of the temperature history file F5, linked with an article code, a serial number, and the status in the trace file F7. The transport-status-data generation unit9agenerates transport status data by using a serial number received from a user terminal as a key, and the first delivering unit7adelivers the transport status data generated by the transport-status-data generation unit9ato the user terminal3. A communication error determination unit9bdetermines whether the temperature data received from the delivery unit17regularly and/or irregularly and received data pertaining to the location data have a communication error. When the communication error determination unit9bdetermines that communicated data has a communication error, a communication error transmission unit9gtransmits an e-mail including a message indicating that a communication error has occurred to the client terminals1and3. The first input-screen-data generation unit9cgenerates input screen data for inputting a serial number of the article. The first delivering unit7adelivers the input screen data generated by the first input-screen-data generation unit9cto the user terminal3, delivers the transport status data generated by the transport-status-data generation unit9ato the user terminal3, and delivers transport route map data generated by a transport-route-data generation unit9dto the user terminal3. The transport-route-data generation unit9dgenerates the transport route map data by combining a transport route of the article on map data, based on the location data acquired from the second memory unit11bcorresponding to the device code. When the fifth memory unit lie memorizes therein the transport status data generated by the transport-status-data generation unit9a, the second input-screen-data generation unit9egenerates input screen data by adding thereto an input area for prompting a user to confirm the temperature status of the article. The second delivering unit7bdelivers the input screen data generated by the second input-screen-data generation unit9eto the user terminal3. A first reception unit9jreceives from the user terminal3operation data with respect to the input area added to the input screen data by the user terminal3. The temperature-status-data generation unit9fgenerates temperature status data representing the temperature status based on the temperature data of the article acquired from the fifth memory unit lie, by using the serial number as a key, corresponding to the operation data received by the first reception unit9j. The third delivering unit7cdelivers the temperature status data generated by the temperature-status-data generation unit9fto the user terminal3. A route dividing unit9mdivides an entire route from a start point to an arrival point pertaining to delivery of the article into sections for each operation pertaining to the delivery. A second threshold setting unit9psets thresholds of each of temperature data, liquid level data, vibration data, humidity data, and opening/closing number data in a master table11, with respect to each section divided by the route dividing unit9m. A threshold acquisition unit9racquires each threshold corresponding to each location from the master table11, based on location data calculated by the GPS receiver37. A second alarm activation unit9ngenerates a warning sound, if at least one of the temperature data, the liquid level data, the vibration data, the humidity data, and the opening/closing state data is more in a critical region than the respective thresholds acquired by the threshold acquisition unit9r. <Vehicle> FIG.3is a diagram illustrating a vehicle on which the delivery unit according to one embodiment of the present invention is mounted. A vehicle21is mounted with the delivery unit17on a loading platform thereof. Further, the delivery unit17includes a storage container25, a wireless router27, a personal computer (hereinafter, PC)29, a printer31, a battery33, an alarm device35, the GPS receiver37, and a bar-code reader39. A plurality of sensors described later are accommodated in or attached to the storage container25, and a part of a tag string fastened to each article accommodated in the storage container25is pulled outside, and a tag23is fastened at the end thereof. <Delivery Unit> FIG.4is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the delivery unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. The delivery unit17includes the storage container25, the wireless router27, the PC29, the printer31, the battery33, the alarm device35, the GPS receiver37, the bar-code reader39, a data logger41, a DC/DC converter43, a charger45, and a first threshold setting unit47. The wireless router27accesses a plurality of 3G/4G lines arranged on the road where the vehicle21runs, and is connected to the PC29to connect the PC29and the article management server9with each other. The PC29includes a CPU29a, a ROM29b, a RAM29c, an operation display unit29d, and a communication unit29e. The CPU29acontrols the entire operation of the delivery unit17by using the RAM29cas a work memory, according to a program memorized beforehand in the ROM29b. The ROM29bis a read-only non-volatile memory medium, and stores therein firmware and various kinds of data. The RAM29cis a volatile memory medium capable of high-speed read and write of information and can be used as a work memory. The operation display unit29dincludes a screen and key buttons for displaying a menu for performing various setting and mode selection, and receives various kinds of operation requests from a user. The communication unit29ehas a USB interface, and transmits and receives data to and from the article management server9via the wireless router27and the communication network N2. The printer31prints a quality certificate31aon a recording medium such as a sheet according to a printing job received from the PC29. The GPS receiver37receives a radio signal from a plurality of GPS satellites via an antenna ANT2to calculate location information of the delivery unit17, and transmits the calculated location information to the article management server9via an antenna ANT3and/or the network N2. InFIG.4, the GPS receiver37is not connected to the PC29. However, the GPS receiver37may be connected to the PC29to output the location information calculated by the GPS receiver31to the PC29. The storage container25can accommodate therein a plurality of articles, and includes various kinds of sensors Se1to Se5therein or attached to the outside thereof. The bar-code reader39reads a bar-code and outputs data to the PC29. The data logger41collects measurement data measured by each sensor, stores various kinds of data therein, and outputs the stored various kinds of data to the PC29according to readout request of the PC29. The data logger41includes a first memory unit41athat memorizes therein temperature data measured by a thermometer Se1in time series. The charger45connects to, for example, an AC power supply provided in the vehicle21or an AC power supply provided in a delivery center via a plug45a, as needed, to convert AC power supplied from the AC power supply to DC power, and connects the DC power to each electrode of the battery33to charge the battery33. When the charger45is connected to each electrode (ON), the battery33is charged with the DC power supplied from the charger45, and when connection between the charger45and the respective electrodes is released (OFF), the battery33discharges the DC power and supplies the DC power to the DC/DC converter43. The DC/DC converter43converts the DC power supplied from the battery33to DC power of, for example, four kinds of voltage levels (5V, 12V, 15V, and 24V) and supplies the DC power to each unit in the delivery unit17. The first threshold setting unit47sets a threshold of each of the temperature data, the liquid level data, the vibration data, the humidity data, and the opening/closing number data. The thermometer Se1is provided in the storage container25to measure the ambient temperature in the storage container25, and outputs temperature data to the data logger41. A liquid level indicator Se2is provided in the storage container25to measure a liquid level of a liquefied refrigerant, for example, liquid nitrogen and outputs liquid level data to the data logger41. A vibration indicator Se3is provided outside the storage container25to measure vibrations applied to the storage container25, and outputs vibration data to the data logger41. An opening/closing sensor Se4is provided in the storage container25to detect whether a lid of the storage container25is in an opened state or a closed state, and outputs opening/closing data to the data logger41. A hygrometer Se5is provided in the storage container25to measure the ambient humidity in the storage container25, and outputs humidity data to the data logger41. A voltage detection sensor Se6measures a voltage of DC power supplied from the battery33to the DC/DC converter43, and outputs voltage data to the data logger41. A voltage detection sensor Se7measures a voltage of DC power supplied from the charger45to the battery33, and outputs voltage data to the data logger41. <Functional Block Diagram of User Terminal> FIG.5is a functional block diagram of a user terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention. A first user reception unit3areceives input screen data from the article management server9. A first user input unit3binputs a serial number of an article to the input screen data received by the first user reception unit3a. A first user transmission unit3ctransmits the serial number input by the first user input unit3bto the article management server9. A second user reception unit3dreceives transport status data of the article from the article management server9. A user display unit3edisplays thereon transport status data received by the second user reception unit3d, transport route map data received by a third user reception unit3f, transport status data received by a fourth user reception unit3g, and temperature status data representing the temperature status of the article, received by a sixth user reception unit3k. The third user reception unit3freceives the transport route map data from the article management server9. The fourth user reception unit3greceives the transport status data added with the latest temperature data of the article from the article management server9. A fifth user reception unit3hreceives input screen data added with an input area for prompting a user to confirm the temperature status of the article from the article management server9. A second user input unit3iinputs operation data with respect to the input area added to the input screen data received by the fifth user reception unit3h. A second user transmission unit3jtransmits the operation data input by the second user input unit3ito the article management server9. The sixth user reception unit3kreceives the temperature status data representing the temperature status of the article from the article management server9. <Configuration of GPS System> FIG.6(a)is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a GPS system of an article according to one embodiment of the present invention.FIG.6(b)is a diagram illustrating a unit-device master maintenance screen to be used for registering a delivery unit in association with a GPS receiver. A GPS system110includes the GPS receivers37, the communication networks N1and N2, the article management server9, the front end server7, the GPS information file F1, a device master F3, the trace file F7, and the client terminals1and3. The GPS information file F1is memorized in the second memory unit11b, and acquires location information from the GPS receiver37to store therein a unit number, a measured date, a measured time, a device code (a unique device code held by the GPS receiver37), a latitude, and a longitude. The device master F3stores therein a device type, a device code, and a unit number. The device master F3is basic data in which a device code of the GPS receiver37and a unit number of the delivery unit17are registered in association with each other. When “GPS” is input as the device type to the unit-device master maintenance screen, a device code, a unit number, a used flag, an updated date, and the like are displayed. When update of the status representing the current operation contents occurs, the article management server9transmits the location information and the unit number memorized in the GPS information file F1(the second memory unit11b) in association with each other to the front end server7, and transmits these pieces of information to the client terminals1and3via the communication network N1. <Configuration of Temperature Data Acquisition System> FIG.7is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a temperature data acquisition system according to one embodiment of the present invention. A temperature data acquisition system120includes the delivery units17, the communication networks N1and N2, the article management server9, the front end server7, the temperature history file F5, the trace file F7, and the client terminals1and3. The temperature history file F5is memorized in the third memory unit11c, and stores the temperature data acquired from the data logger41together with a unit number and a date and time. The trace file F7is memorized in the fourth memory unit11d, and stores therein a product code, a date and time, a serial number, a unit number, and a status. When update of the status representing the operation contents occurs, the article management server9transmits the temperature data and the unit number memorized in the temperature history file F5in association with each other to the front end server7, and transmits these pieces of information to the client terminals1and3via the communication network N1. <Association in GPS Information File> FIG.8is an ER diagram illustrating association in the GPS information file processed by the transport-status-data generation unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. The transport-status-data generation unit9ain the article management server9acquires location information from the GPS receiver37provided in the delivery unit17, adds a unit number, a measured date, a measured time, a latitude, and a longitude to the device code of the GPS receiver37to generate the GPS information file F1, and memorizes the GPS information file F1in the second memory unit11b. When the status information representing the operation contents transmitted from the PC29in the delivery unit17is updated, the article management server9updates the unit number and the status information for each of the article code, the date and time, and the serial number memorized in the trace file F7in the fourth memory unit lid. When the status information representing the operation contents transmitted by the PC29in the delivery unit17is updated, the transport-status-data generation unit9ain the article management server9reads the serial number and the unit number from the trace file F7memorized in the database DB11. Next, the transport-status-data generation unit9ain the article management server9acquires a unit number corresponding to the serial number from the trace file F7, by using the serial number acquired from the user terminal as a key. Further, the transport-status-data generation unit9auses the unit number as a key to extract a measured date, a measured time, and location information (latitude and longitude) corresponding to the unit number from the GPS information file F1in the second memory unit11b, and displays the location information (latitude and longitude) on a traceability (location information) screen. <Association in Temperature Information File> FIG.9is an ER diagram illustrating association in the temperature information file processed by the transport-status-data generation unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. When the temperature data added with a unit number and a date and time is received from the data logger41provided in the delivery unit17, the article management server9memorizes the temperature data in the temperature history file F5corresponding to the unit number. When the status information representing the operation contents transmitted by the PC29in the delivery unit17is updated, the article management server9updates the unit number and the status information for each of the article code, the date and time, and the serial number memorized in the trace file F7in the fourth memory unit lid. Further, the article management server9uses the unit number included in the trace file F7as a key to extract the temperature data from the temperature history file F5(the third memory unit11c) having the key, and updates and generates the serial temperature history file F9, and memorizes the serial temperature history file F9in the database DB11. At this time, the article management server9uses the unit number included in the trace file F7as a key to extract the status from the trace file F7, and updates the serial temperature history file F9. Further, the article management server9displays a result thereof on a temperature history confirmation screen (FIG.20(b)) based on the serial temperature history file F9. <Menu Screen> FIG.10(a)is a diagram illustrating an example of a menu screen to be displayed on the PC in the delivery unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated inFIG.10(a), a “UNIT SETTING” button B1, a “MANUFACTURER SHIPPING OPERATION” button B3, a “SHIPPING OPERATION” button B5, a “MEDICAL INSTITUTION OPERATION” button B7, and a “MONITORING/STATUS DISPLAY” button B9are displayed as a menu screen61on the PC29in the delivery unit17. <Monitoring/Status Display Screen> FIG.10(b)is a diagram illustrating a monitoring/status display screen to be displayed on the PC in the delivery unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the PC29, when the “MONITORING/STATUS DISPLAY” button B9illustrated inFIG.10(a)is pressed, a monitoring/status display screen63illustrated inFIG.10(b)is displayed. A unit No., a type, an update time, and a temperature in the storage container25(temperature)63bas monitoring information are displayed on the monitoring/status display screen63. A “STATUS OPERATION” button B12, a phase, a place, an order, and contents are displayed on the monitoring/status display screen63, and an “EXECUTE” button B11is also displayed thereon. When the “STATUS OPERATION” button B12is pressed, the place, the order, and the operation contents can be changed, and when the “EXECUTE” button B11is pressed, the latest place, order, and operation contents are transmitted from the PC29in the delivery unit17to the article management server9. Further, a “MONITORING DETAILS” button B13, a “PRODUCT DETAILS” button B, a “PRINT TEMPERATURE TRACE TABLE” button B17, and an “INITIALIZE OPERATION” button B19are displayed below the monitoring/status display screen63. <Print Range Screen> FIG.10(c)is a diagram illustrating a print range screen to be displayed on the PC in the delivery unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. When the “PRINT TEMPERATURE TRACE TABLE” button B17illustrated inFIG.10(b)is pressed, a print range specifying screen65illustrated inFIG.10(c)is displayed. A date/time box65afor inputting start date and time, a date/time box65bfor inputting an end date and time, a “PRINT” button B21, a “CLOSE” button B23, and an “INITIALIZE OPERATION” button B25are displayed on the print range specifying screen65.<Print Data Editing Process> FIG.11is a flowchart for outputting a temperature trace table according to one embodiment of the present invention. At Step S1, on the PC29in the delivery unit17, when a user presses the “PRINT TEMPERATURE TRACE TABLE” button B17on the monitoring/status display screen (FIG.10(b)), the process proceeds to Step S3. At Step S3, since the print range specifying screen65(FIG.10(c)) is displayed on the PC29, the user inputs a specified range on the print range specifying screen65, and transmits the specified range to the article management server9. At this time, it is assumed that when the print range specifying screen65(FIG.10(c)) is displayed, the user inputs a start date and time in the date/time box65a, inputs an end date and time in the date/time box65b, and presses the “PRINT” button B21. At Step S5, on the PC29, the user edits a article details part ((a) inFIG.12) based on the product details information acquired from the article management server9at the time of shipment (A). At Step S7, on the PC29, the user edits a product code to a bar-code ((b) inFIG.12) based on the article details information (B). At Step S9, on the PC29, the above processes are repeated as loop processing for the number of article details. At Step S11, on the PC29, the user edits a lot, an expiry date, and a serial number to a bar-code ((c) inFIG.12) based on the article details information (C). At Step S13, on the PC29, after the processes are repeated for the number of article details, the user ends the loop processing to proceed to Step S15. At Step S15, on the PC29, the article management server9acquires the temperature data (R1) for a range specified by the data logger41in the delivery unit17. At Step S17, on the PC29, the user edits a graph ((d) inFIG.12) based on the acquired temperature data (D). At Step S19, on the PC29, the user edits quality certificate data based on the edited pieces of data (A), (B), (C), and (D), and supplies the quality certificate data to the printer31, to print a quality certificate31a(FIG.12) by the printer31. <Quality Certificate> FIG.12is a diagram illustrating respective parts of a quality certificate output from the printer in the delivery unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. When the “PRINT” button B21included in the print range specifying screen65illustrated inFIG.10(c)is pressed, the quality certificate31aillustrated inFIG.12is printed. As illustrated inFIG.12, a product code (b) such as a lot number, an expiry date, and a serial number (a), and a bar-code (c) such as a lot number, an expiry date, and a serial number as the article code, and a temperature graph (d) are arranged in the quality certificate31a. <Threshold Setting> FIG.13is a sequence diagram of threshold setting according to one embodiment of the present invention. At Step S21, the article management server9registers a threshold on a master screen. At Step S23, the delivery unit17downloads the threshold registered by the article management server9via the communication network N2. At Step S25, the delivery unit17monitors the temperature information based on the downloaded threshold. <Alarm Activating Process> FIG.14is a flowchart representing an alarm activating process performed by using the PC29in the delivery unit17according to one embodiment of the present invention. At Step S31, a monitoring/status display screen (FIG.10(b)) is displayed on the PC29in the delivery unit17. At Step S33, on the PC29, a temperature monitoring condition held in the PC29is invoked from a monitoring master (FIG.15). At Step S35, on the PC29, the following loop processing is repeated. At Step S37, on the PC29, a storage state of products in the delivery unit17is monitored. As a result of monitoring, if there is a product (THERE IS ARTICLE at Step S37), the process proceeds to Step S39, and if not (THERE IS NO ARTICLE at Step S37), the process ends. At Step S39, on the PC29, pieces of temperature data for the undetermined number of articles are acquired. At Step S41, a previous determination result is checked, and if the previous determination result is normal (normal at Step S41), the process proceeds to Step S43, and if the previous determination result is abnormal (abnormal at Step S41), the process proceeds to Step S51. At Step S43, on the PC29, it is determined whether the temperature data is at an upper limit or a lower limit of the monitoring condition in order to perform monitoring determination. When the determination result of the temperature data is out of range (out of range at Step S43), the process proceeds to Step S45, and when the determination result of the temperature data is within range (within range at Step S43), the process proceeds to Step S49. At Step S45, on the PC29, it is determined that the determination result of the temperature data is abnormal. In the case of moving to step S45as a subsequent step, “return determination” is performed. At Step S47, on the PC29, an alarm of the alarm device35provided in the delivery unit17is activated. At Step S49, on the PC29, after alarm activation is repeated, the loop processing ends to proceed to Step S35. Meanwhile, at Step S51, on the PC29, it is determined whether the temperature data is at an upper limit or a lower limit of the monitoring condition in order to perform return determination. When the determination result is out of range (out of range at Step S51), the process proceeds to Step S49, and when the determination result is within range (within range at Step S51), the process proceeds to Step S53. At Step S53, on the PC29, it is determined that the determination result is normal. In the case of moving to step S45as a subsequent step, “monitoring determination” is performed. In the flowchart illustrated inFIG.14, a processing flow only for the temperature data has been described. However, the liquid level data, the vibration data, the opening/closing data, the humidity data, and the voltage data are each processed in a similar flow. <Monitoring Threshold> FIG.15is an ER diagram of a monitoring threshold according to one embodiment of the present invention. The PC29in the delivery unit17includes a monitoring master29a, in which a temperature upper limit, a temperature lower limit, a liquid level upper limit, a liquid level lower limit, a vibration upper limit, a vibration lower limit, an opening/closing upper limit, an opening/closing lower limit, a humidity upper limit, a humidity lower limit, a voltage upper limit, a voltage lower limit, an occurrence frequency of temperature, an occurrence frequency of liquid level, an occurrence frequency of vibration, an occurrence frequency of opening/closing, an occurrence frequency of humidity, and an occurrence frequency of voltage are stored therein for each product code. A monitoring threshold corresponding to a product code is selected from the monitoring master, and downloaded to the PC29to perform a monitoring operation. <Notification Function> FIG.16is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a notification function according to one embodiment of the present invention. A notification functional system130includes a warehouse system71in a warehouse, a warehouse mobile terminal73in the warehouse, the delivery units17, the communication networks N1, N2, and N3, the article management device5(the article management server9, the database (DB)11, the front end server7), the client terminals1and, and an e-mail notification terminal75. Upon reception of traceability information from the warehouse system71in the warehouse, the warehouse mobile terminal73in the warehouse, or the delivery unit17via the communication network N3, the article management server9stores these pieces of information in the database (DB)11, and processes these pieces of information and transmits the information to the front end server7. The front end server7transmits information for referring to these pieces of information to the client terminal1(manufacturer) and the client terminal3(delivery destination) via the communication network N1. Further, the article management server9transmits monitoring warning information to the delivery unit17and transmits a notification of status update to the e-mail notification terminal75via the communication network N2. <Monitoring and Alarm Activation Sequence> FIG.17is a sequence diagram of monitoring and alarm activation according to one embodiment of the present invention. At Step S91, in the delivery unit17, each sensor monitors the state in the storage container25, to determine whether data of each sensor exceeds a threshold set by the PC29. At Step S93, in the PC29, when the data exceeds the threshold as a result of determination of the data, an alarm device35is activated to activate an alarm, and notifies this matter to a person in charge81by blinking the warning light. At Step S95, in the delivery unit17, the status representing the operation contents is updated and notified to the article management server9. At Step S97, the article management server9performs an e-mail delivering process to a delivery destination83. At Step S99, the article management server9sends an error message to the delivery destination83. Accordingly, the person in charge81can recognize the abnormality in the delivery unit17immediately, and it can be found which delivery unit has the abnormality at the delivery destination. <Communication Interrupting Process> FIG.18is a flowchart representing a communication interrupting process between the delivery unit17and the article management server9according to one embodiment of the present invention. At Step S61, the article management server9repeats the following process for the number of delivery units17as loop processing. At Step S63, the article management server9acquires the latest temperature data and location data of the delivery unit17. At Step S65, the article management server9determines the measurement time of the acquired data, and when the time from the previous measurement time to the present measurement time exceeds a certain time (for example, one minute), the article management server9proceeds to Step S67, and when the time is within the certain time, proceeds to Step S69. At Step S67, the article management server9sends a communication error message to the delivery destination83. At Step S69, the article management server9repeats the process for the number of delivery units17, and thereafter, ends the loop processing. <Sequence of Traceability> FIG.19is a sequence diagram of traceability according to one embodiment of the present invention. At Step S101, the article management server9transmits display data of a search condition input screen illustrated in (1) inFIG.20(a)to the user terminal1or3. At Step S103, a user of the user terminal1or3inputs a condition of any one of a product, a lot number, a serial number of the product, and a date to the search condition input screen displayed on a monitor. At Step S105, the article management server9displays a list of objects matched with the condition ((2) inFIG.20(a)). At Step S107, the user selects a serial number of a product to be displayed, which is indicated by a reference numeral85on the screen, on the screen illustrated in (2) inFIG.20(a)displayed on the monitor, and transmits the serial number to the article management server9. At Step S109, the article management server9uses the serial number received from the user terminal1or3as a key, to generate transport status data corresponding to the serial number based on the serial temperature history file (F9) memorized in the database DB11((1) inFIG.20(b)). Further, the article management server9extracts an update date and time (year/month/day), a status, a unit number, a current location, a freight movement source, a freight movement destination, and the like from the serial temperature history file (F9) memorized in the database DB11, corresponding to the serial number, to generate transport history data ((2) inFIG.20(b)). The article management server9generates a traceability outline screen including the transport status data and the transport history data described above and transmits the screen data (FIG.20(b)). At Step S111, the user of the user terminal1or3confirms the temperature history based on the screen illustrated inFIG.20(b). At Step S113, the article management server9transmits screen data for displaying the temperature history information illustrated inFIG.20to the user terminal1or3. At Step S115, the user of the user terminal1or3confirms the location information based on the traceability details screen illustrated inFIG.20(b). At Step S117, the article management server9transmits data displaying the location information illustrated inFIGS.23(a) and (b). <Screen Transition of Temperature History Information> FIGS.20(a) and (b)are screen transition diagrams of temperature history information, being an example of transport status data according to one embodiment of the present invention.(1) inFIG.20(a)indicates a search condition input screen, and a user of the user terminal1or3inputs a condition of any one of a product name, a lot number, a serial number, and a date.(2) inFIG.20(a)indicates a list of objects matched with the search condition. The user of the user terminal1or3selects a serial number to be displayed on the screen. For example, it is assumed that the user has selected a serial number indicated by the reference numeral85. The trace file F7corresponding to the selected serial number (for example, SE17005A26) is displayed as the transport status data as illustrated in (1) inFIG.20(b), and the transport history data illustrated in (2) inFIG.20(b)is displayed.(1) and (2) inFIG.20(b)represent a display screen to be used for confirming the temperature history to be used in a previous stage of displaying the traceability details screen, and when a “CONFIRM TEMPERATURE HISTORY” button B31is pressed, the temperature history is displayed. <Temperature History Graph> FIG.21is a diagram illustrating a temperature history graph displayed on a user terminal, being an example of transport status data according to one embodiment of the present invention. A temperature history graph91is a graph corresponding to the input a lot number, a temperature history, and a serial number, and represents a temperature value on a vertical axis and a time on a horizontal axis. A range specifying area93indicates a range from a start date and time to an end date and time of data included in the temperature history information corresponding to the lot number and the serial number. InFIG.21, by moving a display start timing cursor93aand a display end timing cursor93bindicated in the range specifying area93by a mouse operation, the display range can be specified to vary a time axis (the horizontal axis) of the graph91telescopically, and the display flexibility of the temperature history can be enlarged in the direction of the time axis. <Transition of Location Information> FIGS.22(a) and (b)are screen transition diagrams of location information, being an example of transport status data according to one embodiment of the present invention.(1) inFIG.22(a)is a search condition input screen, and a user of the user terminal1or3inputs a condition of any one of a product, a lot number, a serial number, and a date.(2) inFIG.22(a)displays a list of objects matched with the search condition. The user of the user terminal1or3selects a serial number to be displayed from the screen. FIG.22(b)is a diagram for confirming the location information, and when a “CONFIRM LOCATION INFORMATION” button B33is pressed, the location information is displayed. <Map Screen Including Location Information> FIGS.23(a) and (b)are diagrams illustrating a map screen including location information, being an example of transport status data according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG.23(a)is a diagram indicating the map screen including the location information, andFIG.23(b)is a detailed diagram of the map screen including the location information. Traceability in Location Processing> FIG.24is a flowchart of traceability in location processing by the article management server according to one embodiment of the present invention. At Step S71, the article management server9acquires location data of the entire route associated with the serial number to be displayed on the screen. That is, the article management server9extracts a unit number and a date and time of a delivery unit17, which is loaded with an article having the serial number, from the serial temperature history file F9and extracts location data (latitude and longitude) corresponding to the unit number and the date and time from the GPS information file F1in the second memory unit11b. At Step S73, the article management server9repeats the process as loop processing for the number of sections in the route. At Step S75, the article management server9acquires location data corresponding to the time zone of a section. At Step S77, after repeating the above process for the number of sections in the route, the article management server9finishes the loop processing and proceeds to Step S79. At Step S79, the article management server9draws a screen based on the acquired location data (FIG.23). <Route Division> FIG.25is an ER diagram of route division according to one embodiment of the present invention. The article management server9inputs and adds a start point, a product code, an arrival point, and a via point on a project master screen to generate a project master F11. The article management server9inputs and adds a place, a product code, and an operation ID on an operation definition master screen to generate an operation definition master F13. The article management server9uses the start point, the product code, and the arrival point as a key, to extract a via point from the project master F11, and uses the place and the product code as a key to extract an operation ID from the operation definition master F13, thereby acquiring each operation ID at the start point, the via point, and the arrival point. <Route Division Sequence> FIG.26is a route division sequence diagram according to one embodiment of the present invention. At Step S81, the article management server9registers a route and operation information associated with the route on a master screen, and transmits the route and the operation information associated with the route to the delivery unit17. At Step S85, the delivery unit17downloads the route and an operation associated with the route registered by the article management server9via the communication network N2. At Step S87, the delivery unit17performs operation update processing based on the downloaded operation information associated with the route, and transmits an updated status of the operation to the article management server9. At Step S83, the article management server9performs registration and update of the updated status of the operation. Summary of Actions and Effects of Aspects in the Present Embodiment <First Aspect> The delivery management system100according to the present aspect is a delivery management system100characterized in including the delivery unit17for delivering a container in which an accommodated article is cooled by a refrigerant, and the article management server9that communicates with the delivery unit17during transport via the communication networks N1, N2, and N3. The delivery unit17includes the GPS receiver37that receives each GPS signal from a plurality of GPS satellites to calculate location data based on each of the GPS signals, adds a unique device code to the location data, and transmits the location data to the article management server9, the thermometer Se1that measures the temperature in the storage container25, the first memory unit41athat memorizes therein temperature data measured by the thermometer Se1in a time series, and the wireless router27that adds a unit number of the delivery unit17to temperature data acquired from the first memory unit41aand transmits the temperature data to the article management server9via the communication network N2regularly and/or irregularly. The article management server9includes the second memory unit11bthat memorizes the location data and the device code received from the GPS receiver37in association with each other in the GPS information file F1, the third memory unit11cthat memorizes the temperature data received from the delivery unit17regularly and/or irregularly associated with each unit number in the temperature history file F5, the fourth memory unit11dthat memorizes the unit number and a serial number of the article in association with each other in the trace file F7, and the transport-status-data generation unit9athat generates transport status data representing a serial number, location data, and temperature data of the article during transport, based on location data acquired from the GPS information file F1in the second memory unit11bcorresponding to the device code (step S71inFIG.8), temperature data acquired from the temperature history file F5in the third memory unit11ccorresponding to the unit number, and serial number acquired from the trace file F7(FIG.9) in the fourth memory unit11dcorresponding to the unit number, by using a set of a certain unit number and a device code as a key. According to the present aspect, the article management server9uses a set of a certain unit number and a device code as a key, to generate the transport status data representing the serial number, the location data, and the temperature data of an article during transport, based on the location data acquired corresponding to the device code, the temperature data acquired corresponding to the unit number, and the serial number acquired corresponding to the unit number. Therefore, an environment history acquired from the environment of the container during transport of the article is provided, and the transport status including the transport route and the like of the article can be ascertained, thereby enabling to execute quality control of the article in real time. Accordingly, the transport status of the article from a delivery destination to a shipment destination becomes clear, and quality control of the articles can be executed more finely in real time. <Second Aspect> The delivery unit17according to the present aspect is characterized in including at least one of the liquid level indicator Se2that measures liquid level data of a refrigerant, the vibration indicator Se3that measures vibration data of vibrations applied from a road surface to the container, the hygrometer Se5that measures humidity data pertaining to humidity in the storage container25, and the opening/closing sensor Se4that counts pieces of opening/closing number data of a lid provided in the container. The first memory unit41amemorizes the temperature data therein by adding at least one of the liquid level data, the vibration data, the humidity data, and the opening/closing number data, and date and time data thereto. According to the present aspect, by memorizing the temperature data in the delivery unit17by adding thereto at least one of the liquid level of the refrigerant, the vibration, the humidity, and the number of opening/closing times, as well as the date and time data in the first memory unit41a, the status inside the delivery unit17during transport can be confirmed in a unit of date and time. Therefore, data can be read as required during delivery or after delivery. <Third Aspect> The delivery unit17according to the present aspect is characterized in including a quality data generation unit that generates quality data of the article, based on at least one of the liquid level data, the vibration data, the humidity data, and the opening/closing number data, in addition to the temperature data and the date and time data acquired from the first memory unit41a, and the printer31that creates a quality certificate by printing an image including the serial number and the quality data on a recording medium. According to the present aspect, print data associated with the quality certificate including a graph image representing the quality along the time series pertaining to the cooling environment in the storage container25that accommodates therein an article during delivery is edited based on the serial number and the quality data of the article, and is printed on a recording medium, to create the quality certificate31a, and the quality certificate31acan be issued. Accordingly, at the delivery destination, the quality along the time series pertaining to the cooling environment in the container can be immediately confirmed at site by visually checking the quality certificate31a, upon reception of the container that accommodates therein the article. <Fourth Aspect> The delivery unit17according to the present aspect is characterized in including the first threshold setting unit47that sets a threshold of each of the temperature data, the liquid level data, the vibration data, the humidity data, and the opening/closing number data, and the alarm device35that generates a warning sound, when at least one of the temperature data, the liquid level data, the vibration data, the humidity data, and the opening/closing number data has shifted more to a critical value than the threshold set by the first threshold setting unit47. According to the present aspect, a threshold can be set in the data of each sensor in the delivery unit17, and when each threshold reaches a critical value, an alarm can be activated. Therefore, not only a threshold can be set individually corresponding to the type or the degree of importance of the article, but also at the delivery destination or the shipment destination, it can be immediately recognized that the article has reached an abnormal state. <Fifth Aspect> The delivery unit17according to the present aspect is characterized in, when the alarm device35generates a warning sound, transmitting an e-mail including a message that the warning sound has been generated to a terminal of a concerned personnel. According to the present aspect, since it can be transmitted to the terminal of the concerned personnel that an abnormality has occurred in the article in the delivery unit17by an e-mail including a message, the status of the article having an abnormality can be shared with the concerned personnel. <Sixth Aspect> The delivery unit17according to the present aspect is characterized in, when the alarm device35generates a warning sound, transmitting information indicating that the warning sound has been generated to the article management server. According to the present aspect, since information indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the article in the delivery unit17can be transmitted to the article management server, the article management server can collectively control the status of the article having the abnormality. <Seventh Aspect> The article management server9according to the present aspect is characterized in including the communication error determination unit9bthat determines whether received data pertaining to the temperature data and location data received from the delivery unit17regularly and/or irregularly has a communication error, and the communication error transmission unit9gthat transmits an e-mail including a message indicating that a communication error has occurred to the terminal, when the communication error determination unit9bhas determined that the communicated data has a communication error. According to the present aspect, when determining that the received data has a communication error, the article management server9can transmit an e-mail including the message to the terminal. Therefore, the respective terminals can ascertain the credibility of the received data. <Eighth Aspect> The article management server9according to the present aspect is characterized in including the first input-screen-data generation unit9cthat generates input screen data for inputting a serial number of the article, and the first delivering unit7athat delivers input screen data generated by the first input-screen-data generation unit9(to the user terminal. The transport-status-data generation unit9agenerates the transport status data by using a serial number received from the user terminal as a key, and the first delivering unit7adelivers the transport status data generated by the transport-status-data generation unit9ato the user terminal3. According to the present aspect, since the article management server9generates the transport status data by using the serial number received from the user terminal as a key, and delivers the transport status data to the user terminal3, each user terminal3can confirm the transport status of each article in real time. <Ninth Aspect> The article management server9according to the present aspect is characterized in including the transport-route-data generation unit9dthat generates transport route map data by combining a transport route of the article on map data, based on the location data acquired from the second memory unit11b. The first delivering unit7adelivers transport route map data generated by the transport-route-data generation unit9dto the user terminal3. According to the present aspect, since the article management server9generates the transport route map data by combining the transport route of the article on the map data and delivers the transport route map data to the user terminal3, a user of the user terminal3can confirm a detailed transport route of the article. <Tenth Aspect> The article management server9according to the present aspect is characterized in including the fifth memory unit11ethat memorizes therein transport status data generated by the transport-status-data generation unit9a, the second input-screen-data generation unit9ethat generates input screen data by adding an input area for prompting a user to confirm the temperature status of the article, the second delivering unit7bthat delivers input screen data generated by the second input-screen-data generation unit9eto the user terminal3, the first reception unit9jthat receives operation data with respect to an input area added to input screen data in the user terminal3from the user terminal3, the temperature-status-data generation unit9fthat generates temperature status data representing the temperature status based on temperature data of an article acquired from the fifth memory unit11e, by using a serial number as a key, corresponding to operation data received by the first reception unit9j, and the third delivering unit7cthat delivers temperature status data generated by the temperature-status-data generation unit9fto the user terminal3. According to the present aspect, the article management server9generates the input screen data by adding thereto an input area for prompting a user to confirm the temperature status of the article and delivers the input screen data to the user terminal3. Therefore, on the side of the user terminal3, the temperature status data representing the temperature status is generated based on the temperature data of the article, corresponding to the received operation data by using the serial number as a key, thereby enabling to execute quality control of the article more specifically. <Eleventh Aspect> The user terminal3according to the present aspect is characterized in including the first user reception unit3athat receives the input screen data from the article management server9, the first user input unit3bthat inputs a serial number of an article to input screen data received by the first user reception unit3a, the first user transmission unit3cthat transmits a serial number input from the first user input unit3bto the article management server9, the second user reception unit3dthat receives transport status data of the article from the article management server9, and the user display unit3ethat displays transport status data received by the second user reception unit3d. According to the present aspect, the user terminal3receives the input screen data from the article management server9, inputs a serial number of the article to received input screen data, transmits the input screen data to the article management server9, and receives and displays the transport status data of the article. Therefore, a user of the user terminal can confirm the transport status of the article only by inputting the serial number. <Twelfth Aspect> The user terminal3according to the present aspect is characterized in including the third user reception unit3fthat receives transport route map data from the article management server9. The user display unit3edisplays thereon transport route map data received by the third user reception unit3f. According to the present aspect, since the user terminal3can receive the transport route map data from the article management server9and display the contents thereof, the user of the user terminal3can confirm detailed transport route of the article. <Thirteenth Aspect> The user terminal3according to the present aspect is characterized in including the fourth user reception unit3gthat receives transport status data added with the latest temperature data of the article from the article management server9. The user display unit3edisplays thereon transport status data received by the fourth user reception unit3g. According to the present aspect, since the user terminal3can receive the transport status data added with the latest temperature data of the article from the article management server9and display the transport status data, the user of the user terminal3can confirm also a temperature change during transport of the article. <Fourteenth Aspect> The user terminal3according to the present aspect is characterized in including the fifth user reception unit3hthat receives input screen data added with an input area for prompting a user to confirm a temperature status of the article from the article management server9, the second user input unit3ithat inputs operation data with respect to an input area added to input screen data received by the fifth user reception unit3h, the second user transmission unit3jthat transmits operation data input by the second user input unit3ito the article management server9, and the sixth user reception unit3kthat receives temperature status data representing a temperature status of the article from the article management server9. The user display unit3edisplays thereon the received temperature status data representing the temperature status of the article. According to the present aspect, the user terminal3receives the input screen data from the article management server9, inputs to the data the operation data with respect to the input area, and transmits the data to the article management server9. The user terminal3then displays the temperature status data received from the article management server9. Therefore, the user of the user terminal3can instruct regarding the temperature status of the article more specifically. <Fifteenth Aspect> The article management server9according to the present aspect is characterized in including the route dividing unit9mthat divides an entire route from a start point to an arrival point pertaining to the delivery of the article into sections for each operation of the delivery, the second threshold setting unit9pthat sets a threshold of each of the temperature data, the liquid level data, the vibration data, the humidity data, and the opening/closing number data in the master table11with respect to each section divided by the route dividing unit9m, the threshold acquisition unit9rthat acquires each threshold corresponding to a location from the master table based on location data calculated by the GPS receiver37, and the second alarm activation unit9nthat generates a warning sound, when at least one of the temperature data, the liquid level data, the vibration data, the humidity data, and the opening/closing state data is more in a critical region than respective thresholds acquired by the threshold acquisition unit9r. According to the present aspect, the article management server9divides the entire route from the start point to the arrival point into sections for respective operations pertaining to the delivery, and sets a threshold of each of the temperature data, the liquid level data, the vibration data, the humidity data, and the opening/closing number data with respect to each section in the master table11. Further, the article management server9acquires each threshold corresponding to a location from the master table based on the location data calculated by the GPS receiver37, and issues a warning sound, when any one of the temperature data, the liquid level data, the vibration data, the humidity data, and the opening/closing state data is more in the critical region than the set thresholds. Therefore, the user can immediately judge in which section the article has an abnormality. <Sixteenth Aspect> A delivery management method according to the present aspect is a delivery management method executed by the delivery management system including the delivery unit17for delivering a container in which an accommodated article is cooled by a refrigerant, and the article management server9that communicates with the delivery unit during transport via the communication network N2, characterized in that the delivery unit17performs a GPS reception step of receiving each GPS signal from a plurality of GPS satellites to calculate location data based on each of the GPS signals, adding a unique device code to the location data, and transmitting the location data to the article management server9, a first memory step of memorizing temperature data measured at the temperature measurement step in a time series, a temperature measurement step of measuring the temperature in the container, and a first transmission step of adding a unit number of the delivery unit to temperature data acquired at a memory unit, and transmitting the temperature data to the article management server via the communication network regularly and/or irregularly. The article management server9according to the present aspect performs a second memory step of memorizing the location data and the device code received at the GPS reception step in association with each other, a third memory step of memorizing the temperature data received from the delivery unit regularly and/or irregularly in association with the unit number respectively, and a fourth memory step of memorizing the unit number and a serial number of the article in association with each other. The article management server9also performs a transport-status-data generation step of generating transport status data representing a serial number, location data, and temperature data of the article during transport, based on location data acquired at the second memory step corresponding to the device code, temperature data acquired at the third memory step corresponding to the unit number, and serial number acquired at the fourth memory step corresponding to the unit number, by using a set of a certain unit number and a device code as a key. According to the present aspect, the delivery unit17that is mounted on the vehicle21to accommodate an article in the storage container25in which the refrigerant is filled and deliver the storage container, and the article management server9that communicates with the delivery unit17via the communication networks N1, N2, and N3are provided. Therefore, an environment history acquired from the environment in the container is provided during transport of an article, and the transport status including the transport route of the article and the like are ascertained, thereby enabling to execute quality control of the article in real time. Accordingly, the transport status of the article from a delivery destination to a shipment destination becomes clear, and quality control of the articles can be executed more finely in real time. <Seventeenth Aspect> A program according to the present aspect is characterized in causing a processor to perform respective steps in the delivery management method described in claim16. According to the present aspect, a processor can be caused to perform the respective steps. Therefore, the transport status of an article from a delivery destination to a shipment destination becomes clear, and quality control of the articles can be executed more finely in real time. REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1client terminal (manufacturer),3client terminal (delivery destination),5article management device,7front end server,9article management server,17delivery unit,19logistics management server,21vehicle,23tag,27wireless router,29PC,31printer,33battery,35alarm device,37GPS receiver,39bar-code reader, Se1thermometer, Se2liquid level indicator, Se3vibration indicator, Se4opening/closing sensor, Se5hygrometer, Se6voltage detection sensor, Se7voltage detection sensor, N1to N3network | 69,591 |
11861548 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS While various embodiments of the present invention are described herein, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents. Described herein is a system for managing the distribution of agricultural products based on a plurality of rules which will allow for the tracking of an item through an entire distribution channel based on the source of the item. The system receives orders for products from clients along with specific rules related to the products, analyzes the distribution rules that apply for each product, generates a list of providers, distributors and aggregation facilities based on the rules associated with each client or product and monitors the delivery of the products to the end location. By tracking items based on source and rules defined by a customer, the process of delivering source specific items is improved, as the source of the product can be confirmed upon delivery to the client. Systems currently in use do not allow for the tracking of a product, such as produce, based on the source of the product. Instead, distributors aggregate products together and deliver the products to customers independent of the source of the product. With the rise in importance of locally sourced products, the need to determine what products are locally sourced has become critical. By identifying and tracking a product from the source of the product through the deliver, clients can confirm the products they are purchasing are locally sourced. FIG.1depicts a block diagram of an Agricultural Product Management System (“APM”)100suitable for use with the systems consistent with the present disclosure. The APM100comprises a plurality of computers102,104,106and108connected via a network110. The network110is of a type that is suitable for connecting the computers for communication, such as a circuit-switched network or a packet switched network. Also, the network110may include a number of different networks, such as a local area network, a wide area network such as the Internet, telephone networks including telephone networks with dedicated communication links, connection-less network, and wireless networks. In the illustrative example shown inFIG.1, the network110is the Internet. Each of the computers102,104,106and108shown inFIG.1is connected to the network110via a suitable communication link, such as a dedicated communication line or a wireless communication link. In an illustrative example, computer102serves as a Product Distribution Unit (“PDU”) that includes a provider management unit112, an order management unit114, a distributor management unit116and a rules management unit118. The number of computers and the network configuration shown inFIG.1are merely an illustrative example. One having skill in the art will appreciate that the APS100may include a different number of computers and networks. For example, computer102may include the provider management unit112as well as one or more of the order management unit114and rules management unit118. Further, the distributor management unit116may reside on a different computer than computer102. FIG.2shows a more detailed depiction of the computer102. The computer102comprises a central processing unit (CPU)202, an input output (IO) unit204, a display device206communicatively coupled to the IO Unit204, a secondary storage device208, and a memory210. The computer202may further comprise standard input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a digitizer, or a speech processing means (each not illustrated). The computer102′s memory210includes a Graphical User Interface (“GUI”)212that is used to gather information from a user via the display device206and110unit204as described herein. The GUI212includes any user interface capable of being displayed on a display device206including, but not limited to, a web page, a display panel in an executable program, or any other interface capable of being displayed on a computer screen. The GUI212may also be stored in the secondary storage unit208. In one embodiment consistent with the present invention, the GUI212is displayed using commercially available hypertext markup language (“HTML”) viewing software such as, but not limited to, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or any other commercially available HTML viewing software. The secondary storage unit208may include an information storage unit214. The information storage unit may be a relational database such as, but not including Microsoft's SQL, Oracle or any other database. An identifier generating unit216may be communicatively coupled to the IO unit204. The identifier generating unit216may be a device capable of generating an identifier such as a bar code printer, a smart tag printer and encoder or any other type of identifier generator. FIG.3shows a more detailed depiction of the computers104,106and108. Each computer104,106and108comprises a central processing unit (CPU)302, an input output (10) unit304, a display device306communicatively coupled to the IO Unit304, a secondary storage device308, and a memory310. Each computer104,106and108may further comprise standard input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a digitizer, or a speech processing means (each not illustrated). Each computer104,106and108′s memory310includes a GUI312which is used to gather information from a user via the display device306and IO unit304as described herein. The GUI312includes any user interface capable of being displayed on a display device306including, but not limited to, a web page, a display panel in an executable program, or any other interface capable of being displayed on a computer screen. The GUI312may also be stored in the secondary storage unit208. In one embodiment consistent with the present invention, the GUI312is displayed using commercially available HTML viewing software such as, but not limited to, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or any other commercially available HTML viewing software. An identifier generating unit314may be communicatively coupled to the IO unit304. The identifier generating unit314may be a device capable of generating an identifier such as a bar code printer, a smart tag printer and encoder or any other type of identifier generator. An identifier gathering unit316may also be communicatively coupled to the IO unit304. The identifier gathering unit316may be a bar code reader, a smart card reader, an RFID reader, a camera or any other identifier gathering device. FIG.4depicts an illustrative example of the operation of the AMS100. In step402, the order management unit114receives an order for an agricultural product such as, but not limited to, produce including fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry, dairy products including milk, cheese, yogurt or any other agricultural product. The order may be received via a web page, e-mail, text message or by any other means of ordering a product. The order may indicate the quantity of one or more products that must be delivered to the client or distributor. In one embodiment, the order management unit114posts a listing of available products and associated products and a client enters in the amount of each product for the order. In step404, the order management unit114retrieves the client information from the order. The order management unit114may also retrieve some of the client information from the information storage unit214, from the order message or from the client when the order is placed. The client information may include, the client name, address, phone number, location the order was placed, location or locations where the order must be delivered, the distributor or distributors associated with the client, or any other information pertaining to the client. In one embodiment, the distributor is identified in the order. In another embodiment, a listing of distributors in the information storage unit214is associated with the client and can be applied to fill the order based on the client rules. The client may include, but is not limited to, health care facilities such as hospitals, institutions such as schools, universities, government agencies, nursing homes, extended care facilities, or any other facility provided products to a consumer. In step406, the distribution management unit116retrieves information from the information storage unit214for each distributor associated with the client or the distributor named in the order. The distributor information may include, but is not limited to, the name and address of the distributor, the region the distributor operates, and any other information associated with the distributor. In step408, the order management unit114retrieves pricing from producers to fill each order from the client or distributor. In one embodiment, the pricing of the product is retrieved from the information storage unit214. Consistent with this embodiment, each producer may enter in the available products and associated pricing into the information storage unit214, and the distribution management unit116may retrieve the pricing information for the products included in each order. In one embodiment, the order management unit114transmits a message, such as an e-mail message, requesting a provider to provide a quotation for the products identified in the order. In another embodiment, the order management unit114only allows preapproved providers to provide pricing and available products to a specific client, or distributor. Each request for quote may include a listing of requirements based on the rules associated with the product, client or distributor. In step410, the provider management unit112retrieves information from the information storage unit214on each of the providers responding the to the request for quotation or posting available products from the order management unit114. The provider information may include, but is not limited to, the provider address, equipment information related to the production, delivery or storage of the product or geographical information of the provider. In step412, the order management unit114retrieves the rules from the information storage unit214associated with each distributor. The rules define requirements for fulfillment of the order such as condition of the product, the delivery method of the product, the quantity of product delivered in a single shipment, the geographic location where the producer must reside, the number of producers that can provide products for the order or any other restriction placed on the delivery or receipt of the product by the distributor. The order management unit114may apply different distributor or client rules depending on the type of product ordered. The client and distributor rules may also include requirements for food quality, storage and deliver that are required under federal or state law or under any federal or state food safety regulations. In step414, the order management unit114retrieves rules from the information storage unit214pertaining to the client. The rules define restrictions on the provider filling the order and the method of delivery from the distributor to the client or from the producer to the distributor. The client rules may also define an area or region where the producer must reside or the residency, ethnicity, economic background or any other demographic defining the producer of the product. As an illustrative example, an order may relate to the sourcing of organic products, and sustainable and responsibly-raised meats, including, but not limited to meats raised without antibiotics, free-range animals, and animals raised gestation and breeding crate-free. The order management system114would apply rules specific to the gathering and distribution of organic products such as the identification of specific agricultural practices that are required before a product can be labeled “organic.” The rules may be entered into the system by the client, distributor or by a third party. In one embodiment, the order management system114allows a client to specify the standard or regulation governing the product and the order management system114will associate and apply predetermined producer and distributor rules for the order. In step416, the order management unit114compares the distributor rules to the client information to determine if the provider is eligible to provide the product. In comparing the distributor rules to the customer rules, the order management unit114may determine if the equipment, route, product to be delivered or other characteristics of the distributor satisfy the rules associated with the product by the client. In step418, if the information does not match at least one of the distributor rules, the order management unit114declines the quotation from the distributor and selects a new distributor from the list of distributors providing quotations. In step420, if the distributor rule matches the client rules, the order management unit114compares the provider information to the client rules. If the information does not match the client information, the order management unit114declines the quotation from the provider and selects the next provider. In step422, if the provider information matches the client information and the distributor information, the order management unit114accepts the order from the provider. The order may be accepted by transmitting an order acceptance message to the provider. The order acceptance message may include instructions on the date and method of delivery of the product to the distributor. In step424, the distribution management unit116retrieves information from the information storage unit214on aggregation locations associated with the distributor. The aggregation facilities are locations where producers deliver and store their deliveries before being picked up by the distributors. The aggregation facilities may house multiple orders for multiple clients and distributors at one time. The information on the aggregation facility may include information on the type of products stored at the facility, the amount of space and type of space available at the aggregation facility or any other information associated with the aggregation facility. In step426, the distribution management unit116selects an aggregation facility associated with the distributor that meets the client rules. In step428, the distribution management unit116selects a method of delivery from the aggregation facility to the distribution facility or backhaul method. The backhaul method may be based on the client rules and distributor rules. In selecting the backhaul method, the distribution management unit116selects a backhaul provider that complies with the distribution and client rules. The backhaul provider may be the product provider, the distributor or another third party who delivers the product from the aggregation facility to the distribution facility. In step430, the order management unit114transmits delivery information to the provider. The delivery information may include the location and time of the delivery to the aggregation facility, the method of delivery to the aggregation facility or any other information concerning the delivery of the product to the aggregation facility. In step432, the distribution management unit116receives confirmation of the delivery to the aggregation facility. The confirmation may include the date, time, location and a description of the condition of the product when delivered to the aggregation facility. In step434, the order management unit114transmits a delivery ready message, such as an e-mail or text message, to the distributor and backhaul provider notifying the distributor and backhaul provider of the availability of the product at the aggregation facility. The delivery ready confirmation may include information on the delivery of the products from the aggregation facility including the delivery method, time and date of pick-up of the product, the location in the distribution facility where the products are to be stored, and any other information concerning the pick-up of the product by the distributor. In step436, the order management unit114determines a sort and order process for the product before it is shipped by the backhaul provider. The sort and order process may include steps to perform in order to sort a product into different groups and the order which the products will be loaded and shipped by the backhaul provider. In step438, the order management unit114retrieves information from the information storage unit214concerning the pick-up of the product by the backhaul provider. The pick-up information may include the date and time of the pick-up of the product, the condition of the product at pick or any other information related to the pick-up of the product. In step440, the distribution management unit116confirms the location of the product in the distribution facility via the backhaul provider or distributor. The distribution management unit116may record the time and date of the delivery of the product to the distribution facility and location in the distribution facility where the product is stored. The distribution management unit116may also confirm the product is properly configured and stored in the distribution facility. As an illustrative example, if the order calls for individual bags of30carrots, the distribution management unit116may gather information from the distribution facility from the information storage unit214confirming the configuration of the order is correct. Further, the distribution management unit116may notify the distributor of each group of products that must be quarantined from other products before delivery to the client. In step442, the distribution management unit116notifies the distributor to deliver the product to the client location or locations. The distribution management unit116may notify the client of the pending delivery. The client notification may include the proposed date and time of the delivery, the products to be delivered. The distribution management unit116may transmit a confirmation of delivery notification after the product has been successfully delivered to the client. After the product is delivered to the client, the distribution management unit116may indicate that the area previously occupied in the distribution facility by the delivered product is available to receive new products. The distribution management unit116may notify the distributor if all available space allocated for the products in the warehouse become unavailable. The distribution management unit116may also reroute the backhaul provider to another distribution facility should all space in one distribution facility become full. In one embodiment, the provider management unit112may record each quotation from a producer that is declined for lack of compliance with a rule. The provider management unit112may notify the provider of adjustments to procedures or additional of new equipment that would result in a high acceptance rate of the quotations. In another embodiment, the provider management unit112may track the product condition and delivery times of the provider and alert the provider of late deliveries or low product quality. The product condition may be determined by monitoring various sensors included with the deliver or by physical inspection of the product at various points during the delivery. The provider management unit112may also rate each provider based on the delivery timeliness, the condition of the product at delivery, the level of compliance with client and distributor rules for each delivery or any other characteristic related to the delivery of the product by the producer. The provider management unit112may associate each producer with a specific geographic region, state, county, city or other geographic information. The provider management unit112may associate producers with specific distributors and clients based on the producers compliance with the rules of each distributor or client. In another embodiment, the provider management unit112may associate specific products produced by a producer with a distributor or client based on the level of compliance of the individual product with the distributor or client rules. The distribution management unit116may generate a series of reports demonstrating a client's compliance with a federal or state food program such as a farm to school lunch program. In one embodiment, an order may be delivered to multiple aggregation facilities and distribution facilities. In another embodiment, multiple distributors and backhaul providers may be utilized to fill an order. Consistent with this embodiment, the distribution management unit116will analyze the order in view of the load capacity of each distributor to determine if the product needs to be delivered using multiple back haulers or distributors. FIG.5depicts an illustrative example of the operation of the APM100. In step502, a product identifier related to a product is generated by the product management unit114. The product identifier may be any known identifier including, but not limited to, a bar code, a quick response code, a radio frequency identifier (“RFID”) tag or any other type of identifier. The identifier may include information on the provider of the product, the type of product and other information on the product. As an illustrative example, the product identifier may be a bar code that includes a provider code identifying the provider of the product and a product code identifying the product associated with the identifier. The product identifier may be added into the system using any known method including, typing the identifier into the system using a keypad, capturing an image of the identifier or using a identifier reader to read the identifier into the system. The identifier may be generated by the identifier generating unit216or314. After the identifier is generated, the identifier may be adhered to the product or a container holding the product to identify the product and its source. In step504, the order management unit114identifies the provider code in the product identifier and associates the product identifier with the provider code in the information storage unit214. The provider code may include a location code that indicates the location of the provider. In one embodiment, the provider code is associated with location information of the provider such as name and address of the provider. In another embodiment, the region of the country where the provider resides may also be associated with the provider in the information storage unit214. In step506, the order management unit114identifies the product code in the product identifier and associates the product identifier with a product type in the information storage unit214. In step508, the distribution management unit116generates a transport identifier for the entity transporting the product from the supplier to the aggregation facility and associates the transport identifier with the product identifier in the information storage unit214. The transport identifier is a unique code or codes, such as a bar code, QR code or RFID tag that identifies the entity transporting the product. The transport identifier may include information such as the identity of the company transporting the product, the driver transporting the product, the type of equipment used to transport the product, and any other information related to the delivery of the product to the aggregation facility. The identifier may be generated by the identifier generating unit216or314. After the identifier is generated, the identifier may be adhered to the equipment transporting the product to identify the entity transporting the product. If the equipment transporting the product has previously been allocated an identifier, the identifier reading unit316may read the identifier for use as the transport identifier. In step510, the order management unit14associates the product identifier and transportation identifier with a specific order in the system. The product identifier and transportation identifier may be related to more than one order, and the transportation identifier may be related to more than one product and order. In step512, upon arrival at the aggregation facility, the distribution management unit116generates an aggregation facility identifier from the aggregation facility. The aggregation facility identifier may be gathered using any known technique including, but not limited to, scanning an aggregation facility identifier into system using a bar code scanner or RFID reader. The aggregation facility identifier identifies the aggregation facility receiving the product. The aggregation facility identifier is associated with the order, product identifier and transportation identifier in the information storage unit214. In step514, after the product is stored in the aggregation facility, an aggregation location identifier is entered into the system. The aggregation location identifier identifies the location in the aggregation facility where the product is stored. Each order, or product in the order, may be associated with more than one aggregation location identifier. In one embodiment, the aggregation facility identifier and the aggregation location identifier are the same identifier. The identifier may be generated by the identifier generating unit216or314. After the identifier is generated, the identifier may be adhered to the aggregation facility or to a structure associated with the aggregation facility to identify the aggregation facility where the product is stored. If the aggregation facility has previously been allocated an identifier, the identifier reading unit316may read the identifier for use as the aggregation facility identifier. In step516, the distribution management unit116generates a back haul provider identifier identifying the back haul provider delivering the product to a distribution facility. Distribution management unit116receives the back haul identifier into the system and associates the product identifier, aggregation facility identifier and aggregation location identifier with the order. After the identifier is generated, the identifier may be adhered to the equipment transporting the product to identify the entity transporting the product. If the equipment transporting the product has previously been allocated an identifier, the identifier reading unit316may read the identifier for use as the back haul provider identifier. In step518, the distribution management unit116gathers a distribution facility identifier from the distribution facility using any of the methods of gathering an identifier previously described. The distribution identifier identifies the distribution facility where the product is stored before being delivered to the client. The identifier may be generated by the identifier generating unit216or314. After the identifier is generated, the identifier may be adhered to the distribution facility or a structure related to the distribution facility to identify the distribution facility storing the product. If the distribution facility has previously been allocated an identifier, the identifier reading unit316may read the identifier for use as the distribution facility identifier. In step520, the distribution management unit116generates a distribution location identifier indicating the location in the distribution facility where the product is stored. In one embodiment, the distribution identifier an distribution location identifier may be the same identifier. The identifier may be generated by the identifier generating unit216or314. After the identifier is generated, the identifier may be adhered to the distribution facility location or a structure associated with the distribution facility location to identify the location in the distribution facility where the product is stored. If the distribution facility location has previously been allocated an identifier, the identifier reading unit316may read the identifier for use as the distribution facility location identifier. In step522, the distribution management unit116generates a distribution provider identifier indicating a distributor that delivers the product from the distribution location to the client. The distribution management unit116associates the distributor identifier with the order in the information storage unit214. The identifier may be generated by the identifier generating unit216or314. After the identifier is generated, the identifier may be adhered to the distribution provider to identify the distributor delivering the product. If the distribution facility location has previously been allocated an identifier, the identifier reading unit316may read the identifier for use as the distribution provider identifier. In step524, the distribution management unit116generates a client identifier gathered by the distribution provider that confirms the product is delivered to the client. Upon delivery of the product to the client, the client identifier is gathered and the order is marked as delivered. The identifier may be generated by the identifier generating unit216or314. After the identifier is generated, the identifier may be adhered to the customer location or a structure associated with the customer to identify the customer receiving the product. If the customer has previously been allocated an identifier, the identifier reading unit316may read the identifier for use as the customer identifier. In one embodiment, the information gathered by the provider tracking unit112gathers date and time information for each identifier entered into the system. The date and time information indicates the approximate date and time a specific identifier is entered into the system. By gathering different location, product and provider identifiers, and date/time information the product tracking and location unit can track the history of the sourcing and delivery of the product. In one embodiment, the information gathered by the provider tracking unit112may be associated with environmental information to confirm the environmental conditions encountered by the product throughout the delivery process. In the event the product has been stored in a manner that is inconsistent with the client rules, the product may be quarantined and not deliver to the customer. To quarantine the product, the provider management unit112may notify the distributor or aggregation facility via an electronic message, such as an e-mail, to move the product to a predefined quarantine location in the distribution facility or aggregation facility. The provider management unit112may generate an identifier for the quarantine area in the aggregation or distribution facility and may require the facility confirm the placement of the product into the quarantine area. In the event the product is in transit when the deviation from the client rule is identified, the provider management unit112may send an electronic transmission to the entity transporting the product to take the product to a predetermined quarantine location. The provider management unit112may also notify the provider that a replacement of the product is required and may notify the customer that the product delivery may be delayed. In the event the provider cannot supply a replacement quantity, the provider management unit112may select an alternate provider to supply the product. In another embodiment, the provider management unit112may identify exact locations in the aggregation facilities and distribution facilities where individual products or orders are stored prior to delivery. Consistent with this embodiment, the product tracking and location unit118may track where products are stored at different facilities to determine the locations having the capacity to store new orders. New orders for products are then scheduled for delivery at new facilities based on current capacity at each facility. In another embodiment, the provider management unit112may generate a report showing the history of a product from acceptance at a supplier to delivery to a customer. In another embodiment, upon confirmation of delivery to a customer, the provider management unit112may generate an invoice that is sent to the client for the product or products delivered. In another embodiment, the provider management unit112may generate a report identifying the supplier, distribution and aggregation facility used to deliver products to each client. FIG.6depicts another illustrative example of the operation of the APM100. In step602, a provider identifier is entered into the provider management unit114and is associated with the provider of a product. The provider identifier may be any known identifier including, but not limited to, a bar code or portion of a bar code, a quick response code, a radio frequency identifier or any other type of identifier. In step604, a product identifier is entered into the provider management unit112and is associated with a product. The product identifier may be any known identifier including, but not limited to, a bar code or portion of a bar code, a quick response code, a radio frequency identifier or any other type of identifier. In step606, a product code is generated based on the provider identifier and product identifier. In one embodiment, the provider identifier and product identifier are combined to form a unique bar code number. The product identifier may be generated by the identifier generating unit216or314. After the product identifier is generated, the product identifier may be adhered to the product or a container holding the product to identify the product. In step608, the product code is assigned to a delivery of the product from the provider associated with the product code. As an illustrative example, a farm may be assigned a unique identifier and apples may be assigned a separate identifier which are both used to generate a unique product code indicating the apples associated with the product code are from the farmer. In step610, the product management unit114receives a product code from a distributor of the product. The product code from the distributor may be different than the product code assigned by the product management unit114. The distributor product code is used by the distributor to identify the product from receipt of the product until the delivery to the customer. In one embodiment, the product code may identify the type and category of the product. In step612, the product management unit114associates the product code with the distributor product code. In one embodiment, the product delivered by the provider is marked with both the product code and the distributor product code. In step614, the product management unit114tracks the location of the product delivery through the distribution and delivery process to a customer. Because the system tracks both provider and product codes independently of the distributor, the product management unit114can determine the amount of a product provided from a provider to a customer. In the present disclosure, the words “a” or “an” are to be taken to include both the singular and the plural. Conversely, any reference to plural items shall, where appropriate, include the singular. It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims. | 35,995 |
11861549 | DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to various exemplary embodiments. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that different embodiments may implement a particular part in different ways according to the needs of the intended deployment and operating environment for the respective embodiments. In general, the following describes various embodiments of different systems, apparatus, and applied methods that deploy an aerial monitor, inspection and/or communication drone as an extension of a delivery vehicle. These embodiments provide advantageous and unconventional technical solutions focused on improving how to monitor the delivery vehicle's contents, inspect parts of the delivery vehicle, and/or how to allow for robust communications between devices within the delivery vehicle. Many of these embodiments rely on such an aerial drone that may be internally docked onboard the delivery vehicle and exclusively assigned as a paired device to the delivery vehicle. As such, the paired drone travels with and operates solely with respect to the delivery vehicle and the contents maintained therein. The below described drone-based embodiments may individually relate to improvements on monitoring the delivery vehicle's contents, inspecting parts of the delivery vehicle, or how to allow for robust communications between devices within the delivery vehicle. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that additional embodiments may combine some of these otherwise independent drone-based solutions to provide for an even more robust paired logistics drone that is exclusively assigned to a delivery vehicle and can provide two or more of such monitoring, inspecting, and communication hub service functionality as described in more detail below. Drone-Based Monitored Shipment Storage In more detail,FIGS.1A-7relate to embodiments of drone-based monitored storage systems where one or more internal monitor drones may be deployed from one or more respective internal docking stations of a shipment storage to monitor and detect the condition of items being shipped within the shipment storage. Referring now toFIG.1A, an exemplary delivery vehicle having a shipment storage is shown as a logistics aircraft100that transports items between different locations. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the exemplary aircraft100is shown in a simplified form having an operational control section105(e.g., a cockpit from which flight personnel can control and fly the aircraft100) and a shipment storage110used for maintaining items being shipped within aircraft100between different locations. The shipment storage110may, for example, encompass one or more internal compartments of the aircraft, such as a central shipment storage area or different internal compartmentalized shipment storage areas where each storage area is configured to maintain items being shipped within the aircraft100. Aside from a storage compartment within an aircraft, such as aircraft100, other embodiments of a shipment storage may comprise a trailer capable of being moved by a truck, a train car capable of being moved on a railway system. In the exemplary aircraft100shown inFIG.1A, an exemplary closable entry112is illustrated that provides access to within the onboard shipment storage110. Such a closable entry may take the form of door112, which may be opened for loading and unloading operations and then secured for in-flight operations. Such a closable entry may, for example, also take the form of a rear ramp that may be opened and securely closed to provide access to the aircraft's shipment storage from the rear of the aircraft. In another example, such a closeable entry may be implemented with a belly door of the aircraft so as to provide access from beneath the aircraft. Further still, those skilled in the art will appreciate that different types of entry or access structure (e.g., doors, hatches, ramps, etc.) may be deployed on different kinds of delivery vehicles (e.g., tractor trailer, marine vessel, railroad car, etc.) in other embodiments that provide access to a shipment storage area within the delivery vehicle. As shown inFIG.1B, the operational control section105of exemplary aircraft100may also include a vehicle transceiver135. In general, such a vehicle transceiver135may be implemented as a standalone unit (e.g., a ruggedized radio-based tablet or smartphone used by aircraft crew personnel) or an integrated part of the aircraft's avionics suite. Vehicle transceiver135may be used in embodiments to communicate with devices located inside and outside of aircraft100. For example, vehicle transceiver135may communicate with a local logistics operation server (not shown), a remote cloud-based logistics management system (not shown), loading/unloading logistics personnel via radio-based transceivers (not shown), or vehicle maintenance personnel via similar types of radio-based transceivers (not shown)). Those skilled in the art will understand that such radio-based transceivers deployed with such personnel may be implemented as wireless handheld devices (such as smartphones, ruggedized tablets, UHF/VHF handheld radios, and the like) that communicate with vehicle transceiver135over a compatible communication path (e.g., a designated radio frequency, a cellular network, a data communication network, and the like). Additionally, vehicle transceiver135may be used in embodiments to communicate with an internal docking station130(e.g., via a wired or wireless connection) and/or an internal monitor drone125(e.g., via a wireless connection) disposed within aircraft100as described in more detail below. Further still, vehicle transceiver135may in some embodiments, provide an intermediary role between two other devices, such as between the internal monitor drone125and a radio-based transceiver operated by maintenance personnel assigned to the aircraft100or between the internal monitor drone125and a cloud-based logistics management system (i.e., a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet that can store, manage, and process shipment management information (such as loading plan data, messaging data related to the status of shipping items on aircraft100, and the like) rather than a locally hosted logistics server). As shown inFIG.1B, exemplary shipment storage110within aircraft100includes an interior shipment storage area120and a drone storage area115. While closable entry112fromFIG.1Ais not shown inFIG.1B, those skilled in the art will appreciate that interior shipment storage area120is both accessible through the closable entry112(directly or, in some embodiments indirectly) and used to temporarily maintain custody of one or more items being shipped within the interior shipment storage area120(as the internal storage contents of shipment storage120), such as shipping items140a-140bor broadcast-enabled types of shipping items145a-145e. Exemplary shipping items140a-140b,145a-145emay include packaged or unpackaged items being transported alone or as part of a group of items (e.g., the group of items145b-145estrapped and fixed relative to shipping pallet150or a group of items maintained within a single packaged shipping item, such as a crate, box, or other logistics container). Likewise, those skilled in the art will appreciate that a shipping item may be implemented with a unit load device (ULD) used with aircraft-based logistics operations. Additionally, one or more shipping items may be placed within a single ULD or other logistics container prior to loading into shipment storage area120. Thus, a shipping item maintained within interior shipment storage area120may be implemented as a single item, a packaged item, a group of items being shipped together in a package, or a group of separately packaged items being shipped together as a unit (e.g., a multi-piece shipment on a pallet150). While some shipping items maintained within interior shipment storage area120do not emit broadcast signals (such as items140a-140b), exemplary broadcast-enabled shipping items145a-145emay be deployed in some embodiments within interior shipment storage area120to broadcast signals related to the condition of the respective item or items being shipped. For example, broadcast-enabled shipping items145a-145emay accomplish such broadcast functionality with a sensor-based tag (such as an RFID tag) that requires interrogation, prompting, or polling in order to initiate the broadcast of such signals. However, in other embodiments, broadcast-enabled shipping items145a-145emay accomplish such broadcast functionality with a more independent node type of active sensor-based device that has a radio-based wireless transmitter or transceiver and that can broadcast the condition of item (e.g., an environmental condition of the item using one or more sensors on the device) without being polled or interrogated to do so. In particular, such sensor-based devices deployed as part of the broadcast-enabled shipping items145a-145emay, for example, transmit or receive Bluetooth®, Zigbee, cellular, or other wireless formatted signals. Such devices or tags may be attached or otherwise secured to the shipping item, included in a package with the shipping item, or embedded as part of the package or packaging material used with the shipping item. The drone storage area115within the shipment storage110is also accessible through the closable entry112and is separate from the interior shipment storage area120. In particular, drone storage area115is located in a designated area within the shipment storage110that houses an internal docking station130for an internal monitor drone125paired with the aircraft100. The separation of area115from area120allows for the internal monitor drone125to have open access to the internal docking station130, where the internal monitor drone125may land, be secured within the shipment storage110, receive charging power for flight operations within the shipment storage110, and receive other data from the docking station130as described in more detail herein. FIG.1Bshows internal monitor drone125in a secured position on the internal docking station130. Such a secured position may be accomplished, as described in more detail below, by selectively mating parts of the internal monitor drone125to parts of the internal docking station130. In some embodiments, certain parts of the internal monitor drone125may be actuated to couple or uncouple the drone125relative to parts of the docking station130. In other embodiments, certain parts of the internal docking station130may be actuated to couple or uncouple the docking station130relative to parts of the internal monitor drone125. Further still, other embodiments may selectively mate the drone125and the docking station130with actuated parts on both of the drone125and the docking station130. Thus, various embodiments may have parts of the internal monitor drone125selectively mated to a physical docking interface of the internal docking station130in order to achieve a secure position of the internal monitor drone125. For example, selectively energized magnetic attachments may be utilized to secure drone125and docking station130in other embodiments. In this secured position, the internal monitor drone125may be powered off or in a low power state where drone125may be charging and/or communicating with either or both of internal docking station130and vehicle transceiver135(e.g., downloading data off of drone125while secured to docking station130, uploading data related to flight control instructions for the internal monitor drone125, etc.). When the internal monitor drone125is activated (e.g., by receiving an activation command via a wired signal from the internal docking station130or via reception of a wireless signal), the internal monitor drone125transitions to an active monitoring state as part of a logistics operation related to the shipment storage (e.g., during a loading or unloading operation of the internal shipment storage area120, or during an in-transit monitoring operation of the internal shipment storage area120of the shipment storage110while the shipment storage110is moving). The internal monitor drone125then is automatically uncoupled from the internal docking station130, and moves from the secured position to an initial airborne position so that the drone125may then move along an airborne monitoring path within the interior shipment storage area120as shown inFIG.1C. While moving along the airborne monitoring path within area120, the internal monitor drone uses guidance components, such as proximity sensors, to help guide the drone125along the path while deploying an onboard sensor array to gather sensory information (such as environmental information) as a way of autonomously detecting a condition of one or more items being shipped within the storage area120. FIG.2is a diagram of exemplary internal monitor drone125in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring now toFIG.2, an exterior of exemplary internal monitor drone125is shown having an airframe200; rotors205a,205b; lifting engines210a,210b; proximity sensors215a,215b; landing gear220a,220b; a sensor array230; and an electronic docking connection235. In more detail, the airframe200provides a core structure or housing for drone125, which may be implemented as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) having two or more sources of propulsion (e.g., lifting engines). The airframe200may be equipped with a central portion (or main deck) at its core that houses many of the drone's internal components and with multiple arms of the airframe extending between the central portion and each lifting engine201a,210b. The airframe200may an enclosure/housing or may be implemented without such an enclosure/housing. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that airframe200may be implemented using low weight carbon fiber or other light weight rigid materials. Further, whileFIG.2presents airframe200in a two-dimensional view, those skilled in the art will appreciate that airframe200may be implemented in a tri-copter, quad-copter, or hex-copter configuration to accommodate a desired number of lifting engines as needed for a particular embodiment. Examples of such an airframe200may include Model 680UC Pro Hexa-Copter Umbrella Carbon airframe from Quanum that has an articulating/retractable landing gear wheelbase, a Turnigy H.A.L. (Heavy Aerial Lift) Quadcopter Frame 585 mm airframe, a Turnigy Talon Carbon Fiber Quadcopter airframe, or a more simplified Quanum Chaotic 3D Quad airframe. Rotors205a,205bare respectively coupled to each of lifting engines210a,210b, which are fixed to different portions of airframe200to provide selectively controlled sources of propulsion for internal monitor drone125. An embodiment of lifting engines210a,210bmay be implemented using multiple brushless electric motors (e.g., NTM Prop Drive Series 35-30 electric motors, LDPOWER brushless multirotor motors, and the like). In some embodiments, rotors205a,205bare also protected with rotor guards (also known as prop guards but not shown inFIG.2) to avoid damage to rotors205a,205bduring operation of drone125. Some prop guards may encircle the entire rotational area for a respective rotor, while other types of prop guards may only provide a radius of protection along the outward facing edges of where a respective rotor operates. The lifting engines210a,210b, as coupled with respective rotors205a,205b, are responsive to flight control input generated onboard internal monitor drone125as part of maintaining a desired flight profile for the drone125. In the embodiment illustrated inFIG.2, the exemplary airframe200has proximity sensors215a,215bdisposed at multiple locations around the airframe200that serve as location indicators. Proximity sensors215a,215bmay be configured on airframe200to focus outwardly in different directions relative to the airframe200—e.g., up, down, and along different sides of airframe200. The output of such proximity sensors215a,215bmay be provided to a flight controller within internal monitor drone125as a positional warning for any desired or current flight path. Different embodiments of proximity sensors215a,215bmay use one or more different technologies—e.g., magnetic proximity sensors, visual proximity sensors, photoelectric proximity sensors, ultrasonic proximity sensors, laser range finding proximity sensors, capacitive proximity sensors, and/or inductive proximity sensors. Landing gear220a,220bis disposed along the bottom of the internal monitor drone125. Landing gear220a,220bmay be in the form of legs, skids, articulating wheels, and the like used to support the drone125when landing on internal docking station130and as at least part of holding drone125secure relative to the docking station130. In one embodiment, landing gear220a,220bmay be articulated by a docking control interface on internal monitor drone125that may move, rotate, and/or retract the landing gear220a,220bwith servos or other actuators onboard the internal monitor drone125. In this way, the drone125may cause the landing gear220a,220bto move or rotate in order to hold the drone125in a secure position relative to moving or non-moving parts of the internal docking station130; and/or retract upon transitioning from the secure position to an airborne position. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that extending the landing gear220a,220bhelps to support the drone125and protect the sensor array230and electronic docking connection235positioned beneath the drone125, while retracting the landing gear220a,220bhelps to clear obstructions from the sensory view of the sensor array230. A further embodiment, may have selectively energized magnets that may be extended to operate as landing gear220a,220bsuch that the extended magnetic structure may act as a physical protective structure as well as to provide structure that can be articulated and then energized so to make a secure magnetic connection with a surface (such as a surface on internal docking station130). Sensor array230is generally two or more sensor elements that are mounted on one or more points of the airframe200(such as along the bottom of the airframe200). In such a configuration, sensor array230gathers sensory information relative to shipping items (such as items140a-145e) as the internal monitor drone125moves from an initial airborne position along an airborne monitoring path within the interior shipment storage area120of the shipment storage110. Such an airborne monitoring path may be preprogrammed into the internal monitor drone125to account for the size, boundaries, and any fixed obstacles relative to the internal shipment storage area120and a loading plan for the internal shipment storage area120that spatially accounts for what should be loaded within area120. In various embodiments, sensor array230may be implemented with one or more different types of sensors or receivers. In one example, sensor array230may use one or more environmental sensors where each sensor detects environmental information when positioned at and relative to the environmental surroundings existing at multiple airborne locations (e.g., within effective sensor range of particular shipping items) within the shipment storage110. Such environmental information is detected as the internal monitor drone125transits the airborne monitoring path within the interior shipment storage area120. Based upon the detected environmental information obtained by the group of environmental sensors in sensor array230, the internal monitor drone125can autonomously detect an environmental condition of items being shipped within shipment storage110. In more detail, the environmental condition detected may be a movement condition as sensed by a motion sensor operating as the environmental sensor, a light condition as sensed by a light sensor operating as the environmental sensor, a sound condition as sensed by a microphone operating as the environmental sensor, a temperature condition as sensed by a temperature sensor operating as the environmental sensor, a smoke condition as sensed by a smoke sensor operating as the environmental sensor, a humidity condition as sensed by a moisture sensor operating as the environmental sensor, and a pressure condition as sensed by a pressure sensor operating as the environmental sensor. Thus, an embodiment of sensor array230may deploy multiple different types of environmental sensors (as noted above) so are to provide a robust and multi-faceted environmental monitoring capability to the internal monitor drone125. In some embodiments, sensor array230may also include an image sensor as another type of sensing element. Such an image sensor, as part of sensor array230, may capture images of the items being shipped as the internal monitor drone125transits the airborne monitoring path within the internal shipment storage area120. In other words, the images captured by such an image sensor are from different airborne locations within the shipment storage110as the internal monitor drone125transits the airborne monitoring path within the interior shipment storage area120. For example, as internal monitor drone125enters an active monitoring state and moves from a secured position on internal docking station130to above shipping item140b, an image sensor from sensor array230may capture images (e.g., still pictures or video; visual images; and/or thermal images) that may be used as sensory information for detecting a condition of the shipping item140b(e.g., a broken package for shipping item140b, a leak coming from shipping item140b, etc.). Exemplary image sensor may be implemented with a type of camera that captures images, thermal images, video images, or other types of filtered or enhanced images that reflect the contents of the internal shipment storage area120and provide information about the status of the shipping items within that area120. Exemplary image sensor may also read and provide imagery or other information that identifies an asset number on an item maintained within the internal shipment storage area120(which may eliminate the need for barcode scanning). In further embodiments, sensor array230may also include a depth sensor as a further type of sensing element that may make up the array. This depth sensor may be a depth-sensing camera or stereo camera that can interactively capture or map a configuration of the interior shipment storage area120of the shipment storage110as the internal monitor drone125transits the airborne monitoring path within the interior shipment storage area120. This configuration of the interior shipment storage area represents a multi-dimensional mapping of at least the items being shipped within the interior shipment storage area120of the shipment storage110(i.e., shipping items140a-145eas shown inFIGS.1B and1C). As will be discussed in more detail below, comparisons of such mapped configurations of the interior shipment storage area120over time allow for detection of a movement condition for one or more items in the area120as monitored from the aerial positions by the internal monitor drone125. This may be especially helpful during transit as aircraft100is airborne and emerges from rough weather conditions where turbulence may have been experienced, and robust monitoring with aerially coordinated depth sensing can check for loose shipping items and help avoid dangerous in-flight cargo scenarios. Additional embodiments may use an ultrasonic transducer as a type of depth sensor that uses sound ways to map surfaces or to help validate data received by a depth sensor camera. In still other embodiments, sensor array230may include a scanning sensor, such as a barcode reader, that scans an identification symbol fixed to one of the items being shipped as the internal monitor drone125transits the airborne monitoring path within the interior shipment storage area120of the shipment storage110. If an embodiment implements such a scanning sensor with a barcode reader, the identification symbol may be a barcode symbol identifying shipping information related to the item being shipped. In another embodiment, such an identification symbol may be a sign affixed to the shipping item where the sign identifies shipment loading information related to placement of the item when being shipped within the shipment storage110. As will be described in more detail below, scanning of a shipping item (such as items140a-145e) by a scanning sensor within the sensor array230of internal monitor drone125may be used as part of determining a loading status of that shipping item relative to a loading plan for the shipment storage110. In another embodiment, sensory array230may also include a radio-based receiver that functions to monitor for signals broadcast from different shipping items. For example, sensory array230may have a Bluetooth or Zigbee radio transceiver that can scan and listen for wireless signals being broadcast from one of the broadcast-enabled shipping items145a-145ebeing loaded, unloaded, or existing within the internal shipment storage area120. Such wireless signals may include condition information (e.g., environmental sensory information) so that the internal monitor drone125may autonomously detect a condition of one of the broadcast-enabled shipping items via such wireless signals. Further still, it is contemplated that an embodiment of sensor array230may include multiple different types of sensor elements—e.g., one or more different types of environmental sensors, one or more image sensors, one or more depth sensors, and one or more scanning sensors. In this way, different embodiments of the exemplary internal monitor drone125may deploy a rich and robust variety of different types of sensing elements to make up the sensor array230. Different embodiments of sensor array230may be connected to the airframe200of internal monitor drone125in various different ways. For example, in one embodiment, the sensor array230may be fixed relative to the airframe200of internal monitor drone125. This may be limited to a lower or bottom surface of the airframe200, but other embodiments may deploy some sensing elements of the sensor array230on other parts of the airframe so as to allow the internal monitor drone125to continue capturing relevant sensory information even if the drone125descends between two shipping items. In still other embodiments, the sensor array230may be fixed relative to the airframe200but still have selective movement capabilities controlled by the internal monitor drone125—e.g., moving lenses that allow for selective focusing abilities for an image sensor, articulating scanning sensors that allow for selective aiming of a barcode scanning laser, etc. Further still, the sensory array230may be deployed on an entirely movable structure relative to the airframe200, such as a gimballed platform that may be controlled to maintain a reference orientation. Thus, in such an embodiment where some or all sensor elements of the sensor array230are on a gimballed platform part of airframe200(not shown inFIG.2), the circuitry within the internal monitor drone125may use a separate gimbal controller, such as an AlexMos brushless gimbal controller (BGC) from Quanum or an H4-3D GoPro gimbal from DJI, to interface to a dedicated brushless gimbal motor that articulates such a platform in order to keep those sensors of the sensor array230deployed on that platform in a reference orientation and attitude. Finally,FIG.2illustrates an electronic docking connection235on the lower part of internal monitor drone125. The electronic docking connection235is generally a type of connection for multiple electronic interfaces between the internal monitor drone125and the internal docking station130. In one embodiment, as explained in more detail with respect toFIGS.3,4A, and4B, electronic docking connection235provides a connection for electronic charging of the drone's onboard battery and for wired data communications to and from the drone125through connection235. For example, when the internal monitor drone125is in a secured position on internal docking station130, the electronic docking connection235may be mated with a complementary connection on the docking station130so as to charge the drone125, upload data to the drone125(e.g., updated flight commands for onboard flight profile data maintained in the drone's memory, updated loading plan data for an upcoming loading operation for aircraft100, and the light), and download data from the drone125(e.g., gathered sensory information stored as sensor data in the drone's memory). Further to the explanation of components shown inFIG.2that make up an exemplary internal monitor drone125,FIG.3presents further details in the form of a block diagram illustration of different connected electronic and sensory components of an embodiment of an exemplary internal monitor drone125. Referring now toFIG.3, exemplary internal monitor drone125includes an onboard controller (OBC)300(having one or more processors and memory) at its core along with memory315(e.g., volatile, non-volatile, or both depending on the configuration of the OBC300). The OBC300interfaces or connects with motor control circuitry (such as electronic speed controllers360a,360b), guidance related circuitry (such as global positioning system (GPS) chip350, inertial measurement unit (IMU)355, and proximity sensors215a,215b), dedicated docking circuitry (such as drone capture interface370and the electronic docking connection235), communication related circuitry (such as communication interface365), payload electronics (such as the onboard sensor array230), and an onboard power source that provides power for all of the onboard active electronics (such as onboard battery385). An embodiment of OBC300may interface or connect with such circuitry by deploying various onboard peripherals (e.g., timer circuitry, USB, USART, general-purpose I/O pins, IR interface circuitry, DMA circuitry, buffers, registers, and the like) that implement an interface (e.g., a plug type or connectorized interface) to the different components disposed within internal monitor drone125(e.g., mounted on different parts of airframe200). As part of the exemplary internal monitor drone125, the OBC300generally controls autonomous flying and docking of the drone125as well as monitoring and data gathering tasks related to the shipment storage area120using sensory array230. In some embodiments, OBC300may be implemented with a single processor, multi-core processor, or multiple processors and have different programs concurrently running to manage and control the different autonomous flying/docking and internal monitoring tasks. For example, in the embodiment shown inFIG.3, flight/docking control and monitoring operations may be divided between an onboard flight controller (OFC)305and an onboard monitoring processor (OMP)310. In such an embodiment, OFC305and OMP310may have access to the same memory, such as memory storage315or, alternatively, OBC300may be implemented with separate dedicated memories that are accessible by each of OFC305and OMP310. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that memory accessible by OFC305may have different accessibility and size requirements compared to memory accessible by OMP310given the different memory demands for the different responsibilities. For example, memory accessible by OMP310may be significantly large given the anticipated size of sensory information gathered through sensory array230when compared to the size of memory needed for tasks performed by OFC305. As will be explained further, each of OFC305and OMP310may include peripheral interface circuitry that couples the processing element(s) to the different onboard peripheral circuitry, such as the GPS350, inertial measurement unit355, the communication interface365, the electronic speed controllers360a,360bthat control each lifting engine210a,210b, and the like. In general, the OFC305is a flight controller capable of autonomous flying of drone125. Such autonomous flying may involve automatic take off, transiting an airborne monitoring path (e.g., via waypoint flying), and data communication or telemetry while airborne and while secured to the docking station130. For example, exemplary OFC305may be responsible for generating flight control input to change the drone's desired flight profile by causing the lifting engines210a,210bto move the internal monitor drone125from a secured position on the internal docking station130to an initial airborne position within the shipment storage110and then move internal monitor drone1255from the initial airborne position along the airborne monitoring path within the interior shipment storage area120of the shipment storage110. As such, the OFC305controls movement and flight stability of drone125while navigating and avoiding collisions during movement. In more detail, an embodiment of OFC305includes peripheral interface circuitry (not shown inFIG.3, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that it may be implemented with buffers, registers, buses, and other communication and command pathways) for interacting with guidance related circuitry, motor control circuitry, dedicated docking circuitry, and communication circuitry onboard the internal monitor drone125as part of controlling movement and flight stability of drone125while navigating and avoiding collisions during movement. Examples of such an OFC305include multi-rotor flight controllers from Turnigy, NAZA flight controllers from DJI, and Pixhawk flight controllers from 3D Robotics specifically designed for autonomous flying. OFC305uses electronic speed controllers (ESC)360a,360bto control respective lifting engines210a,210b. Generally, an electronic speed controller varies the speed of a particular electronic motor (such as the motor in lifting engine210a) as a type of throttle control. In this way, the OFC305provides flight control input as throttle control to each of the different ESCs360a,360bin order to vary the speed of the lifting rotors205a,205b. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that having the OFC305generate flight control input that changes the power to all lifting engines210a,201bresults in the internal monitor drone125moving higher or lower, while other flight control input for the ESCs may cause horizontal movement or changes in attitude for the internal monitor drone125. An example of such an ESC may be a Turnigy Multi star multi-rotor speed controller, however those skilled in the art will appreciate there are a variety of other models used depending on the current and current ranges required to drive the respective lifting engines. For flight operations and navigation, OFC305may be implemented with integrated global positioning system (GPS) onboard as well as an integrated inertial measurement unit (IMU) (including one or more gyroscopes) onboard. The integrated GPS and IMU provide OFC305with current position information in the form of a satellite-based location and/or a relative location using the IMU based on a resettable position fix. Alternatively, as shown in the embodiment illustrated inFIG.3, the OFC305may be implemented by separately interfacing with external guidance related circuitry, such as a GPS module/chip350(including a GPS compatible antenna), inertial measurement unit (IMU)355, and proximity sensors215a,215b. The GPS unit350provides similar satellite-based location information in the form of coordinates usable by OFC305for navigating the airborne monitoring path or a portion thereof. IMU355is a device that comprises at least a gyroscope and accelerometer to measure acceleration and angle of tilt. As such, IMU355may provide such measured positional information (e.g., acceleration, attitude, orientation, and the like) to OFC305for use in navigating within internal shipment storage area120. IMU355may also have its reference position reset via the current position information provided by GPS350. Proximity sensors215a,215bsense the presence of different targets in close relation to the drone's airframe200and provide OFC305with detection telemetry as a positional warning as the drone125is moved by OFC305via flight control commands and input generated. In a further embodiment, proximity sensors215a,215bor other sensors in the sensor array230(such as a scanning sensor) may detect reflective or otherwise known reference points as part of navigating the space within the shipment storage. In one embodiment, the internal monitor drone125may use fixed landing gear220a,220bsuch that securing the drone125to the docking station130is accomplished by actuating movable structure (e.g., clamps, pins, locking arms) on the internal docking station130to hold and secure the drone125in place via its fixed landing gear220a,220b. In such an embodiment, landing gear220a,220bare considered part of the drone capture interface370that selectively mate to a physical docking interface of the internal docking station130. However, in another embodiment, the drone capture interface (DCI)370as shown inFIG.3may include selectively activated servos or actuators that move, rotate, and/or retract/extend the landing gear220a,220bin a controlled manner. As such, the OFC305may generate commands (such as a docking command) to cause the DCI370to electronically and selectively cause the landing gear220a,220bto mate to the physical docking interface of the internal docking station by moving, rotating, and/or retract/extend the landing gear220a,220b(such as shown inFIG.4A). The OBC300shown inFIG.3is also operatively coupled to several communication circuits. In general, the OBC300is coupled to a wireless communication interface365as well as a wired data interface375(as part of electronic docking connection235). The OBC300may send messages or information over one or both of the wireless communication interface365and the wired data interface375. When the internal monitor drone125is docked on docking station130and electronic docking connection235is mated to another connection on docking station130, the wired data interface375may be connected to another wired communication path and be useful for transmitting messages, downloading/uploading data (such as sensory data, new flight profile data, or new loading plan data), or updating program files stored in memory315of the OBC300. When airborne, wireless communication interface365allows for similar over the air communications. For example, communication interface365may transmit a monitoring update message in response to a transmission instruction from the OBC300while monitoring the internal shipment storage area120along an airborne monitoring path. Such a monitoring update message may, for example, be received by the vehicle transceiver135operated by flight personnel associated with aircraft100. Additionally, the monitoring update message may, in other embodiments, be received by wireless-enabled transceivers outside of aircraft100, such as one or more of loading/unloading logistics personnel via radio-based transceivers (not shown), and/or vehicle maintenance personnel via similar types of radio-based transceivers (not shown)). Depending upon the specific embodiment of OBC300, those skilled in the art will appreciate that such communication circuits (i.e., wireless communication interface365and wired data interface375) may be accessible by either or both of the OFC305or the OMP310depending on which of these processor devices are tasked with communication functionality. An exemplary onboard monitor processor (OMP)310is generally considered a low power microprocessor or processor-based microcontroller that at least receives sensory information from the sensory array230and autonomously detects the condition of an item being shipped within the interior shipment storage area120based upon the received sensor information. OMP310may be deployed in an embodiment of internal monitor drone125as a task-dedicated processor that executes operational and application program code (e.g., operating system320, monitoring program325) and other program modules maintained in memory315useful in monitoring the shipping items on aircraft100in accordance with embodiments of the invention. More specifically, operating system320may be loaded by OMP310upon power up and provide basic functions, such as program task scheduling, executing of application program code (such as exemplary monitoring program325), and controlling lower level circuitry (e.g., registers, buffers, buses, counters, timers, and the like) on OMP310that interface with other peripheral circuitry onboard internal monitor drone125(such as the sensory array230, proximity sensors215a,215b, the electronic docking connection235, GPS350, IMU355, ESC360a,360b, communication interface365, and DCI370). During operation and once operating system320is loaded, monitoring program code325may be run as part of implementing an aerial drone-based method for monitoring the internal storage contents of shipment storage110. Exemplary monitoring program code325is a set of executable instructions in the form of one or more machine-readable program code modules or applications. The program code module(s) may be loaded and executed by OBC300(or at least the OMP310) to adapt the drone125into a specially adapted and configured aerial monitoring apparatus. This specially configured OBC300of drone125, as described in more detail herein as a part of an embodiment, implements operative process steps and provides functionality that is unconventional, especially when the process steps are considered collectively as a whole. Such a specially adapted and configured drone125helps, as a part of an embodiment, to address and improve targeted and technical monitoring of the condition of shipping items during all phases of logistics transport of such items as described in more detail below. During operation, the OBC300(or at least the OMP310) may access and/or generate data maintained within memory315, such as sensory data330, flight profile data335, messaging data340, and loading plan data345. In general, sensory data330comprises sensory information gathered by different sensors (described above) on the sensory array230and may take different forms depending on the type of sensor used and the type of information gathered (e.g., numeric measurements of temperature or pressure, images, video, depth sensing measurements, etc.). Flight profile data335comprises information that defines how the internal monitor drone125is to be flying. This data may include navigational data on an airborne monitoring path for the drone125to transit, as well as flight control setting information to use when generating flight control input for the ESCs360a,360b. Messaging data340is generally a type of data used when the internal monitor drone generates and/or transmits a notification or other type of message related to the condition of one or more of the shipping items on aircraft100. Such messaging data340may include information on messages received or generated onboard to be sent outside the drone125. Loading plan data345provides information on what is expected to be loaded within the shipment storage110and may also include information on what has actually been loaded and where such items are located within the internal shipment storage area120. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above identification of particular program code325and data330-345are not exhaustive and that embodiments may include further executable program code or modules as well as other data relevant to operations of a specially programmed processing-based internal monitor drone125. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that not all data elements illustrated inFIG.3as being within memory315must appear in memory315at the same time. Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that OBC300(as well as OFC305and/or OMP310) may be implemented with a low power embedded processor as part of a single-board computer having a system-on-chip (SoC) device operating at its core. In such an embodiment, the SoC device may include different types of memory (e.g., a removable memory card slot, such as a Secure Digital (SD) card slot, as removable memory; flash memory operating as onboard non-volatile memory storage; and RAM memory operating as onboard volatile memory); an operating system (such as Linux) stored on the non-volatile memory storage and running in volatile RAM memory; and peripherals that may implement any of the GPS350, IMU355, ESC360a,360b, communication interface365, DCI370, wired data interface375and charging interface380. Additionally, the exemplary internal monitor drone125includes an onboard power source, such as onboard battery385. Onboard battery385provides electrical power to the active electric circuitry described above disposed on the internal monitor drone125. Onboard battery385may be charged via charging interface380(one part of the electronic docking connection235), which may be connected to an external power supply via the internal docking station130. Such an onboard battery385may, for example, be implemented with a lightweight lithium-ion polymer battery. FIGS.4A and4Bare diagrams providing further details of an exemplary internal docking station130as it interfaces with and supports an internal monitor drone125in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring now toFIG.4A, exemplary internal monitor drone125is shown in a configuration and position relative to exemplary internal docking station130where the drone125is being secured to the docking station130. Exemplary internal docking station130is shown inFIG.4Ahaving a housing400, a set of securing clamps405a,405bdisposed on the top of housing400as part of a physical docking interface that mates with the internal monitoring drone125, and a wired communication line410(which may also include a power line providing power to the station130. As shown inFIG.4A, exemplary landing gear220a,220bsupports the drone125when landing on internal docking station130and as at least helps to hold drone125secure relative to the docking station130via exemplary securing clamps405a,405b. Such a secure configuration may be achieved in one embodiment that may have fixed landing gear220a,220bbeing grabbed and held securely by movable securing clamps405a,405b. In another embodiment, the securing clamps405a,405bmay be fixed relative to the docking station130while the landing gear220a,220bis moved to grab the securing clamps405a,405b. In still a further embodiment, each of securing clamps405a,405bmay be articulated or actuated to grab a bottom portion of each landing gear220a,220bwhile the landing gear220a,220bmay also be articulated or actuated to mate with the securing clamps405a,405b. Further, the electronic docking connection235may be implemented so as to be an actuated connector that mates with a complementary connector on the docking station130. FIG.4Bprovides a block diagram of elements within the housing400of an exemplary internal docking station130. Referring now toFIG.4B, a physical docking interface415is disposed along the top surface of the housing400to physically mate with parts of the internal monitor drone125, and includes at least the securing clamps405a,405b. While some embodiments may have the securing clamps405a,405bin a fixed arrangement relative to the housing400, other embodiments may deploy the securing clamps405a,405bas being movable and capable of being articulated using actuators420a,420bunder the control of physical docking interface (PDI) control425. In this later embodiment, a docking command may be received by the PDI control circuit425(e.g., a switch or relay) over wired communication line410. In response to receiving the docking command, the PDI control circuit425controls the actuators420a,420bcoupled to the securing clamps405a,405b. In an alternate embodiment, the PDI control circuit425may have a wireless linear actuator control that allows for remote wireless control of actuators420a,420band, as a result, securing clamps405a,405b. For example, internal monitor drone125may rely on proximity sensors215a,215band send the docking command to PDI control circuit425via a wireless message from communication interface365. Further still, an embodiment of internal docking station130includes its own communication interface430that mates with wired communication line410. Communication interface410is coupled to an electronic data connection interface (EDCI)435, which connects to wired data interface375when the internal monitor drone125is secured on the docking station130and when the electronic docking connection235is extended to mate with at least the EDCI435. Communication interface430on the docking station130may include a compatible radio-based transceiver for wirelessly communicating with the communication interface365on internal monitor drone125. This allows the docking station130to wireless communicate with the drone125without having the drone125secured to the docking station130. For example, using such wireless communication functionality of interface430may allow the docking station130to act as a local base station for the internal monitor drone125and act as a communication intermediary with the vehicle transceiver135(e.g., when the drone125reports a detected condition of a shipping item by wireless transmission from interface365to the docking stations' wireless transceiver in interface430, and then forwarding of the relevant reported condition information to vehicle transceiver135. Additionally, the internal docking station130may use an onboard power source445, such as an AC/DC power supply or larger capacity battery that can provide current through electronic charging connection interface (ECCI)440to charge onboard battery385when the drone125is secured to the docking station130. FIG.5is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary aerial drone-based method for monitoring the internal storage contents of a shipment storage in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring now toFIG.5, exemplary method500begins at step505with an internal monitor drone, such as internal monitor drone125, receiving an activation command while in a secured position on an internal docking station fixed to the shipment storage in a drone storage area of the shipment storage. The activation command may be in the form of a wireless message received by the internal monitor drone from the docking station130, the vehicle transceiver135, or from a radio-based transceiver operated by logistics personnel involved in a logistics operation (such as loading or unloading the shipment storage). Alternatively, the activation command may be received in the form of a time-based command generated onboard the internal monitor drone where, for example, the internal monitor drone may be deployed to activate from the secured position periodically rather than stay airborne for a lengthy duration. As noted with reference toFIGS.1A-1C, the shipment storage may be implemented by a storage compartment within an aircraft (e.g., shipment storage110within aircraft100), a trailer capable of being moved by a truck, or a train car capable of being moved on a railway system. When the shipment storage is within an aircraft, the internal storage contents may include one or more shipping items, such as a unit load device (ULD) container. Such a ULD container may be broadcast-enabled with a sensor-based radio transceiver that can broadcast a signal (as detected by the internal monitor drone's sensor array) without a preliminary interrogation of the ULD container to prompt broadcast of the signal. For example, rather than rely on an RFID tag that must be polled or prompted in order to broadcast a signal, the ULD container may be deployed with a sensor-based radio transceiver that may periodically broadcast signals having information within it that pertains to a condition of the ULD container and its contents. At step510, method500continues with the internal monitor drone transitioning from at least a low power state to an active monitoring state as part of a logistics operation related to the shipment storage. Such a logistics operation related to the shipment storage may be a loading operation of the shipment storage area of the shipment storage; an unloading operation of the shipment storage area of the shipment storage; or an in-transit monitoring operation of the shipment storage area of the shipment storage while the shipment storage is moving. The low power state may be a complete shut off condition where the internal monitor drone is unpowered. In other embodiments, the low power state may be a sleep type of state where some circuitry is off (e.g., lifting engines210a,210b, etc.) while another subset of the onboard circuitry remains powered on (e.g., GPS350and IMU355to help avoid delays prior to lift off from the docking station130). When transitioning to the active monitoring state, where the internal monitor drone will be ready for airborne sensor activities along an airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage, the internal monitor drone prepares to separate from the internal docking station. For example, as shown inFIG.1B, internal monitor drone (WED)125transitions to the active monitoring state from the low power state in preparation for flying above the shipping items140a-145ewithin the internal shipment storage area120. At step515, method500proceeds with the internal monitor drone automatically uncoupling from the internal docking station once the internal monitor drone transitions to the active monitoring state. For example, internal monitor drone125may automatically uncouple from the internal docking station130, as depicted and described with respect toFIGS.1C and4A. In this embodiment, the drone's landing gear220a,220bseparates from being mated with the securing clamps405a,405bof the docking station130to accomplish such automatic uncoupling. This may be implemented by articulating the landing gear220a,220b, articulating the securing clamps405a,405b, or both depending on the complexity of the internal monitor drone, docking station, and anticipated vibrational environment within the drone storage area115(which may warrant articulating both the securing structure on the drone125and the docking station130). At step520, method500continues with the internal monitor drone moving from the secured position on the internal docking station to an initial airborne position within the shipment storage. For example, internal monitor drone125is shown inFIGS.1B and1Cmoving to an initial airborne position. Such a position may be just above the docking station130and still within drone storage area115or, may be at a first waypoint or location along an airborne monitoring path within the internal shipment storage area120of aircraft100. At step525, method500continues with the internal monitor drone deploying its sensor array to gather sensory information as the internal monitor drone flies/moves from the initial airborne position along an airborne monitoring path within a shipment storage area of the shipment storage. The gathered sensory information is provided from the sensor array to an onboard processor on the internal monitor drone, such as the OBC300or OMP310, where it may be processed, reviewed, and analyzed onboard the internal monitor drone as part of detecting a condition of the contents of the shipment storage area. In one embodiment, the gathered sensory information may be identification-related information involving barcodes, signs, and/or labels related to different contents within the shipment storage (e.g., different shipping items140a-145e). For example, step525may implement gathering the sensory information by using a scanning sensor element of the sensor array to scan an identification symbol fixed to an item of the internal storage contents as the internal monitor drone transits the airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage. For example, as IMD125shown inFIG.1Ctransits an airborne path above or near shipping item140b, a scanning sensor element of sensor array230may scan an identification symbol on the top or side of shipping item140b. Such an identification symbol may be a barcode symbol identifying shipping information related to shipping item140b(e.g., recipient, destination address, tracking number, shipment loading information, weight, and the like). In another example, the identification symbol may be a sign (such as a shipping label) affixed to the shipping item where the sign identifies the shipment information related to the item (such as loading information on placement of the item when being shipped within the shipment storage). At step530, method500has the onboard processor on the internal monitor drone autonomously detecting a condition of the internal storage contents (e.g., at least one item being shipped within the internal shipment storage) based upon the sensory information provided by the sensor array. For example, when the sensory array gathers environmental information in step525relative to different airborne locations (e.g., particular waypoints, locations near particular shipping items, or locations near groups of shipping items maintained within the shipment storage) while transiting the airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage, the internal monitor drone's onboard processor may automatically identify an environmental condition as the condition of the internal storage contents in step530. Different types of environmental conditions may be automatically identified depending on the type of sensing element used within an embodiment of the internal monitor drone's sensor array. For example, the environmental condition identified may be a movement condition as sensed by a motion sensor element of the sensor array; a light condition as sensed by a light sensor element of the sensor array; a sound condition as sensed by a microphone element of the sensor array; a temperature condition as sensed by a temperature sensor element of the sensor array; a smoke condition as sensed by a smoke sensor element of the sensor array; a humidity condition as sensed by a moisture sensor element of the sensor array; and a pressure condition as sensed by a pressure sensor element of the sensor array. In other words, the sensor array deployed on the internal monitor drone implementing method500may include one or a wide variety of different types of sensors used to identify different environmental conditions relative to one or more items being shipped within the shipment storage (such as shipping items140a-145ewithin internal shipment storage area120). Further embodiments may use multiple types of sensor-based environmental information as part of automatically identifying the environmental condition as the condition of the internal storage contents in step530. For example, using a smoke sensor, a light sensor, and a temperature sensor in the sensor array may allow the onboard processor to automatically identify a fire condition relative to a particular shipping item. In another example, using a moisture sensor and a microphone in the sensory array may allow the onboard processor to automatically identify a breakage/leak condition relative to a particular shipping item. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the onboard processor of the internal monitoring drone may cross reference the gathered environmental information against parameters that fit different types of environmental conditions as a way of automatically identifying the environmental condition based on one or more types of environmental information gathered through one or more sensing elements of the sensor array. This may involve a multi-variate table lookup in a simpler internal monitoring drone implementation or, in another embodiment, may involve having monitoring program325including a database for matching the gathered environmental information to different environmental conditions as part of automatically identifying the environmental condition in step530. In another embodiment, method500may have the sensory information and detected condition related to captured images and detection of a configuration change of what is maintained within the shipment storage. More specifically, a further embodiment of method500may implement the gathering step525as using an image sensor as an element of the sensor array to capture different images of the internal storage contents from one or more airborne locations within the shipment storage as the internal monitor drone transits the airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage. As such, the autonomously detecting step530may then be implemented by automatically identifying a configuration change as the condition of the internal storage contents. The configuration change may be automatically identified by the onboard processor of the internal monitor drone based upon a comparison of at least two of the captured images. For example, the captured different images may include one or more images of a portion of the internal storage contents from the same airborne location at different times as the internal monitor drone repeatedly transits the airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage. In doing so, the internal monitor drone captures what may be a time sequence of images related to the same item or items being shipped within the shipment storage or a sequence of images over time of the same item or items from more than one perspective (e.g., images of a top of a shipping item140aand a side of the shipping item140aover time). Using such a sequence of images, the onboard controller of the internal monitor drone may image process the different images to find what has changed relative to what should be the same image of the same item or items. If shipping item140aunintentionally moves during flight, this comparison of images allows the internal monitor drone's onboard controller (such as the OMP310) to automatically identify a configuration change relative to item140agiven its movement. Likewise, if shipping item145dis unintentionally crushed due to the weight of item145b, this comparison of images allows the internal monitor drone's onboard controller (such as the OMP310) to automatically identify a configuration change relative to item145dgiven its damaged exterior. In still another embodiment, method500may have the sensory information and detected condition related to depth sensor information and multi-dimensional mappings of what is maintained within the shipment storage. More specifically, a further embodiment of method500may implement the gathering step525using a depth sensor as an element of the sensor array to map a configuration of the shipment storage area of the shipment storage as the internal monitor drone transits the airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage. The mapped configuration of the shipment storage area is, in more detail, a multi-dimensional mapping of the internal storage contents of the shipment storage. For example, internal monitor drone125may fly within the internal shipment storage area120and use a depth sensor as part of sensor array230to map this area120and the shipping items140a-145emaintained within it. As such, the autonomously detecting step530may then be implemented by automatically identifying a change in the multi-dimensional mapping of the internal storage contents over time as the internal monitor drone repeatedly transits the airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage to be the autonomously detected condition of the internal storage contents. Thus, the autonomously detected condition may reflect a shift in location for some of the contents (such as after experiencing turbulence during in-flight monitoring), or may reflect a loading status for what has been loaded within or unloaded from the shipment storage (such as during loading or unloading logistics operations of aircraft100). In an embodiment where one or more of the internal storage contents of the shipment storage include broadcast enabled shipping items (e.g., items145c-145e), a further embodiment of method500may have the gathering step525implemented by receiving a wireless signal broadcast from a broadcast-enabled package of the internal storage contents and then proceed as part of step530to automatically identifying the condition of the internal storage contents based upon the received wireless signal broadcast from the broadcast-enabled package. This wireless signal may be received by a radio-based receiver operating as at least part of the sensor array. In some implementations, the radio-based receiver part of the sensor array may operate as an RFID tag reader where it first interrogates the broad-enabled package in order to prompt the broadcast of such a wireless signal. However, in other implementations, the radio-based receiver part of the sensor array may receive the wireless signal without interrogating the broadcast-enabled package to prompt the broadcast of the wireless signal and merely be a listening type of radio-based receiver element of the sensor array. At step535, an embodiment of method500may have the onboard processor of the internal monitor drone transmitting a monitoring update message indicating the autonomously detected condition of the internal storage contents. In more detail, the transmitted monitoring update message may be transmitted to a wireless receiver on the internal docking station (e.g., the wireless part of communication interface430as described above), which then may pass along the message to another transceiver (e.g., vehicle transceiver135operated by flight crew personnel, or a radio-based receiver operated by maintenance personnel assigned to the aircraft100or logistics personnel responsible for loading/unloading the aircraft100). Alternatively, the transmitted monitoring update message may be wirelessly sent directly at least one of the vehicle transceiver135operated by flight crew personnel, or a radio-based receiver operated by maintenance personnel assigned to the aircraft100or logistics personnel responsible for loading/unloading the aircraft100. In a further embodiment of step535, any such transmission of the monitoring update message may be delayed and transmitted at a later time. In particular, the onboard processor of the internal monitor drone may opt to transmit the monitoring update message to a shipment storage transceiver (e.g., vehicular transceiver135or a radio-based receiver operated by personnel that load/unload the shipment storage or perform maintenance on the aircraft having the shipment storage) only if the onboard processor autonomously confirms a communication channel to the shipment storage transceiver is active. This may be accomplished by scanning for such a transceiver and receiving a wireless signal indicating that the transceiver is active and able to receive transmissions from another device, such as the internal monitor drone. If the onboard processor cannot confirm the communication channel is active, the onboard processor of the internal monitor drone may store the monitoring update message for later transmission to the shipment storage transceiver. Such a delay may be useful when the internal monitor drone is transiting a distant part of the airborne monitor path that may be outside the acceptable reception range of vehicular transceiver135or a radio-based receiver operated by personnel that load/unload the shipment storage or perform maintenance on the aircraft having the shipment storage. For example, the internal monitor drone may delay transmission of the monitoring update message to a radio-based receiver operated by logistics personnel loading the shipment storage for when the personnel are back within the shipment storage attempting to load another item. Such a delayed message helps avoid missed messages and enhances how the shipment storage is being loaded so that quicker corrective actions may be initiated and completed. Steps540-550of method500involve monitoring for a loading plan inconsistency while steps555-565involve monitoring for an orientation inconsistency for logistics operations related to the shipment storage. In more detail, an embodiment of method500may continue at step540to have the onboard processor of the internal monitor drone autonomously determining a loading status of the item by comparing the item's identification symbol (as scanned by the scanning sensor of the sensor array) to a loading plan for the shipment storage maintained within a memory of the internal monitor drone. Such a loading plan (e.g., loading plan data345) may have been preloaded into the internal monitor drone's memory, or alternatively, method500may include the step of downloading the loading plan into the memory of the internal monitor drone. In such an embodiment, downloading the relevant loading plan for what is supposed to be loaded and carried within the shipment storage may take place prior to or right after scanning the item's identification symbol. In this way, the internal monitor drone has a current and up-to-date loading plan and can reference such information to the scanned identification symbol in step545to detect a loading plan inconsistency (e.g., a loading status for the item showing it is loaded within the shipment storage but should not be according to the loading plan). Thus, at step545, method500may proceed directly to step555if there is no inconsistency detected. However, if method500detects a loading plan inconsistency at step545(i.e., when the loading status of the item indicates the presence of the item within the shipment storage area of the shipment storage is inconsistent with the loading plan), method500proceeds to step550where the onboard processor of the internal monitor drone automatically transmits a loading warning. For example, as shown inFIG.1C, exemplary internal monitor drone125may have a scanning sensor within sensory array230and use that to capture an identification symbol (e.g., a barcode symbol or the like) from shipping item140bwhile transiting an airborne monitoring path within internal shipment storage area120. The internal monitor drone125may then compare the captured identification symbol for shipping item140bwith the loading plan data345kept in memory315to identify or detect that item140bshould not be present within internal shipment storage area120. This may occur when loading personnel mistakenly load item140bthinking it actually belongs on aircraft100, or when loading personnel mistakenly load item140bon aircraft100accidently believing aircraft100was another aircraft. A further embodiment may have separate loading plans for separate internal shipment storage areas when such is available on another delivery vehicle, and unintended loading into an incorrect one of the different storage areas may be more prevalent. Like the transmitted monitoring update message from step535, an embodiment of method500may transmit the loading warning to a wireless receiver on the internal docking station (e.g., the wireless part of communication interface430as described above), which then may pass along the message to another transceiver (e.g., vehicle transceiver135operated by flight crew personnel, or a radio-based receiver operated by logistics personnel responsible for loading the aircraft100). Alternatively, the transmitted loading warning may be wirelessly sent directly at least one of the vehicle transceiver135operated by flight crew personnel, or the radio-based receiver operated by logistics personnel responsible for loading the aircraft100. In such a manner, an embodiment may rapidly detect a loading plan inconsistency and allow for faster resolution of this issue—especially while the loading operation is still ongoing and correction can be prompted automatically in response to the transmitted loading warning. Method500then proceeds from step550to step555. As stated above, steps555-565generally involve monitoring for an orientation inconsistency for logistics operations related to the shipment storage. In particular, at step555, an embodiment of method500continues with the onboard processor of the internal monitor drone autonomously determining a position status of a shipping item based upon item's identification symbol as scanned by the sensor array (e.g., a barcode reader or image sensor that captures information on the identification symbol). In this embodiment, the identification symbol scanned may include a directional sign, image, or symbol indicating a desired item orientation (e.g., a graphic image denoting a desired orientation, such as which surface should be facing up, and the like). Here, the position status of the item relies on such orientation-related information on the identification symbol and the current orientation of the item as scanned to reflect whether the current orientation of the identification symbol as scanned is inconsistent with the desired item orientation. Thus, at step560, method500may proceed directly to step570if there is no inconsistency detected relative to the orientation of the shipping item. However, if method500detects an orientation inconsistency for the item at step560(i.e., when the current orientation of the item is different from the desired orientation per the scanned information), method500proceeds to step565where the onboard processor of the internal monitor drone automatically transmits a positional warning. Like the transmitted monitoring update message from step535and the loading warning in step550, an embodiment of method500may transmit the positional warning to a wireless receiver on the internal docking station (e.g., the wireless part of communication interface430as described above), which then may pass along the message to another transceiver (e.g., vehicle transceiver135operated by flight crew personnel, or a radio-based receiver operated by logistics personnel responsible for loading the aircraft100). Alternatively, the transmitted positional warning may be wirelessly sent directly at least one of the vehicle transceiver135operated by flight crew personnel, or the radio-based receiver operated by logistics personnel responsible for loading/unloading the aircraft100. In such a manner, an embodiment may rapidly detect that one or more shipping items placed within the interior shipment storage area are not placed correctly (which may cause damage—especially if not corrected before the shipment storage moves (e.g., the aircraft100takes off, flies, and experiences vibrations and turbulence in-flight). Method500then proceeds from step565to step570where the internal monitor drone moves to the next airborne position on the airborne monitoring path. Method500then proceeds back to step525to continue aerial drone-based monitoring of the internal storage contents of the shipment storage. In some embodiments, the internal monitor drone may transit the airborne monitoring path once and then autonomously land back on the internal docking station (where it may recharge, download sensory information gathered, and upload revised flight profile data). In other embodiments, the internal monitor drone may transit the airborne monitoring path multiple times and then autonomously land back on the internal docking station. The complexity and length of the airborne monitoring path as well as the weight of the internal monitor drone (with its onboard suite of sensors in the sensory array) will impact a time aloft factor that impacts airborne monitoring operations of the internal monitor drone. In still other embodiments, the internal monitor drone may operate as explained with respect method500, and then further receive a follow-up monitor command. The follow-up monitor command causes the internal monitor drone to return to at least a particular airborne position in the monitoring path and gather further sensory information using the sensor array. The further sensory information may be enhanced sensory information to gather additional details, such as additional sensory information taken in higher resolution, taken over a longer time period, taken with more than one sensing element of the sensor array, and/or taken from a broader range of perspectives relative to one or more shipping items. In a more specific embodiment, the internal monitor drone may receive such a follow-up monitor command as feedback from the vehicle transceiver135operated by flight crew personnel, the radio-based receiver operated by logistics personnel responsible for loading/unloading the aircraft100, or the radio-based receiver operated by maintenance personnel responsible for servicing the aircraft100. Such feedback may be in response to a monitoring update message, a loading warning, or a positional warning where the broadcaster of the follow-up message may desire more sensory information before taken any corrective action (e.g., having personnel enter the internal shipment storage area120to physically inspect one of the shipping items140a-145e, rearrange placement of such an item, or remove such an item). Those skilled in the art will appreciate that method500as disclosed and explained above in various embodiments may be implemented with an apparatus, such as exemplary internal monitor drone125, running an embodiment of airborne monitoring program code325, and as a part of a drone-based monitored storage system including the shipment storage, docking station, and internal monitor drone. Such code325may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as memory storage315on internal monitor drone125. Thus, when executing code325, the OBC300(or OMP310) of internal monitor drone125(in cooperation with other circuitry onboard the drone125, such as elements of the sensor array230) may be operative to perform certain operations or steps from the exemplary methods disclosed above, including method500and variations of that method. FIG.1C, as discussed above, illustrates a general example of such a drone-based monitored storage system that relies on a single internal monitor drone. However, other embodiments may deploy multiple internal monitor drones to monitor a shipment storage, such as shipment storage110. Using multiple internal monitor drones to monitor a shipment storage may enhance monitoring of the shipment storage, for example, by allowing for divided monitoring responsibilities, allowing the different internal monitor drones to use different types of sensors in their respective sensor arrays, and employ a more robust level of monitoring in a given time within the shipment storage. By deploying a swarm of internal monitor drones to monitor the shipment storage, the task of monitoring what is maintained in the shipment storage is coordinated and accomplished in a much quicker way. FIG.6is a diagram of an exemplary multiple drone-based monitored storage system that includes shipment storage110, two internal docking stations630a,630b, and two internal monitor drones625a,625b. Referring now toFIG.6, exemplary shipment storage110is similar to that described with respect toFIGS.1A-1Cin that it includes a closable entry similar to entry112shown inFIG.1Athat provides access to within the shipment storage, and an interior shipment storage area120within shipment storage110that temporarily maintains custody of items being shipped (e.g., shipping items140a,140b, and145b-145e). The shipment storage110further includes multiple drone storage areas as part of area115(e.g., different parts of drone storage area115where two internal docking stations630a,630bare respectively disposed). In other words, each of the internal docking stations630a,630bare fixed within respectively different areas or part of drone storage area115. The internal monitor drones625a,625bare initially disposed on respective ones of the internal docking stations630a,630b. Each of the internal monitor drones625a,625bhas a sensor array that gathers sensory information as the respective internal monitor drone moves within a part of the interior shipment storage area of the shipment storage. As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the sensor array in one internal monitor drone may be equipped with similar sensing elements as the sensor array in the other internal monitor drone. However, in other embodiments, the different sensor arrays in the different internal monitor drones may include sensor elements that do not entirely overlap. For example, exemplary internal monitor drone625amay include a suite of sensors in its sensor array that includes a scanning sensor or image sensor capable of capturing identification information from labels, signs, or barcodes on the exterior of shipping items140a,140bwhile exemplary internal monitor drone625bmay deploy with a different suite of sensors in its array better suited to monitor broadcast-enabled shipping items145b-145e(where some surfaces of items145b-145eare not visible or scannable). As deployed as part of such an exemplary multiple drone-based monitored storage system, one of the internal monitor drones (e.g., drone625a) may operate as part of the system to move from one of the internal docking stations (e.g., docking station630a) to a first initial airborne position within the shipment storage as part of a first airborne monitoring path within a first part of the interior shipment storage area of the shipment storage (e.g., an airborne monitoring path that takes drone625aover items140aand140b). At this first initial airborne position, this first internal monitor drone aerially monitors a first part of the items being shipped within the interior shipment storage area using the sensor array on the first of the internal monitor drones. As such, this first internal monitor drone begins aerial monitoring of items at the first initial airborne position and as the drone transits the first airborne monitoring path from the first initial airborne position. A second of the internal monitor drones (e.g., drone625b) may operate as part of the system to move from one of the internal docking stations (e.g., docking station630b) to a second initial airborne position within the shipment storage as part of a second airborne monitoring path within a second part of the interior shipment storage area of the shipment storage (e.g., a second airborne monitoring path that takes drone625bover items145b-145e). At this second initial airborne position, the second internal monitor drone aerially monitors the second part of the items being shipped within the interior shipment storage area using the sensor array on the second of the internal monitor drones. As the different internal monitor drones are using their respective sensory arrays to gather sensory information and monitor the first part of the items being shipped and the second part of the items being shipped, at least one of the first and second internal monitor drones autonomously detects a condition of an item being shipped based upon sensory information generated when monitoring the items being shipped within the interior shipment storage area by the first of the internal monitor drones and the second of the internal monitor drones. Such a condition may generally be related to the sensory information gathered by one or both internal monitor drones, or may be related how such sensory information gathered is beyond a threshold or range of acceptable values. The types of sensors that may be deployed on the respective first and second internal monitor drones are similar to those discussed above as being part of exemplary sensor array230and those that may be used as part of embodiments of method500. Likewise, one or more of the internal monitor drones may be operative to autonomously determine a loading status for an item being monitored relative to a loading plan for that drone's monitored part of the internal shipment storage and to automatically transmit a loading warning when the loading status of the item indicates the item's presence within the interior shipment storage area of the shipment storage is inconsistent with that particular loading plan used by that internal monitor drone (similar to steps540-550of method500). Additionally, one or more of the internal monitor drones may be operative to autonomously determine a position status for an item being monitored. That internal monitor drone may determine the position status of the item based upon an identification symbol as scanned by that monitor drone's scanning sensor (where the identification symbol comprises a directional sign indicating a desired item orientation for the one item and where the position status of the item reflects whether a current orientation of the identification symbol as scanned is inconsistent with the desired item orientation) and then automatically transmit a positional warning when the position status indicates the current orientation of the identification symbol is inconsistent with the desired item orientation (similar to steps555-565of method500). Explaining how such a system may operate in more detail,FIG.7is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary multiple aerial drone-based method for monitoring the internal storage contents of a shipment storage in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Such a shipment storage may, for example, be implemented by a storage compartment within an aircraft, a trailer capable of being moved by a truck, a storage or cargo compartment of a marine vessel, or a train car capable of being moved on a railway system. Referring now toFIG.7, exemplary method700begins at step705by moving a first internal monitor drone to a first initial airborne position within the shipment storage as part of a first airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage. The first internal monitor drone (e.g., drone625ashown inFIG.6) is disposed within a first drone storage area of the shipment storage (e.g., a first part of drone storage area115where internal docking station630ais located). In more detail, an embodiment of step705may have the first internal monitor drone being selectively uncoupled from a first internal docking station (e.g., internal docking station630a) disposed at a fixed location within the first drone storage area of the shipment storage prior to moving the first internal monitor drone from its secured position on the first internal docking station to its initial airborne position of the first airborne monitoring path. In one embodiment, the first airborne monitoring path used by the first internal monitor drone in this embodiment corresponds to a first part of an interior shipment storage area within the shipment storage. However, in other embodiments, the different internal monitor drones may have different monitoring paths that overlap or transit through overlapping or coexistent parts of the internal shipment storage area (but that would not have one of the drones being at a location too close to another drone at the same time). At step710, method700continues by moving a second internal monitor drone to an initial airborne position for that drone within the shipment storage as part of a second airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage. The second internal monitor drone (e.g., drone625bshown inFIG.6) is disposed within a second drone storage area of the shipment storage (e.g., a second part of drone storage area115where internal docking station630bis located). In more detail, an embodiment of step710may have the second internal monitor drone being selectively uncoupled from a second internal docking station (e.g., internal docking station630b) disposed at a fixed location within the second drone storage area of the shipment storage prior to moving the second internal monitor drone from its secured position on the second internal docking station to its initial airborne position of the second airborne monitoring path. As such, steps705and710have the first and second internal monitoring drones airborne and ready to begin gathering sensory information as part of aerially monitoring the internal contents of the shipment storage. At steps715and720, the different internal monitor drones are deployed to aerially gather different sensory information related to what is loaded and maintained within the shipment storage. In particular, method700proceeds at step715with aerially monitoring a first part of the internal storage contents of the shipment storage with a first sensor array on the first internal monitor drone as the first internal monitor drone transits the first airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage from the first initial airborne position. This aerially monitoring action may take the form or be implemented with the first sensor array sensing environmental information relative to one or more airborne locations within the shipment storage as the first internal monitor drone transits the first airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage. Similarly, at step720, method700proceeds with aerially monitoring a second part of the internal storage contents of the shipment storage with a second sensor array on the second internal monitor drone as the second internal monitor drone transits the second airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage from the second initial airborne position. And like step715, the aerial monitoring in step720may be implemented with the second sensor array sensing environmental information as the second sensory information relative to one or more airborne locations within the shipment storage as the second internal monitor drone transits the second airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage. An embodiment of method700may continue to step725where method700may take action based upon the sensory information gathered by the different internal monitor drones. In particular, at step725, method700may proceed by determining if any of the sensory information gathered by the first and second internal monitor drones is out of range or beyond what may be anticipated for the items maintained within the shipment storage. For example, the sensory data maintained within each of the first and second internal monitory drones may include range/threshold data (e.g., range/threshold information maintained as part of sensory data330in drones625aand625b). Such range/threshold data may define expected sensor value ranges or sensor value thresholds relevant to the sensor elements that make up the drones' respective sensor array. For example, such range/threshold data may be specific to temperature and light conditions anticipated to be experienced relative to the items in the respective parts of internal shipment storage area120monitored by each of internal monitor drone625aand internal monitor drone625b. Further examples of what may be considered out of range in step725may, in some embodiments, extend to inconsistencies with loading plan data (e.g., the gathered sensor information includes identification information on a shipping item that should be present within that part of the internal shipment storage area and, thus, reflects an out of range situation relative to the loading plan data for that part of the internal shipment storage area). Likewise, what may be considered out of range in step725may, in some embodiments, extend to inconsistencies with item orientations. For example, sensory information gathered by a first of the internal monitor drones625amay include an image of a sign denoting a desired orientation for a particular shipping item. When comparing the orientation of that image to the current orientation of the item, such gathered sign information (as gathered sensory information) may indicate an out of range situation between the current orientation and the desired orientation. The particular item may have been loaded incorrectly, shifted while the aircraft100taxied for takeoff, during takeoff, during airborne flight (such as after experiencing turbulence), or upon landing. Thus, if the sensory information gathered by the first and second internal monitor drones is not out of range, method700continues from step725to step730where the first and second internal monitor drones may further transit and aerially monitor their respective parts of the internal storage contents along their respective airborne monitor paths. Otherwise, step725proceeds directly to step735where method700detects a condition of the internal storage contents based upon at least one of (1) first sensory information generated when monitoring with the first sensor array of the first internal monitor drone and (2) second sensory information generated when monitoring with the second sensor array of the second internal monitor drone. In one embodiment of method700, detecting the condition of the internal storage contents in step735may be accomplished by automatically identifying an environmental condition as the condition of the internal storage contents based upon at least one of environmental information gathered by the first internal monitor drone and environmental information gathered by the second internal monitor drone. As previously explained, different types of environmental conditions may be automatically identified depending on the type of sensing element used within the particular internal monitor drone's sensor array. For example, the environmental condition identified may be a movement condition as sensed by a motion sensor element of the sensor array on the first or second internal monitor drone; a light condition as sensed by a light sensor element of the sensor array on the first or second internal monitor drone; a sound condition as sensed by a microphone element of the sensor array on the first or second internal monitor drone; a temperature condition as sensed by a temperature sensor element of the sensor array on the first or second internal monitor drone; a smoke condition as sensed by a smoke sensor element of the sensor array on the first or second internal monitor drone; a humidity condition as sensed by a moisture sensor element of the sensor array on the first or second internal monitor drone; and a pressure condition as sensed by a pressure sensor element of the sensor array on the first or second internal monitor drone. In other words, the respective sensor arrays deployed on the different internal monitor drones implementing method700may include one or a wide variety of different types of sensors used to identify different environmental conditions relative to one or more items being shipped within the shipment storage (such as shipping items140a-145ewithin internal shipment storage area120). And further embodiments may use multiple types of sensor-based environmental information as part of automatically identifying the environmental condition by one or the first or second internal monitor drones as the condition of the internal storage contents in step735. After step735, method700may transmit a monitoring update message to a shipment storage transceiver, such as vehicle transceiver135. Such a monitoring update message indicates the detected condition of the internal storage contents and is transmitted either by the first internal monitor drone when the detected condition is based upon the first sensory information, or by the second internal monitor drone when the detected condition is based upon the second sensory information. Similar to that disclosed relative to method500, a further embodiment of method700may also include steps that verify proper loading of the shipment storage using one or more of the multiple internal monitor drones. For example, the first internal monitor drone may determine a loading status of a first monitored shipping item based upon comparing an identification symbol as scanned by the first internal monitor drone to a downloaded loading plan for the shipment storage maintained within memory of the first internal monitor drone. The first internal monitor drone may then generate a first loading warning when the loading status of this first item indicates the presence of the first item within the shipment storage is inconsistent with the loading plan, and transmit the first loading warning to a shipment storage transceiver (such as vehicle transceiver135). Likewise, the second internal monitor drone may determine a loading status of a second monitored shipping item based upon comparing the second identification symbol as scanned by the second internal monitor drone to the loading plan for the shipment storage maintained within memory of the second internal monitor drone. The second internal monitor drone may then generate a second loading warning when the loading status of the second item indicates that the presence of the second item within the shipment storage is inconsistent with the loading plan, and transmit the second loading warning to a shipment storage transceiver (such as vehicle transceiver135). And similar to that disclosed relative to method500, a further embodiment of method700may also include steps that verify proper positioning of items within the shipment storage using one or more of the multiple internal monitor drones. For example, the first internal monitor drone may determine a position status of a first shipping item based upon the first identification symbol as scanned by the first internal monitor drone. This first identification symbol includes at least a first directional sign indicating a desired item orientation for the first item, and the position status of the first item reflects whether a current orientation of the first item is inconsistent with the desired item orientation as reflected by the identification symbol's directional sign. The first monitor drone then generates a first positional warning when the position status of the first item indicates the current orientation of the first item is inconsistent with the desired item orientation for the first item, and then transmits the first positional warning to a shipment storage transceiver (such as the vehicle transceiver135). Additionally, the second internal monitor drone may determine a position status of a second item based upon a second identification symbol as scanned by the second internal monitor drone. The second identification symbol includes a second directional sign indicating a desired item orientation for the second item, and the position status of the second item reflects whether a current orientation of the second item is inconsistent with the desired item orientation for the second item. The second internal monitor drone then generates a second positional warning when the position status of the second item indicates the current orientation of the second item is inconsistent with the desired item orientation for the second item, and transmits the second positional warning to the shipment storage transceiver (such as vehicle transceiver135). With such loading and/or positional warnings, the shipment storage transceiver may respond as part of an embodiment of such a multiple internal monitor drone system to notify logistics radio-based transceivers operated by loading personnel that can then address the loading or positional related issue underlying such warnings. In steps715and720of method700, the aerial monitoring may be more specifically implemented using further types of sensor elements. For example, in a further embodiment of method700, aerially monitoring the first part of the internal storage contents with the first sensor array in step715may involve capturing, with a first image sensor part of the first sensor array, at least one image of the first part of the internal storage contents from each of a first plurality of airborne locations within the shipment storage as the first internal monitor drone transits the first airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage. In like fashion, aerially monitoring the second part of the internal storage contents with the second sensor array in step720may involve capturing, with a second image sensor part of the second sensor array, at least one image of the second part of the internal storage contents from each of a second plurality of airborne locations within the shipment storage as the second internal monitor drone transits the second airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage. As such, step735may then involve automatically identifying the condition of the internal storage contents based upon at least one of the at least one image captured by the first image sensor or the at least one image captured by the second image sensor. In a further embodiment, method700may have step735automatically identifying a configuration change as the condition of the internal storage contents based upon at least one of (1) a comparison of multiple images over time from the first image sensor as the first internal monitor drone repeatedly transits the first airborne monitoring path and (2) a comparison of multiple images over time from the second image sensor as the second internal monitor drone repeatedly transits the second airborne monitoring path. In still another more detailed embodiment, a depth sensor may be used in the first and/or second internal monitor drone's sensor array so as to gather multi-dimensional mapping information as the relevant monitored sensory information related to the internal storage contents. In particular, an embodiment of method700may implement aerially monitoring the first part of the internal storage contents with the first sensor array in step715by mapping, with a first depth sensor part of the first sensor array, a first configuration of a first storage area within the shipment storage that maintains the first part of the internal storage contents as the first internal monitor drone transits the first airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage. The first configuration represented as a multi-dimensional mapping of at least the first part of the internal storage contents. For example, internal monitor drone625amay use a depth sensor on its sensor array to map the part of the internal shipment storage area120patrolled by internal monitor drone625a. The mapping produced by such a depth sensor may take the form of a three-dimensional mapping of shipping items140aand140bas they exist within the front part of internal shipment storage area120. Such a mapping can be referred to as a configuration of shipping items140aand140bas that particular time. In similar fashion, aerially monitoring the second part of the internal storage contents with the second sensor array in step720may involve using a second depth sensor part of the second sensor array to map a second configuration of a second storage area within the shipment storage that maintains the second part of the internal storage contents as the second internal monitor drone transits the second airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage. As such, step735in this further embodiment of method700may be done by automatically identifying the condition of the internal storage contents based upon at least one of the multi-dimensional mapping of at least the first part of the internal storage contents and the multi-dimensional mapping of at least the second part of the internal storage contents. More specifically, step735may be implemented by automatically identifying a configuration change as the condition of the internal storage contents based upon at least one of (1) a comparison of the multi-dimensional mapping of the first part of the internal storage contents over time and (2) a comparison of the multi-dimensional mapping of the second part of the internal storage contents over time. As a result, a configuration change notification may be transmitted by the first internal monitor drone to a shipment storage transceiver in response to identifying the configuration change as part of step735when the identified configuration change is based upon the comparison of the multi-dimensional mapping of the first part of the internal storage contents over time. Such a configuration change notification provides a prompted intervention request message from the first internal monitor drone related to the particular configuration change identified In a further embodiment of method700, steps715and720may involve scanning for identification symbols when aerially monitoring the internal storage contents of the shipment storage. This may involve scanning, for example, the name of a shipping item printed on the side of the item or the actual dimensions of a shipping item indicated on the item (such as on a ULD loaded within the internal storage area). In more detail, step715may aerially monitor the first part of the internal storage contents with the first sensor array by scanning a first identification symbol fixed to a first item within the first part of the internal storage contents using a first scanner part of the first sensor array (e.g., a barcode scanner or image sensor) as the first internal monitor drone transits the first airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage. Likewise, step720may aerially monitor the second part of the internal storage contents with the second sensor array by scanning a second identification symbol fixed to a second item within the second part of the internal storage contents using a second scanner part of the first sensor array (e.g., a barcode scanner or image sensor) as the second internal monitor drone transits the second airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage. Thereafter, step735may be implemented by automatically identifying the condition of the internal storage contents based upon at least one of the first identification symbol scanned by the first scanner or the second identification symbol scanned by the second scanner. These identification symbols may be barcode symbols that identify shipping information related to their respective item, or may be a sign affixed to the respective item that identifies shipment loading information (e.g., a desired orientation for the item, or other placement information for the item, such as a hazardous material warning label for the item). Those skilled in the art will appreciate that method700as disclosed and explained above in various embodiments may be implemented with an apparatus, such as exemplary internal monitor drones625a,625b, running an embodiment of airborne monitoring program code325, and as a part of a multiple drone-based monitored storage system including the shipment storage, internal docking stations630a,630b, and internal monitor drones625a,625b. Such code325may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium in each of the drones, such as memory storage315disposed within each of internal monitor drones625a,625b. Thus, when executing code325, the OBC300(or OMP310) of internal monitor drones625a,625b(in cooperation with other circuitry onboard the drones625a,625b, such as elements of their respective sensor arrays230) may be operative to perform certain operations or steps from the exemplary methods disclosed above, including method700and variations of that method. Drone-Based Delivery Vehicle Part Inspections While the above description focuses on embodiments of an applied technical solution that enhances how to unconventionally monitor and intelligently notify others about a condition related to what may be in a delivery vehicle's shipment storage compartment, the following describes various embodiments that deploy an aerial inspection drone paired as an exclusive part of a delivery vehicle. In general, an embodiment of an aerial inspection drone paired to the delivery vehicle may perform airborne inspections of specific parts of the delivery vehicle and transmit messages based upon the airborne inspections to other logistics entities, such as vehicle operators (such as flight crew personnel) and/or logistics personnel assigned to the vehicle that may service the vehicle. This type of airborne extension of the delivery vehicle improves how a delivery vehicle may be self-inspecting using an exclusively paired aerial inspection drone. In more detail,FIGS.8A-12relate to embodiments of a drone-based delivery vehicle inspection system and its operation where a paired aerial inspection drone may be deployed to aerially gather sensor-based inspection information related to targeted inspection points on the delivery vehicle, automatically identify an inspection condition if the inspection point is out of range, and transmit a notification to others about such an inspection condition.FIG.8Aillustrates an exemplary aircraft100as a type delivery vehicle similar to that shown in earlier Figures. InFIG.8A, aircraft100has operational control section105(e.g., a cockpit from which flight personnel can control and fly the aircraft100) and a shipment storage810used for maintaining items being shipped within aircraft100between different locations. Similar to that shown inFIGS.1A-1C, exemplary operational control section105includes a vehicle transceiver135. As previously explained, such a vehicle transceiver135may be implemented as a standalone unit (e.g., a ruggedized radio-based tablet or smartphone used by aircraft crew personnel) or an integrated part of the aircraft's avionics suite. In more detail, an embodiment of exemplary vehicle transceiver135may include a display (such as a touch screen display or avionics display unit); a control input interface with buttons, switches, or touch sensitive receptors on the touch screen display; and a radio. The exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver135communicates with a paired aerial inspection drone (PID)825and other radio-based devices over the radio, receives user/operator input via the control input interface, and generates vehicle related information for presenting to the user/operator on the display. Thus, as explained in more detail below, an embodiment of exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver135may be used as a base station type of device that interacts with PID825as well as other radio-based devices operated by flight personnel, logistics personnel, and maintenance personnel. Exemplary shipment storage810, as shown inFIG.8A, includes a drone storage area815, an interior shipment storage area820, and an onboard safety system area822. Exemplary drone storage area815includes an internal docking station830that provides secure storage for the PID825when PID825is not flying. Exemplary docking station830may be implemented similar to internal docking station130as described above and shown inFIGS.4A and4B. Thus, similar to docking station130, internal docking station830also includes a physical docking interface, an electronic charging connection interface, and an electronic data connection interface similar to PDI415, ECCI435, and EDCI440. An exemplary PID825(as shown and explained in more detail below with respect toFIG.9) secured within the drone storage area815is a linked part of aircraft100that travels with the aircraft100during a delivery vehicle based shipment operation (e.g., shipping one or more items from a first location to a second location while the items are maintained within a cargo storage area (such as internal shipment storage area820)). Exemplary PID825, as shown inFIG.9, may be implemented with similar component elements as that of internal monitor drone125for providing an airborne sensory platform capable of maneuvering and navigating in close proximity to aircraft100. PID825may generally use a similar drone capture interface (DCI) with which to become secured relative to internal docking station830within drone storage area815. Additionally, the sensor array deployed on PID825typically includes at least one type of image sensor with which to capture images relative to different inspection points on the delivery vehicle100targeted for aerial review. As will be explained in more detail below, such an aerial inspection review may be autonomously conducted by the PID825or may be controlled with flight commands wirelessly provided to the PID825from a wireless base controller or through a wired control tether connection to a base controller on the aircraft100(as shown and explained in more detail with reference toFIG.10). Furthermore, such an aerial inspection review may be conducted by the PID825on inspection points targeted within the delivery vehicle as well as inspection points outside the delivery vehicle. The interior shipment storage area820is generally an accessible storage compartment of aircraft100where items being shipped (also generally referred to as cargo) may be loaded, moved, secured, and maintained during flight operations of the aircraft100. For example, packaged shipping item845is shown inFIG.8Asecured within aircraft100within internal shipment storage area820. Packaged shipped item845may be moved as cargo within this storage area820using different types of cargo handling points (e.g., a roller, a caster, a portion of a roller deck, a roller ball mat, a castor mat, a turntable, a conveyor, and the like) deployed on aircraft100. Such exemplary cargo handling points facilitate moving cargo into, within, and out of the storage area820so that cargo can safely and more easily moved into, within, and out of the aircraft100. For example, package shipping item845is shown inFIG.8Aon a portion of a roller ball mat835having rollers840. Such rollers840may be fixed or articulated to provide a motion-capable surface interface for cargo but later be retracted. The exemplary rollers840shown inFIG.8Aallow for logistics personnel to move item845as cargo from outside the aircraft100and into a desired location within area820where the item845may be secured. Securing cargo may be accomplished with a cargo attachment point, such as tie down attachment852(e.g., a hole, slot, hook, or loop in the mat835) configured to receive a tie down strap850. Generally, such a cargo attachment point may be located within the storage area820(including ramp accesses) and used as a type of anchor that helps maintain and secure cargo in its desired location. In one embodiment, the cargo attachment point may be configured to receive a cargo netting that may be placed over the item845as part of securing the item within storage area820. Another embodiment may use an exemplary cargo attachment point in the form of a pin disposed on a support floor (such as roller mat835) that directly contacts and securely holds part of the structure of a ULD as the item845. Thus, cargo handling points and cargo attachment points are types of mechanical structure that interface with what is being shipped within storage area820and may need periodic inspection to ensure proper operation. However, a typical cargo aircraft (such as aircraft100) may have a very large number of cargo handling points and cargo attachment points. A delivery vehicle's shipment storage (such as storage810) may also have one or more designated areas where an enhanced level of inspection may be desired or warranted. An enhanced level of inspection generally is an inspection with more detail or scrutiny, such as when using tighter ranges of tolerance for the applicable acceptable range of sensor data gathered, when spending more time doing the inspection than for other areas, when deploying a greater number of sensor types in order to conduct the inspection, and the like. In general, such designated areas may be associated with particular systems, equipment, or materials that are important from a safety aspect on what is being transported or from a mission critical aspect of the aircraft itself. For example, as shown inFIG.8A, exemplary storage810includes an onboard safety system area822deemed appropriate for an enhanced level inspection of points within that area. In other words, areas for certain types of equipment and/or storage for certain types of materials (e.g., hazardous materials, caustic materials, corrosive materials, mission-critical equipment or systems, and the like) may be considered designated areas in an embodiment and receive an enhanced level of inspection for those inspection points related to such a designated area. Thus, in the illustrated example, PID825may spend more time, use special tolerances, or deploy a more robust set of sensors when detecting sensor-based inspection information from an aerial position near fire suppression equipment855and fire suppressant storage860located in the designated onboard safety system area822. As mentioned above, embodiments of the delivery vehicle have targeted inspection points associated with the delivery vehicle. The targeted inspection points correspond to respective parts of the delivery vehicle to be inspected in an unconventionally advantageous manner. Such targeted inspection points may be different for different delivery vehicles, such as for different models and configurations of a particular cargo aircraft (such as aircraft100), and may comprise multiple designated inspection areas inside the aircraft and outside the aircraft. For example, as shown inFIGS.8A-8G, exemplary PID825conducts inspections from aerial positions proximate different targeted inspection points for aircraft100—both inside and outside aircraft100. Targeted inspection points inside aircraft100may, for example, include designated inspection areas of an accessible cargo storage area (such as area820) as well as cargo handling and attachment points. This may include tie down attachment852within storage area820as a type of cargo attachment point that would be inspected by PID825; roller840and roller ball mat845as a type of cargo handling point that facilitates movement of cargo (such as item845) within the aircraft100. Further examples of cargo handling points may include, but are not limited to a caster, a portion of a roller deck, a castor mat, a turntable, and a conveyor. Targeted inspection points inside the aircraft100(i.e., a type of delivery vehicle) may also include other designated inspection areas inside the aircraft, such as the onboard safety system area822having onboard safety system equipment (such as fire suppression equipment855or fire extinguishing equipment) and related storage860for related material (such as fire suppression or fire extinguishing material). Further designated inspection areas that may be targeted inspection point within the aircraft100may be for storing hazardous materials or other sensitive materials (e.g., areas for temperature sensitive materials that need to be kept within a tight temperature range, areas for moisture sensitive materials, areas for other environmentally sensitive materials) that may have strict regulations on how such materials are to be stored and transported. Exemplary targeted inspection points may also include designated inspection areas externally exposed on the delivery vehicle. For example, such exterior viewable targeted inspection points may include, but are not limited to, a panel on the aircraft; a rivet that joins structure together; a seam or joint between parts; an engine (such as a jet or propeller driven engine for an aircraft); a flight control surface disposed on a leading or trailing edge of wing, stabilizer, or tail (such as a flap, aileron, tab, spoiler, and the like); a window seal; a closable entry to within the aircraft (such as a door to the interior of the aircraft, a belly or side door to a cargo bay, an access door or hatch to an avionics bay, landing gear doors, and the like); aircraft lighting disposed on the exterior of the aircraft; an antenna that may be conformally mounted or that extends from the body of the aircraft; and landing gear and tires that may be fixed or retractable. Furthermore, some exemplary targeted inspection points may be otherwise exceptionally difficult and time consuming to inspect as they may only be accessible from above the aircraft delivery vehicle such that those points (e.g. aircraft lights, control surfaces, window seals, or other components mounted on top of the body of the aircraft) are not visible from a ground level perspective. In one embodiment, the exemplary targeted inspection points may include a prioritized subset designated for an enhanced level of sensor-based inspection (such as a subset of targeted inspection points for aircraft100for a designated inspection area having an onboard safety system855,860for the aircraft100). Thus, an embodiment with a paired inspection drone conducting aerial inspections of a delivery vehicle (such as aircraft100) may use different levels of inspection scrutiny based on whether a particular targeted inspection point is part of the prioritized subset. For example,FIGS.8A-8Ggenerally show an embodiment of a drone-based system for inspecting an aircraft (as an exemplary delivery vehicle) involving an exclusively paired inspection drone (PID825) and targeted inspection points both within the aircraft100and externally exposed on the aircraft100. Referring back toFIG.8A, PID825(as paired and exclusively assigned to aircraft100as a dedicated inspection tool for that delivery vehicle and used only for aircraft100) is shown in a secure position on docking station830. Similar to internal docking station130, docking station830in this embodiment uses a physical docking interface that facilitates maintaining a PID825in a secure position on the station830, an electronic charging connection interface that can provide power to PID825, and an electronic data connection interface that can provide a wired bi-direction data link with PID825. Docking station830may be connected to vehicle transceiver135, which may generate an activation command to initiate an aerial inspection of targeted inspection points on aircraft100. In another embodiment, the activation command may be provided by docking station830to PID825in response to a wireless signal from another device (e.g., a signal received over a communication interface on docking station830similar to communication interface430). Further still, another embodiment may have the activation command provided wirelessly directly to the PID825rather than through the docking station830. Upon receiving an activation command, PID825transitions from at least a low power state to an active power state as part of a targeted inspection operation of the delivery vehicle. In the active power state, PID825causes its drone capture interface to automatically uncouple PID825from the physical docking interface of internal docking station830. This may be accomplished with articulating or actuated components on the PID825, the docking station830, or both. The PID825accesses its memory to identify the targeted inspection points from an onboard inspection profile record related to the aircraft100. In particular, the targeted inspection points correspond to respective parts of the aircraft100—both inside and outside the aircraft100. InFIG.8B, exemplary PID825has used its lifting engines to take off from the docking station830, moved to an initial airborne position within the drone storage area815, and then moved to an aerial position proximate one of the targeted inspection points, such as the roller mat835. At this aerial position above the roller mat835, PID825uses an onboard sensor array to detect sensor-based inspection information relative to this targeted inspection point. In more detail, PID825can automatically identify an unacceptably out of range inspection condition about the roller mat835(a targeted inspection point for aircraft100) based upon the sensor-based inspection information detected from the aerial position above the roller mat835. The out of range inspection condition is specific to the particular targeted inspection point and identified relative to an acceptable range for that inspection point. An inspection profile record maintained on the PID825may identify each targeted inspection point, indicate whether the inspection point is prioritized for an enhanced level of inspection, indicate what sensors may be used to perform the inspection of that point, and an associated acceptable range for sensor-based inspection information gathered relative to that point. For example, inFIG.8B, if PID825moves to an airborne position above roller840from an initial position above docking station830, PID825can automatically identify an inspection condition related to roller840(as one of the aircraft's targeted inspection points) based on sensor-based inspection information detected relative to roller840. Such sensor-based inspection information gathered may be imagery of the roller840that may be processed to identify damage or encumbrances and/or depth mapping information that may be processed to identify whether roller840has been damaged, shifted from an anticipated position relative to other nearby reference objects (e.g., other rollers), or simply no longer where it anticipated to be located. If roller840does not appear to be damaged and is present, PID825may move to another targeted inspection point in the aircraft100. However, if PID825identifies an inspection condition that roller840is outside the acceptable range for that point (e.g., roller is not located, roller appears encumbered, roller appear damaged or shifted relative to its anticipated position), the PID825can transmit an inspection notification message to a delivery vehicle receiver, such as vehicle transceiver135, so that the inspection condition may be acted upon. Similar types of aerial inspections may be conducted within aircraft100for other targeted inspection points within the aircraft, such as tie down attachment852, fire suppression equipment855, or fire suppressant storage860. As noted above, some of the targeted inspection points for a delivery vehicle may be externally exposed to the vehicle. As shown inFIG.8C, a closeable entry or access hatch865for aircraft100may be opened (or be remotely actuated to open) to allow PID825to move to airborne positions proximate to targeted inspection points accessible and viewable from outside aircraft100. In the example shown inFIG.8D, once out the closable entry or access hatch865(whether a cargo ramp opening, belly storage hold doors, or a dedicated drone hatch), PID825may move to an aerial position near wing875and proximate the air intake fan885of jet engine880. From this aerial position, PID825may detect sensor-based inspection information to automatically identify an out of range inspection condition about the air intake fan885as a targeted inspection point (and transmit a related inspection notification message to vehicle transceiver135if such a condition is automatically identified). In like manner, as shown inFIG.8E, PID825may move to an aerial position above wing875and proximate the control surface aileron890. From this further aerial position, PID825may detect sensor-based inspection information about the control surface890(e.g., its rivets, seams, joints, actuating structure, range of motion, etc.) to automatically identify an out of range inspection condition about the control surface890as a targeted inspection point (and transmit a related inspection notification message to vehicle transceiver135if such a condition is automatically identified). In an embodiment where range of motion action for control surface890is to be inspected, PID825may directly or indirectly communicate with vehicle transceiver135to request actuated movement of the control surface being inspected as part of the inspection and while PID825is in the aerial position above wing875and proximate the control surface aileron890. The vehicle transceiver135may then request human actuation of aircraft controls to responsively cause the control surface to move (e.g., via messaging to flight personnel, display of a message on a transceiver display, or the like), or may responsively interface with the aircraft's avionics system to electronically cause the control surface to move without human intervention. PID825may also inspect targeted inspection points below aircraft100. For example, as shown inFIG.8F, PID825may move to an aerial position below aircraft100and proximate rear landing gear870b. From this position, PID825may use its sensor array to detect sensor-based inspection information about the rear landing gear870b(e.g., its tires, suspension, actuating structure, landing gear doors, etc.) to automatically identify an out of range inspection condition about the landing gear870bas a targeted inspection point. And if there is an out of range inspection condition identified, PID825may transmit a related inspection notification message to vehicle transceiver135. From there, PID825may re-enter aircraft100through entry hatch865and may either continue moving to other positions near further targeted inspection points or return to land on docking station830within drone storage area815. As part of automatically identifying inspection conditions, exemplary PID825may be implemented with connected electronic and sensory components as shown inFIG.9. Referring now toFIG.9, exemplary PID825includes similar components shown and explained with reference toFIGS.2and3for exemplary internal monitor drone125. Beyond those similar components, exemplary PID825includes an onboard controller (OBC)900, which is similar to OBC300. Like OBC300, OBC900uses one or more processors at its core along with memory315(e.g., volatile, non-volatile, or both depending on the configuration of the OBC900). And like OBC300, OBC900interfaces or connects with motor control circuitry (such as electronic speed controllers360a,360b), guidance related circuitry (such as global positioning system (GPS) chip350, inertial measurement unit (IMU)355, and proximity sensors215a,215b), dedicated docking circuitry (such as drone capture interface370and the electronic docking connection235), communication related circuitry (such as communication interface365), payload electronics (such as the onboard sensor array230), and an onboard power source that provides power for all of the onboard active electronics (such as onboard battery385). An embodiment of OBC900may interface or connect with such circuitry by deploying various onboard peripherals (e.g., timer circuitry, USB, USART, general-purpose I/O pins, IR interface circuitry, DMA circuitry, buffers, registers, and the like) that implement interfaces (e.g., a plug type or connectorized interface) to the different components disposed within PID825(e.g., mounted on different parts of airframe200). As part of the exemplary PID825, the OBC900generally controls autonomous flying and docking of the drone825as well as data gathering tasks related to different targeted inspection points using sensory array230. In some embodiments, OBC900may be implemented with a single processor, multi-core processor, or multiple processors and have different programs concurrently running to manage and control the different autonomous flying/docking and sensor-based inspection information detecting tasks. For example, in the embodiment shown inFIG.9, flight/docking control and inspection data gathering/assessment operations may be divided between an onboard flight controller (OFC)305and an onboard inspection processor (OIP)910, respectively. In such an embodiment, OFC305and OIP910may have access to the same memory, such as memory storage315or, alternatively, OBC900may be implemented with separate dedicated memories that are accessible by each of OFC305and OIP910. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that memory accessible by OFC305in an embodiment may have different accessibility and size requirements compared to memory accessible by OIP910given the different memory demands for the different responsibilities. For example, memory accessible by OIP910may be significantly large given the anticipated size of sensor-based inspection information gathered through sensory array230(e.g., imagery, video, depth mappings, etc.) when compared to the size of memory needed for tasks performed by OFC305. As will be explained further, each of OFC305and OIP910may include peripheral interface circuitry that couples the processing element(s) to the different onboard peripheral circuitry, such as the GPS350, inertial measurement unit355, the communication interface365, the electronic speed controllers360a,360bthat control each lifting engine210a,210b, and the like. In more detail, exemplary OIP910may be implemented with a low power microprocessor or processor-based microcontroller that is tasked/programmed to gather or receive sensor-based inspection information from the sensory array230and automatically identify an out of range inspection condition about a targeted inspection point based upon the sensor-based inspection information detected from an aerial position proximate the targeted inspection point. The out of range inspection condition generally indicates the detected sensor-based inspection information is outside an acceptable range for safe or desired operation of the delivery vehicle relative to that particular targeted inspection point. As such, OIP910may be deployed in an embodiment of PID825as a task-dedicated processor that executes operational and application program code (e.g., operating system320, delivery vehicle inspection program925) and other program modules maintained in memory315useful in aerially inspecting different targeted inspection points within and on its paired aircraft100in accordance with embodiments of the invention. More specifically, operating system320may be loaded by OIP910upon power up and provide basic functions, such as program task scheduling, executing of application program code (such as exemplary inspection program925), and controlling lower level circuitry (e.g., registers, buffers, buses, counters, timers, and the like) on OIP310that interface with other peripheral circuitry onboard PID825(such as the sensory array230, proximity sensors215a,215b, the electronic docking connection235, GPS350, IMU355, ESC360a,360b, communication interface365, and DCI370). Once operating system320is loaded, inspection program code925may be loaded and execute as part of implementing an aerial drone-based method for inspecting a delivery vehicle, such as aircraft100. Exemplary inspection program code925is a set of executable instructions in the form of one or more machine-readable, non-transient program code modules or applications. The program code module(s) may be loaded and executed by OBC900(or by OIP910when flight control is dedicated to a separate OFC305) to adapt the PID825into an unconventionally configured aerial inspection apparatus exclusively paired to the aircraft as a linked part of the aircraft that travels with the aircraft during shipment operations providing quick and assured inspection functionality for the aircraft wherever the aircraft is located. This specially configured OBC900of PID825, as described in more detail herein as a part of an embodiment, implements operative process steps and provides functionality that is unconventional, especially when the overall inspection process steps performed by the PID825are considered collectively as a whole. Such a specially adapted and configured paired inspection drone825helps, as a part of an embodiment, to improve the speed and robust nature of inspection operations for parts of the related delivery vehicle—both for designated inspection areas within the delivery vehicle, outside the delivery vehicle, and areas aerially accessible from above the delivery vehicle but that are not visible from a ground level perspective relative to the delivery vehicle. During operation, the OBC900(or at least the OW910) may access and/or generate data maintained within memory315, such as sensory data930, flight profile data935, messaging data940, and an inspection profile record945. In general, sensory data930comprises sensor-based inspection information gathered by different sensors (described above) deployed as part of the sensory array230and may take different forms depending on the type of sensor used and the type of information gathered (e.g., numeric measurements of temperature, images, video, depth sensing measurements, etc.). For example, the different sensors that may be used on the sensory array230of PID825may include an image sensor (e.g., a visual imaging sensor, an infrared (IR) imaging sensor, and/or a thermal imaging sensor), a temperature sensor, and/or a depth sensor (e.g., a LIIDAR sensor and/or an ultrasonic transducer). The sensor-based inspection information detected making up sensory data930may be generated by one of these sensors on sensor array230or by multiple sensors on the sensor array230depending on the type of inspection desired for a particular inspection point. Flight profile data935comprises information that defines how the PID825is to be flying. This data935may include navigational data on an airborne inspection path for the PID825to transit that includes an aerial position proximate each of the respective targeted inspection points for this aircraft100, as well as flight control setting information to use when generating flight control input for the ESCs360a,360bwhen moving relative to these aerial positions. Messaging data940is generally a type of data used when the paired inspection drone generates and/or transmits a notification or other type of message related to the condition of one or more of the targeted inspection points on aircraft100. Such messaging data940may include information on messages received or generated onboard to be sent outside PID825. Inspection profile record945maintains delivery vehicle dependent information accessed and used by inspection program925. Inspection profile record945may be initially loaded into memory315or later updated via a download received by PID825and stored into memory315so as to provide inspection-related information specific to the particular delivery vehicle, such as aircraft100. Inspection profile record945at least includes data indicating the different targeted inspection points corresponding to parts of the delivery vehicle to be inspected and an acceptable range of sensor-based inspection information for each of the targeted inspection points for operation of the delivery vehicle. Using the information in the inspection profile record945and the sensor-based inspection information gathered, the OIP910may automatically identify an unacceptable condition related to the one of the targeted inspection points (i.e., an out of range inspection condition), such as a missing condition, a loose condition, a damaged condition, a cracked condition, a worn condition, a leaking condition, and a thermal related condition. In one embodiment, the inspection profile record945may also include prior sensor-based inspection information detected for one or more of the targeted inspection points. The PID825may store such prior detected information as a benchmark or local reference condition. In this way, the OIP910may use relative measurements (in addition to or instead of absolute measurements) when comparing the sensor-based inspection information for one of the targeted inspection points to prior sensor-based inspection information detected for the same targeted inspection points as part of automatically identifying an inspection condition for that targeted inspection point. In another embodiment, the targeted inspection points defined within the inspection profile record945may include a prioritized subset of the targeted inspection points designated for an enhanced level of sensor-based inspection. Such a subset may be designated in the inspection profile record as, for example, including parts of the delivery vehicle serviced within a threshold period of time and/or including parts of the delivery vehicle exceeding an age threshold. As noted above, the enhanced level of sensor-based inspection may involve more detail or scrutiny, such as using tighter ranges of tolerance for the applicable acceptable range of sensor-based inspection information gathered, spending more time doing the inspection compared to that for other areas, deploying a greater number of sensor types in order to conduct the inspection, and the like. After PID825conducts an aerial inspection of relevant targeted inspection points of aircraft100, the inspection profile record945maintained in the memory315may be updated by OIP910based upon the sensor-based inspection information gathered. As a result, the updated inspection profile record945may reflect an electronic catalog of aerial inspections relative to each of the targeted inspection points on the specific delivery vehicle. Such a catalog may be referenced and used by OIP910to identify a condition trend for particular targeted inspection points that may not yet outside the acceptable range, but may be increasingly approaching the out of range or unacceptable inspection condition to warrant issuing a relevant inspection notification message. Furthermore, the updated inspection profile record945(which may include trend information on particular targeted inspection points) may be transmitted by OIP910to other devices outside of the PID825, such as a vehicle transceiver135or maintenance related receivers operated by maintenance personnel responsible for the delivery vehicle—i.e., aircraft100. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above identification of particular inspection program code925and related data930-945used by such code925are not exhaustive and that embodiments may include further executable program code or modules as well as other data relevant to operations of a specially programmed processing-based paired inspection drone825. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that not all data elements illustrated inFIG.9as being within memory315must appear in memory315at the same time. As discussed above relative toFIG.3, OFC305(as part of OBC900) is a flight controller capable of autonomous flying of drone825. In other words, OFC305(as part of OBC900) may generate the flight control input autonomously to enable the PID825to self-control aerial movements of the PID825from the secured position on the internal docking station830to respective aerial positions proximate each of the targeted inspection points identified in inspection profile record945. Such autonomous flying may involve automatic take off, transiting an airborne monitoring path (e.g., via waypoint flying), and data communication or telemetry while airborne and while secured to the docking station830. In more detail, an embodiment of OFC305(as part of OBC900) includes peripheral interface circuitry (not shown inFIG.9, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that it may be implemented with buffers, registers, buses, and other communication and command pathways) for interacting with guidance related circuitry, motor control circuitry, dedicated docking circuitry, and communication circuitry onboard the PID825as part of controlling movement and flight stability of drone825while navigating and avoiding collisions during movement. Like that of OBC300, OBC900(as well as OFC305and/or OIP910) may be implemented with a low power embedded processor as part of a single-board computer having a system-on-chip (SoC) device operating at its core. In such an embodiment, the SoC device may include different types of memory (e.g., a removable memory card slot, such as a Secure Digital (SD) card slot, as removable memory; flash memory operating as onboard non-volatile memory storage; and RAM memory operating as onboard volatile memory); an operating system (such as Linux) stored on the non-volatile memory storage and running in volatile RAM memory; and peripherals that may implement any of the GPS350, IMU355, ESC360a,360b, communication interface365, DCI370, wired data interface375and charging interface380. In some embodiments, the PID825may be coupled to a base controller on the delivery vehicle via a type of control tether. For example,FIG.10illustrates an embodiment where exemplary PID825is coupled to an exemplary base controller1000with an exemplary control tether1005in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In particular, the base controller1000shown inFIG.10fixed to aircraft100and providing at least data (e.g., flight commands) and, in some embodiments, power to the PID825through the control tether1005(e.g., an electric and/or fiber optic conduit between PID825and base controller1000). As such, the PID825shown in the embodiment ofFIG.10may also include a control receiver coupled to the OBC900of PID825(or implemented as part of OFC305) where the control receiver has an input connected to tether1005. Such a control receiver (e.g., a receiver interface for OFC305operating as the PID's control receiver) receives the flight command from the base controller1000, and passes the received flight command to the onboard controller (e.g., to the OFC305), which then generates the appropriate flight control input for the lifting engines210a,210bbased upon the received flight command. With such a control tether1005, PID825is more limited in its flight range, and has its flight to the different aerial positions proximate targeted inspection points controlled in a non-autonomous way via the control tether1005and base controller1000. In a further embodiment involving flight operations of PID825controlled by base controller1000, the OFC305of PID825may be configured and operative to self-generate landing control input for the lifting engines210a,210b(via signals provided to ESC360a,360b) if the control tether1005breaks. In such a situation, the landing control input provided by OFC305helps to safely return PID825to the internal docking station830and secure the DCI370of PID825to the physical docking interface of the internal docking station830. From a process perspective of inspecting a delivery vehicle, an embodiment of a drone-based method for inspecting the delivery vehicle, such as aircraft100, involves operations of an exclusively paired inspection drone, such as PID825.FIG.11is a flow diagram illustrating such an exemplary drone-based method for inspecting a delivery vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring now toFIG.11, method1100begins at step1105with the paired inspection done (PID) transitioning from at least a low power state to an active power state as part of a targeted inspection operation of the delivery vehicle. The PID may transition from an unpowered state or, alternatively, transition from a low power state such as a sleep mode that conserves power and does not have the full complement of onboard circuitry powered up for normal airborne operations. As explained above with respect to exemplary PID825, the PID is exclusively assigned to the delivery vehicle (e.g., an aircraft (such as aircraft100), a delivery van, a truck coupled with a cargo hauling trailer, or a marine vessel) and travels with the delivery vehicle during a delivery vehicle based shipment operation. Such an operation may be one where the delivery vehicle ships one or more items from a first location to a second location while those items are maintained within a cargo storage area of the delivery vehicle. Thus, the PID is an extension of the delivery vehicle given this linked relationship and physical coupling between the PID and its assigned delivery vehicle. At step1110, method1100continues by automatically uncoupling the PID from a secured position on an internal docking station fixed within the delivery vehicle (e.g., within an accessible cargo storage compartment of an aircraft) once the paired inspection drone transitions to the active power state. For example, as shown inFIG.8A, PID825may be automatically uncoupled from internal docking station830. This may involve actuating a drone capture interface (and articulating landing gear) on PID825to release PID825from stationary structure on docking station830, actuating a physical docking interface on docking station830to release PID825using movable securing clamps on the docking station830, or actuating movable structure on both the PID825and the docking station830to release PID825from its secured position on docking station830. In a further embodiment, step1110may also involve opening at least one access door (not shown) to the accessible storage compartment where the access door may separate a drone storage area from the accessible storage compartment. In still another embodiment, step1110may also involve opening a closable entry door or hatch (such as hatch865) that allows the PID to move outside of the delivery vehicle to conduct aerial inspections of certain targeted inspection points for the delivery vehicle. At step1115, method1100proceeds with an onboard processor on the PID identifying targeted inspection points corresponding to respective parts of the delivery vehicle. This step may involve downloading an inspection profile record for the delivery vehicle into a memory of the PID, where the inspection profile record (such as record945as explained with respect toFIG.9) identifies designated inspection areas specific to the delivery vehicle as the targeted inspection points. Alternatively, this step may have the PID simply accessing an existing inspection profile record in the PID's memory. As explained above, such targeted inspection points may be designated inspection areas specific to inside of the vehicle (e.g., an accessible cargo storage area within an aircraft, a cargo attachment point, a cargo handling point, an onboard safety system area for equipment and material used for fire extinguishing and suppression, an onboard areas for hazardous material storage, and the like). Further, such targeted inspection points may be designated areas externally exposed on the delivery vehicle (e.g., a designated inspection area aerially accessible from above the delivery vehicle but that is not visible from a ground level perspective relative to the delivery vehicle, one or more aircraft components of an aircraft type of delivery vehicle (such as a panel, a rivet, a seam, an engine, a flight control surface, a window seal, a closable entry to within the aircraft, aircraft lighting, an antenna, landing gear, and tires), and the like). In a further embodiment of method1100, one or more of the identified targeted inspection points for the delivery vehicle may be identified as a prioritized subset of the targeted inspection points. As explained above, such a prioritized subset is automatically designated for an enhanced level of sensor-based inspection as part of detecting the sensor-based inspection information for the prioritized group of the targeted inspection points. For example, an exemplary prioritized subset of the delivery vehicle's targeted inspection points may include certain parts of the delivery vehicle not serviced within a threshold period of time or certain parts of the delivery vehicle exceeding an age threshold. Thus, if landing gear870bas shown inFIG.8Fhas not been serviced within a designated maintenance period of time, the inspection conducted by PID825as shown inFIG.8Fmay be an enhanced level of inspection because landing gear870bis identified as within such a prioritized subset of targeted inspection points for aircraft100. An enhanced level of inspection for a targeted inspection point identified as one of the prioritized subset may occur over an enhanced inspection period of time (compared to the time taken by the PID to detect sensor-based inspection information for those not in the prioritized group of the targeted inspection points), may involve multiple sensors on the PID (for a more robust type of inspection—imagery, temperature, IR, etc.). At step1120, method1100proceeds with aerially moving the PID from the secured position on the internal docking station fixed within the delivery vehicle to an aerial position proximate one of the targeted inspection points. This may be a position within the delivery vehicle (such as that shown inFIG.8Bproximate roller840inside aircraft100) or a position outside the delivery vehicle (such as that shown inFIG.8Dproximate air intake fan885of engine880outside of aircraft100). If the position is outside the delivery vehicle, step1120may involve causing a closeable entry access hatch, door, or panel to open so that the PID may move from inside the delivery vehicle's docking station to the aerial position proximate one of the targeted inspection points outside the delivery vehicle. At step1125, method1100has the PID detecting and gathering sensor-based inspection information related to the targeted inspection point. Specifically, this involves having at least one sensor on the PID detecting the sensor-based inspection information once the PID has aerially moved to the aerial position proximate one of the targeted inspection points. The sensor(s) used to detect such sensor-based inspection information may be identified by information in the PID's inspection profile record (e.g., inspection profile record945of exemplary PID825shown inFIG.9). For example, the PID's sensor array may include an image sensor (e.g., a visual imaging sensor, an infrared (IR) imaging sensor, and a thermal imaging sensor) used to capture one or more images relative to a targeted inspection point; a temperature sensor used to measure a temperature relative to a targeted inspection point; or a depth sensor (e.g., a LIDAR sensor, a radar sensor, an ultrasonic transducer) used to surface map a targeted inspection point. At step1130, method1100has the onboard processor of the PID (e.g., OIP910) compare the detected sensor-based inspection information gathered at step1125to information (e.g., reference parameters) maintained as part of the PID's inspection profile record. Such a comparison is part of automatically finding differences between the anticipated condition of the targeted inspection point and the actual condition of the targeted inspection point and quantifying those differences. In one embodiment, the reference information or parameters may be prior sensor-based inspection information for this targeted inspection point. In another embodiment, the reference information or parameters may be measurement or sensor based ranges for the targeted inspection point that corresponds with acceptable operation of that part of the delivery vehicle. In a further embodiment, such reference information or parameters may include both prior sensor-based inspection information for this targeted inspection point and sensor data ranges that may be used in the comparison. In other words, the comparison at step1130may involve a more simplistic comparison of sensor information detected to a limit or range, but may also involve multiple comparisons of different types of detected sensor information to various types of reference information. At step1135, method1100automatically identifies an inspection condition related to the targeted inspection point based upon the results of the comparison in step1130. In other words, the processing of the currently gathered sensor-based inspection information for this targeted inspection point may yield a result that the targeted inspection point is now outside an acceptable range for operation of the delivery vehicle. In more detail, this may be due to the comparison indicating the current state of the targeted inspection point is different enough from prior sensor-based inspection information gathered on the same point so that the result indicates an inspection condition for the point. Such an inspection condition may indicate the targeted inspection point is in an unacceptable condition for proper operation of the inspection point itself and/or proper operation of the delivery vehicle. For example, the unacceptable condition related to the targeted inspection point may be a missing condition, a loose condition, a damaged condition, a cracked condition, a worn condition, a leaking condition, and a thermal related condition. Thus, if step1135fails to automatically identify an inspection condition for the targeted inspection point, step1135proceeds directly to step1155. However, if step1135does automatically identify an inspection condition based upon the sensor-based inspection information detected (e.g., the comparison of such sensor-based inspection information to reference information for the targeted inspection point), step1135proceeds to step1140. At step1140, the PID responsively transmits an inspection notification message to a delivery vehicle receiver disposed on the delivery vehicle (such as vehicle transceiver135). The inspection notification message is a type of feedback for a paired inspection drone-based system associated with the delivery vehicle (or including the delivery vehicle). As such, the delivery vehicle receiver is able to alert personnel associated with the delivery vehicle. In more detail, an embodiment may have step1140also (or alternatively) transmit the inspection notification message to a mobile interactive transceiver operated by vehicle crew personnel for the delivery vehicle to notify the vehicle crew personnel that operate the delivery vehicle (e.g., a flight engineer that uses a ruggedized tablet as a type of mobile interactive transceiver and can view the inspection notification message as well as relevant sensor-based inspection information about the related targeted inspection point). Likewise, an embodiment may have step1140also (or alternatively) transmit the inspection notification message to a maintenance receiver operated by maintenance personnel for the delivery vehicle to notify the maintenance personnel that service the delivery vehicle (e.g., an aircraft mechanic that uses a ruggedized tablet as a type of maintenance receiver and can view the inspection notification message as well as relevant sensor-based inspection information about the related targeted inspection point). At step1145, an embodiment of method1100may have the PID receive a flight command in response to the transmitted inspection notification message. Such a flight command may be received so as to effectively redirect aerial movement of the PID from moving to another of the targeted inspection points and, instead, head back to the prior targeted inspection point for re-inspection of that targeted inspection point. Such a flight command may be sent to the PID from, for example, a delivery vehicle transceiver, a mobile interactive transceiver, or a maintenance receiver—i.e., any of those radio-based devices that received the transmitted inspection notification message. Thus, if the PID did not receive a flight command in step1145, method1100proceeds directly to step1155. Otherwise, step1145continued to step1150where the PID prepares to re-inspect the targeted inspection point. In other words, at step1150, the PID has received a flight command and the PID re-assesses the reference information about the targeted inspection point in order to prepare to re-inspect the targeted inspection point. In this step, re-assessing the reference information may have the PID using further information from the inspection profile record and/or information provided in or with the flight command relevant to an enhanced level of inspection so that the PID can proceed back to step1125from step1150to conduct the re-inspection. Such an enhanced level may gather further detailed sensor-based inspection information that than performed previously, such as more images, more views or gathering images from different perspectives relative to the targeted inspection point. Thus, method1100continues back to step1125from step1150for the re-inspection of the targeted inspection point. However, if no flight command was received in step1145, method1100continued at step1155to determine if the PID is at the end of an inspection associated with each of the targeted inspection points for the delivery vehicle. If not, then step1155proceeds to step1160where the PID moves to the next aerial position proximate another of the targeted inspection points and then continues back to step1125. Otherwise, the PID is at the end of the inspection and method1100continued from step1155to step1165. At step1165, method1100may proceed with the onboard processor of the PID updating the inspection profile record stored in a memory of the PID based upon the sensor-based inspection information provided by the sensor to the onboard processor (i.e., the sensor-based inspection information detected at step1125. In a more detailed embodiment, the updated inspection profile record may reflect an electronic catalog of aerial inspections relative to each of the targeted inspection points on the delivery vehicle. This type of catalog may, thus, provide a part-by-part inspection history with which to identify trends and pre-failure conditions as types of inspection conditions to automatically identify as part of step1135. In some embodiments, this update step may be performed as part of another embodiment of method1100after the inspections for all of the delivery vehicle's targeted inspection points have been conducted. However, in other embodiment, this update step may be implemented incrementally after the sensor-based inspection information is detected for anything less than all of the delivery vehicle's targeted inspection points. For example, the PID may update the inspection profile record in its memory based upon the sensor-based inspection information gathered after inspecting different subsets of the targeted inspection points or after inspecting each of the targeted inspection points for the delivery vehicle. At step1170, method1100may proceed with the PID transmitting the updated inspection profile record to a second radio-based receiver, such as a maintenance receiver separate from the delivery vehicle, to the delivery vehicle receiver, and/or to a mobile interactive transceiver operated by vehicle crew personnel for the delivery vehicle. Similar to that described above related to step1165, in some embodiments, step1170may be performed as part of a further embodiment of method1100after all inspections for the delivery vehicle's targeted inspection points have been conducted. However, in other embodiment, this update step may be implemented incrementally after the sensor-based inspection information is detected relative to each of the delivery vehicle's targeted inspection points. At step1175, method1100has the PID returning to the internal docking station to land and be secured relative to the docking station, such as when PID825lands on internal docking station830and PID825transitions to a secured position on docking station830. In a further embodiment, the PID may return to the internal docking station prior to the end of the delivery vehicle's inspection—e.g., while awaiting a flight command from another radio-based device used by personnel involved with the delivery vehicle, such as flight personnel or maintenance personnel. FIG.12is a diagram of another embodiment that more explicitly shows additional radio-based devices that may interact with PID825as part of a more detailed drone-based system for inspecting aircraft100and that may implement embodiments of method1100. Referring now toFIG.12, exemplary aircraft100is shown as a type of delivery vehicle for transporting items (e.g., packaged shipping item845) as part of a shipment operation. Similar to that shown inFIG.8B,FIG.12shows exemplary PID825in an aerial position proximate a targeted inspection point (e.g., roller840) within a cargo storage area820of aircraft100. Exemplary PID825, as described above, may transmit messages (e.g., an inspection notification message) to and receive messages/commands from a variety of radio-based devices, such as delivery vehicle transceiver135and radio-based transceivers1200,1205, and1210. As noted above, delivery vehicle transceiver135is a radio-based device that may be implemented as a standalone unit (e.g., a ruggedized radio-based tablet or smartphone used by aircraft crew personnel) or an integrated part of the aircraft's avionics suite disposed within the aircraft's operation control section105(e.g., a cockpit compartment from which flight personnel can control and fly the aircraft100). In more detail, an embodiment of the vehicle transceiver135may be fixed within operation control section105and have at least a display, a control input interface, and a radio. As such, the delivery vehicle transceiver135may generate vehicle related information for presenting on the display (such as information related to any received inspection notification messages on a particular targeted inspection point), receive user input via the control input interface (such as a selective follow-up action (e.g., re-inspection at an enhanced level) to take relative to a targeted inspection point), and communicate with PID825over the radio (or communicate with any of radio-based transceivers1200,1205, and1210used by flight personnel responsible for operating the aircraft100, maintenance personnel, or logistics personnel). As shown inFIG.12, radio-based transceivers1200,1205, and1210are exemplary types of mobile interactive transceivers that may communicate with at least the delivery vehicle transceiver135or each other. For example, radio-based transceiver1200is shown as an exemplary mobile interactive transceiver associated with and operated by an aircraft operator (e.g., pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, cargo specialist, and the like) in compartment105that is responsible for controlling the aircraft100. Exemplary radio-based transceiver1200may be implemented as a ruggedized radio-based tablet or smartphone used by aircraft crew personnel and carried with them while performing duties within aircraft100. Radio-based transceiver1205is shown as an exemplary maintenance transceiver separate from the aircraft100and the delivery vehicle transceiver135onboard aircraft100. Radio-based transceiver1205, as a maintenance transceiver, is operated by maintenance personnel (e.g., a mechanic) associated with servicing the aircraft100. In some embodiments, delivery vehicle transceiver135(or flight personnel radio-based mobile interactive transceiver1200) may forward information related to the inspection notification message to the maintenance transceiver1205. This may occur automatically when the inspection notification message meets an automatically identifiable criteria (e.g., a relevant targeted inspection point associated with the inspection notification message is not found or is demonstrably damaged as indicated by the identified inspection condition). However, in other embodiments, the forwarding of information to the maintenance transceiver1205may occur based upon user input provided to the delivery vehicle transceiver135(or transceiver1200), such as when flight personnel reviews the inspection notification message from an initial aerial inspection by PID825and provides user input to cause transceiver135(or transceiver1200) to forward such information to maintenance transceiver1205as a type of maintenance request specific to the targeted inspection point at issue in the inspection notification message. Further still, other embodiments may forward information related to an inspection notification message after a re-inspection of the targeted inspection point of interest is performed. This may also occur based upon user input received by the delivery vehicle transceiver135(or transceiver1200) or automatically based upon information related to the re-inspection. For example, delivery vehicle transceiver135(or transceiver1200) may automatically forward a re-inspection related notification message to maintenance transceiver1205after flight personnel reviews another inspection notification message from a re-inspection performed by PID825. In further embodiments, the PID825may directly transmit the relevant inspection notification message to the maintenance transceiver and avoid the need to use the delivery vehicle transceiver135(or transceiver1200) as an intermediary component in such an enhanced drone-based inspection system for aircraft100. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the advantageous and unconventional integration of a maintenance transceiver as part of a paired inspection drone-based system for inspecting a delivery vehicle, such as aircraft100, yields an improved and enhanced inspection system that reduces the inspection and related maintenance time it takes to keep the delivery vehicle operating as part of logistics operations. Likewise, exemplary radio-based transceiver1210may be implemented as a ruggedized radio-based tablet or smartphone used by logistics personnel responsible for loading and unloading shipping items (such as item845) within aircraft100. Radio-based transceiver1210is shown as another mobile interactive logistics transceiver separate from the aircraft100and the delivery vehicle transceiver135onboard aircraft100. As with transceiver1205, in some embodiments, delivery vehicle transceiver135(or flight personnel radio-based mobile interactive transceiver1200) may forward information related to the inspection notification message to the mobile logistics transceiver1210. This may occur automatically when the inspection notification message meets an automatically identifiable criteria (e.g., a relevant targeted inspection point associated with the inspection notification message is not found or is demonstrably damaged as indicated by the identified inspection condition). However, in other embodiments, the forwarding of information to the mobile logistics transceiver1210may occur based upon user input provided to the delivery vehicle transceiver135(or transceiver1200), such as when flight personnel reviews the inspection notification message from an initial aerial inspection by PID825and provides user input to cause transceiver135(or transceiver1200) to forward such information to mobile logistics transceiver1210as a type of logistics request specific to the targeted inspection point at issue in the inspection notification message. This may, for example, inform logistics personnel responsible for loading/unloading the delivery vehicle of an issue with a cargo handling point that is missing or otherwise may be malfunctioning. Further still, other embodiments may forward information related to an inspection notification message after a re-inspection of the targeted inspection point of interest is performed. This may also occur based upon user input received by the delivery vehicle transceiver135(or transceiver1200) or automatically based upon information related to the re-inspection. For example, delivery vehicle transceiver135(or transceiver1200) may automatically forward a re-inspection related notification message to mobile logistics transceiver1210after flight personnel reviews another inspection notification message from a re-inspection performed by PID825. In further embodiments, the PID825may directly transmit the relevant inspection notification message to the mobile logistics transceiver1210and avoid the need to involve the delivery vehicle transceiver135(or transceiver1200) as an intermediary component in such an enhanced drone-based inspection system for aircraft100. With reference to the embodiment illustrated inFIG.12(and the earlier descriptions of embodiments that aerially inspect targeted inspection points on a delivery vehicle inFIGS.8A-11), an exemplary enhanced drone-based inspection system may include the paired aerial inspection drone (e.g., PID825), an internal docking station (e.g., station830), a delivery vehicle transceiver (e.g., vehicle transceiver135), and a mobile interactive transceiver (e.g., such as one or the radio-based transceivers1200-1210). Some embodiments of this system may also include the delivery vehicle itself as part of the system—especially, as the paired inspection drone is essentially an exclusively assigned extension of the vehicle as a sensor-based monitor that travels with the delivery vehicle during shipment operations. Examples of such a relevant delivery vehicle may include an aircraft (such as aircraft100), a delivery van, a truck coupled with a cargo hauling trailer, or a marine vessel. Regarding operation of such a system, the system's paired aerial inspection drone in this embodiment automatically uncouples from the internal docking station at the beginning of a targeted inspection flight to inspect targeted inspection points of the delivery vehicle; automatically identifies an inspection condition about at least one of the targeted inspection points based upon sensor-based inspection information gathered related to at least one of the targeted inspection points (where such an inspection condition indicates a situation that is outside an acceptable range for operation of the delivery vehicle); and transmits an inspection notification message to the delivery vehicle transceiver upon identifying the inspection condition. In response, the system's delivery vehicle transceiver is configured to forward information related to the inspection notification message to the mobile interactive transceiver (e.g., where delivery vehicle transceiver135forwards information related an inspection notification message about roller840to mobile interactive transceiver100operated by flight personnel that control aircraft100). In further response, the mobile interactive transceiver is configured to receive the information related to the inspection notification message from the delivery vehicle transceiver and display at least a portion of the forwarded information related to the inspection notification message to the delivery vehicle personnel associated with the delivery vehicle (e.g., a pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, cargo specialist, or other flight personnel that control aspects of the operation of aircraft100). In a more detailed embodiment, the delivery vehicle transceiver may generate inspection notification information related to the inspection condition as vehicle related information for presenting on the display of the delivery vehicle transceiver. In response, the delivery vehicle transceiver may receive inspection condition feedback input as user input received via the control input interface of the delivery vehicle transceiver. This inspection condition feedback may indicate an instruction to forward information related to the inspection notification message to the mobile interactive transceiver. Based upon such an instruction, the delivery vehicle transceiver may then selectively transmit the information related to the inspection notification message to the mobile interactive transceiver. Relative to interactive display aspects of the mobile interactive transceiver in this exemplary system embodiment, the mobile interactive transceiver may display at least a portion of the forwarded information it receives related to the inspection notification message as a prompt for an enhanced inspection of the at least one of the targeted inspection points. Furthermore, the mobile interactive transceiver (such as transceiver1200used by flight personnel or transceiver1210used by logistics personnel) may receive input from such personnel in response to the displayed prompt. Such input may take the form of a verified result indication related to the enhanced inspection of the relevant targeted inspection point(s). Thereafter, the system's mobile interactive transceiver may transmit a confirmation message to the delivery vehicle transceiver, where the confirmation message indicate the result of the enhanced inspection of the at least one of the targeted inspection points. In still a further embodiment of an enhanced drone-based inspection system, a separate maintenance transceiver (e.g., transceiver1205operated by a mechanic that services aircraft100) may be added as part of the system. As such, the system's delivery vehicle transceiver may forward information related to the inspection notification message to the maintenance transceiver as a type of maintenance request. However, in another embodiment, the system's maintenance receiver may directly receive such information from the paired aerial inspection drone directly without relying upon an intermediary element, such as the delivery vehicle transceiver or the mobile interactive transceiver. In particular, another embodiment of such an enhanced drone-based inspection system may focus more on such a direct communication link between the paired inspection drone (e.g., PID825as shown inFIG.12) and a mobile interactive transceiver. Here, the aerial inspection drone is paired to the delivery vehicle as an exclusively assigned sensor-based monitor that travels with the delivery vehicle during a delivery vehicle based shipment operation. The paired aerial inspection drone deploys multiple sensors to detect sensor-based inspection information about targeted inspection points on the delivery vehicle similar to that discussed above. In this embodiment, the system's paired aerial inspection drone is configured and operative to control its internal flight control elements (e.g., lifting engines210a,210b) to fly proximate each of the targeted inspection points as part of a targeted inspection flight. During this targeted inspection flight, the system's paired aerial inspection drone detects, senses, or otherwise gathers sensor-based inspection information from one or more of the sensors relative to each of the targeted inspection points. While doing so (or in some embodiments after gathering all such sensor-based inspection information relative to each of the targeted inspection points), the system's paired aerial inspection drone automatically identifies an inspection condition about one or more of the targeted inspection points based upon the sensor-based inspection information gathered. Such an inspection condition indicating the one or more of the targeted inspection points are outside an acceptable range for operation of the delivery vehicle. Thereafter, the system's paired aerial inspection drone broadcasts an inspection notification message over a wireless communication channel. The system's mobile interactive transceiver in this embodiment is disposed as a system element that is generally in communication with the paired aerial inspection drone and being operated by delivery vehicle personnel associated with the delivery vehicle, such as flight operator personnel, maintenance personnel, or logistics personnel. In more detail, the system's mobile interactive transceiver has a graphical display (e.g., a touchscreen) that presents visual information to the delivery vehicle personnel, a control input receiver that receives user input from the delivery vehicle personnel (e.g., buttons, switches, or a touchscreen part of the graphical display), and a wireless radio operative to communicate with the paired aerial inspection drone over the wireless communication channel (e.g., a cellular or other formatted wireless communication path). As part of the system, the system's mobile interactive transceiver receives the inspection notification message directly from the paired aerial inspection drone through the wireless radio, and generates a prompt message as the graphical display on the interactive display interface. The prompt message provides information related to the inspection notification message and the identified inspection condition related to at least one of the targeted inspection points. The system's mobile interactive transceiver may also receive input on the control input receiver from the delivery vehicle personnel in response to the generated prompt message. Such input may be provided as a verified result indication related to the enhanced inspection of at least one of the targeted inspection points. Further, the system's mobile interactive transceiver may transmit a confirmation message directly back to the paired aerial inspection drone. Such a confirmation message may indicates the result of the enhanced inspection of the at least one of the targeted inspection points, and allow the paired aerial inspection drone to quickly and efficiently continue to conduct its inspection of the remaining targeted inspection points. In another embodiment, the system may include two different mobile interactive transceivers (e.g., transceiver1200operated by flight personnel and transceiver1210operated by logistics personnel associated with loading or unloading the delivery vehicle). Each of these different mobile interactive transceivers have a direct communication path to the paired aerial inspection drone and, thus, are capable of respectively receiving the inspection notification message directly from the paired aerial inspection drone through the wireless radio (and responding as described herein). In still a further embodiment of this exemplary enhanced drone-based inspection system, a separate maintenance transceiver (e.g., transceiver1205operated by a mechanic that services aircraft100) may be added as part of the system. As such, the system's delivery vehicle transceiver may forward information related to the inspection notification message to the maintenance transceiver as a type of maintenance request. However, in another embodiment, the system's maintenance receiver may directly receive such information from the paired aerial inspection drone directly without relying upon an intermediary element, such as the delivery vehicle transceiver or the mobile interactive transceiver. Updating for Modified Inspections Using a Paired Inspection Drone While the above described embodiments generally deploy an aerial inspection drone paired as an exclusive part of a delivery vehicle, further embodiments may include exemplary paired-drone based systems and methods for conducting a modified inspection of the delivery vehicle when the paired inspection drone receives an inspection update message. In general, an embodiment of an aerial inspection drone paired to the delivery vehicle may advantageously and unconventionally be re-tasked to conduct a modified airborne inspection of a different set of delivery vehicle parts, change how to inspect a given set of delivery vehicle parts, or both. Such a dynamic ability to update, modify, or change what should be inspected and how such inspection points should be inspected provides a further improvement on how a delivery vehicle is inspected. As such, the embodiments shown inFIGS.13-16and described below provide a technical solution that improves how a delivery vehicle may be more efficiently self-inspecting using an exclusively paired aerial inspection drone that can be updated on-the-fly to modify how the delivery vehicle is to be inspected or alter how an ongoing inspection is to be completed by such a paired aerial inspection drone. In more detail,FIG.13is a diagram of an exemplary drone-based system for conducting a modified inspection of a delivery vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As shown inFIG.13, this exemplary system embodiment includes an inspection drone1325paired to the delivery vehicle (e.g., an aircraft, a trailer pulled with a motorized vehicle, a marine vessel, and a railroad car) that communicates with a delivery vehicle transceiver1335. Exemplary PID1325is configured similar to PID825(as described above) with some functional differences in its inspection program925as it operates as an element of an exemplary system for conducting a modified inspection of a delivery vehicle. In more detail and with similar parts as explained and shown for exemplary PID825, exemplary PID1325is used to aerially inspect parts of aircraft100and includes a main housing, an onboard controller disposed within the main housing, a memory storage coupled to the onboard controller, and multiple lifting engines that are coupled with respective lifting rotors fixed to a different portions of the main housing. Each of the lifting engines on PID1325is responsive to flight control input generated by the onboard controller as part of maintaining a desired flight profile. Exemplary PID1325further includes one or more sensors (such as sensors from sensor array230) along with a communication interface that each are coupled to the onboard controller. The sensor detects or gathers sensor-based inspection information while the PID1325is airborne and then provides the detected sensor-based inspection information to the onboard controller. The communication interface is deployed, in this example, as a wireless radio-based communication interface (similar to communication interface365) that can send and receive wireless signals (such as signals1305,1310) from other radio-based devices, such as delivery vehicle transceiver1335. For example, signal1305may be an inspection update message transmitted by delivery vehicle transceiver1335and received by the communication interface on PID1325, while signal1310may be an inspection notification message transmitted by the communication interface on PID1325to the delivery vehicle transceiver1335. FIG.14presents further details about exemplary components that may be used to implement an exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver1335in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring now toFIG.14, exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver1335is shown having a housing1400that maintains elements on it or within it that make up the transceiver1335. For example, housing1400supports an exemplary user interface that includes a display1410(e.g., a CRT display, flat screen display, dot matrix display, interactive touchscreen display, and the like); a panel1420of buttons1425(e.g., power button, illumination button, and the like) and control knobs/switches1430-1440; and a set of keys1415that function as a type of keyboard for user input. Generally, such user interface components for delivery vehicle transceiver1335may display information to a user via display1410and accept input from the user via keys1415and panel1420to use in interactions with the PID1325. Exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver1335further includes a transceiver microcontroller1405having one or more processors and memory at its core along with memory disposed within housing1400. Transceiver microcontroller1405interfaces with the user interface components described above along with a wireless radio1445, an external data interface1450, and an avionics interface1455. An embodiment of transceiver microcontroller1405may interface or connect with such circuitry by deploying various onboard peripherals (e.g., timer circuitry, USB, USART, general-purpose I/O pins, IR interface circuitry, DMA circuitry, buffers, registers, and the like) that implement an interface (e.g., a plug type or connectorized interface) to these different components disposed within delivery vehicle transceiver1335. Wireless radio1445is generally a radio-based transceiver that may use one or more wireless formats (e.g., Wi-Fi frequencies and formats, cellular frequencies and formats, ISM radio frequencies and formats for RF data signaling, LMR and SMR wireless frequencies and formats, and the like) to broadcast and receive through its associated antenna. Wireless radio1445accepts control input and messaging input from transceiver microcontroller1405(such as information used for an inspection update message) and provides received messages and/or data received to transceiver microcontroller1405(such as an inspection notification message) for processing and appropriate display tasks performed by the transceiver microcontroller1405in conjunction with, for example, display1410. The exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver1335may deploy the external data interface1450coupled to the transceiver microcontroller1405as a general type of externally accessible interface, such as a USB interface or other data interface. Using such an external data interface1450, delivery vehicle transceiver1335may interact with external peripherals, such as an external display (not shown) to show information related to an inspection notification message received or an external memory storage (not shown) that may maintain and provide access to updated information on additional inspection points for a delivery vehicle (e.g., a different or modified set of parts of the aircraft100to be inspected, changes in how to inspect one or more of such delivery vehicle parts, or both). Likewise, exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver1335may use an avionics interface1455coupled to the transceiver microcontroller1405as a type interface to the avionics suite of electronics disposed on the delivery vehicle. For example, avionics interface1445may allow delivery vehicle transceiver1335to communicate over an avionics bus deployed on the delivery vehicle, such as an ARINC 429 data bus, a MIL-STD-1553 bus, a Honeywell SAFEbus backplane data bus used on different types of aircraft. Similar to the external data interface1450, such an avionics interface1455may allow delivery vehicle transceiver1335to interact with avionics equipment, such as a cockpit multi-function display (not shown) to show information related to an inspection notification message received or an onboard avionics memory storage (not shown) that may maintain and provide access to updated information on additional inspection points for a delivery vehicle (e.g., a different or modified set of parts of the aircraft100to be inspected, changes in how to inspect one or more of such delivery vehicle parts, or both). Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that transceiver microcontroller1405may be implemented with a low power embedded processor as part of a single-board computer having a system-on-chip (SoC) device operating at its core. In such an embodiment, the SoC device may include different types of memory (e.g., a removable memory card slot, such as a Secure Digital (SD) card slot, as removable memory; flash memory operating as onboard non-volatile memory storage; and RAM memory operating as onboard volatile memory); an operating system (such as Linux) stored on the non-volatile memory storage and running in volatile RAM memory; and peripherals that may implement any of wireless radio1445, external data interface1450, and avionics interface1455. Additionally, exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver1335includes a power interface and transformer1460that provides electrical power to the active circuitry within exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver1335using externally supplied electricity (which may be transformed to the desired voltage for use by the active circuitry within exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver1335) or an onboard battery1465. Onboard battery1465may be charged via the power interface and transformer1460, which may be connected to an external power supply on the delivery vehicle (e.g., aircraft100). In an exemplary system embodiment that includes PID1325and delivery vehicle transceiver1335, the delivery vehicle transceiver1335may generate an inspection update message identifying information about at least one or more additional inspection points. The additional inspection points for a delivery vehicle generally include updated information used for a modified inspection of the delivery vehicle. As noted above, this may include a different or modified set of parts of the delivery vehicle (e.g., aircraft100) to be inspected, changes in how to inspect one or more of the delivery vehicle parts, or both. The updated information for the additional inspection points may be accepted as input on the user interface (e.g., via touchscreen interactions on display1410, via alphanumeric input provided on keys1415, via user input provided on panel1420of buttons1425and/or control knobs/switches1430-1440). Such updated information may be accepted as raw data input manually through such user interface interactions or, in some instances, may be accepted as prompted interactions vis the user interface elements that cause delivery vehicle transceiver1335to access either onboard memory or externally accessible memory to retrieve such updated information. Once generated, the delivery vehicle transceiver1335transmits the inspection update message via its wireless radio1445. The system's PID1325is then operative to receive the inspection update message from the delivery vehicle transceiver1335. This may occur prior to the PID1325lifting off from docking station830(shown inFIG.13) or may occur once PID1325is airborne. Furthermore, reception of the inspection update message by the airborne PID1325may occur before the PID1325has begun conducting an inspection of certain targeted inspection points on the aircraft100or, alternatively, may occur after the PID1325has begun conducting its aerial inspection of targeted inspection points on the aircraft100. The onboard controller (e.g., transceiver microcontroller1405) of PID1325receives the inspection update message from its onboard wireless communication interface and PID1325accesses its memory storage to identify existing delivery vehicle inspection points from the inspection profile record stored in the memory storage (e.g., existing delivery vehicle inspection points for aircraft100identified in inspection profile record945within memory315). The identification of existing delivery vehicle inspection points may, in some instances, occur before receiving the inspection update message or, in other instances, may occur after and as a result of receiving the inspection update message. The delivery vehicle transceiver's onboard controller then updates the existing delivery vehicle inspection points with the information related to the additional inspection points to yield updated information that identifies relevant targeted inspection points corresponding to respective parts of the delivery vehicle to use in a modified inspection of the delivery vehicle. For example, the transceiver microcontroller1405of PID1325may modify the inspection profile record to identify the targeted inspection points (which include information on the additional inspection points) and store the modified inspection profile record in memory accessible by microcontroller1405. Such updated information on the additional inspection points may include the same parts to be inspected but with different inspection parameters (e.g., which sensor or sensors to use, how to position the PID1325when using such sensor(s), and how much data to gather using the sensor(s) over periods of time) and/or different parts to be inspected using new inspection parameters for such parts. Some of the additional inspection points may be specific to inside of the delivery vehicle (such as an accessible cargo storage area within an aircraft, a cargo attachment point located within an accessible cargo storage area, a cargo handling point that helps move cargo shipments within an accessible cargo storage area (e.g., a roller, a caster, a portion of a roller deck, a roller ball mat, a castor mat, a turntable, and a conveyor)). Other additional inspection points may be externally exposed on the delivery vehicle, such as a designated inspection area aerially accessible from above the delivery vehicle that is not visible from a ground level perspective relative to the delivery vehicle or an aircraft component (e.g., a panel, a rivet, a seam, an engine, a flight control surface, a window seal, a closable entry to within the aircraft, aircraft lighting, an antenna, landing gear, and a tire). The PID1325then conducts the modified inspection of the delivery vehicle by gathering sensor-based inspection information related to each of the targeted inspection points (based upon the additional inspection points information). The PID1325may use one or more sensors when gathering this inspection information, such as an image sensor (e.g., visual imaging sensor, an infrared (IR) imaging sensor, and a thermal imaging sensor) that captures one or more images relative to the additional inspection points and in accordance with information related to the additional inspection points, or a depth measuring sensor (e.g., a LIDAR sensor and a sound transducer) that maps a surface relative to an additional inspection point in accordance with information related to that additional inspection point. In a further embodiment, the PID1325may use two sensors of different types a particular additional inspection point or use different types of sensors for different ones of the additional inspection points in accordance with the updated information stored in the modified inspection profile record that indicates the type of sensor to use with the targeted inspection points (including any additional inspection points). A further embodiment may, for example, have the onboard controller of PID1325autonomously send flight control input to the lifting engines to cause PID1325to traverse respective aerial positions proximate each of the targeted inspection points as part of conducting the modified inspection of the delivery vehicle. When doing so, the onboard controller of PID1325may automatically identify an inspection condition about at least one of the targeted inspection points when the sensor-based inspection information for the at least one of the targeted inspection points is outside of an acceptable range related to that particular targeted inspection point, and then cause the communication interface of PID1325to responsively transmit an inspection notification message to the delivery vehicle transceiver upon identifying the inspection condition for that targeted inspection point. As shown inFIG.13, the delivery vehicle transceiver1335is disposed in a control compartment105for the aircraft100and, in some implementations, may be implemented as an integrated part of aircraft100. However, in other embodiments, such as that shown inFIG.15, the above described system's delivery vehicle transceiver may be a mobile transceiver device used in support of delivery vehicle operations that is physically separate from the delivery vehicle. Referring now toFIG.15, radio-based transceiver1200is shown as an exemplary mobile interactive transceiver associated with and operated by an aircraft operator (e.g., pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, cargo specialist, and the like) in compartment105that is responsible for controlling the aircraft100. As noted above, exemplary radio-based transceiver1200may be implemented as a ruggedized radio-based tablet or smartphone used by aircraft crew personnel and carried with them while performing duties within aircraft100. Relative to a system embodiment for conducting a modified inspection, exemplary radio-based transceiver1200may interact with PID1325in the same role as transceiver1335is described above. In this manner, an operator of radio-based transceiver1200may provide input on one or more additional inspection points related to the delivery vehicle so that radio-based transceiver1200transmits the inspection updated message to PID1325. In one example, this may allow the operator of radio-based transceiver1200to have received a prior inspection notification message from PID1325and provide further detailed and changed inspection parameters for a particular targeted inspection point (e.g., updated information considered as an additional inspection point) or provide further relevant parts of the aircraft100that are to be inspected as additional inspection points. In another example, this may allow the operator of radio-based transceiver1200to update PID1325to reflect new cargo attachment points are being used within aircraft100or certain cargo handling points have been changed or configured differently to accommodate the current cargo of items to be shipped within the aircraft's internal shipment storage area820. In this manner, interactive signaling1305,1310may be used between radio-based transceiver1200(operating as a type of delivery vehicle transceiver) and PID1325as part of an exemplary drone-based system for conducting a modified inspection of the delivery vehicle. Furthermore, while not shown inFIG.15, those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of exemplary radio-based transceivers1205and1210may similarly interact with PID1325in the same role as transceiver1335is described above in other embodiments of a drone-based system for conducting a modified inspection of the delivery vehicle. In similar fashion, this type of system embodiment may operate in accordance with an exemplary drone-based method for conducting a modified inspection of a delivery vehicle.FIG.16is a flow diagram illustrating such an exemplary drone-based method for conducting a modified inspection of a delivery vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring now toFIG.16, method1600begins at step1605where a first transceiver receives input that identifies at least one or more additional inspection points. For example, the first transceiver (e.g., delivery vehicle transceiver1335or one of the mobile radio-based transceivers1200,1205,1210physically separate from the delivery vehicle) may receive such input through its user interface components, where the input accepted identifies information about the additional inspection points. Such information may include the identification of further parts of the delivery vehicle to inspect as well as further or different inspection parameters to use when inspecting those further parts or the existing parts to be inspected. Such information may reflect a change in the configuration of the delivery vehicle or the addition of new equipment used onboard the delivery vehicle. In another example, the first transceiver may receive information about the additional inspection points as data from an external source, such as a memory storage coupled to the first transceiver (e.g., an update file that includes the information about the additional inspection points). The external information may be accepted through a prompted input using the user interface elements of the first transceiver (e.g., depressing a switch or button, or tapping an interactive touchscreen display interface when selecting such information or when downloading such information). At step1610, method1600proceeds by generating and transmitting an inspection update message by the first transceiver to a paired inspection drone (PID), such as PID1325, which is a linked part of the delivery vehicle and that travels with the delivery vehicle during delivery vehicle based shipment operations (such as when shipping cargo items maintained within a cargo storage area of the delivery vehicle). The inspection update message essentially identifies at least one or more additional inspection points associated with the delivery vehicle using the information obtained and accepted in step1605. At step1615, method1600has the PID receiving the inspection update message transmitted by the first transceiver. For example, as shown inFIG.13, exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver1335transmits a wireless signal1305to PID1325that includes an inspection update message that has information identifying additional inspection points relative to what is to be inspected on aircraft100. At step1620, method1600proceeds with the PID accessing memory to identify existing delivery vehicle inspection points from an inspection profile record stored in memory. The inspection profile record, such as record945, essentially maintains delivery vehicle dependent information in the form of data indicating the different targeted delivery vehicle inspection points corresponding to parts of the delivery vehicle to be inspected and an acceptable range of sensor-based inspection information for each of the targeted inspection points for operation of the delivery vehicle. This existing set of information may also include prior sensor-based inspection information detected for one or more of the targeted delivery vehicle inspection points and, in some instances, may include a prioritized subset of the targeted delivery vehicle inspection points designated for an enhanced level of sensor-based inspection. At step1625, method1600proceeds with the PID updating the existing delivery vehicle inspection points with the information on additional inspection points to yield an updated set of targeted inspection points corresponding to respective parts of the delivery vehicle. In more detail, the PID may generate a modified inspection profile record that identifies the updated targeted inspection points as a first group of designated inspection areas specific to the delivery vehicle as the existing delivery vehicle inspection points and identifies a second group of designated inspection areas specific to the delivery vehicle as the additional inspection points. Embodiments may collectively identify both groups as the new targeted set of inspection points, which may include a changed set of inspection points, a set of inspection points having changed inspection parameters on how to inspection such points, and/or a set of inspection points having changed inspection thresholds for acceptable operation. At step1630, method1600proceeds to use at least one sensor on the PID to conduct the modified inspection of the delivery vehicle by gathering sensor-based inspection information related to each of the targeted inspection points and provide the sensor-based inspection information by the sensor to an onboard processor on the PID. For example, this may involve capturing one or more images relative to a targeted inspection point using an image sensor (e.g., a visual imaging sensor, an infrared (IR) imaging sensor, and a thermal imaging sensor), or surface mapping relative to a targeted inspection point using a depth sensor (e.g., a LIDAR sensor and a sound transducer). In another example, this may involve detecting the sensor-based inspection information for one targeted inspection point with a first type of sensor and detecting the sensor-based inspection information for a second targeted inspection point with a second type of sensor according to the modified inspection profile record. When the relevant sensor-based inspection information for a particular targeted inspection point identified in the modified inspection profile record has been gathered, steps1635and1640automatically identify an inspection condition about that targeted inspection point (which may be one of the additional inspection points). In particular, at step1635, method1600proceeds with the PID comparing the gathered sensor-based inspection information to reference parameters for that targeted inspection point (which may be one of the additional inspection points) in accordance with information in the modified inspection profile record. In one embodiment, the reference information or parameters may be prior sensor-based inspection information for this targeted inspection point. In another embodiment, the reference information or parameters may be measurement or sensor based ranges for the targeted inspection point that corresponds with acceptable operation of that part of the delivery vehicle. In a further embodiment, such reference information or parameters may include both prior sensor-based inspection information for this targeted inspection point and sensor data ranges that may be used in the comparison. In other words, the comparison at step1635may involve a more simplistic comparison of sensor information detected to a limit or range, but may also involve multiple comparisons of different types of detected sensor information to various types of reference information as reflected in the modified inspection profile record for that targeted inspection point. At step1640, method1600automatically identifies an inspection condition related to the targeted inspection point (which may be one of the additional inspection points) based upon the results of the comparison in step1635. In other words, the processing of the currently gathered sensor-based inspection information for this targeted inspection point may yield a result that the targeted inspection point is now outside an acceptable range for operation of the delivery vehicle according to the modified information in the inspection profile record. Thus, if step1640fails to automatically identify an inspection condition for the targeted inspection point, step1640proceeds directly to step1650. However, if step1640does automatically identify an inspection condition based upon the sensor-based inspection information detected (e.g., the comparison of such sensor-based inspection information to reference information for the targeted inspection point), step1640proceeds to step1645. At step1645, method1600proceeds by responsively transmitting, by the paired inspection drone, an inspection notification message to a delivery vehicle receiver disposed on the delivery vehicle upon identifying the inspection condition for the at least one targeted inspection point is outside the acceptable range for operation of the delivery vehicle At step1645, an embodiment of method1600may have the PID responsively transmit an inspection notification message to a delivery vehicle receiver disposed on the delivery vehicle (such as exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver1335). This inspection notification message is a type of feedback for a paired inspection drone-based system associated with the delivery vehicle (or including the delivery vehicle) as the PID conducts the modified inspection of the delivery vehicle. As such, the delivery vehicle receiver is able to alert personnel associated with the delivery vehicle, such as an aircraft operator (e.g., pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, cargo specialist, and the like) in compartment105that is responsible for controlling the aircraft100. A further embodiment may have step1645also (or alternatively) transmit the inspection notification message to a mobile interactive radio-based transceiver1200separate from the delivery vehicle but operated by vehicle crew personnel for the delivery vehicle to notify the vehicle crew personnel that operate the delivery vehicle (e.g., a flight engineer that uses a ruggedized tablet as a type of mobile interactive transceiver and can view the inspection notification message as well as relevant sensor-based inspection information about the related targeted inspection point). Likewise, another embodiment may have step1645also (or alternatively) transmit the inspection notification message to a maintenance radio-based transceiver1205operated by maintenance personnel for the delivery vehicle to notify the maintenance personnel that service the delivery vehicle (e.g., an aircraft mechanic that uses a ruggedized tablet as a type of maintenance receiver and can view the inspection notification message as well as relevant sensor-based inspection information about the related targeted inspection point). Furthermore, an embodiment may have step1645also (or alternatively) transmit the inspection notification message to a logistics radio-based transceiver1210(operated by maintenance personnel for the delivery vehicle to notify the maintenance personnel that service the delivery vehicle (e.g., an aircraft mechanic that uses a ruggedized tablet as a type of maintenance receiver and can view the inspection notification message as well as relevant sensor-based inspection information about the related targeted inspection point). At step1650, method1600has the PID determine if it is at the end of the modified inspection associated with each of the targeted inspection points (including any additional inspection points) for the delivery vehicle. If not, then step1650proceeds to step1655where the PID moves to the next aerial position proximate another of the targeted inspection points and then continues to step1660. Otherwise, the PID is at the end of the modified inspection and method1600concludes after step1650. At step1660, the PID determines if another inspection update message has been received mid-stream during the modified inspection of the delivery vehicle. If so, step1660proceeds back to step1625to further update the currently targeted inspection points (e.g., the information identifying relevant parts to be inspected and how they are to be inspection including their related reference parameters). If not, step1660proceeds back to step1635to gather sensor-based inspection information for the next targeted inspection point in the modified inspection of the delivery vehicle. Verified Inspection Using a Paired Inspection Drone Expanding upon the embodiments described above that use an aerial inspection drone exclusively paired as part of a delivery vehicle, further embodiments may implement exemplary paired-drone based systems and methods for conducting a verified inspection of the delivery vehicle. In general, a verified inspection is one that is performed after an initial inspection identifies a potential adverse issue with a part of the delivery vehicle, and further inspection is warranted in order to make a determination related to the part's acceptability for proper deliver vehicle operation. In a verified inspection embodiment, a radio-based transceiver (such as a delivery vehicle transceiver or a mobile interactive transceiver operated by delivery vehicle related personnel) generally provides a unique interface for interactively intervening to verify an issue related to a potential adverse inspection condition automatically discovered by the paired inspection drone. The transceiver presents information about an interactive intervention request about the potential adverse inspection condition, generates a visual interface that unconventionally assists with conducting the verified inspection related to the request, and integrates with operations of the exclusively paired inspection drone to help implement or conduct the desired verified inspection. This dynamic and unconventional ability to verify what may be wrong with a previously inspected inspection point that may be problematic using an inspection drone exclusively paired to the delivery vehicle provides a yet another improvement on how a delivery vehicle is inspected and how such inspections may be enhanced. Thus, the embodiments shown inFIGS.17-19and described below provide a technical solution that improves how a potential adverse inspection condition with part of a delivery vehicle may be interactively addressed in a manner that leverages the exclusively paired inspection drone and advantageous user interface interactions via a separate transceiver operated by delivery vehicle personnel that speed up and enhance the delivery vehicle inspection process. FIG.17is a diagram of an exemplary drone-based system used to conduct a verified inspection of a delivery vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As shown inFIG.17, this exemplary system embodiment includes an inspection drone (PID)1725paired to aircraft100that interfaces with a radio-based transceiver, such as delivery vehicle transceiver1735. Exemplary PID1725is configured similar to PID825and PID1325(as described above) with some functional differences in its inspection program925as it operates as an element of an exemplary system for conducting a verified inspection of a delivery vehicle. In more detail and with similar parts as explained and shown for exemplary PID825, exemplary PID1725is used to aerially inspect parts of aircraft100and includes a main housing, an onboard controller disposed within the main housing, a memory storage coupled to the onboard controller, and multiple lifting engines that are coupled with respective lifting rotors fixed to a different portions of the main housing. Each of the lifting engines on PID1725is responsive to flight control input generated by the onboard controller as part of maintaining a desired flight profile. Exemplary PID1725further includes one or more sensors (such as sensors from sensor array230) along with a communication interface that each are coupled to the onboard controller. The sensor detects or gathers sensor-based inspection information while the PID1725is airborne and then provides the detected sensor-based inspection information to the onboard controller. The communication interface is deployed, in this example, as a wireless radio-based communication interface (similar to communication interface365) that can send and receive wireless signals (such as signals1705,1710) from other radio-based devices, such as delivery vehicle transceiver1735. For example, signal1705may be a verification command or other drone control input transmitted by delivery vehicle transceiver1735and received by the communication interface on PID1725, while signal1710may be an interactive intervention request or additional sensor-based inspection information transmitted by the communication interface on PID1725to the delivery vehicle transceiver1735. Exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver1735, as shown inFIGS.17-18Eand explained with reference to embodiments that conduct a verified inspection of a delivery vehicle, is configured similar to delivery vehicle transceiver1325(as described above and with the details shown inFIG.14) with further details as explained below regarding its operation as an element of an exemplary system for conducting a verified inspection of a delivery vehicle. In general, delivery vehicle transceiver1735functions as a type of radio-based interactive transceiver where the operator may receive different types of information from PID1725about a potential adverse inspection condition for part of the delivery vehicle, interact with the PID1725as part of conducting a follow-up verified inspection, and use the transceiver to rapidly and efficiently view and review information related to additional sensor-based inspection information gathered about that part of the delivery vehicle. In doing so, the delivery vehicle transceiver1735allows the operator to input a verification result and then update the PID1725with feedback on the verification result. As with exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver1335, delivery vehicle transceiver1735shown inFIGS.17-18Ehas a housing that supports a user interface that includes a display1410(e.g., a CRT display, flat screen display, dot matrix LCD display, interactive touchscreen display, and the like); a panel1420of buttons1425(e.g., power button, illumination button, and the like) and control knobs/switches1430-1440; and a set of keys1415that function as a type of keyboard for user input. In some instances, the interactive touchscreen display1410may show graphic images representing the delivery vehicle and highlighted parts of the delivery vehicle. The display1410may also show additional sensor-based inspection information gathered relative to parts of the delivery vehicle, which may, for example, be in the form of one or more still images, a video, numeric sensor data, or a depth sensor mapping of part of the delivery vehicle (e.g., a 3D generated model representing the part being subjected to the verified inspection). The user interface components for delivery vehicle transceiver1735may display such information to a user via display1410and accept input from the user via keys1415and panel1420. Referring now toFIGS.18A-18F, the exemplary drone-based system ofFIG.17is shown in a general example involving a modified inspection for a part of the delivery vehicle. As shown inFIG.17, the system's PID1725has detected sensor-based inspection information related to a targeted inspection point on aircraft—for example, the tie down strap850that is part of a cargo attachment point securing packaged shipping item845. However, as such sensor-based inspection information is gathered, PID1725automatically identified a potential adverse inspection condition related to the tie down strap850because the strap is not where it was in a prior inspection of that cargo attachment point. As a result, PID1725transmits an interactive intervention request in signal1710sent to delivery vehicle transceiver1735. In response, as shown inFIG.18A, the delivery vehicle transceiver1735displays a notification on its user interface—e.g., a graphic model1800representing aircraft100on display1410of the transceiver1735. The graphic model1800shows areas of the delivery vehicle, such as a cargo mat1840where items1845may be secured via cargo attachment points1852. Additionally, the graphic model1800generated on display1410includes a highlighted area1860where the tie down strap is located. This highlighted area1860is a selectable region of the displayed graphic model of the aircraft1800. As such, the operator of the delivery vehicle transceiver1735is notified about the potential adverse inspection condition related to the tie down strap850and that there is a need for a verified inspection to be conducted relative to area1860. The operator, at this point, may personally perform such a verified inspection by physically moving to the actual area of the aircraft100where the PID1725has identified such a potential adverse inspection condition. While this may be done for some parts of the aircraft, this often is time consuming or difficult to do given the location and/or exposure of that part to human inspection. Therefore, an embodiment may have the operator initiate such a verified inspection by selecting the highlighted area1860(as a selectable region) with user interface elements, such as a touch interface or buttons/knobs that allow the operator to identify the area1860and then select it for further automated inspection via a verification type of inspection that provides enhanced additional sensor-based inspection information. For example, as shown inFIG.18B, flight personnel may select area1860on display1410of delivery vehicle transceiver1735. Delivery vehicle transceiver1735detects this selection action and generates a verification command that is then transmitted via signal1705to PID1725. Upon receipt of the verification command (which may identify parameters or drone control input to be used as part of this follow-up inspection of the tie down strap850), PID1725moves to a different aerial position to provide a different perspective relative to the tie down strap850, and engages select sensors to gather more detailed additional sensor-based inspection information1865. As shown inFIG.18C, PID1725moves to another aerial position to provide yet another perspective relative to the tie down strap850(an exemplary inspection point), and again engages select sensors to gather more detailed additional sensor-based inspection information1870. Such additional sensor-based inspection information1865,1870may include still images and/or video imagery, which are then fed back to the delivery vehicle transceiver1735and shown on display1410. Specifically, as shown inFIG.18D, a live-feed video1890may be shown in one frame1875on display1410while still images1895may be shown in another frame1880. Flight personnel may interactively control PID1725while viewing the live-feed video1890in order to refine what additional sensor-based inspection information is gathered. Thus, the flight personnel can then better view and review the tie down strap850as positioned on shipping item845and can make a verification result determination—e.g., about whether the extent the tie down strap850has moved as indicated by the video inspection information1890and still imagery1895is, in fact, problematic and needs addressing or whether such movement is sufficiently small or minor indicative of continued safe operation of the aircraft. Depending upon the particular inspection point at issue, the system may use different sensors, different perspectives, and/or different limits for the additional sensor-based inspection information gathered in a verified inspection. For example, a verification command sent by delivery vehicle transceiver1735to PID1725may identify parameters that have PID1725using a depth sensor to surface map the area around the inspection point at issue as part of the verified inspection. In another example, the verification command may identify parameters that have PID1725using an ultrasonic transducer as another type of sensor that uses sound waves to map surfaces, which can help validate or supplement data received by a depth sensor that maps the area around the inspection point at issue. For example, as shown inFIG.18E, PID1725has deployed its onboard depth sensor to map the relevant area around the tie down strap850that was identified in the potential adverse inspection condition. Such a mapping may be performed from multiple vantage points or perspectives relative to the location of the tie down strap850. As such, the mapping information may be used, in this example, to generate a three-dimensional (3D) model of the current state of that inspection point, such as exemplary 3D model1896shown in frame1897of an interactive touchscreen display1410on delivery vehicle transceiver1735. Personnel operating the delivery vehicle transceiver1735may select different onscreen touch icons1898to manipulate and move the 3D model1896on display1410(without requiring remote control or interacting further with PID1725). In this manner, such personnel operating the delivery vehicle transceiver1735may zoom in and out, and change perspectives when investigating the potential adverse inspection condition related to the tie down strap850used on shipping item845as part of a verified inspection. While the example shown and explained above used delivery vehicle transceiver1735as the particular transceiver interacting with PID1725related to conducting a verified inspection, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other transceivers may be substituted for transceiver1735(such as mobile interactive radio-based transceivers1200,1205, and1210that may communicate with each other, PID1725, and/or delivery vehicle transceiver1735). For example, mobile interactive radio-based transceiver1210may be a ruggedized radio-based tablet or smartphone used by logistics personnel responsible for loading and unloading shipping items (such as item845) within aircraft100. Mobile interactive transceiver1210may operate the same as delivery vehicle transceiver1735described above inFIGS.17-18Erelated to verified inspections and having the mobile interactive transceiver1210interacting with PID1725in the manner described above. Alternatively, an embodiment may deploy mobile interactive transceiver1210where delivery vehicle transceiver1735operates as a communication hub related to verified inspections conducted by PID1725and interactive user input and displayed verification related additional sensor-based inspection information are received and shown on mobile interactive transceiver1210, as shown inFIG.18F. In light of the example described above relative toFIGS.17-18F, details about an exemplary drone-based system used to conduct a verified inspection of a delivery vehicle (e.g., an aircraft, a trailer and related motorized vehicle, a marine vessel, and a railroad car) may be further explained. An embodiment of such a system may include a paired inspection drone and a display-enabled transceiver (such as PID1725and delivery vehicle transceiver1735that has display1410). The inspection drone is exclusively paired to the delivery vehicle and has one or more sensors (such as a still image camera, a video camera, and/or a depth sensor) used to gather inspection information related to parts of the delivery vehicle. As part of this system, the paired inspection drone aerially inspects targeted inspection points defined in an inspection profile record for the delivery vehicle (e.g., inspection profile record945) and corresponding to respective parts of the delivery vehicle (such as a roller840or tie down strap850). The display-enabled transceiver, which communicates with the paired inspection drone via a wireless communication interface, is operated through an interactive user interface (such as interactive touchscreen display1410on transceiver1735), which accepts input from the operator and displays notification information, such as that shown on display1410inFIGS.18A-18E. The display-enabled transceiver may be fixed and part of the delivery vehicle (such as how transceiver1735is fixed and located in the control compartment105of the aircraft100) or it may be implemented as a mobile display-enabled transceiver device physically separate from the delivery vehicle (such as mobile interactive transceiver1210operated by logistics personnel related to aircraft100). In this system embodiment, the paired inspection drone executes its inspection program stored onboard. Execution of this particular exemplary inspection program allows for particular functionality in the paired inspection drone so that the drone becomes configured to identify the relevant targeted inspection points from the inspection profile record stored within the paired inspection drone, and then detect sensor-based inspection information using one or more sensors relative to one of the targeted inspection points once the paired inspection drone has aerially moved to a first aerial position proximate that targeted inspection point (such as when PID1725has moved to an aerial position proximate tie down strap850and then uses a camera to take pictures of the tie down strap850). The paired inspection drone then automatically identifies a potential adverse inspection condition regarding that targeted inspection point based upon the detected sensor-based inspection information (such as when PID1725automatically identifies there is a potential adverse inspection condition with the tie down strap850given the currently gathered image shows movement of the strap relative to a prior inspection of the strap. As such, the paired inspection drone automatically generates and responsively transmits an interactive intervention request to the display-enabled transceiver so that an appropriate level of follow-up inspecting may occur to quickly determine whether the identified potential adverse inspection condition warrants finding that the targeted inspection point needs attention by fixing or replacement. In general, an exemplary interactive intervention request identifies the potential adverse inspection condition regarding the targeted inspection point, which indicates a need for a verified inspection, and requests feedback regarding the one of the targeted inspection points. Such an interactive intervention request may, for example, identify the tie down strap850and indicate a need for a verified inspection from the results of comparing sensor-based inspection information gathered (e.g., camera imagery) with reference parameters (e.g., a prior image showing a previous configuration of the tie down strap850) with a feedback request. Depending on how the system implements such an interactive intervention request, the feedback request may be automatic and, thus, inherent in any interactive intervention request transmitted by the paired inspection drone given the drone updates its own inspection profile record based on the verification results that follow from the interactive intervention request. Upon receipt of the interactive intervention request, the display-enabled transceiver displays a notification related to the interactive intervention request on the user interface. Such a displayed notification presents information about the potential adverse inspection condition regarding the targeted inspection point at issue, the need for the verified inspection regarding that targeted inspection point. For example, as shown inFIG.18A, the touchscreen user interface1410of transceiver1735displays the notification in the form of graphic model1800representing aircraft100and identifying the targeted inspection point related to the interactive intervention request with a highlighted area1860of the aircraft100associated with that tie down strap850. This presents the highlighted area1860as a type of user selectable region of the displayed graphic model1800of the aircraft100. When the operator of transceiver1735selects this region, the transceiver's user interface detects the selection action and generates a verification command to be sent to the paired inspection drone. The verification command may be generated based upon verification inspection input received by the user interface of the display-enabled transceiver, which may identify parameters related to the task of obtaining additional sensor-based inspection information as part of the verification follow-up inspection performed by the paired inspection drone. For example, the verification inspection input may include parameters identifying the type of sensor to be used, the different vantage points from which the paired inspection drone should be positioned to gather the additional sensor-based inspection information, and/or different reference information to use when gathering the additional sensor-based inspection information. In more detail, the parameters identified by the verification inspection input and related to the additional sensor-based inspection information may include specific autonomous or interactive drone control input for the paired inspection drone that causes the paired inspection drone to gather such additional sensor-based inspection information from a set of different aerial positions relative to and proximate to the inspection point at issue. In an embodiment, the drone control input may put the paired inspection drone in a given orbit moving around the inspection point. In another embodiment, the drone control input may place the paired inspection drone in specific aerial locations so as to view the inspection point from defined perspectives. In one embodiment, exemplary verification inspection input may be selectively input using the user interface of the display-enabled transceiver; but in another embodiment, the verification inspection input may be a set of default or customizable default settings and parameters for that inspection point. Once generated, the display-enabled transceiver transmits the verification command to the paired inspection drone, where the paired inspection drone initiates the follow-up verification inspection of the inspection point at issue using the parameters included with the verification command. When or as the paired inspection drone obtains the additional sensor-based inspection information (e.g., using particular sensors as identified by the parameters of the verification command), the paired inspection drone provides the additional sensor-based inspection information back to the display-enabled transceiver as part of the verified inspection. From there, the display-enabled transceiver generates information on its display with the additional sensor-based inspection information. For example, as shown inFIG.18D, the displayed additional sensor-based inspection information may include a still image1895or video images1890(e.g., real-time imagery) related to the targeted inspection point at issue. In a further embodiment, the displayed additional sensor-based inspection information may take the form of three-dimensional mapping related information about the targeted inspection point at issue, such as the 3D model1896shown inFIG.18Ethat may be interactively manipulated to review the potential adverse inspection condition found related to the targeted inspection point at issue. Based upon the presented additional sensor-based inspection information obtained in this type of follow-up verification inspection using the paired inspection drone, the display-enabled transceiver receives verification result input related to or associated with a result of the verified inspection of the one of the targeted inspection points. For example, an operator of transceiver1735may view the video1890or still image1895or manipulate the 3D model1896and determine that the tie down strap850has not sufficiently moved to cause a problem with safe operation of the aircraft100. With this verification result input, the display-enabled transceiver can then transmit the requested feedback to the paired inspection drone to reflect the operator's determined result of the verified inspection. A further embodiment of a drone-based system for verified inspection of the delivery vehicle may extend such an exemplary system to include a paired inspection drone, a drone docking station, and one or more display-enabled transceivers (e.g., one of which may be part of the delivery vehicle while another may be a mobile interactive display-enable transceiver). A first display-enabled transceiver has an interactive user interface (such as a touchscreen display1410) and communicates with the paired inspection drone. Similar to what is described above, the system's paired inspection drone (such as PID1725) is exclusively paired to the delivery vehicle and operative to aerially inspect a plurality of targeted inspection points corresponding to respective parts of the delivery vehicle. The paired inspection drone includes at least a main housing, an onboard controller, a memory storage, lifting engines, a sensor array, a wireless communication interface, and a drone capture interface disposed on the main house that helps secure the paired inspection drone to the drone docking station. The memory storage is coupled to the onboard controller and maintains an inspection profile record that defines targeted inspection points corresponding to respective parts of the delivery vehicle to be inspected. The lifting engines are each coupled with respective lifting rotors, are fixed to different portions of the main housing, and are responsive to flight control input generated by the onboard controller as part of maintaining a desired flight profile. The sensor array may include one or more different types of sensors coupled to the onboard controller and that (a) detect sensor-based inspection information while the paired inspection drone is airborne and has aerially moved relative to different parts of the delivery vehicle and (b) provide the detected sensor-based inspection information to the onboard controller. The wireless communication interface of the paired inspection drone is also coupled to the onboard controller, and configured to transmit messages (e.g., an inspection notification message or an interactive intervention request message) in response to a transmission command from the onboard controller. The drone docking station (such as docking station830shown in at leastFIGS.8A,8B, and17) is fixed to the delivery vehicle. As part of the system, the drone docking station provides a physical mating interface to the paired inspection drone's drone capture interface. In this way, the drone docking station and the drone capture interface can selectively maintain the paired inspection drone in a secured position within a delivery vehicle, such as within a drone storage area815of aircraft100. In operation, the onboard controller of the system's paired inspection drone identifies the targeted inspection points from the inspection profile record stored within the memory storage, causes the lifting engines to position the paired inspection drone at a first aerial position proximate to one of the targeted inspection points, and then proceeds to have one or more sensors detect sensor-based inspection information about the targeted inspection point while the paired inspection drone is in the first aerial position. If the onboard controller of the paired inspection drone automatically identifies a potential adverse inspection condition regarding the targeted inspection point based upon the detected sensor-based inspection information, the controller responsively generates and has the wireless communication interface transmit the interactive intervention request to the first display-enabled transceiver. The system's first display-enabled transceiver (e.g., delivery vehicle transceiver1735as shown and explained relative toFIGS.17-18E) receives the interactive intervention request from the paired inspection drone, and responds by displaying a notification related to the interactive intervention request on the interactive user interface. In particular, the displayed notification includes a highlighted region of a displayed graphic model (such as model1800) representing the delivery vehicle, where the highlighted region (such as region1860) is associated with the targeted inspection point identified in the interactive intervention request. The system's first display-enabled transceiver then generates a prompt on its interactive user interface for the need for the verified inspection regarding the one of the targeted inspection points. In response to operator input, the system's first display-enabled transceiver detects a selection action relative to the highlighted region of the displayed graphic model. Such a selection action indicates the operator's desire to begin the verified inspection of the targeted inspection point that has the potential adverse inspection condition. After reviewing additional sensor-based inspection information gathered as part of the follow-up verified inspection (such as an image related to the targeted inspection point, a video related to the targeted inspection point, and/or other sensor-based information such as three-dimensional mapping information about the targeted inspection point), the interactive user interface of the first display-enabled transceiver receives verification result input related to a result of the verified inspection of the one of the targeted inspection points. Such verification result input may be a detected selection of a button or key that indicates the targeted inspection point at issue needs replacement or maintenance intervention based on the additional sensor-based inspection information shown to the operator of the first display-enabled transceiver, or indicates that the targeted inspection point at issue is in a satisfactory condition after the scrutiny of the automated verification inspection conducted by the paired inspection drone and under the enhanced inspection parameters associated with that verification inspection. Thereafter, the first display-enabled transceiver then transmits a feedback message to the paired inspection drone, where the feedback message corresponds to the result of the verified inspection as reflected by the received verification result input. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the first display-enabled transceiver may be a radio-based interactive transceiver fixed to the delivery vehicle, such as exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver1735, or may be a mobile display-enabled transceiver separate from the delivery vehicle, such as one of transceivers1200-1210as described above. Each of such exemplary mobile display-enabled transceivers may be used in such a system as directly communicating and interacting with the paired inspection drone. However, in other embodiments, such as that shown inFIG.18F, exemplary mobile display-enabled transceivers may be deployed as mobile interactive display platforms that rely on and communicate with a primary transceiver on the delivery vehicle when conducting verified inspections of parts. In more detail and with reference toFIG.18Fshowing an extension of this system embodiment, the system may include a second mobile display-enabled transceiver (e.g., the mobile ruggedized tablet-based transceiver1210used by logistics personnel loading aircraft100) in communication with the first display-enabled transceiver (e.g., delivery vehicle transceiver1735). This second mobile display-enabled transceiver is physically separate from the delivery vehicle while the first display-enabled transceiver is disposed in a control compartment of the delivery vehicle, such as compartment105where flight personnel operate the aircraft100. In this extended system embodiment, the first display-enabled transceiver may be programmatically configured to receive the additional sensor-based inspection information related to the targeted inspection point at issue directly from the paired inspection drone and then provide the received additional sensor-based inspection information to the second mobile display-enabled transceiver. The first display-enabled transceiver may prompt the second mobile display-enabled transceiver for the verification result input based upon at least the additional sensor-based inspection information sent and receive the verification result input from the second mobile display-enabled transceiver. In doing so, the second mobile display-enabled transceiver has a user interface and allows an operator of the second mobile display-enabled transceiver to view a display of the additional sensor-based inspection information on the user interface of the second mobile display-enabled transceiver. In particular, the second mobile display-enabled transceiver may generate a user notification prompting a user of the second mobile display-enabled transceiver to provide the verification result stemming from the verified inspection of the targeted inspection point at issue. With such a prompt appearing on the display of the second mobile display-enabled transceiver, the second mobile display-enabled transceiver receives the verification result input (e.g., yes—the targeted inspection point is within range for safe operation of the delivery vehicle or, no—the targeted inspection point is outside of an acceptable range and needs services or replacement), and transmits the verification result input to the first display-enabled transceiver (which may then relay that verification result back to the paired inspection drone so that the drone may update the drone's inspection profile record accurately). Additionally, this extended system embodiment may have the verification command generated by the second display-enabled transceiver and sent to the paired inspection drone via the first display-enabled transceiver. As part of the verification command, the interactive drone control input provided to the paired inspection drone by the first display-enabled transceiver (as generated by the second mobile display-enabled transceiver) is based upon remote drone control input provide to the first display-enabled transceiver by the second mobile display-enabled transceiver. In other words, the second mobile display-enabled transceiver may be responsible for generating interactive drone control input remotely through its mobile interactive user interface. The system embodiments described above may be used as part of a drone-based method embodiment for verified inspection of a delivery vehicle involving an automatically generated interactive intervention request. In more detail,FIGS.19A-19Bare flow diagrams that collectively illustrate an exemplary drone-based method for conducting a verified inspection of parts of a delivery vehicle that involves an automatically generated interactive intervention request. Referring now toFIG.19A, method1900begins at step1905where a paired inspection drone (PID) exclusively assigned to the delivery vehicle identifies multiple targeted inspection points related to the delivery vehicle's parts from an inspection profile record stored within the PID (such as inspection profile record945as explained above). The delivery vehicle may be implemented as an aircraft (such as aircraft100), a cargo trailer and related motorized vehicle, a marine vessel, or a railroad car. At step1910, method1900has at least one sensor on the PID detecting sensor-based inspection information relative to one of the targeted inspection points once the paired inspection drone has aerially moved to a first aerial position proximate the one of the targeted inspection points. For example, as shown inFIG.17, PID1725moves to an aerial position proximate the tie down strap850and commences to use a camera sensor on PID1725to detect imagery inspection information about the current state of the tie down strap850as one of the targeted inspection points on aircraft100. At step1915, method1900may automatically identify a potential adverse inspection condition related to the targeted inspection point based upon the detected sensor-based inspection information. More specifically, processing and comparison of the currently detected sensor-based inspection information for this targeted inspection point may yield a result that indicates the targeted inspection point is now outside an acceptable range for operation of the delivery vehicle. Thus, if step1915fails to automatically identify an inspection condition for the targeted inspection point, step1915proceeds directly to step1920where the PID moves to the next aerial position for gathering sensor-base inspection information on the next inspection point, and method1900then proceeds back to step1910. However, if step1915does automatically identify an inspection condition based upon the sensor-based inspection information detected (e.g., a comparison of such sensor-based inspection information to reference information for the targeted inspection point indicates an out of range situation), step1915proceeds to step1925. At step1925, the PID responsively transmits the interactive intervention request to a display-enabled transceiver, which may be part of the delivery vehicle or a mobile interactive radio-based transceiver (such as a wireless enabled tablet device, a smartphone device, or a laptop computer device). In this embodiment, the interactive intervention request at least identifies the potential adverse inspection condition regarding the one of the targeted inspection points. The interactive intervention request may also indicate a need for or explicitly request a verified inspection on the targeted inspection point at issue and request feedback regarding that targeted inspection point. At step1930, the display-enabled transceiver receives the interactive intervention request from the PID and then, at step1935, method1900has the display-enabled transceiver displaying a notification related to the interactive intervention request on a user interface of the display-enabled transceiver (e.g., an interactive touchscreen display interface). The notification generally presents information on the user interface about the potential adverse inspection condition regarding the one of the targeted inspection points and the need for the verified inspection regarding the one of the targeted inspection points (e.g., via displaying a graphic model representing the delivery vehicle on the user interface of the display-enabled transceiver, where the displayed graphic model identifies the particular targeted inspection point at issue, may highlight an area of the delivery vehicle associated with that targeted inspection point, and may have the highlighted area of the delivery vehicle presented as a selectable region of the displayed graphic model). At step1940, method1900determines whether the user interface of the display-enabled transceiver has detected a selection action relative to the selectable region of the displayed graphic model. For example, an operator of the display-enabled transceiver1735or1210may touch a particular section of that transceiver's interactive touchscreen interface as a selection action. Thus, if the selection action is detected relative to the selectable region of the model, step1940proceeds to step1945. Otherwise, step1940proceeds back to step1935. At step1945, the display-enabled transceiver generates a verification command based upon verification inspection input received by the display-enabled transceiver. In particular, the verification inspection input received identifies one or more parameters related to the additional sensor-based inspection information to be gathered by the PID. This may be received via further prompted inputs from the operator of the transceiver, or may be received as a set of defaults or customizable default verification inspection parameters on, for example, what sensors to use, how long to measure the inspection point, what reference information to use when conducting the verification inspection, and what the desired aerial position for the PID should be when making the verified inspection. Accordingly, such parameters related to the additional sensor-based inspection information to be gathered as part of the verification inspection may include autonomous or interactive drone control input to be received by the PID from the display-enabled transceiver when the PID is gathering such additional sensor-based inspection information for the verification inspection. At step1950, method1900has the PID receiving the verification command and, in response, repositioning the PID to begin the verified inspection according to the parameters identified in the verification command. At step1955, the sensor or set of sensors on the PID detect the additional sensor-based inspection information in accordance with the verification command and parameters identified as part of the command. In more detail, the additional sensor-based inspection information detected may include an image related to the targeted inspection point at issue, a video related to that targeted inspection point, or real-time imagery of an area of the delivery vehicle proximate that targeted inspection point to provide a broader view of the current state of the inspection point and its surroundings. Further still, the additional sensor-based inspection information may be three-dimensional mapping information about the targeted inspection point at issue, such as the 3D model1896shown inFIG.18Ewhere the operator of the display-enabled transceiver1735can artificially manipulate this 3D image built from the depth sensor mappings of the targeted tie down strap850and its surrounding area. After step1955, method1900transitions through point A onFIG.19Ato point A onFIG.19B. At step1960onFIG.19B, method1900proceeds with the PID transmitting the additional sensor-based inspection information detected to the display-enabled transceiver. Such a transmission may, in some cases, be a singular event type of transmission. But in other cases and with other types of data, the transmission may be repeated, periodic, or streaming depending on the extent of inspection information desired for this verification inspection. For example, still images may be transmitted by PID back to the display-enabled transceiver one by one or in groups, while video information may be transmitted to the display-enabled transceiver in a streaming format where it may be buffered on the display-enabled transceiver or as a single video recording file. Three-dimensional mapping information may also be transmitted by the PID in parts as the depth sensor is detecting the mapping information or in a final group of three-dimensional mapping information after the PID performs the necessary aerial maneuvers relative to the targeted inspection point to capture depth information on the point itself and the surrounding area. At step1965, the display-enabled transceiver has received the additional sensor-based inspection information from the verification inspection and displays the additional sensor-based inspection information relative to the targeted inspection point at issue in response to the detected selection action relative to the selectable region of the displayed graphic model. Thus, if the selection action had the verification inspection to be performed on tie down strap850, the display-enabled transceiver displays the additional sensor-based inspection on the tie down strap850(e.g., still images of the tie down strap850from an increased number and variety of different camera angles; video of the tie down strap850from one or more camera angles; or a 3D model representing the tie down strap850and the proximate area near the strap850on packaged shipping item845and cargo attachment points852). At step1970, method1900may determine if verification result input has been received on the user interface of the display-enabled transceiver, where the verification result input relates to a result of the verified inspection of the one of the targeted inspection points. For example, the verification result input may be provided by the operator of the display-enabled transceiver that is essentially an “intervening” party judging the results of the verification inspection. Such verification result input may reflect or indicate that the particular targeted inspection point at issue is fine and can still be used on the delivery or, alternatively, may reflect or indicate that the particular targeted inspection point at issue has been confirmed or otherwise verified to be in an adverse inspection condition where it is out of range for safe or desired operation of the delivery vehicle. At step1975, method1900may have the display-enabled transceiver transmitting feedback to the PID, where the feedback corresponds to the result of the verified inspection as reflected by the verification result input received by the display-enabled transceiver. At step1980, the PID may receive the feedback and then, at step1985, modify the inspection profile record to reflect the feedback on the verification result input. Thus, the inspection profile record may be updated with the result of the verification inspection so that the inspection profile record keeps a record of what happened relative to inspections of this particular targeted inspection point. Thereafter, step1985transitions through point B onFIG.19Bback to point B onFIG.19Awhere method1900continues at step1920to move on to the next targeted inspection point. Airborne Relocatable Communication Hub Using a Paired Communication Drone As explained above, an exemplary delivery vehicle may temporarily maintain custody of items being shipped that are broadcast-enabled. In more detail, an embodiment of such a broadcast-enabled item has an associated radio-based device that is configured to communicate with other broadcast-enabled items maintained within the delivery vehicle or radio-based devices external to the delivery vehicle. However, the broadcast-enabled device may encounter issues with having a limited reception or transmission range. In other words, while two broadcast-enabled items adjacent one another may have no issue communicating with each other, two broadcast-enabled items physically separated from each other by a large enough distance within the delivery vehicle may experience communication difficulties due to inconsistent reception to no reception at all given their respective transmission and reception ranges and the dynamic movement of structure being placed within the delivery vehicle (e.g., placement of one or more metal containers or other items that may shield or otherwise attenuate signals being transmitted a broadcast-enabled item from one side of such structure to another broadcast-enabled item on the other side). For example, a package outfitted with a broadcast-enabled radio transceiver for monitoring the package's contents may be located in the rear of the delivery vehicle's internal shipment storage. This particular broadcast-enabled package may have a limited communication range, and be unable to communicate with other broadcast-enabled items or a central communication station located at the front of the delivery vehicle's internal shipment storage. This inability to communicate with other devices on the delivery vehicle may become even more acute when the broadcast-enabled radio transceiver in the package uses low broadcast power as a way of conserving battery life or when the broadcast-enabled radio transceiver is designed to be low power, such as a Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) radio or ZigBee radio transceiver. To help unconventionally and adaptively facilitate communication between such broadcast-enabled devices and so they may handle longer distances between devices as they are disposed within the delivery vehicle and to accommodate the changing internal environment of the delivery vehicle, embodiments described below generally deploy an aerial communication drone that is exclusively paired with the delivery vehicle and operates in an airborne mode within the delivery vehicle (such as within an internal shipment storage area of the delivery vehicle). This type of exclusively paired drone is advantageously used within the delivery vehicle as a repositionable communication hub to improve the onboard communication environment for what is being transported within the delivery vehicle and for what may be a changing communication environment. Accordingly, the embodiments shown inFIGS.20-27and described below provide a technical solution with systems and methods that improve how different broadcast-enabled devices within a delivery vehicle can establish and maintain adequate communications with each other using a paired aerial communication hub drone strategically deployed within the delivery vehicle. FIG.20is a diagram of an exemplary paired aerial drone-based system used to provide an airborne relocatable communication hub within a delivery vehicle for broadcast-enabled devices maintained within the delivery vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring now toFIG.20, exemplary aircraft100(a type of delivery vehicle) has an exemplary control compartment105and an exemplary shipment storage110. As explained above, the exemplary shipment storage110includes interior shipment storage area120and drone storage area115. In the embodiment shown inFIG.20, a vehicle transceiver2135is disposed within the control compartment105, an internal docking station2130is disposed within the drone storage area115, and an aerial communication drone2125is shown as flying within the interior shipment storage area120but may be secured on docking station2130when not flying. Aerial communication drone2125is exclusively paired to the aircraft100and is also referred to as a paired communication hub drone or PHD herein. In general, vehicle transceiver2135ofFIG.20is a type of central communication station on the aircraft100and may be implemented as a standalone radio-based unit or an integrated part of the aircraft's avionics suite. Vehicle transceiver2135may be used in embodiments as a network element that may communicate with devices located inside of aircraft100(such as broadcast-enabled shipping items145a-145e) and devices located outside of aircraft100. For example, vehicle transceiver2135may communicate externally disposed radio-based communication devices, such as a local logistics operation server that has a wireless network interface (not shown), a remote cloud-based logistics management system (i.e., a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet that can store, manage, and process shipment management information (such as updated sensor data related to the status of broadcast-enabled shipping items on aircraft100, and the like)) accessible through a wireless network interface (not shown), or flight operations personnel via other radio-based transceivers (such as handheld transceiver2300shown inFIG.23). In more detail, such radio-based transceivers that communicate with broadcast-enabled devices within the delivery vehicle100may be implemented as wireless handheld devices (such as smartphones, ruggedized tablets, UHF/VHF handheld radios, and the like) that communicate with vehicle transceiver2135over a compatible communication path (e.g., a designated radio frequency, a cellular network, a data communication network, and the like). Additionally, an embodiment of exemplary vehicle transceiver2135shown inFIG.20may be used to communicate with internal docking station2130(e.g., via a wired or wireless connection) and/or PHD2125(e.g., via a wireless connection) disposed within aircraft100as described in more detail below. Further still, exemplary vehicle transceiver2135may provide an intermediary role between two other devices, such as between the PHD2125and a local server or a remote cloud-based logistics management system. As noted above, exemplary broadcast-enabled shipping items145a-145emay communicate with each other and with exemplary vehicle transceiver2135in an embodiment. In general, exemplary broadcast-enabled shipping items145a-145emay include packaged or unpackaged items being transported alone or as part of a group of items (e.g., the group of items145b-145estrapped and fixed relative to shipping pallet150or a group of items maintained within a single packaged shipping item, such as a crate, box, or other logistics container). Likewise, those skilled in the art will appreciate that a shipping item may be implemented with a unit load device (ULD) used with aircraft-based logistics operations and, when equipped with a broadcast-enabled device, exemplary ULD2145becomes a type of broadcast-enabled shipping item. Exemplary broadcast-enabled shipping items145a-145eas well as exemplary broadcast-enabled ULD2145(a type of broadcast-enabled shipping container) may be deployed in some embodiments within interior shipment storage area120as intercommunicating devices. For example, such broadcast-enabled shipping items145a-145eand exemplary broadcast-enabled ULD2145may be configured, via their respective radios, to broadcast signals related to the condition of the respective item or items being shipped and function as different network elements at different levels of a hierarchically structured communication network. Exemplary broadcast-enabled shipping items145a-145eand ULD2145may accomplish such broadcast functionality with a radio-based wireless transmitter or transceiver and that can broadcast messages about, for example, the condition of item (e.g., an environmental condition of the item using one or more sensors on the device) without being polled or interrogated to do so. In particular, such radio-based devices deployed as part of the broadcast-enabled shipping items145a-145eand ULD2145may, for example, transmit or receive Bluetooth®, Zigbee, cellular, or other wireless formatted signals. Such devices may be attached or otherwise secured to the shipping item, included in a package with the shipping item, or embedded as part of the package or packaging material used with the shipping item. Exemplary internal docking station2130shown inFIG.20is structurally similar to internal docking stations130and830described above and shown relative toFIGS.4A and4B. As such, docking station2130uses a physical docking interface (similar to PDI415) that facilitates maintaining PHD2125in a secure position on the station2130, an electronic charging connection interface (similar to ECCI440) that can provide power to PHD2125, and an electronic data connection interface (similar to EDCI435) that can provide a wired bi-direction data link with PHD2125. Docking station2130may also be implemented to communicate with vehicle transceiver2135—e.g., via a wired data connection (similar to the wired connection of communication interface430) to transceiver2135and/or a wireless communication path (accessed via a similar wireless interface part of communication interface430) to vehicle transceiver2135. Thus, docking station2130may be deployed as yet another type of broadcast-enabled device that operates as a network element of networked broadcast-enabled devices. Exemplary PHD2125shown inFIG.20may be initially secured to exemplary docking station2130within the drone storage area115as a linked part of aircraft100. In general, PHD2125is a paired aerial communication drone that travels with the aircraft100(or other type of delivery vehicle, such as a trailer hauled by a truck, a train car moved by a locomotive on a railway system, or a marine vessel that has an internal storage compartment or hold for transporting broadcast-enabled items). Furthermore, exemplary PID2125is configured with hardware similar to IMD125and PID825(as described above) with the exception of the sensors carried on IMD125and PID825, which are basically replaced with a wireless communication hub interface that can establish one or more wireless data communication paths to different broadcast-enabled devices within the aircraft100, such as to ULD2145and BESI145d. In this way, PHD2125operates as an airborne relocatable communication hub deployed within such a delivery vehicle that enhances how broadcast-enabled devices may communicate while being maintained within the delivery vehicle and as the interior configuration of the shipment storage of the delivery vehicle changes with new items that may inhibit or interfere with communications between such broadcast-enabled devices. In more detail, as shown inFIG.21, exemplary PHD2125includes similar core parts as explained and shown for IMD125and PID825, such as a main housing200, an onboard controller (OBC)2100disposed within the main housing, a memory storage315coupled to the OBC2100, and multiple lifting engines210a,210bthat are coupled with respective lifting rotors205a,205bfixed to a different portions of the main housing200. Each of the lifting engines on PID2125is responsive to flight control input generated by the OBC2100as part of maintaining a desired flight profile according to flight profile data2155. As part of the exemplary PHD2125, the OBC2100generally controls autonomous flying and docking of the drone2125as well as communication hub management tasks related to broadcast-enabled devices located within the shipment storage area120using multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160and communication hub management program2150. In some embodiments, OBC2100may be implemented with a single processor, multi-core processor, or multiple processors and have different programs concurrently running to manage and control the different autonomous flying/docking and internal communication hub management tasks. For example, in the embodiment shown inFIG.21, flight/docking control and monitoring operations may be divided between onboard flight controller (OFC)305and an onboard communication management processor (OCP)2110. In such an embodiment, OFC305and OCP2110may have access to the same memory, such as memory storage315or, alternatively, OBC2100may be implemented with separate dedicated memories that are accessible by each of OFC305and OCP2110. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that memory accessible by OFC305may have different accessibility and size requirements compared to memory accessible by OCP2110given the different memory demands for the different responsibilities. Furthermore, OFC305and OCP2110may include peripheral interface circuitry that couples the processing element(s) to the different onboard peripheral circuitry, such as the GPS350, inertial measurement unit355, the proximity sensors215a,215b, the electronic speed controllers360a,360bthat control each lifting engine210a,210b, and the like. In general, exemplary multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160includes multiple independent radio-based transceivers controlled by the OBC2100(e.g., by OCP2110when executing the communication hug management program2150) that collectively provide a communication access and extension functionality between two or more broadcast-enabled devices. Essentially, the OBC2100is configured to cause interface2160to establish different wireless data communication paths with different broadcast-enabled devices so that the interface2160may couple the paths with the broadcast-enabled devices so as to allow the devices to connect and communicate. Such connections may appear as peer-to-peer connections for devices at the same network level or wireless access point connections to a higher network level in a hierarchically structured communication network. For example, an exemplary multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160to be used during flight of the PHD2125may be implemented with a MIMO type (multiple in, multiple out, multiple antenna technology) communication transceiver disposed on PHD2125and coupled to the OBC2100. Such an exemplary multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160may use one or more different communication protocols, such as a Wi-Fi communication protocol (e.g., supporting an IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n and 802.11ac standard), a cellular communication protocol, a Bluetooth® communication protocol, or a Zigbee communication protocol. When coupling different protocols, the multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160uses an onboard protocol converter (implemented in hardware or firmware) to transform communications of data and commands (including coding, framing, and timing) between the distinct protocols. Using such a converter, the exemplary multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160may bridge communications between different broadcast-enabled devices even when the devices use different communication protocols in their respective paths to the PHD2125. Referring back toFIG.21and consistent with the discussions above relative to IMD125and PID825, the operating system320stored in PHD2125may provide basic functions, such as program task scheduling, executing of application program code (such as exemplary communication hub management program2160), and controlling lower level circuitry (e.g., registers, buffers, buses, counters, timers, and the like) on OCP2110that interface with other peripheral circuitry onboard PHD2125(such as the multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160, proximity sensors215a,215b, the electronic docking connection235, GPS350, IMU355, ESC360a,360b, and DCI370). Once operating system320is loaded, exemplary communication hub management program2160may load and be executed as part of implementing a method for adaptively deploying an airborne relocatable communication hub within a delivery vehicle, such as aircraft100, that improves communication between broadcast-enabled devices maintained within the delivery vehicle. Exemplary communication hub management program2150is a set of executable instructions in the form of one or more machine-readable, non-transient program code modules or applications. The program code module(s) may be loaded and executed by OBC2100(or by OCP2110when flight control is dedicated to a separate OFC305) to adapt the PHD2125into an unconventionally configured aerial communication hub apparatus exclusively paired to the aircraft100as a linked part of the aircraft that travels with the aircraft during shipment operations providing quick and assured inspection functionality for the aircraft wherever the aircraft is located. This specially configured OBC2100of PHD2125, as described in more detail herein as a part of an embodiment, implements operative process steps and provides functionality that is unconventional, especially when the overall steps that provide extended communication access functionality using the PHD2125are considered collectively as a whole. Such a specially adapted and configured paired communication hub drone (e.g., PHD2125) helps, as a part of an embodiment, to improve how broadcast-enabled devices on the delivery vehicle (e.g., radio-based transceivers associated with shipping items (such as the transceivers in BESI145a-145e) and associated with shipping containers (such as the transceiver in ULD2145)) communicate with each other while being disposed in the delivery vehicle and as the storage within the delivery vehicle may change presenting further difficulties to maintaining adequate communications between such devices. In addition to the exemplary communication hub management program2150, memory storage315of PHD2125also maintains flight profile data2155. Flight profile data2155comprises information that defines how the PHD2125is to be flying. This data may include navigational data on an airborne monitoring path for the drone2125to transit, as well as flight control setting information to use when generating flight control input for the ESCs360a,360b. In some embodiments, remote flight control commands may be received by PHD2125and kept as a type of flight profit data2155that provides the OFC305with flight control input to control aerial movement of the PHD2125. In other embodiments, OFC305is able to generate the flight control input autonomously to enable the PHD2125to self-control aerial movements of the aerial communication drone from the secured position on the internal docking station to at least the first deployed airborne position. Thus, PHD2125maintains and uses flight profile data2155as part of moving about the interior110of aircraft100when providing relocatable communication hub services for broadcast-enabled devices maintained on aircraft100. Using components shown inFIGS.20and21and described above, an exemplary embodiment may be described in more detail of an airborne drone-based system that adaptively provides communication hub services within a delivery vehicle. In particular, such an exemplary system adaptively provides communication hub services within the delivery vehicle to broadcast-enabled devices maintained within the delivery vehicle and essentially includes internal docking station2130and PHD2125as described above. In operation, the OBC2100of PHD2125executes at least the communication hub management program2150in order to adaptively provide such relocatable communication hub services within the aircraft100(as a type of delivery vehicle). In more detail, the OBC2100of PHD2125is configured and operative to transition from at least a low power state to an active power state and then cause the DCI370of PHD2125to automatically uncouple PHD2125from a secured position on the internal docking station2130fixed within the delivery vehicle100once the PHD2125transitions to the active power state. The OBC2100of PHD2125(or OFC305of PHD2125) changes the desired flight profile to cause the lifting engines210a,210bto move PHD2125from the secured position on the internal docking station2130to a deployed airborne position within an interior shipment storage area120of the aircraft100. For example, as shown inFIG.20, exemplary PHD2125has moved from being secured to docking station2130to being airborne at a deployed position within the internal shipment storage area120of aircraft100located above and between ULD2145and BESI145d. Such a movement from the docking station2130to an airborne deployed position within and relative to aircraft100may occur when aircraft100is in motion (e.g., during taxi on the ground or when airborne) or when the aircraft100is not moving (e.g., is being loaded, unloaded, or just sitting on the tarmac of an airport). Once at this deployed position relative to the aircraft100, the OBC2100of PHD2125causes its onboard communication hub interface2160to establish a first wireless data communication path to one of the broadcast-enabled devices on the aircraft100—such as the broadcast-enabled device associated with UDL2145(denoted by the triangular symbol within ULD2145). The OBC2100of PHD2125then causes its onboard communication hub interface2160to establish a second wireless data communication path to another of the broadcast-enabled devices on the aircraft100—such as the broadcast-enabled device associated with BESI145d. Thereafter, the OBC2100of PHD2125causes its onboard communication hub interface2160to couple the first wireless data communication path and the second wireless data communication path. This has a tangible result of adaptively facilitating communications between the broadcast-enabled device on ULD2145and the broadcast-enabled device associated with BESI145d. This may be especially advantageous because, for example, direct communications between the broadcast-enabled device on ULD2145and the broadcast-enabled device associated with BESI145dmay not be possible given the respective devices may be geographically separated by a large enough distance relative to their respective transmission and reception ranges. Furthermore, in another example, direct communication between the broadcast-enabled device on ULD2145and the broadcast-enabled device associated with BESI145dmay be hindered or rendered impossible when BESI145ais placed in-between ULD245and BESI145d(e.g., a dynamic change in the configuration occurs with respect to what is maintained within the shipment storage area120, which may alter the communication environment and related connectivity for different broadcast-enabled devices within area120). FIG.22is a diagram of another exemplary paired aerial drone-based system used to provide an airborne relocatable communication hub within a delivery vehicle between other types of broadcast-enabled devices within aircraft100. Referring now toFIG.22, the illustrated exemplary paired aerial drone-based system includes a central communication station2200disposed within aircraft100that may communicate with vehicle transceiver2135(similar to basic transceiver135or display enabled interactive vehicle transceiver1335as described above). Central communication station2200may be deployed is this embodiment as a hub that may forward data from vehicle transceiver2135or as a hub to an external communication device (not shown), such as a satellite or other remote communication transceiver. Further, central communication station2200may be used to directly communicate with any of the broadcast-enabled devices on the aircraft100(such as BESI145das shown inFIG.22), but may also interact with PHD2125when direct communication with BESI145dis hindered or not possible. As such, central communication station2200may operate as one of the broadcast-enabled devices on aircraft100and the OBC2100of PHD2125causes its onboard communication hub interface2160to couple a wireless data communication path with the central communication station2200with a second wireless data communication path established with another broadcast-enabled device (such as BESI145dshown inFIG.22). Likewise, another embodiment may deploy vehicle transceiver2135as one of the broadcast-enabled devices on the aircraft that communicates with BESI145dvia two wireless data communication paths adaptively established and coupled by PHD2125. FIGS.23A and23Bare diagrams of another exemplary paired aerial drone-based system used to provide an airborne relocatable communication hub within aircraft100where at least one of the broadcast-enabled devices maintained within the aircraft100is a mobile personal communication device2300in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring now toFIG.23Ain particular, the illustrated embodiment may deploy mobile personal communication device2300as one of the broadcast-enabled devices on the aircraft1000that communicates with BESI145dvia two wireless data communication paths adaptively established and coupled by PHD2125. An exemplary mobile personal communication device2300may be implemented similar to radio-based transceivers1200,1205, and1210as described above. As such, for example, the mobile personal communication device2300shown inFIG.23Amay be implemented as a ruggedized radio-based tablet or smartphone used by aircraft crew personnel and carried with them while performing duties within aircraft100. However, changes in the configuration of what is stored within aircraft100may dynamically create undesirable communication environments that further hinder communications along the coupled first and second wireless communications paths that are coupled by PHD2125. For example, as shown inFIG.23B, aircraft100may receive BESI145a, which has been placed between BESI145dand mobile personal communication device2300(operating as an exemplary broadcast-enabled device). The material making up BESI145amay, as a result, cause attenuation and shielding relative to the communication path established between PHD2125and BESI145d. Thus, a further system embodiment may have PHD2125adaptively reposition itself upon detecting such a change in the configuration of what is stored within aircraft100. In more detail, the OBC2100of PHD2125may be operative and configured to cause the multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160to actively monitor the strength of communications received from the different coupled broadcast-enabled devices (such as mobile personal communication device2300and/or BESI145d) so that PHD2125may detect any change in such signal strengths. When a sufficient change in signal strength is detected relative to one of the broadcast-enabled devices, PHD2125may then responsively control its lifting engines210a,210bto move itself from an initial airborne deployed position to a different airborne position where PHD2125can better communicate with the broadcast-enabled device experiencing a drop in signal strength (e.g., such as BESI145dafter BESI145ahas been placed between ULD2145and BESI145d). Thus, as shown inFIG.23B, PHD2125may move and re-position itself as part of such a system embodiment to provide further adaptive communication hub services to different broadcast-enabled devices on aircraft100based upon a detect change in the configuration of what is stored within the delivery vehicle. In another embodiment, both of the broadcast-enabled devices may be mobile personal communication devices and one or more of them may be moving in the delivery vehicle. Here, for example and as shown inFIG.24, one of the mobile personal communication devices2300may be located within the control compartment105of the aircraft100while the other mobile personal communication device2400may be moving within the shipment storage area120of aircraft100. This may occur, for example, when the operator of mobile personal communication device2400conducts a pre-flight or in-flight inspection of what is stored within area120. As the operator of mobile personal communication device2400moves within the storage area120, direct communications between mobile personal communication device2400and mobile personal communication device2300may become hindered or otherwise problematic. In this situation, PHD2125may relocate to a different deployed airborne position within the interior of the aircraft100; establish a wireless data communication path to each of the mobile personal communication devices2300and2400; and couple the different wireless data communication paths as part of providing a relocatable airborne communication hub service for devices2300and2400. This different deployed position may continue to be updated as one or more of the devices move (e.g., by monitoring signal strengths from each of devices2300and2400). Thus, instead of losing communication between device2300and2400as the operator of device2400moves further back into the internal shipment storage area120(where more and more shielding structure may be placed between devices2300and2400), this type of system embodiment that deploys at least a docking station2130and PHD2125may provide a technical airborne solution within the aircraft100to avoid lost communications. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments may deploy a paired aerial communication drone (such as PHD2125) as part of a network of communicating devices that may have different network levels and where the paired communication drone provides bridging and upper level access point types of functionality as part of the network. For example,FIG.25Ais a logical diagram illustrating a network level configuration of two such communicating devices—i.e., an exemplary paired aerial communication drone and multiple broadcast-enabled devices maintained within a delivery vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As shown inFIG.25A, the broadcast-enabled devices BESI145awith BESI145dare logically disposed at a same network level of a hierarchically structured communication network, but may be sufficiently physically separate so that they unable to reliably communicate directly with each other or may have structure between them that degrades the electronic reception of one or both of them. As such, an embodiment may have broadcast-enabled devices BESI145aand BESI145deach being in communication with each other via different wireless communication paths established and coupled together by PHD2125. Thus, BESI145dand BESI145aare in a peer-to-peer relationship at the same network level of the hierarchically structured communication network, but rely upon the airborne relocatable communication hub services provided by PHD2125to realize this peer-to-peer relationship and communicate with each other. In another example, the broadcast-enabled devices may be logically disposed at different network levels of a hierarchically structured communication network. For example, as shown inFIG.25B, mobile personal communication device2300may be disposed at a higher level of the hierarchically structure communication network of broadcast-enabled devices than BESI145d. In this example configuration of the devices, PHD2125may also be deployed at the higher level and be disposed as to provide airborne relocatable communication hub services to establish different wireless communication paths to device2300as well as to BESI145d, and to couple the communication paths together to allow device2300and BESI145dto communicate while being on different network levels. As such, PHD2125may operate as a type of wireless access point for BESI145don the lower level of the network so that BESI145dcan communicate with one or more devices at higher levels in the network. In the example shown inFIG.25C, PHD2125may be deployed at the lower level but provide airborne relocatable communication hub services to establish different wireless communication paths to central communication station2200(on the higher network level) and to BESI145d(on the lower network level), and to couple the communication paths together to allow central communication station2200and BESI145dto communicate while being on different network levels but with PHD2125operating as more of a bridging extension device to extend communications out to BESI145don the same lower network level. As such, the central communication station2200may operate as a type of wireless access point for BESI145d(as coupled through PHD2125operating as an airborne relocatable communication bridge to BESI145d). Beyond moving PHD2125to accommodate changes in the configuration of what is stored within the storage area120of aircraft100or movement of at least one of the different broadcast-enabled devices that PHD2125may provide adaptive airborne communication hub services to, further embodiments may provide systems and methods that provide an airborne relocatable communication hub within the aircraft100for more than two broadcast-enabled devices. For example,FIGS.26A and26Bare perspective diagrams showing an exemplary paired aerial communication drone (e.g., PHD2125) at a first deployed airborne position within a delivery vehicle and amidst multiple broadcast-enabled devices maintained within the delivery vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring now toFIG.26A, exemplary PHD2125is shown in a first deployed airborne position within the aircraft100with established communications with ULD2145and BESI145athat are then coupled so that ULD2145and BESI145amay communicated. However, as shown inFIG.26B, the onboard controller of PHD2125may cause PHD2125to move so as to accommodate providing aerial communication hub services to one or more of BESI145cand/or BESI145d. In more detail, the embodiment shown inFIG.26Bhas the onboard controller of the PHD2125programmatically operating (e.g., by executing the communication hub management program2150) to change the desired flight profile for PHD2125to causing its lifting engines210a,210bto move PHD2125from the first deployed airborne position within the interior of the aircraft100to a second deployed airborne position closer to at least one of BESI145cand/or BESI145d. While at this second deployed airborne position, the onboard controller of PHD2125then causes its communication hub interface2160to establish a third wireless data communication path to a third of the broadcast-enabled devices within the aircraft100, such as BESI145c. Thereafter, PHD2125has its communication hub interface2160couple the established wireless data communication path with BESI145cto one or more of ULD2145and/or BESI145a. Furthermore, in some embodiments, airborne communication hub services may be provided to more than three broadcast-enabled devices using PHD2125. For example, the onboard controller of PHD may cause its communication hub interface2160to establish a fourth wireless data communication path to a fourth of the broadcast-enabled devices within the aircraft100, such as BESI145d. Thereafter, PHD2125has its communication hub interface2160couple the established wireless data communication path with BESI145dto one or more of ULD2145, BESI145a, and/or BESI145c. In this way, PHD2125may move to adaptively facilitate wireless communications amongst different ones of three or more broadcast-enabled devices as an airborne communication hub platform. In more detail, the PHD2125may move to go within range of the other as part of moving on an airborne communication path of waypoints, or in response to a change in what power is received from a particular transmitting BESI (e.g., when structure is moved to cause interference or shielding of between the BESI and the PHD). As the PHD2125establishes wireless communication paths to different broadcast-enabled devices, its onboard communication hub interface2160may also collect data generated on of the broadcast-enabled devices and retransmit the collected data to another of the broadcast-enabled devices as part of its aerial communication hub services. Such collected data may include scan data generated by a scanner on the broadcast-enabled device (e.g., scan data related to what is contained within with a shipping container associated with the broadcast-enabled device), sensor data generated by one or more sensors on the broadcast-enabled devices (e.g., temperature, moisture, or other environmental data sensed by an onboard broadcast-enabled devices associated with a packaged item being shipped), and shared data generated in a memory on a broadcast-enabled device representing information provided to that broadcast-enabled device by another broadcast-enabled device. In a further embodiment of systems and methods for adaptively providing communication hub services within a delivery vehicle using an aerial communication drone (such as PHD2125), the system may use a type of tether for flight control. In particular, a system embodiment may include the delivery vehicle, an aerial communication drone paired to the delivery vehicle (such as PHD2125as described above), plus a base controller and tether. The base controller (such as base controller1000as similarly shown inFIG.10) is fixed to the delivery vehicle and provides flight commands to the onboard controller on the aerial communication drone through a tether linking the base controller and the aerial communication drone. In more detail, such a control tether may provide an electrical conduit for data (e.g., flight control data or flight commands) and power related to the aerial communication drone. An exemplary control tether may provide a fiber optic conduit, which allows for movement of information from the aerial communication drone to the base controller. For example, such a control tether having a fiber optic conduit may allow image type of sensor-based inspection information (e.g., video feed data stream or still image pictures) to be moved or otherwise transferred from the aerial communication drone to the base controller. In more detail, the aerial communication drone may include a control receiver coupled to the onboard controller, where the control receiver has an input connected to the control tether. The control receiver as deployed on such an aerial communication drone is configured and operative to receive, for example, a flight command from the base controller on the input and pass the received flight command to the onboard controller (such as the OFC305part of the OBC2100in PHD2125), which then may generate the flight control input for the lifting engines based upon the received flight command. In another detailed example, the onboard controller of the aerial communication drone (such as the OFC305part of the OBC2100in PHD2125) may responsively generate landing control input for the lifting engines210a,210bif the aerial communication drone detects that the control tether is broken. In response to detecting the tether is broken (e.g., an anticipated signal or signal level is not received by the control receiver on the drone from the base controller), the landing control input generated by the aerial communication drone facilitates and causes the drone to return to the internal docking station and securing of the drone capture interface on the drone (e.g., DCI370on PHD2125) to the physical docking interface of the internal docking station. Alternatively, the landing control input generated when detecting the tether is broken may have the drone land in a designated part of the delivery vehicle and wirelessly broadcast a message indicating so, which may be received by vehicle transceiver2135or mobile device2300. In still another embodiment, the aerial communication may further include a restrictive tether connected to the aerial communication drone and to the delivery vehicle. In this manner, the restrictive tether may place a control on where the aerial communication drone moves and, as a result, limit movement of the aerial communication drone. Such a restrictive tether may help to avoid unintentional collisions with objects within the delivery vehicle or act as a fallback physical barrier to help limit overlap if an embodiment has multiple aerial communication drones active within the same delivery vehicle. Thus, various system embodiments have been described that rely on an aerial communication drone (such as PHD2125) when adaptively providing communication hub services to one or a multitude of similar or different types of broadcast-enabled devices. Some system embodiments may include the PHD and its associated docking station, while other system embodiments may include the delivery vehicle and its paired PHD. Further system embodiments that provide similar adaptive communication hub services within a delivery vehicle may include the PHD and the delivery vehicle transceiver, which may operate as one of the broadcast-enabled devices and provide a communication path outside of the vehicle for the PHD and the other of the broadcast-enabled devices (seeFIG.22). Indeed, still another system embodiment may include the PHD (such as PHD2125), a central communication station disposed within the delivery vehicle (such as central communication station2200) where the central communication station may provide a communication path outside of the vehicle for the PHD and other broadcast-enabled devices coupled to the PHD. FIG.27is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary aerial drone-based method for providing an airborne relocatable communication hub within a delivery vehicle for a plurality of broadcast-enabled devices maintained within the delivery vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As discussed above, an exemplary delivery vehicle may be an aircraft (such as aircraft100), a trailer capable of being moved by a truck, a train car capable of being moved on a railway system, a marine vessel, or an automotive vehicle (such as a delivery van). And as also discussed above, exemplary broadcast-enabled devices that may use the paired aerial communication drone in such a method may come in different forms, such as an RF transceiver-based device (e.g., a transceiver-based Zigbee device that communicates using IEEE 802.15 formatted communications, a transceiver-based Wi-Fi device that communicates using IEEE 802.11 formatted communications, and the like), a central communication station on the delivery vehicle, a delivery vehicle transceiver disposed in a control compartment (e.g., a cockpit, truck cab, etc.) of the delivery vehicle, a broadcast-enabled shipping container maintained within the delivery vehicle, a broadcast-enabled network device associated with an item being shipped within the delivery vehicle, or a mobile personal communication device (e.g., wireless handheld devices such as smartphones, ruggedized tablets, UHF/VHF handheld radios, and the like). In this method embodiment, consistent with the systems and system components described above, the broadcast-enabled devices that may be coupled by the paired aerial communication drone may be geographically separated and incapable of direct communication with each other without the first wireless data communication path and the second wireless data communication path established by the paired aerial communication drone. Referring now toFIG.27, exemplary method2700begins at step2705where the aerial communication drone paired with the delivery vehicle (referred to as PHD inFIG.27) may receive an activation command while in a secured position within the delivery vehicle. The activation command for the PHD, for example, may be in the form of a wireless message received by PHD2125from the internal docking station2130, the vehicle transceiver2135, central communication station2200, or from a radio-based transceiver2300operated by personnel within the operational control section of the vehicle or within the internal shipment storage for the vehicle. Alternatively, the activation command may be received in the form of a time-based command generated onboard the PHD2125where, for example, the PHD may be deployed to activate from the secured position so that the airborne relocatable communication hub services provided to the broadcast-enabled devices within the delivery vehicle may occur after recharging of PHD2125. In other words, the PHD2125may recharge while on internal docking station2130and, upon detecting a threshold charging status (which may operate as the activation command), deploy from the docking station2130. Generally, steps2710through2720prepare and deploy the PHD within the delivery vehicle. In particular, at step2710, method2700continues with the PHD transitioning from at least a low power state to an active power state as part of deploying into the interior of the delivery vehicle. The low power state of the PHD may be a complete shut off condition where the PHD is unpowered. In other embodiments, the low power state may be a sleep type of state where some circuitry within the PHD is off (e.g., the lifting engines210a,210bof PHD2125shown inFIG.21) while another subset of the onboard circuitry remains powered on (e.g., GPS350and IMU355to help avoid delays prior to lift off from the docking station2130). When transitioning to the active monitoring state, where the PHD will be ready for airborne communication hub activities within the shipment storage of the delivery vehicle, the PHD prepares to separate from the internal docking station. At step2715, method2700continues by automatically uncoupling the PHD from a secured position on an internal docking station fixed within the delivery vehicle once the PHD transitions to the active power state. For example, PHD2125may automatically uncouple from the internal docking station2130as a precursor to flying into the internal shipment storage120shown inFIG.20. In this embodiment, the PHD's landing gear (similar to landing gear220a,220bshown inFIG.4A) separates from being mated with the securing clamps (similar to the securing claims405a,405bshown inFIG.4B) of the docking station2130to accomplish such automatic uncoupling. This may be implemented by articulating the landing gear articulating the securing clamps, or both the landing gear and the securing clamps being moved to articulate to different positions that, as a result, uncouple the PHD2125from docking station2130depending on the complexity of the PHD, docking station, and anticipated vibrational environment within the drone storage area115. At step2720, method2700continues with the PHD moving from the secured position on the internal docking station to a first deployed airborne position within an interior of the delivery vehicle. Moving off the docking station to the first deployed airborne position may be done in response to receiving a flight command to redirect aerial movement of the PHD from being on the docking station to be aloft and flying to the first deployed position. In some embodiments, such a flight command may be received over a control tether connected to the PHD (similar to tether1005shown inFIG.10) or may be received wirelessly through the PHD's multi-transceiver communication hub interface (such as interface2160on PHD2125). At step2725, method2700continues with the PHD establishing a first wireless data communication path to a first of the broadcast-enabled devices within the delivery vehicle, such as ULD2145as shown inFIG.20. At step2730, method2700has the PHD establishing a second wireless data communication path to a second of the broadcast-enabled devices within the delivery vehicle, such as BESI145das shown inFIG.20. Such communication paths may be a common wireless data communication protocol (e.g., a 2G/3G/4G/5G cellular communication protocol, a Bluetooth communication protocol, a Wi-Fi communication protocol, a Zigbee communication protocol, and the like). However, in other embodiments the multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160of PHD2125may deploy different types of transceivers establish communication paths with different broadcast-enabled devices using different wireless communication protocols and use a protocol converter device installed as part of the communication hub interface2160to help manage the coupling of differently formatted wireless communication paths (as performed in step2735). At step2735, method2700continues with the PHD coupling the first wireless data communication path and the second wireless data communication path for at least the first of the broadcast-enabled devices and the second of the broadcast-enabled devices. As noted, this may be accomplished, in particular, using such an embedded protocol converter device deployed within the PHD's multi-transceiver communication hub interface. The two coupled broadcast-enabled communication devices may be logically disposed at a same network level of a hierarchically structured communication network (e.g., in a peer-to-peer relationship at the same network level of the hierarchically structured communication network), or be logically disposed at different network levels of the network where (e.g., where the first of the broadcast-enabled devices and the second of the broadcast-enabled devices are coupled by the aerial communication drone operating as a wireless access point for the first of the broadcast-enabled devices). Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that at least the steps2725-2735may be performed as the delivery vehicle is in motion and while the PHD is airborne within the delivery vehicle. In some embodiments, the coupling of communication paths done by PHD at step2735(as well as the below described steps2775and2785) allows for communications off the delivery vehicle. In particular, a further embodiment of step2735may have the PHD couple one of the broadcast-enabled devices to a delivery vehicle transceiver operating as one of the broadcast-enabled device (and which is in communication with a remote transceiver external to the delivery vehicle over an external wireless data communication path). In this manner, the delivery vehicle transceiver effectively couples the first wireless data communication path (established between it and the PHD) and the external wireless data communication. Moving forward, method2700continues to step2740where the PHD may collect data generated on the first of the broadcast-enabled devices. This type of data generated on the first of the broadcast-enabled devices may include scan data, sensor data, or shared data. In more detail, scan data may be generated by a scanner on the first of the broadcast-enabled devices, such as barcode data generated by a laser scanner component on a broadcast-enabled barcode device. Sensor data may, for example, be generated by one or more environmental sensors on the first of the broadcast-enabled devices (e.g., temperature sensors, light sensors, moisture sensors, motion sensors, and the like). Shared data may be generated in a memory on the first of the broadcast-enabled devices, and represent information provided to that first broadcast-enabled device by another broadcast-enabled device. For example, ULD2145may include a first broadcast-enabled device having shared data it its memory representing information provided by a broadcast-enabled device embedded in a package within ULD2145. The broadcast-enabled device in the package within ULD2145may have temperature information generated by onboard temperature sensors, and provide that temperature information to the ULD's broadcast-enabled device, which then is collected by the PHD2125. Thus, if the PHD collects such data from the first of the broadcast-enabled devices in step2740, then the PHD retransmits the collected data to the second of the broadcast-enabled devices at step2745. Otherwise, method2700proceeds from step2740directly to step2750. At step2750, method2700continues with the PHD determining whether it has received a flight command that may redirect the drone to another airborne position. If so, then step2750moves directly to step2765. But if not, then step2750proceeds to step2755where the PHD monitors for changes that impact communications with the first of the broadcast-enabled devices. In more detail, at step2755, exemplary method2700continues with the PHD monitoring a first strength level of what is received from the first of the broadcast-enabled devices over the first wireless data communication path. Then, at step2760, method2700has the PHD detecting if there is a threshold drop in the first strength level of what is received from the first of the broadcast-enabled devices as monitored in step2755. For example, the threshold drop in the first strength level may be associated with a changed configuration of what is maintained within the delivery vehicle. A configuration of what is maintained within the delivery vehicle may change, which then causes the threshold drop in signal strength resulting from the placement of attenuating structure between the first of the broadcast-enabled devices and the PHD. In other words, changes to the physical environment between the first broadcast-enabled device and the PHD may cause interference or attenuation on the first wireless data communication path. Such changes may come from movement of the first broadcast-enabled device relative to the PHD (which may thrust different structure in a line of sight distances between the first broadcast-enabled device and the PHD), or may come from placing new attenuating structure between the first broadcast-enabled device and the PHD. Upon detecting such a threshold drop at step2760, method2700proceeds to step2765. Otherwise, method2700proceeds back to step2740. Those skilled in that art will understand that steps2755and2760may also be performed relative to the second of the broadcast-enabled devices as well in some embodiments. At step2765, a change in aerial position is warranted due to a flight command or as a result of detecting lower signal strengths from one of the broadcast-enabled devices coupled by the PHD. Thus, method2700continues at step2765with the PHD moving from the first deployed airborne position within the interior of the delivery vehicle to a second deployed airborne position. Such a second deployed airborne position may be one of a number of airborne positions on an airborne communication path flown by the PHD within the interior of the delivery vehicle. For example, PHD2125may typically fly on an airborne communication path above the shipping items maintained within the internal shipment storage area120, such that PHD2125may move to a position closer to BESI145dafter BESI145ais placed between mobile device2300and BESI145das shown inFIG.23B. Similarly, in another example, PHD2125may move to a position closer to mobile device2400as the operator of device240moves within the internal shipment storage area120away from the initial position of PHD2125as shown inFIG.24. At this second deployed airborne position, step2770of method2700has the PHD establishing a third wireless data communication path to a third of the broadcast-enabled devices within the delivery vehicle. For example, as shown inFIG.26B, PHD2125has moved to the second deployed airborne position and may establish another communication path to another broadcast-enabled device, such as BESI145c. Then, at step2775, method2700has the PHD coupling the first wireless data communication path and the third wireless data communication path. Alternatively, step2775may couple the second and third wireless data communications paths or couple the first, second, and third wireless data communication paths together. In this manner, the third broadcast-enabled device (e.g., BESI145cshown inFIG.26B) may communication with one or more of the first two broadcast-enabled devices. At step2780, method2700continues with the PHD establishing a fourth wireless data communication path to a fourth of the broadcast-enabled devices within the delivery vehicle (such as BESI145dshown inFIG.26B). Then, at step2785, method2700has the PHD coupling the third wireless data communication path and the fourth wireless data communication path by the aerial communication drone operating as the airborne relocatable communication hub for at least the third of the broadcast-enabled devices and the fourth of the broadcast-enabled devices. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that method2700as disclosed and explained above in various embodiments may be implemented by an apparatus, such as exemplary PHD2125, running an embodiment of communication hub management program code2150, and as a part of a system including the internal docking station2130and PHD2125or a system that includes the delivery vehicle100and the PHD2125. Such code2150may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium in the PHD, such as memory storage315as shown onFIG.21. Thus, when executing code2150, the OBC2100(or OCP2110) of PHD2125(in cooperation with other circuitry onboard the PHD2125, such as the multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160) may be operative to perform certain operations or steps from the exemplary methods disclosed above, including method2700and variations of that method. Enhanced Positioning of a Paired Aerial Communication Hub Drone As noted above, there are times when an exemplary paired aerial communication hub drone (i.e., an exemplary PHD) may be flown, redirected, or repositioned to a different aerial deployed position so that the PHD may more effectively link two or more wireless devices. For example, a communications environment relative to the PEED's delivery vehicle may dynamically change, which may cause problems on where to most effectively position the PHD. Items placed within the delivery vehicle may interfere with communications between broadcast-enabled wireless devices on the delivery vehicle or the devices themselves may be moving within or relative to the delivery vehicle. In another example, the PHD may detect two such wireless devices that should be linked, but the PHD may currently be in an inconvenient position to reliably establish and couple the wireless devices. In such an environment, linking wireless devices using the PHD may be better accomplished with intelligent positioning of the PHD based on having the PHD perform certain types of assessments while airborne. Thus, a further set of embodiments involves enhanced airborne relocatable communication hub systems and improved methods for positioning an airborne relocatable communication hub that supports multiple wireless devices. Referring back toFIG.21, exemplary PHD2125is shown as a type of communication drone apparatus that may be further enhanced as part of an embodiment so that it can advantageously and intelligently repositions itself while supporting wireless devices disposed within a delivery vehicle. As explained above, exemplary PHD2125includes lifting engines210a,210bthat are responsive to flight control input generated by the onboard controller2100as part of maintaining a desired flight profile within the delivery vehicle (such as aircraft100). In an embodiment of PHD2125, repositioning may generally be based upon a comparison of connection signal strengths for different signals detected by multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160as the PHD2125executes an enhanced embodiment of communication hub management program2150. As noted above, implementations of exemplary communication hub management program2150may be a set of executable instructions in the form of one or more machine-readable, non-transient program code modules or applications. The communication hub management program2150adapts the PHD2125into an unconventionally configured aerial communication hub apparatus exclusively paired to the aircraft100as a linked part of the aircraft that travels with the aircraft during shipment operations providing improved repositionable airborne communication hub services to wireless devices within and around the delivery vehicle. This specially configured OBC2100of PHD2125, as described in more detail herein as a part of an embodiment, implements operative process steps and provides functionality that is unconventional, especially when the overall steps that provide extended communication access functionality using the PHD2125and how it can be intelligently repositioned to solve a technical communication issue. In other words, a specially adapted and configured paired communication hub drone (e.g., PHD2125) helps, as a part of an embodiment, to improve how wireless devices in and around the delivery vehicle (e.g., radio-based transceivers associated with shipping items (such as the transceivers in BESI145a-145e) and associated with shipping containers (such as the transceiver in ULD2145)) communicate with each other while being disposed in or being around the delivery vehicle. In an exemplary apparatus embodiment, PHD2125may be deployed to include at least an aerial drone main housing (such as housing200), an onboard controller disposed within the housing (such as OBC2100), multiple lifting engines (such as engines210a,210b), and a communication hub interface (such as multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160). Generally, this PHD2125controls and uses its communication hub interface2160in this repositioning embodiment to detect one or more signals broadcast from the wireless devices in or around the delivery vehicle, compare such signals, change the PHD's flight profile to reposition the PHD based on the comparison, and then link the wireless devices via wireless data communication paths to the wireless devices. Such wireless devices may, for example, include a central communication station on the delivery vehicle (e.g., station2200or vehicle transceiver2135), a broadcast-enabled shipping container (e.g., ULD2145), a broadcast-enabled network device associated with an item being shipped within the delivery vehicle (e.g., BESI145d), or a mobile personal communication device (e.g., devices2300,2400). In more detail, as the onboard controller2100of PHD2125executes the communication hub management program2150in this embodiment, the onboard controller first changes the desired flight profile to cause the lifting engines to move the PHD from a secured position within an interior of the delivery vehicle to a first deployed airborne position within a different part of the interior of the delivery vehicle (such as in the position shown inFIG.24where PHD2125may have moved from a secured position on docking station2130to the illustrated airborne position of PHD2125above ULD2145within the interior shipment storage120of aircraft100). At this first deployed airborne position, the onboard controller of the PHD receives a first signal from the communication hub interface. This first signal is broadcast by a first wireless device and detected by the communication hub interface. The onboard controller then receives a second signal from the communication hub interface, where the second signal is broadcast by a second wireless device and detected by the communication hub interface. With these two detected signals, the onboard controller compares their respective connection signal strengths (e.g., power levels as detected by multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160). Based upon the comparison of connection signal strengths, the onboard controller can change the desired flight profile to cause the lifting engines to reposition the PHD to a second deployed airborne position within the delivery vehicle. For example, when the first connection signal strength is lower than the second connection signal strength, the PHD may reposition to a different deployed airborne position closer to the first wireless device and not as close to the second wireless device. In a more detailed embodiment, the lifting engines reposition the PHD to the second deployed airborne position based upon a detected balance between the first connection signal strength and the second connection signal strength as the PHD moves within the delivery vehicle. In other words, the PHD may iteratively monitor the connection signal strength of each signal while moving so as to balance those signal strengths. Further embodiments may balance and attempt to move to a second position that minimized the balanced connection signal strengths. Thereafter, the onboard controller causes the communication hub interface to link the first wireless device and the second wireless device after the aerial communication drone is repositioned at the second deployed airborne position. Thus, this apparatus embodiment of PHD2125enables an intelligent physical movement and repositioning of the PHD that supports linking the two wireless devices and maintaining that link in an improved way that solves a technical problem dealing with how and where to position such a paired airborne communication hub drone device when actively and dynamically supporting different wireless devices in and around the delivery vehicle. In a further embodiment of such a PHD apparatus, repositioning may be based on comparing three signals from three devices. For example, the onboard controller may further receive a third signal from the communication hub interface, where the third signal was broadcast by a third wireless device and detected by the communication hub interface. Then, as part of repositioning, the onboard controller may cause the lifting engines to reposition the PHD to a third deployed airborne position within the delivery vehicle based upon a comparison of the first connection signal strength, the second connection signal strength, and a third connection signal strength for the third signal. In other words, this third deployed airborne position may be a point within the delivery vehicle where the communication hub interface detects a balance between the first connection signal strength, the second connection signal strength, and the third connection signal strength. In still another embodiment of such a PHD apparatus, adaptive repositioning may be implemented when one of the wireless devices changes signal strength. In more detail, as the PHD is airborne and has linked the first and second wireless devices, the communication hub interface may detect a change in the first connection signal strength. This may, for example, be due to a change in what may be stored within the delivery vehicle or if the first wireless device is moving. As such, the onboard controller may be responsive to the detected change in the first connection signal strength to alter the desired flight profile and cause the lifting engines to reposition the PHD to a third deployed airborne position based upon a comparison of an updated value of the first connection signal strength and the second connection signal strength. In yet another embodiment, adaptive repositioning may be implemented when both wireless devices change signal strength. In more detail, the PHD's communication hub interface may be further operative to detect a first change in the first connection signal strength and a second change in the second connection signal strength. The onboard controller may be responsive to the detected first change and second change to then alter the desired flight profile and cause the lifting engines to reposition the PHD to a third deployed airborne position based upon a comparison of a first updated value of the first connection signal strength and a second updated value of the second connection signal strength. Such changes may, for example, be due to changes within the delivery vehicle or movement of the different wireless devices relative to the current location of the PHD and its communication hub interface or an altered broadcast signal level as changed by the broadcasting device. Such a PHD-based apparatus embodiment that repositions based on comparing connection signal strengths may be further used as part of a system embodiment. Such an enhanced airborne relocatable communication hub system generally includes a delivery vehicle and that delivery vehicle's paired aerial communication drone. The delivery vehicle (e.g., aircraft100as shown inFIGS.20,22,23A,23B, and24) maintains multiple wireless devices while transporting the wireless devices. The delivery vehicle has an interior storage area (such as shipment storage120) for maintaining the wireless devices and a drone storage area (such as drone storage area115) disposed within the delivery vehicle. The system's paired aerial communication drone (referred to as PHD) can be secured within the drone storage area and may be implemented consistent with the apparatus embodiments described above as having at least an onboard controller, lifting engines, and a communication hub interface. The system's PHD generally operates to detect signals from different wireless devices, compare the connection signal strength of such detected signals, and reposition the PHD based on that comparison before linking the two wireless devices as described in more detail above. Thus, such an enhanced airborne relocatable communication hub system collectively provides a movable storage system that has a dynamically repositionable PHD that enhances how wireless devices maintained within the storage system may communicate with each other. Consistent with the exemplary enhanced aerial communication drone apparatus that supports wireless devices disposed within and near a delivery vehicle and the exemplary enhanced airborne relocatable communication hub system as described above, a further embodiment may take the form of a drone-based method for repositioning the airborne relocatable communication hub drone while providing communication hub services to the wireless devices. In particular,FIG.28is a flow diagram illustrating an improved method for enhanced positioning of an airborne relocatable communication hub (e.g., PHD2125) supporting a group of wireless devices and based on connection signal strength in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Such wireless devices may, for example, be on a delivery vehicle (e.g., aircraft100) and include a central communication station on the delivery vehicle (e.g., station2200or vehicle transceiver2135), a broadcast-enabled shipping container (e.g., ULD2145), a broadcast-enabled network device associated with an item being shipped within the delivery vehicle (e.g., BESI145d), or a mobile personal communication device (e.g., devices2300,2400) operating within or near the delivery vehicle. Another exemplary wireless device that may interact with the airborne relocatable communication drone or PHD may be a broadcast-enabled network device associated with a fixed physical location, such as a wireless access point device disposed at the fixed physical location within a building (e.g., a warehouse, storage hanger, and the like). Referring now toFIG.28, exemplary method2800begins at step2805where the aerial communication drone operating as the airborne relocatable communication hub moves to a first deployed airborne position. The aerial communication drone (such as PHD2125shown inFIG.21) may be exclusively paired to specific delivery vehicle (such as aircraft100). As such, moving the aerial communication drone may be done by moving to a deployed airborne position within a delivery vehicle as the first position. At step2810, method2800has the aerial communication drone monitoring for broadcast signals from wireless devices while deployed at the first airborne position. At step2815, method2800proceeds by detecting a first signal broadcast by a first of the wireless devices using a communication hub interface on the aerial communication drone, such as the multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160on PHD2125. When this first signal is detected, step2815proceeds to step2820. Otherwise, step2815proceeds back to step2810to continue monitoring for such a first detected signal. At step2820, method2800continues by detecting a second signal broadcast by a second of the wireless devices using the communication hub interface on the aerial communication drone. When this second signal is detected, step2820proceeds to step2825. Otherwise, step2820remains searching for the second detected signal. At step2825, two different signals from two different wireless devices have been detected and method2800uses the onboard controller of the aerial communication drone (such as OBC2100of PHD2125) to compare a first connection signal strength for the first signal and a second connection signal strength for the second signal. The connection signal strength may, for example, be an absolute power level as measured by the aerial communication drone's communication interface or an RSSI level indicative of how well the drone is receiving the related signal from the particular wireless device. At step2830, method2800proceeds with repositioning the aerial communication drone operating as the airborne relocatable communication hub to a second deployed airborne position based upon the comparison of the first connection signal strength and the second connection signal strength. For example, PHD2125may compare the different connection signal strengths of the first and second signals as the PHD2125is moving. In other words, the PHD may compare such connection signal strengths while moving as a type of feedback, which has the effect of improving a balance between the first and second connection signal strengths as the PHD approaches the second deployed airborne position. Thus, when there is an equal balance of connection signal strengths, the PHD may be considered to have been repositioned at the second deployed airborne position. At step2835, method2800proceeds with the aerial communication drone linking the first of the wireless devices and the second of the wireless devices using the communication hub interface on the aerial communication drone once repositioned at the second deployed airborne position. Such linking may allow signals of the same or different format to effectively let information flow from the first wireless device to the second wireless device and vice versa by leveraging use of the aerial communication drone as intelligently positioned to improve the reliability and robust nature of such linked information flow from the second deployed airborne position. In one embodiment, the linking in step2845has the communication hub interface establishing a peer-to-peer connection between the first and second wireless devices. In another embodiment, the linking in step2845has the communication hub interface establishes a wireless access point connection from the first wireless device to the second wireless device In general, steps2840through2855of an embodiment of method2800further account for changes in the connection signal strengths. In more detail, at step2840, method2800proceeds with detecting a change in the first connection signal strength. The detected change in the first connection signal strength may be caused by and correspond to movement of the first of the wireless devices relative to the communication hub interface on the aerial communication drone. For example, as shown inFIG.24, mobile personal communication device2400may be moving within the internal shipment storage120of aircraft100, which may cause PHD2125to detect a change (higher or lower) of the connection signal strength of signals received from mobile personal communication device2400. At step2845, method2800proceeds to compare an updated value of the first connection signal strength for the first signal and the second connection signal strength for the second signal, and then at step2850, reposition the aerial communication drone operating as the airborne relocatable communication hub to a third deployed airborne position based upon the comparison of step2845. Then, at step2855, method2800links the first wireless device and the second wireless device using the communication hub interface on the aerial communication drone once repositioned at the third deployed airborne position. In some embodiments of method2800, the aerial communication drone (PHD) may interact with three or more different wireless devices. For example, a further embodiment of method2800may have the aerial communication drone detecting a third signal broadcast by a third wireless device using the communication hub interface on the aerial communication drone. As such, the comparing of step2825may be implemented as comparing the first connection signal strength, the second connection signal strength, and a third connection signal strength for the third signal. The results of this comparison may then be used as a basis for repositioning the aerial communication drone to another deployed airborne position where the three different connection signal strengths may be within a tolerable range or substantially balanced. Furthermore, an embodiment of method2800's steps2840-2855may be modified to handle when both wireless devices change signal strength, which may be attributed to movement of the first and second wireless devices (e.g., when they are mobile devices, such as mobile personal communication device devices2300,2400). As such and in that modified method, the aerial communication drone may detect a first change in the first connection signal strength, detect a second change in the second connection signal strength, and then compare a first updated value of the first connection signal strength and a second updated value for the second connection signal strength. This comparison of both updated values (given the dynamic situation of where both devices are located or how both devices may be transmitting), may be used to reposition the aerial communication drone operating as the airborne relocatable communication hub to a fourth deployed airborne position. Once repositioned at the fourth deployed airborne position, the aerial communication drone may link the first and second wireless devices using the communication hub interface on the aerial communication drone. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that method2800as disclosed and explained above in various embodiments may be implemented by an apparatus, such as exemplary PHD2125as already described above, running an embodiment of communication hub management program code2150, and as a part of a system including the internal docking station2130and PHD2125or a system that includes the delivery vehicle100and the PHD2125. Such code2150may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium in the PHD, such as memory storage315as shown onFIG.21. Thus, when executing code2150, the OBC2100(or OCP2110) of PHD2125(in cooperation with other circuitry onboard the PHD2125, such as the multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160) may be operative to perform certain operations or steps from the exemplary methods disclosed above, including method2800and variations of that method. While the embodiments of method2800(and related apparatus and system embodiments) described above involve actively positioning the aerial communication drone based upon detecting and comparing connection signal strengths of different wireless devices, other embodiments of enhanced positioning may reposition or relocate based upon detecting wireless device concentrations. In general, an embodiment may have an aerial communication drone detect different concentrations of wireless devices along an airborne scanning path, and then relocate the drone to the airborne position near the highest concentration of detected wireless devices so that it may be in a position to most effectively serve wireless devices that need to be linked in order to communicate with each other. The drone may periodically resurvey the concentration of detected wireless devices and then update its deployed position near where the updated highest concentration of detected wireless devices are now currently located so to account for movement of wireless devices or changes in what may be shielding such devices. FIG.29is a flow diagram illustrating such an exemplary improved method for enhanced positioning of an airborne relocatable communication hub that supports multiple wireless devices and is based on device concentration in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As noted above, such exemplary wireless devices may be on a delivery vehicle (e.g., aircraft100) and include a central communication station on the delivery vehicle (e.g., station2200or vehicle transceiver2135), a broadcast-enabled shipping container (e.g., ULD2145), a broadcast-enabled network device associated with an item being shipped within the delivery vehicle (e.g., BESI145d), or a mobile personal communication device (e.g., devices2300,2400) operating within or near the delivery vehicle. Another exemplary wireless device that may interact with the airborne relocatable communication drone or PHD may be a broadcast-enabled network device associated with a fixed physical location that may be on the delivery vehicle or simply near the delivery vehicle, such as a wireless access point device disposed at the fixed physical location within a building (e.g., a warehouse, storage hanger, and the like). Referring now toFIG.29, method2900begins at step2905where the aerial communication drone operating as the airborne relocatable communication hub (generally referred to as “PHD” inFIG.29) is moved on an airborne scanning path with multiple airborne deployed positions, which begins with moving to a first position. For example, the PHD may be deployed within a delivery vehicle where the airborne scanning path is one that extends along different airborne positions within the delivery vehicle's shipment storage area. The delivery vehicle (such as aircraft100shown inFIG.24), which may be exclusively paired with the PHD, may house a docking station for the PHD (such as docking station2130) from which the PHD may initially move as it begins to move to the first position on its airborne scanning path programmed into its flight profile data (such as data2155in memory315of exemplary PHD2125). In general, steps2910through2920have the PHD using its communication hub interface to detect different concentrations of the wireless devices as the PHD moves to each of the airborne deployed positions on the airborne scanning path. In particular, at step2910, method2900has the PHD detecting a concentration of wireless devices at its current airborne deployed position along the programmed airborne scanning path. The detected concentration represents at least a portion of the wireless devices actively broadcasting within a detection range of the communication hub interface proximate to that specific airborne deployed position. At step2915, method2900determines whether the current position of the PHD on the airborne scanning path is the last position for detecting wireless device concentrations. If so, step2915proceeds to step2925. But if not, step2915proceeds to step2920where the PHD moves to the next airborne deployed position on the airborne scanning path before moving again to step2910to detect concentrations at that next airborne deployed position. In this manner, an embodiment may have the PHD essentially surveying how the wireless devices it may support are located relative to each other, which may then be used for positioning the PHD when providing airborne communication hub services. At step2925, method2900continues with the PHD relocating to the position on the airborne scanning path that was detected to have a highest concentration of the wireless devices within its detection range. Then, at step2930, method2900has the PHD linking at least two of the wireless devices using the PHD's communication hub interface once repositioned at the airborne deployed position corresponding to the highest concentration of the wireless devices. In more detail, this linking of the wireless devices may establish a peer-to-peer connection between the at least two wireless devices or establish a wireless access point connection from one wireless device to another (e.g., providing access to a higher level in a hierarchical wireless device network). An embodiment of method2900may also respond to the dynamic nature of the wireless devices, which may have the PHD further relocating based on an updated detection of wireless device concentrations. In more detail, method2900may continue from step2930to step2935, where the PHD monitors for a threshold change in the previously detected highest of the concentrations of the wireless devices. For example, while PHD may hover at a position within the internal shipment storage120of aircraft100, some of the wireless devices may no longer be broadcasting or additional wireless devices within range of PHD2125may begin broadcasting that alters the prior concentration detected back in step2910. Accordingly, at step2940, method2900proceeds to back to step2935if no threshold change was detected, but proceeds back to step2910if there was a threshold change in device concentration. This allows the PHD to re-survey the updated wireless device concentrations. In more detail, the PHD's communication hub interface may redetect the different concentrations of the wireless devices at each of the airborne deployed positions on the airborne scanning path; the PHD then is repositioned to the airborne deployed position having a highest of the updated concentrations of the wireless devices; and then the PHD proceeds to link at least two of the wireless devices using its communication hub interface once repositioned at the airborne deployed position corresponding to the highest updated concentration of the wireless devices. A further embodiment may also perform this type of update response or at least periodically perform such tasks (rather than wait for a threshold change detection) given the PHD may be unable to sense or detect changes in the number of broadcasting wireless devices outside the PHD's immediate detection range. Thus, an embodiment of method2900may skip steps2935and2940and, instead, simply proceed back to step2910from step2930after some defined period of time (or once the linked wireless devices are no longer communicating through the airborne communication hub services provided by the PHD). Those skilled in the art will appreciate that method2900as disclosed and explained above in various embodiments may be implemented by an apparatus, such as exemplary PHD2125, running an embodiment of communication hub management program code2150, and as a part of a system including the internal docking station2130and PHD2125or a system that includes the delivery vehicle100and the PHD2125. Such code2150may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium in the PHD, such as memory storage315as shown onFIG.21. Thus, when executing code2150, the OBC2100(or OCP2110) of PHD2125(in cooperation with other circuitry onboard the PHD2125, such as the multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160) may be operative to perform certain operations or steps from the exemplary methods disclosed above, including method2900and variations of that method. While the above described embodiments of method2900(and related apparatus and system embodiments) involve actively positioning the aerial communication drone based upon detected concentrations of different wireless devices when moving along an airborne scanning path, another embodiment may strategically position the PHD using a directional antenna deployed as part of the PHD's communication hub interface. In general, an embodiment of the aerial communication drone or PHD may use a communication hub interface having a directional antenna that allows for directional detection of signals broadcast by wireless devices supported by the PHD. For example, the multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160of exemplary PHD2125may include one or more directional antennas. Such a directional antenna may, for example, be implemented with a beam forming antenna that can electronically steer and change its reception pattern in different directions from a stationary PHD2125. However, in another example, the directional antenna may have a characteristic reception pattern that is directional in a fixed direction (not omni-directional nor electronically steering/shaping the antenna's reception pattern). Here, the PHD2125may physically spin or rotate to steer the directional reception pattern in different directions relative to the location of the PHD2125. As such, the PHD2125is able to survey different concentrations of operating wireless devices in different locations relative to the current deployed airborne position of PHD2125without the need to first traverse and move through different positions on an airborne scanning path. FIG.30is a flow diagram illustrating yet another improved method for enhanced positioning of an airborne relocatable communication hub supporting a plurality of wireless devices and based on directional sensing of the wireless devices in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Again, as noted above, such exemplary wireless devices may be on a delivery vehicle (e.g., aircraft100) and include a central communication station on the delivery vehicle (e.g., station2200or vehicle transceiver2135), a broadcast-enabled shipping container (e.g., ULD2145), a broadcast-enabled network device associated with an item being shipped within the delivery vehicle (e.g., BESI145d), or a mobile personal communication device (e.g., devices2300,2400) operating within or near the delivery vehicle. Another exemplary wireless device that may interact with the airborne relocatable communication drone or PHD may be a broadcast-enabled network device associated with a fixed physical location that may be on the delivery vehicle or simply near the delivery vehicle, such as a wireless access point device disposed at the fixed physical location within a building (e.g., a warehouse, storage hanger, and the like). Referring now toFIG.30, method3000begins at step3005where the aerial communication drone operating as the airborne relocatable communication hub (generally referred to as “PHD” inFIG.30) is moved to a first airborne deployed position. For example, the PHD may be deployed within a delivery vehicle's shipment storage area at an initial central airborne position relative to where wireless devices may be located in the shipment storage area. The delivery vehicle (such as aircraft100shown inFIG.24), which may be exclusively paired with the PHD, may house a docking station for the PHD (such as docking station2130) from which the PHD may initially move as it begins to move to this first airborne deployed position programmed into its flight profile data (such as data2155in memory315of exemplary PHD2125). Such a position may be a geographic coordinate or a relative proximity location as detected by the PHD's proximity sensors. In general, step3010has the PHD using the directional antenna of its communication hub interface to detect different concentrations of the wireless devices relative to different directions while at the current airborne deployed position. Each detected concentration is thus a portion of the wireless devices actively broadcasting within a detection range of the communication hub interface proximate to the first airborne deployed position. For example, PHD2125may have a phased array directional antenna as part of its multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160. Using this phased array directional antenna, the PHD2125may perform a focused survey at different directions out from the PHD2125looking for a concentration of operating wireless devices (e.g., how many signals are detected from wireless devices operating in that direction from the PHD2125). To do this, the PHD2125may cause the directional antenna of the communication hub interface2160to change the reception pattern so as to focus on a particular direction relative to where the PHD2125is currently located. In other words, the PHD2125may electronically steer the reception pattern of the communication hub interface's phased array directional antenna to focus on different directions relative to the PHD's location. Thus, in this example, PHD2125may have the directional antenna focus straight ahead of PHD2125to detect a concentration of operating wireless devices at that direction relative to the current airborne deployed position of the PHD2125. This may be repeated for other directions—such as to the right, left, and behind the PHD2125. Depending on the steering granularity and ability to tightly focus the reception pattern, another embodiment may do this type of electronic steering of the directional reception pattern at set degrees of a compass, such as at every 15 degrees of the 360 degree view relative to the PHD's location. Thus, such examples allow the PHD to detect wireless device concentrations from different directions without requiring the PHD to rotate in place. Another embodiment implementing step3010may use a fixed directional antenna as part of the PHD's communication hub interface. Here, the PHD may rotate its airborne hovering position on a vertical axis so as to alter where the fixed directional antenna is aimed as part of detecting wireless device concentrations from different directions. Thus, the PHD in this embodiment physically moves rather than causing the reception pattern to electronically change. At step3015, method3000continues with the PHD relocating to a second airborne deployed position based upon a highest of the concentrations of the wireless devices. In particular, the second airborne deployed position to which the PHD is relocated is in the direction corresponding to the highest detected concentration of the wireless devices. In other words, the PHD relocates to this second position in the direction of the highest wireless device concentration. Then, at step3020, method3000has the PHD linking at least two of the wireless devices using the PHD's communication hub interface once the PHD has been relocated to this second position. In more detail, this linking of the wireless devices may establish a peer-to-peer connection between the at least two wireless devices or establish a wireless access point connection from one wireless device to another (e.g., providing access to a higher level in a hierarchical wireless device network). An embodiment of method3000may further include steps, such as steps3025-3035, that have the PHD reassessing or resurveying the current concentrations of active wireless devices and repositioning based on that updated concentration information. This may be done after a set time at the second position or be based upon monitored activity that indicates a threshold change in actively broadcasting wireless devices at the second position. In more detail, method3000moves to step3025where the directional antenna coupled to the communication hub interface on the PHD detects updated concentrations of the wireless devices while the PHD is located at the second deployed position. The mechanism and process for detecting updated concentrations is similar to that explained above relative to step3010. Each of these updated concentrations corresponds to active and operating wireless devices in a particular direction from the second deployed airborne position. At step3030, method3000relocates the PHD to a third airborne deployed position based upon the highest updated concentrations of the wireless devices. Generally, this third airborne deployed position is located in a direction corresponding to the highest detected updated concentrations of the wireless devices. In a further embodiment, this type of relocation to the third position may be accomplished when the PHD moves from the second airborne deployed position along the direction corresponding to the highest detected updated concentrations of the wireless devices while monitoring for operating wireless devices by the directional antenna coupled to the communication hub interface. Thereafter, this type of sensory focused manner of intelligent airborne relocation then may have the PHD hovering (or transitioning to a hover) at the third airborne position when the PHD has moved at least a predetermined distance from the second airborne position and monitoring for operating wireless devices indicates at least one of the actively operating wireless devices has a received connection strength above a threshold level. Similarly, the PHD may finish relocating by hovering (or transitioning to a hover) at the third airborne position once the PHD has moved along the direction corresponding to the highest detected updated concentrations of the wireless devices and then detected a threshold number of operating wireless devices. At that point, the PHD may stop on its transit out from the second position and along that direction, so as to situate itself in an intelligent manner that compensates for changes in the operating environment of wireless devices. Thereafter, at step3035, method3000concludes with the PHD linking at least two of the wireless devices using the PHD's communication hub interface once the PHD has been relocated to this third position. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the PHD may repeatedly go through such a concentration assessment via direction antenna operations and updating of where to relocate based on the latest assessment in order to actively adapt to a changing environment of operating wireless devices. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that method3000as disclosed and explained above in various embodiments may be implemented by an apparatus, such as exemplary PHD2125, running an embodiment of communication hub management program code2150, and as a part of a system including the internal docking station2130and PHD2125or a system that includes the delivery vehicle100and the PHD2125. Such code2150may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium in the PHD, such as memory storage315as shown onFIG.21. Thus, when executing code2150, the OBC2100(or OCP2110) of PHD2125(in cooperation with other circuitry onboard the PHD2125, such as the multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160and its directional antenna) may be operative to perform certain operations or steps from the exemplary methods disclosed above, including method3000and variations of that method. In summary, it should be emphasized that the sequence of operations to perform any of the methods and variations of the methods described in the embodiments herein are merely exemplary, and that a variety of sequences of operations may be followed while still being true and in accordance with the principles of the present invention as understood by one skilled in the art. At least some portions of exemplary embodiments outlined above may be used in association with portions of other exemplary embodiments to enhance and improve logistics using an aerial monitor, inspection or communication drone to enhance monitoring of shipped items in a delivery vehicle, perform various types of inspections of the delivery vehicle, and providing a drone-based airborne relocatable communication hub within a delivery vehicle. As noted above, the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein may be used independently from one another and/or in combination with one another and may have applications to devices and methods not disclosed herein. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the exemplary monitor/inspection/communication drone as deployed with a delivery vehicle, systems using such an apparatus, and methods of how such an apparatus may operate as part of a logistics operation as described above provide enhancements and improvements to technology used in logistics and shipment operations, such as loading, unloading, and in-flight monitoring of a delivery vehicle. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments may provide one or more advantages, and not all embodiments necessarily provide all or more than one particular advantage as set forth here. Additionally, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structures and methodologies described herein. Thus, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the subject matter discussed in the description. Rather, the present invention, as recited in the claims below, is intended to cover modifications and variations. | 358,812 |
11861550 | The figures depict embodiments of the present invention for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein. The figures use like reference numerals to identify like elements. A letter after a reference numeral, such as “110A,” indicates that the text refers specifically to the element having that particular reference numeral. A reference numeral in the text without a following letter, such as “110,” refers to any or all of the elements in the figures bearing that reference numeral. For example, “110” in the text refers to reference numerals “110A,” “110B,” and/or “110C” in the figures. DETAILED DESCRIPTION System Environment FIG.1illustrates the environment of an online concierge system using audio verification, according to an example embodiment. The environment100ofFIG.1includes an online concierge system (OCS)102, a customer104using a customer mobile application106and a picker108using a picker mobile application112communicating over an audio verification connection120, and several retailers110A,110B, and110C. For simplicity, only one customer104, customer mobile application106, picker108, and picker mobile application112are shown in the environment100. In other embodiments, online concierge systems102may operate in environments with more or different entities than those shown in environment100. In the environment100, the online concierge system (OCS)102is configured to receive orders from one or more customers104(FIG.1shows only one customer104for the sake of simplicity). A customer104can be a user of the OCS102able to place orders with the OCS102. In some implementations, an order specifies a list of goods (items or products) to be delivered to the customer104(or another location specified by the customer). An order can also specify the location to which the goods are to be delivered, and a time window during which the goods should be delivered. In some embodiments, the order specifies one or more retailers110from which the selected items will be sourced. A customer104may use the customer mobile application (CMA)106executing on a client device (herein, the “customer device”) to place the order; the CMA106is configured to communicate with the online concierge system102. In some embodiments, customers104select items to purchase, delivery options, retailers110, and the like through a browsing or shopping user interface of the customer mobile application106. The CMA106will be discussed further in relation toFIG.3A. The online concierge system102may transmit orders received from customers104(via a CMA106) to one or more pickers108(FIG.1shows only one picker108for the sake of simplicity). A picker108may be a contractor or employee of the OCS102or other person (or entity) who is enabled to fulfill orders received by the online concierge system102. Each picker108fulfills orders received from the online concierge system102at one or more retailers110and/or delivers the order to the customer104. In some implementations, pickers108fulfill orders in part by purchasing ordered items at retailers110(a “fulfillment purchase”) using a payment method associated with the OCS102, such as a credit or debit card associated with the online concierge system102(an “OCS payment method”). In one embodiment, pickers108make use of the picker mobile application (PMA)112executing on a mobile device (herein, a “picker device”), which is configured to interact with the online concierge system102. The PMA112will be discussed further in relation toFIG.3B. In some implementations, the OCS102allows customers to purchase food items, ingredients, and/or other goods from the inventories of one or more retailers110. For simplicity, theFIG.1shows three retailers,110A,110B, and110C (however, an environment could include hundreds of retailers110). The retailers110may be physical retailers (such as grocery stores, discount stores, department stores, etc.) and/or non-public warehouses storing items that can be collected and delivered to customers104. Retailers110may be independent from each other and can each be associated with their own inventory. In some implementations, the OCS102maintains separate product catalogs and current inventory levels for each retailer110in order to present an up-to-date list of available products to customers104. Online Concierge System FIG.2is a block diagram of an online concierge system including a verification module, according to an example embodiment. The OCS102includes an inventory management engine202, which interacts with inventory systems associated with retailers110. The inventory of each retailer110is unique and may change over time. The inventory management engine202monitors changes in inventory for each participating retailer110. The inventory management engine202is also configured to store inventory records in an inventory database204. The inventory database204may store information in separate records—one for each participating retailer110—or may consolidate or combine inventory information into a unified record. Inventory information stored in the inventory database204can include both qualitative and quantitative information about items available through the online concierge system102, including size, color, weight, SKU, serial number, and so on. In one embodiment, the inventory database204also stores purchasing rules associated with each item, if they exist. For example, age-restricted items such as alcohol and tobacco may be flagged accordingly in the inventory database204. The online concierge system102also includes an order fulfillment engine206which is configured to manage orders made by customers104(for example, via the customer mobile application106). The order fulfillment engine206may access the inventory database204in order to determine retailer110product availability and set the price for each item ordered by a customer104. The order fulfillment engine206also facilitates transactions associated with each order including initial transactions between the OCS102and the customer placing the order and any fulfillment purchases made by pickers108in the course of fulfilling the order. In one embodiment, the order fulfillment engine206charges a payment instrument associated with a customer104when he/she places an order and may transmit payment information to an external payment gateway or payment processor. Similarly, the order fulfillment engine206may determine that an order has been fulfilled by the OCS102(for example, after delivery of the ordered products by a picker108) and/or require that delivery of certain orders is verified (using one or more verification methods) by the verification module220before an order is considered completed/delivered. As described above, requiring delivery verification of orders can reduce the potential for fraud within the OCS102. In some implementations, the order fulfillment engine206stores payment, transactional, and verification information associated with each order in a transaction records database208. For example, a record of an order stored in the transaction records database208can include information about the contents, date, and price of the order, for example an identification of a customer104placing the order and the picker108filling the order, a list of items included in the order (and corresponding prices), a total price of the order, information about the retailer(s) where the items were sourced from, and dates that the order was placed and fulfilled, and similar information about fulfillment purchases made by pickers108when fulfilling one or more orders at retailers110. In some embodiments, the record of an order additionally includes information about the verification of the order, such as the verification method(s) used (if any), the results of the verification methods, and the like. In some embodiments, the order fulfillment engine206also shares order details with retailers110associated with the order. For example, after successful fulfillment of an order, the order fulfillment engine206may transmit a summary of the order to the appropriate retailer(s)110. The summary may indicate the items purchased, the total value of the items, whether (and how) the fulfillment was verified and in some cases, identifiers of the picker108and/or customer104associated with the transaction. In one embodiment, the order fulfillment engine206pushes transaction and/or order details asynchronously to systems of retailers110. This may be accomplished via use of webhooks, which enable programmatic or system-driven transmission of information between web applications. In another embodiment, retailer systems may be configured to periodically poll the order fulfillment engine206, which provides detail of all orders which have been processed since the last request. The order fulfillment engine206may interact with a picker management engine210, which manages communication with and utilization of pickers108to fulfill and deliver orders. In some implementations, the picker management engine210identifies the appropriate picker108and retailer(s)110to fulfill orders received by the order fulfillment engine206. Based on the selected picker108and retailer110, the picker management engine210may instruct the picker to fulfill the order. In some implementations, the picker management engine210selects the retailer(s)110from which products will be sourced to fulfill each incoming order based on one or more parameters, such as the contents of the order, the current inventory of the retailer110, and the proximity of the retailer110to the delivery location. In some cases, one or more retailers110are specified in the order (for example, if a desired retailer selected by the customer104in the process of making the order). Based on the selected retailers110, the picker management engine210may identify one or more appropriate pickers108to fulfill the order based on, for example, the picker's proximity to the appropriate retailer110, customer104, and/or delivery location, the picker's familiarity level with that particular retailer110, and the like. Additionally, the picker management engine210may access a picker database212storing information describing each picker108, including, picker ID number or other identifier, name, gender, picker rating, previous shopping history, and so on. The picker management engine210transmits the list of items in the order to the picker108via the picker mobile application112. The picker database212may also store data describing the sequence in which the pickers108picked the items in their assigned orders. As part of fulfilling an order, the order fulfillment engine206and/or picker management engine210may access a customer database214which stores information describing each customer104. This information could include each customer's name, address, gender, shopping preferences, favorite items, stored payment instruments, and the like. To facilitate communication between customers104and pickers108, the online concierge system102may include a user interface engine216which generates content for display in user interfaces of the customer mobile application106or the picker mobile application112and manages interactions between the OCS102and customers104/pickers108. The user interface engine216can also send and receive additional information via customer mobile application106or picker mobile application112, such as in the form of messages, texts, emails, or push notifications. Similarly, the order fulfillment engine206can generate user interfaces needed to perform delivery verification and receive any results of verification methods performed on a customer mobile application106or picker mobile application112. For example, the user interface engine216can generate an ordering user interface for display on the customer mobile application106allowing a user to browse, select, and change items to be included in an order. Ordering user interfaces generated by the online concierge system102can be configured to display items out of the available items of one or more retailers110(for example, retailers110within a threshold distance of the customer104the ordering user interface will be displayed to). Additionally, the user interface engine216can generate UIs for display to a picker108through the PMA112. For example, the user interface engine216can generate UIs for delivering orders allowing a picker108to perform delivery verification and mark an order as completed. The verification module220determines if verification of an order is required, and if so which verification method to use, according to some embodiments. The verification module220may instruct a CMA106, PMA112, customer104and/or picker108to perform a selected verification method. In some implementations, verification methods serve to document various points in the delivery of an order to allow the OCS102to detect fraudulent reports or delivery errors. Errors or fraud can occur in situations where, for example, a picker reports an order as delivered but the customer did not actually receive the order or when a customer receives an order but reports to the OCS102that the order was not received. Delivery verification steps provide additional data points for the OCS102to use when determining if errors and/or fraud have occurred in the delivery of an order (or subsequent reports about the order). In some implementations, once the verification module220determines the proper verification method for an order, the verification module220instructs a CMA106, PMA112, customer104and/or picker108to perform the verification method through a verification UI generated by the user interface engine216. Verification methods can involve manual steps undertaken by a customer104and/or picker108(such as instructing a customer104to sign off on a delivery of an item) or may be undertaken automatically by a CMA106and/or PMA112using the capabilities of the associated devices. After completion of the verification method, the CMA106and/or PMA112can send the result of the verification method to the verification module220for later reference. For example, verification method results can be stored in the transaction record database108entry for the verified order. One available verification method is signature verification, where the customer102signs off on receipt of the order through the PMA112on the picker's mobile device. However, signature verification requires the picker108and the customer102to physically exchange a device for the customer to sign off using. Generally, signature verification requires the customer102to be physically present at the time of delivery and cannot be easily be performed in a contactless manner. Similarly, depending on the type of mobile device used by the picker102, the customer102might have a difficult time signing on the picker's mobile device. Photo verification is another example verification method used by some embodiments of an OCS102. To perform photo verification, the OCS102can instruct a picker108to take a photo of the order at the delivery location at the time of delivery which the OCS102can use to verify delivery of the order. Photo verification can be used for contactless deliveries and does not require any action by the customer104, but (depending on the composition of the photo and identifying features of the delivery location) it can be difficult to determine if the pictured location is actually the correct delivery location based on the verification photo alone. In some implementations, the verification module220, uses audio pairing for delivery verification. Audio verification may be used to verify physical proximity of the customer device and picker device (and, by proxy, the picker108and the customer104) without requiring physical contact between picker108and customer104. In some implementation, audio verification can be performed automatically through the CMA106and PMA112without requiring specific actions by the picker108and customer106(other than, in some cases, to have the CMA106and PMA112open at the appropriate time). Audio verification can be performed during the process of completing the transaction on the customer device/picker device. In some implementations, audio verification is performed without the presence of the customer104. For example, the audio verification can be performed between the picker108and a fixed-location device associated with the customer104(for example, a smart home device, smart doorbell, or other IoT device associated with the customer and/or the selected delivery location). To perform audio pairing, a CMA106or PMA112may generate audio encoding a verification code for the order (herein, “verification audio”). The verification code can be an identifier of the order (such as an order number), an identifier of the customer104, picker108, or their devices (such as a device ID), a code generated from a combination of information about the transaction (such as the date or time of the transaction), or another suitably unique (or pseudo-unique) identifiers. In some embodiments, the verification code is an arbitrary sequence generated for the order. The verification module of a device (the verification module220, customer audio verification module308, and/or the picker verification module330, depending on the implementation) can encode the verification code in the verification audio using any suitable method, for example using pitch/frequency, rhythm, and/or loudness. The CMA106/PMA112can then play verification code over a speaker of the corresponding mobile device. Simultaneously, the other party's mobile application (i.e. the mobile application receiving the verification audio) can listen for the verification audio through a microphone of the associated mobile device. While listening for the verification audio, the receiving mobile application can attempt to parse the captured audio for a verification code and, if a potential verification code is detected, decode the verification code. In some implementations, the verification module220of the OCS102coordinates audio verification between the PMA112and CMA108. The verification module220can instruct the PMA112or CMA108to play or listen for verification audio at the appropriate time such that the verification audio is being listened for as it is being played. For example, the verification module220can monitor the current location of the PMA112(for example, through a GPS of the picker's mobile device) and instruct the CMA108to begin listening for the verification audio once the picker mobile device is within a target distance of the delivery location. Similarly, the verification module220can instruct/enable the PMA112to play verification audio based on a confirmation that the CMA108is listening for the verification audio. If a decoded verification code matches the expected verification code, the verification module220can verify that the picker device and customer device are within a certain proximity (based on the loudness of verification audio, etc.). Depending on the implementation, verification audio can be played either by the CMA106or the PMA112(based on the specific user interfaces or mobile application capabilities of that implementation). In some embodiments, verification audio is played at a human-audible frequency (for example, disguised as part of a tone or chime to make the verification audio more pleasant to listen to). Alternatively, verification audio can be played at ultrasonic frequency (a frequency higher than perceivable to the human ear (depending on the implementation and the capabilities of the customer device and picker device). The verification module220may select one or more verification methods for an order based on the cost of the order, the type of products of the order, the delivery location (for example, deliveries to high traffic or high density areas may require verification more often than low density areas), and/or preference settings of the customer104(or picker108). For example, a customer104may request that deliveries to a certain address always be verified. In some embodiments, the verification module220assigns alternative verification methods (or a hierarchy of verification methods) to each transaction, such that if a selected first choice verification method fails, the verification module220can perform an alternative verification method for the delivery (etc.). For example, if audio verification of a transaction fails, the verification module220can fall back on photo or signature verification for that transaction. If no appropriate verification method can be completed for an order, delivery of the order may be delayed or proceed without verification. FIG.3Ais a block diagram of the customer mobile application (CMA)106, according to one embodiment. A customer104can access the CMA106using a client device such as a mobile phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer (herein, a “customer device”). The CMA106may be accessed through an app running on the customer device or through a website accessed in a browser. The customer device executing the CMA106can be connected to the online concierge system102through one or more networks (such as the internet) using wired, wireless, or mobile data technologies. In some embodiments, the CMA106includes a customer interface302, which provides an interactive user interface through which a customer104can browse through and select products, place an order, or view recommendations for suggested products. As described above, the user interface module216can control content that appears in the customer interface302of a CMA106and can send user interface information content, layout, or other information to the CMA106for display to the customer104. The CMA106can include a system communication interface304which, among other functions can receive inventory information and user interface content from the online concierge system102and transmits order information or other customer selections (for example, made via the customer interface302) to the online concierge system102. The CMA106also includes a preferences management interface306, which allows the customer104to manage basic information associated with his/her account, such as his/her home address and payment instruments. The preferences management interface306may also allow the user to manage other details such as his/her favorite or preferred retailers110, preferred delivery times, special instructions for delivery, desired level to delivery verification, and so on. As described above, the CMA106may include delivery verification functionality. The customer audio verification module308can perform verification methods for pending orders and relay the results of the verification methods to the OCS102. For example, the CMA106can activate an “audio verification mode” which listens for and attempts to decode verification audio over a microphone of the customer device to listen for verification audio in response to instructions from the verification module120. If verification audio is picked up on the microphone, the CMA106can decode the verification code and match the verification code with an expected verification code for the pending order. In order to use a mobile device's microphone to listen for a verification code, the CMA106may need to be actively running on the customer's mobile device. For example, the OCS102can send a push notification to the CMA106instructing a customer104to open the CMA106to verify delivery of their order. In some implementations, the CMA106can capture audio verification audio in the background or with minimal UI presence (as the UI of the displays other information, such as a current picker location, order information, and the like). FIG.3Bis a block diagram of the picker mobile application (PMA)112, according to one embodiment. A picker108can access the PMA112via a mobile client device, such as a mobile phone or tablet (herein, a “picker device”). The PMA112may be accessed through an app running on the mobile client device or through a website accessed in a browser. The picker device associated with the CMA106can be connected to the online concierge system102through one or more networks (such as the internet) using wired, wireless, or mobile data technologies. In some implementations, the PMA112includes a barcode scanning module320which allows a picker108to scan an item at a retailer110(such as a can of soup on the shelf at a grocery store). The barcode scanning module320may also include an interface which allows the picker108to manually enter information describing an item (such as its serial number, SKU, quantity and/or weight) if a barcode is not available to be scanned. The PMA112can also include a basket manager322which maintains a running record of items collected by the picker108for purchase at a retailer110. This running record of items is commonly known as a “basket.” In one embodiment, the barcode scanning module320transmits information describing each item (such as its cost, quantity, weight, etc.) to the basket manager322, which updates its basket accordingly. The PMA112also includes an image encoder326which encodes the contents of a basket into an image. For example, the image encoder326may encode a basket of goods (with an identification of each item) into a QR code which can then be scanned by an employee of the retailer110at check-out when the picker108is making a fulfillment purchase. The PMA112also includes a system communication interface324, which interacts with the online concierge system102. For example, the system communication interface324receives information from the online concierge system102about the items of an order, such as when a customer104updates an order to include more or fewer items. The system communication interface may receive notifications and messages from the online concierge system102indicating information about an order or communications from a customer104. The system communication interface324may send this information to a picker interface328, which generates a picker user interface to display the received information to the picker108. In some embodiments, the picker interface328is an interactive interface through which pickers108may interact with customers104and the online concierge service102and receive notifications regarding the status of orders they are assigned. For example, pickers108may view their orders through the picker interface328and indicate when there is an issue with an item in an order, such as the item being out of stock or of poor quality. Similarly, the PMA112can include a picker verification module330and one or more verification user interfaces used to perform one or more verification methods. The picker verification module330can manage the performance of verification methods through the corresponding interfaces of the picker interface328. For example, the PMA112can include user interfaces for collecting customer104signatures for signature verification, taking and/or uploading photos for photo verification, and for performing audio verification. The picker verification module330can gathered and process verification information (such as verification photos or customer104signatures) and send the verification information to the OCS102. As described above, a CMA106can activate an “audio verification mode” which listens for and attempts to decode verification audio over a microphone of the customer device. Correspondingly, the PMA112can include audio verification functionality, which encodes and/or plays verification audio through a speaker of the picker device. In other embodiments, the PMA112can listen for verification audio played by the CMA106. In some implementations, the picker manually triggers playback of verification audio (when authorized by the OCS102) through a UI of the PMA112. For example, the PMA112can provide a UI with a button to begin audio verification playback which can be pressed by the picker once the customer104reaches a suitable distance. Alternatively, verification audio can be played automatically as a part of the delivery process (or responsive to received instructions from the OCS102), for example, verification audio can be included in a chime, tone, or jungle played as part of the delivery process. FIG.4illustrates an environment in which picker and customer mobile devices perform audio verification, according to an example embodiment. The environment300ofFIG.4includes a picker mobile device (PMD)410and customer mobile devices (CMD)420A and420B. The PMD410is performing audio verification430with the CMD420A, which is within the audio verification range415. A PMA112executing on the PMD410can perform audio verification within the audio verification range415. Effective audio verification range can depend on environmental factors (such as ambient noise levels), and the capabilities of the broadcasting PMD410and listening CMD420(or vice-versa depending on which device is playing the verification audio). For example, a loud ambient environment can reduce the ability of a mobile device microphone to accurately identify verification audio, while differing capabilities and setting of microphones and speakers can determine the volume at which verification audio can be played and/or detected by the mobile devices. In the example environment400, the customer mobile device420A is within the audio verification range415of the picker mobile device410. Therefore, the PMA410and the CMA420A are able to perform audio verification430using audio pairing as described above. If the CMA is outside the audio verification range415(for example, the CMA420B) and therefore cannot detect verification audio played by the PMA410. Example Verification Methods FIG.5is a flowchart illustrating a process for performing audio verification of a delivery using a picker mobile application, according to an example embodiment. The process500begins when the online concierge system receives510an order from a customer for physical delivery of one or more items. The online concierge system then assigns520the order to a picker for fulfillment and delivery. For example, the online concierge system can select a picker and provide order details and instructions for fulfillment/delivery to the picker through a picker mobile application. Once the online concierge system determines530that the picker is ready to verify the physical delivery of the order, for example, based on a communication from the picker mobile application that delivery is ready to be verified, the online concierge system can instruct540the picker mobile application to play verification audio containing a verification code for the order. As described above, the picker mobile application can receive and/or encode verification audio containing a verification code, which the application can play when authorized by the online concierge system (for example, in response to a picker input). At the same time, a customer mobile application associated with the customer can listen for the verification audio. If the customer mobile application detects550the verification code in captured audio, the online concierge system can notify560the picker that delivery is confirmed and proceed to instruct570the picker to proceed with delivery. Alternatively, if the customer application fails to detect550the verification code, the online concierge system can proceed580with alternative verification methods and/or attempt to retry audio verification. FIG.6is a flowchart illustrating an alternative process for performing audio verification of a delivery using a customer mobile application, according to an example embodiment. The process600begins similar to the process500ofFIG.5, with the online concierge system receiving610an order from a customer for physical delivery of one or more items, assigning620the order to a picker for fulfillment and delivery, and determining630that the picker is ready to verify the physical delivery of the order. At this point, the online concierge system can instruct640the customer mobile application (as opposed to the picker mobile application of process500) to play verification audio containing a verification code for the order. Like the picker mobile application of process500, the customer mobile application can receive and/or encode verification audio containing a verification code, which the application can play when authorized by the online concierge system (for example, in response to a signal from the online concierge system). At the same time, the picker's mobile application can listen for the verification audio. If the picker mobile application detects650the verification code in captured audio, the online concierge system can notify660the picker that delivery is confirmed and proceed to instruct670the picker to proceed with delivery. Alternatively, if the picker application fails to detect650the verification code, the online concierge system can proceed680with alternative verification methods and/or attempt to retry audio verification. Other Considerations The present invention has been described in particular detail with respect to one possible embodiment. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced in other embodiments. First, the particular naming of the components and variables, capitalization of terms, the attributes, data structures, or any other programming or structural aspect is not mandatory or significant, and the mechanisms that implement the invention or its features may have different names, formats, or protocols. Also, the particular division of functionality between the various system components described herein is merely for purposes of example, and is not mandatory; functions performed by a single system component may instead be performed by multiple components, and functions performed by multiple components may instead performed by a single component. Some portions of above description present the features of the present invention in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on information. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. These operations, while described functionally or logically, are understood to be implemented by computer programs. Furthermore, it has also proven convenient at times, to refer to these arrangements of operations as modules or by functional names, without loss of generality. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the above discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as “determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices. Certain aspects of the present invention include process steps and instructions described herein in the form of an algorithm. It should be noted that the process steps and instructions of the present invention could be embodied in software, firmware or hardware, and when embodied in software, could be downloaded to reside on and be operated from different platforms used by real time network operating systems. The present invention also relates to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored on a computer readable medium that can be accessed by the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, such as, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any type of computer-readable storage medium suitable for storing electronic instructions, and each coupled to a computer system bus. Furthermore, the computers referred to in the specification may include a single processor or may be architectures employing multiple processor designs for increased computing capability. The algorithms and operations presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may also be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these systems will be apparent to those of skill in the art, along with equivalent variations. In addition, the present invention is not described with reference to any particular programming language. It is appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the present invention as described herein, and any references to specific languages are provided for invention of enablement and best mode of the present invention. The present invention is well suited to a wide variety of computer network systems over numerous topologies. Within this field, the configuration and management of large networks comprise storage devices and computers that are communicatively coupled to dissimilar computers and storage devices over a network, such as the Internet. Finally, it should be noted that the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. Accordingly, the disclosure of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims. | 38,324 |
11861551 | The drawings are not necessarily to scale and may be illustrated by phantom lines, diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views. In certain instances, details that are not necessary for an understanding of the embodiments or that render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. DETAILED DESCRIPTION At a high level, aspects of the present disclosure are directed to an apparatus and method for transport token tracking. More specifically, aspects of the present disclosure are directed to tracking of transport lifecycles, which may include one or more attributes of the transport. Aspects of the present disclosure can be used to monitor and/or track one or more transports through various stages of a transport. Transport data, which may include information related to one or more attributes of transport, may be used to identify a token. Identifying a token as a function of the transport data, where the token may be associated with an attribute of the transport, may include categorizing the transport data using a classification model into an attribute subgroup. Transport data may be continuously received from, for example, a transport entity so that attribute subgroups may be updated repeatedly in real-time. Aspects of the present disclosure allow for displaying organized transport data and/or tokens of transport through a graphical user interface (GUI). Exemplary embodiments illustrating aspects of the present disclosure are described below in the context of several specific examples. Referring now toFIG.1, an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus100for transport management is illustrated. Apparatus100may include at least a processor104and a memory108communicatively connected to the processor104. Memory108may include instructions configuring processor104to perform various tasks. In some embodiments, apparatus100may include a computing device112, where computing device includes processor104and/or memory108. As used in this disclosure, “communicatively connected” means connected by way of a connection, attachment or linkage between two or more relate which allows for reception and/or transmittance of information therebetween. For example, and without limitation, this connection may be wired or wireless, direct or indirect, and between two or more components, circuits, devices, systems, and the like, which allows for reception and/or transmittance of data and/or signal(s) therebetween. Data and/or signals therebetween may include, without limitation, electrical, electromagnetic, magnetic, video, audio, radio and microwave data and/or signals, combinations thereof, and the like, among others. A communicative connection may be achieved, for example and without limitation, through wired or wireless electronic, digital or analog, communication, either directly or by way of one or more intervening devices or components. Further, communicative connection may include electrically coupling or connecting at least an output of one device, component, or circuit to at least an input of another device, component, or circuit. For example, and without limitation, via a bus or other facility for intercommunication between elements of a computing device. Communicative connecting may also include indirect connections via, for example and without limitation, wireless connection, radio communication, low power wide area network, optical communication, magnetic, capacitive, or optical coupling, and the like. In some instances, the terminology “communicatively coupled” may be used in place of communicatively connected in this disclosure. Still referring toFIG.1, apparatus100may include any computing device as described in this disclosure, including without limitation a microcontroller, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), and/or system on a chip (SoC) as described in this disclosure. Processor104may be computing device112, be an integrated component of computing device112. Computing device112may include, be included in, and/or communicate with a mobile device such as a mobile telephone or smartphone. For example, and without limitation, computing device112may communicate with a remote device of, for example, a transportation entity. A computing device may include a single computing device operating independently, or may include two or more computing device operating in concert, in parallel, sequentially or the like; two or more computing devices may be included together in a single computing device or in two or more computing devices. A computing device may interface or communicate with one or more additional devices as described below in further detail via a network interface device. Network interface device may be utilized for connecting a computing device to one or more of a variety of networks, and one or more devices. Examples of a network interface device include, but are not limited to, a network interface card (e.g., a mobile network interface card, a LAN card), a modem, and any combination thereof. Examples of a network include, but are not limited to, a wide area network (e.g., the Internet, an enterprise network), a local area network (e.g., a network associated with an office, a building, a campus or other relatively small geographic space), a telephone network, a data network associated with a telephone/voice provider (e.g., a mobile communications provider data and/or voice network), a direct connection between two computing devices, and any combinations thereof. A network may employ a wired and/or a wireless mode of communication. In general, any network topology may be used. Information (e.g., data, software etc.) may be communicated to and/or from a computer and/or a computing device. A computing device may include but is not limited to, for example, a computing device or cluster of computing devices in a first location and a second computing device or cluster of computing devices in a second location. A computing device may include one or more computing devices dedicated to data storage, security, distribution of traffic for load balancing, and the like. A computing device may distribute one or more computing tasks as described below across a plurality of computing devices of computing device, which may operate in parallel, in series, redundantly, or in any other manner used for distribution of tasks or memory between computing devices. A computing device may be implemented using a “shared nothing” architecture in which data is cached at the worker, in an embodiment, this may enable scalability of apparatus100and/or computing device. With continued reference toFIG.1, computing device112may be designed and/or configured to perform any method, method step, or sequence of method steps in any embodiment described in this disclosure, in any order and with any degree of repetition. For instance, a computing device112may be configured to perform a single step or sequence repeatedly until a desired or commanded outcome is achieved; repetition of a step or a sequence of steps may be performed iteratively and/or recursively using outputs of previous repetitions as inputs to subsequent repetitions, aggregating inputs and/or outputs of repetitions to produce an aggregate result, reduction or decrement of one or more variables such as global variables, and/or division of a larger processing task into a set of iteratively addressed smaller processing tasks. Computing device112may perform any step or sequence of steps as described in this disclosure in parallel, such as simultaneously and/or substantially simultaneously performing a step two or more times using two or more parallel threads, processor cores, or the like; division of tasks between parallel threads and/or processes may be performed according to any protocol suitable for division of tasks between iterations. Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various ways in which steps, sequences of steps, processing tasks, and/or data may be subdivided, shared, or otherwise dealt with using iteration, recursion, and/or parallel processing. Still referring toFIG.1, apparatus100, such as computing device112or processor104, may receive transport data116. For the purposes of this disclosure, “transport data” is information pertaining to a transport. More specifically, transport data includes information associated with one or more attributes of a transport. For the purposes of this disclosure, an “attribute” of a transport is a characteristic of a transport. In some embodiments, an attribute may include a stage of transport, dates, times, geographical locations, costs, routes, transportation vehicles, and the like. For instance, and without limitation, an attribute may include one or more dates, such as a departure date or an arrival date of a shipment. In another instance, and without limitation, an attribute may include a time, such as a departure time of a transport, an arrival time of a transport, a checkpoint time of a transport, an inspection time of a transport, and the like. In another instance, and without limitation, an attribute may include a geographical location, such as an origin, a destination, a current geographic location of a transportation vehicle, a checkpoint, an inspection location, and the like. In other instances, and without limitation, an attribute may include a cost, such as a partial or full cost of a transport or a portion of a transport. In other instances, and without limitation, an attribute may include a route, such as a road, a direction of travel, an orientation, a path (e.g., pathway), and the like. In other instances, and without limitation, an attribute may include types of one or more transportation vehicles used during one or more portions of transport. In one or more embodiments, transport data116associated with attribute of transport may include, without limitation, origins, destinations, geographical data, estimated delivery times, estimated costs, and the like. For the purposes of this disclosure, “geographical data”, or “geospatial data”, is information related to positioning or locations of a transport relative to Earth. Geographical data may include points, lines, and/or area (e.g., polygons). For instance, and without limitation, geographical data may include, without limitation, GPS coordinates, altitude, longitude, latitude, and the like. In some embodiments, geographical data may include relative location data. “Relative location data” as used in this disclosure is information pertaining to a particular geographical point. Relative location data may include, for instance and without limitation, distances between two or more geographical points, closest points of interest, and the like. A “transport”, for the purposes of this disclosure, is a movement of one or more objects between two or more locations. Thus, a transport, such as transport124, includes a transportation of cargo. For instance, and without limitation, a transport includes one or more processes of moving cargo, such as from one location (e.g., an origin) to another location (e.g., a destination) using a transport vehicle. Transport124may include, without limitation, transport vehicles, transport components, and the like. “Transport vehicles” as used in this disclosure are devices configured to provide locomotive capabilities. Transport vehicles may include, without limitation, cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, planes, drones, bicycles, any other mobile structure, and the like. “Transport components” as used in this disclosure are objects that are moved between two or more locations. Transport components may include cargo. Transport components may include, without limitation, construction materials, electronics, perishables, food, consumer goods, clothes, industrial equipment, parcels, freight shipments, and the like. Still referring toFIG.1, in some embodiments, transport data116may include transport component data. “Transport component data” as used throughout this disclosure is information pertaining to objects of a transport. Transport component data may include, without limitation, dimensions such as height, width, length, volume, and the like. Transport component data may include, without limitation, values of components, costs associated with transporting components, and the like. For instance, and without limitation, transport component data of transport data116may include a value of $510.27 for a package of apples in bulk. In some embodiments, transport component data may include one or more transport component statuses. A “transport component status” as used in this disclosure is a condition of a transport component. A transport component status may include, without limitation, hazardous material, frangible, damaged, and/or other conditions. In some embodiments, transport data116may include one or more transport characteristics. A “transport characteristic”, as used in this disclosure, is an attribute relating to a transport type. Transport characteristics may include, without limitation, expedited, overnight, freight, parcel, international, domestic, land, sea, air, and the like. In some embodiments, apparatus100may use a transport characteristic classifier to classify transport124to one or more transport characteristic categories. A transport characteristic classifier may be trained with training data correlating transport data to transport characteristic groupings, such as, without limitation, freight, expedited, hazardous, parcel, international, domestic, land, sea, air, overnight, and the like. Training data may be received from an external computing device, user input, and/or previous iterations of processing. A transport characteristic classifier may be configured to input transport data116and categorize transport124and/or transport components of transport124to one or more characteristics groupings. Still referring toFIG.1, transport data116may be received by a user input120. Still referring toFIG.1, in some embodiments, apparatus100may receive transport data116from one or more external computing devices, such as without limitation servers, desktops, smartphones, tablets, and the like. “User input”, as used in this disclosure, is a form of data entry received from an individual and/or group of individuals. User input120may include, but is not limited to, text input, engagement with icons of a graphical user interface (GUI), and the like. Text input may include, without limitation, entry of characters, words, strings, symbols, and the like. In some embodiments, user input120may include one or more interactions with one or more elements of a graphical user interface (GUI), such as GUI140. A “graphical user interface” as used in this disclosure is an interface including set of one or more pictorial and/or graphical icons corresponding to one or more computer actions. GUI140may be configured to receive user input120. GUI140may include one or more event handlers. An “event handler” as used in this disclosure is a callback routine that operates asynchronously once an event takes place. Event handlers may include, without limitation, one or more programs to perform one or more actions based on user input, such as generating pop-up windows, submitting forms, changing background colors of a webpage, and the like. Event handlers may be programmed for specific user input, such as, but not limited to, mouse clicks, mouse hovering, touchscreen input, keystrokes, and the like. For instance, and without limitation, an event handler may be programmed to generate a pop-up window if a user double clicks on a specific icon. User input120may include, a manipulation of computer icons, such as, but not limited to, clicking, selecting, dragging and dropping, scrolling, and the like. In some embodiments, user input120may include an entry of characters and/or symbols in a user input field. A “user input field” as used in this disclosure is a portion of graphical user interface configured to receive data from an individual. A user input field may include, but is not limited to, text boxes, search fields, filtering fields, and the like. In some embodiments, user input120may include touch input. Touch input may include, but is not limited to, single taps, double taps, triple taps, long presses, swiping gestures, and the like. In some embodiments, GUI140may be displayed on, without limitation, monitors, smartphones, tablets, vehicle displays, and the like. Vehicle displays may include, without limitation, monitors and/or systems in a vehicle such as multimedia centers, digital cockpits, entertainment systems, and the like. One of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this disclosure will appreciate the various ways a user may interact with graphical user interface. Still referring toFIG.1, transport data116may include one or more unique identifiers and/or be assigned one or more unique identifiers generated through apparatus100, such as through processor104. A unique identifier may include any combination of alpha and/or numerical values, where there may be any total of values included in the unique identifier. Each unique identifier may be associated with a transport component, group of transport components, and/or transports124. For example, and without limitation, a unique identifier may include a combination of seven alpha and/or numeric values, such as “N303363”, “K994002”, “F110482”, “AKK13257”, and the like. In some nonlimiting embodiments, unique identifiers may be used to generate a data query, as discussed further below. In an embodiment, there is no limitation to the number of unit identifiers included in each communication of the plurality of communication. Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various examples of unique identifiers that may be used as the unit identifier datum consistently with this disclosure. Still referring toFIG.1, processor104is configured to identify a transport token148as a function of transport data116, where transport token148may be associated with an attribute of transport124. For the purposes of this disclosure, a “transport token” is a quantitative information representing an expense of a transport, or a characteristic of a transport. Thus, transport token148may include monetary information (e.g., value and/or amount of a currency) related to one or more characteristics of transport124. For instance, and without limitation, transport token148may include an amount of a particular currency. For example, and without limitation, transport token148may include one or more remittance, payment, invoice, adjusted payment, and the like. In a nonlimiting exemplary embodiment, transport token148may include a pecuniary amount for a customer to pay to one or more transportation entities for conducting and/or completing transport124. In one or more embodiments, the value associated with transport token148may vary based on one or more characteristics of transport124. For instance, transport token148may include a different cost value for a transport having a duration of two business days compared to a transport having a duration of five business days for the same goods. In another example, and without limitation, a value of transport token148may include an amount due for payment by a specific date, the date may vary based on a progress status of transport however (e.g., not initiated, in progress, or completed). For instance, and without limitation, transport token148may include an amount of $0 for a due payment while transport status is “in progress” (e.g., the cargo of transport has not reach a designated destination), and transport token148may change to an amount of $1000 once transport status is changed to “completed” (e.g., the cargo of transport has reach the designated destination), as discussed further in this disclosure. In some embodiments, apparatus100may include a language processing module. A language processing module may include any hardware and/or software module. A language processing module may be configured to extract, from the one or more documents, communications, or data, one or more words. One or more words may include, without limitation, strings of one or more characters, including, and without limitation, any sequence or sequences of letters, numbers, punctuation, diacritic marks, engineering symbols, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) symbols, chemical symbols and formulas, spaces, whitespace, and other symbols, including any symbols usable as textual data as described above. Textual data may be parsed into tokens, which may include a simple word (sequence of letters separated by whitespace) or more generally a sequence of characters as described previously. The term “token,” as used herein, refers to any smaller, individual groupings of text from a larger source of text. In some embodiments, a token may be a transport token148. Tokens may be broken up by word, pair of words, sentence, or other delimitation. These tokens may in turn be parsed in various ways. Textual data may be parsed into words or sequences of words, which may be considered words as well. Textual data may be parsed into “n-grams”, where all sequences of n consecutive characters are considered. Any or all possible sequences of tokens or words may be stored as “chains”, for example for use as a Markov chain or Hidden Markov Model. For instance, and without limitation, textual data representing transport data may be parsed to identify one or more tokens related to attributes of transport124. For example, and without limitation, a communication from a transport entity, such as a carrier, containing transport data116related to a pecuniary amount for transport124may be parsed to identify a token associated with a cost of at least a portion of transport124. In some embodiments, language processing module may be used to identify transport tokens148. For example, in some embodiments, language processing module may identify transport tokens148from tokens based on the content of transport tokens148and/or the surrounding context. As a non-limiting example, language processing module may determine that any token that follows a word or symbol such as “amount,” “cost,” “invoice,” “$,” “€,” and/or the like may be a transport token148. As a non-limiting example, language processing module may determine that any token that proceeds a word or symbol such as “$,” “€,” “yen,” “dollars,” “cost,” and the like may be a transport token148. As a non-limiting example, language processing module may determine that any token that comprises only numbers may be transport token148. Still referring toFIG.1, a language processing module may operate to produce a language processing model. A language processing model may include a program automatically generated by computing device and/or language processing module to produce associations between one or more words extracted from at least a document and detect associations, including without limitation mathematical associations, between such words. Associations between language elements, where language elements include for purposes herein extracted words, relationships of such categories to other such term may include, without limitation, mathematical associations, including without limitation statistical correlations between any language element and any other language element and/or language elements. Statistical correlations and/or mathematical associations may include probabilistic formulas or relationships indicating, for instance, a likelihood that a given extracted word indicates a given category of semantic meaning. As a further example, statistical correlations and/or mathematical associations may include probabilistic formulas or relationships indicating a positive and/or negative association between at least an extracted word and/or a given semantic meaning; positive or negative indication may include an indication that a given document is or is not indicating a category semantic meaning. Whether a phrase, sentence, word, or other textual element in a document or corpus of documents constitutes a positive or negative indicator may be determined, in an embodiment, by mathematical associations between detected words, comparisons to phrases and/or words indicating positive and/or negative indicators that are stored in memory at computing device, or the like. Still referring to1, a language processing module and/or diagnostic engine may generate the language processing model by any suitable method, including without limitation a natural language processing classification algorithm; language processing model may include a natural language process classification model that enumerates and/or derives statistical relationships between input terms and output terms. Algorithm to generate language processing model may include a stochastic gradient descent algorithm, which may include a method that iteratively optimizes an objective function, such as an objective function representing a statistical estimation of relationships between terms, including relationships between input terms and output terms, in the form of a sum of relationships to be estimated. In an alternative or additional approach, sequential tokens may be modeled as chains, serving as the observations in a Hidden Markov Model (HMM). HMMs as used in this disclosure are statistical models with inference algorithms that that may be applied to the models. In such models, a hidden state to be estimated may include an association between extracted words, phrases, and/or other semantic units. There may be a finite number of categories to which an extracted word may pertain; an HMM inference algorithm, such as the forward-backward algorithm or the Viterbi algorithm, may be used to estimate the most likely discrete state given a word or sequence of words. Language processing module may combine two or more approaches. For instance, and without limitation, machine-learning program may use a combination of Naive-Bayes (NB), Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD), and parameter grid-searching classification techniques; the result may include a classification algorithm that returns ranked associations. Continuing to refer toFIG.1, generating a language processing model may include generating a vector space, which may be a collection of vectors, defined as a set of mathematical objects that can be added together under an operation of addition following properties of associativity, commutativity, existence of an identity element, and existence of an inverse element for each vector, and can be multiplied by scalar values under an operation of scalar multiplication compatible with field multiplication, and that has an identity element is distributive with respect to vector addition, and is distributive with respect to field addition. Each vector in an n-dimensional vector space may be represented by an n-tuple of numerical values. Each unique extracted word and/or language element as described above may be represented by a vector of the vector space. In an embodiment, each unique extracted and/or other language element may be represented by a dimension of vector space; as a non-limiting example, each element of a vector may include a number representing an enumeration of co-occurrences of the word and/or language element represented by the vector with another word and/or language element. Vectors may be normalized, scaled according to relative frequencies of appearance and/or file sizes. In an embodiment associating language elements to one another as described above may include computing a degree of vector similarity between a vector representing each language element and a vector representing another language element; vector similarity may be measured according to any norm for proximity and/or similarity of two vectors, including without limitation cosine similarity, which measures the similarity of two vectors by evaluating the cosine of the angle between the vectors, which can be computed using a dot product of the two vectors divided by the lengths of the two vectors. Degree of similarity may include any other geometric measure of distance between vectors. Still referring toFIG.1, a language processing module may use a corpus of documents to generate associations between language elements in a language processing module, and diagnostic engine may then use such associations to analyze words extracted from one or more documents and determine that the one or more documents indicate significance of a category. In an embodiment, language module and/or apparatus100may perform this analysis using a selected set of significant documents, such as documents identified by one or more experts as representing good information; experts may identify or enter such documents via graphical user interface, or may communicate identities of significant documents according to any other suitable method of electronic communication, or by providing such identity to other persons who may enter such identifications into apparatus100. Documents may be entered into a computing device by being uploaded by an expert or other persons using, without limitation, file transfer protocol (FTP) or other suitable methods for transmission and/or upload of documents; alternatively or additionally, where a document is identified by a citation, a uniform resource identifier (URI), uniform resource locator (URL) or other datum permitting unambiguous identification of the document, diagnostic engine may automatically obtain the document using such an identifier, for instance by submitting a request to a database or compendium of documents such as JSTOR as provided by Ithaka Harbors, Inc. of New York. In some embodiments, apparatus100may determine one or more characters, symbols, strings, phrases, and the like of user input120. Apparatus100may determine one or more characters, symbols, strings, phrases, and the like using a language processing module as described above. Apparatus100may compare determined text of user input120and/or other input through comparing received input, such as user input120, to one or more databases. Databases may include, without limitation, warehouse management systems, websites, and the like. Still referring toFIG.1, transport token148may be identified as a function of an attribute subgroup128. In various embodiments, transport token148may be identified using a classifier that may classify transport data116to one or more categories of a transport124. An “attribute subgroup” as used in this disclosure is a classification or category of an attribute of a transport. In one or more embodiments, and without limitation, a category of an attribute may include fees, invoices, adjustment payments, stages, transport characteristics, and the like. In one or more embodiments, an attribute subgroup128may include a stage subgroup. A “stage subgroup” as used in this disclosure is a classification of a stage of a transport. For the purposes of this disclosure, a “stage” of a transport is a period or step of a transport. A stage of a transport may include a status of a transport, and/or corresponding transport plan, or a point of a lifecycle, or transport plan, of a transport. For example, and without limitation, a stage of a transport may include a temporal and/or geographical description of a transport. Stage subgroup may include one or more transports, transport components, and the like. Stage subgroup may include a status of a transport plan. A status of a transport plan may include categories such as, but not limited to, “outbound”, “inbound”, “in transit”, “holding” or “on hold”, “not started”, “stopped”, “at origin”, “at checkpoint”, “at destination”, “domestic transit”, “international transit”, “delivered”, “shipped”, and the like. A “transport plan” as used in this disclosure is a set of one or more steps to complete a transport. A transport plan may include, without limitation, one or more vehicles, transport components, routes, origins, destinations, and the like. For example, and without limitation, an attribute subgroup may include a stage or leg of transport124. A stage of transport124may include a portion of transport, such as trip generation, lading, transit, inspection, leaving origin, arriving at destination, and the like. Transport token148may include costs associate with one or more stages of transport. For instance, and without limitation, transport token148may include a cost or bill associated with the completion of a transport (e.g., arriving at a final destination), where transport data116may include geographical data that may allow transport to be categorized as “completed”. Transport token148, such as an invoice, associated with a completed transport may then be identified as a function of the stage of transport. In another nonlimiting exemplary embodiment, attribute subgroup128may include a temporal subgroup, where transport, or a portion of transport, is categorized according to one or more time characteristics. For example, and without limitation, for transport to be complete may take a specific duration of time; transport token148may be identified as a function of the duration it took for transport to be completed. Still referring toFIG.1, categorizing transport124into one or more attribute subgroups128may include arranging and/or sorting transport124into one or more groupings. In some embodiments, apparatus100may compare one or more category criteria to transport data116of transport124. In some embodiments, apparatus100may categorize transport124into attribute subgroup128as a function of a bound parameter132. A “bound parameter”, as used in this disclosure, is a criterion constraining a transport categorization. Bound parameter132may include, but is not limited to, geographical limitations, such as destinations and origins, transport recipients, transport component types, temporal limitations, and the like. For instance, and without limitation, transport124may be categorized to attribute subgroup128, using a bound parameter of a specific recipient address associated with a transport. In some embodiments, transport124may be categorized to a different attribute subgroup128throughout a lifecycle, or transport plan, of transport124, as previously mentioned. For instance, and without limitation, transport124may be categorized into a first stage subgroup based on a first stop of a transport plan of transport124. Transport124may arrive at a second stop of a transport plan, of which apparatus100may categorize transport124to a second stage subgroup. In some embodiments, transport124may be divided into multiple stage subgroups. For instance, and without limitation, transport124may include a plurality of transport components (e.g., goods or cargo) that may all have different destinations. Apparatus100may categorize each transport component of transport124to one or more attribute subgroups, such as, without limitation, attribute subgroups128having a same fee, adjusted payment, travel time, destination, and the like. Still referring toFIG.1, in some embodiments, attribute subgroup128may include one or more transport identifiers. For the purposes of this disclosure, “transport identifiers” as used in this disclosure are unique elements that denote a transport and/or an attribute of a transport. Transport identifiers may include, without limitation, unique identifiers, serial numbers, and the like. Apparatus100may generate and/or assign one or more transport identifiers for one or more transports124and/or attribute subgroups128. Transport identifiers may denote one or more transport components of transport124. In some embodiments, user input120may include a search for a transport, such as transport124, by a unique identifier. In other embodiments, user input120may include a search for an attribute subgroup by a unique identifier, which then pulls up all transports categorized into a particular attribute subgroup. Apparatus100may be configured to locate transport124and/or transport data116as a function of a unique identifier. Apparatus100may display a unique identifier, transport124, attribute subgroup128, and the like, without limitation, through GUI140. In some embodiments, and still referring toFIG.1, apparatus100may use an objective function to categorize transport124, and/or characteristics of transport124, into one or more attribute subgroups128. An “objective function” as used in this disclosure is a process of minimizing or maximizing one or more values based on a set of constraints. Apparatus100may generate an objective function to optimize a comparison of transport data116to one or more bound parameters132. In some embodiments, an objective function of apparatus100may include an optimization criterion. An optimization criterion may include any description of a desired value or range of values for one or more attributes of bound parameter132. Desired value or range of values may include a maximal or minimal value, a range between maximal or minimal values, or an instruction to maximize or minimize bound parameter132. As a nonlimiting example, an optimization criterion may specify that transport124should be categorized to attribute subgroup128having transport data116within a 4% difference of bound parameter132. An optimization criterion may cap a difference of transport data116and bound parameter132, for instance, specifying that transport data116must not have a difference from bound parameter132greater than a specified value. An optimization criterion may specify one or more tolerances for differences in bound parameters132. An optimization criterion may specify one or more desired transport criteria for transport data116. In an embodiment, an optimization criterion may assign weights to different bound parameters132or values associated with transports124. Weights, as used herein, may be multipliers or other scalar numbers reflecting a relative importance of a particular bound parameter132or value. One or more weights may be expressions of value to a user of a particular outcome, transport value, or other facet of a categorization process. Value may be expressed, as a nonlimiting example, in remunerative form, such as a quickest delivery, a strongest reliability, transport recipient preferences, or the like. As a non-limiting example, minimization of differences of a transport data116and one or more bound parameters132may be multiplied by a first weight, while tolerance above a certain value may be multiplied by a second weight. Optimization criteria may be combined in weighted or unweighted combinations into a function reflecting an overall outcome desired by a user; a function may be a transport function to be minimized and/or maximized. A function may be defined by reference to transport criteria constraints and/or weighted aggregation thereof as provided by apparatus100; for instance, a bound parameter132function combining optimization criteria may seek to minimize or maximize a function of attribute subgroup128classification. Still referring toFIG.1, apparatus100may use an objective function to compare measured transport data116to bound parameter132. Generation of an objective function may include generation of a function to score and weight factors to achieve transport data116for each feasible pairing. In some embodiments, pairings may be scored in a matrix for optimization, where columns represent transports124and rows represent attribute subgroups128potentially paired therewith. Each cell of such a matrix may represent a score of a pairing of the corresponding transport124to the corresponding attribute subgroup128. In some embodiments, assigning a predicted process that optimizes the objective function includes performing a greedy algorithm process. A “greedy algorithm” is defined as an algorithm that selects locally optimal choices, which may or may not generate a globally optimal solution. For instance, apparatus100may select pairings so that scores associated therewith are the best score for each transport124, attribute subgroup128, transport data116, and/or for each bound parameter132. In such an example, optimization may determine the combination of attribute subgroup128matches such that each attribute subgroup128pairing includes the highest score possible. Still referring toFIG.1, an objective function may be formulated as a linear objective function. Apparatus100may solve an objective function using a linear program such as without limitation a mixed-integer program. A “linear program,” as used in this disclosure, is a program that optimizes a linear objective function, given at least a constraint. For instance, and without limitation, objective function may seek to maximize a total score Σr∈RΣs∈Scrsxrs, where R is a set of all transports r, S is a set of all stage subgroups s, crsis a score of a pairing of a given transport with a given stage subgroup, and xrsis 1 if a transport r is paired with a stage subgroup s, and 0 otherwise. Continuing the example, constraints may specify that each transport is assigned to only one stage subgroup, and each stage subgroup is assigned only one transport. Transports and stage subgroups may include transports and stage subgroups as described above. Sets of bound parameters may be optimized for a maximum score combination of all generated bound parameters. In various embodiments, apparatus100may determine a combination of transport data and/or transports that maximizes a total score subject to a constraint that all transports are paired to exactly one stage subgroup. Not all stage subgroups may receive a transport pairing since each stage subgroup may only produce one transport. In some embodiments, an objective function may be formulated as a mixed integer optimization function. A “mixed integer optimization” as used in this disclosure is a program in which some or all of the variables are restricted to be integers. A mathematical solver may be implemented to solve for the set of feasible pairings that maximizes the sum of scores across all pairings; mathematical solver may be implemented on apparatus100and/or another device, and/or may be implemented on third-party solver. With continued reference toFIG.1, optimizing an objective function may include minimizing a loss function, where a “loss function” is an expression an output of which an optimization algorithm minimizes to generate an optimal result. As a non-limiting example, apparatus100may assign variables relating to a set of parameters, which may correspond to score bound parameters as described above, calculate an output of mathematical expression using the variables, and select a pairing that produces an output having the lowest size, according to a given definition of “size,” of the set of outputs representing each of plurality of transport combinations; size may, for instance, included absolute value, numerical size, or the like. Selection of different loss functions may result in identification of different potential pairings as generating minimal outputs. Objectives represented in an objective function and/or loss function may include minimization of differences between transport data and bound parameters. Objectives may include minimization of time of transporting one or more transport components. Objectives may include minimization of fuel used, cost of transport, and the like. Still referring toFIG.1, in some embodiments, apparatus100may utilize an attribute subgroup classifier148. Attribute subgroup classifier148may be trained with training data correlating transport data to stage subgroups, such as, and without limitation, same destination, same transport component type, same transport characteristic grouping, and the like. Training data may be received from user input, external computing devices, and/or previous iterations of processing. In some embodiments, attribute subgroup classifier148may input transport data116and output a classification of transport data116to one or more attribute subgroups128. Still referring toFIG.1, in some embodiments, apparatus100may categorize transport124to attribute subgroup128preemptively as a function of predicted bound parameters132. Apparatus100may utilize a bound parameter machine-learning model. A bound parameter machine-learning model may be trained with training data correlating transport data116to bound parameters132. Training data may be received through user input, external computing devices, databases, and/or previous iterations of processing. A bound parameter machine-learning model may input transport data116and output bound parameters132. Apparatus100may use a bound parameter machine-learning model to predict attribute subgroup128of transport124. For instance, and without limitation, apparatus100may predict bound parameter132to include a transport path of transport124and may categorize transport124to attribute subgroup128as a function of the predicted bound parameter132. Any machine-learning model, classifier, and/or other algorithms may be trained on external computing devices and algorithm parameters and/or coefficients may be communicated to apparatus100, without limitation. In some embodiments, apparatus100may train any machine-learning model, classifier, and/or other algorithms as described throughout this disclosure, without limitation. Still referring toFIG.1, in some embodiments, apparatus100may be configured to communicate with a transportation entity136. A “transportation entity”, as used in this disclosure, is an individual and/or organization involved in a transport. Transportation entity136may include, but is not limited to, recipients, carriers, warehouses, computer servers, and the like. Apparatus100may communicate with one or more computing devices of transportation entity136. For example, and without limitation, apparatus100may be communicatively connected to one or more computing devices of transportation entity136. A computing device of transportation entity136may include, without limitation, desktops, laptops, smartphones, servers, tablets, and the like. In some embodiments, apparatus100may be configured to communicate transport data116and/or categorizations of transport124with transportation entity136. For instance, and without limitation, apparatus100may communicate origins, destinations, transport paths, costs, transport components, and/or other data of transport data116with transportation entity136. In some embodiments, transportation entity136may communicate transport data and/or updates of transport data with apparatus100. Updates of transport data116may include, without limitation, transport status, transport characteristic grouping, geographical data, estimated delivery, estimated departure, total transit time, damage analysis, remittance updates, and the like, as discussed further in this disclosure. Still referring toFIG.1, in some embodiments, apparatus100may be configured to display transport124, transport data116, and/or other forms of data through GUI140. In some embodiments, GUI140may be shown on a display of computing device112. GUI140may include one or more windows that may display transport data116. GUI140may be configured to display, without limitation, transport status updates, transport characteristics, delivery statuses, and the like. GUI140may be as described below with reference toFIG.4. Still referring toFIG.1, in some embodiments, apparatus100may store transport data116, transport token148, communication data, and/or other data in an immutable sequential listing. “Communication data” as used throughout this disclosure is information pertaining to data transmitted and/or received between two or more entities. Communication data may include, without limitation, dates, times, sender identities, receiver identities, network type, message length, and/or other types of information related to communications. In some embodiments, apparatus100may compare any data as described throughout this disclosure with one or more blocks of data of an immutable sequential listing. An immutable sequential listing may be as described below with reference toFIG.5. Still referring toFIG.1, in some embodiments, processor104may be configured to compare transport token148to token criteria152. For the purposes of this disclosure, a “token criteria” is a threshold having a predetermined range or limit related to an expected and/or acceptable value associated with a transport token148. For instance, and without limitation, token criteria152may include an acceptable cost of at least a portion of transport124. For instance, and without limitation, token criterion152may include a preapproved and/or predetermined transport token value, a quantity of previous transport tokens from prior similar transports or preceding portions of a transport, a receival of a transport token associated with a specific transport and/or carrier, and the like. For example, and without limitation, a transport token may include an outstanding bill for a customer. If token criterion, which may include a pecuniary amount by the customer toward the outstanding bill, is less than may include a value related to a first pecuniary amount by a customer toward a portion of a bill. If the transport token148, for example, an outstanding bill related to a second pecuniary amount by a customer, where the transport token148includes a is below token criterion. For example, and without limitation, token criteria152may include an expected range for a cost to ship moveable goods from a first location to a second location during transport124. In another example, and without limitation, token criteria152may include an expected amount for a bill of lading. In another example, and without limitation, token criteria152may include an expected delivery date of transport124. In one or more embodiments, comparing transport token148and token criteria152may allow for verification or validation of transport token148, as discussed further below. Still referring toFIG.1, predetermined ranges or limits of values may include a maximal or minimal value, a range between maximal or minimal values, or an instruction to maximize or minimize transport token148. As a nonlimiting example, a token criteria152may specify that transport124should be categorized to attribute subgroup128having transport data116within a 4% difference of a set threshold. A difference between transport data116and token criterion152may be capped based on desired values set by, for example, a transportation entity or a customer. For instance, specifying that transport token148must not have a difference from token criterion greater than a specified value. Token criteria152may specify one or more tolerances for differences in of the comparison between transport token148and token criteria152. Token criterion152may specify one or more desired values or amount for transport token148. In an embodiment, token criteria may assign weights to different transport tokens148or corresponding attributes associated with transport124. One or more weights may be expressions of value to a user of a particular outcome, transport value, or other facet of a categorization process. Value may be expressed, as a nonlimiting example, in remunerative form, such as a quickest delivery, a strongest reliability, the lowest cost, transport recipient preferences, or the like. As a nonlimiting example, minimization of differences of a comparison may be multiplied by a first weight, while tolerance above a certain value may be multiplied by a second weight. Token criteria152may be combined in weighted or unweighted combinations into a function reflecting an overall outcome desired by a user; a function may be a transport function to be minimized and/or maximized. In one or more embodiments, an objective function may be used for the comparison of transport token148and token criteria152. Still referring toFIG.1, in various embodiments, apparatus100may verify and/or validate transport token148through an immutable sequential listing. In one or more embodiments, transport token148may be stored on an immutable sequential listing. As used in this disclosure, “verification” is a process of ensuring that which is being “verified” complies with certain constraints, for example without limitation system requirements, regulations, and the like. In some cases, verification may include comparing data, such as without limitation, transport token148, against one or more acceptance criteria, such as token criteria152. For example, in some cases, transport token148may be required to include a secure token, identifier, and the like. Ensuring that transport token148is in compliance with acceptance criteria may, in some cases, constitute verification. In some cases, verification may include ensuring that data is complete, for example, that all required data types, are present, readable, uncorrupted, and/or otherwise useful for apparatus100. In some cases, some or all verification processes may be performed by apparatus100. In some cases, at least a machine-learning process, for example a machine-learning model, may be used to verify transport token148. Apparatus100may use any machine-learning process described in this disclosure for this or any other function. In some embodiments, at least one of validation and/or verification includes without limitation one or more of supervisory validation, machine-learning processes, graph-based validation, geometry-based validation, and rules-based validation. Still referring toFIG.1, as used in this disclosure, “validation” is a process of ensuring that which is being “validated” complies with stakeholder expectations and/or desires. Stakeholders may include users, administrators, property owners, customers, and the like. Very often a specification prescribes certain testable conditions (e.g., metrics) that codify relevant stakeholder expectations and/or desires. In some cases, validation includes comparing data, for example and without limitation, transport token148, against a preconfigured specification. In some cases, apparatus100may be additionally configured to validate data by validating constituent sub-data. In some embodiments, apparatus100may be configured to validate any transport, transport component, transport entity, payments, and the like. In some cases, at least a machine-learning process, for example a machine-learning model, may be used to validate by apparatus100. Apparatus100may use any machine-learning process described in this disclosure for this or any other function. Still referring toFIG.1, processor100may be configured to generate a summate value160as a function of the comparison of transport token148and token criteria152. For the purposes of this disclosure, a “summate value” is a total value associated with one or more transport tokens of a transport. Summate value160may include, in one or more nonlimiting embodiments values associated with an invoice, payment, fees, bills, and the like. For the purposes of this disclosure, an “invoice” is a statement of fees associated with goods or services provided. In one or more embodiments, summate value160may be generated as a function of a comparison between transport token148and token criteria152, where the comparison indicates that transport token148substantially matches token criteria152(e.g., falls within a range or does not exceed a predetermined limit). For instance, and without limitation, a first transport token may include a payment by a customer for a transport, a second transport token may include a customer bill for transporting a particular good of transport, and token criteria may include a minimum threshold for a payment of the bill. If transport token (e.g., customer payment) is less than token criterion (e.g., minimum payment due by customer), then summate value may include a value for a remaining outstanding bill that the customer is still required to pay. In other embodiments, token criteria152may include a date, such as a time, day, month, and/or year, by when a customer must pay an outstanding balance of a bill by. If transport token (e.g., due date of payment of bill by customer) exceeds token criterion (e.g., current date), then summate value (e.g., comprehensive bill) may include an outstanding balance in addition to an interest or late fee for the late or missed payment. In various embodiments, summate value160may be generated using a summate machine-learning module156. In one or more embodiments, summate machine-learning module may generate a summate machine-learning model using training data, which may include inputs and corresponding outputs, as discussed further inFIG.5. For instance, and without limitation, training data may include inputs comprising transport token inputs and token criteria inputs, and training data may include correlated outputs comprising summate value outputs. Training data may be used to generate summate machine-learning model by summate machine-earning module. Once generated, then summate machine-learning model may receive real-time inputs, continuously or discretely over time, to generate corresponding outputs, such as summate value160. In one or more embodiments, summate value160may be displayed to a user, such as a customer or transportation entity136, through GUI140shown on a display of computing device112or a remote device. In various embodiments, GUI140may show acquisition of one or more transport tokens and a breakdown of summate value160. Still referring toFIG.1, apparatus100may be configured to generate a data query. In some embodiments, data query may include apparatus100transmitting a query signal and pinging an external computing device, such as a device of transportation entity136, to request additional data and/or information related to transport124so that summate value160may be updated in real-time (e.g., continuously or discretely). In nonlimiting embodiments, an external computing device may include a remote user device of transportation entity136. In other nonlimiting embodiments, an external computing device may include a computing device of a carrier, such as an operator of a transport vehicle, warehouse personnel, a customer, and the like. In other embodiments, data query may include apparatus generating an alert, such as an audio or visual alert on a display of computing device112, prompting a user to input additional, such as updated transport data148by user input120. Still referring toFIG.1, in one or more embodiments, generating a data query may include searching a transport database for updated transport data148, which may be used for updating summate value160. In some embodiments, apparatus100may search for one or more characters in one or more databases through generating data query. A “data query”, as used in this disclosure, is a function that retrieves data based on a criterion. In one or more embodiments, apparatus100may associate user input120with transport data116of one or more databases by performing a text retrieval process as a function of a keyword through a search query. In some embodiments, text searching may include querying, such as generating a search query. In some cases, a data query may include any number of querying tools, including without limitation keywords (as described above), field-restricted search, Boolean queries, phrase search, concept search, concordance search, proximity search, regular expression, fuzzy search, wildcard search, and the like. In some cases, keywords may be used to perform a query. In some cases, a document creator (or trained indexers) may supply a list of words that describe subject of the document, including without limitation synonyms of words that describe the subject. In some cases, keywords may improve recall; for instance, if the keyword list includes a keyword that is not in text of a document. In some cases, querying tools may include field-restricted search. A field-restricted search may allow a queries scope to be limited to within a particular field within a stored data record, such as “Title” or “Author.” In some cases, a query tool may include Boolean queries. Searches that use Boolean operators (for example, “encyclopedia” AND “online” NOT “Encarta”) can dramatically increase precision of a search. In some cases, an AND operator may say, in effect, “Do not retrieve any document unless it contains both of these terms.” In some cases, a NOT operator may say, in effect, “Do not retrieve any document that contains this word.” In some cases, a retrieval list retrieving too few documents, may prompt and OR operator to be used in place of an AND operator to increase recall; consider, for example, “encyclopedia” AND “online” OR “Internet” NOT “Encarta”. This search will retrieve documents about online encyclopedias that use the term “Internet” instead of “online.” In some cases, search precision and recall are interdependent and negatively correlated in text searching. In some cases, a query tool may include phrase search. In some cases, a phrase search may match only those documents that contain a specified phrase. In some cases, a query tool may include a concept search. In some cases, a concept search may be based on multi-word concepts, for example compound term processing. In some cases, a query tool may include a concordance search. In some cases, a concordance search may produce an alphabetical list of all principal words that occur in a text and may include their immediate context. In some cases, a query tool may include a proximity search. In some cases, a proximity search matches only those documents that contain two or more words that are separated by a specified number of words, are in the same sentence, or an in the same paragraph. A query tool may include a regular expression. In some cases, a regular expression may employ a complex but powerful querying syntax that can be used to specify retrieval conditions with precision, for instance database syntax. A query tool may include a fuzzy search. In some cases, a fuzzy search may search for a document that matches given terms while allowing for some variation around them. In some cases, a query tool may include a wildcard search. In some cases, a wildcard search may substitute one or more characters in a search query for a wildcard character such as an asterisk. For example, using a wildcard, such as an asterisk, in a search query “s*n” will search for terms inclusive of “sin,” “son,” “sun,” and the like. Still referring toFIG.1, apparatus100may also be configured to generate a data query as a function of user input120, transport token148, and/or summate value160. Data query may search through the Internet for semantic elements matching semantic elements of user input120and/or transport124. Data query may search through a transport database, such as transport database200as described below with reference toFIG.2. In some embodiments, data query may include querying criteria. “Querying criteria” as used in this disclosure are parameters that constrain a search. Querying criteria may include a degree of similarity of user input120to transport data116of a database, freshness of data, source of data, and the like. In some embodiments, a similarity may be determined by a clustering algorithm, optimization model, and the like. Querying criteria may be tuned by a machine-learning model, such as a machine-learning model described below inFIG.7. Still referring toFIG.1, generating data query may include generating a web crawler function. Data query may be configured to search for one or more keywords, key phrases, and the like. A keyword may be used by a search query to filter potential results from the search query. As a nonlimiting example, a keyword may include “on hold”. Apparatus100may generate a data query. A search query may give a weight to one or more query criteria. “Weights”, as used herein, may be multipliers or other scalar numbers reflecting a relative importance of a particular attribute or value. A weight may include, but is not limited to, a numerical value corresponding to an importance of an element. In some embodiments, a weighted value may be referred to in terms of a whole number, such as 1, 100, and the like. As a non-limiting example, a weighted value of 0.2 may indicated that the weighted value makes up 20% of the total value. In some embodiments, a data query may be configured to filter out one or more “stop words” that may not convey meaning, such as “of,” “a,” “an,” “the,” or the like. With continued reference toFIG.1, in some embodiments, data query may be performed with a text search, for example using a keyword as a search term. A text search may include techniques for searching a single computer-stored document or a collection of documents, for example in a database. A text search may include full-text search. Full-text search may be distinguished from searches based on metadata or on field-based searching (e.g., fields such as titles, abstracts, selected sections, or bibliographical references). In an exemplary full-text search, apparatus100may examine all words in every stored document as apparatus100tries to match search criteria (for example, keywords). Alternatively, a text search may be limited to fields, such as with field-based searching. Still referring toFIG.1, apparatus100may generate data query to match transport data116of user input120with one or more databases. For instance, and without limitation, apparatus100may determine user input120to include “bulk copper wire from Joe's electronics”. Apparatus100may generate data query to find updated transport data148related to transport data116based on user input120. In one or more embodiments, data query may include an identifier, as discussed previously in this disclosure, to quickly retrieve information related to a particular product or specific entity. In some embodiments, apparatus100may be configured to populate one or more text fields of GUI140as a function of results from a search query. Apparatus100may generate a confirmation icon, message, and the like associated with pre-populated text fields on GUI140. In some embodiments, a confirmation message of pre-populated transport data116or updated transport data148may be rejected, such as through user input120and/or received input. Rejection may trigger an iterative process of apparatus100of providing pre-populated transport data116or updated transport data148until an acceptance of pre-populated data and/or an exit flag. An exit flag may include, without limitation, a quantity of iterations, input canceling pre-populated data, and the like. Apparatus100may use iterations of providing pre-populated transport data to improve accuracy of future pre-populated transport data. Still referring toFIG.1, apparatus100may update one or more attribute subgroups as updated attribute subgroups of transport124. Updated attribute subgroup of transport124may be determined using similar methods described in relation to attribute subgroup128. For example, and without limitation, attribute classifier148, or a machine-learning model, may be used to determine updated stage subgroup as a function of updated transport data. In one or more embodiments, bound parameters132may also be used to determine updated attribute subgroup. In one or more embodiments, updated attribute subgroup may be displayed using GUI140. In one or more embodiments, updated attribute subgroup may be used to identify an updated token and, ultimately, an updated summate value. Updated summate value may be presented to a user, such as a transport entity, on a GUI, as discussed further in this disclosure. Referring now toFIG.2, transport database200is presented. Database may be implemented, without limitation, as a relational database, a key-value retrieval database such as a NOSQL database, or any other format or structure for use as a database that a person skilled in the art would recognize as suitable upon review of the entirety of this disclosure. Database may alternatively or additionally be implemented using a distributed data storage protocol and/or data structure, such as a distributed hash table or the like. Database may include a plurality of data entries and/or records as described above. Data entries in a database may be flagged with or linked to one or more additional elements of information, which may be reflected in data entry cells and/or in linked tables such as tables related by one or more indices in a relational database. Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various ways in which data entries in a database may store, retrieve, organize, and/or reflect data and/or records as used herein, as well as categories and/or populations of data consistently with this disclosure. Still referring toFIG.2, in some embodiments, transport database200may include transport data204. Transport data204may include, without limitation, destinations, origins, stop points, transport identifiers, and the like. Transport data204may include transport data116and/or updated transport data148as described above with reference toFIG.1. Still referring toFIG.2, in some embodiments, transport database200may include attribute subgroup data208. Attribute subgroup data208may include, without limitation, stage subgroup categories, quantity of stage subgroups, stage subgroup criteria, and the like. In some embodiments, stage subgroup data208may be updated as a function of communication with transportation entity136as described above with reference toFIG.1. Still referring toFIG.2, in some embodiments, transport database200may include transport component data212. Transport component data212may include, but is not limited to, dimensions, weights, values, characteristics, statuses, and the like. Transport component data212may include transport component data as described above with reference toFIG.1. Still referring toFIG.2, in some embodiments, transport database200may include transport status data216. Transport status data216may include data such as, but not limited to, on hold, in transit, arriving, departing, delivered, expedited, overnight, and the like. Transport status data216may include status criteria that may categorize transports to one or more transport statuses. Transport status data may include transport statuses as described above with reference toFIG.1. Still referring toFIG.2, in some embodiments, transport database200may include bound parameter data220. Bound parameter data220may include, without limitation, transport criteria, such as delivery dates, costs, fuel quantities, and the like. In some embodiments, bound parameter data220may include statistics such as most frequently used bound parameter, average deviation of specific bound parameters, and the like. Bound parameters may be as described above with reference toFIG.1. Still referring toFIG.2, in some embodiments, transport database200may include transport entity data224. Transport entity data224may include, without limitation, location data, transport path data, and the like. Transport entity data224may include identifies of one or more transport entities, correlations between transport entities and transport component types, correlation between transport recipients and transport entities, and the like. Transport entity data224may include transport entity data as described above with reference toFIG.1. Referring toFIG.3, an exemplary embodiment of fuzzy set comparison300is illustrated. A first fuzzy set304may be represented, without limitation, according to a first membership function308representing a probability that an input falling on a first range of values312is a member of the first fuzzy set304, where the first membership function308has values on a range of probabilities such as without limitation the interval [0,1], and an area beneath the first membership function308may represent a set of values within first fuzzy set304. Although first range of values312is illustrated for clarity in this exemplary depiction as a range on a single number line or axis, first range of values312may be defined on two or more dimensions, representing, for instance, a Cartesian product between a plurality of ranges, curves, axes, spaces, dimensions, or the like. First membership function308may include any suitable function mapping first range312to a probability interval, including without limitation a triangular function defined by two linear elements such as line segments or planes that intersect at or below the top of the probability interval. As a non-limiting example, triangular membership function may be defined as: y(x,a,b,c)={0,forx>candx<ax-ab-a,fora≤x<bc-xc-b,ifb<x≤c a trapezoidal membership function may be defined as: y(x,a,b,c,d)=max(min(x-ab-a,1,d-xd-c),0) a sigmoidal function may be defined as: y(x,a,c)=11-e-a(x-c) a Gaussian membership function may be defined as: y(x,c,σ)=e-12(x-cσ)2 and a bell membership function may be defined as: y(x,a,b,c,)=[1+❘"\[LeftBracketingBar]"x-ca❘"\[RightBracketingBar]"2b]-1 Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various alternative or additional membership functions that may be used consistently with this disclosure. Still referring toFIG.3, first fuzzy set304may represent any value or combination of values as described above, including output from one or more machine-learning models and transport data, a predetermined class, such as without limitation an attribute subgroup. A second fuzzy set316, which may represent any value which may be represented by first fuzzy set304, may be defined by a second membership function320on a second range324; second range324may be identical and/or overlap with first range312and/or may be combined with first range via Cartesian product or the like to generate a mapping permitting evaluation overlap of first fuzzy set304and second fuzzy set316. Where first fuzzy set304and second fuzzy set316have a region328that overlaps, first membership function308and second membership function320may intersect at a point332representing a probability, as defined on probability interval, of a match between first fuzzy set304and second fuzzy set316. Alternatively or additionally, a single value of first and/or second fuzzy set may be located at a locus336on first range312and/or second range324, where a probability of membership may be taken by evaluation of first membership function308and/or second membership function320at that range point. A probability at328and/or332may be compared to a threshold340to determine whether a positive match is indicated. Threshold340may, in a non-limiting example, represent a degree of match between first fuzzy set304and second fuzzy set316, and/or single values therein with each other or with either set, which is sufficient for purposes of the matching process; for instance, threshold may indicate a sufficient degree of overlap between an output from one or more machine-learning models and/or transport data and a predetermined class, such as without limitation a stage subgroup for combination to occur as described above. Alternatively or additionally, each threshold may be tuned by a machine-learning and/or statistical process, for instance and without limitation as described in further detail below. Further referring toFIG.3, in an embodiment, a degree of match between fuzzy sets may be used to classify a transport datum with a stage subgroup. For instance, if a transport datum has a fuzzy set matching stage subgroup fuzzy set by having a degree of overlap exceeding a threshold, apparatus100may classify the transport datum as belonging to the stage subgroup. Where multiple fuzzy matches are performed, degrees of match for each respective fuzzy set may be computed and aggregated through, for instance, addition, averaging, or the like, to determine an overall degree of match. Still referring toFIG.3, in an embodiment, a transport datum may be compared to multiple stage subgroup fuzzy sets. For instance, a transport datum may be represented by a fuzzy set that is compared to each of the multiple stage subgroup fuzzy sets; and a degree of overlap exceeding a threshold between the transport datum fuzzy set and any of the multiple stage subgroup fuzzy sets may cause apparatus100to classify the transport datum as belonging to stage subgroup. For instance, in one embodiment there may be two stage subgroup fuzzy sets, representing respectively first stage subgroup and second stage subgroup. First stage subgroup may have a first fuzzy set; Second stage subgroup may have a second fuzzy set; and a transport datum may have a transport datum fuzzy set. Apparatus100, for example, may compare a transport datum fuzzy set with each of first stage subgroup fuzzy set and second stage subgroup fuzzy set, as described above, and classify a transport datum to either, both, or neither of first stage subgroup or second stage subgroup. Machine-learning methods as described throughout may, in a non-limiting example, generate coefficients used in fuzzy set equations as described above, such as without limitation x, c, and σ of a Gaussian set as described above, as outputs of machine-learning methods. Likewise, a transport datum may be used indirectly to determine a fuzzy set, as a transport datum fuzzy set may be derived from outputs of one or more machine-learning models that take the transport datum directly or indirectly as inputs. Still referring toFIG.3, a computing device may use a logic comparison program, such as, but not limited to, a fuzzy logic model to determine a stage subgroup ranking. A stage subgroup ranking may include, but is not limited to, bad, average, good, superior, and the like; each such stage subgroup ranking may be represented as a value for a linguistic variable representing stage subgroup rankings or in other words a fuzzy set as described above that corresponds to a degree of compatibility as calculated using any statistical, machine-learning, or other method that may occur to a person skilled in the art upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure. In other words, a given element of transport datum may have a first non-zero value for membership in a first linguistic variable value such as “1” and a second non-zero value for membership in a second linguistic variable value such as “2” In some embodiments, determining a stage subgroup arrangement may include using a linear regression model. A linear regression model may include a machine learning model. A linear regression model may be configured to map data of transport data such as transport components, transport paths, costs, and the like, to one or more stage subgroup arrangements. A linear regression model may be trained using training data correlating stage subgroups to stage subgroup arrangements. A linear regression model may map statistics such as, but not limited to, frequency of stage subgroup arrangement types, most efficient stage subgroup arrangements, and the like. In some embodiments, determining a stage subgroup arrangement of a transport datum may include using a stage subgroup arrangement classification model. A stage subgroup arrangement classification model may be configured to input collected data and cluster data to a centroid based on, but not limited to, frequency of appearance, linguistic indicators of stage subgroup arrangements, and the like. Centroids may include scores assigned to them such that elements of transport data may each be assigned a score. In some embodiments, a stage subgroup arrangement classification model may include a K-means clustering model. In some embodiments, a stage subgroup arrangement classification model may include a particle swarm optimization model. In some embodiments, determining a stage subgroup arrangement of transport data may include using a fuzzy inference engine. A fuzzy inference engine may be configured to map one or more transport data elements using fuzzy logic. In some embodiments, a plurality of transports may be arranged by a logic comparison program into stage subgroup arrangements. A “stage subgroup arrangement” as used in this disclosure is any grouping of transport vehicles and/or transport components. This step may be implemented as described above inFIGS.1-3. Membership function coefficients and/or constants as described above may be tuned according to classification and/or clustering algorithms. For instance, and without limitation, a clustering algorithm may determine a Gaussian or other distribution of questions about a centroid corresponding to a given compatibility level, and an iterative or other method may be used to find a membership function, for any membership function type as described above, that minimizes an average error from the statistically determined distribution, such that, for instance, a triangular or Gaussian membership function about a centroid representing a center of the distribution that most closely matches the distribution. Error functions to be minimized, and/or methods of minimization, may be performed without limitation according to any error function and/or error function minimization process and/or method as described in this disclosure. Further referring toFIG.3, an inference engine may be implemented according to input and/or output membership functions and/or linguistic variables. For instance, a first linguistic variable may represent a first measurable value pertaining to elements of transport data, such as a degree of relevance of an element of transport data, while a second membership function may indicate a degree of compatibility of a subject thereof, or another measurable value pertaining to transport data. Continuing the example, an output linguistic variable may represent, without limitation, a score value. An inference engine may combine rules, such as: “if the transport component has a status of ‘expedited’ and the stage subgroup has a performance score of ‘fast’, the matching probability is ‘high’”—the degree to which a given input function membership matches a given rule may be determined by a triangular norm or “T-norm” of the rule or output membership function with the input membership function, such as min (a, b), product of a and b, drastic product of a and b, Hamacher product of a and b, or the like, satisfying the rules of commutativity (T(a, b)=T(b, a)), monotonicity: (T(a, b)≤T(c, d) if a≤c and b≤d), (associativity: T(a, T(b, c))=T(T(a, b), c)), and the requirement that the number 1 acts as an identity element. Combinations of rules (“and” or “or” combination of rule membership determinations) may be performed using any T-conorm, as represented by an inverted T symbol or “⊥” such as max(a, b), probabilistic sum of a and b (a+b-a*b), bounded sum, and/or drastic T-conorm; any T-conorm may be used that satisfies the properties of commutativity: ⊥(a, b)=⊥(b, a), monotonicity: ⊥(a, b)≤⊥(c, d) if a≤c and b≤d, associativity: ⊥(a, ⊥(b, c))=⊥(⊥(a, b), c), and identity element of 0. Alternatively or additionally T-conorm may be approximated by sum, as in a “product-sum” inference engine in which T-norm is product and T-conorm is sum. A final output score or other fuzzy inference output may be determined from an output membership function as described above using any suitable defuzzification process, including without limitation Mean of Max defuzzification, Centroid of Area/Center of Gravity defuzzification, Center Average defuzzification, Bisector of Area defuzzification, or the like. Alternatively or additionally, output rules may be replaced with functions according to the Takagi-Sugeno-King (TSK) fuzzy model. Further referring toFIG.3, transport data to be used may be selected by user selection, and/or by selection of a distribution of output scores, such as 30% low relevancy, 40% superior relevancy, and 30% average relevancy. Each relevancy score may be selected using an additional function such as degree of compatibility as described above. Referring now toFIG.4, an exemplary embodiment of an immutable sequential listing400is illustrated. An “immutable sequential listing,” as used in this disclosure, is a data structure that places data entries in a fixed sequential arrangement, such as a temporal sequence of entries and/or blocks thereof, where the sequential arrangement, once established, cannot be altered or reordered. An immutable sequential listing may be, include and/or implement an immutable ledger, where data entries that have been posted to the immutable sequential listing cannot be altered. Data elements are listing in immutable sequential listing400; data elements may include any form of data, including textual data, image data, encrypted data, cryptographically hashed data, and the like. Data elements may include, without limitation, one or more at least a digitally-signed assertions. In one embodiment, a digitally signed assertion404is a collection of textual data signed using a secure proof as described in further detail below; secure proof may include, without limitation, a digital signature as described above. Collection of textual data may contain any textual data, including without limitation American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII), Unicode, or similar computer-encoded textual data, any alphanumeric data, punctuation, diacritical mark, or any character or other marking used in any writing system to convey information, in any form, including any plaintext or cyphertext data; in an embodiment, collection of textual data may be encrypted, or may be a hash of other data, such as a root or node of a Merkle tree or hash tree, or a hash of any other information desired to be recorded in some fashion using a digitally signed assertion404. In an embodiment, collection of textual data states that the owner of a certain transferable item represented in a digitally signed assertion404register is transferring that item to the owner of an address. A digitally signed assertion404may be signed by a digital signature created using the private key associated with the owner's public key, as described above. Still referring toFIG.4, a digitally signed assertion404may describe a transfer of virtual currency, such as crypto-currency as described below. The virtual currency may be a digital currency. Item of value may be a transfer of trust, for instance represented by a statement vouching for the identity or trustworthiness of the first entity. Item of value may be an interest in a fungible negotiable financial instrument representing ownership in a public or private corporation, a creditor relationship with a governmental body or a corporation, rights to ownership represented by an option, derivative financial instrument, commodity, debt-backed security such as a bond or debenture or other security as described in further detail below. A resource may be a physical machine e.g. a ride share vehicle or any other asset. A digitally signed assertion404may describe the transfer of a physical good; for instance, a digitally signed assertion404may describe the sale of a product. In some embodiments, a transfer nominally of one item may be used to represent a transfer of another item; for instance, a transfer of virtual currency may be interpreted as representing a transfer of an access right; conversely, where the item nominally transferred is something other than virtual currency, the transfer itself may still be treated as a transfer of virtual currency, having value that depends on many potential factors including the value of the item nominally transferred and the monetary value attendant to having the output of the transfer moved into a particular user's control. The item of value may be associated with a digitally signed assertion404by means of an exterior protocol, such as the COLORED COINS created according to protocols developed by The Colored Coins Foundation, the MASTERCOIN protocol developed by the Mastercoin Foundation, or the ETHEREUM platform offered by the Stiftung Ethereum Foundation of Baar, Switzerland, the Thunder protocol developed by Thunder Consensus, or any other protocol. Still referring toFIG.4, in one embodiment, an address is a textual datum identifying the recipient of virtual currency or another item of value in a digitally signed assertion404. In some embodiments, address is linked to a public key, the corresponding private key of which is owned by the recipient of a digitally signed assertion404. For instance, address may be the public key. Address may be a representation, such as a hash, of the public key. Address may be linked to the public key in memory of a computing device, for instance via a “wallet shortener” protocol. Where address is linked to a public key, a transferee in a digitally signed assertion404may record a subsequent a digitally signed assertion404transferring some or all of the value transferred in the first a digitally signed assertion404to a new address in the same manner. A digitally signed assertion404may contain textual information that is not a transfer of some item of value in addition to, or as an alternative to, such a transfer. For instance, as described in further detail below, a digitally signed assertion404may indicate a confidence level associated with a distributed storage node as described in further detail below. In an embodiment, and still referring toFIG.4, immutable sequential listing400records a series of at least a posted content in a way that preserves the order in which the at least a posted content took place. Temporally sequential listing may be accessible at any of various security settings; for instance, and without limitation, temporally sequential listing may be readable and modifiable publicly, may be publicly readable but writable only by entities and/or devices having access privileges established by password protection, confidence level, or any device authentication procedure or facilities described herein, or may be readable and/or writable only by entities and/or devices having such access privileges. Access privileges may exist in more than one level, including, without limitation, a first access level or community of permitted entities and/or devices having ability to read, and a second access level or community of permitted entities and/or devices having ability to write; first and second community may be overlapping or non-overlapping. In an embodiment, posted content and/or immutable sequential listing 1XX may be stored as one or more zero knowledge sets (ZKS), Private Information Retrieval (PIR) structure, or any other structure that allows checking of membership in a set by querying with specific properties. Such database may incorporate protective measures to ensure that malicious actors may not query the database repeatedly in an effort to narrow the members of a set to reveal uniquely identifying information of a given posted content. Still referring toFIG.4, immutable sequential listing400may preserve the order in which the at least a posted content took place by listing them in chronological order; alternatively or additionally, immutable sequential listing400may organize digitally signed assertions404into sub-listings408such as “blocks” in a blockchain, which may be themselves collected in a temporally sequential order; digitally signed assertions404within a sub-listing408may or may not be temporally sequential. The ledger may preserve the order in which at least a posted content took place by listing them in sub-listings408and placing the sub-listings408in chronological order. The immutable sequential listing400may be a distributed, consensus-based ledger, such as those operated according to the protocols promulgated by Ripple Labs, Inc., of San Francisco, Calif., or the Stellar Development Foundation, of San Francisco, Calif, or of Thunder Consensus. In some embodiments, the ledger is a secured ledger; in one embodiment, a secured ledger is a ledger having safeguards against alteration by unauthorized parties. The ledger may be maintained by a proprietor, such as a system administrator on a server, that controls access to the ledger; for instance, the user account controls may allow contributors to the ledger to add at least a posted content to the ledger, but may not allow any users to alter at least a posted content that have been added to the ledger. In some embodiments, ledger is cryptographically secured; in one embodiment, a ledger is cryptographically secured where each link in the chain contains encrypted or hashed information that makes it practically infeasible to alter the ledger without betraying that alteration has taken place, for instance by requiring that an administrator or other party sign new additions to the chain with a digital signature. Immutable sequential listing400may be incorporated in, stored in, or incorporate, any suitable data structure, including without limitation any database, datastore, file structure, distributed hash table, directed acyclic graph or the like. In some embodiments, the timestamp of an entry is cryptographically secured and validated via trusted time, either directly on the chain or indirectly by utilizing a separate chain. In one embodiment the validity of timestamp is provided using a time stamping authority as described in the RFC 3161 standard for trusted timestamps, or in the ANSI ASC x9.95 standard. In another embodiment, the trusted time ordering is provided by a group of entities collectively acting as the time stamping authority with a requirement that a threshold number of the group of authorities sign the timestamp. In some embodiments, and with continued reference toFIG.4, immutable sequential listing400, once formed, may be inalterable by any party, no matter what access rights that party possesses. For instance, immutable sequential listing400may include a hash chain, in which data is added during a successive hashing process to ensure non-repudiation. Immutable sequential listing400may include a block chain. In one embodiment, a block chain is immutable sequential listing400that records one or more new at least a posted content in a data item known as a sub-listing408or “block.” An example of a block chain is the BITCOIN block chain used to record BITCOIN transactions and values. Sub-listings408may be created in a way that places the sub-listings208in chronological order and link each sub-listing408to a previous sub-listing408in the chronological order so that any computing device may traverse the sub-listings408in reverse chronological order to verify any at least a posted content listed in the block chain. Each new sub-listing408may be required to contain a cryptographic hash describing the previous sub-listing408. In some embodiments, the block chain contains a single first sub-listing408sometimes known as a “genesis block.” Still referring toFIG.4, the creation of a new sub-listing408may be computationally expensive; for instance, the creation of a new sub-listing408may be designed by a “proof of work” protocol accepted by all participants in forming the immutable sequential listing400to take a powerful set of computing devices a certain period of time to produce. Where one sub-listing408takes less time for a given set of computing devices to produce the sub-listing408protocol may adjust the algorithm to produce the next sub-listing408so that it will require more steps; where one sub-listing408takes more time for a given set of computing devices to produce the sub-listing408protocol may adjust the algorithm to produce the next sub-listing408so that it will require fewer steps. As an example, protocol may require a new sub-listing408to contain a cryptographic hash describing its contents; the cryptographic hash may be required to satisfy a mathematical condition, achieved by having the sub-listing408contain a number, called a nonce, whose value is determined after the fact by the discovery of the hash that satisfies the mathematical condition. Continuing the example, the protocol may be able to adjust the mathematical condition so that the discovery of the hash describing a sub-listing408and satisfying the mathematical condition requires more or less steps, depending on the outcome of the previous hashing attempt. Mathematical condition, as an example, might be that the hash contains a certain number of leading zeros and a hashing algorithm that requires more steps to find a hash containing a greater number of leading zeros, and fewer steps to find a hash containing a lesser number of leading zeros. In some embodiments, production of a new sub-listing408according to the protocol is known as “mining.” The creation of a new sub-listing408may be designed by a “proof of stake” protocol as will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure. Continuing to refer toFIG.4, in some embodiments, protocol also creates an incentive to mine new sub-listings408. The incentive may be financial; for instance, successfully mining a new sub-listing408may result in the person or entity that mines the sub-listing408receiving a predetermined amount of currency. The currency may be fiat currency. Currency may be cryptocurrency as defined below. In other embodiments, incentive may be redeemed for particular products or services; the incentive may be a gift certificate with a particular business, for instance. In some embodiments, incentive is sufficiently attractive to cause participants to compete for the incentive by trying to race each other to the creation of sub-listings408Each sub-listing408created in immutable sequential listing400may contain a record or at least a posted content describing one or more addresses that receive an incentive, such as virtual currency, as the result of successfully mining the sub-listing408. With continued reference toFIG.4, where two entities simultaneously create new sub-listings408, immutable sequential listing400may develop a fork; protocol may determine which of the two alternate branches in the fork is the valid new portion of the immutable sequential listing400by evaluating, after a certain amount of time has passed, which branch is longer. “Length” may be measured according to the number of sub-listings408in the branch. Length may be measured according to the total computational cost of producing the branch. Protocol may treat only at least a posted content contained the valid branch as valid at least a posted content. When a branch is found invalid according to this protocol, at least a posted content registered in that branch may be recreated in a new sub-listing408in the valid branch; the protocol may reject “double spending” at least a posted content that transfer the same virtual currency that another at least a posted content in the valid branch has already transferred. As a result, in some embodiments the creation of fraudulent at least a posted content requires the creation of a longer immutable sequential listing400branch by the entity attempting the fraudulent at least a posted content than the branch being produced by the rest of the participants; as long as the entity creating the fraudulent at least a posted content is likely the only one with the incentive to create the branch containing the fraudulent at least a posted content, the computational cost of the creation of that branch may be practically infeasible, guaranteeing the validity of all at least a posted content in the immutable sequential listing400. Still referring toFIG.4, additional data linked to at least a posted content may be incorporated in sub-listings408in the immutable sequential listing400; for instance, data may be incorporated in one or more fields recognized by block chain protocols that permit a person or computer forming a at least a posted content to insert additional data in the immutable sequential listing400. In some embodiments, additional data is incorporated in an unspendable at least a posted content field. For instance, the data may be incorporated in an OP_RETURN within the BITCOIN block chain. In other embodiments, additional data is incorporated in one signature of a multi-signature at least a posted content. In an embodiment, a multi-signature at least a posted content is at least a posted content to two or more addresses. In some embodiments, the two or more addresses are hashed together to form a single address, which is signed in the digital signature of the at least a posted content. In other embodiments, the two or more addresses are concatenated. In some embodiments, two or more addresses may be combined by a more complicated process, such as the creation of a Merkle tree or the like. In some embodiments, one or more addresses incorporated in the multi-signature at least a posted content are typical crypto-currency addresses, such as addresses linked to public keys as described above, while one or more additional addresses in the multi-signature at least a posted content contain additional data related to the at least a posted content; for instance, the additional data may indicate the purpose of the at least a posted content, aside from an exchange of virtual currency, such as the item for which the virtual currency was exchanged. In some embodiments, additional information may include network statistics for a given node of network, such as a distributed storage node, e.g. the latencies to nearest neighbors in a network graph, the identities or identifying information of neighboring nodes in the network graph, the trust level and/or mechanisms of trust (e.g. certificates of physical encryption keys, certificates of software encryption keys, (in non-limiting example certificates of software encryption may indicate the firmware version, manufacturer, hardware version and the like), certificates from a trusted third party, certificates from a decentralized anonymous authentication procedure, and other information quantifying the trusted status of the distributed storage node) of neighboring nodes in the network graph, IP addresses, GPS coordinates, and other information informing location of the node and/or neighboring nodes, geographically and/or within the network graph. In some embodiments, additional information may include history and/or statistics of neighboring nodes with which the node has interacted. In some embodiments, this additional information may be encoded directly, via a hash, hash tree or other encoding. With continued reference toFIG.4, in some embodiments, virtual currency is traded as a crypto-currency. In one embodiment, a crypto-currency is a digital, currency such as Bitcoins, Peercoins, Namecoins, and Litecoins. Crypto-currency may be a clone of another crypto-currency. The crypto-currency may be an “alt-coin.” Crypto-currency may be decentralized, with no particular entity controlling it; the integrity of the crypto-currency may be maintained by adherence by its participants to established protocols for exchange and for production of new currency, which may be enforced by software implementing the crypto-currency. Crypto-currency may be centralized, with its protocols enforced or hosted by a particular entity. For instance, crypto-currency may be maintained in a centralized ledger, as in the case of the XRP currency of Ripple Labs, Inc., of San Francisco, Calif. In lieu of a centrally controlling authority, such as a national bank, to manage currency values, the number of units of a particular crypto-currency may be limited; the rate at which units of crypto-currency enter the market may be managed by a mutually agreed-upon process, such as creating new units of currency when mathematical puzzles are solved, the degree of difficulty of the puzzles being adjustable to control the rate at which new units enter the market. Mathematical puzzles may be the same as the algorithms used to make productions of sub-listings208in a block chain computationally challenging; the incentive for producing sub-listings208may include the grant of new crypto-currency to the miners. Quantities of crypto-currency may be exchanged using at least a posted content as described above. Referring now toFIG.5, an exemplary embodiment of a machine-learning module500that may perform one or more machine-learning processes as described in this disclosure is illustrated. Machine-learning module may perform determinations, classification, and/or analysis steps, methods, processes, or the like as described in this disclosure using machine learning processes. A “machine learning process,” as used in this disclosure, is a process that automatedly uses training data504to generate an algorithm that will be performed by a computing device/module to produce outputs508given data provided as inputs512; this is in contrast to a non-machine learning software program where the commands to be executed are determined in advance by a user and written in a programming language. Still referring toFIG.5, “training data,” as used herein, is data containing correlations that a machine-learning process may use to model relationships between two or more categories of data elements. For instance, and without limitation, training data504may include a plurality of data entries, each entry representing a set of data elements that were recorded, received, and/or generated together; data elements may be correlated by shared existence in a given data entry, by proximity in a given data entry, or the like. Multiple data entries in training data504may evince one or more trends in correlations between categories of data elements; for instance, and without limitation, a higher value of a first data element belonging to a first category of data element may tend to correlate to a higher value of a second data element belonging to a second category of data element, indicating a possible proportional or other mathematical relationship linking values belonging to the two categories. Multiple categories of data elements may be related in training data504according to various correlations; correlations may indicate causative and/or predictive links between categories of data elements, which may be modeled as relationships such as mathematical relationships by machine-learning processes as described in further detail below. Training data504may be formatted and/or organized by categories of data elements, for instance by associating data elements with one or more descriptors corresponding to categories of data elements. As a non-limiting example, training data504may include data entered in standardized forms by persons or processes, such that entry of a given data element in a given field in a form may be mapped to one or more descriptors of categories. Elements in training data504may be linked to descriptors of categories by tags, tokens, or other data elements; for instance, and without limitation, training data504may be provided in fixed-length formats, formats linking positions of data to categories such as comma-separated value (CSV) formats and/or self-describing formats such as extensible markup language (XML), JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), or the like, enabling processes or devices to detect categories of data. Alternatively or additionally, and continuing to refer toFIG.5, training data504may include one or more elements that are not categorized; that is, training data504may not be formatted or contain descriptors for some elements of data. Machine-learning algorithms and/or other processes may sort training data504according to one or more categorizations using, for instance, natural language processing algorithms, tokenization, detection of correlated values in raw data and the like; categories may be generated using correlation and/or other processing algorithms. As a non-limiting example, in a corpus of text, phrases making up a number “n” of compound words, such as nouns modified by other nouns, may be identified according to a statistically significant prevalence of n-grams containing such words in a particular order; such an n-gram may be categorized as an element of language such as a “word” to be tracked similarly to single words, generating a new category as a result of statistical analysis. Similarly, in a data entry including some textual data, a person's name may be identified by reference to a list, dictionary, or other compendium of terms, permitting ad-hoc categorization by machine-learning algorithms, and/or automated association of data in the data entry with descriptors or into a given format. The ability to categorize data entries automatedly may enable the same training data504to be made applicable for two or more distinct machine-learning algorithms as described in further detail below. Training data504used by machine-learning module500may correlate any input data as described in this disclosure to any output data as described in this disclosure. As a non-limiting illustrative example inputs may include transport data and outputs may include stage subgroups. Further referring toFIG.5, training data may be filtered, sorted, and/or selected using one or more supervised and/or unsupervised machine-learning processes and/or models as described in further detail below; such models may include without limitation a training data classifier516. Training data classifier516may include a “classifier,” which as used in this disclosure is a machine-learning model as defined below, such as a mathematical model, neural net, or program generated by a machine learning algorithm known as a “classification algorithm,” as described in further detail below, that sorts inputs into categories or bins of data, outputting the categories or bins of data and/or labels associated therewith. A classifier may be configured to output at least a datum that labels or otherwise identifies a set of data that are clustered together, found to be close under a distance metric as described below, or the like. Machine-learning module500may generate a classifier using a classification algorithm, defined as a processes whereby a computing device and/or any module and/or component operating thereon derives a classifier from training data504. Classification may be performed using, without limitation, linear classifiers such as without limitation logistic regression and/or naive Bayes classifiers, nearest neighbor classifiers such as k-nearest neighbors classifiers, support vector machines, least squares support vector machines, fisher's linear discriminant, quadratic classifiers, decision trees, boosted trees, random forest classifiers, learning vector quantization, and/or neural network-based classifiers. As a non-limiting example, training data classifier516may classify elements of training data to transport statuses, transport categories, transport component types, and the like. Still referring toFIG.5, machine-learning module500may be configured to perform a lazy-learning process520and/or protocol, which may alternatively be referred to as a “lazy loading” or “call-when-needed” process and/or protocol, may be a process whereby machine learning is conducted upon receipt of an input to be converted to an output, by combining the input and training set to derive the algorithm to be used to produce the output on demand. For instance, an initial set of simulations may be performed to cover an initial heuristic and/or “first guess” at an output and/or relationship. As a non-limiting example, an initial heuristic may include a ranking of associations between inputs and elements of training data504. Heuristic may include selecting some number of highest-ranking associations and/or training data504elements. Lazy learning may implement any suitable lazy learning algorithm, including without limitation a K-nearest neighbors algorithm, a lazy naïve Bayes algorithm, or the like; persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various lazy-learning algorithms that may be applied to generate outputs as described in this disclosure, including without limitation lazy learning applications of machine-learning algorithms as described in further detail below. Alternatively or additionally, and with continued reference toFIG.5, machine-learning processes as described in this disclosure may be used to generate machine-learning models524. A “machine-learning model,” as used in this disclosure, is a mathematical and/or algorithmic representation of a relationship between inputs and outputs, as generated using any machine-learning process including without limitation any process as described above, and stored in memory; an input is submitted to a machine-learning model524once created, which generates an output based on the relationship that was derived. For instance, and without limitation, a linear regression model, generated using a linear regression algorithm, may compute a linear combination of input data using coefficients derived during machine-learning processes to calculate an output datum. As a further non-limiting example, a machine-learning model524may be generated by creating an artificial neural network, such as a convolutional neural network comprising an input layer of nodes, one or more intermediate layers, and an output layer of nodes. Connections between nodes may be created via the process of “training” the network, in which elements from a training data504set are applied to the input nodes, a suitable training algorithm (such as Levenberg-Marquardt, conjugate gradient, simulated annealing, or other algorithms) is then used to adjust the connections and weights between nodes in adjacent layers of the neural network to produce the desired values at the output nodes. This process is sometimes referred to as deep learning. Still referring toFIG.5, machine-learning algorithms may include at least a supervised machine-learning process528. At least a supervised machine-learning process528, as defined herein, include algorithms that receive a training set relating a number of inputs to a number of outputs, and seek to find one or more mathematical relations relating inputs to outputs, where each of the one or more mathematical relations is optimal according to some criterion specified to the algorithm using some scoring function. For instance, a supervised learning algorithm may include transport data as described above as inputs, stage subgroups as outputs, and a scoring function representing a desired form of relationship to be detected between inputs and outputs; scoring function may, for instance, seek to maximize the probability that a given input and/or combination of elements inputs is associated with a given output to minimize the probability that a given input is not associated with a given output. Scoring function may be expressed as a risk function representing an “expected loss” of an algorithm relating inputs to outputs, where loss is computed as an error function representing a degree to which a prediction generated by the relation is incorrect when compared to a given input-output pair provided in training data504. Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various possible variations of at least a supervised machine-learning process528that may be used to determine relation between inputs and outputs. Supervised machine-learning processes may include classification algorithms as defined above. Further referring toFIG.5, machine learning processes may include at least an unsupervised machine-learning processes532. An unsupervised machine-learning process, as used herein, is a process that derives inferences in datasets without regard to labels; as a result, an unsupervised machine-learning process may be free to discover any structure, relationship, and/or correlation provided in the data. Unsupervised processes may not require a response variable; unsupervised processes may be used to find interesting patterns and/or inferences between variables, to determine a degree of correlation between two or more variables, or the like. Still referring toFIG.5, machine-learning module500may be designed and configured to create a machine-learning model524using techniques for development of linear regression models. Linear regression models may include ordinary least squares regression, which aims to minimize the square of the difference between predicted outcomes and actual outcomes according to an appropriate norm for measuring such a difference (e.g. a vector-space distance norm); coefficients of the resulting linear equation may be modified to improve minimization. Linear regression models may include ridge regression methods, where the function to be minimized includes the least-squares function plus term multiplying the square of each coefficient by a scalar amount to penalize large coefficients. Linear regression models may include least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) models, in which ridge regression is combined with multiplying the least-squares term by a factor of 1 divided by double the number of samples. Linear regression models may include a multi-task lasso model wherein the norm applied in the least-squares term of the lasso model is the Frobenius norm amounting to the square root of the sum of squares of all terms. Linear regression models may include the elastic net model, a multi-task elastic net model, a least angle regression model, a LARS lasso model, an orthogonal matching pursuit model, a Bayesian regression model, a logistic regression model, a stochastic gradient descent model, a perceptron model, a passive aggressive algorithm, a robustness regression model, a Huber regression model, or any other suitable model that may occur to persons skilled in the art upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure. Linear regression models may be generalized in an embodiment to polynomial regression models, whereby a polynomial equation (e.g., a quadratic, cubic or higher-order equation) providing a best predicted output/actual output fit is sought; similar methods to those described above may be applied to minimize error functions, as will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure. Continuing to refer toFIG.5, machine-learning algorithms may include, without limitation, linear discriminant analysis. Machine-learning algorithm may include quadratic discriminate analysis. Machine-learning algorithms may include kernel ridge regression. Machine-learning algorithms may include support vector machines, including without limitation support vector classification-based regression processes. Machine-learning algorithms may include stochastic gradient descent algorithms, including classification and regression algorithms based on stochastic gradient descent. Machine-learning algorithms may include nearest neighbors algorithms. Machine-learning algorithms may include various forms of latent space regularization such as variational regularization. Machine-learning algorithms may include Gaussian processes such as Gaussian Process Regression. Machine-learning algorithms may include cross-decomposition algorithms, including partial least squares and/or canonical correlation analysis. Machine-learning algorithms may include naïve Bayes methods. Machine-learning algorithms may include algorithms based on decision trees, such as decision tree classification or regression algorithms. Machine-learning algorithms may include ensemble methods such as bagging meta-estimator, forest of randomized tress, AdaBoost, gradient tree boosting, and/or voting classifier methods. Machine-learning algorithms may include neural net algorithms, including convolutional neural net processes. Referring now toFIG.6, a method600of using an apparatus for token tracking is presented. At step605, method600includes receiving transport data. Transport data may be received through user input, from external computing devices, such as a remote device of a transportation entity, and the like. A transport entity may include, without limitation, a carrier, supplier, warehouse system, cross-dock facility, and the like. In some embodiments, transport data may include, without limitation, origins, destinations, dates, times, transport component data, costs, stages, and the like. This step may be implemented as described above inFIGS.1-5, without limitation. Still referring toFIG.6, at step605, method600includes identifying a transport token as a function of the transport data, where the transport token may be associated with an attribute of the transport. This step may be implemented as described above inFIGS.1-5, without limitation. Still referring toFIG.6, at step615, method600includes comparing the transport token with a token criteria. Token criteria may include a threshold, which may include a minimum or maximum parameter or a range of values associated with the transport token that are considered acceptable. This step may be implemented as described above inFIGS.1-5, without limitation. Still referring toFIG.6, at step620, method600includes generating a summate value as a function of the comparison. This step may be implemented as described above inFIGS.1-5, without limitation. It is to be noted that any one or more of the aspects and embodiments described herein may be conveniently implemented using one or more machines (e.g., one or more computing devices that are utilized as a user computing device for an electronic document, one or more server devices, such as a document server, etc.) programmed according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the computer art. Appropriate software coding can readily be prepared by skilled programmers based on the teachings of the present disclosure, as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the software art. Aspects and implementations discussed above employing software and/or software modules may also include appropriate hardware for assisting in the implementation of the machine executable instructions of the software and/or software module. Such software may be a computer program product that employs a machine-readable storage medium. A machine-readable storage medium may be any medium that is capable of storing and/or encoding a sequence of instructions for execution by a machine (e.g., a computing device) and that causes the machine to perform any one of the methodologies and/or embodiments described herein. Examples of a machine-readable storage medium include, but are not limited to, a magnetic disk, an optical disc (e.g., CD, CD-R, DVD, DVD-R, etc.), a magneto-optical disk, a read-only memory “ROM” device, a random access memory “RAM” device, a magnetic card, an optical card, a solid-state memory device, an EPROM, an EEPROM, and any combinations thereof. A machine-readable medium, as used herein, is intended to include a single medium as well as a collection of physically separate media, such as, for example, a collection of compact discs or one or more hard disk drives in combination with a computer memory. As used herein, a machine-readable storage medium does not include transitory forms of signal transmission. Such software may also include information (e.g., data) carried as a data signal on a data carrier, such as a carrier wave. For example, machine-executable information may be included as a data-carrying signal embodied in a data carrier in which the signal encodes a sequence of instruction, or portion thereof, for execution by a machine (e.g., a computing device) and any related information (e.g., data structures and data) that causes the machine to perform any one of the methodologies and/or embodiments described herein. Examples of a computing device include, but are not limited to, an electronic book reading device, a computer workstation, a terminal computer, a server computer, a handheld device (e.g., a tablet computer, a smartphone, etc.), a web appliance, a network router, a network switch, a network bridge, any machine capable of executing a sequence of instructions that specify an action to be taken by that machine, and any combinations thereof. In one example, a computing device may include and/or be included in a kiosk. FIG.7shows a diagrammatic representation of one embodiment of a computing device in the exemplary form of a computer system700within which a set of instructions for causing a control system to perform any one or more of the aspects and/or methodologies of the present disclosure may be executed. It is also contemplated that multiple computing devices may be utilized to implement a specially configured set of instructions for causing one or more of the devices to perform any one or more of the aspects and/or methodologies of the present disclosure. Computer system700includes a processor704and a memory708that communicate with each other, and with other components, via a bus712. Bus712may include any of several types of bus structures including, but not limited to, a memory bus, a memory controller, a peripheral bus, a local bus, and any combinations thereof, using any of a variety of bus architectures. Processor704may include any suitable processor, such as without limitation a processor incorporating logical circuitry for performing arithmetic and logical operations, such as an arithmetic and logic unit (ALU), which may be regulated with a state machine and directed by operational inputs from memory and/or sensors; processor704may be organized according to Von Neumann and/or Harvard architecture as a non-limiting example. Processor704may include, incorporate, and/or be incorporated in, without limitation, a microcontroller, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), Graphical Processing Unit (GPU), general purpose GPU, Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), analog or mixed signal processor, Trusted Platform Module (TPM), a floating point unit (FPU), and/or system on a chip (SoC). Memory708may include various components (e.g., machine-readable media) including, but not limited to, a random-access memory component, a read only component, and any combinations thereof. In one example, a basic input/output system716(BIOS), including basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer system700, such as during start-up, may be stored in memory708. Memory708may also include (e.g., stored on one or more machine-readable media) instructions (e.g., software)720embodying any one or more of the aspects and/or methodologies of the present disclosure. In another example, memory708may further include any number of program modules including, but not limited to, an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, program data, and any combinations thereof. Computer system700may also include a storage device724. Examples of a storage device (e.g., storage device724) include, but are not limited to, a hard disk drive, a magnetic disk drive, an optical disc drive in combination with an optical medium, a solid-state memory device, and any combinations thereof. Storage device724may be connected to bus712by an appropriate interface (not shown). Example interfaces include, but are not limited to, SCSI, advanced technology attachment (ATA), serial ATA, universal serial bus (USB), IEEE 1394 (FIREWIRE), and any combinations thereof. In one example, storage device724(or one or more components thereof) may be removably interfaced with computer system700(e.g., via an external port connector (not shown)). Particularly, storage device724and an associated machine-readable medium728may provide nonvolatile and/or volatile storage of machine-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and/or other data for computer system700. In one example, software720may reside, completely or partially, within machine-readable medium728. In another example, software720may reside, completely or partially, within processor704. Computer system700may also include an input device732. In one example, a user of computer system700may enter commands and/or other information into computer system700via input device732. Examples of an input device732include, but are not limited to, an alpha-numeric input device (e.g., a keyboard), a pointing device, a joystick, a gamepad, an audio input device (e.g., a microphone, a voice response system, etc.), a cursor control device (e.g., a mouse), a touchpad, an optical scanner, a video capture device (e.g., a still camera, a video camera), a touchscreen, and any combinations thereof. Input device732may be interfaced to bus712via any of a variety of interfaces (not shown) including, but not limited to, a serial interface, a parallel interface, a game port, a USB interface, a FIREWIRE interface, a direct interface to bus712, and any combinations thereof. Input device732may include a touch screen interface that may be a part of or separate from display736, discussed further below. Input device732may be utilized as a user selection device for selecting one or more graphical representations in a graphical interface as described above. A user may also input commands and/or other information to computer system700via storage device724(e.g., a removable disk drive, a flash drive, etc.) and/or network interface device740. A network interface device, such as network interface device740, may be utilized for connecting computer system700to one or more of a variety of networks, such as network744, and one or more remote devices748connected thereto. Examples of a network interface device include, but are not limited to, a network interface card (e.g., a mobile network interface card, a LAN card), a modem, and any combination thereof. Examples of a network include, but are not limited to, a wide area network (e.g., the Internet, an enterprise network), a local area network (e.g., a network associated with an office, a building, a campus or other relatively small geographic space), a telephone network, a data network associated with a telephone/voice provider (e.g., a mobile communications provider data and/or voice network), a direct connection between two computing devices, and any combinations thereof. A network, such as network744, may employ a wired and/or a wireless mode of communication. In general, any network topology may be used. Information (e.g., data, software720, etc.) may be communicated to and/or from computer system700via network interface device740. Computer system700may further include a video display adapter752for communicating a displayable image to a display device, such as display device736. Examples of a display device include, but are not limited to, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT), a plasma display, a light emitting diode (LED) display, and any combinations thereof. Display adapter752and display device736may be utilized in combination with processor704to provide graphical representations of aspects of the present disclosure. In addition to a display device, computer system700may include one or more other peripheral output devices including, but not limited to, an audio speaker, a printer, and any combinations thereof. Such peripheral output devices may be connected to bus712via a peripheral interface756. Examples of a peripheral interface include, but are not limited to, a serial port, a USB connection, a FIREWIRE connection, a parallel connection, and any combinations thereof. The foregoing has been a detailed description of illustrative embodiments of the invention. Various modifications and additions can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. Features of each of the various embodiments described above may be combined with features of other described embodiments as appropriate in order to provide a multiplicity of feature combinations in associated new embodiments. Furthermore, while the foregoing describes a number of separate embodiments, what has been described herein is merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. Additionally, although particular methods herein may be illustrated and/or described as being performed in a specific order, the ordering is highly variable within ordinary skill to achieve methods, systems, and software according to the present disclosure. Accordingly, this description is meant to be taken only by way of example, and not to otherwise limit the scope of this invention. Exemplary embodiments have been disclosed above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, omissions and additions may be made to that which is specifically disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. | 133,163 |
11861552 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION In order to have a clearer understanding of the technical features, purpose, and beneficial effects of the present disclosure, the following detailed descriptions are selected for the technical solutions of the present disclosure. Apparently, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, but not all of them, and should not be construed as limiting the applicable scope of the present disclosure. Based on the embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by people of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure. FIG.1is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for managing LNG tanking safety based on location matching according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, as shown inFIG.1, a method100for managing LNG tanking safety based on location matching includes that: step110: an LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal perceives and acquires terminal operation information, generates a request for tanking, and sends the request to an LNG distributed energy management platform; step120: the LNG distributed energy management platform obtains vehicle information of an LNG tanker after receiving the request, generates a task plan for tanking, and sends the task plan to the LNG tanker and the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal respectively; step130: the LNG tanker drives to a location of the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal according to the task plan, and the LNG distributed energy management platform performs real-time tracking and monitoring on a driving path of the LNG tanker; step140: the LNG tanker initiates a request for matching location after arriving at the location of the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal, completes a two-way location matching authentication with the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal through the LNG distributed energy management platform, and performs tanking for the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal. In this embodiment, step110specifically includes that: the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal perceives and acquires the location information and LNG storage information of the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal with a perceiving and acquiring device, and generates the request for tanking when LNG storage is lower than a preset alarm threshold, and sends the request and the location information to the LNG distributed energy management platform. In this embodiment, step120specifically includes that: the LNG distributed energy management platform obtains vehicle information of an LNG tanker currently in communication with the LNG distributed energy management platform after receiving the request and location information of the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal, the vehicle information includes a tank number, vehicle location information, and vehicle speed information; calculates and evaluates a time required for each tanker based on location information and speed information of the each tanker, obtains a tank number and vehicle location information of an LNG tanker with a shortest transportation time from the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal according to a shortest time matching principle, generates the task plan for tanking, and sends the task plan to the LNG tanker and the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal respectively. In this embodiment, the LNG distributed energy management platform performing the real-time tracking and monitoring performed on a driving path of the LNG tanker specifically includes that: the LNG distributed energy management platform pre-plans a path for tanking for the LNG tanker according to the vehicle location information of the LNG tanker and the location of the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal; selects an inertial reference system as a reference, sets a center of coordinates at a center of the LNG tanker, and constructs driving coordinates of the LNG tanker according to the vehicle location information and vehicle speed information of the LNG tanker; determines an attitude angle and direction information of the LNG tanker based on the driving coordinates of the LNG tanker, divides a total gravitational acceleration of the LNG tanker into several components, and obtains a displacement range of the LNG tanker by adopting an accumulating linear acceleration manner, calculates a directional angle value of the LNG tanker, and introduces measured acceleration components into the driving coordinates to infer a driving direction of the LNG tanker; analyzes and obtains a driving path of the LNG tanker according to the driving direction and the vehicle location information of the LNG tanker, matches a pre-planned path for the tanking and the driving path of the LNG tanker, and issues a path deviation alarm to the LNG tanker if the two paths do not match. In this embodiment, the two-way location matching authentication includes that: for performing the tanking, the LNG tanker sends request information for tanking and vehicle location information of the LNG tanker corresponding to the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal to the LNG distributed energy management platform; the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal sends request information for tanking corresponding to the LNG tanker number and the location information of the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal to the LNG distributed energy management platform; the LNG distributed energy management platform performs information matching according to the task plan and issues an instruction for tanking to the LNG tanker and the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal respectively if the matching succeeds; if the matching fails, the LNG distributed energy management platform sends an alarm to a platform manager; after receiving the instruction, the LNG tanker and the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal open valves for the tanking respectively. In this embodiment, the information matching performed by the LNG distributed energy management platform according to the task plan specifically includes that: the LNG distributed energy management platform constructs an address matching model and extracts a semantic feature from the location information of the LNG tanker and the location information of the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal respectively; the LNG distributed energy management platform queries the task plan for tanking stored in a database according to the request information for tanking, and obtains the location information of the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal and vehicle location information of the LNG tanker in the task plan for tanking; and matches the extracted semantic feature with an address of the task plan for tanking in the database for semantic matching of address text, and outputs a matching result. FIG.2is a flowchart illustrating a process for performing information matching according to a task plan by an LNG distributed energy management platform according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, as shown inFIG.2, a process200of the LNG distributed energy management platform constructing an address matching model specifically includes: address dataset division210: obtaining address data of historical tanking task plans of the LNG distributed energy management platform to form an address database, constructing a set of address data with a manual marking, and dividing the set of address data into a training set, a verification set, and a testing set. The training set is used to train parameters of the model, the verification set is used to adjust and optimize hyperparameters of the model, and the testing set is used to finally evaluate accuracy of the model. The process200further includes a word vector training for an address element220: using a Word2vec model in a gensim natural language processing library to perform a word vector training for the training set in the address database to obtain a vector expression of a glossary in a current application context and construct an output of the address matching model. The Word2vec model belongs to an unsupervised neural network language model (NNLM), which is essentially a fully connected neural network that may model with a distribution of a current word and its local context to obtain a word vector of the current word. A model used in a training process is a CBOW model, and a training manner is Negative Sampling. Then a glossary of address elements of a corpus and a 256-dimensional word vector corresponding to the corpus are generated. The process200further includes semantic matching of address text230: using an ESIM mode as a basic model of the semantic matching of address text, where the ESIM model belongs to one of the interaction-based deep text matching models, which combines some features of convolutional neural networks and recurrent neural networks in natural language processing in the model construction, and performs local modeling according to a contextual dependency relation of the address element to complete a task of address matching. The process200further includes verification and testing of address matching240: performing a verification of address matching on the address matching model according to the verification set. In order to obtain an ESIM model with a best performance, the present disclosure adjusts a count of hidden layer nodes, a learning rate, and a mini-batch size of the model, and selects a set of better parameters based on a combination of the best accuracy of the model on the verification set, the training duration of the model, a convergence speed of a model training loss, and a stability of a prediction accuracy of the model on the verification set. Finally, a testing of address matching is performed with the testing set. Traditional address matching algorithms mainly focus on using a literal overlap of matching addresses to directly perform a similarity calculation and text matching, which is hardly applicable to a matching task of massive multi-source heterogeneous address data nowadays. Therefore, the present disclosure designs and implements an address matching algorithm based on deep learning. Different from the traditional address matching algorithms, the address matching algorithm based on deep learning focuses on studying a semantic similarity of address text and completes the matching task based on the semantic similarity. FIG.3is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary structure of an Internet of Things system for managing LNG tanking safety according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.3, some embodiments of the present disclosure also provide an Internet of Things system300for managing LNG tanking safety based on location matching, which is realized by the method100for managing LNG tanking safety based on location matching. The Internet of Things system includes an LNG distributed energy user platform310, an LNG distributed energy service platform320, an LNG distributed energy management platform330, an LNG distributed energy logistics transportation sensor network platform340, an LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal sensor network platform350, an LNG distributed energy logistics transportation object platform360and an LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal object platform370; the LNG distributed energy logistics transportation object platform360and the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal object platform370are configured to perceive and acquire vehicle information of an LNG tanker and terminal operation information of an LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal, generate a request for tanking based on the terminal operation information, and send the request to the LNG distributed energy management platform330through the LNG distributed energy logistics transportation sensor network platform340and the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal sensor network platform350; the LNG distributed energy logistics transportation object platform360and the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal object platform370include the LNG tanker and LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal respectively; the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal perceives and acquires the location information and LNG storage information of the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal with a perceiving and acquiring device, generates the request for tanking when LNG storage is lower than a preset alarm threshold, and sends the request and the location information to the LNG distributed energy management platform330; the LNG distributed energy logistics transportation sensor network platform340and the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal sensor network platform350are configured to realize a communication connection for perception and control between the LNG distributed energy management platform330and the LNG distributed energy logistics object platform360, and between the LNG distributed energy management platform330and the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal object platform370; the LNG distributed energy management platform330is configured to generate a task plan for tanking based on the acquired vehicle information of the LNG tanker and the terminal operation information of the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal, and send the task plan to the LNG tanker and the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal respectively, and perform real-time tracking and monitoring on a driving path of the LNG tanker; the LNG distributed energy management platform330is configured to obtain vehicle information of an LNG tanker currently in communication with the LNG distributed energy management platform after receiving the request and location information of the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal, the vehicle information includes a tank number, vehicle location information, and vehicle speed information; obtain a tank number and vehicle location information of an LNG tanker with a shortest transportation time from the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal according to a shortest time matching principle, generate the task plan for tanking, and send the task plan to the LNG tanker and the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal respectively; the real-time tracking and monitoring on a driving path of the LNG tanker performed by the LNG distributed energy management platform330specifically includes that: the LNG distributed energy management platform330pre-plans a path for the tanking of the LNG tanker according to the vehicle location information of the LNG tanker and a location of the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal; selects an inertial reference system as a reference, sets a center of coordinates at a center of the LNG tanker, and constructs driving coordinates of the LNG tanker according to the vehicle location information and vehicle speed information of the LNG tanker; determines an attitude angle and direction information of the LNG tanker based on the driving coordinates of the LNG tanker, divides a total gravitational acceleration of the LNG tanker into several components, and adopts an accumulating linear acceleration manner to obtain a displacement range of the LNG tanker, calculates a directional angle value of the LNG tanker, and introduces measured acceleration components into the driving coordinates to infer a driving direction of the LNG tanker; analyzes and obtains the driving path of the LNG tanker according to the driving direction and vehicle location information of the LNG tanker, and matches a pre-planned path for the tanking and the driving path of the LNG tanker, issues a path deviation alarm to the LNG tanker if the two paths do not match; the LNG distributed energy service platform320is configured to obtain the vehicle information of the LNG tanker and the terminal operation information of the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal in a process of LNG tanking required by a user from the LNG distributed energy management platform330; the LNG distributed energy user platform310is configured to obtain the vehicle information of the LNG tanker and the terminal operation information of the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal from the LNG distributed energy service platform320for various users. Specifically, the LNG tanker initiates a request for matching location after arriving at the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal, completes a two-way location matching authentication with the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal through the LNG distributed energy management platform330, and performs tanking for the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal; the process of the two-way location matching authentication includes that: for performing the tanking, the LNG tanker sends request information for tanking and vehicle location information of the LNG tanker corresponding to the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal to the LNG distributed energy management platform330; the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal sends request information for tanking corresponding to the LNG tanker number and the location information of the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal to the LNG distributed energy management platform330; the LNG distributed energy management platform330performs information matching according to the task plan and issues an instruction for tanking to the LNG tanker and the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal respectively if the matching succeeds; if the matching fails, the LNG distributed energy management platform330sends an alarm to a platform manager; after receiving the instruction, the LNG tanker and the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal open valves for the tanking respectively. A process of the information matching performed by the LNG distributed energy management platform330according to the tanking task plan specifically includes that: the LNG distributed energy management platform330constructs an address matching model and extracts a semantic feature from the location information of the LNG tanker and the location information of the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal respectively; the LNG distributed energy management platform queries the task plan for tanking stored in a database according to the request information for tanking, and obtains the location information of the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal and vehicle location information of the LNG tanker in the task plan for tanking; matches the extracted semantic feature with an address of the task plan for tanking in the database for an address text semantic matching, and outputs a matching result. A process of constructing an address matching model by the LNG distributed energy management platform330specifically includes: address dataset division: obtaining address data of historical tanking task plans of the LNG distributed energy management platform330to form an address database, constructing a set of address data with a manual marking, and dividing the set of address data into a training set, a verification set, and a testing set; a word vector training for an address element: using a Word2vec model in a gensim natural language processing library to perform a word vector training for the training set in the address database, so as to obtain a word vector of a glossary in a current application context; semantic matching of address text: using an ESIM mode as a basic model of the semantic matching of address text, and performing local modeling according to a contextual dependency relation of the address element to obtain the address matching model; and verification and testing of address matching: performing a verification of address matching on the address matching model according to the verification set, adjusting a count of hidden layer nodes, a learning rate, and a mini-batch size of the model according to a verification result, and finally performing a testing of address matching with the testing set. A process of a word vector training for an address element specifically includes that: the Word2vec model belongs to an unsupervised neural network language model and adopts the Word2vec model in the natural language processing library to perform the word vector training for the training set in the address database; first performs modeling according to a distribution of a current word and a local context of the word to obtain a word vector of the current word; a model used in a training process is a CBOW model, and a training manner is Negative Sampling; then a glossary of address elements of a corpus and a 256-dimensional word vector corresponding to the corpus are generated. In some embodiments, the Internet of Things system300for managing tanking safety may also be called an Internet of Things system for managing gas stations, and the LNG distributed energy management platform330may also be called an energy management platform. The Internet of Things system for managing gas stations also includes an object platform, a sensor network platform, a service platform, and a user platform. The LNG distributed energy user platform310may also be called a user platform, the LNG distributed energy service platform320may also be called a service platform, the LNG distributed energy logistics transportation sensor network platform340and the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal sensor network platform350may also be called a sensor network platform, and the LNG distributed energy logistics transportation object platform360and the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal object platform370may also be called an object platform. In some embodiments, the object platform may be configured to obtain historical gas filling data, and transmit the gas filling data to the energy management platform through the sensor network platform; the sensor network platform may be configured to realize a communication connection for perception and control between the management platform and the object platform; the service platform may be configured to obtain a target delivery plan required by a user from the energy management platform; the user platform may be configured to obtain the target delivery plan from the service platform for the user. For more details, please refer to the related descriptions inFIG.4andFIG.5. FIG.4is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for managing a gas station according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.4, a process400includes steps410to440. In some embodiments, the process400may be performed by an energy management platform. Step410, acquiring historical gas filling data of a gas station. The gas station may also be an LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal. For more information about the LNG distributed energy intelligent terminal, please refer toFIG.3and its related descriptions. The historical gas filling data refers to a plurality of gas filling data corresponding to historical time. The historical gas filling data may be represented by a data sequence. For example, the historical gas filling data may be a sequence composed of historical LNG supply data corresponding to a plurality of historical moments within a period of time before a current moment. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may obtain the historical gas filling data corresponding to a plurality of historical times of an object platform (such as a gas station) through the sensor network platform. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may acquire the historical gas filling data based on a preset acquiring time. The preset acquiring time refers to a preset time length for acquiring the historical gas filling data. In some embodiments, the preset acquiring time may include an acquiring period for acquiring the historical gas filling data. The acquiring period refers to an acquiring time interval. In some embodiments, the historical gas filling data may also include terminal operation information. The terminal operation information refers to information related to a terminal operation. In some embodiments, the terminal operation information may include at least one of location information or storage data of the gas station. In some embodiments, the location information refers to a location where the gas station is located. For example, the location information may be a current location of the gas station. For more information about the location information, please refer toFIG.2and its related descriptions. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may acquire the historical gas filling data in various ways. For example, the energy management platform may periodically acquire the historical gas filling data based on the preset acquiring time through a perceiving and acquiring device, or the like. step420, determining LNG demand data at at least one future moment based on the historical gas filling data. The LNG demand data refers to a predicted value of LNG usage at the at least one future moment. For example, the LNG demand data may be a value of LNG usage corresponding to at least one time point within a period of time after the current moment. In some embodiments, the LNG demand data may be represented by an LNG demand data curve. A horizontal coordinate of the LNG demand data curve may be the at least one future moment, and vertical coordinates may be LNG demand data corresponding to each future moment. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may determine the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment in various ways based on the historical gas filling data. For example, the energy management platform may determine the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment by querying a first preset table. The first preset table includes corresponding data of the historical gas filling data and the LNG demand data of at the at least one future moment. The energy management platform may determine the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment through the first preset table and historical gas filling data. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may predict the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment and a predicted confidence level of the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment based on historical gas filling data acquired at the current time and/or at least one historical moment. The predicted confidence level of the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment refers to a degree of credibility of at least one predicted future moment and/or a degree of credibility of the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may predict the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment in various ways based on the historical gas filling data acquired at the current moment and/or the at least one historical moment. For example, the energy management platform may determine the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment based on a preset conversion relationship according to the historical gas filling data between the current moment and the at least one historical moment. The preset conversion relationship refers to a preset relationship between the historical gas filling data and LNG demand data at a future moment. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may determine the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment through a prediction model based on the historical gas filling data acquired at the current moment and/or the at least one historical moment. In some embodiments, the prediction model may be a model that determines the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment. In some embodiments, the prediction model may be a machine learning model. For example, the prediction model may be any model for prediction such as a neural network model (NN), a recurrent neural network (RNN), or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the prediction model may be obtained by training based on a plurality of first training samples with labels. In some embodiments, each group of training samples of the first training sample may include historical gas filling data at a first sample historical moment and historical gas filling data acquired at at least a second sample historical moment. The at least one second sample historical moment is located before a first sample historical moment. The labels may include actual gas filling data at a third sample historical moment corresponding to each group of training samples. The third sample historical moment is located after the first sample historical moment and is a future moment relative to the first sample historical moment. In some embodiments, the first training samples may be obtained based on historical data. Labels of the first training sample may be obtained by automatic or manual labeling. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, determining the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment based on the prediction model can determine the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment more accurately in combination with an actual situation, and reduce the human cost and waste of resources required for human assessment and determination. In some embodiments, the prediction model may have a multi-layer structure, for details, please refer to the relevant description inFIG.5. In some embodiments, the prediction model may also include a confidence level determination layer. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may determine the predicted confidence level of the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment through the confidence level determination layer. For more details, please refer to the related description ofFIG.5. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may also determine a reference time point based on the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment. The reference time point refers to a time point when the LNG demand data reaches a preset alarm threshold. The preset alarm threshold may include a minimum threshold for safe use of LNG under normal conditions. In some embodiments, the preset alarm threshold may be a system default value, an experience value, or the like. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may determine the reference time point in various ways. For example, the energy management platform may determine the reference time point through the preset alarm threshold. For example, the energy management platform may determine a future moment when the LNG demand data reaches and/or exceeds the preset alarm threshold for the first time as the reference time point. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may also re-determine the preset acquiring time based on a time difference between the reference time point and the current moment. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may preset a corresponding relationship between the time difference between the reference time point and the current moment and the preset acquiring time in advance. The energy management platform may re-determine the preset acquiring time based on the corresponding relationship, the time difference between the reference time point and the current moment. The preset acquiring time may be proportional to the time difference between the reference time point and the current moment. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may re-determine the preset acquiring time based on a first threshold. The first threshold refers to a maximum value of a time difference between a reference time point at which the preset acquiring time needs to be re-determined and the current moment. For example, the energy management platform may compare the time difference between the reference time point and the current moment with the first threshold, and when the time difference between the reference time point and the current moment is less than or equal to the first threshold, the energy management platform may re-determine the preset acquiring time. For example, if an original preset acquiring time is an acquiring period T1 (e.g., T1 is 12 hours), that is, the gas station acquires terminal operation information every T1, the current time is t0, and five future moments corresponding to the current time are respectively t1=t0+T1, t2=t0+2T1, t3=t0+3T1, t4=t0+4T1, t5=t0+5T1. If t3 is a determined reference time point, that is, LNG demand data corresponding to the t3 reaches and/or exceeds the preset alarm threshold for the first time, then a time difference between t3 and t0 is 3T1. If 3T1 is less than and/or equal to the first threshold, the gas station may re-determine the preset acquiring time as an acquiring period T2, wherein T2<T1. In some embodiments, the first threshold may be a system default value, an experience value, an artificial preset value, etc., or any combination thereof, and may be set according to actual need. The first threshold may also be determined in other ways, which is not limited herein. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the energy management platform may re-determine the preset acquiring time based on the time difference between the reference time point and the current moment, and may adjust the preset acquiring time in combination with an actual LNG demand situation to improve the accuracy and acquiring efficiency of LNG demand data, so as to ensure the safe use of LNG and improve the service experience of users. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may also determine whether the at least one future moment is a reliable moment based on the predicted confidence level of the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may determine at least one future moment with a predicted confidence level higher than a confidence level threshold as the reliable moment. In some embodiments, the confidence level threshold may be a system default value, an experience value, an artificial preset value, etc., or any combination thereof, and may be set according to actual need. The confidence level threshold may also be determined in other ways, which is not limited herein. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the energy management platform may determine at least one future moment with a predicted confidence level higher than the confidence level threshold as the reliable moment, which is conducive to improving the accuracy of a target delivery plan subsequently determined. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the energy management platform acquiring the historical gas filling data based on the preset acquiring time; predicting the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment based on the historical gas filling data acquired at the current moment and/or the at least one historical moment can realize the prediction of the LNG demand data, and replenish the storage in time when the storage is insufficient, ensuring the safety of use and supply of LNG and improving the user's service experience. Step430, determining at least one set of candidate delivery plans based on the LNG demand data and LNG storage data. The LNG storage data refers to data related to LNG storage. For example, the LNG storage data may include a type of storage and storage data. The storage data refers to a storage volume of LNG at the gas station. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may obtain the storage data of the gas station regularly or in real time through the sensor network platform. The candidate delivery plan refers to an alternative plan for LNG delivery. For example, the candidate delivery plan may include at least one delivery volume of LNG delivered to the gas station at at least one future moment. The candidate delivery plan may also refer to a request for tanking. For more information on the request for tanking, please refer toFIG.1,FIG.2, and their related descriptions. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may determine the at least one set of candidate delivery plans based on the LNG demand data and the LNG storage data in various ways. For example, the energy management platform may determine the at least one set of candidate delivery plans through random generation based on the LNG demand data and the LNG storage data. As another example, the LNG demand data and LNG storage data may be represented by a data vector. The energy management platform may calculate a vector distance between the data vector and a historical data vector corresponding to historical LNG demand data and historical LNG storage data, and determine at least one set of historical delivery plans whose vector distance is less than a preset threshold as the at least one set of candidate delivery plans. The preset threshold refers to a minimum vector distance between a preset data vector and the historical data vector. Step440: determining a target delivery plan based on at least one gas filling cost data of the at least one set of candidate delivery plans. The gas filling cost data refers to cost data related to the supply of LNG at the gas station and/or the storage of LNG at the gas station, etc. Different candidate delivery plans correspond to different gas filling cost data. In some embodiments, the at least one gas filling cost data may at least include an LNG delivery cost and an LNG storage cost. The at least one gas filling cost data may be represented by a comprehensive gas filling cost at a plurality of consecutive time points, and the at least one gas filling cost data is determined based on a preset algorithm. The LNG delivery cost refers to a delivery cost of LNG from a production site to the gas station, which may be related to a delivery distance or the like. The LNG storage cost refers to a cost of storing LNG, which may relate to the storage data, a storage time, or the like. For example, the LNG delivery cost may be P yuan/km/kg, and the LNG storage cost may be Q yuan/day/kg. In some embodiments, the LNG delivery cost may also include a transferring cost of LNG. The transferring cost of LNG refers to a cost of transferring LNG into the gas station, which may be related to a volume of transferring LNG transferred and a count of transferring. For example, the transferring cost of LNG may be represented as a fixed cost of each transferring of LNG×a count of transferring+a cost of transferring 1 kg of LNG×a volume of transferring LNG. In some embodiments, the at least one gas filling cost data may be obtained by querying historical gas filling cost data. In some embodiments, the at least one gas filling cost data may be represented by the comprehensive gas filling cost at the plurality of consecutive time points. For example, the energy management platform may count a gas filling cost at the plurality of consecutive time points, and determine the counted gas filling cost at the plurality of consecutive time points as the at least one gas filling cost data. The consecutive time points refer to a plurality of time points within a period of time after the current moment. In some embodiments, the at least one gas filling cost data may be determined based on the preset algorithm. The preset algorithm may include a K nearest neighbor algorithm, a Bayesian algorithm, or the like. In some embodiments, the preset algorithm may be related to the predicted confidence level of the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment. For example, the preset algorithm may be represented by the following equation (1): Cost=[R0−(Σk=1nDk)×α]×σ+(T1+T2)×β (1) Where Cost denotes a gas filling cost data at t0, R0denotes storage data at the current moment, Σk=1nDkdenotes an accumulated value of LNG demand data corresponding to future moments t1˜tk(k is an integer between 1 to n), α denotes a confidence level coefficient, and σ denotes a gas filling cost per unit, T1 denotes a cost of one LNG transportation, T2 denotes a cost of one transfer of LNG, and β denotes a count of transfers. The t0may be a future moment after the current moment. In some embodiments, the confidence level coefficient α is positively correlated with a predicted confidence level. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the preset algorithm is related to the predicted confidence level of the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment, which can further improve the accuracy of determining the gas filling cost data. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least one gas filling cost data comprehensively considers the LNG delivery cost and LNG storage cost, which can improve the accuracy of the gas filling cost data to a certain extent, thereby reducing an error in determining the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may determine gas filling cost data corresponding to different future moments respectively based on the at least one future moment included in the candidate delivery plan, and determine a sum of gas filling costs data at all future moments included in the candidate delivery plan as gas filling cost data of the candidate delivery plan. The target delivery plan refers to an optimal delivery plan among the at least one set of candidate delivery plans. For example, the target delivery plan may be a delivery plan with a lowest gas filling cost data among the at least one set of candidate delivery plans. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may select a delivery plan from the at least one set of candidate delivery plans as the target delivery plan. For example, the energy management platform may rank the at least one set of candidate delivery plans based on the at least one gas filling cost data, and determine the highest-ranked candidate delivery plan (with the smallest gas filling cost data) as the target delivery plan. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, determining LNG demand data at a future moment can predict LNG demand data in the future, further determine the delivery plan and replenish storage when LNG storage is insufficient, henceforth ensuring the normal use of LNG, reducing the cost of gas filling, and improving user's service experience. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may determine the at least one gas filling cost data of the at least one set of candidate delivery plans based on the preset algorithm; determine at least one optimal delivery plan based on the at least one gas filling cost data; and determine the target delivery plan based on the at least one optimal delivery plan and the reliable moment. The optimal delivery plan refers to a candidate delivery plan that satisfies a first preset condition among the at least one set of candidate delivery plans. The first preset condition refers to a condition that the gas filling cost data needs to satisfy. The first preset condition may be that the gas filling cost data is less than a preset value or within a preset range. The energy management platform may determine a candidate delivery plan whose gas filling cost data is less than the preset value or within the preset range as the optimal delivery plan among the at least one set of candidate delivery plans. The optimal delivery plan may include a volume of LNG delivered to the gas station at the at least one future moment and at different future moments. The reliable moment refers to a corresponding future time when the predicted confidence level of the LNG demand data satisfies a second preset condition. The second preset condition refers to that the predicted confidence level is greater than the confidence level threshold. For example, the reliable moment may be at least one future moment when the predicted confidence level of the LNG demand data satisfies the second preset condition. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may rank the at least one set of candidate delivery plans based on the at least one gas filling cost data, and determine top few candidate delivery plans with a relatively higher ranking (with relatively smaller gas filling cost data) as the optimal delivery plans. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may determine whether at least one future moment included in each plan of the at least one optimal delivery plan is a reliable moment. The energy management platform may determine an optimal delivery plan that contains a largest count of reliable moments as the target delivery plan. For more information about determining whether the at least one future moment is the reliable moment and the reliable moment, please refer to the related description of step420. The energy management platform may determine whether the at least one future moment is the reliable moment, and determine the target delivery plan based on a determination result. For more details about that the energy management platform may determine whether at least one future moment is the reliable moment, please refer to the related description of step420. The determination result refers to a result including whether at least one future moment in the optimal delivery plan is the reliable time and a count of reliable moments. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may determine the target delivery plan based on the determination result. For example, the energy management platform may determine the target delivery plan by considering gas filling cost data corresponding to the optimal delivery plan and a count of reliable moments included in the optimal delivery plan. The count of reliable moments refers to a count of the at least one future moment included in the optimal delivery plan that is the reliable moment. The energy management platform may determine whether the at least one future moment included in the optimal delivery plan is the reliable moment, and then further determine the count of reliable moments. For more details about determining whether the at least one future moment is the reliable moment, please refer to the relevant description of step420. For example, the energy management platform may determine an evaluation value of the gas filling cost data and an evaluation value of the count of reliable moments based on a second preset table, calculate a comprehensive evaluation value by weighting and determine an optimal delivery plan with a minimum comprehensive evaluation value as the target delivery plan. Determining the gas filling cost data corresponding to the optimal delivery plan is similar to determining the at least one gas filling cost data of the at least one set of candidate delivery plans, for more details, please refer to the relevant description in step440. The second preset table may include evaluation value corresponding to the gas filling cost data and evaluation value corresponding to the count of reliable moments respectively. The energy management platform may preset the second preset table in advance. Weights may be preset according to actual need. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, determining the at least one optimal delivery plan based on at least one gas filling cost data, and determining the target delivery plan based on the at least one optimal delivery plan and reliable moment can make the target delivery plan more suitable for actual need and cost requirement of a user. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the count of reliable moments is taken into account when determining the target delivery plan, which can improve the reliability and flexibility of the target delivery plan and avoid affecting the supply-demand balance of the gas station due to an error of the LNG demand data, causing a large fluctuation of the gas filling cost. FIG.5is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for determining LNG demand data at a future moment and a predicted confidence level of the LNG demand data through a prediction model according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, a prediction model500may include a feature extracting layer510and a predicting layer of LNG demand data520. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may determine a feature embedding vector513through the feature extracting layer510based on historical gas filling data511acquired at a current moment and/or historical gas filling data512acquired at at least one historical moment. The energy management platform may determine LNG demand data521at at least one future moment through the predicting layer520of LNG demand data based on the feature embedding vector513. In some embodiments, the feature extracting layer510may include a machine learning model. For example, the feature extracting layer510may be a model such as CNN or RNN. The feature embedding vector513refers to a vector generated after a format conversion of the historical gas filling data511acquired at the current moment and/or the historical gas filling data512acquired at the at least one historical moment. For example, the historical gas filling data511acquired at the current moment and/or the historical gas filling data512acquired at the at least one historical moment are converted into a data format that can be processed by an Internet of Things system for managing gas stations, and then the corresponding feature embedding vector513is generated based on the converted data format. In some embodiments, the predicting layer of LNG demand data520may include a machine learning model. For example, the predicting layer of LNG demand data520may be a model such as CNN or RNN. In some embodiments, the feature extracting layer510and the predicting layer of LNG demand data520may be obtained through a joint training. In some embodiments, each set of training samples of second training samples for the joint training may include historical gas filling data at a fourth sample historical moment and historical gas filling data acquired at at least one fifth sample historical moment. The at least one fifth sample historical moment is located before the fourth sample historical moment. Labels may include actual historical gas filling data at a sixth sample historical moment corresponding to each set of training samples. The sixth sample historical moment is located after the fourth sample historical moment and is a future moment relative to the fourth sample historical moment. In some embodiments, the second training sample may be obtained based on historical data. Labels of the second training samples may be obtained by automatic or manual labeling. The historical gas filling data at the fourth sample historical moment and the historical gas filling data acquired at the fifth sample historical moment are input to the feature extracting layer510to obtain the feature embedding vector513output by the feature extracting layer510; the feature embedding vector513output by the feature extracting layer510is determined as a training sample, and the training sample to the predicting layer of LNG demand data520is inputted to obtain LNG demand data at the sixth sample historical moment output by the predicting layer of LNG demand data520. Based on the labels and an output of the predicting layer of LNG demand data520, a loss function is constructed. At the same time, parameters of the feature extracting layer510and the predicting layer of LNG demand data520are updated, then a trained feature extracting layer510and a trained predicting layer of LNG demand data520are obtained through parameter updating. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, LNG demand data521at the at least one future moment is obtained by processing the historical gas filling data acquired at the current time and/or at the at least one historical time through the feature extracting layer510and the predicting layer of LNG demand data520, which is beneficial to solve the problem of difficulty in obtaining labels when training the feature extracting layer510alone. In addition, the feature extracting layer510and the predicting layer of LNG demand data520of the joint training can not only reduce a count of required samples but also improve the efficiency of the training. In some embodiments, the prediction model500may also include a confidence level determination layer530. In some embodiments, the energy management platform may determine predicted confidence level of the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment535through the confidence level determination layer530based on the feature embedding vector513, gas station distribution information531, environmental feature distribution information532, a preset acquiring time533, and a count of preset future moments534. In some embodiments, the confidence level determination layer530may include a machine learning model. For example, the confidence level determination layer530may be a model such as CNN or RNN. The gas station distribution information531refers to information related to distribution of a gas station. For example, the gas station distribution information531may include a location of the gas station and a density or count of gas stations within a certain area where the gas station locates. The environmental feature distribution information532refers to information related to distribution of environmental features of gas stations at different locations at different moments. For example, environmental feature distribution information includes environmental features (e.g., temperature, humidity) of a gas station at a location n at a moment tn, wherein n may be an integer greater than or equal to 1, indicating environmental features of the gas station at different locations and at different moments. The count of preset future moments534refers to a count of preset future moments that need to be predicted. For example, the count of preset future moments is five, and outputs of the confidence level determination layer530may include predicted confidence levels of LNG demand data at the five future moments. In some embodiments, an output of the feature extracting layer510may be an input of the confidence level determination layer530, and the feature extracting layer510and the confidence level determination layer may be obtained through a joint training. For a process of the joint training of the feature extracting layer510and the confidence level determination layer530, please refer to a process of the joint training of the feature extracting layer510and the predicting layer of LNG demand data520. In some embodiments, each set of training samples of third training samples for the joint training may include historical gas filling data at a seventh sample historical moment, historical gas filling data acquired at at least one eighth sample historical moment, and sample gas station distribution information, sample environmental feature distribution information, a sample preset acquiring time, and a count of sample preset future moments. Lables may include a sample actual confidence level of LNG demand data. The at least one eighth sample historical moment is located before the seventh sample historical moment. The sample actual confidence of the LNG demand data may correspond to a ninth sample historical moment of each set of training samples. In some embodiments, the third training samples may be obtained based on historical data. The ninth sample historical moment is located after the seventh sample historical moment and is a future moment relative to the seventh sample historical moment. Labels of the third training sample may be obtained by automatic or manual labeling. For example, when LNG demand data at the ninth sample historical moment corresponding to the seventh sample historical moment is more similar to actual LNG demand data, a corresponding sample actual confidence level is closer to 1, otherwise, a corresponding sample actual confidence level is closer to 0. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, by determining the predicted confidence level of the LNG demand data at the at least one future moment through the feature extracting layer510and the confidence level determination layer530, it is beneficial to lay a foundation for subsequently determining a target delivery plan and improving the accuracy of the delivery plan. In some embodiments, the feature extracting layer510and the confidence level determination layer530can solve the problem that it is difficult to obtain labels when the feature extracting layer510is trained alone. In addition, jointly training the feature extracting layer510and the confidence level determination layer530can not only reduce a count of required samples but also improve the efficiency of the training. The basic principles, main features, and advantages of the present disclosure have been shown and described above. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present disclosure is not limited by the above-mentioned embodiments. What is described in the above-mentioned embodiments and the description only illustrates the principle of the present disclosure. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, the present disclosure may also have possible variations and improvements, which fall within the scope of the claims of the present disclosure as well. The scope of the claims of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. | 57,675 |
11861553 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS As a preliminary matter, it will be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible of broad utility and application. Many methods, embodiments, and adaptations of the present invention other than those herein described as well as many variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the substance or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, while the present invention has been described herein in detail in relation to preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for the purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention. The following disclosure is not intended nor is to be construed to limit the present invention or otherwise exclude any such other embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, the present invention being limited only by the claims appended hereto and the equivalents thereof. A delivery locker, as disclosed herein, can be used by many different delivery companies and can be shared by many different recipients. A given delivery company establishes an account with a data-cloud-controlled locking system service provider. The data-cloud-controlled locking system service provider provides a protocol for unlocking an empty delivery locker. The protocol may include encryption credentials such as public/private keys, hash values, values used to create a hash of a unique shared value or values, and the like. The encryptions values and the shared value(s) may be stored in a subscriber identity module (“SIM”) profile, which profile may be stored in a card that may be removed from a device, such as a SIM card that may be removably installed in a UE device. The encryption and shared values may be stored s part of a SIM profile stored in a soft SIM or in an eSIM. A given locker door is usually locked. When a delivery company's delivery personnel arrives at a specific locker, the personnel unlocks the locker door using unique unlock information that is provided by the data-cloud-controlled locking system service provider. In an aspect, the delivery user may be a robot. The unique unlock information, which may include a code value, may be provided in an unlock information message to a UE in the possession of the delivery personnel via a wireless communication link such as cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and the like. The same unlock information, for example a code value, is provided to the specific locker also by a wireless system such as cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc. The unlock information message may include an identifier of the specific locker, which may be physically marked with unique identifier that are visible to delivery personnel, so that the delivery personnel can physically identify which locker to unlock if there are a plurality of locked lockers located adjacent one another. When the delivery personnel places a package to be delivered to a recipient in the locker and the door is lock, a disinfection system may begin a process of disinfecting contents of the locker. When the disinfection process begins a processor that controls the disinfection system may start a disinfection timer to determine when the package can be picked up by the recipient based on the type of packaging material used for the package and the type of disinfection mode that the disinfection system uses, which disinfection mode may be manually selected by the delivery personnel using an application running on the delivery person's UE, or the mode may be automatically selected, for example, based on a manually entered type of packaging material entered by the delivery personnel or based on an automatically sensed packaging type as the processor that controls the disinfection system may determine based on input signals received from one or more material type sensing sensors located in the housing, or container that defines the locker. Typically, the shared locker will already have electrical power to control the locking mechanism. The power may be provided via an alternating current connection, such as 110V household current. Or, the power may be provided to the locker via a DC power supply such as batteries or a separate DC power supply. When the new package has been placed in the locker and the disinfection system has begun the locker cannot be unlocked by the delivery persons or the package recipient. In an aspect, a master administration operation unlocking code may be used by a master administrator to unlock the locker in an emergency situation. If the locker is not empty or has not been unlocked by a pervious recipient the delivery company will be prohibited from using that specific locker and they will be given unlock information for a different specific delivery locker, or they will manually select a different specific delivery locker. It will be appreciated that delivery personnel may refer to a person employed by a delivery company that is delivering a package to the locker for pickup therefrom by an end-use/consumer who has ordered the contents of the package from a vendor who sent the package to the locker. Or, delivery personnel may refer to a consumer who has packaged an item to send to someone else, whether another individual or to a vendor, and who delivers the package to the locker for pickup by personnel employed by a delivery company, which employee in this scenario would be the recipient. Each delivery locker has a Data Cloud-controlled locking mechanism that can be open by the specific delivery company and the specific recipient for only a specific given-time. The delivery company will only be able to unlock the specific locker during a specified short time frame. This is a time-based security protocol. Each delivery locker contains a disinfection system to kill any contaminates on the package such as a virus. Either the delivery company or the recipient can select the delivery locker with the specified disinfection delivery system. There can be different pricing used for the different disinfection systems, that can be paid for by the delivery company, the recipient or both. The disinfection system can be light, chemical or nanotechnology based. There are multiple disinfection systems can be used either solely or in combination with other systems. They fall into three major categories; light-based, chemical-based or nanotechnology-based. They each work using different virus killing methodologies. The light-based systems typically use specific spectrums of light, often in the ultraviolet bands. These light band are known to kill various virus, typically in the time that a package may reside in delivery locker. The inner walls of the delivery locker will be made of such a material that they reflect these light bands very well, thus reaching all sides of the delivery package. This disinfection system only needs to have electrical power provided for the operation of the disinfection light. There can be a sensor in each locker to detect that light is on and the light level. This can be used as a part of the maintenance system to determine if the light should be replaced. If the light does not turn on, or the light level is low, the administrator will be notified by the wireless system to the Data Cloud. If the light fails to come on when the door is closed the delivery person will notified immediately and told to use another locker. The locker with the failed light will be taken off-line until the light situation is remedied and repaired. The chemical-based systems are the most traditional way of killing various bacteria and viruses. The chemical is dispensed with an aerosol system to coat the outer surfaces of the delivery package, thus killing the bacteria or viruses that reside on the package. The chemical-based system will need a delivery system for the chemicals. This can be done with one storage tank of chemicals for an entire set or subset of lockers. The chemicals will be distributed with a simple pump system from the storage tank to each of the lockers. Each locker will have its own electrical-powered aerosol pump mechanism to distribute the chemicals onto the package. Each locker can have vents on the door, much like an old-style school locker. This will allow for air circulation and better distribution of the aerosol chemicals. The locker can also have an electrical fan than can be timed to come on at the optimal time to best distribute chemical disinfecting chemical. If the locker system does not allow for vents on the front door, a fan powered exhaust system can be used to pull in outside air and exhaust chemical vapor as required. There will be a chemical flow rate and pressure sensor to measure the flow and pressure of the chemicals being distributed. If any of the flow or pressure parameter are out of specification, when the door is closed the delivery person will notified immediately and told to use another locker. The locker with the failed aerosol system will be taken off-line until the situation is remedied and repaired. The nanotechnology-based systems also use an aerosol system but using individual nanoparticle that attack individual viruses. Each individual nanoparticle can kill the virus through various methods, but as lacerating the virus. The nanotechnology-based system will need a delivery system for the nanotech substance. This can be done with one storage tank of the nanotechnology elements for an entire set or subset of lockers. The nanotech substance will be distributed with a simple pump system from the storage tank to each of the lockers. Each locker will have its own electrical-powered aerosol pump mechanism to distribute the nanotech substance onto the package. Each locker can have vents on the door, much like an old-style school locker. This will allow for air circulation and better distribution of the aerosol nanotech substance. The locker can also have an electrical fan than can be timed to come on at the optimal time to best distribute nanotech disinfecting substance. There will be a substance flow rate and pressure sensor to measure the flow and pressure of the nanotech substance being distributed. If any of the flow or pressure parameter are out of specification, when the door is closed the delivery person will notified immediately and told to use another locker. The locker with the failed aerosol system will be taken off-line until the situation is remedied and repaired. Each locker is sealed so that if a virus in placed in the locker, potentially from being on a package, the virus cannot jump to adjacent lockers. It will be killed by the disinfection system so that it cannot contaminate other lockers, other packages or other people. There can be a virus detection system in each locker. This detection system can use a machine-learning optical system that can detect known and new virus. This information can be sent to the Data Cloud to be used to continually update or improve the disinfection systems. The Data Cloud can also be used with the virus detection system to generate virus mapping statistics such as: virus origination by geography, distribution and deliver company, size of package, type of packing material, time of day of delivery and other pertinent data. Virus tracking system. As the sign-in from the delivery agent for the package delivery to the locker and the sign-in for the pickup of the package by the recipient, if the package is detected to have a virus, the virus contagion can be track backwards to the delivery company and their distribution system as well as forward to the recipient. During the disinfection process time the specific recipient gets a message with a specific unlock code that is only valid for a certain time window and is only available for a time after the disinfecting is complete. Once the disinfection process is complete, the recipient with the proper unlock code can unlock the delivery locker and remove the now disinfected package. Turning now to the figures,FIG.1illustrates a delivery locker2that may facilitate sharing an internal container for distributing delivery packages. Locker2is shown with a hinged, lockable door5. In the figure door4is shown with hinges5external to the compartment the door defined by the door and the housing of locker2; it will be appreciated that the hinges may be mounted internal to the compartment for security reasons. A locking mechanism of door4may be controlled, or locked/unlocked by entering a conde into keypad6. The locking code, or unlocking code, may be a one-time-use code or may be a code to be used for multiple lock or unlock instance. The keypad may include a computer device that may include a wireless communication device, such as a cellular phone module, or wireless data modem, for communicating with a server9, which may be a disinfection locker system service provider cloud server, coupled with data cloud8via wireless link10. Wireless link10may be a short-range wireless link that communicates according to a wireless protocol, examples of which include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and the like. Wireless link may be a long-range wireless link, such as, for example, a cellular wireless link for communicating with a cellular wireless network such as a 3G, 4G, 5G, xG, LTE, CDMA, GSM, and similar network. The computer device associated with keypad6may include electronics similar to a common cellular wireless mobile phone or other wireless device such as a tablet. For purposes of discussion herein, a user's mobile phone/device may be referred to as a user equipment device (“UE”) and the computer device associated with keypad6may be referred to herein generally as a wireless locking mechanism, although the circuitry and components (i.e., processor, memory, modem, GPS receiver module, etc.) may be similar. It will be appreciated that communication link10may be a wired communication link instead of a wireless link, such as an Ethernet communication link or similar. Door4may have an automatic opening or closing mechanism, such as a spring or a motorized plunger, such that a user's UE12in communication with keypad/computer device6via short range wireless link14(i.e., Bluetooth, or similar) can control hands-free opening and closing of the door. Turning now toFIG.2, the figure illustrates a flow diagram of a method200for facilitating the delivery of one or more packages via a lockable locker that is configured to perform a disinfection process on contents contained in the lockable locker. Method200starts at step205. At step210a delivery personnel user requests an unlock code from a package delivery management server system, which may be represented as server9inFIG.1. Continuing with discussion ofFIG.2, at step215the management server sends unlock information, which may include an unlock code, to a UE device of the delivery person and to the lockable locker. At step220the delivery user uses an application running on his or her UE device, or the user may use a keypad on the locker, to unlock the locker. A processor of the locker may receive unlock information, such as a code, from the user's UE device and compare it to the unlock information that it received after the server system transmitted the unlock information at step215. At step225the delivery user places the package in the lockable locker. Step230the user closes and locks adore of the lockable locker. At step235a light, or other indication, on the locker's exterior, or near the locker, may indicate a changed status of the contents of the locker. For example, the indication may be a light that illuminates with the contents have been placed in the locker and that the locker has been locked. The locker notifies that server of the changed status at step240. At step245the locker begins a disinfection process. The disinfection process may include the setting of a timer wherein the timer is set based on the type of package that has been placed inside the locker at step225. In addition, the type of disinfection may vary based on the type of package that has been placed in the lockable delivery locker. For example, if the exterior packaging material is carboard, the type of disinfection used may be ultraviolet (“UV”) light. If the exterior packaging material is plastic, a chemical disinfection process may be used instead, or in addition to, UV light/radiation. If the contents being delivered are food items that are being delivered for immediate consumption without further cooking or heating, heater elements or UV elements may be activated to direct heat toward the food container. Or, chemical disinfection, for example using ethylene oxide, may be performed by fogging the interior of the locker using fogging nozzles that direct chemicals into the interior of the locker. Sensors inside the locker container may detect the type of packaging, or contents thereof, and automatically select a type of disinfection process based on the type of packaging or contents. Or, as illustrated inFIG.1, a user's application, for example an application running on a smartphone, a personal computer, or a tablet, that is in communication with locker keypad6directly via wireless link14or may be indirectly in communication with keypad6via server9may be used to select a type of disinfection process to use. Or, based on detected packaging type or content type, server9may select a disinfection process type and send it to keypad6, which may be configured to receive input received from UE12, from server9, or keys of the keypad, and control disinfection apparatuses, such as nozzles or UV radiation emitters, during a disinfection process. Returning to discussion ofFIG.2, at step250the server notifies the user's, or users', UE device(s) that the disinfection process has begun. The users receiving such notification may include the delivery person who placed the package into the locker at step225and a recipient who will be retrieving the disinfected package from the locker. At step255a processor of the locker determines whether the timer has elapsed. If not, method200returns to step255. When the timer has counted down to zero/elapsed, method200advances to step260. At step260a processor of the locker notifies the server that package disinfection has completed. At step265the server or perhaps the locker itself notifies UE devices of users that the disinfection process has completed. Status change indication on the locker may be updated to indicate that the disinfection process has completed. For example, during the disinfection process a light may illuminate with a red color. When the process of disinfection has completed the status indication may change to indicate the disinfection process has completed (e.g., the light may change to green). At step270the server sends an unlock code only to a recipient of the package and to the locker. Unlike at step250, where both the delivery personnel user and a recipient user may be notified that the disinfection process has begun, only the recipient user receives the unlock code at step270. Thus, after the delivery person has placed a package in the locker at step225and locked the locker at step230, only the intended recipient of the package can unlock the locker at step275to retrieve the package using the unlock code sent from the server at step270. In an aspect, the recipient user must use the code within an expiration period or request a new code. At step280, sensors, which the locker may comprise, may sense the absence of the package that was previously contained in the locker at step280and send a locker empty message to the server at step285, indicating that the locker is ready to receive another package, perhaps intended to retrieval by the same user who retrieved the package at step275, or perhaps for a different intended recipient. A processor of the locker may update the status of the external indication (perhaps the light that is illuminated with a green color is changed to another color such as orange or is extinguished) to indicate that the locker is ready to receive another package. Method200ends at step290. Turning now toFIG.3, the figure illustrates a lockable locker2. Door4is shown in an open position and a backside of key pad6is shown. As discussed above in reference toFIG.1, keypad6may include computer circuitry that may further include a data modem for communication via data link10and data clout network8with server9. A package16is shown having been placed into a cavity of, or container defined by, locker2. A light delivery system18is shown with rays of light radiation20emanating from the light delivery system. Light sensor22detects when light radiation20is emitted from system18and may provide an input signal to electronic circuitry of keypad/computer/device6for processing. For example, an external indication on locker2may comprise an LED capable of emitting different colors and may emit a red color when sensors22detect that light radiation is present inside of locker2. It will be appreciated that radiation emitting system18may be configured to emit light in a visible spectrum, light in an ultraviolet spectrum, light in a subvisible spectrum, such as infrared, or heat. Radiation emitting system18may also be configured to emit ultrasonic sound waves that may effectuate disinfecting or sanitizing of the exterior of package18or contents contained therein. Turning now toFIG.4, the figure illustrates a flow diagram of a light power disinfection and detection system process400. Process400begins at step405. At step410a computer program running on a computer device of a disinfection locker begins the emitting of disinfecting light/radiation at step410. In an aspect, instead of running locally on a computer device of the disinfection locker, the computer program may be running on a remote server that provides instruction via a data communication link to a device that locally controls the locker and disinfection system thereof. The emitting of radiation that begins at step410may include the emission of light radiation from a light emitting system inside of a locker. The light emitted may be visible light, ultraviolet light, infrared light, or another type of radiation or wave that may facilitate disinfection of contents of the locker according to an instruction received either from a locker management server, a user equipment device of a delivery person or a recipient person located near the locker, or an input device of the locker, such as keypad6shown in figures described elsewhere herein. At step415the computer program determines whether light or other radiation is detected by a light/radiation sensor. If light or other radiation as the case may be is detected, process400advances to step420. At step420the computer program determines whether a light intensity level value as provided in a light intensity message signal by the light sensor at step415meets a predetermined light intensity level criteria. The predetermined light intensity criteria may be stored in the computer program, may be generated in response to a package size value as provided from a delivery user using his, or her, US device, may be provided from a package delivery/disinfection management server, or manually via an input using keypad6as shown in figures described elsewhere herein. If the light intensity detected by the light sensor inside the locker meets predetermined intensity criteria, process400advances to step425. At step425radiation emitting system that emits disinfecting radiation inside the locker continues to produce radiation to disinfect contents of the locker for a predetermined period that may be based upon the type of package and contents contained in the locker. Process400ends at step430. Returning to discussion of step415, if a light/radiation sensor that is configured to detect light/radiation inside of the disinfection locker does not detect the presence of light after the emission system should have begun emitting the light/radiation, process400advances to step435. Returning to discussion of step415, if a light/radiation sensor that is configured to detect light/radiation inside of the disinfection locker detects the presence of light after the emission system should have begun emitting the light/radiation, and advances to step420, but at step40the detected light intensity does not meet a predetermined intensity criteria, process400advances to step435. At step435a notification is sent to a delivery person or to a robot to remove the package from the locker that did not meet criteria and either step415or step420. The notification also indicates to delivery person or to the robot to use a different locker for storing and disinfecting the package and to use a different unlock code corresponding to the different locker. Step440a notification is sent to package delivery disinfection server of the need to repair the locker for which the light intensity did not meet predetermined criteria. Step445in new locker identification and unlock code is transmitted to the delivery persons UE device or two the robot. At step450an out of service message is transmitted to the defective locker. The added service message includes instruction for an indication outside of the locker2indicate that the locker is inoperable. For example. If the external indicator is a light capable of displaying different colors the instruction may instruct the light to display a red color. Process400advances to step430and ends. Turning now toFIG.5, the figure illustrates a lockable locker2. Door4is shown in an open position and a backside of keypad6is shown. As discussed above in reference toFIG.1, keypad6may include computer circuitry that may further include a data modem for communication via data link10and data clout network8with server9. A package16is shown having been placed into a cavity of, or container defined by, locker2. A chemical delivery system24is shown with multiple sprays of chemicals26emanating from the chemical disinfection dispersing nozzles28. It will be appreciated that chemical emitting nozzles28may be configured to disburse chemicals as liquid, as a gas, as a mist, or as a fog. In an aspect, different types of nozzles may be used to disburse the different forms of the dispersed chemicals. For example, a liquid nozzle may disperse liquid disinfection chemicals when a program running on device6server9, or a delivery person's UE, activates the liquid nozzles. The program may activate different types of nozzles based on the type of packaging used for package16, or based on the type of contents contained therein. The program may activate misting nozzles that are not the liquid, fogging, or gaseous nozzles based on the type of packaging or contents thereof. The program may activate fogging nozzles that are not the liquid, misting or gaseous nozzles based on the type of packaging or contents thereof. The program may activate gas-disbursing nozzles that are not the liquid, misting, or fogging nozzles based on the type of packaging or contents thereof. Chemical detection sensors25may be used in much the same way as light detecting sensors22to determine whether disinfection chemicals are being disbursed and whether the chemical is being disbursed at a predetermined rate or intensity to determine whether the chemical system24is functioning properly similar to how performance and operability is determined for light or UV intensity at steps415and420as described in reference toFIG.4. Turning now toFIG.6, the figure illustrates supply and drain components of a chemical-based disinfection system. Directions of flow through piping and components are shown in the figure. Chemical supply reservoir28contains a disinfection chemical. Supply pump30, which may include an automatic value that can isolate chemicals of supply tank28upon receiving a signal from a controller, such as a keypad computer system of disinfection delivery locker2, pumps chemical from tank28to chemical dispersion nozzles18. Disinfection chemical contact surfaces of package16and collect on the inside bottom of locker2, where the chemical drains through drain32. The bottom inside of locker2may be configured so that gravity directs or focusses liquid to drain32. As shown in the figure, drain pump34removes liquid from drain32and pumps it to used chemical reservoir36. It will be appreciated that locker2and drain components may be configured so that gravity causes chemical at drain32to flow to tank36. However, it will be appreciated that in an aspect tank36may be located at a higher elevation than drain32and thus pump34would be used to pump liquid at drain32to tank36. Similarly, on the supply side, tank28may be located at a higher elevation that nozzles18such that gravity causes chemical to flow from tank28to nozzles without pumping. However, to achieve a desired dispersion pattern and flow rate from nozzles18pump30may be used to increase pressure of chemical delivered to input port38of distribution and disbursing system24. Distribution system24may include pipes or tubes that direct chemical from port38to individual nozzles equally and at different rates to different nozzles. The flow rate to individual nozzles may be regulated by valves that correspond to each of nozzles18. In an aspect, the flow rate to a given one of nozzles18may be regulated by a vale corresponding to the nozzle based on a package size or shape value input manually by a delivery user using an application running on his, or her, UE device. Or, sensors placed within locker2may detect the size and shape of package18and a computer device of the locker, such as, for example, keypad6shown and discussed elsewhere herein, may send control signals to individual regulating valves to customize the disinfection chemical discharge/disburse pattern to minimize waste of chemical from tank28by minimizing discharge of the disinfection chemical from nozzles that will not impinge more than a predetermined amount on a given side, or surface, or feature, of package16based on size, shape, or placement of the packing with locker2. It will be appreciated that relative to nanotechnology disinfection material, the systems shown inFIGS.5and6may be used to disburse nanotechnology material into the inside of locker2when its door(s) is/are closed. Nanotechnology material may require different nozzles, or other disbursement means, or different storage tank and plumbing/tubing sizes due to differences in material viscosity or makeup. Furthermore, it will be appreciated the light/radiation disinfection process400described above in reference toFIG.4may apply to disinfection using chemical or nanotechnology material. Instead of light/radiation sensors detecting the emission of, and determining the intensity of, light/radiation from light delivery system18at steps415and420, respectively, disinfection chemical sensors may similarly detect the discharge of disinfection chemical or nanotechnology material at step415and determine the discharge rate thereof at step420. If the disinfection chemical or nanotechnology material is detected and the discharge rate meets predetermined criteria, the chemical or nanotechnology disinfection process continues and ends after a predetermined period elapses. Similar to the light disinfection process, if sensors do not detect the discharge of disinfection chemical or nanotechnology material, or if the discharge rate does not meet predetermined criteria, the notification subprocess beginning at step435begins and a delivery user is advised to remove the package and place in a different locker, for which a new unlock code will be provided to the delivery user. It will be appreciated that sensors may measure flow rate of disinfection chemical or nanotechnology material for individual nozzles. If a given underperforming nozzle has a lower than expected flow rate based on package size, shape and placement, but if the flow rate to another nozzle can be increased to compensate for the reduced flow rate to the underperforming nozzle, the steps beginning at step435may not be necessary for the specific package that is currently inside the locker and the disinfection process with the same chemical or nanotechnology may continue with an increased flow rate to other nozzles until complete at step430. Similarly, if a given underperforming nozzle has a lower than expected flow rate based on package size, shape and placement, but if the flow rate to another nozzle for a different type of disinfection can be used to compensate for the reduced flow rate to the underperforming nozzle, the steps beginning at step435may not be necessary for the specific package that is currently inside the locker and the disinfection process with chemical or nanotechnology may continue until complete at step430. For example, if a chemical fogging nozzle has a reduced flow rate but a nanotechnology material nozzle can supply enough material to the general area that would have been served by the underperforming chemical fogging nozzle, the nanotechnology system may supply nanotechnology material to only the nanotechnology nozzle being called into service to supply disinfection material in place of the underperforming chemical nozzle. Or, if a nanotechnology material nozzle is underperforming, but a light/radiation emitter can compensate for the underperforming nozzle, the light/radiation emitter may be used and the disinfection process may continue until process400ends. Or, when a light/radiation emitter is under performing based on light/radiation sensors detecting reduced emitter output, a chemical or nanotechnology nozzle may be pressed into service to compensate. It will be appreciated that an application running on server9, an application running on a delivery user's UE12, or a program running on a computer device6of the disinfection locker may determine whether a substitute form of disinfection may be used for an underperforming, or nonperforming, radiation emitter, chemical nozzle, or nanotechnology material nozzle and how much flow or radiation intensity to provide to the emitter or nozzle providing back-up disinfection for the underperforming or nonperforming emitter or nozzle. In addition, even though a determination is made that an alternate form of disinfection may be used for a given package size, shape, material, content, or placement within the locker, server9, or UE device12may be notified of the malfunction emitter or nozzle as described in connection with step440even though an instruction to remove the package and place it in another locker and a new unlock code is not generated and sent to a delivery user UE. Turning now toFIG.7, the figure illustrates a recipient user's hand40removing package16from locker2after an indicator on the outside or the locker, or after a notification has been sent to the recipient user's UE device, indicates that disinfection process400has completed successfully, that disinfection systems are off (i.e., light/radiation emitters are not emitting or nozzles are not disbursing chemical or nanotechnology material), and that package16has been disinfected. It will be appreciated that not only has an indication been generated that indicates to the recipient user that package16has been disinfected, but a new unlock code has been sent to the recipient user's UE device in the form of a code for display on the recipient user's UE or in the form of a voice message that communicates the code to the recipient user via the recipient user's UE device. The delivery user, or his or her UE device, does not receive an unlock code to unlock locker2after the disinfection process400has completed. Turning now toFIG.8, the figure illustrates a platform42for elevating a package16closer to flexible infection material delivery components44, that may be light/radiation/heat emitters or chemical or nanotechnology nozzles. Platform42may comprise a grid made from metal or a composite material that is resistant to the type of disinfection that may take place in a given locker2. Delivery components44may be placed on the end of a flexible adjustable arm, rod, bracket, screw, spring, or similar movable locating means45for moving component44farther from, or closer to, package16that may be located on platform42. The flexible locating means45may be covered by, and removably sealed to the interior of locker2by, a flexible material48, such as a rubber bellows, such that chemical or nanotechnology material may be delivered therethrough to respective components44. Components44(including components that are fixed and not placed on the end of adjustable locating means) may be placed within locker2on, or in, sidewalls, the top wall, and bottom wall of the locker. In an aspect, components44(including components that are fixed and not placed on the end of adjustable locating means) may be placed in the lockable door of locker2. In an aspect a given locker2may be configured to deliver some or all of the types of disinfection discussed herein, via radiation emitters and chemical nozzles of various types (fogger, mist, spray, liquid, gas, etc.) and nanotechnology material nozzles of various types (fogger, mist, spray, liquid, gas, etc.) In another aspect, a given locker2may be configured to only perform a single type of disinfection and the locker identifier and unlock code sent to a delivery user at step215as discussed herein may identify only the type of locker configured to disinfect a given type of package or package contents as may be automatically sensed, previously provided to server9from a shipping entity's server that initiates the delivery of the package, or as may be manually specified by a delivery user upon requesting unlock code at step210as discussed in reference toFIG.2above. Turning now toFIG.9, the figure illustrates standoff nozzles46used in a disinfection deliver locker2. The standoff nozzles may be used instead of, or in addition to, platform42described above in reference toFIG.8. The standoff nozzles shown inFIG.9are preferably conical shaped to minimize the surface area of package16that is blocked from disinfection light, radiation, chemicals, or nanotechnology materials. By placing a package within the locker cavity such that the package rests on tips of the conical nozzles surface area that is not subjected to light, chemical, or nanotechnology material is almost eliminated, and the nozzles are close to the surface of the package to maximize coverage of the light, chemical, or nanotechnology material on the package's surfaces, especially on the bottom surface which may come into contact with more hands and other surfaces that may be contaminated with pathogens as the package moves from the originating shipper to locker2. In addition to the cone shape that minimizes package surface area shielded from disinfection material, the cones themselves may comprise one or more orifices49, or nozzles49, that disperse chemical or nanotechnology material. Standoff nozzles46may be adjustable relative to the surface of locker2from which they project and may be sealed to walls of the locker with a flexible material48to facilitate delivery of disinfection chemicals or nanotechnology material to the standoff nozzles that are adjustable via adjustable locating means45as discussed above in reference to the locating means shown inFIG.8. Nozzles46are shown in the figure as fogger nozzles; the nozzles may be configured to disperse chemical or nanotechnology material as a spray, mist, jet, liquid, or other form based on packaging16material, package16location within the cavity, or contents of the package. | 39,792 |
11861554 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Example methods and systems for unit of use product inventory are described. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of example embodiments. It will be evident, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. Generally, the systems and methods lower the cost of labor because the unit of use products are placed on a movable surface area after being received by a pharmacy and later dispensed from the same surface area. The inventory is visible because the inventory is stored in a generally unordered state on the surface area, not in shelves or channels. The unordered state of the unit of use products generally reflects that the unit of use products are not arranged according to specific principles, procedures, precepts, or rules. Stated another way, there is generally no repeatable condition of logical or comprehensible arrangement among the unit of use product inventory. The systems and methods for unit of use product inventory do not rely on dedicated locations and preconfigured orientations. The systems and methods further provide a flexible pharmacy environment that is free from strict configurations and rigid inventory management, which can include defined, ordered storage area for respective type of inventory items. FIG.1is a block diagram of an example system100, according to an example embodiment. While the system100is generally described as being deployed in a high volume pharmacy, the automated filling system100may otherwise be deployed. The system100may include an order processing device102in communication with a network manager device106over a network104. The order processing device102may receive information about prescriptions being filled at a pharmacy in which the order processing device102is deployed. The order processing device102may track a prescription order as it is fulfilled. The order processing device102may make routing decisions and/or order consolidation decisions for a prescription order. The order processing device102may operate on its own or in combination with the network manager device106. Examples of the network104include Mobile Communications (GSM) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), an Internet Protocol (IP) network, a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) network, a WiFi network, or an IEEE 802.11 standards network, as well as various combinations thereof. Other conventional and/or later developed wired and wireless networks may also be used. The network manager device106is a device operated by an entity at least partially responsible for creation and/or management of the pharmacy benefit. While the network manager operating the network manager device106is typically a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), other entities may operate the network manager device106either on behalf of themselves, the PBM, or another entity. The network manager device106may include a processor, memory to store data and instructions, and a communication device. Some of the operations of the PBM that operates the network manager device106may include the following. A member of a pharmacy benefit plan administered by or through the PBM (or a person on behalf of the member) attempts to obtain a prescription drug at a retail pharmacy location where the member can obtain drugs in a physical store from a pharmacist or pharmacist technician, or in some instances through mail order drug delivery from a mail order pharmacy location. The member may also obtain a prescription drug directly or indirectly through the use of a machine, such as a kiosk, vending unit, mobile electronic device, or a different type of computing device. The member may have a co-pay for the prescription drug that reflects an amount of money that the member is responsible to pay the pharmacy for the prescription drug. The money paid by the member to the pharmacy may come from the personal funds of the member, a health savings account (HSA) of the member or the member's family, a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) of the member or the member's family, a flexible spending accounts (FSA) of the member or the member's family, or the like. An employer of the member may directly or indirectly fund or reimburse the member or an account of the member for the co-pay. The amount of the co-pay paid by the member may vary by the benefit plan of the client with the PBM. The member's co-pay may be based on a flat co-pay (e.g., $10), coinsurance (e.g., 10%), and/or a deductible (e.g., for first $500 of annual prescription drug spend) for certain prescription drugs, certain types of prescription drugs, and/or all prescription drugs. In certain instances, the member may not pay the co-pay or may only pay for a portion of a co-pay for a prescription drug. For example, if the usual and customary cost for a generic version of a prescription drug is $4, and the member's flat co-pay is $20 for the prescription drug, the member may only pay $4 to receive the prescription drug. In another example involving a worker's compensation claim, no co-pay may be due by the member for the prescription drug. In conjunction with receiving the co-pay (if any) from the member and dispensing the prescription drug to the member, the pharmacy submits a claim to the PBM for the prescription drug. The PBM may perform certain adjudication functions including verifying the eligibility of the member, reviewing the formulary of the member to determine appropriate co-pay, coinsurance, and deductible for the prescription drug, and performing a drug utilization review (DUR) on the member. The PBM then adjudicates the claim associated with the prescription drug and provides a response to the pharmacy following performance of the aforementioned functions. As part of the adjudication, the client (or the PBM on behalf of the client) ultimately reimburses the pharmacy for filling the prescription drug when the prescription drug was successfully adjudicated. The aforementioned adjudication functions generally occur before the co-pay is received and the prescription drug dispensed. However, the operations may occur simultaneously, substantially simultaneously, or in a different order. In addition, more or less adjudication functions may be performed as part of the adjudication process. Adjudication may be performed through the use of a machine, such as a computer system. The amount of reimbursement paid to the pharmacy by a plan sponsor and/or member may be based at least in part on the type of pharmacy network in which the pharmacy is included. Other factors may be used to determine the reimbursement amount in addition to the type of pharmacy network. The above methodologies may be implemented by executing instructions in the network manager device106. The system100may include a loading device108, a unit of use device110, an automated dispensing device112, a manual fulfillment device114, a review device116, a cap device118, an accumulation device120and/or a packing device122. The loading device108may load prescription containers by a robotic arm, pick and place mechanism, or the like. In one embodiment, the loading device108has robotic arms or pickers to grasp a prescription container and move it to and from a pallet. The pallet may be located on a conveyor assembly. The unit of use device110may temporarily store, monitor, label and/or dispense unit of use products. The automated dispensing device112includes one or more devices that dispense prescription drugs or pharmaceuticals into prescription containers in accordance with one or more prescription orders. Various automated dispensing systems are available commercially such as e.g., the system sold under the trademark OPTIFILL by AmerisourceBergen Corporation. The manual fulfillment device114provides for manually fulfilling prescriptions. In general, a manual fulfillment may include operations at least partially performed by a pharmacist or pharmacy technician. For example, a person may retrieve a supply of the prescribed drug, may make an observation, may count out a prescribed quantity of drugs and place them into a prescription container, or the like. Some portions of the manual fulfillment process may be automated by use of a machine. For example, counting of capsules, tablets, or pills may be at least partially automated (e.g., through use of a pill counter). In some embodiments, the automated fulfillment is integrated with the manual fulfillment operations. Certain automated fulfillment may be performed before manual fulfillment and vice versa. The automated fulfillment for a prescription may be paused to allow for the manual fulfillment to be completed. Once the devices receive an input that manual fulfillment is complete, then the automated fulfillment is released and fulfillment proceeds automatically. The review device116may process prescription containers to be reviewed by a pharmacist. Fulfilled prescriptions may be reviewed and/or verified by a pharmacist, as may be required by state or local law. In other embodiments, prescriptions are reviewed and/or verified for quality assurance. A pharmacist or other licensed person who may dispense certain drugs in compliance with local and/or other laws may operate the review device116and visually inspect a prescription container that has been filled with a prescription drug. The pharmacist may review, verify, and/or evaluate drug quantity, drug strength, and/or drug interaction concerns, or otherwise perform pharmacist services. The cap device118may be used to cap a prescription container. In some embodiments, the cap device118may provide a type of cap in accordance with a patient preference (e.g., a preference regarding child resistance), a client preference, prescriber preference, etc. The accumulation device120accumulates various prescription drugs in a prescription order. The accumulation device120may accumulate prescription containers from various areas of the high volume fulfillment center. For example, the accumulation device120may accumulate prescription containers from the unit of use device110, automated dispensing device112, the manual fulfillment device114, and the review device116. The packing device122packages a prescription order in preparation for shipping the order. The packing device122may box or bag the fulfilled prescription order for delivery. The packing device122may further place inserts into the box or bag. The packing device122may label the box or bag with the address and a recipient's name. The packing device122may sort the box or bag for mailing in an efficient manner (e.g., sort by delivery address). The packing device122may be used in conjunction with the unit of use device110, as described below. While the system100inFIG.1is shown to include single devices102,106-122multiple devices may be used. The devices102,106-122may be the same type of device or may be different device types. When multiple devices are present, the multiple devices may be of the same device type or may be a different device type. Moreover, system100shows a single network104; however, multiple networks can be used. The multiple networks may communicate in series with each other to link the devices102,106-122or in parallel to link the devices102,106-122. Multiple devices may share processing and/or memory resources. The devices102-122may be located in the same area or in different locations. For example, the devices102,106-122may be located in a building or set of adjoining buildings. The devices102,106-122may be interconnected (e.g. by conveyors), networked, or otherwise in contact with one another or integrated with one another. In some embodiments, at least some of the functionality of the order processing device102may be included in the network manager device106. In other embodiments, at least some of the functionality of the order processing device102may be included in the unit of use device110and vice versa. The order processing device102may be in a client-server relationship with the network manager device106, a peer-to-peer relationship with the network manager device106, or in a different type of relationship with the network manager device106. The order processing device102and/or the network manager device106may be in communication directly (e.g., through local storage) and/or through the network104(e.g., in a cloud configuration or software as a service) with a database124(e.g., as may be retained in memory or otherwise). The database124may store order data126, member data128and/or plan sponsor data130. The order data126may include data related to the order of one or more prescriptions, including the type (e.g. drug name and strength), and quantity of each prescription in the order. The order data126may also include data used for completion of the prescription, such as prescription materials. Prescription materials are a type of order materials that include an electronic copy of information regarding the prescription drug for inclusion with the fulfilled prescription. The prescription materials may include electronic information regarding drug interaction warnings, recommended usage, possible side effects, expiration date, date of prescribing, etc. The member data128includes information regarding the members associated with the benefit manager. Examples of the member data128include name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, prescription drug history, and the like. The member data128may include a client identifier that identifies the client associated with the member and/or a member identifier that identifies the member to the client. The member data128may include a member identifier that identifies the client associated with the patient and/or a patient identifier that identifies the patient to the client. The member data128may also include, by way of example, dispensation preferences such as type of label, type of cap, message preferences, language preferences, or the like. The member data128may be accessed by the devices102,106-122to obtain the necessary information for fulfilling the prescription and shipping the prescription drugs. The plan sponsor data130includes information regarding the clients of the benefit manager. Examples of the plan sponsor data130include company name, company address, contact name, contact telephone number, contact e-mail address, and the like. FIG.2illustrates the unit of use device110, according to an example embodiment. The unit of use device110may be used by a device operator to manage and dispense product inventory. The unit of use device110may be deployed in the system100, or may otherwise be used. The unit of use device110may include a product inventory component202and/or a control subsystem204. The product inventory component202enables the device operator to temporarily store, monitor, label, and/or dispense unit of use products. The control subsystem204enables a device operator to control the temporary storage, monitoring, labeling, and/or dispensing of unit of use products. FIGS.3and4illustrate a product inventory component202according to an example embodiment. The product inventory component202includes an inventory surface unit302, inventory identification unit(s)304, an inventory pick unit306, and a label unit308. The inventory surface unit302stores many different types of unit of use products that are unordered and varying in size and shape. The inventory identification unit304is disposed at the inventory surface unit302to acquire images of the unit of use products as the inventory surface unit302retains the products. The images are used to identify the type, location, and orientation of the unit of use products. The location may refer to the location of a specific one of the unit of use products on the inventory surface unit302. The orientation may refer to a specific orientation of one of the unit of use products on the inventory surface unit302relative to a defined coordinate system. The coordinate system may be relative to the inventory surface unit302, the center of rotation of a movable surface area310, or other relative coordinate systems. In an example embodiment, the location of any specific unit of use product may be defined by an angle from an axis of a set coordinate system centered at the center of rotation of a moveable surface area310of the inventory surface unit302and a radial distance from the center of this coordinate system, for example a vector. The location would further be defined by the height of the product determined by the orientation of the product. The orientation, in this example embodiment, may be defined by the angles relative to a coordinate system stationary with respect to moveable surface area310of the inventory surface unit302, containing for example angles defining the products orientation in three dimensional space. Using the identified type, location and orientation, the inventory pick unit306picks the desired unit of use product from the inventory surface unit302. The inventory pick unit306moves the picked unit of use product to the label unit308. The inventory pick unit306then presents the unit of use product to the label unit308for patient-specific labeling. The inventory surface unit302has a movable surface area310supporting the unit of use product inventory and an actuator312for moving the movable surface area310. The movable surface area310repeatedly passes the inventory by the inventory identification unit304and the inventory pick unit306. Thus, as product inventory changes, the inventory identification unit304updates the type, location and/or orientation of new or disturbed unit of use products during the repeated passes. A disturbed unit of use product can be a unit of use product that had its location and orientation change for various reasons. The location and orientation are determined by the inventory identification unit304and stored (e.g., in a computer readable memory). A unit of use product on the inventory surface unit302may be disturbed by operation of the inventory pick unit306or the addition of new unit of use product(s). In the embodiment illustrated inFIG.3, the inventory surface area310is circular shaped such that movement of the surface area310in a single direction repeatedly passes the inventory of unit of use products by the inventory identification unit304and the inventory pick unit306. However, other types of shapes and designs may also be used. The moveable surface area310can be an annulus, with an open center in which the label unit308may be positioned. At least a portion of the inventory pick unit306may be proximal the movable surface area310. Specifically, the inventory pick unit306may have a base positioned outside the outer perimeter of the moveable surface area310such that it can extend over the surface area310to contact a unit of use product. As is illustrated inFIG.3, the inventory pick unit306can be mounted above the inventory surface unit302so as to be proximal the movable surface area310, limiting conflict between the two devices while allowing inventory pick unit306to reach a larger section of the moveable surface area310. The inventory surface unit302may include, in some embodiments, an inner guard member314and an outer guard member316that extend upwardly from the surface area310along its inner and outer perimeter, respectively (e.g., at its small radius and its large radius respectively). The inventory surface unit302may accommodate thousands of unit of use products, for example, within the inner and outer guard members314,316at any time. The inner and outer guard members314,316contain the unit of use products within the surface area310of the inventory surface unit302. The inner and outer guard members314,316guard against unit of use products falling off the surface area310of the inventory surface unit302. The inventory identification unit304and/or the inventory pick unit306may move along a track section (not shown). This provides greater mobility so that the inventory identification unit304and/or the inventory pick unit306do not have to wait for unit of use products to pass within range on the movable surface area310. The label unit308can also be positioned on a track (not shown) to move in synchronicity with the inventory pick unit306. The inventory surface unit302further includes an encoder318that tracks movement of the surface area310. The encoder318typically engages the inventory surface unit302and measures distance that the unit of use products have moved. The encoder318may further operate to measure the rotational speed and position of the moveable surface area310of the inventory surface unit302. In some embodiments the encoder318may be below the surface area310. Moreover the encoder318may be positioned at a radial distance along the surface area310. An example of the encoder318may be a shaft or wheeled encoder, such as those sold by Photocraft, Inc., Elburn, IL. The inventory identification unit304is positioned at or above the inventory surface unit302to have a clear view of the unit of use products at the surface area310. The inventory identification unit304is configured to obtain images of the unit of use products on the surface area310. Using image analysis, performed on the image data obtained by the inventory identification unit304, the location and position angle for each visible unit of use product on the surface area310is determined. The inventory identification unit304provides two-dimensional image data about the unit of use products at the surface area310. However, in some embodiments, three-dimensional image data may also be analyzed. The type of unit of use product and its dimensions, center of gravity and weight, for example, are determined by reading a bar code on an exterior of the unit of use product with the inventory identification unit304. Reading the bar code identifies the unit of use product and the product's attributes are referenced in a table or database, for example. The bar code can be read using the inventory identification unit304and image analysis software to recognize and read bar codes. In some embodiments, the inventory identification unit304may include a bar code reader strategically located to capture the bar codes on the unit of use products. The inventory identification unit304still captures image data but coordinates the captured image data with the bar code scanned either at the same time or in the same location on the surface area310. In other embodiments, the bar code may not be present on the unit of use product or may not be visible from the location of the inventory identification unit304. In this instance, technology similar to facial recognition technology, in which images could be compared, may be used for identification of the unit of use product. Using this type of technology allows unit of use products to be added to inventory surface unit302without consideration of the bar code's orientation. The inventory pick unit306is configured to obtain the unit of use product from the surface area310. The inventory pick unit306includes a programmable picking apparatus320and a supplemental image camera322. The programmable picking apparatus320is configured to obtain the unit of use product via grasping, pushing, gripping, suction, or adhesive, for example. The programmable picking apparatus320may include a conventional industrial robot such as those available from KUKA Robotics, Corp., Clinton Township, MI Other examples of usable robots include the Quattro Parallel robot, the SCARA robot or the 6-axis robot, all from Adept Technology, Inc., Pleasanton, CA The programmable picking apparatus320includes movable arm(s)324with a picker326attached to one end of the movable arm(s)324. The picker326may include fingers for grasping, a suction device with vacuum suction cup(s), or an adhesive portion, for example. The inventory pick unit306is sized and positioned to obtain and then guide the unit of use product to the label unit308and release it at a separate location. Specifically, support members328support and secure the programmable picking apparatus320in a location to facilitate picking unit of use products on demand to fill open orders. The movable arm(s)324extends toward the label unit308after lifting the unit of use product from the surface area310. The picker326then guides the unit of use product to the label unit308and releases at a separate location, such as a location for preparing to ship (e.g. the packing device122). In other embodiments, the inventory pick unit306may release the unit of use product to the label unit308. Additional operations between lifting the unit of use product from the surface area310and guiding to the label unit308, such as a bar code scan, may be performed. In an example embodiment, the movable arm(s)324may include multiple arm units that move the pick device in at least one plane (e.g., forward and backward in both the X and Y directions). In another example embodiment, the movable arm(s)324move in three dimensions (e.g., forward and backward, in both the X and Y directions, and up and down in the Z direction). The supplemental image camera322of the inventory pick unit306is a camera device disposed at the programmable picking apparatus320. In some embodiments, the supplemental image camera322is connected to the movable arm(s)324or picker326of the programmable picking apparatus320. The supplemental image camera322is connected to the inventory identification unit304to communicate image data to verify a position of the unit of use product and confirm that the programmable picking apparatus320has obtained the unit of use product. In some embodiments, the inventory identification unit304may be located near or within a picking zone of the inventory pick unit306and the supplemental image camera322may not be used as part of the inventory pick unit306. The inventory identification unit304may be located in a position, for example, above the inventory surface unit302, such that the inventory identification unit304can image the entire inventory surface area310located on the inventory surface unit302. The location and orientation of each unit of use product is tracked in real time, and new unit of use products are tracked as they are deposited on the inventory surface unit302. The label unit308is disposed in proximity to the inventory pick unit306to receive the unit of use product picked from the inventory surface unit302. In the case where the inventory pick unit306moves on track section, the label unit308may be on a track section, e.g., adjacent the inner annular edge of the surface area310, and the label unit308can synchronously travel with the inventory pick unit306. The label unit308is a labeler that prints a patient-specific label and adheres the label to the unit of use product. In some embodiments, the label unit308receives the patient-specific label from another printer and applies the label to the unit of use product. In other embodiments, the inventory pick unit306and the label unit308may work conjunctively to adhere the patient-specific label. The patient-specific label includes patient information, drug name, dosage, instructions, name of pharmacy, prescription number, and other identifying indicia. The label unit308turns the unit of use product into a patient-specific unit of use product with the application of the label to the exterior—as is further explained below. The inventory pick unit306may move the unit of use product from the inventory surface unit302or the label unit308to the packing device122. In the embodiment ofFIG.3, the packing device122is adjacent the product inventory component202. The packing device122may have multiple pouches or bins330to receive unit of use products. The pouches330may be located on a conveyor332and moved to other devices112-120. In the embodiment ofFIG.3, the unit of use products delivered by the inventory pick unit306are packaged for shipping and placed in the pouches330. The label unit308is removed fromFIG.4to show that the packing may use a lower film dispenser334, a printer336, an upper film dispenser338and a heat sealer340. The lower film dispenser334provides a film which is formed into the pouch330. The unit of use product is set onto the film when dropped over the pouch330by the inventory pick unit306. The printer336prints addresses onto the film dispensed by the upper film dispenser338. The printed film is then laid over the top of the unit of use product and the lower film. The heat sealer340may seal the edges and cut excess film. The sealed unit of use products are then conveyed away in the pouches330. The lower film dispenser334, the printer336, the upper film dispenser338and the heat sealer340are removed fromFIG.3for clarity. FIG.5illustrates an example control subsystem204connected to the inventory surface unit302, the inventory identification unit304, the inventory pick unit306and the label unit308. The control subsystem204controls various functions of the inventory surface unit302, the inventory identification unit304, the inventory pick unit306and the label unit308. One or more modules are communicatively coupled and included in the control subsystem204. The modules of the control subsystem204that may be included are a data logic module502, an inventory coordination module504, an imaging module506, a map module508, a robotics module510, a communication module512and/or a product attributes module514. Other modules may also be included. In some embodiments, the modules of the control subsystem204may be distributed so that some of the modules are partially deployed in the order processing device102and/or some modules are partially deployed in the network manager device106. In one embodiment, the modules are deployed in memory and executed by a processor coupled to the memory. The functionality contained within the modules502-514may be combined into a lesser number of modules, further divided among a greater number of modules, or redistributed among existing modules. Other configurations including the functionality of the modules502-514may be used. The data logic module502processes incoming order information and prepares outgoing communications regarding the filled orders. The order for unit of use product is patient-specific. Picking the unit of use product can be considered a patient-specific pick in terms of data logic. However, physical creation of the patient-specific unit of use product does not occur until the label unit308applies the patient-specific label. The data logic module502is communicatively connected to the label unit308and provides patient-specific information about the order that is needed to print the label. The data logic module502can also monitor an order as it is filled. For example, if three unit of use products are needed to fill one order, the data logic module502may track the obtainment of each of the three unit of use products. Until all three unit of use products are picked from the inventory surface unit302, the data logic module502may communicate with the other modules, such as the inventory coordination module504, to ensure that the order is filled. Once all three unit of use products are picked from the inventory surface unit302, the data logic module502determines that the order is filled and addresses a next order to be filled. The inventory coordination module504may communicate with the data logic module502to obtain order information about the type of unit of use product needed to fill the patient-specific order. The inventory coordination module504stores inventory quantities of unit of use products present at the surface area310and updates the inventory quantities as unit of use products are added to or picked from the inventory surface unit302. Multiple orders may be placed in multiple queues and multiple orders from the queue may be processed simultaneously so that the inventory pick unit306can be optimized. That is, the inventory coordination module504, for example, can utilize information on the locations of unit of use products to determine which of the unit of use products are picked to fill multiple orders from the queues. The imaging module506can analyze image data received from the inventory identification unit304and provide the analysis to other modules502,504,508-514. Specifically, unit of use products on the inventory surface unit302may be identified by analyzing the image data from the inventory identification unit304. The imaging module506may identify the unit of use products by recognizing the exterior shape or exterior features of the unit of use products, including colors, shapes such as images on the package, or markings such as text, by recognition of interior properties through an x-ray or similar technology, or by reading a bar code on the exterior of the unit of use products, for example. Once identified, the type and quantity of available unit of use products are logged via the inventory coordination module504. The identification of the unit of use products also facilitates determining the location of the unit of use products at the surface area310with the aid of the map module508and the product attributes module514, as described below. The map module508can locate and store positions of the unit of use products as they lie at the surface area310. The map module508may communicate with the encoder318to determine velocity and location of the unit of use products. The map module508may communicate with the imaging module506to receive information about the unit of use products, such as orientation, bar code and/or dimensions and shape. Coordinates or location information for the unit of use products at the surface area310may be stored (e.g., in memory) until needed to fill an order received by the data logic module502. The location information resulting from the processing at the map module508is communicated to the robotics module510. Specifically, once the data logic module502coordinates with the inventory coordination module504about the type and number of unit of use products needed for an order, the robotics module510utilizes location information stored by the map module508to determine proper commands for the inventory pick unit306. The map module508can calculate and store coordinates understandable by the programmable picking apparatus320, including needed angles of orientation for the movable arm(s)324and picker326to grasp the unit of use product. An example of location information from the map module508is shown in Table 1 below. TABLE 1Vision SystemRobotMovePickLocationSurfaceCalculated MovementVelocityVelocity(1 YProduct UPCLWHXinY-Puls-sQ°VelocityO°XZVmsOffsetOffsetXYZ0 N)12345678910311310452,000326032114022−.201001005010123456789423345441,000126712464023−.10100100501 Rather than configuring dedicated inventory space with a rigid orientation of products, the map module508may identify the orientation and location of the unit of use products as they lie at the surface area310. Utilizing the orientation and location of the many types of unit of use products as they lie provides knowledge of the state of the inventory without elaborate monitoring systems to monitor depletion from shelves. The robotics module510may utilize the information from the map module508to generate commands for the operation of the programmable picking apparatus320. The commands may include commands to rotate the picker326or control an axis of the movable arm(s)324, for example. Use of information from the encoder318, the supplemental image camera322and/or the inventory identification unit304, for example, provides the coordinates needed to instruct the programmable picking apparatus320to pick the unit of use products from the surface area310in their unordered state. The communication module512may communicate information to the modules502-510,514, the inventory surface unit302, the inventory identification unit304, the inventory pick unit306, and the label unit308. In general, the communication module512manages wireless and wired telecommunications such as receipt and transmission of data and commands through, for example, an intranet or other electrical communication lines. The communication module512may manage communication with exterior networks. As an example, the communication module512can communicate with accounting and purchasing modules (not shown) to pay purchase orders and/or reorder more products as the inventory coordination module504signals a predetermined amount of depletion of unit of use products. The product attributes module514may store attributes of numerous types of unit of use products encountered by the system100. The product attributes include one or more of exterior dimensions, weight, center of gravity, product pick location (e.g product's center). The imaging module506, the map module508, and the robotics module510may call upon the product attributes module514to provide information integral for determining the location and process of picking the unit of use products. In some embodiments, when the imaging module506utilizes shape recognition, the attributes of the unit of use products from the product attributes module514are called upon for comparison. As the unit of use products pass by the inventory identification unit304, image data is obtained and analyzed by the imaging module506, with support from the map module508and the product attributes module514as described above, to identify the type, size and orientation of the unit of use products. The map module508logs the position of the unit of use products at the surface area310for the robotics module510to develop pick parameters for movements of the programmable picking apparatus320to pick the unit of use products. The unit of use products' location and corresponding pick parameters are stored at least until needed. In some embodiments, the pick parameters are subsequently sent to the programmable picking apparatus320. Once the data logic module502receives one or more orders for the unit of use product, the data logic module502collaborates with the inventory coordination module504to identify the unit of use products at the surface area310that meet the needs of the order. When the unit of use product passes within reach of the inventory pick unit306, the programmable picking apparatus320picks the unit of use product from the surface area310and releases it to the label unit308. The label unit308then labels the unit of use product with a patient-specific label. The data logic module502updates the order status and the inventory coordination module504updates its inventory quantities. Other updates may occur when unit of use products in the vicinity of a previous pick pass by the inventory identification unit304. Specifically, since the movable arm(s)324or picker326may disturb surrounding unit of use products, the inventory identification unit304refreshes the image data and analyzes the refreshed image data to update location and orientation information. FIG.6illustrates a product inventory component202that includes dual inventory surface units602a,602b. The inventory surface units602a,602bare disc shaped and overlap one another. The first inventory surface unit602ais disposed above the second inventory surface unit602b. Specifically, a point of an outer perimeter of the first inventory surface unit602amay be located at about a center of the second inventory surface unit602b. The centers of the inventory surface units602a,602bmay be located farther apart to provide more area that is accessible by the inventory pick unit306. A point of an outer perimeter of the second inventory surface unit602bmay be located at about a center of the first inventory surface unit602a. The inventory pick unit306is positioned above the inventory surface units602a,602bso as to have a portion proximal the inventory surface units602a,602bto pick unit of use products from both inventory surface units602a,602b. The inventory pick unit306delivers the unit of use product to the label unit308and then drops the unit of use product into the packing device122. FIG.7illustrates an embodiment of the product inventory component202with dual inventory surface units702a,702b. Upper surfaces of the inventory surface units702a,702blie in substantially the same plane. Pouches330are moved between the inventory surface units702a,702b. Dual inventory identification units704a,704bare placed on either side of the inventory pick unit306. The inventory pick unit306is positioned above the packing device122. The inventory pick unit306is positioned to pick unit of use products from both inventory surface units702a,702b. Dual label units708a,708bare provided on either side of the conveyor332. That is, the first label unit708ais positioned adjacent the first inventory surface unit702aand the second label unit708bis positioned adjacent the second inventory surface unit702b. The inventory pick unit306can reach and label the unit of use products with either label unit708a,708b. FIG.8illustrates a single, disc-shaped inventory surface unit802adjacent a packing device122that has bins830on a circular packaging disc832. The inventory surface unit802is divided into quadrants by dividers803. Quadrants may be utilized such that the inventory identification unit304takes an image of the quadrant and sends information to the control subsystem204. The inventory surface unit802rotates by quadrant, placing all known product location information in range of the inventory pick unit806. The circular packaging disc832spins to provide the inventory pick unit806with access to empty bins830. The spinning of the circular packaging disc832also allows ejection of the bins830at locations opposite from the inventory surface unit802. The inventory pick unit806is disposed adjacent the inventory surface unit802and the circular conveyor832so as to be able to reach both, as well as reach the label unit308. In this embodiment, the inventory pick unit806includes a six-axis robot. The inventory surface unit802may rotate in a direction opposite the circular conveyor's832direction of rotation. FIG.9illustrates multiple inventory surface units902a,902b,902c,902dthat are shaped as a polygon. In this embodiment, the inventory surface units902a,902b,902c,902dmay reverse direction of movement. The inventory surface units902a,902b,902c,902dare tiered one above the other. That is, the inventory surface unit902dextends toward the inventory pick unit906at a greater length than the inventory surface unit902c. The inventory surface unit902cextends at a greater length than the inventory surface unit902b. The inventory surface unit902bextends toward the inventory pick unit906at a greater length than the inventory surface unit902a. Thus, the inventory surface units902a,902b,902c,902dprovide a surface area, from which the inventory pick unit906may grasp a unit of use product. In the embodiment ofFIG.9, the inventory pick unit906includes a six-axis robot. The six-axis robot slides along an axis A shown going into the page. The six-axis robot may slide along the axis A via a bar, rail or the like that is attached to vertical supports (not shown). The inventory pick unit906includes a supplemental image camera922. The supplemental image camera922may be connected to the movable arm928or picker926of the six-axis robot. The broken lines inFIG.9show the movement and reach that is possible with the six-axis robot. FIG.10illustrates dual inventory surface units1002a,1002bthat are shaped as polygons. Upper surfaces of the inventory surface units1002a,1002blie in substantially the same plane. Pouches330are moved adjacent the inventory surface unit1002a. Dual inventory identification units1004a,1004bare placed above respective inventory surface units1002a,1002b. The inventory pick unit306is positioned above the inventory surface units1002a,1002b. The inventory pick unit306is positioned to pick unit of use products from both inventory surface units1002a,1002b, as well as reach the pouches330. FIG.11illustrates dual inventory surface units1102a,1102bthat are shaped as polygons. Upper surfaces of the inventory surface units1102a,1102blie in substantially the same plane. Pouches330are moved adjacent the inventory surface unit1102a. Dual inventory identification units1104a,1104bare placed above respective inventory surface units1102a,1102b. The inventory pick unit306is positioned above the inventory surface units1102a,1102bso that a portion of the inventory pick unit306is proximal to the inventory surface units1102a,1102b. The inventory pick unit306is positioned to pick unit of use products from both inventory surface units1102a,1102b, as well as reach the pouches330for dispensing. The inventory surface units1102a,1102binclude roundtables1103a,1103band movable surface areas1110a,1110b. Specifically, the roundtables1103a,1103bare rotatable and are disposed at ends of the movable surface areas1110a,1110b. The first roundtable1103areceives unit of use products from the second movable surface area1110band delivers unit of use products onto the first movable surface area1110a. The second roundtable1103breceives unit of use products from the first movable surface area1110aand delivers unit of use products onto the second movable surface area1110b. FIG.12illustrates a method1200for unit of use product inventory, according to an example embodiment. The method1200may be performed partially by the order processing device102, partially by the network manager device106and/or the unit of use device110, or may be otherwise performed. At block1202, a shipment of unit of use products is received. The unit of use products may be received directly from shipping. That is, the unit of use products are not staged or warehoused for a period of time before filling an order. Rather, the unit of use products move from shipping into the inventory surface unit302. At block1204, the unit of use products are stored in an unordered state. The storage is open-access storage for filling an order at anytime. At block1206, information regarding the unit of use products is acquired. The information may include type, orientation and location of the unit of use products. At block1208, an order for a unit of use product is received. At block1210, the unit of use product is picked based on the orientation and location. FIG.13shows a block diagram of a machine in the example form of a computer system1300within which a set of instructions may be executed causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methods, processes, operations, or methodologies discussed herein. The order processing device102, the network manager device106and/or the unit of use device110may include the functionality of the one or more computer systems1300. In an example embodiment, the machine operates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in server-client network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine may be a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a gaming device, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The example computer system1300includes a processor1302(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) a graphics processing unit (GPU) or both), a main memory1304and a static memory1306, which communicate with each other via a bus1308. The computer system1300further includes a video display unit1310(e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system1300also includes an alphanumeric input device1312(e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device1314(e.g., a mouse), a drive unit1316, a signal generation device1318(e.g., a speaker) and a network interface device1320. The drive unit1316includes a computer-readable medium1322on which is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software1324) embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. The software1324may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory1304and/or within the processor1302during execution thereof by the computer system1300, the main memory1304and the processor1302also constituting computer-readable media. The software1324may further be transmitted or received over a network1326via the network interface device1320. While the computer-readable medium1322is shown in an example embodiment to be a single medium, the term “computer-readable medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term “computer-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing or encoding a set of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the present invention. The term “computer-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical media, and magnetic media. In some embodiments, the computer-readable medium is a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The term “based on” or using, as used herein, reflects an open-ended term that can reflect others elements beyond those explicitly recited. Unless clearly and explicitly identified otherwise, the terms “member” and “device operator” are frequently used interchangeably herein. Certain systems, apparatus, applications or processes are described herein as including a number of modules. A module may be a unit of distinct functionality that may be presented in software, hardware, or combinations thereof. When the functionality of a module is performed in any part through software, the module includes a computer-readable medium. The modules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. The inventive subject matter may be represented in a variety of different embodiments of which there are many possible permutations. In an example embodiment, an inventory surface unit retains a plurality of products in an unordered state. An inventory identification unit acquires information for an orientation, and location of the plurality of products on the inventory surface unit. The inventory identification unit is disposed above the inventory surface unit. An inventory pick unit is adapted to pick a product among the plurality of products from the inventory surface unit based on the orientation and location acquired by the inventory identification unit. The inventory pick unit is disposed proximal the inventory surface unit, and the inventory pick unit is communicatively connected to the inventory identification unit. In an example embodiment, a shipment of products is received. The products are stored in an unordered state. Information for a type, orientation and location of the products is acquired. An order for a type of product is received. The type of product is picked based on the orientation and location. While the present disclosure in some embodiments refers to prescription drugs and pharmacy benefits, the present disclosure is not so limited. Other health care and non-health care organizations may utilize the methods and systems for various types of inventory. Thus, methods and systems for unit of use product inventory have been described. Although embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the embodiments of the invention. It should be appreciated that the methods and systems can be used with products other than unit of use products. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The methods described herein do not have to be executed in the order described, or in any particular order. Moreover, various activities described with respect to the methods identified herein can be executed in serial or parallel fashion. Although “End” blocks are shown in the flowcharts, the methods may be performed continuously. The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. § 1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter may lie in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment. | 53,994 |
11861555 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The features described herein may be embodied in different forms, and are not to be construed as being limited to the examples described herein. With respect to constituent elements used in the following description, suffixes “module” and “unit” are given or mingled with each other only in consideration of ease in the preparation of the specification, and do not have or serve as different meanings. In order to illustrate this application, a part that is not related to the description may be omitted, and the same or similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the specification. Regarding the reference numerals assigned to the elements in the drawings, it should be noted that the same elements will be designated by the same reference numerals, wherever possible, even though they are shown in different drawings. Also, in the description of embodiments, detailed description of well-known related structures or functions will be omitted when it is deemed that such description will cause ambiguous interpretation of the present disclosure. In addition, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), and the like may be used herein to describe components. Each of these terminologies is not used to define an essence, order or sequence of a corresponding component but used merely to distinguish the corresponding component from other component(s). It should be noted that if it is described in the specification that one component is “connected”, “coupled”, or “joined” to another component, a third component may be “connected”, “coupled”, and “joined” between the first and second components, although the first component may be directly connected, coupled or joined to the second component. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Further, in implementing the present disclosure, for convenience of explanation, components may be described by being subdivided; however, these components may be implemented in a device or a module, or a single component may be implemented by being divided into a plurality of devices or modules. FIG.1is a block diagram illustrating an inventory management apparatus100according to an example embodiment. The inventory management apparatus100may include a communication part or component110that receives location information indicating at least one space location among a plurality of space units and space information corresponding to the location information, and an operation part or component130that calculates a state change amount related to the at least one space location based on at least one of the location information, the space information, or information on or regarding a previous space state for each of the plurality of space units and updates the information on the previous space state for each of the plurality of space units with information on or regarding a current space state based on the state change amount. The communication part110may receive location information indicating a space location for each of the plurality of space units and space information corresponding to the location information. The space location for each of the plurality of space units may be a location determined based on a predetermined vertically-integrated space unit. For example, a space unit for each type may be in a relationship including another space unit. The communication part110may receive the location information and the space information in a case in which a state of the space is changed. As an example, the inventory management apparatus100may not receive the location information and the space information in a case in which a change in space state is absent. The change may occur due to, for example, a user's action (e.g., stock transfer, a change of an inventory quantity, a change of information on a specific loading space, etc.) that causes a direct change of the space state or a user's action (e.g., a change of an item size, a change of a common state value of a loading space) that causes an indirect change of the space state. The location information and the space information received by the communication part110may include information on a location of a space of which a state is changed and the state of the space. For example, even though the inventory management is performed on all spaces for each a plurality of units, the communication part110may receive information associated with the space of which the state is changed and transmit the information to the operation part130. The space information received by the communication part110may be associated with a smallest space unit (for example, a unit of a bin) among the plurality of space units. Also, the location information may be information represented by the corresponding space unit. In an example, the communication part110may be implemented as hardware that is a separate module distinguished from an operation part. In another example, the communication part110may be implemented as a separate program or a separate structure distinguished from the operation part130on program. In another example, the communication part110may be implemented as a program (e.g., a Kafka system) that transmits data to the operation part130based on a predetermined scheme. The operation part130may calculate a state change amount of a space for each space unit corresponding to the location information based on the location information and the space information acquired through the communication part110. Since the communication part110receives the location information and the space information when the state of the space is changed, the state change amount for each space unit may exist. The operation part130may further acquire information on a previous space state which is obtained before a state of a space is changed, thereby calculating a state change amount of the space for each space unit. The state change amount may indicate a difference value between a previous state and a current state instead of information indicating an absolute quantity of inventory or a space for each space unit. When a space state is changed, the inventory management apparatus100may update a current space state using a difference value thereof, thereby reducing a load in a calculation process and increasing a calculation speed. The operation part130may update a current space state for each a plurality of space units by newly updating information on the current space state based on a calculation result of the state change amount. For example, the operation part130may update a current space state for the entire space including a space of which a space state is changed, using a state change amount calculated based on space information and location information associated with the space having the changed space state The operation part130may control various components included in the inventory management apparatus100to perform various embodiments which are to be performed by the components of the inventory management apparatus100. The operation part130may include at least one of a RAM, a ROM, a CPU, a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a bus, which may be connected to one another. In order to acquire predetermined information, the communication part110may use wired communication technologies and may also use wireless communication technologies such as global system for mobile communication (GSM), code division multi access (CDMA), long term evolution (LTE), 5G, wireless LAN (WLAN), wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth™, radio frequency identification (RFID), infrared data association (IrDA) communication, ZigBee, near field communication (NFC), and the like, for example. The inventory management apparatus100may use various types of applications to perform a calculation and update process based on received information. For example, the inventory management apparatus100may use the Kafka system as a system for receiving predetermined information or use a spark streaming application to update a space state based on received information. The inventory management apparatus100may further include a first storage including at least one of a RAM, a ROM, a CPU, a GPU, or a bus. The first storage may use various storage schemes to store predetermined data based on a distributed data processing method (e.g., Hadoop distributed file system (HDFS), etc.) for processing a large quantity of data such as big data. FIG.2is a flowchart illustrating an inventory management method according to an example embodiment. In operation S210, the inventory management apparatus100may receive location information indicating at least one space location among a plurality of space units and space information corresponding to the location information. The communication part110may receive the location information and the space information. The location information and the space information may be received from a source external to the inventory management apparatus100or received from another component included in the inventory management apparatus100. When a space state is changed in a predetermined loading space, the communication part110may receive location information indicating a corresponding location and space information on or regarding the changed space state In operation S220, the inventory management apparatus100may calculate a state change amount for each of the plurality of space units based on the location information, the space information, and information on or regarding a previous space state for each of the plurality of space units. The operation part130may calculate a state change amount of a plurality of spaces using the location information and space information acquired through the communication part110and the information on the previous space state acquired additionally. The inventory management apparatus100may calculate a state change amount of a space having a change in state by acquiring and using the information on the previous space state which indicates a space state obtained before the location information and the space information are received in response to the state of the space being changed. The information on the previous space state may correspond to a cumulative state change amount calculated before a current point in time at which the space state is changed. Since the state change amount is calculated for a space having a change in space state, information on the state change amount may be generated for the space having the change in space state. For a state change amount of a space having no state change, a result value of zero may be output. In operation S230, the inventory management apparatus100may update a current space state for each of the plurality of space units based on the state change amount. The updating may be performed by updating the information on the previous space state based on the state change amount corresponding to the calculation result of operation S220. Even though the state change amount for the space having the change in state is calculated by the operation part130, a space state in an upper space unit related to the space having the change in state may also be updated due to correlations between hierarchical spaces. Data on the calculated state change amount may include at least one data. The current space state may be updated based on the at least one data. According to the present disclosure, since the state change amount (e.g., a difference value obtained due to the state change) is used, when updating the information on the current space state, a load of an operation may be significantly reduced even if data recorded on various tables of an RDB in association with usage statuses of numerous types, locations, or sizes of loading spaces are fetched at the time of the update. Through this, the information on the current space state may be quickly provided to the user. The information on the previous space state updated based on the state change amount may be stored to be fetched in response to a user's request. FIG.3is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical relationship of loadable spaces according to an example embodiment. Location information used in an inventory management apparatus100may be constructed to indicate spaces of a vertical hierarchical structure. For example, inventory locations for a plurality of space units may be organized into a center, a floor, a zone, an aisle, a bay, a shelf, and a bin. Referring toFIG.3, each center310may include at least one floor320, each floor320may include at least one zone330, each zone330may include at least one aisle340, each aisle340may include at least one bay350, each bay350may include at least one shelf360, and each shelf360may include at least one bin370. However, it should not be understood that a type of space unit indicated by location information in various embodiments of the present disclosure is limited to the aforementioned units. Instead, it should be understood that the location information is various types of information indicating locations of spaces divided into various space units having mutual inclusion relations. Therefore, characteristics of location information and space information are not to be construed as being limited to such inclusion relations or terminologies of the space units described above. For example, in terms of the plurality of space units, the shelf360and the bin370may be used as the same space unit. Thus, a minimum space unit of the plurality of space units may be referred to as the shelf360or the bin370. For brevity, the following description will be made based on a case in which the plurality of space units includes the center310, the floor320, the zone330, the aisle340, the bay350, the shelf360, and the bin370. The location information received by the communication part110may be information indicating a location of a space in which inventory is stowed for each of the plurality of space units. The space information may be information indicating a state of a space corresponding to the location information. The space information may include at least one of various information (e.g., a number of inventories for each space unit, a number of inventory types for each space unit, a total inventory volume for each space unit, a total loadable volume for each space unit, etc.) associated with a space of a location for each space unit. A scheme for constructing the space information may be implemented in various ways within a range that can be easily configured by those skilled in the art. FIGS.4A through4Fare diagrams illustrating a process for determining space information for each loading space by calculating a change amount of the corresponding loading space for inventory management according to an example embodiment. InFIGS.4A through4F, location information denoted by Z, S, and b are understood as initials indicating a zone, a shelf, and a bin. However, such relationship of the location information is an example for explaining that the location information indicates a hierarchical space and thus, is not to be as being limited thereto. Referring toFIG.4A, an inventory management apparatus100may acquire information401(e.g., location information and space information) associated with a space of which a state is changed. The location information and space information received through the communication part110may include information on the space of a location in which the state is changed. The location information may be expressed in various forms representing a location of each space. For example, location information indicating a space in units of zone may be expressed as Z1, Z2, . . . , Zn. Location information indicating a space in units of shelf included in a zone Z1 may be expressed as Z1S1, Z1S2, . . . , Z1Sn. Location information indicating a space in units of bin included in a shelf S1 of the zone Z1 may be expressed as Z1S1b1, Z1S1b2, . . . , Z1S1bn. Hereinafter, for brevity of description, location information will be expressed as described in the foregoing examples, and is not to be taken as being limited thereto. Referring toFIG.4A, location information and space information of a current point in time (e.g., a point in time t) may include “120” that is information on a space positioned at Z1S1b2 and “240” that is information on a space positioned at Z1S2b3. When the location information and the space information are received, the inventory management apparatus100may calculate a state change amount of a space for each a plurality of space units using information403on a previous space state (e.g., information on a space in which inventory is to be loaded at a point in time t−1). The information403on the previous space state may include information associated with a space for each of the plurality of space units. Thus, the operation part130may update information associated with a space of which a state is changed by updating the information on the previous space state based on location information and space information corresponding to the space having the change in state. Referring toFIG.4A, space information corresponding to locations Z1S1b2 and Z1S2b3 at the point in time t may be different from space information corresponding to the locations Z1S1b2 and Z1S2b3 at the point in time t−1. Based on such difference, a state change amount405may be determined. The operation part130may determine a state change amount (e.g., dZ1S1b2(t)) corresponding to the location Z1S1b2 to be “−30” based on “120” that is the space information corresponding to the location Z1S1b2 at the point in time t and “150” that is the space information corresponding to the location Z1S1b2 at the point in time t−1. Also, the operation part130may determine a state change amount (e.g., dZ1S1b3(t)) corresponding to the location Z1S1b3 to be “−10” based on “240” that is the space information corresponding to the location Z1S1b3 at the point in time t and “250” that is the space information corresponding to the location Z1S1b3 at the point in time t−1. When space information associated with a space of which a state is changed is updated, space information on or regarding an upper space including the space having the change may also be updated. Referring toFIG.4A, the operation part130may determine state change amounts (e.g., dZ1(t) and dS1(t)) of locations of S1 and Z1 which is an upper space including locations b2 and b3 based on dZ1S1b2(t) and dZ1S1b3(t). For example, dZ1S1(t) may correspond to a result obtained through a summation of state change amounts (e.g., dZ1S1b1(t), dZ1S1b2(t), . . . , dZ1S1bn(t)) of one or more bins included in the location S1. Also, dZ1(t) may correspond to a result obtained through a summation of state change amounts (e.g., dZ1S1(t), dZ1S2(t), . . . , dZ1Sn(t)) of one or more shelves included in the location Z1. Referring toFIG.4A, due to state changes of spaces corresponding to the locations Z1S1b2 and Z1S1b3, the state change amounts dZ1(t) and dZ1S1(t) of spaces corresponding to the locations Z1 and S1 including Z1S1b2 and Z1S1b3 may be determined to be “−40” and “−40”, respectively. FIG.4Bis a diagram illustrating a process of updating information417on a current space state based on information411on a previous space state and information413including space information and location information. Referring toFIG.4B, the inventory management apparatus100may update information417on a current space state based on the information411on the previous space state and a state change amount415related to a space of which a state is changed. The inventory management apparatus100may calculate the state change amount415related to the space having the change in state based on the information411on the previous space state and the location information and the space information included in the information413received through the communication part110. The state change amount415corresponding to a calculation result may be calculated for the space having the change in state. Among information included in the previous space state, a process of verifying a space state corresponding to each location for performing an update process may be omitted for a space having no state change. Thus, the operation part130may perform the update process for the space having the change in state among the information included in the previous space state based on the state change amount415. Referring toFIG.4B, “120” and “240” which are the space information corresponding to the locations Z1S1b2 and Z1S1b3 of the state-changed space may be compared to “150” and “250” which are the space information corresponding the locations Z1S1b2 and Z1S1b3 included in the information411on the previous space state. Through such comparison, the operation part130may calculate the state change amounts dZ1S1b2(t) and dZ1S1b3(t) corresponding to the locations Z1S1b2 and Z1S1b3 of the state-changed space to be “−30” and “−10.” Also, using dZ1S1b2(t) and dZ1S1b3(t), the operation part130may calculate the state change amount dZ1S1(t) related to a calculable upper space, that is, S1 and Z1 to be “−40” (=−30−10). Likewise, the operation part130may calculate dZ1(t) to be “−40.” Based on the calculation results of dZ1S1b2(t), dZ1S1b3(t), dZ1S1(t), and dZ1(t), the operation part130may perform a process of updating a previous space state with a current space state by updating with information associated with the space corresponding to the locations Z1S1b2, Z1S1b3, Z1S1m and Z1 on the information411on the previous space state. Referring toFIG.4B, the information associated with the space corresponding to the locations Z1, Z1S1, Z1S1b2, and Z1S1b3 may be updated from “700”, “400”, “150” and “250” of the point in time t−1 to “660” (=700−40), “360” (=400−40), “120” (=150−30), and “240” (=250−10) of the point in time t. A calculation and update process may be omitted for information corresponding to remaining locations (for example, Z2, Z1S2, Z1S1b2, etc.), so that a load of an operation may be reduced. FIG.4Cis a diagram illustrating a process of updating a current space state using information on or regarding a plurality of state change amounts calculated by receiving a plurality of pieces of location information and space information. The inventory management apparatus100may update a current space state using a plurality of pieces of state change amount information424and427. Since a task for inventory management is performed by a plurality of operators at a plurality of venues, location information and space information received in response to the space state being changed through an inventory managing task may be received individually. Referring toFIG.4C, the communication part110may receive a plurality of pieces of location information and space information423and426associated with a space of which a state is changed. The operation part130may calculate the plurality of pieces of state change amount information424and427corresponding to the plurality of pieces of location information and space information423and426based on the received plurality of pieces of location information and space information423and426and information421on a previous space state. For example, since the space information corresponding to the location Z1S1b2 at the point in time t is “120” and the space information corresponding to the same position at the point in time t−1 is “150”, the state change amount dZ1S1b2(t) corresponding to the location Z1S1b2 may be calculated to be “−30.” Also, since the space information corresponding to the location Z1S2b1 at the point in time t is “100” and the space information corresponding to the same location at the point in time t−1 is “80”, the state change amount dZ1S2b1(t) corresponding to the location Z1S2b1 may be calculated to be “20.” The operation part130may update information429on the current space state based on the state change amount dZ1S1b2(t) corresponding to the location Z1S1b2 at the point in time t and the state change amount dZ1S2b1(t) corresponding to the location Z1S2b1 at the point in time t. As an example, when data about the state change amount is provided in plural, the operation part130may update the information429on the current space state by adding the information421on the previous space state and a summation result of information on respective state change amounts. As another example, when data about the state change amount is provided in plural, the operation part130may perform an update process using, as the information429on the current space state, a result obtained by sequentially reflecting information on respective state change amounts to the information421on the previous space state. A process in which the operation part130calculates a state change amount based on location information, space information, and information on a previous space state and updates a current space state may be performed through various embodiments as described above. FIG.4Dillustrates a process of updating current state information when a state of the same space is changed. A plurality of pieces of location information and space information is received while inventory management is conducted for a same space (for example, a space corresponding to the location Z1S1b2) a number of times. Through this, a plurality of pieces of state change amount information433and437may be calculated. Referring toFIG.4D, based on information431on a previous space state (e.g., a space state at a point in time t−1), space information associated with a space (e.g., a space corresponding to the location Z1S1b2) of which a state is changed at a point in time t may be changed. In this case, the state change amount information433on a state change amount including dZ1S1b2(t) may be calculated. By using the calculated state change amount information433, the state change amount information435on a space state of the point in time t may be updated. Also, based on information435on a space state of the point in time t, a state of the same space may be changed at a point in time t+1. In this case, the state change amount information437on a state change amount including dZ1S1b2(t) may be calculated. By using the calculated state change amount information437, information439on the space state of the point in time t+1 may be updated. The communication part110may receive data including location information and space information at least once for a predetermined period of time. The operation part130may calculate at least one state change amount using the location information and the space information received for the predetermined period of time. Referring toFIG.4D, the predetermined period of time may be a period of time including the point in time t−1 through the point in time t+1. When a plurality of data including the location information and the space information is received for the period of time, the operation part130may update the information439on a recent space state using final state change amount information corresponding to a result obtained by combining information (e.g., the information433and437) on respective state change amounts calculated based on the received data. As a result of combining the information433and437on the respective state change amounts, when state change amounts of all spaces are determined as zero, the operation part130may omit a process of updating space states. For example, zero may be obtained through an addition of dZ1S1b2(t) and dZ1S1b2(t+1). In this example, since the information439on the space state of the point in time t+1 is updated based on a result of the addition, the information439may be the same as the information431on the space state of the point in time t−1. As such, when the state change amount is determined as zero, an update of the space state may not be required. Thus, even if the location information and the space information is received for a period of time including the point in time t−1 and the point in time t+1, a process of updating the space state of the point in time t+1 may be omitted so that a load of the inventory management apparatus100for space state update is reduced. FIG.4Eis a diagram illustrating a method of performing inventory management based on space information including a variety of information. Space information used by the inventory management apparatus100may include at least one of a number of inventories, a number of inventory types, a total inventory volume, or a total loadable volume regarding a space corresponding to the location information. Referring toFIG.4E, space information corresponding to each location may be expressed based on the number of inventories, the number of inventory types, and/or the total inventory volume, for example. Even though various information included as space information is expressed in an integrated form as described above, it is not necessarily interpreted as being included in one data. For example, the information may be received as individual data distinguished from each other so as to be combined by the operation part130. The following description will be made under a premise that various information included in space information is expressed in a form of the number of inventories, the number of inventory types, and/or the total inventory volume. Referring toFIG.4E, the inventory management apparatus100may update information447on a current space state using information441on a previous space state and a state change amount445related to a space of which a state is changed. The inventory management apparatus100may calculate the state change amount445related to the space having the change in state based on location information and space information included in information443received through the communication part110and the information441on the previous space state. The location information and the space information in the received information443may indicate a location and a state of the space having the change in state. The state change amount445corresponding to a calculation result may be calculated for the space having the change in state. A process of verifying a space state corresponding to each location to perform an update may be omitted for a space of which a state is not changed, among pieces of information included in a previous space state. Thus, the operation part130may perform an update process using the state change amount445for the space having the change in state among the pieces of information included in the previous space state. Referring toFIG.4E, 8/5/80, 3/2/120, and 4/1/90 which are space information corresponding to the locations Z1S1b1, Z1S1b2, and Z1S2b3 of the space having the change in state may be compared to 10/5/100, 5/3/150, and 5/2/120 which are space information corresponding to the locations Z1S1b1, Z1S1b2, and Z1S2b3 on the information441on the previous space state. Through such comparison, the operation part130may calculate dZ1S1b1(t), dZ1S1b2(t), and dZ1S2b3(t) which are state change amounts corresponding to the locations Z1S1b1, Z1S1b2, and Z1S2b3 of the space having the change in state, to be −2/0−20, −2/−1/−30, and −1/−1−30, respectively. Also, by using dZ1S1b1(t), dZ1S1b2(t), and dZ1S2b3(t), the operation part130may calculate state change amounts dZ1S1(t), dZ1S2(t), and dZ1(t) related to calculable upper spaces S1 and Z1 to be −4/−1/−50, −1/0/−30, and −5/−1/−80, respectively. The operation part130may perform a process of updating the previous space state with the current space state by updating information associated with a space corresponding to the locations Z1S1b1, Z1S1b2, Z1S2b3, Z1S1, Z1S2, and Z1 on the information441on the previous space state based on dZ1S1b1(t), dZ1S1b2(t), dZ1S2b3(t), dZ1S1(t)m, and dZ1(t) which are calculation results. Referring toFIG.4E, information associated with a space corresponding to the locations Z1, Z1S1, Z1S2, Z1S1b1, Z1S1b2, and Z1S2b3 may be updated from 26/11/700, 16/9/400, 10/5/100, 5/3/150, and 5/2/120 of the point in time t−1 to 21/10/620, 12/8/400, 8/5/80, 3/2/120, and 4/1/90 of the point in time t. A calculation and update process may be omitted for information corresponding to remaining locations (for example, Z2, Z1S2, Z1S1b2, etc.), so that a load of an operation is reduced. An update of information on a space state of the point in time t may be performed using a state change amount and information on a space state of the point in time t−1 associated with each of various types of information included in the space information through various embodiments as described above and thus, redundant description will be omitted. FIG.4Fis a diagram illustrating a process of updating a space state based on a user's action that causes an indirect change of the space state. In addition to a direct change corresponding to a case in which an individual item is managed directly by an operation part like a task such as a movement, removal, and addition of existing stock, a change of the space state may include a case in which the space state is changed due to a collective size modification of a specific item among stowed items, a collective correction of a common state value (e.g., a size, location, and unit of a designed space) of a space for loading the items, an addition of a new loading space, and the like. The inventory management apparatus100may accumulate information on a state change amount satisfying a preset space state change condition for a predetermined period of time. When the predetermined period of time elapses, the inventory management apparatus100may update information on a current space state using the accumulated information on the state change amount. When determining the information on the state change amount to be accumulated for the predetermined period of time, the inventory management apparatus100may further receive additional information along with the location information and the space information, thereby calculating the information on the state change amount to be accumulated. When the additional information is not received and a data quantity of the location information and the space information exceeds a predetermined threshold data quantity, the inventory management apparatus100may determine the information on the state change amount to be accumulated for the predetermined period of time, to be the location information and space information to be used for calculation. The foregoing example is discussed as an example for explaining a part of a method for determining whether to accumulate the location information and the space information and thus, a method of determining the location information and space information used for calculating a state change amount to be accumulated is not limited thereto. The inventory management apparatus100may further include a first storage to accumulate the information on the state change amount or may store the information in an external device or an external server. Referring toFIG.4F, the inventory management apparatus100may receive a plurality of pieces of location information and space information for a predetermined time after the point in time t−1, which is determined as information to be used for calculating the information on the state change amount to be accumulated for the predetermined period of time. When collectively modifying a volume of a specific item among items stowed at the point in time t−1, the inventory management apparatus100may modify a total inventory volume in a space in which the corresponding item is stowed in proportion to a quantity of each of the items. To collectively modify the total inventory volume, the inventory management apparatus100may receive location information and space information associated with the space in which the corresponding item is stowed. Also, the inventory management apparatus100may calculate information453on a first state change amount using the received location information and space information. The first state change amount may correspond to a change amount of a total inventory volume in each space, which is determined based on the collective modification of an item volume. When a volume of a loading space is collectively modified at the point in time t−1, volumes of all spaces to be indicated by each location information may also be modified collectively. For such modification of the space volumes, the inventory management apparatus100may receive location information and space information associated with the loading space and calculate information455on a second state change amount using the received location information and space information. The second state change amount may correspond to a change amount of a space volume for each space. The inventory management apparatus100may accumulate information453and455on at least one state change amount determined by receiving at least one location information and at least one space information, and use all the accumulated information453and455for updating the space state when the predetermined period of time elapses. To accumulate the state change amount for the predetermined period of time, the operation part130may combine the information453on the first state change amount and the information455on the second state change amount after the calculation. For example, −20/100 may be obtained as an integrated state change amount by combining −20/0 and 0/100 which are respective state change amounts for the space of the location Z1S1b1. The operation part130may combine state change amounts for respective spaces and update information457on a current space state based on the information451on the previous space state. A load of the inventory management apparatus100may be reduced by collectively modifying inventory management information of a space in which such inventory management is performed, after the predetermined period of time. For example, the predetermined period of time may be set as an early morning time in which direct inventory management is rarely conducted. In this example, the inventory management apparatus100may update the current space state in the early morning time based on the state change amount accumulated during operation time. FIG.5is a flowchart illustrating an example implemented based on an inventory management method according to an example embodiment. An inventory management apparatus100may include a communication part or component510and an operation part or component530. In operation S500, an external device500may determine that a space state of a predetermined location in which an item is stowed is changed due to an action of a user. In operation S520, the external device500may transmit space information and location information corresponding to the change in space state to the communication part510. In operation S530, the communication part510may receive the space information and the location information corresponding to the change in space state from the external device500. The location information may indicate at least one space location among a plurality of space units. The space information may correspond to the location information indicating the space of which the state is changed. In operation S510, a first storage520may store information on or regarding a previous space state for each of the plurality of space units. A point in time at which the information on the previous space state is stored may be a predetermined point in time before the space state is changed in operation S500. As an example, the first storage520may be implemented as a separate server that is not included in the inventory management apparatus100. As another example, the first storage520may be implemented in a form of a recording medium included in the inventory management apparatus100. In operation S540, the communication part510having received the location information and the space information may transfer the location information and the space information to the operation part530. In operation S542, the operation part530may acquire the information on or regarding the previous space state in addition to the location information and the space information. In operation S550, the operation part530may calculate a state change amount of a space for each of the plurality of space units based on at least one of the location information, the space information, or the information on or regarding the previous space state for each of the plurality of space units. The operation part530may update the information on the previous space state with a current space state for each of the plurality of space units based on the calculated state change amount. Since a process in which the inventory management apparatus100calculates the state change amount and updates the information with the current space state for each of the plurality of space units based on the calculated state change amount has been described based on various examples, redundant description will be omitted. In operation S570, the current space state updated by the operation part530may be transmitted to a second storage540. As an example, the second storage540may be implemented as a separate server that is not included in the inventory management apparatus100. As another example, the second storage540may be implemented in a form of a recording medium included in the inventory management apparatus100. When the second storage540is not included in the inventory management apparatus100, information on the current space state may be transmitted to the second storage540through the communication part510based on a wired or wireless communication scheme. When the second storage540is included in the inventory management apparatus100, the information on the current space state may be transmitted to the second storage540based on various data transmission schemes using a bus, for example. In operation S580, the second storage540may store the received information on the current space state for each of the plurality of space units. The second storage540may include at least one of a RAM, a ROM, a CPU, a GPU, or a bus. The second storage540may use various storage schemes to store predetermined data based on a distributed data processing method (e.g., HDFS, Cassandra, etc.) for processing a large quantity of data such as big data. In operation S590, a user may query information on a predetermined inventory space through the external device500. To provide the user with the information for which the query is requested, in operation S592, the external device500may request a current space state from the second storage540in which the current space state is stored. In response to the request, the second storage540may transmit the current space state to the external device500in operation S594. FIG.6is a diagram illustrating a process of updating a previous space state with a current space state based on a state change amount calculated based on changes in space states of a plurality of types according to an example embodiment. Referring toFIG.6, space information corresponding to each location may be expressed based on, for example, a number of inventories, a number of inventory types, a total inventory volume, and a total volume of a loadable space. Even though various information included as space information is expressed in an integrated form as described above, it is not necessarily interpreted as being included in one data. For example, the information may be received as individual data distinguished from each other so as to be combined by the operation part130. The following description will be made under a premise that various information included in space information is expressed in a form of a number of inventories, a number of inventory types, a total inventory volume, and a total volume of a loadable space, for example. The communication part110may receive space information and location information associated with a space of which a state is changed. Based on the received information, the operation part130may calculate information603and605on state change amounts. The calculated information603and605may include the information603on a state change amount calculated in response to a user's action (e.g., stock transfer, a change of inventory quantity, a change of information on a predetermined loading space, etc.) that causes a direct change in space state and the information605on a state change amount calculated in response to a user's action (a size change of an item, a change of a common state value of a loading space, etc.) that causes an indirect change in space state. Referring toFIG.6, the information603on the state change amount calculated in response to the user's action that causes the direct change in space state may be information indicating a degree to which a total inventory volume is changed due to a space receiving stock moved by a user. The information605on the state change amount calculated in response to the user's action that causes the indirect change in space state may be information indicating a degree to which a total loadable volume of a space for each a plurality of units is changed in response to a total volume of loadable spaces being changed collectively. The operation part130may correct or update information601on a previous space state to or with information607on a current space state based on the information603and605on the state change amount. When the information603or605on the state change amount is calculated, the operation part130may determine whether to accumulate the calculated information for a predetermined period of time based on whether the information is calculated based on the user's action that causes the direct change in space state or the user's action that causes the indirect change in space state. In an example, the operation part130may accumulate, for the predetermined period of time, the information605on the state change amount calculated due to the indirect change of the space state. When the predetermined period of time elapses, the operation part130may collectively process the accumulated information and use the information in a process of updating the current space state. In contrast, the operation part130may not accumulate the information603on the state change amount calculated due to the direct change of the space state and may use the information603in the process of updating information607on the current space state. In another example, the operation part130may accumulate, for a predetermined period of time, all the information603and605on the state change amount calculated due to the direct and indirect changes of the space states. In this example, the operation part130may set a different period of time for accumulation for each type of the information603and605on the state change amount. Since features of such have been described with reference to the embodiments including the example ofFIG.4Dand the like, redundant description will be omitted. The above-described method according to the present disclosure may be provided as a program to be executed in a computer and may be recorded on a computer readable recording medium. The method according to the present disclosure may be executed via software. When executed via software, the constituent elements of the present disclosure are code segments that execute required operations. The program or the code segments may be stored in an operation part readable medium. The computer readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data is stored in a computer readable manner. Examples of the computer readable recording device include a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a DVD-RAM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disc, a hard disc, and an optical data storage device. In addition, the computer readable recording medium may be distributed in a computer device connected thereto via a network so that a computer readable code may be stored and executed in a distribution manner. From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims. | 48,925 |
11861556 | DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS Various example embodiments of the disclosure are discussed in detail below. While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations may be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Thus, the following description and drawings are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to avoid obscuring the description. References to one or an embodiment in the present disclosure can be references to the same embodiment or any embodiment; and, such references mean at least one of the example embodiments. Reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative example embodiments mutually exclusive of other example embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some example embodiments and not by others. The terms used in this specification generally have their ordinary meanings in the art, within the context of the disclosure, and in the specific context where each term is used. Alternative language and synonyms may be used for any one or more of the terms discussed herein, and no special significance should be placed upon whether or not a term is elaborated or discussed herein. In some cases, synonyms for certain terms are provided. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification including examples of any terms discussed herein is illustrative only, and is not intended to further limit the scope and meaning of the disclosure or of any example term. Likewise, the disclosure is not limited to various example embodiments given in this specification. Without intent to limit the scope of the disclosure, examples of instruments, apparatus, methods and their related results according to the example embodiments of the present disclosure are given below. Note that titles or subtitles may be used in the examples for convenience of a reader, which in no way should limit the scope of the disclosure. Unless otherwise defined, technical and scientific terms used herein have the meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. In the case of conflict, the present document, including definitions will control. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or can be learned by practice of the herein disclosed principles. The features and advantages of the disclosure can be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other features of the disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or can be learned by the practice of the principles set forth herein. For clarity of explanation, in some instances the present technology may be presented as including individual functional blocks including functional blocks comprising devices, device components, steps or routines in a method embodied in software, or combinations of hardware and software. Overview The present disclosure addresses the deficiencies in robotic retrieval and delivery systems which can be applicable to environments such as warehouses, hospitals, shopping centers and so forth. Specifically, the disclosed technology provides a fully automated system of components that operate asynchronously to fulfill orders through robotic retrieval and delivery of items. In one aspect, a method includes identifying a shelf tote having an item contained therein for transfer to an order tote; dispatching a first robotic carrier to pick up the shelf tote and a second robotic carrier to pick an order tote, the first robotic carrier and the second robotic carrier travelling to a transfer station after picking up the shelf tote and the order tote; causing the picker to pick the item from the shelf tote while the shelf tote is moving through the transfer station; and transferring, in the transfer station, the item to the order tote by the picker. In one aspect, a system for transferring items includes a first mobile robot configured to carry a shelf tote; a second mobile robot configured to carry an order tote; a transfer station having a picker with only two degrees of freedom, the only two degrees of freedom comprising a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, wherein the picker is used to pick an item from the shelf tote and deliver the item to the order tote at the transfer station; and a control system. The control system includes a computer-readable storage device storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to dispatch the first mobile robot to pick up the shelf tote having the item therein; upon arrival of the first mobile robot, facilitate picking of the item by the at least one picker while the shelf tote is moving through the transfer station; and transfer, in the transfer station, the item to the order tote by the picker. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The disclosure now turns toFIG.1, which illustrates an example setting/environment in which fully automated robotic system of the present disclosure may be implemented. WhileFIG.1provides a warehouse setting as an example, the present disclosure and the systems described therein are not limited to warehouses but may be applicable to other settings such as hospitals, shopping centers, an education campus, a laboratory, an organization, a community/complex, etc. FIG.1illustrates an example warehouse setting, according to one aspect of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.1, warehouse setting100or simply warehouse100can include a transfer station102where items picked from shelves are transferred to fulfill orders placed by users, customers, etc. Various examples of transfer station102will be described below with reference toFIGS.2-5. WhileFIG.1illustrates a single transfer station102within warehouse100, the present disclosure is not limited thereto and warehouse100can include any number of transfer stations similar to transfer station102. Warehouse100further includes an order tote rack104, which may be picked up by an autonomous vehicle to be filled with items of an order in transfer station102, as will be described below. Order tote rack104may have several empty totes105(trays105and/or order totes105) placed therein (e.g., arranged in a shelve-like manner) to be picked up by an autonomous vehicle. WhileFIG.1illustrates an example number of 5 order totes105, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Warehouse100further includes an items shelf106, which may have several racks106-1,106-2,106-3,106-4,106-5,106-6and106-7. WhileFIG.1illustrates one item shelf106and7example racks therefore, the present disclosure is not limited thereto and warehouse100may include any number of item shelves such as items shelf106, each of which may have more or less number of racks and/or items stored thereon. On each rack of items shelf106, there may be one or more shelf totes112, each of which may have stored therein, one or more of a particular type of item or items that may be ordered by a customer, a user, etc. Shelf totes112may be organized according to the type of items they include such as in alphabetical order, etc. Warehouse100further includes a control system108, which may be communicatively (wired or wirelessly, as applicable) coupled to other components within warehouse100including but not limited to, transfer station102and components thereof, order totes105in tote rack105, shelf totes112, and robotic conveyors110-1,110-2,110-3and110-4(autonomous vehicles or robots110-1,110-2,110-3and110-4). While not shown inFIG.1, each such component of warehouse100, as named above may include any known or to be developed communication component for being communicatively coupled to other components of warehouse100and/or control system108. Example of such communication components include, but are not limited to, any short-range communication interface such as Bluetooth, WiFi, etc. Example components of control system108will be further described below with reference toFIG.7. InFIG.1, control system108is shown to be in physical proximity of warehouse100(e.g., inside warehouse100). However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto and control system may be remotely located relative to warehouse100and its components. For example control system108may be implemented and operate on a public, private and/or hybrid cloud and be accessible to components or operators of warehouse100via any known or to be developed wireless communication scheme. Warehouse100further includes robotic conveyors (RC)110-1,110-2,110-3and110-4, which may also be referred to as autonomous vehicles or robots such RC20 developed by Vecna Technologies. Hereinafter, RC20 is used as a non-limiting example of autonomous/robotic conveyors that may be utilized within warehouse100. However, the present disclosure is not limited to RC20s. Warehouse100may further include any necessary communication infrastructure including, but not limited to, access points114that may be installed throughout warehouse100to enable wireless (e.g., WiFi) communication between components of warehouse100. While it will be described in further detail below,FIG.1illustrates an example, where upon an order fulfillment request received at control system108, control system108may direct one of RC20s such as RC20110-1to proceed to tote rack104to retrieve an order tote105to be filled with items associated with the order. Once picked up, order tote105and RC20110-1are directed to proceed to transfer station102for the items to be placed into order tote105. Prior to, simultaneous with or subsequent to the above process, control system108may also direct another RC20 such as RC20110-3to proceed to items shelf106and pick up an appropriate shelf tote112or shelf totes112that include the items associated with the order. In one example and when the order includes two or more items, control system108may direct a corresponding number of distinct RC20s to proceed to items shelf106so that each can pick up a different one of the items. In another example, all different items may be picked by the same RC20 such as RC20110-3. Once picked up, shelf tote112and RC20110-3are directed to proceed to transfer station102for the item(s) to be transferred from shelf tote(s)112to order tote105. FIG.2illustrates an example transfer station of the warehouse setting ofFIG.1, according to one aspect of the present disclosure.FIG.1will be described with reference toFIG.1and therefore, for sake of brevity, components having same reference numerals as components inFIG.1will not be further described. FIG.2illustrates a cross sectional view of inside transfer station102along the X-X′ line. As shown, transfer station102can have a picker200. In one example, picker200can have two degrees of freedom in movement. In other words, picker200can move vertically (up and down) or horizontally (left to right). Picker200also has a suction head202(which may also be referred to as gripper202), which can be used to grab item(s) from shelf totes such as shelf tote112and place them inside order tote105. The two degrees of freedom allows picker200to be directed to move down to reach a tote while at the same time, picker200can move sideways (left and right) to switch between shelf tote112and order tote105. FIG.2also illustrates two entrance paths204and206along which RC20110-3and RC20110-1can enter transfer station102and exit transfer station102from an opposite side (not shown). WhileFIG.2illustrates a single RC20110-3carrying a single shelf tote112and a single RC20110-1carrying a single order tote105, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. There may be a number of RC20s lining up along paths204and206, each carrying a shelf tote or an order tote, to be entered into transfer station102so that picker200can remove items with a corresponding shelf tote and place the same in an order tote carried by another RC20. In one example, there may not be a one to one correspondence between number of shelf tote carrying RC20s and order tote carrying RC20s entering and exiting reachable area of suction head202. For example, an order tote may require several items, each of which may be carried in a different shelf tote. Therefore, while a single RC20 with such order tote may enter and remain in reachable area of suction head202, multiple RC20s each carrying a different shelf tote that includes one of the several items required for the order, may enter the reachable area of suction202, having the corresponding item removed and subsequently exit the reachable area of suction202and transfer station102. In one example, RC20110-3carrying shelf tote112may be travelling at a particular speed as RC20110-3as it enters and travels through transfer station102. Control system108, as will be described below, determines this particular speed and thus adjusts the speed at which picker200moves (vertically and/or horizontally) such that arrival of RC20110-3within reachable area of suction head202of picker200coincides with presence of suction head202in the same area such that suction head202can pick one or more items from shelf tote112followed by moving the same picked one or more items into an available order tote such as order tote105. In other words, the adjustment of speeds may be such that RC20110-3may arrive within the reachable area of suction head202, come to a complete stop, wait for suction head202to complete the process of picking the one or more items and then start moving again to exit transfer station102. In another example, when items are spread out within shelf tote112, it may not be possible for picker200to pick the items of interest due to a limitation of movement of picker200to a vertical move or a horizontal move. Therefore, it may be possible to add a third degree of freedom (movement motion perpendicular to the vertical motion of picker200) in order to allow suction head202to reach any item in shelf tote112regardless of the items position in shelf tote112. In one example embodiment, this third degree of freedom may be provided by allowing small movements of RC20110-3within the reachable area of suction202as opposed to having RC20110-3come to a complete stop, as discussed above. In providing this third degree of freedom and movement, control system108may (1) control RC20110-3to move under picker200(within reachable area of suction head202) at a sufficiently slow speed such that picker200can identify item(s) to be picked and (2) simultaneously control downward movement of picker200in harmony with slow speed of RC20110-3to pick the item(s). FIG.3illustrates an example transfer station of the warehouse setting ofFIG.1, according to one aspect of the present disclosure.FIG.3will be described with reference toFIGS.1and2and therefore, for sake of brevity, components having same reference numerals as components inFIGS.1and2will not be further described. There may be situations where a merchant operating warehouse100may receive multiple orders for the same item. Therefore, it may be inefficient to simply pick a single one of the same item out of shelf tote112and transfer the same to order tote105and repeat the same for a number of order totes105corresponding to the number of multiple orders. Therefore, it may be advantageous to have a holding tray at transfer station102where upon arrival of shelf tote112, picker200can pick several of the same item out of shelf tote112and place them in a holding tray. This may then be followed by picker200transferring one or more of the same item in the holding tray to any order tote105upon arrival within reachable area of suction head202inside transfer station102. FIG.3illustrates, in addition to components described above with reference toFIGS.1and2, a holding tray304that may be positioned on a ledge306. Ledge306may be movable or stationary. Regardless of whether ledge306is movable or stationary, ledge306may be positioned such that holding tray304falls within reachable area of suction head202for items to picked by suction head202and placed in holding tray304. WhileFIG.3illustrates a single holding tray304and associated ledge306, the present disclosure is not limited thereto and there may be multiple holding trays on ledge306or each on a different ledge. Each holding tray may have multiple ones of a given item therein for subsequent fulfillment of corresponding orders. FIG.4illustrates an example transfer station of the warehouse setting ofFIG.1, according to one aspect of the present disclosure.FIG.4will be described with reference toFIGS.1-3and therefore, for sake of brevity, components having same reference numerals as components inFIGS.1-3will not be further described. There may be situations where efficiency of order fulfillment may be increased by having multiple entrance/exit paths or tracks for shelf totes and order totes to enter transfer station102. Accordingly, order fulfillment may be scaled up. FIG.4illustrates, in addition to components described above with reference toFIGS.1-3including paths (tracks)204and206, two additional example paths404and406. The number of additional paths is not limited to those shown inFIG.4, but may be more or less, subject to physical and structural limitations of transfer station102. In particular example ofFIG.4, paths204,404and406are used by three RC20s110-2,110-3and110-4, respectively and as shown, to transport three shelf totes112inside transfer station102, where each shelf tote112may have a particular item or type of item stored therein. Path206inFIG.4is used by RC20110-1to carry a single order tote105. Specific example ofFIG.4may be one in which order tote105is to be filled with three different items and that control system108may control RC20110-1,110-2,110-3and110-4such that at a time of arrival of order tote105within reachable area of suction head202, RC20s110-2,110-3and110-4each carrying a separate shelf tote112that includes of the three items, arrive within the reachable area of suction head202so that suction head202can pick the three items from the three separate shelf totes112and place them inside order tote105. However, examples of a transfer station with multiple paths is not limited to that shown inFIG.4as paths may be used for any combination of different order totes105and shelf totes112. For instance, in the example ofFIG.4, two of paths204,206,404and406may be used by two separate RC20s to bring two order totes105inside transfer station102while another two of paths204,206,404and406may be used for bringing two shelf totes112. In another example, three separate orders of the same item may be received. Therefore, control system108may control RC20s such that three RC20s such as RC20s110-1,110-2and110-3, may enter transfer station102using three of paths204,206,404and406, each bringing a separate order tote105inside transfer station102and within reachable area of suction head202while another RC20 such as RC20110-4may use a remaining one of paths204,206,404and406to bring a shelf tote112that includes three counts of that same item. Thereafter, control system108can control picker200and suction head202to pick one count of the item from shelf tote112and place them inside a separate one of order totes105. In one example, transfer station102may include multiple pickers200, which can be arranged horizontally adjacent to each other, in rows of pickers, etc., such that as multiple shelf totes112and/or multiple order totes105travel through transfer station102, each arriving tote can be serviced by a different one of multiple pickers200. Such arrangement of multiple pickers200may be such that movement of any individual one of pickers200does not interfere with the movement of any other one of pickers200. In another example, a single shelf tote112may have multiple items therein for multiple separate order totes105(can be multiple ones of the same item or multiple separate items). Accordingly, the single shelf tote112may travel through multiple ones of pickers200such that each picker200can pick one of the multiple items inside the shelf tote112and place them in the multiple separate order totes105. Accordingly, the system efficiency may be increased. Example structure of transfer station102as described with reference toFIG.4requires a relatively large horizontal movement of picker200along the X-X′ line in order for suction head202to be able to reach within each shelf/order tote for picking/placing items therein. Furthermore, transfer station102may include more than the example four paths/tracks shown inFIG.4, which translates into picker200requiring even greater horizontal movement along the X-X′ line. As will be described below with reference toFIG.5, in one example, use of chutes for order totes105eliminates this need of large horizontal movement. FIG.5illustrates an example transfer station of the warehouse setting ofFIG.1, according to one aspect of the present disclosure.FIG.5will be described with reference toFIGS.1-4and therefore, for sake of brevity, components having same reference numerals as components inFIGS.1-4will not be further described. The example setup ofFIG.5differs from that ofFIG.4in that, inFIG.5, three example RC20s110-2,110-3and110-4each carry a separate order tote105inside transfer station102while RC20110-1carries a single shelf tote inside transfer station102for items to be picked therefrom and placed into each of three order totes105. As shown inFIG.5, transfer station102includes three chutes500,502and504. Chutes500,502and504may be any known or to be developed chute made of any known or to be developed material such as plastic, metal, etc. Each of chutes500,502and504may be of an appropriate length to allow a close enough reach to each order tote105at the lower end thereof such that items exiting a chute do not break upon impact inside an order tote. In one example, chutes500,502and504may be fixed in placement and length. In another example, chutes500,502and504may be adjustable in numbers (chutes may be removed or added, as appropriate), placement and length to accommodate various types of RC20s, tote shapes and lengths, etc. Upper opening of each of chutes500,502and504may be within reachable area of suction head202in order for suction head202to be able to drop an items or items carried thereby, into one of chutes500,502and504. At lower end of each of chutes500,502and504there may be a gate such as gates506,508and510, respectively. In one example gates506,508and510may have sensors associated therewith which allows for opening of each gate as items are dropped into chutes500,502and504, as a weight of an item is sensed on an upper surface of each gate, etc. In another example, gates506,508and510may be gates (made of plastic, metal, etc.) that simply open when an item reaches an upper surface thereof and allow for the item to drop into a corresponding one of order totes105. In another example and for safety reasons, gates506,508and510may be controllable to be locked so that at designated times no item may be dropped therethrough into totes, on the floor, etc. By employing non-limiting and example configuration ofFIG.5and chutes described with respect toFIG.5, horizontal movement of picker200is limited to example range Y-Y′ as opposed to Y-Z, if chutes are not used. Having described various examples of warehouse100and transfer station102, the disclosure now turns to description of example methods of operating components of warehouse100including RC20s, order totes105, shelf totes112and picker200by control system108. FIG.6illustrates an example method of order management within the warehouse setting of claim1, according to one aspect of the present disclosure.FIG.6will be described from the perspective of control system108. However, it will be understood that control system108has components (as will be described below with reference toFIG.7) such as memories and processors that allow for execution of computer-readable instructions to implement the functionalities described below with reference toFIG.6. Furthermore,FIG.6will be described with reference toFIGS.1-5. At S600, control system108receives an order. An order may be placed online via a website operated by a merchant associated with warehouse100, at a point of sale terminal at a physical location of a merchant associated with warehouse100, etc. The order may be received at one or more servers of control system108. The order may have one or more associated items. Examples of items include, but are not limited to, clothing articles, food, furniture, electronic equipment, appliances, etc. At S602, control system108may identify one or more items that are associated the order. At S604, control system108may identify item shelves such as item shelf106that have the one or more items stored thereon. The one or more items may be stored on different item shelves and/or different racks thereof. In one example, each item may have a barcode associated therewith that may be scanned upon placement thereof in a particular item shelf and a particular rack thereof. Accordingly, control system108may have a registered location associated with each item stored in shelves and racks. By referencing a table of records or a database of item locations, control system108can identify and locate each item associated with the order. At S606, control system108may dispatch one or more carriers (autonomous vehicles or transporters) such as one or more of RC20s110-1,110-2,110-3and110-4to item shelves on which the one or more items are stored. The dispatched carriers may be referred to as one or more first carriers or first mobile carriers. In one example, a separate carrier may be dispatched to a location of each of the items associated with the order, assuming the order includes more than one item. In another example, a single carrier can be dispatched to the location of all the items to pick them up. Within warehouse100, routes to be traveled between various locations may be programmed and stored on each carrier and may be frequently updated by control system108. Accordingly, by sending the destination information (e.g., item shelf identification or location within warehouse100), control system108can command the one or more carriers to proceed to the location of interest to pick up items. As noted above, items are stored on the item shelves in shelf totes such as shelf totes112. Each shelf tote may have stored therein one or more of the same type of item. Therefore, upon arrival at an appropriate item shelf such as item shelf106, RC20 such as RC20110-3may either move up and down vertically to reach a rack on which a shelf tote carrying the item of interest is stored to retrieve the corresponding shelf tote112. In another example, there may be an automatic handler at item shelf106, which upon arrival of RC20110-3may receive a command indicating the rack on which the shelf tote carrying the item of interest is stored. In response, the automatic handler may move vertically to obtain the shelf tote and transport the same to RC20110-3and place it on top of RC20110-3. At this point RC20110-3is loaded. Thereafter and upon receiving an indicated of loaded RC20110-3, at S608, control system108may direct the loaded RC20110-3(or direct multiple loaded RC20s each carrying a shelf tote having a given one of items of interest therein) to proceed to transfer station102. At S610, control system108may direct a separate carrier such as RC20110-1(which may be referred to as second carrier or second mobile carrier) to proceed to tote rack104to remove an empty tote rack105for receiving item(s) being carried by one or more first carriers (e.g., RC20110-3) at transfer station102. In one example and depending on the number of items associated with an order, more than one order tote may be necessary to collect all the items. Accordingly, control system108may order two or more RC20s to simultaneously or consecutively (within a specified period of time) to proceed to pick an empty order tote105and travel to transfer station102to receive the items. At S612, control system108directs the second carrier to transfer station102. At S614, control system108may determine a speed at which first carrier (e.g., RC20110-3carrying a shelf tote112) and/or second carrier (e.g., RC20110-1carrying an order tote105) enter and travel through transfer station102. For example, control system108may determine that RC20110-3is travelling at speed of 5 miles/hour upon entrance into transfer station102. At S616, control system108may adjust movement of picker200(e.g., horizontal and/or vertical speed of picker200) to coordinate speed of picker200with speed of RC20110-3or speed of RC20110-1such that suction head202is able to pick an item from shelf tote112exactly at a time at which RC20110-3arrives and stops under (within reachable area) of suction head202and/or is able to drop a picked item into order tote105exactly at a time at which RC20110-1arrives or stops under (within reachable area) of suction head202. In other words, control system108, at S616, may align picker200with RC20110-3and/or RC20110-1. At S618and based on the adjusted movements, control system108may direct picker200to pick an item from shelf tote112and/or to drop a picked item into order tote105in order to fulfill the order received at S600. In one example, suction head202may utilize any known or to be developed visual image recognition method to pick an item of interest from a shelf tote. For example, picker200can have any known or to be developed vision system, which can be utilized during vertical movement of picker200to adjust the position and/or movement of picker200for picking an item from shelf tote112and/or placing an item inside order tote105. Such vision system may be mounted adjacent to or embedded with head202of picker200. Accordingly, picker200with a vision system may be referred to as a smart picker. In another example, picker200, instead of or in addition to the above vision system, may be equipped with multiple suction heads (grippers)202, which can move over a shelf tote112and attempt a pick of an item. For example, when there are multiple items in shelf tote112, each one of such multiple suction heads202may attempt to grab/pick one of the multiple items in shelf tote112. Control system108may utilize an independent vision system or the vision system mounted on picker200to determine which of the multiple items picked by multiple suction heads202may be retained, dropped back into shelf tote112, etc. (e.g., based on a number of order totes105for a particular item). In one example, transfer station102may be equipped with multiple pickers200, one or more of which may be pickers with multiple suction heads, while one or more of pickers200may be equipped with a single suction head202. Accordingly, control system108may control shelf totes112such that any shelf tote112with multiple items (or more than a threshold number of items such as 3 or 4 items) may be directed or positioned under one of the multiple pickers200with multiple suction heads202while shelf totes112with a single item (or less than threshold number of items such as 3 or 4 items). In other words, control system108may determine which picker200an arriving shelf tote may be directed toward for picking item(s) included therein, based on the number of items in each arriving shelf tote. While at S614, S616and S618, examples are described where speed at which shelf tote112and picker200move to enable picking of an item or items from shelf tote112, the present disclosure is not limited to this concept. In one example, control system108may detect presence of shelf tote112inside transfer station102, position shelf tote112to under picker200followed by directing picker200to move vertically to pick the item of interest. In another example, control system108may also, after positioning shelf tote112under picker200, direct shelf tote112to move back and forth (and/or left and right) in order to enable picker200to pick the item(s) inside shelf tote112, thus providing an additional degree of freedom to picker200for picking the item(s). In one example, inside transfer station102, tracks/paths204and206may be adjacent to each such that RC20110-1and RC20110-3carrying an order tote and a shelf tote respectively, may arrive in reachable area of suction head202in adjacent with one another and avoid any accidental drop of an item picked by suction202from shelf tote112anywhere other than inside order tote105. WhileFIG.6describes an example method of picking a single item from a shelf tote112or dropping a single item into an order tote105, the present disclosure is not limited to. Method of claim6, can be easily expanded to accommodate any of the example scenarios with respect toFIGS.2-5. For example, speed of picker200may be adjusted to accommodate picking up items from more than one shelf tote or dropping items in more than one order tote. Having described various example setups and methods of automated order fulfillment with reference toFIGS.1-6, the disclosure now turns to description of example components of control system108that enable management and control of automated order fulfillment. FIG.7illustrates example components of a controller managing operations of the warehouse setting ofFIG.1, according to one aspect of the present disclosure. In this example,FIG.7illustrates a computing system700(system700) including components in electrical communication with each other using a connection705, such as a bus. System700includes a processing unit (CPU or processor)710and a system connection705that couples various system components including the system memory715, such as read only memory (ROM)720and random access memory (RAM)725, to the processor710. The system700can include a cache of high-speed memory connected directly with, in close proximity to, or integrated as part of the processor710. The system700can copy data from the memory715and/or the storage device730to the cache712for quick access by the processor710. In this way, the cache can provide a performance boost that avoids processor710delays while waiting for data. These and other modules can control or be configured to control the processor710to perform various actions. Other system memory715may be available for use as well. The memory715can include multiple different types of memory with different performance characteristics. The processor710can include any general purpose processor and a hardware or software service, such as service 1732, service 2734, and service 3736stored in storage device730, configured to control the processor710as well as a special-purpose processor where software instructions are incorporated into the actual processor design. The processor710may be a completely self-contained computing system, containing multiple cores or processors, a bus, memory controller, cache, etc. A multi-core processor may be symmetric or asymmetric. To enable user interaction with the device700, an input device745can represent any number of input mechanisms, such as a microphone for speech, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or graphical input, keyboard, mouse, motion input, speech and so forth. An output device735can also be one or more of a number of output mechanisms known to those of skill in the art. In some instances, multimodal systems can enable a user to provide multiple types of input to communicate with the device700. The communications interface740can generally govern and manage the user input and system output. There is no restriction on operating on any particular hardware arrangement and therefore the basic features here may easily be substituted for improved hardware or firmware arrangements as they are developed. Storage device730is a non-volatile memory and can be a hard disk or other types of computer readable media which can store data that are accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, solid state memory devices, digital versatile disks, cartridges, random access memories (RAMs)725, read only memory (ROM)720, and hybrids thereof. The storage device730can include services732,734,736for controlling the processor710. Other hardware or software modules are contemplated. The storage device730can be connected to the system connection705. In one aspect, a hardware module that performs a particular function can include the software component stored in a computer-readable medium in connection with the necessary hardware components, such as the processor710, connection705, output device735, and so forth, to carry out the function. In some embodiments the computer-readable storage devices, mediums, and memories can include a cable or wireless signal containing a bit stream and the like. However, when mentioned, non-transitory computer-readable storage media expressly exclude media such as energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals per se. Methods according to the above-described examples can be implemented using computer-executable instructions that are stored or otherwise available from computer readable media. Such instructions can comprise, for example, instructions and data which cause or otherwise configure a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function or group of functions. Portions of computer resources used can be accessible over a network. The computer executable instructions may be, for example, binaries, intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, firmware, or source code. Examples of computer-readable media that may be used to store instructions, information used, and/or information created during methods according to described examples include magnetic or optical disks, flash memory, USB devices provided with non-volatile memory, networked storage devices, and so on. Devices implementing methods according to these disclosures can comprise hardware, firmware and/or software, and can take any of a variety of form factors. Typical examples of such form factors include laptops, smart phones, small form factor personal computers, personal digital assistants, rackmount devices, standalone devices, and so on. Functionality described herein also can be embodied in peripherals or add-in cards. Such functionality can also be implemented on a circuit board among different chips or different processes executing in a single device, by way of further example. The instructions, media for conveying such instructions, computing resources for executing them, and other structures for supporting such computing resources are means for providing the functions described in these disclosures. Although a variety of examples and other information was used to explain aspects within the scope of the appended claims, no limitation of the claims should be implied based on particular features or arrangements in such examples, as one of ordinary skill would be able to use these examples to derive a wide variety of implementations. Further and although some subject matter may have been described in language specific to examples of structural features and/or method steps, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to these described features or acts. For example, such functionality can be distributed differently or performed in components other than those identified herein. Rather, the described features and steps are disclosed as examples of components of systems and methods within the scope of the appended claims. Claim language reciting “at least one of” refers to at least one of a set and indicates that one member of the set or multiple members of the set satisfy the claim. For example, claim language reciting “at least one of A and B” means A, B, or A and B. | 40,744 |
11861557 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION As a preliminary matter, it will readily be understood by one having ordinary skill in the relevant art that the present disclosure has broad utility and application. As should be understood, any embodiment may incorporate only one or a plurality of the above-disclosed aspects of the disclosure and may further incorporate only one or a plurality of the above-disclosed features. Furthermore, any embodiment discussed and identified as being “preferred” is considered to be part of a best mode contemplated for carrying out the embodiments of the present disclosure. Other embodiments also may be discussed for additional illustrative purposes in providing a full and enabling disclosure. Moreover, many embodiments, such as adaptations, variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements, will be implicitly disclosed by the embodiments described herein and fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, while embodiments are described herein in detail in relation to one or more embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is illustrative and exemplary of the present disclosure and are made merely for the purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure. The detailed disclosure herein of one or more embodiments is not intended, nor is to be construed, to limit the scope of patent protection afforded in any claim of a patent issuing here from, which scope is to be defined by the claims and the equivalents thereof. It is not intended that the scope of patent protection be defined by reading into any claim a limitation found herein that does not explicitly appear in the claim itself. Thus, for example, any sequence(s) and/or temporal order of steps of various processes or methods that are described herein are illustrative and not restrictive. Accordingly, it should be understood that, although steps of various processes or methods may be shown and described as being in a sequence or temporal order, the steps of any such processes or methods are not limited to being carried out in any particular sequence or order, absent an indication otherwise. Indeed, the steps in such processes or methods generally may be carried out in various different sequences and orders while still falling within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of patent protection is to be defined by the issued claim(s) rather than the description set forth herein. Additionally, it is important to note that each term used herein refers to that which an ordinary artisan would understand such term to mean based on the contextual use of such term herein. To the extent that the meaning of a term used herein—as understood by the ordinary artisan based on the contextual use of such term—differs in any way from any particular dictionary definition of such term, it is intended that the meaning of the term as understood by the ordinary artisan should prevail. Regarding applicability of 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶6, no claim element is intended to be read in accordance with this statutory provision unless the explicit phrase “means for” or “step for” is actually used in such claim element, whereupon this statutory provision is intended to apply in the interpretation of such claim element. Furthermore, it is important to note that, as used herein, “a” and “an” each generally denotes “at least one,” but does not exclude a plurality unless the contextual use dictates otherwise. When used herein to join a list of items, “or” denotes “at least one of the items,” but does not exclude a plurality of items of the list. Finally, when used herein to join a list of items, “and” denotes “all of the items of the list”. The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or similar elements. While many embodiments of the disclosure may be described, modifications, adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the elements illustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may be modified by substituting, reordering, or adding stages to the disclosed methods. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limit the disclosure. Instead, the proper scope of the disclosure is defined by the appended claims. The present disclosure contains headers. It should be understood that these headers are used as references and are not to be construed as limiting upon the subjected matter disclosed under the header. The present disclosure includes many aspects and features. Moreover, while many aspects and features relate to, and are described in, the context of beverage dispensing from a bottle, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to use only in this context. For example, any fluid or liquid dispensing applications may be anticipated to be within the scope of the present disclosure. I. Overview This brief overview is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This brief overview is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter. Nor is this brief overview intended to be used to limit the claimed subject matter's scope. Methods, systems, and devices disclosed herein may be collectively referred to as a “platform.” A platform consistent with embodiments herein may be used by individuals or companies to track an amount of liquid poured from at least one liquid container. The platform may comprise a tracking device and a computing hub in operative bi-directional communication. The device may be configured to a liquid dispensing container such as, but not limited to, a bottle. The device may be configured to receive a liquid from the container and transfer the liquid through a chamber within the device. As the liquid is transferred through the device, a computing element and sensing component integrated within the device may be configured to track an amount of liquid dispensed through the device. A communications module may then communicate the data with the hub. Still consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure, the device may be configured to limit an amount of liquid dispensed through the device by way of a calibrated chamber which dispenses a specific amount each time the bottle inverts. In turn, the device may be configured to sense an amount of liquid poured through the device. The device may then communicate the sensor data to a computing element, either integrated within the device itself, and/or to a network computing element. The computing element, having received the data from the device, may then calculate, for example, at least one of the following: an amount of liquid dispensed and an amount of liquid remaining in the bottle to which the device is attached. Accordingly, the device may be paired or registered with the platform, along with a specification of a liquid container type that the device is configured to. In this way, the platform may be configured to report a plurality of metrics associated with a plurality of liquid containers having a device consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure configured thereto. Both the foregoing overview and the following detailed description provide examples and are explanatory only. Accordingly, the foregoing overview and the following detailed description should not be considered to be restrictive. Further, features or variations may be provided in addition to those set forth herein. For example, embodiments may be directed to various feature combinations and sub-combinations described in the detailed description. II. Device Design and Operation A device consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure may be, for example, a liquid pouring spout (referred to as a “device” throughout the present disclosure) that connects to a liquid container. In some embodiments, as with conventional liquid pouring spouts, the device may comprise an adjustably controllable measuring liquid pourer for dispensing liquid in a predetermined quantity. FIG.1illustrates one possible embodiment of the liquid pouring spout100, in three configurations. In a first configuration105, spout100may be in an upright position, ready to receive liquid. In a second configuration130, spout100may be receiving liquid through the chamber. In a third configuration140, spout100may have completed the dispensing of liquid. The following disclosure will describe spout100, as a device100, through the various configurations. Consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure, device100may comprise a calibrated chamber110which may be configured to limit the flow of liquid to a specific amount each time the bottle is positioned to dispense the liquid through the device. In some embodiments, chamber110may be adjusted to a desired volumetric flow rate of liquid. The adjustment of chamber110may be performed mechanically, through various components configured to affect the flow rate of liquid through the device. In some embodiments, a plurality of devices may come with a specific chamber caliber pre-set, with an inter-changeable cap115for each pour amount. Still, in further embodiments, it is anticipated that, for example, a computer-controlled actuator may be configured to dynamically and programmatically adjust a property of device100(e.g., an opening120of cap115) so as to affect the flow rate through device100. In this way, for example, a remote operator of the device may be enabled, via a computing device and communications module, to control the limits of liquid flow through device100. In turn, the specification of chamber calibration may be accounted for by a computing device associated with device100. In this way, based on the particular calibration of the device100(e.g., by way of chamber110or cap115), the sensor data may be analyzed to ascertain an amount of liquid poured through the device. Referring still toFIG.1, chamber110within upright configuration105may comprise a ball bearing125resting at the base of camber110, adjacent to cap115. Cap115may comprise a cut-out120for receiving a liquid into chamber110from a liquid container to which device100may be configured. In some embodiments, cap115may be configured so as to be inserted into a liquid container opening (e.g., at the top of a bottle) and receive the liquid from the container. In such embodiments, and as illustrated with reference toFIGS.4A and4B, a stopping and sealing means405may be provided to ensure a secure connection to a liquid container. The stopping and sealing means405may comprise, but not be limited to, for example, a silicon, rubber, elastomeric, silicone, polyurethane, plastic, or cork material. Still, within upright configuration105, ball bearing125may rest at the base of the chamber, thereby sealing the liquid within the container connected to device100. Referring back toFIG.1, pouring configuration130, liquid may enter device100through opening135, filling chamber110. A vacuum effect may be created with opening120, thereby causing ball bearing125to float on the liquid through chamber110, as facilitated by an air vent cut-out120positioned within chamber110. To understand the operation of device100during pouring configuration130, we turn toFIGS.2-4. Still consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure, and as illustrated inFIG.2, a hollow space (herein known as a “channel for sensor”) may be designed alongside chamber110, spanning the length of chamber110. The channels purpose may be, but is not limited to, to create a space for the sensor stick to be placed secure and flush alongside the ball chamber110. A magnetic sensing device comprising a magnetic sensor circuitry (hereinafter referred to as a “sensor stick”) may be placed inside the channel for sensor.FIG.3illustrates one example embodiment of sensing device300, andFIG.4illustrates how sensing device300may be inserted into the channel. Sensing device300may comprise two primary components: a circuit board of a predetermined width having at least one processor320thereon, the length of the circuit board being at least the span of the ball chamber110; and a plurality of sensors U1, U2, U3, and U4. The sensing device300may also include a physical connector or interface321, configured to communicate with an external processor (not illustrated) or other device. It is noted that processor320may be physically present on the sensing device300, or may be a separate device (not illustrated). The circuit board may be a printed circuit board and may include printed circuitry and may be sized to be retained within the channel for sensor. There may be no limitation to a quantity of sensors used. In some embodiments, the quantity may range from one to four sensors, mounted on the circuit board and orientated, by way of non-limiting example, equidistant from each other (SeeFIG.3, sensors U1-U4). Consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure, ball bearing125may have magnetic properties so as to interface with sensing device300. The magnetic field sensors on the sensing device300may be used to determine the magnetic ball bearing's location. In some embodiments, sensing device300may determine the magnetic ball bearing's location using, for example, without limitation, the hall effect. The hall effect is the production of a voltage difference across an electrical conductor, transverse to an electric current in the conductor and to an applied magnetic field perpendicular to the current. By tracking location of ball bearing125as a function of the pour spout's position, the amount of liquid released may be tracked by a computing device in accordance to embodiments disclosed herein. Tracking may comprise, but not be limited to, for example, calculating the displacement of ball bearing125within chamber110. In some embodiments, the sensors may be coupled with additional components, use alternative measurements (e.g., magnetic flux, electrical flux, or EM flux) to ascertain the ball bearing's location. For example, optomechanical systems and corresponding sensors may be used in conjunction with, or ingratiated with, the sensing device300. In further embodiments, a magnetically operated mechanical switch may be used in conjunction with, or ingratiated with, the sensing device300. In yet further embodiments, MEMS magnetic field sensors using Lorentz force may be used in conjunction with, or ingratiated with, the sensing device300. Furthermore, although particularly described as using a magnetic field sensor or other sensor in the several preceding examples herein, capacitance sensing, limit-switch sensing, physical displacement sensing, and any other suitable form of sensing is also applicable. Accordingly, it should be understood by one of ordinary skill in the field of the present disclosure that a plurality of systems may be adapted to be in conjunction with, or integrated with, sensing device300to achieve the desired results. Referring now toFIG.4AandFIG.4B, device100may comprise a cover410corresponding to the area and shape of the main pour spout and air vent135, so as to fit flush with the main pour spout and prevent moisture from entering through cover410. The material of cover410may be made from, but not limited to metal, plastic, or wood. Cover410may be used, but not limited to, for example, insulate the channel for sensor from outside elements such as, but not limited to, liquid, dirt, and grime. Accordingly, referring back toFIG.1, device100may allow measured liquid pours specified by a user to be administered from a bottle in discrete portions. Device100may be attached to the opening of a bottle containing liquid. The starting orientation, in the initial configuration105, may be such that a base of a liquid container (e.g., the bottle) is level with the ground, with the pour spout facing upwards, perpendicular with the ground, and ball bearing125is at the bottom of chamber110. Turning towards configuration130, device100may then invert (i.e., Rotated 90°-180° from original orientation) such that ball bearing125begins travel down the path of the ball chamber110. The liquid in ball chamber110may then be expelled by the force of gravity, and force ball bearing125down the chamber110. The displacement of ball bearing125is detected by sensing device300and is used, in turn, to track an amount of liquid dispensed during the pour. Now in configuration140, ball bearing125may cease travel when it reaches “top” of the ball chamber110, as ball bearing125may be configured to seal a pouring hole in device100. In some embodiments, ball bearing125may also cover, at least in part, air-vent135, further affecting the liquid flow rate. In scenarios of a partial pour, ball bearing125may not be completely forced to the “top” of chamber110(e.g., device100is not inverted long enough for ball bearing125to travel the length of chamber110is then reverted to its initial configuration110. Nevertheless, sensing device300may still measure the total displacement of ball bearing125within chamber110. In some embodiments, the measured distance may be exported to a computing device (e.g., a hub). Having each pour spout assigned to a particular spirit, the measured distance may serve as input to an algorithm configured to calculate an amount of liquid dispensed from the bottle to which device100is affixed. As described above, the device100may include a variety of features and mechanics configured to assist in tracking inventory. For example, with reference toFIG.2, the device may include a bottom cap202. The bottom cap202includes a first opening218to receive a liquid from a bottle and a second opening to measurably release the received liquid into ball chamber204. Generally, increasing the size of the first opening218of the bottom cap202decreases the predetermined amount of the liquid. Similarly, decreasing the size of the first opening218of the bottom cap202increases the predetermined amount of liquid. The ball chamber204is arranged on the bottom cap202. The ball chamber204includes a bottom opening in fluid communication with the second opening of the bottom cap202. The ball chamber204includes a cylindrical cavity arranged to retain the ball bearing and the predetermined amount of liquid. The cylindrical cavity is also in fluid communication with the bottom opening. Finally, the ball chamber204also includes a top opening in fluid communication with the cylindrical cavity so that liquid can be poured through to main pour spout208. Air vent206is arranged proximate the ball chamber204. Air vent206is configured to receive air from an exterior of a liquid dispensing container and direct the received air to the interior of the liquid dispensing container. The sensor cavity210is arranged proximate the ball chamber204. The sensor cavity210is also termed a “channel for sensor” herein, and is an elongated channel configured to retain at least one sensor. Generally, the at least one sensor can be actuated by the ball bearing as described herein. Additionally, the sensor cavity210is sealed to prevent the liquid from entering the sensor cavity210and fouling the at least one sensor. The device100may also include a top212configured to seat onto or about a neck or top opening of a liquid dispensing container, such as a liquor or wine bottle. The top212may be covered by cover214. Additional electronics, including any necessary antennas, transceivers, or other electronics may be housed beneath the cover214. Additionally, the device100can include a sealing member or sealing ring216arranged about the ball chamber, configured to seal and/or seat within the bottle neck beneath the top212. Hereinafter, operation of individual inventory tracking devices100is presented with reference toFIGS.5and6. III. Platform Design and Operation FIGS.5and6illustrate possible operating environments through which a platform consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure may be provided. By way of non-limiting example, the platform may be hosted on a centralized server, such as, for example, a hub or a cloud computing service. A user may access the platform through a software application. The software application may be embodied as, for example, but not be limited to, a website, a web application, a desktop application, and a mobile application compatible with a computing deviceFIG.9. One possible embodiment of the software application may be provided by the BarMinder™ suite of products and services provided by BarMinder, Inc. As will be detailed with reference toFIG.9below, the computing device through which the platform may be accessed may comprise, but not be limited to, for example, an integrated circuit, a desktop computer, a laptop, a tablet, mobile telecommunications device, or an Internet of Things (IOT) device. A platform for tracking beverage consumption and inventory may be configured to operate as disclosed herein. Although the stages of operation depicted herein are disclosed in a particular order, it should be understood that the order is disclosed for illustrative purposes only. Stages may be combined, separated, reordered, and various intermediary stages may exist. Accordingly, it should be understood that the various stages may be, in various embodiments, performed in arrangements that differ from the ones illustrated. Moreover, various stages may be added or removed without altering or deterring from the fundamental scope of the depicted methods and systems disclosed herein. Consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure, sensing device300may be operatively associated with a communications module (e.g., integrated near-field communications technology) to send data wirelessly to a hub. The communications module may be a part of, or separate from, the at least one processor320. As mentioned above, a hub may be, for example, an on-premises computing device in local proximity to device100. Each data stream may be associated with a particular device configured to a particular bottle, each programmatically registered with the platform. In this way, the platform may ascertain which device is attached to which bottle. The data streams communicated to the hub associated with a particular device may be assigned a “pour number” uniquely for the particular device. The data stream may comprise, for example, but not be limited to, a volume of any particular pour (½ oz, 1 oz, 1.5 oz etc.), and total volume poured since placed on new bottle, battery voltage, and other metrics on functionality of device (e.g., recently placed on new bottle, etc.). Still consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure, the hub may send data back to device100(e.g., software updates). Such bi-directional communication may be facilitated by a communications module configured to communicate directly over a local network with, for example, a software application associated with the platform. In addition, the hub may be configured to communicate with other computing devices in a networked environment. One such computing device may be within a cloud computing environment, connected through a telecommunications channel. The cloud computing device may be configured to track a plurality of devices within a plurality of locations, and enable remote computing devices (e.g., a mobile phone) to connect thereto. In some embodiments, data collected on the cloud computing environment may be used and sold to companies such as, but not limited to, advertising agencies, liquor manufacturers, marketing teams, and due diligence practitioners. The mobile app and web client may enable the user to interact with the data collected. The app may communicate through the internet to the cloud servers, and directly to the Hub. This facilitates easier setup and management if Internet connectivity isn't available. The mobile app may have the following data aggregated: relevant data generated by the system, inventory levels, predictions of when inventory orders need to be placed, automatic adding of needed inventory to a cart for simple ordering or the ability to enable automatic ordering at set thresholds, access to a marketplace to order new inventory, allows manual reconciliation with physical counts during auditing to bring system's count of inventory in line. In yet further embodiments, and as illustrated inFIG.6, a “marketplace” may provide a centralized network for communication between buyers of spirits, liquor distributors, and data clients. The marketplace may facilitate a streamlined sales process for distributors to advertise, solicit, and sell their spirits to prospective buyers. When an order of spirits is needed, they may be requested or publicly posted in the marketplace, and distributors may compete to bid and fill orders. Distributors traditionally employ large salesforces to sell through their products. The marketplace reduces the work required to place and fulfill orders and may increase distributors' margins. The marketplace may charge the distributor a set percentage fee on each order. Distributors may manage actual delivery of inventory to the physical location of the bar. An exemplary process as shown inFIG.6may follow the following procedure. Although the stages of operation depicted herein are disclosed in a particular order, it should be understood that the order is disclosed for illustrative purposes only. Stages may be combined, separated, reordered, and various intermediary stages may exist. Accordingly, it should be understood that the various stages may be, in various embodiments, performed in arrangements that differ from the ones illustrated. Moreover, various stages may be added or removed without altering or deterring from the fundamental scope of the depicted methods and systems disclosed herein. First, a plurality of devices consistent with embodiments disclosed herein may collect information from their respective bottles. Each device's data may be sent to, for example, the hub, which calculates and logs liquid container inventory. The logged inventory may be viewed from a computing device connected to the hub. Then, data from the hub is sent to, for example, a centralized server. Based on the information on the server, orders may be placed on the marketplace, or that information may be sold to third parties. As orders are placed and fulfilled in the marketplace, distributors may coordinate the shipping and distribution of the ordered products. Hereinafter, a more detailed discussion of operation of the platforms described herein is provided with reference toFIGS.7-8. FIG.7is a flowchart of a method700of automated inventory control of dispensed liquids, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The method700may include registering and/or associating a device with a particular liquid dispensing container and a hub, at block702. Generally, registering includes assigning associated identifying data to an inventory tracking device, where the identifying data identifies a particular type of liquid dispensing container associated with the inventory tracking device. The method700may further include receiving individual inventory data related to dispensing containers from the registered devices, at block704. For example, individual inventory tracking devices100can transmit volumetric data of the liquid dispensing container to the hub. The method700may further include assembling inventory data for the devices and associated dispensing containers responsive to the receiving, at block706. The assembling can include aggregating data for every bottle for a customer that has an active inventory tracking device100. The method700may further includes transmitting the assembled inventory data to a centralized server or cloud server, at block708. For example, the centralized cloud server is described with reference toFIGS.5and6, above. In addition to the assembled inventory data, or in the alternative, the hub may transmit one or more purchase orders to the centralized server. For example, the one or more purchase orders may include inventory data or other suitable data to ensure an order is validly placed from the hub. Thereafter, the method700may include determining a need to collect data from the registered devices, at block710, and determining if a new device is present, if an unregistered device is within range, or if a software update is available, at block712. Generally, the need to collect data may be based on a flow of business, a total number of pours from a device or other indicators of diminishing inventory. The need may also be based on a predetermined schedule, regular schedule, or other schedule. Software update availability may be manually pushed onto the hub or may be based on a predetermined schedule to check for updates. If there is a need to collect data, the method700resumes at block704. If there is a software update available, the method700includes pushing the software and/or firmware update to the registered device, at block714. The method700may subsequently continue with block702or704, depending upon any desired implementation of the methodology. As described above, the method700includes operations configured to be performed by a hub or localized processor, and individual devices. Hereafter, method800is described as related to operations configured to be performed through a centralized server or cloud-based architecture. FIG.8is a flowchart of the method800of automated inventory control of dispensed liquids. The method800includes requesting inventory data from a customer computing device, at block802. The inventory data may be received from a hub over a network. The inventory data may be received regularly, on a regular schedule, or may be received according to a different schedule. The inventory data may also be received based on a demand. The demand may be a demand for additional product. The demand may be based on an amount of liquid poured/served, an amount of sales, activity at a customer location, or other attributes. This network may be separate or different from the network used by the hub to communicate with the individual device100. The method800further includes receiving the requested inventory data from the customer computing device, at block804. The inventory data may be received over the network. The inventory data may include volumetric data, sales data, and/or other suitable data. The method800also includes determining if inventory levels indicate a need for additional product, at block806. For example, the need may be based on sales volume or other attributes, including predicted holidays or large sales events. Other attributes for need can be adjusted based on any desired implementation. The method800also includes assembling one or more purchase orders based on the determining the need for additional product, at block808. The method800also includes transmitting the one or more orders to distributors based on product data, at block810. The distributors may be sent purchase orders based on inventory at the distributor or availability data for products. Thus, the method800may also include choosing a distributor based on an attribute, such as availability of a food product or spirit. It is noted that both the hub and centralized server may be quipped to issue purchase orders. For example, according to one aspect, the hub may issue purchase orders on behalf of a customer. According to an additional aspect, the centralized server may issue purchase orders on behalf of a customer. The method800also includes determining that a customer associated with the one or more orders has opted-in to receive marketing promotions or otherwise authorized release of purchase order or inventory data, at block812. If the customer has opted-in or otherwise agreed, the method800can include transmitting a summary of the inventory data and/or the one or more purchase orders to a third party, at block814. As described above, various methodologies associated with automated inventory control of dispensed liquids has been provided herein. The methodologies may be associated with any dispensed liquid, such as food products, liquors, wines, or other consumable liquids. In other implementations, the methodologies may be associated with a dispensed liquid such as motor oil, washing fluid, or other liquids associated with automotive maintenance. In other implementations, the methodologies may be associated with a dispensed liquid such as a hair product, nail polish, cream or lotion, or other liquids associated with a beauty salon. In still further implementations, the methodologies may be associated with any liquid to be dispensed that is measurable in volume through sensing displacement, as described herein. IV. Computing Device Architecture Portions of the invention may be embodied as, for example, but not be limited to, a website, a web application, a desktop application, backend application, and a mobile application compatible with a computing device900. Any portion of the disclosed systems may include a computing device900, including the sensor stick300, hub, cloud server, centralized server, or any other portion of the invention. The computing device900may comprise, but not be limited to the following:Mobile computing device, such as, but is not limited to, a laptop, a tablet, a smartphone, a drone, a wearable, an embedded device, a handheld device, an Arduino, an industrial device, or a remotely operable recording device;A supercomputer, an exa-scale supercomputer, a mainframe, or a quantum computer;A minicomputer, wherein the minicomputer computing device comprises, but is not limited to, an IBM AS400/iSeries/System I, A DEC VAX/PDP, a HP3000, a Honeywell-Bull DPS, a Texas Instruments TI-990, or a Wang Laboratories VS Series;A microcomputer, wherein the microcomputer computing device comprises, but is not limited to, a server, wherein a server may be rack mounted, a workstation, an industrial device, a raspberry pi, a desktop, or an embedded device. Embodiments herein may be hosted on a centralized server or a cloud computing service. Although methods700and800have been described to be performed by a computing device900, it should be understood that, in some embodiments, different operations may be performed by a plurality of the computing devices900in operative communication at least one network. Embodiments of the present disclosure may comprise a system having a central processing unit (CPU)920, a bus930, a memory unit940, a power supply unit (PSU)950, and one or more Input/Output (I/O) units. The CPU920coupled to the memory unit940and the plurality of I/O units960via the bus930, all of which are powered by the PSU950. It should be understood that, in some embodiments, each disclosed unit may actually be a plurality of such units for the purposes of redundancy, high availability, and/or performance. The combination of the presently disclosed units is configured to perform the stages any method disclosed herein. FIG.9is a block diagram of a system including computing device900. Consistent with an embodiment of the disclosure, the aforementioned CPU920, the bus930, the memory unit940, a PSU950, and the plurality of I/O units960may be implemented in a computing device, such as computing device900ofFIG.9. Any suitable combination of hardware, software, or firmware may be used to implement the aforementioned units. For example, the CPU920, the bus930, and the memory unit940may be implemented with computing device900or any of other computing devices900, in combination with computing device900. The aforementioned system, device, and components are examples and other systems, devices, and components may comprise the aforementioned CPU920, the bus930, the memory unit940, consistent with embodiments of the disclosure. At least one computing device900may be embodied as any of the computing elements illustrated in all of the attached figures, including sensor stick300, processor320, local hub, cloud server, web client, or any other element described herein. A computing device900does not need to be electronic, nor even have a CPU920, nor bus930, nor memory unit940. The definition of the computing device900to a person having ordinary skill in the art is “A device that computes, especially a programmable [usually] electronic machine that performs high-speed mathematical or logical operations or that assembles, stores, correlates, or otherwise processes information.” Any device which processes information qualifies as a computing device900, especially if the processing is purposeful. With reference toFIG.9, a system consistent with an embodiment of the disclosure may include a computing device, such as computing device900. In a basic configuration, computing device900may include at least one clock module910, at least one CPU920, at least one bus930, and at least one memory unit940, at least one PSU950, and at least one I/O960module, wherein I/O module may be comprised of, but not limited to a non-volatile storage sub-module961, a communication sub-module962, a sensors sub-module963, and a peripherals sub-module964. A system consistent with an embodiment of the disclosure the computing device900may include the clock module910may be known to a person having ordinary skill in the art as a clock generator, which produces clock signals. Clock signal is a particular type of signal that oscillates between a high and a low state and is used like a metronome to coordinate actions of digital circuits. Most integrated circuits (ICs) of sufficient complexity use a clock signal in order to synchronize different parts of the circuit, cycling at a rate slower than the worst-case internal propagation delays. The preeminent example of the aforementioned integrated circuit is the CPU920, the central component of modern computers, which relies on a clock. The only exceptions are asynchronous circuits such as asynchronous CPUs. The clock910can comprise a plurality of embodiments, such as, but not limited to, single-phase clock which transmits all clock signals on effectively 1 wire, two-phase clock which distributes clock signals on two wires, each with non-overlapping pulses, and four-phase clock which distributes clock signals on 4 wires. Many computing devices900use a “clock multiplier” which multiplies a lower frequency external clock to the appropriate clock rate of the CPU920. This allows the CPU920to operate at a much higher frequency than the rest of the computer, which affords performance gains in situations where the CPU920does not need to wait on an external factor (like memory940or input/output960). Some embodiments of the clock910may include dynamic frequency change, where, the time between clock edges can vary widely from one edge to the next and back again. A system consistent with an embodiment of the disclosure the computing device900may include the CPU unit920comprising at least one CPU Core921. A plurality of CPU cores921may comprise identical the CPU cores921, such as, but not limited to, homogeneous multi-core systems. It is also possible for the plurality of CPU cores921to comprise different the CPU cores921, such as, but not limited to, heterogeneous multi-core systems, big.LITTLE systems and some AMD accelerated processing units (APU). The CPU unit920reads and executes program instructions which may be used across many application domains, for example, but not limited to, general purpose computing, embedded computing, network computing, digital signal processing (DSP), and graphics processing (GPU). The CPU unit920may run multiple instructions on separate CPU cores921at the same time. The CPU unit920may be integrated into at least one of a single integrated circuit die and multiple dies in a single chip package. The single integrated circuit die and multiple dies in a single chip package may contain a plurality of other aspects of the computing device900, for example, but not limited to, the clock910, the CPU920, the bus930, the memory940, and I/O960. The CPU unit920may contain cache922such as, but not limited to, a level 1 cache, level 2 cache, level 3 cache or combination thereof. The aforementioned cache922may or may not be shared amongst a plurality of CPU cores921. The cache922sharing comprises at least one of message passing and inter-core communication methods may be used for the at least one CPU Core921to communicate with the cache922. The inter-core communication methods may comprise, but not limited to, bus, ring, two-dimensional mesh, and crossbar. The aforementioned CPU unit920may employ symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) design. The plurality of the aforementioned CPU cores921may comprise soft microprocessor cores on a single field programmable gate array (FPGA), such as semiconductor intellectual property cores (IP Core). The plurality of CPU cores921architecture may be based on at least one of, but not limited to, Complex instruction set computing (CISC), Zero instruction set computing (ZISC), and Reduced instruction set computing (RISC). At least one of the performance-enhancing methods may be employed by the plurality of the CPU cores921, for example, but not limited to Instruction-level parallelism (ILP) such as, but not limited to, superscalar pipelining, and Thread-level parallelism (TLP). Consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure, the aforementioned computing device900may employ a communication system that transfers data between components inside the aforementioned computing device900, and/or the plurality of computing devices900. The aforementioned communication system will be known to a person having ordinary skill in the art as a bus930. The bus930may embody internal and/or external plurality of hardware and software components, for example, but not limited to a wire, optical fiber, communication protocols, and any physical arrangement that provides the same logical function as a parallel electrical bus. The bus930may comprise at least one of, but not limited to a parallel bus, wherein the parallel bus carry data words in parallel on multiple wires, and a serial bus, wherein the serial bus carry data in bit-serial form. The bus930may embody a plurality of topologies, for example, but not limited to, a multidrop/electrical parallel topology, a daisy chain topology, and a connected by switched hubs, such as USB bus. The bus930may comprise a plurality of embodiments, for example, but not limited to:Internal data bus (data bus)931/Memory busControl bus932Address bus933System Management Bus (SMBus)Front-Side-Bus (FSB)External Bus Interface (EBI)Local busExpansion busLightning busController Area Network (CAN bus)Camera LinkExpressCardAdvanced Technology management Attachment (ATA), including embodiments and derivatives such as, but not limited to, Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE)/Enhanced IDE (EIDE), ATA Packet Interface (ATAPI), Ultra-Direct Memory Access (UDMA), Ultra ATA (UATA)/Parallel ATA (PATA)/Serial ATA (SATA), CompactFlash (CF) interface, Consumer Electronics ATA (CE-ATA)/Fiber Attached Technology Adapted (FATA), Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI), SATA Express (SATAe)/External SATA (eSATA), including the powered embodiment eSATAp/Mini-SATA (mSATA), and Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF)/M.2.Small Computer System Interface (SCSI)/Serial Attached SCSI (SAS)HyperTransportInfiniBandRapidIOMobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI)Coherent Processor Interface (CAPI)Plug-n-play1-WirePeripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), including embodiments such as, but not limited to, Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP), Peripheral Component Interconnect eXtended (PCI-X), Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCI-e) (e.g., PCI Express Mini Card, PCI Express M.2 [Mini PCIe v2], PCI Express External Cabling [ePCIe], and PCI Express OCuLink [Optical Copper{Cu} Link]), Express Card, AdvancedTCA, AMC, Universal 10, Thunderbolt/Mini DisplayPort, Mobile PCIe (M-PCIe), U.2, and Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe)/Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller Interface Specification (NVMHCIS).Industry Standard Architecture (ISA), including embodiments such as, but not limited to Extended ISA (EISA), PC/XT-bus/PC/AT-bus/PC/104 bus (e.g., PC/104-Plus, PCI/104-Express, PCI/104, and PCI-104), and Low Pin Count (LPC).Music Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)Universal Serial Bus (USB), including embodiments such as, but not limited to, Media Transfer Protocol (MTP)/Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL), Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU), wireless USB, InterChip USB, IEEE 1394 Interface/Firewire, Thunderbolt, and eXtensible Host Controller Interface (xHCI). Consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure, the aforementioned computing device900may employ hardware integrated circuits that store information for immediate use in the computing device900, know to the person having ordinary skill in the art as primary storage or memory940. The memory940operates at high speed, distinguishing it from the non-volatile storage sub-module961, which may be referred to as secondary or tertiary storage, which provides slow-to-access information but offers higher capacities at lower cost. The contents contained in memory940, may be transferred to secondary storage via techniques such as, but not limited to, virtual memory and swap. The memory940may be associated with addressable semiconductor memory, such as integrated circuits consisting of silicon-based transistors, used for example as primary storage but also other purposes in the computing device900. The memory940may comprise a plurality of embodiments, such as, but not limited to volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and semi-volatile memory. It should be understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art that the ensuing are non-limiting examples of the aforementioned memory:Volatile memory which requires power to maintain stored information, for example, but not limited to, Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM)941, Static Random-Access Memory (SRAM)942, CPU Cache memory925, Advanced Random-Access Memory (A-RAM), and other types of primary storage such as Random-Access Memory (RAM).Non-volatile memory which can retain stored information even after power is removed, for example, but not limited to, Read-Only Memory (ROM)943, Programmable ROM (PROM)944, Erasable PROM (EPROM)945, Electrically Erasable PROM (EEPROM)946(e.g., flash memory and Electrically Alterable PROM [EAPROM]), Mask ROM (MROM), One Time Programmable (OTP) ROM/Write Once Read Many (WORM), Ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), Parallel Random-Access Machine (PRAM), Split-Transfer Torque RAM (STT-RAM), Silicon Oxime Nitride Oxide Silicon (SONOS), Resistive RAM (RRAM), Nano RAM (NRAM), 3D XPoint, Domain-Wall Memory (DWM), and millipede memory.Semi-volatile memory which may have some limited non-volatile duration after power is removed but loses data after said duration has passed. Semi-volatile memory provides high performance, durability, and other valuable characteristics typically associated with volatile memory, while providing some benefits of true non-volatile memory. The semi-volatile memory may comprise volatile and non-volatile memory and/or volatile memory with battery to provide power after power is removed. The semi-volatile memory may comprise, but not limited to spin-transfer torque RAM (STT-RAM). Consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure, the aforementioned computing device900may employ the communication system between an information processing system, such as the computing device900, and the outside world, for example, but not limited to, human, environment, and another computing device900. The aforementioned communication system will be known to a person having ordinary skill in the art as I/O960. The I/O module960regulates a plurality of inputs and outputs with regard to the computing device900, wherein the inputs are a plurality of signals and data received by the computing device900, and the outputs are the plurality of signals and data sent from the computing device900. The I/O module960interfaces a plurality of hardware, such as, but not limited to, non-volatile storage961, communication devices962, sensors963, and peripherals964. The plurality of hardware is used by the at least one of, but not limited to, human, environment, and another computing device900to communicate with the present computing device900. The I/O module960may comprise a plurality of forms, for example, but not limited to channel I/O, port mapped I/O, asynchronous I/O, and Direct Memory Access (DMA). Consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure, the aforementioned computing device900may employ the non-volatile storage sub-module961, which may be referred to by a person having ordinary skill in the art as one of secondary storage, external memory, tertiary storage, off-line storage, and auxiliary storage. The non-volatile storage sub-module961may not be accessed directly by the CPU920without using intermediate area in the memory940. The non-volatile storage sub-module961does not lose data when power is removed and may be two orders of magnitude less costly than storage used in memory module, at the expense of speed and latency. The non-volatile storage sub-module961may comprise a plurality of forms, such as, but not limited to, Direct Attached Storage (DAS), Network Attached Storage (NAS), Storage Area Network (SAN), nearline storage, Massive Array of Idle Disks (MAID), Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), device mirroring, off-line storage, and robotic storage. The non-volatile storage sub-module (961) may comprise a plurality of embodiments, such as, but not limited to:Optical storage, for example, but not limited to, Compact Disk (CD) (CD-ROM/CD-R/CD-RW), Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) (DVD-ROM/DVD-R/DVD+R/DVD-RW/DVD+RW/DVD±RW/DVD+R DL/DVD-RAM/HD-DVD), Blu-ray Disk (BD) (BD-ROM/BD-R/BD-RE/BD-R DL/BD-RE DL), and Ultra-Density Optical (UDO).Semiconductor storage, for example, but not limited to, flash memory, such as, but not limited to, USB flash drive, Memory card, Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, Secure Digital (SD) card, Smart Card, CompactFlash (CF) card, Solid-State Drive (SSD) and memristor.Magnetic storage such as, but not limited to, Hard Disk Drive (HDD), tape drive, carousel memory, and Card Random-Access Memory (CRAM).Phase-change memoryHolographic data storage such as Holographic Versatile Disk (HVD).Molecular MemoryDeoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) digital data storage Consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure, the aforementioned computing device900may employ the communication sub-module962as a subset of the I/O960, which may be referred to by a person having ordinary skill in the art as at least one of, but not limited to, computer network, data network, and network. The network allows computing devices900to exchange data using connections, which may be known to a person having ordinary skill in the art as data links, between network nodes. The nodes comprise network computer devices900that originate, route, and terminate data. The nodes are identified by network addresses and can include a plurality of hosts consistent with the embodiments of a computing device900. The aforementioned embodiments include, but not limited to personal computers, phones, servers, drones, and networking devices such as, but not limited to, hubs, switches, routers, modems, and firewalls. Two nodes can be said are networked together, when one computing device900is able to exchange information with the other computing device900, whether or not they have a direct connection with each other. The communication sub-module962supports a plurality of applications and services, such as, but not limited to World Wide Web (WWW), digital video and audio, shared use of application and storage computing devices900, printers/scanners/fax machines, email/online chat/instant messaging, remote control, distributed computing, etc. The network may comprise a plurality of transmission mediums, such as, but not limited to conductive wire, fiber optics, and wireless. The network may comprise a plurality of communications protocols to organize network traffic, wherein application-specific communications protocols are layered, may be known to a person having ordinary skill in the art as carried as payload, over other more general communications protocols. The plurality of communications protocols may comprise, but not limited to, IEEE 802, ethernet, Wireless LAN (WLAN/Wi-Fi), Internet Protocol (IP) suite (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP, Internet Protocol version 4 [IPv4], and Internet Protocol version 6 [IPv6]), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET)/Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), and cellular standards (e.g., Global System for Mobile Communications [GSM], General Packet Radio Service [GPRS], Code-Division Multiple Access [CDMA], and Integrated Digital Enhanced Network [IDEN]). The communication sub-module962may comprise a plurality of size, topology, traffic control mechanism and organizational intent. The communication sub-module962may comprise a plurality of embodiments, such as, but not limited to:Wired communications, such as, but not limited to, coaxial cable, phone lines, twisted pair cables (ethernet), and InfiniBand.Wireless communications, such as, but not limited to, communications satellites, cellular systems, radio frequency/spread spectrum technologies, IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, free-space optical communications, terrestrial microwave, and Infrared (IR) communications. Wherein cellular systems embody technologies such as, but not limited to, 3G, 4G (such as WiMax and LTE), and 5G (short and long wavelength).Parallel communications, such as, but not limited to, LPT ports.Serial communications, such as, but not limited to, RS-232 and USB.Fiber Optic communications, such as, but not limited to, Single-mode optical fiber (SMF) and Multi-mode optical fiber (MMF).Power Line communications The aforementioned network may comprise a plurality of layouts, such as, but not limited to, bus network such as ethernet, star network such as Wi-Fi, ring network, mesh network, fully connected network, and tree network. The network can be characterized by its physical capacity or its organizational purpose. Use of the network, including user authorization and access rights, differ accordingly. The characterization may include, but not limited to nanoscale network, Personal Area Network (PAN), Local Area Network (LAN), Home Area Network (HAN), Storage Area Network (SAN), Campus Area Network (CAN), backbone network, Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), enterprise private network, Virtual Private Network (VPN), and Global Area Network (GAN). Consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure, the aforementioned computing device900may employ the sensors sub-module963as a subset of the I/O960. The sensors sub-module963comprises at least one of the devices, modules, and subsystems whose purpose is to detect events or changes in its environment and send the information to the computing device900. Sensors are sensitive to the measured property, are not sensitive to any property not measured, but may be encountered in its application, and do not significantly influence the measured property. The sensors sub-module963may comprise a plurality of digital devices and analog devices, wherein if an analog device is used, an Analog to Digital (A-to-D) converter must be employed to interface the said device with the computing device900. The sensors may be subject to a plurality of deviations that limit sensor accuracy. The sensors sub-module963may comprise a plurality of embodiments, such as, but not limited to, chemical sensors, automotive sensors, acoustic/sound/vibration sensors, electric current/electric potential/magnetic/radio sensors, environmental/weather/moisture/humidity sensors, flow/fluid velocity sensors, ionizing radiation/particle sensors, navigation sensors, position/angle/displacement/distance/speed/acceleration sensors, imaging/optical/light sensors, pressure sensors, force/density/level sensors, thermal/temperature sensors, and proximity/presence sensors. It should be understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art that the ensuing are non-limiting examples of the aforementioned sensors:Chemical sensors, such as, but not limited to, breathalyzer, carbon dioxide sensor, carbon monoxide/smoke detector, catalytic bead sensor, chemical field-effect transistor, chemiresistor, electrochemical gas sensor, electronic nose, electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor sensor, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, fluorescent chloride sensors, holographic sensor, hydrocarbon dew point analyzer, hydrogen sensor, hydrogen sulfide sensor, infrared point sensor, ion-selective electrode, nondispersive infrared sensor, microwave chemistry sensor, nitrogen oxide sensor, olfactometer, optode, oxygen sensor, ozone monitor, pellistor, pH glass electrode, potentiometric sensor, redox electrode, zinc oxide nanorod sensor, and biosensors (such as nanosensors).Automotive sensors, such as, but not limited to, air flow meter/mass airflow sensor, air-fuel ratio meter, AFR sensor, blind spot monitor, engine coolant/exhaust gas/cylinder head/transmission fluid temperature sensor, hall effect sensor, wheel/automatic transmission/turbine/vehicle speed sensor, airbag sensors, brake fluid/engine crankcase/fuel/oil/tire pressure sensor, camshaft/crankshaft/throttle position sensor, fuel/oil level sensor, knock sensor, light sensor, MAP sensor, oxygen sensor (O2), parking sensor, radar sensor, torque sensor, variable reluctance sensor, and water-in-fuel sensor.Acoustic, sound and vibration sensors, such as, but not limited to, microphone, lace sensor (guitar pickup), seismometer, sound locator, geophone, and hydrophone.Electric current, electric potential, magnetic, and radio sensors, such as, but not limited to, current sensor, Daly detector, electroscope, electron multiplier, faraday cup, galvanometer, hall effect sensor, hall probe, magnetic anomaly detector, magnetometer, magnetoresistance, MEMS magnetic field sensor, metal detector, planar hall sensor, radio direction finder, and voltage detector.Environmental, weather, moisture, and humidity sensors, such as, but not limited to, actinometer, air pollution sensor, bedwetting alarm, ceilometer, dew warning, electrochemical gas sensor, fish counter, frequency domain sensor, gas detector, hook gauge evaporimeter, humistor, hygrometer, leaf sensor, lysimeter, pyranometer, pyrgeometer, psychrometer, rain gauge, rain sensor, seismometers, SNOTEL, snow gauge, soil moisture sensor, stream gauge, and tide gauge.Flow and fluid velocity sensors, such as, but not limited to, air flow meter, anemometer, flow sensor, gas meter, mass flow sensor, and water meter.Ionizing radiation and particle sensors, such as, but not limited to, cloud chamber, Geiger counter, Geiger-Muller tube, ionization chamber, neutron detection, proportional counter, scintillation counter, semiconductor detector, and thermoluminescent dosimeter.Navigation sensors, such as, but not limited to, air speed indicator, altimeter, attitude indicator, depth gauge, fluxgate compass, gyroscope, inertial navigation system, inertial reference unit, magnetic compass, MHD sensor, ring laser gyroscope, turn coordinator, variometer, vibrating structure gyroscope, and yaw rate sensor.Position, angle, displacement, distance, speed, and acceleration sensors, such as, but not limited to, accelerometer, displacement sensor, flex sensor, free fall sensor, gravimeter, impact sensor, laser rangefinder, LIDAR, odometer, photoelectric sensor, position sensor such as, but not limited to, GPS or Glonass, angular rate sensor, shock detector, ultrasonic sensor, tilt sensor, tachometer, ultra-wideband radar, variable reluctance sensor, and velocity receiver.Imaging, optical and light sensors, such as, but not limited to, CMOS sensor, colorimeter, contact image sensor, electro-optical sensor, infra-red sensor, kinetic inductance detector, LED as light sensor, light-addressable potentiometric sensor, Nichols radiometer, fiber-optic sensors, optical position sensor, thermopile laser sensor, photodetector, photodiode, photomultiplier tubes, phototransistor, photoelectric sensor, photoionization detector, photomultiplier, photoresistor, photoswitch, phototube, scintillometer, Shack-Hartmann, single-photon avalanche diode, superconducting nanowire single-photon detector, transition edge sensor, visible light photon counter, and wavefront sensor.Pressure sensors, such as, but not limited to, barograph, barometer, boost gauge, bourdon gauge, hot filament ionization gauge, ionization gauge, McLeod gauge, Oscillating U-tube, permanent downhole gauge, piezometer, Pirani gauge, pressure sensor, pressure gauge, tactile sensor, and time pressure gauge.Force, Density, and Level sensors, such as, but not limited to, bhangmeter, hydrometer, force gauge or force sensor, level sensor, load cell, magnetic level or nuclear density sensor or strain gauge, piezocapacitive pressure sensor, piezoelectric sensor, torque sensor, and viscometer.Thermal and temperature sensors, such as, but not limited to, bolometer, bimetallic strip, calorimeter, exhaust gas temperature gauge, flame detection/pyrometer, Gardon gauge, Golay cell, heat flux sensor, microbolometer, microwave radiometer, net radiometer, infrared/quartz/resistance thermometer, silicon bandgap temperature sensor, thermistor, and thermocouple.Proximity and presence sensors, such as, but not limited to, alarm sensor, doppler radar, motion detector, occupancy sensor, proximity sensor, passive infrared sensor, reed switch, stud finder, triangulation sensor, touch switch, and wired glove. Consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure, the aforementioned computing device900may employ the peripherals sub-module962as a subset of the I/O960. The peripheral sub-module964comprises ancillary devices uses to put information into and get information out of the computing device900. There are 3 categories of devices comprising the peripheral sub-module964, which exist based on their relationship with the computing device900, input devices, output devices, and input/output devices. Input devices send at least one of data and instructions to the computing device900. Input devices can be categorized based on, but not limited to:Modality of input, such as, but not limited to, mechanical motion, audio, visual, and tactile.Whether the input is discrete, such as but not limited to, pressing a key, or continuous such as, but not limited to position of a mouse.The number of degrees of freedom involved, such as, but not limited to, two-dimensional mice vs three-dimensional mice used for Computer-Aided Design (CAD) applications. Output devices provide output from the computing device900. Output devices convert electronically generated information into a form that can be presented to humans. Input/output devices perform that perform both input and output functions. It should be understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art that the ensuing are non-limiting embodiments of the aforementioned peripheral sub-module964:Input DevicesHuman Interface Devices (HID), such as, but not limited to, pointing device (e.g., mouse, touchpad, joystick, touchscreen, game controller/gamepad, remote, light pen, light gun, Wii remote, jog dial, shuttle, and knob), keyboard, graphics tablet, digital pen, gesture recognition devices, magnetic ink character recognition, Sip-and-Puff (SNP) device, and Language Acquisition Device (LAD).High degree of freedom devices, that require up to six degrees of freedom such as, but not limited to, camera gimbals, Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE), and virtual reality systems.Video Input devices are used to digitize images or video from the outside world into the computing device900. The information can be stored in a multitude of formats depending on the user's requirement. Examples of types of video input devices include, but not limited to, digital camera, digital camcorder, portable media player, webcam, Microsoft Kinect, image scanner, fingerprint scanner, barcode reader, 3D scanner, laser rangefinder, eye gaze tracker, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, medical ultrasonography, TV tuner, and iris scanner.Audio input devices are used to capture sound. In some cases, an audio output device can be used as an input device, in order to capture produced sound. Audio input devices allow a user to send audio signals to the computing device900for at least one of processing, recording, and carrying out commands. Devices such as microphones allow users to speak to the computer in order to record a voice message or navigate software. Aside from recording, audio input devices are also used with speech recognition software. Examples of types of audio input devices include, but not limited to microphone, Musical Instrumental Digital Interface (MIDI) devices such as, but not limited to a keyboard, and headset.Data AcQuisition (DAQ) devices covert at least one of analog signals and physical parameters to digital values for processing by the computing device900. Examples of DAQ devices may include, but not limited to, Analog to Digital Converter (ADC), data logger, signal conditioning circuitry, multiplexer, and Time to Digital Converter (TDC).Output Devices may further comprise, but not be limited to:Display devices, which convert electrical information into visual form, such as, but not limited to, monitor, TV, projector, and Computer Output Microfilm (COM). Display devices can use a plurality of underlying technologies, such as, but not limited to, Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT), Thin-Film Transistor (TFT), Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED), MicroLED, E Ink Display (ePaper) and Refreshable Braille Display (Braille Terminal).Printers, such as, but not limited to, inkjet printers, laser printers, 3D printers, solid ink printers and plotters.Audio and Video (AV) devices, such as, but not limited to, speakers, headphones, amplifiers and lights, which include lamps, strobes, DJ lighting, stage lighting, architectural lighting, special effect lighting, and lasers.Other devices such as Digital to Analog Converter (DAC).Input/Output Devices may further comprise, but not be limited to, touchscreens, networking device (e.g., devices disclosed in network962sub-module), data storage device (non-volatile storage961), facsimile (FAX), and graphics/sound cards. All rights including copyrights in the code included herein are vested in and the property of the Applicant. The Applicant retains and reserves all rights in the code included herein, and grants permission to reproduce the material only in connection with reproduction of the granted patent and for no other purpose. V. Aspects of this Disclosure As described in detail herein, the present disclosure has several aspects, which include, but are not limited to the following:Aspect 1 includes a device configured to dispense a predetermined amount of liquid, comprising: a bottom cap, the bottom cap having a first opening to receive a liquid and a second opening to measurably release the received liquid; a ball chamber arranged on the bottom cap, the ball chamber having a bottom opening in fluid communication with the second opening of the bottom cap, the ball chamber having a cylindrical cavity arranged to retain a ball bearing and the predetermined amount of liquid, the cylindrical cavity being in fluid communication with the bottom opening, the ball chamber further having a top opening in fluid communication with the cylindrical cavity; a sensor cavity arranged proximate the ball chamber, the sensor cavity configured to retain at least one sensor actuated by the ball bearing and sealed to prevent the liquid from entering the sensor cavity; and a pour spout arranged on the ball chamber, the pour spout being in fluid communication with the top opening of the ball chamber and configured to pour the predetermined amount of liquid.Aspect 2 includes the device of any preceding aspect, wherein the first opening of the bottom cap is sized to receive the predetermined amount of the liquid.Aspect 3 includes the device of any preceding aspect, wherein increasing the size of the first opening of the bottom cap decreases the predetermined amount of the liquid.Aspect 4 includes the device of any preceding aspect, wherein decreasing the size of the first opening of the bottom cap increases the predetermined amount of the liquid.Aspect 5 includes the device of any preceding aspect, further comprising an air vent disposed proximate the ball chamber, the air vent configured to receive air from an exterior of a liquid dispensing container and direct the received air into the interior of the liquid dispensing container.Aspect 6 includes the device of any preceding aspect, further comprising a top configured to seat onto a liquid dispensing container.Aspect 7 includes the device of any preceding aspect, further comprising a sensor stick disposed in the sensor cavity.Aspect 8 includes the device of any preceding aspect, wherein the sensor stick comprises at least one magnetic sensor configured to detect placement of the ball bearing within the ball chamber.Aspect 9 includes the device of any preceding aspect, wherein the sensor stick comprises a printed circuit board having printed circuitry thereon and being sized to be retained within the sensor cavity.Aspect 10 includes the device of any preceding aspect, wherein the sensor stick further comprises at least one processor in operative communication with the printed circuitry.Aspect 11 includes the device of any preceding aspect, wherein the at least one processor is configured to transmit individual inventory data to a hub device over a wireless communication protocol, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive computer-readable instructions over the wireless communication protocol.Aspect 12 includes the device of any preceding aspect, further comprising a top configured to seat onto a liquid dispensing container and a cover arranged on the top, the cover being sized to house circuitry and at least one antenna.Aspect 13 includes the device of any preceding aspect, wherein the top and cover are formed of plastic.Aspect 14 includes the device of any preceding aspect, further comprising a sealing ring arranged about the ball chamber, the sealing ring arranged to seat and seal within the neck of a liquid dispensing container.Aspect 15 includes the device of any preceding aspect, wherein the sealing ring is formed of at least one of the following: rubber, cork, and plastic.Aspect 16 includes a method of automated inventory control of dispensed liquids, the method comprising: receiving inventory data from a customer computing device, the customer computing device being in operative communication with a plurality of inventory tracking devices, each inventory tracking device of the plurality of inventory tracking devices being configured to receive and dispense a predetermined amount of liquid from a liquid dispensing container, and each of the plurality of inventory tracking devices configured to transmit individual inventory data of the associated liquid dispensing container; determining that inventory levels from the inventory data indicate a need for additional product; and assembling at least one purchase order based on determining that the inventory levels from the inventory data indicate the need for additional product.Aspect 17 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising requesting the inventory data from the customer computing device.Aspect 18 includes the method of any preceding aspect, wherein receiving the inventory data comprises receiving the inventory data at a scheduled time.Aspect 19 includes the method of any preceding aspect, wherein receiving the inventory data comprises calculating the inventory data at a hub.Aspect 20 includes the method of any preceding aspect, wherein receiving the inventory data comprises receiving the inventory data based on demand for additional product.Aspect 21 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising determining the demand for additional product is based on activity related to pouring liquid from one or more of the plurality of inventory tracking devices.Aspect 22 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising: transmitting the at least one purchase order to a distributor.Aspect 23 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising selecting the distributor based on an available inventory for filling the purchase order.Aspect 24 includes the method of any preceding aspect, wherein the at least one purchase order is a plurality of purchase orders, and the method further comprising: transmitting the plurality of purchase orders to a plurality of distributors.Aspect 25 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprises choosing the plurality of distributors based on available inventory for filling each purchase order of the plurality of purchase orders.Aspect 26 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising determining if the customer has agreed to share inventory data with third parties.Aspect 27 includes the method of any preceding aspect, wherein responsive to determining that the customer has agreed to share inventory data with third parties the method comprises: transmitting a summary of the at least one purchase order to an authorized third party.Aspect 28 includes the method of any preceding aspect, wherein responsive to determining that the customer has agreed to share inventory data with third parties the method comprises: transmitting a summary of the inventory data to an authorized third party.Aspect 29 includes the method of any preceding aspect, wherein each inventory tracking device of the plurality of inventory tracking devices includes a pour spout for dispensing the predetermined amount of liquid and at least one sensor for detecting the dispensing of the predetermined amount of liquid.Aspect 30 includes the method of any preceding aspect, wherein each inventory tracking device of the plurality of inventory tracking devices comprises: a bottom cap, the bottom cap having a first opening to receive a liquid and a second opening to measurably release the received liquid; a ball chamber arranged on the bottom cap, the ball chamber having a bottom opening in fluid communication with the second opening of the bottom cap, the ball chamber having a cylindrical cavity arranged to retain a ball bearing and the predetermined amount of liquid, the cylindrical cavity being in fluid communication with the bottom opening, the ball chamber further having a top opening in fluid communication with the cylindrical cavity; a sensor cavity arranged proximate the ball chamber, the sensor cavity configured to retain at least one sensor actuated by the ball bearing and sealed to prevent the liquid from entering the sensor cavity; and a pour spout arranged on the ball chamber, the pour spout being in fluid communication with the top opening of the ball chamber and configured to pour the predetermined amount of liquid.Aspect 31 includes a method of automated inventory control of dispensed liquids, the method comprising: receiving individual inventory data from a plurality of inventory tracking devices, each inventory tracking device of the plurality of inventory tracking devices being configured to receive and dispense a predetermined amount of liquid from a liquid dispensing container, and each of the plurality of inventory tracking devices configured to transmit individual inventory data of the associated liquid dispensing container; and assembling inventory data for all liquid dispensing containers associated with an inventory tracking device, the inventory data including a volumetric measurement of predicted liquid retained in each liquid dispensing container.Aspect 32 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising registering individual inventory devices to be associated with individual liquid dispensing containers.Aspect 33 includes the method of any preceding aspect, wherein registering comprises assigning associated identifying data to an inventory tracking device, the identifying data identifying a particular type of liquid dispensing container associated with the inventory tracking device.Aspect 34 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising transmitting the assembled inventory data to a centralized server.Aspect 35 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising transmitting the assembled inventory data to a mobile device.Aspect 36 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising transmitting the assembled inventory data to a consumer computing apparatus, the consumer computing apparatus configured to display a graphical user interface with a graphical representation of at least a portion of the assembled inventory data.Aspect 37 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising determining a need to collect inventory data.Aspect 38 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising receiving updated individual inventory data based on the determined need.Aspect 39 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising receiving individual inventory data from inventory tracking devices that are active.Aspect 40 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising determining a need to update software on at least one inventory tracking device.Aspect 41 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising pushing computer readable instructions to the at least one inventory tracking device based on the determined need.Aspect 42 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising receiving the computer readable instructions from a centralized server.Aspect 43 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising determining that an unregistered inventory tracking device is within range of detection.Aspect 44 includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising registering the unregistered inventory tracking device.Aspect 45 includes the method of any preceding aspect, wherein each inventory tracking device of the plurality of inventory tracking devices comprises: a bottom cap, the bottom cap having a first opening to receive a liquid and a second opening to measurably release the received liquid; a ball chamber arranged on the bottom cap, the ball chamber having a bottom opening in fluid communication with the second opening of the bottom cap, the ball chamber having a cylindrical cavity arranged to retain a ball bearing and the predetermined amount of liquid, the cylindrical cavity being in fluid communication with the bottom opening, the ball chamber further having a top opening in fluid communication with the cylindrical cavity; a sensor cavity arranged proximate the ball chamber, the sensor cavity configured to retain at least one sensor actuated by the ball bearing and sealed to prevent the liquid from entering the sensor cavity; and a pour spout arranged on the ball chamber, the pour spout being in fluid communication with the top opening of the ball chamber and configured to pour the predetermined amount of liquid.Aspect 46 includes an inventory tracking device, comprising: a bottom cap, the bottom cap having a first opening to receive a liquid and a second opening to measurably release the received liquid; a ball chamber arranged on the bottom cap, the ball chamber having a bottom opening in fluid communication with the second opening of the bottom cap, the ball chamber having a cylindrical cavity arranged to retain a ball bearing and the predetermined amount of liquid, the cylindrical cavity being in fluid communication with the bottom opening, the ball chamber further having a top opening in fluid communication with the cylindrical cavity; a sensor cavity arranged proximate the ball chamber, the sensor cavity configured to retain at least one sensor actuated by the ball bearing and sealed to prevent the liquid from entering the sensor cavity; and a printed circuit board disposed within the sensor cavity, the printed circuit board having the at least one sensor and a processor configured to perform operations, the operations comprising: determining that the at least one sensor has been actuated in response to movement of a liquid dispensing container; and transmitting volumetric data associated with the liquid dispensing container based on the at least one sensor being actuated.Aspect 47 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein the operations further comprise determining an amount of liquid that has been dispensed from a liquid dispensing container based on the at least one sensor being actuated and transmitting the amount to a customer computing device.Aspect 48 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, further comprising receiving computer readable instructions from a customer computing device and applying the computer readable instructions.Aspect 49 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, further comprising sending the volumetric data to a customer computing device.Aspect 50 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein the customer computing device is a hub in communication with a centralized server.Aspect 51 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein the hub is configured to issue purchase orders based on the volumetric data.Aspect 52 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein the at least one sensor is a magnetic sensor configured to detect a change in magnetic flux due to passing of the ball bearing proximate the magnetic sensor.Aspect 53 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein the at least one sensor is a proximity sensor configured to detect a proximity of the ball bearing to the at least one sensor.Aspect 54 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein the at least one sensor is an optical sensor configured to detect a passing of the ball bearing in front of the optical sensor.Aspect 55 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein the at least one sensor is a capacitive sensor.Aspect 56 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein determining that the at least one sensor has been actuated comprises sensing a motion of the ball bearing during rotation of the liquid dispensing container.Aspect 57 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein determining the amount of liquid dispensed comprises determining a length of travel of the ball bearing within the ball chamber.Aspect 58 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein determining the amount of liquid dispensed comprises determining if the ball chamber is evacuated.Aspect 59 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein the volumetric data comprises an initial amount of liquid in the liquid dispensing container and a total amount of dispensed liquid from the liquid dispensing container.Aspect 60 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein the inventory tracking device is in operative communication with a hub device over a first network, and wherein the hub device is in operative communication with a centralized server over a second network.Aspect 61 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, and a device configured to dispense a predetermined amount of liquid, comprising: a bottom cap, the bottom cap having a first opening to receive a liquid and a second opening to measurably release the received liquid; a ball chamber arranged on the bottom cap, the ball chamber having a bottom opening in fluid communication with the second opening of the bottom cap, the ball chamber having a cylindrical cavity arranged to retain a ball bearing and the predetermined amount of liquid, the cylindrical cavity being in fluid communication with the bottom opening, the ball chamber further having a top opening in fluid communication with the cylindrical cavity; a sensor cavity arranged proximate the ball chamber, the sensor cavity configured to retain at least one sensor actuated by the ball bearing and sealed to prevent the liquid from entering the sensor cavity; and a pour spout arranged on the ball chamber, the pour spout being in fluid communication with the top opening of the ball chamber and configured to pour the predetermined amount of liquid.Aspect 62 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein the first opening of the bottom cap is sized to receive the predetermined amount of the liquid.Aspect 63 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein increasing the size of the first opening of the bottom cap decreases the predetermined amount of the liquid.Aspect 64 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein decreasing the size of the first opening of the bottom cap increases the predetermined amount of the liquid.Aspect 65 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, further comprising an air vent disposed proximate the ball chamber, the air vent configured to receive air from an exterior of a liquid dispensing container and direct the received air into the interior of the liquid dispensing container.Aspect 66 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, further comprising a top configured to seat onto a liquid dispensing container.Aspect 67 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, further comprising a sensor stick disposed in the sensor cavity.Aspect 68 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein the sensor stick comprises at least one magnetic sensor configured to detect placement of the ball bearing within the ball chamber.Aspect 69 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein the sensor stick comprises a printed circuit board having printed circuitry thereon and being sized to be retained within the sensor cavity.Aspect 70 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein the sensor stick further comprises at least one processor in operative communication with the printed circuitry.Aspect 71 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein the at least one processor is configured to transmit individual inventory data to a hub device over a wireless communication protocol, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive computer-readable instructions over the wireless communication protocol.Aspect 72 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, further comprising a top configured to seat onto a liquid dispensing container and a cover arranged on the top, the cover being sized to house circuitry and at least one antenna.Aspect 73 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein the top and cover are formed of plastic.Aspect 74 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, further comprising a sealing ring arranged about the ball chamber, the sealing ring arranged to seat and seal within the neck of a liquid dispensing container.Aspect 75 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, wherein the sealing ring is formed of at least one of the following: rubber, cork, and plastic.Aspect 76 includes the inventory tracking device of any preceding aspect, and a method comprising: receiving inventory data from a customer computing device, the customer computing device being in operative communication with a plurality of inventory tracking devices, each inventory tracking device of the plurality of inventory tracking devices being configured to receive and dispense a predetermined amount of liquid from a liquid dispensing container, and each of the plurality of inventory tracking devices configured to transmit individual inventory data of the associated liquid dispensing container; determining that inventory levels from the inventory data indicate a need for additional product; and assembling at least one purchase order based on determining that the inventory levels from the inventory data indicate the need for additional product.Aspect 77 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising requesting the inventory data from the customer computing device.Aspect 78 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein receiving the inventory data comprises receiving the inventory data at a scheduled time.Aspect 79 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein receiving the inventory data comprises calculating the inventory data at a hub.Aspect 80 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein receiving the inventory data comprises receiving the inventory data based on demand for additional product.Aspect 81 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising determining the demand for additional product is based on activity related to pouring liquid from one or more of the plurality of inventory tracking devices.Aspect 82 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising: transmitting the at least one purchase order to a distributor.Aspect 83 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising selecting the distributor based on an available inventory for filling the purchase order.Aspect 84 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein the at least one purchase order is a plurality of purchase orders, and the method further comprising: transmitting the plurality of purchase orders to a plurality of distributors.Aspect 85 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprises choosing the plurality of distributors based on available inventory for filling each purchase order of the plurality of purchase orders.Aspect 86 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising determining if the customer has agreed to share inventory data with third parties.Aspect 87 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein responsive to determining that the customer has agreed to share inventory data with third parties the method comprises: transmitting a summary of the at least one purchase order to an authorized third party.Aspect 88 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein responsive to determining that the customer has agreed to share inventory data with third parties the method comprises: transmitting a summary of the inventory data to an authorized third party.Aspect 89 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein each inventory tracking device of the plurality of inventory tracking devices includes a pour spout for dispensing the predetermined amount of liquid and at least one sensor for detecting the dispensing of the predetermined amount of liquid.Aspect 90 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein each inventory tracking device of the plurality of inventory tracking devices comprises: a bottom cap, the bottom cap having a first opening to receive a liquid and a second opening to measurably release the received liquid; a ball chamber arranged on the bottom cap, the ball chamber having a bottom opening in fluid communication with the second opening of the bottom cap, the ball chamber having a cylindrical cavity arranged to retain a ball bearing and the predetermined amount of liquid, the cylindrical cavity being in fluid communication with the bottom opening, the ball chamber further having a top opening in fluid communication with the cylindrical cavity; a sensor cavity arranged proximate the ball chamber, the sensor cavity configured to retain at least one sensor actuated by the ball bearing and sealed to prevent the liquid from entering the sensor cavity; and a pour spout arranged on the ball chamber, the pour spout being in fluid communication with the top opening of the ball chamber and configured to pour the predetermined amount of liquid.Aspect 91 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, and a method of automated inventory control of dispensed liquids, the method comprising: receiving individual inventory data from a plurality of inventory tracking devices, each inventory tracking device of the plurality of inventory tracking devices being configured to receive and dispense a predetermined amount of liquid from a liquid dispensing container, and each of the plurality of inventory tracking devices configured to transmit individual inventory data of the associated liquid dispensing container; and assembling inventory data for all liquid dispensing containers associated with an inventory tracking device, the inventory data including a volumetric measurement of predicted liquid retained in each liquid dispensing container.Aspect 92 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising registering individual inventory devices to be associated with individual liquid dispensing containers.Aspect 93 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein registering comprises assigning associated identifying data to an inventory tracking device, the identifying data identifying a particular type of liquid dispensing container associated with the inventory tracking device.Aspect 94 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising transmitting the assembled inventory data to a centralized server.Aspect 95 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising transmitting the assembled inventory data to a mobile device.Aspect 96 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising transmitting the assembled inventory data to a consumer computing apparatus, the consumer computing apparatus configured to display a graphical user interface with a graphical representation of at least a portion of the assembled inventory data.Aspect 76 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising determining a need to collect inventory data.Aspect 98 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising receiving updated individual inventory data based on the determined need.Aspect 99 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising receiving individual inventory data from inventory tracking devices that are active.Aspect 100 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising determining a need to update software on at least one inventory tracking device.Aspect 101 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising pushing computer readable instructions to the at least one inventory tracking device based on the determined need.Aspect 102 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising receiving the computer readable instructions from a centralized server.Aspect 103 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising determining that an unregistered inventory tracking device is within range of detection.Aspect 104 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising registering the unregistered inventory tracking device.Aspect 105 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein each inventory tracking device of the plurality of inventory tracking devices comprises: a bottom cap, the bottom cap having a first opening to receive a liquid and a second opening to measurably release the received liquid; a ball chamber arranged on the bottom cap, the ball chamber having a bottom opening in fluid communication with the second opening of the bottom cap, the ball chamber having a cylindrical cavity arranged to retain a ball bearing and the predetermined amount of liquid, the cylindrical cavity being in fluid communication with the bottom opening, the ball chamber further having a top opening in fluid communication with the cylindrical cavity; a sensor cavity arranged proximate the ball chamber, the sensor cavity configured to retain at least one sensor actuated by the ball bearing and sealed to prevent the liquid from entering the sensor cavity; and a pour spout arranged on the ball chamber, the pour spout being in fluid communication with the top opening of the ball chamber and configured to pour the predetermined amount of liquid.Aspect 106 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, and an inventory tracking device, comprising: a bottom cap, the bottom cap having a first opening to receive a liquid and a second opening to measurably release the received liquid; a ball chamber arranged on the bottom cap, the ball chamber having a bottom opening in fluid communication with the second opening of the bottom cap, the ball chamber having a cylindrical cavity arranged to retain a ball bearing and the predetermined amount of liquid, the cylindrical cavity being in fluid communication with the bottom opening, the ball chamber further having a top opening in fluid communication with the cylindrical cavity; a sensor cavity arranged proximate the ball chamber, the sensor cavity configured to retain at least one sensor actuated by the ball bearing and sealed to prevent the liquid from entering the sensor cavity; and a printed circuit board disposed within the sensor cavity, the printed circuit board having the at least one sensor and a processor configured to perform operations, the operations comprising: determining that the at least one sensor has been actuated in response to movement of a liquid dispensing container; and transmitting volumetric data associated with the liquid dispensing container based on the at least one sensor being actuated.Aspect 107 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein the operations further comprise determining an amount of liquid that has been dispensed from a liquid dispensing container based on the at least one sensor being actuated and transmitting the amount to a customer computing device.Aspect 108 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising receiving computer readable instructions from a customer computing device and applying the computer readable instructions.Aspect 109 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, further comprising sending the volumetric data to a customer computing device.Aspect 110 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein the customer computing device is a hub in communication with a centralized server.Aspect 111 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein the hub is configured to issue purchase orders based on the volumetric data.Aspect 112 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein the at least one sensor is a magnetic sensor configured to detect a change in magnetic flux due to passing of the ball bearing proximate the magnetic sensor.Aspect 113 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein the at least one sensor is a proximity sensor configured to detect a proximity of the ball bearing to the at least one sensor.Aspect 114 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein the at least one sensor is an optical sensor configured to detect a passing of the ball bearing in front of the optical sensor.Aspect 115 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein the at least one sensor is a capacitive sensor.Aspect 116 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein determining that the at least one sensor has been actuated comprises sensing a motion of the ball bearing during rotation of the liquid dispensing container.Aspect 117 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein determining the amount of liquid dispensed comprises determining a length of travel of the ball bearing within the ball chamber.Aspect 118 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein determining the amount of liquid dispensed comprises determining if the ball chamber is evacuated.Aspect 119 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein the volumetric data comprises an initial amount of liquid in the liquid dispensing container and a total amount of dispensed liquid from the liquid dispensing container.Aspect 120 includes the inventory tracking device and/or method of any preceding aspect, wherein the inventory tracking device is in operative communication with a hub device over a first network, and wherein the hub device is in operative communication with a centralized server over a second network. VI. Claims While the specification includes examples, the disclosure's scope is indicated by the following claims. Furthermore, while the specification has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, the claims are not limited to the features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example for embodiments of the disclosure. Insofar as the description above and the accompanying drawing disclose any additional subject matter that is not within the scope of the claims below, the disclosures are not dedicated to the public and the right to file one or more applications to claims such additional disclosures is reserved. | 103,111 |
11861558 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION It will be readily understood that the instant components, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following detailed description of the embodiments of at least one of a method, apparatus, non-transitory computer readable medium and system, as represented in the attached figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the application as claimed but is merely representative of selected embodiments. The instant features, structures, or characteristics as described throughout this specification may be combined or removed in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. For example, the usage of the phrases “example embodiments”, “some embodiments”, or other similar language, throughout this specification refers to the fact that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases “example embodiments”, “in some embodiments”, “in other embodiments”, or other similar language, throughout this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same group of embodiments, and the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined or removed in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Further, in the diagrams, any connection between elements can permit one-way and/or two-way communication even if the depicted connection is a one-way or two-way arrow. Also, any device depicted in the drawings can be a different device. For example, if a mobile device is shown sending information, a wired device could also be used to send the information. In addition, while the term “message” may have been used in the description of embodiments, the application may be applied to many types of networks and data. Furthermore, while certain types of connections, messages, and signaling may be depicted in exemplary embodiments, the application is not limited to a certain type of connection, message, and signaling. Example embodiments provide methods, systems, components, non-transitory computer readable media, devices, and/or networks, which provide for supplier visibility in a supply chain implemented on a blockchain network. In one embodiment the application utilizes a decentralized database (such as a blockchain) that is a distributed storage system, which includes multiple nodes that communicate with each other. The decentralized database includes an append-only immutable data structure resembling a distributed ledger capable of maintaining records between mutually untrusted parties. The untrusted parties are referred to herein as peers or peer nodes. Each peer maintains a copy of the database records and no single peer can modify the database records without a consensus being reached among the distributed peers. For example, the peers may execute a consensus protocol to validate blockchain storage transactions, group the storage transactions into blocks, and build a hash chain over the blocks. This process forms the ledger by ordering the storage transactions, as is necessary, for consistency. In various embodiments, a permissioned and/or a permissionless blockchain can be used. In a public or permission-less blockchain, anyone can participate without a specific identity. Public blockchains can involve native cryptocurrency and use consensus based on various protocols such as Proof of Work (PoW). On the other hand, a permissioned blockchain database provides secure interactions among a group of entities which share a common goal but which do not fully trust one another, such as businesses that exchange funds, goods, information, and the like. This application can utilize a blockchain that operates arbitrary, programmable logic, tailored to a decentralized storage scheme and referred to as “smart contracts” or “chaincodes.” In some cases, specialized chaincodes may exist for management functions and parameters which are referred to as system chaincode. The application can further utilize smart contracts that are trusted distributed applications which leverage tamper-proof properties of the blockchain database and an underlying agreement between nodes, which is referred to as an endorsement or endorsement policy. Blockchain transactions associated with this application can be “endorsed” before being committed to the blockchain while transactions, which are not endorsed, are disregarded. An endorsement policy allows chaincode to specify endorsers for a transaction in the form of a set of peer nodes that are necessary for endorsement. When a client sends the transaction to the peers specified in the endorsement policy, the transaction is executed to validate the transaction. After validation, the transactions enter an ordering phase in which a consensus protocol is used to produce an ordered sequence of endorsed transactions grouped into blocks. This application can utilize nodes that are the communication entities of the blockchain system. A “node” may perform a logical function in the sense that multiple nodes of different types can run on the same physical server. Nodes are grouped in trust domains and are associated with logical entities that control them in various ways. Nodes may include different types, such as a client or submitting-client node which submits a transaction-invocation to an endorser (e.g., peer), and broadcasts transaction-proposals to an ordering service (e.g., ordering node). Another type of node is a peer node which can receive client submitted transactions, commit the transactions and maintain a state and a copy of the ledger of blockchain transactions. Peers can also have the role of an endorser, although it is not a requirement. An ordering-service-node or orderer is a node running the communication service for all nodes, and which implements a delivery guarantee, such as a broadcast to each of the peer nodes in the system when committing transactions and modifying a world state of the blockchain, which is another name for the initial blockchain transaction which normally includes control and setup information. This application can utilize a ledger that is a sequenced, tamper-resistant record of all state transitions of a blockchain. State transitions may result from chaincode invocations (i.e., transactions) submitted by participating parties (e.g., client nodes, ordering nodes, endorser nodes, peer nodes, etc.). Each participating party (such as a peer node) can maintain a copy of the ledger. A transaction may result in a set of asset key-value pairs being committed to the ledger as one or more operands, such as creates, updates, deletes, and the like. The ledger includes a blockchain (also referred to as a chain) which is used to store an immutable, sequenced record in blocks. The ledger also includes a state database which maintains a current state of the blockchain. This application can utilize a chain that is a transaction log which is structured as hash-linked blocks, and each block contains a sequence of N transactions where N is equal to or greater than one. The block header includes a hash of the block's transactions, as well as a hash of the prior block's header. In this way, all transactions on the ledger may be sequenced and cryptographically linked together. Accordingly, it is not possible to tamper with the ledger data without breaking the hash links. A hash of a most recently added blockchain block represents every transaction on the chain that has come before it, making it possible to ensure that all peer nodes are in a consistent and trusted state. The chain may be stored on a peer node file system (i.e., local, attached storage, cloud, etc.), efficiently supporting the append-only nature of the blockchain workload. The current state of the immutable ledger represents the latest values for all keys that are included in the chain transaction log. Since the current state represents the latest key values known to a channel, it is sometimes referred to as a world state. Chaincode invocations execute transactions against the current state data of the ledger. To make these chaincode interactions efficient, the latest values of the keys may be stored in a state database. The state database may be simply an indexed view into the chain's transaction log, it can therefore be regenerated from the chain at any time. The state database may automatically be recovered (or generated if needed) upon peer node startup, and before transactions are accepted. Some benefits of the instant solutions described and depicted herein include a method and system for supplier visibility in a supply chain implemented on a blockchain network. The exemplary embodiments solve the issues of time and trust by extending features of a database such as immutability, digital signatures and being a single source of truth. The exemplary embodiments provide a solution for providing a supplier visibility in a supply chain implemented on a blockchain network. The blockchain networks may be homogenous based on the asset type and rules that govern the assets based on the smart contracts. Blockchain is different from a traditional database in that blockchain is not a central storage, but rather a decentralized, immutable, and secure storage, where nodes must share in changes to records in the storage. Some properties that are inherent in blockchain and which help implement the blockchain include, but are not limited to, an immutable ledger, smart contracts, security, privacy, decentralization, consensus, endorsement, accessibility, and the like, which are further described herein. According to various aspects, the system for supplier visibility in a supply chain implemented on a blockchain network is implemented due to immutable accountability, security, privacy, permitted decentralization, availability of smart contracts, endorsements and accessibility that are inherent and unique to blockchain. In particular, the blockchain ledger data is immutable and that provides for efficient method for providing a supplier visibility in a supply chain implemented on a blockchain network. Also, use of the encryption in the blockchain provides security and builds trust. The smart contract manages the state of the asset to complete the life-cycle. The example blockchains are permission decentralized. Thus, each end user may have its own ledger copy to access. Multiple organizations (and peers) may be on-boarded on the blockchain network. The key organizations may serve as endorsing peers to validate the smart contract execution results, read-set and write-set. In other words, the blockchain inherent features provide for efficient implementation of a method for providing supplier visibility in a supply chain. One of the benefits of the example embodiments is that it improves the functionality of a computing system by implementing a method for supplier visibility in a supply chain implemented on a blockchain-based system. Through the blockchain system described herein, a computing system can perform functionality for supplier visibility in a supply chain implemented on a blockchain network by providing access to capabilities such as distributed ledger, peers, encryption technologies, MSP, event handling, etc. Also, the blockchain enables to create a business network and make any users or organizations to on-board for participation. As such, the blockchain is not just a database. The blockchain comes with capabilities to create a Business Network of users and on-board/off-board organizations to collaborate and execute service processes in the form of smart contracts. The example embodiments provide numerous benefits over a traditional database. For example, through the blockchain the embodiments provide for immutable accountability, security, privacy, permitted decentralization, availability of smart contracts, endorsements and accessibility that are inherent and unique to the blockchain. Meanwhile, a traditional database could not be used to implement the example embodiments because it does not bring all parties on the business network, it does not create trusted collaboration and does not provide for an efficient storage of digital assets. The traditional database does not provide for a tamper proof storage and does not provide for preservation of the digital assets being stored. Thus, the proposed method for providing a supplier visibility in a supply chain implemented on a blockchain network cannot be implemented on the traditional database. Meanwhile, if a traditional database were to be used to implement the example embodiments, the example embodiments would have suffered from unnecessary drawbacks such as search capability, lack of security and slow speed of transactions. Additionally, the automated method for providing a supplier visibility in a supply chain implemented on a blockchain network would simply not be possible. Accordingly, the example embodiments provide for a specific solution to a problem in the arts/field of supply-chains implemented on the underlying blockchain networks. The example embodiments also change how data may be stored within a block structure of the blockchain. For example, a digital asset data may be securely stored within a certain portion of the data block (i.e., within header, data segment, or metadata). By storing the digital asset data within data blocks of a blockchain, the digital asset data may be appended to an immutable blockchain ledger through a hash-linked chain of blocks. In some embodiments, the data block may be different than a traditional data block by having a personal data associated with the digital asset not stored together with the assets within a traditional block structure of a blockchain. By removing the personal data associated with the digital asset, the blockchain can provide the benefit of anonymity based on immutable accountability and security. According to the exemplary embodiments, a system which leverages a supply-chain visibility is provided. The system may be based on an underlying blockchain network, wherein specific, limited information is shared downstream from a supplier node to a retailer node. A set of novel algorithms with novel distributed computation between suppliers and retailers that allow optimized coordinated decision making are provided. The exemplary embodiment enables the retailer to place orders more strategically and suppliers to coordinate and fulfill orders in an optimal manner. The exemplary embodiments may lead to (i) significant increase in on-time deliveries, and to (ii) significant reductions in supply-chain costs for both retailers and suppliers. Consider a supply chain with multiple retailers and multiple suppliers of a substitutable good(s). The retailers' goal is to minimize their costs (e.g., holding cost) and to avoid stock-outs. The retailer may place orders to the suppliers using their inventory management system (e.g., an order-up-to policy), with each order specifying a request date and a quantity of goods from each supplier. The suppliers may choose when to fulfill the orders, and what quantities to ship, based on their own costs (e.g., a holding cost and a transportation cost) and the contracts they have in place with the retailer. Without downstream information sharing, the retailers may place orders and allocate orders across multiple suppliers without knowledge of the suppliers' current and future inventory position (e.g., current inventory, pending orders, etc.). The retailers must therefore treat each item of goods as a unique item (e.g., the strawberries from a supplier 1 are different from the strawberries from a supplier 2) even if the items are identical. A retailer may allocate orders across suppliers in an arbitrary way. For example, the retailer needs 10 boxes of strawberries and must decide how many boxes to order from each of the suppliers. According to one exemplary embodiment, a retailer node may be able to place an order allocation based on a partial visibility of the supplier. When the retailers receive some information from the suppliers (e.g., their current inventory levels), the retailers can use this information to make informed ordering decisions. In one embodiment, order distribution policies may be based on characteristics of the supplier (e.g., reliability, size, efficiency, lead-time, etc.). According to one exemplary embodiment, ordering strategies may be based on downstream information sharing (i.e., information provided form the supplier to the retailer). Additionally, characteristics of the supplier may be used. The downstream information that may be used to generate an order distribution policy may include supplier inventory levels Invi(t) and outstanding orders from a retailer k to a supplier j at a time t-Oi,k(t) Note that information from the supplier i is denoted as Fi. Examples of the supplier characteristic that may be used in the order distribution policy are:an average volume of inventory (proxy of the supplier size Si);suppliers incoming inventory distribution (in particular, mean valuefi;supplier efficiency (lead time, costs);retailer's market share of the supplier i-MSi;all characteristics of the supplier i-Xi. According to the exemplary embodiment, the order distribution policy may be defined as a function: OP (Q, Xi, Fi)→q, where q=(q1. . . qn) is a vector specifying the amount ordered form each supplier 1, 2 . . . n, where Σqi=Q Then, the order distribution policies with two suppliers for an order placed on day t and a request date of t+L may be calculated as follows. The proportional order distribution policy may be calculated as follows: QPproportional(Q,Inv1(t),Inv2(t))=(Q·Inv1(t)Inv1(t)+Inv2(t),Q·Inv2(t)Inv1(t)+Inv2(t)) The scaled proportional order distribution policy may be calculated as follows: QPsclproportional(Q,Inv1(t),Inv2(t),MS1,MS2)=(MS1·Q·Inv1(t)Inv1(t)+Inv2(t),MS2·Q·Inv2(t)Inv1(t)+Inv2(t)) The predictive proportional order distribution policy may be calculated as follows: QPpred(Q,Inv1(t),Inv2(t),f1_,f2_,∑koi,k(t))=(Q·E[Inv1(t+L)]E[Inv1(t+L)]+E[Inv2(t+L)],Q·E[Inv2(t+L)]E[Inv1(t+L)]+E[Inv2(t+L)])WhereE[Inv1(t+L)]=Inv1(t)+f1_*L-∑koi,k(t) According to another exemplary embodiment, the suppliers may be unwilling to share their inventory details with retailers for various reasons. In this scenario, a proportional order distribution policy may be used. The proportional ordering policy does not require the inventory details. A computation of the proportion for ordering is sufficient for implementing a proportional order distribution policy. Thus, a privacy preserving computation may be used to compute (in a distributed manner) the supplier inventory-based proportion without any participating suppliers having to disclose their actual inventory. Instead, each of the suppliers may share an encrypted value of their inventory. A mono-directional encryption where the encryption function cannot be inverted easily may be used. The retailer may compute a proportion based on the received encrypted suppliers' inventory data, without needing to recover the actual inventory data. In one exemplary embodiment a fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) algorithm may be used. In another exemplary embodiment, a secure multi-party computation may be used. FIG.1Aillustrates a logic network diagram for providing a supplier visibility in a supply chain implemented on a blockchain network, according to example embodiments. Referring toFIG.1A, the example network100includes a retailer node (e.g., a first node)102connected to supplier nodes (e.g., second nodes)105. The retailer node102may be connected to a blockchain106that has a ledger108for storing supplier data and transactions110. While this example describes in detail only one retailer node (e.g., the first node)102, multiple such nodes may be connected to the blockchain106. It should be understood that the retailer node102may include additional components and that some of the components described herein may be removed and/or modified without departing from a scope of the retailer node102disclosed herein. The retailer node102may be a computing device or a server computer, or the like, and may include a processor104, which may be a semiconductor-based microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and/or another hardware device. Although a single processor104is depicted, it should be understood that the retailer node102may include multiple processors, multiple cores, or the like, without departing from the scope of the retailer node102system. The retailer node102may also include a non-transitory computer readable medium112that may have stored thereon machine-readable instructions executable by the processor104. Examples of the machine-readable instructions are shown as114-120and are further discussed below. Examples of the non-transitory computer readable medium112may include an electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical storage device that contains or stores executable instructions. For example, the non-transitory computer readable medium112may be a Random Access memory (RAM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), a hard disk, an optical disc, or other type of storage device. The processor104may execute the machine-readable instructions114to acquire an inventory data from a supplier node over a blockchain network. As discussed above, the blockchain ledger108may store supplier(s) inventory data. The blockchain106network may be configured to use one or more smart contracts that manage transactions for multiple supplier nodes105. The processor104may execute the machine-readable instructions116to receive outstanding orders data of the supplier node(s)105. The processor104may execute the machine-readable instructions118to generate an order distribution policy based on the inventory data and the outstanding orders data. The processor104may execute the machine-readable instructions120to execute a smart contract to order goods from the supplier node(s)105based on the order distribution policy. Thus, the retailer node102may make an informed ordering decision based on the inventory data and the outstanding orders data received on the downstream from the supplier node(s)105. Note that the first node102may serve as a retailer node and the second nodes105may serve as supplier nodes. However, the roles of the nodes102and105may be reversed. While the node102may be viewed as a supplier node105to a customer, the node102may serve as a retailer to the supplier node105. In one embodiment, the nodes102and105may serve in the same role. FIG.1Billustrates a logic network diagram for providing a partial supplier visibility in a supply chain implemented on a blockchain network, according to example embodiments. Referring toFIG.1B, the example network130includes a retailer node (e.g, a first node)102connected to supplier nodes (e.g., second nodes)105. The retailer node102may be connected to a blockchain106that has a ledger108for storing supplier information and ordering transactions110. While this example describes in detail only one retailer node102, multiple such nodes may be connected to the blockchain106. It should be understood that the retailer node102may include additional components and that some of the components described herein may be removed and/or modified without departing from a scope of the retailer node102disclosed herein. The retailer node102may be a computing device or a server computer, or the like, and may include a processor104, which may be a semiconductor-based microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and/or another hardware device. Although a single processor104is depicted, it should be understood that the retailer node102may include multiple processors, multiple cores, or the like, without departing from the scope of the retailer node102system. The retailer node102may also include a non-transitory computer readable medium112that may have stored thereon machine-readable instructions executable by the processor104. Examples of the machine-readable instructions are shown as113-119and are further discussed below. Examples of the non-transitory computer readable medium112may include an electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical storage device that contains or stores executable instructions. For example, the non-transitory computer readable medium112may be a Random Access memory (RAM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), a hard disk, an optical disc, or other type of storage device. The processor104may execute the machine-readable instructions113to receive an encrypted inventory of goods data from a plurality of supplier nodes105over a blockchain106network. As discussed above, the blockchain ledger108may store supplier information (e.g., inventory levels). The blockchain106network may be configured to use one or more smart contracts that manage transactions for multiple participating supplier nodes105. The processor104may execute the machine-readable instructions115to compute an ordering proportion based on the encrypted inventory of goods data. The processor104may execute the machine-readable instructions117to generate an order distribution policy based on the ordering proportion. The processor104may execute the machine-readable instructions119to execute a smart contract to order goods from the plurality of the supplier nodes105based on the order distribution policy. Note that the first node102may serve as a retailer node and the second nodes105may serve as supplier nodes. However, the roles of the nodes102and105may be reversed. While the node102may be viewed as a supplier node105to a customer, the node102may serve as a retailer to the supplier node105. In one embodiment, the nodes102and105may serve in the same role. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments depicted inFIGS.1A and1Bdescribe a method and system for coordinating order placement among multiple suppliers, such that both the retailers and the suppliers see lower costs and retailers get more in-time deliveries, thereby reducing their stockouts and holding costs. This enables better satisfaction of consumer demand. Further, for perishables, spoilages may also be reduced. The coordination may be implemented as follows:(i) Multiple suppliers share inventory information and outstanding order information on the blockchain. Depending on the embodiment, either other suppliers or the retailer may be able to see this information.(ii) The retailer shares their order needs on the blockchain.(iii) A smart contract runs a novel, non-trivial algorithm, which leverages this shared data to decide how to split the retailer's ordering needs among the multiple suppliers (i.e., implement an order distribution policy discussed above). The above blockchain-based system may not be implemented with a centralized database. A problem with the database approach is the following. If the retailer runs the centralized database and the algorithm, the suppliers might be reluctant to share their data and trust that the retailer's order distribution policy is fair, since the functioning of the algorithm will be opaque to them. Since the algorithm runs on a retailer-controlled central database, the suppliers might be concerned that the retailer might generate distributions to favor one supplier. Smart-contracts running on the blockchain solve this issue—the functioning of the algorithm and the data used by the algorithm become auditable and trustable by all parties. Even in a blockchain-based distributed implementation, entities might not want their information to be completely visible by other entities. For example, suppliers might want to share only enough information so that the proportional ordering policy/scaled proportional policy can be implemented, but they may not want retailers to be able to see their exact inventory. One exemplary embodiment describes how suppliers can share their data in encrypted form, and yet a smart contract can still compute a coordinated order-distribution. This is likely to be a critical aspect of a coordinated system in practice—entities may generally be unwilling to share complete inventory information for fear of ceding control of their inventory management operations to other entities. FIG.2Aillustrates a blockchain architecture configuration200, according to example embodiments. Referring toFIG.2A, the blockchain architecture200may include certain blockchain elements, for example, a group of blockchain nodes202. The blockchain nodes202may include one or more nodes204-210(these four nodes are depicted by example only). These nodes participate in a number of activities, such as blockchain transaction addition and validation process (consensus). One or more of the blockchain nodes204-210may endorse transactions based on endorsement policy and may provide an ordering service for all blockchain nodes in the architecture200. A blockchain node may initiate a blockchain authentication and seek to write to a blockchain immutable ledger stored in blockchain layer216, a copy of which may also be stored on the underpinning physical infrastructure214. The blockchain configuration may include one or more applications224which are linked to application programming interfaces (APIs)222to access and execute stored program/application code220(e.g., chaincode, smart contracts, etc.) which can be created according to a customized configuration sought by participants and can maintain their own state, control their own assets, and receive external information. This can be deployed as a transaction and installed, via appending to the distributed ledger, on all blockchain nodes204-210. The blockchain base or platform212may include various layers of blockchain data, services (e.g., cryptographic trust services, virtual execution environment, etc.), and underpinning physical computer infrastructure that may be used to receive and store new transactions and provide access to auditors which are seeking to access data entries. The blockchain layer216may expose an interface that provides access to the virtual execution environment necessary to process the program code and engage the physical infrastructure214. Cryptographic trust services218may be used to verify transactions such as asset exchange transactions and keep information private. The blockchain architecture configuration ofFIG.2Amay process and execute program/application code220via one or more interfaces exposed, and services provided, by blockchain platform212. The code220may control blockchain assets. For example, the code220can store and transfer data, and may be executed by nodes204-210in the form of a smart contract and associated chaincode with conditions or other code elements subject to its execution. As a non-limiting example, smart contracts may be created to execute reminders, updates, and/or other notifications subject to the changes, updates, etc. The smart contracts can themselves be used to identify rules associated with authorization and access requirements and usage of the ledger. For example, the information226reflecting supplier's data may be processed by one or more processing entities (e.g., virtual machines) included in the blockchain layer216. The result228may include generation of an order distribution policy. The physical infrastructure214may be utilized to retrieve any of the data or information described herein. A smart contract may be created via a high-level application and programming language, and then written to a block in the blockchain. The smart contract may include executable code which is registered, stored, and/or replicated with a blockchain (e.g., distributed network of blockchain peers). A transaction is an execution of the smart contract code which can be performed in response to conditions associated with the smart contract being satisfied. The executing of the smart contract may trigger a trusted modification(s) to a state of a digital blockchain ledger. The modification(s) to the blockchain ledger caused by the smart contract execution may be automatically replicated throughout the distributed network of blockchain peers through one or more consensus protocols. The smart contract may write data to the blockchain in the format of key-value pairs. Furthermore, the smart contract code can read the values stored in a blockchain and use them in application operations. The smart contract code can write the output of various logic operations into the blockchain. The code may be used to create a temporary data structure in a virtual machine or other computing platform. Data written to the blockchain can be public and/or can be encrypted and maintained as private. The temporary data that is used/generated by the smart contract is held in memory by the supplied execution environment, then deleted once the data needed for the blockchain is identified. A chaincode may include the code interpretation of a smart contract, with additional features. As described herein, the chaincode may be program code deployed on a computing network, where it is executed and validated by chain validators together during a consensus process. The chaincode receives a hash and retrieves from the blockchain a hash associated with the data template created by use of a previously stored feature extractor. If the hashes of the hash identifier and the hash created from the stored identifier template data match, then the chaincode sends an authorization key to the requested service. The chaincode may write to the blockchain data associated with the cryptographic details. FIG.2Billustrates an example of a blockchain transactional flow250between nodes of the blockchain in accordance with an example embodiment. Referring toFIG.2B, the transaction flow may include a transaction proposal291sent by an application client node260to an endorsing peer node281. The endorsing peer281may verify the client signature and execute a chaincode function to initiate the transaction. The output may include the chaincode results, a set of key/value versions that were read in the chaincode (read set), and the set of keys/values that were written in chaincode (write set). The proposal response292is sent back to the client260along with an endorsement signature, if approved. The client260assembles the endorsements into a transaction payload293and broadcasts it to an ordering service node284. The ordering service node284then delivers ordered transactions as blocks to all peers281-283on a channel. Before committal to the blockchain, each peer281-283may validate the transaction. For example, the peers may check the endorsement policy to ensure that the correct allotment of the specified peers have signed the results and authenticated the signatures against the transaction payload293. Referring again toFIG.2B, the client node260initiates the transaction291by constructing and sending a request to the peer node281, which is an endorser. The client260may include an application leveraging a supported software development kit (SDK), which utilizes an available API to generate a transaction proposal. The proposal is a request to invoke a chaincode function so that data can be read and/or written to the ledger (i.e., write new key value pairs for the assets). The SDK may serve as a shim to package the transaction proposal into a properly architected format (e.g., protocol buffer over a remote procedure call (RPC)) and take the client's cryptographic credentials to produce a unique signature for the transaction proposal. In response, the endorsing peer node281may verify (a) that the transaction proposal is well formed, (b) the transaction has not been submitted already in the past (replay-attack protection), (c) the signature is valid, and (d) that the submitter (client260, in the example) is properly authorized to perform the proposed operation on that channel. The endorsing peer node281may take the transaction proposal inputs as arguments to the invoked chaincode function. The chaincode is then executed against a current state database to produce transaction results including a response value, read set, and write set. However, no updates are made to the ledger at this point. In292, the set of values, along with the endorsing peer node's281signature is passed back as a proposal response292to the SDK of the client260which parses the payload for the application to consume. In response, the application of the client260inspects/verifies the endorsing peers signatures and compares the proposal responses to determine if the proposal response is the same. If the chaincode only queried the ledger, the application would inspect the query response and would typically not submit the transaction to the ordering node service284. If the client application intends to submit the transaction to the ordering node service284to update the ledger, the application determines if the specified endorsement policy has been fulfilled before submitting (i.e., did all peer nodes necessary for the transaction endorse the transaction). Here, the client may include only one of multiple parties to the transaction. In this case, each client may have their own endorsing node, and each endorsing node will need to endorse the transaction. The architecture is such that even if an application selects not to inspect responses or otherwise forwards an unendorsed transaction, the endorsement policy will still be enforced by peers and upheld at the commit validation phase. After successful inspection, in step293the client260assembles endorsements into a transaction and broadcasts the transaction proposal and response within a transaction message to the ordering node284. The transaction may contain the read/write sets, the endorsing peers signatures and a channel ID. The ordering node284does not need to inspect the entire content of a transaction in order to perform its operation, instead the ordering node284may simply receive transactions from all channels in the network, order them chronologically by channel, and create blocks of transactions per channel. The blocks of the transaction are delivered from the ordering node284to all peer nodes281-283on the channel. The transactions294within the block are validated to ensure any endorsement policy is fulfilled and to ensure that there have been no changes to ledger state for read set variables since the read set was generated by the transaction execution. Transactions in the block are tagged as being valid or invalid. Furthermore, in step295each peer node281-283appends the block to the channel's chain, and for each valid transaction the write sets are committed to current state database. An event is emitted, to notify the client application that the transaction (invocation) has been immutably appended to the chain, as well as to notify whether the transaction was validated or invalidated. FIG.3Aillustrates an example of a permissioned blockchain network300, which features a distributed, decentralized peer-to-peer architecture. In this example, a blockchain user302may initiate a transaction to the permissioned blockchain304. In this example, the transaction can be a deploy, invoke, or query, and may be issued through a client-side application leveraging an SDK, directly through an API, etc. Networks may provide access to a regulator306, such as an auditor. A blockchain network operator308manages member permissions, such as enrolling the regulator306as an “auditor” and the blockchain user302as a “client”. An auditor could be restricted only to querying the ledger whereas a client could be authorized to deploy, invoke, and query certain types of chaincode. A blockchain developer310can write chaincode and client-side applications. The blockchain developer310can deploy chaincode directly to the network through an interface. To include credentials from a traditional data source312in chaincode, the developer310could use an out-of-band connection to access the data. In this example, the blockchain user302connects to the permissioned blockchain304through a peer node314. Before proceeding with any transactions, the peer node314retrieves the user's enrollment and transaction certificates from a certificate authority316, which manages user roles and permissions. In some cases, blockchain users must possess these digital certificates in order to transact on the permissioned blockchain304. Meanwhile, a user attempting to utilize chaincode may be required to verify their credentials on the traditional data source312. To confirm the user's authorization, chaincode can use an out-of-band connection to this data through a traditional processing platform318. FIG.3Billustrates another example of a permissioned blockchain network320, which features a distributed, decentralized peer-to-peer architecture. In this example, a blockchain user322may submit a transaction to the permissioned blockchain324. In this example, the transaction can be a deploy, invoke, or query, and may be issued through a client-side application leveraging an SDK, directly through an API, etc. Networks may provide access to a regulator326, such as an auditor. A blockchain network operator328manages member permissions, such as enrolling the regulator326as an “auditor” and the blockchain user322as a “client.” An auditor could be restricted only to querying the ledger whereas a client could be authorized to deploy, invoke, and query certain types of chaincode. A blockchain developer330writes chaincode and client-side applications. The blockchain developer330can deploy chaincode directly to the network through an interface. To include credentials from a traditional data source332in chaincode, the developer330could use an out-of-band connection to access the data. In this example, the blockchain user322connects to the network through a peer node334. Before proceeding with any transactions, the peer node334retrieves the user's enrollment and transaction certificates from the certificate authority336. In some cases, blockchain users must possess these digital certificates in order to transact on the permissioned blockchain324. Meanwhile, a user attempting to utilize chaincode may be required to verify their credentials on the traditional data source332. To confirm the user's authorization, chaincode can use an out-of-band connection to this data through a traditional processing platform338. In some embodiments, the blockchain herein may be a permissionless blockchain. In contrast with permissioned blockchains which require permission to join, anyone can join a permissionless blockchain. For example, to join a permissionless blockchain a user may create a personal address and begin interacting with the network, by submitting transactions, and hence adding entries to the ledger. Additionally, all parties have the choice of running a node on the system and employing the mining protocols to help verify transactions. FIG.3Cillustrates a process350of a transaction being processed by a permissionless blockchain352including a plurality of nodes354. A sender356desires to send payment or some other form of value (e.g., a deed, medical records, a contract, a good, a service, or any other asset that can be encapsulated in a digital record) to a recipient358via the permissionless blockchain352. In one embodiment, each of the sender device356and the recipient device358may have digital wallets (associated with the blockchain352) that provide user interface controls and a display of transaction parameters. In response, the transaction is broadcast throughout the blockchain352to the nodes354. Depending on the blockchain's352network parameters the nodes verify360the transaction based on rules (which may be pre-defined or dynamically allocated) established by the permissionless blockchain352creators. For example, this may include verifying identities of the parties involved, etc. The transaction may be verified immediately or it may be placed in a queue with other transactions and the nodes354determine if the transactions are valid based on a set of network rules. In structure362, valid transactions are formed into a block and sealed with a lock (hash). This process may be performed by mining nodes among the nodes354. Mining nodes may utilize additional software specifically for mining and creating blocks for the permissionless blockchain352. Each block may be identified by a hash (e.g., 256 bit number, etc.) created using an algorithm agreed upon by the network. Each block may include a header, a pointer or reference to a hash of a previous block's header in the chain, and a group of valid transactions. The reference to the previous block's hash is associated with the creation of the secure independent chain of blocks. Before blocks can be added to the blockchain, the blocks must be validated. Validation for the permissionless blockchain352may include a proof-of-work (PoW) which is a solution to a puzzle derived from the block's header. Although not shown in the example ofFIG.3C, another process for validating a block is proof-of-stake. Unlike the proof-of-work, where the algorithm rewards miners who solve mathematical problems, with the proof of stake, a creator of a new block is chosen in a deterministic way, depending on its wealth, also defined as “stake.” Then, a similar proof is performed by the selected/chosen node. With mining364, nodes try to solve the block by making incremental changes to one variable until the solution satisfies a network-wide target. This creates the PoW thereby ensuring correct answers. In other words, a potential solution must prove that computing resources were drained in solving the problem. In some types of permissionless blockchains, miners may be rewarded with value (e.g., coins, etc.) for correctly mining a block. Here, the PoW process, alongside the chaining of blocks, makes modifications of the blockchain extremely difficult, as an attacker must modify all subsequent blocks in order for the modifications of one block to be accepted. Furthermore, as new blocks are mined, the difficulty of modifying a block increases, and the number of subsequent blocks increases. With distribution366, the successfully validated block is distributed through the permissionless blockchain352and all nodes354add the block to a majority chain which is the permissionless blockchain's352auditable ledger. Furthermore, the value in the transaction submitted by the sender356is deposited or otherwise transferred to the digital wallet of the recipient device358. FIG.4Aillustrates a flow diagram400of an example method for providing supplier visibility, according to example embodiments. Referring toFIG.4A, the method400may include one or more of the steps described below. FIG.4Aillustrates a flow chart of an example method executed by the retailer node102(seeFIG.1A). It should be understood that method400depicted inFIG.4Amay include additional operations and that some of the operations described therein may be removed and/or modified without departing from the scope of the method400. The description of the method400is also made with reference to the features depicted inFIG.1Afor purposes of illustration. Particularly, the processor104of the retailer102may execute some or all of the operations included in the method400. With reference toFIG.4A, at block412, the processor104may acquire an inventory data from a supplier node over a blockchain network. At block414, the processor104may receive outstanding orders data of the supplier node. At block416, the processor104may generate an order distribution policy based on the inventory data and the outstanding orders data. At block418, the processor104may execute a smart contract to order goods from the supplier node based on the order distribution policy. FIG.4Billustrates a flow diagram450of an example method, according to example embodiments. Referring toFIG.4B, the method450may also include one or more of the following steps. At block452, the processor104may generate the order distribution policy based on characteristics of the supplier. At block454, the processor104may generate the order distribution policy based on the inventory data and the outstanding orders data from a plurality of supplier nodes. At block456, the processor104may generate the order distribution policy as a function based on a vector specifying orders of the goods for each supplier node from a plurality of supplier nodes. As discussed above, the ordering policy may be based on a proportional ordering, a scaled proportional ordering or on a predictive proportional ordering. FIG.4Cillustrates a flow diagram460of an example method for providing a partial visibility of a supplier in a supply-chain, according to example embodiments. Referring toFIG.4C, the method460may include one or more of the steps described below. FIG.4Cillustrates a flow chart of an example method executed by the retailer node102(seeFIG.1B). It should be understood that method460depicted inFIG.4Cmay include additional operations and that some of the operations described therein may be removed and/or modified without departing from the scope of the method460. The description of the method460is also made with reference to the features depicted inFIG.1Bfor purposes of illustration. Particularly, the processor104of the retailer node102may execute some or all of the operations included in the method460. With reference toFIG.4C, at block462, the processor104may receive an encrypted inventory of goods data from a plurality of supplier nodes over a blockchain network. At block464, the processor104may compute an ordering proportion based on the encrypted inventory of goods data. At block466, the processor104may generate an order distribution policy based on the ordering proportion. At block468, the processor104may execute a smart contract to order goods from the plurality of the supplier nodes based on the order distribution policy. FIG.4Dillustrates a flow diagram470of an example method, according to example embodiments. Referring toFIG.4D, the method470may also include one or more of the following steps. At block472, the processor104may receive outstanding orders of goods data from the plurality of supplier nodes over a blockchain network. At block474, the processor104may generate an order distribution policy based on a combination of the ordering proportion and the outstanding orders of goods data. At block476, the processor104may compute the ordering proportion based on the encrypted inventory of goods data without a decryption of the inventory of goods data. Note that the encrypted inventory of goods data may be generated based on a fully homomorphic encryption. At block478, the processor104may compute the ordering proportion based on a secure multi-party computation. At block480, the processor104may record an order of the goods from the plurality of the supplier nodes on the blockchain. FIG.5Aillustrates an example system500that includes a physical infrastructure510configured to perform various operations according to example embodiments. Referring toFIG.5A, the physical infrastructure510includes a module512and a module514. The module514includes a blockchain520and a smart contract530(which may reside on the blockchain520), that may execute any of the operational steps508(in module512) included in any of the example embodiments. The steps/operations508may include one or more of the embodiments described or depicted and may represent output or written information that is written or read from one or more smart contracts530and/or blockchains520. The physical infrastructure510, the module512, and the module514may include one or more computers, servers, processors, memories, and/or wireless communication devices. Further, the module512and the module514may be a same module. FIG.5Billustrates another example system540configured to perform various operations according to example embodiments. Referring toFIG.5B, the system540includes a module512and a module514. The module514includes a blockchain520and a smart contract530(which may reside on the blockchain520), that may execute any of the operational steps508(in module512) included in any of the example embodiments. The steps/operations508may include one or more of the embodiments described or depicted and may represent output or written information that is written or read from one or more smart contracts530and/or blockchains520. The module512and the module514may include one or more computers, servers, processors, memories, and/or wireless communication devices. Further, the module512and the module514may be a same module. FIG.5Cillustrates an example system configured to utilize a smart contract configuration among contracting parties and a mediating server configured to enforce the smart contract terms on the blockchain according to example embodiments. Referring toFIG.5C, the configuration550may represent a communication session, an asset transfer session or a process or procedure that is driven by a smart contract530which explicitly identifies one or more user devices552and/or556. The execution, operations and results of the smart contract execution may be managed by a server554. Content of the smart contract530may require digital signatures by one or more of the entities552and556which are parties to the smart contract transaction. The results of the smart contract execution may be written to a blockchain520as a blockchain transaction. The smart contract530resides on the blockchain520which may reside on one or more computers, servers, processors, memories, and/or wireless communication devices. FIG.5Dillustrates a system560including a blockchain, according to example embodiments. Referring to the example ofFIG.5D, an application programming interface (API) gateway562provides a common interface for accessing blockchain logic (e.g., smart contract530or other chaincode) and data (e.g., distributed ledger, etc.). In this example, the API gateway562is a common interface for performing transactions (invoke, queries, etc.) on the blockchain by connecting one or more entities552and556to a blockchain peer (i.e., server554). Here, the server554is a blockchain network peer component that holds a copy of the world state and a distributed ledger allowing clients552and556to query data on the world state as well as submit transactions into the blockchain network where, depending on the smart contract530and endorsement policy, endorsing peers will run the smart contracts530. The above embodiments may be implemented in hardware, in a computer program executed by a processor, in firmware, or in a combination of the above. A computer program may be embodied on a computer readable medium, such as a storage medium. For example, a computer program may reside in random access memory (“RAM”), flash memory, read-only memory (“ROM”), erasable programmable read-only memory (“EPROM”), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (“EEPROM”), registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a compact disk read-only memory (“CD-ROM”), or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to the processor such that the processor may read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an application specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”). In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components. FIG.6Aillustrates a process600of a new block being added to a distributed ledger620, according to example embodiments, andFIG.6Billustrates contents of a new data block structure630for blockchain, according to example embodiments. Referring toFIG.6A, clients (not shown) may submit transactions to blockchain nodes611,612, and/or613. Clients may be instructions received from any source to enact activity on the blockchain620. As an example, clients may be applications that act on behalf of a requester, such as a device, person or entity to propose transactions for the blockchain. The plurality of blockchain peers (e.g., blockchain nodes611,612, and613) may maintain a state of the blockchain network and a copy of the distributed ledger620. Different types of blockchain nodes/peers may be present in the blockchain network including endorsing peers which simulate and endorse transactions proposed by clients and committing peers which verify endorsements, validate transactions, and commit transactions to the distributed ledger620. In this example, the blockchain nodes611,612, and613may perform the role of endorser node, committer node, or both. The distributed ledger620includes a blockchain which stores immutable, sequenced records in blocks, and a state database624(current world state) maintaining a current state of the blockchain622. One distributed ledger620may exist per channel and each peer maintains its own copy of the distributed ledger620for each channel of which they are a member. The blockchain622is a transaction log, structured as hash-linked blocks where each block contains a sequence of N transactions. Blocks may include various components such as shown inFIG.6B. The linking of the blocks (shown by arrows inFIG.6A) may be generated by adding a hash of a prior block's header within a block header of a current block. In this way, all transactions on the blockchain622are sequenced and cryptographically linked together preventing tampering with blockchain data without breaking the hash links. Furthermore, because of the links, the latest block in the blockchain622represents every transaction that has come before it. The blockchain622may be stored on a peer file system (local or attached storage), which supports an append-only blockchain workload. The current state of the blockchain622and the distributed ledger622may be stored in the state database624. Here, the current state data represents the latest values for all keys ever included in the chain transaction log of the blockchain622. Chaincode invocations execute transactions against the current state in the state database624. To make these chaincode interactions extremely efficient, the latest values of all keys are stored in the state database624. The state database624may include an indexed view into the transaction log of the blockchain622, it can therefore be regenerated from the chain at any time. The state database624may automatically get recovered (or generated if needed) upon peer startup, before transactions are accepted. Endorsing nodes receive transactions from clients and endorse the transaction based on simulated results. Endorsing nodes hold smart contracts which simulate the transaction proposals. When an endorsing node endorses a transaction, the endorsing node creates a transaction endorsement which is a signed response from the endorsing node to the client application indicating the endorsement of the simulated transaction. The method of endorsing a transaction depends on an endorsement policy which may be specified within chaincode. An example of an endorsement policy is “the majority of endorsing peers must endorse the transaction”. Different channels may have different endorsement policies. Endorsed transactions are forward by the client application to ordering service610. The ordering service610accepts endorsed transactions, orders them into a block, and delivers the blocks to the committing peers. For example, the ordering service610may initiate a new block when a threshold of transactions has been reached, a timer times out, or another condition. In the example ofFIG.6A, blockchain node612is a committing peer that has received a new data new data block630for storage on blockchain620. The first block in the blockchain may be referred to as a genesis block which includes information about the blockchain, its members, the data stored therein, etc. The ordering service610may be made up of a cluster of orderers. The ordering service610does not process transactions, smart contracts, or maintain the shared ledger. Rather, the ordering service610may accept the endorsed transactions and specifies the order in which those transactions are committed to the distributed ledger620. The architecture of the blockchain network may be designed such that the specific implementation of ‘ordering’ (e.g., Solo, Kafka, BFT, etc.) becomes a pluggable component. Transactions are written to the distributed ledger620in a consistent order. The order of transactions is established to ensure that the updates to the state database624are valid when they are committed to the network. Unlike a cryptocurrency blockchain system (e.g., Bitcoin, etc.) where ordering occurs through the solving of a cryptographic puzzle, or mining, in this example the parties of the distributed ledger620may choose the ordering mechanism that best suits that network. When the ordering service610initializes a new data block630, the new data block630may be broadcast to committing peers (e.g., blockchain nodes611,612, and613). In response, each committing peer validates the transaction within the new data block630by checking to make sure that the read set and the write set still match the current world state in the state database624. Specifically, the committing peer can determine whether the read data that existed when the endorsers simulated the transaction is identical to the current world state in the state database624. When the committing peer validates the transaction, the transaction is written to the blockchain622on the distributed ledger620, and the state database624is updated with the write data from the read-write set. If a transaction fails, that is, if the committing peer finds that the read-write set does not match the current world state in the state database624, the transaction ordered into a block will still be included in that block, but it will be marked as invalid, and the state database624will not be updated. Referring toFIG.6B, a new data block630(also referred to as a data block) that is stored on the blockchain622of the distributed ledger620may include multiple data segments such as a block header640, block data650, and block metadata660. It should be appreciated that the various depicted blocks and their contents, such as new data block630and its contents. Shown inFIG.6Bare merely examples and are not meant to limit the scope of the example embodiments. The new data block630may store transactional information of N transaction(s) (e.g., 1, 10, 100, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, etc.) within the block data650. The new data block630may also include a link to a previous block (e.g., on the blockchain622inFIG.6A) within the block header640. In particular, the block header640may include a hash of a previous block's header. The block header640may also include a unique block number, a hash of the block data650of the new data block630, and the like. The block number of the new data block630may be unique and assigned in various orders, such as an incremental/sequential order starting from zero. The block data650may store transactional information of each transaction that is recorded within the new data block630. For example, the transaction data may include one or more of a type of the transaction, a version, a timestamp, a channel ID of the distributed ledger620, a transaction ID, an epoch, a payload visibility, a chaincode path (deploy tx), a chaincode name, a chaincode version, input (chaincode and functions), a client (creator) identify such as a public key and certificate, a signature of the client, identities of endorsers, endorser signatures, a proposal hash, chaincode events, response status, namespace, a read set (list of key and version read by the transaction, etc.), a write set (list of key and value, etc.), a start key, an end key, a list of keys, a Merkel tree query summary, and the like. The transaction data may be stored for each of the N transactions. In some embodiments, the block data650may also store new data662which adds additional information to the hash-linked chain of blocks in the blockchain622. The additional information includes one or more of the steps, features, processes and/or actions described or depicted herein. Accordingly, the new data662can be stored in an immutable log of blocks on the distributed ledger620. Some of the benefits of storing such new data662are reflected in the various embodiments disclosed and depicted herein. Although inFIG.6Bthe new data662is depicted in the block data650but could also be located in the block header640or the block metadata660. The block metadata660may store multiple fields of metadata (e.g., as a byte array, etc.). Metadata fields may include signature on block creation, a reference to a last configuration block, a transaction filter identifying valid and invalid transactions within the block, last offset persisted of an ordering service that ordered the block, and the like. The signature, the last configuration block, and the orderer metadata may be added by the ordering service610. Meanwhile, a committer of the block (such as blockchain node612) may add validity/invalidity information based on an endorsement policy, verification of read/write sets, and the like. The transaction filter may include a byte array of a size equal to the number of transactions in the block data650and a validation code identifying whether a transaction was valid/invalid. FIG.6Cillustrates an embodiment of a blockchain670for digital content in accordance with the embodiments described herein. The digital content may include one or more files and associated information. The files may include media, images, video, audio, text, links, graphics, animations, web pages, documents, or other forms of digital content. The immutable, append-only aspects of the blockchain serve as a safeguard to protect the integrity, validity, and authenticity of the digital content, making it suitable use in legal proceedings where admissibility rules apply or other settings where evidence is taken into consideration or where the presentation and use of digital information is otherwise of interest. In this case, the digital content may be referred to as digital evidence. The blockchain may be formed in various ways. In one embodiment, the digital content may be included in and accessed from the blockchain itself. For example, each block of the blockchain may store a hash value of reference information (e.g., header, value, etc.) along the associated digital content. The hash value and associated digital content may then be encrypted together. Thus, the digital content of each block may be accessed by decrypting each block in the blockchain, and the hash value of each block may be used as a basis to reference a previous block. This may be illustrated as follows: Block 1Block 2. . .Block NHash Value 1Hash Value 2Hash Value NDigital Content 1Digital Content 2Digital Content N In one embodiment, the digital content may be not included in the blockchain. For example, the blockchain may store the encrypted hashes of the content of each block without any of the digital content. The digital content may be stored in another storage area or memory address in association with the hash value of the original file. The other storage area may be the same storage device used to store the blockchain or may be a different storage area or even a separate relational database. The digital content of each block may be referenced or accessed by obtaining or querying the hash value of a block of interest and then looking up that has value in the storage area, which is stored in correspondence with the actual digital content. This operation may be performed, for example, a database gatekeeper. This may be illustrated as follows: BlockchainStorage AreaBlock 1 Hash ValueBlock 1 Hash Value . . . Content......Block N Hash ValueBlock N Hash Value . . . Content In the example embodiment ofFIG.6C, the blockchain670includes a number of blocks6781,6782, . . .678Ncryptographically linked in an ordered sequence, where N≥1. The encryption used to link the blocks6781,6782, . . .678Nmay be any of a number of keyed or un-keyed Hash functions. In one embodiment, the blocks6781,6782, . . .678Nare subject to a hash function which produces n-bit alphanumeric outputs (where n is 256 or another number) from inputs that are based on information in the blocks. Examples of such a hash function include, but are not limited to, a SHA-type (SHA stands for Secured Hash Algorithm) algorithm, Merkle-Damgard algorithm, HAIFA algorithm, Merkle-tree algorithm, nonce-based algorithm, and a non-collision-resistant PRF algorithm. In another embodiment, the blocks6781,6782, . . . ,678Nmay be cryptographically linked by a function that is different from a hash function. For purposes of illustration, the following description is made with reference to a hash function, e.g., SHA-2. Each of the blocks6781,6782, . . . ,678Nin the blockchain includes a header, a version of the file, and a value. The header and the value are different for each block as a result of hashing in the blockchain. In one embodiment, the value may be included in the header. As described in greater detail below, the version of the file may be the original file or a different version of the original file. The first block6781in the blockchain is referred to as the genesis block and includes the header6721, original file6741, and an initial value6761. The hashing scheme used for the genesis block, and indeed in all subsequent blocks, may vary. For example, all the information in the first block6781may be hashed together and at one time, or each or a portion of the information in the first block6781may be separately hashed and then a hash of the separately hashed portions may be performed. The header6721may include one or more initial parameters, which, for example, may include a version number, timestamp, nonce, root information, difficulty level, consensus protocol, duration, media format, source, descriptive keywords, and/or other information associated with original file6741and/or the blockchain. The header6721may be generated automatically (e.g., by blockchain network managing software) or manually by a blockchain participant. Unlike the header in other blocks6782to678Nin the blockchain, the header6721in the genesis block does not reference a previous block, simply because there is no previous block. The original file6741in the genesis block may be, for example, data as captured by a device with or without processing prior to its inclusion in the blockchain. The original file6741is received through the interface of the system from the device, media source, or node. The original file6741is associated with metadata, which, for example, may be generated by a user, the device, and/or the system processor, either manually or automatically. The metadata may be included in the first block6781in association with the original file6741. The value6761in the genesis block is an initial value generated based on one or more unique attributes of the original file6741. In one embodiment, the one or more unique attributes may include the hash value for the original file6741, metadata for the original file6741, and other information associated with the file. In one implementation, the initial value6761may be based on the following unique attributes:1) SHA-2 computed hash value for the original file2) originating device ID3) starting timestamp for the original file4) initial storage location of the original file5) blockchain network member ID for software to currently control the original file and associated metadata The other blocks6782to678Nin the blockchain also have headers, files, and values. However, unlike the first block6721, each of the headers6722to672Nin the other blocks includes the hash value of an immediately preceding block. The hash value of the immediately preceding block may be just the hash of the header of the previous block or may be the hash value of the entire previous block. By including the hash value of a preceding block in each of the remaining blocks, a trace can be performed from the Nth block back to the genesis block (and the associated original file) on a block-by-block basis, as indicated by arrows680, to establish an auditable and immutable chain-of-custody. Each of the header6722to672Nin the other blocks may also include other information, e.g., version number, timestamp, nonce, root information, difficulty level, consensus protocol, and/or other parameters or information associated with the corresponding files and/or the blockchain in general. The files6742to674Nin the other blocks may be equal to the original file or may be a modified version of the original file in the genesis block depending, for example, on the type of processing performed. The type of processing performed may vary from block to block. The processing may involve, for example, any modification of a file in a preceding block, such as redacting information or otherwise changing the content of, taking information away from, or adding or appending information to the files. Additionally, or alternatively, the processing may involve merely copying the file from a preceding block, changing a storage location of the file, analyzing the file from one or more preceding blocks, moving the file from one storage or memory location to another, or performing action relative to the file of the blockchain and/or its associated metadata. Processing which involves analyzing a file may include, for example, appending, including, or otherwise associating various analytics, statistics, or other information associated with the file. The values in each of the other blocks6762to676Nin the other blocks are unique values and are all different as a result of the processing performed. For example, the value in any one block corresponds to an updated version of the value in the previous block. The update is reflected in the hash of the block to which the value is assigned. The values of the blocks therefore provide an indication of what processing was performed in the blocks and also permit a tracing through the blockchain back to the original file. This tracking confirms the chain-of-custody of the file throughout the entire blockchain. For example, consider the case where portions of the file in a previous block are redacted, blocked out, or pixelated in order to protect the identity of a person shown in the file. In this case, the block including the redacted file will include metadata associated with the redacted file, e.g., how the redaction was performed, who performed the redaction, timestamps where the redaction(s) occurred, etc. The metadata may be hashed to form the value. Because the metadata for the block is different from the information that was hashed to form the value in the previous block, the values are different from one another and may be recovered when decrypted. In one embodiment, the value of a previous block may be updated (e.g., a new hash value computed) to form the value of a current block when any one or more of the following occurs. The new hash value may be computed by hashing all or a portion of the information noted below, in this example embodiment.a) new SHA-2 computed hash value if the file has been processed in any way (e.g., if the file was redacted, copied, altered, accessed, or some other action was taken)b) new storage location for the filec) new metadata identified associated with the filed) transfer of access or control of the file from one blockchain participant to another blockchain participant FIG.6Dillustrates an embodiment of a block which may represent the structure of the blocks in the blockchain690in accordance with one embodiment. The block, Blocki, includes a header672i, a file674i, and a value676i. The header672iincludes a hash value of a previous block Blocki-1and additional reference information, which, for example, may be any of the types of information (e.g., header information including references, characteristics, parameters, etc.) discussed herein. All blocks reference the hash of a previous block except, of course, the genesis block. The hash value of the previous block may be just a hash of the header in the previous block or a hash of all or a portion of the information in the previous block, including the file and metadata. The file674iincludes a plurality of data, such as Data 1, Data 2, . . . , Data N in sequence. The data are tagged with metadata Metadata 1, Metadata 2, . . . , Metadata N which describe the content and/or characteristics associated with the data. For example, the metadata for each data may include information to indicate a timestamp for the data, process the data, keywords indicating the persons or other content depicted in the data, and/or other features that may be helpful to establish the validity and content of the file as a whole, and particularly its use a digital evidence, for example, as described in connection with an embodiment discussed below. In addition to the metadata, each data may be tagged with reference REF1, REF2, . . . , REFNto a previous data to prevent tampering, gaps in the file, and sequential reference through the file. Once the metadata is assigned to the data (e.g., through a smart contract), the metadata cannot be altered without the hash changing, which can easily be identified for invalidation. The metadata, thus, creates a data log of information that may be accessed for use by participants in the blockchain. The value676iis a hash value or other value computed based on any of the types of information previously discussed. For example, for any given block Blocki, the value for that block may be updated to reflect the processing that was performed for that block, e.g., new hash value, new storage location, new metadata for the associated file, transfer of control or access, identifier, or other action or information to be added. Although the value in each block is shown to be separate from the metadata for the data of the file and header, the value may be based, in part or whole, on this metadata in another embodiment. Once the blockchain670is formed, at any point in time, the immutable chain-of-custody for the file may be obtained by querying the blockchain for the transaction history of the values across the blocks. This query, or tracking procedure, may begin with decrypting the value of the block that is most currently included (e.g., the last (Nth) block), and then continuing to decrypt the value of the other blocks until the genesis block is reached and the original file is recovered. The decryption may involve decrypting the headers and files and associated metadata at each block, as well. Decryption is performed based on the type of encryption that took place in each block. This may involve the use of private keys, public keys, or a public key-private key pair. For example, when asymmetric encryption is used, blockchain participants or a processor in the network may generate a public key and private key pair using a predetermined algorithm. The public key and private key are associated with each other through some mathematical relationship. The public key may be distributed publicly to serve as an address to receive messages from other users, e.g., an IP address or home address. The private key is kept secret and used to digitally sign messages sent to other blockchain participants. The signature is included in the message so that the recipient can verify using the public key of the sender. This way, the recipient can be sure that only the sender could have sent this message. Generating a key pair may be analogous to creating an account on the blockchain, but without having to actually register anywhere. Also, every transaction that is executed on the blockchain is digitally signed by the sender using their private key. This signature ensures that only the owner of the account can track and process (if within the scope of permission determined by a smart contract) the file of the blockchain. FIGS.7A and7Billustrate additional examples of use cases for blockchain which may be incorporated and used herein. In particular,FIG.7Aillustrates an example700of a blockchain710which stores machine learning (artificial intelligence) data. Machine learning relies on vast quantities of historical data (or training data) to build predictive models for accurate prediction on new data. Machine learning software (e.g., neural networks, etc.) can often sift through millions of records to unearth non-intuitive patterns. In the example ofFIG.7A, a host platform720builds and deploys a machine learning model for predictive monitoring of assets730. Here, the host platform720may be a cloud platform, an industrial server, a web server, a personal computer, a user device, and the like. Assets730can be any type of asset (e.g., machine or equipment, etc.) such as an aircraft, locomotive, turbine, medical machinery and equipment, oil and gas equipment, boats, ships, vehicles, and the like. As another example, assets730may be non-tangible assets such as stocks, currency, digital coins, insurance, or the like. The blockchain710can be used to significantly improve both a training process702of the machine learning model and a predictive process704based on a trained machine learning model. For example, in702, rather than requiring a data scientist/engineer or other user to collect the data, historical data may be stored by the assets730themselves (or through an intermediary, not shown) on the blockchain710. This can significantly reduce the collection time needed by the host platform720when performing predictive model training. For example, using smart contracts, data can be directly and reliably transferred straight from its place of origin to the blockchain710. By using the blockchain710to ensure the security and ownership of the collected data, smart contracts may directly send the data from the assets to the individuals that use the data for building a machine learning model. This allows for sharing of data among the assets730. The collected data may be stored in the blockchain710based on a consensus mechanism. The consensus mechanism pulls in (permissioned nodes) to ensure that the data being recorded is verified and accurate. The data recorded is time-stamped, cryptographically signed, and immutable. It is therefore auditable, transparent, and secure. Adding IoT devices which write directly to the blockchain can, in certain cases (i.e. supply chain, healthcare, logistics, etc.), increase both the frequency and accuracy of the data being recorded. Furthermore, training of the machine learning model on the collected data may take rounds of refinement and testing by the host platform720. Each round may be based on additional data or data that was not previously considered to help expand the knowledge of the machine learning model. In702, the different training and testing steps (and the data associated therewith) may be stored on the blockchain710by the host platform720. Each refinement of the machine learning model (e.g., changes in variables, weights, etc.) may be stored on the blockchain710. This provides verifiable proof of how the model was trained and what data was used to train the model. Furthermore, when the host platform720has achieved a finally trained model, the resulting model may be stored on the blockchain710. After the model has been trained, it may be deployed to a live environment where it can make predictions/decisions based on the execution of the final trained machine learning model. For example, in704, the machine learning model may be used for condition-based maintenance (CBM) for an asset such as an aircraft, a wind turbine, a healthcare machine, and the like. In this example, data fed back from the asset730may be input the machine learning model and used to make event predictions such as failure events, error codes, and the like. Determinations made by the execution of the machine learning model at the host platform720may be stored on the blockchain710to provide auditable/verifiable proof. As one non-limiting example, the machine learning model may predict a future breakdown/failure to a part of the asset730and create alert or a notification to replace the part. The data behind this decision may be stored by the host platform720on the blockchain710. In one embodiment the features and/or the actions described and/or depicted herein can occur on or with respect to the blockchain710. New transactions for a blockchain can be gathered together into a new block and added to an existing hash value. This is then encrypted to create a new hash for the new block. This is added to the next list of transactions when they are encrypted, and so on. The result is a chain of blocks that each contain the hash values of all preceding blocks. Computers that store these blocks regularly compare their hash values to ensure that they are all in agreement. Any computer that does not agree, discards the records that are causing the problem. This approach is good for ensuring tamper-resistance of the blockchain, but it is not perfect. One way to game this system is for a dishonest user to change the list of transactions in their favor, but in a way that leaves the hash unchanged. This can be done by brute force, in other words by changing a record, encrypting the result, and seeing whether the hash value is the same. And if not, trying again and again and again until it finds a hash that matches. The security of blockchains is based on the belief that ordinary computers can only perform this kind of brute force attack over time scales that are entirely impractical, such as the age of the universe. By contrast, quantum computers are much faster (1000s of times faster) and consequently pose a much greater threat. FIG.7Billustrates an example750of a quantum-secure blockchain752which implements quantum key distribution (QKD) to protect against a quantum computing attack. In this example, blockchain users can verify each other's identities using QKD. This sends information using quantum particles such as photons, which cannot be copied by an eavesdropper without destroying them. In this way, a sender and a receiver through the blockchain can be sure of each other's identity. In the example ofFIG.7B, four users are present754,756,758, and760. Each of pair of users may share a secret key762(i.e., a QKD) between themselves. Since there are four nodes in this example, six pairs of nodes exist, and therefore six different secret keys762are used including QKDAB, QKDAC, QKDAD, QKDBC, QKDBD, and QKDCD. Each pair can create a QKD by sending information using quantum particles such as photons, which cannot be copied by an eavesdropper without destroying them. In this way, a pair of users can be sure of each other's identity. The operation of the blockchain752is based on two procedures (i) creation of transactions, and (ii) construction of blocks that aggregate the new transactions. New transactions may be created similar to a traditional blockchain network. Each transaction may contain information about a sender, a receiver, a time of creation, an amount (or value) to be transferred, a list of reference transactions that justifies the sender has funds for the operation, and the like. This transaction record is then sent to all other nodes where it is entered into a pool of unconfirmed transactions. Here, two parties (i.e., a pair of users from among754-760) authenticate the transaction by providing their shared secret key762(QKD). This quantum signature can be attached to every transaction making it exceedingly difficult to tamper with. Each node checks their entries with respect to a local copy of the blockchain752to verify that each transaction has sufficient funds. However, the transactions are not yet confirmed. Rather than perform a traditional mining process on the blocks, the blocks may be created in a decentralized manner using a broadcast protocol. At a predetermined period of time (e.g., seconds, minutes, hours, etc.) the network may apply the broadcast protocol to any unconfirmed transaction thereby to achieve a Byzantine agreement (consensus) regarding a correct version of the transaction. For example, each node may possess a private value (transaction data of that particular node). In a first round, nodes transmit their private values to each other. In subsequent rounds, nodes communicate the information they received in the previous round from other nodes. Here, honest nodes are able to create a complete set of transactions within a new block. This new block can be added to the blockchain752. In one embodiment the features and/or the actions described and/or depicted herein can occur on or with respect to the blockchain752. FIG.8illustrates an example system800that supports one or more of the example embodiments described and/or depicted herein. The system800comprises a computer system/server802, which is operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with computer system/server802include, but are not limited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thin clients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframe computer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like. Computer system/server802may be described in the general context of computer system-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer system. Generally, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and so on that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Computer system/server802may be practiced in distributed cloud computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer system storage media including memory storage devices. As shown inFIG.8, computer system/server802in cloud computing node800is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The components of computer system/server802may include, but are not limited to, one or more processors or processing units804, a system memory806, and a bus that couples various system components including system memory806to processor804. The bus represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnects (PCI) bus. Computer system/server802typically includes a variety of computer system readable media. Such media may be any available media that is accessible by computer system/server802, and it includes both volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. System memory806, in one embodiment, implements the flow diagrams of the other figures. The system memory806can include computer system readable media in the form of volatile memory, such as random-access memory (RAM)810and/or cache memory812. Computer system/server802may further include other removable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storage media. By way of example only, storage system814can be provided for reading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media (not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, a magnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable, non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical disk drive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile optical disk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided. In such instances, each can be connected to the bus by one or more data media interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below, memory806may include at least one program product having a set (e.g., at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out the functions of various embodiments of the application. Program/utility816, having a set (at least one) of program modules818, may be stored in memory806by way of example, and not limitation, as well as an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data or some combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networking environment. Program modules818generally carry out the functions and/or methodologies of various embodiments of the application as described herein. As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present application may be embodied as a system, method, or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon. Computer system/server802may also communicate with one or more external devices820such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display822, etc.; one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computer system/server802; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.) that enable computer system/server802to communicate with one or more other computing devices. Such communication can occur via I/O interfaces824. Still yet, computer system/server802can communicate with one or more networks such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet) via network adapter826. As depicted, network adapter826communicates with the other components of computer system/server802via a bus. It should be understood that although not shown, other hardware and/or software components could be used in conjunction with computer system/server802. Examples, include, but are not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc. Although an exemplary embodiment of at least one of a system, method, and non-transitory computer readable medium has been illustrated in the accompanied drawings and described in the foregoing detailed description, it will be understood that the application is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions as set forth and defined by the following claims. For example, the capabilities of the system of the various figures can be performed by one or more of the modules or components described herein or in a distributed architecture and may include a transmitter, receiver or pair of both. For example, all or part of the functionality performed by the individual modules, may be performed by one or more of these modules. Further, the functionality described herein may be performed at various times and in relation to various events, internal or external to the modules or components. Also, the information sent between various modules can be sent between the modules via at least one of: a data network, the Internet, a voice network, an Internet Protocol network, a wireless device, a wired device and/or via plurality of protocols. Also, the messages sent or received by any of the modules may be sent or received directly and/or via one or more of the other modules. One skilled in the art will appreciate that a “system” could be embodied as a personal computer, a server, a console, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cell phone, a tablet computing device, a smartphone or any other suitable computing device, or combination of devices. Presenting the above-described functions as being performed by a “system” is not intended to limit the scope of the present application in any way but is intended to provide one example of many embodiments. Indeed, methods, systems and apparatuses disclosed herein may be implemented in localized and distributed forms consistent with computing technology. It should be noted that some of the system features described in this specification have been presented as modules, in order to more particularly emphasize their implementation independence. For example, a module may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom very large-scale integration (VLSI) circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A module may also be implemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices, graphics processing units, or the like. A module may also be at least partially implemented in software for execution by various types of processors. An identified unit of executable code may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions that may, for instance, be organized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of an identified module need not be physically located together but may comprise disparate instructions stored in different locations which, when joined logically together, comprise the module and achieve the stated purpose for the module. Further, modules may be stored on a computer-readable medium, which may be, for instance, a hard disk drive, flash device, random access memory (RAM), tape, or any other such medium used to store data. Indeed, a module of executable code could be a single instruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed over several different code segments, among different programs, and across several memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustrated herein within modules and may be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may be collected as a single data set or may be distributed over different locations including over different storage devices, and may exist, at least partially, merely as electronic signals on a system or network. It will be readily understood that the components of the application, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the detailed description of the embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the application as claimed but is merely representative of selected embodiments of the application. One having ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that the above may be practiced with steps in a different order, and/or with hardware elements in configurations that are different than those which are disclosed. Therefore, although the application has been described based upon these preferred embodiments, it would be apparent to those of skill in the art that certain modifications, variations, and alternative constructions would be apparent. While preferred embodiments of the present application have been described, it is to be understood that the embodiments described are illustrative only and the scope of the application is to be defined solely by the appended claims when considered with a full range of equivalents and modifications (e.g., protocols, hardware devices, software platforms etc.) thereto. | 100,886 |
11861559 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS FIG.1schematically shows a simplified block diagram according to exemplary specific embodiments, a device200for providing a resource R, for example electrical energy, being provided. Further exemplary specific embodiments (cf.FIG.2A) relate to a method, in particular a computer-implemented method, for managing a provision of resource R. In further exemplary specific embodiments, the method may, for example, be at least temporarily carried out by device200(FIG.1), and includes the following steps (cf.FIG.2A): receiving100a request A regarding a utilization of resource R, validating110request A, and, based on validation110of request A, establishing120a state channel SC. In some exemplary specific embodiments, a decentralized utilization of resources or of resource R is thus made possible. In further exemplary specific embodiments, at least one state channel, for example as described in [Reference 2] cited below, may be used, for example, for receiving110(and/or transmitting, for example by device300; see details below) request A, and/or for a further communication regarding the provision of resource R. The following listed documents [Reference 1] and [Reference 2] are hereby expressly incorporated into the present description. Stefan Dziembowski, Sebastian Faust, and Kristina Hostáková. 2018. General State Channel Networks. In Proceedings of the 2018 ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS '18). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 949-966. DOI: doi.org/10.1145/3243734.3243856 [Reference 1]. S. Dziembowski, L. Eckey, S. Faust, and D. Malinowski, “Perun: Virtual Payment Hubs over Cryptocurrencies,” 2019 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (SP), San Francisco, CA, USA, 2019, pp. 106-123, DOI: 10.1109/SP.2019.00020 [Reference 2]. In further exemplary specific embodiments, for example (digitally) signed transactions and/or pieces of status information and/or status updates may be transferred via state channel SC, for example between a prospective consumer300(FIG.1) of a resource and a device200that provides resource R, in particular a device200according to exemplary specific embodiments. In further exemplary specific embodiments, reference numeral300denotes a device for requesting resources R. In further exemplary specific embodiments, device300may be associated with a consumer of the resource, for example. In this regard, reference numeral300by way of example is used for device300and also for a consumer (in the sense of a natural person, for example) possibly associated with device300. In further exemplary specific embodiments, a comparatively large number of (for example signed) transactions per unit of time may be transferred via the state channel, so that a request for and/or a provision of resources may accordingly take place dynamically. In further exemplary specific embodiments, it is provided that request A includes or characterizes a digital contract DV (cf. alsoFIG.4), digital contract DV containing at least one signature SIG-1, validation110(FIG.2A) encompassing checking of the at least one signature SIG-1. In this way it may be determined, for example, whether a manipulation of digital contract DV has taken place. In further exemplary specific embodiments, digital contract DV includes at least one of the following elements:a) a digital signature SIG-1of a first party, for example of a or the prospective consumer300(FIG.1) of the resource,b) a digital signature SIG-2of a second party, for example a device200providing the resource,c) a digital identity ID-1 of the first party (for example, a decentralized identifier (DID) of the first party),d) a digital identity ID-2 of the second party (for example, a decentralized identifier (DID) of the second party),e) terms of use NB, for example for a provision of resource R,f) a price per unit PPE of resource R,g) a piece of information T-E characterizing the or a type of unit of the resource (for example, kilowatt-hour in the case of electrical energy as resource R),h) a piece of information T-W characterizing a currency or a type of currency (for example, information that a digital, for example blockchain-based, currency is used as currency),i) an extent RES-U of the resource (for example, the number of units),j) a time period T-NUTZ for a utilization of the resource. In further exemplary specific embodiments, digital contract DV is designed as a Ricardian contract, for example; cf. iang.org/papers/ricardian_contract.html. In further exemplary specific embodiments, a state channel SC to be established or a type of state channel SC to be established may be ascertained, for example, based on the type of currency T-W of digital contract DV. In further exemplary specific embodiments, the utilization of an optional self-sovereign identity (SSI) system may be provided which is designed, for example, for storing cryptographic keys K-1, K-2of parties200,300. In further exemplary specific embodiments, establishment120(FIG.2A) of the state channel includes at least one of the following elements (cf.FIG.2B): a) use120aof a smart contract14(FIG.1) that is managed with the aid of an optional distributed ledger technology (DLT) system10, for example, in particular for anchoring state channel SC, b) use120bof a hub400(FIG.1) that is designed to receive request A from another unit300, in particular a prospective consumer300of resource R, and relay the request. In further exemplary specific embodiments, it is provided that optional DLT system10(FIG.1) includes at least one blockchain12and/or at least one directed acyclic graph (DAG), not shown. In further exemplary specific embodiments, blockchain12may be understood as a concatenated list of data blocks that are linked to one another using cryptographic methods (for example, formation of a hash value of the particular data block), for example according to the Merkle tree principle. A tamper-proof storage of data in blockchain12is thus possible. In further exemplary specific embodiments, blockchain12may be implemented in the form of a distributed or decentralized database, multiple network elements (“nodes”) of a blockchain network in each case storing data blocks of blockchain12. Fundamental aspects of the blockchain technology are described, for example, in the following publication: Nakamoto, Satoshi. (2009). Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System, bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf. In further preferred specific embodiments, a DLT or blockchain12may store one or multiple smart contracts14which, for example, allow the storage of pieces of information, for example also in conjunction with establishing110(FIG.2A) state channel SC according to exemplary specific embodiments, but also executing queries and other program functions, similarly to a programming language, for example based on pieces of information stored in blockchain12and/or regarding transactions carried out in blockchain12. In further exemplary specific embodiments, logic operations corresponding to contractual terms, and/or pieces of information characterizing a utilization of resource R, may thus be stored in blockchain12with the aid of one or multiple smart contracts14. In further exemplary specific embodiments, state channel SC may be a so-called ledger channel, for example, that is implementable with the aid of DLT system10, for example. In further exemplary specific embodiments, state channel SC may be implemented with the aid of a or the hub400, for example. In further exemplary specific embodiments, hub400may be designed, for example, to at least temporarily establish a preferably bidirectional data link with device300transmitting request A and/or with device200receiving request A, for example to transfer request A and/or to receive and/or relay pieces of information associated with request A, for example a confirmation or rejection, and/or a utilization of pieces of information characterizing resource R, or the like. In further exemplary specific embodiments, an information exchange takes place via the hub according to further exemplary specific embodiments, at least predominantly outside an optional DLT system10that may be present, for example “off-chain,” i.e., without elements of the information exchange being stored via hub400, in particular simultaneously, in a blockchain12(or a DAG) of DLT system40. In further exemplary specific embodiments, the information exchange via hub400may thus take place in a particularly efficient manner. In further exemplary specific embodiments, for example one of the configurations described in the following documents may be used as a hub: [Reference 1], [Reference 2]. In further exemplary specific embodiments, the method further includes (cf.FIG.2A): enabling122a utilization of resource R, for example by the prospective consumer. In other words, a device200(FIG.1) providing resource R may provide resource R, and prospective consumer300may utilize resource R after stated enabling122by device200that provides resource R. In further exemplary specific embodiments (cf.FIG.2C), the method further includes: receiving130at least one, for example signed, status update SA, in particular from a or the consumer300, validating132a status that is characterized, in particular updated, by status update SA. In further exemplary specific embodiments, status update SA, which may be signed by consumer300, for example, may characterize a request, for example a further request, for resource R. In other words, in further exemplary specific embodiments, consumer300with the aid of status update SA may request or demand a further and/or renewed utilization of resource R. In further exemplary specific embodiments, validation132of the status that is characterized, in particular updated, by status update SA may include, for example: checking whether the status corresponds to the agreed conditions characterized by digital contract DV, for example (FIG.4). In further exemplary specific embodiments, the method further includes (cf.FIG.2C): signing134the in particular updated status, transmitting136the updated status, in particular to consumer300. In further exemplary specific embodiments, device200providing the resource thus signs the updated status before transmitting it to consumer300. In further exemplary specific embodiments, the method further includes (cf.FIG.2D): ascertaining140whether conditions for a utilization of resource R are, in particular still, present, and optionally in particular when the conditions for the utilization of resource R are no longer present, ending142a possible utilization of resource R and optionally closing144state channel SC. Further exemplary specific embodiments relate to a device200(FIG.1) for managing the provision of a resource R, device200being designed to carry out the method according to the specific embodiments. In further preferred specific embodiments (cf.FIG.5), it is provided that device200includes: a computer202that includes at least one processor core202a, a memory device204associated with computer202for at least temporarily storing at least one of the following elements: a) data DAT, b) a computer program PRG, in particular for carrying out the method according to the specific embodiments. In further preferred specific embodiments, data DAT may include, at least temporarily and/or partially, received requests A and/or status updates SA and/or rules for the provision, for example derivable from digital contract DV (FIG.4). In further preferred specific embodiments, the memory device includes a volatile memory204a(a working memory (RAM), for example) and/or a nonvolatile memory204b(a flash EEPROM, for example). In further preferred specific embodiments, computer202may include at least one of the following elements: microprocessor (μP), microcontroller (μC), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), system on a chip (SoC), programmable logic module (field programmable gate array (FPGA), for example), hardware circuit, graphics processing unit (GPU), or arbitrary combinations of same. Further preferred specific embodiments relate to a computer-readable memory medium SM, including commands PRG which, when executed by a computer202, prompt the computer to carry out the method according to the specific embodiments. Further preferred specific embodiments relate to a computer program PRG, including commands which, when the program is executed by a computer202, prompt the computer to carry out the method according to the specific embodiments. Further preferred specific embodiments relate to a data carrier signal DCS that characterizes and/or transfers computer program PRG according to the specific embodiments. Data carrier signal DCS is receivable, for example, via an optional data interface206of device200, via which in further exemplary specific embodiments request A, for example, and/or other pieces of information that are transferrable or are to be transferred via state channel SC, for example, is/are also receivable. In further preferred specific embodiments, device200includes an optional resource interface208for providing resource(s) R. In the case of electrical energy as a resource, resource interface208may be designed, for example, to provide an electrical charge that is capable of work. Further exemplary specific embodiments (cf.FIG.3A) relate to a method for requesting a resource R, including the following steps: transmitting150a request A regarding a utilization of resource R, in particular to a device200according to the specific embodiments, and, optionally, establishing152aor the state channel SC, and, optionally, receiving154resource R. In further exemplary specific embodiments (cf.FIG.3B), the method further includes: transmitting156a status update SA to device200, in particular via state channel SC, for example to request a renewed utilization of resource R, and optionally further receiving158of the resource, in particular based on status update SA. Further exemplary specific embodiments relate to a device300(FIG.1) for requesting a resource R, device300being designed to carry out the method according to the specific embodiments (for example, according toFIGS.3A,3B). In further exemplary specific embodiments, device300may have a configuration that is comparable to configuration200according toFIG.5. Further exemplary specific embodiments relate to a system1000(FIG.1) for providing at least one resource R, including at least one device200for providing the at least one resource R according to the specific embodiments, and at least one device300for requesting a resource R according to the specific embodiments. In further exemplary specific embodiments, it is provided that system1000also includes at least one hub400that is designed to receive request A and relay it to device200for providing resource R or to implement state channel SC. FIG.6Ashows by way of example a configuration in which a state channel SC (FIG.2A), for example also a virtual state channel VC within the meaning of [Reference 1] (cf.FIG.4therein, “Virtual state channel creation,” for example), is established between device200that provides the resource and prospective consumer300. In further preferred specific embodiments, an establishment of virtual state channel VC may take place using hub400, for example, devices200,300, for example, each accommodating a connection V1, V2to hub400, and the establishment of virtual state channel VC then being initiated. In further exemplary specific embodiments, an exchange of pieces of information and/or resources may be understood as a type of “flow” (cf.FIG.6B), on one side, for example, money or pieces of information characterizing a corresponding value flowing in the direction of device200that provides the resource (cf. arrow A1fromFIG.6B), for example within the scope of microtransactions, and on the other side, the requested or agreed resource, for example electrical energy, flowing from providing device200in the direction of consumer300(cf. arrow A2), for example in each case after enabling for utilization of the resource, for example at defined time intervals. FIG.7schematically shows a simplified flowchart according to further exemplary specific embodiments. Element e1symbolizes the transmission of a digital contract DV (FIG.4), designed as a Ricardian contract, for example, from consumer300to device200that provides resource R. With transmission e1of digital contract DV, according to further exemplary specific embodiments, consumer300thus requests the utilization of resource R. Element e2symbolizes a validation of at least one digital signature SIG-1that is associated with digital contract DV and/or contained therein, for example based on a decentralized identifier (DID), for example to ensure that the at least one signature SIG-1has not been manipulated. Element e3from block B1symbolizes a failed validation. In this case, the operation may be aborted, for example, and for example no state channel SC or virtual state channel VC is established, and for example requested resource R is not provided. Otherwise, i.e., if validation e2was successful, the method skips to block B2, for example a (virtual) state channel being established (cf. element e4). For example, device200may transmit a prompt or request e4to consumer300in order to establish the (virtual) state channel or prompt consumer300to establish the (virtual) state channel or cooperate in establishing the (virtual) state channel. Funding that is usable in further exemplary specific embodiments and/or a system or protocol, for example a state channel protocol, that is used for establishing the (virtual) state channel may be ascertained based on digital contract DV, for example. Element e5symbolizes the initiation of (virtual) state channel SC, VC, for example incorporating consumer300(cf. also reference numerals V1, V2, VC according toFIG.6A, for example). After successful initiation of the (virtual) state channel, consumer300obtains access to requested resource R, element e6fromFIG.7symbolizing, for example, the enabling of resource R. In further preferred specific embodiments, resource R may be provided, for example, via a corresponding optional interface208(FIG.5) of device200itself (and received, for example, via a corresponding or complementary resource interface (not shown) of device200). In further preferred specific embodiments, device200may signal enabling e6of resource R of also some other unit, for example (not shown), that is designed to provide resource R. Element e7fromFIG.7symbolizes a state in which the access to requested resource R by consumer300is possible. In block B3consumer300transmits, for example with its key K-1(FIG.4), digitally signed status updates e8, for example to device200that provides resource R at agreed time periods or points in time, for example with the aid of digital contract DV, for example to demand a renewed utilization. Device200validates the updated status (cf. element e9), and if this updated status corresponds to the agreed conditions, device200updates the utilization (cf. element e11) and signs the status itself and transmits the status, which it has now also signed, together with the agreed utilization to consumer300(cf. element e12). Otherwise, i.e., if validation e9was not successful, the operation is aborted (cf. element e10). If the conditions for the further utilization are no longer present, either due to the expenditure of the agreed means of payment or the expiration of a time period, device200ends the possible utilization (cf. element e13according toFIG.7), and for example completes a defined end routine (cf. also the example of the sequence according toFIG.2D). In further exemplary specific embodiments (cf. element e13), one of the parties (consumer300/device200) initiates the closure of the (virtual) state channel (cf. block B4). Further exemplary specific embodiments (cf.FIG.8) relate to a use500of the method according to the specific embodiments and/or of device200,300according to the specific embodiments and/or of system1000according to the specific embodiments and/or of computer-readable memory medium SM according to the specific embodiments and/or of computer program PRG according to the specific embodiments and/or of data carrier signal DCS according to the specific embodiments for at least one of the following elements: a) providing502at least one resource R, b) managing504the provision of the at least one resource, c) transferring506request A via a state channel SC, d) allowing508an in particular fine-grained payment, in particular at least essentially in real time, for a provision of at least one resource R, e) establishing510aand/or discontinuing510band/or utilizing510ca state channel SC, in particular utilizing state channel SC for payment of an in particular requested resource R, f) shared use512of a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, for example car sharing, g) providing514electrical energy, in particular for charging at least one device for at least temporarily storing an electrical charge which in particular is capable of work, h) using516a tool, for example a hand-held power tool, for example in the form of a sharing economy principle, i) utilizing518an interface, for example a programming interface (API). Further exemplary specific embodiments relate to the application of a car sharing principle, using the principle according to the exemplary specific embodiments described above: a user agrees with a car sharing provider for the use of an automobile under negotiated conditions, for example directly or via a marketplace. The conditions, such as price/minute and/or DID of the user and of the provider, possibly a specific automobile DID if agreed to, and/or a linking to general terms and conditions (AGB), and/or a DLT system10, and/or currency such as a payment token and an ID/time stamp, are contained in a Ricardian contract DV, for example (FIG.4) and signed by both parties, for example. The signature is created, for example, with reference to the agreed conditions, for example so that they are not alterable. The user or consumer with whom, for example, device300according to the specific embodiments is associated now locates the automobile and sends to it on-site via a data link (for example, directly, in a wireless or wired manner, via a cloud, or in some other way) Ricardian contract DV (cf. also element e1according toFIG.7). The automobile with which, for example, device200according to the specific embodiments is associated validates Ricardian contract DV (cf. also element e2according toFIG.7). Upon successful validation, user or device300obtains response e4(FIG.7) for initiating a state channel SC. The protocol for initialization e5(FIG.7) defined by way of example is executed by both parties200,300, for example. After successful initiation e5, the automobile (or device200associated with it) enables access by the user (or device300associated with the user) and unlocks itself (cf. element e6). The user (or device300associated with the user) now transfers, for example once per minute, a new status e8containing, for example, a transfer of the agreed costs from the user account to the agreed account of device200or a party associated with device200(for example, the provider of the car sharing automobile). The new status is signed by both parties200,300. In return, the automobile (or device200associated with it) allows the use for an additional minute, for example. As soon as the destination (the end of the trip, for example) is reached, a defined shutdown routine by way of example is executed, and both parties200,300have the option, for example, to close state channel SC. In the case of a prior usage of the money deposited upon opening the state channel, the automobile (or device200associated with it) executes a defined exit routine, for example stopping at the next opportunity and blocking further travel. Further exemplary specific embodiments relate to the application of a principle for charging an electrical consumer and/or store (a battery, for example (not shown)) with electrical energy, using the principle according to the exemplary specific embodiments described above: a user (with whom device300and a battery, for example, are associated) agrees with a charging station provider or operator (with whom device200, for example, is associated) for the use of a charging station under negotiated conditions, for example directly or via a marketplace. The conditions, such as price/kWh, DIDs of the user and of the provider, possibly a specific charging station DID if agreed to, linking to AGB, a DLT system, currency such as a payment token and an ID/time stamp, are contained in a Ricardian contract DV, for example (FIG.4), and digitally signed by both parties200,300, for example. The digital signature is created, for example, with reference to the agreed conditions, for example so that they are not alterable. User300now locates charging station200and sends to it on-site Ricardian contract DV via a link (for example, directly, in a wireless or wired manner, via a cloud, or in some other way). Charging station200validates Ricardian contract DV. Upon successful validation, user300obtains response e4(FIG.7) for initiating the state channel. The protocol for initializing state channel SC is executed by both parties200,300, for example. After successful initiation, charging station200enables access to user300and unlocks itself. The user now transfers a new status, for example once per minute, containing a transfer of the agreed costs from the user account to the agreed account of charging station200or its operator. The new status is signed by both parties. In return, charging station200transfers a further amount of electrical energy to user300. As soon as the battery is fully charged, for example, a shutdown routine is executed which allows both parties200,300to close state channel SC. In the case of a prior usage of the money deposited upon opening the state channel, the charging station for example executes a defined exit routine, for example the abortion of the charging operation. Further exemplary specific embodiments relate to the application of a sharing economy principle for temporarily using a power tool, for example, such as a drill, using the principle according to the exemplary specific embodiments described above, for example the operation, described above by way of example with reference toFIG.7, being usable at least in part: a user (with whom device300, for example, is associated) agrees with a tool provider (with whom, or with the tools of whom, for example device200is associated) for the use of a tool, for example a drill, under negotiated conditions, for example directly or via a marketplace. The conditions, such as price/minute and/or DIDs of the user and of the provider, possibly a specific machine DID if agreed to, a linking to AGB, a DLT system, currency such as a payment token and an ID/time stamp, are contained in a Ricardian contract DV, for example, and signed by both parties. The signature is created, for example, with reference to the agreed conditions, so that they are not alterable. The user now locates the tool and sends to it on-site via a link (for example, directly, via cloud, etc. Ricardian contract DV. The tool validates this contract. Upon successful validation (cf. element e2fromFIG.7, for example), the user obtains the response for initiating state channel SC (cf. element e4fromFIG.7, for example). The protocol for the initialization is executed by both parties. After successful initiation, the tool enables access by the user and unlocks itself (cf. element e6fromFIG.7, for example). The user now transfers a new status, for example once per minute (cf. element e8fromFIG.7, for example), containing a transfer of the agreed costs from the user account to the agreed account of the tool provider via state channel SC. This new status is signed by both parties. In return, the tool allows the use for an additional minute (cf. element e12fromFIG.7, for example). When the target is reached, a shutdown routine is executed, and both parties200,300have the option, for example, to close state channel SC. In the case of a prior usage of the blocked money, the tool or the provider executes an exit routine, for example blocking further use, with the aid of device200. Further exemplary specific embodiments relate to a utilization of a programming interface (API), using the principle according to the exemplary specific embodiments described above, for example the operation, described above by way of example with reference toFIG.7, being usable at least in part: a user (with whom device300, for example, is associated) agrees with an API provider to use a defined API (weather data, for example) under negotiated conditions, for example directly or via a marketplace. The conditions, such as price/data set, DIDs of the user and of the provider, possibly specific API identifiers (for example, uniform resource identifier (URI)) if agreed to, and/or linking to AGB, DLT system10, currency such as a payment token and an ID/time stamp, are contained in a Ricardian contract DV, for example (FIG.4) and signed by both parties200,300, for example. The signature is created, for example, with reference to the agreed conditions, for example so that they are not alterable. The user now sends Ricardian contract DV to the API in order to apply for use of the API (cf. element e1fromFIG.7, for example). The API provider or device200associated with same validates the contract (cf. element e2fromFIG.7, for example). Upon successful validation, the user obtains the response for initiating state channel SC. The protocol for the initialization is executed by both parties. After successful initiation, the API service enables access by the user and unlocks itself. Upon each request e8(FIG.7) for a data set, the user now transfers a new status containing a transfer of the agreed costs from the user account to the agreed account of the resource. This new status is signed by both parties. In return, API service200allows a further data set (cf. element e12). When the target is reached, a defined shutdown routine is executed, and both parties have the option, for example, to close state channel SC. In the case of a prior usage of the blocked money, the API service executes a defined exit routine, for example blocking further access by the user. Further exemplary specific embodiments allow the creation of a decentralized principle which, for example, allows a fine-grained payment for the utilization of a resource R, for example using microtransactions. In addition, in further exemplary specific embodiments this payment may be completed comparatively quickly, for example essentially in real time, which, for example, also increases the trust between two unknown entities (for example, users of devices200,300). Due to the decentralized mechanism, in further exemplary specific embodiments it is ensured that no centralized party can collect data by itself, for example with regard to carrying out an economic transaction. In addition, the number of transactions is reduced to an optional third party system (DLT system10, for example), thus making an important contribution to scalability. In further exemplary specific embodiments, smart contracts or digital contracts DV, for example between mutually distrustful parties acting rationally on an individual basis, may optionally enter into and optionally enforce reliable and fair contracts, for example with the aid of distributed ledger technology (DLT). In further exemplary specific embodiments, the smart contract defines the contractual content as program code, while optional DLT system10provides a decentralized platform which reliably executes this program code correctly and verifiably, and which may thus be regarded as a “decentralized notary service.” In further exemplary specific embodiments, it is possible with the aid of at least one state channel SC to execute smart contracts or digital contracts without communication with a ledger and still maintain the assured properties. As soon as a state channel is created in further exemplary specific embodiments, smart contracts or digital contracts DV may be efficiently entered into (ideally in real time) and executed between the establishing parties. In further exemplary specific embodiments, the interlinking of multiple state channels to form a network of state channels may also allow a so-called off-chain execution of the contracts, also across multiple state channels, so that in further exemplary specific embodiments, the contracting parties do not necessarily have to open their own state channel. If in further exemplary specific embodiments, parties are connected via a network of state channels without, for example, being directly connected themselves via a state channel (“base channel”), in further exemplary specific embodiments they have the option, for example, to create a virtual state channel in real time, in particular without communicating with the ledger. | 33,285 |
11861560 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the present invention, while eliminating, for the purpose of clarity, many other elements found in typical computer systems and methods for processing of data relating to insurance services and programs such as analysis of data sets, determination of potential for subrogation, and administration of insurance claims. Those of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that other elements and/or steps are desirable and/or required in implementing the present invention. However, because such elements and steps are well known in the art, and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, a discussion of such elements and steps is not provided herein. In connection with administration of insurance claims, including claims relating to property damage, liability and injuries, by way of example, a wide variety of documents are generated. Such documents include documents prepared and submitted by claimants, representatives of claimants, representatives of policy holders other than claimants, such as representatives of employers of injured workers, and third parties, such as medical offices, contractors and auto body shops, for example. In addition, claim handlers generally represent an insurance company or self-insured entity employer in dealing with claimants, employers, third parties such as contractors and medical service providers and others, and create telephone notes, structured documents and the like. For example, claim handlers typically enter extensive notes regarding telephone conversations with claimants, witnesses, employer representatives, and others. Typically, the principal focus of the efforts of the claim handlers in connection with a claim is to obtain information that can be used to determine whether an injury is covered. For example, if the claim is a claim for workers compensation, the facts to be determined by the claim handler may include where the injury occurred, including whether the location of the injury was on an employer's premises or not, the time of day, the working hours of the claimant on the day of the injury, the relationship of the injured individual's activities to employment duties, and the details of the injury. The notes and other data are stored by a computerized system in a database associated with the claim. The data associated with the claim may include either or both of structured data and unstructured data, such as file notes in text format. In an embodiment, a computer system is configured to apply a predictive model to determine a likelihood of subrogation potential for insurance claims in a claim database. The system may be configured to iteratively apply the predictive model to claims at intervals. The intervals may be one or more selected aging intervals of the claims, dated from a suitable start date, such as a date of initial review. The predictive model may apply values to data among structured indicators and among text indicators. Selected structured indicators may have negative and positive weightings on the subrogation potential of the claim. By way of example, speed of reporting of an incident leading to a claim, such as an injury, if a short report lag time from incident to report, may have a positive weight, while a long report lag time from incident to report may have a negative weight. Thus, a report lag indicator may have a positive coefficient for a short report lag value and a negative coefficient for a long report lag value. A claim complexity indicator may have a positive weighting, greater than that of speed of reporting, if a high level of complexity is recorded, or a negative weighting, if a low level of complexity is recorded. Complexity refers to severity of injuries, in general. The system is further configured to perform text mining of unstructured data associated with the claims. The unstructured data may include notes of telephone conversations and in-person meetings conducted with claimants, witnesses, third party service providers such as body shop representatives, employer representatives and others, as well as recorded telephone conversations converted to text using voice recognition technology. Certain words identified in the notes may be associated with a higher value of likelihood of subrogation. By way of example, words such as landlord, contractor or supplier tend to indicate a third party and are therefore associated with a higher probability of subrogation. On the other hand, some words or phases are associated with a reduced value of subrogation, such as “claim denied.” The values and variables may be dependent on data related to a type of claim, such as property damage, automobile accident, or injury to employee, or to an injured employee or a covered employer. By way of example, if data indicates that the claim relates to a dog bite injury suffered by an employee, and the employer is of a type that ordinarily handles animals, such as a dog groomer or veterinarian, an animal bite injury decreases the likelihood of subrogation. On the other hand, if the data indicates that the employer is not in a category that ordinarily handles animals, an animal bite is associated with an increase in likelihood of subrogation. The system may be configured to review each claim file on a periodic basis to determine any change in subrogation potential values. In embodiments, the review may be on a basis other than periodic, such as based on a number of new claims received since the most recent review. Referring now toFIG.1, an exemplary system100for processing data related to assessment of subrogation potential is shown is shown in an exemplary environment. System100includes insurance company105elements, which includes subrogation likelihood determination system server110, which may be in communication via an internal network, such as an insurance company intranet or local area network, with claims database115. Database115includes data relating to claims. The data relating to claims may include data relating to types of claims and structured data which may be partly particular to the type of claim. For example, for claims relating to injured employees, structured data may include employee and employer identities, dates of claim submission and type of injury. For any claim type, unstructured data related to the claim may be included in the database. For injury claims, the data may include structured and unstructured data relating to the nature of the injury, place and time of occurrence, other persons involved, and other data. Server110is also in communication with predictive model117, which may include executable computer-readable instructions and stored data for analysis of claim data from database115and determination of subrogation potential values. Exemplary users of system100include claim handler120who records claim data via a user device, which claim data directly or indirectly received, stored and organized in claims database115, and subrogation analyst122who accesses server110via a user device to review and analyze claim data and subrogation likelihood data and analyses. Results of subrogation analyses provided by server110may be displayed for subrogation analyst122. Data relating to claims identified as having high subrogation value may be furnished to claim recovery organization server130. Claim recovery organization server130may perform data processing services for a claim recovery organization of an insurance company, as discussed further below. The system100provides services in the context of employer140, which may be an insured or have an affiliated insured group providing coverage for employee injuries. The coverage may include workers compensation coverage, short term or long term disability coverage, or other coverage involving treatment for injuries that cause the employee to be disabled and unable to perform the employee's customary employment duties. The system100may also perform administrative services for an employer140that self-insures, or may perform administrative and/or data processing services on behalf of another insurance entity that underwrites coverage for employer140. Injured employees, such as injured employee142, may provide information regarding the circumstances of the injury to claim handler120, by any suitable method, including by voice telephone discussion as shown inFIG.1. Employer representatives may communicate with claim handler120such as via computer system144. Common situations giving rise to subrogation are illustrated. For example, employer vehicle146has collided with another vehicle160. Insurance company162provides coverage to the owner of vehicle160. Employer machinery170, operated by employee143, was manufactured or maintained by a third party, which third party has coverage from insurance company172. Employee149has fallen on the sidewalk of building180. The building owner is covered by insurance company182. Claim recovery organization server130provides data processing services relating to assertion of subrogation claims against insurance company162, insurance company172and insurance company182. Those subrogation claims include claims identified by analysis by server110employing predictive model117. Claims may be added to a work queue for a claim recovery operation staff based on results of analysis by subrogation determination server110. WhileFIG.1illustrates circumstances relating to subrogation in the context of insurance company review of claims relating to injured employees, it will be appreciated that the same principles, such as seeking subrogation from insurance companies of other drivers in the automotive coverage context, or insurance companies of other parties such as contractors, appliance manufacturers or others, applies to other factual situations and other types of policies. Similarly, a third party administrator may perform the subrogation analysis function. A third party administrator may be engaged by an insurance company to perform claims administration functions, which may include evaluation of claims for subrogation. In embodiments, a third party administrator may return a listing of claims to an insurance company for processing by a claim recovery operation. For example, a third party administrator computer system may generate data indicative of subrogation potential for claims and provide output data via any suitable method to a computer system employed by an insurance company claim recovery operation. In embodiments, a claim recovery operation and a subrogation determination system may employ one or more elements of the same computer system. For example, both the claim recovery operation and the subrogation determination system may access computer systems and databases for storing and maintaining data relating to insurance claims data, such as workers compensation claims. In embodiments, a single hardware server or other hardware devices including one or more processors may execute one or more modules configured to perform data processing relating to determining subrogation potential of insurance claims and one or more modules configured to perform data processing relating to claim recovery. In embodiments, a claim recovery operation may perform various operations in addition to seeking payments from responsible parties or their insurers. By way of example, in connection with claims involving ongoing payments, such as workers compensation claims or long term disability claims, the claim recovery operation may seek risk transfer. If risk transfer is attained, the responsibility for the payments is transferred to another party. In some situations, the claim recovery operation may serve as a settlement adviser to other operations of an insurance company or third party administrator that are engaged in direct negotiations. Referring now toFIG.2, an exemplary process flow of a method of an embodiment that may be performed by claims analysis server200using data from claims database210and logic of predictive model220. The method may be performed on a cycle, such as a daily cycle, or a cycle of a period of days, such as between one and fifteen days. The method may commence with identification of data relating to new claim235, which include all claims newly-added to the database subsequent to the most recent review. Claims are added to the database during routine processing. In embodiments, a claim creation event, such as an initial report of an injury by an employee or an employer representative to an insurance company, generates an initial creation of a claim. There may be a period of time between the claim creation event and the addition of the claim to the database, during which various data verification and other processes may be performed. The method may further identify data relating to selected claims that were reviewed in a prior cycle, or look back claims238. The selection logic215for look back claims for a given cycle may exclude any claims flagged in the database as having previously been referred to a claim recovery operation. The selection logic for look back claims may select claims at one or more selected ages from initial review or another start age. By way of example, the selection logic may select each claim that is open and not flagged as referred to claim recovery operation on a cycle of every 15 days, on a cycle of every 30 days, or on a more frequent cycle while the claims are relatively new and then less frequently, e.g., 15 days, 30 days, 45 days, 60 days, 90 days, 120 days, and excluding claims above a maximum threshold age, such as 150 days, 180 days or 270 days. Of course, the thresholds and cycles may be expressed in any suitable manner, such as calendar months from a claim creation date associated with the claim. Upon selection of new claims and application of selection logic215for look back claims, a model universe240of claims is determined. Text mining245may then be applied to unstructured data relating to claims in the model universe240. Text mining245may identify certain words or phrases in the data indicative of notes that are pertinent to determination of suitability for subrogation. Text mining tools may be configured with tools to identify misspelled words correctly, as well as other analytical capabilities. Text mining245may be implemented by employing, for example, one of numerous proprietary or open source software tools capable of text mining and configured to identify words or phrases selected for pertinence to determination of suitability for subrogation. Exemplary tools are made available by Attensity of Palo Alto, Calif. Other suitable tools include the STATISTICA text mining software tools available from Statsoft, Inc., of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the RapidMiner open source software suite available via Rapid-I GmbH of Dortmund, Germany. Text mining identifies words and phrases associated with each claim in the model universe. The identified words and phrases are then stored with logical associations with the claims for analysis using the predictive model. Structured data associated with the selected claims is also employed by the predictive model, and may be extracted and stored in a temporary database to used and available for analysis. The predictive model220may be applied to the identified words and phrases extracted from the text mining process and the structured data relating to the selected claim250to determine a set of initial results in the form of a subrogation suitability score for each of the selected claims in the set255. The predictive model may determine the suitability score by identifying for each claim any element of structured data or element from text mining that have an associated positive or negative factor, and incrementing or decrementing the subrogation suitability score by the positive or negative factor. For all previously-reviewed claims, the system compares260the current subrogation likelihood score to the most recent subrogation likelihood score for the same claim. Responsive to determining that the current subrogation likelihood score is greater than the prior subrogation likelihood score, the system identifies the claim for inclusion in a report270. All new claims are also included in the report. The data relating to the new claims and identified previously-reviewed claims is processed265for report formatting. Responsive to determining that the current subrogation likelihood score is not greater than the prior subrogation likelihood score, the system identifies the claim for data storage280, but not for inclusion in a report. The report may be employed for identification of claims suitable for claim recovery. Referring toFIG.3, window310is generated on device300and is accessed by an analyst to review and select terms and phrases for use in connection with text mining. Window310displays a list of terms that may be designated for selection by a text mining tool. The exemplary list in window310is partially customized for selection of text and phrases relevant to subrogation likelihood determinations. Thus, the phrase “no subro”311, the phrase “off premises”312, the phrase “responsible party”313, the phrase “self-inflicted”314, the phrase “time of day”315, and the phrase “vendor”316appear in window310and indicate terms that may be identified in a text mining process. The term “zero paid”320is shown with a further menu of individual variations that translate to “zero paid” in the logic of the text mining tool and in tag field330. Other terms may include variations, not shown, that translate to the higher level term, such as “no subro” or “off premises.” Referring now toFIG.4, exemplary free text and related analysis are shown. Box400displays free text notes. The text parsing logic identifies sentences in the free text, including sentence410. Within sentence410, clauses412,414are identified, and text is associated with clauses. Suitable tags are applied to each identified word. In clause412, the term “goal” is identified as being in the “subject-ACTOR” subcategory of the NP category (corresponding generally to nouns) and appropriately tagged. Similarly, the term “defend” is identified as an active subcategory of the VP category, corresponding generally to verbs. In clause414, the term “to′ is identified as a “specifier” in the PP category, and has logically associated therewith, below in the hierarchy, the following terms “favorable” and “decree”, which are accordingly tagged as in the “prep_head” subcategory of the “NP” category. The terms “claim” and “denied” are associated together in the NP category under clause414, and may be flagged by the predictive model. Other examples of hierarchical organization of terms are shown inFIG.4. Referring now toFIG.5, a table500is shown indicating exemplary relative importance of selected items of structured and unstructured data and whether their contribution to suitability for subrogation is positive or negative, in the predictive model555applied by subrogation analysis server550. In column510, a relative ranking is shown. In column520, elements that may have a positive contribution to an indication of suitability are shown. The positive contribution may be dependent on the value of the data associated with the item. For example, the first value, CDC, relates to characteristics of the injury, and has a high contribution only for certain data values. For example, a CDC code indicating that the injury is related to an automobile is a positive indicator. The second positive item in column520, coverage, has a positive contribution only if the coverage data value is indicative of coverage of the claim. Selected text flags, extracted from unstructured data, are shown at522,524,526and528. Thus, identification of the phrases “responsible party”522, “landlord”524, “third party”526and “contractor”528results in a positive contribution to suitability. Other values vary. The nature of injury indicator may indicate a higher likelihood or be neutral. For example, a nature of injury indicator for a muscle strain may be neutral, as a muscle strain may result from improper lifting behavior rather than from third party causes. A nature of injury indicator for an injury indicator for a fracture may be positive, as fractures are more associated with incidents such as vehicular accidents that may involve other parties. The average weekly wage is generally correlated with a higher likelihood of subrogation with higher average weekly wage. A positive coefficient may be associated with one or more states in which an accident occurred. In embodiments, based on experience, the value of the positive coefficient may vary depending on the state. The negative contribution factors in column540include particular values of certain factors that can have a positive contribution. Thus, the factors coverage, complexity and CDC may have either a positive or negative contribution, depending on the value. Thus, a CDC value indicating a repetitive motion injury has a negative contribution, by way of example. Referring toFIG.6, table600illustrates data values used by an exemplary predictive model according to an embodiment and application of the predictive model using the data values to three exemplary claims. Data element column610illustrates structured and non-structured data elements. Structured data elements are shown at612and include CDC, complexity, and other values. Non-structured data elements that may be identified via analysis of text are shown at615and include the terms landlord, contractor, responsible party and third party. First claim620indicates data values and associated coefficients for a first claim. Thus, for example, the data value column621indicates data values of structured data. The coefficient column622illustrates values of exemplary coefficients associated with the structured data values. Value column623provides the meaning of the particular data value, e.g., CDC12means a non-public transportation vehicle. First claim620includes certain values with positive coefficients in coefficient column622, such as the type of vehicle, type of coverage and accident state being Florida. Of data elements extracted from unstructured data, only the “third party” element has a non-zero value. Thus, text mining of the unstructured data associated with claim620did not identify any instances of the “landlord,” “no subro” or “contractor” data elements. Based on the coefficients associated with both structured and unstructured data, claim620has a relatively high value of likelihood of suitability for subrogation, as indicated at630. Certain coefficients, such as have a value of zero, and thus the associated data elements do not change the subrogation suitability for the claim. Second claim640relates to an animal attack. Data value column641indicates values of structured data for second claim640, such as values of Complexity2in the complexity field and AWW3in the average weekly wage field. Only the CDC field, or type of incident field, which has an animal attack (workers compensation) indicator, has a positive coefficient. All of the unstructured data values have a coefficient and value of zero, indicating that no instances of the listed data elements were identified in the text mining of the unstructured data. Accordingly, the value650of claim640is lower than the value630determined for first claim620. Third claim660relates to a motion tendinitis injury. This injury has a negative coefficient662in the claim type field. The coverage field also has a negative coefficient664, associated with the value state act cumulative injury. The only field associated with an unstructured data element, the “third party” field, has a positive coefficient668, indicating that text mining of the unstructured data has identified the “third party” data. The value of subrogation likelihood670for third claim660is lower than either of first claim620or second claim640. Referring toFIG.7, an exemplary computer system700for use in an implementation of the invention will now be described. In computer system700, processor710executes instructions contained in application programs, which in this example include software for implementing predictive model725, text mining software726and claim filtering software728, which programs are stored as processor-executable instructions stored in non-transitory storage media, namely storage devices720. As used herein, the term “processor” broadly refers to and is not limited to a single- or multi-core general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), one or more Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a system-on-a-chip (SOC), and/or a state machine. Application programs725,726,728may include separate modules for discrete functions such as generating reports, providing user access to systems for such functions as modifying coefficients in the predictive model and terms to be identified by text mining software, generation of reports and other functions. Storage devices720may include suitable non-transitory computer-readable storage media, such as optical or magnetic disks, fixed disks with magnetic storage (hard drives), flash memory, tapes accessed by tape drives, and other storage media. Processor710communicates, such as through bus702and/or other data channels, with network interface unit705, system memory730, storage devices720and input/output controller740. Via input/output controller740, processor710may receive data from user inputs such as pointing devices (including mice and trackballs), touch screens, audio inputs and keyboards, and may provide data to outputs, such as data to video drivers for formatting on displays, data to print drivers for transmission for printing in hard copy or to image files, and data to audio devices. Storage devices720are configured to exchange data with processor710, and may store programs containing processor-executable instructions, including instructions for accessing and filtering claims from database724, performing text mining on unstructured data extracted from database724, and applying the predictive model to structured and unstructured data extracted from database724, among other available functions. Processor710is configured to perform steps in accordance with such processor-executable instructions. Processor710is configured to access data from storage devices720, which may include connecting to storage devices720and obtaining data or reading data from the storage devices, or storing new and updated data into the storage devices720. Storage devices720may include local and network accessible mass storage devices. Storage devices720may include media for storing operating system722and mass storage devices such as claim data724for storing data related to claims, including identification of injured employees or other claimants, employers, structured data relating to injuries and unstructured data such as notes, and other data. Still referring toFIG.7, in an embodiment, inputs may include user interfaces, including workstations having keyboards, touch screens, pointing devices such as mice and trackballs, or other user input devices, connected via networked communications to processor710. Network interface unit705may communicate via network750with other insurance computer systems, such as claim recovery operation server760, which may receive reports including data indicative of claims having a relatively high likelihood of subrogation according to predictive model725, and with web system server770to permit system access via user devices such as tablet computer780. In embodiments, web system server770may be configured to generate web documents for display of results of application of the predictive model725to claim data for users, such as claim recovery users and other analysts, and may be configured to permit suitably authorized users to review and update data such as coefficients in the predictive model725. Web system server770, or a printing and mailing system790and printer792serve as a communications interface for providing reports and other communications to claim recovery organizations and other insurance company personnel. A printing and mailing system may include machinery for printing, folding, envelope stuffing and application of postage using automated postage meters, supplied by Neopost or other vendors. Network interface unit705may further communicate with other insurance company computer systems, such as other computer systems maintaining databases relating to claims. By way of example, systems including data relating to claims of various types, such as short term disability claims and long term disability claims, may be accessed via network interface unit, processed using text mining software726and predictive model725, and provided to claim recovery operation server760for action by claim recovery operation staff. In embodiments, other systems having data relating to claimants may be accessed. By way of example, social media data stored on computer systems of social media services may be accessed and included in data relating to claims analyzed using text mining software726and predictive model725. Other third party data relating to claimants or claims may be accessed, including government data, such as data relating to police reports and reports to other municipal government units, property ownership data, vehicle ownership data, and other data. Network750may be or include wired or wireless local area networks and wide area networks, and over communications between networks, including over the Internet. Any suitable data and communication protocols may be employed. Referring now toFIG.8, another exemplary embodiment of a system800of the present invention is shown. System800includes an insurance company hardware server810which includes one or more engines or modules which may be utilized to perform one or more steps or functions of embodiments of the present invention. In an embodiment, the present invention is implemented as one or more modules of a computer software program in combination with one or more components of hardware. Such software programs will be used when a system user, such as an analyst overseeing analysis of existing claims, or an analyst comparing current text mining rules and predictive model configurations to experience of subrogation success/failure, has sent a request for data or information to a server and comprises part of the processing done on the server side of the network. Such software programs may also operate on an automated basis, such as a periodic batch basis to filter and extract claim data from a database, access data relating to claims or claimants from third party databases, apply text mining to data indicative of notes or other unstructured data, apply the predictive model, and format data indicative of claims having a relatively high likelihood of subrogation into reports for display, storage, printing and transmission to users via e-mail, upload to websites or other resources available over networks using suitable protocols, or otherwise. The programs may be used in an Internet environment, where the server is a Web server and the request is formatted using HTTP (or HTTPS). Alternatively, the server may be in a corporate intranet, and extranet, or any other type of network. Use of the term “Internet” herein, when discussing processing associated with the user's request, includes these other network environments, unless otherwise stated. Additionally, a graphical user interface or other module may be implemented as an intelligent hardware component incorporating circuitry including custom VLSI circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A module may also be implemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices or the like. One or more functions of a web client or other module may be implemented as application software in the form of a set of processor-executable instructions stored in a memory of a client device, such as tablet computer890or laptop885, and capable of being accessed and executed by a processor of the client device. Referring still toFIG.8, server810includes a data capture or input/output module815, a communications module820, a dynamic display generation or graphical user interface module825, a data module830, and a data validation module835. Data module830is in further communication with a number of databases such as claim database850, predictive model database852, subrogation experience database854, and third party database856. Databases850,852,854,856may be implemented in one or more physical data storage devices in communication with server810, or may be implemented in remote data storage devices accessible over one or more networks, such as cloud computer servers accessible via the Internet. Databases in communication with server810may include both internal and/or external/third party databases. By way of example, external databases may include databases maintained by medical care providers, health insurers, government agencies and social media service providers. Server810may be configured for bulk upload of data, such as bulk upload of data relating to new claims on a daily or other periodic basis, data relating to covered employees from an employer database, or data from medical providers relating to treatment provided in connection with claims. Such data may be furnished such as via a spreadsheet file or via suitable xml documents, by way of example. Data may be exchanged between server810and one or more legacy systems via suitable middleware systems. One or more modules, such as data validation module835, may be configured to perform data validation steps prior to storing bulk uploaded data and data received from legacy systems via middleware systems. Data validation module835may further serve to verify internal consistency of data entered by one or more users. Server810may further be configured to permit bulk download of data, such as data relating to claims identified as having a relatively high potential for subrogation for review by a claim recovery operation. In operation, server810is in communication with client devices, such as laptop computer885or tablet computer890via network880which facilitates interaction with server810, such as through web documents, graphical user interfaces and application programs running on client devices885,890, as shown and described herein. As used herein, devices, such as client devices885,890may exchange information via any communication network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a proprietary network, a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) network, a Bluetooth network, a wireless LAN network, and/or an Internet Protocol (IP) network such as the Internet, an intranet, or an extranet. Note that any devices described herein may communicate via one or more such communication networks. Referring still toFIG.8, utilizing client devices885,890, a properly authenticated system user, such as a claim recovery operation employee, or a system administrator or analyst, may access data relating to claims and subrogation analysis. The authenticated user may also furnish data relating to claims or subrogation experience; for example, an employee from a claim recovery operation may provide data relating to subrogation experience for storing in subrogation experience database854. The subrogation experience database may be employed for testing of coefficients and other data in the refinement and testing of the predictive model and configuration of the text mining software. By way of example, laptop computer885may be configured for remote access to server810by a representative of a claim recovery operation to review claims identified as having a high likelihood of subrogation. The system may be configured to provide a listing886of claims, ordered according to likelihood of subrogation, for review in response to a request from a claim recovery operation for a current list of claims. By way of further example, tablet computer890may be configured for access by an administrator, who may review and analyze subrogation likelihood data using various data analysis and report tools892. A properly authenticated individual, such as an employee of an insurance company having administrative responsibilities, may access further data and provide updates and modifications to data, such as updates and modifications to predictive model data852, such as to add or remove text and structured data and to change coefficients associated with items of data. Such a user may also have authorization to implement updates to processing logic employed by one or more of the modules815,820,825,830,835. In embodiments of the present invention, one or more of the above modules, may also be implemented in combinations of software and hardware for execution by various types of computer processors coupled to such hardware. Referring now toFIG.9, user-accessible device900has on display910a chart representing grouping of claims by suitability for subrogation. In this example, claims have been grouped into 20 groups, or vigintiles, of equal numbers of claims in order of likelihood of subrogation. Thus, each of the 20 groups, or vigintiles, includes 5% of the claims reviewed. Thus, line930representing the total number of claims in cumulative vigintiles, is straight, as the total number of claims in the vigintiles increases by 5% for each vigintile. The number of groups may be varied. The display910includes data representing an exemplary experience of selection of claims for subrogation by a claim recovery organization of an insurance company. The bars represent the percentage of claims in each vigintile selected for subrogation. The percentage of claims selected in each vigintile declines, from over 90% in the first vigintile920, to between 5 and 10% in the tenth vigintile921, to only slightly above 0% in the twentieth vigintile922. Line932represents the cumulative percentage of total claims selected for subrogation. As can be seen, over 95% of selected claims are contained in the first ten vigintiles. The grouping of claims into groups of the same numbers, ranked in order of likelihood of subrogation as determined by the methods and systems described in this application, may further be employed in analysis of claims. For example, the change over periodic reviews of a claim from group to group may be indicative of likelihood of subrogation, in addition to other factors. For example, a claim, on first review, may be determined to have a low to moderate likelihood of subrogation, and be assigned to the 11th vigintile. On a next review, based on additional data relating to the claim, the claim is assigned to the 9th vigintile. On a third review, based on additional data relating to the claim, the claim is assigned to the 7th vigintile. The velocity of change in vigintile to which a claim is assigned may be employed as a factor in determining whether to forward the claim to a cost recovery operation for further review for suitability for subrogation. Thus, a positive velocity in increase in vigintiles renders a claim more likely to be forwarded for review, while a negative velocity (e.g., from a 6th vigintile on first review to a 7th vigintile on second review) may render a claim less likely to be forwarded for review. The groups, whether vigintiles or other groupings such as deciles or quintiles, may be used for selection of claims to submit to a claim recovery operation for further review. By way of example, the claims in the five highest vigintiles in each review may be selected for submission to the claim recovery operation. As used herein, a module of executable code may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions which may, for instance, be organized as an object, procedure, process or function. Nevertheless, the executables of an identified module need not be physically located together, but may comprise separate instructions stored in different locations which, when joined logically together, define the module and achieve the stated purpose for the module such as implementing the business rules logic prescribed by the present system. In embodiments of the present invention a module of executable code may be a compilation of many instructions, and may be distributed over two or more different code partitions or segments, among different programs, and across two or more devices. Similarly, data, including by way of example claims data, third party data, subrogation experience data and predictive model data may be identified and illustrated herein within modules, and may be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. Such data may be collected as a single data set, or may be distributed over different locations including over different storage devices, and may exist, at least partially, merely as electronic signals on a system and/or network as shown and described herein. Throughout processing steps, accessed values, calculated values and draft data, for example, may be stored in temporary memory locations, such as in RAM, and then deleted or overwritten when no longer needed. A processor may provide the central processing unit (CPU) functions of a computing device on one or more integrated circuits. The term “processor” may include multi-core processors and central processing units including multiple microprocessors. The central processing unit functionality may be provided at one or more remote locations, such as through application service provider and cloud computing services. In embodiments, a processor may provide an output signal having data indicative of one or more data items. An output signal may be carried either over a suitable medium, such as wire or fiber, or wirelessly. An output signal may transmit data from one device to another directly, such as over a bus of a computer system from a processor to a memory device, or indirectly, such as over multiple networks, and with intermediate steps of storage in a buffer or memory device and retransmission. Such an output signal may be provided by the processor to a bus of a computer system together with address data at a series of clock intervals. The address data may designate a destination device on a bus, by way of example. In embodiments, an output signal may be a signal output from a hardware communications device of a computer system to a network, such as a local area network, a wide area network, or a network of interconnected networks, such as the Internet. Output signals may include, by way of example, data identifying formats, fields, and content of fields. Signals may be compatible with any appropriate format. For example, data may be formatted in accordance with a data format for insurance data, such as an ACORD compatible format, or a non-ACORD xml format. Reference to an output signal having particular data may include one or more signals bearing the information. Multiple signals bearing the information may include sequences of digital data bearing the information interleaved with sequences of digital data relating to other information. By way of example, a signal may be packetized for transmission. By way of further example, an output signal may take the form of an uncompressed digital signal or a compressed digital signal. A system on which the methods of embodiments of the present invention may be implemented includes at least one central processing computer or computer network server. A network server includes at least one controller or central processing unit (CPU or processor), at least one communication port or hub, at least one random access memory (RAM), at least one read-only memory (ROM) and one or more databases or data storage devices. All of these later elements are in communication with the CPU to facilitate the operation of the network server. The network server may be configured in many different ways. For example, a network server may be a standalone server computer or alternatively, the functions of a network server may be distributed across multiple computing systems and architectures. A network server may also be configured in a distributed architecture, wherein databases and processors are housed in separate units or locations. Some such servers perform primary processing functions and contain at a minimum, a RAM, a ROM, and a general controller or processor. In such an embodiment, each of these servers is attached to a communications hub or port that serves as a primary communication link with other servers, client or user computers and other related devices. The communications hub or port may have minimal processing capability itself, serving primarily as a communications router. A variety of communications protocols may be part of the system, including but not limited to: Ethernet, SAP, SAS™, ATP, Bluetooth, GSM and TCP/IP. Data storage devices may include hard magnetic disk drives, optical storage units, CD-ROM drives, or flash memory, by way of example. Data storage devices contain databases used in processing calculations embodied in algorithms, including data for display on client devices and data and rules for filtering of claims, by way of example. In one embodiment, database software creates and manages these databases. Calculations and algorithms in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may be stored in storage devices and accessed and executed by a processor, in accordance with instructions stored in computer-readable storage media. Such algorithms may be embodied in modules of program code, or located in separate storage locations and identified in program code by pointers, by way of example. Suitable computer program code may be provided for performing numerous functions such as analyzing claim data, determining subrogation likelihood, generating documents and reports that analyze and present results of determinations of subrogation likelihood, including determining and presenting statistical data, such as grouping by suitable segments and identifying data associated with such segments. The functions described above are merely exemplary and should not be considered exhaustive of the type of function which may be performed by the computer program code of embodiments of the present invention. The computer program code required to implement the above functions (and the other functions described herein) can be developed by a person of ordinary skill in the art, and is not described in detail herein. The systems described herein may be in communication with systems including printing and mailing systems, computer systems of employers including human resources departments computer systems, computer systems of medical providers, computer systems of other insurance companies, computer systems of social media service providers, and other computer systems. The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any medium that provides or participates in providing instructions to the processor of the computing device (or any other processor of a device described herein) for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, non-transitory media, tangible media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media and tangible media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as memory. Volatile media include dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which typically constitutes the main memory. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM or EEPROM (electronically erasable programmable read-only memory), a FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer can read. Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to the processor (or any other processor of a device described herein) for execution. For example, the instructions may initially be borne on a magnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load the instructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over an Ethernet connection, cable line, or even telephone line using a modem. A communications device local to a computing device (or, e.g., a server) can receive the data on the respective communications line and place the data on a system bus for the processor. The system bus carries the data to main memory, from which the processor retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received by main memory may optionally be stored in memory either before or after execution by the processor. In addition, instructions may be received via a communication port as electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals, which are exemplary forms of wireless communications or data streams that carry various types of information. Servers of embodiments of the present invention may also interact and/or control one or more user devices or terminals. The user device or terminal may include any one or a combination of a personal computer, a mouse, a keyboard, a computer display, a touch screen, LCD, voice recognition software, or other generally represented by input/output devices required to implement the above functionality. The program also may include program elements such as an operating system, a database management system and “device drivers” that allow the processor to interface with computer peripheral devices (e.g., a video display, a keyboard, a computer mouse, etc). An exemplary advantage of a method and system of the present invention is that a system that implements embodiments may identify claims suitable for subrogation that would otherwise not have been reviewed for possible subrogation, and may avoid inefficient use of claim recovery operation resources in review of claims having a very low likelihood of subrogation. While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, various modifications and combinations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications, combinations, and equivalents are intended to be covered and claimed. | 51,297 |
11861561 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. The “unlimited workspace” problem includes the need to track how people and devices interact with the workspace over time. In order to solve this core problem, we have created what we call a Spatial Event Map. The Spatial Event Map contains information needed to define objects and events in a workspace. It is useful to consider the technology from the point of view of space, events, maps of events in the space, and access to the space by multiple users, including multiple simultaneous users. Space: In order to support an unlimited amount of spatial information for a given collaboration session, we provide a way to organize a virtual space termed the workspace, which can for example be characterized by a 2-dimensional Cartesian plane with essentially unlimited extent in one or both of the dimensions for example, in such a way that new content can be added to the space, that content can be arranged and rearranged in the space, that a user can navigate from one part of the space to another, and that a user can easily find needed things in the space when it is needed. Events: Interactions with the workspace are handled as events. People, via tangible user interface devices, and systems can interact with the workspace. Events have data that can define or point to a target graphical object to be displayed on a physical display, and an action as creation, modification, movement within the workspace and deletion of a target graphical object, and metadata associated with them. Metadata can include information such as originator, date, time, location in the workspace, event type, security information, and other metadata. Tracking events in a workspace enables the system to not only present the spatial events in a workspace in its current state, but to share it with multiple users on multiple displays, to share relevant external information that may pertain to the content, and understand how the spatial data evolves over time. Also, the spatial event map can have a reasonable size in terms of the amount of data needed, while also defining an unbounded workspace. There can be several different kinds of events in the system. Events can be classified as persistent events, also referred to as history events, that are stored permanently, or for a length of time required by the system for maintaining a workspace during its useful life. Events can be classified as ephemeral events that are useful or of interest for only a short time and shared live among other clients involved in the session. Persistent events may include history events stored in an undo/playback event stream, which event stream can be the same as or derived from the spatial event map of a session. Ephemeral events may include events not stored in an undo/playback event stream for the system. A spatial event map, or maps, can be used by a collaboration system to track the times and locations in the workspace in some embodiments of both persistent and ephemeral events on workspaces in the system. Map: A map of events in the workspace can include the sum total of discrete spatial events. When the persistent spatial events for a workspace are available, then that workspace can be “mapped” to a display or screen that has a displayable area of specific size, and that identifies a location or area in the workspace to be displayed in the displayable area. Multi-User Access: One key characteristic is that all users, or multiple users, who are working on a workspace simultaneously, should be able to see the interactions of the other users in near-real-time way. The spatial event map allows users having displays at different physical locations to experience near-real-time events, including both persistent and ephemeral events, within their respective displayable areas, for all users on any given workspace. FIG.1Aillustrates example aspects of a digital display collaboration environment. In the example, a plurality of users101a-h(collectively101), may desire to collaborate with each other in the creation of complex images, music, video, documents, and/or other media, all generally designated inFIG.1Aas103a-d(collectively103). The users in the illustrated example use a variety of devices configured as electronic network nodes, in order to collaborate with each other, for example a tablet102a, a personal computer (PC)102b, and many a large format displays102c,102d,102e(collectively devices102). In the illustrated example the large format display102c, which is sometimes referred to herein as a “wall”, accommodates more than one of the users, (e.g. users101cand101d, users101eand101f, and users101gand101h). The user devices, which are referred to as client-side network nodes, have displays on which a displayable area is allocated for displaying events in a workspace. The displayable area for a given user may comprise the entire screen of the display, a subset of the screen, a window to be displayed on the screen and so on, such that each has a limited area or extent compared to the virtually unlimited extent of the workspace. FIG.1Billustrates the same environment asFIG.1A. As shown inFIG.1B, the large format displays102c,102d,102esometimes referred to herein as “walls,” are controlled by respective client-side, physical network nodes10, which in turn are in network communication with a central collaboration server105configured as a server-side physical network node, which has accessible thereto a database106storing a spatial event stack for one or more workspaces. As used herein, a physical network node is an active electronic device that is attached to a network, and is capable of sending, receiving, or forwarding information over a communications channel. Examples of electronic devices which can be deployed as network nodes, include all varieties of computers, work stations, laptop computers, hand held computers and smart phones. As used herein, the term “database” does not necessarily imply any unity of structure. For example, two or more separate databases, when considered together, still constitute a “database” as that term is used herein. The application running at the collaboration server105can be hosted using Web server software such as Apache or nginx. It can be hosted for example on virtual machines running operating systems such as LINUX. The server105is heuristically illustrated inFIG.1Bas a single computer. However, the server architecture can involve systems of many computers, each running server applications, as is typical for large-scale cloud-based services. The server architecture includes a communication module which can be configured for various types of communication channels, including more than one channel for each client in a collaboration session. For example, near-real-time updates across the network, client software can communicate with the server communication module via using a message-based channel, based for example on the Web Socket protocol. For file uploads as well as receiving initial large volume workspace data, the client software can communicate with the server communication module via HTTP. The server can run a front-end program written for example in JavaScript served by Ruby-on-Rails, support authentication/authorization based for example on Oauth, and support coordination among multiple distributed clients. The server communication module can include a message based communication protocol stack, such as a Web Socket application, that performs the functions of recording user actions in workspace data, and relaying user actions to other clients as applicable. This system can run on the node.JS platform for example, or on other server technologies designed to handle high-load socket applications. The database106stores, for example, a digital representation of workspace data sets for a spatial event map of each session where the workspace data set can include or identify events related to objects displayable on a display canvas. A workspace data set can be implemented in the form of a spatial event stack, managed so that at least persistent spatial events are added to the stack (push) and removed from the stack (pop) in a first-in-last-out pattern during an undo operation. There can be workspace data sets for many different workspaces. A data set for a given workspace can be configured in a database, or as machine readable document linked to the workspace. The workspace can have unlimited or virtually unlimited dimensions. The workspace data includes event data structures identifying objects displayable by a display client in the display area on a display wall, and associates a time and a location in the workspace with the objects identified by the event data structures. Each device102displays only a portion of the overall workspace. A display wall has a display area for displaying objects, the display area being mapped to a corresponding area in the workspace that corresponds to a region in the workspace centered on, or otherwise located with, a user location in the workspace. The mapping of the display area to a corresponding area in the workspace is usable by the display client to identify objects in the workspace data within the display area to be rendered on the display, and to identify objects to which to link user touch inputs at positions in the display area on the display. The server105and database106can constitute a server-side network node, including memory storing a log of events relating to graphical targets having locations in a workspace, entries in the log including a location in the workspace of the graphical target of the event, a time of the event, and a target identifier of the graphical target of the event. The server can include logic to establish links to a plurality of active client-side network nodes, to receive messages identifying events relating to modification and creation of graphical targets having locations in the workspace, to add events to the log in response to said messages, and to distribute messages relating to events identified in messages received from a particular client-side network node to other active client-side network nodes. The logic in the server105can comprise an application program interface, including a specified set of procedures and parameters, by which to send messages carrying portions of the log to client-side network nodes, and to receive messages from client-side network nodes carrying data identifying events relating to graphical targets having locations in the workspace. Also the logic in the server105can include an application interface including a process to distribute events received from one client-side network node to other client-side network nodes. The events compliant with the API can include a first class of event (history event) to be stored in the log and distributed to other client-side network nodes, and a second class of event (ephemeral event) to be distributed to other client-side network nodes but not stored in the log. The server105can store workspace data sets for a plurality of workspaces, and provide the workspace data to the display clients participating in the session. The workspace data is then used by the computer systems110with appropriate software112including display client software, to determine images to display on the display, and to assign objects for interaction to locations on the display surface. The server105can store and maintain a multitude of workspaces, for different collaboration sessions. Each workspace can be associated with a group of users, and configured for access only by authorized users in the group. In some alternatives, the server105can keep track of a “viewport” for each device102, indicating the portion of the canvas viewable on that device, and can provide to each device102data needed to render the viewport. Application software running on the client device responsible for rendering drawing objects, handling user inputs, and communicating with the server can be based on HTML5 or other markup based procedures, and run in a browser environment. This allows for easy support of many different client operating system environments. The user interface data stored in database106includes various types of objects including graphical constructs, such as image bitmaps, video objects, multi-page documents, scalable vector graphics, and the like. The devices102are each in communication with the collaboration server105via a network104. The network104can include all forms of networking components, such as LANs, WANs, routers, switches, WiFi components, cellular components, wired and optical components, and the internet. In one scenario two or more of the users101are located in the same room, and their devices102communicate via WiFi with the collaboration server105. In another scenario two or more of the users101are separated from each other by thousands of miles and their devices102communicate with the collaboration server105via the internet. The walls102c,102d,102ecan be multi-touch devices which not only display images, but also can sense user gestures provided by touching the display surfaces with either a stylus or a part of the body such as one or more fingers. In some embodiments, a wall (e.g.102c) can distinguish between a touch by one or more fingers (or an entire hand, for example), and a touch by the stylus. In an embodiment, the wall senses touch by emitting infrared light and detecting light received; light reflected from a user's finger has a characteristic which the wall distinguishes from ambient received light. The stylus emits its own infrared light in a manner that the wall can distinguish from both ambient light and light reflected from a user's finger. The wall102cmay, for example, be an array of Model No. MT553UTBL MultiTaction Cells, manufactured by MultiTouch Ltd, Helsinki, Finland, tiled both vertically and horizontally. In order to provide a variety of expressive means, the wall102cis operated in such a way that it maintains “state.” That is, it may react to a given input differently depending on (among other things) the sequence of inputs. For example, using a toolbar, a user can select any of a number of available brush styles and colors. Once selected, the wall is in a state in which subsequent strokes by the stylus will draw a line using the selected brush style and color. In an illustrative embodiment, a display array can have a displayable area totaling on the order of 6 feet in height and 30 feet in width, which is wide enough for multiple users to stand at different parts of the wall and manipulate it simultaneously. Flexibility of expression on the wall may be restricted in a multi-user scenario, however, since the wall does not in this embodiment distinguish between fingers of different users, or styli operated by different users. Thus if one user places the wall into one desired state, then a second user would be restricted to use that same state because the wall does not have a way to recognize that the second user's input is to be treated differently. In order to avoid this restriction, the client-side network node can define “drawing regions” on the wall102c. A drawing region, as used herein, is a region within which at least one aspect of the wall's state can be changed independently of other regions on the wall. In the present embodiment, the aspects of state that can differ among drawing regions include the properties of a line drawn on the wall using a stylus. Other aspects of state, such as the response of the system to finger touch behaviors may not be affected by drawing regions. FIG.2illustrates a distributed collaboration system, which includes a shared server105which can be linked to a number of facilities (e.g. facility 1 and facility 2) which are geographically distributed, and at which display clients are located. For example Facility 1 may be located in New York City, while Facility 2 may be located in Los Angeles. There may be many other physical locations at which display clients usable in a collaboration system are located. In this example, Facility 1 includes a first room151, a second room152and a third room153. Facility 2 includes a first room161, a second room162, and a third room163. The first room151in Facility 1 includes a large-format display that is implemented using a plurality of displays. The second room152in Facility 1 includes a single screen, intermediate format display. The third room153in Facility 1 may be a private office or other room in which the personal computer or laptop can be utilized as the display client for a session interacting in a chosen workspace. Facility 2 in this illustration is like facility 1, and includes a first room161, a second room162and a third room163. The first room161in Facility 2 includes a large-format display that is implemented using a plurality of displays. The second room162in Facility 2 includes a single screen, intermediate format display. The third room163in Facility 2 may be a private office or other room in which the personal computer, laptop, mobile pad, or mobile phone can be utilized as the display client for a session. FIG.2illustrates a problem that arises in connection with distributed collaboration systems which rely on large-format or intermediate format displays (or walls) that are located remotely. The large-format and intermediate format displays are not typically under exclusive control of an individual user. The collaboration server105therefore may have no information about the people having access to the displays at any given time. FIG.3illustrates a wall102c. The wall in this example is 6 feet tall and 30 feet wide. It is initially a default background color or image, and has a default drawing state throughout the wall. Also, workspace data can define a plurality of objects301ato301h, collectively objects301, having locations in the workspace that are mapped to physical locations in the display area of the wall. The objects301can comprise cards that include text, images or drawing for example, which are rendered in the display area. Also, the objects301can include features allowing a user to interact with the content of the card, or functions that are linked to the card using user interface tools at the display, such as the touch screen. Also as illustrated inFIG.3, a drawing overlay object302can be displayed in the display area of the wall. The drawing state can be a feature of a region independent of objects301,302displayed in the region, and is defined by the line drawing properties, which in the embodiment ofFIG.3include line appearance properties such as brush type, brush size and color. For the purposes of example, the system can be configured so that when a user101ctouches the wall, using either a stylus or one or more fingers (sometimes referred to collectively herein as a writing implement), a toolbar210appears nearby and a drawing region212is defined. Touching a touch point is one embodiment of what is sometimes referred to herein as “opening user input”; other embodiments will be apparent to the reader. The initial drawing state of a newly defined drawing region is a predefined default (such as brush type=ink, thickness=5 mm, color=white), which in various embodiments may or may not match the default state of the remainder of the wall. In the embodiment ofFIG.2the drawing properties established for a drawing region apply throughout the drawing region. Line drawing operates on the wall logically in a layer above any application program that might be running on the computer system110, regardless of whether the program has ownership of any particular area of the wall102c. In the embodiment ofFIG.3drawing regions always fill the entire vertical extent of the wall, though in other embodiments regions can be shorter, and/or have non-rectangular shapes. Also in the embodiment ofFIG.3drawing regions are perceptibly demarcated with left and right hand borders214and216; in another embodiment other means may be used to demarcate the region, such as background shading. In yet another embodiment the region boundaries are not perceptible to the user. Assuming sufficient space to the left and right, the client-side computer system110can spawn the drawing region in a position that is centered about the user's touch point. Drawing regions have a minimum width Wmin and an ideal width Wideal. The minimum width preferably is chosen to be the smallest width to allow reasonably unfettered expression, and in the embodiment ofFIG.3is 4 feet. The ideal width preferably is chosen to be roughly equal to the widest span of an average user's arms stretched out horizontally, and in the embodiment ofFIG.3is 6 feet. If there is plenty of space on either side of the user's touch point, then the computer system110can set the initial region width to Wideal. This is the scenario illustrated inFIG.3. If the user's touch point is too close to a wall edge for a new drawing region to be centered about it, then the computer system110will abut the new drawing region against the wall edge. The new drawing region will still have a width Wideal assuming sufficient space is available, so the new drawing region will not be centered about the user's touch point. On the other hand, if the user's touch point is far enough from the wall edge to create a drawing region centered about the touch point, but the new drawing region would be less than Wmin from the wall edge, then the gap space between the wall edge and the new drawing region is considered unusable. In this case the computer system110will extend the new drawing region to fill up the unusable space. FIG.4illustrates a scenario, for the purposes of example, in which two users101cand101dcan use the wall simultaneously. Initially, user101ctouches the wall102cat touch point516, and in response thereto the computer system110spawns drawing region512with toolbar510. Optionally, user101cthen touches controls on toolbar510in order to change the line appearance properties within region512. Next, a second user101dtouches the wall102cat touch point518, which is within the wall102cbackground (i.e. outside of all pre-existing drawing regions). A second drawing region514is then spawned by the computer system110, with toolbar520. If user101ddraws a line at this time within region514, the computer system110will paint it with the default line properties rather than those previously set by user101cfor drawing region512. User101dthen optionally touches controls on toolbar520in order to change the line appearance properties within region514. Subsequent lines drawn in region514will then adopt the new line appearance properties. The line appearance properties of region512will remain unchanged. Drawing regions can also be made to automatically track the movement of the stylus. Although numerous possible tracking algorithms will be apparent to the reader, one that follows these minimum rules is preferred: (1) the region does not move so long as the stylus remains relatively near the center of the region; and (2) as the stylus approaches a region boundary, the region moves so that the boundary remains ahead of the stylus. Drawing regions provide one example of user interaction that can have an effect at a local display wall, but not have an effect on the global workspace data. As illustrated in this example, the locations of the objects301,302are not affected by the assignment of drawing regions, the toolbars, and the drawing overlays within the regions. Of course in other types of user interface interactions, the locations of the objects301,302can be moved, and such movements can be events related to objects in the global workspace data. A variety of behaviors related to the interpretation of user input based on interaction with a local wall are described in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 13/758,984, filed on 4 Feb. 2013, entitled REGION DYNAMICS FOR DIGITAL WHITEBOARD (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,471,192), which is incorporated by reference above. These behaviors are illustrative of local processing of user input and image data at a wall that can be executed by the local computer systems110, with little or no effect on the shared workspace data maintained at the collaboration server in some embodiments. FIGS.5A-5Erepresent data structures which can be part of workspace data maintained by a database at the collaboration server105. InFIG.5A, an event data structure is illustrated. An event is an interaction with the workspace data that can result in a change in workspace data. Thus an event can include an event identifier, a timestamp, a session identifier, an event type parameter, the client identifier, and an array of locations in the workspace, which can include one or more for the corresponding event. It is desirable for example that the timestamp have resolution on the order of milliseconds or even finer resolution, in order to minimize the possibility of race conditions for competing events affecting a single object. Also, the event data structure can include a UI target, which identifies an object in the workspace data to which a stroke on a touchscreen at a client display is linked. Events can include style events, which indicate the display parameters of a stroke for example. The events can include a text type event, which indicates entry, modification or movement in the workspace of a text object. The events can include a card type event, which indicates the creation, modification or movement in the workspace of a card type object. The events can include a stroke type event which identifies a location array for the stroke, and display parameters for the stroke, such as colors and line widths for example. Events can be classified as persistent, history events and as ephemeral events. Processing of the events for addition to workspace data, and sharing among users can be dependent on the classification of the event. This classification can be inherent in the event type parameter, or an additional flag or field can be used in the event data structure to indicate the classification. A spatial event map can include a log of events having entries for history events, where each entry comprises a structure such as illustrated inFIG.5A. The server-side network node includes logic to receive messages carrying ephemeral and history events from client-side network nodes, and to send the ephemeral events to other client-side network nodes without adding corresponding entries in the log, and to send history events to the other client-side network nodes while adding corresponding entries to the log. FIG.5Billustrates a card data structure. The card data structure can provide a cache of attributes that identify current state information for an object in the workspace data, including a session identifier, a card type identifier, an array identifier, the client identifier, dimensions of the cards, type of file associated with the card, and a session location within the workspace. FIG.5Cillustrates a data structure which consolidates a number of events and objects into a catchable set called a chunk. The data structure includes a session ID, and identifier of the events included in the chunk, and a timestamp at which the chunk was created. FIG.5Dillustrates the data structure for links to a user participating in a session in a chosen workspace. This data structure can include an access token, the client identifier for the session display client, the user identifier linked to the display client, a parameter indicating the last time that a user accessed a session, and expiration time and a cookie for carrying various information about the session. This information can for example maintain a current location within the workspace for a user, which can be used each time that a user logs in to determine the workspace data to display at a display client to which the login is associated. FIG.5Eillustrates a display array data structure which can be used in association with large-format displays that are implemented by federated displays, each having a display client. The display clients in such federated displays cooperate to act as a single display. The workspace data can maintain the display array data structure which identifies the array of displays by an array ID, and identifies the session position of each display. Each session position can include an x-offset and a y-offset within the area of the federated displays, a session identifier, and a depth. The system can encrypt communications with client side network nodes, and can encrypt the database in which the spatial event maps are stored. Also, on the client-side network nodes, cached copies of the spatial event map are encrypted in some embodiments, to prevent unauthorized access to the data by intruders who gain access to the client-side computers. FIG.6is a diagram representing a functional architecture for a distributed collaboration system used to create, modify, distribute and display workspace data for a workspace. The basic configuration includes a collaboration service601which manages event data executed by a server, such as server105, a portal service602which can be executed by a server such as server105or located in other computer systems accessible to the server, such as a peer network node, and a display client603located at a client-side network node, at which the user interaction is active. The display client603is in communication with the collaboration service601and with the portal602. The communication channel613between the display client603and a collaboration service601manages the download of session history, and the live update of session events. Also, across this channel613, a display client603can upload images that can be associated with events to the collaboration service601. The display client603is in communication with the portal602across communication channel623. The portal602to manages a homepage for the workspace data, session management and user administration. This portal can be utilized for user login, authentications, and for delivering image files and the like as an alternative to, and in parallel with, the communication channel613. The collaboration service601and portal602are in communication across channel612. The collaboration service601and portal602manage authentication and authorization protocols, and coordinate session administration, and workspace data management. The display client603can be part of a client-side network node including a physical or virtual computer system having computer programs stored in accessible memory that provide logic supporting the collaboration session, including an HTML 5 client, wall array coordination logic for display array implementations, workspace data parsing searching and rendering logic, and a session events application to manage live interaction with workspace data at the server and the display wall. The portal602can be part of a server-side network node including a physical or virtual computer system having computer programs stored in accessible memory, that provide logic supporting user access to the collaboration server. The logic can include applications to provide initial entry points for users, such as a webpage with login resources, logic to manage user accounts and session anticipation, logic that provides authorization services, such as OAuth-based services, and account data. The collaboration service601can be part of a server-side network node including, and can manage the session event data, coordinate updated events among clients, deliver catchable history and images to clients, and control access to a database stored in the workspace data. FIG.7illustrates an optional technology for implementation of a display wall, based on a display implemented by a plurality of displays701-704with federated control. In this example, each display701-704is associated with a corresponding display client711-714. Each display client can execute a browser used to render objects from the workspace on the display area, which has a plurality of subsets of display area which correspond to each the plurality of displays. Each display client can be configured to manage display in a subset of the display area for the session, for example by storing an offset parameter (e.g. 0, 0 for display701; 0, 1 for display702; 1, 0 for display703; and 1, 1 for display704). Each of the display clients711-714can maintain a communication channel721-724with the collaboration server105, which is in turn coupled to the workspace database106. The collaboration server105and/or the client can maintain a user location within the workspace for each authorized user. When an authorized user is logged in, and has selected a display array such as that shown inFIG.7as the display canvas, the collaboration server can link each of the display clients711-714into a group associated with the session and user. The collaboration server can then download a current user location within the workspace to the displayable area, or canvas, for each of the display clients in the group. The display clients in the group can independently apply their offset parameter to identify session locations to map onto the subset of the workspace indicated by the offset parameter. In an alternative, the collaboration server can manage the offset computation in communication with each of the display clients711-714by delivering to each client the current user location as offset according to the array characteristics. In order to support coordination of a single display among a plurality of displays, each of the display clients711-714can also communicate with each of the other display clients with events that are local to the management of the display area, and which do not have an effect on the global workspace data. Alternatively, the display client711-714can communicate solely with the collaboration server105, which can then direct local events back to the group of display clients associated with the session, and global events to all of the display clients in active sessions with the workspace, and to the database storing workspace data. The display clients at a single display comprised of federated displays can be implemented individual computer systems coupled to the corresponding displays, or can be implemented using a single computer system with virtual machines coupled to the corresponding displays. Also, a single display driver can be configured to control the entire surface of a collection of physical displays arranged as a single display wall. A spatial event map system can include an API executed in coordination by client-side and server-side resources including any number of physical and virtual machines. One example of an API is described below. An API can be defined in a variety of ways, while including the elements supporting maintenance of a spatial event map in a server-side network node or nodes, and supporting sharing of the spatial event map with one or a plurality of active client-side network nodes. In this example, the API is broken down in this example into processes managed by two servers: Socket Requests Server (Websockets)—used for updating clients with relevant data (new strokes, cards, clients, etc.) once connected. Also handles the initial connection handshake. Service Requests Server (HTTP/REST)—used for cacheable responses, as well as posting data (i.e. images and cards) Client-side network nodes are configured according to the API, and include corresponding socket requests clients and service requests clients. Socket Requests: The socket server can execute a network protocol that maintains connections via Websockets. The messages used in the API can be encapsulated within the Websocket protocol. Messages can be individual UTF-8 encoded JSON arrays. Initial loading of history, including all or part of a spatial event map of a collaboration session, at the client-side network nodes can be done using HTTP requests via the Service Requests Server, rather than websockets to support caching. Socket Connection http://localhost:4545/<sessionId>/socket?device=<device>sessionId—(string) the id of the session to joindevice—(string) a device type, such as a wall or a desktop. Message Structure The first element of each message array is a sender-id, specifying the client that originated the message. Sender-ids are unique among all sessions on the server. The id and cr messages sent from the server to the client have their sender-id set to a default value, such as −1. The second element of each message array is a two-character code. This code defines the remaining arguments in the array as well as the intended action. Messages sent with a sender-id of −1 are messages that originate from the server. Valid Message Types The following are messages supported by the API example herein. Many of these messages take the following parameter: sender-id:—the ID of the client sending the message, or −1 if the message originates with the server. Client ID Request: // server←client [“id”, sessionId, zoomLevel, x1, y1, x2, y2] This request can be used to enable interaction with the socket API. This request starts the asynchronous client-id request/response handshake. The next section explains the asynchronous acknowledgment of the new client (including the provided client ID). SessionId—(string) the id of the workspace to join.zoomLevel—(int) the zoom level desired by this clientx1, y1—(int, optional) the desired point of origin for the users viewportx2, y2—(int, optional) the desired point of extent for the users viewport There is no sender-id sent with this message. The zoom level sent in this message is the zoom level preferred by this client. If the client joins an empty display array (via the “id” message), the client's preferred zoom level becomes the initial zoom level for the display array. If the client joins an existing display array, the preferred zoom level sent in its “id” message is ignored, and the zoom level associated with the existing display array is sent (in the “av” message). Client ID Response: //server→client [−1, “id”, client-id] Clients are required to store the assigned client ID for use in subsequent socket requests. Informs a new client of their ID. In this case, sender-id is set to −1 client-id—(string) the ID of the newly-joined client Join Room: //server←client [sender-id, “jr”, room-id, [data]] [sender-id, “jr”, “lobby”][sender] Informs the server of an attempt by the client to join a room. room-id—can contain one of lobby or session. data—is a wildcard set of arguments, which should be used to initialize the room. Room Data Arguments: Session requires “session-id” containing the id of the session. Array requires:arrayId—(string) id of the display arrayx—(integer) x offset of this displayy—(integer) y offset of this displaywidth—(integer) width of this displayheight—(integer) height of this display Server will respond with a “room” message in response. Room Join Response: //server→client [−1, “room”, [room-id], [databag]] [−1, “room”, “lobby”, {pin: pin}] room-id—contains one of: lobby or session databag—is a room-specific bag of variables: lobby provides:pin—containing the pin for wall authentication session provides:sessionName—containing the name of the session Room List Response //server→client [−1, “rl”, roomMembershipList] Informs the client of the room memberships. Room memberships include information regarding clients visiting the same room as you. roomMembershipList—(array of room membership objects) Session Request: //server←client [sender-id, “sr”] Informs the server that the client would like the list of joinable active sessions. Session List: //server→client [−1, “sl”, sessionList] Informs the client of the joinable active sessions. SessionList—(array of strings) Object ID Reservation: Use this to create a new unique object id that is acceptable for creating new history events which create an object. // server↔client [sender-id, “oid”] Server responds with: [−1, ‘oid’, <new-object-id>] History Event All persistent events are sent as HistoryEvent. This includes: ** moving windows ** setting text ** deleting windows ** creating windows. HistoryEvents are written to the session's history and returned when the history is retrieved. HistoryEvents are sent to the server without an eventId. The server assigns an eventId and broadcasts the event to all clients (including the originating client). New object ids can be reserved using the oid message. Basic Message Format // server←client [client-id, “he”, target-id, event-type, event-properties] client-id—(string) the ID of the originating client target-id—(string) the ID of the target object/widget/app to which this event is relevant event-type—(string) an arbitrary event type properties—(object) a JSON object describing pertinent key/values for the event. // server→client[client-id, “he”, target-id, event-id, event-type, event-properties client-id—(string) the ID of the originating client target-id—(string) the ID of the target window to which this event is relevant event-id—(string) the ID of the event in the database event-type—(string) an arbitrary event type properties—(object) a JSON object describing pertinent key/values for the event. Example Interaction: Moving Objects A good example illustrating some of the persistent event/ephemeral event classification is moving an object. While the object is being moved or for example resized by dragging, a series of ephemeral events (termed “volatile events VEs”) is sent to the server, and re-broadcast to all clients in the session. Once the user finishes moving the object, the client should send a history event to specify the rect and order of the object: [“511d6d429b4aee0000000003”,“he”,“511d6f9c9b4aee0000000039”,“position”,{“rect”} . . . The server will respond with the newly persisted HE record. Note the inclusion of the record's eventId. // server→client format of ‘he’ is: [<clientId>, <messageType>, <targetId>, <eventId>, Note: The eventId will also be included in history that is fetched via the HTTP API. History Events by Object/Application Type Session Create—Add a note or image on the work session stroke—Add a pen or eraser stroke on the background Note text—Sets or update the text and/or text formatting of a note. delete—Remove the note from the work session position—Update the size or location of the note in the work session pin—Pin or unpin the note stroke—Add a pen or eraser stroke on top of the image Image delete—Remove the note from the work session position—Update the size or location of the note in the work session pin—Pin or unpin the note stroke—Add a pen or eraser stroke on top of the image History Event Details text sets and styles the text of a note. Both the text attribute and style attribute are optional. //server←client[client-id, “he”, target-id, “text”, {“text”: “abcdef”, create sent to clients when the server receives a card create (cc) message or an image upload. For create messages the target-id is the session-id. //server→client[client-id, “he”, session-id, event-id, “create”, “id”:“5123e7ebcd18d3ef5e000001” Properties id—(int) unique identifier for the window baseName—(string) the background image file name ext—(string) the background image file extension rect—(object) the location of the window actualWidth—(int) the background image width actualHeight—(int) the background image height order—(int) z order type—(string) “note” for objects that can have text, “image” for other objects regionId—(string) the canvas region if the object is created in a canvas region hidden—(boolean) whether the window is currently hidden delete used to make a window disappear from the session. Delete is an undo-able action. //server←client[client-id, “he”, target-id, “delete”, {“hidden”:true}]// server→ Position used to save the position of a window after a move, fling, or resize //server←client[client-id, “he”, target-id, “position”, {“rect”:[−1298,−390,−1018 Propertiesrect—(object) the location of the target windoworder—(int) the z-order of the target window stroke used to save a stroke /server←client[client-id, “he”, target-id, “stroke”, {“size”: 10, “brush”: Propertieslocs—(array) stroke locations in the format: [10, 1, 10, 2, 12, 3] where coordinates are paired [x, y, x, y, x, y] in an array pin sent to clients to pin a note or image in place or to remove an existing pin. Windows that are pinned cannot be moved or resized until they are unpinned. // server→client[client-id, “he”, session-id, event-id, “pin”, {“pin”: true}] Propertiespin—(boolean) true is pin, false is un-pin Volatile Event Volatile events are ephemeral events not recorded in the undo/playback event stream, so they're good for in-progress streaming events like dragging a card around the screen, and once the user lifts their finger, a HistoryEvent is used to record its final place. // server↔client[client-id, “ye”, target-id, event-type, event-properties] client-id—(string) the ID of the originating client target-id—(string) the ID of the target window to which this event is relevant event-type—(string) an arbitrary event type properties—(object) a JSON object describing pertinent key/values for the event. Volatile Events by Object/Application Type Session sb—Starts a stroke. Used to render strokes on one client while they are being drawn on another client. sc—Continues a previously started stroke by giving another point to include. Used to render strokes while they are being drawn on another client. se—Ends a previously started stroke. Note fling—Animates a note sliding from one place in the work session to another. This is the visual response to a flick or fling action by the user. position—Live updates the position of a note while its being moved by another user. sb—Starts a stroke. Used to render strokes on one client while they are being drawn on another client. sc—Continues a previously started stroke by giving another point to include. Used to render strokes while they are being drawn on another client. se—Ends a previously started stroke. Image fling—Animates an image sliding from one place in the work session to another. This is the visual response to a flick or fling action by the user. position—Live updates the position of an image while its being moved by another user. sb—Starts a stroke. Used to render strokes on one client while they are being drawn on another client. sc—Continues a previously started stroke by giving another point to include. Used to render strokes while they are being drawn on another client. se—Ends a previously started stroke. Types of Volatile Events Fling used to broadcast a fling action to all connected clients. //server↔client[client-id, “ye”, target-id, “fling”, {“velocityX”: 10, “velocityY” PropertiesvelocityX (int) the x component of the fling vectorvelocityY (int) the y component of the fling vector position—ve used to broadcast intermediate steps of a window move //server↔client[client-id, “ye”, target-id, “position”, {“rect”:[−1298,−390,−1018 Propertiesrect (object) the location of the target windoworder (int) the z-order of the target window sb: used to broadcast the beginning of a stroke //server↔client[client-id, “ye”, target-id, “sb”,{“brush”:1, “size”:2, “color” Properties x,y—(int) the starting point of this stroke strokeId—(string) the ID of the new stroke sc: //server↔client[client-id, “ye”, target-id, “sc”, {“x”:100, “y”:300, “strokeId” used to broadcast a continuation of a stroke Propertiesx,y—(int) the new end-point of the strokestrokeId—(string) the ID of the new stroke se: //server↔client[client-id, “ye”, target-id, “se”, “strokeId”: “395523d316e942b496a2c8a6fe5f2cac” End the stroke specified by stroke-id stroke-id—(string) the ID of the continued stroke Delete Stroke: //server→client[sender-id, “sd”, stroke-id, target-id] Delete a stroke. stroke-id—(string) the ID of stroke target-id—(string) the ID of the stroke target Undo: Undoes the last undo-able action (move, set text, stroke, etc). //server←client [sender-id, “un”]// server→client [client-id, ‘undo’, target- Undo Example: Move a window and then undo that move The following example shows a move, and how that move is undone. //Client sends move and then an undo message. The server removes the history event of the move from the session history and notifies the client that this record will no longer be a part of the session's spatial event map, taking it out of the history timeline. Future requests of the history via the HTTP API will not include the undone event (until after a redo). Display Array Dimensions: //server→client [−1, “dd”, arrayId, width, height] Informs clients of changes to the overall display array width and height. This may not be utilized with the client-side network node has resources to manage the local display of portions of the spatial event map. arrayID—(string) the ID of the display array width, height—(integers) width and height of the display array in pixels Pan array: //client→server [sender-id, “pa”, newArrayOffsetX, newArrayOffsetY] Inform the server of a pan to a new location. newArrayOffsetX, newArrayOffsetY . . . (int) the new location of the display array after panned. Session change: //server→client [sender-id, “cs”, sessionId] Inform siblings in a display array that the session has changed. SessionId—(string) is the id of the session to switch to Zoom Change: //client→server [sender-id, “zc”, zoomLevel, zoomCenterX, zoomCenterY] Inform the server that a zoom was requested. zoomLevel (integer) the zoom level to transition to, from 1 to 11 zoomCenterX (integer) the x coordinate of the origin of the zoom zoomCenterY (integer) the y coordinate of the origin of the zoom Map-mode change: //client→server [sender-id, “mm”, zoomLevel, zoomCenterX, zoomCenterY] Inform the server that map-mode was requested. Superficially, this operates near identically to the zoomchange message, except where dozens or hundreds of zoom-change messages are meant to be sent rapid-fire with tweening between them in the graphical treatment, the map-mode message is intended for a single zoom snap with different transition effects. zoomLevel—(integer) the zoom level to transition to, from 1 to 11 zoomCenterX—(integer) the x coordinate of the origin of the zoom zoomCenterY—(integer) the y coordinate of the origin of the zoom Create card // server←client [sender-id, “cc”, templateId, regionId, x, y, x2, y2] templateId—(string) the id of the card template to be used regionId—(string) the canvas region id of the originating event (if any) x, y, x2, y2—(int) the desired rect for the new card User Permissions // server→client [sender-id, “up”, permissions] permissions a hash of permission types and true/false to indicate if the authenticated user has that permission. Currently the only permission is “can_share” indicating users who can share the session with others. Save Position: // client→server [−1, “sp”, zoomLevel, x, y] Saves the current screen position. On reconnect, the client will receive a ‘zc’ (zoom-change) and ‘pa’ (pan-array) message sending them back to this location. zoomLevel (integer) the zoom level the device is currently on x (integer) the x coordinate of the origin of the screen y (integer) the y coordinate of the origin of the screen Stroke IDs Stroke ID's are selected by the client. Currently they are the sender-id composed with an increasing integer, separated by a dot. This is to make it unique within the server context among all clients. Target IDs A stroke may be attached to a specific target in the session, like a sub-canvas (called a “card”) that floats above the main canvas. In the case of a stroke belonging to a card, the target ID field would contain the card ID. Strokes destined for the main canvas in the session are designated by having their target ID be the same as the session name. Establishing Connections When a client establishes a new websocket connection with the server, the server first chooses a unique client ID and sends it in an “id” message to the client. It then sends the “pa” message with senderid set to −1. The representative flow then is for the client to perform an HTTP GET “/:sessionId/objects” (documented below) to receive information about the cards in the session. Then the client requests “/:sessionId/history” (also documented below), which receives an array of history urls. These are broken into batches to improve cachablity. The client then GETs each url not stored in the local cache, and the server will respond with the stroke data for those history batches. Service Requests History: Gets a list of history bookmarks. Each bookmark is a span of cached stroke history. curl http://localhost:4545/<sessionId>/history sessionId name of the session you're getting the history for Response Headers HTTP/1.1 200 OKX-Powered-By: ExpressAccess-Control-Allow-Origin: *Access-Control-Allow-Headers: Response [“/<sessionId>/history/<startTime>/<endTime>?b=1”] r<sessionId>/history/<startTime>/<endTime>? sessionId—(string) id of the session to switch to startTime—(integer) beginning timestamp endTime—(integer) ending timestamp b—cache buster Retrieving a block of history: Gets the history between start time and end time. A request needs to be made for each returned span of history. curl http: //localhost:4545/<sessionId>/history/<startTime>/<endTime>?b=<cache-buster> sessionId—id of the session you're getting the history for startTime—the start time as given by initial history request endTime—the end time as given my initial history request cacheBuster—a simple key that will be changed whenever client-stored cache is no longer valid Response Header HTTP/1.1 200 OKX-Powered-By: ExpressAccess-Control-Allow-Origin: *Access-Control-Allow-Headers: X-Requested-With Content-Type: application/j son Content-Length: 2134 ETag: 1346968307576 Date: Fri, 14 Sep. 2012 17:35:14 GMT Connection: keep-alive Response [[4,“sx”,“4.4”,[537, 650, 536, 649, 536, 648, ...],{“size”: 10,“color”: [0, 0, 0, 1],“brush”: 1},1347644106241,“cardFling”]] (see documentation for sx “stroke-complete” websocket message) Retrieving Objects: Gets the objects (cards/images) for the requested session. curl http://localhost:4545/<sessionId>/objects sessionId id of the session you're getting the history for Response Header HTTP/1.1 200 OK X-Powered-By: Express Access-Control-Allow-Origin: * Access-Control-Allow-Headers: X-Requested-With Content-Type: application/j son; charset=utf-8 Content-Length: 285 Date: Fri, 14 Sep. 2012 17:35:14 GMT Connection: keep-alive Response [{“eventType”: “oc”,“id”: “50536840ce64b39439000005”,“baseName”: “sessions/all/green”,“ext”: “JPEG”,“rect”: [−239, 49, 361, 649],“arrayId”: 3,“clientId”: 3,“regionId”: null,“sessionId”: “cardFling”,“actualWidth”: 600,“actualHeight”: 600,“order”: null,“_id”: “50536840ce64b39439000005”,“type”: “image”},{“eventType”: “oc”,“id”: “50536b66ce64b39439000006”,“baseName”: “sessions/all/orange”,“ext”: “JPEG”,“rect”: [−97, 190, 503, 790],“arrayId”: 5,“clientId”: 5,“regionId”: null,“sessionId”: “cardFling”,“actualWidth”: 600,“actualHeight”: 600,“order”: null,“_id”: “50536b66ce64b39439000006”,“type”: “image”}] Card Templates:Gets a list of global card templates for creating cached, re-usable cards. This is different from uploading a file as the same background-image is used for all cards created with this template.curl http://localhost:4545/card_templates.jsonResponse [{“id”:“50901cb0b9a18c190902a938”,“width”:600,“thumbnail”:“card_templates/thumbnails/pink.jpeg”},{“id”:“50901cb0b9a18c190902a939”,“width”:600,“thumbnail”:“card_templates/thumbnails/green.jpeg”}]These values can be used to send a create card message:// creates a new card using the pink template above [“cc”, “50901cb0b9a18c190902a938”, <regionIdOrNull>, <x>, <y>] Upload:Sends an image to the server to be placed in the session.curl-F “[email protected]”−F “x=236”−F “y=832”−F “clientId=10”-F“sessionId=cardFling”−F “arrayId=10”-F “order=23”-F “x2=899”-F “y2=1495”-F“filename=photo.jpg”http://localhost:4545/<sessionId>/object/uploadParamsx: x position of dropy: y position of dropclientId: client IdsessionId: session IdarrayId: array identifierorder: z orderx2: x position of bottom right corner of dropy2: y position of bottom right corner of dropfilename: name of file uploaded The API describe above provides one example message structure. Other structures may be utilized as well, as suits a particular implementation. In an embodiment of the collaboration system, an application program interface API is executed by the collaboration server105and display clients based on two communication channels for each display client, as suggested with reference toFIG.6. In some embodiments a federated display may be deployed. In a federated display, each of the display clients711-714can independently maintain two channels with the server. The first channel is a message based system configured for communications about live events. In one example, this first channel is implemented using a set of socket requests over a Web socket channel with the collaboration service601, and used by the server for updating clients with relevant data (new strokes, cards, clients, etc.) once connected. The message based channel can also handle the initial connection handshake. A second channel is a more stateless type link with the portal602, such as n HTTP/REST interface, which can be used for cacheable responses, as well as posting data (i.e. images and cards). Also an initial loading of workspace data to a display client can be done using HTTP requests rather than the message based channel (Websockets) to support caching. FIG.8is a simplified block diagram of a computer system, or network node, which can be used to implement the client-side functions (e.g. computer system110) or the server-side functions (e.g. server105) in a distributed collaboration system. A computer system typically includes a processor subsystem1014which communicates with a number of peripheral devices via bus subsystem1012. These peripheral devices may include a storage subsystem1024, comprising a memory subsystem1026and a file storage subsystem1028, user interface input devices1022, user interface output devices1020, and a network interface subsystem1016. The input and output devices allow user interaction with the computer system. Communication module1016provides physical and communication protocol support for interfaces to outside networks, including an interface to communication network104, and is coupled via communication network104to corresponding communication modules in other computer systems. Communication network104may comprise many interconnected computer systems and communication links. These communication links may be wireline links, optical links, wireless links, or any other mechanisms for communication of information, but typically it is an IP-based communication network, at least at its extremities. While in one embodiment, communication network104is the Internet, in other embodiments, communication network104may be any suitable computer network. The physical hardware component of network interfaces are sometimes referred to as network interface cards (NICs), although they need not be in the form of cards: for instance they could be in the form of integrated circuits (ICs) and connectors fitted directly onto a motherboard, or in the form of macrocells fabricated on a single integrated circuit chip with other components of the computer system. User interface input devices1022may include a keyboard, pointing devices such as a mouse, trackball, touchpad, or graphics tablet, a scanner, a touch screen incorporated into the display (including the touch sensitive portions of large format digital display102c), audio input devices such as voice recognition systems, microphones, and other types of tangible input devices. In general, use of the term “input device” is intended to include all possible types of devices and ways to input information into the computer system or onto computer network104. User interface output devices1020may include a display subsystem, a printer, a fax machine, or non-visual displays such as audio output devices. The display subsystem may include a cathode ray tube (CRT), a flat panel device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a projection device, or some other mechanism for creating a visible image. In the embodiment ofFIG.1B, it includes the display functions of large format digital display102c. The display subsystem may also provide non-visual display such as via audio output devices. In general, use of the term “output device” is intended to include all possible types of devices and ways to output information from the computer system to the user or to another machine or computer system. Storage subsystem1024stores the basic programming and data constructs that provide the functionality of certain embodiments of the present invention. The storage subsystem1024when used for implementation of server side network-nodes, comprises a product including a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a machine readable data structure including a spatial event map which locates events in a workspace, wherein the spatial event map includes a log of events, entries in the log having a location of a graphical target of the event in the workspace and a time. Also, the storage subsystem1024comprises a product including executable instructions for performing the procedures described herein associated with the server-side network node. The storage subsystem1024when used for implementation of client side network-nodes, comprises a product including a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a machine readable data structure including a spatial event map in the form of a cached copy as explained below, which locates events in a workspace, wherein the spatial event map includes a log of events, entries in the log having a location of a graphical target of the event in the workspace and a time. Also, the storage subsystem1024comprises a product including executable instructions for performing the procedures described herein associated with the client-side network node. For example, the various modules implementing the functionality of certain embodiments of the invention may be stored in storage subsystem1024. These software modules are generally executed by processor subsystem1014. Memory subsystem1026typically includes a number of memories including a main random access memory (RAM)1030for storage of instructions and data during program execution and a read only memory (ROM)1032in which fixed instructions are stored. File storage subsystem1028provides persistent storage for program and data files, and may include a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive along with associated removable media, a CD ROM drive, an optical drive, or removable media cartridges. The databases and modules implementing the functionality of certain embodiments of the invention may have been provided on a computer readable medium such as one or more CD-ROMs, and may be stored by file storage subsystem1028. The host memory1026contains, among other things, computer instructions which, when executed by the processor subsystem1014, cause the computer system to operate or perform functions as described herein. As used herein, processes and software that are said to run in or on “the host” or “the computer,” execute on the processor subsystem1014in response to computer instructions and data in the host memory subsystem1026including any other local or remote storage for such instructions and data. Bus subsystem1012provides a mechanism for letting the various components and subsystems of a computer system communicate with each other as intended. Although bus subsystem1012is shown schematically as a single bus, alternative embodiments of the bus subsystem may use multiple busses. The computer system itself can be of varying types including a personal computer, a portable computer, a workstation, a computer terminal, a network computer, a television, a mainframe, a server farm, or any other data processing system or user device. In one embodiment, a computer system includes several computer systems, each controlling one of the tiles that make up the large format display102c. Due to the ever-changing nature of computers and networks, the description of computer system110depicted inFIG.8is intended only as a specific example for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention. Many other configurations of the computer system are possible having more or less components than the computer system depicted inFIG.8. The same components and variations can also make up each of the other devices102in the collaboration environment ofFIG.1, as well as the collaboration server105and display database106. Certain information about the drawing regions active on the digital display102care stored in a database accessible to the computer system110of the display client. The database can take on many forms in different embodiments, including but not limited to a MongoDB database, an XML database, a relational database, or an object oriented database.FIG.9is a schematic diagram illustrating certain information that the database contains, and certain relationships among the data. In embodiments described herein, each drawing region is considered to be a child of a toolbar. The touching of a point on the wall background spawns a toolbar, which in turn spawns a drawing region (though the toolbar is not necessarily visible until the drawing region opens). Similarly, to close a drawing region, a user touches a “close” icon on the drawing region's toolbar. Thus inFIG.9, the database is headed by one or more toolbar IDs1110. Each toolbar ID1110includes or points to a respective block1112of data, indicating the horizontal position of the toolbar, the horizontal position of the left edge of the toolbar's drawing region, with width of the drawing region, and a set of drawing properties for the drawing region. It will be appreciated that many variations are possible, such as specifying the right edge position of the drawing region rather than the left, and specifying the opposite edge position rather than the drawing region width. The toolbar position has only a horizontal value, because in an embodiment, it always remains at the same vertical position. In another embodiment both horizontal and vertical positions may be specified. The drawing properties include or point to an array1114of drawing attributes, each in association with one or more values. The drawing properties inFIG.9include a brush type, the value of which may for example indicate “paint,” “ink,” “crayon,” “marker” or “eraser,” each of which has a different character of appearance when drawn on the display102c. The drawing properties inFIG.9also include a brush width, which can take on any value in a range of available values. The drawing properties inFIG.9also include a brush color, which has three associated values: red, green and blue content. As used herein, the three attributes brush type, brush width and brush color are considered to constitute “line appearance properties.” Drawing attributes1114may in various embodiments also include other attributes, such as those that affect the location of the line or the location of part of the line. These properties may include such attributes as corner-rounding radius, or Bezier curve parameters. As can be seen inFIG.11, there is no requirement that the drawing attributes (including the line appearance properties) for different drawing regions be the same. They can be established independently of each other, so there is no need that they be identical. In a typical case they will not be identical. In order to draw a line on the display102c, a user provides “drawing user input” which indicates the drawing of the line. While other embodiments may allow a user to draw with a finger, in the embodiment ofFIG.1, only a stylus can be used to indicate the drawing of a line. Intuitively, the user so indicates by touching the stylus to the display102csurface, within a drawing region, and dragging the stylus along the positions desired for the line. The end of a line drawing operation is indicated by lifting the stylus from the display102csurface. The local computer system110determines from the user input where the points on the line are to be positioned, and displays them on the display102c. The computer system110also transmits the stroke information to the collaboration server105(FIG.1B), which writes the information into its display database106and transmits it back to the various devices102sharing the session. Each of the devices102can then display the line (so long as the line intersects the device's viewport), so all such devices102will show the line at roughly the same time. FIGS.10-14are flowcharts illustrating logic executed by the server, the display clients, or both. The logic can be implemented using processors programmed using computer programs stored in memory accessible to the computer systems and executable by the processors, by dedicated logic hardware, including field programmable integrated circuits, and by combinations of dedicated logic hardware and computer programs. As with all flowcharts herein, it will be appreciated that many of the steps can be combined, performed in parallel or performed in a different sequence without affecting the functions achieved. In some cases, as the reader will appreciate, a re-arrangement of steps will achieve the same results only if certain other changes are made as well. In other cases, as the reader will appreciate, a re-arrangement of steps will achieve the same results only if certain conditions are satisfied. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the flow charts herein show only steps that are pertinent to an understanding of the invention, and it will be understood that numerous additional steps for accomplishing other functions can be performed before, after and between those shown. FIG.10illustrates basic logic executed on the server-side when a user joins a session as part of a persistent workspace. The flowchart begins with a login by the user (1210), in which the user may enter a user identifier in a web portal access through a device possessed by the user, such as a personal computer, a touchpad, a smart phone, etc. Next, a user authentication protocol is executed (1212), where a protocol, for example, can include requiring the user to enter a personal password, to verify that the user is in fact a person who has entered the user identifier. Next, the collaboration server, using for example the portal machine, can present links to workspaces in which the authenticated user is authorized to participate (1214). Next, the collaboration server can determine a selected display client, and a selected workspace for the user (1216). This determination can be made by an exchange of messages between the user possessed machine, and the portal using the communication channel on which the authentication protocol is executed. When the display client and workspace are identified, the collaboration server can enable the display client to download data for the selected workspace (1218). Also, the collaboration server can add the client to a live event channel for the selected workspace (1220). FIG.11illustrates basic two-channel logic executed on the client-side when a user joins a workspace. The flowchart begins with a login by the user (1230) executed on a first channel, in which the user may enter a user identifier and transmit it to the web portal. Next, the user authentication protocol is executed (1232). The user then opens a page at the portal using the communication channel on which the authentication protocol is executed, which displays links for authorized workspaces (1234). Next, the user enters data identifying a selected workspace and display client to be used in the current session (1236) using the first channel. After the server enables the selected display client, the user activity can transfer to a channel between the display client and the server, which can then download the workspace data for the selected session (1238). The display client can then traverse the workspace data and construct an image for the display area managed by the display client (1240). Also, the display client can then join the live event channel (1242). The client-side network node and the server-side network node can establish a protocol for encryption and decryption of the spatial event map data during establishment of the session. In one example, the process of downloading the workspace data includes delivering the event objects for the session to each display client. Included with the workspace data, a current user location can be provided. Alternatively, the workspace data can be delivered, followed by a sequence of messages which identify to the display client how to compute an offset from a default location, such as at the center of the workspace data, to a current location associated with the user. Each display client then can traverse the event objects to identify those objects having session locations which map to the display area managed by the display client. The logic to traverse the event objects can include an R-TREE search for example, which is configured to find objects in the workspace that map to the display area. The identified objects can then be rendered, possibly communicating with the portal to obtain data relevant to the objects, on the display area managed by the display. FIG.12illustrates basic logic on the client-side related to downloading workspace data. Logic begins with a download of workspace data from the collaboration server (1250). The display client renders the objects that are within the range of the display client around the user focus (1252), where the user focus is determined from the location within the workspace that can be provided by the server, or maintained at the client-side network node. The display client holds the workspace data, or at least portions of the workspace data, including objects having current locations in workspace data, that are close to the user focus. During the session, in response to user input or other data, the display client traverses locations in the workspace to determine the current location in the workspace (1254). The display client then renders objects within the range around the traversed locations (1256). At the end of the session, the last location within the workspace mapped by the display client is saved as the user location on a collaboration server (1258). FIG.13illustrates logic executed by the server-side for managing access to displays to which access is shared among many users. In this example, the server maintains a list of free display walls having active links to the server. These links can be set up when the display walls are turned on, and maintained during waiting periods in which the display wall is idle. The server can include logic to determine whether a free display wall has a link to the server (1260). If a wall is detected that has a link to the server, then it is assigned a one-time identification code or PIN. When the identification code is assigned, then the wall is added to a “lobby,” which comprises a list of available walls (i.e. free walls) in the collaboration system (1264). The server also executes a loop waiting for authorized user logins (1266). When a login is detected, the server prompts the user to select a workspace and to select a wall, for which the user is authorized (1268). The server then requires the user to enter the one-time identification code associated with the selected wall (1270). If the server does not receive a matching identification code for the selected wall (1272), then an error signal is issued (1273). When the server receives a matching identification code for the selected wall (1272), then the display client or clients associated with the selected wall are linked to a live event channel for the session, and the one-time identification code is disabled or changed, while the wall is occupied (1274). Also, the server sends the workspace data to the selected display client or clients (1276). The user is then able to collaborate with the session after receiving the workspace data (1278). When the user logs off of the session, then the display wall is freed (1280). If the display wall remains available, it can be indicated to be a free display wall to the server, and added to the lobby with a new identification code, following sequence of steps1260,1262,1264. In some embodiments, the identification code is changed upon expiration of a time out interval, providing security against logins by intruders who might steal the identification code from a wall that is not in use. FIG.14illustrates basic logic executed on the server-side to manage a federated display array. The first step in this flowchart involves downloading the workspace data to each of the display clients in the array (1302). Each display client renders objects within the range of the display client around a client offset from the user location (1304). The server monitors for client event messages (1306). When the server receives a client event message from one of the display clients in the array, it determines whether the message relates to the workspace data or only the array (1308). Array messages are broadcast on an array channel so that only those display clients participating in the federated display array receive the messages (1310). Workspace data messages are broadcast on the collaboration channel, so that all of the display clients participating in sessions with workspace data are updated as appropriate (1312). Those messages that relate only to the federated display array, can include such messages as those that update the location of toolbars and drawing regions as described above. Also, messages that do not change the location of objects in the workspace, and do not create or modify objects that are part of the workspace data, can be determined to be local array only messages. FIG.15illustrates, in the style ofFIG.1B, a system supporting distributed display collaboration where there are displays distributed widely. The system includes a collaboration server105, with an associated display database106storing workspace data. The collaboration server is connected by communication links104to a plurality of walls1502a,1502b,1502cwhich might be located for example in Chicago, Los Angeles and São Paulo. The collaboration server105is also coupled to a user device1504, such as a touchpad or other personal computing platform, which can be expected to be in the possession of a known user. As mentioned above in connection withFIG.13, the collaboration server105can maintain a list of free display walls in a data structure referred to as a “lobby”109. Associated with each of the display walls is a one-time identification code, including OT-PIN #1 associated with the display wall in Chicago, OT-PIN #2 associated with the display wall in Los Angeles, and OT-PIN #3 associated with the display wall in Sao Paulo. A user in possession of the personal device1504can login to the portal managed by the collaboration server105, entering a user ID and a user password for the purposes of user authentication. Then, the user in possession of the personal device1504can provide a workspace identifier and an identification code for a display wall to which the user wants workspace data to be displayed. When the collaboration server successfully authenticates the user, and determines that the user has identified a display wall for which the user is authorized, and a workspace for which the user is authorized, the display client associated with the identified display can be linked to the collaboration event channel and enabled to download workspace data. When the display device is enabled for a given session, it is removed from the lobby109, and the one-time identification code is deleted or changed. Each time the display is added to the lobby109, a new one-time identification code can be computed to accept user input that can contribute to the workspace data. The system can include management logic providing workspace data to selected displays based a protocol that insures that a user authorized for the workspace data has physical access the selected display. FIG.16is a simplified diagram of a client-side network node, including a client processor1600, a display driver1601, a local display and user interface such as a touchscreen1602, a protocol stack1604including a communication interface controlled by the stack, local memory1605storing a cache copy of the live spatial event map and a cache of images and other graphical constructs used in rendering the displayable area, and input protocol device1607which executes a input protocol which translates input from a tangible user input device such as a touchscreen, or a mouse, into a form usable by a command interpreter1606. A suitable input protocol device1607can include software compatible with a TUIO industry-standard, for example for interpretation of tangible and multi-touch interaction with the display wall. The protocol stack1604receives API compliant messages and Internet messages from the client processor1600and as discussed above includes resources to establish a channel1611to a collaboration server across which API compliant messages can be exchanged, and a link1610to the Internet in support of other communications that serve the local display1602. The display driver1601controls a displayable area1603on the local display1602. The displayable area1603can be logically configured by the client processor or other programming resources in the client-side network node. Also, the physical size of the displayable area1603can be fixed for a given implementation of the local display. The client processor1600can include processing resources such as a browser, mapping logic used for translating between locations on the displayable area1603and the workspace, and logic to implement API procedures. A system for collaboration described herein can include a client-side network node like that ofFIG.16. The client-side network node includes a display having a physical display space, a user input device, a processor and a communication port. The client-side network node is configured with logic: to establish a link to a server-side network node; to retrieve from the server-side network node at least part of a spatial event log of events relating to graphical targets having locations in a workspace, entries in the log including a location in the workspace of the graphical target of an event, a time of the event, and a target identifier of the graphical target; to map a displayable area in the physical display space to a mapped area within the workspace, to identify entries in the spatial event log within the mapped area, render graphical targets identified by the identified entries onto the displayable area; to accept input data from the user input device creating events relating to modification and creation of graphical targets displayed within the displayable area, and to send messages based upon the events to the server-side network node. The client-side network node shown inFIG.16illustrates an example including an application interface including a process to communicate with the server-side network node. The client-side network node shown inFIG.16illustrates an example configured according to an API, wherein the events include a first class of event designated as history events to be distributed among other client-side network nodes and to be added to the spatial event log in the server-side network node, and a second class of event designated as ephemeral to be distributed among other client-side network nodes but not added to the spatial event log in the server-side network node. FIG.17is a simplified flow diagram of a procedure executed by the client-side network node. The order illustrated in the simplified flow diagram is provided for the purposes of illustration, and can be modified as suits a particular implementation. Many of the steps for example, can be executed in parallel. In this procedure, a client login is executed (1700) by which the client is given access to a specific collaboration session and its spatial event map. The collaboration server provides an identifier of, or identifiers of parts of, the spatial event map which can be used by the client to retrieve the spatial event map from the collaboration server (1701). The client retrieves the spatial event map, or at least portions of it, from the collaboration server using the identifier or identifiers provided (1702). For example, the client can request all history for a given workspace to which it has been granted access as follows:curl http://localhost:4545/<sessionId>/history The server will respond with all chunks (each its own section of time):[“/<sessionId>/history/<startTime>/<endTime>?b=1”][“/<sessionId>/history/<startTime>/<endTime>?b=1”] For each chunk, the client will request the events:Curl http: //localhost:4545/<sessionId>/history/<startTime>/<endTime>?b=<cache-buster> Each responded chunk is an array of events and is cacheable by the client: [[4,″sx″,″4.4″,[537, 650, 536, 649, 536, 648, ...],{“size″: 10,″color″: [0, 0, 0, 1],″brush″: 1},1347644106241,″cardFling″]] The individual messages might include information like position on screen, color, width of stroke, time created etc. The client then determines a location in the workspace, using for example a server provided focus point, and display boundaries for the local display (1703). The local copy of the spatial event map is traversed to gather display data for spatial event map entries that map to the displayable area for the local display. In some embodiments, the client may gather additional data in support of rendering a display for spatial event map entries within a culling boundary defining a region larger than the displayable area for the local display, in order to prepare for supporting predicted user interactions such as zoom and pan within the workspace (1704). The client processor executes a process using spatial event map events, ephemeral events and display data to render parts of the spatial event map that fall within the display boundary (1705). This process receives local user interface messages, such as from the TUIO driver (1706). Also, this process receives socket API messages from the collaboration server (1710). In response to local user interface messages, the process can classify inputs as history events and ephemeral events, send API messages on the socket to the collaboration server for both history events and ephemeral events as specified by the API, update the cached portions of the spatial event map with history events, and produce display data for both history events and ephemeral events (1707). In response to the socket API messages, the process updates the cached portion of the spatial event map with history events identified by the server-side network node, responds to API messages on the socket as specified by the API, and produce display data for both history events and ephemeral events about which it is notified by the socket messages (1711). FIG.18is a simplified flow diagram of a process for interpreting user input executed by a client-side network node. The order illustrated in the simplified flow diagram is provided for the purposes of illustration, and can be modified as suits a particular implementation. Many of the steps for example, can be executed in parallel. The process begins with receiving a native I/O event type message from a tangible user input device, along with a physical coordinate on the display (1800). The process maps the physical coordinate on the display to a coordinate in the workspace and identifies using its local cached copy of the spatial event map, objects in the spatial event map which map to the workspace coordinate, if any (1801). Then, based on the workspace coordinate, the identified object, context and I/O event type, the processor determines an API event type, including whether the event is a history event or ephemeral event (1802). The client-side processor then produces an API compliant message, updates the local cached copy of the spatial event map, and updates the display data (1803). Using a server-side network node and a client-side network node as described here, some basic procedures include logging in and downloading a spatial event map for a session to a client-side network node, and connecting to a workspace channel of live workspace spatial events. Logging in and downloading spatial event map. 1. The client request authorization to join a collaboration session, and open a workspace. 2. The server authorizes the client to participate in the session, and begin loading the spatial event map for the workspace. 3. The client requests an identification, such as a “table of contents” of the spatial event map associated with the session. 4. Each portion of the spatial event map identified in the table of contents is requested by the client. These portions of the spatial event map together represent the workspace as a linear sequence of events from the beginning of workspace-time to the present. The “beginning of workspace-time” can be considered an elapsed time from the time of initiation of the collaboration session, or an absolute time recorded in association with the session. 5. The client assembles a cached copy of the spatial event map in its local memory. 6. The client displays an appropriate region of the workspace using its spatial event map to determine what is relevant given the current displayable area or viewport on the local display. Connecting to the Session Channel of Live Spatial Event Map Events: 1. After authorization, a client requests to join a workspace channel. 2. The server adds the client to the list of workspace participants to receive updates via the workspace channels. 3. The client receives live messages from the workspace that carry both history events and ephemeral events, and a communication paradigm like a chat room. For example, a sequence of ephemeral events, and a history event can be associated with moving object in the spatial event map to a new location in the spatial event map. 4. The client reacts to live messages from the server-side network node by altering its local copy of the spatial event map and re-rendering its local display. 5. Live messages consist of “history” events which are to be persisted as undue-double, recorded events in the spatial event map, and “ephemeral” events which are pieces of information that do not become part of the history of the session. 6. When a client creates, modifies, moves or deletes an object by interaction with its local display, a new event is created by the client-side network node and sent across the workspace channel to the server-side network node. The server-side network node saves history events in the spatial event map for the session, and distributes both history events and ephemeral events to all active clients in the session. 7. When exiting the session, the client disconnects from the workspace channel. A collaboration system can have many, distributed digital displays which are used both to display images based on workspace data managed by a shared collaboration server, and to accept user input that can contribute to the workspace data, while enabling each display to rapidly construct an image to display based on session history, real time local input and real-time input from other displays. As used herein, the “identification” of an item of information does not necessarily require the direct specification of that item of information. Information can be “identified” in a field by simply referring to the actual information through one or more layers of indirection, or by identifying one or more items of different information which are together sufficient to determine the actual item of information. In addition, the term “indicate” is used herein to mean the same as “identify”. Also as used herein, a given signal, event or value is “responsive” to a predecessor signal, event or value if the predecessor signal, event or value influenced the given signal, event or value. If there is an intervening processing element, step or time period, the given signal, event or value can still be “responsive” to the predecessor signal, event or value. If the intervening processing element or step combines more than one signal, event or value, the signal output of the processing element or step is considered “responsive” to each of the signal, event or value inputs. If the given signal, event or value is the same as the predecessor signal, event or value, this is merely a degenerate case in which the given signal, event or value is still considered to be “responsive” to the predecessor signal, event or value. “Dependency” of a given signal, event or value upon another signal, event or value is defined similarly. The applicant hereby discloses in isolation each individual feature described herein and any combination of two or more such features, to the extent that such features or combinations are capable of being carried out based on the present specification as a whole in light of the common general knowledge of a person skilled in the art, irrespective of whether such features or combinations of features solve any problems disclosed herein, and without limitation to the scope of the claims. The applicant indicates that aspects of the present invention may consist of any such feature or combination of features. In view of the foregoing description, it will be evident to a person skilled in the art that various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention. The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art. For example, though the displays described herein are of large format, small format displays can also be arranged to use multiple drawing regions, though multiple drawing regions are more useful for displays that are at least as large as 12 feet in width. In particular, and without limitation, any and all variations described, suggested by the Background section of this patent application or by the material incorporated by reference are specifically incorporated by reference into the description herein of embodiments of the invention. In addition, any and all variations described, suggested or incorporated by reference herein with respect to any one embodiment are also to be considered taught with respect to all other embodiments. The embodiments described herein were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents. | 96,585 |
11861562 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Implementations generally relate to a method of matching job-seekers and employers in real-time with low required effort by the job-seekers and employers. As described in more detail herein, a system-wide taxonomy is used in matching job-seekers and employers, thereby reducing the time for the recruiting process. Employers create a job position and have the ability to assign relative weights to the top traits associated with the job position. Job-seekers answer profile questions (e.g. work experience), and the system uses the taxonomy to generate a list of job-seeker attributes based on the answers to these questions. A list of top candidates for the position is then generated from a matching process based on a mapping of the available job-seekers' attributes and the desired job position traits. The system uses machine learning to improve on its ranking of job-seekers based on how employers accept or reject candidates. The matching process is facilitated by the system-wide taxonomy, which can be defined as having three components: a list of jobs organized by industries, verticals, and/or categories (e.g. a job within the retail industry and customer service category may be called “Office Manager), a list of attributes agnostic of jobs, and a weighted mapping between the list of jobs and the list of attributes. This taxonomy allows for real-time communication within the application. The embodiments can result in a user experience which is simple, low-touch, and real-time since it may not require job-seekers to directly apply to job positions in order to be matched. For example, the recruiter can create a job posting and see candidates in less than a minute, while the job-seeker can log in and see relevant jobs in less than a minute. For the purposes of the present discussion, a job-seeker may be any person who is searching for a job. The terms “job-seeker”, “candidate”, or “job candidate” may be employed interchangeably herein. An employer may be any entity or organization of persons who is seeking to hire for available job openings and may be used interchangeably with “recruiter”. Different types of job markets, such as “blue-collar”, “white-collar”, “services”, “consulting” markets, may benefit in different ways from various embodiments or features described herein. For example, in the blue-collar job industry, which may be characterized by jobs involving manual labor or a service, the process of recruiting may benefit from a faster recruitment cycle. Although specific job markets may be discussed in the description of embodiments or features, the features may also be used in other job markets. Software functionality may be any function, capability, or feature, e.g., stored or arranged data, that is provided via computer code, e.g., software. Generally, software functionality may be accessible via use of a user interface (UI), and accompanying user interface controls and features. Software functionality may include actions, such as retrieving data pertaining to a business object, calculating analytics, launching certain dialog boxes, performing searches, and so on. In various implementations, a UI control may be any displayed element or component of a UI display screen, which is adapted to enable a user to provide input, view data, and/or otherwise interact with a UI. Additional examples of UI controls include buttons, drop down menus, menu items, tap-and-hold functionality, and so on. Similarly, a UI control signal may be any signal that is provided as input for software, where the input affects a UI display screen and/or accompanying software application associated with the software. A UI display screen may be any software-generated depiction presented on a display. Examples of depictions include windows, dialog boxes, displayed tables, and any other graphical UI features, such as UI controls, presented to a user via software, such as a browser or mobile application. A UI display screen contained within a single border is called a view or window. Views or windows may include sections, such as sub-views or sub-windows, dialog boxes, graphs, tables, and so on. In certain cases, a UI display screen may refer to all application windows presently displayed on a display. The terms UI display screen and screen may be employed interchangeably herein. A UI display screen generated by a networked software application and accessible via a browser is called an application page (or simply page) herein. A UI component may be an application page or collection of related or linked pages. For clarity, certain well-known components, such as hard drives, processors, operating systems, power supplies, routers, Internet service providers (ISPs), identity management systems, workflow orchestrators, process schedulers, integration brokers, tenant automation systems (TASs), online analytical processing (OLAP) engines, certain web services, virtual machines, middleware, databases, and so on, are not necessarily explicitly called out in the figures. However, those skilled in the art with access to the present teachings may know which components to implement and how to implement them to meet the needs of a given implementation. FIG.1illustrates a block diagram of an example application environment100, which may be used for implementations described herein. Shown are two client devices102and103and a web service104. Client devices102and103may communicate with the web service104via network106. In various implementations, client devices102and103may access services and data directly from web service104. Web service104has an associated database112and server113for processing. Example implementations associated with application environment100are described in more detail herein. In other embodiments, different network and device arrangements, topologies or architectures can be used. Employers and job-seekers may interact with the application from separate user interfaces (UIs) which are tailored to their needs. For example, client device103may have employer application111and client device102may have job-seeker application110. The separation of the two different applications permits each application to be tailored for the specific needs of the job-seekers and employers (e.g. job-seekers may not post jobs and employers may not search for jobs). This separation also can encourage the job-seeker to not adjust their profile to match the needs of a specific job. Although there are two separate UIs for employers and job-seekers, they both use the same backend web service104, which allows for real-time updates and interactions between the employers and job-seekers. In other embodiments, functionality provided by either the job-seeker or employer interfaces may be included in the other. The backend web service104utilizes a database112for storing application data and server113for performing calculations on the data. In some embodiments, there may be more than one web service used to communicate with the employer application111and job seeker application110. FIG.2illustrates an example flow diagram for the process of matching job-seekers and job positions. At block202, the system such as client device103obtains employer-provided input from employer application111to create a new job position. At block204, employer-provided input from employer application111is then accepted to rank pre-defined traits associated with the job position type. A job position type may refer to the task expected of the job (i.e. taxi driver or waiter). At block206, the system such as client device102may obtain job-seeker input from job-seeker application110in response to profile questions. However, step206may not be required for the ranking to occur and can be omitted in some embodiments. At block208, the job-seeker answers are used to generate a list of job-seeker skills. At block210, a list of top job-seekers is presented to the employer in real time by mapping the list of job-seeker skills with the employer rankings of the pre-defined traits. At block210, the list of top job-seekers is generated by using candidate ranking. Since candidates do not directly apply to jobs, the ranking process can be critical to identifying good candidates. The ranking process can maximize the likelihood of top candidates accepting requests of interest from recruiters. The main driving factor for hiring success is the time to hire, since the probability of hiring decreases exponentially with time. FIG.3illustrates an example flow diagram for candidate ranking used at block210and performed at web service104. At step302, a preliminary filtering step is performed on the initial list of candidates. Candidates may be filtered based on a number of factors such as geographics, job type, availability (e.g. what hours the job-seeker is willing to work), and whether the candidate is still actively searching for a job. For example, recruiters may only see candidates that are located in their desired geographic area. Similarly, recruiters may only see candidates that match their availability requirements (e.g. part-time or full-time). If the recruiter is only searching for full-time employees, the job seekers who are available for full-time work may appear before those who are not available for full-time work, all else being equal between the candidates. In addition to these factors, candidate ranking may take into account other factors. The factors mentioned are not necessarily representative of all the factors that the candidate ranking process may use. At step304, the remaining candidates are sorted based on their work experience. The steps for sorting candidates based on their work experience is described in more detail inFIG.4and the related parts of the specification. At step306, a secondary sorting of candidates is performed based on their engagement with the application or in-app activity. The secondary sorting step takes into account a number of factors when sorting candidates, which may include: level of candidate responsiveness to requests from recruiters and notifications, candidate reliability in attending appointments, the number of “likes” the candidate has given within the application, and the time since the candidate last logged into the application. Requests from recruiters may include requests to schedule interviews, or to initiate general communication. Once general communication is accepted, the recruiter and candidate can communicate over text through the app or over the phone. Other requests may come in the form of notifications sent from the application. If candidates frequently click app notifications that they receive, they may be placed higher on the list of desired candidates. This list of factors used for secondary sorting is not meant to be comprehensive. The level of candidate activity may also be indicated by a number of other factors. In some embodiments, step306may consider the level of candidate in-app activity within a predefined time period (e.g. 5 days). In some embodiments, this time period may be recruiter-defined. In other embodiments, the time period may be a default value set by the application. At step308, a tertiary sorting of candidates is performed based on their certifications and answers to recruiter-defined questions. For example, if all else is equal, candidates with required certifications appear before those without them. Similarly, if all else is equal, candidates who have answered positively to recruiter-defined questions (e.g. matching the recruiter-defined answer) can appear before those who have answered negatively (not matching the recruiter-defined answer). FIG.4illustrates an example flow diagram for step304of the candidate ranking. At step402, a score is computed for each job seeker based on their work experiences. These work experiences may be either direct or indirect work experiences. Work experiences are direct if the relevant position exactly matches one of the candidate's previous positions. Work experiences are indirect if the relevant position requires the same or similar skills as those required for one of the candidate's previous positions. The taxonomy determines which skills are important for a given position. For example, a candidate may be applying for a delivery driver position but only has experience as a taxi driver. Competence in driving motor vehicles is a common skill to both positions, so the candidate may be deemed to have indirect work experience. In some embodiments, both direct and indirect work experiences can be used to compute the job-seeker's score. In other embodiments, only direct work experiences can be used to compute the score. Machine learning can be used to improve the candidate ranking by taking into account employer feedback on the candidate ranking. In some embodiments, the system can use data on whether candidates' profiles are rejected or bookmarked by employers to improve the candidate ranking. At step404, the score is calibrated to account for the acquisition of new skills. The calibration may happen by applying a smoothing function to the score to account for skills that are new. At step406, a ceiling is applied to the score if it is equal to or higher than the desired number of years of experience by the recruiter. For example, if the recruiter has requested 2 years of experience, a candidate with 2 years of experience and a candidate with 6 years of experience may receive the same score. Once the recruiter and job seeker are matched using candidate ranking, the recruiter may then initiate communication with the job seeker. FIG.5illustrates an example flow diagram for the communication process between employers and job-seekers. At block502, the employer initiates contact with the job-seeker. At block504, the job-seeker accepts the employer request. If the candidate has not responded to the employer request after a period of time, the system will automatically notify the candidate (e.g. by email). At block506, communication between the job-seeker and employer is enabled. For example, the job-seeker and employer may communicate through a telephone call or schedule an appointment. In another embodiment, job-seekers may indicate their preference for a job position (e.g. by pressing a “like” button) and/or send a note to the employer to demonstrate interest in the job position. This enables the job-seeker to communicate with the employer without having first received a communication request from the employer. FIG.6illustrates an example user interface600for employers to add new jobs. On screen602, the employer may configure a newly created job position. Input610allows the employer to select a job type within the taxonomy. The employer may also configure additional information like a custom title, job description, years of required experience, and hourly rate for the job. On screen604, the employer may modify additional information for the job posting. This may include sections to configure desired schedules, certifications or licenses, or additional custom questions to be asked of the job-seeker. Screen608shows an example user interface for adding a new custom question to the job posting. The employer may indicate a preferred answer to the question and indicate if they would like the question to factor into the job-seeker's ranking. Input612allows the employer to emphasize the relative importance of skills associated with the job type. Additional information may be edited after the job has posted, and the system may update with the changes in real-time. After completing the job posting, the employers may see screen606, where a list of top candidates614determined in real-time appears. The employer may then swipe left or right on the list of job-seekers to either keep or reject them as candidates. Based on the employer's behavior on accepting or rejecting candidates, the system uses machine learning to improve on its ranking of job-seekers. For example, if an employer accepts a candidate, the weights associated with that candidate's attributes are increased. If an employer rejects a candidate, the weights associated with that candidate's attributes are decreased. FIG.7illustrates an example user interface700for job-seekers to configure their profile. On screen702, the job-seeker can choose to edit their profile. On screen704, the job-seeker enters information to complete their profile, such as their phone number, email address, and name. The job-seeker may also select which cities they would like to work and enter their work experience, including how long they worked in each position. When entering their experience, the system automatically suggests jobs from the taxonomy based on the job-seeker's profile. Finally, the job-seeker may have the option of answering additional custom questions created by the employer. FIG.8illustrates an example user interface800for job-seekers to browse through the available job types in the taxonomy. On screen802, job-seekers may swipe through different job verticals or categories. After selecting one, they see screen804which lists specific job interests or job types associated with the selected vertical or category. They may then select multiple job interests. Once their interests are selected, job-seekers may then see screen806which displays top jobs customized for their skills and interests. Once they select their interests, job-seekers also become visible to employers who are seeking to fill related job positions. The list of top jobs for a particular job-seeker is generated in real-time using the latest information available to the system. The taxonomy enables the transfer of skills to different job types because it allows experience to be transferred across industries (e.g. customer service experience may be counted as experience towards both a taxi-driver or retail manager position). FIG.9illustrates an example user interface900for the communication process between job-seekers and employers. If an employer initiates contact, the job-seeker may receive a system notification informing them of the contact request. Clicking on the notification then brings them to the application, where the job-seeker has the option to either accept or decline the request to communicate. The system may send reminders to the job-seeker if they have not responded in a given amount of time. The system also may send appointment reminders to the job-seeker. On a system notification and/or screen902of the employer UI, the employer sees that the job-seeker has accepted the request to communicate. The employer can then communicate with the job-seeker, for example by calling the candidate or scheduling an appointment. If the employer requests an appointment, the job-seeker may see the request in screen904of the job-seeker UI, and may have the option to accept, decline, or reschedule. On screen906of the employer UI, the employer can view the job-seeker's response to the scheduling request. To emphasize, both job-seeker and employer applications use the same notification system, which notifies them when a new action has taken place in the system. The system uses two notification mechanisms: the operating system notifications that are native to a mobile device (e.g. Android or iOS notifications) and the application notifications that are managed within the system. The operating system notifications are not viewable once the job-seeker or employer has clicked on the notification, while the application notifications are persisted within the application. For example, in screen904, the job-seeker may select button912which brings them to screen908. Screen908shows a list of persisted application notifications that the job-seeker has received. Similarly, screen910shows the list of notifications received for the employer UI. FIG.10illustrates a block diagram of an example system1000, which may be used for implementations described herein. Example system1000is capable of supporting or running various hardware and/or software modules and associated methods discussed with reference to implementations described herein. Note that certain implementations may be implemented using one or more standalone applications (for example, residing in a user device) and/or one or more web-based applications implemented using a combination of client-side and server-side code. While system1000performs implementations described herein, in other implementations, any suitable component or combination of components associated with system1000or any suitable processor or processors associated with system1000may facilitate performing the implementations described herein. In various implementations, system1000may not have all of the components shown and/or may have other elements including other types of components instead of, or in addition to, those shown herein. General system1000includes user devices1060-1090, including one or more desktop computers1060, one or more notebook computers1070, one or more smartphones1080, one or more mobile phones1085, and one or more tablets1090. General system1000can interface with any type of user device, such as a thin-client computer, Internet enabled mobile telephone, mobile Internet access device, tablet, electronic book, or personal digital assistant, capable of displaying and navigating web pages or other types of electronic documents and UIs, and/or executing applications. Although system1000is shown with five user devices, any number of user devices can be supported. Some implementations of general system1000may include systems that run on a public cloud. One or more web servers1010is used to process requests from web browsers and standalone applications for web pages, electronic documents, enterprise data or other content, and other data from the user computers. Web server1010may also provide push data or syndicated content, such as RSS feeds, of data related to enterprise operations. One or more application servers1020operates one or more applications. The applications can be implemented as one or more scripts or programs written in any programming language, such as Java, C, C++, C #, or any scripting language, such as JavaScript or European computer manufacturers association script (ECMAScript), Perl, hypertext preprocessor (PHP), Python, Ruby, or tool command language (TCL). Applications can be built using libraries or application frameworks, such as Rails, Enterprise JavaBeans, or .NET. Web content may be created using hypertext markup language (HTML), cascading style sheets (CSS), and other web technology, including templating languages and parsers. Other implementations may use modern serverless managed services in the cloud (e.g. lambda services) to run the applications. The data applications running on application server1020are adapted to process input data and user computer requests and can store or retrieve data from data storage device or database1030. Database1030stores data created and used by the data applications. In some implementations, database1030includes a relational database that is adapted to store, update, and retrieve data in response to SQL format commands or other database query languages. Other implementations may use unstructured data storage architectures and Not Only SQL (NoSQL) databases. In some implementations, application server1020includes one or more general purpose computers capable of executing programs or scripts. In some implementations, web server1010is implemented as an application running on one or more general purpose computers. Web server1010and application server1020may be combined and executed on the same computers. An electronic communication network1040-1050enables communication between user computers1060-1090, web server1010, application server1020, and database1030. In some implementations, networks1040-1050may further include any form of electrical or optical communication devices, including wired network1040and wireless network1050. Networks1040-1050may also incorporate one or more local-area networks, such as an Ethernet network, wide area networks, such as the Internet; cellular carrier data networks; and virtual networks, such as a virtual private network. System1000is one example for executing applications according to some implementations. In some implementations, application server1010, web server1020, and optionally database1030can be combined into a single server computer application and system. In further implementations, virtualization and virtual machine applications may be used to implement one or more of application server1010, web server1020, and database1030. In still further implementations, all or a portion of the web and application serving functions may be integrated into an application running on each of the user computers. For example, a JavaScript application on the user computer may be used to retrieve or analyze data and display portions of the applications. In various implementations, system1000may not have all of the components shown and/or may have other elements including other types of components instead of, or in addition to, those shown herein. For example, there may be a load balancer which interfaces between components of system1000, or system1000may be implemented with a serverless managed service (e.g. lambda services). FIG.11is a general block diagram of a computing device1100usable to implement the embodiments described herein. While the computing device1100may be described as performing one or more of the steps in the embodiments herein, in other embodiments any suitable component or combination of components of the computing device1100or any suitable processor or processors associated with system1100may facilitate performing the steps. FIG.11illustrates a block diagram of an example computing system1100, which may be used for implementations described herein. For example, computing system1100may be used to implement user devices1060-1090, and server devices1010,1020ofFIG.10as well as to perform the method implementations described herein. In some implementations, computing system1100may include a processor1102, an operating system1104, a memory1106, and an input/output (I/O) interface1108. In various implementations, processor1102may be used to implement various functions and features described herein, as well as to perform the method implementations described herein. While processor1102is described as performing implementations described herein, any suitable component or combination of components of system1100or any suitable processor or processors associated with system1100or any suitable system may perform the steps described. Implementations described herein may be carried out on a user device, on a server, or a combination of both. Computing device1100also includes a software application1110, which may be stored on memory1106or on any other suitable storage location or computer-readable medium. Software application1110provides instructions that enable processor1102to perform the functions described herein and other functions. The components of computing system1100may be implemented by one or more processors or any combination of hardware devices, as well as any combination of hardware, software, firmware, etc. For ease of illustration,FIG.11shows one block for each of processor1102, operating system1104, memory1106, I/O interface1108, and software application1110. These blocks1102,1104,1106,1108, and1110may represent multiple processors, operating systems, memories, I/O interfaces, and software applications. In various implementations, computing system1100may not have all of the components shown and/or may have other elements including other types of components instead of, or in addition to, those shown herein. Although the description has been described with respect to particular embodiments thereof, these particular embodiments are merely illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, traits may be defined at a time of selection or designation by the job seeker or employer as opposed to being pre-defined. Any suitable programming language can be used to implement the routines of particular embodiments including C, C++, Java, assembly language, etc. Different programming techniques can be employed such as procedural or object oriented. The routines can execute on a single processing device or multiple processors. Although the steps, operations, or computations may be presented in a specific order, this order may be changed in different particular embodiments. In some particular embodiments, multiple steps shown as sequential in this specification can be performed at the same time. Particular embodiments may be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, system, or device. Particular embodiments can be implemented in the form of control logic in software or hardware or a combination of both. The control logic, when executed by one or more processors, may be operable to perform that which is described in particular embodiments. Particular embodiments may be implemented by using a programmed general purpose digital computer, by using application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic devices, field programmable gate arrays, optical, chemical, biological, quantum or nanoengineered systems, components and mechanisms may be used. In general, the functions of particular embodiments can be achieved by any means as is known in the art. Distributed, networked systems, components, and/or circuits can be used. Communication, or transfer, of data may be wired, wireless, or by any other means. It will also be appreciated that one or more of the elements depicted in the drawings/figures can also be implemented in a more separated or integrated manner, or even removed or rendered as inoperable in certain cases, as is useful in accordance with a particular application. It is also within the spirit and scope to implement a program or code that can be stored in a machine-readable medium to permit a computer to perform any of the methods described above. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, while particular embodiments have been described herein, latitudes of modification, various changes, and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosures, and it will be appreciated that in some instances some features of particular embodiments will be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope and spirit as set forth. Therefore, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the essential scope and spirit. | 31,058 |
11861563 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION This detailed description refers to the different drawings by specifying the numbers of the figures, and to the different parts by the use of reference numerals. While specific embodiments are described, the subject matter regarded as an invention is particularly pointed out by the appended claims and need not be limited by the details of the described embodiments. Embodiments are described herein in sections according to the following outline: 1. GENERAL OVERVIEW 2. STRUCTURAL OVERVIEW2.1 EXAMPLE COMPUTING SYSTEM2.2 EXAMPLE MESSAGING SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE2.3 EXAMPLE OF BEC DETECTION ARCHITECTURE2.4 MESSAGE PRE-PROCESSOR2.5 LEGITIMATE DISPLAY NAME PROCESSOR2.6 CLASSIFICATION PROCESSOR2.7 RULES ENGINE 3. EXAMPLE OF COMPRISE DETECTION SYSTEM PROCESS 4. IMPLEMENTATION EXAMPLE—HARDWARE OVERVIEW 5. EXTENSIONS AND ALTERNATIVES; BENEFITS AND IMPROVEMENTS 1. General Overview BEC attacks are extremely difficult to detect in a large volume of email traffic. In comparison to spam, which is very common and even voluminous, BEC email attacks are only rarely launched against a target organization. BEC emails are also hard to detect because they are engineered to appear as authentic as possible. A distinguishing feature of a BEC email is the use of domain spoofing. For example, a company's legitimate business partner, John Doe, may have an email domain name of baysidelegal.com. A BEC attack may use a similar but slightly different domain name, such as baysideslegal.com, which only differs from the legitimate domain by one character. The BEC attack may further use display name and/or email address that appear to be legitimate along with the illegitimate domain name, for example, <John Doe> [email protected]. As it can be seen in the example, BEC attacks can be hard to notice, particularly if the email traffic includes frequent, routine, legitimate email exchanges with individuals with familiar email domain, e.g., baysidelegal.com. In some scenarios, an attacker breaches security, perhaps by hijacking a user's password, and obtains control of an email account associated with a business entity. The attacker monitors the compromised email account to identify commonly seen sending domains. The attacker conducts what appear to be legitimate email communications using one of the commonly seen sending domains, such as the domain of a business partner with whom the owner of the compromised account is very familiar. After a few reply threads, the attacker switches the sending domain to divert the email conversation to the spoofed domain. The attacker's final email uses the spoofed domain to conduct the phishing attempt, for example by attaching a fake invoice to the email, which the attacker hopes the user will agree to pay. Other scenarios involve legitimate businesses that rely heavily on email messaging to attract users' attention. These businesses often create many different sending domains in order to avoid spam filters. The sending domains often look like spoofing but are all associated with the same legitimate business. In these scenarios, the technical challenge is to accurately filter out spam while at the same time distinguishing spam from dangerous phishing attempts. The spoofed email domain is under full control of the attacker and appears legitimate to all known technical approaches. The attacker may go to great lengths to make the email domain look legitimate, including having the malicious email server use an authentic TLS (Transport Layer Security) certificate, sending the email with high grade encryption, and adding strict SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM, (DomainKeys Identified Mail) and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication) entries to the malicious email server so that email authentication algorithms are satisfied even though the domain is spoofed. Existing technical approaches apply name matching heuristics or SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) to try to detect BEC emails. The existing technical approaches have been unsuccessful chiefly because it is hard for systems to anticipate all potential lookalike domains for any given legitimate domain. The problem multiplies with every additional legitimate domain. Existing technical approaches often fail when organizations use email to communicate with many different business partners. As a result, many organizations simply recommend training employees to better spot BEC attacks themselves. Anti-phishing methods that rely solely on lookalike detection methods are often over-inclusive in that even legitimate communications are flagged, resulting in many false positives. False positives detract from the user experience and also negatively affect the user's level of trust with the anti-phishing system. Thus, a technical challenge is to reduce false positives while still detecting and appropriately handling actual phishing messages. Anti-phishing methods that rely on static whitelists or blacklists are often underinclusive because the whitelists or blacklists cannot be updated quickly enough to keep pace with the attackers. Thus, a technical challenge is to continue detecting and appropriately handling actual phishing messages as attackers continue to change their tactics. The disclosed technologies address the above and other technical problems and challenges. Embodiments are structured and programmed to dynamically build and maintain a list of legitimate domains based on message traffic between a network and a particular recipient system. Incoming sender domains are compared to domains on the legitimate domain list and assigned a lookalike score. Natural language processing (NLP) techniques are used to extract message data from incoming messages. The message data is used by a set of machine-learned classifiers to classify an incoming message as having or not having particular characteristics. Classification data produced by the machine-learned classifiers is used along with the lookalike score to determine whether a particular message represents a phishing attack, such as a BEC attack or another form of spoofing attack. The disclosed technologies remove the difficult burden of spotting BEC emails from the end users. Embodiments combine machine learning-based techniques with one or more other computations in order to improve automatic BEC attack detection while reducing false positives, particularly in systems that process high volumes of email traffic. While this disclosure describes the invention in the context of an electronic message application, aspects of the disclosed technologies are equally useful in other applications, such as any application that may benefit from machine learning-based classification of domain data, whether or not the domain data is contained in an email address. The disclosed technologies are applicable to any type of electronic document or message from which domain data can be extracted. In addition, embodiments of the disclosed technologies are not limited to BEC email detection and may be configured to detect other types of spoofing attacks. 2. Structural Overview 2.1 Example Computing System FIG.1is a block diagram that depicts an example computing system.FIG.1, and the other drawing figures and all of the description and claims in this disclosure, are intended to present, disclose and claim a technical system and technical methods in which specially programmed computers, using a special-purpose distributed computer system design, execute functions that have not been available before to provide a practical application of computing technology to the problem of detecting and responding to business email compromise attacks. All embodiments of the claims are directed to stored program digital computers, and computer-executed operating methods, that act to admit or deny admission of specified kinds of digital electronic email messages to, toward, or through computer networks, firewalls, routers, switches, server computers, or end-user computing devices, using digital electronic means. The admission or blockage of a digital electronic email message in connection with networking gear using the means set forth herein is not capable of human performance. In this manner, the disclosure presents a technical solution to a technical problem, and any interpretation of the disclosure or claims to cover any judicial exception to patent eligibility, such as an abstract idea, mental process, method of organizing human activity or mathematical algorithm, has no support in this disclosure and is erroneous. In an embodiment, the computing system100is arranged to operate messaging interfaces130,132, message processing computer(s)150, and business email compromise (BEC) detection computer(s)160, in the transmission of electronic messages from upstream computers to downstream computers. Examples of upstream and downstream computers include sender computers from which electronic messages may originate and recipient computers that may receive electronic messages. For example, computing devices140,142may operate as upstream and/or downstream computers via an electronic communications network120. Business email compromise (BEC) detection computer(s)160, computing devices140,142, and message processing computer(s)150are communicatively coupled to the electronic communications network120via for example wired, wireless, and/or optical connections. Display devices170,172are communicatively coupled to computing devices140,142, respectively. Implemented in the computing devices110,140,142,150,160using computer software, hardware, or software and hardware, are processor-executable instructions, data structures, and digital data, stored in memory, which cooperate to provide the computer-implemented functionality described herein. For ease of discussion, these computer-implemented components are represented schematically in the figures that follow, which are described in detail below. “System” as used herein may refer to a single computer or network of computers and/or other devices. “Computer” or “computing device” as used herein may refer to a computer or any other electronic device that is equipped with a processor. “Processor” as used herein may refer to a software or hardware processor. “Instructions” or “application” as used herein may refer to one or more sets of computer program instructions; in all cases, elements of instructions are capable of computer execution or evaluation to generate output based upon a computer transformation of an input dataset into different digitally stored, electronic data. “Model” as used herein may refer to one or more sets of computer program instructions and datasets that collectively define representations data, relationships between data or rules or transformations of other data. For example, a model is capable of computer execution or evaluation to generate output that indicates a probabilistic or statistical likelihood that an input or a set of inputs is associated with a particular class, category, type or other characterization. Although computing system100may be implemented with any number of the described components, in this disclosure, these elements may be referred to in the singular form for ease of discussion. Also, while the described computer components are shown as separate elements in the drawings, the illustrations are not meant to imply that separation of these elements is required. The illustrated components may be divided over any number of physical systems or may be contained in a single physical computer system and can communicate with each other in any appropriate manner. In an embodiment, each of computing devices140,142is a client-side computing device or set of cooperating computing devices, such as a smart phone, tablet computer, wearable or body-mounted device, smart appliance, laptop machine, or combination of any of such devices. In an embodiment, computer(s)150,160are each a server-side computing device such as a server computer or a cluster or network of server computers accessible by the Internet, for example in a public or private cloud. In some embodiments, computer(s)150,160are the same computers or are part of the same computer system. As illustrated inFIG.1, each of display devices170,172is implemented as part of a computing device140,142, respectively, but may be implemented as a separate device or as part of another device, or as multiple networked display devices, in other implementations. Portions of processing described as performed by computer(s)150or computer(s)160may, in some embodiments, be performed by one or more of computing devices140,142. Messaging interfaces130,132are each client-side messaging software such as a mail client or a messaging application, which reside in memory of computing devices140,142, respectively. Malware attacks and other security risks can occur during the transmission of messages or during the download of electronic content from the Internet. Thus, in some embodiments, a message may refer to an electronic file that is downloaded from network120to computing devices140,142via messaging interfaces130,132. As such, messaging interfaces130,132may be implemented as any type of client-side software applications that are configured to display visual content, such as web browsers, search engines, web-based applications, social media applications. Portions of messaging interfaces130,132may be hosted by a hosting computer (not shown) on the network120. Messaging interfaces130,132cooperate with display devices170,172, respectively, to provide graphical user interfaces through which electronic messages can be received, displayed, read, managed, composed, and sent, via human interaction with input and output device(s) of computing devices140,142. Examples of input and output device(s) and other components of computing devices110,140,142,150,160are shown inFIG.5, described below. Network120may be implemented on any medium or mechanism that provides for the exchange of data between the devices that are connected to the network. Examples of network120include, without limitation, a network such as a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), Ethernet or the Internet, or one or more terrestrial, satellite or wireless links. Network120may include a combination of networks, such as a combination of wired and wireless networks, as needed to enable communications between the computing device(s)110,140,142,150,160. Message processing computer(s)150are programmed to operate message transfer application152. Message transfer application152when executed by a processor is programmed to control the transmission of electronic communications between upstream computers and downstream computers, such as computing devices140,142, on network120. Portions of message transfer application152may be implemented as or in combination with a text messaging service such as SMS (Short Message Service) or MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), or as a Voice over Internet (VOIP) server or as a mail server of a public or private electronic mail or messaging system. Portions of message transfer application may be implemented in an online service, such as a social network service, in which electronic messages may include notifications, recommendations, shares, comments, news feeds, tweets, and/or connection requests. Message transfer application152may include various message scanning and filtering technologies, such as virus scanners, intrusion detection systems, and/or spam filters. In an embodiment, message transfer application152is programmed to use stateless security scanning to scan messages as they are in transit from an upstream computer to one or more downstream computers. When the message scanner detects an incoming message, the message is processed by business email compromise (BEC) detection computer(s)160as described below. After a message is processed by business email compromise (BEC) detection computer(s)160, message transfer application152is programmed to receive output from business email compromise (BEC) detection computer(s)160and determines, based on the output, how to further process the message. For example, message transfer application152may be programmed to determine to modify, delay, re-route, or block the message, or forward the message to a next-hop router or other downstream computer or element of network infrastructure gear. In an embodiment, message transfer application152is programmed to execute a rule or set of rules to map the output of business email compromise (BEC) detection computer(s)160to an appropriate network instruction using, for example, a mapping table or heuristics, and then causes the network instruction that corresponds to the output to be implemented on network120. Implementation can be performed by a network device such as a mail server or a router executing the network instruction to drop the message, transmit configuration data to a firewall or router, reroute the message to a different machine, or allow the message to proceed to its intended destination. The network instruction output by message transfer application152in response to output produced by business email compromise (BEC) detection computer(s)160can include a network command to modify, delay, block, -re-route or forward a message to downstream routers, message transfer agents or other network nodes. An instruction to modify a message may include an instruction to add a notification flag to the message before sending the message downstream; for example, a “SUSPECTED PHISHING” notification added to the subject line of the message, or to re-direct or quarantine the message containing the link, for example by routing the message to a honeynet or quarantine services. BEC detection computer(s)160is programmed to determine whether messages scanned by message processing computer(s)150are business email compromise attack messages and provide output to message processing computer(s)150. For example, if BEC detection computer(s) determines that a particular message is a BEC attack message, BEC detection computer(s) is programmed to provide output to message processing computer(s)150indicating that the particular message is a BEC attack message. Examples of particular technologies that may be used to implement processes and flows performed by BEC detection computer(s)160are described in greater detail below with reference toFIG.3andFIG.4. The processes shown inFIG.3andFIG.4and described below are not limited to BEC detection. Portions of the processes shown inFIG.3andFIG.4may be used to perform other types of phishing detection or spoof detection. 2.2 Example Messaging System Architecture FIG.2illustrates an embodiment of a system architecture in which aspects of the disclosed technologies may be implemented. A network200includes network devices202,212. Network device202is illustratively a load balancer while network device212is a next-hop server such as a mail server. Network200may be a portion of network120, described above. Any number N of message transfer applications (also called agents) (MTAs)204,206,208are interposed between network devices202,212. Thus, electronic messages that are in transit from network device202to network device212are processed by one or more of MTAs204,206,208prior to delivery to network device212. A message scanning application operated by an MTA204,206,208is programmed to perform stateless security scanning of messages received from network device202and prior to transmission of the messages to network device212. In an embodiment, interface214is interposed between the MTAs204,206,208and a model cluster210. However, portions of interface214may be implemented within an MTA204,206,208. An example of interface214is an application program interface (API). Model cluster210may be implemented in main memory, disk storage, or other digital electronic storage on message processing computer(s)150and/or business email compromise (BEC) detection computer(s)160and may include one or more machine learning-based model(s) that may be selectively engaged and disengaged by interface214for use in connection with the stateless scanning performed by the MTAs204,206,208. In an embodiment, model cluster210is programmed with machine learning-based model(s) used by MTAs204,206,208for many different types of message classification, including classification as spam, classification as legitimate message, classification as phishing, spoofing, or malicious, and classification according to characteristics of the message text, such as any one or more of the message text characteristics described herein. In an embodiment, the computer(s)150,160used to host model cluster210are stateless model servers. Models in model cluster210are programmed using, for example, one or more text-based classification modeling approaches, such as logistic regression, random forests, gradient-boosted trees, neural networks, and deep neural networks. For instance, model cluster210may include models created using different modeling approaches, or may include models all created using the same modeling approach but with different training data. Interface214, when executed by a processor, is programmed to control the selective engagement of business email compromise (BEC) detection computer(s)160by message processing computer(s)150in tasks performed by, or requested by, message transfer application152. The programming of interface214manages and facilitates electronic communications of data and instructions between message processing computer(s)150and business email compromise (BEC) detection computer(s)160during the handling by message transfer application152of electronic messages and their respective attachments, for example messages that are being transmitted from computing device140to computing device142, or from computing device142to computing device140, over network120. Interface214is shown as a separate component inFIG.2but all or portions of interface214may be implemented as part of message transfer application152. Alternatively, or in addition, some portions of interface214may be implemented on business email compromise (BEC) detection computer(s)160. 2.3 Example of BEC Detection Architecture In an embodiment, the above-described technologies are used to, automatically and actively, scan electronic messages for BEC attacks prior to transmission of the messages from a network to a downstream or recipient computer. Embodiments may be programmed to execute real-time responses by admitting or blocking a message containing a BEC attack immediately after the message is initially received. FIG.3illustrates a system architecture and flow diagram that can be implemented by portions of the computing system ofFIG.1.FIG.3and each other flow diagram herein is intended as an illustration at the functional level at which skilled persons, in the art to which this disclosure pertains, communicate with one another to describe and implement algorithms using programming. The flow diagrams are not intended to illustrate every instruction, method object or sub-step that would be needed to program every aspect of a working program, but are provided at the same functional level of illustration that is normally used at the high level of skill in this art to communicate the basis of developing working programs. Flow300may be implemented using a single entity or program or by multiple entities or programs, including, for example, a client-side mail or messaging application and a server. The operations shown inFIG.3can be implemented using processor-executable instructions that are stored in computer memory. For purposes of providing a clear example, the operations ofFIG.3are described as performed by one or more computing device(s)110,140,142,150,160, which may be individually or collectively referred to as simply ‘computing system100.’ Also for clarity, the operations ofFIG.3are described as evaluating a single message. It should be understood, however, that flow300can be used to evaluate any number of messages. 2.4 Message Pre-Processor Message pre-processor306is programmed to scan and pre-process an arbitrary number N of electronic messages304, where N is a positive integer, over a time interval, such as a positive number of seconds, minutes, days, weeks, or months. Electronic messages304are part of network traffic302flowing between sending computers and recipient computers on a network, such as network120. Message pre-processor306is programmed to extract domain data310and message data312from individual electronic messages304. Domain data310may include data corresponding to display name, email address, and email domain of the senders of the electronic messages, such as <John Doe> [email protected]. Message data312may include data corresponding to text extracted from individual electronic messages, for example, n-grams extracted from the subject line, the message body, the contents of an attachment, or any combination of the foregoing. Examples of software used by or as message pre-processor306in some embodiments include open source libraries such as TIKA (available from The Apache Foundation), PyRTF (available on SourceForge from oubiwann and scusack), POI (available from The Apache Foundation), OLETOOLS (available on GitHub from Philippe Lagadec), or any open source or commercial software product that is capable of extracting data from electronic messages. Individual electronic messages of electronic messages304are processed individually by message pre-processor306. The data extracted from each individual message, e.g., domain data310and message data312, are processed by legitimate display name processor316and classification processor318, respectively. 2.5 Legitimate Display Name Processor Legitimate display name processor316is programmed to creates, stores, and maintains a set of domain data stored in a domain database317based on domain data310extracted from network traffic302over a time interval. In an embodiment, legitimate display name processor316is programmed to extract triples of display name, email address, and email domain (herein referred to as a “Triple”) from the domain data310and tracks each unique Triple by assigning a name score, or a probability value, indicating the probability of the Triple being associated with a legitimate sender computer system. Identifications of Triples and corresponding name scores are individually stored as domain data and maintained as units, records, or other organized data entities in the domain database317. For each processed message, the legitimate display name processor316is programmed to output name data322that may include the domain data310and name score. In an embodiment, when an electronic message304is received by the system and is associated with a Triple that is observed for the first time, the Triple is assigned a default name score. For example, a newly-observed Triple may be assigned a name score of 50%, indicating the probability of the Triple being legitimate. For each message304processed by the system, the name score of the Triple associated with the message304may be considered to evaluate whether the message is a BEC attack, e.g., whether the message304is a phishing attempt, spam, malicious, suspicious, or benign. In an embodiment, for each Triple stored in the domain database317, the associated name score is updated based on frequency counting and/or other detection algorithms. For example, if the electronic message304associated with a Triple is ultimately evaluated as being legitimate, the legitimate display name processor316may update the name score by raising it to indicate that the system is more confident that messages associated with the Triple are legitimate. Alternatively, if the electronic message304received by the system is evaluated as being illegitimate, the legitimate display name processor316may update the name score by lowering it to indicate that the system is less confident that messages associated with the Triple are legitimate. Accordingly, a Triple that is associated with a high frequency of legitimate messages will likely have a high name score, whereas a Triple that is associated with a low frequency of legitimate message will likely have a low name score. All the foregoing logic may be implemented using stored program control in legitimate display name processor316or instructions that it executes. The legitimate display name processor316may be implemented or programmed as part of one or more MTAs208or as part of interface214, in some embodiments. In an embodiment, legitimate display name processor316is programmed to maintain reputation scores for email domains and/or IP addresses in the domain database317separately from the name scores of Triples. Similar to the names scores of the Triples, reputation scores for newly-observed email domains or IP addresses may be assigned a default reputation score, then the reputation score may be updated based on frequency counting and/or other detection algorithms. For example, if messages304that are determined to be legitimate are received from a particular sending domain, or a particular IP address, at a high enough frequency that satisfies a frequency count criterion, then the reputation score associated with that sending domain, or IP address, may be increased to indicate that the owner of the email domain/IP address is a legitimate business partner of the entity corresponding to the recipient computer system. 2.6 Classification Processor A classification processor318is programmed to process the message data312that is extracted from the individual electronic message304. In an embodiment, the classification processor318is a cluster of binary classifiers each of which has a corresponding machine-learned model stored in model cluster210, where the corresponding model has been trained to recognize, based on message data, a different characteristic of electronic messages. Examples of message characteristics that may be detected by the classification processor318include but are not limited to a message containing, or being associated with: an invoice, a financial communication, a communication related to a banking account, and/or an automated clearinghouse (ACH) communication. Models associated with the classification processor318have been trained using supervised machine learning and labeled training data representative of particular message characteristics, in some embodiments. For instance, each model may be trained with positive and negative labeled examples of message data representing a particular message characteristic. Training the model may be performed using, for example, a logistic regression algorithm. Other text-based classification modeling approaches, such as random forests, gradient-boosted trees, neural networks, and deep neural networks, can be used to create the models alternatively or in addition to logistic regression and other supervised machine learning approaches. Once the models have been trained, the classification processor318is programmed to receive the message data312as input. The message data312may comprise a set of features that have been extracted from a particular electronic message being analyzed. The classification processor318is programmed to compute a probability that the electronic message has the particular message characteristic corresponding to a particular model. The classification processor318may be programmed to compare the probability value to a threshold value to determine whether the probability is high enough to result in a reliable classification. For example, in an implementation that has three models, including a first model configured to detect invoices, a second model configured to detect banking account communications, and a third model configured to detect ACH data, classification data324may include a set of values, such as binary values where 1 indicates a positive classification and 0 indicates a negative classification. The one or more values output by the classification processor318and included in classification data324may be determined and evaluated individually or collectively in any combination, depending on the requirements of a particular implementation using different programming of the classification processor. Examples of features that may be extracted from electronic messages and included in the set of features include n-grams, such as bi-grams and tri-grams, and embeddings, or a combination of thereof. More generally, a “feature” or “text feature” as used herein may refer to a sequence, group(s), or some combination of n-grams (e.g., text) extracted from electronic messages. A feature or a text feature may also refer to a numerical representation of a portion of text of an electronic message. For example, a sequence of text, such as “routing number” may be represented by a numerical value or a sequence of numerical values that embody semantic and/or syntactic characteristics of the text. Feature extraction can be performed apart from or as part of the classification process. If the probability value computed by a particular model of the classification processor318meets or exceeds the threshold value, the classification processor318may be programmed to determine that the characteristic that the model is configured to detect is present in the electronic message. If the probability value computed by a particular model does not meet or exceed the threshold value, the classification processor318may be programmed to determine that the characteristic that the model is configured to detect is not present in the electronic message. The threshold values used by the models of the classification processor318are each independently configurable according to the requirements of a particular implementation. The classification processor318is programmed to output classification data324for each message304that it processes. For example, in an implementation that has three models, including a first model for detecting invoices, a second model for detecting banking account communications, and a third model for detecting ACH data, classification data324may include a set of values, such as binary values where 1 indicates a positive classification and 0 indicates a negative classification. The one or more values output by the models of the classification processor and included in classification data324may be determined and evaluated individually or collectively in any combination, depending on the requirements of a particular implementation. 2.7 Rules Engine For an individual message of electronic messages304, rules engine328is programmed to receive input name data322and classification data324. Rules engine328is programmed to apply a set of heuristics to these inputs, then outputs BEC data330. The heuristics contained in rules engine328may be manually configured and/or configured by an automated process, in accordance with the requirements of a particular implementation. In some embodiments, rules engine328may be configured as an expert system. BEC data330indicates a final determination as to whether a particular message304is, or is not, a phishing attempt, spoofed email, or business email compromise email. Rules engine328is programmed to provide BEC data330for use by a downstream process, processor, device, system or network. For example, BEC data330may be provided to one or more MTAs208for use in determining whether to block, re-route, modify, or delay transmission of the message to the recipient computer system. 3. Example of Comprise Detection System Process In an embodiment, the above-described technologies are used to, automatically and actively, scan electronic messages prior to transmission of the messages to a downstream computer. To that end,FIG.4illustrates a process that can be performed, for example, by computing system100.FIG.4depicts an embodiment of a flow400for determining whether a message304is legitimate or a BEC attack, e.g., a phishing attempt, spoofed email, or business email compromise email. Flow400may be performed by a single entity or program or by multiple entities or programs, including, for example, a client-side mail or messaging application and a server. The operations of flow400as shown inFIG.4can be implemented using processor-executable instructions that are stored in computer memory. For purposes of providing a clear example, the operations ofFIG.4are described as performed by one or more computing device(s)110,140,142,150,160, which may be individually or collectively referred to as simply ‘computing system100.’ Also for clarity, the operations ofFIG.4are described as evaluating a single message. It should be understood, however, that flow400can be used to evaluate any number of messages. In some embodiments, the operations of the computing system100described below, including the operation of the legitimate display name processor316and the classification processor218, may be implemented as part of one or more MTAs208or as part of interface214. In operation401, the message pre-processor306extracts domain data310and message data312from an electronic message sent by a sender computer system directed to a recipient computer system. In an embodiment, an MTA or other element that originally received the electronic message from the network or other networking gear is programmed to immediately signal message pre-processor306, in real time as soon as a message is received, to initiate execution. In this manner, embodiments are programmed to execute real-time inspection and action on messages, and can form part of a highly-scaled system that is capable of acting on thousands to millions of messages per second, depending on the capabilities of the base computing hardware. In operation410, the legitimate display name processor316processes domain data310and extracts the display name, email address, and email domain associated with the sender computer system. Then, a Triple is determined which is comprised of the extracted display name, email address, and email domain, for example, <John Doe> [email protected]. A Triple is an identifier assigned to each unique combination of display name, email address, and email domain. Each Triple is assigned a name score, or probability value, that indicates the probability of the Triple being associated with a legitimate sender computer system. Triples and corresponding name scores are individually stored as domain data and maintained in the domain database317. In operation411, after a Triple is determined from the domain data310of the message304, the legitimate display name processor316accesses the domain database317to determine whether the Triple has been observed previously, in which case, name score of the Triple would already exist in the domain database317, or whether it is a newly-observed Triple without a previously-assigned name score. If the Triple exists in the domain database317, in operation412, the legitimate display name processor316retrieves the name score associated with the Triple. Then, the legitimate display name processor316transmits name data322to the rules engine327. The name data322includes both the domain data310and the retrieved name score. In some embodiments, the name data322further include a score indicating how legitimate a sending email domain is, distinct from the name score associated with a Triple. If the Triple does not exist in the domain database317, in operation413, the legitimate display name processor316assigns a default name score to the Triple. For example, a newly-observed Triple may be assigned a default name score of 50%, which gets stored in the domain database317. Then, the legitimate display name processor316transmits name data322to the rules engine327. The name data322includes both the domain data310and the newly-assigned name score. In operation420, the classification processor318processes the message data312and parses the text features associated with the message data312to generates classification data324, which, as described above, indicate characteristics the message data312is associated with, e.g., an invoice, a financial communication, a communication related to a banking account, and/or an automated clearinghouse (ACH) communication. In operation450, the rules engine327determines whether the electronic message304is associated with a phishing attack, malicious, suspicious, spam, or benign based on the name data322and/or classification data324. In some embodiments, the rules engine327considers other factors, such as reputation scores for IP addresses or email domain associated with the sender computer system. The rules engine328applies a set of heuristics to these inputs and outputs BEC data330. For example, if an electronic message304is associated with a Triple with a name score of 20% and the message data312extracted from the message304is classified as a banking account communication, the rules engine327may determine that the message304is associated with a BEC attack. If the rules engine327determines that the message is associated with a BEC attack, the system programmatically modifies the subject line of the message304, or adds an additional header to the message304, with a status indicating that the message304is associated with a BEC attack, e.g., a phishing attack, malicious, suspicious, or spam. If the rules engine327determines that the message304is legitimate, e.g., benign, the system programmatically modifies the subject line of the message304, or adds an additional header to the message304, with a status indicating that the message304is not associated with a BEC attack. In an embodiment, the system programmatically evaluates whether to transmit, delay, block, modify, or re-route the message304based on the status of the message304. In other embodiments, the system programmatically transmits the message304to a downstream system(s) to allow the downstream system(s) to evaluate whether to transmit, delay, block, modify, or re-route the message304based on the status of the message304. In some embodiment, as shown inFIG.3, the rules engine328may provide the BEC data330to the legitimate display name processor316so the name score of the Triple can be updated to include the latest determination of whether the message304associated with the Triple was legitimate. 4. Implementation Example—Hardware Overview According to one embodiment, the techniques described herein are implemented by one or more computing devices. For example, portions of the disclosed technologies may be at least temporarily implemented on a network including a combination of one or more server computers and/or other computing devices. The computing devices may be hard-wired to perform the techniques, or may include digital electronic devices such as one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) that are persistently programmed to perform the techniques, or may include one or more general purpose hardware processors programmed to perform the techniques pursuant to program instructions in firmware, memory, other storage, or a combination. Such computing devices may also combine custom hard-wired logic, ASICs, or FPGAs with custom programming to accomplish the described techniques. The computing devices may be server computers, personal computers, or a network of server computers and/or personal computers. Illustrative examples of computers are desktop computer systems, portable computer systems, handheld devices, mobile computing devices, wearable devices, body mounted or implantable devices, smart phones, smart appliances, networking devices, autonomous or semi-autonomous devices such as robots or unmanned ground or aerial vehicles, or any other electronic device that incorporates hard-wired and/or program logic to implement the described techniques. For example,FIG.5is a block diagram that illustrates a computer system500upon which an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented. Components of the computer system500, including instructions for implementing the disclosed technologies in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software, are represented schematically in the drawings, for example as boxes and circles. Computer system500includes an input/output (I/O) subsystem502which may include a bus and/or other communication mechanism(s) for communicating information and/or instructions between the components of the computer system500over electronic signal paths. The I/O subsystem may include an I/O controller, a memory controller and one or more I/O ports. The electronic signal paths are represented schematically in the drawings, for example as lines, unidirectional arrows, or bidirectional arrows. One or more hardware processors504are coupled with I/O subsystem502for processing information and instructions. Hardware processor504may include, for example, a general-purpose microprocessor or microcontroller and/or a special-purpose microprocessor such as an embedded system or a graphics processing unit (GPU) or a digital signal processor. Computer system500also includes a memory506such as a main memory, which is coupled to I/O subsystem502for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor504. Memory506may include volatile memory such as various forms of random-access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device. Memory506also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor504. Such instructions, when stored in non-transitory computer-readable storage media accessible to processor504, render computer system500into a special-purpose machine that is customized to perform the operations specified in the instructions. Computer system500further includes a non-volatile memory such as read only memory (ROM)508or other static storage device coupled to I/O subsystem502for storing static information and instructions for processor504. The ROM508may include various forms of programmable ROM (PROM) such as erasable PROM (EPROM) or electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM). A persistent storage device510may include various forms of non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), such as flash memory, or solid-state storage, magnetic disk or optical disk, and may be coupled to I/O subsystem502for storing information and instructions. Computer system500may be coupled via I/O subsystem502to one or more output devices512such as a display device. Display512may be embodied as, for example, a touch screen display or a light-emitting diode (LED) display or a liquid crystal display (LCD) for displaying information, such as to a computer user. Computer system500may include other type(s) of output devices, such as speakers, LED indicators and haptic devices, alternatively or in addition to a display device. One or more input devices514is coupled to I/O subsystem502for communicating signals, information and command selections to processor504. Types of input devices514include touch screens, microphones, still and video digital cameras, alphanumeric and other keys, buttons, dials, slides, and/or various types of sensors such as force sensors, motion sensors, heat sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, and inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors and/or various types of transceivers such as wireless, such as cellular or Wi-Fi, radio frequency (RF) or infrared (IR) transceivers and Global Positioning System (GPS) transceivers. Another type of input device is a control device516, which may perform cursor control or other automated control functions such as navigation in a graphical interface on a display screen, alternatively or in addition to input functions. Control device516may be implemented as a touchpad, a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating direction information and command selections to processor504and for controlling cursor movement on display512. The input device may have at least two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that allows the device to specify positions in a plane. Another type of input device is a wired, wireless, or optical control device such as a joystick, wand, console, steering wheel, pedal, gearshift mechanism or other type of control device. An input device514may include a combination of multiple different input devices, such as a video camera and a depth sensor. Computer system500may implement the techniques described herein using customized hard-wired logic, one or more ASICs or FPGAs, firmware and/or program logic which in combination with the computer system causes or programs computer system500to operate as a special-purpose machine. According to one embodiment, the techniques herein are performed by computer system500in response to processor504executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in memory506. Such instructions may be read into memory506from another storage medium, such as storage device510. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in memory506causes processor504to perform the process steps described herein. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions. The term “storage media” as used in this disclosure refers to any non-transitory media that store data and/or instructions that cause a machine to operation in a specific fashion. Such storage media may comprise non-volatile media and/or volatile media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device510. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as memory506. Common forms of storage media include, for example, a hard disk, solid state drive, flash drive, magnetic data storage medium, any optical or physical data storage medium, memory chip, or the like. Storage media is distinct from but may be used in conjunction with transmission media. Transmission media participates in transferring information between storage media. For example, transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise a bus of I/O subsystem502. Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave and infra-red data communications. Various forms of media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to processor504for execution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk or solid-state drive of a remote computer. The remote computer can load the instructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over a communication link such as a fiber optic or coaxial cable or telephone line using a modem. A modem or router local to computer system500can receive the data on the communication link and convert the data to a format that can be read by computer system500. For instance, a receiver such as a radio frequency antenna or an infrared detector can receive the data carried in a wireless or optical signal and appropriate circuitry can provide the data to I/O subsystem502such as place the data on a bus. I/O subsystem502carries the data to memory506, from which processor504retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received by memory506may optionally be stored on storage device510either before or after execution by processor504. Computer system500also includes a communication interface518coupled to bus502. Communication interface518provides a two-way data communication coupling to network link(s)520that are directly or indirectly connected to one or more communication networks, such as a local network522or a public or private cloud on the Internet. For example, communication interface518may be an integrated-services digital network (ISDN) card, cable modem, satellite modem, or a modem to provide a data communication connection to a corresponding type of communications line, for example a coaxial cable or a fiber-optic line or a telephone line. As another example, communication interface518may include a local area network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN. Wireless links may also be implemented. In any such implementation, communication interface518sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals over signal paths that carry digital data streams representing various types of information. Network link520typically provides electrical, electromagnetic, or optical data communication directly or through one or more networks to other data devices, using, for example, cellular, Wi-Fi, or BLUETOOTH technology. For example, network link520may provide a connection through a local network522to a host computer524or to other computing devices, such as personal computing devices or Internet of Things (IoT) devices and/or data equipment operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP)526. ISP526provides data communication services through the world-wide packet data communication network commonly referred to as the “Internet”528. Local network522and Internet528both use electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams. The signals through the various networks and the signals on network link520and through communication interface518, which carry the digital data to and from computer system500, are example forms of transmission media. Computer system500can send messages and receive data and instructions, including program code, through the network(s), network link520and communication interface518. In the Internet example, a server530might transmit a requested code for an application program through Internet528, ISP526, local network522and communication interface518. The received code may be executed by processor504as it is received, and/or stored in storage device510, or other non-volatile storage for later execution. 5. Extensions and Alternatives; Benefits and Improvements Embodiments provide the benefits and improvements of detecting BEC email attacks that otherwise have escaped detection with prior technology. Consequently, a mail transfer agent, firewall, email server, or other computing hardware that is protected according to the disclosure will use fewer resources including CPU cycles, memory, storage, and/or network bandwidth by not admitting malicious or fraudulent emails into networks, subnets, servers, or endpoints. The disclosure to this point has explained a BEC detection architecture by which computers can detect BEC attacks that are engineered to appear as authentic as possible. In one aspect, the BEC detection architecture uses a novel approach of determining a unique identifier based on display name, email address, and email domain associated with the sender computer system. Given that BEC attacks, such as domain spoofing, can be hard to detect, particularly if the email traffic includes frequent, routine, legitimate email exchanges with individuals with familiar email domain, the system generates, builds, and/or maintains a database with unique identifiers associated with messages, allowing the system to programmatically track messages transmitted by the various sender computer systems in the network. Moreover, the system generates and/or maintains a name score for each unique identifier, updating the name score by increasing it, or decreasing it, based on certain events associated with the corresponding unique identifier. For example, if multiple messages associated with a particular unique identifier is determined as being legitimate (e.g., not a BEC attack), the system may increase the name score corresponding to the unique identifier. The system then uses this name score to evaluate whether messages transmitted by the unique identifier are legitimate or BEC attacks. The systemic approaches described above of generating, building, and maintaining a database of unique identifiers with corresponding name scores allows computers and servers to programmatically determine the likelihood of a particular message being a BEC attack in large volume of email traffic. The disclosed BEC detection architecture further provides technical improvements in detecting BEC attacks by combining the computer-implemented techniques associated with unique identifiers (e.g., Triples) and corresponding name scores and computer-implemented techniques associated with a classification processor that determines the characteristics of messages (e.g., an invoice, a financial communication, a communication related to a banking account or ACH). This allows the system to more accurately evaluate, programmatically, whether a particular message associated with a particular Triple has characteristics that are expected to have. The combination of these techniques allows detection of highly sophisticated BEC attacks that may be too difficult to detect by the implementation of any one technique, thereby reducing the risk of obtaining false positive or false negative results. In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the invention have been described with reference to numerous specific details that may vary from implementation to implementation. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The sole and exclusive indicator of the scope of the invention, and what is intended by the applicants to be the scope of the invention, is the literal and equivalent scope of the set of claims that issue from this application, in the specific form in which such claims issue, including any subsequent correction. Any definitions set forth herein for terms contained in the claims may govern the meaning of such terms as used in the claims. No limitation, element, property, feature, advantage or attribute that is not expressly recited in a claim should limit the scope of the claim in any way. The specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. As used in this disclosure the terms “include” and “comprise” (and variations of those terms, such as “including,” “includes,” “comprising,” “comprises,” “comprised” and the like) are intended to be inclusive and are not intended to exclude further features, components, integers or steps. Throughout this disclosure, an element that is identified by a noun followed by the letter s in parentheses, as in (s), indicates that one or more of the element may be used in various embodiments. References in this document to “an embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodiment described or illustrated may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described or illustrated in connection with an embodiment, it is believed to be within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly indicated. Various features of the disclosure have been described using process steps. The functionality/processing of a given process step could potentially be performed in different ways and by different systems or system modules. Furthermore, a given process step could be divided into multiple steps and/or multiple steps could be combined into a single step. Furthermore, the order of the steps can be changed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. It will be understood that the embodiments disclosed and defined in this specification extend to alternative combinations of the individual features and components mentioned or evident from the text or drawings. These different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the embodiments. In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the invention have been described with reference to numerous specific details that may vary from implementation to implementation. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The sole and exclusive indicator of the scope of the invention, and what is intended by the applicants to be the scope of the invention, is the literal and equivalent scope of the set of claims that issue from this application, in the specific form in which such claims issue, including any subsequent correction. | 60,693 |
11861564 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Systems and methods are provided herein for altering a start time of an event based on indicia, retrieved from location applications corresponding to each attendee of the event attendees, of how late event attendees will be for the event. By altering the start time of the event based on how late attendees will be, more attendees will be able to experience the entire event. Moreover, by retrieving indicia of how late the attendees will be from location applications associated with the attendees, the start time of the event is altered with little disruption to the attendees. FIG.1shows an illustrative embodiment of a display screen of user equipment where a user has been notified of a delayed start time of an event, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. The media guidance application generates for display content on display screen of user equipment100. The media guidance application may be implemented on control circuitry implemented on user equipment100, a remote server, or on control circuitry that is distributed between user equipment100and the remote server. The displayed content is generally directed to informing a user about a delayed start time of an event, where the delay to the start time of the event was caused by users' arrival times indicating that many users will be late. As used in this disclosure, the term “event” or any variant thereof refers to an occurrence happening at a determinable time and place that may be experienced by attendees. For example, an event may be a movie showing, a play, a wedding, a sporting event, a party, etc. While illustrated as a display screen inFIG.1, this is merely illustrative, and the contents depicted on the display screen may be communicated to the user in any other manner (e.g., by audio output, tactile output, and any other suitable method). In some embodiments, the media guidance application may generate for display a display corresponding to a location application110. A location application, as used herein, is an instance of an application, system or program that can determine the location of a person or device and estimate, for that person or device, an arrival time at another location. A location application may be, for example, a global positioning system (GPS) accessed through a user's mobile phone that can determine the location of the mobile phone, determine travel routes between locations, and provide estimated arrival times when a user is traveling between two locations. The display of location application110may comprise an estimated arrival time112(e.g., 7:25 PM) for the user, the current location of the user device, the event location114(e.g., AMC Theater) of the next event122the user is attending, and a possible path the user may take to travel between the two locations. As used in this disclosure, an estimated arrival time (ETA), also referred to as an arrival time, is a measure of when a user (or a device associated with the user) will arrive at an event location. The ETA is calculated by a location application associated with a respective user or device. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may generate for display a display of upcoming events120the user plans to attend, such an event122and a second event124. Upcoming event data may be stored, for example, in a calendar database. As used herein, a calendar database is a structured set of data held in a storage medium and relating to scheduling dates and times of user activity. The media guidance application may access the calendar database to determine upcoming events the user has indicated he or she will attend. The calendar database may be stored, for example, on user device100or on remote storage (e.g., storage408(FIG.4)). The media guidance application may generate for display notifications130to the user on the display screen of user equipment100. As used herein, a notification is the delivery of information to a user without a specific request from the user. Notification134indicates to the user the delayed start time of event122. The media guidance application may prompt the user to accept or reject the delayed start time of the event by pressing negative option138or positive option136. Notification132indicates to the user that a conflict has been formed between two upcoming events122,124. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may additionally transmit to the user device for display a component140of the event122. As used herein, a component of an event is a portion of a whole event, such as the first ten minutes of a two-hour long movie. To determine the delayed start time of an event, the media guidance application may first determine information about the event. In some aspects of the disclosure, the media guidance application may retrieve a data structure from an event information database associated with event122. As used herein, an event information database is an organized collection of data relating to at least one event. It may contain data structures that each relate to an individual event or more than one event. The media guidance application may access, for example, an event information database hosted by a movie theater company, such as the movie theater company AMC Theaters, or from a third-party database that aggregates event information. For example, the event information database may be stored on remote servers for a third-party website that sells movie tickets and is accessed through the Internet. The data structure retrieved from this database may contain a start time of the event, a location of the event, and a plurality of attendee identifiers corresponding to a plurality of attendees of the event. As used in this disclosure, the term “attendee” or any variant thereof refers to a person who is in any way indicated to be present at an event. For example, an attendee may have bought a ticket for a performance or movie showing, responded positively to a wedding invitation, accepted a social media invite, etc. For example, from the data structure, the media guidance application may determine that event122is a showing of a movie called “Guardians of the Galaxy” at 7:00 PM EST at AMC Theater 114 located at 175 Tremont Street Boston, Mass. The data structure may contain a plurality of attendee identifiers corresponding to a plurality of attendees of the event, such as a list of names of people who have bought tickets to see “Guardians of the Galaxy” at 7:00 PM EST at AMC Theater. For example, UserA, UserB, UserC, UserD, and UserE may have bought tickets online for the movie showing. In another example, the event may be a ballet performance that begins at 8:00 PM at the Boston Opera House and the attendee identifiers may include a list of names of dancers who are scheduled to appear in the ballet performance. After determining attendee identifiers for event attendees, the media guidance application may determine when each attendee is expected to arrive at the event location. This can be determined through location applications corresponding to each of the attendees. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine, using the plurality of attendee identifiers, a plurality of location applications, wherein each attendee of the plurality of attendees corresponds to a respective location application of the plurality of location applications. The media guidance application may, for example, search a location application database using the list of names of people who have bought tickets to the movie showing to determine location applications associated with those people. The media guidance application may determine, for example, that UserA corresponds to location application GPS_A, while UserB corresponds to GPS_B. The media guidance application may determine what devices these location applications are running on by querying the plurality of locations applications for address information. This allows the media guidance application to determine address information for a device associated with a particular user. The address information can be used to further communicate with the device. As used herein, address information refers to unique identifiers of a device assigned to a network interface. Address information can include, for example, Media Access Control (MAC) addresses, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, and other forms of device identification. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may query the plurality of location applications to determine address information for a plurality of devices running the plurality of location applications, wherein each of the plurality of devices corresponds to a respective one of the plurality of attendees. For example, the media guidance application may contact location application110(e.g., GPS_A) associated with the user (e.g., UserA) and ask for address information (e.g., an IP address that could be used to communicate with a device) for the device (e.g., a mobile device, DeviceA) associated with location application110(e.g., GPS_A). To determine when each attendee is expected to arrive at the location of the event, the media guidance application may query arrival times from the location applications corresponding to the plurality of attendees. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may query the plurality of location applications for a plurality of arrival times, each arrival time of the plurality of arrival times corresponding to a respective attendee of the plurality of attendees. The media guidance application may, for example, transmit a request through a communications network (to be described in further detail with respect toFIGS.2-5), such as the Internet, to location application110for arrival time112for the user. The media guidance application may receive, in response to this request, arrival time112associated with the user. For example, the media guidance application may query location application110(e.g., GPS_A) for an arrival time for the user at event location114, AMC Theater. Location application110may return, to the media guidance application, an arrival time112of 7:25 PM for the user. To determine how late each attendee will be to the event, after the media guidance application has determined the plurality of arrival times, in some embodiments, the media guidance application may calculate a plurality of differences between the plurality of arrival times and the start time of the event. As used herein, a difference is a time deficit between the start time of an event and an arrival time at the event. For example, UserA may have arrival time112which is 7:25 PM but the start time of the event (as displayed at event122) may be 7:00 PM. In this case, a difference (associated with UserA) of the plurality of differences would be 25 minutes. The plurality of differences may be used to determine how long to delay the event. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may calculate a statistical representation of the plurality of differences. As used herein, a statistical representation is a single value representing a plurality of values, such as the plurality of differences between the start time of an event and the arrival times of event attendees. For example, the media guidance application may calculate the average of the plurality of the differences. For example, if the plurality of differences was 25 minutes, 15 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and 20 minutes, the statistical representation may be 15 minutes. In some embodiments, the media guidance may remove some differences from the plurality of differences when calculating the statistical representation. For example, the media guidance application may remove, from the plurality of differences, a difference corresponding to an attendee who is often late to events. To determine which attendees are often late to events, the media guidance application may determine a plurality of user profiles, wherein a user profile of the plurality of user profiles corresponds to an attendee of the plurality of attendees. The media guidance application may determine, based on the user profile, an event history of the attendee, wherein the event history comprises an indicator of punctuality. As used herein, an event history refers to data corresponding to events an attendee has participated in in the past. As used herein, an indicator of punctuality refers to a numerical representation of how often an attendee is punctual when attending events. For example, the media guidance application may access a user profile database and determine a user profile for UserB. The user profile for UserB may comprise an event history data structure containing event history information for UserB. The event history data structure may contain an indicator of punctuality for UserB, such as a percentage representing how many events UserB has arrived at “on time” out of the past events UserB has attended. For example, UserB may have attended 29 past events and been late to 23 of them. UserB's indicator in this case would be 6/29 or approximately 21 percent, which means UserB was on time to only 21 percent of the events he or she attended. Once the media guidance application has determined an indicator of punctuality for an attendee, the media guidance application may compare the indicator of punctuality to a punctuality threshold. As used herein, a punctuality threshold refers to a minimum indicator of punctuality amount that is acceptable for a given attendee. For example, the punctuality threshold may be 50 percent. The media guidance application may compare UserB's 21 percent indicator of punctuality to the 50 percent punctuality threshold and determine that UserB falls below the punctuality threshold. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may, in response to determining the event history of the attendee, remove, based on comparing the indicator of punctuality to the punctuality threshold, a difference of the plurality of differences from the plurality of differences, wherein the difference corresponds to the attendee. For example, the difference corresponding to UserB may be removed from the plurality of differences because UserB's 21 percent indicator of punctuality falls below the 50 percent punctuality threshold. The statistical representation may then be recalculated, using the plurality of differences, wherein the difference corresponding to UserB is no longer included in the plurality of differences. In this way, attendees who are habitually late to events will not skew the delayed start time of the event. When calculating the statistical representation from the plurality of differences, which may be used to determine a delayed start time of the event (as described below), all attendees may not have equal importance. In some embodiments, the statistical representation may be a weighted average. The media guidance application may determine an importance weight of a plurality of importance weights corresponding to an attendee of the plurality of attendees, wherein the plurality of importance weights sums to one. For example, some attendees may be more important to the event than others. The importance of the attendees can be stored as importance weights that represent a fraction of 1. For example, if there are five attendees, the attendees may be weighted equally, with 0.2 assigned to each attendee as their importance weight. If, however, the event were a birthday party, the person whose birthday the party is celebrating, UserE for example, would be a more important attendee than any of the other attendees. In this case, UserE may have an importance weight of 0.6, while the four other attendees may have each have a 0.1 importance weight. The importance weights may, for example, be set by the host of the event or determined by the media guidance application based on the attendee role in the event. The media guidance application may identify a difference of the plurality of differences corresponding to the attendee. For example, UserE may have an importance weight of 0.6 and an arrival time of 7:20 PM, and may, therefore, correspond to a difference of 20 minutes. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may multiply the difference by the importance weight to determine a weighted difference of a plurality of weighted differences. For example, the weighted difference of UserE may be 0.6 multiplied by 20, which results in a weighted difference of 12 minutes. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may compute, using the plurality of weighted differences, a weighted average of the plurality of differences and assign the weighted average to be the statistical representation. For example, if the weights for UserA, UserB, UserC, UserD, and UserE were 0.1, 0.1, 0.1, 0.1, and 0.6, respectively, and the differences for these attendees were 25, 15, 5, 10, and 20 minutes, respectively, the weighted differences would be 2.5, 1.5, 0.5, 1.0, and 12 minutes, respectively. To compute the weighted average of the plurality of differences, the media guidance application may simply sum the plurality of weighted differences, to result in a weighted average of the plurality of differences equal to 17.5 minutes. The media guidance application may then assign 17.5 minutes as the statistical representation. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may compare the statistical representation to a threshold. For example, the threshold may be set by the host of the event, such as AMC Theaters, and may represent an acceptable amount of time of the event for an attendee to miss. AMC Theaters may set, for example, a threshold of 5 minutes. The media guidance application may compare the 5 minutes threshold to a 15 minute statistical representation (representing the average amount the attendees are late by). In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine, based on the comparing, whether the statistical representation exceeds the threshold. For example, if the statistical representation is 15 minutes and the threshold is 5 minutes, the media guidance application may determine that the statistical representation is greater than the threshold. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may, in response to determining that the statistical representation exceeds the threshold, delay the start time of the event by an amount that is based on the statistical representation of the plurality of differences. For example, if the statistical representation is 15 minutes and the threshold is 5 minutes, the media guidance application may delay the start time of the event by 15 minutes. For example, the movie showing of “Guardians of the Galaxy” at AMC Theater 114 (event122) may then have a start time of 7:15 PM rather than 7:00 PM. If, for example, the statistical representation was only 3 minutes and therefore less than the 5 minute threshold, the event would not be delayed. By comparing the statistical representation to the threshold, the systems and methods described herein guarantee that the event is not delayed for insignificant attendee delays. If the event start time is delayed, in some embodiments, the media guidance application may transmit notification134to each of the plurality of devices comprising an indication of the delayed start time of the event. For example, the media guidance application may contact DeviceA at the address information (e.g., IP address) associated with DeviceA, which is associated with UserA. The media guidance application may transmit to DeviceA, for example, notification134that says “Start time of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is delayed until 7:15 PM”. In some embodiments, notification134comprises a selectable option relating to the delayed start time, wherein the selectable option comprises a first option138and second option136, the first option138being negative and the second option136being positive. As used herein, a selectable option refers to alternatives a user may choose, such as by “clicking” on one of the alternatives. For example, the notification may include two attendee-clickable options, one that says “yes” (second option136) and one that says “no” (first option138). UserA may, for example, click “no” to indicate that he or she does not approve of the delayed start time of 7:15 PM. In some embodiments, the selectable option may allow an attendee to indicate whether he or she is willing to pay to delay the start time of the event. For example, by selecting (e.g., by clicking) the second (positive) option, the attendee may indicate that he or she is willing to pay a fee to delay the start time of the event. In some examples, selecting the second option may prompt the attendee to input payment information, use payment information that has already been stored in a user profile associated with the attendee to automatically charge the attendee, or any other suitable payment option. By selecting (e.g., by clicking) the first (negative) option, the attendee may indicate that he or she is not willing to pay to delay the start time of the event. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine, using the data structure retrieved from the event information database, a group of attendees of the plurality of attendees, each of whom indicated, when indicating he or she would attend the event, acceptance of a delayed start time of the event. For example, an attendee may purchase a ticket to event122before the start time of the event. At the time of purchase, the attendee may indicate his or her acceptance of a possible delay to the start time of the event. This information may be stored in the data structure in the event information database. The media guidance application may retrieve the information from the data structure to determine whether an attendee accepts or rejects the delayed start time of the event. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine, based on user profiles associated with the plurality of attendees, a default response to the selectable option. The default response may, for example, correspond to the first (negative) option or the second (positive) option. For example, an attendee may set up his or her user profile to reflect that he or she will always accept a delayed start time. In this example, the media guidance application may determine, based on the user profile, the attendee is associated with the second (positive) response to the selectable option and determine that this reflects a positive response to the selectable option. In some embodiments, because the media guidance application determined a default answer corresponding to the attendee, the media guidance application may transmit for display the notification comprising the delayed start time of the event without displaying the selectable option to the attendee. For each attendee who responds positively or negatively to the selectable option of notification134, the media guidance application will receive a response. Therefore, in some embodiments, the media guidance application may receive a plurality of responses, wherein each response of the plurality of responses corresponds to the selectable option. For example, if there are 80 attendees of the movie showing, the media guidance application may receive 80 responses from the 80 attendees. Each attendee response of the plurality of attendee responses may indicate whether the respective attendee approves of the delayed start time of the event. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine a plurality of negative responses of the plurality of responses and a plurality of positive responses of the plurality of responses. For example, the media guidance application may determine whether each response was “yes” or “no”. The media guidance application may sum the plurality of negative responses, sum the plurality of positive responses, and compare the summed plurality of negative responses to the summed plurality of positive responses. For example, the media guidance application may have notified 80 attendees of the delayed start time and received 60 responses. Of the 60 responses the media guidance application may sum the positive “yes” responses to determine 23 attendees accepted the delayed start time. The media guidance application may then sum the negative “no” responses to determine 37 attendees rejected the delayed start time. The media guidance application may compare the summed plurality of positive responses to the summed plurality of negative responses to determine that more attendees rejected the delayed start time than accepted it. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may recalculate, based on comparing the summed plurality of negative responses to the summed plurality of positive responses, the delayed start time. For example, if more attendees rejected (e.g., by selecting first option138) the delayed start time than accepted (e.g., by selecting second option136) the delayed start time (i.e. the summed plurality of negative responses was greater than the summed plurality of positive responses), the delayed start time might be adjusted to an earlier (less delayed time). For example, the delayed start time may be 7:15 PM but the recalculated start time may be 7:10 PM. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine, based on delaying the start time of the event, an end time of the event. For example, the media guidance application may determine from the data structure retrieved from the event information database that event122(a movie showing of “Guardians of the Galaxy”) lasts two hours. In this example, if the event122has a delayed start time of 7:15 PM, the media guidance application may determine the end time of the event to be 9:15 PM. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may retrieve, from a calendar database, calendar information for the plurality of attendees. For example, the media guidance application may retrieve calendar information for UserA. This calendar information for UserA may contain upcoming events120that the User A has indicated he or she will attend. It may contain the start time of the next event that UserA will be attending. For example, UserA may have an event124scheduled to begin at 9:00 PM. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may compare the calendar information to the end time. For example, the media guidance application may compare UserA's next event124that begins at 9:00 PM to event122's end time that was calculated as 9:15 PM. For example, UserA may plan to attend event124Birthday Party that begins at 9:00 PM at 24 Beacon St Boston, Mass. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine, for each attendee of the plurality of attendees, based on comparing the calendar information to the end time, whether a conflict exists between the end time and the calendar information. For example, the media guidance application may determine that a conflict exists for UserA because the start time of UserA's next event124is before the end time of the delayed event122. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may generate for display, to each attendee of the plurality of attendees for whom a conflict is determined to exist, an indication132that a conflict has been formed. For example, the media guidance application may generate a notification132for display on UserA's mobile device that informs UserA that there is a conflict (e.g., by generating a text message that says “Event conflict between ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Birthday Party’” to display on UserA's mobile device). In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine a conflict event124corresponding to a respective conflict of the conflicts existing between the end time and the calendar information, wherein the conflict event124is associated with an attendee of the plurality of attendees. For example, the media guidance application may determine that UserA's next conflict event124is an event called Birthday Party scheduled to begin at 9:00 PM at 24 Beacon St Boston, Mass. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may retrieve a data structure associated with conflict event124, wherein the data structure comprises an identifier of a person who is scheduled to attend the conflict event. For example, the media guidance application may access a Birthday Party event information database and retrieve a data structure containing a list of Birthday Party attendees. For example, the data structure may contain information that the Birthday Party is to celebrate Joe's birthday and may contain an identifier indicating Joe is attending event124. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may alert the person who is scheduled to attend the conflict event that, based on the delayed start time, there is a schedule conflict associated with the conflict event. For example, the media guidance application may transmit a notification to Joe that there is a schedule conflict with the Birthday Party event124for UserA. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may implement an algorithm to determine an event start time that causes the least inconvenience for event attendees. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine a latest arrival time of the plurality of arrival times. For example, the latest arrival time of the plurality of arrival times may be 7:25 PM. The media guidance application may determine that this is the latest arrival time by, for example, comparing each arrival time to each of the plurality of arrival times, storing a latest arrival time variable, and updating the latest arrival time variable if a new latest arrival time is found while comparing the arrival times. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may retrieve from the event information database a second data structure. The second data structure may contain information such as a start time of a next event held at the location114of the event. For example, the media guidance application may determine the movie “Edge of Tomorrow” is playing directly after the movie “Guardians of the Galaxy” in AMC Theater Room 12. The media guidance application may recalculate the delayed start time of the event based on the start time of the next event held in the same location as the location of the event. For example, if “Guardians of the Galaxy” has an end time of 9:15 PM, while “Edge of Tomorrow” has a start time of 9:05 PM, the media guidance application may recalculate the delayed start time of “Guardians of the Galaxy” to ensure that the end time of “Guardians of the Galaxy” is before the start time of “Edge of Tomorrow.” For example, to remove the time conflict between the showings in AMC Theater 114 Room 12 of “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Edge of Tomorrow,” the recalculated delayed start time of “Guardians of the Galaxy” may be 7:02 PM and the end time corresponding to the recalculated delayed start time may be 9:02 PM, which is before the start time of “Edge of Tomorrow.” In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine a new event location near the location of the event, wherein the new event location is available at the start time of the next event held in the same location as the location of the event. In some embodiments, rather than recalculating the delayed start time of the event, the media guidance application may assign the new event location to the next event held at the location of the event. For example, the media guidance application may determine the movie “Edge of Tomorrow” is playing directly after the movie “Guardians of the Galaxy” in AMC Theater 114 Room 12. The media guidance application may determine that AMC Theater 114 Room 13 is near the location of the event (AMC Theater 12) and available at the start time of the movie showing of “Edge of Tomorrow.” For example, if “Guardians of the Galaxy” has an end time of 9:15 PM (due to the delayed start time of the event), while “Edge of Tomorrow” has a start time of 9:05 PM, the media guidance application may assign the movie showing of “Edge of Tomorrow” to AMC Theater 19 Room 13, rather than AMC Theater 19 Room 12. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine a plurality of candidate delayed start times between the start time and the latest arrival time. For example, the media guidance application may determine the start time of the movie showing event is 7:00 PM, while the latest arrival time is 7:25 PM. Candidate delayed start times may include, for example, 7:05 PM, 7:10 PM, 7:15 PM, and 7:20 PM. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may calculate, for each candidate delayed start time of the plurality of delayed start times, a corresponding candidate delayed end time. For example, the media guidance application may determine from the data structure retrieved from the event information database that the movie showing of “Guardians of the Galaxy” lasts two hours. Candidate delayed end times may then be calculated by adding the event time to the candidate delayed start times. For example, candidate delayed end times may include 9:05 PM, 9:10 PM, 9:15 PM, and 9:20 PM. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may use the retrieved calendar information for each of the plurality of attendees to determine, by comparing the calendar information to each candidate delayed end time, a number of attendees of the plurality of attendees who would have a calendar conflict with a corresponding candidate delayed end time for each candidate delayed start time. For example, by delaying the start of the movie showing to 7:20 PM, the end time of the movie showing would be 9:20 PM. If the movie showing ends at 9:20 PM this may cause calendar conflicts for 17 attendees. By delaying the start time of the movie to 7:15 PM, the end time of the movie showing would be 9:15 PM. A movie showing end time of 9:15 PM may cause calendar conflicts for only 7 attendees. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may assign the start time of the event as the candidate delayed start time corresponding to a candidate delayed end time corresponding to a lowest number of attendees of the plurality of attendees who would have a calendar conflict with the corresponding candidate delayed end time. For example, a start time of 7:15 PM (and corresponding delayed end time of 9:15 PM) may cause calendar conflicts for 7 attendees. Out of all of the candidate start times and corresponding end times, 7:15 PM could be the start time that causes the least inconvenience to the most attendees because the other candidate start times resulted in calendar conflicts for more than 7 attendees. In this case, the media guidance application would assign the start time of the movie showing to be 7:15 PM. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may transmit media assets to user devices associated with the attendees to decrease the frustration associated with missing an event or delaying the start time of an event. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may access a location database containing a plurality of device identifiers corresponding to a plurality of device locations. For example, the media guidance application may access a global positioning system (GPS) database that contains device identifiers for every device near a certain location. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may retrieve, from the location database, a plurality of device identifiers corresponding to a plurality of devices at the location of the event, wherein the plurality of devices corresponds to a plurality of device owners. For example, the media guidance application may access the GPS database and retrieve a list of user devices that are currently at the event location, such as AMC Theater 114, where “Guardians of the Galaxy” was scheduled to start at 7:00 PM (event122). For example, UserC may have arrived at AMC Theater 114 before the delayed start time of 7:15 PM. UserC may be bored while waiting for the movie showing to begin and may wish to view a media asset related to “Guardians of the Galaxy.” In some embodiments, the media guidance application may retrieve, from the event information database, a media asset related to the event. For example, if the event is a movie showing of “Guardians of the Galaxy” (event122), the media guidance application may retrieve the movie trailer for “Guardians of the Galaxy” from the event information database. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may prompt each device owner of the plurality of device owners to accept the media asset. For example, the media guidance application may display a notification on the user devices (e.g., mobile devices) at the event that says “Would you like to view the movie trailer for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy?’” and provides “yes” and “no” options that the users can click to indicate their acceptance (“yes”) or rejection (“no”) of the movie trailer. For example, UserC may view a notification displayed on his or her phone and select either “yes” to view the movie trailer or “no” to not watch the movie trailer. The media guidance application may, in response to a device owner of the plurality of device owners accepting the media asset, transmit the media asset to a device corresponding to the device owner of the plurality of devices. For example, if UserC clicks the “yes” option, the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie trailer may be transmitted to UserC's mobile device, where UserC may then view the movie trailer. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may provide the plurality of device owners with an incentive to accept the delayed start time of the event. For example, the media guidance application may transmit to the plurality of device owners (e.g., attendees who have at the location of the event before the delayed start time of the event) a reward or incentive to accept (e.g., via the selectable option described above) the delayed start time of the event. For example, the media guidance application may transmit to the plurality of device owners, based on whether they respond positively to the selectable option, a free or reduced cost version of the movie (e.g., “Guardians of the Galaxy”) they plan to view at the event location114(e.g., AMC Theater), when the movie is released to the general public on demand. This incentive rewards the early attendees who accepted the delayed start time by providing them with an incentive related to the event at a later time. On the other hand, attendees who are late to the event may wish for a way to view the portions of the event that they are missing while traveling to the event after its start time. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine whether there is an arrival time of the plurality of arrival times greater than the delayed start time of the event, wherein the arrival time is associated with an attendee of the plurality of attendees. For example, the delayed start time of the movie showing of “Guardians of the Galaxy” may be 7:15 PM, but UserA's arrival time112to event location114(where the movie showing is located) may be 7:25 PM. In this case, UserA may miss the beginning of “Guardians of the Galaxy.” In some embodiments, the media guidance application may, in response to determining that arrival time112greater than the delayed start time of the event, identify a mobile device associated with the attendee. For example, the media guidance application may access a user profile database and retrieve a user profile corresponding to UserA. The user profile may contain a device identifier corresponding to a mobile device associated with UserA. The media guidance application may use the device identifier to communicate with the mobile device associated with UserA. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may transmit a component140of the event to the mobile device. Because the user will miss part of event122due to his or her arrival time112at event location113, the media guidance application may transmit the component140of the event122that the user will miss of the event122to user equipment100. For example, because UserA will miss the first ten minutes of the movie showing of “Guardians of the Galaxy” (event122) due to his or her arrival time at AMC Theater 114, the media guidance application may transmit the first ten minutes of “Guardians of the Galaxy” (component140) to UserA's user equipment100. UserA may then view the first ten minutes of “Guardians of the Galaxy” (component140) on his or her user equipment100before entering AMC Theater 114 to view the rest of event122. The amount of content available to users in any given content delivery system can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form of media guidance through an interface that allows users to efficiently navigate content selections and easily identify content that they may desire. An application that provides such guidance is referred to herein as an interactive media guidance application or, sometimes, a media guidance application or a guidance application. Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms depending on the content for which they provide guidance. One typical type of media guidance application is an interactive television program guide. Interactive television program guides (sometimes referred to as electronic program guides) are well-known guidance applications that, among other things, allow users to navigate among and locate many types of content or media assets. Interactive media guidance applications may generate graphical user interface screens that enable a user to navigate among, locate and select content. As referred to herein, the terms “media asset” and “content” should be understood to mean an electronically consumable user asset, such as television programming, as well as pay-per-view programs, on-demand programs (as in video-on-demand (VOD) systems), Internet content (e.g., streaming content, downloadable content, Webcasts, etc.), video clips, audio, content information, movie showings, pictures, rotating images, documents, playlists, websites, articles, books, electronic books, blogs, chat sessions, social media, applications, games, and/or any other media or multimedia and/or combination of the same. Guidance applications also allow users to navigate among and locate content. As referred to herein, the term “multimedia” should be understood to mean content that utilizes at least two different content forms described above, for example, text, audio, images, video, or interactivity content forms. Content may be recorded, played, displayed or accessed by user equipment devices, but can also be part of a live performance. The media guidance application and/or any instructions for performing any of the embodiments discussed herein may be encoded on computer readable media. Computer readable media includes any media capable of storing data. The computer readable media may be transitory, including, but not limited to, propagating electrical or electromagnetic signals, or may be non-transitory including, but not limited to, volatile and non-volatile computer memory or storage devices such as a hard disk, floppy disk, USB drive, DVD, CD, media cards, register memory, processor caches, Random Access Memory (“RAM”), etc. With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speed wireless networks, users are accessing media on user equipment devices on which they traditionally did not. As referred to herein, the phrase “user equipment device,” “user equipment,” “user device,” “electronic device,” “electronic equipment,” “media equipment device,” or “media device” should be understood to mean any device for accessing the content described above, such as a television, a Smart TV, a set-top box, an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) for handling satellite television, a digital storage device, a digital media receiver (DMR), a digital media adapter (DMA), a streaming media device, a DVD player, a DVD recorder, a connected DVD, a local media server, a BLU-RAY player, a BLU-RAY recorder, a digital movie projector, a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), a PC media server, a PC media center, a hand-held computer, a stationary telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a portable video player, a portable music player, a portable gaming machine, a smart phone, or any other television equipment, computing equipment, or wireless device, and/or combination of the same. In some embodiments, the user equipment device may have a front facing screen and a rear facing screen, multiple front screens, or multiple angled screens. In some embodiments, the user equipment device may have a front facing camera and/or a rear facing camera. On these user equipment devices, users may be able to navigate among and locate the same content available through a television. Consequently, media guidance may be available on these devices, as well. The guidance provided may be for content available only through a television, for content available only through one or more of other types of user equipment devices, or for content available both through a television and one or more of the other types of user equipment devices. The media guidance applications may be provided as on-line applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or as stand-alone applications or clients on user equipment devices. Various devices and platforms that may implement media guidance applications are described in more detail below. One of the functions of the media guidance application is to provide media guidance data to users. As referred to herein, the phrase “media guidance data” or “guidance data” should be understood to mean any data related to content or data used in operating the guidance application. For example, the guidance data may include program information, guidance application settings, user preferences, user profile information, media listings, media-related information (e.g., broadcast times, broadcast channels, titles, descriptions, ratings information (e.g., parental control ratings, critic's ratings, etc.), genre or category information, actor information, logo data for broadcasters' or providers' logos, etc.), media format (e.g., standard definition, high definition, 3D, etc.), on-demand information, blogs, websites, and any other type of guidance data that is helpful for a user to navigate among and locate desired content selections. FIGS.2-3show illustrative display screens that may be used to provide media guidance data. The display screens shown inFIGS.2-3may be implemented on any suitable user equipment device or platform. While the displays ofFIGS.2-3are illustrated as full screen displays, they may also be fully or partially overlaid over content being displayed. A user may indicate a desire to access content information by selecting a selectable option provided in a display screen (e.g., a menu option, a listings option, an icon, a hyperlink, etc.) or pressing a dedicated button (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remote control or other user input interface or device. In response to the user's indication, the media guidance application may provide a display screen with media guidance data organized in one of several ways, such as by time and channel in a grid, by time, by channel, by source, by content type, by category (e.g., movies, sports, news, children, or other categories of programming), or other predefined, user-defined, or other organization criteria. FIG.2shows illustrative grid of a program listings display200arranged by time and channel that also enables access to different types of content in a single display. Display200may include grid202with: (1) a column of channel/content type identifiers204, where each channel/content type identifier (which is a cell in the column) identifies a different channel or content type available; and (2) a row of time identifiers206, where each time identifier (which is a cell in the row) identifies a time block of programming. Grid202also includes cells of program listings, such as program listing208, where each listing provides the title of the program provided on the listing's associated channel and time. With a user input device, a user can select program listings by moving highlight region210. Information relating to the program listing selected by highlight region210may be provided in program information region212. Region212may include, for example, the program title, the program description, the time the program is provided (if applicable), the channel the program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, and other desired information. In addition to providing access to linear programming (e.g., content that is scheduled to be transmitted to a plurality of user equipment devices at a predetermined time and is provided according to a schedule), the media guidance application also provides access to non-linear programming (e.g., content accessible to a user equipment device at any time and is not provided according to a schedule). Non-linear programming may include content from different content sources including on-demand content (e.g., VOD), Internet content (e.g., streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locally stored content (e.g., content stored on any user equipment device described above or other storage device), or other time-independent content. On-demand content may include movies or any other content provided by a particular content provider (e.g., HBO On Demand providing “The Sopranos” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”). HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned by Time Warner Company L.P. et al. and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM are trademarks owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Internet content may include web events, such as a chat session or Webcast, or content available on-demand as streaming content or downloadable content through an Internet web site or other Internet access (e.g., FTP). Grid202may provide media guidance data for non-linear programming including on-demand listing214, recorded content listing216, and Internet content listing218. A display combining media guidance data for content from different types of content sources is sometimes referred to as a “mixed-media” display. Various permutations of the types of media guidance data that may be displayed that are different than display200may be based on user selection or guidance application definition (e.g., a display of only recorded and broadcast listings, only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated, listings214,216, and218are shown as spanning the entire time block displayed in grid202to indicate that selection of these listings may provide access to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings, or Internet listings, respectively. In some embodiments, listings for these content types may be included directly in grid202. Additional media guidance data may be displayed in response to the user selecting one of the navigational icons220. (Pressing an arrow key on a user input device may affect the display in a similar manner as selecting navigational icons220.) Display200may also include video region222, and options region226. Video region222may allow the user to view and/or preview programs that are currently available, will be available, or were available to the user. The content of video region222may correspond to, or be independent from, one of the listings displayed in grid202. Grid displays including a video region are sometimes referred to as picture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG displays and their functionalities are described in greater detail in Satterfield et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,794, issued May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. PIG displays may be included in other media guidance application display screens of the embodiments described herein. Options region226may allow the user to access different types of content, media guidance application displays, and/or media guidance application features. Options region226may be part of display200(and other display screens described herein), or may be invoked by a user by selecting an on-screen option or pressing a dedicated or assignable button on a user input device. The selectable options within options region226may concern features related to program listings in grid202or may include options available from a main menu display. Features related to program listings may include searching for other air times or ways of receiving a program, recording a program, enabling series recording of a program, setting program and/or channel as a favorite, purchasing a program, or other features. Options available from a main menu display may include search options, VOD options, parental control options, Internet options, cloud-based options, device synchronization options, second screen device options, options to access various types of media guidance data displays, options to subscribe to a premium service, options to edit a user's profile, options to access a browse overlay, or other options. The media guidance application may be personalized based on a user's preferences. A personalized media guidance application allows a user to customize displays and features to create a personalized “experience” with the media guidance application. This personalized experience may be created by allowing a user to input these customizations and/or by the media guidance application monitoring user activity to determine various user preferences. Users may access their personalized guidance application by logging in or otherwise identifying themselves to the guidance application. Customization of the media guidance application may be made in accordance with a user profile. The customizations may include varying presentation schemes (e.g., color scheme of displays, font size of text, etc.), aspects of content listings displayed (e.g., only HDTV or only 3D programming, user-specified broadcast channels based on favorite channel selections, re-ordering the display of channels, recommended content, etc.), desired recording features (e.g., recording or series recordings for particular users, recording quality, etc.), parental control settings, customized presentation of Internet content (e.g., presentation of social media content, e-mail, electronically delivered articles, etc.) and other desired customizations. The media guidance application may allow a user to provide user profile information or may automatically compile user profile information. The media guidance application may, for example, monitor the content the user accesses and/or other interactions the user may have with the guidance application. Additionally, the media guidance application may obtain all or part of other user profiles that are related to a particular user (e.g., from other web sites on the Internet the user accesses, such as www.allrovi.com, from other media guidance applications the user accesses, from other interactive applications the user accesses, from another user equipment device of the user, etc.), and/or obtain information about the user from other sources that the media guidance application may access. As a result, a user can be provided with a unified guidance application experience across the user's different user equipment devices. This type of user experience is described in greater detail below in connection withFIG.5. Additional personalized media guidance application features are described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005, Boyer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,165,098, issued Jan. 16, 2007, and Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0174430, filed Feb. 21, 2002, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is shown inFIG.3. Video mosaic display300includes selectable options302for content information organized based on content type, genre, and/or other organization criteria. In display300, television listings option304is selected, thus providing listings306,308,310, and312as broadcast program listings. In display300the listings may provide graphical images including cover art, still images from the content, video clip previews, live video from the content, or other types of content that indicate to a user the content being described by the media guidance data in the listing. Each of the graphical listings may also be accompanied by text to provide further information about the content associated with the listing. For example, listing308may include more than one portion, including media portion314and text portion316. Media portion314and/or text portion316may be selectable to view content in full-screen or to view information related to the content displayed in media portion314(e.g., to view listings for the channel that the video is displayed on). The listings in display300are of different sizes (i.e., listing306is larger than listings308,310, and312), but if desired, all the listings may be the same size. Listings may be of different sizes or graphically accentuated to indicate degrees of interest to the user or to emphasize certain content, as desired by the content provider or based on user preferences. Various systems and methods for graphically accentuating content listings are discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0153885, filed Nov. 12, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Users may access content and the media guidance application (and its display screens described above and below) from one or more of their user equipment devices.FIG.4shows a generalized embodiment of illustrative user equipment device400. More specific implementations of user equipment devices are discussed below in connection withFIG.5. User equipment device400may receive content and data via input/output (hereinafter “I/O”) path402. I/O path402may provide content (e.g., broadcast programming, on-demand programming, Internet content, content available over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), and/or other content) and data to control circuitry404, which includes processing circuitry406and storage408. Control circuitry404may be used to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable data using I/O path402. I/O path402may connect control circuitry404(and specifically processing circuitry406) to one or more communications paths (described below). I/O functions may be provided by one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a single path inFIG.4to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. Control circuitry404may be based on any suitable processing circuitry such as processing circuitry406. As referred to herein, processing circuitry should be understood to mean circuitry based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may include a multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or any suitable number of cores) or supercomputer. In some embodiments, processing circuitry may be distributed across multiple separate processors or processing units, for example, multiple of the same type of processing units (e.g., two Intel Core i7 processors) or multiple different processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel Core i7 processor). In some embodiments, control circuitry404executes instructions for a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e., storage408). Specifically, control circuitry404may be instructed by the media guidance application to perform the functions discussed above and below. For example, the media guidance application may provide instructions to control circuitry404to generate the media guidance displays. In some implementations, any action performed by control circuitry404may be based on instructions received from the media guidance application. In client-server based embodiments, control circuitry404may include communications circuitry suitable for communicating with a guidance application server or other networks or servers. The instructions for carrying out the above mentioned functionality may be stored on the guidance application server. Communications circuitry may include a cable modem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, a digital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, Ethernet card, or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment, or any other suitable communications circuitry. Such communications may involve the Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths (which is described in more detail in connection withFIG.5). In addition, communications circuitry may include circuitry that enables peer-to-peer communication of user equipment devices, or communication of user equipment devices in locations remote from each other (described in more detail below). Memory may be an electronic storage device provided as storage408that is part of control circuitry404. As referred to herein, the phrase “electronic storage device” or “storage device” should be understood to mean any device for storing electronic data, computer software, or firmware, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, hard drives, optical drives, digital video disc (DVD) recorders, compact disc (CD) recorders, BLU-RAY disc (BD) recorders, BLU-RAY 3D disc recorders, digital video recorders (DVR, sometimes called a personal video recorder, or PVR), solid state devices, quantum storage devices, gaming consoles, gaming media, or any other suitable fixed or removable storage devices, and/or any combination of the same. Storage408may be used to store various types of content described herein as well as media guidance data described above. Nonvolatile memory may also be used (e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions). Cloud-based storage, described in relation toFIG.5, may be used to supplement storage408or instead of storage408. Control circuitry404may include video generating circuitry and tuning circuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2 decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition tuners, or any other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of such circuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog, or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided. Control circuitry404may also include scaler circuitry for upconverting and downconverting content into the preferred output format of the user equipment400. Circuitry404may also include digital-to-analog converter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry for converting between digital and analog signals. The tuning and encoding circuitry may be used by the user equipment device to receive and to display, to play, or to record content. The tuning and encoding circuitry may also be used to receive guidance data. The circuitry described herein, including for example, the tuning, video generating, encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting, scaler, and analog/digital circuitry, may be implemented using software running on one or more general purpose or specialized processors. Multiple tuners may be provided to handle simultaneous tuning functions (e.g., watch and record functions, picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording, etc.). If storage408is provided as a separate device from user equipment400, the tuning and encoding circuitry (including multiple tuners) may be associated with storage408. A user may send instructions to control circuitry404using user input interface410. User input interface410may be any suitable user interface, such as a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, touchpad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognition interface, or other user input interfaces. Display412may be provided as a stand-alone device or integrated with other elements of user equipment device400. For example, display412may be a touchscreen or touch-sensitive display. In such circumstances, user input interface410may be integrated with or combined with display412. Display412may be one or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display (LCD) for a mobile device, amorphous silicon display, low temperature poly silicon display, electronic ink display, electrophoretic display, active matrix display, electro-wetting display, electrofluidic display, cathode ray tube display, light-emitting diode display, electroluminescent display, plasma display panel, high-performance addressing display, thin-film transistor display, organic light-emitting diode display, surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED), laser television, carbon nanotubes, quantum dot display, interferometric modulator display, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visual images. In some embodiments, display412may be HDTV-capable. In some embodiments, display412may be a 3D display, and the interactive media guidance application and any suitable content may be displayed in 3D. A video card or graphics card may generate the output to the display412. The video card may offer various functions such as accelerated rendering of 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or the ability to connect multiple monitors. The video card may be any processing circuitry described above in relation to control circuitry404. The video card may be integrated with the control circuitry404. Speakers414may be provided as integrated with other elements of user equipment device400or may be stand-alone units. The audio component of videos and other content displayed on display412may be played through speakers414. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to a receiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers414. The guidance application may be implemented using any suitable architecture. For example, it may be a stand-alone application wholly-implemented on user equipment device400. In such an approach, instructions of the application are stored locally (e.g., in storage408), and data for use by the application is downloaded on a periodic basis (e.g., from an out-of-band feed, from an Internet resource, or using another suitable approach). Control circuitry404may retrieve instructions of the application from storage408and process the instructions to generate any of the displays discussed herein. Based on the processed instructions, control circuitry404may determine what action to perform when input is received from input interface410. For example, movement of a cursor on a display up/down may be indicated by the processed instructions when input interface410indicates that an up/down button was selected. In some embodiments, the media guidance application is a client-server based application. Data for use by a thick or thin client implemented on user equipment device400is retrieved on-demand by issuing requests to a server remote to the user equipment device400. In one example of a client-server based guidance application, control circuitry404runs a web browser that interprets web pages provided by a remote server. For example, the remote server may store the instructions for the application in a storage device. The remote server may process the stored instructions using circuitry (e.g., control circuitry404) and generate the displays discussed above and below. The client device may receive the displays generated by the remote server and may display the content of the displays locally on equipment device400. This way, the processing of the instructions is performed remotely by the server while the resulting displays are provided locally on equipment device400. Equipment device400may receive inputs from the user via input interface410and transmit those inputs to the remote server for processing and generating the corresponding displays. For example, equipment device400may transmit a communication to the remote server indicating that an up/down button was selected via input interface410. The remote server may process instructions in accordance with that input and generate a display of the application corresponding to the input (e.g., a display that moves a cursor up/down). The generated display is then transmitted to equipment device400for presentation to the user. In some embodiments, the media guidance application is downloaded and interpreted or otherwise run by an interpreter or virtual machine (run by control circuitry404). In some embodiments, the guidance application may be encoded in the ETV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF), received by control circuitry404as part of a suitable feed, and interpreted by a user agent running on control circuitry404. For example, the guidance application may be an EBIF application. In some embodiments, the guidance application may be defined by a series of JAVA-based files that are received and run by a local virtual machine or other suitable middleware executed by control circuitry404. In some of such embodiments (e.g., those employing MPEG-2 or other digital media encoding schemes), the guidance application may be, for example, encoded and transmitted in an MPEG-2 object carousel with the MPEG audio and video packets of a program. User equipment device400ofFIG.4can be implemented in system500ofFIG.5as user television equipment502, user computer equipment504, wireless user communications device506, or any other type of user equipment suitable for accessing content, such as a non-portable gaming machine. For simplicity, these devices may be referred to herein collectively as user equipment or user equipment devices, and may be substantially similar to user equipment devices described above. User equipment devices, on which a media guidance application may be implemented, may function as a standalone device or may be part of a network of devices. Various network configurations of devices may be implemented and are discussed in more detail below. A user equipment device utilizing at least some of the system features described above in connection withFIG.4may not be classified solely as user television equipment502, user computer equipment504, or a wireless user communications device506. For example, user television equipment502may, like some user computer equipment504, be Internet-enabled allowing for access to Internet content, while user computer equipment504may, like some television equipment502, include a tuner allowing for access to television programming. The media guidance application may have the same layout on various different types of user equipment or may be tailored to the display capabilities of the user equipment. For example, on user computer equipment504, the guidance application may be provided as a web site accessed by a web browser. In another example, the guidance application may be scaled down for wireless user communications devices506. In system500, there is typically more than one of each type of user equipment device but only one of each is shown inFIG.5to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may utilize more than one type of user equipment device and also more than one of each type of user equipment device. In some embodiments, a user equipment device (e.g., user television equipment502, user computer equipment504, wireless user communications device506) may be referred to as a “second screen device.” For example, a second screen device may supplement content presented on a first user equipment device. The content presented on the second screen device may be any suitable content that supplements the content presented on the first device. In some embodiments, the second screen device provides an interface for adjusting settings and display preferences of the first device. In some embodiments, the second screen device is configured for interacting with other second screen devices or for interacting with a social network. The second screen device can be located in the same room as the first device, a different room from the first device but in the same house or building, or in a different building from the first device. The user may also set various settings to maintain consistent media guidance application settings across in-home devices and remote devices. Settings include those described herein, as well as channel and program favorites, programming preferences that the guidance application utilizes to make programming recommendations, display preferences, and other desirable guidance settings. For example, if a user sets a channel as a favorite on, for example, the web site www.allrovi.com on their personal computer at their office, the same channel would appear as a favorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g., user television equipment and user computer equipment) as well as the user's mobile devices, if desired. Therefore, changes made on one user equipment device can change the guidance experience on another user equipment device, regardless of whether they are the same or a different type of user equipment device. In addition, the changes made may be based on settings input by a user, as well as user activity monitored by the guidance application. The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications network514. Namely, user television equipment502, user computer equipment504, and wireless user communications device506are coupled to communications network514via communications paths508,510, and512, respectively. Communications network514may be one or more networks including the Internet, a mobile phone network, mobile voice or data network (e.g., a 4G or LTE network), cable network, public switched telephone network, or other types of communications network or combinations of communications networks. Paths508,510, and512may separately or together include one or more communications paths, such as, a satellite path, a fiber-optic path, a cable path, a path that supports Internet communications (e.g., IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wireless signals), or any other suitable wired or wireless communications path or combination of such paths. Path512is drawn with dotted lines to indicate that in the exemplary embodiment shown inFIG.5it is a wireless path and paths508and510are drawn as solid lines to indicate they are wired paths (although these paths may be wireless paths, if desired). Communications with the user equipment devices may be provided by one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a single path inFIG.5to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. Although communications paths are not drawn between user equipment devices, these devices may communicate directly with each other via communication paths, such as those described above in connection with paths508,510, and512, as well as other short-range point-to-point communication paths, such as USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, wireless paths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), or other short-range communication via wired or wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is a certification mark owned by Bluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipment devices may also communicate with each other directly through an indirect path via communications network514. System500includes content source516and media guidance data source518coupled to communications network514via communication paths520and522, respectively. Paths520and522may include any of the communication paths described above in connection with paths508,510, and512. Communications with the content source516and media guidance data source518may be exchanged over one or more communications paths, but are shown as a single path inFIG.5to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. In addition, there may be more than one of each of content source516and media guidance data source518, but only one of each is shown inFIG.5to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (The different types of each of these sources are discussed below.) If desired, content source516and media guidance data source518may be integrated as one source device. Although communications between sources516and518with user equipment devices502,504, and506are shown as through communications network514, in some embodiments, sources516and518may communicate directly with user equipment devices502,504, and506via communication paths (not shown) such as those described above in connection with paths508,510, and512. System500may also include an advertisement source524coupled to communications network514via a communications path526. Path526may include any of the communication paths described above in connection with paths508,510, and512. Advertisement source524may include advertisement logic to determine which advertisements to transmit to specific users and under which circumstances. For example, a cable operator may have the right to insert advertisements during specific time slots on specific channels. Thus, advertisement source524may transmit advertisements to users during those time slots. As another example, advertisement source may target advertisements based on the demographics of users known to view a particular show (e.g., teenagers viewing a reality show). As yet another example, advertisement source may provide different advertisements depending on the location of the user equipment viewing a media asset (e.g., east coast or west coast). In some embodiments, advertisement source524may be configured to maintain user information including advertisement-suitability scores associated with user in order to provide targeted advertising. Additionally or alternatively, a server associated with advertisement source524may be configured to store raw information that may be used to derive advertisement-suitability scores. In some embodiments, advertisement source524may transmit a request to another device for the raw information and calculate the advertisement-suitability scores. Advertisement source524may update advertisement-suitability scores for specific users (e.g., first subset, second subset, or third subset of users) and transmit an advertisement of the target product to appropriate users. Content source516may include one or more types of content distribution equipment including a television distribution facility, cable system headend, satellite distribution facility, programming sources (e.g., television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.), intermediate distribution facilities and/or servers, Internet providers, on-demand media servers, and other content providers. NBC is a trademark owned by the National Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is a trademark owned by the American Broadcasting Company, Inc., and HBO is a trademark owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Content source516may be the originator of content (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcast provider, etc.) or may not be the originator of content (e.g., an on-demand content provider, an Internet provider of content of broadcast programs for downloading, etc.). Content source516may include cable sources, satellite providers, on-demand providers, Internet providers, over-the-top content providers, or other providers of content. Content source516may also include a remote media server used to store different types of content (including video content selected by a user), in a location remote from any of the user equipment devices. Systems and methods for remote storage of content, and providing remotely stored content to user equipment are discussed in greater detail in connection with Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,761,892, issued Jul. 20, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Media guidance data source518may provide media guidance data, such as the media guidance data described above. Media guidance data may be provided to the user equipment devices using any suitable approach. In some embodiments, the guidance application may be a stand-alone interactive television program guide that receives program guide data via a data feed (e.g., a continuous feed or trickle feed). Program schedule data and other guidance data may be provided to the user equipment on a television channel sideband, using an in-band digital signal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitable data transmission technique. Program schedule data and other media guidance data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analog or digital television channels. In some embodiments, guidance data from media guidance data source518may be provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach. For example, a user equipment device may pull media guidance data from a server, or a server may push media guidance data to a user equipment device. In some embodiments, a guidance application client residing on the user's equipment may initiate sessions with source518to obtain guidance data when needed, e.g., when the guidance data is out of date or when the user equipment device receives a request from the user to receive data. Media guidance may be provided to the user equipment with any suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, a user-specified period of time, a system-specified period of time, in response to a request from user equipment, etc.). Media guidance data source518may provide user equipment devices502,504, and506the media guidance application itself or software updates for the media guidance application. In some embodiments, the media guidance data may include viewer data. For example, the viewer data may include current and/or historical user activity information (e.g., what content the user typically watches, what times of day the user watches content, whether the user interacts with a social network, at what times the user interacts with a social network to post information, what types of content the user typically watches (e.g., pay TV or free TV), mood, brain activity information, etc.). The media guidance data may also include subscription data. For example, the subscription data may identify to which sources or services a given user subscribes and/or to which sources or services the given user has previously subscribed but later terminated access (e.g., whether the user subscribes to premium channels, whether the user has added a premium level of services, whether the user has increased Internet speed). In some embodiments, the viewer data and/or the subscription data may identify patterns of a given user for a period of more than one year. The media guidance data may include a model (e.g., a survivor model) used for generating a score that indicates a likelihood a given user will terminate access to a service/source. For example, the media guidance application may process the viewer data with the subscription data using the model to generate a value or score that indicates a likelihood of whether the given user will terminate access to a particular service or source. In particular, a higher score may indicate a higher level of confidence that the user will terminate access to a particular service or source. Based on the score, the media guidance application may generate promotions that entice the user to keep the particular service or source indicated by the score as one to which the user will likely terminate access. Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-alone applications implemented on user equipment devices. For example, the media guidance application may be implemented as software or a set of executable instructions which may be stored in storage408, and executed by control circuitry404of a user equipment device400. In some embodiments, media guidance applications may be client-server applications where only a client application resides on the user equipment device, and server application resides on a remote server. For example, media guidance applications may be implemented partially as a client application on control circuitry404of user equipment device400and partially on a remote server as a server application (e.g., media guidance data source518) running on control circuitry of the remote server. When executed by control circuitry of the remote server (such as media guidance data source518), the media guidance application may instruct the control circuitry to generate the guidance application displays and transmit the generated displays to the user equipment devices. The server application may instruct the control circuitry of the media guidance data source518to transmit data for storage on the user equipment. The client application may instruct control circuitry of the receiving user equipment to generate the guidance application displays. Content and/or media guidance data delivered to user equipment devices502,504, and506may be over-the-top (OTT) content. OTT content delivery allows Internet-enabled user devices, including any user equipment device described above, to receive content that is transferred over the Internet, including any content described above, in addition to content received over cable or satellite connections. OTT content is delivered via an Internet connection provided by an Internet service provider (ISP), but a third party distributes the content. The ISP may not be responsible for the viewing abilities, copyrights, or redistribution of the content, and may only transfer IP packets provided by the OTT content provider. Examples of OTT content providers include YOUTUBE, NETFLIX, and HULU, which provide audio and video via IP packets. Youtube is a trademark owned by Google Inc., Netflix is a trademark owned by Netflix Inc., and Hulu is a trademark owned by Hulu, LLC. OTT content providers may additionally or alternatively provide media guidance data described above. In addition to content and/or media guidance data, providers of OTT content can distribute media guidance applications (e.g., web-based applications or cloud-based applications), or the content can be displayed by media guidance applications stored on the user equipment device. Media guidance system500is intended to illustrate a number of approaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment devices and sources of content and guidance data may communicate with each other for the purpose of accessing content and providing media guidance. The embodiments described herein may be applied in any one or a subset of these approaches, or in a system employing other approaches for delivering content and providing media guidance. The following four approaches provide specific illustrations of the generalized example ofFIG.5. In one approach, user equipment devices may communicate with each other within a home network. User equipment devices can communicate with each other directly via short-range point-to-point communication schemes described above, via indirect paths through a hub or other similar device provided on a home network, or via communications network514. Each of the multiple individuals in a single home may operate different user equipment devices on the home network. As a result, it may be desirable for various media guidance information or settings to be communicated between the different user equipment devices. For example, it may be desirable for users to maintain consistent media guidance application settings on different user equipment devices within a home network, as described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005. Different types of user equipment devices in a home network may also communicate with each other to transmit content. For example, a user may transmit content from user computer equipment to a portable video player or portable music player. In a second approach, users may have multiple types of user equipment by which they access content and obtain media guidance. For example, some users may have home networks that are accessed by in-home and mobile devices. Users may control in-home devices via a media guidance application implemented on a remote device. For example, users may access an online media guidance application on a website via a personal computer at their office, or a mobile device such as a PDA or web-enabled mobile telephone. The user may set various settings (e.g., recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the online guidance application to control the user's in-home equipment. The online guide may control the user's equipment directly, or by communicating with a media guidance application on the user's in-home equipment. Various systems and methods for user equipment devices communicating, where the user equipment devices are in locations remote from each other, is discussed in, for example, Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,046,801, issued Oct. 25, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside and outside a home can use their media guidance application to communicate directly with content source516to access content. Specifically, within a home, users of user television equipment502and user computer equipment504may access the media guidance application to navigate among and locate desirable content. Users may also access the media guidance application outside of the home using wireless user communications devices506to navigate among and locate desirable content. In a fourth approach, user equipment devices may operate in a cloud computing environment to access cloud services. In a cloud computing environment, various types of computing services for content sharing, storage or distribution (e.g., video sharing sites or social networking sites) are provided by a collection of network-accessible computing and storage resources, referred to as “the cloud.” For example, the cloud can include a collection of server computing devices, which may be located centrally or at distributed locations, that provide cloud-based services to various types of users and devices connected via a network such as the Internet via communications network514. These cloud resources may include one or more content sources516and one or more media guidance data sources518. In addition or in the alternative, the remote computing sites may include other user equipment devices, such as user television equipment502, user computer equipment504, and wireless user communications device506. For example, the other user equipment devices may provide access to a stored copy of a video or a streamed video. In such embodiments, user equipment devices may operate in a peer-to-peer manner without communicating with a central server. The cloud provides access to services, such as content storage, content sharing, or social networking services, among other examples, as well as access to any content described above, for user equipment devices. Services can be provided in the cloud through cloud computing service providers, or through other providers of online services. For example, the cloud-based services can include a content storage service, a content sharing site, a social networking site, or other services via which user-sourced content is distributed for viewing by others on connected devices. These cloud-based services may allow a user equipment device to store content to the cloud and to receive content from the cloud rather than storing content locally and accessing locally-stored content. A user may use various content capture devices, such as camcorders, digital cameras with video mode, audio recorders, mobile phones, and handheld computing devices, to record content. The user can upload content to a content storage service on the cloud either directly, for example, from user computer equipment504or wireless user communications device506having content capture feature. Alternatively, the user can first transfer the content to a user equipment device, such as user computer equipment504. The user equipment device storing the content uploads the content to the cloud using a data transmission service on communications network514. In some embodiments, the user equipment device itself is a cloud resource, and other user equipment devices can access the content directly from the user equipment device on which the user stored the content. Cloud resources may be accessed by a user equipment device using, for example, a web browser, a media guidance application, a desktop application, a mobile application, and/or any combination of access applications of the same. The user equipment device may be a cloud client that relies on cloud computing for application delivery, or the user equipment device may have some functionality without access to cloud resources. For example, some applications running on the user equipment device may be cloud applications, i.e., applications delivered as a service over the Internet, while other applications may be stored and run on the user equipment device. In some embodiments, a user device may receive content from multiple cloud resources simultaneously. For example, a user device can stream audio from one cloud resource while downloading content from a second cloud resource. Or a user device can download content from multiple cloud resources for more efficient downloading. In some embodiments, user equipment devices can use cloud resources for processing operations such as the processing operations performed by processing circuitry described in relation toFIG.4. As referred herein, the term “in response to” refers to initiated as a result of. For example, a first action being performed in response to a second action may include interstitial steps between the first action and the second action. As referred herein, the term “directly in response to” refers to caused by. For example, a first action being performed directly in response to a second action may not include interstitial steps between the first action and the second action. FIG.6is a flowchart of illustrative steps for delaying the start of an event based on the arrival times of event attendees, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Process600begins at602, where the media guidance application retrieves (e.g., via control circuitry404over communications network514), from an event information database (e.g., stored in storage408) associated with an event, a data structure. For example, the media guidance application may access (e.g., via control circuitry404over communications network514) an event information database hosted by a movie theater company, such as the movie theater company AMC Theaters, or from a third-party database that aggregates event information. The data structure retrieved from the event information database may contain a start time of the event, a location of the event, and a plurality of attendee identifiers corresponding to a plurality of attendees of the event. For example, from the data structure, the media guidance application may determine (e.g., via control circuitry404) that the event is a showing of a movie called “Guardians of the Galaxy” at 7:00 PM EST at AMC Theater 19 located at 175 Tremont Street Boston, Mass. The data structure may contain a plurality of attendee identifiers corresponding to a plurality of attendees of the event, such as a list of names of people who have bought tickets to see “Guardians of the Galaxy” at 7:00 PM EST at AMC Theater 19. For example, UserA, UserB, UserC, UserD, and UserE may have bought tickets online for the movie showing. Process600continues to604, where the media guidance application determines (e.g., via control circuitry404), using the plurality of attendee identifiers, a plurality of location applications, wherein each attendee of the plurality of attendees corresponds to a respective location application of the plurality of location applications. For example, the media guidance application may search a location application database using the list of names of people who have bought tickets to the movie showing. The media guidance application may determine, for example, that UserA corresponds to location application GPS_A, while UserB corresponds to GPS_B. Process600continues to606, where the media guidance application queries (e.g., via control circuitry404over communications network514) the plurality of location applications for a plurality of arrival times, each arrival time of the plurality of arrival times corresponding to a respective attendee of the plurality of attendees. For example, the media guidance application may query GPS_A for an arrival time for UserA at AMC Theater 19. GPS_A may return, to the media guidance application, an arrival time of 7:25 PM for UserA. Process600continues to608, where the media guidance application calculates (e.g., via control circuitry404) a plurality of differences between the plurality of arrival times and the start time of the event. For example, UserA may have an arrival time of 7:25 PM but the start time of the event may be 7:00 PM. In this case, a difference (associated with UserA) of the plurality of differences would be 25 minutes. Process600continues to610, where the media guidance application calculates (e.g., via control circuitry404) a statistical representation of the plurality of differences. For example, the media guidance application may calculate (e.g., via control circuitry404) the average of the plurality of the differences. For example, if the plurality of differences was 25 minutes, 15 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and 20 minutes, the statistical representation may be 15 minutes. Process600continues to612, where the media guidance application compares (e.g., via control circuitry404) the statistical representation to a threshold. For example, the threshold may be set by the host of the event, such as AMC Theaters, and may represent an acceptable amount of time of the event for an attendee to miss. AMC Theaters may set, for example, a threshold of 5 minutes. The media guidance application may compare the 5 minute threshold to a 15 minute statistical representation (representing the average amount the attendees are late by). Process600continues to614, where the media guidance application determines (e.g., via control circuitry404) whether the statistical representation exceeds the threshold. If the statistical representation does not exceed the threshold, process600continues to616, where the media guidance application does not delay the start time of the event. If the statistical representation does exceed the threshold, process600continues to618, where the media guidance application delays (e.g., via control circuitry404) the start time of the event by an amount that is based on the statistical representation of the plurality of differences. For example, if the statistical representation is 15 minutes and the threshold is 5 minutes, the media guidance application may determine that the statistical representation is greater than the threshold. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may, in response to determining that the statistical representation exceeds the threshold, delay the start time of the event by an amount that is based on the statistical representation of the plurality of differences. For example, if the statistical representation is 15 minutes and the threshold is 5 minutes, the media guidance application may delay the start time of the event by 15 minutes. For example, the movie showing of “Guardians of the Galaxy” at AMC Theater 19 may then have a start time of 7:15 PM rather than 7:00 PM. If, for example, the statistical representation was only 3 minutes and therefore less than the 5 minute threshold, the event would not be delayed. By comparing the statistical representation to the threshold, the systems and methods described herein guarantee that the event is not delayed for insignificant attendee delays. FIG.7is a flowchart of illustrative steps for determining calendar conflicts for attendees based on a delayed start time of an event, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. For example, a media guidance application may instruct control circuitry404to execute the elements of process700. Process700may be iterated for each attendee of a plurality of attendees. Process700begins at702, where the media guidance application determines (e.g., via control circuitry404), based on delaying the start time of the event, an end time of the event. For example, the media guidance application may determine from the data structure retrieved from the event information database that the movie showing of “Guardians of the Galaxy” lasts two hours. In this example, if the movie showing's delayed start time is 7:15 PM, the media guidance application may determine the end time of the event to be 9:15 PM. Process700continues to704, where the media guidance application retrieves (e.g., via control circuitry404over communications network514), from a calendar database, calendar information for an attendee. For example, the media guidance application may retrieve calendar information for UserA. This calendar information for UserA may contain the start time of the next event that UserA will be attending. For example, UserA may have an event scheduled to begin at 9:00 PM. Process700continues to706, where the media guidance application compares (e.g., via control circuitry404) the calendar information to the end time. For example, the media guidance application may compare UserA's next event that begins at 9:00 PM to the movie showing end time of 9:15 PM. Process700continues to708, where the media guidance application determines (e.g., via control circuitry404) whether a conflict exists between the end time and the calendar information. If a conflict does not exist, process700continues to710, where the media guidance application does not display an indication to the attendee that a conflict has been formed. If a conflict does exist, process700continues to712, where the media guidance application generates (e.g., via control circuitry404) for display, to the attendee, an indication that a conflict has been formed. For example, the media guidance application may determine that a conflict exists for UserA because the start time of UserA's next event is before the end time of the delayed movie showing. The media guidance application may generate a notification for display on UserA's mobile device that informs UserA that there is a conflict (e.g., by generating a text message that says “The delayed start time of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ has resulted in an event conflict.” to display on UserA's mobile device). If a conflict does exist, process700then continues to714, where the media guidance application determines (e.g., via control circuitry404) a conflict event corresponding to the conflict associated with the attendee. For example, the media guidance application may determine that UserA's next event is an event called Birthday Party scheduled to begin at 9:00 PM at 24 Beacon St., Boston, Mass. If a conflict does exist, process700then continues to716, where the media guidance application retrieves (e.g., via control circuitry404over communications network514) a data structure associated with the conflict event, wherein the data structure comprises an identifier of a person who is scheduled to attend the conflict event. For example, the media guidance application may access a Birthday Party event information database and retrieve a data structure containing a list of Birthday Party attendees. For example, the data structure may contain information that the Birthday Party is to celebrate Joe's birthday and may contain an identifier indicating Joe is attending the event. If a conflict does exist, process700then continues to718, where the media guidance application alerts (e.g., via control circuitry404over communications network514) the person who is scheduled to attend the conflict event that, based on the delay time, there is a schedule conflict associated with the conflict event. For example, the media guidance application may transmit a notification to Joe that there is a schedule conflict with the Birthday Party event for UserA. FIG.8is a flowchart of illustrative steps for recalculating a delayed start time of an event, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. For example, a media guidance application may instruct control circuitry404to execute the elements of process800. Process800begins at802, where the media guidance application queries (e.g., via control circuitry404over communications network514) the plurality of location applications to determine address information for a plurality of devices running the plurality of location applications, wherein each of the plurality of devices corresponds to a respective one of the plurality of attendees. For example, the media guidance application may contact the location application GPS_A associated with UserA and ask for address information (e.g., an IP address that could be used to communicate with a device) for the device (e.g., a mobile device, DeviceA) associated with GPS_A. Process800continues to804, where the media guidance application transmits (e.g., via control circuitry404over communications network514) a notification to each of the plurality of devices comprising an indication of the delayed start time of the event. For example, the media guidance application may contact DeviceA at the address information (e.g., IP address) associated with DeviceA, which is associated with UserA. The media guidance application may transmit to DeviceA, for example, a notification that says “The start time of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is delayed to 7:15 PM.” The notification may comprise a selectable option relating to the delayed start time, wherein the selectable option comprises a first option and a second option, the first option being negative and the second option being positive. For example, the notification may include two attendee-clickable options, one that says “yes” and one that says “no.” UserA may, for example, click “no” to indicate that the he or she does not approve of the delayed start time of 7:15 PM. Process800continues to806, where the media guidance application receives (e.g., via control circuitry404over communications network514) a plurality of responses, wherein each response of the plurality of responses corresponds to the selectable option. For example, if there are 80 attendees of the movie showing, the media guidance application may receive 80 responses from the 80 attendees. Each attendee response of the plurality of attendee responses may indicate whether the respective attendee approves of the delayed start time of the event. Process800continues to808, where the media guidance application determines (e.g., via control circuitry404) a plurality of negative responses of the plurality of responses and a plurality of positive responses of the plurality of responses. For example, the media guidance application may determine whether each response was “yes” or “no.” Process800continues to810, where the media guidance application sums (e.g., via control circuitry404) the plurality of negative responses. For example, the media guidance application may have notified 80 attendees of the delayed start time and received 60 responses. The media guidance application may then sum the negative “no” responses to determine 37 attendees rejected the delayed start time. Process800continues to812, where the media guidance application sums (e.g., via control circuitry404) the plurality of positive responses. For example, the media guidance application may have notified 80 attendees of the delayed start time and received 60 responses. Of the 60 responses the media guidance application may sum the positive “yes” responses to determine 23 attendees accepted the delayed start time. Process800continues to814, where the media guidance application compares (e.g., via control circuitry404) the summed plurality of negative responses to the summed plurality of positive responses. For example, the media guidance application may compare the 23 positive responses to the 37 negative responses. Process800continues to816, where the media guidance application determines (e.g., via control circuitry404) whether there more negative responses than positive responses. If the summed plurality of positive responses exceeds the summed plurality of negative responses, process800continues to818, where the media guidance application does not change the delayed start time. If the summed plurality of negative responses exceeds the summed plurality of positive responses, process800continues to820, where the media guidance application recalculates (e.g., via control circuitry404) the delayed start time based on the statistical representation. For example, the media guidance application may compare the 23 positive responses to the 37 negative responses to determine that more attendees rejected the delayed start time than accepted it. For example, because more attendees rejected the delayed start time than accepted the delayed start time (i.e., the summed plurality of negative responses was greater than the summed plurality of positive responses), the delayed start time might be adjusted to an earlier (less delayed) time. For example, the delayed start time may be 7:15 PM but the recalculated start time may be 7:10 PM. One method of recalculating the delayed start time is shown in steps820athrough820e. These steps are non-limiting and show only an example of how step820may be accomplished. Step820of process800may begin at step820a, where the media guidance application determines (e.g., via control circuitry404) a plurality of importance weights corresponding to each of the plurality of attendees, wherein the plurality of importance weights sums to one. For example, some attendees may be more important to the event than others. The importance of the attendees are stored as importance weights that represent a fraction of 1. For example, if there are five attendees, the attendees may be weighted equally, with 0.2 assigned to each attendee as their importance weight. If, however, the event were a birthday party, the person whose birthday the party is celebrating, UserE for example, would be a more important attendee than any of the other attendees. In this case, UserE may have an importance weight of 0.6, while the four other attendees may have each have a 0.1 importance weight. The importance weights may, for example, be set by the host of the event or determined by the media guidance application based on the attendee's role in the event. Step820of process800may continue to820b, where the media guidance application multiplies (e.g., via control circuitry404) each difference of the plurality of differences by a respective importance weight of the plurality of importance weights to determine a plurality of weighted differences. The media guidance application may identify a difference of the plurality of differences corresponding to the attendee. For example, UserE may have an importance weight of 0.6 and an arrival time of 7:20 PM, and may therefore correspond to a difference of 20 minutes. For example, the weighted difference of UserE may be 0.6 (his or her importance weight) multiplied by 20 minutes (his or her difference between arrival time and the start time of the event), which results in a weighted difference of 12 minutes. Step820of process800may continue to820c, where the media guidance application computes (e.g., via control circuitry404), using the plurality of weighted differences, a weighted average of the plurality of differences. For example, if the weights for UserA, UserB, UserC, UserD, and UserE were 0.1, 0.1, 0.1, 0.1, and 0.6, respectively, and the differences for these attendees were 25, 15, 5, 10, and 20 minutes, respectively, the weighted differences would be 2.5, 1.5, 0.5, 1.0, and 12 minutes, respectively. To compute the weighted average of the plurality of differences, the media guidance application may simply sum the plurality of weighted differences, to result in a weighted average of the plurality of differences equal to 17.5 minutes. Step820of process800may continue to820d, where the media guidance application assigns (e.g., via control circuitry404) the weighted average to be the statistical representation. For example, the weighted average of the plurality of differences may be equal to 17.5 minutes. The media guidance application may then assign 17.5 minutes as the statistical representation. Step820of process800may continue to820e, where the media guidance application recalculates (e.g., via control circuitry404) the delayed start time based on the statistical representation. For example, the recalculated delayed start time of the event may be the start time (e.g., 7:00:00 PM) added to the statistical representation (e.g., 17.5 minutes). For example, the start time of the event may be 7:00:00 PM, the delayed start time of the event may be 7:15:00 PM, and the recalculated delayed start time of the event may be 7:17:30 PM. FIG.9is a flowchart of illustrative steps for providing event attendees with a media asset related to an event, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. For example, a media guidance application may instruct control circuitry404to execute the elements of process900. Process900begins at902, where the media guidance application accesses (e.g., via control circuitry404over communications network514) a location database containing a plurality of device identifiers corresponding to a plurality of device locations. For example, the media guidance application may access a global positioning system (GPS) database that contains device identifiers for every device near a certain location. Process900continues to904, where the media guidance application retrieves (e.g., via control circuitry404over communications network514), from the location database, a plurality of device identifiers corresponding to a plurality of devices at the location of the event, wherein the plurality of devices corresponds to a plurality of device owners. For example, the media guidance application may access the GPS database and retrieve a list of user devices that are currently at the event location, such as AMC Theater 19, where “Guardians of the Galaxy” was scheduled to start at 7:00 PM. For example, UserC may have arrived at AMC Theater 19 before the delayed start time of 7:15 PM. UserC may be bored while waiting for the movie showing to begin and may wish to view a media asset related to “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Process900continues to906, where the media guidance application retrieves (e.g., via control circuitry404over communications network514) from the event information database, a media asset related to the event. For example, if the event is a movie showing of “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the media guidance application may retrieve the movie trailer for “Guardians of the Galaxy” from the event information database. Process900continues to908, where the media guidance application prompts (e.g., via control circuitry404over communications network514) each device owner of the plurality of device owners to accept the media asset. For example, the media guidance application may display a notification on the user devices (e.g., mobile devices) at the event that says “Would you like to view the movie trailer for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy?’” and provides “yes” and “no” options that the users can click to indicate their acceptance (“yes”) or rejection (“no”) of the movie trailer. For example, UserC may view a notification displayed on his or her phone and select either “yes” to view the movie trailer or “no” to not watch the movie trailer. Process900continues to910, where the media guidance application determines (e.g., via control circuitry404) whether the device owner accepts (e.g., by selecting “yes” in response to the prompt) the media asset. If the device owner does not accept, process900continues to912, where the media guidance application does not transmit the media asset to a device corresponding to the device owner of the plurality of devices. If the device owner does accept, process900continues to914, where the media guidance application transmits (e.g., via control circuitry404over communications network514) the media asset to a device corresponding to the device owner of the plurality of devices. For example, if UserC clicks the “yes” option, the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie may be transmitted to UserC's mobile device, where UserC may then view the movie trailer. FIG.10is a flowchart of illustrative steps for delaying the start of an event based on the arrival times of event attendees, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. For example, a media guidance application may instruct control circuitry404to execute the elements of process1000. Process1000begins at1002, where the media guidance application determines (e.g., via control circuitry404over communications network514) a start time of an event, a location of the event, and a plurality of attendees of the event. For example, the media guidance application may access an event information database hosted by a movie theater company, such as the movie theater company AMC Theaters, or from a third-party database that aggregates event information. The media guidance application may retrieve a data structure from the event information database, the data structure containing a start time of the event, a location of the event, and a plurality of attendee identifiers corresponding to a plurality of attendees of the event. For example, from the data structure, the media guidance application may determine that the event is a showing of a movie called “Guardians of the Galaxy” at 7:00 PM EST at AMC Theater 19 located at 175 Tremont Street, Boston, Mass. The data structure may contain a plurality of attendee identifiers corresponding to a plurality of attendees of the event, such as a list of names of people who have bought tickets to see “Guardians of the Galaxy” at 7:00 PM EST at AMC Theater 19. For example, UserA, UserB, UserC, UserD, and UserE may have bought tickets online for the movie showing. Process1000continues to1004, where the media guidance application determines (e.g., via control circuitry404) a plurality of location applications, wherein each attendee of the plurality of attendees corresponds to a respective location application of the plurality of location applications. For example, the media guidance application may search a location application database using a list of the attendees who have bought tickets to the movie showing. The media guidance application may determine, for example, that a first attendee, UserA, corresponds to location application GPS_A, while a second attendee, UserB, corresponds to GPS_B. Process1000continues to1006, where the media guidance application queries (e.g., via control circuitry404) the plurality of location applications for a plurality of arrival times, each arrival time of the plurality of arrival times corresponding to a respective attendee of the plurality of attendees. For example, the media guidance application may query GPS_A for an arrival time for UserA at AMC Theater 19. GPS_A may return, to the media guidance application, an arrival time of 7:25 PM for UserA. Process1000continues to1008, where the media guidance application calculates (e.g., via control circuitry404) a plurality of differences between each of the plurality of arrival times and the start time of the event. For example, UserA may have an arrival time of 7:25 PM but the start time of the event may be 7:00 PM. In this case, a difference (associated with UserA) of the plurality of differences would be 25 minutes. Process1000continues to1010, where the media guidance application delays (e.g., via control circuitry404), based on the plurality of differences, the start time of the event. For example, the media guidance application may calculate a statistical representation of the plurality of differences, compare the statistical representation to a threshold, determine whether the statistical representation exceeds the threshold, and, in response to determining that the statistical representation exceeds the threshold, delay the start time of the event by an amount that is based on the statistical representation of the plurality of differences (as described in relation toFIG.6). | 121,012 |
11861565 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference will now be made to the illustrative embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used here to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the claims or this disclosure is thereby intended. Alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and additional applications of the principles of the subject matter illustrated herein, which would occur to one ordinarily skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein. The present disclosure is here described in detail with reference to embodiments illustrated in the drawings, which form a part here. Other embodiments may be used and/or other changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description are not meant to be limiting of the subject matter presented here. FIG.1illustrates components of a system100for automated interactive scheduling management, according to an embodiment. The system100may comprise an analytic server110with a customer database130aand a service provider database130b, a set of customer electronic devices150, a service provider computing device120, and one or more external data sources160, that are connected with each other via hardware and software components of one or more networks140. Examples of the network140include, but are not limited to, Local Area Network (LAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), and the Internet. The communication over the network140may be performed in accordance with various communication protocols, such as Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and IEEE communication protocols. The analytic server110may be any computing device comprising a processor and other computing hardware and software components, configured to automatically provide interactive scheduling service. The analytic server110may be logically and physically organized within the same or different devices or structures, and may be distributed across any number of physical structures and locations (e.g., cabinets, rooms, buildings, cities). The analytic server110may receive a request to schedule an appointment from a customer electronic device150. A customer and a user are interchangeable in this disclosure. The analytic server110may determine required data from both the customer and the service provider, and retrieve the required data from internal databases, the customer database130aand the service provider database130b, and the external data source160. The analytic server110may determine a potential service provider that provides service best matching the customer's request. The analytic server110may create an appointment and notify the customer and service provider by transmitting an electronic message containing the created appointment to the customer electronic device150and the service provider computing device120. The customer database130amay be any non-transitory machine-readable media configured to store data, including customer profile and attributes (e.g., customer identifier, customer name, age, gender, customer home address, zip code, customer payment methods, credit card information, and the like), customer preferences for different services (preferred service providers, preferred time, and preferred location), customer's devices information (e.g., car information, home appliance information), and historical appointment data. The customer database130amay include any other data that may be used to better understand and analyze the customer's needs and requests. The analytic server110may receive the customer data from the customer electronic device150based on the customer's input. Alternatively, the analytic server110may access external data sources to collect the customer data by using web crawling or other data mining algorithms. For example, analytic server110may visit various websites (e.g., social networks) by going through a list of Uniform Resource Locator (URL) web addresses and collect customer's relevant data from the various websites. The analytic server110may also access the customer's online calendar to obtain the customer's availability information. The analytic server110may visit different websites to obtain information of the customer's devices (e.g., car, home appliances, Internet of things devices, and the like) and save the obtained data in the customer database130a. The service provider database130bmay be any non-transitory machine-readable media configured to store data, including provider service attributes and the provider's profile and attributes. For example, the provider service attributes may include service catalog, service price, service rating, service time, discount information, and the like. The service provider's attributes may include the provider identifier, the provider's address, office hour, availability data, and the like. The analytic server110may obtain different service providers' data from the service provider computing device120based on the service providers' input. The analytic server110may access the web server and database of each service provider, and obtain the service provider's relevant data. The analytic server may web crawl the web pages of the service provider to collect and obtain the relevant data of the service provider and the provided services and save the obtained data in the service provider database130b. The analytic server110may create the customer database130awhen the customers register with the analytic server110. Similarly, the analytic server110may create the service provider database130bwhen the service providers register with the analytic server110. During the registration, the analytic server may display a graphical user interface (GUI) requesting the customers or service providers to enter required information. The analytic server may store the entered information into customer database130aor the service provider database130b. Further, the analytic server110may also request the authorization from the customers and service providers to access various online accounts and external databases. For example, the analytic server110may request the authorization to access their online calendar and check their availability. The analytic server110may request the customer to provide the user identifier when the customer issues a request for making an appointment. For example, the analytic server110may display a GUI requesting the customer to enter credential information such as username, password, certificate, and biometrics. The analytic server may access the customer database130astoring user credentials, which the analytic server may be configured to reference in order to determine whether a set of credentials (purportedly authenticating the user) match an appropriate set of credentials that identify and authenticate the customer. The analytic server110may retrieve the relevant customer data from the customer database130aand various external sources160based on the customer identifier to better understand the customer's needs and preferences. The analytic server110may analyze the request and determine the required data from the potential service providers for scheduling the appointment. The analytic server110may retrieve the required service provider data from the service provider database130band other external sources160. The analytic server110may match the service provider data with the customer data and determine a service provider with the best matching result. In some embodiments, the analytic server110may determine more than one potential service providers based on the matching results. For example, the analytic server110may determine a matching score for each service provider and present a number of potential service providers with the highest matching scores (e.g., top K) for the customer to choose. The analytic server110may display a GUI on the customer electronic device150including multiple interactive components corresponding to each of potential service providers and their corresponding information. The analytic server110may receive the customer's selection when the customer interacts with one of the interactive components (e.g., clicking on the selected service provider). The analytic server110may generate an appointment for the customer with the service provider best matching the customer requests and customer preferences. The analytic server110may transmit the appointment data to the customer electronic device150and the service provider computing device120. The analytic server110may automatically keep tracking of the appointments and determine if there are any changes in real time. For example, the analytic server110may web crawl the website of the service provider or other social networks and learn that the service provider is running late or the service provider is not able to keep the appointment for the predetermined time slot. The analytic server110may notify the customer with the changes. Furthermore, the analytic server110may provide other options for the customer to choose. For example, the analytic server110may either find another time slot for the same service provider or find a different service provider for the same time slot based on the customer data and service providers' data. In addition, the analytic server110may visit various websites for searching service, mapping service, and navigation service. The customer electronic devices150may be any computing device allowing a customer to interact with the analytic server110. The customer electronic devices150may be any computing device comprising a processor and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium. The examples of the computing device may include, but are not limited to, a desktop computer, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a tablet computer, and the like. In addition, the customer electronic devices150may be a speech recognition device, such as Amazon Alexa/Echo, Google Assistant, Apple Siri, and the like, also referred to as a voice command device. In some embodiments, the customer electronic device150may be a smart device, such as a smart vehicle. A vehicle with self-diagnostic and reporting capability may determine that the vehicle needs oil change and request the analytic server to make an oil change appointment. The customer electronic devices150may comprise any number of input and output devices supporting various types of data, such as text, image, audio, video, and the like. In operation, the customer electronic device150may execute an appointment-scheduling program, which may include a user interface that renders an interactive layout, schematic, or other elements for the user to input a request. For example, the user interface may include a text-based interface allowing the user to enter manual command. In one embodiment, the customer electronic device150is a voice enabled electronic device. The customer electronic device150is configured to decode a human voice and perform commands without any physical input such as a keyboard, mouse, or touchscreen, though the customer electronic device150may still be configured to perform commands using those input mechanisms. The customer electronic device150can be a speech recognition device configured primarily for voice controls, or the customer electronic device150can be an electronic device (e.g., vehicle, mobile phone, desktop computer) that has software and/or hardware that enables this functionality. The voice control functionality may be performed entirely on the customer electronic device150or configured to communicate over a network with a server that processes the speech, generates commands accordingly, and communicates over a network to other devices (e.g., analytic server110, server provide computing device120). The customer electronic device150converts speech to text or a computer command. The user interface of the voice enabled electronic device includes an audio-based interface allowing the user to issue a request by speaking to the customer electronic device150. The user interface may also include a graphical user interface displayed on a screen of the customer electronic device150, and the graphical user interface may present outputs from commands, confirmation of inputs, options for selection by the customer, status information, or the like. The service provider computing device120may be any computing device comprising a processor and other computing hardware and software components. The service provider computing device120may comprise, or may be in networked-communication with, a server and databases of the service provider, that are configured to manage the business and transactions of the service provider. The analytic server110may have the authorization to connect with the service provider server and databases to access certain data required to make appointments for the service provider. The external data sources160may be any non-transitory machine-readable media from external entities, such as various external web servers. The external data sources160may be web pages of different websites and databases of various web servers. The analytic server110may access the external data sources160through web crawling. The analytic server110may utilize the external data sources160by constantly web crawling the relevant web pages and extract meaningful information for the appointments. The analytic server110may determine if there are any changes for the appointments based on the extracted information. In operation, the analytic server110may receive a request to schedule an appointment from the customer electronic device150. The analytic server110may retrieve the user profile from the customer database130aand external data sources160and determine the service request attributes. The analytic server110may retrieve service provider profile from the service provider database130band external data sources160. The analytic server110may determine one or more matching service providers based on the service request attributes. In the matching process, the analytic server110may check the availability of both customer and service provider by considering other events scheduled on the calendar and real life factors. For example, when the analytic server110tries to make an appointment with a restaurant at 2:30, the analytic server110may not only check if the customer is available at 2:30, but also determine if the restaurant is busy, how long the stay in the restaurant would be by web crawling the restaurant website or other search engines. The analytic server may determine if the customer would be able to get back on time for the next event on the calendar. By considering all the factors and attributes, the analytic server110may determine the best matching service provider and generate an appointment. The analytic server110may transmit the appointment to the customer electronic device150and the service provider computing device120. FIG.2illustrates a flowchart depicting operational steps for automated interactive scheduling management, according to an embodiment. Other embodiments may comprise additional or alternative steps, or may omit some steps altogether. At step202, the analytic server may receive a request to schedule an appointment from a customer device. The analytic server may receive the request when the customer interacts with a GUI. In operation, the customer may open a website in an Internet browser or a local application on a mobile device configured to receive an instruction or a request from the customer. The customer may first enter credential information such as username, password, certificate, and biometrics. The customer electronic device may transmit the user inputs to the analytic server for authentication. The analytic server may access the customer database storing user credentials, which the analytic server may be configured to reference in order to determine whether a set of entered credentials match an appropriate set of credentials that identify and authenticate the customer. After the analytic server authenticates the customer and determines the customer's role, the analytic server may generate and serve webpages to the customer electronic device, which may include user interface for the customer to input request. As discussed above, the user interface may be text-based and/or audio based. The user interface may allow the customer to input request with text, audio and/or some combination thereof. The website or application user interface configured to receive an instruction or request may be presented or executed by a voice enabled electronic device, including Amazon Alexa/Echo, Google Assistant, Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana, interactive voice response (IVR), Unity, an intelligent personal assistant application or device, and the like. In operation, the analytic server may receive the request when the customer speaks to the voice enabled device. For example, the customer may issue a request by speaking “Alexa, schedule an oil change for my car.” The analytic server may receive such an audio message and convert audio message (e.g., customer voice) into text or transcript by utilizing speech recognition algorithms. Based on the text of the customer request, the analytic server may interpret the intention of the customer and extract the request attributes by parsing the words of the request transcript. For example, the analytic server may utilize natural language processing algorithms (e.g., n-gram model) to parse the request transcript and identify the service request. The received request may be making an appointment for a specific service (e.g., doctor appointment). In some embodiments, the received request may be making an appointment for a specific service regarding a customer's device (e.g., repairing a car). The received request may include one or more request attributes, such as service, time, location, provider, and the like. The customer may provide more or less attributes in the request. For example, a request with less attributes may be “schedule an oil change for my car.” A request with more attributes may be “schedule an oil change on May 1 with service provider B.” If the received request includes more attributes, the analytic server may utilize the input attributes as limiting conditions to narrow down the potential service providers and make an appointment. If the received request does not include enough attributes, the analytic server may need to determine or infer the attributes for the request based on the customer profile and the potential service provider profiles and make appointment based on determined/inferred attributes. In some embodiments, the analytic server may track the customer's daily life arrangement, and propose an appointment for the customer, instead of passively receiving instructions from the customer. For example, the analytic server may access onboard diagnostics data of the customer's car and determine the customer needs an oil change. In operation, the analytic server may receive an indication of maintenance requirement from the car. For example, when the engine light or oil light is on, the analytic server may receive an indication that the specific light is on. The analytic server may determine that the customer needs to make an appointment. At step204, the analytic server may retrieve the customer's data from the internal customer database and external data sources. As discussed above, the received request may only include limited information, such as requested service or service catalog. To process such requests and make appointments best matching the customer needs, the analytic server may need more information from both the customer and the potential service providers. The analytic server may obtain customer data by retrieving the customer database and/or web crawling external data sources. The retrieved customer data may comprise user needs and preferences, such as the preferred time, the preferred location, the preferred specific technician, the preferred price range; user attributes, such as gender, age, zip code, home address, and the like. When the request is regarding a customer's device, the analytic server may also obtain the device data. For example, when the analytic server receives the request asking for an oil change appointment, the analytic server may need to determine the make and model of the car, the type of oil for the car. In operation, the analytic server may determine the customer's car and oil information by retrieving customer data from internal customer database and/or web crawling external data sources. In addition, the analytic server may retrieve other attributes from the customer's device by connecting with the device. For example, when the analytic server receive an oil change request or indication of car maintenance requirement, the analytic server may access the car's onboard diagnostics and obtain additional latest information and a set of attributes regarding the car. The set of attributes regarding the car may include mileage, oil pressure, coolant, and the like. The analytic server may utilize such additional information and attributes to determine the customer's needs, service request attributes, and the service urgency. For example, based on the car's onboard diagnostics, the analytic server may check the miles since the last oil change and other related information and determine if the car needs an oil change immediately or the oil change is less urgent. The analytic server may determine the urgency of the service request by employing artificial intelligence algorithms. The analytic server may also retrieve the customer availability data from a customer electronic calendar application. The analytic server may apply artificial intelligence algorithms and determine an available time for the customer based on customer preferences and the urgency of the service request. For example, when the car needs an oil change immediately, the analytic server may determine that the appointment needs to be within two days. The analytic server may also check the customer's preferences and determine that the customer may prefer appointment in the morning. The analytic server may check available time slots in the morning within two days. The analytic server may access and obtain the customer's data based on authorization or permission of the customer. The analytic server may generate a GUI asking for permission of the customer to access certain data. The customer may be able to allow or decline the access of the customer's certain data. The analytic server may collect and aggregate data related with the customer by web crawling various websites and store the data into the customer database. Furthermore, the analytic server may continuously web crawl various websites to collect new data relevant to the user profile, user attributes, user preferences and update the customer database with new data to make sure customer data are automatically updated in real time. In some embodiments, the analytic server may provide a GUI to allow the customers to update their profiles. At step206, the analytic server may retrieve the service providers' data from the internal service provider database and external data sources. The retrieved service provider data may comprise provider service attributes, providers' profile and attributes, and any other relevant data. For example, when the analytic server receives the request for an oil change appointment, the analytic server may retrieve the information on provider service attributes, such as offered oil types, price lists; the providers' attributes, such as location, office hour, customer review or rating, lists of mechanics, and the like. The analytic server may obtain such data by retrieving the service provider database and/or web crawling external data sources. In addition, the analytic server may retrieve the service provider availability data from the service provider electronic calendar for the requested service. The analytic server may access and obtain the service providers' data based on authorization or permission of the service providers. The analytic server may generate a GUI asking for permission of the service providers to access certain data. The service providers may be able to allow or decline the access of certain data. The analytic server may collect and aggregate data related with the potential service providers by web crawling various websites and store the data into the service provider database. Furthermore, the analytic server may continuously web crawl various websites to collect new data relevant to the service providers' profiles, service attributes, providers' attributes and update the service provider database with new data to make sure service provider data are automatically updated in real time. In some embodiments, the analytic server may provide a GUI to allow the service providers to update their profiles. At step208, the analytic server may determine one or more service providers with providers' data best matching customer's data. The analytic server may match a potential service provider by going through the provider service attributes and provider's attributes to see if they match the customer request. The matching process may narrow down the scope of the potential service providers by go through each attribute. For example, assuming the request is “schedule an oil change with a provider within 5 miles,” the analytic server may go through the providers' location and determine the distance from the provider location to the customer address, and narrow down the scope of providers to the providers within 5 miles. The analytic server may also go through the providers' provided services and further narrow down the scope of providers to the providers offering the specific oil for the customer car. After the analytic server may determine one or more providers with the provider service attributes matching the customer preferences and service request attributes, the analytic server may go through the providers' availability information and only keep the potential providers who are available for oil change at the customer's preferred available time. The analytic server may determine a time slot that works for both the service provider and the customer. To check the availability of the customer, the analytic server may not only access the customer's electronic calendar, but also execute an artificial intelligence model and consider the customer's other events scheduled on the calendar and real life factors, such as traffic, weather, and the like. The analytic server may web crawl various external data sources to extract real life factors relevant to the appointment, such as the traffic and weather information. The analytic server may determine the customer's available time for the appointment based on existing events on the calendar application of the customer and a time interval between the existing events and the appointment. For example, when the analytic server tries to make an appointment at 2:30 pm to 3:00 pm, the analytic server may not only check if the time slot on the calendar is available, the analytic server may further determine that the customer needs to leave at 2:00 pm for 30 minutes driving based on the route and traffic. The analytic server may check calendar and determine if the customer schedule allows the customer to leave at 2:00 pm or if the customer can get back timely for the next event on the calendar based on the traffic and weather. When there are multiple potential service providers matching the customer request, the analytic server may determine a matching score between the customer and each potential service provider and rank the potential service providers based on the scores. The matching score may incorporate data on different attributes and factors including the attributes identified by the customer in the request and other attributes. In operation, the analytic server may assign a weight value for each attribute or factor considered in the matching score determination. The weight value may reflect the importance or priority level of a specific attribute or factor. The weight value may be based on the customer preferences. For example, some customers may prefer lower price as a priority, even though the customer may need to go to a farther store. In such cases, the analytic server may assign a larger weight value to the price attribute than the location attribute. Some other customers may prefer a closer store even though the closer store is more expensive. In such cases, the location attribute may have a larger weight value than the price attribute. Based on the matching scores, the analytic server may rank the potential service providers and select the potential service providers having a matching score satisfying a threshold. Alternatively, the analytic server may select a number of potential service providers with the highest matching scores (e.g., top K matches). When the customer request contains more information as limiting conditions, the analytic server may have more attributes to narrow down the scope of potential service providers. When the customer request contains less information, the analytic server may execute an artificial intelligence model to predict the user preferences and service request attributes. The analytic server may use the predicted user preferences and service request attributes to narrow down the potential service providers. For example, the analytic server may determine the potential service providers best matching the customer's needs, the predicted preferences, availability. Specifically, the analytic server may apply predictive modeling or machine learning techniques, including but are not limited to, neural networks (NNs), support vector machine (SVMs), decision trees, k-nearest neighbor, linear and logistic regression, clustering, association rules, and scorecards, to learn the patterns hidden in historical data. In some embodiments, the analytic server may learn from other existing customers. The analytic server may utilize the historical customer data and customer appointments from existing customers and train the historical data to learn hidden patterns in the historical data to build a predictive model. The predictive model may be able to generalize the knowledge it learned and apply the knowledge to a new situation. For example, after the analytic server learned the pattern of similar customers, the analytic server may use the knowledge to predict a customer's intentions, service requests, needs, and/or preferences based on the customer profiles and input requests. For example, based on the historical data on existing customers, the analytic server may learn that women at age 30 to 40 prefer to go to salon Store A in a certain area. When the analytic server receives a request asking for a salon appointment without specific preferences, the analytic server may determine the customer's attributes (e.g., gender, age, zip code) based on the customer's profile. If the customer shares one or more attributes with the group of existing customers (e.g., women at age 30 to 40 in a certain area), the analytic server may determine that the salon Store A is a potential service provider for the customer's request. In some embodiments, the analytic server may learn from the historical requests of the customer himself/herself. For example, the analytic server may learn that the customer always goes to a pizza restaurant B for the last ten months based on the customer's historical appointment requests. The analytic server may also learn the ingredients the customer likes for the pizza. When the analytic server receives a request asking for ordering a pizza, the analytic server may determine that pizza restaurant B is a potential service provider. Furthermore, the analytic server may also check the previous orders of the customer and predict the customer's preferences. For example, the analytic server may predict the customer would like to order the same thing as last time. Alternatively, the analytic server may predict the customer would like pepperoni and black olives on the pizza. In another example, the analytic server may learn from the customer's historical requests and determine the periodic requests. For example, the analytic server may learn that the customer makes an appointment for garden maintenance service every March. The analytic server may propose the same appointment for the customer in every March periodically. In some embodiments, the analytic server may combine the predictive results based on the other similar customers and the customer himself/herself. For example, the analytic server may determine that the customer prefers Store B for a salon appointment, and people similar to the customer prefer Store A for a salon appointment. The analytic server may recommend both stores as potential service providers with recommendation reasons for the customer to choose. In some embodiments, the analytic server may generate one or more recommended services based on historical data of existing customers that share one or more attributes with the customer. The analytic server may recommend services and appointments even without customer requesting. In operation, the analytic server may execute the artificial intelligence model to learn the hidden patterns in the historical data of existing customers. For example, the analytic server may learn that customers going to a salon store also go to a gym two blocks away. The analytic server may recommend a new customer going to the salon store to make an appointment with the gym, even though the new customer did not request an appointment with a gym. At step210, the analytic server may generate an appointment for each matching service provider. As discussed above, the analytic server may determine one or more matching service providers best matching the customer's input or predicted needs, preferences, availability. After identifying the matching service providers, the analytic server may generate an appointment comprising customer identifier, service provider identifier, and service data for each matching service provider. Specifically, the appointment data may comprise information on customer, provider, service, time, location, and the like. In some embodiments, the appointment data may include mapping, rating and other information related to the service providers to provide more information to the customer. At step212, the analytic server may transmit an electronic message comprising each appointment to the computing device of the customer. The analytic server may send the electronic message in the form of text message, instant message, email, voicemail, or any other electronic message. The electronic message may include a GUI that displays the appointments based on the rank of the matching scores of the corresponding service providers. The GUI may also include the matched attributes or reasons for the ranking of matching service providers. The displayed appointments may be interactive graphical components, such as buttons, menus, hyperlinks, text boxes, checkboxes, forms, and other components. The customer may select one of the service providers for the appointment by interacting with the corresponding component. For example, the customer may select one of the ranked appointments by clicking on the corresponding interactive graphical component. When the customer electronic device is a voice enabled electronic device, the voice enabled electronic device may audibly read the electronic message comprising appointment options with different service providers ranked based on the matching score of each service provider. The customer may select one of the service providers for the appointment by speaking to the voice enabled electronic device. At step214, the analytic server may receive the customer's selection of the ranked appointments and notify the corresponding service provider of the selected appointment. After the customer's selection, the analytic server may transmit an electronic alert message comprising the selected appointment to the customer electronic device and the corresponding service provider's device. For example, the analytic server may initiate a call between the customer electronic device and the server provider's device for the two parties to communicate regarding the appointment details and/or confirm the appointment. When the customer electronic device is a voice enabled electronic device, the voice enabled electronic device may audibly read the electronic alert message comprising the generated appointment. The analytic server may also generate an interactive electronic message (e.g., an invitation message) comprising the appointment for the customer and the service provider. The interactive electronic message may comprise one or more interactive components (e.g., buttons) for the customer and service provider to confirm or decline the appointment. In addition, the analytic server may generate an event for the appointment on the customer's electronic calendar application and the service provider's electronic calendar application. In some embodiments, the analytic server may add a new record to the customer database to reflect the selected appointment. The new record may act as one of the historical data in the training of the artificial intelligence model. In addition, the analytic server may update the artificial intelligence model based on the customer's reaction to the recommended appointments. In some embodiments, the analytic server may update and refresh the artificial intelligence model periodically (e.g., at a predetermined interval). For example, the analytic server may update the artificial intelligence model weekly or monthly to make sure the artificial intelligence model is based on the most recent historical data. Alternatively, the analytic server may update the artificial intelligence model when the customer is not satisfied with the provided appointments (e.g., customer's reaction not satisfying a threshold). For example, the customer may not select any of the provided generated appointments, and issue a new request. By retraining the artificial intelligence model, the new artificial intelligence model may better reflect the trend of customers' behaviors and intentions, and improve the prediction accuracy. In some embodiments, the analytic server may automatically keep tracking of the appointment status and determine if there are any changes in real time. The analytic server may web crawl the website of the service provider or social networks or other websites. For example, the analytic server may learn that the service provider is running late or the service provider is not able to keep the appointment for the predetermined time slot based on the web crawling information. The analytic server may notify the customer with the changes by transmitting an electronic alert message. Furthermore, the analytic server may provide other options for the customer to choose. For example, the analytic server may either reschedule another time slot for the same service provider or find a different service provider for the same time slot based on the customer data and service providers' data. The foregoing method descriptions and the process flow diagrams are provided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that the steps of the various embodiments must be performed in the order presented. The steps in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in any order. Words such as “then,” “next,” etc. are not intended to limit the order of the steps; these words are simply used to guide the reader through the description of the methods. Although process flow diagrams may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, and the like. When a process corresponds to a function, the process termination may correspond to a return of the function to a calling function or a main function. The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of this disclosure or the claims. Embodiments implemented in computer software may be implemented in software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. A code segment or machine-executable instructions may represent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures, or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc. The actual software code or specialized control hardware used to implement these systems and methods is not limiting of the claimed features or this disclosure. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and methods were described without reference to the specific software code being understood that software and control hardware can be designed to implement the systems and methods based on the description herein. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or code on a non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readable storage medium. The steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein may be embodied in a processor-executable software module, which may reside on a computer-readable or processor-readable storage medium. A non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readable media includes both computer storage media and tangible storage media that facilitate transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory processor-readable storage media may be any available media that may be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such non-transitory processor-readable media may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other tangible storage medium that may be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a computer or processor. Disk and disc, as used herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. Additionally, the operations of a method or algorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of codes and/or instructions on a non-transitory processor-readable medium and/or computer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computer program product. The preceding description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments described herein and variations thereof. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter disclosed herein. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the following claims and the principles and novel features disclosed herein. While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed, other aspects and embodiments are contemplated. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims. | 45,328 |
11861566 | The Figures depict preferred embodiments for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the systems and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present embodiments may relate to, inter alia, systems and methods for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data. In one exemplary embodiment, the process may be performed by at least one front-end system, such as a client device, and at least one back-end system, such as a web server and/or a database server. Accordingly, in the exemplary embodiment, a computer system for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data may receive telematics data from a vehicle. More particularly, the system may receive vehicle telematics data associated with one or more vehicle components. As used herein, a “vehicle component” may be any component or part of a vehicle, such as, for example, and without limitation, one or more vehicle tires, a vehicle oil filter and/or a vehicle lubricant, such as vehicle motor oil, vehicle fluids, electronic vehicle components, vehicle brake pads, transmission, clutch, drivetrain, sensors (such as smart vehicle sensors or autonomous vehicle sensors), and the like. In addition, as used herein, “vehicle telematics data” is any data associated with a vehicle component, such as a tread depth of one or more vehicle tires, an environmental sensor reading, vehicle mileage, vehicle oil and fluid levels, tire pressure, tire temperature, vehicle brake pad thicknesses, and the like. Additionally or alternatively, vehicle telematics data may include data captured by a vehicle component, such as environmental data (e.g., temperature, humidity) or contextual data (e.g., location, acceleration). In some embodiments, vehicle telematics data may be collected by one or more sensors mounted on or installed within a vehicle. Such sensors may be configured to monitor a vehicle component and may provide vehicle telematics data collected in conjunction with a particular vehicle component to the system. In certain embodiments, the sensors may be configured to monitor environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, acceleration, and the like. Thus, the system receives vehicle telematics data associated with at least one vehicle component and/or environmental factor. In the exemplary embodiment, the system may analyze the received vehicle telematics data to determine a replacement cycle associated with one or more vehicle components. As used herein, a “replacement cycle” may include a time remaining until a vehicle component should be replaced or scheduled for maintenance. In certain embodiments, the system may be further configured to retrieve industry data associated with the vehicle telematics data. Industry data may include life expectancy data, replacement cycle data, vehicle component cost data (e.g., repair costs, replacement costs), vehicle labor rates, and the like. For example, industry data may include a life expectancy associated with a vehicle component, a replacement cost for the vehicle component, and an estimated labor cost for the component replacement. In one embodiment, the system includes a database storing industry data (e.g., database110). Additionally or alternatively, the system may be configured to query an industry data source, such as a data source associated with a vehicle manufacturer or vehicle component manufacturer. For example, the system may transmit a query including a vehicle and/or part identifier to an industry data source to retrieve industry data. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the computer system may analyze vehicle telematics data received in association with a vehicle component to determine a rate of wear on the vehicle component, and the rate of wear may (as described herein) be used to determine a replacement cycle. In addition, the system may retrieve life expectancy (or lifecycle) data associated with the vehicle component, which the system may analyze in conjunction with the calculated rate of wear to determine a replacement cycle. Further, as used herein, “lifecycle data” may include any data associated with a vehicle component that indicates an amount of wear and/or use that the component may suitably receive prior to replacement or maintenance of the component. For example, in the case of tires, lifecycle data may include a mileage, a tread depth, tire temperature, tire pressure, and/or any other data indicative of the life expectancy (prior to replacement) of the tires. The computer system may, based upon the received vehicle telematics data (e.g., a determined rate of wear) and/or retrieved lifecycle data, determine a replacement cycle. Specifically, in some embodiments, the system may mathematically divide lifecycle data by a determined rate of wear. For example, in the case of vehicle tires, lifecycle data may indicate that the tires have a life expectancy of 45,000 miles. The system may divide the life expectancy of 45,000 miles (minus any mileage already placed on the tires) by an average mileage (received by the system as telematics data and/or calculated by the system based upon received telematics data) to determine a time remaining until replacement of the tires. Thus, in the case of a new set of tires (having little or no wear) and an average daily mileage of 50 miles/day, a replacement cycle (e.g., a time remaining until replacement) may be approximately 900 days (e.g., 45,000/50). In certain embodiments, the computer system determines the replacement cycle based at least in part on the retrieved industry data. For example, the computer system may be configured to compare the industry data to the determined rate of wear. In the exemplary embodiment, the computer system may also determine a replacement cost and/or a maintenance cost of one or more vehicle components. For example, in some embodiments, the system may retrieve a replacement cost and/or a maintenance cost associated with one or more components from a database. As used herein, a “replacement cost” may include any cost associated with replacing a worn or damaged vehicle component. Similarly, as used herein, a “maintenance cost” may include any cost associated with maintenance performed on a worn or damaged vehicle component. The computer system may, in addition, calculate a plurality of periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account. As used herein, a “periodic maintenance contribution” may include any periodic and/or recurring payment from one account (e.g., a “primary account”) to another account (e.g., a “periodic maintenance account”), where a primary account may be any bank account from which funds may be transferred, and a periodic maintenance savings account may be any account designated to receive funds from the primary account, such as, for example, one or more periodic maintenance contributions. Accordingly, to calculate a periodic maintenance contribution, the computer system may subtract a current maintenance account balance from a total replacement cost and/or a total maintenance cost of a vehicle component. The computer system may, in addition, divide the resulting mathematical difference by a replacement cycle (as described above). For example, the system may determine that a maintenance account includes a current balance of $200 as well as that a total cost of tire replacement is $500. The system may subtract $200 from $500 to determine that a maintenance savings account associated with a vehicle or vehicle component (e.g., the tires) is $300 short of the balance required to replace the tires on the vehicle. The system may, in addition, divide the balance required (e.g., $300) by the replacement cycle (e.g., in the example above, 900 days) to calculate a periodic (e.g., daily) maintenance contribution, such as, for example $0.33/day. Thus, the computer system may divide a replacement cycle into a plurality of replacement intervals, and each replacement interval may be associated with a periodic maintenance contribution. For instance, in the example above, a replacement cycle may be divided into a plurality of daily replacement intervals, each associated with a periodic (e.g., daily) maintenance contribution. The system may, in addition, divide a total (or remaining) replacement cost by a total number of (remaining) replacement intervals to obtain an amount associated with each of the plurality of periodic maintenance contributions. In other words, and in brief, the system may determine a periodic maintenance contribution based upon a total cost of replacing a vehicle component (less an existing or current maintenance account balance), and the resulting mathematical difference may be divided by a replacement cycle and/or a number of replacement intervals subdivided from the total replacement cycle. In addition, and in the exemplary embodiment, the system may automatically transfer one or more periodic maintenance contributions from a primary account to a periodic maintenance savings account. In various embodiments, the computer system may also provide an interface (e.g., a “dashboard”) from which a user may select one or more vehicle components for periodic maintenance contributions. The dashboard may be provided as a web-based interface, such as a smartphone “app” and/or as a webpage provided to any suitable computing device, such as a client device. Thus, in some embodiments, a user may select vehicle components to which the user would like the system to allocate periodic maintenance contributions. Each vehicle component may be monitored independently by the system, and a maintenance savings account may be organized or partitioned to track periodic maintenance contributions on a component-by-component basis. In other embodiments, each vehicle component may be associated with a unique maintenance savings account to ensure that funds allocated to a particular vehicle component are maintained in a dedicated maintenance savings account. In addition, in some embodiments, the computer system may determine, based upon updated vehicle telematics data, an updated replacement cycle associated with one or more vehicle components. For example, the computer system may periodically (e.g., daily) receive updated telematics data from a vehicle. In response, the system may determine, based upon the updated telematics data, one or more updated replacement cycles associated with one or more vehicle components. Thus, in some embodiments, the computer system is capable of dynamically adjusting a replacement cycle (and thus a periodic maintenance contribution) based upon, for example, real-time (or near real-time) vehicle telematics data. Moreover, in various embodiments, the computer system may also determine one or more maintenance contributions based upon one or more trip costs associated with a vehicle. As used herein, a “trip cost” is a cost associated with a particular “trip” or use of a vehicle. For example, the computer system may analyze vehicle telematics data to determine one or more trip costs associated with one or more vehicle components. Such trip costs may be based upon, for instance, wear on a vehicle component as a result of a particular trip or use of a vehicle. To calculate a trip cost, the computer system may divide a life expectancy of a vehicle component by a value (derived or obtained directly from vehicle telematics data) indicating an amount of life expectancy used or consumed during a particular trip. The ratio obtained as a result of the division may be multiplied by the total replacement cost of the vehicle component to determine the trip cost associated with a trip. The computer system may, in addition, aggregate a plurality of trip costs to obtain an aggregated trip cost. The aggregated trip cost may be compared to a maintenance contribution threshold (which may be selected by a user and/or preselected by the system), and if the aggregated trip cost exceeds the maintenance contribution threshold, the system may automatically transfer a periodic maintenance contribution (such as a periodic maintenance contribution totaling the aggregated trip cost) from a primary account to a maintenance savings account. In some embodiments, the computer system may be configured to allocate periodic maintenance contributions based upon a particular user (e.g., driver or non-driver passenger) of a vehicle. For example, the computer system may identify a first user of the vehicle and a second user of the vehicle. To identify one or more users of the vehicle, the system may analyze received vehicle telematics data, which may include data sufficient to determine which of the users was driving the vehicle when the telematics data was generated. In other words, the received vehicle telematics data may specify a user associated with a particular driver or other user of the vehicle. As used herein, user refers to a party associated with the vehicle, such as owners, drivers, and/or passengers. For example, users of the computer system may include a lessor (e.g., owner) of a vehicle, and a leasee (e.g., driver) of a vehicle. In another example, the users of the computer system may include any number of drivers. In some embodiments, the computer system may, in addition, allocate a first plurality of maintenance contributions (or an individual maintenance contribution) to a first maintenance savings account associated with the first user based upon the vehicle telematics data. Similarly, the computer system may allocate a second plurality of maintenance contributions (or an individual maintenance contribution) to a second maintenance savings account associated with the second user based upon the vehicle telematics data. The maintenance contributions allocated to the first and second maintenance savings accounts may thus reflect actual usage of a vehicle by a plurality of users, such that each user is only responsible for deposits to a maintenance savings account as a result of that user's actual use of the vehicle. When a vehicle component is due for replacement (or maintenance) the funds allocated to each of the plurality of maintenance savings accounts may be aggregated, by the system, to equal the total replacement (or maintenance) cost of the vehicle component. In other embodiments, the computer system is configured to allocate the first plurality of maintenance contributions (or an individual maintenance contribution) to a first maintenance savings account associated with the first user based upon the vehicle telematics data and to further allocate a second plurality of maintenance contributions associated with the second user to the first maintenance savings account based upon the vehicle telematics data. Similarly, when a vehicle component is due for replacement, the cost may be covered by the contributions included in the first maintenance savings account. In one embodiment, the computer system allocates contributions from the second user to the first user, such that the second user compensates the first user based on their usage. In yet other embodiments, the computer system may be configured to allocate any combination of contributions to the first account, and may be further configured to maintain a record of contributions based on associated user. For example, the computer system may determine an individual user's contribution to a shared account. In some embodiments, the computer system may store one or more groups of telematics data obtained over a period of time, such as daily groups of telematics data, in a plurality of blocks of a blockchain. As used herein, a “blockchain” is a distributed database that maintains a continuously-growing list of ordered records, known as blocks. Each block may contain at least a timestamp and a link to the previous block in the chain. The link to the previous block may be a hash of the previous block. For vehicle telematics data, the first block may contain vehicle telematics data received during a particular period of time, such as over the course of a particular day. The second block may contain an updated or later vehicle telematics data, such as vehicle telematics data received during a subsequent period of time, such as over the course of a subsequent day. The second block may contain a hashed copy of the first block as well. This blocking of vehicle telematics data may continue to any number of blocks, with each block adding on to the next while containing a hash of the previous blocks in the blockchain. To ensure the security of the information contained in the blockchain, copies of the blockchain may be distributed across multiple computer devices, known as nodes. These nodes maintain the blockchain, update the blockchain when changes occur, and ensure the stability of the blockchain itself. In some embodiments, nodes may be also used to calculate the hash of the previous blocks. As the blockchain grows, the processing power needed to calculate the hash of the previous blocks grows as well. In these embodiments, the processing of the hash may be distributed over multiple computer devices to improve the speed of processing and/or to not overburden the hashing processor. When a node processes (hashes) a block, that node is known as a miner, where the action of validating and hashing the block is also known as mining Exemplary technical effects of the systems and methods described herein may include, for example: (a) receiving and processing vehicle telematics data to determine a replacement cycle associated with a vehicle component with respect to which vehicle telematics data is collected; (b) determining, based upon the replacement cycle and a replacement cost of a vehicle component, a plurality of maintenance contributions to be transferred from a primary bank account of a user to a maintenance savings account of the user that is designated to receive the plurality of maintenance contributions, where the plurality of maintenance contributions are incrementally allocated to the maintenance savings account, such that a user of a vehicle is not financially burdened by the allocation, over the duration of the replacement cycle, of a plurality of periodically recurring maintenance contributions; (c) automatically transferring the plurality of maintenance contributions to the maintenance savings account, such as, for example, at the close of a replacement interval (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) and/or in response to a determination that an aggregated total of maintenance contributions exceeds a threshold value; (d) breaking vehicle usage out by user, such as, for example, where the vehicle is shared between a plurality of users, such that maintenance contributions are allocated to one or more maintenance savings accounts based upon user contributions to overall vehicle component wear and tear; and (e) determining a plurality of “trip costs” associated with one or more trips or uses of a vehicle, and allocating maintenance contributions to one or more maintenance savings accounts based upon one or more trip costs, one or more aggregated trip costs, and the like. Exemplary Computer System for Automatically Allocating Periodic Maintenance Contributions FIG.1is a schematic view of an exemplary computer system100for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data. In one exemplary embodiment, system100may include a client device, such as a client device102. Client device102may be associated with an individual, such as a user of a vehicle101. System100may also include network104, a web server106, a database server108, and/or a database110. Accordingly, in the exemplary embodiment, vehicle101may include one or more computer systems configured to collect and/or generate vehicle telematics data. For example, vehicle101may include a plurality of sensors configured to monitor one or more vehicle components. Vehicle telematics data may be generated based upon data collected by the one or more sensors and analyzed, as described herein, to determine maintenance requirements associated with one or more monitored vehicle components. In certain embodiments, vehicle telematics data may also include environmental data generated by any number of sensors measuring environmental factors impacting the vehicle such as temperature and humidity. In the exemplary, client device102may be any personal computing device and/or any mobile communications device of a user, such as a personal computer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, wearable, mobile device, and the like. Client device102may be configured to present an application (e.g., a smartphone “app”) or a webpage, such as webpage or an app for selecting vehicle components for maintenance contributions. To this end, client device102may include or execute software, such as a web browser, for viewing and interacting with a webpage and/or an app. Network104may be any electronic communications system, such as any computer network or collection of computer networks, and may incorporate various hardware and/or software. Communication over network104may be accomplished via any suitable communication channels, such as, for example, one or more telephone networks, one or more extranets, one or more intranets, the Internet, one or more point of interaction devices (e.g., point of sale devices, smart phones, cellular phones, or other mobile devices), various online and/or offline communications systems, such as various local area and wide area networks, and the like. Web server106may be any computer or computer system that is configured to receive and process requests made via HTTP. Web server106may be coupled between client device102and database server108. More particularly, web server106may be communicatively coupled to client device102via network104. In various embodiments, web server106may be directly coupled to database server108and/or communicatively coupled to database server108via a network, such as network104. Web server106may, in addition, function to store, process, and/or deliver one or more web pages and/or any other suitable content to client device102. Web server106may, in addition, receive data, such as data provided to the app and/or webpage (as described herein) from client device102for subsequent transmission to database server108. In various embodiments, web server106may implement various hardware and/or software, such as, for example, one or more communication protocols, one or more message brokers, one or more data processing engines, one or more servlets, one or more application servers, and the like. For instance, in one embodiment, web server106may implement an Internet of Things (IoT) protocol, such as a machine-to-machine IoT communications protocol (e.g. an MQTT protocol). In addition, in various embodiments, web server106may implement a message broker program module configured to translate a message or communications from a messaging protocol of a sending device to a messaging protocol of a receiving device (e.g., RABBITTMQ, KAFKA, ACTIVEMQ, KESTREL). Further still, in some embodiments, web server106may implement a data processing engine, such as a cluster computing framework like APACHE SPARK. In addition, in various embodiments, web server106may implement servlet and/or JSP server, such as APACHE TOMCAT. Database server108may be any computer or computer program that provides database services to one or more other computers or computer programs. In various embodiments, database server108may be communicatively coupled between web server108and database110. Database server108may, in addition, function to process data received from web server106, such as authentication data, which may include, for example, a first authentication factor and/or a second authentication factor. Database110may be any organized collection of data, such as, for example, any data organized as part of a relational data structure, any data organized as part of a flat file, and the like. Database110may be communicatively coupled to database server108and may receive data from, and provide data to, database server108, such as in response to one or more requests for data, which may be provided via a database management system (DBMS) implemented on database server108. In various embodiments, database110may be a non-relational database, such as an APACHE HADOOP database. Although the components of computer system100are described below and depicted atFIG.1as being interconnected in a particular configuration, it is contemplated that the systems, subsystems, hardware and software components, various network components, and database systems described herein may be variously configured and interconnected and may communicate with one another within system100to facilitate the processes and advantages described herein. For example, although a single web server106, a single database server108, and a single database110are described above, it will be appreciated that system100may include any suitable number of interconnected, communicatively coupled, web servers, database servers, and/or databases. Further, although certain functions, processes, and operations are described herein with respect to one or more system components, it is contemplated that one or more other system components may perform the functions, processes, and operations described herein. Exemplary Client Device FIG.2depicts an exemplary configuration of a client device202, such as client device102, as shown inFIG.1, and in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. Client device202may be operated by a user201. Client device202may include a processor205for executing instructions. In some embodiments, executable instructions may be stored in a memory area210. Processor205may include one or more processing units (e.g., in a multi-core configuration). Memory area210may be any device allowing information such as executable instructions and/or transaction data to be stored and retrieved. Memory area210may include one or more computer readable media. Client device202may also include at least one media output component215for presenting information to user201. Media output component215may be any component capable of conveying information to user201. In some embodiments, media output component215may include an output adapter (not shown) such as a video adapter and/or an audio adapter. An output adapter may be operatively coupled to processor205and adapted to operatively couple to an output device such as a display device (e.g., a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), light emitting diode (LED) display, or “electronic ink” display) or an audio output device (e.g., a speaker or headphones). In some embodiments, media output component215may be configured to present a graphical user interface (e.g., a web browser and/or a client application) to user201. A graphical user interface may include, for example, an online store interface for viewing and/or purchasing items, and/or a wallet application for managing payment information. In some embodiments, client device202may include an input device220for receiving input from user201. User201may use input device220to, without limitation, select and/or enter data, such as, for example, one or more report criteria or report filters. Input device220may include, for example, a keyboard, a pointing device, a mouse, a stylus, a touch sensitive panel (e.g., a touch pad or a touch screen), a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a position detector, a biometric input device, and/or an audio input device. A single component such as a touch screen may function as both an output device of media output component215and input device220. Client device202may also include a communication interface225, communicatively coupled via network104to web server106(shown inFIG.1). Communication interface225may include, for example, a wired or wireless network adapter and/or a wireless data transceiver for use with a mobile telecommunications network. Stored in memory area210are, for example, computer readable instructions for providing a user interface to user201via media output component215and, optionally, receiving and processing input from input device220. A user interface may include, among other possibilities, a web browser and/or a client application. Web browsers enable users, such as user201, to display and interact with media and other information typically embedded on a web page or a website. Exemplary Database System FIG.3depicts an exemplary database system300such as database server108and database110, as shown inFIG.1, and in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Accordingly, database system300may include a server computer device301(e.g., database server108), which may, in turn, include a processor305for executing instructions. Instructions may be stored in a memory area310. Processor305may include one or more processing units (e.g., in a multi-core configuration). Processor305may be operatively coupled to a communication interface315such that server computer device301is capable of communicating with a remote computing device, as described above. For example, communication interface315may receive requests from client device202via the Internet and/or over a computer network. Processor305may also be operatively coupled to a storage device334(e.g., database116). Storage device334may be any computer-operated hardware suitable for storing and/or retrieving data, such as, but not limited to, data associated with database320. In some embodiments, storage device334may be integrated in server computer device301. For example, server computer device301may include one or more hard disk drives as storage device334. In other embodiments, storage device334may be external to server computer device301and may be accessed by a plurality of server computer devices301. For example, storage device334may include a storage area network (SAN), a network attached storage (NAS) system, and/or multiple storage units such as hard disks and/or solid state disks in a redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID) configuration. In some embodiments, processor305may be operatively coupled to storage device334via a storage interface320. Storage interface320may be any component capable of providing processor305with access to storage device334. Storage interface320may include, for example, an Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) adapter, a Serial ATA (SATA) adapter, a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) adapter, a RAID controller, a SAN adapter, a network adapter, and/or any component providing processor305with access to storage device334. Exemplary Processes for Automatically Allocating Periodic Maintenance Contributions FIGS.4-9describe processes for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data. Although each of the processes described below may be implemented independently, it will be understood that the steps included in each of the processes described below may be variously interchanged and/or combined as desired. FIG.4is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary computer-implemented process400for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data, as implemented by computer system100(shown atFIG.1).FIG.5is a schematic diagram illustrating process400. Accordingly, with combined reference toFIG.4andFIG.5, in the exemplary embodiment, system100(e.g., web server106and/or database server108), may receive telematics data from vehicle101(step402). More particularly, system100may receive vehicle telematics data associated with one or more vehicle components. As described above, a vehicle component may be any component or part of a vehicle, such as, for example, and without limitation, one or more vehicle tires, an environmental sensor or other sensor, a vehicle oil filter and/or a vehicle lubricant, such as vehicle motor oil, vehicle fluids, electronic vehicle components, vehicle brake pads, transmissions, clutches, drivetrains, and the like. In addition, as described above, vehicle telematics data is any data associated with a vehicle component, such as a tread depth of one or more vehicle tires, vehicle mileage, vehicle oil and fluid levels, vehicle brake pad thicknesses, and the like. Additionally or alternatively, vehicle telematics data may include environmental data such as humidity and temperature. In some embodiments, vehicle telematics data may be collected by one or more sensors mounted on or installed within vehicle101. Such sensors may be configured to monitor an associated vehicle component and may provide vehicle telematics data collected in conjunction with a particular vehicle component to computer system100. Thus, computer system100receives vehicle telematics data associated with at least one vehicle component. In the exemplary embodiment, computer system100may analyze the received vehicle telematics data to determine a replacement cycle associated with one or more vehicle components (step404). As described above, a “replacement cycle” may include a time remaining until a vehicle component should be replaced or scheduled for maintenance. Accordingly, in some embodiments, computer system100may analyze telematics data received in association with a vehicle component to determine a rate of wear on the vehicle component, and the rate of wear may (as described herein) be used to determine a replacement cycle. In addition, computer system100may retrieve life expectancy (or lifecycle) data associated with the vehicle component, which computer system100may analyze in conjunction with the calculated rate of wear to determine a replacement cycle. In various embodiments, lifecycle data may be retrieved from database110. Further, as described above, “lifecycle data” may include any data associated with a vehicle component that indicates an amount of wear and/or use that the component may suitably receive prior to replacement or maintenance of the component. For example, in the case of tires, lifecycle data may include a mileage, a tread depth, and/or any other data indicative of the life expectancy (prior to replacement) of the tires. Computer system100may, based upon the received vehicle telematics data (e.g., a determined rate of wear) and/or retrieved lifecycle data, determine a replacement cycle. Specifically, in some embodiments, computer system100may mathematically divide lifecycle data by a determined rate of wear. For example, in the case of vehicle tires, lifecycle data may indicate that the tires have a life expectancy of 45,000 miles. System100may divide the life expectancy of 45,000 miles (minus any mileage already placed on the tires) by an average mileage (received by the system as telematics data and/or calculated by computer system100based upon received telematics data) to determine a time remaining until replacement of the tires. Thus, in the case of a new set of tires (having little or no wear) and an average daily mileage of 50 miles/day, a replacement cycle (e.g., a time remaining until replacement) may be approximately 900 days (e.g.,45,000/50). In the exemplary embodiment, computer system100may also determine a replacement cost and/or a maintenance cost of one or more vehicle components (step406). For example, in some embodiments, computer system100may retrieve a replacement cost and/or a maintenance cost associated with one or more components from a database. As described above, a “replacement cost” may include any cost associated with replacing a worn or damaged vehicle component. Similarly, as described above, a “maintenance cost” may include any cost associated with maintenance performed on a worn or damaged vehicle component. Computer system100may, in addition, calculate a plurality of periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account (step408). As described above, a “periodic maintenance contribution” may include any periodic and/or recurring payment from one account (e.g., a “primary account”) to another account (e.g., a “periodic maintenance account”), where a primary account may be any bank account from which funds may be transferred, and a periodic maintenance savings account may be any account designated to receive funds from the primary account, such as, for example, one or more periodic maintenance contributions. Accordingly, to calculate a periodic maintenance contribution, computer system100may subtract a current maintenance account balance from a total replacement cost and/or a total maintenance cost of a vehicle component. System100may, in addition, divide the resulting mathematical difference by a replacement cycle (as described above). For example, computer system100may determine that a maintenance account includes a current balance of $200 as well as that a total cost of tire replacement is $500. System100may subtract $200 from $500 to determine that a maintenance savings account associated with vehicle101is $300 short of the balance required to replace the tires on vehicle101. System100may, in addition, divide the balance required (e.g., $300) by the replacement cycle (e.g., in the example above, 900 days) to calculate a periodic (daily) maintenance contribution, such as, for example $0.33/day. Thus, computer system100may divide a replacement cycle into a plurality of replacement intervals, and each replacement interval may be associated with a periodic maintenance contribution. For instance, in the example above, a replacement cycle may be divided into a plurality of daily replacement intervals, each associated with a periodic (e.g., daily) maintenance contribution. Computer system100may, in addition, divide a total (or remaining) replacement cost by a total number of (remaining) replacement intervals to obtain an amount associated with each of the plurality of periodic maintenance contributions. In other words, and in brief, computer system100may determine a periodic maintenance contribution based upon a total cost of replacing a vehicle component (less an existing or current maintenance account balance), and the resulting mathematical difference may be divided by a replacement cycle and/or a number of replacement intervals subdivided from the total replacement cycle. In addition, and in the exemplary embodiment, computer system100may automatically transfer one or more periodic maintenance contributions from a primary account to a periodic maintenance savings account (step410). In various embodiments, computer system100may also provide an interface (e.g., a “dashboard”) from which a user may select one or more vehicle components for periodic maintenance contributions. The dashboard may be provided as a web-based interface, such as a smartphone “app” and/or as a webpage provided to any suitable computing device, such as a mobile device or client device102. Thus, in some embodiments, a user may select vehicle components to which the user would like computer system100to allocate periodic maintenance contributions. Each vehicle component may be monitored independently by computer system100, and a maintenance savings account may be organized or partitioned to track periodic maintenance contributions on a component-by-component basis. In other embodiments, each vehicle component may be associated with a unique maintenance savings account to ensure that funds allocated to a particular vehicle component are maintained in a dedicated maintenance savings account. In certain embodiments, the dashboard further includes any number of account identifiers (e.g., account names, account numbers), such that the user may select a maintenance savings account to allocate funds to. In certain embodiments, the account identifiers may be associated with restricted accounts, such as accounts limited to withdraw by only a subset of vehicle users. For example, the dashboard may include an account identifier associated with an account allowing for deposits by any vehicle user, but withdraws only by the vehicle owner. In another example, the dashboard may include an account identifier associated with an account where withdraws are restricted to automotive merchants (e.g., vehicle dealerships, vehicle component suppliers, vehicle component manufacturers, automotive service providers). In one embodiment, the dashboard includes a list of account numbers and associated descriptions indicating the type of account (e.g., joint account, restricted account), such that the user may select an account based on the identifier. In certain embodiments, the computing system is configured to make allocations to a dedicated maintenance savings account based at least in part of the account identifier selection. For example, the allocation destination may be determined based on the selected account identifier from the dashboard. In addition, in some embodiments, computer system100may determine, based upon updated vehicle telematics data, an updated replacement cycle associated with one or more vehicle components. For example, computer system100may periodically (e.g., daily) receive updated telematics data from vehicle101. In response, computer system100may determine, based upon the updated telematics data, one or more updated replacement cycles associated with one or more vehicle components. Thus, in some embodiments, computer system100is capable of dynamically adjusting a replacement cycle (and thus a periodic maintenance contribution) based upon, for example, real-time (or near real-time) vehicle telematics data. Moreover, in various embodiments, computer system100may also determine one or more maintenance contributions based upon one or more trip costs associated with vehicle101. As used herein, a “trip cost” is a cost associated with a particular “trip” or use of vehicle101. For example, computer system100may analyze vehicle telematics data to determine one or more trip costs associated with one or more vehicle components. Such trip costs may be based upon, for instance, wear on a vehicle component as a result of a particular trip or use of vehicle101. To calculate a trip cost, computer system100may mathematically divide a life expectancy of a vehicle component by a value (derived or obtained directly from vehicle telematics data) indicating an amount of life expectancy used or consumed during a particular trip. The ratio obtained as a result of the division may be multiplied by the total replacement cost of the vehicle component to determine the trip cost associated with a trip. System100may, in addition, aggregate a plurality of trip costs to obtain an aggregated trip cost. The aggregated trip cost may be compared by computer system100to a maintenance contribution threshold (which may be selected by a user and/or preselected by the system), and if the aggregated trip cost exceeds the maintenance contribution threshold, computer system100may automatically transfer a periodic maintenance contribution (such as a periodic maintenance contribution totaling the aggregated trip cost) from a primary account to a maintenance savings account. In some embodiments, computer system100may be configured to allocate periodic maintenance contributions based upon a particular user, or user, of vehicle101. For example, computer system100may identify a first user of a vehicle and a second user of the vehicle. To identify one or more users, computer system100may analyze received vehicle telematics data, which may include data sufficient to determine which of the users was driving vehicle101when the telematics data was generated. In other words, the received vehicle telematics data may specify a user associated with a particular use of vehicle101. Computer system100may, in addition, allocate a first plurality of maintenance contributions (or an individual maintenance contribution) to a first maintenance savings account associated with the first user based upon the vehicle telematics data. Similarly, computer system100may allocate a second plurality of maintenance contributions (or an individual maintenance contribution) to a second maintenance savings account associated with the second user based upon the vehicle telematics data. The maintenance contributions allocated to the first and second maintenance savings accounts may thus reflect actual usage of vehicle101by a plurality of users, such that each user is only responsible for deposits to a maintenance savings account as a result of that user's actual use of vehicle101. When a vehicle component is due for replacement (or maintenance) the funds allocated to each of the plurality of maintenance savings accounts may be aggregated, by the system, to equal the total replacement (or maintenance) cost of the vehicle component. In some embodiments, computer system100may store one or more groups of telematics data obtained over a period of time, such as daily groups of telematics data, in a plurality of blocks of a blockchain. As used herein, a “blockchain” is a distributed database that maintains a continuously-growing list of ordered records, known as blocks. Each block may contain at least a timestamp and a link to the previous block in the chain. The link to the previous block may be a hash of the previous block. For vehicle telematics data, the first block may contain vehicle telematics data received during a particular period of time, such as over the course of a particular day. The second block may contain an updated or later vehicle telematics data, such as vehicle telematics data received during a subsequent period of time, such as over the course of a subsequent day. The second block may contain a hashed copy of the first block as well. This blocking of vehicle telematics data may continue to any number of blocks, with each block adding on to the next while containing a hash of the previous blocks in the blockchain. To ensure the security of the information contained in the blockchain, copies of the blockchain may be distributed across multiple computer devices, known as nodes. These nodes maintain the blockchain, update the blockchain when changes occur, and ensure the stability of the blockchain itself. In some embodiments, nodes may be also used to calculate the hash of the previous blocks. As the blockchain grows, the processing power needed to calculate the hash of the previous blocks grows as well. In these embodiments, the processing of the hash may be distributed over multiple computer devices to improve the speed of processing and/or to not overburden the hashing processor. When a node processes (hashes) a block, that node is known as a miner, where the action of validating and hashing the block is also known as mining FIG.5is a schematic diagram illustrating another exemplary computer-implemented process500for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data, as implemented by computer system100(shown atFIG.1), and in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. As described above, process500may be implemented independently and/or in conjunction with one or more other process(es) (described herein) for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data. Process500includes step A, receiving telematics data from user vehicle502, and step B, appending the received telematics data to the stored telematics data504. Process500further includes processing stored telematics data504to update (e.g., estimate, calculate) trip model data506which may include a cost amount for a specific trip and end of life estimates for particular vehicle components. In other words, trip model data506may include estimates for each vehicle component being tracked, wherein the estimates include a cost associated with that component for a particular trip and an EUL (end of life) for each component indicating when the component may need to be replaced. Process500includes step D, calculating periodic maintenance contributions based on trip model data506. Step D includes calculating periodic maintenance contributions based on factors508such as, but not limited to, total repair costs, current maintenance account balance, and time until estimated replacement. Process500further includes step E, allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account. FIG.6is a schematic diagram illustrating another exemplary computer-implemented process600for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data, as implemented by computer system100(shown atFIG.1), and in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. As described above, process600may be implemented independently and/or in conjunction with one or more other process(es) (described herein) for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data. Accordingly, in the exemplary embodiment, computer system100may receive vehicle telematics data associated with one or more vehicle components (step602). System100may, in addition, determine, based upon the telematics data, a plurality of trip costs (described above) associated with at least one vehicle component (step604). Having received the plurality of trip costs, computer system100may aggregate the plurality of trip costs to determine an aggregated trip cost (described above) (step606), at which point computer system100may compare the aggregated trip cost to a maintenance contribution threshold to determine whether the aggregated trip cost exceeds a maintenance contribution threshold (described above) (step608). Further, in some embodiments, system100may automatically transfer a maintenance contribution from a primary account to a maintenance savings account (described above) (step610). FIG.7is a schematic diagram illustrating another exemplary computer-implemented process700for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data, as implemented by computer system100(shown atFIG.1), and in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. As described above, process700may be implemented independently and/or in conjunction with one or more other process(es) (described herein) for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data. Accordingly, in the exemplary embodiment, computer system100may receive, at a first time, vehicle telematics data associated with one or more vehicle components (step702). System100may, in addition, analyze the vehicle telematics data to determine an initial replacement cycle associated with at least one vehicle component (described above) (step704). Computer system100may also receive, at a second time, updated vehicle telematics data associated with the at least one vehicle component (described above) (step706). In addition, and in various embodiments, system100may analyze the updated telematics data to determine an updated replacement cycle associated with the at least one vehicle component (described above) (step708). FIG.8is a schematic diagram illustrating another exemplary computer-implemented process800for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data, as implemented by computer system100(shown atFIG.1), and in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. As described above, process800may be implemented independently and/or in conjunction with one or more other process(es) (described herein) for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data. Accordingly, in the exemplary embodiment, computer system100may receive vehicle telematics data associated with a first user of vehicle101(described above) (step802). System100may also receive vehicle telematics data associated with a second user of vehicle101(described above) (step804). Further, in various embodiments, computer system100may determine, based upon the telematics data associated with the first user, an amount of wear on at least one vehicle component attributable to the first user (described above) (step806). Similarly, computer system100may determine, based upon the telematics data associated with the second user, an amount of wear on at least one vehicle component attributable to the second user (described above) (step808). In some embodiments, computer system100may, in addition, calculate, based upon the amount of wear attributable to the first user, a first plurality of periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account (described above) (step810). Likewise, computer system100may calculate, based upon the amount of wear attributable to the second user, a second plurality of periodic maintenance contributions to a same or different maintenance savings account (described above) (step812). System100may, in addition, automatically transfer the first plurality of periodic maintenance contributions from a primary account associated with the first user to a particular maintenance savings account (described above) (step814). Similarly, in various embodiments, system100may automatically transfer the second plurality of periodic maintenance contributions from a primary account associated with the second user to a particular maintenance savings account (described above) (step816). FIG.9is a schematic diagram illustrating another exemplary computer-implemented process900for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data, as implemented by computer system100(shown atFIG.1), and in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. As described above, process900may be implemented independently and/or in conjunction with one or more other process(es) (described herein) for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data. Accordingly, in the exemplary embodiment, computer system100may receive vehicle telematics data associated with at least one vehicle component (described above) (step902). System100may, in addition, determine, based upon the vehicle telematics data, a replacement cycle associated with the at least one vehicle component (described above) (step904). Further, in some embodiments, computer system100may determine a replacement cost associated with the at least one vehicle component (described above) (step906). System100may, in addition, calculate, based upon the replacement cycle and the replacement cost, a plurality of periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account (described above) (step908). In addition, computer system100may automatically transfer the plurality of periodic maintenance contributions from a primary account associated with the user to the maintenance savings account (described above) (step910). Exemplary Data & Financial Flows As noted elsewhere herein, the present embodiments may include (1) combining expansive vehicle data, such as vehicle telematics data, smart vehicle data, and/or autonomous vehicle data, with additional industry data; (2) using the combined data to predict vehicle component expiration dates or useful life longevity; (3) use of both operational (historical) data and calculated predictions to in turn calculate costs of vehicle operation at the component level; and/or (4) performing periodic transfer/deposits of small amounts of money in a reserved savings account dedicated to individual vehicle component replacement. In one aspect, the present embodiments relate to the calculation of vehicle maintenance savings account deposits through vehicle telematics data. Vehicle operational and/or vehicle telematics data may be used to calculate periodic pre-funding of an automobile maintenance savings account for routinely or commonly expendable components. For instance, in one scenario, hard braking to avoid a collision may lead to a shorter life span for a vehicle's brakes. However, brakes are expensive, and the expenditure may hit an average vehicle owner's wallet rather hard. The present embodiments may automatically budget for replacement brakes because average automobile owners don't often budget for vehicle repairs and may be unprepared to pay for repairs when the need arises (such as tires, brakes, coolant, transmission, brake fluid, brake fluid changes, power steering fluid, transmission fluid, batteries (such as L-ION batteries for hybrids or electric vehicles), sensors, etc.). Other embodiments may involve the repairs being associated with autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle systems or technologies being maintained up-to-date or in working condition, such as maintaining autonomous vehicle system sensors or software in working order. Thus, the present embodiments may provide a means for regularly buffering money for inevitable vehicle repairs and replacement parts and servicing. In one embodiment, vehicle telematics data may be used to calculate how much one should transfer to a bank savings account based on how they drive or how their vehicle is being driven by others (e.g., a vehicle fleet) or otherwise being operated (e.g., an autonomous vehicle). The present embodiments may determine approximate wear and tear on an on-going basis, take into account current parts and labor costs for repair/replacement based on the make and/or model of vehicle, and then automatically transfer appropriate amounts of money into a sub-account—which may be dedicated solely to vehicle maintenance. FIG.10depicts an exemplary vehicle telematics maintenance savings account data and financial flow1000. As shown, vehicle operation data (e.g., telematics data) from an enabled vehicle (such as a smart or autonomous vehicle equipped for wireless communication) is transmitted or otherwise transferred to a centralized data store, after which a specified subset of data may be transferred or copied to a repository for and merged with owner data. Based upon owner preferences and election, requisite owner and vehicle data may be fed into a maintenance calculation engine, which may be additionally informed by third-party data sources containing information on vehicle component lifespan, recommended replacement, and/or present estimated costs of replacement. The maintenance calculation engine shown inFIG.10may predict the future repair date of expendable vehicle components based upon (i) how the individual vehicle has been driven or operated (if autonomous), (ii) aggregated vehicle operation and maintenance trends of the specific model vehicle, and/or (iii) the corresponding cost of operation for the individual vehicle over the last period of operation—all of which may translate to the amount of money needing to be saved to pre-fund costs of the wear to the vehicle components. This calculated amount may be buffered until it reaches a set threshold, upon which the buffered tally may be relayed to a financial transaction handler, which may queue a bank transfer from a source account to a dedicated savings account. As the vehicle owner continues to drive or otherwise operate the vehicle and additional telematics data accrues, future replacement dates and costs may be refined, and the maintenance savings account accrues the funds sufficient to replace the worn components upon their expiration. In one embodiment, a customer may open a vehicle savings account and opt into sharing vehicle telematics and personal data with an insurance provider. In return, the customer may receive insurance cost benefits and/or other benefits, such as the savings accounts discussed herein. The vehicle maintenance savings account may be linked to another account or service provided by an insurance provider, such as an auto-insurance telematics service or usage-based insurance (UBI) account. Through a control panel (web or pocket agent), the customer may configure the transfer period/threshold and choose which components to include in the maintenance savings (e.g., brakes and tires, but not fluids or sensors). The calculation engine may in turn show the customer the projected replacement dates, repair/replacement costs, and accrued funds saved to date (such as for both total funds and/or per component, and the remaining difference needed for fully funding the repair or replacement). In one aspect, vehicle and environmental data may be used to predict the future repair date of the expendable components based upon how the vehicle is operated. The projected repair dates (in the future) may be always fluctuating, and hence may be constantly recalculated based upon historical driving data. The period over which the estimated repair/replacement costs must be divided may also be slightly changing, but is assumed to be growing shorter as the vehicle is driven. As such, small amounts of money may be transferred to the vehicle maintenance savings account periodically. Transfer of funds could occur after each trip or at other regular intervals (e.g., every one, two, or four weeks, to coincide with paychecks, etc.). Since the amounts of “maintenance money” may be miniscule on a trip by trip basis, there could be a minimum threshold which would have to be accrued before a transfer of money would be made. For example, a single trip might, according to operational data, generate the need to set aside $0.001 for tires and $0.0006 for brakes, but together those don't add up to a single cent. As such, the application managing the data and making the calculations may be configured to “buffer” amounts until they exceed a minimum threshold, after which the transfer of funds would be scheduled. FIG.11depicts an exemplary conceptual timeline of data collections and calculations1100. As shown, the estimated component total repair cost may be divided across two periods—known or historical telematics data, and future telematics data. The historical base data may include (i) make, model, year, and mileage of vehicle; (ii) recommended manufacturer routine vehicle maintenance mileages and periods; (iii) geographic location of the owner (or the usual geographic operating location for the vehicle); (iv) historical cost of ownership data for that make/model/year vehicle (if available from industry sources); and/or (v) historical repair time/cost data for same type vehicle, if available. The dynamic (present day and/or future) data included in the algorithms may include (a) vehicle telematics and operational environment (sensor) data, including: braking, acceleration, cornering, speed sustained over mileage, ambient temperature, tire pressure, and tire temperature (if available); (b) geographic factors during operation: altitude and climate, including temperature, moisture, and environmental driving conditions (e.g., dusty, salty); and/or (c) current average labor and part costs, given the geographic market in which the customer resides. In one embodiment, the present embodiments may either be focused on the routine and lower cost scheduled maintenance (oil changes, windshield wiper fluid, and tire rotations), and/or on the less routine and more expensive expendable components. The present embodiments may also be extended for more routine scheduled maintenance and partnerships leveraged to create additional benefits of association. Additionally, the present embodiments may be extended from single owner scenarios to calculate total maintenance expenses for a dual-ownership (shared) vehicle, where the debits from source bank accounts (belonging to the users) correspond to the percentage of vehicle operation each user has undertaken. The deposit account (destination) may still be a singular account, likely in control of a single owner ultimately responsible for the maintenance of the vehicle. The advantage here is that shared vehicle operation costs may be automatically divided across all vehicle operators. Exemplary Embodiments & Functionality In one aspect, a computer system for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data may be provided. In some exemplary embodiments, the computer system may include a processor and a non-transitory, tangible, computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations including: (i) receiving, from a vehicle, telematics data associated with at least one vehicle component; (ii) determining, based upon the telematics data, a replacement cycle associated with the at least one vehicle component; (iii) determining a replacement cost of the at least one vehicle component; (iv) calculating, based upon the replacement cycle and the replacement cost, a plurality of periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account, the maintenance savings account associated with the vehicle owner and designated to receive the plurality of periodic maintenance contributions; and/or (v) automatically transferring the plurality of periodic maintenance contributions from a primary account associated with the user to the maintenance savings account, each periodic maintenance contribution of the plurality of periodic maintenance contributions transferred to the maintenance savings account on a periodic basis over a period of time associated with the replacement cycle. The system may include additional, less, or alternate functionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein. In another aspect, a computer system for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data may be provided. In some exemplary embodiments, the computer system may include a processor and a non-transitory, tangible, computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations including: (i) receiving, from a vehicle, telematics data associated with at least one vehicle component; (ii) determining, based upon the telematics data, a plurality of trip costs associated with the at least one vehicle component, each of the plurality of trip costs representative of a cost associated with wear of the at least one vehicle component as a result of a particular vehicle trip; (iii) aggregating the plurality of trip costs; (iv) determining that the aggregated plurality of trip costs exceeds a maintenance contribution threshold; and/or (v) automatically transferring, in response and from a primary account associated with a user of the vehicle, a maintenance contribution payment to a maintenance savings account, the maintenance savings account designated to hold funds for replacing the at least one vehicle component at an end of a replacement cycle associated with the at least one vehicle component. The system may include additional, less, or alternate functionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein. In another aspect, a computer system for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data may be provided. In some exemplary embodiments, the computer system may include a processor and a non-transitory, tangible, computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations including: (i) receiving, from a vehicle and at a first time, telematics data associated with at least one vehicle component; (ii) analyzing the telematics data to determine an initial replacement cycle associated with the at least one vehicle component, the initial replacement cycle representative of an estimated lifecycle of the at least one vehicle component; (iii) receiving, from the vehicle and at a second time, updated telematics data associated with the at least one vehicle component; and/or (iv) analyzing the updated telematics data to determine an updated replacement cycle associated with the at least one vehicle component, the updated replacement cycle representative of an updated estimate of the lifecycle of the at least one vehicle component. The system may include additional, less, or alternate functionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein. Analyzing the telematics data to determine the initial replace cycle may further include analyzing the telematics data associated with the at least one vehicle component to determine a rate of wear of the at least one vehicle component, and determining, based upon the rate of wear, a time remaining until replacement of the at least one vehicle component. The processor may be further configured to configured to perform operations including calculating, based upon the initial replacement cycle and a replacement cost, a plurality of periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account. The calculating may include dividing the initial replacement cycle into a plurality of replacement intervals, each replacement interval associated with one of the plurality of periodic maintenance contributions, and dividing the replacement cost by a total number of replacement intervals to obtain an amount associated with each of the plurality of periodic maintenance contributions. The processor may also be configured provide a maintenance dashboard to a display of a client device associated with the user. The dashboard may including any combination or subset of: an option to select a plurality of vehicle components to which periodic maintenance contributions should be allocated, an option to select an account identifier from a plurality of account identifiers and account descriptions, an estimated replacement date of the plurality of vehicle components, an estimated replacement cost associated with the plurality of vehicle components, a total amount allocated to each of the plurality of vehicle components based upon a plurality of periodic maintenance contributions applied to each of the plurality of vehicle components, and a difference between the total amount allocated to each of the plurality of vehicle components and a replacement cost associated with each of the plurality of vehicle components. The processor may be configured to perform operations including receiving, from a client device of the user, a plurality of vehicle components to which periodic maintenance contributions should be allocated, and/or recalculating, based upon the updated replacement cycle and the replacement cost, an updated plurality of periodic maintenance contributions. In certain embodiments, the processor may be further configured to perform operations including determining, based upon the telematics data, a plurality of trip costs associated with the at least one vehicle component, aggregating the plurality of trip costs, determining that a total associated with the aggregated plurality of trip costs exceeds a maintenance contribution threshold, and automatically transferring, in response, one of the plurality of periodic maintenance payments to the maintenance savings account. Additionally or alternatively, the operations may include identifying a first user of the vehicle and a second user of the vehicle, allocating a first plurality of maintenance contributions to the first user based upon the telematics data; allocating a second plurality of maintenance contributions to the second user based upon the telematics data. The operations may also include storing a plurality of groups of telematics data obtained over a period of time in a plurality of blocks of a blockchain. In another aspect, a computer system for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data may be provided. In some exemplary embodiments, the computer system may include a processor and a non-transitory, tangible, computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations including: (i) receiving, from a vehicle, telematics data associated with a first user of the vehicle; (ii) receiving, from the vehicle, telematics data associated with a second user of the vehicle; (iii) determining, based upon the telematics data associated with the first user, an amount of wear on at least one vehicle component attributable to the first user; (iv) determining, based upon the telematics data associated with the second user, an amount of wear on the at least one vehicle component attributable to the second user; (v) calculating, based upon the amount of wear attributable to the first user, a first plurality of periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account; (vi) calculating, based upon the amount of wear attributable to the second user, a second plurality of periodic maintenance contributions to the maintenance savings account; (vii) automatically transferring the first plurality of periodic maintenance contributions from a primary account associated with the first user to the maintenance savings account; and/or (viii) automatically transferring the second plurality of periodic maintenance contributions from a primary account associated with the second user to the maintenance savings account. The system may include additional, less, or alternate functionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein. The processor may be further configured to perform operations including determining, based upon the telematics data, a replacement cycle associated with at least one vehicle component. The determining may include analyzing the telematics data associated with the at least one vehicle component to determine a rate of wear of the at least one vehicle component, and determining, based upon the rate of wear, a time remaining until replacement of the at least one vehicle component. Calculating the first plurality of periodic maintenance contributions may include dividing the replacement cycle into a plurality of replacement intervals, each replacement interval associated with one of the first plurality of periodic maintenance contributions, and dividing the replacement cost by a total number of replacement intervals to obtain an amount associated with each of the first plurality of periodic maintenance contributions. The processor may be configured to perform operations including providing providing a maintenance dashboard to a display of a client device associated with at least one of the first user and the second user. The maintenance dashboard may include any combination or subset of: an option to select a plurality of vehicle components to which periodic maintenance contributions should be allocated, an estimated replacement date of the plurality of vehicle components, an estimated replacement cost associated with the plurality of vehicle components, a total amount allocated to each of the plurality of vehicle components based upon a plurality of periodic maintenance contributions applied to each of the plurality of vehicle components; and a difference between the total amount allocated to each of the plurality of vehicle components and a replacement cost associated with each of the plurality of vehicle components. The operations may further include receiving, from a client device of at least one of the first user and the second user, plurality of vehicle components to which periodic maintenance contributions should be allocated, and/or determining, based upon updated telematics data, an updated replacement cycle associated with the at least one vehicle component. In certain embodiments, the operations may also include recalculating, based upon the updated replacement cycle and the replacement cost, an updated plurality of periodic maintenance contributions and/or storing a plurality of groups of telematics data obtained over a period of time in a plurality of blocks of a blockchain. In certain embodiments, the processor is further configured to perform operations including determining, based upon the telematics data, a plurality of trip costs associated with the at least one vehicle component, aggregating the plurality of trip costs, determining that a total associated with the aggregated plurality of trip costs exceeds a maintenance contribution threshold, and/or automatically transferring, in response, one of the plurality of periodic maintenance payments to the maintenance savings account. In another aspect, a computer-implemented method for automatically allocating periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account based upon vehicle telematics data is provided may be provided. The method may include: (i) receiving, from a vehicle, telematics data associated with at least one vehicle component; (ii) determining, based upon the telematics data, a replacement cycle associated with the at least one vehicle component; (iii) determining a replacement cost of the at least one vehicle component; (iv) calculating, based upon the replacement cycle and the replacement cost, a plurality of periodic maintenance contributions to a maintenance savings account, the maintenance savings account associated with the vehicle owner and designated to receive the plurality of periodic maintenance contributions; and/or (v) automatically transferring the plurality of periodic maintenance contributions from a primary account associated with the user to the maintenance savings account, each periodic maintenance contribution of the plurality of periodic maintenance contributions transferred to the maintenance savings account on a periodic basis over a period of time associated with the replacement cycle. The system may include additional, less, or alternate functionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein. In certain embodiments, the method further includes analyzing, by the processor, the telematics data associated with the at least one vehicle component to determine a rate of wear of the at least one vehicle component, and/or determining, by the processor and based upon the rate of wear, a time remaining until replacement of the at least one vehicle component. Additionally or alternatively, the method may include dividing, by the processor, the replacement cycle into a plurality of replacement intervals, each replacement interval associated with one of the plurality of periodic maintenance contributions, and/or dividing, by the processor, the replacement cost by a total number of replacement intervals to obtain an amount associated with each of the plurality of periodic maintenance contributions. In some embodiments, the method includes providing, by the processor, a maintenance dashboard to a display of a client device associated with the user. The maintenance dashboard may include any combination or subset of an option to select a plurality of vehicle components to which periodic maintenance contributions should be allocated, an option to select an account identifier from a plurality of account identifiers and account descriptions, an estimated replacement date of the plurality of vehicle components, an estimated replacement cost associated with the plurality of vehicle components, a total amount allocated to each of the plurality of vehicle components based upon a plurality of periodic maintenance contributions applied to each of the plurality of vehicle components, and/or a difference between the total amount allocated to each of the plurality of vehicle components and a replacement cost associated with each of the plurality of vehicle components. The method may also include receiving, from a client device of the user, a plurality of vehicle components to which periodic maintenance contributions should be allocated and/or determining, by the processor and based upon updated telematics data, an updated replacement cycle associated with the at least one vehicle component. In some embodiments, the method includes comprising recalculating, by the processor and based upon the updated replacement cycle and the replacement cost, an updated plurality of periodic maintenance contributions. In certain embodiments, the method further includes determining, by the processor and based upon the telematics data, a plurality of trip costs associated with the at least one vehicle component, aggregating, by the processor, the plurality of trip costs, determining, by the processor, that a total associated with the aggregated plurality of trip costs exceeds a maintenance contribution threshold, and/or automatically transferring, by the processor and in response, one of the plurality of periodic maintenance payments to the maintenance savings account. Additionally or alternatively, the method may include identifying, by the processor, a first user of the vehicle and a second user of the vehicle, allocating, by the processor, a first plurality of maintenance contributions to the first user based upon the telematics data, and/or allocating, by the processor, a second plurality of maintenance contributions to the second user based upon the telematics data. In some embodiments, the method also includes storing, by the processor, a plurality of groups of telematics data obtained over a period of time in a plurality of blocks of a block chain. Machine Learning & Other Matters The computer-implemented methods discussed herein may include additional, less, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein. The methods may be implemented via one or more local or remote processors, transceivers, servers, and/or sensors (such as processors, transceivers, servers, and/or sensors mounted on vehicles or mobile devices, or associated with smart infrastructure or remote servers), and/or via computer-executable instructions stored on non-transitory computer-readable media or medium. Additionally, the computer systems discussed herein may include additional, less, or alternate functionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein. The computer systems discussed herein may include or be implemented via computer-executable instructions stored on non-transitory computer-readable media or medium. A processor or a processing element may be trained using supervised or unsupervised machine learning, and the machine learning program may employ a neural network, which may be a convolutional neural network, a deep learning neural network, or a combined learning module or program that learns in two or more fields or areas of interest. Machine learning may involve identifying and recognizing patterns in existing data in order to facilitate making predictions for subsequent data. Models may be created based upon example inputs in order to make valid and reliable predictions for novel inputs. Additionally or alternatively, the machine learning programs may be trained by inputting sample data sets or certain data into the programs, such as image, mobile device, vehicle telematics, autonomous vehicle, and/or intelligent home telematics data. The machine learning programs may utilize deep learning algorithms that may be primarily focused on pattern recognition, and may be trained after processing multiple examples. The machine learning programs may include Bayesian program learning (BPL), voice recognition and synthesis, image or object recognition, optical character recognition, and/or natural language processing—either individually or in combination. The machine learning programs may also include natural language processing, semantic analysis, automatic reasoning, and/or machine learning. In supervised machine learning, a processing element may be provided with example inputs and their associated outputs, and may seek to discover a general rule that maps inputs to outputs, so that when subsequent novel inputs are provided the processing element may, based upon the discovered rule, accurately predict the correct output. In unsupervised machine learning, the processing element may be required to find its own structure in unlabeled example inputs. Additional Considerations As will be appreciated based upon the foregoing specification, the above-described embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented using computer programming or engineering techniques including computer software, firmware, hardware or any combination or subset thereof. Any such resulting program, having computer-readable code means, may be embodied or provided within one or more computer-readable media, thereby making a computer program product, i.e., an article of manufacture, according to the discussed embodiments of the disclosure. The computer-readable media may be, for example, but is not limited to, a fixed (hard) drive, diskette, optical disk, magnetic tape, semiconductor memory such as read-only memory (ROM), and/or any transmitting/receiving medium, such as the Internet or other communication network or link. The article of manufacture containing the computer code may be made and/or used by executing the code directly from one medium, by copying the code from one medium to another medium, or by transmitting the code over a network. These computer programs (also known as programs, software, software applications, “apps”, or code) include machine instructions for a programmable processor, and can be implemented in a high-level procedural and/or object-oriented programming language, and/or in assembly/machine language. As used herein, the terms “machine-readable medium” “computer-readable medium” refers to any computer program product, apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic discs, optical disks, memory, Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal. The “machine-readable medium” and “computer-readable medium,” however, do not include transitory signals. The term “machine-readable signal” refers to any signal used to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor. As used herein, a processor may include any programmable system including systems using micro-controllers, reduced instruction set circuits (RISC), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), logic circuits, and any other circuit or processor capable of executing the functions described herein. The above examples are example only, and are thus not intended to limit in any way the definition and/or meaning of the term “processor.” As used herein, the terms “software” and “firmware” are interchangeable, and include any computer program stored in memory for execution by a processor, including RAM memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) memory. The above memory types are example only, and are thus not limiting as to the types of memory usable for storage of a computer program. In one embodiment, a computer program is provided, and the program is embodied on a computer readable medium. In an exemplary embodiment, the system is executed on a single computer system, without requiring a connection to a sever computer. In a further embodiment, the system is being run in a Windows® environment (Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington). In yet another embodiment, the system is run on a mainframe environment and a UNIX® server environment (UNIX is a registered trademark of X/Open Company Limited located in Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom). The application is flexible and designed to run in various different environments without compromising any major functionality. In some embodiments, the system includes multiple components distributed among a plurality of computing devices. In one embodiment, the system includes a plurality of virtual computing devices (e.g., virtual machines) in a cloud configuration, such that the virtual computing devices may be dynamically allocated. One or more components may be in the form of computer-executable instructions embodied in a computer-readable medium. The systems and processes are not limited to the specific embodiments described herein. In addition, components of each system and each process can be practiced independent and separate from other components and processes described herein. Each component and process can also be used in combination with other assembly packages and processes. The present embodiments may enhance the functionality and functioning of computers and/or computer systems. As used herein, an element or step recited in the singular and preceded by the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding plural elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly recited. Furthermore, references to “example embodiment” or “one embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. The patent claims at the end of this document are not intended to be construed under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) unless traditional means-plus-function language is expressly recited, such as “means for” or “step for” language being expressly recited in the claim(s). This written description uses examples to disclose the disclosure, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the disclosure is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims. | 90,786 |
11861567 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION To illustrate technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a brief introduction regarding the drawings used to describe the embodiments is provided below. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely some examples or embodiments of the present disclosure. Those having ordinary skills in the art, without further creative efforts, may apply the present disclosure to other similar scenarios according to these drawings. Unless obviously obtained from the context or the context illustrates otherwise, the same numeral in the drawings refers to the same structure or operation. It should be understood that the terms “system”, “device”, “unit” and/or “module” used in the specification are means used to distinguish different components, elements, parts, segments, or assemblies. However, these words may be replaced by other expressions if they serve the same purpose. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprise,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” “include,” “includes,” and/or “including,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated operations and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other operations and/or components thereof. The flowcharts used in the present disclosure illustrate operations that systems implement according to some embodiments in the present disclosure It should be understood that the operations of the flowchart may not necessarily be implemented in order. Conversely, the operations may be implemented in inverted order, or simultaneously Moreover, one or more other operations may be added into the flowcharts. One or more operations may be removed from the flowcharts FIG.1is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a system for determining a gas meter measurement failure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.1, an IoT system100may include a smart gas user platform, a smart gas service platform, a smart gas device management platform, a smart gas sensing network platform, and a smart gas object platform. The smart gas user platform may be dominated by a user, including a platform that obtains the user's demands and feeds back information to the user. In some embodiments, the smart gas user platform may be configured as a terminal device. For example, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a mobile phone and other intelligent electronic devices that realize a data processing and data communication. In some embodiments, the smart gas user platform may include a gas user sub-platform, a government user sub-platform, and a regulatory user sub-platform. The gas user sub-platform is for a gas user, and the gas user sub-platform may be configured to receive reminder information sent by the smart gas service sub-platform, such as a gas meter maintenance plan, the reminder information of a gas meter abnormity, etc. The government user sub-platform is for a government user, and the government user sub-platform may be configured to receive gas operation information and gas device operation information sent by a smart operation service sub-platform, and send a gas operation information query instruction and a gas operation device information query instruction to the smart operation service sub-platform. The regulatory user sub-platform is for a regulatory user (such as the user of a safety regulation department), and the regulatory user sub-platform may be configured to receive the safety regulatory information and gas device operation information sent by a smart regulatory service sub-platform, as well as send a safety regulatory information query instruction and a gas device operation information query instruction to the smart regulatory service sub-platform. The smart gas service platform may be a platform for receiving and transmitting data and/or information. For example, the smart gas service platform may be configured to receive the gas meter maintenance plan uploaded by a smart gas data center of the smart gas device management platform, and send the gas meter maintenance plan to the smart gas user platform. In some embodiments, the smart gas service platform may further be configured to receive a query instruction (e.g., the gas operation information query instruction, the safety regulatory information query instruction, etc.) issued by the smart gas user platform, and send the query instruction to the smart gas data center of the smart gas device management platform. In some embodiments, the smart gas service platform may be provided with a smart gas use service sub-platform, the smart operation service platform and the smart regulatory service sub-platform. In some embodiments, the smart gas use service sub-platform may receive the gas meter maintenance plan uploaded by the smart gas data center of the smart gas device management platform, and transmit the gas meter maintenance plan to the gas user sub-platform. In some embodiments, the smart operation service sub-platform and the smart regulatory service sub-platform may respectively receive the relevant operation information of the gas device uploaded by the smart gas data center of the smart gas device management platform, and respectively transmit the relevant operation information to the government user sub-platform and the regulatory user sub-platform. The smart operation service sub-platform and the smart regulatory service sub-platform may further be configured to respectively receive the query instruction sent by the government user sub-platform and the regulatory user sub-platform, and send the query instruction to the smart gas data center of the smart gas device management platform. A smart gas management platform may coordinate the connection and collaboration between various functional platforms, gather all the information of the IoT, and provide perception management and control management functions for the IoT operation system. For example, the smart gas device management platform may be configured to receive the gas device operation information transmitted by the smart gas sensing network platform, such as gas flow information of each level of pipelines, etc., and determine a candidate area, and determine a target gas meter and its maintenance plan based on gas meter reading information in the candidate area. In some embodiments, the smart gas device management platform may include an indoor smart gas device management sub-platform, a smart gas pipeline network device management sub-platform, and the smart gas data center. The indoor smart gas device management sub-platform and the smart gas pipeline network device management sub-platform may include a device operation parameter monitoring and early warning module, and a device parameter remote management module. The device operation parameter monitoring and early warning module may be configured to check a current operation parameter and a historical operation parameter of the gas device (e.g., a gas meter, etc.), and perform monitoring and early warning based on a preset threshold. When the operation parameter of the gas device is abnormal (for example, greater than the preset threshold, etc.), the government user and/or the regulatory user may directly switch from the device operation parameter monitoring and early warning module to the device parameter remote management module to perform remote processing on the device parameter. When the remote processing fails or does not work well, the government user and/or the regulatory user may send the reminder information (such as the gas meter maintenance plan, etc.) to the gas user sub-platform through the smart gas service sub-platform. The device parameter remote management module may be configured to remotely adjust and set the device parameter of the smart gas object platform, and may further be configured to remotely authorize the device parameter adjustment initiated by the smart gas object platform on site. In some embodiments, the smart gas data center may receive the gas flow information of each level of pipelines and the gas meter reading information in the candidate area sent by the smart gas sensing network platform, and send the data to the smart gas pipeline network device management sub-platform and the indoor smart gas device management sub-platform respectively for processing. After processed by the smart gas device management sub-platform, the data may be sent to the smart gas data center. The smart gas data center summarizes and stores the processed data and then send it to the smart gas service platform, and pass the data to the smart gas user platform through the smart gas service platform. The smart gas sensing network platform may be a platform for processing, storing and transmitting data and/or information. For example, the smart gas sensing network platform may be configured to receive the gas flow information obtained by the smart gas object platform and transmit it to the smart gas device management platform. In some embodiments, the smart gas sensing network platform may be configured as a communication network and gateway. In some embodiments, the smart gas sensing network platform may include an indoor smart gas device sensing network sub-platform and a smart gas pipeline network device sensing network sub-platform. The indoor smart gas device sensing network sub-platform may be configured to receive the gas device operation information (for example, the reading information of the gas meter, etc.) of an indoor smart gas device object sub-platform (for example, the gas meter in the user's home, etc.), and send the gas device operation information to the smart gas data center. The smart gas pipeline network device sensing network sub-platform may be configured to receive the gas device operation information of the smart gas pipeline network device object sub-platform (for example, a gas pipeline section, a valve device, etc.), and send the gas device operation information to the smart gas data center. The smart gas object platform may be a functional platform for obtaining data and/or information related to an object. For example, the smart gas object platform may be configured to obtain operation information of a gas device. In some embodiments, the smart gas object platform may be configured as various types of gas devices. In some embodiments, the smart gas object platform may include the smart gas indoor device and the smart gas pipe network device. The smart gas indoor device may be configured to obtain the operation information of the indoor device (for example, the gas meter, etc.), and upload the operation information to the smart gas data center through the indoor smart gas device sensing network sub-platform. The smart gas pipeline network device may be configured to obtain the operation information of the pipeline network device (for example, a gas pipeline section, etc.), and upload the operation information to the smart gas data center through the smart gas pipeline network device sensing network sub-platform. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a gas meter maintenance plan determination system is built through the IoT functional architecture of five platforms, wherein the smart gas device management platform adopts a combination of the sub-platform and the data center, and the smart gas user platform, the gas service platform, the smart gas sensing network platform and the smart gas object platform all adopt an approach of multiple sub-platform arrangement, which ensures an dependency of each data, and ensures classified transmission and tractability of the data, and ensures classified issuance and processing of the instructions, making the structure and data processing of the IoT clear and controllable, and facilitate the management, control and data processing of the IoT. It should be noted that the above description of the gas meter maintenance plan determination system is only for the convenience of description, and cannot limit the present disclosure to the scope of the illustrated embodiments. It should be understood that for those skilled in the art, after understanding the principle of the system, various modules may be combined arbitrarily, or a sub-system may be formed to connect to other modules without departing from the principle. FIG.2is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a method for determining the gas meter measurement failure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, a process200may be performed by the smart gas device management platform. As shown inFIG.2, the process200includes the following operations. In210, the smart gas data center obtains, based on a smart gas sensing network platform, gas flow information data of each level of pipelines from at least one flow monitoring device. The each level of pipelines (also referred to as pipelines in each level) may refer to gas pipelines used in a process of gas transmission. For example, the each level of pipelines may include, but are not limited to, a main pipeline, a sub-pipeline, and/or an entry pipeline, or the like. One main pipeline may be connected to a plurality of sub-pipelines, and one sub-pipeline may be connected to a plurality of entry pipelines. A flow monitoring device may be installed at nodes of the pipelines (such as the intersections and endpoints of the pipelines) to monitor the gas flow. The gas flow information may refer to the gas flow transmitted by a pipeline in a unit time. In some embodiments, the smart gas data center may determine the gas flow information of each level of pipelines from a node at the upper level to a node at the lower level by level. The smart gas data center may obtain gas flow information in a variety of feasible ways. For example, the gas flow information may be determined based on monitoring data of the flow monitoring device at different time points. For another example, the gas flow information may further be determined by a mathematical approach according to a cross-sectional area of each level of the pipelines, a gas flow speed and a gas pressure. In220, determining a candidate area based on the gas flow information. The candidate area may refer to an area of a pipeline where the gas flow information is abnormal, which may be caused by, such as, a failure of the gas meter (such as an inaccurate reading) and/or a mismatch of the gas flow information of the upper and lower pipelines caused by a gas leakage, etc. For example, the candidate area may include the area of the pipeline where a gas meter reading is inaccurate. In some embodiments, the indoor smart gas device management sub-platform may determine the candidate area through various approaches such as a mathematical induction, a statistical analysis, a functional calculation and/or a modeling analysis, etc. For example, the indoor smart gas device management sub-platform may determine the candidate area based on a total gas flow input to a node and a total gas flow output from the node. When the input and output gas flow do not match, the area corresponding to the node may be determined as the candidate area. In some embodiments, the indoor smart gas device management sub-platform may determine whether the area is the candidate area by determining whether a flow consistency rate of the area relating to each pipeline of each level satisfies a first preset condition. An area relating to each pipeline of each level may refer to an area where starting ends, tail ends of each level of the pipelines, and the pipelines of the next level are located. For example, if a main pipeline includes 3 sub-pipelines, and the 3 sub-pipelines include 310 entry pipelines, the area of the main pipeline may include the area where the main pipeline is located, and the area where the 3 sub-pipelines and the 310 entry pipelines are located. The flow consistency rate may reflect whether the flows of the input gas and the output gas in the areas of each level of the pipelines are consistent. For example, when the gas flow information of the node at the upper level and the node at the lower level of a main pipeline is the same, the flow consistency rate is 100%. In some embodiments, the indoor smart gas device management sub-platform may determine whether the gas meter is failed and/or whether there is the gas leakage in the pipeline according to the flow consistency rate of the node at the upper level and the node at the lower level. For example, when the flow consistency rate of the node at the current level and the flow consistency rate of all nodes of the lower level sub-pipelines are 100%, it may be determined that the gas meter is normal and there is no leakage. When the flow consistency rate of the node at the current level is 100%, and the flow consistency rate of some nodes of the lower level sub-pipelines are not 100%, then the gas meters of some nodes of the lower level sub-pipelines may be failed or the pipelines may have the gas leakage. When the flow consistency rate of the node at the current level is not 100%, and the flow consistency rate of all nodes of the lower level sub-pipelines are 100%, then the gas meter of the node at the current level may be failed. When the flow consistency rate of the node at the current level is not 100%, and the flow consistency rate of some nodes of the lower level sub-pipelines are not 100%, the flow consistency rates of the node at the upper level and lower level need to be further checked. In some embodiments, the indoor smart gas device management sub-platform may use various approaches to determine the flow consistency rate. For example, the flow consistency rate may be determined by calculating the gas flow information of each level of the pipelines, and then based on a ratio of the gas flow of the upper pipeline (also referred to as upper level pipeline or pipeline of an upper level) to a sum of the gas flows of all sub-pipelines of the upper pipeline, the flow consistency rate may be determined. More contents about the flow consistency rate, please refer toFIG.3and its related descriptions. The first preset condition may refer to a preset rule for determining whether the flow consistency rate satisfies a requirement. For example, the first preset condition may be that the flow consistency rate is greater than a threshold, such as 96%. When the flow consistency rate of the area of a certain pipeline is greater than the threshold required by the first preset condition, the area may be determined as the candidate area. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, by determining whether gas flow is abnormal based on the determination of whether the gas flow information of each level of the pipelines is consistent, the candidate area may be determined, which is more realistic and accurate, thereby facilitating a subsequent analysis of the candidate areas, so as to improve an analysis efficiency. In230, determining a target gas meter based on gas meter reading information in the candidate area, and determining a maintenance plan of the target gas meter. The target gas meter may refer to a gas meter with abnormal gas meter reading information. For example, the target gas meter may include a gas meter that cannot read and/or with an inaccurate reading. It is worth noting that when the flow rate consistency does not meet the first preset condition, there may be the gas meter failure or the gas leakage in the pipeline. Correspondingly, a situation of gas leakage in the pipeline may be excluded based on the gas meter reading information in the candidate area, and then the target gas meter may be determined. For more contents on the excluding gas leakage, please refer toFIG.4and its related descriptions. The maintenance plan may refer to a predetermined maintenance plan for at least one gas meter with an abnormal reading. For example, the maintenance plan may include, but not limited to, a maintenance sequence, a maintenance time and/or a maintenance operation, or the like. In some embodiments, the indoor smart gas device management sub-platform may determine the maintenance plan by checking a preset maintenance comparison table according to an abnormal type. The preset maintenance comparison table includes abnormity types and maintenance plans in a one-to-one corresponding relationship. In240, sending the maintenance plan to the smart gas data center, and sending the maintenance plan to the smart gas user platform based on the smart gas service platform. For more contents on the platforms and how to send the maintenance plan, please refer toFIG.1and the related descriptions. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, performing analysis step by step from upper level to lower level of each of the pipelines based on a big data analysis result of the each of the pipelines and the gas meters helps to determine the area with abnormal gas flow and the gas meters with abnormal readings more accurately and efficiently. As a result, the maintenance plan may be formulated based on the abnormal gas meters in a more targeting manner, thereby improving the processing efficiency, and saving a labor cost and a time cost. It should be noted that the above description about the process200is only for the purpose of illustration, and does not limit the scope of application of the present disclosure. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and changes can be made to the process200under the guidance of the present disclosure. However, these modifications and changes are still within the scope of the present disclosure. FIG.3is an exemplary schematic diagram illustrating a process of correcting a flow consistency rate according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. It can be understood that due to differences in an obtaining approach of an environment temperature, a humidity, an atmospheric pressure and a gas flow information, there may be an error in the obtained gas flow data, resulting in that the flow consistency rate determined based on the gas flow information cannot meet a requirement, so that the flow consistency rate needs to be corrected. For example, a standard working environment of the flow monitoring device is that the temperature is 18° C.-22° C., the atmospheric pressure is 86 kPa-106 kPa, and the relative humidity is 45%-75%. The values measured in other environments may have errors. For another example, if the flow consistency rate in historical monitoring information is not 100%, but no gas leakage or gas meter failure is found during an actual investigation, then the error may be caused by an accumulation of measurement errors of all flow monitoring devices in the area. The error may be corrected using the historical monitoring information and an investigation result. For another example, there are many types of flow monitoring devices, and device models of the flow monitoring devices at nodes at the upper level and the lower level may be different. For example, one device may be a bell-jar mode gas flow monitoring device, and the other may be a standard meter mode gas flow monitoring device. The monitoring devices with different modes may result in errors. As shown inFIG.3, the indoor smart gas device management sub-platform may adopt a flow change model330to correct the flow consistency rate. The flow change model may be a machine learning model. For example, the flow change model may include any one or a combination of a convolutional neural network model, a deep neural network model, a recurrent neural network model, or other customized model structures. In some embodiments, the flow change model330may include an environmental feature layer331, a historical feature layer332, a prediction layer335and a correction layer337. In some embodiments, an input of the environment feature layer331may include environment information310of the node at a current level, and an output may include an environment feature vector333, and the node may include a location where the flow monitoring device is installed in each level of the pipeline. For example, the node may be a start end and end of each level of pipeline. The environment information may include the temperature, the humidity, and the atmospheric pressure data, etc. In some embodiments, the input of the historical feature layer332may include historical monitoring information320of the node at the current level, and the output may include a historical feature vector334. The historical monitoring information may refer to the monitoring information of a past time point, including historical monitoring data (which may be the gas flow information of the past time point) and a historical inspection result (which may be that whether the gas meter has a failure and/or gas leakage times determined in the past), etc. In some embodiments, the input of the prediction layer335may include the environment feature vector333, the historical feature vector334, and a flow consistency rate340of the node of the current level, and the output may include a consistency rate prediction value of the node of the current level336. The consistency rate prediction value may refer to a result obtained from predicting the flow consistency rate at the node. For more descriptions on the flow consistency rate, please refer to other contents of the present disclosure (e.g.,FIG.2and its related content). In some embodiments, the input of the correction layer337may include the consistency rate prediction value of the node at the current level336, a device model350and a consistency rate prediction value of the nodes at the upper and lower level360, and the output may include a corrected flow consistency rate370. The device model350may be the device model of the flow monitoring device at the nodes at the upper and lower level. The consistency rate prediction value of the nodes at the upper and lower level may be obtained through the environment feature layer, the historical feature layer and the prediction layer with the same parameter structure. In some embodiments, when the consistency rate prediction value of the nodes at the upper level and/or the lower level cannot be obtained, the flow consistency rate corresponding to the node at the upper and/or lower level may be used as the input of the correction layer337. The output of the environment feature layer331and the historical feature layer332may be the input of the prediction layer335. The environment feature layer331, the historical feature layer332and the prediction layer335may be obtained through a joint training. In some embodiments, sample data for the joint training includes sample environment information and sample historical monitoring information of sample node, and a label may be the prediction value of the consistency rate of a sample node. The sample environment information and sample historical monitoring information of the sample node may be input to the environmental feature layer and the historical feature layer respectively to obtain an environmental feature vector and a historical feature vector output by the environmental feature layer and the historical feature layer respectively. The environmental feature vector and historical feature vector may be input to the prediction layer to obtain the prediction value of the consistency rate. A loss function may be constructed based on an output result of the label and the prediction layer, and a parameter of the environmental feature layer, the historical feature layer and the prediction layer may be updated at the same time, until the preset condition is satisfied, then the training is completed, and a trained environmental feature layer, historical feature layer, and prediction layer may be obtained. The preset condition may be that the loss function is smaller than a threshold, the loss function converges, or a training period reaches a threshold. In some embodiments, the correction layer of the flow change model may be obtained by training a plurality of labeled training samples. For example, a plurality sets of labeled training samples may be input to an initial correction layer, the loss function may be constructed based on the output of the initial correction layer and labels, and a parameter of the initial correction layer may be iterated through a gradient descent or other approaches based on the loss function until the loss function satisfies a preset condition. When the model training is completed, a trained correction layer may be obtained. In some embodiments, the training sample may include the prediction value of the consistency rate of the sample node, the prediction value of the consistency rate of the nodes at the upper and lower levels, and the device model at the sample node, and the label of the training sample may include the corrected prediction value of the consistency rate. The training sample may be obtained based on the historical data, and the label of the training sample may be obtained through a manual correction. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, training the flow change model based on a large amount of extensive data, and by using the trained model, the corrected flow consistency rate may be obtained more efficiently, thereby improving an accuracy of its reflection of the actual condition, and satisfying an analysis demand of the user. FIG.4is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary process for correcting a flow consistency rate according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the target gas meter may be determined based on current usage data and historical usage data of the gas meter reading information. The current usage data and the historical usage data may respectively reflect a current use and a historical use of gas, and the use may include but not limited to a gas use, a use time and/or a use frequency, etc. In some embodiments, the target gas meter may be determined in a plurality of approaches. For example, a statistical analysis, a linear fitting and/or a function calculation may be used to analyze and process the current usage data and the historical usage data of the gas meter reading information, and determine the target gas meter based on an analysis result. In some embodiments, as shown inFIG.4, the indoor smart gas device management sub-platforms may respectively construct current usage vectors and historical usage vector databases based on the current usage data and the historical usage data of the gas meter reading information. The current usage vector and the historical usage vector may be vectors constructed according to the current usage data and the historical usage data of the gas meter reading information, respectively, and the historical usage vector database is composed of a plurality of historical usage vectors. The current usage vector or the historical usage vector may be (a, b, c), where a indicates a monthly usage amount at the current month, b indicates a daily usage amount at the current date, and c indicates a usage amount in a fixed time period at the current date. For example, if the current monthly usage amount, daily usage amount, and usage amount in a fixed time period of a gas user are 30 cubic meters, 1.2 cubic meters, and 0.76 cubic meters, respectively, the current usage vector may be constructed as (30, 1.2, 0.76), where, the fixed time period may be a time period in which the gas user has a higher possibility of using gas. For example, the fixed time period may be 10:00-14:00. In some embodiments, the current usage vector and the historical usage vector may further include an environmental feature sub-vector, wherein the environmental feature sub-vector may be determined based on an environmental feature vector output by an environmental feature layer of a flow change model. For more contents of the environmental feature vector and the environmental feature layer, please refer toFIG.3and its related description. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, by adding the environmental feature sub-vector to the current usage vector and the historical usage vector, the influence of environmental factors on the gas usage data of the gas user is fully considered, so that the construction of the vector is more in line with the actual situation. In some embodiments, the indoor smart gas device management sub-platform may determine whether the current usage vector has a matching vector in the historical usage vector database. Exemplarily, whether there is a matching vector in the historical usage vector database may be determined according to the vector distance between the current usage vector and the historical usage vector. The calculation approach of the vector distance may include but not limited to a Euclidean distance, a Manhattan distance, or a Chebyshev distance, etc. For example, a distance threshold may be set. When the vector distances between the current usage vector and all the historical usage vectors in the historical usage vector database are greater than the threshold, the indoor smart gas device management sub-platform may determine that there is not a vector matching the current usage vector in the historical usage vector database. In some embodiments, in response to the determination that there is not a vector matching the current usage vector in the historical usage vector database, the indoor smart gas device management sub-platform may determine that the gas meter corresponding to the current usage data is the target gas meter, and determine its suspicious score. The suspicious score may be used to indicate a possibility that the target gas meter is actually abnormal. It may be understood that the higher the suspicious score, the greater the possibility of the corresponding target gas meter being abnormal. In some embodiments, the suspicious score may be positively correlated with a minimum vector distance of the current usage vector in the historical usage vector database. For example, the suspicious score may be determined based on the minimum vector distance between the current usage vector and the historical usage vector in the historical usage vector database. It may be understood that the greater the minimum vector distance, the higher the suspicious score. When the current usage vector has the matching vector in the historical usage vector database, it may be determined that there is no abnormity in the gas meter, and meanwhile, it may be determined that there may be a gas leakage in the pipeline. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, it is more reasonable and grounded to determine whether the reading data of the gas meter is abnormal by comparing and analyzing the current usage data and the historical usage data of the gas meter, and then to determine the target gas meter. FIG.5is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for excluding an interfering gas meter according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.5, the process500includes the following operations. In510, obtaining linkage data of a target gas meter, the linkage data including current linkage data and historical linkage data. The linkage data may refer to other living data of a user corresponding to the target gas meter. For example, the linkage data may include water usage data and electricity usage data of the user corresponding to the target gas meter. The current linkage data and the historical linkage data may respectively reflect a current situation and a historical situation of the linkage data. For example, the current linkage data may include a current month-usage amount, a current day-usage amount, a usage time and a usage frequency, or the like. The historical linkage data may include a historical month-usage amount, a historical day-usage amount, a historical usage time, and a historical usage frequency. In some embodiments, the linkage data may be obtained in various approaches. In some embodiments, the smart gas object platform may further include other monitoring devices, such as a water meter, an electricity meter, etc., of the user's household. The smart gas indoor device sub-platform may obtain the water usage data and the electricity usage data of the target gas meter by obtaining the reading information of the water meter and the electricity meter of the user corresponding to the target gas meter. In some embodiments, the linkage data may further be obtained through a third-party platform. For example, a property system, a power network system, etc., which is not limited in the present disclosure. In520, analyzing the linkage data based on a preset algorithm, and determining a similarity between the current linkage data and the historical linkage data. The similarity may refer to a degree of similarity between the current linkage data and the historical linkage data. In some embodiments, the similarity may include a water use similarity and/or an electricity use similarity. The preset algorithm may refer to an algorithm for analyzing the linkage data. For example, a deep learning algorithm, a similarity algorithm, etc. In some embodiments, a current water use vector, a current electricity use vector, the historical water use vector and a historical electricity use vector may be constructed respectively based on the current water use data, the current electricity use data and the historical water use data, and the historical electricity use data, and then based on a vector distance between the current water use vector and the historical water use vector, the vector distance between the current electricity use vector and the historical electricity use vector, corresponding similarities may be determined, which are the water use similarity and the electricity use similarity. In530, determining whether the similarity satisfies a second preset condition. The second preset condition may refer to a threshold of similarity set in advance. When the similarity between the current linkage data and the historical linkage data is greater than the second preset condition, it is considered that the two are not similar; otherwise, the two are considered as being similar. In540, in response to the determination that the similarity satisfies the second preset condition, determining that the target gas meter is an interfering gas meter, and excluding the interfering gas meter from the maintenance plan. The interfering gas meter may refer to a gas meter in the target gas meters that has high suspicious score due to a user factor. For example, a business trip of the user may cause the gas meter to read 0 cubic meter in the current week and 30 cubic meters in the previous week, resulting in an excessively high suspicious score for the gas meter, and the gas meter may be the interfering gas meter. In some embodiments, when the water use similarity and/or the electricity use similarity satisfies the second preset condition, it may be considered that the suspicious score of the target gas meter is too high due to the user factor, while an actual suspicious score of the target gas meter is lower, so such target gas meter may be identified as the interfering gas meter and may be excluded from the maintenance plan. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, by analyzing the linkage data, interfering gas meters with low degrees of suspicion can be excluded among the target gas meters, which is beneficial to narrow a scope of investigation and improve a processing efficiency. The basic concepts have been described above. Obviously, for those skilled in the art, the above detailed disclosure is merely an example, and does not constitute a limitation of the present disclosure. Although not explicitly described herein, various modifications, improvements, and corrections to the present disclosure may be made by those skilled in the art. Such modifications, improvements, and corrections are suggested in the present disclosure, so such modifications, improvements, and corrections still belong to the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Meanwhile, the present disclosure uses specific words to describe the embodiments of the present disclosure. Such as “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” and/or “some embodiments” means a certain feature, structure, or characteristic associated with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be emphasized and noted that two or more references to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” or “an alternative embodiment” in various places in the present disclosure are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, certain features, structures, or characteristics of the one or more embodiments of the present disclosure may be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, unless explicitly stated in the claims, the order of processing elements and sequences described in the present disclosure, the use of alphanumeric, or the use of other names is not intended to limit the order of the processes and methods of the present disclosure. While the foregoing disclosure discusses by way of various examples of some embodiments of the invention that are presently believed to be useful, it is to be understood that such details are for purposes of illustration only and that the appended claims are not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, the claims aim to cover all corrections and equivalences in line with the nature and scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, although the system components described above may be implemented by hardware devices, they may also be implemented by software-only solutions, such as installing the described systems on existing servers or mobile devices. Similarly, it should be noted that, in order to simplify the expressions disclosed in the present disclosure and thus help the understanding of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, in the foregoing description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, various features may sometimes be combined into one embodiment, drawing or description thereof. However, this way of disclosure does not imply that the subject matter of the description requires more features than recited in the claims. Rather, claimed subject matter may lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities or properties used to describe and claim certain embodiments of the application are to be understood as being modified in some instances by the term “about,” “approximate,” or “substantially.” Unless stated otherwise, “about”, “approximately” or “substantially” means that a variation of ±20% is allowed for the stated number. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the numerical parameters set forth in the written description and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of the application are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as practicable. Each of the patents, patent applications, publications of patent applications, and other material, such as articles, books, specifications, publications, documents, things, and/or the like, referenced herein is hereby incorporated herein by this reference in its entirety for all purposes, excepting any prosecution file history associated with same, any of same that is inconsistent with or in conflict with the present document, or any of same that may have a limiting effect as to the broadest scope of the claims now or later associated with the present document. It should be noted that, should there be any inconsistency or conflict between the description, definition, and/or the use of a term associated with any of the incorporated material and that associated with the present document, the description, definition, and/or the use of the term in the present document shall prevail. Finally, it should be understood that the embodiments of the application disclosed herein are illustrative of the principles of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Other variations are also possible within the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, by way of example, but not of limitation, alternative configurations of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be utilized in accordance with the teachings herein. Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to that precisely as shown and described. | 45,128 |
11861568 | Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are best understood by referring to the detailed description that follows. It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, wherein showings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of the present disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Provided are methods for using data tracing identifiers to track data flow through a data model and computing services. Systems suitable for practicing methods of the present disclosure are also provided. In service provider systems, such as credit provider systems and other financial service providers, underwriting systems may be utilized to extend credit or other loans to customers and other entities, such as businesses and companies, based on risk assessment and risk analysis processes performed by the service provider systems. The online service provider may also provide an account, credit, and/or expense management system that may provide data aggregators that receive and monitor data for an entity, as well as connect with one or more financial computing systems for financial accounts. These service providers may further be utilized for electronic transaction processing, for example, with debit, credit, or other payment card transactions, direct debit/credit through automated clearing house (ACH), wire transfers, gift cards, and other types of funding sources that may be issued to the entity by the service provider and/or other financial service providers (e.g., banks). Thus, a networked system and provider may include a framework and architecture to provide payment gateways, billing platforms, eCommerce platforms, invoicing, and additional services. However, with large and complex computing architectures and infrastructures that provide these services, multiple data processing stacks, applications, computing services and processors, and/or corresponding data models for databases and data tables may be needed. This causes inefficiencies when querying for and tracing data that may not be easily identified and/or share corresponding hash keys, identifiers, or the like to allow for fast data tracking. In order to solve these issues with data tracing through different data models and their corresponding computing services, the service provider may implement a data trace system and includes identifiers, operations, and a library that may be used to track and trace data as it is processed by data processors, microservices, decision services, and/or other computing services of the service provider and/or persisted in a unified data model of the computing services. For example, a data model may correspond to an organization of data elements that standardizes the data elements and assists in designating their relationships, such as data storage to data tables, as well as data flow and/or processing. The library may provide operations to create and write Data Trace Identifiers (data trace ids or “DTIs” as used herein) to a data table for a database of the library. Thereafter, the DTIs may be used with data as transmitted between and/or processed by different computing services for a high-level data processing flow of the service provider (e.g., an underwriting request, a payment card transaction, etc.). Thus, a unified data model may standardize where and/or how the DTIs are stored in one or more data tables of databases used by computing services (e.g., through a specific column). This allows for querying and tracing of the data throughout the service provider's computing systems and architecture in a faster and simplified manner. For example, a credit and underwriting provider system may offer services, software, online resources and portals, and infrastructure used to provide underwriting for the entity's (e.g., a business or company) available credit or loans, as well as operations for expenses, purchases, and other financial transactions. Initially, the entity may be onboarded by providing necessary documents to verify the entity's identity and/or business standing, such as incorporation documents, EIN, tax status and/or documents, and the like. In order to be processed for credit underwriting, the entity may further be required to provide certain data regarding the entity's financial status, accounts, and balances, such as initial seed money, investments, and global available balance(s) that may be used for repayment of extended credit or loans. In this regard, the entity may provide access or a link to, such as through an integration with one or more banking systems utilized by the entity, one or more available balances of funds. Once onboarded for credit and/or payment services, one or more payment instruments may be issued to users or employees of the entity, including sales, management, information technologies, or other users, such as, contractors, affiliates, or owners (hereinafter referred to generally as users or employees). The payment instruments may correspond to various types of payment cards and/or account identifiers, which may be issued by the service provider system or by an associated partner (e.g., an issuing bank that provides credit cards or other financial instruments). During the course of business, an employee may engage in commerce with one or more merchants using a payment instrument, such as by making an in-person (e.g., at a merchant location or store) or online purchase from the merchant. Thus, the user may request electronic transaction processing through the account number or payment instrument identifier(s) provided to the user. Merchants (e.g., a seller or payment receiver, such as a business, fundraiser, healthcare provider, landlord, etc.) may correspond to any person or entity selling goods and/or services (referred to herein as an “item” or “items”). When processing a payment, the credit provider system may receive transaction data for the payment request from the payment network, for example, when the acquirer (e.g., the acquiring bank for the merchant that processes the payment instrument provided by the user) requests processing with the issuer (e.g., the issuing bank of the entity and/or credit provider system that issues the payment instrument). This occurs when the user causes a transaction to be generated, and the merchant generates a total for the transaction request, which the user can pay for by providing a payment instrument to the merchant. After receiving the payment instrument, the merchant may cause a payment request to be generated for payment of the transaction. In various embodiments, the user may be required to enter additional checkout information, such as a name, delivery location, or other personal or financial information that may be included in the transaction data for the transaction. In some embodiments, the payment instrument may previously be tokenized by the expense management system in order to further protect from fraud, where the digital token allows for backend identification of the payment instrument to the issuer and/or expense management system without exposing payment credentials. The credit provider system may provide an electronic data processing framework that integrates into a payment network and/or computing system of a financial service provider at a point that allows for real-time data acquisition and/or periodic data retrieval and/or updating of available balances for financial accounts of the entity. For example, integration of the framework at a network node or point at or between an issuing and/or acquiring bank for one or more payment networks may allow for data about accounts and balances for an entity to be received in real-time, and thus the framework may perform real-time data processing. The data for financial accounts, balances, and/or transactions may also be acquired at certain intervals, such as from a pull and/or retrieval for the request from the corresponding banking system for the entity. Additionally, the system's framework may integrate with one or more client devices (e.g., personal computers, mobile devices, etc.), online scheduling resources, personnel management systems, and/or enterprise business software to receive data for an entity that is associated with financial accounts, balances, and/or processed transactions. The payment networks may correspond to resolution networks for payment processing using an account identifier, payment card, or the like during electronic and in-person transaction processing. These payment networks and financial service providers (e.g., banks and banking computing systems) may be selected and integrated in order to determine and process account and/or transaction data. Thus, the service provider may have a large and/or complex computing architecture that is used to provide these computing services to users. As data is processed through a data processing flow, multiple computing services may process the data and/or persist to one or more corresponding databases. In order to trace data between different services and the data model, initially the service provider may be configured with a data tracing library that utilizes DTIs for data tracing. A user or an entity may initiate a data processing flow. For example, a user may enter a deposit transaction to deposit an amount of funds to one or more accounts. This may engage a deposits processor, which may require a verification processor or service to request verification, and then an ACH service may initiate the deposit. The data for this deposit transaction and/or an identifier for this data may be stored by each of these processors and/or services by one or more databases and using the unified data model. When using the data tracing library, a DTI is created and/or written by the data tracing library to a commonly accessible and/or shared database for the library. As data is shared, transmitted, and/or processed by different computing services, the DTI may be propagated with the data and/or to the corresponding computing services for the data. This may be done using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) headers or the like. For example, the DTI may be injected to, written to and/or included in a header for a request, response, or other message associated with the data. This HTTP message and header having the DTI may be shared by the data trace library with each of the computing services handling the data during the data processing flow. When sharing DTI via the HTTP message and header with the computing services for the data, remote procedure call (RPC) interceptors may be used to inject, write, or add the DTI to the message or header. In this regard, RPC interceptors may correspond to components of an RPC application, where, before a message (e.g., HTTP message) is sent or received by a client or server, allow for interaction with the message (e.g., by adding or injecting the DTI to the header when transmitted or included with the data). This allows propagation of the DTI throughout the computing services using the HTTP header associated with the data. Thereafter, as the data is transmitted to and/or processed by the separate components, processors, micro and/or decision services, and other computing services, the DTI may be separately stored by each computing service. Each computing service may have one or more corresponding databases having data tables for a data model corresponding to the computing service. The data model may therefore include data tables with columns for different data parameters or features and rows for data entries. The data library may create and generate a database table across the computing services that includes a column for recording and persisting the DTI with the corresponding data model. This allows each data model for each service to record and store the DTI in a column for each data row entry. In some embodiments, a one-to-many relationship for data to DTIs may occur. For example, data may enter the service provider's systems through one or more data processing flows and/or input channels for computing services. Thus, each data row for a data entry may include multiple DTIs or other traces (e.g., through the same or multiple columns of the data tables for the data model). This allows a one-to-many relationship to occur between data and different DTIs, which may allow for tracing of the data through different data processing flows, computing services, and the data model that may use the data. Further, this may allow for connecting different data processing flows by determining the different DTIs that are associated with the same data. Thereafter, the data trace library may be used to identify the data (e.g., by the data, an identifier, hash key, or the like) and DTI. This may then be used to trace the corresponding computing services for the data model utilizing and recording the data, which may allow for determination of faulty services, where sensitive or secure data may be recorded, and/or during system troubleshooting. Further, for compliance with regulations and policies, data tracing may be used to determine the processing stacks, services, and/or databases that may be exposed to certain data during data processing. By utilizing a centralized data trace library, the service provider may determine a pathway of data through computing systems in a faster and more coordinated manner by reducing the need for multiple data queries from separate computing services and databases. This reduces the processing requirements and resources required to trace data through data processing flows. Further, the amount and/or number of keys required to identify data may be reduced, which saves consumption of data storage resources. FIG.1is a block diagram of a networked system100suitable for implementing the processes described herein, according to an embodiment. As shown, system100may comprise or implement a plurality of devices, servers, and/or software components that operate to perform various methodologies in accordance with the described embodiments. Exemplary devices and servers may include device, stand-alone, and enterprise-class servers, operating an OS such as a MICROSOFT® OS, a UNIX® OS, a LINUX® OS, or another suitable device and/or server-based OS. It can be appreciated that the devices and/or servers illustrated inFIG.1may be deployed in other ways, and that the operations performed, and/or the services provided by such devices and/or servers may be combined or separated for a given embodiment and may be performed by a greater number or fewer number of devices and/or servers. One or more devices and/or servers may be operated and/or maintained by the same or different entities. System100includes a customer or client device110and a service provider server120in communication over a network140. A user (not shown) may correspond to an employee, contractor, shareholder, or other suitable person of a company (not shown and generally referred to herein as an “employee”) associated with client device110, which may be used to utilize the services provided by service provider server120. Service provider server120may process data from client device110, such as during underwriting, account generation or usage, electronic transaction processing, expense management, or the like. In this regard, service provider server120may provide data tracing operations using a centralized library and DTIs shared via HTTP or other message header for data. Client device110and service provider server120may each include one or more processors, memories, and other appropriate components for executing instructions such as program code and/or data stored on one or more computer readable mediums to implement the various applications, data, and steps described herein. For example, such instructions may be stored in one or more computer readable media such as memories or data storage devices internal and/or external to various components of system100, and/or accessible over network140. Client device110may be utilized by an employee, contractor, affiliate, or owner of an entity or company that employs one or more users, for example, to utilize services provided by service provider server120. For example, in one embodiment, client device110may be implemented as a personal computer (PC), telephonic device, a smart phone, laptop/tablet computer, wristwatch with appropriate computer hardware resources, eyeglasses with appropriate computer hardware (e.g., GOOGLE GLASS®), other type of wearable computing device, implantable communication devices, and/or other types of computing devices capable of transmitting and/or receiving data. In this regard, client device110includes one or more processing applications which may be configured to interact with service provider server120. Although only one communication device is shown, a plurality of communication devices may function similarly. Client device110ofFIG.1includes an application112, a database116, and a network interface component118. Application112may correspond to executable processes, procedures, and/or applications with associated hardware. In other embodiments, client device110may include additional or different modules having specialized hardware and/or software as required. Application112may be implemented as specialized hardware and/or software utilized by client device110to access and/or utilize services provided by service provider server120, such as underwriting for credit, onboarding and/or management of an account, electronic transaction processing, and/or usage of other services with service provider server120by an entity associated with client device110(e.g., an organization, business, company, or the like including startup companies that may require credit services). For example, a user associated with the entity may utilize client device110to provide data and/or request data processing for data from service provider server120. In this regard, application112may correspond to software, hardware, and data utilized by a user associated with client device110to enter, store, and process data with service provider server120, such as transaction data114. Transaction data114may be processed via one or more data processing flows, which may utilize computing services storing data and/or DTIs for tracing the data using the data model for databases associated with the computing services. Thus, transaction data114may be provided to and/or processed with service provider server120with the DTIs for data tracing using a data library, as further discussed herein. In other embodiments, the services may further include email and messaging, social networking, microblogging, media sharing and/or viewing, streaming, and/or other data processing services. In various embodiments, application112may include a general browser application configured to retrieve, present, and communicate information over the Internet (e.g., utilize resources on the World Wide Web) or a private network. For example, application112may correspond to a web browser, which may send and receive information over network140, including retrieving website information, presenting the website information to the user, and/or communicating information to the website, including payment information. However, in other embodiments, application112may include a dedicated software application of service provider server120or other entity. Application112may be configured to assist in onboarding for accounts, establishing and maintaining the accounts, engaging in electronic transaction processing, and services provided by service provider server120. Client device110may further include database116stored in a transitory and/or non-transitory memory of client device110, which may store various applications and data and be utilized during execution of various modules of client device110. Database116may include, for example, identifiers such as operating system registry entries, cookies associated with application112, identifiers associated with hardware of client device110, or other appropriate identifiers, such as identifiers, tokens, and/or fingerprints for devices, applications, accounts, and/or users. Database116may further include transaction data114and the like, which may be uploaded, automatically or on command, for processing by service provider server120using one or more data processing flows. Client device110includes at least one network interface component118adapted to communicate with service provider server120and/or another device or server. In various embodiments, network interface component118may include a DSL (e.g., Digital Subscriber Line) modem, a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) modem, an Ethernet device, a broadband device, a satellite device and/or various other types of wired and/or wireless network communication devices. Service provider server120may be maintained, for example, by an online service provider, which may provide onboarding services for account, credit or loan underwriting services, payment and transaction processing services, and/or expense management services to companies, businesses, and other entities. In this regard, service provider server120includes one or more processing applications which may be configured to interact with client device110and other devices or servers to facilitate provision of the services and tracing of data through the services using DTI with a data trace library. In one example, service provider server120may be provided by BREX®, Inc. of San Francisco, CA, USA. However, in other embodiments, service provider server120may be maintained by or include other types of credit providers, financial services providers, and/or other service provider, which may provide services to users and entities. Service provider server120ofFIG.1includes data processing applications122, a data tracing application130, a database124, and a network interface component128. Data processing applications122and data tracing application130may correspond to executable processes, procedures, and/or applications with associated hardware. In other embodiments, service provider server120may include additional or different modules having specialized hardware and/or software as required. Data processing applications122may correspond to specialized hardware and/or software to allow entities (e.g., the entity associated with client device110) to provide account services, provide credit or loan extensions via underwriting models and/or services, process payments and transactions using one or more payment cards or other financial instruments, provide expense management systems, and/or provide additional services to users and/or entities. Data processing applications122may correspond to one or more services provided by service provider server120to an entity, such as the entity associated with client device110. In some embodiments, the services may include account and/or credit services. In such embodiments, data processing applications122may include underwriting systems and models, which may extend credit or other loans based on parameters for an entity. Using the accounts and/or credit, electronic transaction processing services may also be provided to users and entities via data processing applications122. In further embodiments, data processing applications122may provide expense management services, such as those that may integrate with an entity's expense, payroll, human resources, business panning, and the like to provide enterprise resource planning (ERP) services. In some embodiments, the services may be used to receive payment instruments associated with a bank account, extended credit, and/or funding of the company, such as one or more company credit cards. In this regard, an entity may first establish an account with data processing applications122by providing company or entity data and onboarding through data processing applications122. The company or entity data may include IRS EIN information and/or other information that may be utilized to verify a company, business, organization, or other entity. Such information may further include bank account and funding information, such as verified funding from investors, available funds in a bank or financial account, and the like. If qualified based on policies, rules, and/or models, service provider server120may onboard the entity associated with client device110for services provided by service provider server120. This may include credit extended to the entity based on entity financial data. In this regard, service provider server120and/or another issuing entity may provide a payment instrument that is managed by data processing applications122. For example, service provider server120may issue one or more credit cards for employees of the entity, which may correspond to a real or virtual credit card or other types of payment instruments and instrument identifiers that may be used for company payments. For example, data processing applications122may be used to process transaction data114from client device110, which may include information about the transaction (e.g., cost, items, additional fees including tax or tip, merchant identifier, description, and the like), an identifier for the entity associated with client device110, and/or the used payment instrument (e.g., credit card number for the credit account). Data processing applications122may then utilize one or more payment networks to process the transaction, such as by issuing a payment over a payment network and/or by requesting payment by a credit issuing bank or institution to the merchant and/or acquiring bank or institution. In other embodiments, the credit card and payment network may be managed by another entity and/or payment network, where an integration by service provider server120with the network may allow for acquisition of transaction data by data processing applications122in real-time or substantially in real-time. Data processing applications122may further issue transaction histories for transaction data114and provide accounting and recordation of transaction data, such as with the ERP resources provided by data processing applications122. Data processing applications122may include computing services that correspond to one or more data processing stacks, components, processors, microservices, and/or decision services of service provider server122to provide these services utilized by client device110and/or other devices or servers. The computing services may correspond to different computing systems and/or processors of service provider server120that may provide a data processing service and/or operation. For example, the computing services may be associated with login, authentication, transaction processing, verification, risk and/or fraud detection, payment networks and/or ACHs, and the like. Each of the computing services may further utilize a database, which may have and/or utilize data model124for persisting data, hash keys from data, data identifiers, data processing results or outputs, and the like, as well as one or more of DTIs134from a data trace or identifier library132of data tracing application130. Data model124and the corresponding databases using data model124may further be configured by data trace library132to include one or more columns for recording and persisting DTIs134(e.g., to a data table or the like) when received in an HTTP header for an HTTP request, response, or other message associated with the data for processing. In this regard, the HTTP header may be injected with one of DTIs134and/or the DTI added or written to the HTTP using an RPC interceptor during transmission and/or receipt of the data for processing by the computing services, as discussed herein. Other media may also be used to transfer DTIs134including headers of messages in Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) or in Kafka, as well as any combination thereof in systems that may utilize a hybrid manner of communication. Thereafter, when recording the data processing of the data, the corresponding one of DTIs134may be stored by data model124to a corresponding database for each computing service. Data tracing application130may correspond to specialized hardware and/or software to allow end users, administrators, data scientists, engineers, compliance officers, and other users associated with service provider server120to trace data processed by data processing applications122through different computing services using data trace library132with data model124, which may also be provided to the entity associated with client device110entities where data tracing may be provided as an external service. In some embodiments, data tracing may allow tracking and/or tracing a pathway of data as transmitted, processed, and/or utilized by different components and computing services of data processing applications122. For example, data model124may be used to designate and/or determine a particular process and/or standard for storing data including DTIs134. This may include standardizing and/or formatting data tables and other data storage structures for databases to include one or more columns for DTIs134that are identifiable and readable by data tracing application130. Thus, data tracing application130may utilize data trace library to create and/or configure databases of service provider server120, such as those used by data processing applications122, in order to be compatible with storing, writing, allowing reading, and/or retrieving DTIs134during data processing and/or data tracing. Data trace library132may be used to create, generate, and/or share DTIs134during data processing flows for data through the computing services of data processing applications132. For example, as data enters to the system and/or a data processing operation is requested for existing data, one or more data processing flows may be used to process the data using one or more computing services of data processing applications132. Data trace library132may also act as a centralized repository and/or database for DTIs132, which may be used for lookup and query of DTIs for corresponding data. Thus, data trace library may include one or more columns for data rows that may be used to store and record DTIs132. These columns and other data tables may be configured by and/or to correspond with data model124. Once generated, DTIs134may be stored by the corresponding centralized database for data trace library132. Data trace library132may share DTIs134by injecting or adding DTIs134to an HTTP or other message header by header injection operations136when the data flows and/or is transmitted between computing services of data processing applications122. Header injection operations136may use RPC interceptors to perform injection of DTIs to headers after the HTTP message for corresponding data is sent by a computing service and/or received by another computing service in order to cause the computing services to receive and store DTIs134when processing the data. Thus, DTIs134may be used to identify and trace data as the data is processed through different computing services of data processing applications122during one or more data processing flows. Thereafter, tracing data138may correspond to a query and result of a request to trace data using one of DTIs134. Tracing data138may include an identified pathway, identified computing services and/or components, and/or identified databases where data flowed during a data processing flow. This may be identified by querying databases for one of DTIs134using data trace library132and one or more data tracing queries and/or operations. The operations and features of data tracing application130with data processing applications122is described in further detail with regard toFIGS.2-4below. Additionally, service provider server120includes database126. As previously discussed, the user, entity, and/or entity corresponding to client device110may establish one or more accounts with service provider server120. Account data stored by database126may include customer credit accounts and other entity information, such as name, address, entity organization and/or formational information (e.g., incorporation, tax, and/or good standing documents), funding information (e.g., bank balances and/or incoming funding), additional user financial information, and/or other desired entity data. Further, database126may also correspond to multiple databases of service provider server120, which may include databases using or configured by data model124. These databases may be used by different computing services and therefore store data tables for data used by the computing services and associated with DTIs134. In various embodiments, service provider server120includes at least one network interface component128adapted to communicate with client device110and/or other devices or servers over network140. In various embodiments, network interface component128may comprise a DSL (e.g., Digital Subscriber Line) modem, a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) modem, an Ethernet device, a broadband device, a satellite device and/or various other types of wired and/or wireless network communication devices. In various embodiments, one or more of the devices, systems, and/or components of system100may one or more computing systems or architectures of a banking or financial institution that may provide data when processed by service provider server120, such as in response to a request for client device110. For example, the financial institutions may include a computing system and/or network utilized for funding balances within accounts, such as bank and/or financial accounts of funds available to business entities. The financial institution(s) may further provide resolution of payment requests and electronic transaction processing, which may be governed by permissions (e.g., acceptances and denials) of payment requests for transaction processing by service provider server120. In this regard, the financial institution(s) may provide one or more accounts that include balances available to an entity associated with account holder device110, such as bank accounts and other accounts that include assets of the business entity. A financial institution may correspond to an acquiring and/or issuing bank or entity that may hold accounts for users and/or assist in resolving payments. Network140may be implemented as a single network or a combination of multiple networks. For example, in various embodiments, network140may include the Internet or one or more intranets, landline networks, wireless networks, and/or other appropriate types of networks. Network140may correspond to small scale communication networks, such as a private or local area network, or a larger scale network, such as a wide area network or the Internet, accessible by the various components of system100. FIG.2is an exemplary system architecture200for generating, sharing, and storing Data Trace Identifiers using a data tracing library for data tracing between computing services, according to an embodiment. System architecture200includes data trace library132corresponding to a component of data tracing application130for service provider server120discussed in reference to system100ofFIG.1. In this regard, data trace library132may allow for interactions with different computing services, databases, and components of a computing architecture for a service provider in system architecture200. For example, HTTP requests, responses, or other messages may be exchanged during a data processing flow that are associated with the data to be processed, for example, via one or more application programming interface (API) calls of different computing services and the like. Data trace library132may inject a DTI to one or more HTTP headers or other message components during data exchange or transmission, which may allow the DTIs to be persisted by different computing services using, processing, and/or storing the data in order to provide data tracing through a unified data model. For example, a data model may be used to configure data trace library132with different databases and/or database systems used by a first service204and second services206, including a relational database management system (RDBMS)208. RDBMS208may correspond to PostgreSQL, or Postgres, as well as other types of RDBMS systems that allow for users and/or systems to collect, store, and access data (e.g., via one or more data tables). RDBMS208may be used by data trace library132to store DTIs for data, which allows for lookup, data tracing through different computing services (e.g., first service204and/or second services206), and DTI querying from different databases and/or data tables. In this regard, the data model may be used to configure and/or unify data trace library132and RDBMS208so that databases used by data trace library132, first service204, and/or second services206are compatible with using data trace ids or DTIs. This may be done by utilizing one or more columns that may persist an identifier, key, or the like for the DTI associated with corresponding data processed by one or more of first service204and/or second services206. Further, this may include creating and/or adding a column for DTIs to the data tables that record data processing transactions and/or other data processing inputs, outputs, and/or events. Initially, first service204may receive, retrieve, or otherwise obtain data for processing through a data processing flow. The data processing flow may further utilize second services206. In order to create a DTI for the data, first service204may interact with data trace library132in order to obtain a data trace id or DTI for a row associated with an instance of a data processing flow and/or other data (e.g., a payment card transaction). Data trace library132may respond by creating a DTI for the particular processing event or instance and corresponding data. Thereafter, first service204may perform a normal or standard database interaction with RDBMS208to store the data for the data processing flow in the row for the instance, where data trace library132may further store the newly create DTI on the same database for first service204in the same row in a column for DTI tracing. Next, RDBMS208may interact with event streamers210, such as Apache Kafka, which may share streams of events occurring between applications. This may be done via a change data capture that allows for streaming of database changes. Event streamers210may allow for an audit system212to scrape DTIs for auditing and data validity, security, and/or integrity. Additionally, a unified storage may be provided with a data warehouse214, such as Snowflake. In order to propagate the DTI for the data during the data processing flow, such as to later trace where the data flowed through first service204, second services206, and/or other computing services and/or databases, HTTP and/or HTTPS traffic may be utilized to share the DTI via headers or other message components. For example, data trace library132may cause, inject, and/or write the DTI for the corresponding data to a corresponding HTTP header for HTTP traffic between first service204and second services206. The HTTP traffic may occur where data is being transmitted and/or exchanged during a data processing flow, such as to process the data to return a response or result to a user or entity. When shared via HTTP header, the DTI may be recorded in databases and/or data tables, such as in the column for DTIs for a row that identifies the next computing service that receives, processes, and/or stores the DTI. Later, the DTI may be retrieved from one of the databases or data tables used by data trace library132, first service204, and/or second services206. An internal database query may be generated for, executed on, and queried by available databases and/or data tables (e.g., a structured query language (SQL) query where RDBMS208may correspond to Postgres) using the DTI. By identifying the corresponding data records (e.g., rows in the data tables) using the DTI column(s), the corresponding data records, databases, and/or computing services may be identified, which allows for later identification of where the data was used, processed, and/or stored, as well as rebuilding of a data processing flow. Further, if the rows include multiple DTIs in one or more columns for DTIs corresponding to the data and data record of the data processing instance, multiple different data flows through the components and/or computing services of the service provider's computing architecture may be determined. This allows a one to-many approach of the data to the DTI(s), respectively, which allows for connecting different data processing flows that may use the same data during a high-level data processing request or flow (e.g., a payment card transaction, which may implement several different actions and flows). FIG.3is an exemplary diagram300of pseudocode for library details to generate and use a Data Trace Identifier with data tracing between computing services, according to an embodiment. Diagram300ofFIG.3includes a representation of pseudocode that may be used when providing DTIs and a data trace library by service provider server120using data tracing application130discussed in reference to system100ofFIG.1. In this regard, the pseudocode of diagram300may be executed by data trace library132discussed in reference to system architecture200ofFIG.2. Diagram300includes a create DTI table operation302to create data trace identifier data tables and/or one or more columns in data tables for databases that may be used to record and persist DTIs when data is processed by one or more computing services. For example, databases and data tables may be used to record data processing operations, including inputs, outputs and/or other actions associated with when data is processed by a computing service during a data processing flow. In order to standardize the data tables and/or format for a unified data model, create DTI table operation302may be used in order to provide table standardization request304. In table standardization request304, a DTI column may be created for an entity type, identifier, and timestamp of data recordation in one or more rows of a data table. This allows a data trace library and computing services to utilize a unified data model that allows DTIs to be recorded between different tables. Further in diagram300, DTI recordation operations306may be used by a data trace library and/or computing services in order to persist DTIs when transmitted to and/or received by computing services during data processing. For example, a log operation308may be used during DTI recordation operations306to record DTIs to data tables in a column that is standardized to the data model used by the different computing services. Further, the data trace library may execute DTI creation operation310in order to create DTIs. During DTI creation operation310, if a new DTI is required, one may be created. Otherwise, if one already exists, a DTI may be accessed for the data and/or data processing flow instance, which may then be used with the data during data processing by one or more computing services. This may be then automatically forwarded via HTTP headers to computing services during data processing. The data trace library may be used to automatically forward DTIs across services using both server and/or client-side RPC interceptors and the like. FIG.4is an exemplary flowchart400for data tracing identifiers for tracking data flow through a data model and computing services, according to an embodiment. Note that one or more steps, processes, and methods of flowchart400described herein may be omitted, performed in a different sequence, or combined as desired or appropriate. At step402of flowchart400, data for a unified data model for computing service of a service provider's computing architecture is received. The data may be associated with a high-level data processing flow, which may utilize one or more sub-flows for processing the data and providing a result or output to a user. For example, a payment card transaction may be received, which may include different data processing flows. One flow may be associated with authentication and risk, while others may be associated with payment network usage and payment. For the data, an identifier (ID), such as a DTI associated with data tracing and a data trace library, is generated for the data with the service provider, at step404. The ID may be generated by a data trace library and recorded to an RDBMS or other databases (e.g., no-relational databases) for the service provider, which may include databases and/or data tables for data recordation. At step406, the ID is persisted with the data using a data library. For example, a row may be created in a data table for the RDBMS or other databases, where the row is associated with the data and/or the data processing flow instance for the data. The row may include a column, which corresponds to recording one or more DTIs. Thus, the data, an identifier for the data and/or processing instance, and/or a hash or key for the data and/or processing instance may be recorded in the row, where the column for the DTI(s) records the DTI created for the instance. Where multiple processing flows may process the data, multiple DTIs may be created and stored in one or more columns for the DTIs. This may allow a one-to-many matching of the DTIs to the data when different processing flows are invoked, which allows for connecting, linking, and/or stitching together different processing flows that use the same data. At step408, a request to process the data with the computing services is received. For example, a first service may process the data, such as a validation service. Thereafter, a second service for a payment processor may be invoked. Each may separately be invoked to process the data, where the data is then requested by and/or transferred to the corresponding service. At step410, the ID is propagated with the data using a data message header when processed by the computing services. For example, an HTTP request, response, and/or message may include an HTTP header or other element, which allows for injecting and/or writing of the ID to the header. This message may be associated with and/or shared during the data processing by the different computing services. This allows the DTI to be shared between different computing services. At step412, the data is traced through the computing services using the ID. For example, after data processing, the data may be required to be traced between different computing services. This may be required for compliance reasons, troubleshooting, and/or determination of faulty computing services and/or data processing. Further, the tracing may be used to determine data processing flows using the data based on a higher-level data processing request and flow. Thus, the data trace library may be used to obtain the ID and perform database queries using the ID to determine where the ID occurs. Thereafter, the different computing services may be identified using the ID queries. FIG.5is a block diagram of a computer system suitable for implementing one or more components inFIG.1, according to an embodiment. In various embodiments, the communication device may comprise a personal computing device (e.g., smart phone, a computing tablet, a personal computer, laptop, a wearable computing device such as glasses or a watch, Bluetooth device, key FOB, badge, etc.) capable of communicating with the network. The service provider may utilize a network computing device (e.g., a network server) capable of communicating with the network. It should be appreciated that each of the devices utilized by users and service providers may be implemented as computer system500in a manner as follows. Computer system500includes a bus502or other communication mechanism for communicating information data, signals, and information between various components of computer system500. Components include an input/output (I/O) component504that processes a user action, such as selecting keys from a keypad/keyboard, selecting one or more buttons, image, or links, and/or moving one or more images, etc., and sends a corresponding signal to bus502. I/O component504may also include an output component, such as a display511and a cursor control513(such as a keyboard, keypad, mouse, etc.). An optional audio/visual input/output (I/O) component505may also be included to allow a user to use voice for inputting information by converting audio signals and/or input or record images/videos by capturing visual data of scenes having objects. Audio/visual I/O component505may allow the user to hear audio and view images/video including projections of such images/video. A transceiver or network interface506transmits and receives signals between computer system500and other devices, such as another communication device, service device, or a service provider server via network140. In one embodiment, the transmission is wireless, although other transmission mediums and methods may also be suitable. One or more processors512, which can be a micro-controller, digital signal processor (DSP), or other processing component, processes these various signals, such as for display on computer system500or transmission to other devices via a communication link518. Processor(s)512may also control transmission of information, such as cookies or IP addresses, to other devices. Components of computer system500also include a system memory component514(e.g., RAM), a static storage component516(e.g., ROM), and/or a disk drive517. Computer system500performs specific operations by processor(s)512and other components by executing one or more sequences of instructions contained in system memory component514. Logic may be encoded in a computer readable medium, which may refer to any medium that participates in providing instructions to processor(s)512for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. In various embodiments, non-volatile media includes optical or magnetic disks, volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as system memory component514, and transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiber optics, including wires that comprise bus502. In one embodiment, the logic is encoded in non-transitory computer readable medium. In one example, transmission media may take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio wave, optical, and infrared data communications. Some common forms of computer readable media includes, for example, floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, RAM, PROM, EEPROM, FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer is adapted to read. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, execution of instruction sequences to practice the present disclosure may be performed by computer system500. In various other embodiments of the present disclosure, a plurality of computer systems500coupled by communication link518to the network (e.g., such as a LAN, WLAN, PTSN, and/or various other wired or wireless networks, including telecommunications, mobile, and cellular phone networks) may perform instruction sequences to practice the present disclosure in coordination with one another. Where applicable, various embodiments provided by the present disclosure may be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations of hardware and software. Also, where applicable, the various hardware components and/or software components set forth herein may be combined into composite components comprising software, hardware, and/or both without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Where applicable, the various hardware components and/or software components set forth herein may be separated into sub-components comprising software, hardware, or both without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, where applicable, it is contemplated that software components may be implemented as hardware components and vice-versa. Software, in accordance with the present disclosure, such as program code and/or data, may be stored on one or more computer readable mediums. It is also contemplated that software identified herein may be implemented using one or more general purpose or specific purpose computers and/or computer systems, networked and/or otherwise. Where applicable, the ordering of various steps described herein may be changed, combined into composite steps, and/or separated into sub-steps to provide features described herein. The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the present disclosure to the precise forms or particular fields of use disclosed. As such, it is contemplated that various alternate embodiments and/or modifications to the present disclosure, whether explicitly described or implied herein, are possible in light of the disclosure. Having thus described embodiments of the present disclosure, persons of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is limited only by the claims. | 53,760 |
11861569 | DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the preferred exemplary embodiments/best mode illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the of the invention is thereby intended, and such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated embodiments and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates are included herein. In a computer-implemented method for resolving transactions in a consensus payment network comprising a plurality of nodes and relying on consensus determinations, a payee and a payor are identified. A payor computer system having a ledger for the payor and a payee computer system having a ledger for the payee is provided. A temporary consensus subnetwork comprising a set of validation nodes is identified acceptable to the payor system and the payee system. A payment transfer (also referred to herein as a transaction) from the payor to the payee is processed based on a determination of consensus from the consensus subnetwork. As explained hereafter, one example of a consensus payment network to which the exemplary embodiment improvement may be applied is the aforementioned Ripple® network. The logical temporary consensus subnetwork is preferably created for specific transactions and is then dissolved. Determinations of the logical consensus subnetwork can be propagated to other nodes in the payment network that are not part of the subnetwork after the transaction is complete for faster settling, while still providing network transparency. In addition to the payor computer system and the payee computer system, one or more intermediary computer systems having ledgers may be interposed, such as when neither the payor and payee computer systems have ledgers for both the payor and the payee. In such cases, the logical consensus subnetwork may comprise a set of validation nodes that is also acceptable to the one or more intermediary computer systems. In the exemplary embodiments described hereafter it is generally assumed that a transaction involves a payment from a payor to a payee such that an asset or obligation is transferred between the parties by balancing alterations in one or more electronic ledgers. A transaction can be as simple as one payor making a payment to one payee denominated in a currency that both the payor and the payee deal in and subject to a single jurisdiction. A transaction can be more complex and might involve multiple payors, multiple payees, an intermediary that converts currency and intermediaries that span jurisdictions. An intermediary that spans jurisdictions is useful where the payor is subject to one set of financial laws or rules and the payee is subject to a different set of financial laws or rules. By spanning jurisdictions, the intermediary will comply with both sets of laws or rules. The exemplary embodiments herein will be typically described with reference to the simple transaction but are not limited to the simple transaction. In some cases, the complex transaction can be split into multiple single hop transactions that have the added requirement that all of the multiple single hop transactions have to settle or none of them settle. For example, suppose a U.S. bank account holder (say, a U.S. importing business) wants to make a payment to an EU bank account holder (say, a German exporting business). If the U.S. bank does not have an EU banking license, which is typical of most small and mid-sized banks, then the U.S. bank first transfers the funds to a large U.S. bank, its domestic correspondent bank. However, given that these banks operate different core account ledgers, they are unable to transact directly. Thus, the U.S. bank routes the funds through the Federal Reserve, which then relays the funds to the domestic correspondent bank. These funds are transferred via the ACH system. The correspondent bank maintains an account in the EU banking system, known as a nostro account, which is pre-funded with euros. After receiving USD funds via ACH, the domestic correspondent bank then initiates an offsetting EUR transfer from its nostro account to the beneficiary's bank in the EU banking system. Again, given that these EU banks also operate different account ledgers, the EU correspondent bank needs to route the funds via the European Central Bank, which acts as a clearing agent and finally relays the funds to the European bank where the German exporting business has an account. International transactions typically need to go through a series of hops between domestic banks, central banks and correspondent banks. Each hop represents an additional layer of cost (usually a per transaction fee), risk (settlement and counterparty risk), and delay. Additionally, international transactions introduce FX conversion fees (for businesses/consumers) and currency reserve management costs (for banks). The path for transactions between two developing market regions can be even more complex and costly, and in some cases, non-existent. As a way of avoiding these costs, some transactions are handled by a distributed ledger system. A distributed ledger system enables peer-to-peer transaction settlement and thus circumvents the complicated and costly correspondent banking framework, although banks and other financial institutions can still be part of a distributed ledger system. In a distributed ledger system, nodes of a network maintain a copy of the distributed ledger. Changes to the distributed ledger, representing transactions that apply to the ledger, are made once the network reaches a consensus that the transactions are complete. With a distributed ledger system, each node may not need to be trusted by other nodes, as long as there is a mechanism to prevent nodes from easily making changes to the distributed ledger that are in fact not completed or completable transactions. For example, by having a rule that a considerable amount of computation is required (and proof of that work is required) before changes would be accepted as official changes to the distributed ledger, even untrustworthy nodes would not likely be employed to push out invalid transactions (such as ones not in fact authorized by the stated payor or not represented by assets actually controlled by the payor). One reason is that the untrustworthy node would perform all of the computation needed and its proposed change would just be ignored by other nodes and no consensus would build in order to add the proposed change to the distributed ledger. Since the operator of the node could expect no benefit from doing the work, it would not likely have the node do that work and even if it did, it would not matter to the rest of the network. In some distributed ledger systems, there are nodes that perform work related to validating transactions that are not of interest to the operator of that node. This is the case with the Bitcoin network. An individual, a business, or an institution might be running a Bitcoin node, perhaps in the form of specialized hardware or a programmed general purpose computing system with network connectivity that sends and receives Bitcoin protocol messages. Some of those messages relate to proposed transactions and are propagated from node to node. Some of the nodes will “mine” transactions, i.e., collect pending transactions into a block and attempt to perform a complex computation task tied to the data of that block. One of the nodes will arrive at a solution to the complex computation task and propagate that to other nodes. Other nodes might also have been working on that complex computation task or a similar one, but since only one node can win, there is considerable computation going on that does not benefit the operator of the node performing that computation, nor is it of benefit to particular transaction parties or the network in general. In part, this is by design in the Bitcoin network. If a transaction were not widely disseminated, it might only be seen by a few nodes that are configured to subvert the network. If adding a block to the distributed ledger was simple, then an untrustworthy node could flood the network with bogus transactions. Therefore, work and proof-of-work are needed there. In effect, many nodes participate in doing the distributed validation not because those nodes are involved in the underlying transactions, but to keep other nodes honest. One downside of this approach is that double-spending is not immediately caught, even though it might eventually be caught. For example, suppose Alice has an account balance of $US300, spends US$300 in a transaction sending those funds to Bob and then immediately spends US$300 in a transaction sending those funds to Charlie. In a Bitcoin network, it is possible to put forth both transactions. One way Alice could do that is to engineer the network so that the two signed transactions propagate over distinct paths and no nodes encounter both transactions. If Alice can maintain that state, each node that encounters one or the other of the transactions would consider them valid, since Alice signed them and there are funds to cover that one transaction. Fortunately, as the Bitcoin network operates by propagation and consensus, eventually some nodes will see both transactions, and then more nodes will see both transactions and the network would come to the consensus that both of the transactions are not valid. With the Bitcoin network, this clearing process takes around 8 to 12 minutes. While that is not necessarily a problem, it could be. If Alice's payment to Bob was payment on an invoice for goods sent, Bob is no worse off ten minutes after the transaction, as he can just decline to credit Alice's balance owing to Bob. However, if Charlie is a grocer and the transaction was for the payment of groceries provided to Alice, if the transaction is deemed invalid ten minutes after the purchase, Alice and the groceries are likely irretrievable. If a transaction is for online or in-app goods, such as the purchase of a special sword in a multi-player game, it may well be that Alice can purchase the sword and use it to great advantage over other players all while the purchase transaction is pending and before the consensus is reached that the transaction is not valid (or the transaction disappears for lack of validation). To avoid such problems a temporary transaction specific validation consensus subnetwork is used in the present exemplary embodiments that uses less than all of the available nodes in the distributed payment network in building a consensus as to the validity of transactions. An example of a distributed payment consensus network is the aforementioned Ripple® network. FIG.1illustrates a prior art distributed payment consensus network100such as the previously described Ripple® network for payment processing. Of course as previously described other types of consensus payment networks are known, such as Bitcoin. Each node102a-nof network100is a computer, computing system, or computing device, possibly virtualized, possibly implemented using specialized hardware, capable of sending messages to other nodes, receiving messages from other nodes, performing computations, and storing data. InFIG.1these computers are depicted as servers although they may not be. The exact details of the elements of nodes102a-nneed not be described, as conventional hardware or its equivalent can be used. In addition to nodes102a-nit should be understood that other nodes not illustrated may also exist. The nodes not shown inFIG.1can be ignored. Also shown inFIG.1are payor A computer104for payor A and payee B computer106for payee B. Those are intended to be general in this example. They have been illustrated to be a server, such as at a bank, which is connected to a client computer such as a desktop where the payor or payee may have interaction when making the payment or receiving the payment. The payor A or payee B computer may be any kind of computer, however. An initiator of a payment transaction between the payor A and the payee B may be either the payor A with payor computer104, the payee B with payee computer106, or an intermediary with an intermediary computer99(also shown as a server but can be any computer). One or more of the intermediary computers99may be provided. Intermediary computers may also be referred to as connectors. The intermediary may be an individual, a company, a credit card company, a clearing house, a market maker, an exchange, a foreign exchange, etc. The payor, payee, the one or more intermediaries, and one or more network nodes if they are also a payor, a payee or an intermediary are what are known as stakeholders in the payment transaction if they have a stake in the payment transaction. Each computer104,106, or99if applicable, can be implemented using a computer, computing system, or computing device, possibly virtualized, possibly implemented using specialized hardware, that is operated and controlled by an individual, a group, a business, an entity, etc. that is referred to herein generally as the “provider”. Similarly, providers also supply and operate network nodes102a-nwith respective node computers. Some providers may operate more than one computer and/or more than one node. In some configurations, a stakeholder's computer might also be a node. Although only one payor and one payee are shown, multiple payors and/or multiple payees may be provided. Thus a payment can be made from one payor to one payee, from one payor to one payee via one intermediary, from one payor to one payee via multiple intermediaries, and from multiple payors to multiple payees via multiple intermediaries. It is assumed that each node is connected to a network in some way such that it can send and receive messages to and from other nodes. For clarity, the possible network connections between nodes are omitted inFIG.1, but can be assumed. FIG.2illustrates one prior art node in more detail. There, a node202is shown having a computing portion204with a network I/O interface204A and a disk I/O interface204B connected to a disc storage206with a stored distributed ledger for the respective node. Computing portion204may be software and/or a processor, memory, logic and other elements typically used for computing. InFIG.1the nodes have been shown as servers, but may be other types of computers. The network I/O interface allows computing portion204to send and receive messages over a network, such as messages to and from other nodes. The disk I/O interface allows computing portion204to read and modify information such as a ledger in disc storage206. Other memory and storage, not shown, may be employed. The ledger can be in the form of a summary of past transactions, details of all past transactions, or some other data structure that would allow a node to determine a balance and/or account history as desired. Part of the computation that node202does is to receive changes to the ledger, decide whether to accept those changes, and send out its own changes. A transaction may have an online part and an offline part, but that should not matter to how the online portion of the transaction occurs. An example would be a transaction of buying a car for an agreed amount of money, such as “Bob agrees to pay Charlie X units of currency C as consideration for Charlie agreeing to transfer title of an automobile to Bob”. For the purposes of this example, assume that there is some mechanism that Bob uses on the side to ensure that Charlie gives the automobile to Bob. This can often involve the reputation of Charlie as a business person, but however it is accomplished, assume that the transaction that the payment network has to deal with is Bob paying Charlie X units of currency C. More specifically, the transaction would be a recordation of Bob transferring X units of currency C to Charlie with proof that Bob authorized the transfer and a mechanism to prevent Bob from failing to transfer (e.g., by spending those funds elsewhere or not having the funds) and to prevent Charlie from losing the benefit of the transfer. In a centrally controlled payment system, those mechanisms involve balance checking, use of credit instruments, placing holds on accounts and the like. In a distributed ledger system, those mechanisms involve sufficient nodes reaching a consensus that Bob has the funds, the funds cannot be double-spent, that Bob agrees to the transaction, so that Charlie is able to be compensated for the transfer. “Sufficient” nodes may be the number of nodes needed to overpower any untrusted nodes working alone or together that would allow an invalid transaction to proceed. In the case of distributed payment network100, referring back toFIG.1, if all fourteen nodes102(a)-102(n) agreed that Bob authorized the transaction and Bob is able to provide, and has provided, the assets to be transferred, the transaction could be considered valid. If all fourteen nodes are operated by one entity and that entity is trusted, then payor A computer104and payee B computer106can trust that the transaction is valid, but then that is effectively a centrally controlled payment system distributed over hardware. Instead, consider the case where not all nodes102are trusted. Some nodes might be provided by unknown parties with unknown reputations. Other nodes might be provided by trusted parties, such as a central bank of a stable nation state, a banking institution with a reputation more valuable than any transactions it could possibly forge, or nodes trusted for other reasons. Some nodes might be trusted by some nodes but untrusted by other nodes. For example, a U.S. company using the distributed payment network to make a salary payment to a programmer in Germany might trust nodes associated with payment processors operating in the U.S., but those nodes might not be trusted by the programmer in Germany (or the financial institutions actually performing the transactions for their customers). One possible exemplary embodiment of the invention will now be described beginning withFIG.3. FIG.3provides an example of trust ratings in a trust list210for payor computer A and a trust list211for payee computer B to be used as an improvement in the prior art distributed payment network100ofFIG.1. As described hereafter in more detail these trust lists210and211for payor and payee are set up for each individual transaction and only a relatively smaller number of nodes of the consensus network need to participate in the individual transaction as described in greater detail hereafter. In this example, the trusted nodes for each payor and payee computer are shown. It should be understood that when a payor A makes a payment he uses a payor computer at his bank, for example, which determines the exemplary trust list on behalf of the payor. The same is true for the payee and the payee's bank computer which determines the trust list on behalf of the payee. In the prior art Ripple® network, for the purposes of validating an individual transaction, stakeholder computers agree to only accept transactions that are validated at all fourteen nodes, but this is not necessary (and can be impractical with an actual number of nodes found in a distributed payment network). Instead, according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, to allow for possibly near real-time clearing and more efficient processing, stakeholder computers agree to accept transactions that are validated using a temporary subnetwork as explained hereafter using less than all fourteen nodes. If a stakeholder computer is one of the nodes of the consensus network shown inFIG.1then it already has its trust nodes list created as part of the setup described inFIG.6hereafter. However, if it is not one of the nodes of the consensus network100, then, in addition to the trust node lists set up for the payor and payee, according to the exemplary embodiment of the invention a trust nodes list is also setup as shown at213inFIG.3for the intermediary computer. As illustrated by the table212showing a trusted node agreement list in the “Mutual” column inFIG.4, there is mutual agreement by payor computer A and payee computer B for nodes102(d),102(e),102(f),102(h),102(i),102(k), and102(m). Intermediary computer99may also establish the mutual agreement. This mutual agreement for trusted nodes thus defines a temporary consensus subnetwork406which is illustrated inFIG.5by cross-hatching, and which represents an overlap between a payor A computer trust boundary402shown by larger dashed lines and a payee B computer trust boundary404shown by smaller dashed lines. This subnetwork406is surrounded by a solid line. Computer A then sends proposed transaction information for the payment transaction to the temporary consensus subnetwork406and computer B as payee receives confirmation of transaction validation from the same temporary consensus subnetwork406. It may be that nodes are weighted by their computing power and different nodes might have different computing power, but for simplicity of explanation, assume each node has roughly the same power. Payor A computer104is willing to trust the subnetwork406because it trusts a supermajority of the nodes and payee B computer106is willing to trust the subnetwork because it also trusts a supermajority of the nodes, albeit a different supermajority. In some instances, trust might be proxied by some protocol that prevents the breaking of trust, such as a requirement that nodes provide proof-of-work that precludes them from swamping the network with bogus transactions. For example, neither the payor or the payee computer trusts node102(c) or node102(m) but still can work with node102(c) or102(m) since that node is not powerful enough to flood the network with sufficient proof-of-work the generate consensus on a bogus transaction if the other nodes are disagreeing and also performing work. Nodes not involved do not necessarily have to trust anything said by subnetwork406, as it may be that the providers of those nodes do not care about transactions between payor A computer and payee B computer that do not involve those operators. Thus, they can accept the transactions at face value with no harm to those operators. There might be some harm if some subnetwork is spewing out transactions in an attempt to swamp the rest of the payment network, but that can be dealt with in other manners. In some cases, for some transactions two computers may mutually agree to a single node that they both trust and that node would perform the validation of the transaction, so consensus building is not needed. This might occur where a trusted escrow company goes into business to provide transaction validation services. In that situation, nothing really needs to change relative to the larger subnetwork system, but the computers may reach agreement faster than if they have to negotiate to find an agreeable set of nodes. One or more of the nodes might be market maker nodes, wherein the market maker serves as an intermediary to bridge portions of a transaction. For example, if the payor wanted to make a payment in currency C1and the payee wanted to be paid in currency C2, the transaction might have two legs with an intermediary market maker node signaling that in exchange for receiving the payor's funds in currency C1the intermediary market maker agrees to pay the payee in currency C2, with perhaps some market maker markup. Presumably the intermediary market maker has consensus itself to only enter into contracts it agrees to enter, so as long as a consensus is formed that the transaction is valid as to the payor, the payee and the market maker, the entire transaction can be considered validated. Consider the case where, due to network propagation delays or the like, nodes do not all get notice of transactions that occur over the consensus subnetwork for some time. As an example, suppose that a non-participating node does not get notice of a transaction between one node and another node until 30 minutes after the transaction is initiated and at that time, the non-participating node performs calculations that determine that the payor's digital signature on the transaction was not actually the payor's digital signature. In order to cover such situations, the payment network might have a rule that no transaction is validated and final until all of the known nodes report a decision or at least 35 minutes pass. In many instances, such a time lag for clearing a transaction is unacceptable. In the example described above, suppose that the consensus subnetwork came to a consensus that a transaction is valid in a few seconds or less and the parties to the transaction continued in their business assuming the transaction went forward and will not roll back. If later, non-participating node disagrees with the validity of the transaction 30 minutes after the transaction began and nearly 30 minutes since the consensus subnetwork came to a consensus, that disagreement can be ignored, since the parties involved agreed to a particular consensus subnetwork. Depending on the transaction, an involved party might apply constraints on its agreement to a particular consensus subnetwork. For example, if a transaction is for the price of a candy bar, a merchant bank providing a payee B computer that accepts payments for a candy seller might have a rule that so long as three trusted nodes and in the consensus subnetwork and at least 20 apparently independent nodes are used, the merchant bank will agree to make the merchant whole if something later goes wrong. However, if a transaction is for a truckload of precious metals or a large number of shares of stock, a merchant bank operating a payee B computer that accepts payments for the seller of those assets might require a minimum of five trusted nodes known to be independent of each other and a minimum of 100 nodes, at least half of which are selected using a method not controlled or controllable by the payor or payor's computer. In some cases, the nodes used might be very interested in a particular transaction, such as where the nodes are operated by providers that provide offline guarantees of transactions. As an example, the nodes with their node computers may be a consensus payment system network. Consensus may entail a supermajority of bridge network server computers mutually agreeing that a transaction within the network is valid, with the ledger being updated only when a given node determines that consensus has been reached. Note that consensus need not be unanimous. Cryptography can be used to verify whether transactions are valid or not. A temporary consensus subnetwork may exist for multiple transactions, for a set period of time, for a single transaction (transaction specific), or some other variant. For example, a temporary consensus subnetwork may be quickly formed for each transaction. Presumably, the temporary consensus subnetwork has the trust of the parties to the transaction as explained above. Steps of the inventive temporary consensus subnetwork in a distributed network for a payment processing will now be described with respect to the flowcharts in shown inFIGS.6and7. FIG.6is prior art and illustrates for the Ripple® network generally at500a flowchart for a setup procedure. After start501providers of nodes for the prior art consensus network100shown inFIG.1construct or have already constructed a consensus distributed network for payment processing for payors and payees. Thus the providers contribute the nodes to create the prior art consensus network100. Payor A computer104, payee B computer106, and/or intermediary computer99inFIG.1provide access to the consensus network100for the proposed payor-pays-payee transaction. Thereafter, in step503each provider rates remaining providers based on subjective trust and creates a respective provider trust list for the respective node computer. This setup procedure then concludes as shown at end step504. If the intermediary computer99is one of the nodes of the consensus network100shown inFIG.1, then the trust list for that intermediary computer is created in the setup procedure as just described above. However, if the intermediary computer is not one of the nodes of the consensus network then its trust nodes list is created as previously described and referenced as the intermediary computer trust nodes list213shown inFIG.3. Referring now toFIG.7, the transaction method for an individual transaction according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention after the setup previously described inFIG.6is illustrated generally at600. After start601, at602for an individual payment transaction initiated by an initiator, the initiator computer collects trust lists from the payor computer, the payee computer, and any other intermediary computers and network node computers if they are also a payor, a payee, or an intermediary computer which hold a stake in the individual payment transaction (the “stakeholder” computers). These should be the trust lists for payor and payee computers shown inFIG.3, for example, and similarly created trust lists for the other stakeholder computers. At step603the initiator then calculates the intersection of the collected trust lists as previously described in relation toFIG.4. The intersecting nodes become consensus subnetwork members. In step604, where n is the number of member nodes in the consensus subnetwork, the initiator calculates the necessary decision quorum as q=2n/3—that is the number of nodes necessary to reach agreement. At step605, the initiator submits the proposed payment transaction for validation to each member node computer of the consensus subnetwork. As part of this process, the initiator also submits a messaging timeout, a list of the other subnetwork members, and the quorum as computed in steps603and604. At step606, upon receiving the proposed transaction from the initiator computer, each member node computer checks that the transaction meets the validating rules of the ledger they operate. This may include checking to make sure the payor has sufficient funds to make the transaction. It also may include checking each intermediary step in the transaction. If the transaction appears valid, it is conditionally applied to the local ledger. This conditional application assures that the validation conditions cannot change prior to reaching a final validation consensus. At step607, each validating member computer broadcasts a verifiable copy of its decision to every other member of the consensus subnetwork. Decision messages should be verifiable in order to prevent forged broadcasts. Verification is through public key cryptography or HMAC or other mechanism cryptographic. At step608, each member listens for validation decisions from the other member computers of the consensus subnetwork. Member computers continue waiting until either it has received a quorum of verified decisions or the timeout (supplied at step605) expires. At step609, if a quorum of member computers decide to validate the transaction, then all member computers permanently commit the transaction to their local ledger. At step610, if a quorum of member computers decide a transaction is invalid or a decision quorum is not achieved within the specified time period, all member computers rollback the conditionally applied changes, thus restoring pre-transaction balances. Optionally, depending on the payment network implemented, at step611validating nodes may broadcast transactions and validation decisions to other node computers in the payment network so their local ledgers can be updated. This may include propagating only validated transactions or propagating all decisions, thus enabling a common record. The method is then ended at step612. Operations of processes described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. Processes described herein (or variations and/or combinations thereof) may be performed under the control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions and may be implemented as code (e.g., executable instructions, one or more computer programs or one or more applications) executing collectively on one or more processors, by hardware or combinations thereof. The code may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium, for example, in the form of a computer program comprising a plurality of instructions executable by one or more processors. The computer-readable storage medium may be non-transitory. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate embodiments of the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention. Further embodiments can be envisioned to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading this disclosure. In other embodiments, combinations or sub-combinations of the above-disclosed invention can be advantageously made. The example arrangements of components are shown for purposes of illustration and it should be understood that combinations, additions, re-arrangements, and the like are contemplated in alternative embodiments of the present invention. Thus, while the invention has been described with respect to exemplary embodiments, one skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications are possible. For example, the processes described herein may be implemented using hardware components, software components, and/or any combination thereof. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereunto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims and that the invention is intended to cover all modifications and equivalents within the scope of the following claims. All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein. Although preferred exemplary embodiments are shown and described in detail in the drawings and in the preceding specification, they should be viewed as purely exemplary and not as limiting the invention. It is noted that only preferred exemplary embodiments are shown and described, and all variations and modifications that presently or in the future lie within the protective scope of the invention should be protected. | 35,234 |
11861570 | DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention is not intended to limit the invention to these preferred embodiments, but rather to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use this invention. 1. Overview. The method includes at least one of: maintaining a cryptocurrency exchange; receiving a purchase order request for an asset bundle; processing a purchase order related to the purchase order request; and updating the asset bundle. In some variations, updating the asset bundle includes at least one of adding a new asset to the asset bundle and rebalancing the asset bundle. The new asset can be an asset related to an asset in an asset bundle (e.g., a fork or airdrop related to a cryptocurrency asset in the bundle). In some variations, the new asset is added in response to a notification received from an exchange (e.g., implemented by the system104), the notification identifying the addition of the new asset to the exchange. In some variations, the new asset is added in response to a notification received from an exchange (e.g., implemented by the system104), and a determination that the new cryptocurrency asset is related to the asset bundle. In some implementations, for each user owning an instance of the asset bundle, a new bundle account is created for the new asset. In some implementations, a new crypto cryptocurrency wallet is created for the new asset and the new cryptocurrency wallet manages the new bundle account. In some variations, addition of the new cryptocurrency asset to the asset bundle triggers rebalancing of the asset bundle. In some variations, rebalancing is performed in accordance with rebalancing configuration information (e.g., per-account configuration, account-group configuration, global bundle configuration, etc.). In a first implementation, the new asset is treated as part of the related original asset, and rebalancing is performed as if the amount of the related original asset were increased (e.g., the values of the original asset and the related new asset are combined and treated as a single asset value for purposes of rebalancing). In a second implementation, the new asset is treated as distinct from the related original asset. The method can optionally include: facilitating transfer of the purchased cryptocurrency assets (of the asset bundle) to the user; or otherwise managing the purchased assets. As shown inFIG.2, in some variations, the method includes at least one of: maintaining a cryptocurrency exchange (S210); receiving a purchase order request for an asset bundle (S220); determining a market capitalization value for at least one asset related to the purchase order request (S230); assigning a weight to at least one asset related to the purchase order request (S240); generating a weighted asset bundle related to the purchase order request (S250); processing a purchase order related to the purchase order request (S260); and updating an asset bundle related to the purchase order request (S270). In some variations, S210includes maintaining a cryptocurrency exchange comprising a plurality of cryptocurrency assets. In some variations, S220includes receiving a purchase order request from a user, the purchase order request including a desired order price and a selection of an asset bundle from a predefined list of asset bundles, the asset bundle including a subset of the plurality of cryptocurrency assets. In some variations, the purchase order request is a request for an initial purchase of an asset bundle. In some variations, the purchase order request is a request for a contribution to an existing asset bundle. In some variations, S230includes determining a market capitalization value for each asset in the subset of assets. In some variations, S240includes assigning distributed weights to each of the assets in the subset of assets based on comparing the market capitalization values of the assets. In some variations, S250includes generating a weighted asset bundle, wherein the weighted asset bundle includes the subset of assets with assigned weights. In some variations, S260includes processing a purchase order of the weighted asset bundle for the user, wherein each of the assets in the weighted asset bundle are purchased on behalf of the user in quantities according to the desired order price modified by the assigned weight of the asset. In examples, the asset bundle can include the set of cryptocurrency assets included in the bundle, while the weighted asset bundle can include the weights for each of the constituent cryptocurrency assets. However, the asset bundle and weighted asset bundle can be otherwise defined. In some variations, the method functions to process purchase order requests received on behalf of users of the exchange (e.g.,104shown inFIG.1) to purchase a weighted cryptocurrency asset bundle. In some variations, a user investing in the weighted asset bundle will have direct exposure to the individual assets in the bundle. In some embodiments, the method includes managing the assets as well as controlling custody of the individual assets on behalf of the user. In one variation, the method includes allowing a user to purchase multiple assets together in a single order of a bundle, with quantities of the assets being distributed within the bundle based on market capitalization values (hereinafter “market cap”). Market cap provides the value of the cryptocurrency asset on the open market, and is calculated by multiplying the current per-share price of the asset by the total number of existing shares. The market cap value can be determined from: the exchange (e.g.,104) (associated with the cryptocurrency asset) hosted by the system, a secondary exchange, estimated based on historic data (e.g., transaction data retrieved from a full node of the respective cryptocurrency network), or otherwise determined. However, the assets within the bundle can be distributed based on a predetermined number or proportion of units of each cryptocurrency asset, the market size of the constituent cryptocurrency assets, or any other suitable parameter. In some embodiments, a multi-asset purchase option will appear to users as a “bundle”. Once the user buys a “bundle”, the underlying assets are transferred to their respective digital cryptocurrency wallets (hereinafter “wallets”) and can be sold, sent, and received in the same manner as other cryptocurrency assets within wallets. In one variation, a purchase order for a multi-asset purchase can generate an “Asset Bundle” asset type within the exchange. In some embodiments, the method includes rebalancing an Asset Bundle to maintain market capitalization after the user purchases the Asset Bundle. In some embodiments, the rebalancing is performed automatically and without user input. In differing embodiments, the rebalancing is performed periodically for a predefined time period, or upon the triggering of some event or condition within the cryptocurrency exchange, such as one or more of the assets in the bundle exceeding a predefined market cap threshold, or the addition of a new asset to the exchange. All or portions of the method can be performed at a predetermined frequency, performed upon occurrence of an execution event (e.g., upon a user navigating to the cryptocurrency exchange, upon a user viewing a user dashboard on a user interface, upon a user receiving notification of available asset bundles for purchase, etc.), or performed at any suitable time. 2. Benefits. This method can confer several benefits over conventional offerings of individual assets in cryptocurrency exchanges. First, new assets are often added to cryptocurrency exchanges, and such new assets can be related to an existing asset bundle (or weighted asset bundle). In a first example, assets can be related as a result of a hard fork. In a second example, assets can be related as a result of an airdrop. In variations, the method provides a benefit of determining whether to add a new asset to an existing asset bundle, and automatically updating the asset bundle (e.g., by rebalancing) based on the addition of the new asset to the asset bundle. In this manner, a user does not need to take action when a new asset is added to the exchange. Second, in cryptocurrency exchanges with conventional offerings of individual assets, novice customers who wish to invest in cryptocurrency assets are often hesitant because they don't know how much to invest and what to invest in. A reason that users within exchanges whom are ready to purchase but have not made a first purchase yet is related to a lack of confidence. For example, they may not know enough about cryptocurrency; may not know which assets to buy; or may need help using exchange platforms. These novice users can account for a large portion of users and potential users of a cryptocurrency exchange. Embodiments herein provide the benefit of eliminating the problem of novice users or customers being hesitant to make a first purchase on an exchange by providing to user the purchase option of a bundle of predefined assets that is automatically weighted such that for each asset, the quantity is based on market cap or other metrics. This removes the need for a novice user to decide which assets to invest in and how much of each asset to invest in. Third, novice users may not feel comfortable or feel that they know enough about how exchange platforms work to manage assets themselves, or may not feel confident having custody of those assets within digital wallets. In some embodiments, this method provides the benefit of assets in an asset bundle being managed by the cryptocurrency exchange itself, and also allows for custody of the assets on behalf of the user. Fourth, novice users may not feel knowledgeable enough, confident enough, or know where to find information to rebalance assets they have purchased on an ongoing basis. In some embodiments, this method provides the benefit of assets in an asset bundle being automatically rebalanced for a user according to market cap or other metrics on an ongoing basis without the need for user input. Sixth, embodiments herein provide a benefit of allowing users owning asset bundles to receive new assets resulting in forks or air drops. Embodiments herein overcome the technical problem of providing interfacing with an exchange system to automatically identify newly created assets resulting from forks and air drops, identifying instances of asset bundles that are related to such newly created assets, updating such asset bundle instances such that the users of these asset bundles can receive benefit of such newly created assets. In contrast to systems that do not include the technical solution described herein for automatically interacting with an exchange system to add newly added assets to asset bundles, such newly added assets might need to be manually added to provide the user the benefit of such newly created assets. 3. System. As shown inFIG.1, the system100includes: at least one of a cryptocurrency platform system (e.g.,101), a cryptocurrency network (e.g.,102), and a client device (e.g.,108). In some implementations, the cryptocurrency platform101is implemented by one or more computing servers (e.g.,500shown inFIG.5) having one or more computer processors (e.g., graphics processor units (GPU), tensor processing unit (TPU), central processing units (CPUs, MCUs, etc.), or a combination of web servers and private servers). In some variations, the cryptocurrency platform system101includes at least one of: a hosted wallet system (e.g.,105), a cryptocurrency exchange system (e.g.,104), a user interface system (e.g.,106), and an asset bundle management system (e.g.,112). The system101can optionally include or interface with the cryptocurrency network102. In some variations, the cryptocurrency network102functions to maintain a data structure (e.g., ledger, blockchain) that records transactions for at least one cryptocurrency asset. In some variations, the network102is a network in which one or more digital cryptocurrencies are bought, sold, and/or transferred. In some variations, the network102is built on blockchain technology or similar technology. In some variations, the network102is a distributed network of nodes that execute node software that implements a protocol for managing data structure (e.g., ledger, blockchain) that records transactions for at least one cryptocurrency asset. In some variations, the cryptocurrency network102is an Ethereum network in which the digital cryptocurrency Ethereum is bought, sold, and/or transferred. In some variations, the Cryptocurrency network or Ethereum network is built on the 0x protocol, with one or more smart contracts operating on top of the 0x protocol smart contracts or in place of them. In some variations, the cryptocurrency exchange system104functions to perform a transfer of a cryptocurrency from a source to a destination in response to a triggering event. In a first example, a triggering event includes transfer of fiat currency to an account of the exchange system104. For example, in response to receiving $100 at a bank account of the exchange system104from a user of the platform system101in connection with a bitcoin “buy” operation, the exchange system transfers $100 worth of bitcoin from a bitcoin wallet of the exchange system104to a bitcoin wallet of the user. In a second example, a triggering event includes transfer of a first cryptocurrency to an account of the exchange system104. For example, in response to receiving 1BTC at bitcoin wallet of the exchange system104from a user of the platform system101in connection with an Ethereum “buy” operation, the exchange system transfers 1BTC worth of Ethereum from an Ethereum wallet of the exchange system104to an Ethereum wallet of the user. In a third example, a triggering event includes transfer of a first cryptocurrency to an account of a third party. For example, during an exchange of bitcoin for Ethereum between two users, the exchange system104processes a transfer of 1BTC from a first user of the platform system101to a bitcoin wallet of a second user, and the exchange system104processes a transfer of an agreed upon amount of Ethereum from an Ethereum wallet of the second user to an Etherum wallet of the first user. In some variations, the cryptocurrency exchange system104is a centralized cryptocurrency exchange; however, the exchange system104can alternatively or additionally be a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange. A centralized cryptocurrency exchange is a cryptocurrency exchange that manages the customer's funds, and is preferably implemented as an off-chain system. However, the centralized exchange can be otherwise configured. Alternatively, the exchange can be a decentralized exchange, where, transactions occur directly between users through an automated or semi-automated process. The transactions and/or associated processes (e.g., matching, fulfillment, verification, etc.) can be handled by: an off-chain system, a smart contract, or by any other suitable system. In some embodiments, the exchange generates proxy tokens, or cryptocurrency assets that represent a fiat currency or cryptocurrency. In some embodiments, the cryptocurrency tokens include one or more of Ether 106 (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), 0x (ZRX), or any other suitable cryptocurrency asset. In some embodiments, the cryptocurrency tokens include Wrapped Ether (W-ETH) or other ERC20-compatible tokens that can convert non-ERC20 compatible tokens to the ERC20 standard. In some implementations, the cryptocurrency exchange system104includes an off-chain application that interfaces with a blockchain via a blockchain interface (e.g., a blockchain node, a blockchain interface included in the cryptocurrency exchange, etc.). In some implementations, the cryptocurrency exchange system104functions to read data from the blockchain and write data to the blockchain (either directly, or indirectly via a blockchain node). In some variations, the cryptocurrency exchange system104manages a predetermined volume of the cryptocurrency tokens for which trading is enabled. For example, if the exchange104enables trading for Ether, W-ETH, and ZRX, the exchange104can hold predetermined volumes of Ether, W-ETH, and ZRX. This pool of cryptocurrency tokens can be used to fill orders (e.g., buy orders), and can be replenished by filling orders (e.g., sell orders), or otherwise managed. In one variation, the asset values are associated with cryptocurrency addresses, associated with the exchange system104, on the respective cryptocurrency networks (for the asset), wherein the smart contracts executing the trades can store and use said cryptocurrency addresses. However, the cryptocurrency exchange system104can otherwise access the assets. The predetermined volumes can be determined based on: the maximum trade size allowed by the exchange, the market demand for the asset (e.g., based on current or historic orders for the asset), but can alternatively or additionally be a static volume, or be otherwise determined. In some variations, the hosted wallet system105functions to manage wallets for users of the cryptocurrency platform system101. In some implementations, the hosted wallet system105includes an off-chain application that interfaces with a blockchain via a blockchain interface (e.g., a blockchain node, a blockchain interface included in the cryptocurrency exchange, etc.). In some implementations, the hosted wallet system105functions to read data from the blockchain and write data to the blockchain (either directly, or indirectly via a blockchain node). In some implementations, the hosted wallet system105manages at least some private keys for wallets managed by the hosted wallet system. In some variations, the user interface system106functions to provide at least one of user interface to at least one client device (e.g.,108) (e.g., as shown inFIGS.4A-F). In some implementations, the user interface system106functions to provide an Application Programming Interface (API). In some implementations, the user interface system106functions to provide a graphical user interface. In some implementations, the user interface system106functions to provide a web user interface. In some variations, the user interface system106functions to receive user input (or API calls) from a client device for performing at least one of: a purchase order request, and a transfer request. In some variations, the platform user interface functions to display a balance of at least one wallet managed by the hosted wallet system105on behalf of a user of the client device (e.g.,108). In some variations, a purchase order request is a request to purchase at least one cryptocurrency asset via the cryptocurrency exchange managed by the cryptocurrency exchange system104. In some variations, the asset bundle management system (e.g.,112) stores data related to asset bundles. In some variations, the asset bundle management system (e.g.,112) stores at least one of an asset bundle definition for an asset bundle and asset bundle information for at least one instance of an asset bundle (e.g., an asset bundle that has been purchased by a user). In some variations, the asset bundle management system (e.g.,112) stores bundle account information for each user. In some implementations, for each user, the bundle account information identifies a bundle account of the user for at least one asset. In some implementations, bundle accounts manage assets owned by a respective user, and maintain a respective balance for the asset. FIGS.6-12are schematic representations of exemplary data stored by the asset bundle management system112.FIG.6is a schematic representation of an exemplary data structure600that includes bundle account information for each user. As shown inFIG.6, User A has accounts 1.001, 2,001, 3.001 and 4.001 for assets 1-4, respectively; User B has accounts 1.002, 2,002, 3.002 and 4.002 for assets 1-4, respectively; and User C has accounts 1.003, 2,003, 3.003, 4.003, 5.003, 6.003, 7.003 and 8.003 for assets 1-8, respectively.FIG.7is a schematic representation of an exemplary data structure700that includes asset bundle definitions. As shown inFIG.7, the data structure700includes data for asset bundle definitions for bundles 1, 2, and 3. As shown inFIG.8, Bundle 1 includes assets 1-4, Bundle 2 includes assets 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and Bundle 3 includes assets 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8.FIG.8is a schematic representation of an exemplary data structure800that includes asset bundle information for five asset bundle instances. As shown inFIG.8, User A has purchased “Asset Bundle 1”, and this instance of the asset bundle 1 is assigned Bundle ID 1.001; User B has purchased “Asset Bundle 1”, and this instance of the asset bundle 1 is assigned Bundle ID 1.002; User C has purchased “Asset Bundle 1”, and this instance of the asset bundle 1 is assigned Bundle ID 1.003. User C has also purchased: “Asset Bundle 2”, and this instance of the asset bundle 2 is assigned Bundle ID 2.001; and “Asset Bundle 3”, and this instance of the asset bundle 3 is assigned Bundle ID 3.001. FIGS.9A,9B and9Care schematic representations of exemplary data structures900A,900B, and900C that identify transactions for each bundle account of Users A, B, and C, respectively. As shown inFIG.9A, bundle accounts 1.001, 2.001, 3.001, and 4.001 of user A have each received a contribution for asset bundle instance 1.001 of User A. As shown inFIG.9B, asset accounts 1.002, 2.002, 3.002, and 4.002 of user B have each received a contribution for asset bundle instance 1.002 of User B. As shown inFIG.9C, asset accounts 1.003, 2.003, 3.003, and 4.003 of user C have each received a contribution for asset bundle instance 1.003 of User C; asset accounts 1.003, 2.003, 5.003, 6.003 and 7.003 of user C have each received a contribution for asset bundle instance 2.001 of User C; and asset accounts 1.003, 5.003, 6.003, 7.003 and 8.003 of user C have each received a contribution for asset bundle instance 3.001 of User C. As shown inFIG.9C, bundle account 1.003 has received contributions of BTC for each of bundle instances 1.003, 2.001 and 3.001. The BTC balance of bundle 2.001 can be determined by summing all contribution records of account 1.003 that have 2.001 as the bundle ID value. In some variations, for at least one asset bundle definition (e.g., one of the bundle definitions shown inFIG.7), the asset bundle management system112stores information identifying at least one of: an allocation strategy, a pricing strategy, and identifiers for each asset included in the asset bundle. In some implementations, for at least one asset bundle definition (e.g., one of the bundle definitions shown inFIG.7), the asset bundle management system112stores metadata that describes the asset bundle (e.g., the investment strategy, characteristics of included assets, a description of the asset bundle, etc.) In some variations, instances of asset bundles (e.g., instances 1.001, 1.002, 1.003, 2.001, and 2.003 shown inFIG.8) inherit properties of the related asset bundle definition. For example, an instance of a Privacy Coin asset bundle (e.g., Bundle 2) includes the assets (e.g., assets 1, 2, 5, 6, 7) identified by the asset bundle definition for the Privacy Coin asset bundle. In some variations, asset bundle definitions (e.g., Bundle 3) are generated based on received user input (e.g., received via the user interface system106). In this manner, user-generated asset bundles can be defined. In some variations, the bundle management system stores a user identifier of a creator (e.g., “Author: User C”) of a user-generated asset bundle. In some variations, for at least one asset bundle instance (e.g., 1.003), the asset bundle management system112stores information identifying at least one of: an owner of the asset bundle (e.g., a user identifier, an identifier identifying the exchange as the owner, etc.), an allocation strategy, a pricing strategy, identifiers for each asset included in the asset bundle, and a balance for each asset included in the asset bundle. In some variations, each bundle has an allocation strategy, and users can have a many bundles with different allocation strategies. In some variations, for at least one asset bundle instance (e.g., 1.003), the asset bundle management system112stores information identifying at least one basket contribution (e.g., as shown inFIG.9A). In some variations, each basket contribution identifies a “buy” for each asset of the bundle. For example, if the asset bundle includes four assets then the basket contribution for the bundle identifies four “buys” (e.g., contributions “01” for each of assets 1-4, as shown inFIG.9A). A bundle allocation strategy identifies information (or instructions) for determining in real-time how a new basket contribution is to be allocated across the assets of the bundle. For example, if $100 is contributed to a bundle, the allocation strategy determines how the $100 is distributed among the assets of the bundle. In a first implementation, the allocation strategy is determined such that the bundle has a certain ratio after the contribution is added to the bundle. For example, after a $100 contribution, the bundle should have a balance of 50% BTC and 50% ETH. In a second implementation, the allocation strategy determines what percentage of the contribution is added to each asset. For example, after a $100 contribution, add 70% of the contribution BTC and 30% of the contribution to ETH. 5. Method. FIG.2is a flowchart representation the method200. In some variations, the method includes at least one of: maintaining a cryptocurrency exchange (S210); receiving a purchase order request for an asset bundle (S220); determining a market capitalization value for at least one asset related to the purchase order request (S230); assigning a weight to at least one asset related to the purchase order request (S240); generating a weighted asset bundle related to the purchase order request (S250); processing a purchase order related to the purchase order request (S260); and updating an asset bundle related to the purchase order request (S270). In some variations, at least one component of the cryptocurrency platform system101performs at least one of S210, S220, S230, S240, S250, S260and S270of the method200. In some variations, S210includes the cryptocurrency exchange system104maintaining a cryptocurrency exchange with a number of cryptocurrency assets (e.g., Assets 1-8 shown inFIG.7). In some variations, the cryptocurrency exchange system104manages more than one cryptocurrency type. Cryptocurrency types represent the particular kinds of cryptocurrency assets offered by the exchange. Examples of cryptocurrency types are Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC). In some variations, the cryptocurrency assets within the exchange are offered for sale and/or purchase within the exchange. In some variations, the cryptocurrency platform system101maintains custody of the cryptocurrency assets for users until some triggering event or user request to take control of the assets occurs. In some variations, the cryptocurrency assets are securely stored by the hosted wallet system (e.g., in a secured hot-wallet, a cold storage, etc.). For example, the cryptocurrency platform system may securely store cryptocurrency assets for a user in one or more user accounts. In some variations, the user interface system106presents a user interface (e.g., as shown inFIGS.4A-F) for display on a client device (e.g.,108shown inFIG.1) associated with a user. In some variations, the user interface is presented as a ‘dashboard’ or control center with a variety of organized information, such as information about the user's cryptocurrency assets, recommendations on cryptocurrency assets or types to purchase, and more. In some variations, different options and information are presented depending on different user profiles, conditions, and behaviors. In a first example, customers that don't have any asset balance on the exchange will be presented with prominent promotional content on their dashboard user interface suggesting the option of purchasing an asset bundle as a way of starting a cryptocurrency portfolio (e.g., as shown inFIG.4A). In a second example, customers with existing nonzero balances on the exchange, but not in asset bundles, will be presented with promotional content in a different, less-prominent section of the dashboard suggesting that the user buy asset bundles as a way of easily purchasing a variety or all of the cryptocurrency types offered on the cryptocurrency exchange. In a third example, customers that have an existing nonzero balance in one or more asset bundles will see the bundle balance in a portfolio widget on the dashboard. The bundle basket is separated from the individual asset balances. In some variations, the user interface provided by the user interface system106displays an option to purchase an asset bundle for the user of the client device (e.g., as shown inFIG.4B). In some variations, the user interface system106presents a purchase widget or purchase/sell widget that is customized to provide for a user to purchase asset bundles rather than individual cryptocurrency assets. In some variations, the widget allows the user to choose how much to initially invest by typing in an amount in traditional fiat currency such as USD. In some variations, the widget also provides an indication of the limit that the user can invest, depending on one or more funding sources of the user. In some variations, the widget provides an indication of the minimum the user can invest in order to purchase an asset bundle, such as $25 or $100. In some variations, the widget provides a suggested amount or amounts to invest. In some variations, the widget allows the user to choose from different funding sources. In some variations, S220includes the platform system101receiving a purchase order request from a user. In some variations, the purchase order request is generated upon a user of a client device (e.g.,108) interacting with a purchase widget or other interactive element in a user interface (e.g., provided by the user interface system106) (e.g., the user interface shown inFIG.4B) providing the option to purchase one or more asset bundles. In some variations, the purchase order request includes a desired order price and an asset bundle selection containing a subset of the available assets. The asset bundle selection can be a list of selected assets to purchase within the bundle, with a quantity for each asset. In some embodiments, the desired order price, asset bundle selection, or both can be predefined or automatically selected without user input. In one variation, the desired order price can be an amount of funds that the user has selected to allocate to purchasing the asset bundle, wherein the composition of the asset bundle (e.g., number of units of each constituent asset within the asset bundle) can be determined based on the: respective asset's weight within the bundle, the market price of the asset, and the desired order price. In a second variation, the asset bundles can be pre-packaged (e.g., include a predetermined distribution and number of each constituent asset), and be associated with a bundle price. In this variation, the user can purchase an asset bundle unit (or proportion thereof) for the bundle price (or a proportion thereof). In a third variation, the user can specify the number of units of each asset they would like to include in the asset bundle, wherein the desired order price can be determined based on the market price for each of the assets (e.g., current, projected, estimated) and the number of desired units. However, the asset bundle composition and/or price can be otherwise determined. In some variations, S220includes the platform system101receiving the purchase order request via the user interface system106. In some variations, the purchase order request is a request for an initial purchase of an asset bundle. In some variations, the purchase order request is a request for a contribution to an existing asset bundle. In some variations, the purchase order request identifies an asset bundle. In some variations, for an initial purchase order request, the purchase order request includes an identifier of an asset bundle definition (e.g., “Bundle 3” shown inFIG.7). In some variations, for a contribution to an existing bundle, the purchase order request includes an identifier of an asset bundle instance (e.g., “Bundle ID 1.003” shown inFIG.8) that was generated as a result of an initial purchase order request. In some variations, S220includes receiving selection of a “follow user” identifier (e.g., “User C”), and identifying at least one asset bundle definition defined by the selected user (e.g., Bundle 3 Definition, defined by User C, as shown inFIG.7). In this manner, a user can “follow” the investment strategy of another user by selecting an asset bundle definition defined by the user. In some implementations, the user interface system106includes a display that includes a “follow user” interface element to “follow” an existing user, wherein the “follow user” interface element receives user selection of a purchase amount and a “follow user”, and automatically generates a purchase order request to purchase the same asset bundles owned by the “follow user” (using the purchase amount). In some variations, S230includes, responsive to the purchase order request received at S220, the cryptocurrency exchange system104determining a market capitalization value for each asset of the asset bundle identified in the purchase order request. In some variations, the cryptocurrency exchange system104determines a market capitalization value for an asset by selecting one or more sources that are capable of transmitting real-time or updated market information on cryptocurrency assets. In some implementations, the cryptocurrency exchange system104selects stock asset information and calculates the market capitalization value for the asset based on the number of existing cryptocurrency tokens for the cryptocurrency type and the current value of a token of the cryptocurrency type. In some implementations, the market capitalization value is determined based on one or more pieces of information on the cryptocurrency type or cryptocurrency asset that are stored in one or more databases within the system101that are accessible by the system104. In a first example, the system101maintains a database of up-to-the-minute or real-time value of a given cryptocurrency type or cryptocurrency bundle. The cryptocurrency exchange system104then queries for the value of the cryptocurrency type or bundle and calculates a market capitalization value based on the results of the query. In some implementations, the cryptocurrency exchange system104determines market capitalization values for each asset within the asset bundle individually or as a group. In some variations, S240includes, the cryptocurrency exchange system104assigning distributed weights to each of the assets in asset bundle. In some variations, the cryptocurrency exchange system104assigns distributed weights according to an allocation strategy or multiple allocation strategies associated with the weighted asset bundle within the system. In some variations, a generated weighted asset bundle is associated with one or more allocation strategies. Allocation strategies are methods for how the system assigns distributed weights to each of the assets in the subset of assets. Distributing weights based on market capitalization values is one allocation strategy. In some variations, a single user can have multiple weighted asset bundles with different allocation strategies. In some variations, the cryptocurrency exchange system104determines individual weights for each of the assets based on the market capitalization values (determined at S230) for each asset within the asset bundle. In other variations, the cryptocurrency exchange system104determines individual weights for each of the assets according to some metric other than market capitalization values. In a first example, the cryptocurrency exchange system104determines individual weights for each of the assets according to a user-configured value assigned to the assets or some internal weighting system of the exchange. In some variations, the individual weights are determined in a distributed fashion relative to the market capitalization values of the others assets or other metric related to the other assets. In some variations, distributed weights of each of the assets are determined based on one or more aspects of the user profile of the user associated with the purchase order request or one or more behavioral traits or historical behaviors of the user associated with the purchase order request. In some variations, the cryptocurrency exchange system104assigns weights based on a particular methodology within the exchange. In some variations, the cryptocurrency exchange system104assigns weights based on an index fixed supply methodology. Within this methodology, the exchange tracks the combined financial performance of all of the cryptocurrency assets listed for trading in one or more regions and stores them in an index. The components of the index are weighted by market capitalization, defined as price multiplied by supply. The index is designed to be a benchmark for the overall performance of its constituent assets stored in an asset bundle. The index level of the index takes into account the latest price and supply of each of its constituent assets. In some embodiments, the constituent assets are weighted by their relative USD market capitalizations or other fiat market capitalization values, also referred to as “total network value”. The weighting of a constituent asset in the index is its fiat market capitalization divided by the aggregate of the USD market capitalizations of all the constituent assets. The market capitalization of each constituent asset is calculated as the price of the asset multiplied by the supply of the asset. The price for each constituent asset is the last trade price on the exchange USD order book for that asset. The supply of each constituent asset is defined as the total number of units that have been created since the first block on the asset's blockchain. In some variations, supply is measured directly from the blockchain of each constituent asset, by querying a full node on that blockchain maintained by the exchange. In some variations, S250includes, the cryptocurrency exchange system104generating a weighted asset bundle containing the subset of assets. In some variations, the cryptocurrency exchange system104generates a weighted asset bundle based on the assigned distributed weights of the assets. In some variations, S260includes, the cryptocurrency exchange system104processing a purchase order of the weighted asset bundle for the user, wherein each asset in the bundle is purchased in quantities according to the desired order price modified by the assigned weight of the asset. In some variations, processing a purchase order includes purchasing assets on behalf of the user associated with the purchase order request in quantities proportional to the distributed weights of those assets. In some variations, the assets are purchased in a multi-asset purchase for a single total price. In some variations, the assets are purchased in a single atomic transaction. In some variations, the cryptocurrency exchange system104purchases assets by generating one or more purchase orders for the assets. In some variations, the cryptocurrency exchange system104determines exchange fees or commission fees charged on the entire value of the new multi-asset purchase. In some variations, the exchange fees are allocated to the underlying assets in the basket, weighted by the amount of each asset purchased. For example, for a 1.5% commission, $1000 of a weighted asset bundle will cost a $15 commission fee, with 63% or $630 of the $1000 investment allocated towards purchasing BTC, and 63% or $9.45 of the $15 fee allocated to the BTC commission fee. In some variations, spread calculations and charges will operate will be recorded in a buy transfers table, and will be allocated to one or more parties within the exchange. In some variations, the exchange collects spread in lieu of any transaction fees. In some variations, the exchange collects a rebalancing fee, such as a monthly balancing fee or a fee per rebalancing. In some variations, the exchange collects a liquidation fee or sell fee when a user liquidates cryptocurrency assets or sells cryptocurrency assets. In some variations, S260includes transferring the purchased assets into user ownership. In a first variation, the cryptocurrency platform system101custodies the assets owned by the user (e.g., by using the hosted wallet system105). In a first implementation, the cryptocurrency platform system101maintains a central cryptocurrency wallet for each cryptocurrency asset, wherein units of the cryptocurrency asset (within a given wallet) are earmarked or recorded as owned by a user account on a separate ledger (e.g., managed by the asset bundle management system112). In a second implementation, the cryptocurrency platform system101maintains multiple cryptocurrency wallets for at least one user (e.g., by using the hosted wallet system105): one wallet for each cryptocurrency asset in the asset bundle. In this implementation, the purchased assets can be directly transferred from the exchange wallet (e.g., that maintains a pool of each asset to fulfill said orders), an external seller wallet (e.g., using an on-chain transaction), or another wallet hosted by the system (for the given cryptocurrency asset) to the wallets associated with the user (which are managed by the hosted wallet system105). In a second variation, the cryptocurrency platform system101does not custody the asset for the user, and instead facilitates direct, on-chain transfers between the sellers (e.g., for each of the set of cryptocurrency assets) and the user wallet(s) (e.g., using a distributed application, using a distributed exchange, etc.) by splitting the purchase order into multiple purchase orders, one for each constituent cryptocurrency asset of the bundle. However, cryptocurrency asset transfer to the user can be otherwise accomplished. In variations in which the cryptocurrency platform system101custodies the assets owned by the user, S260includes the cryptocurrency exchange system104transferring the purchased assets for the asset bundle to cryptocurrency bundle accounts (e.g., managed by at least one of the hosted wallet system105and the asset bundle management system112).FIG.6shows exemplary bundle accounts assigned to users A, B and C. In some variations, the bundle accounts are included in at least one wallet managed by the hosted wallet system105. In some variations, the bundle accounts are gated cryptocurrency accounts. In some variations, a gated cryptocurrency account is similar to other cryptocurrency accounts for users within the exchange, but differs in that blockchain send and receive functionality are removed, such that there is no ability for a user to initiate a buy or sell for an individual the gated cryptocurrency account that is not related to a purchase or liquidation of an asset bundle. In some variations, a gated cryptocurrency account is an account that managed by the platform system101such that it only receives funds resulting from asset bundle purchase order, asset bundle contribution, and asset bundle rebalancing transactions, and such that the platform system101only transfers funds during bundle rebalancing transactions and user-initiated asset bundle liquidation transactions. In this manner, cryptocurrency assets are not transferred to a gated account except during operations related to asset bundle management, and cryptocurrency assets are not transferred from a gated account except during operations related to asset bundle management. In other words, a user cannot transfer cryptocurrency assets to a gated account apart from an asset bundle operation. In some implementations, the user interface system106limits user control of transfers to or from a gated account to transfers that are related to a purchase or liquidation of an asset bundle. In some variations, when a user wishes to remove funds from a gated cryptocurrency account, the funds are transferred to a non-gated account to leave the exchange. Examples of non-gated accounts include a USD digital wallet or a regular cryptocurrency account within the exchange. In some implementations, a bundle account is created per-asset and per-user, and all bundle assets are managed by a respective bundle account. In some implementations, exactly one bundle account is created per-asset for each user. In some implementations, at least one bundle account is a gated account. In some implementations, if a user purchases two different asset bundles that each include the same asset, a single bundle account for the user manages the asset for both asset bundles. In some examples of such instances, the bundle management system112records balances of the asset for each bundle (e.g., by using a ledger for the bundle account). For example, the bundle management system112can maintain a ledger for each bundle account, and the ledger identifies account contributions to the bundle account, wherein each account contribution is recorded with an asset bundle identifier that identifies an instance of an asset bundle. For example, as shown inFIG.9C, User C has a bundle account 1.003 for Asset 1 that manages Asset 1 for Bundles 1.003, 2.001, and 3.001. An asset balance for an asset bundle can be determined by identifying all account contribution (ACs) associated with the bundle identifier of the asset bundle, and adding all identified account contributions for the bundle identifier to produce the asset's balance within the asset bundle. For example, as shown inFIG.9C, the asset balance of Asset 1 for Bundle 1.003 is 0.5 BTC, the asset balance of Asset 1 for Bundle 2.001 is 0.5 BTC, and the asset balance of Asset 1 for Bundle 3.001 is 0.5 BTC. In some implementations, for an initial purchase of an asset bundle or a contribution to an existing bundle, S260includes the cryptocurrency exchange system104accessing an identifier for a bundle account (e.g., Bundle Account 1.003 for User C shown inFIG.9C) for the related user for each asset of the asset bundle. The cryptocurrency exchange system104transfers assets to respective ones of the bundle accounts identified by the accessed identifiers cryptocurrency accounts. For each bundle account, the bundle management system112records an account contribution (AC) for the respective transfer, and the bundle management system112records an asset bundle identifier for the asset bundle with the account contribution. For example, as shown inFIG.9C, the bundle management system112records an account contribution (AC) (“01 Contribution: 0.5BTC”) for the respective transfer, and the bundle management system112records an asset bundle identifier (Bundle ID=1.003) for the asset bundle with the account contribution. In some implementations, accessing an identifier for a bundle account (e.g., during a first asset bundle purchase for a user) includes generating the bundle account (e.g., Asset 1 Bundle Account 1.003), wherein the identifier (e.g.,1.003) is generated during generation of the account. In some implementations, generating the account includes storing data (e.g.,600shown inFIG.6) associating the generated account with a user account of the platform system101. For example, as shown inFIG.6, data600associates the account 1.003 with User C. In some implementations, the bundle management system112generates the account. In some implementations, the bundle management system112controls the hosted wallet system105to generate the account. In some implementations, for a purchase of an asset bundle including an asset for which a bundle account has already been created, or for a contribution to an existing bundle, a bundle account has already been created for the asset for the user. In such cases, a new bundle account (e.g., gated account) does not need to be generated. For example, as shown inFIG.9C, Asset 1 Bundle Account 1.003 is created for the purchase of Bundle ID 1.003, since User C does not already have a bundle account for Asset 1; for the purchase of Bundle ID 2.001 (which includes Asset 1), the bundle account for Asset 1 (e.g., account 1.003) already exists and therefore does not need to be generated. In some implementations, accessing an identifier (e.g., 1.003) for a bundle account includes: accessing an identifier for an existing bundle account for an asset included in an asset bundle instance. In some implementations, accessing an identifier for a bundle account includes: the cryptocurrency exchange system104requesting a bundle account identifier for each asset of an asset bundle and the bundle management system112providing the cryptocurrency exchange system104with each requested bundle account identifier. In some implementations, the bundle management system includes a data structure (e.g.,600shown inFIG.6) that, for each user, identifies bundle account identifiers for each bundle account that has been generated for the user. For example, as shown inFIG.6, data structure600shows bundle account identifiers of bundle accounts generated for each of users A, B and C. In some variations, S260includes accessing an asset bundle identifier (e.g., 1.003) for an asset bundle related to the purchase order request. In some variations, the purchase order request received at S220identifies the asset bundle identifier. In some variations, the purchase order request received at S220identifies an asset bundle definition (e.g., “Bundle 1 Definition”, “Bundle 2 Definition”, “Bundle 3 Definition” shown inFIG.7) and a user identifier (e.g., “User A”, “User B”, “User C), and the bundle management system112includes a data structure that includes asset bundle identifiers for instances of the asset bundle definition that are owned by the user identified by the user identifier. For example, as shown inFIG.7, the bundle management system112manages a data structure700that includes bundle definitions for “Bundle 1”, “Bundle 2”, and “Bundle 3”. Each bundle definition shown inFIG.7identifies assets included in the respective bundle. For example, as shown inFIG.8, the bundle management system112includes a data structure800that includes asset bundle identifiers for instances of the asset bundle definitions owned by users of the platform system101. As shown inFIG.8, User A owns instance 1.001 of Bundle 1, User B owns instance 1.002 of Bundle 1, and User C owns instances 1.003, 2.001, and 3.001 of Bundle 1, Bundle 2, and Bundle 3, respectively. In some implementations, if an asset bundle identifier for the asset bundle defined by the definition does not exist for the user, then the bundle management system112generates a new asset bundle identifier (e.g., 3.001 shown inFIG.8). In some implementations, at S220the purchase order request identifies a user that is purchasing the asset bundle, and at S260the bundle management system112updates a data structure (e.g., 800 shown inFIG.8) to record a new asset bundle identifier (e.g., 3.001) for the user identified by the purchase order request. In some variations, users can “follow” investment activities of other users by selecting to purchase bundles created by the user being followed. In some variations, a user creating a bundle can modify the bundle that they had created, and such changes are propagated to bundles owned by other users following the user creating and managing the bundle. In some variations, the purchase order request received at S220identifies a user identifier and a “follow user” identifier associated with the purchase order request, wherein the bundle management system112identifies at least one bundle definition generated by the “follow user”.FIG.7shows an exemplary bundle definition (“Bundle 3”) created by User C, and a purchase order request can identify a bundle by the user identifier of the bundle creator (e.g., “User C”), rather than explicitly identifying Bundle 3 as the bundle to be purchased. In some variations, the cryptocurrency platform system101is configured to automatically make one or more recurring investments in a weighted asset bundle on behalf of a user without the input of the user. In some variations, these investments occur periodically after a set amount of time has passed. In some variations, a recurring deposit can be set up such that the cryptocurrency platform system101invests in a weighted asset bundle in order to maintain a current ratio of the bundle, such as when a user associated with the bundle has predefined a desired distribution of assets within the bundle. In some variations, the balances of each asset in an asset bundle instance are determined by identifying all accounts associated with the asset bundle instance (e.g., as identified by the bundle management system112); for each asset a balance is determined by identifying all account contributions for the asset that are recorded in association with the identifier for the asset bundle, and adding the balances of the account contributions associated with the asset bundle identifier. In some variations, bundle accounts are generated for each new instance of an asset bundle. For example, for a new instance of a bundle that includes Assets 1 and 2, a new bundle account for Asset 1 and a new bundle account for Asset 2 are created. In such variations, the balance of a bundle account is the bundle's balance for the corresponding asset. In some variations, the cryptocurrency platform system101rebalances one or more of the weighted asset bundles. In some variations, rebalancing includes at least one of increasing a balance of at least one asset of the asset bundle and decreasing a balance of at least one asset of the asset bundle. In some variations, rebalancing includes processing at least one transfer to an existing bundle account of an asset of the asset bundle. In some variations, rebalancing includes processing at least one transfer from a bundle account of the asset bundle. In some variations, rebalancing includes processing a transfer from a first bundle account for a first asset of the asset bundle to an exchange account of the cryptocurrency exchange system104, and processing a transfer from an exchange account (of the cryptocurrency exchange system104) for a second asset of the asset bundle to a second bundle account for a second asset of the asset bundle. In this manner, the second asset is purchased by using the first asset, thereby rebalancing the bundle by reducing a balance of the first asset and increasing a balance of the second asset. In some variations, each rebalancing transaction is recorded by the bundle management system112as a bundle adjustment. In some variations, the cryptocurrency platform system101rebalances the weighted asset bundles in order to maintain market capitalization weighted distribution for the individual cryptocurrency assets as the supply of the various assets changes over time. In some variations, rebalancing is required to maintain a specific distribution of cryptocurrency assets, even if the prices of the assets change. In some variations, a rebalancing occurs when the cryptocurrency platform system101receives indication of one or more triggering events being triggered by one or more components, client devices, or objects in the system. One example of a rebalancing event is when the weighted asset bundle drifts from a market capitalization weighted distribution. Another example is when a new cryptocurrency type is added to a cryptocurrency exchange (managed by the exchange system104), and the user wishes to add that cryptocurrency to the weighted asset bundle in a specified amount. Another example is when a new cryptocurrency type is added to a cryptocurrency exchange (managed by the exchange system104) as a result of a fork in blockchain software for a cryptocurrency, and the forked cryptocurrency is added to the weighted asset bundle. The asset bundle can be rebalanced: at a predetermined frequency (e.g., once a year, once a month), when a predetermined condition is met (e.g., an asset value exceeds or falls below an asset weight threshold, a new asset is automatically added to the bundle), upon user input receipt, or at any other suitable time. In some variations, a user of a client device (e.g.,108) is prompted to rebalance when a weighted asset bundle associated with the user no longer matches the initial distribution. In some variations, the cryptocurrency platform system101can prompt the user via email, an in-application messaging system, a notification, an alert, or other form of communicating with the user. In some variations, the cryptocurrency platform system101automatically rebalances a weighted asset bundle without any input from the user associated with the weighted asset bundle. In some variations, the cryptocurrency platform system101automatically rebalances the weighted asset bundle periodically after a predefined amount of time has passed. In some variations, the cryptocurrency platform system101rebalances the bundle to match a market capitalization weighting ratio. In some variations, the cryptocurrency platform system101rebalances the bundle to match a ratio that has been set by the user associated with the bundle. FIG.3is an illustration of an example of automatic rebalancing of a weighted asset bundle. The process depicted in the example is for a weighted asset bundle which has been predefined to maintain a specific equally weighted distribution of cryptocurrency. At the start of the rebalance period as depicted at302, the weighted asset bundle includes four cryptocurrency assets, each assigned even distribution weights of 25%. As depicted at304, over a period of 24 hours, the allocations of the assets within the bundle change as market capitalization values of the assets change. As depicted at306, the system performs an automatic rebalancing of the weighted asset bundle after 24 hours to once again evenly distribute the weights at 25% for each of the four assets in the asset bundle. S270functions to update at least one asset bundle. In some variations the bundle management system performs at least a portion of S270. In some variations the hosted wallet system105performs at least a portion of S270. In some variations the exchange system104performs at least a portion of S270. In some variations, S270includes updating at least one centralized asset bundle (e.g., an asset bundle managed on behalf of the exchange system104). In some variations, S270includes updating at least one user asset bundle (e.g., an asset bundle managed on behalf of a user of the platform system101). In some variations, S270includes at least one of: identifying a new asset (S271), determining if a new asset is related to an asset bundle (S272), adding a new asset to an asset bundle (S273), adding a new wallet for a new asset (S274), rebalancing an asset bundle (S275), and providing a notification for addition of a new asset to an asset bundle (S276). S271functions to identify a new asset. In some implementations, a new asset is added to the exchange (managed by the exchange system104) by updating software of the cryptocurrency exchange system104to support the new asset (e.g., by adding machine executable instructions of a cryptocurrency wallet for the new asset). In some implementations, a new cryptocurrency asset is added to the exchange as a result of a fork (e.g., a hard fork). In some implementations, the cryptocurrency platform101identifies a new asset in response to receiving a notification from the exchange system104. In some implementations, at least one of the asset bundle management system112and the hosted wallet system105receives the notification from the exchange system104. In some implementations, the notification identifies assets related to the newly added asset. In some implementations, the notification includes information about the new asset. S272functions to determine if the new asset identified at S271is related to an asset bundle managed by the asset bundle management system112. In some variations, at least one of the asset bundle management system112, the wallet system105, and the exchange system104performs S272. In some variations, the exchange system104determines that a new asset is a result of a blockchain fork. The exchange system104determines that the new asset is related to the pre-fork asset (the asset managed by the pre-fork version of the forked blockchain. In some variations, if the pre-fork asset is included in an asset bundle, then the new asset (related to the pre-fork asset) is determined to be related to the asset bundle. For example, as shown inFIG.10, there is a fork in the blockchain code for Asset 8, resulting in a new, forked Asset 8_1, which is related to Asset 8 by virtue of the fork relationship. In some variations, responsive to a new asset notification received from the exchange system104, the bundle management system112determines whether the new asset identified by the notification is related to an asset included in an asset bundle managed by the asset bundle management system112. In some implementations, the notification identifies related assets. In some implementations, the notification includes information (e.g., metadata) describing the new asset (e.g., the asset is a new privacy coin, etc.), and the bundle management system112determines whether the new asset identified by the notification is related to an asset bundle based on the description (e.g., metadata). For example, a new privacy coin asset can be determined to be related to a privacy coin bundle that includes a plurality of privacy coins. In some implementations, responsive to a new asset notification received from the exchange system104that identifies addition of a new forked asset (e.g., Asset 8_1) related to a pre-fork asset (e.g., Asset 8), the bundle management system112determines whether any asset bundles managed by the asset bundle management system112include the pre-fork asset (e.g., Asset 8). In response to identifying an asset bundle (e.g., Bundle 3) managed by the asset bundle management system112that includes the pre-fork asset (e.g., Asset 8), the bundle management system112determines that the new asset is related to the identified asset bundle.FIG.7shows an exemplary data structure700that identifies asset bundles managed by the bundle management system112, and assets included in each bundle. S273functions to add the new asset to at least one asset bundle related to the new asset. In some variations, responsive to determining that the new asset is related to an asset bundle, the asset bundle management system112updates the definition for the related bundle to include the new asset. For example, as shown inFIG.10, there is a fork in the blockchain code for Asset 8, resulting in a new, forked Asset 8_1, which is related to Asset 8 by virtue of the fork relationship. Since Bundle 3 includes Asset 8, forked Asset 8_1 is related to Bundle 3, and the asset bundle management system112updates the definition for Bundle 3 to include Asset 8_1. In some implementations, the new asset is added to a related asset bundle in response to a determination that configuration for the asset bundle permits addition of related assets. In such implementations, asset bundle configuration includes a related-asset setting for at least one asset of the bundle, wherein each related-asset setting identifies whether new assets related to the asset are to be added to the asset bundle. In this manner, a bundle can be configured such that it is not updated in response addition of a new asset at the exchange system104. S274functions to add at least one new cryptocurrency wallet for a new asset. In some variations, S274includes creating a new bundle account for the new asset. In some variations, responsive to determining that the new asset is related to an asset bundle, the asset bundle management system112identifies users that own instances of the asset bundle that is related to the new asset. For example, as shown inFIG.8, User C owns an instance of Bundle 3, which is related to new Asset 8_1. For each user owning an instance of the related asset bundle, the bundle management system112creates a cryptocurrency wallet for the new asset. In some variations, the bundle management system112uses the hosted wallet system105to create the new wallet. In some implementations, creating a new wallet for a user includes creating a new bundle account for the user, wherein the newly created wallet manages the new bundle account. For example, as shown inFIG.11, a new bundle account 8_1.003 is created for User C for new Asset 8_1. Since User A and User B do not own instances of a bundle related to new Asset 8_1, a new bundle account is not created for User A or User B. In some implementations, S274includes transferring an amount of the new asset to at least one bundle account created for the new asset. For example, as shown inFIG.12, a contribution of 0.1 XTZ_Fork (the newly added Asset 8_1) is added to the new bundle account 8_1.003 that was created for User C. In some implementations, for each user for which a new bundle account is created in response to the new asset, S274includes transferring an amount of the new asset to the bundle account created for the new asset for each bundle instance of the user that is related to the new asset. For example, as shown inFIG.12, a contribution of 0.1 XTZ_Fork (the newly added Asset 8_1) is added to the new bundle account 8_1.003 (that was created for User C) for Bundle ID 3.001. In a case where User C owns another bundle (e.g., 4.001) related to asset 8_1, then a contribution of the newly added Asset 8_1 is also added to the new bundle account 8_1.003 (that was created for User C) for the other bundle (e.g., 4.001). In other words, in some implementations, a user receives a contribution for the new asset for each bundle owned by the user that is related to the new asset. In some implementations, S274includes determining the amount of the new asset to be transferred to the bundle account of the new asset. In some implementations, the amount of the new asset to be transferred to the bundle account of the new asset is determined based on a balance of a related asset that is included in the related asset bundle. S275functions to rebalance instances of at least one asset bundle related to a newly added asset. In some variations, responsive to determining that the new asset is related to an asset bundle, the asset bundle management system112identifies users that own instances of the asset bundle that is related to the new asset. For at least one user that owns an instance of an asset bundle that is related to the new asset, rebalancing is performed. In some implementations, the rebalancing is performed in accordance with new-asset-rebalancing configuration information. New-asset-rebalancing configuration information can be set per user, per user group, or globally for a bundle definition. In some variations, rebalancing the asset bundle includes rebalancing the asset bundle to update the balance of at least one asset in the bundle based on balances of the assets in the asset bundle and rebalancing configuration information for the asset bundle. In a first implementation, the new asset is treated as part of the related original asset, and rebalancing is performed as if the amount of the related original asset were increased (e.g., the values of the original asset and the related new asset are combined and treated as a single asset value for purposes of rebalancing). In some examples, automatically rebalancing is performed by rebalancing the asset bundle to update the balance of at least one asset in the bundle based on a combined balance of the new asset at least one asset (of the bundle) that is related to the new asset. For example, as shown inFIG.12, the balances of Asset 8 and Asset 8_1 for Bundle ID 3.001 are combined, and the asset bundle instance 3.001 is rebalanced as if the balance of Asset 8 were increased to 0.6 XTZ, using the original allocation strategy for the bundle instance 3.001. In a second implementation, the new asset is treated as distinct from the related original asset. In some examples, automatically rebalancing is performed by rebalancing the asset bundle to update the balance of at least one asset in the bundle based on a balance of the new asset. For example, as shown inFIG.12, the asset bundle instance 3.001 is rebalanced using rebalancing configuration information for the bundle instance 3.001 that defines how rebalancing is performed for the bundle instance in response to addition of a new asset to the bundle. In some implementations, the new-asset-rebalancing configuration determines whether rebalancing is performed as if the amount of the related original asset were increased, or whether rebalancing is performed as if the new asset distinct from the related original asset. In some variations, new-asset-rebalancing configuration can specify that rebalancing is not performed in response to addition of a new asset to the bundle. In some variations, S276functions to notify a user of addition of a new asset to a bundle instance owned by the user. In some implementations, responsive to addition of a new asset to a bundle instance owned by a user, the user interface system106provides a notification to the user (e.g., via a user device108). In this manner, a user can be updated of the fact that their bundle has been updated, and are informed such that when they view their bundle or liquidate their bundle, they are not surprised by the addition of a new asset to their bundle. In some embodiments, the cryptocurrency platform system101is implemented as a single hardware device500. In some embodiments, the cryptocurrency platform system101is implemented as a plurality of hardware devices (e.g.,500). In some embodiments, a hardware device implementing the cryptocurrency platform system101includes a bus501that interfaces with processors503A-N, a main memory522(e.g., a random access memory (RAM)), a read only memory (ROM)504, a processor-readable storage medium505, and a network device511. In some embodiments, bus501interfaces with at least one of a display device591and a user input device592. In some embodiments, the processors503A-503N include one or more of an ARM processor, an ×86 processor, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a tensor processing unit (TPU), and the like. In some embodiments, at least one of the processors includes at least one arithmetic logic unit (ALU) that supports a SIMD (Single Instruction Multiple Data) system that provides native support for multiply and accumulate operations. In some embodiments, at least one of a central processing unit (processor), a GPU, and a multi-processor unit (MPU) is included. In some embodiments, the processors and the main memory form a processing unit599. In some embodiments, the processing unit includes one or more processors communicatively coupled to one or more of a RAM, ROM, and machine-readable storage medium; the one or more processors of the processing unit receive instructions stored by the one or more of a RAM, ROM, and machine-readable storage medium via a bus; and the one or more processors execute the received instructions. In some embodiments, the processing unit is an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit). In some embodiments, the processing unit is a SoC (System-on-Chip). In some embodiments, the processing unit includes at least one arithmetic logic unit (ALU) that supports a SIMD (Single Instruction Multiple Data) system that provides native support for multiply and accumulate operations. In some embodiments the processing unit is a Central Processing Unit such as an Intel processor. The network device511provides one or more wired or wireless interfaces for exchanging data and commands. Such wired and wireless interfaces include, for example, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, Bluetooth interface, Wi-Fi interface, Ethernet interface, near field communication (NFC) interface, and the like. Machine-executable instructions in software programs (such as an operating system, application programs, and device drivers) are loaded into the memory (of the processing unit) from the processor-readable storage medium, the ROM or any other storage location. During execution of these software programs, the respective machine-executable instructions are accessed by at least one of processors (of the processing unit) via the bus, and then executed by at least one of processors. Data used by the software programs are also stored in the memory, and such data is accessed by at least one of processors during execution of the machine-executable instructions of the software programs. The processor-readable storage medium505is one of (or a combination of two or more of) a hard drive, a flash drive, a DVD, a CD, an optical disk, a floppy disk, a flash storage, a solid state drive, a ROM, an EEPROM, an electronic circuit, a semiconductor memory device, and the like. In some variations, the storage medium505includes machine-executable instructions for at least one of an operating system530, applications513, device drivers514, the bundle management system112, the cryptocurrency exchange system104, the hosted wallet system105, and the user interface system106. 6.FIGS.4A-F. FIGS.4A-Fare schematic representations of user interfaces related to asset bundling. In some variations, the user interfaces are displayed by the user interface system106. As shown inFIG.4A, a user interface presenting a customized dashboard for a user of a cryptocurrency exchange is displayed on a client device (e.g.,108) associated with the user. The user has not invested using the exchange yet, which can be seen in the “Your Portfolio” section of the dashboard that shows a total balance of $0.00 and assets of $0.00 for each of the cryptocurrency types offered within the exchange. In addition, a “Recent Activity” section shows that the user has not bought or sold within the exchange yet, but the user has linked a payment method and can start buying digital currency within the exchange. The system registers that the user has a balance of $0.00 and has not bought or sold within the exchange yet, and because of this, the system presents an option for the user to purchase an asset bundle as a “convenient way to buy all 5 of the cryptocurrencies . . . with a single purchase.” A button to view the bundle is presented to the user. As shown inFIG.4B, the user has clicked on the “view bundle” button, and in response is presented with information about the presented bundle option. On the right, a section depicts the currencies in this bundle, along with a percentage showing the weighted distribution of each of the individual assets within the bundle. A chart shows performance of the asset bundle over time. The chart also shows how much USD the user would have gained if they had invested $100.00 on the beginning date of the chart's date range. Different period ranges can be selected by the user to present different charts of performance over time. In some variations, a stacked chart of all the underlying assets of the bundle is shown instead of or in addition to a single line in the chart depicting the overall bundle performance. Different options to buy or sell a desired amount are presented to the user in the top right, along with options to purchase the bundle in amounts of $25, $50, $200, or $800. As shown inFIG.4C, the user has indicated a desire to invest $100 in the weighted asset bundle. An option to preview the purchase is presented. As shown inFIG.4D, a preview of the purchase is shown after the user clicks on the “preview purchase” button. A button to confirm the purchase is presented to the user. As shown inFIG.4E, the user has clicked the “confirm purchase” button. The exchange transmits a purchase order request from the user, which is received by the system. The purchase order request includes a desired order price of $100 and an asset bundle selection containing a subset of the available assets of the cryptocurrency exchange, specifically Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and Litecoin. The system determines a market capitalization value for each asset in the subset of assets, and assigns distributed weights to each of the five assets. The system then generates a weighted asset bundle containing the subset of assets, and processes a purchase order of the weighted asset bundle for the user, wherein each asset in the bundle is purchased in quantities according to the desired order price of $100 modified by the assigned weight of the asset. A message is displayed that the bundle was successfully purchased by the user. Options to view the user's accounts or buy more are presented. As shown inFIG.4F, the user has clicked the button to view their accounts. A dashboard is once again presented to the user, but this time the dashboard shows a portfolio value, a portfolio with nonzero amounts invested in five different cryptocurrency types, and recent activity showing cryptocurrency assets bought in varying amounts. At this point, the user has various options within the exchange, including buying/selling, viewing charts of the performance of the bundle over various time periods, and more. Embodiments of the system and/or method can include every combination and permutation of the various system components and the various method processes, wherein one or more instances of the method and/or processes described herein can be performed asynchronously (e.g., sequentially), concurrently (e.g., in parallel), or in any other suitable order by and/or using one or more instances of the systems, elements, and/or entities described herein. As a person skilled in the art will recognize from the previous detailed description and from the figures and claims, modifications and changes can be made to the preferred embodiments of the invention without departing from the scope of this invention defined in the following claims. | 78,783 |
11861571 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION An illustrative embodiment of the present invention relates to a system and method for stabilizing digital coins utilized in a cryptocurrency based network. In operation, the present invention provides digital coins as part of a cryptocurrency compensation system In some embodiments, the digital coins can be ERC-20 tokens or similar digital tokens used by developers to compensate miners for the resources that they are providing to a network/service. The digital coins can be cryptocurrency tokens earned for participation within a blockchain and/or purchased through an exchange. In some embodiments, the digital coins can be used by network users to make transactions and compensate miners or other users participating within a network. For example, the digital coins of the present invention can be used to compensate nodes for relaying streams (e.g., providing bandwidth and other computational resources) for a broadcasting service provider and/or to buy access to video streams, as discussed in greater detail with respect to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/954,473, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,848,553, incorporated herein by reference. FIGS.1through15, wherein like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout, illustrate an example embodiment or embodiments of improved operation for providing stable digital coins or tokens for a cryptocurrency, according to the present invention. Although the present invention will be described with reference to the example embodiment or embodiments illustrated in the figures, it should be understood that many alternative forms can embody the present invention. One of skill in the art will additionally appreciate different ways to alter the parameters of the embodiment(s) disclosed, such as the size, shape, or type of elements or materials, in a manner still in keeping with the spirit and scope of the present invention. FIG.1depicts an exemplary system10for implementing aspects of the present invention. In particular,FIG.1depicts an illustrative system10for use in accordance with the method for providing a service to end users and compensating third parties for assisting in providing said service. In some embodiments, the compensation earned in said service can be digital currency or digital coins. The system10can include a network of devices that can include at least one developer12(e.g., broadcaster), a plurality of miner nodes14(e.g., edge nodes), and a plurality of subscriber devices16(e.g., subscriber devices). In some embodiments, the developer12is configured as a service provider that utilizes one or more intermediary miner nodes14to supply services to subscriber device16. For example, the developer12can be a broadcasting service provider configured to offer multimedia streaming services to subscribers for a fee. The multimedia can be delivered to subscriber devices16using a combination of miner nodes14that volunteer their resources (e.g., bandwidth) in exchange for compensation (e.g., digital coins). In exchange for delivering the multimedia to subscriber devices16on behalf of the developer12, the developer12will compensate the miner nodes14with digital coins. An example of such a system and method is discussed in greater detail with respect to U.S. Patent Applications 62/535,263, to which U.S. Pat. No. 11,425,113 claims priority, and Ser. No. 15/954,473, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,848,553, incorporated herein by reference. In some embodiments, the system10can include a stabilizer18that is configured to monitor transactions throughout the network of developers12, miner nodes14, and subscriber devices16and monitor the value of a digital coin (e.g., via exchange) associated with actions associated with said network. In particular, the stabilizer18can monitor for transactions in which digital coins are exchanged and run a stabilization algorithm to evaluate the value of the digital tokens and actions needed to stabilize the value, if necessary. For example, the stabilizer18can identify each instance that a developer12provides digital coins to miners14, in exchange for services performed (e.g., mining, providing services to subscriber devices16, etc.), and run a stabilization process. The stabilizer18can be an integral part of the token (e.g., ERC-20) and its logic can be written in the smart contract of the token. In some embodiments, each of the developer12, the plurality of miner nodes14, the plurality of subscriber devices16, and the stabilizer18can be a general-purpose computer or a specialized computing system. For example, the developer12can include a single computing device, a collection of computing devices in a network computing system, a cloud computing infrastructure, or a combination thereof. Similarly, each of the developer12, the plurality of miner nodes14, the plurality of subscriber devices16, and the stabilizer18can be configured to establish a connection and communicate with one another over a telecommunication network(s). As would be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the telecommunication network(s) may include any combination of known networks. For example, the telecommunication network(s) may be combination of a mobile network, WAN, LAN, or other type of network. The telecommunication network(s) may be used to exchange data between the each of the developer12, the plurality of miner nodes14, the plurality of subscriber devices16, and the stabilizer18and/or to collect data from additional sources. In some embodiments, the stabilization of the digital coins of the present invention can be provided by three main components, where each of the components can be associated with a different ERC-20 token (or other token standard). The three types of tokens can be identified as utility tokens, reserve tokens, and security tokens. All of the transactions within the system10of the present invention can involve one or more of the utility tokens, reserve tokens and security tokens for the digital coins. In some embodiments, the digital coins can define transfer and transferFrom functions based on the ERC-20 token standard, such that said functions are called every time some of the utility tokens, reserve tokens and security tokens for the digital coins are transferred between different accounts and/or locations (e.g., being used as compensation, bought, sold, traded, converted, etc.). The stabilization algorithm can be run for every time a digital coin transaction occurs, and can be implemented within the transfer and transferFrom functions. In other words, any transaction involving the token changing ownership ensures that the stabilization process (e.g., as discussed with respect toFIGS.2-7) is automatically run. This makes it possible to use this design for any and all use cases that require a stable cryptocurrency or digital currency. In this way, the digital coins can be stabilized no matter how they are used because the same functions are used to transfer the tokens between parties. This functionality protects the stabilization, even if some party chooses to list the digital coins on an exchange, or the token is used for purposes outside of the network of the present invention. In some embodiments, the utility tokens can represent a stable token of the digital coins tied to a fiat currency and can be allocated as an initial fixed quantity of tokens to be distributed as compensation. The token can be traded in an exchange, or it can be used by the network to compensate minors providing services within a system (e.g., system10). The market cap will be modified over time to guarantee that digital coins equals a target value of $1 USD. For example, the utility tokens can have a target value of $1 USD per token. As would be appreciated by one skilled in the art, any combination of quantity, fiat currency, and target value can be utilized without departing from the scope of the present invention. In some embodiments, the target value can be pegged to the value of a Consumer Price Index (CPI). In this way, it would be possible to implement a decentralized and transparent money policy that does not require any human input and that can be independent from any government or official agency. In some embodiments, the reserve tokens can be utilized to help regulate the value of utility tokens (e.g., digital coins). The value of the reserve tokens is equal to that of utility tokens and can be used to adjust market value of digital coins for stabilization. The reserve tokens can be stored and transferred between a reserve pool and an investor pool. During operation, the reserve tokens can be transitioned between the two pools or be converted back into utility tokens for distribution. In some embodiments, after a predetermined period of time, a portion of the reserve tokens can be withdrawn from the investor pool for distribution to investor as part of a dividend. For example, at the end of each financial quarter a portion of the reserve tokens within the investor pool can converted into Ethereum (ETH) shares or fiat money to compensate investors. In an alternative embodiment, the system can function without utilization of an investor pool. For example, instead of transferring tokens to the investor pool, the system can “burn” unneeded tokens without payouts, or just let the number of reserve tokens increase indefinitely. In some embodiments, the security tokens represent a proportion of shares investing the digital coins and can influence how distributions can be paid out as a dividend. In particular, the security tokens can represent a percentage of the shares of digital coins that an investor owns in the digital currency and can be traded on an exchange dealing in cryptocurrencies. In some embodiments, the value for the digital coins can be pegged to a government issued currency (e.g., fiat currency). For example, one unit of the digital coins can be pegged to one United States Dollar (USD), such that one digital coins is worth $1 USD. In some embodiments, the volume of the digital coins will be controlled such that only a fixed amount of digital coins will be put in circulation at a given point in time. An initial value and volume of digital coins supply will generate a market cap. The market cap can be determined by multiplying the number of digital coins in circulation by the value per coin. For example, if 5 thousand digital coins are in circulation at an initial price of $1 USD, then the market cap will be $5,000. In some embodiments, if the equivalence between digital coins and USD changes, the system and method of the present invention can modify the amount of digital coins in circulation, by minting or burning tokens, and thus bringing back the market cap to its initial value. A result of such modification, the equivalence of digital coins to USD can be re-established. FIG.2provides an exemplary process200for providing the method for stabilizing digital coins in accordance with the present invention. In particular,FIG.2depicts an initial diagram of the process200for how the stabilizer18monitors transactions and utilizes the different tokens to maintain stability of the digital coins (e.g., try to maintain the pegged currency value). During an initial setup of the process200, a predetermined quantity of digital coins is made available to investors (e.g., as security tokens) for trade on an exchange and to developers or service providers (e.g., as utility tokens) to be provided as compensation to miner nodes14dedicating resources to the developers or service providers within the system10. At step100, some predetermined quantity of digital coins are purchased or otherwise obtained by developers for use within their network. In some embodiments, the tokens can be made available via a trading exchange platform or purchase from a bank source. In some embodiments, the tokens are made available to users through a smart contract on a blockchain. At step102some portion of the initial quantity of digital coins is made available to developers as utility tokens for distribution as compensation in return for services rendered by miners (e.g., via system10). In some embodiments, the developers are multimedia broadcasters that use intermediary miner nodes to stream multimedia to subscribing user devices and compensates with the utility tokens. At step104digital coin transactions are performed within the service provider network (e.g., system10) and reserve tokens are minted based on those transaction (i.e., an amount of compensation to be paid to miners for that transaction). In some embodiments, digital coin transactions can be work performed by miner nodes14on behalf of developers12in exchange for digital coin compensation (e.g., in utility tokens). For example, at step104, miner nodes can receive a multimedia stream from a developer and transmit the multimedia the subscribing end users in return for digital coin compensation. In response to such a transaction, in some embodiments, the process200can initiate a minting process in which a percentage of reserve tokens are minted and added to a reserve pool and/or investor pool. The amount of minted reserve tokens can be constant and equal to the number of digital coins that are being transferred in the transaction (e.g., during stable periods) or the amount can be variable based on circumstances (e.g., inflation period, depression period, etc.), as discussed in greater detail herein. For example, as depicted inFIG.2, 20% of the digital coin compensation paid to the miners can be minted as reserve tokens. As would be appreciated by one skilled in the art, any value can be used for minting reserve tokens and is not limited to 20% of the compensation paid or even tied to the compensation paid. The percentage amount can fluctuate and support just about any percentage of the total paid to miners, such that the more transactions the system is experiencing, could result in a lower the percentage needed per transaction to stabilize the token At step106a compensation of utility tokens can be paid to the miners in exchange for services provided on behalf of the developers. In some embodiments, the compensation can be in the form of utility tokens or can be paid in digital coins (converted from utility tokens) according to a previously agreed rate. The amount or percentages of the agreed upon compensation can be paid in full or reduced based on circumstances (e.g., inflation period, depression period, etc.), as discussed in greater detail herein. For example, as depicted inFIG.2, 100% of the agreed upon compensation can be paid to the miners. At step108the miners can elect to convert any received tokens or coins to fiat currency (e.g., USD) or other currency (e.g., digital currency) through one or more exchanges. At step110the reserve tokens minted in step104can be allocated to the reserve pool and/or the investor pool. The reserve pool can have a fixed size while the investor pool can be used to hold the surplus of reserve tokens. The present invention is always adjusting to guarantee that the reserve pool is full. Thus, when new tokens are minted, if the reserve pool is not full they will be stored there, otherwise, they will be stored in the investor pool. The purpose of the reserve pool is to always have a minimal amount of reserve tokens that can be converted back into utility tokens during an inflation period, as discussed in greater detail herein. The amount of reserve tokens needed can vary based on the amount of inflation experienced by the digital coin value. In some embodiments, during an inflation period the amount needed may be higher than 100%. In some embodiments, reserve tokens stored in the investor pool can be allocated based on a predetermined period of time in which they were received and paid out periodically to investors who own security tokens. For example, reserve tokens can be stored in the investor pool based on the fiscal quarter when they were generated and at the end of every quarter the reserve tokens from the previous quarter will be paid out to investors proportionally to their security tokens (e.g., shares). The amount of reserve tokens in the investor pool may not always increase monotonically because, during high inflation periods, it may be necessary to convert a high number of reserve tokens into digital coins, and the reserve pool may be insufficient. In this case, the remaining required reserve tokens will be taken from the investor pool. At step112investors who own security tokens can receive payments from the investor pool. In some embodiments, the investors can receive periodic dividends based on an amount of shares of the tokens that the investors own and the amount of reserve tokens available in the investor pool. For example, at the end of each fiscal quarter, each investor will be paid a percentage of the reserve tokens in the investor pool corresponding to the percentage of shares, of all available shares, owned for the digital tokens. In some embodiments, payments to investors can be performed by converting reserve tokens into ETH or fiat currency proportionally to the amount of security tokens that each investor holds. At step114investors can elect to exchange reserve tokens received as dividends (in step112) for fiat currency or buy more security tokens for increased dividends by trading on an exchange. In operation, the system200can be used by some combination of actors or agents can be participants within the process200. In some embodiments, the actors can include developers, miners, end users, investors, and bankers. The developer can be a service provider, such as for example, a multimedia streaming service provider (e.g., broadcasters), as discussed with respect to U.S. Patent Application Nos. 62/535,263, to which U.S. Pat. No. 11,425,113 claims priority, and Ser. No. 15/954,473, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,848,553 incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The miner (e.g., node users) can be an intermediary contributing computational resources to the developer to deliver services to end users. For example, the miners can relay a multimedia stream from a developer to subscribing end user devices. In some embodiments, the miner can be compensated, by the developer, in utility tokens for the computational resources provided. The end users can be users paying for the service provided by the developer and received via the miner, such as for example, a subscriber to a multimedia streaming service to receive multimedia streams. In some embodiments, the end users can pay, the developer, for the multimedia streaming services in digital coins or other fiat currency. The investor and banker can be actors that buy and sell reserve tokens for the digital coins over an exchange or other market. The investors can buy shares of reserve tokens through the exchange in the form of security tokens and receive periodic dividends based on their shares. The bank can manage the exchange of reserve tokens between investors and make digital coins available to developers for use as compensation as utility tokens to other actors (e.g., miners). During operation, the stabilization of the digital token can fluctuate between stable periods, deflation periods, and inflation periods. During stable periods, the value of the digital coins is stable (e.g., digital coins $1 USD), such that no change to the market cap of digital coins is necessary. As new digital coins transactions are being generated, each transaction can cause a certain amount of reserve tokens to be minted or converted from utility tokens to reserve tokens, thus, adjusting the market cap value for the digital coins (e.g., step110). For example, as depicted inFIG.2, 100% of the utility tokens paid to miners will be minted as reserve tokens. The minted reserve tokens will be stored in the reserve pool if it is not full, otherwise, reserve tokens will be stored in the investor pool. The tokens stored in the investor pool will accumulate for two predetermined periods of time (e.g., quarters), and at the end of a second period of time, the tokens accumulated in the first period of time will be paid out to investors proportionally to their shares (e.g., step112). The number of shares can be based on the total number of security tokens held by the investor. During a deflation period, the price of digital coins will tend to decrease over time (e.g., digital coins <$1 USD). To counteract the decreasing value, it may be necessary to lower the market cap of the digital coins. In some embodiments, increased digital coin values can be achieved by converting utility tokens into reserve tokens instead of minting them (e.g., at step104). In some embodiments, a smart contract can be used to calculate the current valuation of digital coins and then force the conversion process accordingly. The exact amount of tokens that will need to be converted will depend on the deflation rate. The higher the number of transactions occurring, the lower the percentage of tokens for each transaction that needs to be converted into reserve tokens. This is important because if the overall number of transaction is low, and 100% of the tokens of a transaction needs to be converted, then the miners would not earn any utility tokens. During an inflation period the price of digital coins can increase over time (e.g., digital coins >$1 USD). To counteract the increasing value, it may be necessary to increase the market cap of the digital coins. In some embodiments, decreased digital coin values can be achieved by converting reserve tokens into utility tokens. In some embodiments, a smart contract can be used to continuously checks the value of digital coins against the predetermined fiat currency (e.g., USD). For example, once the value of one digital coins is above $1 USD then a certain amount of reserve tokens will be moved to the digital coins smart contract for conversion to utility tokens, and thus increase the supply of digital coins. Referring toFIG.3, an exemplary example of an initial state of the reserve pool and the investor pool is provided. In particular,FIG.3shows the initial state of the reserve pool and investor pool at the beginning of a stable period. A stable period can be beneficial for all actors within the network (e.g., network200). For example, a stable digital coin value will allow developers to reliably estimate how much they are spending to deliver services to end users, and similarly allow miners to reliably estimate how much they will earn in exchange for computational resources contributed to delivering said services. The reliable estimates are possible because the value should be consistent, eliminating one unknown variable when providing estimates. Similarly, with a stable token it is easier for a miner to more accurately establish the price for contributed resources (e.g., Gbps of bandwidth), and thus guarantee a positive return. In contrast, with an unstable token, miners may need to ask for a higher price for contributed resources to account for possible losses generated by the possible abrupt devaluation of the digital coin. A stable token also guarantees that miners receive 100% of the digital coins for a given transaction, whereas during periods of inflation or deflation this may not be the case. Therefore, during a stable period there is no incentive for any of the participating actors to change the stabilization. In some embodiments, the investor pool can be divided into two portions corresponding to two periods of time. In the example depicted inFIG.3, with respect to the investor pool, the first portion (e.g., period of time) has 30 million reserve tokens and the second portion (e.g., period of time) has 0 reserve tokens. In some embodiments, the first portion can be locked with new reserve tokens being added only to the second portion (when the reserve pool is full).FIG.3also shows that the reserve pool is 80% full for the predetermined quantity of reserve tokens. As discussed above, if the reserve pool is less than 100% then reserve tokens may not deposited into the investor pool and may be borrowed from, which would correspond to the second portion of the investor pool (e.g., the second period of time). Continuing withFIG.3, the depicted investor pool represents an example of the investor pool at the beginning of a new fiscal period (e.g., quarter). As discussed herein, in some embodiments, at the end of a fiscal period, the reserve tokens in the first portion of the investor pool will be paid out to investors and the reserve tokens in the second portion will be transferred (e.g., the reserve tokens generated in the previous fiscal period) into the first portion until the next fiscal period ends. Therefore, at the beginning of a new fiscal period, the second portion will be empty (e.g., 0%). The reserve pool is not full yet, and thus as new transactions are generated by the users of the system10, the reserve pool will start to fill while the investor pool will remain unchanged. Once the reserve pool is 100% full, every newly minted reserve token will be transferred to the second portion of the investor pool. In a stable period, the investor pool will continue to fill at the maximum rate over time, and thus allow the investors to maximize their dividends in each quarter. In some embodiments, when a deflation period occurs (e.g., digital coin <$1 USD), steps can be initiated by the stabilizer18to stabilize the digital coin value. In particular, during a deflation period, a percentage of the utility tokens to be paid to miners14will be converted to reserve tokens. During a deflation period it may be preferable to generate an amount of reserve tokens equal to a predetermined amount (e.g., 10%) of the digital coins transactions but not all as minted reserve tokens, as done during a stable period. In some embodiments, the stabilizer18can determine a percentage of reserve tokens that should be minted and a percentage of the utility tokens should be converted into reserve tokens. For example, as depicted inFIG.4B, the stabilizer18can determine that 5% of the amount of utility tokens in each transaction needs to be converted into reserve tokens then, in the following transactions only 5% of reserve tokens will be minted to total 10% new reserve tokens per transaction. Therefore, in this example, after a transaction (e.g., step104), 5% utility tokens are converted to reserve tokens, 5% reserve tokens are minted, and only 95% of utility tokens are paid out to the miner(s) instead of the 100% received during stable or inflated periods. The greater the deflation rate, the smaller the value that the miners will receive, while the value of the digital coins are stabilized. In some embodiments, the percentage paid to the miners can be static and not adjust, regardless of the level of inflation or deflation of the coin value. By converting utility tokens to reserve tokens and reducing the number of utility tokens or digital coins paid to miners, the total supply of digital coins will decrease and the value of the digital coins increases because the market cap will be automatically adjusted. The stabilization process may not be a onetime operation but can be performed continuously during a deflation period. This means that as the valuation of one digital coins gets closer to $1, the system will continue to recalculate the amount of utility tokens that need to be converted and the corresponding percentage for transaction. As before, the newly created reserve tokens will first fill the reserve pool and then the investor pool at the maximum rate. Therefore, during deflation periods investors will still be able to maximize their dividends. Referring toFIG.4A, an example of a stabilization process400is provided. In this example, the initial state of process200includes an initial digital coins supply of 500 million and an initial market cap is equal to the 500 million multiplied by the fixed currency value of $1 USD to equal $500 million USD. During a deflation period the value of the digital coins drops to $0.9 USD and the current supply is X tokens to have a market cap of $0.9X. By monitoring the market value, a deflation period can be identified (e.g., by stabilizer18) and a deflation period can be initiated. During this deflation period, system200will keep the value of digital coins stable by determining what should be the new supply of digital coins (e.g., to adjust the market cap to reflect a digital coin value of $1 USD) (STEP402). If the market cap is assumed to be constant then the new supply will be equal to Y representing the market cap divided by the target value of $1 USD, and thus, Y is equal to $0.9X divided by $1 or $0.9X. Using the values for the initial state yields Y equals $0.9 multiplied by 500 million to equal 450 million. With the deflated market value Y the stabilizer18can determine an amount of digital coins to convert to stabilize the value (STEP404). In this case, the conversation of utility tokens to reserve tokens would be equal to X minus Y. Thus, in this example, 500 million minus 450 million results in a conversion of 50 million utility tokens (over some period of time). This amount can be taken as a percentage from every utility token resulting from digital coins transactions until the value of the digital coin is stable again (e.g., equal to $1 USD) (STEP406) or in a lump sum. When taking a percentage of the steps in process400can repeat itself until stabilization of the digital coin value is reached. Based on the process400, it is unlikely that the process200will stay in a deflation period for a long time because the price will be constantly adjusted and none of the actors participating within the process200would gain from this deflation period. Otherwise, some actor could try to trigger deflation and invest resources to avoid going back to a stable period. Instead, during a deflation period, the system200will tend to be used less because it will be less or not remunerative enough for at least the miner nodes. This in turn will lower the total number of transactions performed over this period, which will increase the amount of tokens that need to be converted into reserve tokens. Finally, this will decrease the earnings of miners even more and thus even less people will use system10. Eventually, no transactions would be generated and the investors would not be able to receive any dividend. This shows that nobody has a long-term interest in staying in a deflation period. Referring toFIG.4B,FIG.4Bdepicts example results of the stabilization process400during a period of deflation. In the example ofFIG.4B, the storage of reserve tokens within the investor pool and reserve pool, represent values during the start of a new fiscal period. In this example, the reserve pool has a total capacity of 20 million tokens and is 80% full. Since it's the beginning of the fiscal period, the investor pool contains 0 reserve tokens in the first portion (e.g., the current fiscal period) and 30 million reserve tokens in the first portion (e.g., the previous fiscal period) to be paid out to investors at the end of the current fiscal period. As shown inFIG.4B, and as a result of the process400inFIG.4A, at each transaction (step104) 5% of the amount of the utility tokens for the transaction are minted as new reserve tokens, 5% of the utility tokens are converted to reserve tokens, and 95% of the utility tokens are paid out to the miners for contributions (step108). Thereafter, the 10% of reserve tokens (minted and converted) can be added to the reserve pool. These values will adjust over time as the value of the digital coin are adjusted. In some embodiments, when a inflation period occurs (e.g., digital coin >$1 USD), steps are initiated by the stabilizer18to stabilize the digital coin value. In particular, during an inflation period, a percentage of the reserve tokens in the reserve pool can be converted to utility tokens. During an inflation period it may be preferable to continue to mint new reserve tokens at the predetermined amount (e.g., 10%) for each of the digital coins transactions performed (e.g., step104), as done during a stable period. During the inflation period, the miners will continue to earn 100% of the earned utility tokens for contributions. The stabilizer18can also determine a number of reserve tokens in the reserve pool to be converted to utility tokens to lower the value of the digital coins. Therefore, in this example, after a transaction (e.g., step104), 44% reserve tokens are converted to utility tokens, 10% reserve tokens are minted, and only 100% of utility tokens are paid out to the miner(s). The greater the inflation rate, the larger number of reserve tokens from the reserve pool will be converted to utility tokens, while the value of the digital coins are stabilized. In some embodiments, when the reserve pool is empty, reserve tokens can be taken from the investor pool to be converted to utility tokens. In operation, the system uses the market cap to determine the new token supply and the difference with the current supply is the amount of tokens that need to be converted. This amount then can be calculated as a percentage of the reserve tokens. The reserve tokens can be burned after the conversion so they do not exist anymore, like they were transformed from reserve tokens to utility tokens. By converting reserve tokens to utility tokens and thus reducing the number of utility tokens purchased by developers, the total supply of digital coins will increase and the value of the digital tokens decreases because the market cap will be automatically adjusted, as shown inFIG.5B. The stabilization process may not be a onetime operation but can be performed continuously during a inflation period. This means that as the valuation of one digital coins gets closer to $1, the system will continue to recalculate the amount of reserve tokens that need to be converted to utility tokens and the corresponding percentage for each digital coin transaction. Because it is possible the reserve tokens can be pulled from the investor pool, during inflation periods, investors may not be able to maximize their dividends. Referring toFIG.5A, an example of a stabilization process500is provided. In this example, the initial state of process500includes an initial digital coins supply of 500 million and an initial market cap is equal to the 500 million multiplied by the fixed currency value of $1 USD to equal $500 million USD. During an inflation period the value of the digital coins drops to $1. 05 USD and the current supply is X tokens to have a market cap of $1.0SX. By monitoring the market value, an inflation period can be identified (e.g., by stabilizer18) and an inflation period can be initiated. During this inflation period, stabilizer18will keep the value of digital coins stable by determining what should be the new supply of digital coins (e.g., to adjust the market cap to reflect a digital coin value of $1 USD) (STEP502). If the market cap is assumed to be constant then the new supply will be equal to Y representing the market cap divided by the target value of $1 USD, and thus, Y is equal to $1.0SX divided by $1 or $1.1×. Using the values for the initial state yields Y equals $1.05 multiplied by 500 million to equal 525 million. With the inflated market value Y, the stabilizer18can determine an amount of digital coins to convert to stabilize the value (STEP504). In this case, the conversion of reserve tokens to utility tokens would be equal to Y minus X. Thus, in this example, 525 million minus 500 million resulting in a conversion of 25 million reserve tokens. This amount can be taken as a percentage from the reserve pool, or investor pool if necessary (STEP506). The steps in process500can repeat itself until stabilization of the digital coin value is reached. Referring toFIG.5B,FIG.5Bdepicts an example of the storage of reserve tokens within the investor pool and reserve pool, prior to an adjustment for inflation. In this example, the reserve pool has a total capacity of 20 million tokens and is 80% full with 16 million reserve tokens. The investor pool has a 30 million reserve tokens in a first portion and 10 million reserve tokens in a second portion. Continuing the example inFIG.5A, 25 million reserve tokens will need to be converted into digital coins. As shown inFIG.5B, and as a result of the process400inFIG.5A, 44% (e.g., 25 million) of the reserve tokens are to be converted to utility tokens for the transaction and 100% of the earned utility tokens will be paid out to the miners for contributions (step108). These values will adjust over time as the value of the digital coin are adjusted. Given the distribution of the reserve tokens in the respective pools, all the tokens in the reserve pool will be converted (16 million) together with 9 million reserve tokens taken from the second portion of the investor pool, totaling the required 25 million reserve tokens.FIG.5Cdepicts the status of the reserve tokens in each of the investor pool and the reserve pool after the calculated reserve tokens have been converted to utility tokens during the inflation process500. In particular, the reserve pool is empty and the second portion of the investor pool is left with only 1 million reserve tokens remaining. In this case, the amount of reserve tokens available was enough for the conversion, and therefore the system continued to generate new reserve tokens at the fixed 10% rate. Based on the process500, the amount of digital coins available will increase and thus it is expected that their market cap will be lowered. Referring toFIG.6A, an example of a best-case scenario for an inflation period is provided. In this example, the initial state of process600includes an initial digital coins supply of 500 million and an initial market cap is equal to the 500 million multiplied by the fixed currency value of $1 USD to equal $500 million USD. The current valuation of the digital coins is $1.01 for a conversion amount of reserve tokens equal to 5 million (e.g., $1.01*500 million−$500 million=$5 million). This represents a best case scenario because, as depicted inFIG.6A, there is a full reserve pool (with 20 million reserve tokens) and a large amount of reserve tokens is available in both portions of the investor pool, and the amount of inflation that needs to be corrected is limited (e.g., 5 million or 8.3% of reserve tokens to be converted). The reserve pool is full with a total of 20,000,000 tokens that are sufficient to provide the 5,000,000 tokens required to stabilize value of the digital coins. Thus, in this case, the investor pool will not be touched. It should be noticed that after the conversion the reserve pool will not be completely full. Therefore, the newly generated reserve tokens will be stored there at the standard 10% rate.FIG.6Bshows the distribution of the reserve tokens in the reserve pool after the conversion fromFIG.6A. Referring toFIG.7, an example of a worst-case scenario for an inflation period is provided. In this example, the initial state of process700includes an initial digital coins supply of 500 million and an initial market cap is equal to the 500 million multiplied by the fixed currency value of $1 USD to equal $500 million USD. The current valuation of the digital coins is $1.04 for a conversion amount of reserve tokens equal to 20 million (e.g., $1.04*500 million−$500 million=$20 million). This can be considered a worst case scenario because the reserve pool is empty, the investor pool contains a limited amount of tokens and the total amount of reserve tokens is not sufficient to offset the inflated value of digital coins (e.g., 20 million reserve tokens, corresponding to 133% of the reserve tokens) as provided by the present invention. More specifically, based on the total amount of reserve tokens inFIG.7(e.g., 15 million) there is not enough reserve tokens in storage to stabilize the value of the digital coins. In this case, the system can convert the 15 million available reserve tokens available into utility tokens to reduce the inflation amount and then, as new digital coins transactions are generated, new reserve tokens are minted and immediately converted back into utility tokens to continue reducing the inflation. In some embodiments, when there are insufficient reserve tokens to adjust inflation, the stabilizer18will need to calculate the new rate at which the reserve tokens should be minted to make the system stable again in a short interval. For example, the process can be analyzed through an example where 5 million new reserve tokens need to be converted. Assuming that there are 10 digital coins transactions per second (tps) that move on average, totally a total of 1 thousand digital coins per second and that if it is preferred to stabilize the digital coin value in approximately 50 seconds. Based on these values, the stabilizer18will calculate how many reserve tokens need to be minted for every digital coin transaction. To generate the 5 million remaining reserve tokens in 50 seconds, it would be necessary to generate 100 thousand reserve tokens per second. Thus, each digital coin transaction needs to generate 10 thousand reserve tokens (e.g., 100,000/10). It should be noted that this example is an extreme case because it assumes that the token value changes abruptly from $1 to $1.04 and thus the system needs to convert a big number of reserve tokens. In reality it is expected that the inflation value will change gradually over time such that such an abrupt adjustment would not be necessary. Moreover, as soon as a change is sensed system200will implement its procedure to stabilize the token thus requiring a smaller amount of reserve tokens. In in instances when reserve tokens are taken from the investor pool, the earnings of the investors will be impacted. To make this unlikely to happen it is important to determine the correct size for the reserve pool. If the reserve pool is too small then tokens in the investor pool may need to be used too often and thus dividends could be impacted. On the other hand, if the reserve pool is too big, it may never be full or it could take a long time before it is full and this would impact negatively the dividends as well because only few tokens would be stored in the investor pool. A simulation has been used to determine the optimal size of the reserve pool. The results showed that having a reserve pool with size 5 thousand tokens allows the stabilizer18to balance values for the digital coins effectively, even when the investor pool is empty. At the same time, the simulation showed that the reserve pool fills quickly during the early stages of process200and then remains mostly full which implies that the impact on the investors' payout is minimal, as discussed in greater detail in the example simulation section. In general, inflation periods should be very short because as soon as the stabilizer18senses that the value of a digital coin is not equal to $1 USD, it will start the process described above to stabilize the digital coin value. No actor participating in the process200would benefit from a long inflation period. The investors could receive smaller dividends and while miners14would continue to be paid with 100% of the transactions, if the inflation continues it would be necessary to continue to convert reserve tokens into utility tokens and their amount may not be sufficient considering the reserve tokens that are minted at every digital coins transaction and less developers would use system200. That is because a higher digital coin price implies a higher barrier for developers to buy new digital coins. Moreover, the prices set by miners would increase as well because of the fear that the value of digital coins may decrease quite abruptly. This in turn, would lower the number of transactions and thus the earning of miners. Therefore, even in this case, no entity has an interest in staying in an inflation period. The ability to effectively stabilize the value of digital coins depends also on their demand. In fact, to correct a deflation period it is necessary to have some digital coins transaction where a part of the utility tokens can be converted into reserve tokens. This may be necessary even during an inflation period if the amount of reserve tokens to convert into utility tokens is not enough. Therefore, the higher the demand of digital coins the higher the number of transactions. Events that can influence the demand are i) prices applied by miners, ii) usage by developers: demand will be high as long as developers will pay less to use system200than the alternatives (e.g., cloud platforms and CDNs) while having the same performance, iii) performance of the network and/or service: quality of service from developers to end users will increase or decrease the demand, and iv) popularity of the network: more new end users, developers, and miners participating in the system200will increase the number of transactions. All these factors together will contribute to increase demand and cause the value of digital coins stabilize, which in turn will guarantee a predictable income for miners and a predictable expense for developers. In some embodiments, investors can be allowed to buy and trade security tokens associated with the digital coins. Security tokens can be minted in a fixed amount, each of them represents a share and they can be traded in exchanges. Security token holders, or investors, investing in security tokens may not have an effect on the stabilization of the utility token, instead, security token holders can receive dividend payouts as a passive participant within the stabilization system. For example, security tokens can provide investors the right to receive a quarterly dividend. The dividends will be divided proportionally to the amount of security tokens or shares owned by each investor. The amount of dividends generated by process200depends on the number of digital coins transactions performed over a given period of time. As discussed herein, each digital coin transaction generates a certain amount of reserve tokens that can be stored in the investor pool, after the reserve pool is full. As discussed previously, the investor pool can store reserve tokens in two predetermined periods (e.g., fiscal quarters) and at the end of each predetermined period, the reserve tokens of the previous predetermined period can be paid out while still guaranteeing a reserve token supply in case of an extreme inflation period. As would be appreciated by one skilled in the art, during the initial startup of the process200, the first-time investors will need to wait two predetermined periods to receive their dividends, while after that they will be paid at every predetermined period. The pay out to investors consists in converting reserve tokens into Ethereum or fiat money. The reserve tokens converted in this way will be burnt and removed from the calculation of the market cap. EXAMPLE—SIMULATOR A simulation of the processes of the present invention and simulation results are provided herein. The simulation and results are provided for exemplary purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. The discussion provided herein relates to the stabilization of the value of digital coins has been evaluated through a computer simulation. The focus was on proving that this design effectively pegs one digital coins to $1 USD and it is able to respond efficiently to inflation and deflation periods. Investors have been considered as well by simulating quarterly payout to security token holders. The simulator has been created by modifying BazaarBot an existing actor-based free market simulator engine. Its purpose is to simulate an economy where multiple actor can trade goods. Then, based on the demand and supply of each good, their change in price is simulated. Moreover, the profits of every actor are simulated as well. BazaarBot proved to be a very good starting point because it allowed us to simulate the change in price of digital coins. The main changes to the existing simulator consisted of creating new actor, developing the logic that they had to follow to trade digital coins and modifying the system of beliefs that each actor has. The simulation consists of multiple rounds. In each round, a certain number of developers are delivering some video streams through some miners elected randomly to some end users. Each round represents a day with 30 days representing a month. The results obtained in a round become the starting conditions for the next round. This makes it possible to simulate the behavior of the system over a period of months or years. Moreover, every quarter or three months the reserve tokens in the investor pool are paid out to simulate the earnings of the security token holders. Developers are the entities that buy digital coins from the market and transfer them to the miners that are delivering their video streams. Developers start with a certain amount of USD and digital coins in their accounts so they are ready to both stream and buy digital coins. The number of developers changes at each round of the simulation based on the starting conditions of the system. Those conditions specify the number of monthly developers and their average number of video streams and viewers. The simulation is run for each day in a month, and therefore the daily number of developers is equal to the number of monthly developers divided by the number of days in a month, which for simplicity is assumed to always be 30. Then, for each day, each of these developers will pay to the miners an amount of digital coins (e.g., utility tokens) equal to the one required to deliver a number of video streams to a number of users specified in the starting conditions. Each video stream is assumed to be a 1 Mbs video and last one hour. When the system is stable or under an inflation period an amount of reserve tokens equal to the amount of digital coins transacted is generated and put inside the reserve pool if not full, otherwise it is moved to the investor pool. On the other hand, during a deflation period the reserve tokens are generated as before, but in this case 10% of the digital coins transacted are removed from the market to help lower their price. When developers buy digital coins from the market they are spending some USD from their account. To simulate the profit of the developers it is necessary to simulate the earnings that are generated by the fact that some people are viewing their video streams. This source of revenue could come from advertisement, a subscription service, or a pay per view monetization strategy, and so on. These earnings are simulated as follows: A random number n is drawn from the interval [−25,75] The bank account of the developer is increased by an amount: a=($1+n/100)*red5coins_sent_to_miners In this way, based on the random value n, the developer will either have an earning or a loss. Miners are the actors that deliver the video streams. As such, they receive utility tokens from the developers in exchange for providing computational resources to the developer. Miners can try to sell them on the market to earn USD. The number of miners in the simulation has been fixed to 3000. Similarly, for the developers, the profits of the miners are simulated as well. This implies that the simulation needs to predict the expenses that the miners experience when delivering a certain number of streams to a certain number of users. These predictions have been calculated by using Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a starting point. The AWS calculator has been used to calculate the cost of delivering a video stream with bandwidth 1 Mbs for one hour using a C5.large EC2 instance. The price turned out to be p=$0.33. Given that this is the price applied by AWS to consumers it is expected that miners will have a lower expense than that to deliver the video stream. The actual number will depend on their infrastructure and scale. The price p is configurable in the simulation and different values have been used to see the outcomes. The value is used by developers to determine how many tokens they need to send to the miners. The process works as follows: The price p is used to determine the actual expenses of the miner given how many streams and users it is serving A random number n is drawn from the interval [10,30] The miner receives an amount of tokens equal to: a=miner_expenses*($1+n/100)/current_red5coin_price In this way, miners are always trying to maintain a profit between 10-30%. Then, the actual profit will be determined when the miners will sell their tokens on the market. The main role of the bank actor (or stabilizer) is to keep the value of digital coins equal to $1 USD. The bank does that by calculating the new supply of digital coins that needs to be put into the market to lower or increase the value of digital coins. The supply is dictated by the miners and the bank. The demand on the other hand is dictated by the developers. At each round of the simulation the bank knows the current value and supply of digital coins and the amount of digital coins that the bank offered in the previous round. In this way, the bank can calculate the new supply as well as the amount of digital coins that were offered by miners in the previous round. By assuming that such an amount will not change, the bank is able to calculate how many tokens it needs to offer. During an inflation period the bank will convert reserve tokens into utility tokens, and thus it will always make a sell offer. On the other hand, during a deflation period the bank may need to offer no tokens to lower their supply and increase the digital coins value. In fact, if miners are creating a supply of 500 tokens, and the bank calculates that the overall new supply needs to be 400 tokens, then the bank will not offer any utility tokens as the miners are already offering more than required. In the last situation depicted, the bank will also try to buy existing digital coins from the market in order to lower their supply. This corresponds to the digital coins smart contract fulfilling sell requests in the real system documented earlier. In operation, the original simulation uses a system of beliefs to let actor choose how much they want to offer or pay for digital coins. These beliefs reflect how much an actor thinks a digital coins is valued. When an actor wants to sell digital coins, it needs to create an offer for a certain amount of digital coins for a certain price that depends on its beliefs. Similarly, an actor that wants to purchase makes a buy offer. The sell and buy offers are then matched by the simulator and the clearing price is used to update the beliefs of the two actors. This system of beliefs was slightly modified. As previously discussed, every actor in the system has an interest in making digital coins have a stable value as that maximizes everyone's returns. This suggests that actor will try to sell and buy digital coins by using a value of $1 USD because they believe that that is its correct value. Therefore, they will have a belief that $1 USD is the correct digital coins value. To reflect this observation into the simulation the beliefs are updated as follows: i) If the offer created by actor is matched to another actor's offer then the beliefs of those actor are set to $1 USD and ii) If the offer is not matched then the beliefs are calculated as in the original simulation, and thus may be higher or lower than $1 USD This asymmetric approach has been chosen to keep some randomness in the belief system and to see whether the system is stable even though not every actor believes the value of digital coins will become $1 USD again. Simulation Results In this section the results of the simulation are reported. The following sections will explain the data that has been used as input and report the results obtained by running the simulator under different scenarios. The input data has been generated to cover a period of about three years. In particular, the data points simulate a growth in the number of developers and viewers of the video streams in order to evaluate the response of the system. The chart inFIG.8shows the number of monthly developers that has been used in the simulation. Considering that a round of the simulation is run for every day of a month, then the number of daily developers in a certain month is equal to the monthly developers divided by thirty. The number of miners has been fixed to 3000, and the number of banks is set to one. FIG.9shows the prediction for the number of viewers that each developer will have in their video streams. It should be noted that this prediction shows a decreasing value because the growth rate of developers and viewers per stream is different. In other words, the number of developers is expected to grow much more than the number of viewers in each stream. Therefore, the ratio between the overall number of video stream viewers and the number of developers will decrease. These predicted values are used in the simulation to determine how many people are watching a video stream for each developer, and consequently how much money a developer needs to pay miners. The simulator also accepts a starting value for the number of tokens in the reserve pool and a maximum size of it. The initial reserve pool tokens are needed to allow the system to stabilize digital coins in the initial stage. In fact, in the first round of the simulation the system has no idea about what the demand and supply of digital coins will be, and thus the digital coins price will not be stable right away, It will need some iterations in order to stabalize. The maximum size of the reserve pool represents how many tokens it can hold, and it impacts the time when the investor pool will be able to start to fill up. Both these values have been set to 5,000 tokens. The next input is the stream price per miner. This price represents how much a miner needs to spend to deliver a single video stream, which is assumed to have bandwidth of 1 Mbs and be running for a length of one hour. An upper bound for this price has been calculated with AWS and it turned out to be $0.33. This price influences how much money the miners will ask of the developers to deliver the video stream. The last input conditions are related to the actor. Each of them needs to start with a certain amount of money and digital coins in their accounts: i) Developers: They have been configured to have $10,000 in their account and 1,000 digital coins. Moreover, they are pushed to buy more digital coins as long as they have some money in their account and have less than 3,000 digital coins, ii) Miners: They have been configured to have $10,000 in their account and 0 digital coins. As soon as they earn digital coins they will try to sell it on the market to earn USD, and iii) Bank: It has been configured to have $1,000,000 in its account to be able to buy tokens from the market if needed. Moreover, the bank is configured with 5,000,000 digital coins representing the maximum supply of tokens in the system. The simulation was run with 5,000,000 to make it faster. It should be noted, that the results are the same even as the number of digital coins increases. For example, the bank can be configured with 500,000,000 tokens and should yield similar results as the simulation involving 5,000,000 tokens. That is because, a higher number of tokens only allows the bank to sell to more developers. On the other hand, the stabilization of digital coins is not impacted because it's efficacy depends mostly on the size of the reserve pool. Two different simulations have been run to show the effects of the reserve tokens in the stabilization of digital coins. The results of the first simulations can be seen inFIG.10. These results show the effects of not having any mechanism to stabilize the price of digital coins. That is, reserve tokens were ignored. It can be noticed that in the initial months the price of digital coins is somewhat constant but with considerable variations. After one year and a half the price starts to increase super exponentially until reaching a limit. FIG.11shows the results obtained when the reserve tokens were used to stabilize the price of digital coins. It can be seen that besides some limited spikes most of the time the value of digital coins is very stable around 1 USD ±5%. The initial spikes are due to the fact that the simulation needs some rounds to stabilize the token. That's because as soon as the system is started, the bank does not know how much the demand and supply will be. Moreover, the demand changes considerably in the first iterations as more developers spend tokens and try to buy new ones. This causes, digital coins to have their price change considerably. During this period, the bank is using the initial reserve tokens to limit these spikes as much as possible and regulate the price of digital coins. A prefilled reserve pool with a capacity of 5,000 tokens is able to contain the initial spike and stabilize digital coins in about 15 rounds which represent 15 days. The second biggest spike is contained in about 15 rounds as well. After that, once the token has been stabilized it never experiences a change above ±5%. In the simulation, an inflation period was triggered, followed by a deflation one two times in a row and evaluate the response of the system. The results are shown inFIG.12. The simulation consisted in starting the network with a small number of developers and video streams in order to allow the system to reach stability. After that, the number of daily developers was increased suddenly as well as the number of video streams. This created a big demand for digital coins, that given their limited supply, generated a spike in their price and thus triggered an inflation period. After that the number of developers was kept constant to see how long it would take for the system to stabilize. From the chart it can be seen that the highest value reached by digital coins is $2 and after that it returns back to $1 in about 5 rounds of the simulation. Therefore, the system responds quickly and it is able to stabilize digital coins. These results coupled with the fast response suggest that an inflation period is unlikely to reduce the demand of developers and make the network less popular. The opposite was tested as well. To do so, the number of developers was decreased abruptly. This creates an oversupply situation that devalues digital coins. During the deflation period the number of developers was still kept low to see whether a limited number of transactions would limit the ability of the system to stabilize again. The results show that that is not the case. Contrary to the previous situation the system is slower in stabilizing but this slowness is compensated by the fact that the minimum value reached by digital coins is $0.87. These results suggest that even during a deflation period when the number of transactions in the system may be limited, the system is still able to stabilize while avoiding having digital coins lose all of its value. At the same time, the limited devaluation suggests that developers and miners are likely to continue to use the system as usual, and therefore the network will maintain its popularity. Two different simulations have been run to show how the investor pool is predicted to grow over time. One simulation using a stream price per miner equal to $0.05 while the other simulation used a price of $0.15. The results for the first case are reported inFIG.13. The chart shows how the investor pool grows over time and is emptied at the end of every quarter. It can be noticed that the investor pool is constantly growing at a constant rate. This suggests that the reserve pool is full and that the majority of the time is spent in a stable period. It can be noticed that the lines are not perfectly straight but have some small bumps. That implies that in those moments there must have a been a small inflation period that required the use of some reserve tokens, and thus emptied a part of the reserve pool. Subsequently the reserve tokens that were produced right after that were put in the reserve pool, thus preventing the investor pool from growing at a constant rate. FIG.14shows the results for when the stream price is $0.15. The behavior is similar to the previous case with the only difference that a higher number of reserve tokens in paid out. This happens because even though the starting conditions are the same in both simulations, the amount of tokens paid to the miners is different and depends linearly on the stream price. Therefore, a higher volume of digital coins is transacted in the second simulation. This, in turn, implies a higher mint rate of reserve tokens as well. That is because, during a stable period, each digital coin transaction mints an equal amount of reserve tokens that are inserted into the reserve or investor pool, and this in turn increases the investors' payout. Any suitable computing device can be used to implement the computing devices12,14,16,18, and methods/functionality described herein and be converted to a specific system for performing the operations and features described herein through modification of hardware, software, and firmware, in a manner significantly more than mere execution of software on a generic computing device, as would be appreciated by those of skill in the art. One illustrative example of such a computing device1500is depicted inFIG.15. The computing device1500is merely an illustrative example of a suitable computing environment and in no way limits the scope of the present invention. A “computing device,” as represented byFIG.15, can include a “workstation,” a “server,” a “laptop,” a “desktop,” a “hand-held device,” a “mobile device,” a “tablet computer,” or other computing devices, as would be understood by those of skill in the art. Given that the computing device1500is depicted for illustrative purposes, embodiments of the present invention may utilize any number of computing devices1500in any number of different ways to implement a single embodiment of the present invention. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention are not limited to a single computing device1500, as would be appreciated by one with skill in the art, nor are they limited to a single type of implementation or configuration of the example computing device1500. The computing device1500can include a bus1510that can be coupled to one or more of the following illustrative components, directly or indirectly: a memory1512, one or more processors1514, one or more presentation components1516, input/output ports1518, input/output components1520, and a power supply1524. One of skill in the art will appreciate that the bus1510can include one or more busses, such as an address bus, a data bus, or any combination thereof. One of skill in the art additionally will appreciate that, depending on the intended applications and uses of a particular embodiment, multiple of these components can be implemented by a single device. Similarly, in some instances, a single component can be implemented by multiple devices. As such,FIG.15is merely illustrative of an exemplary computing device that can be used to implement one or more embodiments of the present invention, and in no way limits the invention. The computing device1500can include or interact with a variety of computer-readable media. For example, computer-readable media can include Random Access Memory (RAM); Read Only Memory (ROM); Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM); flash memory or other memory technologies; CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical or holographic media; magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices that can be used to encode information and can be accessed by the computing device1500. The memory1512can include computer-storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory. The memory1512may be removable, non-removable, or any combination thereof. Exemplary hardware devices are devices such as hard drives, solid-state memory, optical-disc drives, and the like. The computing device1500can include one or more processors that read data from components such as the memory1512, the various I/O components1516, etc. Presentation component(s)1516present data indications to a user or other device. Exemplary presentation components include a display device, speaker, printing component, vibrating component, etc. The I/O ports1518can enable the computing device1500to be logically coupled to other devices, such as I/O components1520. Some of the I/O components1520can be built into the computing device1500. Examples of such I/O components1520include a microphone, joystick, recording device, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, printer, wireless device, networking device, and the like. As utilized herein, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” are intended to be construed as being inclusive, not exclusive. As utilized herein, the terms “exemplary”, “example”, and “illustrative”, are intended to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration” and should not be construed as indicating, or not indicating, a preferred or advantageous configuration relative to other configurations. As utilized herein, the terms “about”, “generally”, and “approximately” are intended to cover variations that may existing in the upper and lower limits of the ranges of subjective or objective values, such as variations in properties, parameters, sizes, and dimensions. In one non-limiting example, the terms “about”, “generally”, and “approximately” mean at, or plus 10 percent or less, or minus 10 percent or less. In one non-limiting example, the terms “about”, “generally”, and “approximately” mean sufficiently close to be deemed by one of skill in the art in the relevant field to be included. As utilized herein, the term “substantially” refers to the complete or nearly complete extend or degree of an action, characteristic, property, state, structure, item, or result, as would be appreciated by one of skill in the art. For example, an object that is “substantially” circular would mean that the object is either completely a circle to mathematically determinable limits, or nearly a circle as would be recognized or understood by one of skill in the art. The exact allowable degree of deviation from absolute completeness may in some instances depend on the specific context. However, in general, the nearness of completion will be so as to have the same overall result as if absolute and total completion were achieved or obtained. The use of “substantially” is equally applicable when utilized in a negative connotation to refer to the complete or near complete lack of an action, characteristic, property, state, structure, item, or result, as would be appreciated by one of skill in the art. Numerous modifications and alternative embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode for carrying out the present invention. Details of the structure may vary substantially without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and exclusive use of all modifications that come within the scope of the appended claims is reserved. Within this specification embodiments have been described in a way which enables a clear and concise specification to be written, but it is intended and will be appreciated that embodiments may be variously combined or separated without parting from the invention. It is intended that the present invention be limited only to the extent required by the appended claims and the applicable rules of law. It is also to be understood that the following claims are to cover all generic and specific features of the invention described herein, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween. | 72,548 |
11861572 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Secure electronic payment is disclosed. In an example, secure electronic payment may be implemented to pay for products and/or services using an electronic device such as, but not limited to, a mobile phone, without needing to have a physical credit card or traditional cash on hand. In an example, a user (e.g., a customer) may issue a request for a transaction at a vending device (e.g., a parking meter or vending machine). The request is processed to confirm payment, and a token (e.g., a secure digital certificate such as an electronic data file) is issued to the customer. The customer may then transmit (e.g., wirelessly transmit) the token to the vending device, whereupon the vending device validates the token and negotiates the transaction (e.g., adds time to a parking meter or dispenses products from a vending machine). An example vending device of the secure payment system includes a wireless certificate reader configured to receive a digital certificate or “token” from a mobile computing device. In use, a mobile computing device (e.g., mobile phone) may include an installed application or “app”. When the mobile computing device is activated via the app, it searches for any vending devices in the area which may be operated with the digital payment and vending system. In an example, the app may display a list of such devices (e.g., parking meters in the user's vicinity) which accept payment via the secure payment system. In other examples, the customer may manually identify the vending device (e.g., by entering a device ID in the app). It is noted that the wireless certificate reader does not need to establish a connection to the payment provider or other entity. As such, the vending device does not need to be configured with an expensive to install and maintain modem or other communications system. The wireless certificate reader can instead be a BLUETOOTH™ or other near-field communication protocol for communicating with the mobile computing device in proximity to the vending device. In an example, data to validate the token received at the vending device is stored in the local memory of the vending device before a transaction is initiated at the vending device. As such, no communication connection is required between the digital payment and vending system and the third party payment system. This enables use of the digital payment and vending system without having to provide expensive communication connections in each vending device. The token may be a one-time-use digital certificate. In an example, after the token has been confirmed and the transaction negotiated, the corresponding information stored in the vending device may be “wiped” clean (e.g., the code set to zero or otherwise erased). This helps ensure that the goods and/or services delivered by the vending device have been paid for and that the same digital certificate is not being re-used. In another example, the token may include an expiration, so that a customer cannot purchase tokens in advance to avoid price increases. It is noted that the secure payment system has a wide variety of applications, such as but not limited to parking meters, point of sale transactions, voucher printers, access control (e.g., to a parking garage), vending machines, access control (e.g., to gated communities), and car washes, to name only a few examples. By way of further illustration, the secure payment system may also be implemented for, but is not limited to, the service of authorizing use of a product or access to a location, such as with rental cars (or any other rental, such as bikes, boats, etc.), lodging (e.g., hotel rooms), transportation (e.g., bus, taxi, or train), admission to a ball park or amusement park or museum or other attraction, and any other pay-for-use of goods and/or services. For example, the secure payment system may provide a lock combination or other code to the user so that a cable lock or the like may be unlocked to access a bicycle, scooter, or motorcycle. In an example, a combination code can be provided to a lock box which opens to provide the user with a key (e.g., for a car or house). In another example, the lock may automatically actuate to unlock upon receiving payment confirmation. Still other applications may include, but are not limited to point of sale transactions, vouchers, access control, etc. Still other implementations may also be used to make a donation (e.g., wherein nothing is physically delivered to the end user), such as to take the place of a donation box. Of course, the secure payment system may be implemented with any vending device. The examples described herein are merely illustrative, and other applications will also become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art after becoming familiar with the teachings herein. In an example, the secure payment system may operate with a third-party payment processor to handle payments for the user without the user having to provide any credit card or other form of payment (or personal or other information) to the secure payment system. For example, the user may have already provided payment information (e.g., credit card or bank account information) to the third-party payment processor, who is a trusted payment processor such as the user's bank, credit card issuer, direct carrier billing (e.g., billing to a cell phone account), digital currency, or other payment service, and therefore the user does not have to provide any payment information to the vending device (or anyone associated with the vending device). As such, the secure payment system reduces the occurrence for fraud, while providing the user with convenience of a so-called “cashless” transaction. Likewise, the owner of the vending device receives payment from a trusted third-party payment processor without risk that the payment form (e.g., credit card) is stolen or unauthorized. It is noted that the systems and methods described herein are not limited to any particular type of vending device, mobile device, and/or payment processor. The digital payment and vending system may be used in an attended and/or unattended environment, and may be used to deliver any type and/or quantity of goods and/or services, whether or not those are for actual physical goods. Before continuing, it is noted that as used herein, the terms “includes” and “including” mean, but is not limited to, “includes” or “including” and “includes at least” or “including at least.” The term “based on” means “based on” and “based at least in part on.” The term “vendor” is used herein to refer to a provider of goods and/or services. The vendor may be the owner or operator or otherwise associated with a vending device (or devices). In an example, the vendor is the owner of a business or the business itself which operates the vending device. The vendor may also be an entity, such as a government entity. The vendor may also be a combination of individuals and/or entities. For example, the vendor may be the city government and/or a contractor hired to operate the vending device(s) such as a parking meter (or meters). In another example, the term vendor may refer to one or more of a single contractor which operates parking meters for multiple different cities (and their associated city governments). It is noted that the term “vending device” is used to designate a single device or may include multiple devices operatively associated with each other to carry out the operations disclosed herein. The term “token” as it refers to a type of “digital certificate” (or “electronic information” or “data packet”) is intended to broadly designate data or information provided by the system to a mobile device, which may or may not be further processed by the mobile device, and which is capable of being processed in conjunction with data or information provided at the vending device to verify or otherwise confirm payment. The term “point of sale device” refers to any device (e.g., vending device, parking meter or other parking payment device, laundry machine, to name only a few examples) which accepts or is otherwise operable and/or actuated by payment, wherein the payment is by the secure electronic payment system and methods disclosed herein. Vending Devices. FIG.1is a block diagram of an example secure payment system100. System100may be implemented with any of a wide variety of computing devices. Each of the computing devices may include memory, storage, and a degree of data processing capability at least sufficient to manage a communications connection either directly with one another or indirectly (e.g., via a network). At least one of the computing devices is also configured with sufficient processing capability to execute program code and/or other logic described herein. In an example, the secure payment system100may be implemented by a vendor processor110providing a digital payment and vending service accessed by a user101via a client device120(referred to herein collectively as the “customer”). The client device120may be any suitable computer or computing device (e.g., laptop computer or other mobile device such as a phone or tablet) capable of accessing a third party payment processor130. Of course, the vendor processor110and client device120are not limited to any particular type of devices (e.g., watches and other wearable technology), and may also include other devices that are traditionally not considered to be a part of the mobile environment (e.g., desktop computing devices or terminals). In an example, the secure payment system100may be implemented with one or more communication network105, such as a local area network (LAN) and/or wide area network (WAN) and/or other communications platform such as a mobile communications network. In an example, the network includes the Internet and/or other mobile communications network (e.g., a 3G or 4G mobile device network). In an example, the secure payment system100provides a way for the user101to pay for a product and/or service offered by a vendor at a vending device140, using the user's own mobile device120, via the digital payment service implemented by the vendor processor110, but without having to provide the vending device140(or any other party such as the vendor or vendor processor) with access to payment information maintained by third party payment processor(s)130(e.g., a bank or credit card company). In use, a mobile device120(e.g., a mobile phone) may include an installed application or “app”. When the mobile device120is activated via the app, the mobile device120searches145for any vending devices140in the area which are configured for operation in the environment of the secure payment system100. In an example, the app may display a list of such device(s)140(e.g., parking meters in the user's vicinity) on the mobile device120which accept payment via the payment technique described herein. In an example, the user may issue a request150to the vendor processor110. The request150may include the vending device ID (e.g., a number shown on the vending machine) or other identifying information. The request150may also include other information about the intended purchase (e.g., parking time, product ID) and a payment authorization. For example, the amount of payment may be displayed for the user by the app for the user to accept or approve the item and amount. The user may then select a third party payment processor130(e.g., a bank, credit card, or mobile phone service carrier) from the app. This information may be transmitted in the request150to the vendor processor. The vendor processor110then confirms payment via the third party payment processor130. For example, the vendor processor110may issue a payment authorization to a third-party payment processor130, and receive payment approval from the third-party payment processor. After confirming payment, the vendor processor110may generate a token160aand issue the token160to the user's mobile device120. After receiving the token160a, the user may then complete the transaction at the vending device140. In an example, the vending device140includes a wireless certificate reader configured to receive a token160bfrom the mobile device120. The token160aand160bmay be the same token provided by the vendor processor110, or token160bmay undergo at least some degree of processing at the mobile device120before being issued to the vending device140. The vending device140may then process the token160bto confirm payment by the user101. If payment is confirmed, then the vending device140may negotiate the transaction (e.g., validate parking or dispense an item from the vending device140). As such, the system100provides a way for the user101to pay for a product or service (e.g., parking) offered by a vending device140, using the user's own mobile device120, but without having to provide the vendor with access to payment details maintained by third party payment processor(s)150(e.g., a bank or credit card company). In an example, various operations of the secure payment system100may be implemented at least in part by program code and/or logic circuitry. Program code and/or logic used to implement features of the system can be better understood with reference to the following discussion and corresponding figures of various example functions. To the extent program code is implemented, machine-readable instructions may be stored on a non-transient computer readable medium and are executable by one or more processor to perform the operations described herein. Examples of program code may include an end-user mobile device application (or “app”), payment processing application(s), host application (e.g., for generating the token in response to receiving confirmation of payment), and/or a vendor application (e.g., for validating the token received from the end-user device). Of course, the operations described herein are not limited to any specific implementation with any particular type of program code or logic. It is noted, however, that the secure payment system100is not strictly program code in the traditional sense. That is, the secure payment system100may be implemented at least in part in program code (e.g., for generating the token and for various of the transmission protocols). It is to be understood that the secure payment system100is also implemented by device hardware which goes beyond a mere computing device provided to execute the program code. Example device hardware may include a wireless certificate reader with a communications interface (e.g., to the mobile device). Example device hardware may also include a vending device with associated electronic actuators, locks, motors, conveyors, timers, and/or other electronics operable to deliver goods and/or services in response to input from the wireless certificate reader and/or other processing device confirming payment for the goods and/or services. These and other aspects of the secure payment system100will be described in more detail below such that the device hardware can be readily implemented by one having ordinary skill in the art after becoming familiar with the teachings herein. FIG.2Ais a high-level diagram of a vendor processor200(e.g., vendor processor110inFIG.1) of the secure payment system. The vendor processor200may receive a request205for a transaction (e.g., including a payment amount) at a vending device via a customer module210. In an example, the request205may include information about the vending device (e.g., identifying information for the vending device). The vendor processor200issues a payment authorization215via a remote payment module220to a third-party payment processor. It is noted that the vendor processor does not actually receive any payment or other personal or confidential payment information from the customer. This information remains confidential as between the customer and the third party payment processor (e.g., the customer's bank or credit card processor). The vendor processor200receives payment approval from the third-party payment processor. The vendor processor200includes a token handler230to generate a token225and issues the token225to the customer so that the customer can complete the transaction at the vending device. FIG.2Bis a high-level diagram of a vending device300(e.g., vending device140inFIG.1) of the secure payment system. The vending device300receives a token305from the customer (e.g., the token225issued to the customer by the vendor processor200inFIG.2A) via an interface module310. In an example, vending device300may receive the token305from the customer's mobile device via a BLUETOOTH™ or other near-field communication protocol. A token processing module320at the vending device300compares data value(s) of the token305to data value(s) stored at the vending device300. For example, the vending device may translate the hex value to determine the transaction code and the transaction index, and then compare these to the corresponding device code stored at the associated index location at the vending device. The vending device300confirms that the token is valid at315. If the token is valid, a transaction processing module330at the vending device300may negotiate the transaction325. In an example where the vending device is a parking meter, the transaction processing module330may set (or add) a time duration for the customer to park in a designated parking space. In an example where the vending device is a vending machine, the transaction processing module330may operate the mechanics to dispense the purchased product. Other examples are also contemplated, e.g., wherein the vending device is a point-of-sale device, point-of-entry, or other type of device. It is noted that the term “module” as used herein means electronic devices (e.g., logic circuitry) and/or machine readable instructions (e.g., firmware) specifically configured to carry out the operations described herein. FIG.3illustrates example communication and commands300which may be implemented by the secure payment system. In an example, the commands and data are in arrays of bytes, with values from 0x00 to 0xFF. The number of bytes sent or received through the FIFO handle is 20 or less at a time. All commands to the CTD begin with a 0x40 (@). The next byte in the array is the number of remaining bytes in the command. In an example, the general format of a command is @ N C P P I IT T, where:@=0x40N=Number of bytes to followC=Command code (1 byte)P=Parameters for the command (number of bytes varies with each command)I=Index of the validating token (2 bytes, most significant first)T=validating token (2 bytes, most significant first) It is noted that the value T having 2 bytes can account for about 65,000 unique codes. Of course, other byte values may also be used. For example, a 3 byte code allows for 65 K times 255, or about 16 million unique codes. A 4 byte code allows for about 4 billion unique codes. In an example, the secure payment system uses a custom serial data service for commands. The custom serial data service is represented by a UUID of 0x2456e1b926e28f83e744f34f01e9d701. When the handle for that UUID is found, a “characteristic discover” is performed. This returns two more UUIDs and handles, for example:0x2456e1b926e28f83e744f34f01e9d703 (serial data FIFO characteristic); and0x2456e1b926e28f83e744f34f01e9d704 (serial data Credits characteristic). In an example, the hardware may support flow control which is related to the credits characteristic. The next step is to run a “descriptor discover” on the FIFO characteristic. This returns another handle and a short 0x2902 UUID, which is a Client Characteristic Configuration. A 0x01 (or 0x0100) is written to this handle. This sets up “notification” on the FIFO characteristic. Also, this is the final step in setting up a connection with the secure payment system. This “wakes up” the hardware for the secure payment system and the antenna symbol appears on the LCD. Another example is to set this up for “indication”. Commands and data can now be exchanged with the secure payment system (covered in more detail in the next section). Commands are sent to the secure payment system by writing up to 20 bytes to the FIFO characteristic handle. Data is received back through the same handle with notification. After communication, the connection is disconnected (e.g., an antenna symbol disappears from the LCD), and the secure payment system finishes carrying out any tasks, then goes back to sleep. This minimizes connection time to the CTD device to conserve battery power. To make the process even more secure, the code can be sent from the user's mobile device as a two part message, wherein part one is a gatekeeper command or message including a unique code and informing the vending device that part two is following, and then another unique code is sent as part two as an activating command or message. This technique implements two codes for each transaction. In this example, all replies from the CTD begin with a 0x52. The next byte in the array is the remaining number of bytes in the reply. In an example, the general format of a reply is: R N S, where:R=0x52N=number of bytes to followS=status (0x01 if command was successful or 0x00 if there was an error) Validating tokens may also be implemented with the commands. For example, there may be 65536 index positions (0-65535), with each index containing a token with a value from 1-65535. Once a token is used, it is zeroed to prevent re-use and thus reduce fraud. If an incorrect index/token combination is received, the device responds with a status of 0x00, and not respond to further commands until some time has passed. An example Query Command (not shown) verifies communication. It returns a Status of 0x01. Command: @ N C, where:@=0x40N=0x01, number of bytes to followC=0x01Reply: R N S R=0x52N=0x01, number of bytes to followS=0x01 In the drawings, the following abbreviations are used:@=0x40—Start of the commandN=Number of bytes to followC=Command CodeP=Time (used in Closure & Backlight)I=Index ValueT=Token ValueH=HoursM=MinutesS=SecondsR=Reset (00=No Reset−01=Reset) Command310is an example Contact Closure Command. This command closes the relay contact for the specified length of time. The length of time the contact remain closed is the number of 3.90625 millisecond units ( 1/256 of a second) specified with 2 bytes. For example, to close the contact for 1 second, a value of 0x0100 is used; to close the contact for a half second, a value of 0x0080 is used. A value of less than 0x0034 (200 mS) should not be used for this example. @ N C P P I I T T, where:@=0x40N=0x07, number of bytes to followC=0x02P=length of time for contact closure, MSB first, range 0x0034−0xFFFF I=index of validating token, MSB firstT=validating token, MSB firstReply: R N S R=0x52, where:N=0x01, number of bytes to followS=0x01 if command and token were successful, 0x00 if index/token was not valid or some other error. Command320is an example Add Time Command. The first command (illustrated by row 1) puts a time of 1:30 on a parking meter and then resets to 0. The second command (illustrated by row 2) adds 2:00 without a reset. The Add Time Command adds time to a countdown timer used in such applications as a parking meter. There are three parameters. The first two parameters are hour and minutes. The third parameter is a reset flag. If the reset flag is 0x01, any time already existing on the meter will be cleared. If the reset flag 0x00, the additional time may be added to the existing time and a new total determined. This can be used, for example, if the same customer is identified. @NCH M R I I T T, where:@=0x40N=0x08, number of bytes to followC=0x03H=hoursM=minutesR=reset flag: 0x01 resets any existing time, 0x00 adds to any existing timeI=index of validating token, MSB firstT=validating token, MSB first Reply: R N S R=0x52N=0x01S=0x01 if command and token were successful, 0x00 if index/token was not valid or some other error. An example Time Status Command (not shown) returns the status of whether the countdown timer is zero. Can be used for enforcement. @N C where:@=0x40N=0x01, number of bytes to followC=0x04 Reply: R N S R=0x52N=0x01S=0x01 if time still remains on countdown timer. 0x00 if countdown timer has reached zero. Command330is an example Set Time Command. This command sets the time to 12:44:00 (0C 2C 00). This command sets the current time of day, which is displayed in the upper right of the LCD display. @N C H M S I I T T, where:@=0x40N=0x08, number of bytes to followC=0x05H=hours (0-23)M=minutes (0-59) S=seconds (0-59)I=index of validating token, MSB firstT=validating token, MSB first Reply: R N S R=0x52N=0x01S=0x01 if command and token were successful, 0x00 if index/token was not valid or some other error. An example Set Bluetooth Name Command (not shown) sets the Bluetooth name that is advertised by this device. @ N C AAAA . . . I I T T, where:@=0x40N=number of bytes to followC=0x06A=ASCII characters (8-bit) (up to 13)I=index of validating token, MSB firstT=validating token, MSB first Reply: R N S R=0x52N=0x01S=0x01 if command and token were successful, 0x00 if index/token was not valid or some other error. Command340is an LCD Backlight Command. This command sets the backlight on the parking meter for 1 second (e.g., so that the user can see the parking meter display). The LCD Backlight Command turns on the LCD backlight for the specified length of time. The length of time the backlight remains on is the number of 3.90625 millisecond units ( 1/256 of a second) specified with 2 bytes. For example, to turn on the backlight for 1 second, a value of 0x0100 is used; to turn on the backlight for 30 seconds, a value of 0x1E00 is used. No validating token is used with this command (should be reassessed at a later time). @ N C P P, where:@=0x40N=0x03, number of bytes to followC=0x07P=length of time for backlight to be on, MSB first, range 0x0000-0xFFFF Reply: R N S R=0x52N=0x01, number of bytes to followS=0x01 if command was successful, 0x00 if some other error. FIG.4illustrates an example coding scheme to build a token at a vendor processor.FIG.5illustrates an example coding scheme to validate the token illustrated inFIG.4, and process a transaction at a vending device. The tables400a-binFIG.4and tables500a-binFIG.5illustrate a code sample (the first 20 entries of 65,536 entries are shown). The first column represents an index (1 through the number of entries), and the second column represents the corresponding code for the index entry. The codes shown inFIG.4may be stored at the vendor processor (e.g., vendor processor110shown inFIG.1) and used to generate the token. These same codes (shown inFIG.5) may also be written to the vending device (e.g., vending device140inFIG.1) by “injecting” the codes in hardware stored in or associated with the vending device. Each vending device includes its own set of unique codes in an indexed array, stored in memory internally at the vending device. During set up, the vending device may be read (e.g., for device ID or location number, and a corresponding code). The codes may be compared to a database record stored by the vendor processor. If there is a match, then the vending device has been properly set up, and is ready for use by the customer. During use, the user may open a phone app and select the location or other ID of the vending device. The location or other ID of the vending device may be transmitted by nearby mobile devices (e.g., using Bluetooth or other communications protocol), or the user may manually enter the location or other ID. A request is generated on the user's mobile device, including the location and/or other information (e.g., type of device such as a parking meter, vending machine, access gate, etc.). Additional information may also be included in the request, e.g., based on location type such as time for a parking meter, locker number for a locker, bill amount for bill changing. The user may also select a payment processor (e.g., a bank, credit card processor, PayPal®, etc.) to be included in the request. The user may be prompted to use the last payment processor used or enter a new payment processor. The request is sent to the vendor processor to authorize payment. The payment processor may charge the user's account and return “Approved” or “Declined” to the vendor processor. The digital payment service may notify the user (e.g., if payment was declined). But the vendor processor never receives personal or financial information or credit card information of the user. If the payment is approved, then the vendor processor may build a token for the user to deliver to the vending device. In an example, the token may include a location code, duration or activation code, security code (FIG.4), and optionally an advertisement or other information for the user to view. For example, the vendor processor may select transaction index (e.g., index location 0009) from the index column410and read a corresponding transaction code (e.g., hex 7806 representing decimal 30726) from the code column420, as illustrated by the numbers430inFIG.4. It is noted that any suitable system (e.g., alpha-numeric) may be used, and is not limited to a numbering system. In this example, the numbers are in hexadecimal and added (e.g., as packet440) to the token450. The table400amay be updated as illustrated by arrow460and shown as updated table400b, wherein the code at index location 0009 is set to “0”. The token450may then be issued to the customer as illustrated by block460. The user may then relay the token510including the hexadecimal520to the vending device, as illustrated inFIG.5. The vending device receives the token, and validates the transaction code in the token (FIG.5), for example by reading the token packet520and comparing the index and hex code530with the corresponding index location 0009 of the device index. If the device code at index location 0009 in table500amatches the transaction code in the token510, the vending device may negotiate or process the transaction540by executing a device command (e.g., activate a parking meter, activate an access device, vend a product, change a bill, etc.). The vending device may also update/modify the table500astored at the vending device, as illustrated by arrow550, to indicate that the code has been used (e.g., by setting the code in index 9 to all 0's) as shown by updated table500binFIG.5. As such, the index location 9 cannot be re-used, thereby preventing fraudulent use. In this example, a small 128K file contains 65,536 unique codes. For a parking meter application being used an average of 5 times every day, the original codes are predicted to last about 39 years. For an arcade game being use 20 times a day, the original codes are predicted to last about 9½ years. For a busy access control being accessed 100 times a day, the original codes are predicted to last about 2 years. In the event that the codes need to be changed or updated, a secure update procedure may be implemented to refresh the codes in the field. It should be understood that the systems and techniques described above may be modified within the scope of the disclosure herein, and are not limited to any particular implementation. For example, the example code and indexing illustrated in the figures is illustrative and not limiting. FIG.6is a flow chart illustrating example operations600which may implement a digital payment method. In example operation610, a request for a transaction at a vending device may be received from a customer by a vendor processor. The vendor processor confirms payment for the transaction in operation620, and then issues a token to the customer in operation630. In an example, the token has a transaction index and a corresponding transaction code. In operation640, the token is received from the customer at a vending device. For example, the token may be received from the customer's mobile device via a BLUETOOTH™ or other near-field communication protocol with the vending device. In operation650, the vending device confirms validity of the token, e.g., based on the transaction index and the transaction code. If the token is not valid, operations at the vending device may end with operation652. In another example, the vending device may issue feedback to the user (e.g., to retry by sending a different token). If the token is valid, the vending device may negotiate the transaction at operation654. In an example where the vending device is a parking meter, the vending device may set (or add) a time duration for the customer to park in a designated parking space. In an example where the vending device is a vending machine, the vending device may dispense the purchased product. Other examples are also contemplated wherein the vending device is a point-of-sale device, point-of-entry, or other type of device. FIG.7is a flow chart illustrating example operations700of a vendor processor to implement a digital payment method. In operation710, the vendor processor may receive a request fora transaction at a vending device from a customer. In an example, the request may include information about the vending device (e.g., identifying information for the vending device). In operation720, the vendor processor issues a payment authorization to a third-party payment processor. It is noted that the vendor processor does not actually receive any payment or other personal or confidential payment information from the customer. This information remains confidential as between the customer and the third party payment processor (e.g., the customer's bank or credit card processor). In operation730, the vendor processor receives payment approval from the third-party payment processor. In operation740, the vendor processor generates a token and issues the token to the customer so that the customer can complete the transaction at the vending device. In an example, the token includes a hex value representing the transaction code and the transaction index. FIG.8is a flow chart illustrating example operations800of a vending device to implement a digital payment method. In operation810, the vending device receives a token from the customer (e.g., the token issued to the customer by the vendor processor in operation740). The vending device may receive the token from the customer's mobile device via a BLUETOOTH™ or other near-field communication protocol. In an example, the token includes a hex value representing the transaction code and the transaction index. In operation820, the vending device compares the transaction index and transaction code of the token to a device code stored at corresponding index location at the vending device. For example, the vending device may translate the hex value to determine the transaction code and the transaction index, and then compare these to the corresponding device code stored at the associated index location at the vending device. In operation830, the vending device determines whether the token is valid. If the token is not valid, operations at the vending device may end with operation835. In another example, the vending device may issue feedback to the user (e.g., to retry by sending a different token). If the token is valid, the vending device may negotiate the transaction at operation840. In an example where the vending device is a parking meter, the vending device may set (or add) a time duration for the customer to park in a designated parking space. In an example where the vending device is a vending machine, the vending device may dispense the purchased product. Other examples are also contemplated wherein the vending device is a point-of-sale device, point-of-entry, or other type of device. In operation850, the vending device clears the device code stored at the index location so that the token cannot be reused. Example operations shown inFIGS.6-8are illustrative and not intended to be limiting. The ordering of operations is not limited to the ordering shown in the drawings. Still other operations are also contemplated, as will become readily apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art after becoming familiar with the teachings herein. Parking Facility. Secure electronic payment is also disclosed as it may be implemented for a parking facility. In an example, the secure electronic payment may be implemented to pay for use of a parking facility (e.g., multi-space parking lot(s) or garage(s) and/or valet using the lot(s) or garage(s)). Payment is handled on-site by an electronic device such as, but not limited to, a mobile phone, without needing to have a physical credit card or traditional cash on hand. In an example, a user (e.g., a customer) may issue a request for a transaction for a parking facility. The request is processed to confirm payment, and a token (e.g., a secure digital certificate such as an electronic data file) is issued to the customer. The customer may then transmit (e.g., wirelessly transmit) the token to a token handler for a parking facility. In an example, the token handler is provided on (or as an integral part of) a parking area access control device (e.g., a gate). In an example, the token handler may be utilized by a valet service, i.e., a service that parks vehicles for multiple customers. The token handler validates the token and negotiates the transaction, for example, by actuating operation of a gate or other parking area access control device to enable entry and/or exit of a vehicle from a designated parking area. An example token handler includes a wireless certificate reader configured to receive a digital certificate or “token” from a mobile computing device. In use, a mobile computing device (e.g., mobile phone) may include an installed application or “app”. When the mobile computing device is activated via the app, it searches for any token handlers in the area (e.g., a parking facility) which may be operated with the digital payment system. In an example, the app may display a list of token handlers in the user's vicinity which accept payment via the secure payment system. In other examples, the customer may manually identify the token handler (e.g., by entering an ID for a parking facility in the app). In an example, where a parking facility with a valet or parking attendant implements the secure payment system, the user can pay securely without having to pay the individual valet or parking attendant. In addition, the owner or operator of the parking facility can retrieve space usage and availability reports, thereby enabling the owner to better understand customer needs and parking patterns. It is noted that the wireless certificate reader does not need to establish a connection to the payment provider or other entity. As such, the token handler does not need to be configured with an expensive to install and maintain modem or other communications system. The wireless certificate reader can instead be a BLUETOOTH™ or other near-field communication protocol for communicating with the mobile computing device in proximity to the token handler. In addition, the parking facility does not need to be in an area having mobile phone/data service. For example, the user may request a token at their home, and then use that token at a parking facility that is out of a service area by providing it to the token handler for the parking facility via the BLUETOOTH™ or other near-field communication protocol. In an example, data to validate the token received at the token handler is stored in the local memory of the token handler before a transaction is initiated at the token handler. As such, no communication connection is required between the digital payment system and the third party payment system. This enables use of the digital payment system without having to provide expensive communication connections by the parking facility. The token may be a one-time-use digital certificate. In an example, after the token has been confirmed and the transaction negotiated (i.e., the gate has been actuated), the corresponding information stored in the token handler may be “wiped” clean (e.g., the code set to zero or otherwise erased). This helps ensure that the goods and/or services delivered by the token handler have been paid for and that the same digital certificate is not being re-used. In another example, the token may include an expiration tag, so that a customer cannot purchase tokens in advance to avoid price increases. In an example, the secure payment system may operate with a third-party payment processor to handle payments for the user without the user having to provide any credit card or other form of payment (or personal or other information) at the parking facility. For example, the user may have already provided payment information (e.g., credit card or bank account information) to the third-party payment processor, who is a trusted payment processor such as the user's bank, credit card issuer, direct carrier billing (e.g., billing to a cell phone account), digital currency, or other payment service, and therefore the user does not have to provide any payment information to the token handler or the token provider. As such, the secure payment system reduces the opportunity for fraud, while providing the user with the convenience of a so-called “cashless” transaction. Likewise, the owner of the parking facility receives payment from a trusted third-party payment processor without risk that the payment form (e.g., credit card) is stolen or unauthorized. The secure payment system may support simple linear and/or complex dynamic rate structures. For example, the user may park prior to parking regulations starting, and have the unit only charge after the regulations go into effect. Example regulations may include higher prices during peak hours (e.g., congestion pricing). The secure payment system may be implemented at parking facilities to accept a variable rate structure. For example, parking rates can change for special events. In an example, the secure payment system can be pre-programmed or programmed on the fly for these types of changes to the rate that is charged. In addition, discounts may be offered (e.g., a coupon could be applied via the app). Indeed, even free parking may be offered. The secure payment system also enables parking facilities to designate all or portions of a parking area (e.g., designated for reserved parking, VIP parking, event parking, time-limited zones, etc.). Likewise, all or a portion of a parking area may be designated for permit parking, residential parking, airport or other area-specific parking (e.g., beach parking, street parking). The secure payment system also enables the user to extend parking without having to go back to the lot or parking attendant. The time left is shown on the user's mobile phone. A warning message may be delivered to the user alerting the user that their paid for time is ending. It is noted that the systems and methods described herein are not limited to any particular type of parking facility, mobile device, and/or payment processor. The digital payment system may be used in an attended and/or unattended environment, and may be used to enable operation of any type of parking facility. FIG.9Ais an illustration of an example secure payment system900as it may be implemented for a parking facility.FIG.9Bis a block diagram of an example secure payment system900. System900may be implemented with any of a wide variety of computing devices. Each of the computing devices may include memory, storage, and a degree of data processing capability at least sufficient to manage a communications connection either directly with one another or indirectly (e.g., via a network). At least one of the computing devices is also configured with sufficient processing capability to execute program code and/or other logic described herein. In an example, the secure payment system900may be implemented by a token provider910providing a digital payment service accessed by a user901via a client device902. The user may be a customer (e.g., the owner of the vehicle to be parked), or a valet (e.g., a person authorized to park a vehicle). The client device902may be any suitable computer or computing device (e.g., laptop computer or other mobile device such as a phone or tablet) capable of accessing a third party payment processor930. Of course, the token provider910and client device902are not limited to any particular type of devices (e.g., watches and other wearable technology), and may also include other devices that are traditionally not considered to be a part of the mobile environment (e.g., desktop computing devices or terminals). In an example, the secure payment system900may be implemented with one or more communication network905, such as a local area network (LAN) and/or wide area network (WAN) and/or other communications platform such as a mobile communications network. In an example, the network includes the Internet and/or other mobile communications network (e.g., a 3G or 4G mobile device network). In an example, the secure payment system900provides a way for the user901to pay to park at a parking facility940a-d(referred to generally herein as parking facility940), using the user's own mobile device902, via the digital payment service implemented by the token provider910, but without having to provide payment at the parking facility940because access to payment information is maintained by third party payment processor(s)930(e.g., a bank or credit card company). In use, a mobile device902(e.g., a mobile phone) may include an installed application or “app”. When the mobile device902is activated via the app, the mobile device902searches945for any parking facilities940in the area which are configured for operation in the environment of the secure payment system900. In an example, the parking facility940may broadcast903its presence. The mobile device902within range of the broadcast enables the app to display a list on the mobile device902of parking facilities in the user's vicinity which are configured to accept payment via the payment technique described herein. In another example, the identity of parking facilities940may be pre-stored in a database accessed by the app via the Internet. In an example, the user may issue a request950to the token provider910. The request950may include the parking facility ID (e.g., a number shown at or near the parking facility) or other identifying information. The request950may also include other information about the intended purchase (e.g., parking facility location and time of use) and a payment authorization. For example, the amount of payment may be displayed for the user by the app for the user to accept or approve the item and amount. The user may then select a third party payment processor930(e.g., a bank, credit card, or mobile phone service carrier) from the app. This information may be transmitted in the request950to the token provider. The token provider910then confirms payment via the third party payment processor930. For example, the token provider910may issue a payment authorization to a third-party payment processor930, and receive payment approval from the third-party payment processor. After confirming payment, the token provider910may generate a token960aand issue the token960to the user's mobile device902. After receiving the token960a, the user may then complete the transaction by the token handler920for the selected parking facility940. In an example, the parking facility940is configured with a token handler920operatively associated with a control board921for the parking facility940(e.g., configured to select a parking space and/or time to park at the parking facility940). The token handler920may have a wireless certificate reader configured to receive a token960bfrom the mobile device902. The token960aand960bmay be the same token provided by the token provider910, or token960bmay undergo at least some degree of processing at the mobile device902before being issued to the token handler920for the parking facility940. The token handler920at the parking facility940may then process the token960bto confirm payment by the user901. If payment is confirmed, then the token handler920for the parking facility940may negotiate the transaction (e.g., opening a gate to enable access to a parking area). As such, the system900provides a way for the user901to pay for use of the parking facility, using the user's own mobile device902, but without having to provide direct access to payment details because those are maintained by third party payment processor(s)950(e.g., a bank or credit card company). In an example, various operations of the secure payment system900may be implemented at least in part by program code and/or logic circuitry. Program code and/or logic used to implement features of the system can be better understood with reference to the following discussion and various example functions. To the extent program code is implemented, machine-readable instructions may be stored on a non-transient computer readable medium and are executable by one or more processor to perform the operations described herein. Examples of program code may include an end-user mobile device application (or “app”), payment processing application(s), host application (e.g., for generating the token in response to receiving confirmation of payment), and/or a token handling application (e.g., for validating the token received from the end-user device). Of course, the operations described herein are not limited to any specific implementation with any particular type of program code or logic. It is noted, however, that the secure payment system900is not strictly data handling or program code for manipulating data in the traditional sense. That is, the secure payment system900may be implemented at least in part in program code (e.g., for generating the token and for various of the transmission protocols). It is to be understood that the secure payment system900is also implemented by device hardware which goes beyond a mere computing device provided to execute the program code. Example device hardware may include a wireless certificate reader with a communications interface (e.g., to the mobile device). Example device hardware may also include electronic actuators and/or motors to operate a gate or other access control device, timers, and/or other electronics operable in response to input from the wireless certificate reader and/or other processing device confirming payment. FIGS.9C-Dshow an example parking facility payment device970, wherein C) is a front view and D) is a side view. The parking facility payment device970may be implemented by the parking facility940inFIGS.9A and9B. In an example, the parking facility payment device970includes a display972showing parking spaces974a-ffor the parking facility940, and the status of those spaces. The display972may show the parking space number. The display972may also display a payment indicator such as “PAID”. The display972may be suitably mounted, such as on a post975, wall, etc. As shown inFIG.9D, each space on the display972may include an output device976to illuminate the payment status (e.g., “PAID”). The output device976may be operatively associated with the token handler920and control board921to receive remote payment, as explained above with reference toFIGS.9A and9B. It is noted, however, that the example parking facility payment device970shown inFIGS.9C-9Dis merely illustrative and not limiting. For example, the parking facility payment device need not be implemented as a sign, and may instead be configured as a desktop board or display on a tablet (e.g., for a valet). In addition, the parking facility payment device970may be operatively associated with a gate or other parking area access device to operate (e.g., open and close) the gate in response to payment for the parking space. In another example, the parking facility payment device970may be stand-alone. That is, the parking facility payment device970may be a display only, allowing the parking area owner to see which parking spaces have been paid for, and which parking spaces have not been paid for (and to evict or ticket a vehicle that is occupying an unpaid space). These and other aspects of the secure payment system900will be described in more detail below such that the device hardware can be readily implemented by one having ordinary skill in the art after becoming familiar with the teachings herein. FIG.10Ais a high-level diagram of a token provider1000(e.g., token provider910inFIG.9B) of the secure payment system. The token provider1000may receive a request1005for a transaction (e.g., including a payment amount) at a token handler920for the parking facility via a customer module1010. In an example, the request1005may include information about the parking facility (e.g., identifying information). The token provider1000issues a payment authorization1015via a remote payment module1020to a third-party payment processor. It is noted that the token provider1000does not actually receive any payment or other personal or confidential payment information from the customer. This information remains confidential as between the customer and the third party payment processor (e.g., the customer's bank or credit card processor). The token provider1000receives payment approval from the third-party payment processor. The token provider1000includes a token generator1030to generate a token1025and issues the token1025to the customer so that the customer can complete the transaction at the token handler device configured for the parking facility. FIG.10Bis a diagram of a token handler device1050of the secure payment system for a parking facility (e.g., token handler920inFIGS.9A and9B). For example, the parking facility940may be implementing the parking facility payment device970shown inFIGS.9C and9D. FIG.10Billustrates an example where a payment device for the parking facility940has an existing payment or authorization interface941(e.g., coin-operated, bill-operated, or card reader), and is retrofitted with the token handler device1050disclosed herein. In an example, retrofitting the token handler device1050may enable operation by either the existing authorization interface941and/or via the token handler device1050. For example, the token handler1050may be wired between the existing authorization interface941and the control electronics1090. In an example, the token handler1050is connected between the authorization interface941and the control electronics1090without having to cut the existing wiring, e.g., by a coupler that splices through the wire insulation to make an electrical connection with the wiring by press-fit without having to cut the wires. It is noted, however, that the payment device for the parking facility940does not need to be retrofitted with the token handler device1050, and the payment device for the parking facility940can also be configured from the start with the token handler device1050. In an example, the existing authorization interface941generates an electrical signal942or pulse in response to receiving coins or other authorization (e.g., a bill acceptor or card reader). For example, each quarter may generate an electrical pulse thereby indicating a total dollar amount at the control electronics1090. For example, each time a user inserts a quarter, an electrical pulse is issued to the control electronics and the total dollar amount entered is displayed for the user (e.g., $0.25, $0.50, etc.) until the dollar amount is displayed for the desired function. In an example, the token handler1050is configured to generate an electrical pulse for each token received by the token handler, or multiple electrical pulses for the total dollar value of the token. For example, the token handler1050may generate individual electrical pulses for each $0.25 token received. Or if a token is received having a value of $1.25, the token handler1050may generate five electrical pulses to inform the control electronics1090of the dollar value received. Parking can then be authorized similarly to the user inserting coins in the existing authorization interface941, for example, by operating a gate or other access control device, or simply displaying “PAID”. FIG.10Cis another diagram of a token handler device1050of the secure payment system for a laundry machine (e.g., token handler920for the laundry machine940inFIGS.9A and9B). Although shown as separate entities inFIG.10C, as already noted above the token handler1050may be mounted in or otherwise provided at an access control gate; or the token handler1050may be provided at physically remote location such as a sign (see, e.g.,FIGS.9C and9D) indicating a payment status for a parking space. In an example operation, the token handler device1050receives a token1051from the customer (e.g., the token1025issued to the customer by the token provider1000inFIG.10A) via an interface module1060. The token handler device1050may receive the token1051from the customer's mobile device via a BLUETOOTH™ or other near-field communication protocol. A token processing module1070compares data value(s) of the token to data value(s) stored at the token handler device1050. For example, the token processing module1070may translate the hex value to determine the transaction code and the transaction index, and then compare these to the corresponding device code stored at the associated index location. The token handler device1050confirms that the token is valid at1052. If the token is valid, a transaction processing module1080may negotiate the transaction1053to enable parking. In an example, the transaction processing module1080may actuate control electronics1090of a gate or other access control device, for example by issuing a signal to the control electronics1090. The control electronics1090may include a computer board on the gate or other access control device, which in turn actuates the motor to open and close the gate. Or the control electronics990may actuate an interface or display (see, e.g.,FIGS.9C and9D), a timer (e.g., as a parking meter), etc. Even a door may be actuated, permitting a valet to enter a garage to retrieve a parked vehicle. Other components and/or functions can also be controlled by actuating via the token handler device1050. It is noted that the term “module” as used herein means electronic devices (e.g., logic circuitry) and/or machine readable instructions (e.g., firmware) specifically configured to carry out the operations described herein. FIG.11illustrates example communication and commands1100which may be implemented by the secure payment system. First, a communications connection may be established. According to the BLUETOOTH™ protocol (e.g., BLUETOOTH™ LE or “BLE,” BLUETOOTH™ 4.0, and BLUETOOTH™ Smart), the token handler has a role of a server or peripheral device, and the user's mobile device has a role of a client or central device. The token handler advertises its presence (e.g., every 1.00 to 1.25 seconds). The mobile devices scans for nearby token handlers at an interval that is less (e.g., faster) than the advertise interval. In an example, the scan interval and window can be configured with the mobile device. The mobile device may have two methods of scanning for devices (e.g., scan for all devices, or scan only for devices offering a specific service). The latter example is by scanning for a specific UUID that represents a service. By way of illustration, the token handler is represented by the following UUID: c9cab968-3abf-4043-a5af-9ad00c6074d5. After executing the Generic Access Protocol (GAP) to find a device, the Generic Attribute Profile (GATT) can be executed for “service discovery” to find the supported “characteristics” for each service. Each characteristic has an associated UUID and handle, and can be read or written. In an example, UUID's have two lengths (e.g., 16-bit UUID is a standard service or characteristic described by the Bluetooth specification, or a 128-bit UUID is a custom service that is vendor specific). The following table illustrates services and characteristics supported by the token handler in an example. TABLE 1Services Provided By Token Handler1800GAP Service2A00Device Name2A01Appearance (0 = Unknown)180ADevice Information Service2A29Manufacturer Name String (Clancy Systems)2A24Model Number String (Clear Token Meter)2A27Hardware Revision String (B)2A26Firmware Revision String (001.003.000.110)2A28Software Revision String (1.31)c9cab9b8-3abf-4043-a5af-9ad00c6074d5Token Handler Service0f314942-e257-46a9-a8c8-ID (currently the 5 character4c8ecee2cf2bID on label, e.g. AAA01)d5dee9b5-456f-4baa-ad5c-Commanda3f14fd2653c2902Client CharacteristicConfiguration (for Command)d5dee9b6-456f-4baa-ad5c-Beacon Data (Data1)a3f14fd2653d In the table above, three services provided by the token handler are shown in boldface font. Below each service are the characteristics for each service. The characteristics can be read or written to obtain the values. A handle is assigned to each characteristic. There are routines used to determine the handle based on UUID. In this example, a GAP service has two characteristics. Device name is currently the ID of the Clear Token Device. The Appearance always reads zero (“unknown”) because the CTD doesn't fall into a pre-defined category of Heart Rate Monitor, Phone, etc. Some devices (e.g., APPLE™ devices) require that a Device Information Service be provided on each Bluetooth device. The characteristics are self-explanatory. The Token Handler Service has three characteristics and one Client Characteristic Configuration. The ID is read only and is the ID that is on the label of the meter. The command characteristic can be written and a return code can be read. Before the command characteristic can be used, a value of 0001 is written to the Client Characteristic Configuration. Some Bluetooth stacks do this automatically. Also, some clients may need to send the value as 0100 instead of 0001. Other examples are also contemplated. Commands and data can now be exchanged with the token handler. Commands are sent to the token handler by writing up to 20 bytes to the Command characteristic handle. Data is received back through the same handle with “notification”. After communication, the connection is disconnected. The token handler finishes carrying out any tasks, then goes back to sleep. This strategy helps to minimize connection time to the token handler device to conserve battery power. In an example, the commands and data are in arrays of bytes, with values from 0x00 to 0xFF. The number of bytes sent or received through the FIFO handle is 20 or less at a time. All commands to the CTD begin with a 0x40 (@). The next byte in the array is the number of remaining bytes in the command. In an example, the general format of a command is @NCPPIIT T, where:@=0x40N=Number of bytes to followC=Command code (1 byte)P=Parameters for the command (number of bytes varies with each command)I=Index of the validating token (2 bytes, most significant first)T=validating token (2 bytes, most significant first) To make the process even more secure, the code can be sent from the user's mobile device as a two part message, wherein part one is a gatekeeper command or message including a unique code and informing the token handler for the parking facility that part two is following, and then another unique code is sent as part two as an activating command or message. This technique implements two codes for each transaction. In this example, all replies from the CTD begin with a 0x52. The next byte in the array is the remaining number of bytes in the reply. In an example, the general format of a reply is: R N S, where:R=0x52N=number of bytes to followS=status (0x01 if command was successful or 0x00 if there was an error) Validating tokens may also be implemented with the commands. For example, there may be 65536 index positions (0-65535), with each index containing a token with a value from 1-65535. Once a token is used, it is zeroed to prevent re-use and thus reduce fraud. If an incorrect index/token combination is received, the device responds with a status of 0x00, and not respond to further commands until some time has passed. InFIG.11, the following abbreviations are used:@=0x40—Start of the commandN=Number of bytes to followC=Command CodeP=Time (used in Closure & Backlight)I=Index ValueT=Token ValueH=HoursM=MinutesS=SecondsR=Reset (00=No Reset−01=Reset) Command1110is an example Contact Closure Command. This command closes the relay contact for the specified length of time. The length of time the contact remain closed is the number of 3.90625 millisecond units ( 1/256 of a second) specified with 2 bytes. For example, to close the contact for 1 second, a value of 0x0100 is used; to close the contact for a half second, a value of 0x0080 is used. A value of less than 0x0034 (200 mS) should not be used for this example. @ N C P P I I T T, where:@=0x40N=0x07, number of bytes to followC=0x02P=length of time for contact closure, MSB first, range 0x0034-0xFFFF I=index of validating token, MSB firstT=validating token, MSB first Reply: R N S R=0x52, where:N=0x01, number of bytes to followS=0x01 if command and token were successful, 0x00 if index/token was not valid or some other error. Other commands (not shown inFIG.11), include by way of illustration, an Enable Beacon Command (0x05). This command enables the token handler to alternate advertising between any of several supported beacon formats. For example, with the uriBeacon, the final 18 bytes of the advertisement data are the encoded URL including prefix byte. This data is written to the GATT attribute database (Beacon Data, see table above) prior to sending the command. In another example, with the iBeacon, 20 bytes of the advertisement data are the UUID and the “major” and “minor” fields. This data is written to the GATT attribute database (Beacon Data, see table above) prior to sending the command. The rate at which advertising packets are sent doubles when the beacon function is enabled, thus impacting battery life. @NCB I IT T, where:@=0x40N=0x06, number of bytes to follow C=0x05B=0: no beacon, 1: uriBeacon, 2: Apple iBeacon I=index of validating token, MSB first T=validating token, MSB first Reply: RNSR=0x52 N=0x01S=0x01 if command and token were successful, 0x00 if index/token was not valid or some other error. In another example, a Change Transmit Power Command (0x06) changes the transmit power of the CTD. In an example, there are three power levels: low, medium, and high. The default transmit power level after cycling the device power is medium. @N CPI IT T, where:@=0x40N=0x06, number of bytes to follow C=0x05P=0: Low, 1: Medium (default), 2: max I=index of validating token, MSB firstT=validating token, MSB first Reply: R N S R=0x52 N=0x01S=0x01 if command and token were successful, 0x00 if index/token was not valid or some other error. In another example, a Contact Pulse Command (0x08) momentarily closes (pulses) the relay contact, a specified number of times, for a specified length of time, with a specified spacing between pulses. This can be implemented to mimic coins passing through a coin acceptor in vending applications. @NCP DSI IT T, where:@=0x40N=0x08, number of bytes to follow C=0x08P=Number of pulses, 0-255 (0x00-0xFF)D=Pulse duration, 1=200 mS, 2=500 mS S=Time between pulses, 1=53 200 mS, 2=500 mS, 3=one second.I=index of validating token, MSB first T=validating token, MSB first Reply: R N S R=0x52N=0x01, number of bytes to followS=0x01 if command and token were successful, 0x00 if index/token was not valid or some other error. The above example commands are provided for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be limiting. Still other commands are contemplated as being within the scope of the disclosure herein, as will be readily appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art after becoming familiar with the teachings herein. FIG.12illustrates an example coding scheme to build a token at a token provider.FIG.13illustrates an example coding scheme to validate the token illustrated inFIG.12, and process a transaction by a token handler for the parking facility. The tables400a-binFIG.12and the tables inFIG.13illustrate a code sample (the first 20 entries of 65,536 entries are shown). The first column represents an index (1 through the number of entries), and the second column represents the corresponding code for the index entry. The codes shown inFIG.12may be stored at the token provider and used to generate the token. These same codes (shown inFIG.13) may also be written to the token handler for the parking facility by “injecting” the codes in hardware stored in or associated with the token handler for the parking facility. Each token handler includes its own set of unique codes in an indexed array, stored in memory internal to the token handler for the parking facility. During set up, the token handler may be read (e.g., for device ID or location number, and a corresponding code). The codes may be compared to a database record stored by the token provider. If there is a match, then the token handler has been properly set up, and is ready for use by the customer. During use, the user may open a phone app and select the location or other ID of the parking facility. The location or other ID of the parking facility may be transmitted by nearby mobile devices (e.g., using Bluetooth or other communications protocol), or the user may manually enter the location or other ID. A request is generated on the user's mobile device, including the location and/or other information for the parking facility. Additional information may also be included in the request (e.g., time duration paid for parking, ID number for a parking space, ID of a valet, etc.). The user may also select a payment processor (e.g., a bank, credit card processor, PayPal®, etc.) to be included in the request. The user may be prompted to use the last payment processor used or enter a new payment processor. The request is sent to the token provider to authorize payment. The payment processor may charge the user's account and return “Approved” or “Declined” to the token provider. The digital payment service may notify the user (e.g., if payment was declined). But the token provider never receives personal or financial information or credit card information of the user. If the payment is approved, then the token provider may build a token for the user to deliver to the token handler for the parking facility. In an example, the token may include a location code, duration or activation code, security code (FIG.12), and optionally an advertisement or other information for the user to view. For example, the token provider may select transaction index (e.g., index location 0009) from the index column1210and read a corresponding transaction code (e.g., hex 7806 representing decimal 30726) from the code column1220, as illustrated by the numbers1230inFIG.12. It is noted that any suitable system (e.g., alpha-numeric) may be used, and is not limited to a numbering system. In this example, the numbers are in hexadecimal and added (e.g., as packet1240) to the token1250. The table1200amay be updated as illustrated by arrow1260and shown as updated table1200b, wherein the code at index location 0009 is set to “0”. The token1250may then be issued to the customer as illustrated by block1260. The user may then relay the token1310including the hexadecimal1320to the token handler, as illustrated inFIG.13. The token handler receives the token, and validates the transaction code in the token (FIG.13), for example by reading the token packet1320and comparing the index and hex code1330with the corresponding index location 0009 of the device index. If the device code at index location 0009 in table1300amatches the transaction code in the token1310, the token handler may negotiate or process the transaction1340by executing a device command (e.g., operate a gate or parking timer). The token handler may also update/modify the table1300a, as illustrated by arrow1350, to indicate that the code has been used (e.g., by setting the code in index 9 to all 0's) as shown by updated table1300binFIG.13. As such, the index location 9 cannot be re-used, thereby preventing fraudulent use. In this example, a small 128K file contains 65,536 unique codes. For a parking facility being used on average 20 times a day, the original codes are predicted to last about 9½ years. For a busy location being accessed 100 times a day, the original codes are predicted to last about 2 years. In the event that the codes need to be changed or updated, a secure update procedure may be implemented to refresh the codes in the field. It should be understood that the systems and techniques described above may be modified within the scope of the disclosure herein, and are not limited to any particular implementation. For example, the example code and indexing illustrated in the figures is illustrative and not limiting. FIG.14is a flow chart illustrating example operations1400which may implement a digital payment method. In example operation1410, a request for a transaction for a parking facility may be received from a customer by a token provider. The token provider confirms payment for the transaction in operation1420, and then issues a token to the customer in operation1430. In an example, the token has a transaction index and a corresponding transaction code. In operation1440, the token is received from the customer. For example, the token may be received from the customer's mobile device via a BLUETOOTH™ or other near-field communication protocol with the token handler for the parking facility. In operation1450, the token handler for the parking facility confirms validity of the token, e.g., based on the transaction index and the transaction code. If the token is not valid, operations may end with operation1452. In another example, the token handler may issue feedback to the user (e.g., to retry by sending a different token). If the token is valid, the token handler may negotiate the transaction for the parking facility in operation1454. In an example, the token handler may start, set (or add) an operating time for the customer to use the parking facility. FIG.15is a flow chart illustrating example operations1500of a token provider to implement a digital payment method. In operation1510, the token provider may receive a request for a transaction for a parking facility from a customer. In an example, the request may include information about the parking facility (e.g., identifying information). In operation1520, the token provider issues a payment authorization to a third-party payment processor. It is noted that the token provider does not actually receive any payment or other personal or confidential payment information from the customer. This information remains confidential as between the customer and the third party payment processor (e.g., the customer's bank or credit card processor). In operation1530, the token provider receives payment approval from the third-party payment processor. In operation1540, the token provider generates a token and issues the token to the customer so that the customer can complete the transaction for the parking facility. In an example, the token includes a hex value representing the transaction code and the transaction index. FIG.16is a flow chart illustrating example operations1600of a token handler to implement a digital payment method. In operation1610, the token handler for the parking facility receives a token from the customer (e.g., the token issued to the customer by the token provider in operation740). The token handler may receive the token from the customer's mobile device via a BLUETOOTH™ or other near-field communication protocol. In an example, the token includes a hex value representing the transaction code and the transaction index. In operation1620, the token handler compares the transaction index and transaction code of the token to a device code stored at corresponding index location at the token handler. For example, the token handler may translate the hex value to determine the transaction code and the transaction index, and then compare these to the corresponding device code stored at the associated index location at the token handler. In operation1630, the token handler determines whether the token is valid. If the token is not valid, operations at the token handler may end with operation1635. In another example, the token handler may issue feedback to the user (e.g., to retry by sending a different token). If the token is valid, the token handler may negotiate the transaction at operation1640. In an example, the token handler may activate, set (or add) a time duration for the customer to use the parking facility. In operation1650, the token handler clears the device code stored at the index location so that the token cannot be reused. Example operations are illustrative and not intended to be limiting. The ordering of operations is not limited to the ordering shown in the drawings. Still other operations are also contemplated, as will become readily apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art after becoming familiar with the teachings herein. Laundry Facility. Secure electronic payment is also disclosed which may be implemented for laundry facility equipment. For example, secure electronic payment may be implemented to pay for use of a laundry machine (e.g., washer, dryer, soap dispenser, or other laundry facility equipment) using an electronic device such as, but not limited to, a mobile phone, without needing to have a physical credit card or traditional cash on hand. In an example, a user (e.g., a customer) may issue a request fora transaction for a laundry machine at the laundry facility. The request is processed to confirm payment, and a token (e.g., a secure digital certificate such as an electronic data file) is issued to the customer. The customer may then transmit (e.g., wirelessly transmit) the token to a token handler for a laundry machine. In an example, the token handler is provided on (or as an integral part of) an individual laundry machine (e.g., a clothes washer or clothes dryer). In another example, the token handler is provided in the laundry facility remote from the individual laundry machines, and the token handler is interconnected (wired or wirelessly) to the individual laundry machines to actuate operation of a selected laundry machine. The token handler validates the token and negotiates the transaction (e.g., actuate operation of the selected laundry machine). An example token handler includes a wireless certificate reader configured to receive a digital certificate or “token” from a mobile computing device. In use, a mobile computing device (e.g., mobile phone) may include an installed application or “app”. When the mobile computing device is activated via the app, it searches for any token handlers in the area (e.g., a laundry facility) which may be operated with the digital payment system. In an example, the app may display a list of token handlers in the user's vicinity which accept payment via the secure payment system. In other examples, the customer may manually identify the token handler (e.g., by entering an ID for a laundry machine and/or laundry facility in the app). It is noted that the wireless certificate reader does not need to establish a connection to the payment provider or other entity. As such, the token handler does not need to be configured with an expensive to install and maintain modem or other communications system. The wireless certificate reader can instead be a BLUETOOTH™ or other near-field communication protocol for communicating with the mobile computing device in proximity to the token handler. In addition, the laundry machine and/or laundry facility does not need to be in an area having mobile phone/data service. For example, the user may request a token at their home, and then use that token at a laundry machine or laundry facility that is out of a service area by providing it to the token handler for the laundry machine via the BLUETOOTH™ or other near-field communication protocol. In an example, data to validate the token received at the token handler is stored in the local memory of the token handler before a transaction is initiated at the token handler. As such, no communication connection is required between the digital payment system and the third party payment system. This enables use of the digital payment system without having to provide expensive communication connections in each laundry facility and/or laundry machine. The token may be a one-time-use digital certificate. In an example, after the token has been confirmed and the transaction negotiated (i.e., the laundry machine has been actuated), the corresponding information stored in the token handler may be “wiped” clean (e.g., the code set to zero or otherwise erased). This helps ensure that the goods and/or services delivered by the token handler have been paid for and that the same digital certificate is not being re-used. In another example, the token may include an expiration, so that a customer cannot purchase tokens in advance to avoid price increases. In an example, the secure payment system may operate with a third-party payment processor to handle payments for the user without the user having to provide any credit card or other form of payment (or personal or other information) at the laundry machine (or the owner or anyone operating the laundry facility). For example, the user may have already provided payment information (e.g., credit card or bank account information) to the third-party payment processor, who is a trusted payment processor such as the user's bank, credit card issuer, direct carrier billing (e.g., billing to a cell phone account), digital currency, or other payment service, and therefore the user does not have to provide any payment information to the token handler or the token provider. As such, the secure payment system reduces the opportunity for fraud, while providing the user with the convenience of a so-called “cashless” transaction. Likewise, the owner of the laundry machine or laundry facility receives payment from a trusted third-party payment processor without risk that the payment form (e.g., credit card) is stolen or unauthorized. It is noted that the systems and methods described herein are not limited to any particular type of laundry facility, laundry machine, mobile device, and/or payment processor. The digital payment system may be used in an attended and/or unattended environment, and may be used to enable operation of any type of laundry machine and/or to provide product (e.g., detergent, softener, etc.). FIG.17Ais an illustration of an example secure payment system1700as it may be implemented for a laundry machine.FIG.17Bis a block diagram of an example secure payment system1700. System1700may be implemented with any of a wide variety of computing devices. Each of the computing devices may include memory, storage, and a degree of data processing capability at least sufficient to manage a communications connection either directly with one another or indirectly (e.g., via a network). At least one of the computing devices is also configured with sufficient processing capability to execute program code and/or other logic described herein. In an example, the secure payment system1700may be implemented by a token provider1710providing a digital payment service accessed by a user1701via a client device1702(referred to herein collectively as the “customer”). The client device1702may be any suitable computer or computing device (e.g., laptop computer or other mobile device such as a phone or tablet) capable of accessing a third party payment processor1730. Of course, the token provider1710and client device1702are not limited to any particular type of devices (e.g., watches and other wearable technology), and may also include other devices that are traditionally not considered to be a part of the mobile environment (e.g., desktop computing devices or terminals). In an example, the secure payment system1700may be implemented with one or more communication network1705, such as a local area network (LAN) and/or wide area network (WAN) and/or other communications platform such as a mobile communications network. In an example, the network includes the Internet and/or other mobile communications network (e.g., a 3G or 4G mobile device network). In an example, the secure payment system1700provides a way for the user1701to pay to use laundry machine(s)1740a-f(referred to generally herein as laundry machine1740), using the user's own mobile device1702, via the digital payment service implemented by the token provider1710, but without having to provide payment at the laundry machine1740because access to payment information is maintained by third party payment processor(s)1730(e.g., a bank or credit card company). In use, a mobile device1702(e.g., a mobile phone) may include an installed application or “app”. When the mobile device1702is activated via the app, the mobile device1702searches1745for any laundry machines1740in the area which are configured for operation in the environment of the secure payment system1700. In an example, the laundry machine(s)1740may broadcast1703its presence. The mobile device1702within range of the broadcast enables the app may display a list on the mobile device1702of laundry machines in the user's vicinity which are configured to accept payment via the payment technique described herein. In another example, the laundry machines1740may be pre-stored in a database accessed by the app via the Internet. In an example, the user may issue a request1750to the token provider1710. The request1750may include the laundry machine ID (e.g., a number shown on the laundry machine) or other identifying information. The request1750may also include other information about the intended purchase (e.g., laundry machine location and time of use) and a payment authorization. For example, the amount of payment may be displayed for the user by the app for the user to accept or approve the item and amount. The user may then select a third party payment processor1730(e.g., a bank, credit card, or mobile phone service carrier) from the app. This information may be transmitted in the request1750to the token provider. The token provider1710then confirms payment via the third party payment processor1730. For example, the token provider1710may issue a payment authorization to a third-party payment processor1730, and receive payment approval from the third-party payment processor. After confirming payment, the token provider1710may generate a token1760aand issue the token1760to the user's mobile device1702. After receiving the token1760a, the user may then complete the transaction by the token handler1720at the laundry machine1740. In an example, the laundry machine1740is configured with a token handler1720operatively associated with a control board1721on the laundry machine1740(e.g., configured to select a wash or dry cycle and/or other functions at the laundry machine1740). The token handler1720may have a wireless certificate reader configured to receive a token1760bfrom the mobile device1702. The token1760aand1760bmay be the same token provided by the token provider1710, or token1760bmay undergo at least some degree of processing at the mobile device1702before being issued to the token handler1720at the laundry machine1740. The token handler1720at the laundry machine1740may then process the token1760bto confirm payment by the user1701. If payment is confirmed, then the token handler1720at the laundry machine1740may negotiate the transaction (e.g., starting or continuing operation of the laundry machine). As such, the system1700provides a way for the user1701to pay for use of the laundry machine1740, using the user's own mobile device1702, but without having to provide direct access to payment details because those are maintained by third party payment processor(s)1750(e.g., a bank or credit card company). In an example, various operations of the secure payment system1700may be implemented at least in part by program code and/or logic circuitry. Program code and/or logic used to implement features of the system can be better understood with reference to the following discussion and various example functions. To the extent program code is implemented, machine-readable instructions may be stored on a non-transient computer readable medium and are executable by one or more processor to perform the operations described herein. Examples of program code may include an end-user mobile device application (or “app”), payment processing application(s), host application (e.g., for generating the token in response to receiving confirmation of payment), and/or a token handling application (e.g., for validating the token received from the end-user device and actuating a laundry machine). Of course, the operations described herein are not limited to any specific implementation with any particular type of program code or logic. It is noted, however, that the secure payment system1700is not strictly data handling or program code for manipulating data in the traditional sense. That is, the secure payment system1700may be implemented at least in part in program code (e.g., for generating the token and for various of the transmission protocols). It is to be understood that the secure payment system1700is also implemented by device hardware which goes beyond a mere computing device provided to execute the program code. Example device hardware may include a wireless certificate reader with a communications interface (e.g., to the mobile device). Example device hardware may also include electronic actuators, motors, timers, and/or other electronics which operate the laundry machine1740in response to input from the wireless certificate reader and/or other processing device confirming payment. These and other aspects of the secure payment system1700will be described in more detail below such that the device hardware can be readily implemented by one having ordinary skill in the art after becoming familiar with the teachings herein. FIG.18Ais a high-level diagram of a token provider1800(e.g., token provider1710inFIG.17B) of the secure payment system. The token provider1800may receive a request1805for a transaction (e.g., including a payment amount) at a token handler1720at the laundry machine1740via a customer module1810. In an example, the request1805may include information about the laundry machine1740(e.g., identifying information). The token provider1800issues a payment authorization1815via a remote payment module1820to a third-party payment processor. It is noted that the token provider1800does not actually receive any payment or other personal or confidential payment information from the customer. This information remains confidential as between the customer and the third party payment processor (e.g., the customer's bank or credit card processor). The token provider1800receives payment approval from the third-party payment processor. The token provider1800includes a token generator1830to generate a token1825and issues the token1825to the customer so that the customer can complete the transaction at the token handler device configured for operating the laundry machine. FIG.18Bis a diagram of a token handler device1850of the secure payment system for a laundry machine (e.g., token handler1720for the laundry machine1740inFIGS.17A and17B).FIG.18Billustrates an example where a laundry machine1740having an existing coin-operated interface is retrofitted with the token handler device1850disclosed herein. In an example, retrofitting the token handler device1850may enable operation of the laundry machine1740by either the existing coin-operated interface1741and/or via the token handler device1850. For example, the token handler1850may be wired between the coin-op device1741and the control electronics1890. In an example, the token handler1850is connected between the coin-op device1741and the control electronics1890without having to cut the existing wiring, e.g., by a coupler that splices through the wire insulation to make an electrical connection with the wiring by press-fit without having to cut the wires. It is noted, however, that the laundry machine1740does not need to be retrofitted with the token handler device1850, and the laundry machine1740can also be configured from the start with the token handler device1850. In an example, the coin-op device1741generates an electrical signal1742or pulse in response to receiving coins. For example, each quarter may generate an electrical pulse thereby indicating a total dollar amount at the control electronics1890. For example, each time a user inserts a quarter, an electrical pulse is issued to the control electronics and the total dollar amount entered is displayed for the user (e.g., $0.25, $0.50, etc.) until the dollar amount is displayed for the desired function (e.g., $1.25 for a light duty wash cycle or $2.25 for a heavy duty wash cycle). In an example, the token handler1850is configured to generate an electrical pulse for each token received by the token handler, or multiple electrical pulses for the total dollar value of the token. For example, the token handler1850may generate individual electrical pulses for each $0.25 token received. Or if a token is received having a value of $1.25, the token handler1850may generate five electrical pulses to inform the control electronics1890of the dollar value received. The laundry machine140can then be operated similarly to the user inserting coins in the coin-op device141. FIG.18Cis another diagram of a token handler device1850of the secure payment system for a laundry machine (e.g., token handler1720for the laundry machine1740inFIGS.17A and17B). Although shown as separate entities inFIG.18C, as already noted above the token handler1850may be mounted in or otherwise provided at the laundry machine1740; or the token handler1850may be provided at physically remote location from the laundry machine1740. In an example operation, the token handler device1850receives a token1851from the customer (e.g., the token1825issued to the customer by the token provider1800inFIG.18A) via an interface module1860. The token handler device1850may receive the token1851from the customer's mobile device via a BLUETOOTH™ or other near-field communication protocol. A token processing module1870compares data value(s) of the token to data value(s) stored at the token handler device1850. For example, the token processing module1870may translate the hex value to determine the transaction code and the transaction index, and then compare these to the corresponding device code stored at the associated index location. The token handler device1850confirms that the token is valid at1852. If the token is valid, a transaction processing module1880may negotiate the transaction1853for the laundry machine. In an example, the transaction processing module1880may actuate control electronics1890of a laundry machine1740, for example by issuing a signal to the control electronics1890. The control electronics1890may include a computer board on the laundry machine1740which in turn actuates the laundry machine, such as an interface or display1891on the laundry machine (e.g., to start/stop or select a wash cycle on the laundry machine), a timer (e.g., to set or add a time of operation of the laundry machine), a motor (e.g., to drive the clothes tumbler). Other components and/or functions can also be controlled by actuating via the token handler device1850, such as but not limited to different cycles (e.g., heavy duty, rinse, spin, etc.). It is noted that the term “module” as used herein means electronic devices (e.g., logic circuitry) and/or machine readable instructions (e.g., firmware) specifically configured to carry out the operations described herein. FIG.3illustrates example communication and commands300which may be implemented by the secure payment system. First, a communications connection may be established. According to the BLUETOOTH™ protocol (e.g., BLUETOOTH™ LE or “BLE,” BLUETOOTH™ 4.0, and BLUETOOTH™ Smart), the token handler has a role of a server or peripheral device, and the user's mobile device has a role of a client or central device. The token handler advertises its presence (e.g., every 1.00 to 1.25 seconds). The mobile devices scans for nearby token handlers at an interval that is less (e.g., faster) than the advertise interval. In an example, the scan interval and window can be configured with the mobile device. The mobile device may have two methods of scanning for devices (e.g., scan for all devices, or scan only for devices offering a specific service). The latter example is by scanning for a specific UUID that represents a service. By way of illustration, the token handler is represented by the following UUID: c9cab968-3abf-4043-a5af-9ad00c6074d5. After executing the Generic Access Protocol (GAP) to find a device, the Generic Attribute Profile (GATT) can be executed for “service discovery” to find the supported “characteristics” for each service. Each characteristic has an associated UUID and handle, and can be read or written. In an example, UUID's have two lengths (e.g., 16-bit UUID is a standard service or characteristic described by the Bluetooth specification, or a 128-bit UUID is a custom service that is vendor specific). The following table illustrates services and characteristics supported by the token handler in an example. TABLE 2Services Provided By Token Handler1800GAP Service2A00Device Name2A01Appearance (0 = Unknown)180ADevice Information Service2A29Manufacturer Name String (Clancy Systems)2A24Model Number String (Clear Token Meter)2A27Hardware Revision String (B)2A26Firmware Revision String (001.003.000.110)2A28Software Revision String (1.31)c9cab9b8-3abf-4043-a5af-9ad00c6074d5Token Handler Service0f314942-e257-46a9-a8c8-ID (currently the 5 character4c8ecee2cf2bID on label, e.g. AAA01)d5dee9b5-456f-4baa-ad5c-Commanda3f14fd2653c2902Client CharacteristicConfiguration (for Command)d5dee9b6-456f-4baa-ad5c-Beacon Data (Data1)a3f14fd2653d In the table above, three services provided by the token handler are shown in boldface font. Below each service are the characteristics for each service. The characteristics can be read or written to obtain the values. A handle is assigned to each characteristic. There are routines used to determine the handle based on UUID. In this example, a GAP service has two characteristics. Device name is currently the ID of the Clear Token Device. The Appearance always reads zero (“unknown”) because the CTD doesn't fall into a pre-defined category of Heart Rate Monitor, Phone, etc. Some devices (e.g., APPLE™ devices) require that a Device Information Service be provided on each Bluetooth device. The characteristics are self-explanatory. The Token Handler Service has three characteristics and one Client Characteristic Configuration. The ID is read only and is the ID that is on the label of the meter. The command characteristic can be written and a return code can be read. Before the command characteristic can be used, a value of 0001 is written to the Client Characteristic Configuration. Some Bluetooth stacks do this automatically. Also, some clients may need to send the value as 0100 instead of 0001. Other examples are also contemplated. Commands and data can now be exchanged with the token handler. Commands are sent to the token handler by writing up to 20 bytes to the Command characteristic handle. Data is received back through the same handle with “notification”. After communication, the connection is disconnected. The token handler finishes carrying out any tasks, then goes back to sleep. This strategy helps to minimize connection time to the token handler device to conserve battery power. In an example, the commands and data are in arrays of bytes, with values from 0x00 to 0xFF. The number of bytes sent or received through the FIFO handle is 20 or less at a time. All commands to the CTD begin with a 0x40 (@). The next byte in the array is the number of remaining bytes in the command. In an example, the general format of a command is @NCPPIIT T, where:@=0x40N=Number of bytes to followC=Command code (1 byte)P=Parameters for the command (number of bytes varies with each command)I=Index of the validating token (2 bytes, most significant first)T=validating token (2 bytes, most significant first) To make the process even more secure, the code can be sent from the user's mobile device as a two part message, wherein part one is a gatekeeper command or message including a unique code and informing the token handler at the laundry machine that part two is following, and then another unique code is sent as part two as an activating command or message. This technique implements two codes for each transaction. In this example, all replies from the CTD begin with a 0x52. The next byte in the array is the remaining number of bytes in the reply. In an example, the general format of a reply is: R N S, where:R=0x52N=number of bytes to followS=status (0x01 if command was successful or 0x00 if there was an error) Validating tokens may also be implemented with the commands. For example, there may be 65536 index positions (0-65535), with each index containing a token with a value from 1-65535. Once a token is used, it is zeroed to prevent re-use and thus reduce fraud. If an incorrect index/token combination is received, the device responds with a status of 0x00, and not respond to further commands until some time has passed. InFIG.19, the following abbreviations are used:@=0x40—Start of the commandN=Number of bytes to followC=Command CodeP=Time (used in Closure & Backlight)I=Index ValueT=Token ValueH=HoursM=MinutesS=SecondsR=Reset (00=No Reset-01=Reset) Command1910is an example Contact Closure Command. This command closes the relay contact for the specified length of time. The length of time the contact remain closed is the number of 3.90625 millisecond units ( 1/256 of a second) specified with 2 bytes. For example, to close the contact for 1 second, a value of 0x0100 is used; to close the contact for a half second, a value of 0x0080 is used. A value of less than 0x0034 (200 mS) should not be used for this example. @ N C P P I I T T, where:@=0x40N=0x07, number of bytes to followC=0x02P=length of time for contact closure, MSB first, range 0x0034-0xFFFF I=index of validating token, MSB firstT=validating token, MSB first Reply: R N S R=0x52, where:N=0x01, number of bytes to followS=0x01 if command and token were successful, 0x00 if index/token was not valid or some other error. Other commands (not shown inFIG.19), include by way of illustration, an Enable Beacon Command (0x05). This command enables the token handler to alternate advertising between any of several supported beacon formats. For example, with the uriBeacon, the final 18 bytes of the advertisement data are the encoded URL including prefix byte. This data is written to the GATT attribute database (Beacon Data, see table above) prior to sending the command. In another example, with the iBeacon, 20 bytes of the advertisement data are the UUID and the “major” and “minor” fields. This data is written to the GATT attribute database (Beacon Data, see table above) prior to sending the command. The rate at which advertising packets are sent doubles when the beacon function is enabled, thus impacting battery life. @NCB I I T T, where:@=0x40N=0x06, number of bytes to follow C=0x05B=0: no beacon, 1: uriBeacon, 2: Apple iBeacon I=index of validating token, MSB first T=validating token, MSB first Reply: RNSR=0x52 N=0x01S=0x01 if command and token were successful, 0x00 if index/token was not valid or some other error. In another example, a Change Transmit Power Command (0x06) changes the transmit power of the CTD. In an example, there are three power levels: low, medium, and high. The default transmit power level after cycling the device power is medium. @N CPI IT T, where:@=0x40N=0x06, number of bytes to follow C=0x05P=0: Low, 1: Medium (default), 2: max I=index of validating token, MSB firstT=validating token, MSB first Reply: R N S R=0x52 N=0x01S=0x01 if command and token were successful, 0x00 if index/token was not valid or some other error. In another example, a Contact Pulse Command (0x08) momentarily closes (pulses) the relay contact, a specified number of times, for a specified length of time, with a specified spacing between pulses. This can be implemented to mimic coins passing through a coin acceptor in vending applications. @NCP DSI IT T, where:@=0x40N=0x08, number of bytes to follow C=0x08P=Number of pulses, 0-255 (0x00-0xFF)D=Pulse duration, 1=200 mS, 2=500 mS S=Time between pulses, 1=200 mS, 2=500 mS, 3=one second.I=index of validating token, MSB first T=validating token, MSB first Reply: R N S R=0x52N=0x01, number of bytes to followS=0x01 if command and token were successful, 0x00 if index/token was not valid or some other error. The above example commands are provided for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be limiting. Still other commands are contemplated as being within the scope of the disclosure herein, as will be readily appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art after becoming familiar with the teachings herein. FIG.20illustrates an example coding scheme to build a token at a token provider.FIG.21illustrates an example coding scheme to validate the token illustrated inFIG.20, and process a transaction by a token handler at the laundry machine. The tables2000a-binFIG.20and tables2100a-binFIG.21illustrate a code sample (the first 20 entries of 65,536 entries are shown). The first column represents an index (1 through the number of entries), and the second column represents the corresponding code for the index entry. The codes shown inFIG.20may be stored at the token provider (e.g., token provider1710shown inFIG.17B) and used to generate the token. These same codes (shown inFIG.21) may also be written to the token handler at the laundry machine by “injecting” the codes in hardware stored in or associated with the token handler at the laundry machine. Each token handler includes its own set of unique codes in an indexed array, stored in memory internal to the token handler at the laundry machine. During set up, the token handler may be read (e.g., for device ID or location number, and a corresponding code). The codes may be compared to a database record stored by the token provider. If there is a match, then the token handler has been properly set up, and is ready for use by the customer. During use, the user may open a phone app and select the location or other ID of the laundry machine. The location or other ID of the laundry machine may be transmitted by nearby mobile devices (e.g., using Bluetooth or other communications protocol), or the user may manually enter the location or other ID. A request is generated on the user's mobile device, including the location and/or other information for the laundry machine. Additional information may also be included in the request (e.g., operating time for a laundry machine, ID number for the laundry machine). The user may also select a payment processor (e.g., a bank, credit card processor, PayPal®, etc.) to be included in the request. The user may be prompted to use the last payment processor used or enter a new payment processor. The request is sent to the token provider to authorize payment. The payment processor may charge the user's account and return “Approved” or “Declined” to the token provider. The digital payment service may notify the user (e.g., if payment was declined). But the token provider never receives personal or financial information or credit card information of the user. If the payment is approved, then the token provider may build a token for the user to deliver to the token handler at the laundry machine. In an example, the token may include a location code, duration or activation code, security code (FIG.19), and optionally an advertisement or other information for the user to view. For example, the token provider may select transaction index (e.g., index location 0009) from the index column2010and read a corresponding transaction code (e.g., hex 7806 representing decimal 30726) from the code column200, as illustrated by the numbers2030inFIG.20. It is noted that any suitable system (e.g., alpha-numeric) may be used, and is not limited to a numbering system. In this example, the numbers are in hexadecimal and added (e.g., as packet2040) to the token2050. The table2000amay be updated as illustrated by arrow2060and shown as updated table2000b, wherein the code at index location 0009 is set to “0”. The token2050may then be issued to the customer as illustrated by block2060. The user may then relay the token2110including the hexadecimal2120to the token handler, as illustrated inFIG.21. The token handler receives the token, and validates the transaction code in the token (FIG.21), for example by reading the token packet2120and comparing the index and hex code2130with the corresponding index location 0009 of the device index. If the device code at index location 0009 in table2100amatches the transaction code in the token2110, the token handler may negotiate or process the transaction2140by executing a device command (e.g., activate the laundry machine). The token handler may also update/modify the table2100a, as illustrated by arrow2150, to indicate that the code has been used (e.g., by setting the code in index 9 to all 0's) as shown by updated table2100binFIG.21. As such, the index location 9 cannot be re-used, thereby preventing fraudulent use. In this example, a small 128K file contains 65,536 unique codes. For a laundry machine being used on average 20 times a day, the original codes are predicted to last about 9½ years. For a busy location being accessed 100 times a day, the original codes are predicted to last about 2 years. In the event that the codes need to be changed or updated, a secure update procedure may be implemented to refresh the codes in the field. It should be understood that the systems and techniques described above may be modified within the scope of the disclosure herein, and are not limited to any particular implementation. For example, the example code and indexing illustrated in the figures is illustrative and not limiting. FIG.22is a flow chart illustrating example operations2200which may implement a digital payment method. In example operation2210, a request for a transaction at a laundry machine may be received from a customer by a token provider. The token provider confirms payment for the transaction in operation2220, and then issues a token to the customer in operation2230. In an example, the token has a transaction index and a corresponding transaction code. In operation2240, the token is received from the customer. For example, the token may be received from the customer's mobile device via a BLUETOOTH™ or other near-field communication protocol with the token handler at the laundry machine. In operation2250, the token handler at the laundry machine confirms validity of the token, e.g., based on the transaction index and the transaction code. If the token is not valid, operations may end with operation2252. In another example, the token handler may issue feedback to the user (e.g., to retry by sending a different token). If the token is valid, the token handler may negotiate the transaction at the laundry machine in operation2254. In an example, the token handler may start, set (or add) an operating time for the customer to use the laundry machine. FIG.23is a flow chart illustrating example operations2300of a token provider to implement a digital payment method. In operation2310, the token provider may receive a request for a transaction at a laundry machine from a customer. In an example, the request may include information about the laundry machine (e.g., identifying information). In operation2320, the token provider issues a payment authorization to a third-party payment processor. It is noted that the token provider does not actually receive any payment or other personal or confidential payment information from the customer. This information remains confidential as between the customer and the third party payment processor (e.g., the customer's bank or credit card processor). In operation2330, the token provider receives payment approval from the third-party payment processor. In operation2340, the token provider generates a token and issues the token to the customer so that the customer can complete the transaction at the laundry machine. In an example, the token includes a hex value representing the transaction code and the transaction index. FIG.24is a flow chart illustrating example operations2400of a token handler to implement a digital payment method. In operation2410, the token handler at a laundry machine receives a token from the customer (e.g., the token issued to the customer by the token provider in operation2340). The token handler may receive the token from the customer's mobile device via a BLUETOOTH™ or other near-field communication protocol. In an example, the token includes a hex value representing the transaction code and the transaction index. In operation2420, the token handler compares the transaction index and transaction code of the token to a device code stored at corresponding index location at the token handler. For example, the token handler may translate the hex value to determine the transaction code and the transaction index, and then compare these to the corresponding device code stored at the associated index location at the token handler. In operation2430, the token handler determines whether the token is valid. If the token is not valid, operations at the token handler may end with operation2435. In another example, the token handler may issue feedback to the user (e.g., to retry by sending a different token). If the token is valid, the token handler may negotiate the transaction at operation2440. In an example, the token handler may activate, set (or add) a time duration for the customer to use the laundry machine. In operation2450, the token handler clears the device code stored at the index location so that the token cannot be reused. The example operations are illustrative and not intended to be limiting. The ordering of operations is not limited to the ordering shown in the drawings. Still other operations are also contemplated, as will become readily apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art after becoming familiar with the teachings herein. It is noted that the examples shown and described herein are provided for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting. Still other examples are also contemplated. | 115,730 |
11861573 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It is to be understood that the various embodiments of the present invention, although different, are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described herein in connection with one embodiment may be implemented within other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. In addition, it is to be understood that the position or arrangement of individual elements within each disclosed embodiment may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims, appropriately interpreted, along with the full range of equivalents to which the claims are entitled. In the drawings, like numerals refer to the same or similar functionality throughout the several views. Further, in the detailed description, terms like “first”, “second”, etc. are used for describing arbitrary values or data, but not for describing their orders. To allow those skilled in the art to the present invention to be carried out easily, the example embodiments of the present invention by referring to attached diagrams will be explained in detail as shown below. FIG.1is a drawing schematically illustrating a payment system for an IoT, i.e., Internet of Things, device in accordance with one example embodiment of the present invention, and the payment system may include a service providing terminal, i.e., a service providing device,110, the IoT device120, a digital wallet of a user130, a payment supporting server200, and a fund source server400. First, the service providing device110may be a biller for a cost of a rent, a use, or a purchase of a product, or a service provided to the user either on-line or off-line, and may include a computing device like a server or a terminal of a service provider. Additionally, the service providing device110may be a server corresponding to a bank, a product seller, or an installation. Herein, the installation may include a parking lot, a toll gate, or a movie theater, etc., but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and may include any installation or equipment that the user can pay its cost and use. Further, the IoT device120may be a device with IoT technology which enables various things to connect to the Internet by embedding sensors and communication functions therein, and may be a payer for a cost of services and products provided by the service provider. For example, the IoT device120may include a vehicle, a set-top box, an automatic meter reading, i.e., AMR, device, advanced metering infrastructure, i.e., AMI, a smart home electronics, and a user device, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and may include any device capable of connecting to the Internet using the IoT technology. Also, the IoT device120may be a device corresponding to the services and the products provided by the service provider. For example, the IoT device120may include a device installed in a rented house or a hotel room, a rented car, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and may include any IoT device which is installed in certain space for use by the user or installed corresponding to a certain product, and which is capable of billing its user or identifying the payer. Next, the digital wallet130may store information on a payment means, e.g., information on various fund sources like a credit card, a gift certificate, a membership card, a coupon, and reward points, and may enable this information to be used for payment or confirmation of related information. Also, the digital wallet130may be included in the user device. Herein, the user device may receive information on the payment, and may be a mobile device for supporting the user to confirm the received information, like a mobile computer, a PDA/EDA, a mobile phone, a smart-phone and a tablet, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and may include any mobile device like a digital camera, a personal navigation device, and a mobile gaming device capable of wired and wireless communication, etc. In addition, the user device may include a communication part and a processor. The user device may include an application, i.e., app, which provides a user interface managed by the payment supporting server. Next, the payment supporting server200may be comprised of multiple servers each of which performs each function related to the payment with regard to the IoT device120. Further, the payment supporting server200may be the servers corresponding to or managing each node of a blockchain database300. In addition, the payment supporting server200may be a transaction server which manages transactions with other devices regarding the payment for the IoT device120. Specifically, the payment supporting server200typically achieves desired system performance by using combinations of a computing device, e.g., a computer processor, a memory, a storage, an input device, an output device, and other devices that may include components of conventional computing devices; an electronic communication device such as a router or a switch; an electronic information storage system such as a network-attached storage (NAS) device and a storage area network (SAN), and computer software, i.e., instructions that allow a computing device to function in a specific way. Next, the blockchain database300may store information related to the payment for the IoT device, preventing forgery and falsification by using blockchain technology, and may include a first blockchain database and a second blockchain database. Herein, the first blockchain database may be a private blockchain database, and the second blockchain database may be a private blockchain database or a public blockchain database. The communication part210of such devices may transmit requests to and receive responses from other linked devices. As one example, such requests and responses may be carried out by the same TCP session, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, they could be transmitted and received as UDP datagrams. The processor220of such devices may include hardware configuration of MPU (Micro Processing Unit) or CPU (Central Processing Unit), cache memory, data bus, etc. Additionally, OS and software configuration of applications that achieve specific purposes may be further included. Next, the fund source server400may include a communication part and a processor, and may provide a service of using a fund source of the digital wallet130, i.e., paying by the fund source, corresponding to the payment for the IoT device120. Next, the fund source server400may include a credit card company server, a bank server, a payment-by-point server, and a payment-by-gift-certificate server, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and may include any server performing payment using the fund source registered in the digital wallet130, and may be comprised of multiple servers corresponding to the fund source. Specifically, the fund source server400typically achieves desired system performance by using combinations of a computing device, e.g., a computer processor, a memory, a storage, an input device, an output device, and other devices that may include components of conventional computing devices; an electronic communication device such as a router or a switch; an electronic information storage system such as a network-attached storage (NAS) device and a storage area network (SAN), and computer software, i.e., instructions that allow a computing device to function in a specific way. Also, the fund source server may further include a gateway111performing data transmission between the payment supporting server200and the service providing device110. A method of paying a cost generated at the IoT device using a system configured as such in accordance with one example embodiment of the present invention is described as follows. First, by referring toFIG.2, a process of connecting a link between the IoT device and the digital wallet as the payer therefor, in accordance with one example embodiment of the present invention is described. If the user inputs a link-connection requesting signal using the user terminal131to connect the link between the IoT device120and the digital wallet130as the payer therefor, i.e., to set the digital wallet as the payer for the IoT device, at a step of S11, the digital wallet130may transmit or support another device to transmit a request for identification information on the IoT device to the IoT device120with which the user requested the link at a step of S12. Herein, the transmitted request from the digital wallet130to the IoT device120may include the identification information on the digital wallet. Further, the identification information on the digital wallet may be information unique to each digital wallet for its identification, and may include at least one of a token ID of the digital wallet and a certificate of the digital wallet. Also, the identification information on the digital wallet may include at least one of an ID of the user, an ID of the user device, an IP address of the user device, a MAC address of the user device, and a phone number. The certificate of the digital wallet may include at least one of a PKI certificate, a PKI digital identity, and a public key of a key pair comprised of a private key and the public key, and may be pre-registered in the blockchain database300. Then, in response to the received signal requesting the identification information, the IoT device120may transmit or support another device to transmit the identification information on the IoT device to the digital wallet130, at a step of S13. Herein, the IoT device120may confirm the digital wallet by referring to the identification information included in the received signal, and may transmit the identification information on the IoT device to the confirmed digital wallet130. Further, the identification information on the IoT device may be information unique to each IoT device120for its identification, and may include at least one of a token ID of the IoT device and a certificate of the IoT device. Also, the identification information on the IoT device may include at least one of an ID of the IoT device, an IP address of the IoT device, and a MAC address of the IoT device. The certificate of the IoT device may include at least one of a PKI certificate, a PKI digital identity, and a public key of a key pair comprised of a private key and the public key, and may be pre-registered in the blockchain database300. Further, the certificate of the IoT device may be registered at the time of its manufacture, or may be created by the user and the like to be registered in the IoT device. Also, the digital wallet130may display or support another device to display through the user device131a confirmation requesting signal for the link that sets the digital wallet130as the payer for the IoT device120, at a step of S14. Herein, if the user wants to allow the link, the user may input information for confirming to thereby allow the link, at a step of S15. Herein, the inputted information for confirming may be information to access the certificate and the like, and may include at least one of a password, a PIN code, fingerprint information of the user, and biometric information of the user. Meanwhile, input of the information for confirming may be omitted as the case may be. Then, the user device131may determine or support another device to determine whether the inputted information for confirming is identical to predetermined information for confirming, and if they are determined as identical, may transmit or support another device to transmit a link-connection instructing signal to the digital wallet130, at a step of S16. Then, the digital wallet130may transmit or support another device to transmit a link-connection requesting transaction of the IoT device to the payment supporting server200, at a step of S17. Herein, the link-connection requesting transaction may include the identification information on the digital wallet, the identification information on the IoT device, and a signature value for identification acquired by signing the identification information on the IoT device with the certificate of the digital wallet. Meanwhile, the digital wallet130is described above as a device separate from the user device131, however, the digital wallet130may be included in the user device131. For example, the digital wallet130may be a mobile digital wallet installed in the user device131, and the processes above may be performed by the user device131. Herein, the certificate of the digital wallet may be a certificate of the user stored in the user device. If the link-connection requesting transaction is received from the digital wallet130, the payment supporting server200may verify or support another device to verify the IoT device120corresponding to the identification information on the IoT device120included in the link-connection requesting transaction. For example, the payment supporting server200may transmit or support another device to transmit a verifying transaction including the identification information on the IoT device and a value for verification to the IoT device120corresponding to the identification information on the IoT device included in the link-connection requesting transaction, at a step of S18. Herein, the value for verification may include a nonce, an OTP, and a time-stamp, etc., and may be used for verifying the IoT device. Further, the IoT device120may transmit or support another device to transmit a response signal including a signature value acquired by signing the value for verification included in the verifying transaction with the certificate of the IoT device, and the identification information on the IoT device to the payment supporting server200, at a step of S19. Then, the payment supporting server200may perform or support another device to perform processes of (i) acquiring the identification information on the IoT device in the response signal from the IoT device120, (ii) acquiring the certificate of the IoT device from the blockchain database300registered to be corresponding to the identification information on the IoT device, and (iii) acquiring the value for verification from the signature value in the response signal by using the certificate of the IoT device obtained from the blockchain database300. Next, the payment supporting server200may determine or support another device to determine if the value for verification acquired from the signature value in the response signal is identical to the value for verification transmitted to the IoT device120via the verifying transaction, and if the values for verification are determined as identical, may determine or support another device to determine the IoT device120as valid. Herein, a process of the payment supporting server200acquiring the certificate of the IoT device120if the blockchain database300is comprised of the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database is described in detail as follows. On condition that the certificate of the IoT device has been registered in the first blockchain database and its corresponding first blockchain transaction ID is managed, and that a seventh representative hash value or its processed value calculated by using (I) a seventh specific hash value acquired by applying the hash function to the certificate of the IoT device and (II) at least one neighboring hash value corresponding to the seventh specific hash value, has been registered in the second blockchain database and that its corresponding fourth blockchain transaction ID is managed, the payment supporting server200may perform or support another device to perform processes of (i) retrieving the certificate of the IoT device registered in the first blockchain database using the first blockchain transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the IoT device in the response signal obtained from the IoT device120, or (ii) retrieving the certificate of the IoT device registered in the first blockchain database by referring to information on a Merkle tree and information on its leaf nodes, wherein the information on the Merkle tree and its leaf nodes is acquired from the first blockchain database registered to be corresponding to the seventh representative hash value or its processed value included in a data message which is acquired from the second blockchain database using the fourth blockchain transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the IoT device in the response signal. Further, the payment supporting server200may confirm or support another device to confirm a validity of the link-connection requesting transaction acquired from the digital wallet130. Herein, the payment supporting server200may acquire or support another device to acquire the certificate of the digital wallet in the blockchain database300registered to be corresponding to the identification information on the digital wallet in the link-connection requesting transaction, and may acquire or support another device to acquire the identification information on the IoT device from the signature value for identification in the link-connection requesting transaction using the certificate of the digital wallet obtained from the blockchain database300. Also, the payment supporting server200may determine or support another device to determine if the identification information on the IoT device acquired from the signature value for identification is identical to the identification information on the IoT device in the link-connection requesting transaction, and if two pieces of the identification information are determined as identical, may determine or support another device to determine the link-connection requesting transaction as valid. Herein, a process of the payment supporting server200acquiring the certificate of the digital wallet if the blockchain database300is comprised of the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database is described in detail as follows. On condition that the certificate of the digital wallet has been registered in the first blockchain database and its corresponding third blockchain transaction ID is managed, and that a second representative hash value or its processed value calculated by using (I) a second specific hash value acquired by applying the hash function to the certificate of the digital wallet and (II) at least one neighboring hash value corresponding to the second specific hash value, has been registered in the second blockchain database and that its corresponding sixth blockchain transaction ID is managed, the payment supporting server200may perform or support another device to perform processes of (i) retrieving the certificate of the digital wallet registered in the first blockchain database using the third blockchain transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the digital wallet in the link-connection requesting transaction obtained from the digital wallet130, or (ii) retrieving the certificate of the digital wallet registered in the first blockchain database by referring to information on a Merkle tree and information on its leaf nodes, wherein the information on the Merkle tree and its leaf nodes is acquired from the first blockchain database registered to be corresponding to the second representative hash value or its processed value included in a data message which is acquired from the second blockchain database using the sixth blockchain transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the digital wallet in the link-connection requesting transaction. Thereafter, if the IoT device120is determined as valid, the payment supporting server200may perform or support another device to perform processes of connecting the link at a step of S20, registering link information on the link in the blockchain database300at a step of S21, managing its corresponding transaction ID at a step of S22, and transmitting the link information to at least one of the IoT device120and the digital wallet130at steps of S23and S24. Further, the digital wallet130may store or support another device to store the identification information on the link-connected IoT device, and may display or support another device to display the link information to the user device131to thereby allow the user to confirm the link information at a step of S25. Herein, a process of the payment supporting server200registering the link information in the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database if the blockchain database300is comprised of the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database is described in detail as follows. The payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the link information in the first blockchain database, and may acquire or support another device to acquire a first blockchain transaction ID of the link information representing a location of the link information registered in the first blockchain database from the first blockchain database. Next, if one of anchoring conditions for registering a hash value in the second blockchain database is satisfied, the payment supporting server200may generate or support another device to generate a fourth representative hash value or its processed value, which is a Merkle root, calculated by using (i) a fourth specific hash value acquired by applying the hash function to the link information, and (ii) at least one neighboring hash value corresponding to the fourth specific hash value. Also, the payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the fourth representative hash value or its processed value in the second blockchain database, and may acquire or support another device to acquire a second blockchain transaction ID representing a location of the fourth representative hash value or its processed value registered in the second blockchain database from the second blockchain database. Herein, the payment supporting server200may perform or support another device to perform processes of storing and managing the fourth specific hash value and its corresponding at least one neighboring hash value in a certain data structure. Herein, the data structure may vary and one example may be a Merkle tree. In other words, the payment supporting server200may create or support another device to create a Merkle tree whose specific leaf node has the fourth specific hash value, and if one of the anchoring conditions is satisfied, the payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the fourth representative hash value or its processed value in the second blockchain database, where the fourth representative hash value is calculated by using the fourth specific hash value and at least one hash value of at least one neighboring node which corresponds to the node of the fourth specific hash value. More specifically, (x1) the payment supporting server200may calculate or support another device to calculate an intermediate value by using (i) the fourth specific hash value and (ii) a hash value allocated to a sibling node of a specific leaf node where the fourth specific hash value is allocated, and may allocate or support another device to allocate a hash value of the intermediate value to a parent node of the specific leaf node. (x2) If the parent node is a root node of the Merkle tree, the hash value allocated to the parent node becomes the fourth representative hash value. (x3) If the parent node is not the root node, the payment supporting server200may repeat the processes from (x1) to (x3) by regarding the hash value allocated to the parent node as the fourth specific hash value and regarding the parent node as the specific leaf node. The payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the hash value allocated to the root node as the fourth representative hash value in the second blockchain database. Herein, a processed value of the fourth representative hash value may be registered. For example, a value from hex operation on the fourth representative hash value may be registered. On the other hand, if the payment supporting server200stores the fourth specific hash value and the at least one neighboring hash value in a 4-1st data structure and then stores and manages a 4-2nd data structure identical in a form to the 4-1st data structure, the 4-1st data structure and the 4-2nd data structure may be connected in a form of a chain. Especially, as aforementioned, if the 4-1st data structure and the 4-2nd data structure are Merkle trees, a root value of the 4-1st data structure or a hash value of the root value may be allocated to a first leaf node of the 4-2nd data structure. Moreover, data integrity may be further ensured by verifying the 4-1st data structure when the 4-2nd data structure is created. The verification of the 4-2nd data structure will be explained later. Further, in case of a first Merkle tree among at least two Merkle trees connected in a form of a chain, a hash value of a certain message data comprised of text, number or symbol, or a processed value of the hash value may be allocated to a first leaf node of the first Merkle tree. For example, at the time of creation of a Merkle tree, a hash value of an input message firstly given by the payment supporting server200may be allocated. FIGS.3and4are drawings illustrating examples of Merkle trees created in accordance with one example embodiment of the present invention. FIG.3illustrates a Merkle tree with four leaf nodes. As the illustrated Merkle tree is a first Merkle tree whose tree_id is zero, a hash value sha256 (coinplug_unique_message) of a certain message data is allocated to an h0 node which is a first leaf node. If there is a request for registration of a transaction related to the link information, the payment supporting server200may create or support another device to create a leaf node next to a last leaf node of the Merkle tree currently configured and may allocate or support another device to allocate the fourth specific hash value or its processed value to the created leaf node. For example, if an allocation of values is completed with an h1 node as a last which is a second leaf node of the Merkle tree inFIG.3, and if a new leaf node is to be created, then an h2 node which is a next leaf node may be created and the fourth specific hash value or its processed value sha256 (input2) may be allocated to the h2 node. Further, the payment supporting server200may calculate or support another device to calculate by using (i) the fourth specific hash value allocated to the h2 node and (ii) a hash value allocated to an h3 node which is a sibling node of the h2 node. The hash value of the calculated value may be allocated to an h23 node which is a parent node of the h2 node and the h3 node. As the parent node, i.e., the h23 node, is not the root node of the Merkle tree, the payment supporting server200may repeat the process by regarding the hash value allocated to the h23 node as the fourth specific hash value. In other words, with the hash value allocated to the h23 node as the fourth specific hash value, the hash values allocated to the h23 node and an h01 node may be used together for calculation and allocated to an h0123 node which is a parent node of the h23 node and the h01 node. Herein, as the h0123 node is the root node, the payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the processed value hex(h{node_index}) of the hash value allocated to the h0123 node in the second blockchain database. Meanwhile, the anchoring conditions may include at least one of (i) a condition that a certain number of the transactions related to the link information are generated, (ii) a condition that a certain amount of time is elapsed, (iii) a condition that a block is created in the first blockchain database, and (iv) a condition that has at least one of characteristics of services. On the other hand, for example, if the number of the transactions related to the link information equals the number of leaf nodes in a Merkle tree to be created and if these transactions are acquired, the payment supporting server may create or support another device to create the Merkle tree and may register or support another device to register the root value of the Merkle tree in the second blockchain database. Also, the payment supporting server200may create or support another device to create a root value of the Merkle tree aforementioned at stated intervals, by referring to the condition (ii) above. In this case, the payment supporting server200, if a certain amount of time is elapsed, may create or support another device to create a Merkle tree by referring to input values by the time, and may register or support another device to register the root value of the Merkle tree in the second blockchain database. However, in this case, a value may not be allocated to a sibling node of the node to which the fourth specific hash value is allocated even though a certain amount of time is elapsed. In case no hash value is allocated to the sibling node even though one of the anchoring conditions is met, the payment supporting server200may allocate or support another device to allocate a certain hash value to the sibling node to thereby produce a root value of the Merkle tree by the method aforementioned. For example, the payment supporting server200may copy and allocate or support another device to allocate the fourth specific hash value to the sibling node. The characteristics of services may be at least part of (i) information on a cost provided by an issuer of the transaction related to the link information, (ii) information on a time-zone during which a registration of the transaction related to the link information is performed, (iii) information on a location where the registration service of the transaction is performed and (iv) information on a type of a company that requested the registration of the transaction. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Meanwhile, if a creation of a new Merkle tree starts and if one of the anchoring conditions is satisfied without the transaction related to the link information, the payment supporting server200may create or support another device to create the new Merkle tree by allotting certain message data to its first and second leaf nodes and may register or support another device to register the root value of the new Merkle tree or its processed value in the second blockchain database. In this case, the new Merkle tree with two leaf nodes may be created. Further, as aforementioned, if the payment supporting server200stores the fourth specific hash value and the at least one neighboring hash value in the 4-1st data structure and then stores and manages the 4-2nd data structure identical in a form to the 4-1st data structure, the 4-1st data structure and the 4-2nd data structure may be connected in a form of a chain. Especially, if the 4-1st data structure and the 4-2nd data structure are Merkle trees, a root value of the 4-1st data structure or a hash value of the root value may be allocated to a first leaf node of the 4-2nd data structure. FIG.4is a drawing illustrating an example of a Merkle tree created in a form of the 4-2nd data structure in accordance with one example embodiment of the present invention. By referring toFIG.4, it is clear that the root value hex(h0123) of the Merkle tree whose tree_id is zero inFIG.3is allocated as sha256 (input4) to the first leaf node which is an h4 node of a new Merkle tree. In such a manner, the present invention has advantage of improving data integrity, as tracking becomes easier even in the case of data forgery, by connecting multiple data structures created when a transaction occurs. Next, by referring toFIG.5, a process of disconnecting the link between the IoT device and the digital wallet as the payer therefor in accordance with one example embodiment of the present invention is described. If the user selects the identification information on the IoT device linked with the digital wallet and inputs a link-disconnection requesting signal using the user terminal131to disconnect the digital wallet130from the payer for the IoT device120at a step of S51, the digital wallet130may transmit or support another device to transmit a request for the identification information on the IoT device to the IoT device120from which the user requested disconnection, at a step of S52. Herein, the request transmitted from the digital wallet130to the IoT device120may include the identification information on the digital wallet. Further, the identification information on the digital wallet may be information unique to each digital wallet for its identification, and may include at least one of a token ID of the digital wallet and the certificate of the digital wallet. Also, the identification information on the digital wallet may include at least one of an ID of the user, an ID of the user device, an IP address of the user device, a MAC address of the user device, and a phone number. The certificate of the digital wallet may include at least one of a PKI certificate, a PKI digital identity, and a public key of a key pair comprised of a private key and the public key, and may be pre-registered in the blockchain database300. Then, in response to the received signal requesting the identification information, the IoT device120may transmit or support another device to transmit the identification information on the IoT device to the digital wallet130, at a step of S53. Herein, the IoT device120may confirm or support another device to confirm the digital wallet that requested the identification information by using the identification information included in the received signal, and may transmit or support another device to transmit the identification information on the IoT device to the confirmed digital wallet130. Further, the identification information on the IoT device may be information unique to each IoT device120for its identification, and may include at least one of a token ID of the IoT device and the certificate of the IoT device. Also, the identification information on the IoT device may include at least one of an ID of the IoT device, an IP address of the IoT device, and a MAC address of the IoT device. The certificate of the IoT device may include at least one of a PKI certificate, a PKI digital identity, and a public key of a key pair comprised of a private key and the public key, and may be pre-registered in the blockchain database300. Further, the certificate of the IoT device may be registered at the time of its manufacture, or may be created by the user and the like to be registered in the IoT device. The digital wallet130may display or support another device to display through the user device131a confirmation requesting signal for disconnecting the link between the IoT device120and the digital wallet130as the payer therefor, at a step of S54. Herein, if the user wants to disconnect the link, the user may input information for confirming at a step of S55. Herein, the inputted information for confirming may be information to access the certificate and the like, and may include at least one of a password, a PIN code, fingerprint information of the user, and biometric information of the user. Meanwhile, input of the information for confirming may be omitted as the case may be. Then, the user device131may determine or support another device to determine whether the inputted information for confirming is identical to predetermined information for confirming, and if they are determined as identical, may transmit or support another device to transmit a link-disconnection instructing signal to the digital wallet130, at a step of S56. Then, the digital wallet130may transmit or support another device to transmit a link-disconnection requesting transaction to the payment supporting server200, at a step of S57. Herein, the link-disconnection requesting transaction may include the identification information on the digital wallet, the identification information on the IoT device, and the signature value for identification acquired by signing the identification information on the IoT device with the certificate of the digital wallet. Meanwhile, the digital wallet130is described above as a device separate from the user device131, however, the digital wallet130may be included in the user device131. For example, the digital wallet130may be a mobile digital wallet installed in the user device131, and the processes above may be performed by the user device131. Herein, the certificate of the digital wallet may be the certificate of the user stored in the user device. If the link-disconnection requesting transaction is received from the digital wallet130, the payment supporting server200may verify or support another device to verify the IoT device120corresponding to the identification information on the IoT device120included in the link-disconnection requesting transaction. For example, the payment supporting server200may transmit or support another device to transmit a verifying transaction including the identification information on the IoT device and a value for verification to the IoT device120corresponding to the identification information on the IoT device included in the link-disconnection requesting transaction, at a step of S58. Herein, the value for verification may include a nonce, an OTP, and a time-stamp, etc. Further, the IoT device120may transmit or support another device to transmit a response signal including a signature value acquired by signing the value for verification included in the verifying transaction with the certificate of the IoT device, and the identification information on the IoT device to the payment supporting server200, at a step of S59. Then, the payment supporting server200may perform or support another device to perform processes of (i) acquiring the identification information on the IoT device in the response signal, (ii) acquiring the certificate of the IoT device from the blockchain database300registered to be corresponding to the identification information on the IoT device, and (iii) acquiring the value for verification from the signature value in the response signal by using the certificate of the IoT device obtained from the blockchain database300. Next, the payment supporting server200may determine if the value for verification acquired from the signature value in the response signal is identical to the value for verification transmitted to the IoT device120via the verifying transaction, and if they are determined as identical, may determine the IoT device120as valid. Herein, a process of the payment supporting server200acquiring the certificate of the IoT device120if the blockchain database300is comprised of the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database is described in detail as follows. On condition that the certificate of the IoT device has been registered in the first blockchain database and its corresponding first blockchain transaction ID is managed, and that the seventh representative hash value or its processed value calculated by using (I) the seventh specific hash value acquired by applying the hash function to the certificate of the IoT device and (II) at least one neighboring hash value corresponding to the seventh specific hash value, has been registered in the second blockchain database and that its corresponding fourth blockchain transaction ID is managed, the payment supporting server200may (i) retrieve the certificate of the IoT device registered in the first blockchain database using the first blockchain transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the IoT device in the response signal obtained from the IoT device120, or (ii) retrieve the certificate of the IoT device registered in the first blockchain database by referring to information on a Merkle tree and information on its leaf nodes, wherein the information on the Merkle tree and its leaf nodes is acquired from the first blockchain database registered to be corresponding to the seventh representative hash value or its processed value in a data message which is acquired from the second blockchain database using the fourth blockchain transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the IoT device in the response signal. Further, the payment supporting server200may confirm validity of the link-disconnection requesting transaction acquired from the digital wallet130. Herein, the payment supporting server200may acquire the certificate of the digital wallet in the blockchain database300registered to be corresponding to the identification information on the digital wallet in the link-disconnection requesting transaction, and may acquire the identification information on the IoT device from the signature value for identification in the link-disconnection requesting transaction using the certificate of the digital wallet obtained from the blockchain database300. Also, the payment supporting server200may determine if the identification information on the IoT device acquired from the signature value for identification is identical to the identification information on the IoT device in the link-disconnection requesting transaction, and if they are determined as identical, may determine the link-disconnection requesting transaction as valid. Herein, a process of the payment supporting server200acquiring the certificate of the digital wallet if the blockchain database300is comprised of the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database is described in detail as follows. On condition that the certificate of the digital wallet has been registered in the first blockchain database and its corresponding third blockchain transaction ID is managed, and that the second representative hash value or its processed value calculated by using (I) the second specific hash value acquired by applying the hash function to the certificate of the digital wallet and (II) at least one neighboring hash value corresponding to the second specific hash value, has been registered in the second blockchain database and that its corresponding sixth blockchain transaction ID is managed, the payment supporting server200may (i) retrieve the certificate of the digital wallet registered in the first blockchain database using the third blockchain transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the digital wallet in the link-disconnection requesting transaction obtained from the digital wallet130, or (ii) retrieve the certificate of the digital wallet registered in the first blockchain database by referring to information on a Merkle tree and information on its leaf nodes, wherein the information on a Merkle tree and its leaf nodes is acquired from the first blockchain database registered to be corresponding to the second representative hash value or its processed value included in a data message which is acquired from the second blockchain database using the sixth blockchain transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the digital wallet in the link-disconnection requesting transaction. Thereafter, if the IoT device120is determined as valid, the payment supporting server200may disconnect the link at a step of S60, may register information on the disconnection in the blockchain database300at a step of S61, may manage its corresponding transaction ID at a step of S62, and may transmit or support another device to transmit the information on the disconnection to at least one of the IoT device120and the digital wallet130at steps of S63and S64. Further, the digital wallet130may display the information on the disconnection to the user device131to thereby allow the user to confirm the information on the disconnection at a step of S65. Herein, a process of the payment supporting server200registering the information on the disconnection in the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database if the blockchain database300is comprised of the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database is described in detail as follows. The payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the information on the disconnection in the first blockchain database, and may acquire or support another device to acquire a first blockchain transaction ID of the information on the disconnection representing a location of the information on the disconnection registered in the first blockchain database from the first blockchain database. Next, if one of the anchoring conditions for registering a hash value in the second blockchain database is satisfied, the payment supporting server200may generate a fifth representative hash value or its processed value, which is a Merkle root, calculated by using (i) a fifth specific hash value acquired by applying the hash function to the information on the disconnection, and (ii) at least one neighboring hash value corresponding to the fifth specific hash value. Also, the payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the fifth representative hash value or its processed value in the second blockchain database, and may acquire or support another device to acquire a second blockchain transaction ID representing a location of the fifth representative hash value or its processed value registered in the second blockchain database from the second blockchain database. Herein, the payment supporting server200may store and manage the fifth specific hash value and its corresponding at least one neighboring hash value in a certain data structure. Herein, the data structure may vary and one example may be a Merkle tree. In other words, the payment supporting server200may create or support another device to create a Merkle tree whose specific leaf node has the fifth specific hash value, and if said one of the anchoring conditions is satisfied, the payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the fifth representative hash value or its processed value in the second blockchain database, where the fifth representative hash value is calculated by using the fifth specific hash value and at least one hash value of at least one neighboring node which corresponds to the node of the fifth specific hash value. More specifically, (x1) the payment supporting server200may calculate or support another device to calculate an intermediate value by using (i) the fifth specific hash value and (ii) a hash value allocated to a sibling node of a specific leaf node where the fifth specific hash value is allocated, and may allocate or support another device to allocate a hash value of the intermediate value to a parent node of the specific leaf node. (x2) If the parent node is a root node of the Merkle tree, the hash value allocated to the parent node becomes the fifth representative hash value. (x3) If the parent node is not the root node, the payment supporting server200may repeat the processes from (x1) to (x3) by regarding the hash value allocated to the parent node as the fifth specific hash value and regarding the parent node as the specific leaf node. The payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the hash value allocated to the root node as the fifth representative hash value in the second blockchain database. Herein, a processed value of the fifth representative hash value may be registered. For example, a value from hex operation on the fifth representative hash value may be registered. On the other hand, if the payment supporting server200stores the fifth specific hash value and the at least one neighboring hash value in a 5-1st data structure and then stores and manages a 5-2nd data structure identical in a form to the 5-1st data structure, the 5-1st data structure and the 5-2nd data structure may be connected in a form of a chain. Especially, as aforementioned, if the 5-1st data structure and the 5-2nd data structure are Merkle trees, a root value of the 5-1st data structure or a hash value of the root value may be allocated to a first leaf node of the 5-2nd data structure. Moreover, data integrity may be further ensured by verifying the 5-1st data structure when the 5-2nd data structure is created. Further, in case of a first Merkle tree among at least two Merkle trees connected in a form of a chain, a hash value of a certain message data comprised of text, number or symbol, or a processed value of the hash value may be allocated to a first leaf node of the first Merkle tree. For example, at the time of creation of a Merkle tree, a hash value of an input message firstly given by the payment supporting server200may be allocated. Meanwhile, the description ofFIGS.3and4explains a Merkle tree similar to that created according to the information on the disconnection, therefore detailed explanation is omitted. Next, on condition that the digital wallet has been linked with the payer for the IoT device, a process of paying the cost generated at the IoT device in accordance with one example embodiment of the present invention is described by referring toFIG.6. If the service providing device110of the service provider transmits a request for information on the payer including the identification information on the IoT device to the IoT device120, for billing a product or a service purchased or used via the IoT device120by the user at a step of S111, the IoT device120may transmit or support another device to transmit the identification information on the IoT device to the service providing device110corresponding to the identification information on the service providing device included in the request at a step of S112. Herein, the service providing device110may include a terminal and a server of a seller of products, as well as those that provide services to the user. Meanwhile, the payment for the cost generated at the IoT device120may include payment related to products and services off-line like refueling cars, purchase of car-related products, and car-related services, payment related to usage of infrastructure using metering devices for electricity or gas, payment automatically made between devices, payment for home shopping purchase by smart devices, and payment for VODs provided by a set-top box. However, the scope of the payment for the IoT device120is not limited thereto, and may include payment for every cost billed for the IoT device120used by the user. Next, the service providing device110may transmit or support another device to transmit a billing transaction by referring to the identification information on the IoT device acquired from the IoT device120to the payment supporting server200at a step of S113. Herein, the billing transaction may include the identification information on the service providing device, the identification information on the IoT device, the billing detail, and the signature value for billing acquired by signing the billing detail with the certificate of the service providing device. Then, if the billing transaction is acquired from the service providing device110, the payment supporting server200may confirm validity of the billing transaction acquired from the service providing device110at a step of S114. For example, the payment supporting server200may (i) acquire the certificate of the service providing device from the blockchain database300registered to be corresponding to the identification information on the service providing device in the billing transaction, and (ii) acquire the billing detail from the signature value for billing in the billing transaction by using the certificate of the service providing device obtained from the blockchain database300. Next, the payment supporting server200may determine if the billing detail acquired from the signature value for billing is identical to the billing detail in the billing transaction, and if they are determined as identical, may determine the billing transaction as valid. Herein, a process of the payment supporting server200acquiring the certificate of the service providing device if the blockchain database300is comprised of the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database is described in detail as follows. On condition that the certificate of the service providing device has been registered in the first blockchain database and its corresponding second blockchain transaction ID is managed, and that a sixth representative hash value or its processed value calculated by using (I) a sixth specific hash value acquired by applying the hash function to the certificate of the service providing device and (II) at least one neighboring hash value corresponding to the sixth specific hash value, has been registered in the second blockchain database and that its corresponding fifth blockchain transaction ID is managed, the payment supporting server200may (i) retrieve the certificate of the service providing device registered in the first blockchain database using the second blockchain transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the service providing device in the billing transaction obtained from the service providing device110, or (ii) retrieve the certificate of the service providing device registered in the first blockchain database by referring to information on a Merkle tree and information on its leaf nodes, wherein the information on the Merkle tree and its leaf nodes is acquired from the first blockchain database registered to be corresponding to the sixth representative hash value or its processed value included in a data message which is acquired from the second blockchain database using the fifth blockchain transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the service providing device in the billing transaction. Then, if the billing transaction is determined as valid, the payment supporting server200may acquire the identification information on the digital wallet130set as the payer for the IoT device120by using the link information described inFIG.2, at steps of S115and S116. For example, the payment supporting server200may transmit or support another device to transmit a request for the link information to the blockchain database300by referring to a transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the IoT device in the billing transaction at a step of S115, and may acquire or support another device to acquire the link information from the blockchain database300at a step of S116. Herein, a process of the payment supporting server200acquiring the link information if the blockchain database300is comprised of the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database is described in detail as follows. On condition that the link information has been registered as described inFIG.2, the payment supporting server200may (i) retrieve the link information registered in the first blockchain database using the first blockchain transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the IoT device in the billing transaction obtained from the service providing device110, (ii) retrieve a data message from the second blockchain database using the second blockchain transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the IoT device in the billing transaction, (iii) retrieve information on a Merkle tree and information on its leaf nodes corresponding to the fourth representative hash value or its processed value included in the data message from the first blockchain database, and (iv) acquire the certificate of the service providing device registered in the first blockchain database referring to the retrieved information on the Merkle tree and its leaf nodes. Then, using the identification information on the digital wallet130set as the payer for the IoT device120acquired by referring to the link information, the payment supporting server200may instruct a fund source registered in the digital wallet130to pay or support another device to pay for the IoT device at a step of S117. Herein, the payment may include a deferred payment, an advance payment, a standing order payment, and a conditional payment, etc., but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and may include any payment that uses the fund source to pay a cost. Further, the payment may be made by a means configured by the user using a smart contract. Thereafter, the payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register a payment result in the blockchain database300at a step of S118, may manage its corresponding transaction ID at a step of S119, and may transmit or support another device to transmit the payment result to at least one of the service providing device110, the IoT device120and the digital wallet130at steps of S120, S121and S122. Next, the service providing device110may transmit or support another device to transmit the payment result to the IoT device120at a step of S123. Further, the digital wallet130may display the payment result to the user device131to thereby allow the user to confirm the payment result at a step of S124. Herein, a process of the payment supporting server200registering the payment result to the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database if the blockchain database300is comprised of the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database is described in detail as follows. The payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the payment result in the first blockchain database, and may acquire or support another device to acquire a first blockchain transaction ID of the payment result representing a location of the payment result registered in the first blockchain database from the first blockchain database. Next, if one of the anchoring conditions for registering a hash value in the second blockchain database is satisfied, the payment supporting server200may generate the first representative hash value or its processed value, which is a Merkle root, calculated by using (i) the first specific hash value acquired by applying the hash function to the payment result, and (ii) at least one neighboring hash value corresponding to the first specific hash value. Also, the payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the first representative hash value or its processed value in the second blockchain database, and may acquire or support another device to acquire a second blockchain transaction ID representing a location of the first representative hash value or its processed value registered in the second blockchain database from the second blockchain database. Herein, the payment supporting server200may store and manage the first specific hash value and its corresponding at least one neighboring hash value in a certain data structure. Herein, the data structure may vary and one example may be a Merkle tree. In other words, the payment supporting server200may create or support another device to create a Merkle tree whose specific leaf node has the first specific hash value, and if said one of the anchoring conditions is satisfied, the payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the first representative hash value or its processed value in the second blockchain database, where the first representative hash value is calculated by using the first specific hash value and at least one hash value of at least one neighboring node which corresponds to the node of the first specific hash value. More specifically, (x1) the payment supporting server200may calculate or support another device to calculate an intermediate value by using (i) the first specific hash value and (ii) a hash value allocated to a sibling node of a specific leaf node where the first specific hash value is allocated, and may allocate or support another device to allocate a hash value of the intermediate value to a parent node of the specific leaf node. (x2) If the parent node is a root node of the Merkle tree, the hash value allocated to the parent node becomes the first representative hash value. (x3) If the parent node is not the root node, the payment supporting server200may repeat the processes from (x1) to (x3) by regarding the hash value allocated to the parent node as the first specific hash value and regarding the parent node as the specific leaf node. The payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the hash value allocated to the root node as the first representative hash value in the second blockchain database. Herein, a processed value of the first representative hash value may be registered. For example, a value from hex operation on the first representative hash value may be registered. On the other hand, if the payment supporting server200stores the first specific hash value and the at least one neighboring hash value in a 1-1st data structure and then stores and manages a 1-2nd data structure identical in a form to the 1-1st data structure, the 1-1st data structure and the 1-2nd data structure may be connected in a form of a chain. Especially, as aforementioned, if the 1-1st data structure and the 1-2nd data structure are Merkle trees, a root value of the 1-1st data structure or a hash value of the root value may be allocated to a first leaf node of the 1-2nd data structure. Moreover, data integrity may be further ensured by verifying the 1-1st data structure when the 1-2nd data structure is created. Further, in case of a first Merkle tree among at least two Merkle trees connected in a form of a chain, a hash value of a certain message data comprised of text, number or symbol, or a processed value of the hash value may be allocated to a first leaf node of the first Merkle tree. For example, at the time of creation of a Merkle tree, a hash value of an input message firstly given by the payment supporting server200may be allocated. Meanwhile, the description ofFIGS.3and4explains a Merkle tree similar to that created according to the payment result, therefore detailed explanation is omitted. Next, a detailed description of a process of the advance payment for the IoT device by referring toFIG.7in accordance with one example embodiment of the present invention is as follows. If the service providing device110of the service provider transmits a request for information on the payer including the identification information on the IoT device to the IoT device120, for billing a product or a service purchased or used via the IoT device120by the user at a step of S131, the IoT device120may transmit or support another device to transmit the identification information on the IoT device to the service providing device110corresponding to the identification information on the service providing device included in the request at a step of S132. Herein, the service providing device110may include a terminal and a server of a seller of the products, as well as those that provide services to the user. Meanwhile, the payment for the cost generated at the IoT device120may include payment related to products and services off-line like refueling cars, purchase of car-related products, and car-related services, payment related to usage of infrastructure using metering devices for electricity or gas, payment automatically made between devices, payment for home shopping purchase by smart devices, and payment for VODs provided by a set-top box. However, the scope of the payment for the IoT device120is not limited thereto, and may include payment for every cost billed for the IoT device120used by the user. Next, the service providing device110may transmit or support another device to transmit the billing transaction by referring to the identification information on the IoT device acquired from the IoT device120to the payment supporting server200at a step of S133. Herein, the billing transaction may include the identification information on the service providing device, the identification information on the IoT device, the billing detail, and the signature value for billing acquired by signing the billing detail with the certificate of the service providing device. Then, if the billing transaction is acquired from the service providing device110, the payment supporting server200may confirm validity of the billing transaction acquired from the service providing device110at a step of S134. For example, the payment supporting server200may (i) acquire the certificate of the service providing device from the blockchain database300registered to be corresponding to the identification information on the service providing device in the billing transaction, and (ii) acquire the billing detail from the signature value for billing in the billing transaction by using the certificate of the service providing device obtained from the blockchain database300. Next, the payment supporting server200may determine if the billing detail acquired from the signature value for billing is identical to the billing detail in the billing transaction, and if they are determined as identical, may determine the billing transaction as valid. Herein, a process of the payment supporting server200acquiring the certificate of the service providing device if the blockchain database300is comprised of the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database is described in detail as follows. On condition that the certificate of the service providing device has been registered in the first blockchain database and its corresponding second blockchain transaction ID is managed, and that the sixth representative hash value or its processed value calculated by using (I) the sixth specific hash value acquired by applying the hash function to the certificate of the service providing device and (II) at least one neighboring hash value corresponding to the sixth specific hash value, has been registered in the second blockchain database and that its corresponding fifth blockchain transaction ID is managed, the payment supporting server200may (i) retrieve the certificate of the service providing device registered in the first blockchain database using the second blockchain transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the service providing device in the billing transaction obtained from the service providing device110, or (ii) retrieve the certificate of the service providing device registered in the first blockchain database by referring to information on a Merkle tree and information on its leaf nodes, wherein the information on the Merkle tree and its leaf nodes is acquired from the first blockchain database registered to be corresponding to the sixth representative hash value or its processed value included in a data message which is acquired from the second blockchain database using the fifth blockchain transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the service providing device in the billing transaction. Then, if the billing transaction is determined as valid, the payment supporting server200may acquire the identification information on the digital wallet130set as the payer for the IoT device120by using the link information described inFIG.2, at steps of S135and S136. For example, the payment supporting server200may transmit or support another device to transmit a request for the link information to the blockchain database300by referring to a transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the IoT device in the billing transaction at a step of S135, and may acquire or support another device to acquire the link information from the blockchain database300at a step of S136. Herein, a process of the payment supporting server200acquiring the link information if the blockchain database300is comprised of the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database is described in detail as follows. On condition that the link information has been registered as described inFIG.2, the payment supporting server200may (i) retrieve the link information registered in the first blockchain database using the first blockchain transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the IoT device in the billing transaction obtained from the service providing device110, (ii) retrieve a data message from the second blockchain database using a second blockchain transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the IoT device in the billing transaction, (iii) retrieve information on a Merkle tree and information on its leaf nodes corresponding to the fourth representative hash value or its processed value included in the data message from the first blockchain database, and (iv) acquire the certificate of the service providing device registered in the first blockchain database referring to the retrieved information on the Merkle tree and its leaf nodes. Then, using the identification information on the digital wallet130set as the payer for the IoT device120acquired by referring to the link information, the payment supporting server200may transmit or support another device to transmit a confirmation requesting transaction for payment to the digital wallet130at a step of S137. Herein, the confirmation requesting transaction for payment may include the billing detail, the identification information on the digital wallet, and a value for verification. The value for verification may include a nonce, an OTP, and a time-stamp, etc. But the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and may include any value for verification. Next, the digital wallet130may display or support another device to display to the user device131a confirmation requesting signal for payment from the digital wallet130linked with the payer for the IoT device120, at a step of S138. Herein, if the user wants to approve the payment by the digital wallet130, the user may input information for confirming to thereby approve the payment, at a step of S139. Herein, the inputted information for confirming may be information to access the certificate and the like, and may include at least one of a password, a PIN code, fingerprint information of the user, and biometric information of the user. Meanwhile, input of the information for confirming may be omitted as the case may be. Then, the user device131may determine whether the inputted information for confirming is identical to predetermined information for confirming, and if they are determined as identical, may transmit a payment instructing signal to the digital wallet130, at a step of S140. Then, the digital wallet130may transmit or support another device to transmit a payment confirming transaction to the payment supporting server200, at a step of S141. Herein, the payment confirming transaction may include the identification information on the digital wallet, and a signature value for verification acquired by signing the value for verification with the certificate of the digital wallet. Then, the payment supporting server200may confirm validity of the payment confirming transaction acquired from the service providing device110at a step of S142. For example, the payment supporting server200may (i) acquire the certificate of the digital wallet from the blockchain database300registered to be corresponding to the identification information on the digital wallet in the payment confirming transaction, and (ii) acquire the value for verification from the signature value for verification in the billing transaction by using the certificate of the digital wallet obtained from the blockchain database300. Next, the payment supporting server200may determine if the value for verification acquired from the signature value for verification is identical to the value for verification in the payment confirming transaction, and if they are determined as identical, may determine the payment confirming transaction as valid. Herein, a process of the payment supporting server200acquiring the certificate of the digital wallet if the blockchain database300is comprised of the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database is described in detail as follows. On condition that the certificate of the digital wallet has been registered in the first blockchain database and its corresponding third blockchain transaction ID is managed, and that the second representative hash value or its processed value calculated by using (I) the second specific hash value acquired by applying the hash function to the certificate of the digital wallet and (II) at least one neighboring hash value corresponding to the second specific hash value, has been registered in the second blockchain database and that its corresponding sixth blockchain transaction ID is managed, the payment supporting server200may (i) retrieve the certificate of the digital wallet registered in the first blockchain database using the third blockchain transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the digital wallet in the payment confirming transaction obtained from the digital wallet130, or (ii) retrieve the certificate of the digital wallet registered in the first blockchain database by referring to information on a Merkle tree and information on its leaf nodes, wherein the information on the Merkle tree and its leaf nodes is acquired from the first blockchain database registered to be corresponding to the second representative hash value or its processed value included in a data message from the second blockchain database using the sixth transaction ID corresponding to the identification information on the digital wallet in the payment confirming transaction. Then, if the payment confirming transaction is determined as valid, the payment supporting server200may transmit or support another device to transmit a request for payment for the IoT device120to the fund source server400corresponding to the fund source of the digital wallet130, at a step of S143. Thereafter, if the payment result for the IoT device is acquired from the fund source server400, the payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the payment result in the blockchain database300at a step of S145, may acquire and manage its corresponding transaction ID at a step of S146, and may transmit or support another device to transmit the payment result to at least one of the service providing device110, the IoT device120and the digital wallet130at steps of S147, S148and S149. Next, the service providing device110may transmit or support another device to transmit the payment result to the IoT device120at a step of S150. Further, the digital wallet130may display the payment result to the user device131to thereby allow the user to confirm the payment result at a step of S151. Herein, if the blockchain database300is comprised of the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database, description of the payment supporting server200registering the payment result in the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database is easily inferred from the description ofFIG.6and therefore omitted. The above description shows that, in response to the billing transaction from the service providing device110, the payment supporting server200may transmit the confirmation requesting transaction for payment to the digital wallet130to thereby allow the user to approve the payment, meanwhile, if the billing detail corresponds to a smart contract predetermined by the user, by using the identification information on the digital wallet acquired from the blockchain database300, the payment supporting server200may transmit or support another device to transmit a request for payment for the billing detail to the fund source server corresponding to the digital wallet to allow the billing detail to be paid for, without any approval of the user. Next, a detailed description of a process of the advance payment for the IoT device by referring toFIGS.8and9in accordance with one example embodiment of the present invention is as follows. First, a process of registering the advance payment for the IoT device by referring toFIG.8in accordance with one example embodiment of the present invention is described as follows. If the user inputs an advance payment registering signal using the user terminal131to register the advance payment for the IoT device at a step of S161, the digital wallet130may transmit or support another device to transmit a request for identification information on the IoT device to the IoT device120for which the user requested registration of the advance payment, at a step of S162. Herein, the request transmitted from the digital wallet130to the IoT device120may include the identification information on the digital wallet. Then, in response to the received request for the identification information, the IoT device120may transmit or support another device to transmit the identification information on the IoT device to the digital wallet130, at a step of S163. The digital wallet130may display or support another device to display to the user device131a confirmation requesting signal for registering the advance payment, at a step of S164. Herein, if the user wants to allow registering the advance payment for the IoT device120, the user may input information for confirming to thereby allow the registration, at a step of S165. Then, the user device131may determine whether the inputted information for confirming is identical to predetermined information for confirming, and if they are determined as identical, may transmit a registration confirming signal to the digital wallet130, at a step of S166. Then, the digital wallet130may transmit or support another device to transmit a registration requesting transaction for advance payment to the payment supporting server200, at a step of S167. Herein, the registration requesting transaction for advance payment may include the identification information on the digital wallet, the identification information on the IoT device, registration requesting information for advance payment, and a signature value for requesting acquired by signing the registration requesting information with the certificate of the digital wallet. Next, the payment supporting server200may confirm validity of the registration requesting transaction for advance payment acquired from the digital wallet130, at a step of S168. For example, the payment supporting server200may (i) acquire the certificate of the digital wallet from the blockchain database300registered to be corresponding to the identification information on the digital wallet in the registration requesting transaction for advance payment, and (ii) acquire the registration requesting information for advance payment from the signature value for requesting in the registration requesting transaction for advance payment by using the certificate of the digital wallet obtained from the blockchain database300. Next, the payment supporting server200may determine if the registration requesting information for advance payment acquired from the signature value for requesting is identical to that in the registration requesting transaction for advance payment, and if they are determined as identical, may determine the registration requesting transaction as valid. Herein, if the blockchain database300is comprised of the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database, description of the payment supporting server200acquiring the certificate of the digital wallet is easily inferred from the description ofFIG.6and therefore omitted. Thereafter, if the registration requesting transaction is determined as valid, the payment supporting server200may transmit or support another device to transmit a request for the advance payment for the IoT device120to the fund source server400corresponding to the fund source of the digital wallet130, at a step of S169. Thereafter, if a payment result of the advance payment for the IoT device is acquired from the fund source server400at a step of S170, the payment supporting server200may register the advance payment with the IoT device120at a step of S171, may register or support another device to register the registration result to the blockchain database300at a step of S172, may acquire and manage its corresponding transaction ID at a step of S173, and may transmit or support another device to transmit the registration result to at least one of the IoT device120and the digital wallet130at steps of S174and S175. Further, the digital wallet130may display the registration result to the user device131to thereby allow the user to confirm the registration result at a step of S176. Herein, a process of the payment supporting server200registering the registration result to the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database if the blockchain database300is comprised of the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database is described in detail as follows. The payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the registration result to the first blockchain database, and may acquire or support another device to acquire a first blockchain transaction ID of the registration result representing a location of the registration result in the first blockchain database from the first blockchain database. Next, if one of the anchoring conditions for registering a hash value in the second blockchain database is satisfied, the payment supporting server200may generate the third representative hash value or its processed value, which is a Merkle root, calculated by using (i) the third specific hash value acquired by applying the hash function to the registration result, and (ii) at least one neighboring hash value corresponding to the third specific hash value. Also, the payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the third representative hash value or its processed value in the second blockchain database, and may acquire or support another device to acquire the second blockchain transaction ID of the registration result representing a location of the third representative hash value or its processed value registered in the second blockchain database from the second blockchain database. Herein, the payment supporting server200may store and manage the third specific hash value and its corresponding at least one neighboring hash value in a certain data structure. Herein, the data structure may vary and one example may be a Merkle tree. In other words, the payment supporting server200may create or support another device to create a Merkle tree whose specific leaf node has the third specific hash value, and if the at least one of the anchoring conditions is satisfied, the payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the third representative hash value or its processed value in the second blockchain database, where the third representative hash value is calculated by using the third specific hash value and at least one hash value of at least one neighboring node which corresponds to the node of the third specific hash value. More specifically, (x1) the payment supporting server200may calculate or support another device to calculate an intermediate value by using (i) the third specific hash value and (ii) a hash value allocated to a sibling node of a specific leaf node where the third specific hash value is allocated, and may allocate or support another device to allocate a hash value of the intermediate value to a parent node of the specific leaf node. (x2) If the parent node is a root node of the Merkle tree, the hash value allocated to the parent node becomes the third representative hash value. (x3) If the parent node is not the root node, the payment supporting server200may repeat the processes from (x1) to (x3) by regarding the hash value allocated to the parent node as the third specific hash value and regarding the parent node as the specific leaf node. The payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the hash value allocated to the root node as the third representative hash value to the second blockchain database. Herein, a processed value of the third representative hash value may be registered. For example, a value from hex operation on the third representative hash value may be registered. On the other hand, if the payment supporting server200stores the third specific hash value and the at least one neighboring hash value in a 3-1st data structure and then stores and manages a 3-2nd data structure identical in a form to the 3-1st data structure, the 3-1st data structure and the 3-2nd data structure may be connected in a form of a chain. Especially, as aforementioned, if the 3-1st data structure and the 3-2nd data structure are Merkle trees, a root value of the 3-1st data structure or a hash value of the root value may be allocated to a first leaf node of the 3-2nd data structure. Moreover, data integrity may be further ensured by verifying the 3-1st data structure when the 3-2nd data structure is created. Further, in case of a first Merkle tree among at least two Merkle trees connected in a form of a chain, a hash value of a certain message data comprised of text, number or symbol, or a processed value of the hash value may be allocated to a first leaf node of the first Merkle tree. For example, at the time of creation of a Merkle tree, a hash value of an input message firstly given by the payment supporting server200may be allocated. Meanwhile, the description ofFIGS.3and4explains a Merkle tree similar to that created according to the registration result, therefore detailed explanation is omitted. Also, when registering the advance payment for the IoT device120, the payment supporting server200may register a predetermined advance payment as the advance payment corresponding to the IoT device120if the advance payment registered to be corresponding to the IoT device120falls below a predetermined threshold, in response to the smart contract predetermined by the user. That is, according to the aforementioned method, the payment supporting server200may transmit a request for payment corresponding to a predetermined advance payment by the digital wallet to the fund source server400, and if the payment is made, the payment supporting server200may register the result in the blockchain database300, and may transmit or support another device to transmit the result to the IoT device120and the digital wallet130. Next, on condition that the advance payment has been registered with the IoT device as in the description ofFIG.8, a process of the advance payment for the IoT device in accordance with one example embodiment of the present invention is described by referring toFIG.9. If the service providing device110of the service provider transmits a request for information on the payer including the identification information on the IoT device to the IoT device120, for billing a product or a service purchased or used via the IoT device120by the user at a step of S181, the IoT device120may transmit or support another device to transmit the identification information on the IoT device to the service providing device110corresponding to the identification information on the service providing device included in the request at a step of S182. Then, the service providing device110may transmit or support another device to transmit the billing transaction by referring to the identification information on the IoT device acquired from the IoT device120to the payment supporting server200at a step of S183. Herein, the billing transaction may include the identification information on the service providing device, the identification information on the IoT device, the billing detail, and the signature value for billing acquired by signing the billing detail with the certificate of the service providing device. Then, if the billing transaction is acquired from the service providing device110, the payment supporting server200may confirm validity of the billing transaction acquired from the service providing device110at a step of S184. Herein, description of confirming the validity of the billing transaction is easily inferred from the description ofFIG.6and therefore omitted. Then, if the billing transaction is determined as valid, the payment supporting server200may acquire the identification information on the digital wallet130set as the payer for the IoT device120by using the link information described inFIG.2, at steps of S185and S186. Herein, if there is a smart contract predetermined by the user, the payment may be made according to the smart contract. For example, the smart contract may require the user's approval as in a step of S187, or may not require the user's approval as in a step of S197which is the step of an automated approval. In the case of the smart contract requiring the user's approval as in the step of S187, using the identification information on the digital wallet130set as the payer for the IoT device120acquired by referring to the link information, the payment supporting server200may transmit or support another device to transmit a confirmation requesting transaction for payment to the digital wallet130at a step of S188. Herein, the confirmation requesting transaction for payment may include the billing detail, the identification information on the digital wallet, and a value for verification. Then, the digital wallet130may display or support another device to display to the user device131a confirmation requesting signal for payment by the digital wallet130as the payer for the IoT device120, at a step of S189. Herein, if the user wants to approve the payment by the digital wallet130linked as the payer, the user may input information for confirming to thereby approve the payment, at a step of S190. Then, the user device131may determine whether the inputted information for confirming is identical to predetermined information for confirming, and if they are determined as identical, may transmit a payment instructing signal to the digital wallet130, at a step of S191. Then, the digital wallet130may transmit or support another device to transmit a payment confirming transaction to the payment supporting server200, at a step of S192. Herein, the payment confirming transaction may include the identification information on the digital wallet, and a signature value for verification acquired by signing the value for verification with the certificate of the digital wallet. Then, the payment supporting server200may confirm validity of the payment confirming transaction acquired from the service providing device110at a step of S193. Herein, description of confirming the validity of the payment confirming transaction is easily inferred from the description ofFIG.7and therefore omitted. Then, if the payment confirming transaction is determined as valid, the payment supporting server200may allow the cost billed by the service providing device110to be paid by the advance payment of the IoT device120, and transmit or support another device to transmit a request for payment for the IoT device120to the fund source server400corresponding to the fund source of the digital wallet130, at a step of S194. Thereafter, the payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the payment result from the advance payment for the IoT device in the blockchain database300at a step of S195, may acquire and manage its corresponding transaction ID at a step of S196, and may transmit or support another device to transmit the payment result to at least one of the service providing device110, the IoT device120and the digital wallet130at steps of S201, S202and S203. Next, the service providing device110may transmit or support another device to transmit the payment result to the IoT device120at a step of S204. Further, the digital wallet130may display the payment result to the user device131to thereby allow the user to confirm the payment result at a step of S205. Herein, if the blockchain database300is comprised of the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database, description of the payment supporting server200registering the payment result to the first blockchain database and the second blockchain database is easily inferred from the description ofFIG.6and therefore omitted. As opposed to the above case where the user's approval is required, in the case of the automated approval according to the smart contract predetermined by the user as in the step of S197, the payment supporting server200, without the user's approving process, may use the advance payment registered to be corresponding to the IoT device via the identification information on the digital wallet acquired from the blockchain database300to pay or support another device to pay for the billing detail from the service providing device110at a step of S198. Herein, in the case of the automated approval by the smart contract, the billing detail may include at least one of micro-payment, repeated payment of a same amount, and repeated payment of an amount less than a predetermined threshold, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and may include any payment set by the user as utilizing an automated approval. Thereafter, as the above-mentioned, the payment supporting server200may register or support another device to register the payment result in the blockchain database300, may acquire and manage its corresponding transaction ID at a step of S200, and may transmit or support another device to transmit the payment result to at least one of the service providing device110, the IoT device120and the digital wallet130at steps of S201, S202and S203. Then, if the billing transaction acquired from the service providing device110is determined as valid, without confirming the link information, the payment supporting server200may use the advance payment registered to be corresponding to the identification information on the IoT device120in the billing transaction to thereby allow the bill to be paid for. Next, a detailed description of settling the bill for the IoT device using the smart contract by referring toFIG.10in accordance with one example embodiment of the present invention is as follows. If the user transmits a request to the service providing device110for use of the IoT device120corresponding to cars, houses, hotel rooms for rent or use at a step of S211, and if the service providing device110authorizes the request at a step of S212, the payment supporting server200may establish the link between the IoT device120and the digital wallet130as the payer therefor by a process shown inFIG.2at a step of S213. Thereafter, the service providing device110may acquire the identification information on the IoT device at a step of S215by transmitting a request for information on the payer to the IoT device120at a step of S214to bill for the IoT device120, and may transmit or support another device to transmit the billing transaction at a step of S216. Herein, the billing transaction at a step of S216may include the identification information on the service providing device, the identification information on the IoT device, the smart contract, the billing detail, and the signature value for billing acquired by signing the billing detail with the certificate of the service providing device. Further, the smart contract may include one or more payment conditions for the billing detail. For example, the smart contract may include the payment conditions for costs like a billed cost for the service providing device, a billed cost for the IoT device, an insurance fee regarding use of the IoT device, and a billed cost for associated service providing devices111related to use or rent via the IoT device, etc. Herein, the associated service providing devices provide one or more services related to the service provided by the service providing device. Further, in case of the rented cars, the smart contract may include a server of the police, and if the rented cars are not returned in time, the police may receive an automated report. The smart contract may further include conditions for covering repairs to devices or installations for use or rent. Then, the payment supporting server200may confirm validity of the billing transaction at a step of S217as inFIG.6, and if the billing transaction is determined as valid, may acquire the link information from the blockchain database300, at steps of S218and S219. Next, the payment supporting server200may confirm the payment conditions, i.e., the smart contract, at a step of S220, and then, using the fund source of the digital wallet130by referring to the acquired link information, pay the cost for the service providing device110and its associated service providing devices111according to the smart contract at a step of S221. Thereafter, the payment supporting server200may transmit or support another device to transmit the payment result to at least one of the service providing device110, the associated service providing devices111, the IoT device120, and the digital wallet at steps of S224, S225, S226, and S227. Next, the service providing device110may transmit or support another device to transmit the payment result to the IoT device120at a step of S228. Further, the digital wallet130may display the payment result to the user device131to thereby allow the user to confirm the payment result at a step of S229. Meanwhile, the IoT device120used by the user is described above as a device separate from the service providing device110, however, the service providing device110may be included in the IoT device120, in which case, the digital wallet may acquire the identification information on the IoT device when an authorizing signal of use of the IoT device is received. Further, the service providing device110is described above as transmitting the billing transaction to the payment supporting server200, however, the service providing device110may transmit the billing signal including the billing detail and information on the smart contract having the payment conditions to the digital wallet130. Herein, the smart contract may be pre-registered in the blockchain database300by the service providing device110. Also, in response to the billing signal from the service providing device110, the digital wallet130may transmit a payment requesting transaction including the identification information on the digital wallet, the billing detail, and the smart contract to the payment supporting server200. Then, the payment supporting server200may transmit to the digital wallet130a verification requesting signal for the digital wallet including the value for verification and the identification information on the digital wallet in the payment requesting transaction, and if a verification confirming signal including a signature value obtained by signing the identification information on the digital wallet and the value for verification with the certificate of the digital wallet is acquired from the digital wallet130, may confirm validity of the verification confirming signal to thereby verify the digital wallet as described inFIG.6. Then, if the digital wallet130is determined as valid, the payment supporting server200may acquire the smart contract from the blockchain database300by using the information on the smart contract in the payment requesting transaction, and may transmit payment for the IoT device130or the service providing device110, and for the associated service providing devices131according to conditions of the acquired smart contract. The present invention has an effect of managing efficiently the IoT device related to the payment by connecting and disconnecting the link between the IoT device and the digital wallet as the payer therefor. The present invention has another effect of enabling the user not registered in the payment system of the service provider to use the payment service by allowing a direct request for the payment to the IoT device. The present invention has still another effect of improved security of keeping information on the user from the service providers, etc. by paying the bill for the IoT device using the digital wallet linked with the IoT device. The embodiments of the present invention as explained above can be implemented in a form of executable program command through a variety of computer means recordable to computer readable media. The computer readable media may include solely or in combination, program commands, data files, and data structures. The program commands recorded to the media may be components specially designed for the present invention or may be usable to a skilled human in a field of computer software. Computer readable media include magnetic media such as hard disk, floppy disk, and magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROM and DVD, magneto-optical media such as floptical disk and hardware devices such as ROM, RAM, and flash memory specially designed to store and carry out program commands. Program commands include not only a machine language code made by a complier but also a high level code that can be used by an interpreter etc., which is executed by a computer. The aforementioned hardware device can work as more than a software module to perform the action of the present invention and they can do the same in the opposite case. As seen above, the present invention has been explained by specific matters such as detailed components, limited embodiments, and drawings. They have been provided only to help more general understanding of the present invention. It, however, will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modification may be made from the description without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. Accordingly, the thought of the present invention must not be confined to the explained embodiments, and the following patent claims as well as everything including variations equal or equivalent to the patent claims pertain to the category of the thought of the present invention. | 103,474 |
11861574 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or similar parts. While several illustrative embodiments are described herein, modifications, adaptations and other implementations are possible. For example, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the components illustrated in the drawings, and the illustrative methods described herein may be modified by substituting, reordering, removing, or adding steps to the disclosed methods. Accordingly, the following detailed description is not limited to the disclosed embodiments and examples. Instead, the proper scope is defined by the appended claims. As used herein, low-cash mode may be used to refer to a state of an account held by a customer at a financial service provider when the financial service provider determines that the account has insufficient funds to handle a transaction without resulting in a negative balance, that the account has a negative balance, that the account balance may be negative as a result of scheduled or predicted future transactions, or that the account balance has fallen below a predetermined threshold value. FIG.1is a diagram illustrating exemplary system environment100in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. The components and arrangements shown inFIG.1are not intended to limit the disclosed embodiments, as the components used to implement the disclosed processes and features may vary. System environment100may include one or more networks102, financial institutions106, third-party service providers110, and user devices108. Each of the networks102, financial institutions106, and third-party service providers110may comprise one or more computing devices or servers, databases, cloud services, and/or internal networks. Other components known to one of ordinary skill in the art may be included in system environment100to gather, process, transmit, receive, acquire, and provide information used in conjunction with the disclosed embodiments. In addition, system environment100may further include other components that perform or assist in the performance of one or more processes that are consistent with the disclosed embodiments. In some embodiments, system environment100may include one or more networks102. Network102may comprise any computer networking arrangement used to exchange data. For example, network102may be the Internet, a private data network, a virtual private network (VPN) using a public network, and/or other suitable connections that enable the components of system environment100to send and acquire information. Network102may also include a public switched telephone network (“PSTN”) and/or a wireless network such as a cellular network, wired Wide Area Network, Wi-Fi network, and/or another known wireless network (e.g., WiMAX) capable of bidirectional data transmission. Each network102, financial institution106, and third-party service provider110may also include one or more local networks (not shown). A local network may be used to connect the components ofFIG.1, such as financial institution106, user device108, and third-party service provider110to network102. A local network may comprise any type of computer networking arrangement used to exchange data in a localized area, such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi based on IEEE 802.11 standards, Bluetooth™, and other suitable network protocols that enable components of system environment100and other servers, computers, and systems of components of system environment100to interact with one another and to connect to network102. In some embodiments, a local network comprises a portion of network102. In other embodiments, components of system environment100may communicate via network102without a separate local network. In some embodiments, system environment100may include one or more user devices108. User device108may be one or more of a desktop computer, a laptop, a tablet, a smartphone, a multifunctional watch, a pair of multifunctional glasses, a tracking device, or any suitable device with computing capability. User device108may comprise a memory, a processor, and/or other specialized hardware that is configured to execute one or more methods of the disclosed embodiments. User device108may have an online banking or financial account management application installed thereon, which may enable user device108to communicate with, for example, with financial institution106and/or third-party service provider110via network102and/or a local network. Additionally, user device108may connect to financial institution106and/or third-party service provider110through use of web browser software via network102and/or a local network. Finally, user device108may provide a graphical user interface118to enable users to view data from the user device108generated by an application thereon and obtained over network102from one or more of financial institution106and/or third-party service provider110. In some embodiments, one or more of financial institution106, third-party service provider110, and/or network102may include one or more databases. Database may include one or more memory devices that store information. By way of example, databases may include Oracle™ databases, Sybase™ databases, or other relational databases or non-relational databases, such as Hadoop sequence files, HBase™, or Cassandra™. The databases or other files may include, for example, data and information related to the source and destination of a network request, the data contained in the request, etc. Systems and methods of disclosed embodiments, however, are not limited to separate databases. Database may include computing components (e.g., database management system, database server, etc.) configured to acquire and process requests for data stored in memory devices of database and to provide data from database. In some embodiments, one or more of financial institution106, third-party service provider110, and/or network102may include one or more cloud services. Cloud service may include a physical and/or virtual storage system associated with cloud storage for storing data and providing access to data via a public network such as the Internet. Cloud service may include cloud services such as those offered by, for example, Amazon®, Apple®, Cisco®, Citrix®, IBM®, Joyent®, Google®, Microsoft®, Rackspace®, Salesforce.com®, and Verizon®/Terremark®, or other types of cloud services accessible via network102. In some embodiments, cloud service comprises multiple computer systems spanning multiple locations and having multiple databases or multiple geographic locations associated with a single or multiple cloud storage service(s). As used herein, cloud service refers to physical and virtual infrastructure associated with a single cloud storage service and may manage and/or store data. In some embodiments, one or more of financial institution106, third-party service provider110, and/or network102may include one or more servers or clusters of servers. Servers or clusters of servers may be located in the same data center or different physical locations. Multiple servers and clusters may be formed as a grid to share resources and workloads. Each server and/or cluster may include a plurality of linked nodes operating collaboratively to run various applications, software modules, analytical modules, rule engines, etc. Each node may be implemented using a variety of different equipment, such as a supercomputer, personal computer, a server, a mainframe, a mobile device, or the like. In some embodiments, the number of servers and/or server cluster may be expanded or reduced based on workload. In some embodiments, one or more components of system environment100may be placed behind a load balancer to support high availability and ensure real-time (or near real-time) processing of optimal decision predictions. In some embodiments, one or more of financial institution106, third-party service provider110, and/or network102may include one or more computing systems that are configured to execute software instructions stored on one or more memory devices to perform one or more operations consistent with disclosed embodiments. For example, a financial institution106may include memory devices storing data and software instructions and processors configured to use the data and execute the software instructions to perform server-based functions and operations known to those skilled in the art. Financial institution106may also include one or more general-purpose computers, mainframe computers, or any combination of these types of components. In some embodiments, financial institution106may have an application installed thereon to perform processes that are consistent with disclosed embodiments. In some embodiments, one or more of financial institution106, third-party service provider110, and/or network102may include devices configured as a particular apparatus, system, or the like based on the storage, execution, and/or implementation of the software instructions that perform operations consistent with disclosed embodiments. Devices of financial institution106may be standalone or may be part of a subsystem included in a larger system. For example, financial institution106may include distributed servers that are remotely located and communicate over a network (e.g., WAN and/or a local network) or a dedicated network. In some embodiments, one or more of financial institution106, third-party service provider110, and/or network102may include or may access one or more storage devices configured to store data and/or software instructions used by one or more processors to perform operations consistent with disclosed embodiments. For example, financial institution106may include memory configured to store one or more software programs that perform several functions when executed by a processor. The disclosed embodiments are not limited to separate programs or computers configured to perform dedicated tasks. For example, financial institution106may include memory that stores a single program or multiple programs. Additionally, one or more of financial institution106, third-party service provider110, and/or network102may execute one or more programs located remotely. For example, financial institution106may access one or more remote programs stored in memory included with a remote component that, when executed, perform operations consistent with disclosed embodiments. For example, financial institution106may exchange data and interact with systems, devices, and programs of third-party service provider110and/or hardware and software of user device108. In certain aspects, one or more of financial institution106, third-party service provider110, and/or network102may include server software that generates, maintains, and provides services associated with user accounts. Financial institution106in system environment100may include any entity that generates, provides, manages, and/or maintains financial service accounts130, etc., for customers. Financial institution106may include a retail and commercial bank, internet bank, credit union, savings and loan association, investment bank or company, brokerage firm, and/or another financial institution known by those of skill in the art. Financial institution106may provide and maintain one or more financial service accounts130for an account owner. The one or more accounts130may include, among others types, a checking account, a savings account, certificate of deposit account, money market account, brokerage account, investment retirement account (IRA), 401(k) account, line of credit, and/or any other financial account known by those of skill in the art. System environment100may include more than one financial institution106with one or more financial accounts130, a single financial institution106with two or more financial accounts130, or any other combination thereof. In the context of the disclosed embodiments, the present embodiments include multiple accounts, including at least a first account and second account, including those situated in one or more financial institutions, owned by one or more account owners, and of one or more account type. Each financial account130in system100may have differing or overlapping account ownership and access privileges. For example, the financial accounts130may be individual accounts, joint accounts, payable-on-death accounts, joint account with rights of survivorship, accounts in trust, or any other type of account ownership known by those of skill in the art. For example, an individual account may include a singular account owner. A joint account may include two or more account owners with equal access to funds and information related to the account. Accounts in trust may be controlled by a designated trustee for the benefit of another account owner, who may have limited access or control over the trust account. It is not desired to limit the type of financial account130used in the present embodiments. Third-party service provider110may be any company, organization, or entity that may enable, monitor, coordinate, and/or control access and provide information to different account owners of different financial accounts130in system environment100. Third-party service provider110may communicate with one or more financial institutions110and one or more customers via one or more user devices108and enable access to account information and manage access rights to different financial accounts130. Third-party service provider110may serve as an information clearinghouse or intermediary between financial institution106and user device108. For example, account owners may grant third-party service provider110access to certain information for financial accounts130maintained by one or more financial institution106. Financial institution106may securely publish data to third-party service provider110for particular financial accounts whose owners have granted access, and particular data from those accounts, over a secure protocol or public or private network, and third-party service provider110may control access to the information between different account owners. In one embodiment, account owner of financial account130may grant access to information from the account, whereby financial institution106enables third-party service provider110to access account data via an application programming interface (API) or other means, and share data with an owner of another financial account. The two accounts are thereby linked by third-party service provider110having access to certain data in each account and publishing that data to the different account owners. This enables, for instance, an owner of a first account to see transactions in a second account. Certain personal and financial data may be obfuscated or not shared by third-party service provider110, or financial institution106may not provide such information, upon request and based on the scope of access enabled by an account owner. These data sharing functions may also be carried out, in certain embodiments, by one or more financial institution106directly with account owners and without third-party service provider110. As will be discussed in greater detail below, account owners may establish rules to transfer money from a first account to a second account (or a third account) based on activity in the first account. Account owners may also establish rules to transfer money from a second account to a first account (or a third account) based on activity in the second account. Rules may be established and stored in an account owner's financial account130by financial institution106, in a service account140of third-party service provider110, or both. Rules may be established by account owners via graphical user interface118of user device108for, among other things, determining when to transfer funds, determining how much to transfer, and determining what restrictions are placed on transferred funds, transfer amounts, and transfer rates. One or more financial institutions106and/or one or more third-party service providers110may host a web application, API, web site, or similar interface that is accessible over network102to account owners via user device108. The interface may be hosted on one or more web servers and operate in a client-server model with user device108, while obtaining information, including account information, from service provider110and/or financial institution106. Via user device108, an account owner may view graphical user interface118on user device108. Graphical user interface118may provide account owners with the ability to view financial account information of another account, for example, another account owner's account. Graphical user interface118may also provide an interface enabling the disclosed functions herein, including, among other things, authorizations to transfer cash and/or funds (assets), authorizations to share information and connect and/or link financial accounts, establish rules for transferring cash and/or funds (assets) between linked accounts, and track and monitor transfers and the status of financial accounts. System for Low-Cash Mode As disclosed herein, low-cash mode may be used to refer to a state of an account held by a customer at a financial service provider when the financial service provider determines that the account has insufficient funds to handle a transaction without resulting in a negative balance, that the account has a negative balance, that the account balance may be negative as a result of scheduled or predicted future transactions, or that the account balance has fallen below a predetermined threshold value. Consistent with the present embodiments, financial institution106,116may provide the customer at user device118with options to manage accounts131,132in low cash mode including methods, systems, and features disclosed herein which provide the customer the ability to at least increase the balance of accounts131,132(e.g. personal loan, transfer of cash and/or funds), approve or deny individual transactions, lock a card associated with accounts131,132, or prevent spending in order to avoid a negative account balance. Additionally, methods, systems, and features disclosed herein may provide the customer the ability to prioritize payments, cancel transactions, manage the amount of a negative balance or length of time carrying a negative balance in order to minimize negative balance fees, select repayment options when an overdraft cannot be avoided, and other options and features which the customer can select in order to avoid or minimize a negative account balance. System for Alerting to Customers when Entering/Exiting Low-Cash Mode Consistent with disclosed embodiments, a financial institution may provide a notification to a customer when an account associated with the customer enters low cash mode in the form of an alert. The notification may be triggered when an account balance is negative; when an account balance falls below a predetermined threshold; during a particular time of the month that is determined based on scheduled reoccurring transactions such as direct deposits and automatic billing as well as analysis of historical data; determined based on transaction date related to upcoming holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, or calendared special occasions; triggered when a customer is interacting with a merchant online; or determined based on geographic location of a customer or merchant. The notification may be delivered to the customer as an email, text message, voice call, alert through an application on a mobile phone, social media alert, alert through a mobile device, alert through wearable technology, alert through a device connected to the internet, or other methods for instantaneously alerting a customer. The notification may further include information relating to any negative balance fees to be assessed if the negative balance is not cured and a period of time to cure negative balance. In some embodiments, the negative balance fees may be tiered based on, for example, the extent to which the account is negative or the length of time the account balance is negative. FIG.4Billustrates an exemplary graphical user interface414for providing an intelligent low balance alert418to a customer, consistent with disclosed embodiments. Consistent with disclosed embodiments, financial institution may also provide a notification to a customer when the account associated with the customer is no longer in low cash mode. The notification may be triggered when a customer cures a negative balance; when the account balance is greater than a predetermined threshold balance; a particular time of the month is past; a time period related to upcoming holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, or calendared special occasions has past; or the financial institution determines the customer is no longer in danger of incurring a negative balance based on a change in geographic location of a customer. The notification may be delivered to the customer as an email, text message, voice call, alert through a mobile banking application, social media alert, alert through a mobile device or mobile device application, alert through wearable technology, alert through a device connected to the internet, or other means for instantaneously providing an alert to the customer. As shown inFIG.4B, a notification on a mobile device may link to an application on a mobile device. The application on the mobile device may display a textual alert416. The textual alert may provide information including that an account has entered low cash mode, the account balance, time remaining to cure the negative balance, options for curing the negative balance, and/or options for minimizing negative balance fees. For example, textual alert416may indicate “Low Cash Mode is active. You have a negative available balance of −$120.00. Review options.” Textual alert416may prompt a customer operating user device108to review options for replenishing the account so as to achieve a positive balance and/or remove the account from low cash mode. Next button420and skip button422may enable a user to take a next step in the process of reviewing options and/or skip the process of reviewing options entirely. FIGS.6A-6Cillustrate exemplary graphical user interfaces for displaying available balance user alerts, consistent with disclosed embodiments.FIG.6Aillustrates an exemplary graphical user interface for displaying an alert of a negative available balance, consistent with disclosed embodiments. As shown inFIG.6A, graphical user interface602may include an intelligent alert message604that indicates “Low Cash Mode is active. You have a negative available balance of $−200.00. Review options.”FIG.6Billustrates an exemplary graphical user interface for displaying an alert of a balance outside of low cash mode, consistent with disclosed embodiments. As shown inFIG.6B, graphical user interface606may include an intelligent alert message608that indicates “You have an available balance of $60.86. You are out of Low Cash Mode.”FIG.6Cillustrates an exemplary graphical user interface for displaying an alert of a non-payments, consistent with disclosed embodiments. As shown inFIG.6C, graphical user interface610may include an intelligent alert message612that indicates “Low cash mode is active. Your available balance is $80.31, and 1 payment won't be paid. Review options.” Other intelligent alerts may be contemplated. FIG.17illustrates an exemplary flow chart for providing notifications to a customer. At step1702, financial institution106may associate a customer with an account at the financial institution. At step1704, financial institution106may associate the account with a mobile device108. At step1706, financial institution106may determine an account balance of the account. At step1708, financial institution106may determine, based on the account balance, whether the account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state, as disclosed herein. At step1710, if the account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state, financial institution106may provide a notification to the customer that the account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state. At step1712, financial institution106may present options to manage the account while the account is in the low-cash mode state. System for Preventing Overdraft Consistent with disclosed embodiments, the financial institution may offer customers various options to avoid negative account balances and associated negative balance fees. The financial institution may offer the customers options disclosed herein including, for example, the ability to transfer money between accounts, the ability to cancel pending transactions or payments, the ability to obtain a loan, or the ability to accelerate ACH transactions or payroll deposits. These options may be offered to the customers by the financial institution through various methods, including through an application on a mobile device. In some embodiments, these options may be selectable by the customer and implemented automatically, without any action or intervention by the financial institution. Consistent with disclosed embodiments, the financial institution may present the option to the customer of obtaining or applying for a personal loan in order to avoid a negative account balance. Financial institution may present this option to the customer with a preapproved amount and an interest rate for immediate approval and deposit of the amount into the account. Additionally or alternatively, the customer may choose to customize the terms of the loan, subject to approval by the financial institution. InFIG.2B, first account131and second account132may be maintained within separate financial institutions106,116. As noted above, first account131and second account132may have differing, overlapping, or identical account ownership. As withFIG.2A, third-party service provider110may be a third-party entity acting as an information clearing house or intermediary between financial institutions106,116, and one or more user devices108. Consistent with this present embodiment, either financial institution106or financial institution116may present options to customers with at least one account in low cash mode or when an account balance in first account131(or second account132) drops beneath a predetermined threshold value. Financial institution106may present the option of obtaining/applying for a personal loan in order to avoid an overdraft of first account131(or second account132). Either financial institution106or financial institution116may present this option to the customer with a preapproved amount and an interest rate for immediate approval and deposit of the amount into first account131(or second account132). Additionally or alternatively, the customer may choose to customize the terms of the loan, subject to approval by the financial institution. InFIG.2C, first account131and second account132may be maintained within a common financial institution106and involve differing, overlapping, or identical account ownership. In this present embodiment, financial institution106may communicate directly with account owners via user device108, without third-party service provider110. A plurality of user devices108(not shown) associated with the account owner or owners may receive communication from financial institution106. Consistent with this present embodiment, financial institution106may present options to customers with at least one account in low cash mode or when an account balance in first account131(or second account132) drops beneath a predetermined threshold value. Financial institution106may present the option of obtaining/applying for a personal loan in order to avoid an overdraft of first account131(or second account132). Financial institution106may present this option to the customer with a preapproved amount and an interest rate for immediate approval and deposit of the amount into first account131(or second account132). Additionally or alternatively, the customer may choose to customize the terms of the loan, subject to approval by the financial institution. InFIG.2D, first account131and second account132may be maintained within different financial institutions106,116, involve differing, overlapping, or identical account ownership, and financial institutions106,116may communicate directly with account owners via user device108without third-party service provider110. A plurality of user devices108(not shown) associated with the account owner or owners may receive communication from financial institutions106,116. Consistent with this present embodiment, either financial institution106or financial institution116may present options to customers with at least one account in low cash mode or when an account balance in first account131(or second account132) drops beneath a predetermined threshold value. Financial institution106may present the option of obtaining/applying for a personal loan in order to avoid an overdraft of first account131(or second account132). Either financial institution106or financial institution116may present this option to the customer with a preapproved amount and an interest rate for immediate approval and deposit of the amount into first account131(or second account132). Additionally or alternatively, the customer may choose to customize the terms of the loan, subject to approval by the financial institution. Additionally or alternatively, the preventative options may further include the ability to accelerate pending ACH deposits or a regularly scheduled deposit including, for example, a payroll deposit. The financial institution may accelerate the deposits by expediting processing, providing the funds as a loan from the financial institution for little or no cost as a loan for the amount of the future deposit, waiting to process withdrawals until the deposit has been processed, or other means known in the art used to accelerate deposits. FIG.18illustrates an exemplary flow chart for providing notifications to a customer. At step1802, financial institution106may associate a customer with a first account at financial institution106. At step1804, financial institution106may associate the customer with a second account at financial institution106or a different financial institution. At step1806, financial institution106may link the first account with the second account. At step1808, financial institution106may determine an account balance of the first account. At step1810, financial institution106may determine, based on the first account balance, whether the account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state, as disclosed herein. At step1812, if the account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state, financial institution106may automatically transfer funds from the second account to the first account. The amount of funds transferred may be preselected by the customer or determined by financial institution106. Additionally or alternatively, the amount of funds transferred may be sufficient such that the first account is no longer deemed to be in the low-cash mode state or sufficient to prevent a negative first account balance. At step1814, financial institution106may provide a notification to the customer that the first account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state, that funds were automatically transferred from the second account, the amount of funds transferred from the second account, a current first account balance, and/or options for managing the first account while in the low-cash mode state. System for Tiered Overdraft Fees In other embodiments, a financial institution may charge a negative balance fee when a transaction results in a negative account balance. In some embodiments, the financial institution may assess the negative balance fees using a tier system. The tiered negative balance fees may be based on, for example, the extent to which the account is negative with higher fees for larger negative amounts as compared to smaller negative amounts or based on historical data associated with the account. System for Synthetic Data and Machine learning Consistent with disclosed embodiments, the financial institution may include data privacy and security measures in order to protect transaction, account, and customer data. Financial institution may use, for example, encryption/decryption, tokenization/detokenization, masking, obfuscation, or other methods for protecting data. Additionally or alternatively, financial institution may employ artificial intelligence or machine learning algorithms to protect transaction, account, and customer data. The artificial intelligence or machine learning algorithms may also be used to generate synthetic data or artificial data stored in a data platform to be substituted for transmitted data or for fields in transmitted data that are deemed sensitive by the costumer or financial institution. System for Fraud Protection Features Consistent with disclosed embodiments, financial institution may integrate fraud protection features with the features associated with an account in low-cash mode. Fraud protection features may include security questions, multi-factor authentication, password standards, alerts associated with suspicious activity, and any other feature or service intended to prevent, detect, or resolve fraud. Password standards may include minimum password requirements such as length or character requirements. Security questions may include a set of questions and answers wherein the customer or account holder provides answers to questions when creating an account. The customer-provide answers to the questions are stored by the financial institution and used to verify the identity of the customer. The questions and answers are setup such that only the customer should be able to provide the specific answer to the specific questions. The financial institution may prompt a customer for the answers to security questions when the customer attempts to login to the account from a computer or mobile device not previously associated with the account. In one example, multi-factor authentication may include, when a customer logs into an account, generating a one-time passcode such as a random string of characters and sending the one-time passcode to a device (e.g., as a text message, email, or voice call), prompting the customer for entry of one-time passcode, validating the entered passcode, and permitting access to the account. FIG.20illustrates an exemplary flow chart for multi-factor authentication. At step2002, financial institution106may receive a login attempt to access an account with financial institution106. At step2004, financial institution106may generate a one-time passcode to be used to verify the identity of the customer. At step2006, financial institution106may send the one-time passcode to the customer, for example in a text message, email, or voice call. At step2008, financial institution106may prompt for entry of the one-time passcode. At step2010, financial institution106may receive entry of the passcode. At step2012, financial institution106may validate the passcode received in order to ensure that the passcode received matches the one-time passcode that was generated and sent. At step2014, if the received passcode is validated, then financial institution106may grant the customer access to the account. System for Integration with PNC Virtual Wallet Consistent with disclosed embodiments, the financial institution may provide options allowing customers to perform actions relating to low cash mode through a website, a mobile version of a website, an application or a micro-application on a mobile device, or through an ancillary application, such as a budgeting or money-management application, for example PNC Mobile Wallet®. FIGS.8A-8Billustrates exemplary graphical user interfaces having a dashboard configuration for managing a financial account in low cash mode, consistent with disclosed embodiments. As shown inFIGS.8A-8B, there are subsections for virtual wallet spread at804, such as subsections806,808,810,814,816,820,822,824. The user may be presented with a notification indicating that “You're in Low Cash Mode. Your default mode is to pay checks and automatic payments” at806. At808, an indication may provide “Smart Lock is enabled. Your debit card is locked.” Payment control810is another subsection. For payment control810, the user can choose to override the default setting. The user can also select payments available for review812. At814, the user can select extra time, which is the time remaining to bring the account balance to at least $0.00 before the user is charged a daily overdraft fee. At816, dashboard provides funding options where a user can fund the account. At818, the user may select an option to make a transfer. At820, the user may make a deposit. At822, the user may be able to find an ATM. At824, the user may return to an account home page.FIG.8Bdisplays a user interface out of low cash mode830. When out of low cash mode, the user's account may process automatic payments and checks will be paid. For example, at832, the Verizon Wireless bill will be paid. At834, Columbia gas utility bill will be paid. At835, a check will be paid. System for Linking with Virtual Wallet and Social Media In some embodiments, the financial institution may urge or permit customers to link financial accounts with social media accounts. The link between accounts may provide financial institution with access to information gathered by the social media account and associated applications. The link may also provide another channel for financial institution to send alerts or messages to a customer. For example, a customer could receive a message via a social network instant or direct message that the account has entered low cash mode. Additionally or alternatively, the financial institution may provide a customer with the option to associate a social media account associated with the customer with a financial account. The financial institution may then interact with the customer using the notifications and infrastructure provided by the social media platform. For example, the financial institution may provide a notification that an account associated with a user has entered low cash mode using Facebook Messenger or Twitter Direct Message. The financial institution may also access or analyze data associated with a customer's social media profile, presence, usage, activity, connections, or other social media data. System for Pre-Purchase Alerts Consistent with disclosed embodiments, the financial institution may provide a notification to a customer that a pending, scheduled, or anticipated purchase or transaction will result in a negative account balance before the purchase or transaction is made. For example, a financial institution may notify a customer that a transaction associated with an item placed in a virtual shopping cart while visiting an online merchant would result in a negative balance. In another embodiment the financial institution may use historical data associated with a customer to predict and notify a customer that an anticipated transaction will result in a negative balance. The financial institution may further anticipate transactions based on the time of the day, month, or year; a geographic location associated with a merchant; a geographic location associated with the customer; or other indicators associated with the customer and spending an amount greater than a current balance. FIG.23illustrates an exemplary flow chart for preventing a negative account balance. At step2302, financial institution106may associate a customer with an account at the financial institution. At step2304, financial institution106may associate the account with a device108. At step2306, financial institution106may determine an account balance of the account. At step2308, financial institution106may determine, based on the account balance, whether the account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state, as disclosed herein. At step2310, financial institution may identify a potential purchase and the amount of the potential purchase. At step2312, financial institution106may, based on the account balance and potential purchase amount, determine a potential account balance. At step2314, financial institution106may provide a notification to the customer. The notification may include a predicated account balance, options to prevent a negative balance, options to avoid the account entering the low-cash mode state, or additional information and options for managing the account as disclosed herein. System for Overall Increased Efficiency of Transactions Implementation of the disclosed embodiments may result in overall increased efficiency of transactions by financial institution106. The increased efficiency may result from at least improved capability to transfer funds between accounts, automation of high demand or regularly occurring tasks/queries such as balance confirmation, by storing and displaying more information in the same place, by providing quicker searching of transaction data, providing additional avenues for communicating with customers, providing more effective avenues for communicating with customers, and other features discussed below which improve functionality for the customers or financial institution106. Additionally or alternatively, the disclosed embodiments may increase customer satisfaction with the financial institution and improve customer loyalty. System for Automatic Card Lock Consistent with disclosed embodiments, when an account associated with a customer enters low cash mode, the financial institution may disable, reject, or block transactions initiated by a credit or debit card associated with the account. The notification (disclosed above) may inform the customer that an account has entered low cash mode and that any card associated with the account has been locked. The financial institution may provide the customer with the ability to choose the option to have the financial institution of automatically locking any card when the associated account enters low cash mode. The financial institution may also provide the customer with the ability to unlock a card that has been locked due to the account's entry into low cash mode. These options and functionality may be provided by the financial institution through a mobile application or web-based interface. FIG.24illustrates an exemplary flow chart for preventing a negative account balance. At step2402, financial institution106may associate a customer with an account at the financial institution. At step2404, financial institution106may associate the account with a card such as a debit card or credit card. At step2406, financial institution106may determine an account balance of the account. At step2408, financial institution106may determine, based on the account balance, whether the account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state, as disclosed herein. At step2410, financial institution may receive a transaction initiated by the card associated with the account. At step2412, if the account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state, financial institution106may automatically deny the transaction initiated by the card. System for Low-Cash Mode Based on Predicted Balance Consistent with disclosed embodiments, the financial institution may determine that an account is in low cash mode based on a predicted balance. The predicted balance may be determined by comparing historical transaction data with current transaction data and predicting a future balance by manipulating the current balance based on expected transactions, deposits, and withdrawals. In some embodiments, the financial institution may apply artificial intelligence or machine learning algorithms to historical data associated with a customer or account in order to learn and predict transactions and spending tendencies and thereby generate a predicted balance. FIG.7Aillustrates an exemplary graphical user interface for notifying a customer that an account associated with the customer may enter low cash mode in a future time period, consistent with disclosed embodiments. As shown inFIG.7A, a graphical user interface702may provide an intelligent alert706that indicates “Low Cash Mode ahead” and “We predict your account x2958 could enter low cash mode in the next 3 days. Review your options.” FIG.19illustrates an exemplary flow chart for providing notifications to a customer. At step1902, financial institution106may associate a customer with a first account at financial institution106. At step1904, financial institution106may associate the customer with a second account at financial institution106or a different financial institution. At step1906, financial institution106may link the first account with the second account. At step1908, financial institution106may determine an account balance of the first account. At step1910, financial institution106may determine, based on a predicted first account balance, whether the first account will enter a low-cash mode state, as disclosed herein. At step1912, if the account is predicted to enter the low-cash mode state, financial institution106may automatically transfer funds from the second account to the first account. The amount of funds transferred may be preselected by the customer or determined by financial institution106. Additionally or alternatively, the amount of funds transferred may be sufficient such that the first account is no longer predicted to enter the low-cash mode state or sufficient to prevent a negative first account balance. At step1914, financial institution106may provide a notification to the customer that the first account is predicted to enter the low-cash mode state, that funds were automatically transferred from the second account, the amount of funds transferred from the second account, a current first account balance, and/or options for managing the first account while in the low-cash mode state. FIG.25illustrates an exemplary process for prediction low-cash mode. At step2502, financial institution106may associate a customer with an account at financial institution106. At step2504, financial institution106may store financial history data associated with the customer and/or the account. At step2506, financial institution106may access non-financial data. At step2508, financial institution106may analyze the financial history data and the non-financial data. At step2510, financial institution106may determine a future account balance of the account based on the analysis performed in step2508. At step2512, financial institution106may determine, based on the future account balance, whether the first account will enter a low-cash mode state, as disclosed herein. System for Selecting Overdraft Protection Features In the disclosed embodiments regarding payment designation options, the financial institution may offer such options through various methods, including through an application on a mobile device. In some embodiments, these options may be selectable by the customer and implemented automatically without any action or intervention by the financial institution (e.g., without approval of the selected features by the financial institution). FIG.26illustrates an exemplary process for managing a financial account. At step2602, financial institution106may provide an interface for managing a financial account. At step2604, financial institution106may associate a customer with an account at financial institution106. At step2606, financial institution106may determine an account balance of the account. At step2608, financial institution106may determine, based on the account balance, whether the account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state, as disclosed herein. At step2610, if the account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state, financial institution106may provide a notification to the customer that the account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state. At step2612, financial institution106may present options to manage the account while the account is in the low-cash mode state. System for Customer Management of Transactions In some embodiments, financial institution may provide options to the customer with an account in low cash mode to select which transactions to approve while other transactions are canceled or delayed. The options presented by the financial institution may also allow the customer to select an order of the transactions for processing, resulting in a prioritization of processing transactions. The customer may further select payments to delay until the occurrence of an event, such as a deposit, or for a specified length of time. The financial institution can vary the options presented based on the origin of an individual transaction, for example presenting the option to cancel some transactions while others can only be delayed. Different transaction origins may include point of sale transactions, ACH transactions, checks, scheduled payments, or any other method of initiating a transfer of funds into or out of an account. In some embodiments the financial institution may offer a customer the option to designate payments for processing or non-processing after a payment transaction has occurred. A financial institution may, for example, receive data indicating that a payment transaction between a merchant and a customer account has occurred while the customer account is in low cash mode, and may offer the customer the option of designating that payment transaction for processing. In some embodiments, financial institution may additionally offer the customer the option to designate future payments from that merchant or location as payments which should be processed while the customer account is in low cash mode. In other embodiments, financial institution may offer customers the option to designate payments to be delayed or canceled while the associated account in operating in low cash mode. In some embodiments, payments may not be available to be designated for processing during low cash mode unless criteria set by the financial institution or the customer are met. For example, the financial institution may not allow any payments to be designated for processing if the customer account is in delinquency, has a balance above or below a threshold, has an overdraft or penalty fee outstanding, or has a customer account history consistent with other groups of customer accounts. As another illustrative example, the customer account may be associated with parental controls or a controlling agent. The financial institution may withhold offering the customer designation options or may offer the customer the designation options but prevent the customer from making designations unless the financial institution has received an authorization from the customer's parent or controlling agent. FIG.4Dillustrates an exemplary graphical user interface430for paying or rejecting individual checks and automatic payments, consistent with disclosed embodiments. Consistent with disclosed embodiments, the financial institution may present the customer with preventative options. Preventative options may include, for example, the ability to cancel transactions including Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) transactions and pending, uncashed checks. The financial institution may provide suggestions or recommendations of which transactions to cancel and provide means for canceling the pending transactions. As shown inFIG.4D, a user may also be given the option432to manually cancel payment of a cell phone bill of $75.00 or may be given the option to pay the cell phone bill of $75.00. A user may toggle between “reject” or “pay” and cancel automatic bill transactions. FIG.5Billustrates an exemplary graphical user interface for setting a default payment behavior514, consistent with disclosed embodiments. As shown inFIG.5B, a user may choose their default payment behavior when their account is below their low cash threshold. The user will have the option to pay or reject individual checks and automatic payments. A switch516may enable the user to toggle between default “Reject” and “Pay” options. As shown inFIG.5B, switch516for the user's default payment behavior is set to “Pay” individual checks and automatic payments when the account is in low cash mode. That is, the user's default behavior is to still pay checks and automatic payments even if the account balance is negative. Switch516may be set to a default behavior “Reject,” which would automatically prevent checks and automatic payments from processing, unless the user affirmatively determines to pay the check or automatic payment (or allow it to process). Back508and Continue510buttons may be provided for users to navigate between screens to allow for further configuration or customization of low cash mode preferences or properties. FIGS.9A-9Eillustrates exemplary graphical user interfaces including a dashboard configuration for payment control and review of transactions, consistent with disclosed embodiments. AtFIG.9A, user interface902may include a projected balance that may be displayed at906as part of the options for managing an accounts, such as payment control904. In this example, without user input, the financial institution will process pending transactions as shown at908, where, if no decision is made for a transaction, then the financial institution will attempt to pay it. At910, the user is provided an option to reject or pay the Verizon wireless bill. At912, the user is provided an option to reject or pay the Columbia gas utility bill. At914, the user is provided an option to reject or pay the check. At916, the user has selected to reject payment for the cable company. The dashboard configuration may include an amount of time remaining for a user to choose to pay or reject a transaction. In this example, at916the user has 36 hours and 10 minutes to make the decision. At918, the user may obtain more information as to why all payments are not visible here. At920, the user may review and confirm the decisions. AtFIG.9B, user interface922may show a starting balance926and then a calculated ending balance after transactions are returned. It may also include a reminder at926to reschedule these payments928. Interface922may include back930and confirm932buttons.FIGS.9C-9Eillustrate various embodiments of user interfaces934,938, and948. AtFIGS.9C-9E, starting balance926may be presented. Extra time may be enabled at936. Payments at942that appear here include recent checks automatic payments. To view all other payments, go to view transactions. At944, view transactions. At946, the user may close interface938. At924pending transactions may be shown.952may display Verizon wireless as an example and at954may return to payment controls. System for Account Management Over a Time Period Consistent with disclosed embodiments, financial institution may provide a customer with the option to approve or deny processing or initiation of transactions for a period of time, such as an entire day (as discussed above). Alternatively, the financial institution may provide the customer the ability to review options associated with individual transactions. In one embodiment, the financial institution may provide a notification to the customer (as disclosed herein) that presents the option to the customer to approve or deny spending for the day. In another embodiment, financial institution may provide a notification to the customer (as disclosed herein) that prompts the customer to configure how an account can spend for a specified period of time, such as a day. The notification may direct the customer to open an application on a mobile device where the financial institution presents options for processing transactions associated with an account within the specified period of time. FIG.27illustrates an exemplary flow chart for managing a financial account. At step2702, financial institution106may associate a customer with an account at financial institution106. At step2704, financial institution106may determine an account balance of the account. At step2706, financial institution106may determine, based on the account balance, whether the account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state, as disclosed herein. At step2708, financial institution106may determine whether smart lock is activated or designated to be activated when the account is deemed to be in the low-cash mode state. At step2710, financial institution106may provide a notification to the customer. The notification provided in step2710may include multiple notifications. Additionally or alternatively, the notification may include information relative to the low-cash mode state and/or options to manage the account. System for Smart Lock Consistent with disclosed embodiments, the financial institution may provide an option for a customer to lock a card associated with an account. When a card is locked, the financial institution will cancel or decline transactions associated with the card. The lock may be initiated automatically when the balance of the account falls below a predetermined threshold. Additionally or alternatively, the financial institution may present the customer with the option to lock a card through an interface such as an application on a mobile device. The predetermined threshold for locking the card may or may not be different for the threshold triggering low cash mode for the same account. The financial institution may select a default predetermined value for locking the card or, alternatively, present the customer with the ability to set the predetermined threshold for locking the card. The financial institution may present the customer with the option to unlock a card associated with a card through an interface such as an application on a mobile device. As shown inFIG.4E, a smart lock feature is enabled and a debit card is locked. In this example, while the debit card is locked, the user has chosen to allow all checks and automatic payments to proceed in low cash mode. FIG.4Eillustrates an exemplary graphical user interface436for viewing a virtual wallet spread and automatically locking a customer's debit card, consistent with disclosed embodiments. FIG.5Cillustrates an exemplary graphical user interface518for debit card smart lock, consistent with disclosed embodiments. As shown inFIG.5C, a user may automatically lock a debit card associated with the account to avoid spending when the account balance is low. For example, the user may “disable,” select $5, $10, $25, or $50 as threshold values to automatically lock the debit card. Debit card transactions will be declined when a user's account is below the predetermined amount (e.g. as shown inFIG.5C, $5.00).FIG.5Calso includes a lock icon524which is a smart lock icon that demonstrates to the user where to lock and unlock the debit card at any time. Back508and Continue510buttons may be provided for users to navigate between screens to allow for further configuration or customization of low cash mode preferences or properties. FIGS.11A-11Billustrate exemplary graphical user interfaces having a second disabled dashboard embodiment, consistent with disclosed embodiments. AtFIG.11A, user interface1102may be disabled such that a user may only lock or unlock a car associated with the account. For example, smart lock is enabled at1104. At1104, a user's debit card may be unlocked. InFIG.11B, user interface1106illustrates that smart lock may still be enabled at1108but the user's debit card may now be locked. Other interfaces not shown, which illustrate a user toggle between an unlocked and a locked state for use of debit card are contemplated with disclosed embodiments. FIGS.13A-13Dillustrates exemplary graphical user interfaces for a mobile application enabling smart lock triggers, consistent with disclosed embodiments. At user interface1302, the user may enable smart lock at1304. At1306, there may be alert preferences provided to a user. At1308, alerts may be made automatically during predicted danger days. At1312, anytime my balance goes below a predetermined threshold, such as $50 dollars, an alert will be made to the user. At1314, anytime my account has a negative available balance an alert will be made to a user. At1316, default payment behavior may be set for a user. At1318, an option for how transactions should be handled when the account is smart locked and the user fails to respond to the alert may be set by a user. At1320, the user may select the option to pay all transactions even if it results in a negative balance (which is shown as checked by a user). At1322, the user may select the option to decline all transactions (unchecked). AtFIG.13B, user interface1324, a smart lock is turned on, to enable account spending, and states to please login to the application at1326by selecting lock icon at3928.FIG.13C, illustrates a user interface1330displaying an “Accounts To Do” screen including a PNC Smart Lock at1332displaying a message at1334that “Your account is currently locked by Smart lock. Swipe to unlock your account and allow spending today.” At1340there is a lock icon, and at1336there is an unlock icon. At1338there is a swipe to unlock feature. At1302, there is a bank smart lock interface. AtFIG.13D, there is another bank lock interface1342for enabling smart lock1344. In particular, there is an enable smart lock icon that can be selected allowing a user to select smart lock preferences1346. At1348, an option for automatically during predicated danger days go ahead. At1350, an option for anytime my balance goes below $10 dollars. At1352, an option for anytime my account has a negative balance. At1354there are smart lock alert preferences. At1356, an option for each morning to approve/deny all spending for the day. At1358, “Alert me when I'm at frequently shopped locations that I've chosen” is presented as an option that the user may select. FIG.28illustrates an exemplary flow chart for managing a financial account. At step2802, financial institution106may associate a customer with an account at financial institution106. At step2804, financial institution106may determine an account balance of the account. At step2806, financial institution106may determine, based on the account balance, whether the account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state, as disclosed herein. At step2808, financial institution106may determine whether smart lock is activated or designated to be activated when the account is deemed to be in the low-cash mode state. At step2810, financial institution106may receive a request or initiation of a card transaction. At step2812, if smart lock is activated, financial institution106may deny the card transaction. At step2814, financial institution may provide a notification to the customer, as disclosed herein. System for Overdraft Protection—Additional Accounts Consistent with present embodiments, a financial institution may present a customer with the option to transfer funds from a different account into an account in low cash mode or into an account to prevent the account from entering low cash mode. Upon entry of an account into low cash mode or in order to prevent an account from entering low cash mode, the financial institution may automatically transfer funds from a predetermined account into an account in low cash mode. The predetermined account may be a different account owned by the same customer in the same financial institution, owned by a different customer in the same financial institution, owned by the same customer in a different financial institution, owned by a different customer in a different financial institution, or any other financial institution account previously linked with the customer's account currently in low cash mode (as discussed below). The predetermined account may also be a credit card or similar line of credit wherein the balance of the transaction is posted to the credit card or similar account automatically instead of resulting in a negative balance for the account in low cash mode. In some embodiments, the financial institution may provide customers the option to draw on funds located in an alternative account for a transaction when an account is in low cash mode or when the transaction will result in the account entering low cash mode. In response to an alert provided by the financial institution, the financial institution may provide the customer with the ability to select an alternative account associated with the customer from which to draw funds for the transaction. The alternative account may be a checking account, savings account, line of credit, or any other account associated with the customer. Additionally or alternatively, the financial institution may provide the option for a customer to preselect an alternative account associated with the customer from which to automatically draw funds when the account is in low cash mode or when the transaction will result in the account entering low cash mode. FIGS.2A-2Dprovide various embodiments of the present disclosure that illustrate linking a first account131with a second account132. To enable transfers from first account131to second account132, an account owner may send a request to connect and/or link first account131with second account132. The request may be sent from user device108that is registered to an account owner, where the request may be received by one or more of financial institution106and third-party service provider110. The request may include a request from first account131to second account132via user device108, seeking authorization from the owner of second account132to provide access to transaction data, account details, and/or other information pertaining to second account132. In some embodiments, the owner (or joint owner) of the first account and the second account are the same person. The request may be transmitted to a user device108registered with second account132for the owner of second account132to review. The request may include details on information to be shared, authorization to do so, and legal waivers for sharing personal and account details with a third-party. In response, owner of second account132may authorize, via user device108and graphical user interface118, the request to link first account131with second account132. The authorization may be sent back to third-party service providers110and/or financial institution106, which will link accounts and enable information sharing between owners of first account131and second132. The ability to monitor transactions in first account131from second account132enables the owner of second account132to verify certain deposits, whether transferred cash and/or funds are maintained for a period of time, and to monitor and track savings (and transferred funds) in first account131. In the present embodiment, automatic electronic transfers may be made from second account132to first account131based on activity in first account131. For example, when first account131enters a low cash mode, or when an account balance in first account131drops beneath a predetermined threshold value, electronic transfers may be made from second account132to first account131automatically. Alternatively, electronic transfers may be made manually based on user interaction via a graphical user interface. A predetermined threshold value may be a static value (e.g. $25) or alternatively, may represent, a dynamic percentage value (e.g. a percentage value of a total account balance) that may change over time. In the present embodiment, the owner of second account132may be provided information, including transaction details and periodic statements, related to activity in first account131. The owner of second account132may then verify that rules are being applied correctly and that transferred funds to first account131are transferred and maintained according to preset rules governing the funds transfer. Particular rules with respect to transfers will be discussed below. FIGS.2A-2Dshow various implementations in which financial institution106, third-party service provider110, and user device108may be arranged in system100. InFIG.2A, first account131and second account132may be maintained within a common financial institution106. First account131and second account132may have differing or overlapping account ownership. Third-party service provider110may be a third-party entity acting as an information clearing house or intermediary between financial institution106and user device108, retrieving certain data from financial institution106and selectively providing data to account owners via one or more user devices108. Consistent with this present embodiment, financial institution106may present options to customers with at least one account in low cash mode or when an account balance in first account131(or second account132) drops beneath a predetermined threshold value. FIG.16illustrates an exemplary flow chart for managing a financial account in low cash mode, consistent with disclosed embodiments. At step1602, financial institution106may provide an interface to a user, such as via a user device108registered with a first account. User interface may be any of a dashboard or a window, and may include messages, icons, and or buttons for selection by a user. At step1604, financial institution106may transmit a notification to a user when the first account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state based on a balance in the first account, as disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the first account is deemed to be in the low-cash mode state when the first account balance is less than or equal to a predetermined percentage of a total amount of funds stored in the first account. At step1606, financial institution106may display, when the first account balance is less than a threshold value, an option to transfer funds into the first account. Financial institution106may determine, before transferring funds, that the second account has sufficient funds to transfer the desired amount of funds to the first account without resulting in a negative account balance in the second account. At step1608, financial institution106may receive, via the interface, a selection of the option for the transfer request to connect the first account with a second account. Financial institution106may request authorization, prior to transferring the funds, to initiate the transfer of funds from the second account to the first account. Financial institution106may include a stored amount identifier, an indication of sufficient funds in the second account, and a request for authorization to transfer the funds from the second account to the first account based on the stored amount identifier. In some embodiments, financial institution106may determine that the second account has insufficient funds to transfer funds to the first account, and notify, via the interface, the user that funds has not been transferred from the second account to the first account. At step1610, financial institution106may transfer funds, based on the request, from the second account to the first account. Financial institution106may store a date identifier associated with the transferred cash, the date identifier indicating a deposit date for transfer into the first account. Financial institution106may provide, via an interface accessible via a user device registered with the second account, a fee indication specifying a fee associated with the transfer request from the second account. Financial institution106may provide via an interface accessible via a user device registered with the second account, a notification indicating the amount of funds transferred from the second account to the first account. At step1612, financial institution106may transmit a notification, via the interface, to the user that funds have been transferred from the second account to the first account. At step1614, financial institution106may transmit an additional notification, via the interface, to the user that the first account is not longer deemed to be in the low-cash mode state based on the new first account balance. Other notifications not shown, and consistent with this disclosure, may be contemplated. System for Disabling Features Consistent with disclosed embodiments, the financial institution may provide the option for a customer to disable some or all functionality of an application on a mobile device. The financial institution may present this option when a customer indicates via phone call, web interface, or visit to a branch location that a mobile device associated with the customer has been lost, misplaced, or stolen. FIGS.10A-10Cillustrate exemplary graphical user interfaces having a first disabled dashboard embodiment, consistent with disclosed embodiments.FIG.10Aillustrates an exemplary graphical user interface having a dashboard embodiment for extra time, consistent with disclosed embodiments. At1006, there is a display of time remaining to bring the account balance to at least $0.00 before the user is charged a negative balance fee. Other sections of the interface1002may be disabled including sections pertaining to Virtual Wallet spread1004, smart lock1008, payment control1010, and funding options1012. In some embodiments, financial institution may provide the option for a customer to disable some or all functionality of an application on a mobile device108(as shown inFIGS.10A-10C). Financial institution may present this option when a customer indicates via phone call, web interface, or visit to a branch location that a mobile device associated with the customer has been lost, misplaced, or stolen or based on other permissions/restrictions (such as parental controls). AtFIGS.10B-10C, all sections (also referred to as subsections) of interfaces1020,1034may be disabled with the exception of an extra time status1024which illustrates extra time item due1026. Message1028may state to a user “You'll need to deposit $90 by Dec. 3, 2019 to avoid potential overdraft fees. You can only purchase extra time once per transaction.” A close button may be displayed at1020and to make a deposit at1032. At1036, if a user's balance is not above $75 by a date, a user may be charged an overdraft fee. System for Displaying a Grace Period FIG.4Cillustrates an exemplary graphical user interface424for providing an extra time remaining alert426to a customer, consistent with disclosed embodiments. Consistent with present embodiments, financial institution106may display, either by providing an alert426or via an interface424such as an application on a mobile device, a specified amount of time representing a grace period within which the customer must cure a negative balance without the financial institution assessing an associated negative balance fee. Such a feature may be desirable for customers who struggle to manage their money or meet deadlines regularly. In some embodiments the financial institution may display a second specified amount of time remaining representing a second grace period before the financial institution assesses an additional negative balance fee when the customer failed to cure a negative balance within a previous grace period. As shown inFIG.4C, an extra time of “38 Hrs., 52 Min.” is displayed as a message426and allotted to the user as “time remaining to bring your account balance to at least $0.00 before you're charged a daily overdraft fee.” Message426additionally informs the user that he is “currently avoiding $20 in daily overdraft fees.” As inFIG.4B, next button420and skip button422may also enable a user to take a next step in the process of reviewing grace period or extra time options and/or skip the process of reviewing grace period options entirely. System for Automatic Reminder Notifications Consistent with the present embodiment, the financial institution may provide a notification to a customer during a grace period as a reminder to cure the negative balance. The financial institution may provide the notifications to the customer at predetermined times. The times may be predetermined by the financial institution or set by the customer. The times may relate to the amount of time remaining to cure the negative balance or the amount of time the balance has been negative. The financial institution may provide notifications such as a push notification on a mobile device associated with the customer, an SMS notification, an email notification, a voice call, a notification through a social media account associated with the customer, or any other notification intended to reach the customer. System for Personalized Grace Periods Consistent with the present embodiment, financial institution may also personalize a grace period for individual customers based on characteristics associated with the customer. In one embodiment, the financial institution may determine the length of a grace period based on the overdraft amount. For example, the financial institution may determine a shorter grace period for a small overdraft amount while determining a longer grace period for a larger overdraft amount. In another example, the financial institution may determine a longer grace period for a small overdraft amount while determining a shorter grace period for a larger overdraft amount. In another embodiment, financial institution may determine the length of a grace period based on historical account data. The financial institution may determine a longer grace period if the historical account data indicates that the account balance consistently remains above a predetermine threshold. In another embodiment, financial institution may determine the length of a grace period based on a customer's status with the financial institution. Financial institution106may determine longer a grace period for a customer in good standing with the financial institution. Financial institution106may also consider factors such as debit card use, average balance, direct deposit amounts, timing of regularly occurring or historical transactions, or any other indicator of high activity/volume with the financial institution when the financial institution determines if a customer is in good standing. In another embodiment, financial institution may determine the length of a grace period based on a customer's actions within the grace period. For example, financial institution106, may determine to increase the length of a grace period if the customer takes action to cure a negative balance within a grace period but does not fully cure a negative balance. In another embodiment, financial institution may determine a fixed amount of time to be used as a grace period before an account balance is negative. The fixed amount of time may be available for use by a customer throughout a time period such as a month. The fixed amount of time the financial institution determines as a grace period could then be instituted by the customer when an account has a negative balance. Financial institution would then refrain from assessing a negative balance fee while grace period remains. When the grace period runs out, if the customer has not cured the negative balance, then the financial institution may assess a negative balance fee. If the customer cures the negative balance before the grace period ends, then the financial institution may refrain from assessing a negative balance fee and the remaining grace period time may be remain available for use by the customer. The grace period may run during single instance of a negative account balance or across multiple instances of negative account balance by the customer within the time period. In another embodiment, financial institution may determine a fixed amount of time to be used as a grace period based on historical data associated with a customer. Financial institution may determine the time to be used by the customer as a grace period, for example, based on a number of historical occurrences of a negative balance. In one embodiment, the fixed amount of time to be used as a grace period is shorter when the customer has historical occurrences of a negative balance. In another example, the fixed amount of time to be used as a grace period is longer when the customer has greater amounts of time between historical occurrences of a negative balance. In another embodiment, financial institution may determine a fixed amount of time to be used as a grace period on a reoccurring basis for example, monthly or annually. Financial institution may further allow time allocated as a grace period to be saved, compiled, accumulated, or carried over so that the customer continues to build a reserve of time to be used as a grace period when an account balance is negative. However, financial institution may set a maximum amount of time to be saved, compiled, accumulated, or carried over as a grace period. The financial institution may also implement other measures to limit the accumulation of total grace period. For example, the time allotted as a grace period may expire if unused for length of time (such as one year). In another embodiment, financial institution may allocate a fixed amount of time to be used as a grace period as an incentive. The incentive may be given by the financial institution periodically, such as on the anniversary of the customer's relationship with the financial institution or may be included as an incentive within a package when a customer purchases a product from financial institution. Additionally or alternatively, the time to be used as a grace period may be given as an incentive for referrals by a customer, rewarding the customer and a new customer invited by the customer with time to be used as a grace period when the new customer opens an account with financial institution based on an invitation from the customer. In another embodiment, financial institution may offer to sell more time to be used as a grace period to the customer. Financial institution may allow the customer to purchase additional grace period time. FIGS.10A-10Cillustrate exemplary graphical user interfaces having a first disabled dashboard embodiment, consistent with disclosed embodiments.FIG.10Aillustrates an exemplary graphical user interface1002having a dashboard embodiment for extra time, consistent with disclosed embodiments. At1006, there is a display of time remaining to bring the account balance to at least $0.00 before the user is charged a negative balance fee. Other sections of the interface1002may be disabled including sections pertaining to Virtual Wallet spread1004, smart lock1008, payment control1010, and funding options1012. In some embodiments, financial institution may provide the option for a customer to disable some or all functionality of an application on a mobile device108(as shown inFIGS.10A-10C). Financial institution may present this option when a customer indicates via phone call, web interface, or visit to a branch location that a mobile device associated with the customer has been lost, misplaced, or stolen or based on other permissions/restrictions (such as parental controls). FIG.12illustrates an exemplary graphical user interface for an application enabling payment control, consistent with disclosed embodiments. At graphical user interface1202, a bank application for payment control is shown having one or more subsections. At1204, a title of the application is displayed to the user. At1206, a title of a transaction in question, in particular, check #125, may be displayed to a user with the associated amount. At1208, a message may be displayed to a user as part of the application indicating that this transaction will result in the account going negative and the user being charged a negative balance fee. At1210, another message may explain the options available to a user. For example, at1212, an option may be presented to a user to select the extra time option for this transaction.” At1212A, 1 Day may be selected as an extension with no associated cost. At12B, an extension fee may be $2.00. At1212C, an extension fee may be 3 dollars. At1212D, an extension fee may be 4 dollars. At1212E, an extension fee may be 5 dollars. At1214, a message may be provided to a user saying “Great we'll waive any potential fees on this transaction until 11/22” if an extension to 11/22 is selected by a user. At1216, if a user's account balance is positive on 11/22, no negative balance fee will be charged to the user. Conversely, if a user's account balance is still negative, a banking application may charge the user a negative balance fee of $20. At1218, a user may click confirm to confirm an extension selection made. FIG.29illustrates an exemplary flow chart for determining a personalized grace period. At step2902, financial institution106may associate a customer with an account. At step2904, financial institution106may determine an account balance of the account. At step2906, financial institution106may provide a notification to the customer, as disclosed herein. At step2908, financial institution may determine a personalized grace period, as disclosed herein. At step2910, financial institution may display the personalized grace period to the customer. System for Customized Reminder Notifications In some embodiments, financial institution may present an option to the customer to allow the customer to dynamically set reminders within an interface related to the financial institution so that the financial institution provides notifications to the customer reminding the customer to cure a negative account balance. Financial institution may suggest time or increments for the reminder notifications. Financial institution may also permit customers to select reminders that are regularly occurring or persistent until the negative account balance is cured. Financial institution may further permit customers to select the timing, time increments, consistency, or manner of reminder notifications. System for Integration with PNC Virtual Wallet Calendar In other embodiments, financial institution may provide the customer with an option to view past, present, and future transactions on a calendar interface, for example the PNC Virtual Wallet Calendar. When an account enters low cash mode, the financial institution may provide customers with the option to allow the financial institution to automatically reschedule payments in order to prevent or cure a negative balance. The financial institution may automatically reschedule transactions by applying machine learning or artificial intelligence algorithms to the calendared transactions. System for Time Period-Based Negative Balance Fees In some embodiments, the financial institution may provide a negative balance fee as a substitute for a transactional fee when a customer account has insufficient funds. For example, the financial institution may provide the customer with the option of electing to pay a flat fee for every predetermined period of time in which the customer's account has a negative balance. In some embodiments the period of time is not predetermined or may be dynamically adjusted to suit the customer based on the customer's data or the customer account's historical data. System for Recommendations Based on Scheduled Payments Consistent with disclosed embodiments, the financial institution may provide a notification to a customer that a pending, scheduled, or anticipated purchase or transaction will result in a negative account balance before the purchase or transaction is made. For example, a financial institution may notify a customer that a transaction associated with an item placed in a virtual shopping cart while visiting an online merchant would result in a negative balance. In another embodiment the financial institution may use historical data associated with a customer to predict and notify a customer that an anticipated transaction will result in a negative balance. The financial institution may further anticipate transactions based on the time of the day, month, or year; a geographic location associated with a merchant; a geographic location associated with the customer; or other indicators associated with the customer and spending an amount greater than a current balance. System for Maintaining a Minimum Threshold Value In some embodiments, the financial institution may provide the customer an option of setting a low balance threshold. The low balance threshold represents a maximum negative balance after the customer account enters low cash mode. In electing to set a low balance threshold, the customer can prevent negative balances from decreasing beyond a negative amount set as the negative balance threshold. This provides the customer with peace of mind that a negative balance will not exceed the customer's ability repay and also has the benefit of assisting the financial institution in assessing a financial risk profile associated with the customer. The low balance threshold may include providing the customer with the ability to selectively choose one or more scheduled payments for processing. Once the customer indicates that selection of scheduled payments for processing is complete, the financial institution may render remaining scheduled payments unactionable. Unactionable payments cannot be cancelled or modified by a customer but may be cancelled or modified by the financial institution. The low balance threshold may be dynamic and automatically set as a function of various factors, such as the customer's age, income, credit score, financial history, or other factors relevant to the customer's likelihood of repaying a negative balance. In some embodiments, the low balance threshold is set by an agreement between the customer and the financial institution. The low balance threshold may also be set by the financial institution, allowing a customer to choose among scheduled payments for processing but preventing the customer from changing the low balance threshold amount. In some embodiments, the financial institution may provide the customer an option of setting a low balance threshold. The low balance threshold represents a maximum negative balance after the customer account enters low cash mode. In electing to set a low balance threshold, the customer can prevent negative balances from decreasing beyond a negative amount set as the negative balance threshold. This provides the customer with peace of mind that a negative balance will not exceed the customer's ability repay and also has the benefit of assisting the financial institution in assessing a financial risk profile associated with the customer. The low balance threshold may include providing the customer with the ability to selectively choose one or more scheduled payments for processing. Once the customer indicates that selection of scheduled payments for processing is complete, the financial institution may render remaining scheduled payments unactionable. Unactionable payments cannot be cancelled or modified by a customer but may be cancelled or modified by the financial institution. The low balance threshold may be dynamic and automatically set as a function of various factors, such as the customer's age, income, credit score, financial history, or other factors relevant to the customer's likelihood of repaying a negative balance. In some embodiments, the low balance threshold is set by an agreement between the customer and the financial institution. The low balance threshold may also be set by the financial institution, allowing a customer to choose among scheduled payments for processing but preventing the customer from changing the low balance threshold amount. FIGS.11A-11Dillustrates exemplary graphical user interfaces for low cash mode customization and configurations, consistent with disclosed embodiments.FIG.5Aillustrates an exemplary graphical user interface for setting a low cash mode threshold, consistent with disclosed embodiments. As shown inFIG.5A, a user may configure or customize a low cash mode by setting a low cash threshold. When a user's account is below their threshold, the user may be able to control individual checks and automatic checks are paid or rejected. As shown inFIG.5A, a user may enable their low cash mode controls506when their account balance falls beneath $10, $25, $50, $100, or a custom amount. Back508and Continue510buttons may be provided for users to navigate between screens to allow for further configuration or customization of low cash mode preferences or properties. Additionally or alternatively, the user may select to automatically enable low cash mode based on a determination by the financial institution (not show). The financial institution would then determine when the account enters low cash mode as discussed herein. FIG.5Dillustrates an exemplary graphical user interface for setting a plurality of threshold values for paying or rejecting payments, consistent with disclosed embodiments. As shown inFIG.5D, a user may be able to activate low cash mode controls when their account balance is at or below a certain value (e.g. $50). The user may be able to select from a plurality of different threshold values or enter a custom threshold value. The user may be able to choose if the account will default to pay or reject payments when low cash mode activates and may also choose if the account will default to pay or reject payments when low cash mode activates. The user may select a monetary value for at which their account will default to pay or reject payments when low cash mode activates. A confirm button536may be provided for a user to accept the and save the selected low cash mode threshold settings. FIG.30illustrates an exemplary flow chart for managing a financial account. At step3002, financial institution106may associate a customer with an account at financial institution106. At step3004, financial institution106may receive a low balance threshold as determined by financial institution106or from a customer. At step3006, financial institution106may determine an account balance of the account. At step3008, financial institution106may determine, based on the account balance and low balance threshold, whether the account is less than the low balance threshold. At step3010, financial institution106may provide a notification to the customer, as disclosed herein. At step3012, financial institution106may present options to manage the account while the account balance is less than the low balance threshold. System for Predictive Cash Flow Consistent with disclosed embodiments, the financial institution may apply artificial intelligence or machine learning algorithms to historical data stored in a data platform and associated with a customer or account in order to learn and predict transactions and spending tendencies. The historical data may additionally include data available through the customer's social media account(s). Financial institution106may further provide notifications or recommendations based on the predicted transactions or spending tendencies. In some embodiments, the financial institution may provide the customer with a predictive cash flow feature. The predictive cash flow feature may use one or more of the customer's financial history, the customer account history, and aggregated data from other customers and customer accounts to create one or more predictions. The one or more predictions may include time periods or amounts related to a customer's financial status, and may include time periods when a customer is more likely to enter low cash mode. The predictive cash flow feature may, by way of illustrative example, analyze a customer's financial history and determine patterns corresponding to when the customer's account receives deposits or when the customer makes expenditures. Through this analysis, the predictive cash flow feature may determine probabilities for a customer account entering low cash mode and, when a probability is within certain range, notify a customer of a prediction. The predictive cash flow feature may similarly provide the customer with a prediction corresponding to a high likelihood of a low customer account balance or negative balance. In some embodiments, the predictive cash flow feature incorporates machine learning to create more accurate predictions. For example, the financial institution may apply machine learning or artificial intelligence algorithms to evaluate historical predictions and their accuracy in comparison to actual customer account status. The predictive cash flow feature may then adjust data inputs used for predictions that were historically less accurate and leave unmodified data inputs used for predictions that were historically accurate. In addition, the predictive cash flow feature may create predictions for the purpose of evaluating and enhancing future predictions without sending the predictions to a customer. This enables the predictive cash flow feature to continually improve the accuracy of predictions while providing a customer with the most accurate predictions. In some embodiments the predictive cash flow feature incorporates data received and stored by the financial institution as well as data received from third parties. Data received from third parties may enable the financial institution to create more holistic and accurate predictions by incorporating more data into its analysis. Data included in the predictive cash flow feature may include non-financial data, such as calendar data, weather data, or other types of data associated with or correlating to financial behavior. In some embodiments, the predictive cash flow feature allows a customer the ability to manually add payments to be analyzing or given greater weight in generating predicative cash flows. FIGS.7A-7Cillustrate exemplary graphical user interfaces for predicting a low cash mode and related expenses, consistent with disclosed embodiments.FIG.7Aillustrates an exemplary graphical user interface702for notifying a customer that an account associated with the customer may enter low cash mode in a future time period, consistent with disclosed embodiments. As shown inFIG.7A, an intelligent alert706indicates “Low Cash Mode ahead” and “We predict your account x2958 could enter low cash mode in the next 3 days. Review your options.”FIG.7Billustrates an exemplary graphical user interface708for displaying a predicted cash flow forecast710, consistent with disclosed embodiments. As shown inFIG.7B, a predictive cash flow forecast710may display a line graph indicating a prediction of cash flow over a period of time. A message712may also be displayed with a details section714for the user's reference to explain the predicted cash flow. A user may be able to manage and review scheduled and predicted payments716and may also list scheduled out amounts718and predicted reoccurring expenses720. Additionally, funding options722may allow for funding a user's account with the following options. The options may include making a transfer724and making a deposit726. The user may then confirm and return to the account730. FIG.7Cillustrates an exemplary graphical user interface732for predicting expenses, consistent with disclosed embodiments. As shown inFIG.7C, predictive expenses may be displayed to the user in graphical user interface732. The graphical user interface732may include expenses identified from past user activity. The user may be able to unselect an expense if the user does not want to use the expected transaction to predict a future balance. As shown, expected activity738may list expected expenses740,742which are shown as “Verizon Fios” and “Netflix” expenses. The user may then confirm and return to the account744. FIG.31illustrates an exemplary process for predicting cash flow. At step3102, financial institution106may associate a customer with an account at financial institution106. At step3104, financial institution106may store financial history data associated with the customer and/or the account. At step3106, financial institution106may store account history data associated with the customer and/or the account. At step3108, financial institution106may store aggregated data. At step3110, financial institution106may access non-financial data. At step3112, financial institution106may analyze by machine learning the financial history data, the account history data, the non-financial data and the aggregated data. At step3114, financial institution106may determine a future account balance of the account based on the analysis performed in step3114. At step3116, financial institution106may determine, based on the future account balance, whether the first account will enter a low-cash mode state, as disclosed herein. At step3118, financial institution may determine a danger time period for the customer or the account, as disclosed herein. System for Communication Through Social Media In some embodiments, the financial institution may urge or permit customers to link financial accounts with social media accounts. The link between accounts may provide financial institution with access to information gathered by the social media account and associated applications. The link may also provide another channel for financial institution to send alerts or messages to a customer. For example, a customer could receive a message via a social network instant or direct message that the account has entered low cash mode. Additionally or alternatively, the financial institution may provide a customer with the option to associate a social media account associated with the customer with a financial account. The financial institution may then interact with the customer using the notifications and infrastructure provided by the social media platform. For example, the financial institution may provide a notification that an account associated with a user has entered low cash mode using Facebook Messenger or Twitter Direct Message. The financial institution may also access or analyze data associated with a customer's social media profile, presence, usage, activity, connections, or other social media data. FIG.22illustrates an exemplary flow chart for providing notification to a customer. At step2202, financial institution106may associate a customer with an account at the financial institution. At step2204, financial institution106may associate the customer with a social media account. At step2206, financial institution106may present an option via the customer interface with financial institution106or via the social media platform for the customer to grant financial institution106permission to link the account associated with the customer at financial institution106with the social media account associated with the customer. At step2208, financial institution106may receive permission to link the account at financial institution106associated with the customer with the social media account associated with the customer. At step2210, financial institution may link the account at financial institution106associated with the customer with the social media account associated with the customer. At step2212, financial institution106may determine an account balance of the account. At step2214, financial institution106may determine, based on the account balance, whether the account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state, as disclosed herein. At step2216, if the account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state, financial institution106may provide a notification to the customer that the account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state via the social media account associated with the customer. System for Geolocation Based Alerts In some embodiments, financial institution may offer customers the option to designate payments based on a user's location (as discussed herein). A customer may, for example, use a mobile device that is associated with a customer account. The mobile device may have a GPS or be otherwise configured with location services to determine the location of the mobile device. When the mobile device determines that the location of the mobile device is within a predetermined distance from a merchant while the customer's account is in low cash mode, the mobile device may provide a notification to the customer and provide the customer with the option of designating the merchant for payment processing during low cash mode. In some embodiments, financial institution may offer a geolocation alert service. The geolocation alert service includes a customer carrying a mobile device with a global positioning system or other location services. The mobile device may determine a location of the mobile device and communicate the location to the financial institution or to a mobile application associated with the financial institution. The financial institution, either through its own servers or through the mobile application, may determine whether the location is associated with a merchant and whether the customer account associated with the mobile device is low cash mode. If the financial institution determines that the customer account is in low cash mode and the location is associated with a merchant, the financial institution may notify the customer that the customer account is in low cash mode. The financial institution may provide such notification by, for example, sending a text message to a phone number associated with the customer account, sending an email to an email address associated with the customer account, sending a push notification to the mobile device via the mobile application, and/or any other notification disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the geolocation alert service may similarly notify the customer when the customer account is within a certain range of the threshold for entering low cash mode. For example, the financial institution may notify the customer that the customer's account is within a specified dollar amount of entering low cash mode when the customer carries their mobile device to a merchant. In some embodiments, the financial institution may notify more than one customer associated with a customer account when the customer account is in low cash mode and the location is associated with a merchant. For example, when one of multiple customers associated with an account enters a location associated with a merchant, the financial institution may notify all associated customers that the customer account is in low cash mode and that one of the customers is entering a merchant. This is particularly useful in joint accounts where one joint account holder would otherwise be able to spend while the customer account is in low cash mode without the knowledge of the other joint account holder. In some embodiments, the financial institution may allow customers to set parental controls or designate one or more controlling agents so that notifications are sent to one or more parents or controlling agents. In some embodiments, the geolocation alert service may be enabled based on predicted danger conditions. One or more customers, parents, or controlling agents may, for example, may determine a danger condition under which they will be notified through the geolocation alert service. The danger condition may be any condition that is predicted to result in a high financial risk or a high risk of a customer account entering low cash mode. For example, the danger condition may be the mobile device entering a location associated with a merchant known for selling high-value products. Under such a danger condition, the geolocation alert service would assist customers with taking informed and financially responsible actions by notifying them when they could end up spending a high amount of money and thereby cause a customer account to enter low cash mode. Other examples of danger conditions include merchants determined to be disreputable, merchants with high interest rates, merchants at which the customer account has previously entered low cash mode, merchants at which other customer accounts have entered low cash mode, a time or time period associated with impulsive buying or other customer accounts entering low cash mode, and a time or time period associated with a customer's regular income receipt. In some embodiments, the financial institution may request or require the consent of the customer to enable the geolocation alert service. The financial institution may, by way of example, request permission from a customer to enable the geolocation alert service when a customer installs the mobile application on a mobile device, or the financial institution may require the consent of the customer to enable the geolocation alert service and accept various terms upon installation of the mobile application. FIGS.15A-15Billustrates exemplary graphical user interfaces for spending control and automatic locking, consistent with disclosed embodiments. User interface1502illustrates a bank smart lock user interface with simplified spending control1504. At1506, a message is presented explaining the available features of simplified spending control to a user. At1510, there is a button to display the next screen or message. At1512, there is a button to dismiss the message and return to a previous graphical user interface1512. At user interface1514illustrated inFIG.15B, there is intelligent, automatic locking1516. At1518, a message is presented explaining the available features of intelligent, automatic locking to a user. At1520, an icon indicating the intelligent, automatic locking1516. FIGS.14A-14Billustrates exemplary graphical user interfaces for a bank application enabling a smart geolocation feature, consistent with disclosed embodiments. AtFIG.14A, manage locations1420user interface, frequent locations1422may list locations frequently visited, such as a Giant Eagle in Cranberry, PA. At1424, recommend locations may be present, for example, at grocery stores. At1426, the user may manually add a location. At1428, a map may be present to show locations of grocery stores. At1430, the user may add a selected location. As shown inFIG.14B, user interface1432may notify the user at1434that the user is near a frequent location and that the account is currently smart locked to prevent transactions from being processed and that the user must sign in to make changes. FIGS.15C-15Dillustrate exemplary graphical user interfaces for explaining danger day features and geolocation control features, consistent with disclosed embodiments. FIG.32illustrates an exemplary flowchart for preventing a negative account balance. At step3202, financial institution106may associate a first customer with an account at financial institution106. At step3204, financial institution106may associate a second customer with the account at financial institution106. At step3206, financial institution106may associate the first customer with a first mobile device. At step3208, financial institution106may associate the second customer with a second mobile device. At step3210, financial institution106may determine an account balance of the account. At step3212, financial institution106may determine, based on the account balance, whether the account is deemed to be in a low-cash mode state, as disclosed herein. At step3214, financial institution may determine the location of the first customer via the first device. At step3216, financial institution may determine if the location of the first customer is associated with a merchant. At step3218, financial institution may provide a notification to the first customer, the second customer, or both, as disclosed herein. FIG.33illustrates an exemplary process for preventing a negative balance. At step3302, financial institution106may associate a first customer with an account at financial institution. At step3304, financial institution106may associate multiple other customers with the account at financial institution106. At step3306, financial institution106may associated the first customer with a first mobile device. At step3308, financial institution106may store financial history data associated with the customer and/or the account. At step3310, financial institution106may store account history data associated with the customer, the multiple customers, and/or the account. At step3312, financial institution106may store aggregated data. At step3314, financial institution106may access non-financial data. At step3316, financial institution106may analyze by machine learning the financial history data, the account history data, the aggregated data and the non-financial data. At step3318, financial institution106may determine a future account balance of the account based on the analysis performed in step3316. At step3320, financial institution106may determine, based on the future account balance, whether the first account will enter a low-cash mode state, as disclosed herein. At step3322, financial institution may determine the location of the first customer via the first device. At step32163324financial institution may determine if the location of the first customer is associated with a merchant. At step3326, financial institution may provide a notification to the first customer, the multiple customers, or both, as disclosed herein. FIG.34illustrates an exemplary process for preventing a negative balance. At step3402, financial institution may associate a first customer with an account at financial institution106. At step3404, financial institution106may associate multiple other customers with the account at financial institution106. At step3406, financial institution106may associate the first customer with a first mobile device. At step3408, financial institution106may store financial history data associated with the customer and/or the account. At step3410, financial institution106may store account history data associated with the customer, the multiple customers, and/or the account. At step3412, financial institution106may store aggregated data. At step3414, financial institution106may access non-financial data. At step3416, financial institution106may analyze by machine learning the financial history data, the account history data, the aggregated data and the non-financial data. At step3418, financial institution106may determine a future account balance of the account based on the analysis performed in step3416. At step3420, financial institution106may determine, based on the future account balance, whether the first account will enter a low-cash mode state, as disclosed herein. At step3422, financial institution may determine the location of the first customer via the first device. At step3424, financial institution may determine a danger condition. At step3326, financial institution may provide a notification to the first customer, the multiple customers, or both, as disclosed herein. Systems for Exemptions from Low-Cash Mode In some embodiments, financial institution may provide the customer with one or more low cash mode payment recommendations (such as grocery recommendations as discussed herein). When additional payments are made by a customer whose account is in low cash mode, financial institution may use customer data, customer account data, financial institution data, third party data, or a combination thereof to determine an optimal way for the customer to schedule payments. For example, the financial institution may analyze the scheduled payments for the customer account and a fee schedule associated with the customer account and recommend which scheduled payments the customer should pay in order to minimize incurring fees. Low cash mode payment recommendations benefit the financial institution by providing customers with advice that may mitigate their risk profile to the financial institution and by increasing customer satisfaction with the financial institution. Low cash mode payment recommendations benefits customers by empowering them with information and flexibility while aiding their financial decisions when funds are insufficient and financial advice is needed most. In some embodiments, financial institution may offer customers various options to process designated transactions for processing even while in low cash mode. For example, financial institution may offer customers the option to designate payments for processing that are made at a grocery store (as discussed above) even while in low cash mode. The financial institution may offer customers options to designate particular merchants or types of payments prior to or upon the customer's account entering low cash mode. Financial institution may also offer customers the option to designate particular merchants or types of payment while the customer's account is in low cash mode. In some embodiments, financial institution may provide the customer with a list of merchants and the customer may select one or more merchants from the list. The financial institution will then process transactions initiated by the selected merchants while the associated account is in low cash mode. In some embodiments, financial institution provides the user with a list of types of payments and the user selects one or more types of payment from the list. The financial institution will then process transactions corresponding to the selected payments while the associated account in in low cash mode. The types of payment may include, for example, payment categories. The financial institution may obtain payment categories from a third party or determine such payment categories using financial data and historical financial transaction data associated with a particular merchant, payment amount, or time of payment. Systems Providing User Interface In some embodiments, as used herein, micro-applications may be used to implement a low cash mode of operation as displayed on a graphical user interface or webpage (as discussed above) or on a mobile device (as discussed below). For example, a low cash mode may be used to refer to when an account balance in a financial account drops beneath a predetermined threshold value, and additionally, to options presented by financial service provider110(e.g. personal loan, transfer of fund, and the like) when financial service provider110determines that an account has insufficient funds to handle a transaction without resulting in a negative balance. FIGS.6-7illustrate exemplary bank account webpages for use with applications, consistent with disclosed embodiments.FIG.3Aillustrates a user interface that may exchange data to present a holistic and consistent user banking experience, such as a banking account summary webpage302. Deposit accounts308and interest checking310and a virtual wallet312may be shown as part of a consistent user experience. Credit account314may also be shown as part of a consistent user experience. Information message boxes316and318may also be displayed on banking account summary webpage302. Message316such as “access your money fast with bank express funds” and “learn how to get immediate access to your funds when depositing an approved check from your mobile device or at an ATM” may be part of the user banking experience. Other message318may include “Tips on how to spot a scam! Fraudsters may attempt to steal your personal and financial information through emails, texts, and call,” and may be part of a user experience. Other links320may be presented at the bottom of account summary webpage302. In some embodiments, balance data for each of the three deposit accounts322,324and for the credit account326may also be shown as part of webpage302as shown inFIG.3B. In some embodiments, a customer may be provided with a user interface. The user interface may provide the customer with a variety of notifications, such as notifications triggered when the customer's account enters or exits low cash mode as well as notifications providing education as to the features an options available for accounts in low cash mode. The user interface may also be configured to display a variety of settings, including display settings, notification settings, customer account settings, and low cash mode settings. In addition to displaying these settings, the user interface allows a user, which may or may not be the customer, to adjust these settings. By displaying the settings in an aesthetically pleasing and intuitive manner, a user may feel more informed and empowered to control their customer account and the functionality of low cash mode. In some embodiments, the user interface is customizable such that portions of the user interface may be rearranged according to the needs or preferences of the user. In some embodiments, the customizability of the user interface is reduced to promote uniformity of user experience across a variety of users. The user interface may be provided on a variety of devices, such as mobile devices, tablets, laptops, desktop computers, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), or other devices. Furthermore, the user interface may be provided for use by a single user or may be configured for use by more than one user, such as a user interface configured to provide access to many users at a publicly accessible device. In some embodiments, the user interface comprises one or more panels. Each panel may include text or images to provide a user with account information, or provide a user with notifications regarding such account information. The account information may include low cash mode information associated with a customer account, such as a balance available to the user, current settings of low cash mode, funding options, fund transfer information, fund deposit information, time remaining until overdraft or other fees are incurred, overdraft or other fees being avoided by the user's actions or settings over various periods of time, current payment control settings, and payments available for viewing by a user. In some embodiments, the account information includes payment control information, such as protected balance, available balance, returned payments, payment schedules, and payment decision deadlines. When a user interacts with one or more panels (for example by tapping, swiping, clicking with a cursor, or otherwise performing an action indicative of a user's choice), the user interface may change to include new or additional information displayed through the interface or provide a user with new or additional settings. For example, one panel may include information regarding a balance available through low cash mode. When the user interacts with the panel, the user interface may change to display more detailed information regarding the available balance, such as a transaction history or a detailed time stamp for when low cash mode was enabled. In some embodiments, one panel may include payment control notifications. When the user interacts with the panel, the user interface may change to display payment control information, settings, and/or choices. Such payment control choices may include, for example, buttons enabling the user to select payments the user does not want paid using the customer account. FIGS.10A-10Eillustrate exemplary graphical user interfaces for managing a financial account in a low cash mode, consistent with disclosed embodiments.FIG.4Aillustrates an exemplary graphical user interface402for managing a financial account in low cash mode, consistent with disclosed embodiments. As shown inFIG.4A, graphical user interface402may include a home page that provides an overview of options available to a user at user device108, educating the user about low cash mode. Graphical user interface402may include options including opting-into intelligent alerts406, receiving automatic extensions of time408, managing payment controls410, and activating a debit cart smart lock412. In present embodiments, intelligent alerts406may communicate to a user when an account associated with the user enters low cash mode and when the user needs to take action related to the account or a transaction. Automatic extra time408may allow a user to avoid overdraft fees and may provide a length of time (for example, 48 hours) for a user to cure the negative account balance before incurring a negative balance fee. Payment controls410may allow a user to decide if individual checks as automatic payments are paid or rejected when in low cash mode. Debit card smart lock412may allow a user to choose to automatically lock their debit card to avoid spending when their balance is low. Additionally or alternatively, a user may activate debit card smart lock412manually at any time. Other features may be contemplated and included in a home page in order to allow a user to manager his or her financial account in low cash mode. While some features relating services, technologies, and features offered by a financial services provider have been described with respect to the above embodiments, it should be understood that they are not limited thereto, and that various other features may be included or featured. The accompanying figures are intended to provide exemplary views for purposes of explaining systems and methods described herein, and they are not intended to limit the scope of those features or interfaces. In some embodiments, some or all of the logic for the above-described techniques may be implemented as a computer program, as an application, or as a plug-in module or sub-component of another application. The described techniques may be varied and are not limited to the examples or descriptions provided. In some examples applications may be developed for download to mobile communications and computing systems, e.g., laptops, mobile computers, tablet computers, smartphones, etc., being made available for download by the customer either directly from the device or through a website. Moreover, while illustrative embodiments have been described herein, the scope thereof includes any and all embodiments having equivalent elements, modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g., of aspects across various embodiments), adaptations and/or alterations as would be appreciated by those in the art based on the present disclosure. For example, the number and orientation of components shown in the exemplary systems may be modified. Further, with respect to the exemplary methods illustrated in the attached drawings, the order and sequence of steps may be modified or combined, and/or steps may be added or deleted. Thus, the foregoing description has been presented for purposes of illustration. It is not exhaustive and is not limited to the precise forms or embodiments disclosed. Modifications and adaptations will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosed embodiments. For example, while a financial institution may have been described herein as the entity managing and/or maintaining the financial accounts130and providing the graphical user interface118for user device108, it is to be understood that, consistent with disclosed embodiments, another entity may provide such services in conjunction with or separate from a financial institution. For example, third-party service provider110may provide some or all of the above-described functions. The claims are to be interpreted broadly based on the language employed in the claims and not limited to examples described in the present specification. Accordingly, the examples presented herein are to be construed as non-exclusive. Further, the steps of the disclosed methods may be modified in any manner, including by reordering steps and/or inserting or deleting steps. Furthermore, although aspects of the disclosed embodiments are described as being associated with data stored in memory and other tangible computer-readable storage mediums, one skilled in the art will appreciate that these aspects can also be stored on and executed from many types of tangible computer-readable media, such as secondary storage devices, like hard disks, floppy disks, or CD-ROM, or other forms of RAM or ROM. Accordingly, the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the above-described examples but, instead, are defined by the appended claims in light of their full scope of equivalents. | 128,821 |
11861575 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the Figures generally, various systems, methods, and apparatuses for managing deposit transactions are described herein. More particularly, systems and methods for facilitating inter-FI deposits (i.e., a deposit in which funds are received at a first financial institution and are deposited into an account maintained at a second financial institution) are described herein. According to various example embodiments, as described in further detail below, facilitating deposits into an account at a second financial institution from an ATM of a first financial institution may save a user time when desiring to make a deposit into an account of another financial institution and/or make deposits into two different financial institution accounts during the same ATM interaction. Unlike conventional deposits, the user does not have to travel to a second financial institution and/or an ATM of the second financial institution to make a deposit to an account held at the second financial institution. Instead, using the systems and methods described herein, the user can conveniently make deposits to accounts held at both the first financial institution and the second financial institution at an ATM of the first financial institution. Beneficially, these systems and methods cut down on travel time for the user by allowing the user to make deposits to two (or more) different accounts each held at different financial institutions in a single ATM interaction instance. An example implementation may be described as follows. The user holds a checking account at a first financial institution and a savings account at a second financial institution. The user visits an ATM of the first financial institution and inserts a debit card into the ATM. The user is authenticated by entering a personal identification number (PIN) into the ATM. The user selects a “deposit cash” selection on the user interface of the ATM. The user is then prompted by the ATM to select the account to which the user desires to deposit the cash. The user selects an “other financial institution savings account” selection. The ATM then prompts the user to insert the cash into a deposit mechanism of the ATM. Once the user inserts the cash, the ATM determines the amount of the cash and relays this information to the financial institution computing system associated with the first financial institution. The financial institution computing system may update (e.g., temporarily update) an account of the user held at the first financial institution to show an indication of the deposit. Concurrently or immediately thereafter, the financial institution initiates a transfer (e.g., via an inter-FI transfer system) to the second financial institution such that the amount is deposited into the user's savings account at the second financial institution. The inter-FI transfer system completes the transfer. The first financial institution receives a deposit verification from the second financial institution and displays the notification of success to the user via the ATM screen. In operation, the deposit management system facilitates the deposit of cash and/or checks into an account held at a second financial institution (e.g., second financial institution152inFIG.1) from an ATM associated with a first financial institution (e.g., first financial institution102inFIG.1). When a user deposits cash and/or checks into an ATM of a first financial institution and indicates that the deposit is for an account at a second institution, the system proceeds to complete the deposit into the account of the first financial institution and immediately transfer the funds to the second financial institution. In some arrangements, the deposit into the second financial institution (e.g., as viewed from the user's perspective) occurs in real-time or near real-time. Other embodiments may include different arrangements and displays without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Referring now toFIG.1, an environment view of an inter-FI deposit system100is shown, according to an example embodiment. As described in further detail below, the system100facilitates deposit management between two (or more) financial institutions (e.g., first financial institution102and second financial institution152). Specifically, the system100facilitates the deposit and near-simultaneous transfer of funds from a first financial institution102to a second financial institution152. As described further herein, the funds transfer between the financial institutions102,152can be completed through an inter-FI transfer system150, such as an automated clearing house (ACH) system, a wire transfer system, a real-time transfer system, or the like. As used herein, “other financial institution” or “second financial institution” refers to a financial institution holding the account into which the user wishes to deposit money. In some arrangements, the second financial institution152may enter into an agreement with the financial institution102to utilize the system100such that users may directly deposit money into accounts held at the second financial institution152using an ATM associated with the first financial institution102. In some arrangements, the first financial institution102and the second financial institution152enter into agreements with the inter-FI transfer system150to facilitate such transactions. As such, the user can deposit money into the account held at the second financial institution152without visiting the second financial institution152and/or an ATM of the second financial institution152. Referring toFIG.2, the system100includes a first financial institution computing system104associated with a first financial institution102, where the first financial institution computing system104is communicably and operatively coupled to an ATM106, user device170, inter-FI transfer system150, and a second financial institution computing system154over a network110. The network110provides communicable and operative coupling between the user device170, the ATM106, the first financial institution computing system104, the inter-FI transfer system150, the second financial institution computing system154, and other components disclosed and described herein to provide and facilitate the exchange of communications (e.g., data, instructions, messages, values, commands, etc.) Accordingly, the network110may include any network including wired (e.g., Ethernet) and/or wireless networks (e.g., 802.11X, ZigBee, Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.). In some arrangements, the network110includes the Internet. In further embodiments, the network110includes a proprietary banking network to provide secure or substantially secure communications. The ATM106includes any type of computing device capable of both receiving deposits and dispensing funds. In some embodiments, the ATM106is operated by the first financial institution102. The ATM106is configured to receive a transaction card (e.g., debit card, credit card) from a user and complete various financial transactions for the user including a cash deposit, a check deposit, a cash withdrawal, a transfer of funds, check account balances, etc. The ATM106is configured to communicate with the first financial institution computing system104to complete these various financial transactions. In this regard, the ATM106is communicably and operatively coupled to the first financial institution computing system104. The ATM106includes a display120, an input/output (I/O) circuit116, a card reader128, a deposit mechanism130, and a network interface112. In some arrangements, the ATM106includes additional components, such as a receipt printer, a currency (i.e., bill) transport system, a secure storage (for bills/checks), and/or a cash dispensing mechanism. The network interface112of the ATM106is adapted for and configured to establish a communication session via the network110with the first financial institution computing system104. Accordingly, the network interface112includes any of a cellular transceiver (Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), etc.), a wireless network transceiver (e.g., 802.11X, ZigBee, Bluetooth, etc.), or a combination thereof (e.g., both a cellular transceiver and a Bluetooth transceiver). In some embodiments, the network interface112communicates via a secured wired connection within a branch of the financial institution102. The display120is structured and configured to present account information, transaction information, transaction options, transaction confirmations, and the like to users on the ATM106. In this regard, the display120is communicably and operatively coupled to the input/output circuit116to provide a user interface for receiving and displaying information on the ATM106. Examples of user interfaces are described more fully herein with regard toFIGS.6and7. The input/output circuit116is structured to receive and provide communication(s) to a user of the ATM106. In this regard, the input/output circuit116is structured to exchange data, communications, instructions, etc., with an input/output component of the ATM106. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the input/output circuit116includes an input/output device such as a display device, a touchscreen, a keyboard, a near-field communication (NFC) transceiver, and/or a microphone. In another embodiment, the input/output circuit116may include communication circuitry for facilitating the exchange of data, values, messages, and the like between an input/output device and the components of the ATM106. In yet another embodiment, the input/output circuit116may include machine-readable media for facilitating the exchange of information between the input/output device and the components of the ATM106. In still another embodiment, the input/output circuit116may include any combination of hardware components (e.g., a touchscreen), communication circuitry, and machine-readable media. The card reader128is configured to read the transaction card provided to the ATM106by the user. The transaction card provided to the ATM106may be associated with one or more accounts at the first financial institution102. For example, the transaction card can be a debit card associated with a checking account at the first financial institution102. As a further example, the transaction card can be a credit card associated with a credit account at the first financial institution102. In one embodiment, the card reader128reads the transaction card through a user swiping action. For example, the user swipes a transaction card by passing the magnetic strip of the card through the card reader128. In another embodiment, the card reader128reads the transaction card through a user dipping action. For example, the user dips the transaction card by quickly inserting and removing the transaction card from the card reader128. In another embodiment, the card reader is configured to read the transaction card through a user inserting action. For example, the user inserts the transaction card fully into the card reader128and the card remains inserted into the card reader128for the duration of the transaction sequence at the ATM106. In instances where the transaction card includes a smart chip, the user may be prompted to insert the card such that the card reader128can make contact with the smart chip for a period of time to read the smart chip. In some arrangements, the card reader128includes an NFC transceiver configured to receive transaction card information (e.g., a payment token) from a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone). The card reader128transmits the transaction card information to the first financial institution computing system104and is configured to receive an authentication prompt from the first financial institution computing system104to be displayed (e.g., via display120) on the ATM106. For example, the first financial institution computing system104transmits an authentication prompt including a request for PIN from the user. Once the card is authenticated, the user is authorized to complete transactions at the ATM106using the transaction card, as described further herein. The deposit mechanism130is structured to receive, scan, and authenticate cash and/or checks from a user interacting with the ATM106, determine the deposit amount, determine the payee of funds if receiving a check, and transmit the deposit type, amount, and other deposit information to the first financial institution computing system104. Accordingly, the deposit mechanism130is communicably and operatively coupled to the first financial institution computing system104to transmit information regarding deposit types and amounts. The deposit mechanism130includes a counting device such that when receiving a deposit, the deposit mechanism130can count the number of bills or checks and additionally verify that the currency is legitimate using a scanner. In some arrangements, the deposit mechanism130scans the image of a check being deposited into the ATM106to identify the payor and payee information, the amount of deposit, etc. The deposit mechanism130can store the scanned image in the accounts database142for later access by the first financial institution computing system104. The deposit mechanism130may be further structured to communicate the scanned image, deposit amount, type (e.g., check or cash), and payor/payee details to the display120of the ATM106such that the information is displayed to the user on the ATM106for confirmation. The system100further includes a second financial institution computing system154. As shown, the second financial institution computing system154includes a processing circuit162having a processor164and a memory166. The processor164may be implemented as a general-purpose processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), a digital signal processor (DSP), a group of processing components, or other suitable electronic processing components. The one or more memory devices166(e.g., RAM, NVRAM, ROM, Flash Memory, hard disk storage, etc.) may store data and/or computer code for facilitating the various processes described herein. Moreover, the one or more memory devices166may be or include tangible, non-transient volatile memory or non-volatile memory. Accordingly, the one or more memory devices166may include database components, object code components, script components, or any other type of information structure for supporting the various activities and information structures described herein. The second financial institution computing system154further includes an accounts database182, an account update circuit168, and a network interface158. The network interface158is adapted for and configured to establish a communication session via the network110with the first financial institution computing system104and inter-FI transfer system150. Accordingly, the network interface158includes any of a cellular transceiver (Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), etc.), a wireless network transceiver (e.g., 802.11X, ZigBee, Bluetooth, etc.), or a combination thereof (e.g., both a cellular transceiver and a Bluetooth transceiver). In some embodiments, the network interface158communicates via a secured wired connection within a branch of the second financial institution152. The accounts database182is configured to hold, store, categorize, and otherwise serve as a repository for information associated with accounts held by the second financial institution152. For example, the accounts database182may store account numbers, account balances, account ownership information, and the like. The accounts database182may further store information regarding accounts held at the financial institution102that are associated with the user and/or accounts of the user at the second financial institution152. The accounts database182is structured to selectively provide access to information relating to an account at the second financial institution152. Although shown as being part of the memory166, in some arrangements, the accounts database182is a separate component of the second financial institution computing system154. The account update circuit168is configured to update an account of the user at the second financial institution152. As such, the account update circuit168is communicably and operatively coupled to the accounts database182to update accounts stored in the accounts database182to reflect deposits received from the user via an ATM106associated with the first financial institution102. In one arrangement, the account update circuit168is further structured to receive a deposit indication from the first financial institution computing system104. In another arrangement, the account update circuit168is structured to receive a deposit indication from the inter-FI transfer system150. In other arrangements, the account update circuit168is structured to receive a deposit indication from both the first financial institution computing system104and inter-FI transfer system150. Once a user makes a deposit at the ATM106, the first financial institution computing system104updates the user account at the first financial institution102to reflect the deposit (e.g., temporarily updates the account to reflect the transaction is processing) and immediately completes a funds transfer process to the second financial institution152(e.g., via the inter-FI transfer system150). The account update circuit168receives the indication of funds deposited at the ATM106and updates the accounts database182to reflect the deposit (e.g., the funds transfer from the first financial institution102). Although shown as being part of the processing circuit162, the account update circuit168may be a stand-alone circuit having its own processor and memory. The user device170includes any type of computing device that may be used to facilitate the registration of user accounts held at a second financial institution152. In some arrangements, the user uses the user device170to perform financial transactions. In some arrangements, the user uses the user device170to register an account the user holds at a second financial institution152. The user device170may include any wearable and non-wearable device. Wearable devices refer to any type of device that an individual wears including, but not limited to, a watch (e.g., smart watch), glasses (e.g., eye glasses, sunglasses, smart glasses, etc.), bracelet (e.g., a smart bracelet), etc. The user device170may also include any type of mobile device including, but not limited to, a phone (e.g., smart phone, etc.), and/or any type of computing devices (e.g., desktop computer, laptop computer, personal digital assistant, etc.). The user device170further includes a display176, an input/output circuit174, a network interface172, and a client application178. The network interface172of the user device170is adapted for and configured to establish a communication session via the network110with the financial institution computing system104. Accordingly, the network interface172includes any of a cellular transceiver (Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), etc.), a wireless network transceiver (e.g., 802.11X, ZigBee, Bluetooth, etc.), or a combination thereof (e.g., both a cellular transceiver and a Bluetooth transceiver). The display176is used to present account information, transaction information, and the like. The display176is further used to present account registration prompts and confirmations to the user. In this regard, the display176is communicably and operatively coupled to the input/output circuit174to provide a user interface for receiving and displaying information on the user device170. The input/output circuit174is structured to receive and provide communication(s) to a user of the user device170. In this regard, the input/output circuit174is structured to exchange data, communications, instructions, etc., with an input/output component of the user device170. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the input/output circuit174includes an input/output device such as a display device, a touchscreen, a keyboard, and a microphone. In another embodiment, the input/output circuit174may include communication circuitry for facilitating the exchange of data, values, messages, and the like between an input/output device and the components of the user device170. In yet another embodiment, the input/output circuit174may include machine-readable media for facilitating the exchange of information between the input/output device and the components of the user device170. In still another embodiment, the input/output circuit174may include any combination of hardware components (e.g., a touchscreen), communication circuitry, and machine-readable media. The client application178is communicably coupled to the first financial institution computing system104(e.g., the accounts database142) via the network110and may be structured to permit management of the user's accounts via the client application178. In this regard, the client application178may provide displays indicative of current account balances, pending transactions, profile information (e.g., contact information), and the like. Further, in some embodiments, the client application178may also permit payments to and/or from the user to a designated recipient. For example, the client application178may depict a loan of a customer (e.g., mortgage) and allow the user to pay the mortgage from one of their accounts (e.g., checking or savings). In another example, a bill pay option may be provided by the client application178, where the bill pay option allows the user to pay his/her bills. In any of these examples, the client application178may permit the user to register accounts at a second financial institution152for use with the deposit management system148. The inter-FI transfer system150is used to transmit funds to and from accounts held at the first financial institution102and the second financial institution152. In some arrangements, the inter-FI transfer system150is a real-time transfer system. The real-time transfer system facilitates the concurrent transfer of funds into a second financial institution account upon receiving an indication that a customer has deposited funds marked for deposit at the second financial institution account (e.g., via an ATM106of the first financial institution102). In some arrangements, to facilitate a real-time transfer of funds, the inter-FI transfer system150is continuously monitoring the first financial institution computing system104for indications that funds have been marked for deposit into an account at the second financial institution152. Accordingly, the inter-FI transfer system150may monitor the accounts database142of the first financial institution computing system104for such updates. In some arrangements, a separate database designated for funds transfers to the second financial institution152is continuously updated and monitored by the inter-FI transfer system150. In other arrangements, the inter-FI transfer system150is an ACH system. An ACH Network is a nationwide batch-oriented electronic funds transfer system which provides for interbank clearing of electronic payments for participating depository financial institutions. The ACH system may complete transfers in batches (e.g., daily, bi-daily, etc.) from the first financial institution102to the second financial institution152. In other arrangements, the inter-FI transfer system150is a wire transfer system. Still referring toFIG.2, the system100includes the first financial institution computing system104. The first financial institution computing system104facilitates deposits into accounts held at the second financial institution152. As shown, financial institution computing system104includes a processing circuit122having a processor124and a memory126. The processor124may be implemented as a general-purpose processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), a digital signal processor (DSP), a group of processing components, or other suitable electronic processing components. The one or more memory devices126(e.g., RAM, NVRAM, ROM, Flash Memory, hard disk storage, etc.) may store data and/or computer code for facilitating the various processes described herein. Moreover, the one or more memory devices126may be or include tangible, non-transient volatile memory or non-volatile memory. Accordingly, the one or more memory devices126may include database components, object code components, script components, or any other type of information structure for supporting the various activities and information structures described herein. The first financial institution computing system104further includes a network interface138, which is used to establish connections with other components of the system100by way of network110. The network interface138includes program logic that facilitates connection of the financial institution computing system104to the network110. The network interface138supports communication between the first financial institution computing system104and other systems, such as the ATM106, the second financial institution computing system154, and the user device170. For example, the network interface138includes a cellular modem, a Bluetooth transceiver, a Bluetooth beacon, a radio-frequency identification (RFID) transceiver, and a near-field communication (NFC) transmitter. In some embodiments, the network interface138communicates via a secured wired connection within a branch of the first financial institution102. In some arrangements, the network interface138includes the hardware and machine-readable media sufficient to support communication over multiple channels of data communication. Further, in some arrangements, the network interface138includes cryptography capabilities to establish a secure or relatively secure communication session with the first financial institution computing system104, second financial institution computing system154, inter-FI transfer system150, and ATM106. In this regard, financial data (or other types of data) may be encrypted and transmitted to prevent or substantially prevent the threat of hacking. The first financial institution computing system104further includes an accounts database142. The accounts database142is configured to hold, store, categorize, and otherwise serve as a repository for information associated with accounts held by the first financial institution102. For example, the accounts database142may store account numbers, account balances, account ownership information, and the like. The accounts database142may further store information regarding registered accounts at the second financial institution152that are associated with the user and/or accounts of the user at the first financial institution102. The accounts database142is structured to selectively provide access to information relating to an account at the first financial institution102. In this regard, as discussed further herein, the accounts database142is communicably and operatively coupled to the deposit management system148to provide access to such information, such that the deposit management system148may facilitate real-time deposits at the second financial institution152. The first financial institution computing system104includes a deposit management system148for managing a deposit into an account at the second financial institution152. The deposit management system148is structured to register accounts of the second financial institution152, authenticate the user, process a deposit from the user into a registered account at the second financial institution152, verify the deposit, and generate and transmit a message for display to the ATM106reflecting a deposit confirmation. Referring now toFIG.3, a diagram of the deposit management system148and part of the first financial institution computing system104is shown, according to an example embodiment. The deposit management system148is shown to include an account registration circuit202, an authentication circuit204, a deposit processing circuit206, a verification circuit208, a transfer messaging circuit210, and a display circuit212, with all such circuits communicably coupled to each other. Other embodiments may include less or more circuits without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Further, some embodiments may combine the activities of one circuit with another circuit to form a single circuit. Therefore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the present arrangement is not meant to be limiting. Although shown as being part of the processing circuit122, the deposit management system148may be a stand-alone circuit having its own processor and memory. The account registration circuit202is configured to register an account held at the second financial institution152for use with the deposit management system148. The account registration circuit202receives an account registration request from a user device170(e.g., via the client application178). In some arrangements, the account registration request is initiated by a user of the user device170in the client application178. For example, the user opens and logs into the client application178on the user device170and submits a request for registration, including the name of the second financial institution152, an account number, and a routing number (e.g., ACH routing number). Once the user submits the request, the request is transmitted from the user device170to the account registration circuit202for processing. The account registration circuit202is configured to verify the account information with the second financial institution152such that a deposit transaction using the system148can be completed successfully. The account registration circuit202transmits a message to the second financial institution152requesting verification of the account information. The account information can include an account number, routing number, user name, address, email address, phone number, etc. In another arrangement, the account can be verified by an attempt to transfer a nominal amount of funds (e.g., $0.01) to the account at the second financial institution152. The account registration circuit202communicates with the transfer processing circuit208to perform a nominal funds transfer to the second financial institution account. Accordingly, the account registration circuit202is communicably and operatively coupled to the transfer processing circuit208. If the transfer is successful, the transfer processing circuit208receives a confirmation message indicating the transfer was processed (e.g., via the inter-FI transfer system150) and communicates the confirmation message to the account registration circuit202to verify the account. Upon verification of the user, the account registration circuit202is further structured to store the registered account information in the accounts database142. As such, the account registration circuit202is communicably and operatively coupled to the accounts database142to update such information for access by the system148during a deposit and/or transfer process. The account registration circuit202may link and/or associate the registered account of the user at the second financial institution152with accounts the user holds at the financial institution102. For example, a user's savings account at a second financial institution152is associated with a user's checking account at the financial institution102. The association of accounts in the accounts database142may facilitate smoother transaction processes. For example, a user deposits funds into the ATM106, the first financial institution computing system104(e.g., via the deposit processing circuit206) deposits the funds into the account held at the first financial institution102, and then completes a transfer of funds to the account held at the second financial institution152. If the transfer is unsuccessful for any reason, the funds will still be available to the user in the account held at the first financial institution102. A funds transfer may be attempted again after a previous unsuccessful attempt. The authentication circuit204is configured to authenticate a user at an ATM106. The authentication circuit204receives transaction card information from the card reader128of the ATM106, generates and transmits an authentication prompt to the ATM106(e.g., display120), and receives a user authentication (e.g., PIN) from the ATM106. The authentication circuit204uses the received user authentication to authenticate the user for use of the ATM106. The authentication circuit204retrieves a user profile from the accounts database142and compares the user profile information to the received user authentication to authenticate the user. As such, the authentication circuit204is communicably and operatively coupled to the accounts database142to complete the authentication. For example, the authentication circuit204receives the transaction card information, retrieves the user profile related to the transaction card information from the accounts database142, and uses the user profile to compare a PIN input by the user at the ATM106to a PIN associated with the transaction card in the accounts database142. In some arrangements, the authentication circuit204communicates with the display circuit212to generate and transmit the authentication prompt message and any confirmation and/or denial of authentication to the display120of the ATM106. For example, when a user is authenticated by the authentication circuit204(e.g., a user PIN stored in the accounts database142is matched to the input PIN), the authentication generates an authentication confirmation message and transmits the message to the ATM106for display on the display120via the display circuit212. The deposit processing circuit206is configured to process the deposit of funds into an account at the first financial institution102. The deposit processing circuit206is further configured to communicate with the transfer processing circuit208to initiate a funds transfer to the second financial institution152. Accordingly, the deposit processing circuit206is communicably and operatively coupled to the transfer processing circuit208. The deposit processing circuit206receives an amount and type of deposit indication from the deposit mechanism130of the ATM106. The deposit processing circuit206updates the user account at the first financial institution102to reflect the deposit amount. In one arrangement, once the deposit processing circuit206receives the deposit indication, the deposit processing circuit206deposits the funds into the account held at the financial institution102and updates the balance of the account to reflect the deposit. For example, the user deposits $500 into the ATM106and indicates that the cash is to be deposited into a second financial institution account. The deposit processing circuit206receives the deposit information and updates the account at the first financial institution102to reflect the deposit both in the transaction log of the account and in the account balance. In some instances, the deposit processing circuit206updates the account balance to include a note that the $500 is not available for spending, but is merely a pending amount that is being transferred to the account with the second financial institution152. In another arrangement, the deposit processing circuit206updates the account with only the transaction information and does not reflect the deposit in the balance of the account. For example, the user deposits $500 into the ATM106of the first financial institution102and indicates that the cash is to be deposited into an account at the second financial institution152. Once the cash is received, the ATM106transmits the deposit information to the deposit processing circuit206. When the deposit information is received, the deposit processing circuit206marks the funds for transfer to an account at the second financial institution152, reflects the deposit in the transaction log of the user account at the financial institution102, but does not update the balance of the account. The deposit processing circuit206communicates the deposit information to the transfer processing circuit208to complete the funds transfer to the second financial institution account. The transfer processing circuit208is configured to initiate a funds transfer to a registered account at the second financial institution152. The transfer processing circuit208receives deposit information from the deposit processing circuit206and communicates with the inter-FI transfer system150to complete the funds transfer. In other arrangements, the transfer processing circuit208completes the funds transfer using other clearing systems. The transfer message circuit208verifies that the payee account is registered with the first financial institution102by retrieving the second financial institution account information from the accounts database142and matching the account information to a registered account number stored in the accounts database142. Accordingly, the transfer processing circuit208is communicably and operatively coupled to the deposit processing circuit206and the accounts database142. The transfer processing circuit208communicates the payee account number and routing number to the inter-FI transfer system150to complete the transfer. The inter-FI transfer system150can then process the funds transfer to the second financial institution152(e.g., check the available funds at the first financial institution102and clear the funds for transfer to the second financial institution152). The transfer processing circuit208is further configured to receive a confirmation or failed attempt message from the second financial institution152and/or the inter-FI transfer system150indicating the completion of or unsuccessful attempt at a funds transfer. A failed attempt message may include a reason for the unsuccessful attempt (e.g., payee account no longer active, network connectivity issues, etc.). In some arrangements, the transfer processing circuit208differentiates the failed attempt messages that are due to temporary situations that indicate a transfer may be successful with another attempt and the failed attempt messages that are due to permanent situations that indicate the transfer will not be successful no matter how many tries (e.g., the account is no longer active and an account number needs to be updated). For example, upon receipt of an inactive account failed attempt message, the transfer processing circuit208communicates the failed attempt to the deposit processing circuit206, which then completes the deposit of funds into the account held at the first financial institution102by reflecting the deposit amount in the balance of the account and/or marking the funds as available for spending. In this way, the funds will be available to the user in the account at the first financial institution102. In more temporary situations, for example, upon an indication that the transfer was not successful due to network connectivity issues, the transfer processing circuit208communicates a message to the deposit processing circuit206indicating that the transfer processing circuit208is attempting the funds transfer again. In this case, the deposit processing circuit206may take no action until receiving a further indication that another failed attempt message was received by the transfer processing circuit208. In some arrangements, after multiple failed attempts at transfer (e.g., three or more attempts), the funds are deposited into the account at the first financial institution102. In other arrangements, the funds are not deposited and the transaction log associated with the account is updated to reflect no indication of the deposit. The transfer processing circuit208communicates the confirmation and failed attempt messages to the display circuit212for display at the ATM106. The confirmation message may include a time stamp, a second financial institution name, an account number, a confirmation number, etc., and a failed attempt message may include a reason for a failed deposit attempt. In some arrangements, upon receipt of a failed attempt message, the transaction processing circuit208communicates with the display circuit212to generate and transmit a message to the ATM106to display a prompt to the user. The prompt may include a list of options for the funds. For example, the prompt can include an option to deposit the funds into an account at the first financial institution102and an option to receive the funds back and not make any deposit. The display circuit212is structured to generate and provide a message to the ATM106to display one or more sets of transaction information via the display120, including a deposit confirmation message from the transfer messaging circuit210. In some arrangements, the display circuit212is also structured to generate and provide a message to the ATM106regarding account details including account balances, account numbers, etc. The display circuit212is further configured to display a processing screen while the deposit is being transferred to the second financial institution152. In this regard, the display circuit206is communicably and operatively coupled to the transfer messaging circuit210and the deposit processing circuit206. The display circuit212is configured to create, generate, establish, update, and maintain a transaction status and/or transaction history list and any information associated therewith. In one embodiment, the display circuit212includes communication circuitry for facilitating the exchange of information between and among the display circuit212and any other circuitry or logic. In another embodiment, the display circuit212includes any combination of machine-readable media and communication circuitry. In further embodiments, the display includes a transaction processing status, wherein a user may observe the display for transaction status information associated with a deposit of fund to the second financial institution152. Information included in the status may include, but is not limited to, the account number to which the funds are being deposited, the name of the second financial institution152, and the completion status (e.g., “Funds Deposited,” “Processing,” “Awaiting Confirmation,” etc.). Referring now toFIG.4, an example method is depicted. Method400may be implemented by the deposit management system148of the financial institution computing system104(as shown inFIGS.1-3) to register accounts for use with the system148, such that reference may be made to one or more components ofFIGS.1-3in explaining method400. User identity information is received at402. The user identity information is received by the account registration circuit202. In some arrangements, the user identify information is received when the user logs into the client application178. For example, when logging into the client application178, the user may provide a username and password, which is received by the account registration circuit202. In other arrangements, the user can use the ATM106to register accounts and may input a transaction card. In such arrangements, the user may also provide a PIN to the ATM106to authenticate the user as being associated with the transaction card. When the transaction card is read by the card reader128, the ATM106transmits the transaction card information (e.g., debit card number, credit card number, etc.) and the PIN to the account registration circuit202for verification. User identity information is verified to be associated with an account at the first financial institution at404. The user identity information is verified by the registration circuit202through use of the accounts database142. The registration circuit202searches the accounts database142for the received user identity information. The registration circuit202retrieves a user profile associated with the user identity information, including user account information of accounts held by the first financial institution102. For example, the user may hold a checking account at the first financial institution102and a username and password or transaction card information is associated with the checking account in a user profile stored in the accounts database142. As such, when the registration circuit202searches the account database142, the user profile including all associated information is accessed. Second financial institution account information is received at406. The second financial institution account information is received by the account registration circuit202. For example, the user enters the account number and routing number for the payee account to be registered. In another example, the user scans a check and/or savings deposit slip associated with the account to be registered and captures the account information, which may be directly entered into the client application178for verification. The account with the second financial institution is verified at408. The account registration circuit202transmits a message to the second financial institution152requesting verification of the account information. In other arrangements, the account can be verified by an attempt to transfer a nominal amount of funds (e.g., $0.01) to the second financial institution152. In this case, the account registration circuit202communicates with the transfer processing circuit208to perform a nominal funds transfer to the second financial institution account. If the transfer is successful, the transfer processing circuit208receives a confirmation message indicating the transfer was processed (e.g., via the inter-FI transfer system150) and communicates the confirmation message to the account registration circuit202to verify the account. The second financial institution account is associated with a user profile at410. The account registration circuit202associates the account information with a stored user profile in the accounts database142. As such, the account information, including the account number, routing number, second financial institution name, etc., can be stored in the user profile. A confirmation display is generated and transmitted at412. In instances where the account is successfully registered, a confirmation message is generated by the account registration circuit202, which communicates with the display circuit212to transmit the confirmation message for display on the user device170and/or the ATM106. In one arrangement, if the user is completing the registration via the client application178on the user device170, the display circuit212transmits the confirmation to the user device170for display. In another arrangement, if the user is completing the registration via the ATM106, the display circuit212transmits the confirmation to the ATM106for display. The confirmation message can include the account information of both the first financial institution account and the second financial institution account, a confirmation number, etc. In cases of unsuccessful registration, the message may include a reason for the unsuccessful attempt. For example, the message may indicate that the account number and/or routing number information was not verified with the second financial institution152. In instances of unsuccessful registration attempts, process400skips over process410such that no accounts are associated with accounts held at the first financial institution102. Referring now toFIG.5, an example method is depicted. Method500may be implemented by the deposit management system148of the first financial institution computing system104(as shown inFIGS.1-3) to complete a deposit into a second financial institution account using the system148, such that reference may be made to one or more components ofFIGS.1-3in explaining method500. The user is authenticated at502. The user is authenticated by the authentication circuit204for use of the ATM106. The user enters authentication information at the ATM106, which is transmitted to the authentication circuit204for authentication. The authentication circuit204receives transaction card information from the card reader128of the ATM106, generates and transmits an authentication prompt to the ATM106, and receives a user authentication (e.g., PIN) from the ATM106. The authentication circuit204uses the received user authentication to authenticate the user. The authentication circuit204retrieves a user profile from the accounts database142and compares the user profile information to the received user authentication. For example, the authentication circuit204receives the transaction card information (e.g., debit card number, credit card number), retrieves the user profile related to the transaction card information from the accounts database142, and uses the user profile to compare a PIN input by the user at the ATM106to a PIN associated with the transaction card in the accounts database142. If the entered PIN matches the stored PIN, the user is authenticated. As a further example, the user may be authenticated using facial recognition, voice recognition, and/or other biometrics via a camera and/or microphone at the ATM106. An indication that the user is depositing into a second financial institution account is received at504. Upon authentication of the user, the ATM106may display a series of screens to the user (described further herein with regard toFIGS.6and7). For example, the initial screen may display transaction options to the user, such as cash withdrawal, cash deposit, check deposit, check balances, etc. The user may select to deposit cash and a second screen may include account options, including the option to deposit cash into an account at the first financial institution102or into an account at the second financial institution152. If the user selects to deposit into an account at the second financial institution152, a message is sent to the deposit processing circuit206to complete the deposit. An indication of the deposit type and amount is received at506. The deposit mechanism130is structured to receive cash and/or checks from a user interacting with the ATM106, determine the deposit amount, determine the payor/payee of funds if receiving a check, and transmit the deposit type, amount, and other deposit information to the first financial institution computing system104. In some arrangements, the deposit mechanism130includes a counting device to count the number of bills and/or checks being deposited. In some arrangements, the deposit mechanism130also includes a scanner to verify the legitimacy of deposited cash and checks and to scan an image of a check to identify the payor/payee information, the amount of deposit, etc. The deposit mechanism130can store the scanned image in the accounts database142for later access by the first financial institution computing system104. In some arrangement, the deposit mechanism130communicates the scanned image, deposit amount, type (e.g., check or cash), and payor/payee details to the display120of the ATM106such that the information is displayed to the user on the ATM106for confirmation. The accounts database is updated to reflect a deposit transaction at508. The deposit processing circuit206receives an indication from the deposit mechanism130reflecting the amount and type of deposit. In some instances, the deposit processing circuit206may update the user account in the accounts database142at the first financial institution102to reflect the deposit amount. In one arrangement, once the deposit processing circuit206receives the deposit indication, the deposit processing circuit206deposits the funds into the account held at the financial institution102and updates the balance of the account to reflect the deposit. For example, the user deposits a check for $150 into the ATM106and indicates that the check is to be deposited into a savings account held at the second financial institution152. After the check is verified, the deposit processing circuit206receives the deposit information and updates the account at the first financial institution102to reflect the deposit both in the transaction log of the account and in the account balance. The deposit processing circuit206may receive an image of the scanned check and can upload the image to the transaction log for reference of the user. In some instances, the deposit processing circuit206updates the account balance to include a note that the $150 is not available for spending, but is merely a pending amount. In other arrangements, the deposit processing circuit only updates the transaction log of the account to show a deposit transaction is occurring, but does not make the funds available for spending. The deposit amount is transferred to a registered second financial institution account at510. The transfer processing circuit208is configured to initiate a funds transfer to a registered account at the second financial institution152. The transfer processing circuit208receives deposit information from the deposit processing circuit206and communicates with the inter-FI transfer system150(or other clearing system) to complete the funds transfer. The transfer processing circuit208communicates the payee account number and routing number to the inter-FI transfer system150to complete the transfer. The inter-FI transfer system150can then process the funds transfer to the second financial institution152(e.g., check the available funds at the first financial institution102and clear the funds for transfer to the second financial institution152). A confirmation or failed attempt message is received at512. The transfer processing circuit208receives a confirmation or failed attempt message from the second financial institution152and/or the inter-FI transfer system150indicating the completion of or unsuccessful attempt at a funds transfer. A failed attempt message may include a reason for the unsuccessful attempt (e.g., payee account no longer active, network connectivity issues, etc.). In some arrangements, when the transfer processing circuit208receives a failed attempt message indicating a permanent situation that is likely not solvable with another transfer attempt, the transfer processing circuit208communicates the failed attempt to the deposit processing circuit206, which then completes the deposit of funds into the account held at the first financial institution102by reflecting the deposit amount in the balance of the account and/or marking the funds as available for spending. As such, the funds are available to the user in the account at the first financial institution102even though the transfer was not successful. In more temporary situations, for example, upon an indication that the transfer was not successful due to network connectivity issues, the transfer processing circuit208communicates a message to the deposit processing circuit206indicating that the transfer processing circuit208is attempting the funds transfer again. In this case, the deposit processing circuit206may take no action until receiving a further indication that another failed attempt message was received by the transfer processing circuit208. In some arrangements, after multiple failed attempts at transfer (e.g., three or more attempts), the funds are deposited into the account at the first financial institution102. In other arrangements, the funds are not deposited and the transaction log associated with the account is updated to reflect no indication of the deposit. A confirmation or failed attempt display is generated and transmitted at514. The transfer processing circuit208communicates the confirmation and failed attempt messages to the display circuit212for display at the ATM106via the display120. The confirmation message may include a second financial institution name, an account number, a confirmation number, etc., and a failed attempt message may include a reason for a failed deposit attempt, etc. In some arrangements, upon receipt of a failed attempt message, the transaction processing circuit208communicates with the display circuit212to generate and transmit a message to the ATM106to display a prompt to the user. The prompt may include a list of options for the funds. For example, the prompt can include an option to deposit the funds into an account at the financial institution102and an option to receive the funds back and not make any deposit. Referring now toFIGS.6-7, example user interfaces600and700of the ATM106of the financial institution102are shown, according to an example embodiment. Referring now toFIG.6, an example user interface600showing an initial ATM screen is shown, according to an example embodiment. The user interface600is an example user interface that can be presented to a user via the ATM106associated with the financial institution102. The user interface600prompts a user with transaction options. In some arrangements, the transaction options can include “Get Cash”602, “Deposit Checks”604, “Deposit Cash”606, and “Register Other Account”608. In other arrangements, as shown, the transaction options can further include “Deposit Checks into Other Financial Institution Account”610and “Deposit Cash into Other Financial Institution Account”612. In instances where these selections are not presented on the initial screen (e.g., user interface600), they can be presented on the second screen (e.g., user interface700) as shown inFIG.7. If the user has not yet registered a second financial institution account with the system148, the user may select the “Register Other Account” option608to complete a registration process as detailed in process400shown inFIG.4. If the user has completed a registration process for one or more other financial institution accounts, the user may wish to deposit cash and/or checks into a savings account at the second financial institution152. For example, the user may select “Deposit Checks into Other Financial Institution Account”610on the initial screen or “Other Financial Institution Savings Account”708on the second screen and complete the deposit process as described above with regard to process500shown inFIG.5. The embodiments described herein have been described with reference to drawings. The drawings illustrate certain details of specific embodiments that implement the systems, methods and programs described herein. However, describing the embodiments with drawings should not be construed as imposing on the disclosure any limitations that may be present in the drawings. It should be understood that no claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f), unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” As used herein, the term “circuit” may include hardware structured to execute the functions described herein. In some embodiments, each respective “circuit” may include machine-readable media for configuring the hardware to execute the functions described herein. The circuit may be embodied as one or more circuitry components including, but not limited to, processing circuitry, network interfaces, peripheral devices, input devices, output devices, sensors, etc. In some embodiments, a circuit may take the form of one or more analog circuits, electronic circuits (e.g., integrated circuits (IC), discrete circuits, system on a chip (SOCs) circuits, etc.), telecommunication circuits, hybrid circuits, and any other type of “circuit.” In this regard, the “circuit” may include any type of component for accomplishing or facilitating achievement of the operations described herein. For example, a circuit as described herein may include one or more transistors, logic gates (e.g., NAND, AND, NOR, OR, XOR, NOT, XNOR, etc.), resistors, multiplexers, registers, capacitors, inductors, diodes, wiring, and so on). The “circuit” may also include one or more dedicated processors communicatively coupled to one or more dedicated memory or memory devices. In this regard, the one or more processors may execute instructions stored in the memory or may execute instructions otherwise accessible to the one or more processors. In some embodiments, the one or more processors may be embodied in various ways. The one or more processors may be constructed in a manner sufficient to perform at least the operations described herein. In some embodiments, the one or more processors may be shared by multiple circuits (e.g., circuit A and circuit B may comprise or otherwise share the same processor which, in some example embodiments, may execute instructions stored, or otherwise accessed, via different areas of memory). Alternatively or additionally, the one or more processors may be structured to perform or otherwise execute certain operations independent of one or more co-processors. In other example embodiments, two or more processors may be coupled via a bus to enable independent, parallel, pipelined, or multi-threaded instruction execution. Each processor may be implemented as one or more general-purpose processors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or other suitable electronic data processing components structured to execute instructions provided by memory. The one or more processors may take the form of a single core processor, multi-core processor (e.g., a dual core processor, triple core processor, quad core processor, etc.), microprocessor, etc. An example system for implementing the overall system or portions of the embodiments might include a general purpose computing computers in the form of computers, including a processing unit, a system memory, and a system bus that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit. Each memory device may include non-transient volatile storage media, non-volatile storage media, non-transitory storage media (e.g., one or more volatile and/or non-volatile memories), etc. In some embodiments, the non-volatile media may take the form of ROM, flash memory (e.g., flash memory such as NAND, 3D NAND, NOR, 3D NOR, etc.), EEPROM, MRAM, magnetic storage, hard discs, optical discs, etc. In other embodiments, the volatile storage media may take the form of RAM, TRAM, ZRAM, etc. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of machine-readable media. In this regard, machine-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing machines to perform a certain function or group of functions. Each respective memory device may be operable to maintain or otherwise store information relating to the operations performed by one or more associated circuits, including processor instructions and related data (e.g., database components, object code components, script components, etc.), in accordance with the example embodiments described herein. It should also be noted that the term “input devices,” as described herein, may include any type of input device including, but not limited to, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, joystick or other input devices performing a similar function. Comparatively, the term “output device,” as described herein, may include any type of output device including, but not limited to, a computer monitor, printer, facsimile machine, or other output devices performing a similar function. Any foregoing references to currency or funds are intended to include fiat currencies, non-fiat currencies (e.g., precious metals), and math-based currencies (often referred to as cryptocurrencies). Examples of math-based currencies include Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and the like. It should be noted that although the diagrams herein may show a specific order and composition of method steps, it is understood that the order of these steps may differ from what is depicted. For example, two or more steps may be performed concurrently or with partial concurrence. Also, some method steps that are performed as discrete steps may be combined, steps being performed as a combined step may be separated into discrete steps, the sequence of certain processes may be reversed or otherwise varied, and the nature or number of discrete processes may be altered or varied. The order or sequence of any element or apparatus may be varied or substituted according to alternative embodiments. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims. Such variations will depend on the machine-readable media and hardware systems chosen and on designer choice. It is understood that all such variations are within the scope of the disclosure. Likewise, software and web implementations of the present disclosure could be accomplished with standard programming techniques with rule based logic and other logic to accomplish the various database searching steps, correlation steps, comparison steps and decision steps. The foregoing description of embodiments has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed, and modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from this disclosure. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principals of the disclosure and its practical application to enable one skilled in the art to utilize the various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Other substitutions, modifications, changes and omissions may be made in the design, operating conditions and arrangement of the embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as expressed in the appended claims. | 66,360 |
11861576 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Various detailed embodiments of the present disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures, are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely illustrative. In addition, each of the examples given in connection with the various embodiments of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Throughout the specification, the following terms take the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The phrases “in one embodiment” and “in some embodiments” as used herein do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment(s), though it may. Furthermore, the phrases “in another embodiment” and “in some other embodiments” as used herein do not necessarily refer to a different embodiment, although it may. Thus, as described below, various embodiments may be readily combined, without departing from the scope or spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, the term “based on” is not exclusive and allows for being based on additional factors not described, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In addition, throughout the specification, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references. The meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on.” It is understood that at least one aspect/functionality of various embodiments described herein can be performed in real-time and/or dynamically. As used herein, the term “real-time” is directed to an event/action that can occur instantaneously or almost instantaneously in time when another event/action has occurred. For example, the “real-time processing,” “real-time computation,” and “real-time execution” all pertain to the performance of a computation during the actual time that the related physical process (e.g., a user interacting with an application on a mobile device) occurs, in order that results of the computation can be used in guiding the physical process. As used herein, the term “dynamically” and term “automatically,” and their logical and/or linguistic relatives and/or derivatives, mean that certain events and/or actions can be triggered and/or occur without any human intervention. In some embodiments, events and/or actions in accordance with the present disclosure can be in real-time and/or based on a predetermined periodicity of at least one of: nanosecond, several nanoseconds, millisecond, several milliseconds, second, several seconds, minute, several minutes, hourly, several hours, daily, several days, weekly, monthly, etc. As used herein, the term “runtime” corresponds to any behavior that is dynamically determined during an execution of a software application or at least a portion of software application. Embodiments of the present disclosure describe systems and methods for managing smart cards with active directional indicia such as, without limitation, for guiding a user to a geographical point of interest. The smart card may be issued by an authorizing entity, such as a financial institution. A user may wish to find a point of interest affiliated with the authorizing entity, such as a bank branch, an automatic teller machine, a café managed by authorizing entity, for example, within a geographic area with which the user is unfamiliar. The embodiments disclosed herein provides a technical solution to this problem where the smart card is configured with circuitry that identifies points of interest affiliated with the authorizing entity and activates directional indicia on the smart card to guide the user to the identified points of interest within the geographic region. The directional indicia on the smart card may not only point the user in the direction of the points of interest affiliated with the authorizing entity but may also provide some distance indicia indicative of the distance from the smart card to the points of interest. FIG.1depicts a system10for managing smart cards with active directional indicia in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. System10may include a smart card (SC)20communicating27(e.g., sending and/receiving a plurality of communication signals) with a plurality of computing devices25a,25b,25c,25d, and25e, denoted respectively, CD1, CD2, CD3, CD4, . . . CDN where N is an integer. Each computing device25may be located at a fixed position within a geographic region15, such as at a geographical point of interest affiliated with an authorizing entity. Each computing device,25ato25e, may be at a corresponding geographic distance from smart card20denoted L1, L2, L3, L4, . . . LN. Furthermore, the smart card20may be configured to communicate31with a global positioning system (GPS) such as a GPS satellite17and/or to communicate32with a cellular base station18. FIG.2depicts a system50of a plurality of computing devices25a,25b,25c, and25d, communicating40over a communication network35with a server30in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Server30also known as an authorizing entity (AE) server30, which may be managed by an authorizing entity that issues a smart card20to the user. Furthermore, each computing device,25ato25d, may be configured to communicate53with the global positioning system (GPS) such as the GPS satellite17and/or communicate54with the cellular base station18. FIG.3depicts an exploded view of the smart card20with active directional indicia190in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The smart card20may be formed from plastic, such polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene-terephthalate-based polyesters, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polycarbonate, and/or any other suitable material. In some embodiments, the smart card20may be formed from multiple layers of plastics, and/or laminates, for example, but after assembly, the smart card may include housing170with a first outside surface160and a second outside surface180with circuitry120disposed within housing170. Both the first outside surface160and/or the second outside surface180may be referred to as an outside surface of smart card20. In some embodiments, the smart card20may include a microchip105with a processor110and a memory115proximate to first outside surface160. A contact pad100on the first outside surface160may be electrically coupled to the microchip105and interconnects155within housing170. The interconnects155may route or meander in any suitable manner within the housing170to connect electrical elements in the circuitry120disposed within the housing170. In some embodiments, a plurality of display devices190may be disposed within a display device region195on the first outside surface160of the housing170. The plurality of display devices190may include a plurality of light emitting diodes and/or a plurality of e-ink devices. Each of the plurality of display devices190may be circularly shaped and/or square-shaped. The interconnects170may connect the plurality of display devices190on the outside surface of the housing170of the smart card20to the circuitry120disposed within the housing170. In some embodiments, the circuitry120may include a communication circuitry135, a driver circuitry140for driving each of the plurality of display devices190, and a fast charging capacitor (FCCAP)145for storing power when the smart card20is coupled to at least one computing device,25ato25d, which charges the FCCAP145. Communication circuitry135may enable the smart card20to communicate27by sending and/or receiving the plurality of communication signals via an antenna130to and/or from at least one computing device,25ato25d, to communicate31with the GPS17, and/or to communicate32with the cellular base station18through Bluetooth, WiFi, global positioning system (GPS), near field communication (NFC) circuitry, and/or any other suitable communication networks, for example. The antenna130may be disposed within the housing170. The communication circuitry may be configured to communicate with the at least one computing device,25ato25d, located in the geographic region around the smart card through the plurality of communication signals received and/or emitted from the antenna130. In some embodiments, the interconnects155may connect the circuitry120within the housing170to the contact pad100. The contact pad100may have a contact area of approximately 1 square centimeter. The contact pad100may include several small contact pads. In other embodiments, the contact pad100may be gold-plated. The contact pad100may provide electrical connectivity when inserted into at least one computing device,25ato25d, such as a reader, or an automatic teller machine (ATM), for example. The contact pad100may be used to couple between smart card20and at least one computing device,25ato25d. In some embodiments, the circuitry120may include any suitable power management circuitry for powering the electronic elements of the smart card20, such as power circuitry for powering the circuitry120. In other embodiments, the power circuitry may include a battery150for powering the circuitry120. In some embodiments, an alert indicator lamp193using a light emitting diode, and/or an e-ink device may be used to alert the user that the at least one computing device25may be safe from any fraudulent devices or malicious code for intercepting personal data of the user on smart card20. Thus, the smart card20may safely communicate with the at least one computing device25for performing transactions such as by swiping the smart card20through a reader, inserting the smart card20into a slot of the reader, and/or using the NFC circuitry to couple the smart card20to the at least one computing device. In some embodiments, processor110may continuously receive a plurality of communication signals27from the at least one computing device25. Processor110may continuously assess a geographic distance (e.g., L1, L2, . . . LN) from the smart card20to the fixed position of the at least one computing device25a,25b,25c,25d,25ewithin the geographic region15using the plurality of communication signals27. The processor110may continuously activate or deactivate the plurality of display devices190through the driver circuitry140based on the geographic distance from the smart card to the fixed position of the at least one computing device in the geographic region. The activation or deactivation of a portion of the plurality of display devices190may be used to create directional indicia and/or distance indicia to the at least one computing device25in the geographic region15. In some embodiments, the processor110may identify a nearest computing device from the at least one computing device such as the CD1 with the distance L1 to the smart card20. The processor110may provide directional and/or distance indicia to the nearest computing device when multiple computing devices are detected in the geographic region15. FIGS.4A-4Dare exemplary embodiments of configurations of active directional indicia in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments,FIG.4Amay include the display device region195populated by one or more circular-shaped display devices190. When the processor110detects that one computing device from the at least one computing device may be in a direction shown by an arrow220, the processor110may cause the driver circuitry140to activate a portion of the plurality of display devices such as four circular display devices205in the direction of the arrow220. As the user gets closer to the one computing device, the processor110may cause the driver circuitry140to activate a larger portion of the plurality of display devices or more circular display devices205as shown inFIG.4Bsuch that a longer line of activated circular display devices205pointing in the direction of the arrow220indicates that the user is very close to the one computing device (e.g., one of devices25ato25dofFIG.2). FIG.4Chas the display device region195that is square-shaped of display devices190. Similarly,FIG.4Dhas the display device region195that is circular-shaped of display devices190. The processor110may cause the driver circuitry140to activate one display device205from the plurality of display devices190to indicate that the one computing device from the at least one computing device may be in a direction shown by the activated display device205(e.g., with the arrow220). In some embodiments, when the user gets closer to the one computing device from the at least one computing device in direction indicated by the activated display device205, the processor110may cause the driver circuitry140to cause the activated display device205to blink with a blinking rate inversely proportional to the geographic distance (e.g., L1, L2, . . . LN) between the one computing device and the smart card20. FIGS.5A-5Bare exemplary embodiments of a smart card with active directional indicia in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.FIG.5Ashows the display device region195that is circular-shaped with the plurality of display devices190as shown inFIG.4Don the first outside surface160of the housing170of the smart card20. In some embodiments, the alert indicator lamp193when lit, may indicate to the user that the at least one computing device25may be safe from any fraudulent devices or malicious code for intercepting personal data of the user on the smart card20. Hence, the smart card20may be safely swiped through a reader, inserted into a slot of the reader, and/or coupled to the at least one computing device25using NFC circuitry. In other embodiments, the alert indicator lamp193may light when the smart card20authenticated with the at least one computing device25such as by using NFC, for example. Similarly,FIG.5Bshows an exemplary configuration of the plurality of display devices190disposed along the edges of the housing170of the smart card20(e.g., edge lighting). In other embodiments, plurality of display devices190such as LEDs may be embedded within the smart card20. The processor110may cause the driver circuitry140to activate one display device205from the plurality of display devices190around the periphery to indicate that the one computing device from the at least one computing device may be in a direction shown by the activated display device205(e.g., in the direction of the arrow220). In addition, the processor110may cause the driver circuitry140to cause the activated display device205to blink with a faster blinking rate as the user gets closer to the one computing device. In some embodiments, the microchip105may include a pressure sensor, for example. When a user squeezes the microchip105, the communication circuitry135may be activated. In other embodiments, when the user squeezes the microchip105, the plurality of display devices190may toggle between providing directional and/or distance indicia to different computing devices from the at least one computing device detected within the geographical region15. In some embodiments, communication27between the smart card20and any of the at least computing devices25may occur through a cellular phone or smart phone of the user. Additionally, or optionally, the cellular phone or the smart phone of the user may be paired to smart card20that may be used to communicate with GPS17and/or cellular base stations18and to identify all computing devices from the at least computing devices25in the geographical region15including the closest automatic teller machine (ATM) managed by the authorizing entity. In some embodiments, the communication circuitry135may include low energy Bluetooth protocols for communicating with any of the at least one computing device25in the geographical region15. In some embodiments, the communication circuitry135may detect a signal strength and/or power of low energy Bluetooth signal to determine the geographical distance L1, L2, . . . Ln between the at least one computing device25and the smart card20. As the user gets closer to the at least one computing device25, the signal strength and/or power of the communication signals increase, such as an increase in the low energy Bluetooth signal, for example. In some embodiments, the processor110may identify a closest computing device from the at least one computing device25based on a signal strength of the plurality of communication signals27within the geographic region15, where the closest computing device has the strongest signal. In some embodiments, if the smart card20is a contactless card (e.g., without the contact pad100), for example, the smart card20may be charged via the antenna130. For the smart card20with the contact pad100, the smart card20may be charged when coupled to the at least one computing device25. In some embodiments, the circuitry120may include sensors for solar charging and/or energy harvesting using the FCCAP145(e.g., fast charging capacitors, and/or ultra-capacitors). In some embodiments, the smart card20may include interconnects for electrically coupling the smart card20to the at least one computing device25when the smart card20is inserted into a slot in of the at least one computing device, for example. In some embodiments, near field communication (NFC) circuitry may be disposed within the housing170and the alert indicator lamp193may be disposed on the outside surface of the housing170. The authorizing entity may include a financial institution. The at least one computing device may include an automated teller machine (ATM) to perform transactions with the financial institution using the smart card. The NFC circuitry may be configured to communicate with the ATM. In some embodiments, the processor110may be configured to receive from the NFC circuitry, an indication from the ATM that the ATM is safe for performing the transactions using the smart card20and to cause the alert indicator lamp193to light for notifying a user of the smart card20that the ATM is safe for inserting the smart card into a slot in the ATM. In some embodiments, the smart card20may include the plurality of display devices190that are disposed on the outside surface of the housing170that are arranged in a circle, a square, a square matrix, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, smart card20may include a plurality of display devices190that are disposed on the outside surface of the housing and along the edges of the housing. In some embodiments, the smart card20may include a plurality of display devices190that are embedded within the housing170and positioned along the edges of the housing170. In some embodiments, the smart card20may include the microchip105embedded in the housing. The microchip105may include the processor110and the memory115. In other embodiments, the circuitry120may include the processor110and the memory115. FIG.6is a flowchart of a method300for managing smart cards with active directional indicia in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Method300may be performed by the processor110. In some embodiments, the microchip105may execute Java applications for performing all of the functions described herein and for performing the method300. Method300may include continuously receiving310, by the processor110in the circuitry120of the smart card20, a plurality of communication signals27from at least one computing device25located at a fixed position within the geographic region15around the smart card20. Method300may include continuously assessing320a geographic distance from the smart card to the fixed position of the at least one computing device within the geographic region using the plurality of communication signals. Method300may include continuously activating or deactivating330the plurality of display devices190based on the geographic distance from the smart card to the fixed position of the at least one computing device in the geographic region so as to provide a directional indication, a distance indication, or both to the at least one computing device in the geographic region. In some embodiments, exemplary inventive, specially programmed computing systems/platforms with associated devices are configured to operate in the distributed network environment, communicating with one another over one or more suitable data communication networks (e.g., the Internet, satellite, etc.) and utilizing one or more suitable data communication protocols/modes such as, without limitation, IPX/SPX, X.25, AX.25, AppleTalk™, TCP/IP (e.g., HTTP), near-field wireless communication (NFC), RFID, Narrow Band Internet of Things (NBIOT), 3G, 4G, 5G, GSM, GPRS, WiFi, WiMax, CDMA, satellite, ZigBee, and other suitable communication modes. In some embodiments, the NFC can represent a short-range wireless communications technology in which NFC-enabled devices are “swiped,” “bumped,” “tap” or otherwise moved in close proximity to communicate. In some embodiments, the NFC could include a set of short-range wireless technologies, typically requiring a distance of 10 cm or less. In some embodiments, the NFC may operate at 13.56 MHz on ISO/IEC 18000-3 air interface and at rates ranging from 106 kbit/s to 424 kbit/s. In some embodiments, the NFC can involve an initiator and a target; the initiator actively generates an RF field that can power a passive target. In some embodiments, this can enable NFC targets to take very simple form factors such as tags, stickers, key fobs, or cards that do not require batteries. In some embodiments, the NFC's peer-to-peer communication can be conducted when a plurality of NFC-enable devices (e.g., smartphones) within close proximity of each other. The material disclosed herein may be implemented in software or firmware or a combination of them or as instructions stored on a machine-readable medium, which may be read and executed by one or more processors. A machine-readable medium may include any medium and/or mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computing device). For example, a machine-readable medium may include read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory devices; electrical, optical, acoustical or other forms of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.), and others. As used herein, the terms “computer engine” and “engine” identify at least one software component and/or a combination of at least one software component and at least one hardware component which are designed/programmed/configured to manage/control other software and/or hardware components (such as the libraries, software development kits (SDKs), objects, etc.). Examples of hardware elements may include processors, microprocessors, circuits, circuit elements (e.g., transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, and so forth), integrated circuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), programmable logic devices (PLD), digital signal processors (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA), logic gates, registers, semiconductor device, chips, microchips, chip sets, and so forth. In some embodiments, the one or more processors may be implemented as a Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) or Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) processors; x86 instruction set compatible processors, multi-core, or any other microprocessor or central processing unit (CPU). In various implementations, the one or more processors may be dual-core processor(s), dual-core mobile processor(s), and so forth. Computer-related systems, computer systems, and systems, as used herein, include any combination of hardware and software. Examples of software may include software components, operating system software, middleware, firmware, software modules, routines, subroutines, functions, methods, procedures, software interfaces, application program interfaces (API), instruction sets, computer code, computer code segments, words, values, symbols, or any combination thereof. Determining whether an embodiment is implemented using hardware elements and/or software elements may vary in accordance with any number of factors, such as desired computational rate, power levels, heat tolerances, processing cycle budget, input data rates, output data rates, memory resources, data bus speeds and other design or performance constraints. One or more aspects of at least one embodiment may be implemented by representative instructions stored on a machine-readable medium which represents various logic within the processor, which when read by a machine causes the machine to fabricate logic to perform the techniques described herein. Such representations, known as “IP cores” may be stored on a tangible, machine readable medium and supplied to various customers or manufacturing facilities to load into the fabrication machines that make the logic or processor. Of note, various embodiments described herein may, of course, be implemented using any appropriate hardware and/or computing software languages (e.g., C++, Objective-C, Swift, Java, JavaScript, Python, Perl, QT, etc.). In some embodiments, one or more of exemplary inventive computer-based systems/platforms, exemplary inventive computer-based devices, and/or exemplary inventive computer-based components of the present disclosure may include or be incorporated, partially or entirely into at least one personal computer (PC), laptop computer, ultra-laptop computer, tablet, touch pad, portable computer, handheld computer, palmtop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), cellular telephone, combination cellular telephone/PDA, television, smart device (e.g., smart phone, smart tablet or smart television), mobile internet device (MID), messaging device, data communication device, and so forth. As used herein, the term “server” should be understood to refer to a service point which provides processing, database, and communication facilities. By way of example, and not limitation, the term “server” can refer to a single, physical processor with associated communications and data storage and database facilities, or it can refer to a networked or clustered complex of processors and associated network and storage devices, as well as operating software and one or more database systems and application software that support the services provided by the server. Cloud servers are examples. In some embodiments, as detailed herein, one or more of exemplary inventive computer-based systems/platforms, exemplary inventive computer-based devices, and/or exemplary inventive computer-based components of the present disclosure may obtain, manipulate, transfer, store, transform, generate, and/or output any digital object and/or data unit (e.g., from inside and/or outside of a particular application) that can be in any suitable form such as, without limitation, a file, a contact, a task, an email, a tweet, a map, an entire application (e.g., a calculator), etc. In some embodiments, as detailed herein, one or more of exemplary inventive computer-based systems/platforms, exemplary inventive computer-based devices, and/or exemplary inventive computer-based components of the present disclosure may be implemented across one or more of various computer platforms such as, but not limited to: (1) AmigaOS, AmigaOS 4; (2) FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD; (3) Linux; (4) Microsoft Windows; (5) OpenVMS; (6) OS X (Mac OS); (7) OS/2; (8) Solaris; (9) Tru64 UNIX; (10) VM; (11) Android; (12) Bada; (13) BlackBerry OS; (14) Firefox OS; (15) iOS; (16) Embedded Linux; (17) Palm OS; (18) Symbian; (19) Tizen; (20) WebOS; (21) Windows Mobile; (22) Windows Phone; (23) Adobe AIR; (24) Adobe Flash; (25) Adobe Shockwave; (26) Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW); (27) Cocoa (API); (28) Cocoa Touch; (29) Java Platforms; (30) JavaFX; (31) JavaFX Mobile; (32) Microsoft XNA; (33) Mono; (34) Mozilla Prism, XUL and XULRunner; (35) .NET Framework; (36) Silverlight; (37) Open Web Platform; (38) Oracle Database; (39) Qt; (40) SAP NetWeaver; (41) Smartface; (42) Vexi; and (43) Windows Runtime. In some embodiments, exemplary inventive computer-based systems/platforms, exemplary inventive computer-based devices, and/or exemplary inventive computer-based components of the present disclosure may be configured to utilize hardwired circuitry that may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement features consistent with principles of the disclosure. Thus, implementations consistent with principles of the disclosure are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software. For example, various embodiments may be embodied in many different ways as a software component such as, without limitation, a stand-alone software package, a combination of software packages, or it may be a software package incorporated as a “tool” in a larger software product. For example, exemplary software specifically programmed in accordance with one or more principles of the present disclosure may be downloadable from a network, for example, a website, as a stand-alone product or as an add-in package for installation in an existing software application. For example, exemplary software specifically programmed in accordance with one or more principles of the present disclosure may also be available as a client-server software application, or as a web-enabled software application. For example, exemplary software specifically programmed in accordance with one or more principles of the present disclosure may also be embodied as a software package installed on a hardware device. In some embodiments, exemplary inventive computer-based systems/platforms, exemplary inventive computer-based devices, and/or exemplary inventive computer-based components of the present disclosure may be configured to handle numerous concurrent smart cards of the present disclosure and/or users that may be, but is not limited to, at least 100 (e.g., but not limited to, 100-999), at least 1,000 (e.g., but not limited to, 1,000-9,999), at least 10,000 (e.g., but not limited to, 10,000-99,999), at least 100,000 (e.g., but not limited to, 100,000-999,999), at least 1,000,000 (e.g., but not limited to, 1,000,000-9,999,999), at least 10,000,000 (e.g., but not limited to, 10,000,000-99,999,999), at least 100,000,000 (e.g., but not limited to, 100,000,000-999,999,999), at least 1,000,000,000 (e.g., but not limited to, 1,000,000,000-999,999,999,999), and so on. In some embodiments, exemplary inventive computer-based systems/platforms, exemplary inventive computer-based devices, and/or exemplary inventive computer-based components of the present disclosure may be configured to output to distinct, specifically programmed graphical user interface implementations of the present disclosure (e.g., a desktop, a web app., etc.). In various implementations of the present disclosure, a final output may be displayed on a displaying screen which may be, without limitation, a screen of a computer, a screen of a mobile device, or the like. In various implementations, the display may be a holographic display. In various implementations, the display (e.g., the plurality of display devices190) may be a transparent surface that may receive a visual projection. Such projections may convey various forms of information, images, and/or objects. For example, such projections may be a visual overlay for a mobile augmented reality (MAR) application. In some embodiments, exemplary inventive computer-based systems/platforms, exemplary inventive computer-based devices, and/or exemplary inventive computer-based components of the present disclosure may be configured to be utilized in various applications which may include, but not limited to, gaming, mobile-device games, video chats, video conferences, live video streaming, video streaming and/or augmented reality applications, mobile-device messenger applications, and others similarly suitable computer-device applications. As used herein, the term “mobile electronic device,” or the like, may refer to any portable electronic device that may or may not be enabled with location tracking functionality (e.g., MAC address, Internet Protocol (IP) address, or the like). For example, a mobile electronic device can include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), Blackberry™, Pager, Smartphone, or any other reasonable mobile electronic device. As used herein, the terms “proximity detection,” “locating,” “location data,” “location information,” and “location tracking” refer to any form of location tracking technology or locating method that can be used to provide a location of, for example, a particular computing device/system/platform of the present disclosure and/or any associated computing devices, based at least in part on one or more of the following techniques/devices, without limitation: accelerometer(s), gyroscope(s), Global Positioning Systems (GPS); GPS accessed using Bluetooth™; GPS accessed using any reasonable form of wireless and/or non-wireless communication; WiFi™ server location data; Bluetooth™ based location data; triangulation such as, but not limited to, network based triangulation, WiFi™ server information based triangulation, Bluetooth™ server information based triangulation; Cell Identification based triangulation, Enhanced Cell Identification based triangulation, Uplink-Time difference of arrival (U-TDOA) based triangulation, Time of arrival (TOA) based triangulation, Angle of arrival (AOA) based triangulation; techniques and systems using a geographic coordinate system such as, but not limited to, longitudinal and latitudinal based, geodesic height based, Cartesian coordinates based; Radio Frequency Identification such as, but not limited to, Long range RFID, Short range RFID; using any form of RFID tag such as, but not limited to active RFID tags, passive RFID tags, battery assisted passive RFID tags; or any other reasonable way to determine location. For ease, at times the above variations are not listed or are only partially listed; this is in no way meant to be a limitation. As used herein, the terms “cloud,” “Internet cloud,” “cloud computing,” “cloud architecture,” and similar terms correspond to at least one of the following: (1) a large number of computers connected through a real-time communication network (e.g., Internet); (2) providing the ability to run a program or application on many connected computers (e.g., physical machines, virtual machines (VMs)) at the same time; (3) network-based services, which appear to be provided by real server hardware, and are in fact served up by virtual hardware (e.g., virtual servers), simulated by software running on one or more real machines (e.g., allowing to be moved around and scaled up (or down) on the fly without affecting the end user). In some embodiments, the exemplary inventive computer-based systems/platforms, the exemplary inventive computer-based devices, and/or the exemplary inventive computer-based components of the present disclosure may be configured to securely store and/or transmit data by utilizing one or more of encryption techniques (e.g., private/public key pair, Triple Data Encryption Standard (3DES), block cipher algorithms (e.g., IDEA, RC2, RCS, CAST and Skipjack), cryptographic hash algorithms (e.g., MDS, RIPEMD-160, RTR0, SHA-1, SHA-2, Tiger (TTH), WHIRLPOOL, RNGs). The aforementioned examples are, of course, illustrative and not restrictive. As used herein, the term “user” shall have a meaning of at least one user. In some embodiments, the terms “user”, “subscriber” “consumer” or “customer” should be understood to refer to a user of an application or applications as described herein and/or a consumer of data supplied by a data provider. By way of example, and not limitation, the terms “user” or “subscriber” can refer to a person who receives data provided by the data or service provider over the Internet in a browser session, or can refer to an automated software application which receives the data and stores or processes the data. At least some aspects of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the following numbered clauses.1. A smart card may include:a housing;a plurality of display devices disposed on an outside surface of the housing;a circuitry disposed within the housing and may include:driver circuitry configured to activate or deactivate each of the plurality of display devicesa non-transitory memory for storing computer code;a communication circuitry configured to communicate with at least one computing device located within a geographic region around the smart card;where the at least one computing device may be located at a fixed position within the geographic region and managed by an authorizing entity;a processor for executing the computer code, which may configure the processor to:continuously receive a plurality of communication signals from the at least one computing device;continuously assess a geographic distance from the smart card to the fixed position of the at least one computing device within the geographic region using the plurality of communication signals;continuously activate or deactivate the plurality of display devices based on the geographic distance from the smart card to the fixed position of the at least one computing device in the geographic region so as to provide a directional indication, a distance indication, or both to the at least one computing device in the geographic region.2. The smart card according to clause1, where the plurality of display devices may include a plurality of light emitting diodes, a plurality of e-ink devices, or both.3. The smart card according to clause1or2, where the directional indication may include directional indicia.4. The smart card according to any one of the preceding clauses, where the directional indicia may be configured to blink with a blinking rate inversely proportional to the geographic distance from the at least one computing device in the geographic region.5. The smart card according to any one of the preceding clauses, where the processor may be configured to identify the at least one computing device as a closest computing device based on a signal strength of the plurality of communication signals within the geographic region.6. The smart card according to any one of the preceding clauses, where the circuitry may further include power circuitry for powering the circuitry.7. The smart card according to any one of the preceding clauses, where the power circuitry may include a battery.8. The smart card according to any one of the preceding clauses, where the power circuitry may include a fast charging capacitor for storing power.9. The smart card according to any one of the preceding clauses may further include an antenna disposed within the housing, and where the communication circuitry may be configured to communicate with the at least one computing device in the geographic region through the antenna.10. The smart card according to any one of the preceding clauses may further include an interconnect for electrically coupling the smart card to the at least one computing device.11. The smart card according to any one of the preceding clauses may further include near field communication (NFC) circuitry disposed within the housing and an indicator lamp disposed on the outside surface of the housing;where the authorizing entity may include a financial institution;where the at least one computing device may be an automated teller machine (ATM) to perform transactions with the financial institution using the smart card; andwhere the NFC circuitry may be configured to communicate with the ATM.12. The smart card according to any one of the preceding clauses, where the processor may be configured to:receive, from the NFC circuitry, an indication from the ATM that the ATM is safe for performing the transactions using the smart card; andcause the indicator lamp to light for notifying a user of the smart card that the ATM is safe for inserting the smart card into a slot in the ATM.13. The smart card according to any one of the preceding clauses, where the plurality of display devices disposed on the outside surface of the housing may be arranged in a circle, a square, a square matrix, or any combination thereof14. The smart card according to any one of the preceding clauses, where the plurality of display devices on the outside surface of the housing may be disposed along edges of the housing.15. The smart card according to any one of the preceding clauses may further include a microchip embedded within the housing, and where the microchip may include the processor of the circuitry.16. A method may include:continuously receiving, by a processor in a circuitry of a smart card, a plurality of communication signals from at least one computing device;where the at least one computing device may be located at a fixed position within a geographic region around the smart card and managed by an authorizing entity;where the smart card may include a housing, a plurality of display devices disposed on an outside surface of the housing; and the circuitry disposed within the housing;continuously assessing, by the processor, a geographic distance from the smart card to the fixed position of the at least one computing device within the geographic region using the plurality of communication signals;continuously activating or deactivating, by the processor, the plurality of display devices based on the geographic distance from the smart card to the fixed position of the at least one computing device in the geographic region so as to provide a directional indication, a distance indication, or both to the at least one computing device in the geographic region.17. The method according to clause16, where providing the directional indication may include displaying directional indicia.18. The method according to clause16or17, where providing the distance indication may include causing the directional indicia to blink with a blinking rate inversely proportional to the geographic distance from the at least one computing device in the geographic region.19. The method according to any one of clauses16,17, or18may further include identifying, by the processor, the at least one computing device as a closest computing device in the geographic region based on a signal strength of the plurality of communication signals within the geographic region.20. The method according to any one of clauses16,17,18, or19, where the authorizing entity may include a financial institution;where the at least one computing device may be an automated teller machine (ATM) to perform transactions with the financial institution using the smart card; and may further include:receiving, by the processor, an indication from the ATM that the ATM is safe for performing the transactions using the smart card; andcausing, by the processor, an indicator lamp on the smart card to light for notifying a user that the ATM is safe for inserting the smart card into a slot in the ATM.Publications cited throughout this document are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. While one or more embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, it is understood that these embodiments are illustrative only, and not restrictive, and that many modifications may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, including that various embodiments of the inventive methodologies, the inventive systems/platforms, and the inventive devices described herein can be utilized in any combination with each other. Further still, the various steps may be carried out in any desired order (and any desired steps may be added and/or any desired steps may be eliminated). | 43,841 |
11861577 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Various embodiments disclosed herein will be described with reference to details discussed below, and the accompanying drawings will illustrate the various embodiments. The following description and drawings are illustrative disclosed herein and are not to be construed as limiting the disclosed embodiments. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments disclosed herein. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to provide a concise discussion of embodiments disclosed herein. Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment disclosed herein. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” and “an embodiment” in various places in the specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment. References to an “operable connection” or “operably connected” means that a particular device is able to communicate with one or more other devices. The devices themselves may be directly connected to one another or may be indirectly connected to one another through any number of intermediary devices, such as in a network topology. In general, embodiments disclosed herein relate to methods, systems, and devices for providing computer implemented services using managed systems. The computer implemented services may include any quantity and type of such services. To provide the computer implemented services, the managed systems may need to operate in a predetermined manner conducive to, for example, execution of applications that provide the computer implemented services. Similarly, the managed system may need access to certain hardware resources and also software resources such as drivers, firmware, etc. to provide the desired computer implemented services. Different computer implemented services may have different hardware and/or software resources needs. An aggregation of different types of computer implemented services may need to be provided so that corresponding solutions may be provided. To improve the likelihood of the computer implemented services being provided, embodiments disclosed here relate to methods and systems for managing managed systems using a subscription based model. The subscription model may utilize a highly accessible service to obtain information regarding capabilities (e.g., hardware resources) of managed systems to present information regarding all potential solutions that the managed systems may provide. By presenting users with such information, the users may not need to be well versed in the underlying hardware and software components necessary for the solutions to be provided. Further, as the hardware components of a managed system are changed over time, the compatible solutions may be continuously updated so that users may be continuously appraised of all possible solutions that may be provided using the managed systems. By having access to this information, users may make better informed decisions regarding which solutions should be implemented by managed systems. Further, by continuously updating the compatible solutions presented to users, the cognitive burden on the users may be greatly reduced as the hardware components of the managed systems change over time. Additionally, by virtue of this selection approach, deployment of various components for incompatible solutions may be avoided thereby preventing impairments of the managed systems. However, by virtue of its distributed nature, not all components of the distributed system may have access to accurate information. Consequently, some subscription decisions made for various managed systems may not actually be compatible with the managed systems. If implemented, such changes in subscriptions may negatively impact the computer implemented services provided by the distributed system. To limit the potential impact of subscription decisions made based on inaccurate information, a system in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein may operate using a distributed control and management model where the entities most closely related to or likely to have accurate information is empowered to honor or reject subscription decisions made by other entities. By distributing command and control across the distributed system, the impacts of inaccurate information may be reduced by providing the entity that is most likely to have accurate information to modify previously made decisions (e.g., through rejection or adoption). Thus, embodiments disclosed herein may address the challenge of information distribution in a distributed system. For example, rather than attempting to ensure that all information on which decisions is based is accurate (which may incur an unreasonable amount of computational overhead), the disclosed system may allow for undesirable decisions to be made but subsequently corrected when contradictory, but likely more accurate, data is used to further evaluate the previously made decisions. Consequently, the overhead for data distribution and consistency may be reduced while still ensuring that decisions consistent with the most accurate data in the distributed system are honored and enforced. In an embodiment, a computer-implemented method for managing computer implemented services provided by a managed system is provided. The method may include obtaining, by a local subscription manager of the managed system, a subscription update for the managed system, the subscription update specifying a change in subscription for the managed system; making a determination, by the local subscription manager, that the subscription update implicates an incompatible configuration for the managed system, the incompatible configuration requiring a function which the managed system is unable to provide; in response to the determination: rejecting, by the local subscription manager, the subscription update for the managed system to maintain a current configuration of the managed system. Making the determination may include performing a lookup in a configurations compatibility repository using one or more subscriptions specified in the subscription updates as keys to identify that at least one of the one or more subscriptions is not associated with any compatible configuration specified by the configurations compatibility repository. The configuration compatibility repository may include a list, the list may include a number of entries with each entry of the number of entries being associated with a corresponding subscription, and the lookup being performed by attempting to match the one or more subscriptions to the corresponding subscription of each of the number of entries. The entries of the number of entries of the list may be based on hardware resources of the managed system, the hardware resources limiting subscriptions which may be implemented with the managed system. The computer-implemented method may also include obtaining, by the local subscription manager, a second subscription update for the managed system, the second subscription update specifying a second change in subscription for the managed system; making a second determination, by the local subscription manager, that the second subscription update implicates a compatible configuration for the managed system; in response to the determination: updating, by the locally subscription manager, locally maintained subscription information based on the subscription update; and enforcing, by the local subscription manager, the updated locally maintained subscription information on the managed system. Enforcing the updated locally maintained subscription information on the managed system may include disabling a portion of hardware resources of the managed system that are enabled. Enforcing the updated locally maintained subscription information on the managed system may include enabling a portion of hardware resources of the managed system that are disabled. Enforcing the updated locally maintained subscription information on the managed system may include updating operation of a startup manager hosted by the managed system; updating operation of an operation manager hosted by the managed system; and/or updating operation of a software stack hosted by the managed system. The determination may be made, at least in part, on a portion of hardware resources of the managed system that will be disabled if the one or more subscriptions are implemented by the managed system. The determination may be made, at least in part, on a software stack functionality of the managed system that will be unavailable if the one or more subscriptions are implemented by the managed system. The local subscription manager may include an out of band manager hosted by the managed system and that operates independently from the managed system. The local subscription manager may make the determination while unable to communicate with other components of a distributed control plane for the managed system. The local subscription manager may present itself as a separate device from the managed system. The local subscription manager may be associated with a network endpoint different from a second network endpoint associated with the managed system. A non-transitory media may include instructions that when executed by a processor cause the computer-implemented method to be performed. A managed system may host a local subscription manager that may include the non-transitory media and a processor, and may perform the computer-implemented method when the computer instructions are executed by the process. Turning toFIG.1A, a block diagram illustrating a system in accordance with an embodiment is shown. The system may provide for automated management of one or more managed systems20. A managed system may include any number of computing devices (e.g., data processing systems) that may each include any number of hardware components (e.g., processors, memory modules, storage devices, communications devices, special purposes devices such as accelerators/graphics processing units/application specific integrated circuits, controllers, etc.). The hardware components may support execution of any number and types of applications (e.g., software components). The aggregate operation of all, or a portion, of the hardware components and software components may give rise to an integrated solution, platform, service, etc. able to provide desired computer implemented services. Changes in the hardware and/or software components may provide for various types of different computer implemented services to be provided over time. The computer implemented services may include any number and type of computer implemented services. Computer implemented services may include, for example, database services, data processing services, electronic communication services, and/or any other services that may be provided using one or more computing devices. Other types of computer implemented services may be provided by managed systems20without departing from embodiments disclosed herein. To provide the aforementioned computer implemented services, any of the managed systems22A,22N may need to operate in a predetermined manner. For example, certain hardware components may need to be operational and/or certain software components may need to be operating for the managed systems to provide computer implemented services (e.g., to operate as a solution). Different configurations of the hardware components, software components, and/or applications may need to be implemented by managed systems20depending on the computer implemented services desired to be provided by the respective managed systems. Refer toFIG.1Cfor additional details regarding managed systems20. Additionally, any number of the managed system may operate (e.g., as part of a deployment) to provide various computer implemented services independently or cooperatively with other such managed systems. In such scenarios, the operation of a group of managed system may be managed by a local control plane for those managed systems. Refer toFIG.1Bfor additional details regarding groups of managed systems. However, to provide desired computer implemented services, as noted above, a managed system may need to have certain capabilities. For some capabilities, such as those that are provided by software components, a lack of the capability may be remediated by deploying appropriate software components (which may assume that certain hardware components necessary for operation of the software components are available). However, some capabilities may require certain hardware components to be present in a managed system. For example, in a data storage scenario, a managed system may need to include a hardware storage controller for certain storage functionalities to be provided. In another example, a managed system may need to include a graphics processing unit, application specific integrated circuit, or other type of special purpose hardware device to provide other types of functionalities. In a further example, a managed system may need to include minimum quantities and/or types of general computing components such as processors, memory modules, storage devices, etc. for other types of functionalities to be provided. If a managed system is instructed to perform various functionalities which is unable to provide, then the managed system may not provide the functionalities. Further, if operating in cooperation with other managed systems to provide various functionalities, a failure in the ability of the managed system to provide specified functionalities may impact the ability of all of the managed systems to provide desired functionalities. Thus, if capabilities of managed systems are not carefully considered when making configuration decision, the resulting configured managed systems may be unable to provide or may only provide impaired (to some extent) desired computer implemented services. In general, embodiments disclosed herein relate to system, devices and methods for managing one or more managed systems in a manner that may improve the likelihood of the managed system being able to provide desired computer implemented services over time. To do so, a system in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein may provide a distributed system for automatically identifying and implementing hardware and/or software configurations of managed systems (e.g., to provide an integrated solution). The distributed system may automatically perform processes for discovering capabilities of managed systems and ensure that only configurations compatible with the capabilities of the managed systems are enforced on the managed systems. To limit the possibility of incompatible configurations being pushed to the managed systems for deployment, a subscription management service of update itself regarding the capabilities of the managed systems, and take into account the capabilities and limitations thereof. However, by virtue of the distributed nature of such systems, in some scenarios, the subscription management service may make configuration decisions for the managed systems using outdated or incorrect information. Consequently, the managed systems may be subject to attempt to reconfigure them in a manner that is inconsistent with their actual capabilities. To further limit the possibility for incompatible configurations being employed by managed systems, local subscription managers hosted by the managed systems my independently decide whether and/or to what extent requests for changes in configuration of the managed systems should be honored or rejected. The local subscriptions managers may make such decisions dynamically to ensure that the actual capabilities of the managed systems are taken into account when deciding whether to honor a change in configuration. To manage configuration of the managed systems, a subscription based model may be utilized. The subscription based model may allow a person to select a desired functionality. Based on the selection, configurations (e.g., functionality subscription) for various managed systems may be selected and distributed for enforcement. The configurations may specify any number of enablement/disablements for hardware and software components, as well as any number of configurations for the hardware and/or software components. These functionality subscriptions may be distributed to local subscription managers hosted by corresponding managed systems. The local subscription managers may enforce the functionality subscriptions on the host managed system, so long as the functionality subscriptions are compatible with the actual capabilities of the host managed system. By doing so, embodiments disclosed herein may (i) reduce the cognitive burden for selecting and managing systems to provide desired computer implemented services, (ii) may improve the quality of computer implemented services by ensuring that that capabilities of the managed systems are known, and/or (iii) facilitating subscription management in the distributed system to remediate the potential for inaccurate information being used as a basis for configuration decisions. To provide the above noted functionality, a system in accordance with an embodiment may include subscription management service10. Subscription management service10may facilitate (i) selection and procurement of managed system to a client site (e.g., a deployment location), and (ii) automatic configuration of managed systems20to provide an integrated solution and/or different solutions over time. To do so, subscription management service10may (i) obtain information indicating desired functions of one or more of managed systems20, (ii) select and deploy one or more managed systems20to a client site (e.g., which may be stored in managed systems supply12prior to deployment), (iii) track changes in the solution compatibilities of managed systems20over time, and (iv) use the tracked changes in solution capabilities to select and deploy changes in solutions provided by managed systems20. To deploy a new solution, a software stack (e.g., operating system, applications, drivers, etc.) may be instantiated on the managed system. However, various software stacks may have requirements regarding hardware resources necessary for operation of the software stacks. The tracked changes in the solution capabilities may be used to restrict (e.g., from deployment) software stacks that may be impaired (e.g., entirely or partially) when deployed to a managed system and allow other software stacks that may be unlikely to be impaired when deployed to the managed systems. As part of the process for selecting and deploying one or more managed systems20, subscription management service10may take into account a range of factors to identify which capabilities may be desired for use by a requesting entity over time. Based on these factors, subscription management service10may select one or more managed systems from managed systems supply12that include more features and/or capabilities than those required to immediately address a request from the requesting entity. The selection may be made on the basis that the requesting entity may be likely to request additional features and/or capabilities in the future. Consequently, managed systems20, when deployed to a client site (e.g., private or shared datacenter), may include sufficient hardware components to address a range of different use cases and solution, beyond those that may be immediately apparent to a requesting entity. The additional capabilities (e.g., various hardware resources) may take the form of, for example, additional processors, memory modules, storage devices, graphical processing units, network interface devices, and/or other types of hardware components. Likewise, compatibility with various types of software components may be taken into account such that a range of different software components may be dynamically deployed to managed systems20over time (e.g., based on changing uses of managed systems20). However, over time the hardware resources of the managed systems may change thereby changing the compatibility of managed systems with various solutions over time. The distributed system may allow a provider of managed systems20to selectively manage various functionalities provided by managed systems20. For example, the distributed system may allow for different solutions to be provided by managed systems20over time. By doing so, a provider of managed systems20may tailor the functions provided by managed systems20(e.g., from all possible functions) to only those requested, desired, and/or procured by an operator, manager, and/or user of managed systems20. Doing so may allow for cost controls for various solutions to be put in place by a user of a managed system. For example, consider a scenario where a provider of a managed system does so on a contractual basis where a user of the managed system agrees to purchase subscriptions for various functionalities, hardware components, and/or software components (e.g., the aggregate being solutions). The user may use subscription management service10to select to which of the aforementioned solutions the user wishes to have enabled, to the extent of such enablement, durations of enablement, etc. After an initial selection leading to deployment of managed systems20, the user may modify their subscription to allow for other solutions to be provided by managed systems20. In response, subscription management service10may cooperate with local subscription managers hosted by managed systems20to reconfigure the operation of managed systems20to allow these additional features to be utilized by the users. However, by virtue of the nature of the distributed system, subscription management service10may not have access to accurate capability information for various managed systems. Consequently, subscription management service may make configuration decisions not based on accurate information. To address such configuration decisions, as discussed below, local subscription managers may automatically take action contrary to requests received from subscription management service10. By doing so, embodiments disclosed herein may automatically reduce the impact of inaccurate information on the operation of the distribute system. To allow for users or other persons associated with managed systems to elect into such subscriptions, subscription management service10may provide graphical user interfaces that allow such selections to be made. The graphical user interfaces may be implemented, for example, as webpages (or other types of interfaces) accessible to the users or other persons via other devices (e.g., client/user devices not illustrated inFIG.1Abut may be operably connected to subscription management service10via communication system30). When an election is made, subscription management service10may record the election and send information regarding the elected subscriptions to local subscription managers hosted by managed systems20. Once sent, the local subscription managers may modify the operation of managed systems20such that the operation of managed systems20matches the elections received and/or recorded by subscription management service. In some cases, the local subscription managers may reject the modifications in operation of managed systems20, which may prompt subscription management service10to reconsider its configuration decisions for managed systems20. To facilitate solution selection, the graphical user interfaces presented to the users may present solutions that are compatibility with managed systems20. The presented solutions may be based on a current configuration and/or capabilities of managed systems20. Accordingly, the persons tasked with managed systems may not need to be aware of the current configuration of managed systems20to identify which solutions the managed systems may provide. When providing the aforementioned information regarding subscription elections to local subscription managers, subscription management service10may also provide (e.g., collectively “subscription management information”): (i) code blocks or other information (e.g., lists of actions) usable to modify the operation of a managed system to comply with an elected subscription, (ii) limitations on elected subscriptions (e.g., subscription durations, quantities of operations that may be performed under a subscriptions, and/or other metrics for quantifying operation of managed systems20limited by a subscription limitation), and/or (iii) code blocks or other information (e.g., lists of actions) usable to revert a previously implemented modification of the operation of a managed system to comply with an elected subscription. By providing the local subscription managers with subscription management information, the local subscription managers may independently enforce the terms of elected subscriptions on managed systems even when, for example, one or more of the local subscription managers are unable to communicate with subscription management service10(e.g., after receiving the subscription management information). Consequently, user access to solutions provided by managed systems may be automatically revoked by the managed systems thereby facilitating distributed management of the managed systems that does not rely on or require communication with other entities. Any of subscription management service10, managed systems supply12, and managed systems20may be implemented with a computing device such as a host or server, a personal computer (e.g., desktops, laptops, and tablets), a “thin” client, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a Web enabled appliance, or a mobile phone (e.g., Smartphone), and/or any other type of data processing device or system. For additional details regarding computing devices, refer toFIG.5. In an embodiment, one or more of subscription management service10, managed systems supply12, and managed systems20are operably connected via communication system30. Communication system30may allow any of subscription management service10, managed systems supply12, and managed systems20to communicate with one another (and/or with other devices not illustrated inFIG.1A). To provide its functionality, communication system30may be implemented with one or more wired and/or wireless networks. Any of these networks may be a private network (e.g., the “Network” shown inFIG.5), a public network, and/or may include the Internet. For example, managed systems20may be operably connected to subscription management service10via the Internet. Subscription management service10, managed systems supply12, managed systems20, and/or communication system30may be adapted to perform one or more protocols for communicating via communication system30. While illustrated inFIG.1with a limited number of specific components, a system may include additional, fewer, and/or different components without departing from embodiments disclosed herein. Turning toFIG.1B, a block diagram illustrating a deployment including managed systems102,104in accordance with an embodiment is shown. Like named components inFIGS.1A-1Bmay be similar. The deployment may provide any number and type of computer implemented services. The deployment may be located, for example, at a user selected site, a data center, or another location. The deployment may provide various solutions to users of, for example, an organization on a contractual basis. For example, the organization may agree to pay fees for the solutions provided by the deployment. The solutions may include any number and type of computer implemented services provided by any number of managed systems102,104. The deployment may include deployment manager100. Deployment manager100may locally manage any number of managed systems. For example, the subscription management service may provide information to deployment manager100which may in turn manage managed systems102,104based on the information. To facilitate management, deployment manager100may (i) host various software images to facilitate deployment of software necessary for various solutions for managed systems102,104, (ii) facilitate identification of solutions compatible with managed systems102,104, (iii) provide information regarding the compatible solutions to other entities (e.g., such as the subscription management service), and/or (iv) provide other management functionalities. However, like the subscription management service, deployment manager100may operate with inaccurate information regarding the capabilities and/or configurations of managed systems102,104. Consequently, the information that it may provide subscription management service10may also be inaccurate. Deployment manager100may be implemented with a computing device such as a host or server, a personal computer (e.g., desktops, laptops, and tablets), a “thin” client, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a Web enabled appliance, or a mobile phone (e.g., Smartphone), and/or any other type of data processing device or system. For additional details regarding computing devices, refer toFIG.5. Turning toFIG.1C, a block diagram illustrating managed system150in accordance with an embodiment is shown. Managed system150may be similar to any of managed systems20shown inFIGS.1A-1B. Managed system150may provide desired computer implemented service by allowing for its automatic reconfiguration over time based on subscriptions maintained by subscription management service10, shown inFIG.1A. When reconfigured, managed system150may provide a solution which may be provided with a software stack hosted by managed system150. Managed system150may be reconfigured by, for example, deploying different software stacks, startup management entities, configuration of the operation of hardware/software components, and/or enabling/disabling hardware components. In addition (and/or alternatively) to any of the components shown inFIG.5, managed system150may include startup manager151, operation manager152, applications154, hardware resources156, and local subscription manager158. Each of these components is discussed below. Startup manager151may manage placing managed system150in an operating state conducive to operation of applications154. For example, after managed system150is power cycled, managed system150may not be in a state in which application154may operate. To enter the operating state, managed system150may perform any number processes such as (i) a power on self-test, (ii) performing an inventory of hardware resources156, and (iii) beginning execution of and/or handing off operation management of managed system150to operation manager152. Startup manager151may be implemented with, for example, a basic input output system (BIOS) or other type of startup management entity. Operation manager152may generally manage operation of the component of managed system150, except for local subscription manager158. For example, operation manager152may be implemented with an operating system used to manage hardware resources156of managed system150to facilitate execution of applications154. To facilitate dynamic changes in solutions provided by operation manager152and/or applications154, local subscription manager158may facilitate automatic deployment of software stacks and/or startup managers to managed system150. The deployed software stacks may include all, or a portion, of operation manager152and applications154. To ensure that only software stacks compatible with hardware resources156are deployed, local subscription manager158may maintain current information regarding hardware resources such as the types and quantities of hardware devices of hardware resources156. Local subscription manager158may use the current information to identify compatibility between managed system150and various solutions, and enforce solution limitations (e.g., restrict) on managed system150. Further, local subscription manager158may use the current information to determine whether to honor or rejection subscription updates to prevent configurations for the managed system150that may impair its operation (or require it to perform various actions that it cannot fulfill) from being enforced on managed system150. Applications154may provide all, or a portion, of the computer implemented services desired by a user, operator, or other person associated with managed system150. Applications154may utilize hardware resources156to provide their respective functionalities. The type and quantity of applications154that may be hosted by managed system150may depend on hardware resources156(e.g., types and quantity of hardware devices). Operation manager152may mediate presentation of hardware resources156to applications154by, for example, scheduling use, managing discontinuous access, and/or performing other actions to coordinate use of hardware resources156by applications154(and/or other entities). Consequently, the operation of applications154may be predicated on the operation of operation manager152as well as capabilities of hardware resources156. In an embodiment, one or more of startup manager151, operation manager152, and applications154is implemented using a hardware device including circuitry. The hardware device may be, for example, a digital signal processor, a field programmable gate array, or an application specific integrated circuit. The circuitry may be adapted to cause the hardware device to perform the functionality of one or more of startup manager151, operation manager152, and applications154. One or more of startup manager151, operation manager152, and applications154may be implemented using other types of hardware devices without departing embodiment disclosed herein. In an embodiment, one or more of startup manager151, operation manager152, and applications154is implemented using a processor adapted to execute computing code stored on a persistent storage that when executed by the processor performs the functionality of one or more of startup manager151, operation manager152, and applications154discussed throughout this application. The processor may be a hardware processor including circuitry such as, for example, a central processing unit, a processing core, or a microcontroller. The processor may be other types of hardware devices for processing information without departing embodiment disclosed herein. Hardware resources156may include any type and quantity of hardware devices usable to provide computer implemented services. Hardware resources156may provide their functionality by, for example, consuming power to perform various actions that result in the performance of startup manager151, operation manager152, applications154, and/or other entities not shown inFIG.1C. As part of their respective operation, hardware resources156may host firmware and/or may otherwise be programmable to facilitate their respective operation. Various changes in subscriptions may cause various portions of hardware resources156to be enabled or disabled. Consequently, even though physical hardware may be present in managed system150, some of the physical hardware may not be usable even though it could be usable. Accordingly, information regarding the physical hardware of managed system150may not be used to accurately determine the actual capabilities of managed system150, since any quantity of hardware resources156may not actually be usable. Local subscription manager158may provide subscription management services. Subscription management services may include (i) identifying solution compatibilities of managed system150, and (ii) limiting configuration of managed system150based on the configuration compatibilities with the actual capabilities of managed system150. By providing its functionality, local subscription manager158may manage the configuration, behavior, and/or functionality of managed system150in a manner that automatically conforms it to match that expected by subscription management service10(e.g., to match those solutions to which managed system150is subscribed). For example, when subscription management service10attempts to subscribe a managed system to a subscription which requires a configuration that is incompatible with the managed system, local subscription manager158may reject the subscription. By virtue of the rejection, subscription management service10may learn of the actual capabilities of managed system150, update its information, and change its configuration decisions such that subsequent subscriptions for managed system150are more likely to be compatible with the actual capabilities of managed system150. As part of the aforementioned process, local subscription manager158, subscription management service10, and/or deployment manager100may cooperate to enforce subscriptions on managed system150. Local subscription manager158, subscription management service10, and/or deployment manager100may also perform one or more authentications of one another and/or communications from these components to prevent other entities from interfering with the cooperative operation of local subscription manager158, subscription management service10, and/or deployment manager100for managed system management purposes. For example, these components may perform a public-private key exchange and/or exchange bearer tokens (or other types of authentication information). When communications are transmitted between these components, the communications may include authentication information such as the bearer tokens allowing for each of these components to distinguish communications that are actually from the other device from other components (e.g., such as spoofed communications that are made to appear to be from one of these devices but may actually originate from another device that may be attempting to disrupt the operation of these components). In an embodiment, local subscription manager158is implemented with an out of band management controller. The out of band management controller may be hosted by managed system150, be operably connected to hardware resources156(e.g., via interconnect510, shown inFIG.5), and may operate independently from other components (e.g., hardware and software) of managed system150. The management controller may include functionality to manage the operation, configuration, and/or other characteristic of any hardware and/or software component of managed system150. For example, the management controller may include functionality to load software stacks on managed system, obtain information regarding hardware resources156, etc. In an embodiment, the management controller includes a separate communication interface (e.g., from that of a communication interface of managed system150) through which it communicates with subscription management service10and/or deployment manager100. In an embodiment, the management controller uses the same communication interface which managed system150uses to communicate with other devices. Either of these communication interface may facilitate communications with communication system30, and devices connected to communication system30such as subscription management service10or deployment manager100. The management controller may present itself as a separate device to other entities (e.g., which may be associated with its own network endpoint). When providing its functionality, local subscription manager158may perform all, or a portion, of the methods and operations illustrated inFIGS.2-4C. Refer toFIG.1Dfor additional details regarding local subscription manager158. While illustrated inFIG.1Cwith a limited number of specific components, a managed system may include additional, fewer, and/or different components without departing from embodiments disclosed herein. Turning toFIG.1D, a block diagram of local subscription manager158in accordance with an embodiment is shown. Local subscription manager158may be implemented with a computing device similar to that illustrated inFIG.5. In addition (and/or alternatively) to any of the components shown inFIG.5, local subscription manager158may include solution manager160and storage162. Each of these components is discussed below. Solution manager160may include functionality to (i) obtain information regarding hardware resources of a host managed system, (ii) identify solution (e.g., corresponding configurations) compatibilities of the host managed system based on the hardware resources information and information included in solution requirements repository168, and (iii) enforce changes in solution compatibilities of the host managed system on the host managed system over time. To enforce the changes in solution compatibilities, solution manager160may (i) distribute information regarding the changes in solution compatibilities of the host managed system to other entities to prevent attempts to deploy incompatible software stacks to the host managed system and/or (ii) reject software stack deployment attempts (e.g., or other types of subscription changes) to the host managed system for software stacks that are incompatible with the host managed system. By doing so, a host managed system may be more likely to provide desired computer implemented services by improving the likelihood that a managed system is configured to provide more desirable solutions. In an embodiment, solution manager160is implemented using a hardware device including circuitry. The hardware device may be, for example, a digital signal processor, a field programmable gate array, or an application specific integrated circuit. The circuitry may be adapted to cause the hardware device to perform the functionality of solution manager160. Solution manager160may be implemented using other types of hardware devices without departing embodiment disclosed herein. In one embodiment, solution manager160is implemented using a processor adapted to execute computing code stored on a persistent storage that when executed by the processor performs the functionality of solution manager160discussed throughout this application. The processor may be a hardware processor including circuitry such as, for example, a central processing unit, a processing core, or a microcontroller. The processor may be other types of hardware devices for processing information without departing embodiment disclosed herein. In an embodiment, storage162is implemented using physical devices that provide data storage services (e.g., storing data and providing copies of previously stored data). The devices that provide data storage services may include hardware devices and/or logical devices. For example, storage162may include any quantity and/or combination of memory devices (i.e., volatile storage), long term storage devices (i.e., persistent storage), other types of hardware devices that may provide short term and/or long term data storage services, and/or logical storage devices (e.g., virtual persistent storage/virtual volatile storage). For example, storage162may include a memory device (e.g., a dual in line memory device) in which data is stored and from which copies of previously stored data are provided. In another example, storage162may include a persistent storage device (e.g., a solid-state disk drive) in which data is stored and from which copies of previously stored data is provided. In a still further example, storage162may include (i) a memory device (e.g., a dual in line memory device) in which data is stored and from which copies of previously stored data are provided and (ii) a persistent storage device that stores a copy of the data stored in the memory device (e.g., to provide a copy of the data in the event that power loss or other issues with the memory device that may impact its ability to maintain the copy of the data cause the memory device to lose the data). Storage162may also be implemented using logical storage. A logical storage (e.g., virtual disk) may be implemented using one or more physical storage devices whose storage resources (all, or a portion) are allocated for use using a software layer. Thus, a logical storage may include both physical storage devices and an entity executing on a processor or other hardware device that allocates the storage resources of the physical storage devices. Generally, storage162, and the data stored therein, may not be accessible to a device that hosts local subscription manager158. Storage162may store data structures including subscription information repository164, action repository166, host manifest167, solution requirements repository168, and compatible solutions repository169. Subscription information repository164may be implemented with one or more data structures that store information regarding subscriptions for a managed system that hosts local subscription manager158. The information may include, for example, the subscriptions to be enforced on the host managed system, limitations on the subscriptions (e.g., duration based, use based, etc.), and/or disablement actions for the subscriptions. The disablement actions may be implemented with code blocks that may be pushed to the host managed system for execution. When executed, the host managed system may perform the disablement actions which may, for example, cause various hardware/software components to be enabled/disabled, and/or reconfigured (e.g., through reformatting of storage device, modification of settings, etc.). Action repository166may be implemented with one or more data structures that store information regarding actions that may be performed to force a device hosting local subscription manager158to comply with various subscriptions. The actions may, for example, be keyed to information in subscription information repository164such that corresponding actions from action repository166may be identified. Actions from action repository166may be performed by solution manager160when a condition is met, such as a subscription limit being exceeded or a new subscription being obtained. In an embodiment, action repository166includes at least one set of actions keyed to changes in subscription of a management entity for the host managed system. The actions may include (i) restarting/initializing a host managed system, (ii) after doing so, interrupting a normal startup process performed by the host managed system prior to the host managed system booting to a management entity, (iii) while the normal startup process is interrupted, dynamically configuring a management entity, and/or (iv) resuming the normal startup process such that the host managed systems hands off, after startup, operation of the managed system to the dynamically configured management entity. In this manner, the management entity utilized by a host managed system may be dynamically changed over time to meet the needs of users of the host managed system. Host manifest167may be implemented with one or more data structures that store information regarding hardware resources of a host managed system. The information may include, for example, a list of hardware devices, the type of each hardware device, capabilities of each hardware devices, and/or other information regarding the hardware resources of the host managed system. Host manifest167may be updated over time to ensure that it is likely to include accurate information. Solution requirements repository168may be implemented with one or more data structures that store information regarding hardware resource requirements for any number of solutions (e.g., to which a host managed system may be subscribed). The information may include, for example, a list of solutions and corresponding hardware resources required for each of the solutions including, for example, list of hardware devices, the type of each hardware device, capabilities of each hardware device, and/or other information regarding the hardware resources that should be available for a solution to be implemented by a managed system. Compatible solutions repository169may be implemented with one or more data structures that store information regarding solutions which a host managed system is likely to be able to implement. The information may include, for example, a list of identifiers of the solutions, identifiers of software stacks for each identified solution, information regarding where images of applications or other entities for the identified software stacks may be obtained, and/or other types of information usable to allow local subscription manager158to identify whether a solution is compatible with a host managed system and/or allow local subscription manager158to implement a solution (e.g., by automatically retrieving and deploying a software stack). While various data structures have been illustrated in and described with respect toFIG.1D, any of the data structures may be implemented with any type of structure (e.g., lists, tables, linked lists, databases, etc.), stored in different locations, and/or spanned across any number of devices without departing from embodiments disclosed herein. For example, any of the data structures shown inFIG.1Dmay be stored remotely to local subscription manager158(e.g., in a storage of a deployment manager or subscription management service) in a manner that is still accessible to local subscription manager158. While illustrated inFIG.1Dwith a limited number of specific components, a local subscription manager may include additional, fewer, and/or different components without departing from embodiments disclosed herein. As discussed above, the components ofFIG.1Amay perform various methods to provide computer implemented services using managed systems that may provide respective solutions limited based on the hardware resources of the respective managed systems.FIGS.2-3illustrate examples of methods that may be performed by the components ofFIG.1A. For example, a local subscription manager of a managed system, a deployment manager, and/or a subscription management service may perform all or a portion of the methods. In the diagrams discussed below and shown inFIGS.2-3, any of the operations may be repeated, performed in different orders, and/or performed in parallel with or in a partially overlapping in time manner with other operations. Turning toFIG.2, a flow diagram illustrating a method of managing changes in managed system compatibilities in accordance with an embodiment is shown. The method illustrated inFIG.2may be performed when a startup or other type of initialization of a managed system is performed. For example, the method may be performed when a managed system is power cycled. At operation200, a resources inventory for a host managed system is obtained. The resources inventory may be obtained by a local subscription managed hosted by the managed system. The resources inventory may be obtained from a startup manager of the managed system. For example, the startup manager may perform a hardware inventory as part of starting up the host managed system. In an embodiment, the resources inventory specifies (i) hardware components (all or a portion) of the host managed system, (ii) type information for the specified hardware components, (iii) capability information for the specified hardware components (e.g., how quickly data can be provided to or processed by hardware components), and/or (iv) other types of information usable to classify or characterize hardware components of a host managed system. The resources inventory may also specify the enablement state (e.g., whether usable or disabled due to lack of subscription for the components) for these hardware components. The resources inventory may also include information regarding software components such as, for example, firmware hosted by hardware components, software stacks hosted by a managed system, etc. In an embodiment, the resources inventory is obtained by sending a request, an interrupt, or other type of communication to the startup manager via an interconnect with which a local subscription manager is operably connected to one or more processors executing instructions (e.g., computer instructions) corresponding to the startup entity. The startup entity may provide the resources inventory and/or information usable by the local subscription manager to obtain the resources inventory. The resources inventory may also be obtained by sending a request to an operation manager which manages various software stacks. The operation manager may provide information regarding these components. At operation202, configuration compatibility for the managed system is identified based on the resources inventory. The configuration compatibilities may be identified by matching the resources inventory to hardware resources for various solutions (e.g., which may be stored in a solutions requirements repository168) to identify all of the solutions that may be implemented with the managed system (e.g., based on its actual capabilities). At operation204, a locally maintained configuration compatibilities repository is updated based on the identified configuration compatibilities. For example, the repository may be updated to indicate that the host managed system is compatible with the solutions identified in operation202. In an embodiment, the locally maintained configuration compatibilities repository is implemented with a lookup data structure include any number of entries. Any of the entries may correspond to a particular solution. The entries of the lookup data structure may be populated with matching information (e.g., identifiers) of the solutions identified in operation202. Consequently, when a lookup if performed using an identifier of a solution as a key, an entry may be identified via the lookup if the solution is compatible with the hosted managed system. If no entries are identified, then the lookup may indicate that the solution is not compatible with the host managed system. The method may end following operation204. Turning toFIG.3, a flow diagram illustrating a method of servicing subscription updates in accordance with an embodiment is shown. The method illustrated inFIG.3may be performed by a local subscription manager of a host managed system. At operation300, a subscription update for the host managed system is obtained. The subscription may be obtained from, for example, a subscription management service or a deployment manager. The subscription update request may specify one or more changes (e.g., new, modified) to subscriptions for the host managed system. For example, the subscription update may specify any number of enablement and/or disablement operations to be performed, limitations on the subscriptions, etc. At operation302, a determination is made regarding whether the subscription update implicates an incompatible configuration for the host managed system. The determination may be made by attempting to match identifiers of the one or more subscriptions to entries of a lookup data structures that specifies solutions compatible with the host managed system. If any of the identifiers of the subscriptions do not match any entry, then it may be determined that the subscription update implicates an incompatible configuration for the host managed system. The determination may be made via other methods without departing from embodiments disclosed herein. If it is determined that the subscription update implicates an incompatible configuration, then the method may proceed to operation308. Otherwise, the method may proceed to operation304following operation302. At operation304, locally maintained subscription information is updated based on the subscription update. For example, the changes in subscription may be recorded with the local subscription manager by modifying a subscription information repository which may specify the subscriptions for the host managed system. At operation306, the updated subscription information is enforced on the host managed system. The updated subscription information may be enforced by performing enablement and/or disablement actions, which may be specified by the subscription update. The actions may be performed by pushing corresponding code blocks to the host managed system for execution. Execution of the pushed code blocks may cause the host managed system to perform the enablement disablement actions. The enablement/disablement actions may include enabling any number of disabled hardware components, disabling any number of enabled hardware components, enabling/disabling/replacing/reconfiguring any number of software components such as startup managers, operation managers, applications, etc., and/or configuring any number of the hardware components of the host managed system. The method may end following operation306. Returning to operation302, the method may proceed to operation308following operation302when the subscription update implicates an incompatible configuration for the host managed system. At operation308, the subscription update is rejected. The subscription update may be rejected by discarding it without recording the subscription changes specified or performing enablement/disablement action specified by the subscription update. Additionally, information regarding the rejection of the subscription update may be provided to a subscription management service or other entity. The information may indicate why the subscription update was rejected. By providing this information, the subscription management service may be prompted to automatically find alternative means for implementing a subscription change which it previously received that prompted it to provide the subscription update. For example, the subscription management service may attempt to reconfigure other managed systems, may look for alternative subscriptions which may be compatible with the host managed system, and/or may perform other actions to ensure that changes in subscription are serviced. The method may end following operation308. Thus, via the methods illustrated inFIGS.2-3, a distributed system may be made more likely to only attempt to enforce compatible configurations on managed systems. Consequently, the distributed system may be more likely to provide desired computer implemented services. Turning toFIGS.4A-4C, interaction diagrams in accordance with an embodiment are shown. In these figures, a system similar to that illustrated inFIG.1Amay be operating. In these figures, operations performed by the respective components are shown along the lines extending from the corresponding boxes labeled with the component names. Operations impacting multiple components, such as data transmissions between the components, are shown using arrows extending between these lines. Generally, the operations are ordered temporally with respect to one another (e.g., with earlier performed operations being located towards a top of the page and later operations being located towards a bottom of the page). However, it will be appreciated that the operations may be performed in other orders from those illustrated herein. Turning toFIG.4A, consider a scenario where managed system410begins, at block420, to perform a startup. The startup may be performed to place managed system410in a predetermined operating state. Subscription management service400may manage managed system410such that it enters the predetermined operating state in which it is likely to be able to provide desired computer implemented services with solution stack416. At block422, local subscription manager hosted by managed system410identifies the startup and sends an inventory request to startup manager414. As part of the startup, startup manager414may perform a resource inventory of managed system410through which it may identify the available (e.g., enabled) hardware components of managed system410. At block424, in response to the request, startup manager414provide an inventory package to local subscription manager412. The inventory package includes information regarding the enabled hardware components. Using the inventory data package, at block428, local subscription manager performs a compatible configuration identifier for managed system410to identify the subscriptions that are compatible with managed system410. Local subscription manager412may locally record the solution compatibilities and, at block432, notify subscription management service400regarding the solution compatibilities. While, before, or after any of blocks424,428, and432are performed, at block426, startup manager414may complete the startup and perform a handoff of operational management of managed system410such that the operation manager and/or applications of solution stack416being operation. Startup manager414may suspend or terminate its operation after the handoff. At block430, solution stack416begins to provide services, which may be computer implemented services provided to users of and/or devices operably connected to managed system410. Turning toFIG.4B, now consider a scenario where, over time and by virtue of the distributed nature of subscription management service400and managed system410, subscription management service400begins to make subscription change decisions for managed system410based on inaccurate information (e.g., listing of hardware components of managed system410that inaccurately reflect the actual hardware components of managed system410. In response to change in subscription to a solution for managed system410, subscription management service400, at block440, generates and sends a first subscription update to local subscription manager412. However, the first subscription update implicates use of a graphics processing unit and which managed system410does not have access (e.g., does not include by virtue of its previous removal or disablement). In response to the update, at block442, local subscription manager412performs a compatibility check for the first subscription update and identifies that the subscription indicated by the subscription update is incompatible with managed system410. In response to the determination, at block444, local subscription manager412sends a rejection notification to subscription management service400and indicates that the graphics processing unit is unavailable, therefore, the first subscription update is incompatible with managed system410. Based on the rejection notification, at block446, subscription management service400identifies a different type of subscription for managed system410, which does not require use of a graphics processing unit, and sends a second subscription update to local subscription manager412indicating that managed system410is to be subscribed to the different type of subscription. In response to receiving the second subscription update, at block448, local subscription manager412performs a compatibility check for the different type of subscription and identifies that it is compatible with managed system410. Based on the determination, at block450, local subscription manager412performs a subscription update to indicate that managed system410is now subscribed to the different type of subscription. At block452and based on the subscription update, local subscription manager412sends an acknowledgement indicating that the subscription of the second subscription update will be implemented but is not yet implemented. The acknowledgement prompts, at block454, subscription management service400to initiate subscription tracking for the different type of subscription for managed system410. Turning toFIG.4C, at block460, local subscription manager412performs subscription enforcement based on the subscription update. The subscription enforcement modifies operation of managed system410such that it operates in accordance with the different type of subscription. To do so, at blocks462and464, local subscription manager412performs enablement and disablements of various hardware components of hardware resources418by, for example, powering and/or depowering the various hardware components. The powered/depowered components may be specified by the different type of subscription. Additionally, at blocks466and468, local subscription manager412may perform operation updates for startup manager414and solution stack416. To do so, local subscription manager412may push enablement code blocks specified by the different type of subscription to managed system410for execution, which may result in the operation updates for startup manager414and solution stack416. After completion of the subscription enforcement, at block470, local subscription manager412may send a completion notification to subscription management service400. In response, at block472, subscription management service may perform a remote subscription registration for the different type of subscription and terminate the subscription tracking. The remotely registered subscription may indicate that managed system410is now operating in accordance with the different type of subscription. At block474, local subscription manager412may also perform a local subscription registration for the different type of subscription. By doing so, the local subscription manager412may be empowered to independently enforce various limitations regarding the subscription. For example, the locally registered subscriptions may include or otherwise indicate various disablement actions to disable the different type of subscriptions, should the limitations on the different type of subscription be exceeded. Thus, via the processes illustrated inFIGS.4A-4C, embodiments disclosed herein may provide for the automated and distributed limitation of configuration of various managed systems in a distributed system. By doing so, inaccurate information in the distributed system may be less likely to negatively impact the computer implemented services provided by the distributed system. By providing methods and systems, as discussed above, an improved computing system may be provided that may be more resilient to attempts to contravene or otherwise interfere with the computer implemented services provided by a distributed system as part of a solution. Any of the managed systems may be subject to compromise due to malware and/or other types of entities. In distributed systems, malware may be particularly problematic because it may prevent management of managed systems if the control layer for the managed systems is compromised. Embodiments disclosed herein may provide a distributed control layer that does not include the managed systems themselves. Rather, embodiments disclosed herein may utilize local subscription managers for providing control plane functionality for managed systems. Unlike the managed systems that may be highly reconfigurable to provide various solutions (which may make them more susceptible to compromise by virtue of their configurability), the local subscription managers may be implemented as hardened or locked down entities. Further, the local subscription managers may present network end points and/or otherwise publicly identify as devices separate from host managed systems. Consequently, the control plane used to manage the configuration of the distributed system may be far more resilient to malicious attacks. Accordingly, embodiments disclosed herein may be provide for the improved operation of distributed system by improving resilience to malware or other types of third party attacks while still providing for configurability over time such that various types of desired solutions may be provided over time. As discussed above, various components may be implemented with computing devices. For example, any of the components illustrated inFIGS.1A-4Cmay be implemented with one or more computing devices. Turning toFIG.5, a block diagram illustrating an example of a data processing system (e.g., a computing device) in accordance with an embodiment is shown. For example, system500may represent any of data processing systems described above performing any of the processes or methods described above. System500can include many different components. These components can be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions thereof, discrete electronic devices, or other modules adapted to a circuit board such as a motherboard or add-in card of the computer system, or as components otherwise incorporated within a chassis of the computer system. Note also that system500is intended to show a high level view of many components of the computer system. However, it is to be understood that additional components may be present in certain implementations and furthermore, different arrangement of the components shown may occur in other implementations. System500may represent a desktop, a laptop, a tablet, a server, a mobile phone, a media player, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal communicator, a gaming device, a network router or hub, a wireless access point (AP) or repeater, a set-top box, or a combination thereof. Further, while only a single machine or system is illustrated, the term “machine” or “system” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines or systems that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. In one embodiment, system500includes processor501, memory503, and devices505-508via a bus or an interconnect510. Processor501may represent a single processor or multiple processors with a single processor core or multiple processor cores included therein. Processor501may represent one or more general-purpose processors such as a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), or the like. More particularly, processor501may be a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, or processor implementing other instruction sets, or processors implementing a combination of instruction sets. Processor501may also be one or more special-purpose processors such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a cellular or baseband processor, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), a network processor, a graphics processor, a network processor, a communications processor, a cryptographic processor, a co-processor, an embedded processor, or any other type of logic capable of processing instructions. Processor501, which may be a low power multi-core processor socket such as an ultra-low voltage processor, may act as a main processing unit and central hub for communication with the various components of the system. Such processor can be implemented as a system on chip (SoC). Processor501is configured to execute instructions for performing the operations discussed herein. System500may further include a graphics interface that communicates with optional graphics subsystem504, which may include a display controller, a graphics processor, and/or a display device. Processor501may communicate with memory503, which in one embodiment can be implemented via multiple memory devices to provide for a given amount of system memory. Memory503may include one or more volatile storage (or memory) devices such as random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), or other types of storage devices. Memory503may store information including sequences of instructions that are executed by processor501, or any other device. For example, executable code and/or data of a variety of operating systems, device drivers, firmware (e.g., input output basic system or BIOS), and/or applications can be loaded in memory503and executed by processor501. An operating system can be any kind of operating systems, such as, for example, Windows® operating system from Microsoft®, Mac OS®/iOS® from Apple, Android® from Google®, Linux®, Unix®, or other real-time or embedded operating systems such as VxWorks. System500may further include IO devices such as devices (e.g.,505,506,507,508) including network interface device(s)505, optional input device(s)506, and other optional IO device(s)507. Network interface device(s)505may include a wireless transceiver and/or a network interface card (NIC). The wireless transceiver may be a WiFi transceiver, an infrared transceiver, a Bluetooth transceiver, a WiMax transceiver, a wireless cellular telephony transceiver, a satellite transceiver (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) transceiver), or other radio frequency (RF) transceivers, or a combination thereof. The NIC may be an Ethernet card. Input device(s)506may include a mouse, a touch pad, a touch sensitive screen (which may be integrated with a display device of optional graphics subsystem504), a pointer device such as a stylus, and/or a keyboard (e.g., physical keyboard or a virtual keyboard displayed as part of a touch sensitive screen). For example, input device(s)506may include a touch screen controller coupled to a touch screen. The touch screen and touch screen controller can, for example, detect contact and movement or break thereof using any of a plurality of touch sensitivity technologies, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contact with the touch screen. IO devices507may include an audio device. An audio device may include a speaker and/or a microphone to facilitate voice-enabled functions, such as voice recognition, voice replication, digital recording, and/or telephony functions. Other IO devices507may further include universal serial bus (USB) port(s), parallel port(s), serial port(s), a printer, a network interface, a bus bridge (e.g., a PCI-PCI bridge), sensor(s) (e.g., a motion sensor such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, a magnetometer, a light sensor, compass, a proximity sensor, etc.), or a combination thereof. IO device(s)507may further include an imaging processing subsystem (e.g., a camera), which may include an optical sensor, such as a charged coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) optical sensor, utilized to facilitate camera functions, such as recording photographs and video clips. Certain sensors may be coupled to interconnect510via a sensor hub (not shown), while other devices such as a keyboard or thermal sensor may be controlled by an embedded controller (not shown), dependent upon the specific configuration or design of system500. To provide for persistent storage of information such as data, applications, one or more operating systems and so forth, a mass storage (not shown) may also couple to processor501. In various embodiments, to enable a thinner and lighter system design as well as to improve system responsiveness, this mass storage may be implemented via a solid state device (SSD). However, in other embodiments, the mass storage may primarily be implemented using a hard disk drive (HDD) with a smaller amount of SSD storage to act as a SSD cache to enable non-volatile storage of context state and other such information during power down events so that a fast power up can occur on re-initiation of system activities. Also a flash device may be coupled to processor501, e.g., via a serial peripheral interface (SPI). This flash device may provide for non-volatile storage of system software, including a basic input/output software (BIOS) as well as other firmware of the system. Storage device508may include computer-readable storage medium509(also known as a machine-readable storage medium or a computer-readable medium) on which is stored one or more sets of instructions or software (e.g., processing module, unit, and/or processing module/unit/logic528) embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. Processing module/unit/logic528may represent any of the components described above. Processing module/unit/logic528may also reside, completely or at least partially, within memory503and/or within processor501during execution thereof by system500, memory503and processor501also constituting machine-accessible storage media. Processing module/unit/logic528may further be transmitted or received over a network via network interface device(s)505. Computer-readable storage medium509may also be used to store some software functionalities described above persistently. While computer-readable storage medium509is shown in an exemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term “computer-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The terms “computer-readable storage medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing or encoding a set of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies disclosed herein. The term “computer-readable storage medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media, or any other non-transitory machine-readable medium. Processing module/unit/logic528, components and other features described herein can be implemented as discrete hardware components or integrated in the functionality of hardware components such as ASICS, FPGAs, DSPs or similar devices. In addition, processing module/unit/logic528can be implemented as firmware or functional circuitry within hardware devices. Further, processing module/unit/logic528can be implemented in any combination hardware devices and software components. Note that while system500is illustrated with various components of a data processing system, it is not intended to represent any particular architecture or manner of interconnecting the components; as such details are not germane to embodiments disclosed herein. It will also be appreciated that network computers, handheld computers, mobile phones, servers, and/or other data processing systems which have fewer components or perhaps more components may also be used with embodiments disclosed herein. Some portions of the preceding detailed descriptions have been presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the ways used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of operations leading to a desired result. The operations are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the above discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as those set forth in the claims below, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices. Embodiments disclosed herein also relate to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. Such a computer program is stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium. A non-transitory machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) medium includes a machine (e.g., a computer) readable storage medium (e.g., read only memory (“ROM”), random access memory (“RAM”), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices). The processes or methods depicted in the preceding figures may be performed by processing logic that comprises hardware (e.g. circuitry, dedicated logic, etc.), software (e.g., embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium), or a combination of both. Although the processes or methods are described above in terms of some sequential operations, it should be appreciated that some of the operations described may be performed in a different order. Moreover, some operations may be performed in parallel rather than sequentially. Embodiments disclosed herein are not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of embodiments disclosed herein as described herein. In the foregoing specification, embodiments have been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will be evident that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope disclosed herein as set forth in the following claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense. | 81,861 |
11861579 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Example systems and methods for intelligent inventory systems are described herein. As noted above, an item, which a merchant may wish to add to the merchant's inventory catalog, may have one or more inherent issues that the merchant may not be aware of. For example, the item may be defective and, as such, may be frequently returned by consumers to other, similarly-situated merchants in exchange for a different item or a refund. Accordingly, if the merchant adds the defective item to its inventory catalog, the merchant may suffer a loss in profit, potential clients, and/or other negative consequences. Described herein are improvements in technology and solutions to technical problems that can be used to, among other things, inform merchants about items that they may wish to add to their inventory catalog. Traditional point-of-sale (POS) systems simply allow for merchants to add items to their inventory catalog for sale to consumers. As used herein, an inventory catalog may include a physical inventory, virtual inventory, digital inventory, and/or other inventory comprising items for sale by a merchant. Using the techniques described herein, merchants may be able to see real-time information associated with items that the merchant wishes to add to his or her inventory catalog. For instance, the techniques described herein may allow for a merchant to be automatically provided with time-sensitive pricing suggestions for one or more items offered for sale by the merchant. Additionally, merchants may be provided with location-specific inventory size and/or product recommendations. In this way, as a result of reducing the amount of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) and/or other item information caused by returns and/or exchanges at the point-of-sale, the techniques described herein may improve memory allocation, network bandwidth, and/or promote more efficient/additional processing for POS devices. In examples, a service provider may receive data from one or more merchant POS devices indicating a request to add one or more items to an inventory catalog associated with a merchant. For instance, the service provider may receive a request from a first merchant POS device of a first merchant to add an item, such as winter gloves for example, to the first merchant's inventory catalog. As used herein, a merchant POS device may include, but is not limited to, a smart phone, a tablet, a computing device, or another POS device used for processing transactions. In examples, the service provider may be a network-based transaction-processing service disposed between one or more payment-fulfilment services and one or more merchants. As used herein, a transaction involves one or more customers using a POS card reader device that is coupled to a POS device executing a POS application. The POS card reader device may facilitate receiving a payment card from the customer for satisfying the transaction for goods and/or services provided by the merchant. Additionally, the POS application may facilitate sending read data attained from the payment card to a payment processing service or other service provider. Using the above described system/process, the service provider may then be enabled to analyze transaction data across merchants to understand return/exchange rates associated with items offered for sale by merchants to make recommendations that are populated on a POS application or other application of the merchant device. Additionally, the techniques described herein are not limited to POS systems, POS applications, and/or POS device; rather, the techniques described herein may be performed across a wide variety of systems, applications, and/or devices. The service provider may further associate the first merchant making the inventory request with one or more similarly-situated merchants. For instance, the service provider may associate the first merchant with a second merchant that is located within a threshold distance of the first merchant. In these examples, the service provider may receive data in the form of GPS coordinates indicating that the two merchants are located within a certain geographic region and/or without a threshold distance from each other. Merchant analytic data from POS devices associated with the first merchant and the second merchant may be received and associated with each other for the purposes and operations described herein. Additionally, or alternatively, the service provider may associate the first merchant with a second merchant according to merchant analytic data indicating that the first merchant and the second merchant have a same merchant category code (MCC). In this way, the service provider may associate the two merchants according to types of items that the merchants sell and/or services that the merchants provide. Additional merchants and/or POS devices may also be associated with the first merchant based at least in part on the indications described above. In examples, once the service provider has associated the first merchant with at least one similarly-situated merchant, the service provider may then determine one or more rates associated with the item that the first merchant is requesting to add to its inventory catalog. For instance, the service provider may determine a rate at which buyers return and/or exchange the item with the second merchant and/or other merchants. Additionally, or alternatively, the service provider may determine a rate at which a price for the item has fluctuated for the second merchant and/or other merchants as a function of staleness and/or time in merchants' inventories. Additionally, or alternatively, the service provider may determine a rate at which the item has been re-stocked and/or re-ordered by the second merchant and/or other merchants due to a consumer demand for the item as indicated by transaction activity occurring at a POS device of the second merchant and/or other merchants. In further examples, the service provider may determine whether any of the one or more rates exceed a threshold rate and, if so, the service provider may send a suggestion to a merchant POS device associated with the first merchant requesting the item. For instance, the service provider may determine that the rate at which buyers return the item to the second merchant and/or other merchants exceeds the threshold rate for returns. Accordingly, the service provider may send a suggestion to the POS device of the first merchant suggesting a new item to add to the first merchant's inventory catalog rather than the original item requested. Additionally, or alternatively, the service provider may determine that the rate at which the price of the item has fluctuated for the second merchant as a function of staleness and/or time in inventory exceeds the threshold rate for price fluctuation. As such, the service provider may send a suggestion to the POS device of the first merchant suggesting a price to charge for the item. Additionally, or alternatively, the service provider may determine that the rate at which the item is re-stocked and/or re-ordered by the second merchant and/or other merchants exceeds the threshold rate for re-stocking. Accordingly, the service provider may send a suggestion to the POS device of the first merchant suggesting a quantity of the item to order for the first merchant's inventory catalog. As noted above, in examples, a merchant may desire to add an item to the merchant's inventory catalog that may be defective. Additionally, or alternatively, the item may be less desirable than another, more popular item. Take, for example, an item that is annually upgraded to a newer and/or improved version, such as ski boots. In such an example, if a merchant adds an old version of ski boots to the merchant's inventory catalog rather than a new version of ski boots, it may not be profitable because consumers will desire the newer version over the older version. Using the techniques described herein, a service provider may determine a rate at which old versions of ski boots are returned and/or exchanged for new versions of ski boots for similarly-situated ski boot merchants. In this way, if the rate exceeds the threshold rate for returns, the service provider may send a suggestion to a POS device of the merchant suggesting that the merchant consider ordering the new version of ski boots rather than the old version. Additionally, or alternatively, the service provider may also send a suggestion to the merchant POS device suggesting a price to charge for the new version of the boots and/or suggesting a quantity to order. In examples, a merchant may desire to add an item to the merchant's inventory catalog that may be subject to price fluctuation. Take, for example, winter gloves or another seasonal item. If, for instance, a first merchant adds winter gloves to its inventory catalog near the end of the cold season, the winter gloves may be considered stale inventory that the first merchant cannot sell until the cold season returns. Using the techniques described herein, a service provider may determine that one or more similarly-situated merchants have recently cut prices for winter gloves. Accordingly, the service provider may send a suggestion to a POS device of the first merchant suggesting a new price to charge for the winter gloves. Additionally, or alternatively, the service provider may suggest a second item for the first merchant to order rather than the winter gloves and/or a recommended quantity to order of the winter gloves (e.g., suggest change of merchant purchase order for winter gloves to 10 rather than 20 due to end of season and overstock probability). In further examples, a merchant may desire to add an item to the merchant's inventory catalog that other, similarly-situated merchants have had success selling. Take, for example, a popular video game console. In some examples, a first merchant may not know a target quantity of video game consoles that should be ordered for stock in inventory. In such examples, the first merchant may order too few or too many video game consoles. However, using the techniques described herein, a service provider may determine a rate at which the video game console is re-stocked by at least a second, competing merchant that is determined to be similarly-situated. As such, the service provider may send a suggested quantity of video game consoles to order to a POS device associated with the first merchant. Alternatively, or additionally, the service provider may send a suggestion to the first merchant suggesting the first merchant purchase a second item rather than, or in addition to, the video game console. Alternatively, or additionally, the service provider may send a suggested price to charge for the video game console and/or the second item to the POS device of the first merchant. In examples, merchants may select to have their respective merchant analytic data gathered by the service provider for receiving inventory suggestions. For example, a merchant may not want to share his or her company information with competing merchants. In such an example, the merchant may elect to not have his or her merchant analytic data shared with the service provider. As another example, a merchant may wish to provide the service provider with only certain merchant analytic data, such as a respective location associated with the merchant, items sold by the merchant, and/or other merchant analytic data. The present disclosure provides an overall understanding of the principles of the structure, function, manufacture, and use of the systems and methods disclosed herein. One or more examples of the present disclosure are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the systems and methods specifically described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings are non-limiting embodiments. The features illustrated or described in connection with one embodiment may be combined with the features of other embodiments, including as between systems and methods. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Additional details are described below with reference to several example embodiments. FIG.1illustrates a schematic diagram of an example environment for an intelligent inventory system. The system100may include service computing device(s)102disposed between one or more payment-fulfillment services104and merchants, such as a first merchant106(1) and other merchants106(2)-106(N) (collectively referred to as “merchants106”), where N represents an integer greater than or equal to one. The service computing devices102may be in communication with the payment fulfillment services104and the merchants106via a network108. In examples, the service computing device102may comprise processor(s)110, network interface(s)112, and memory114. As used herein, a processor, such as processor(s)110, may include multiple processors and/or a processor having multiple cores. Further, the processors may comprise one or more cores of different types. For example, the processors may include application processor units, graphic processing units, and so forth. In one implementation, the processor may comprise a microcontroller and/or a microprocessor. The processor(s)110may include a graphics processing unit (GPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor or other processing units or components known in the art. Alternatively, or in addition, the functionally described herein can be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components. For example, and without limitation, illustrative types of hardware logic components that can be used include field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application-specific standard products (ASSPs), system-on-a-chip systems (SOCs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), etc. Additionally, each of the processor(s)110may possess its own local memory, which also may store program components, program data, and/or one or more operating systems. The network interface(s)112may enable communications between the components and/or devices shown in system100and/or with one or more other remote systems, as well as other networked devices. Such network interface(s)112may include one or more network interface controllers (NICs) or other types of transceiver devices to send and receive communications over the network108. For example, the network interface(s) may enable the service computing device(s)102to communicate via the network108with payment-fulfillment service(s)104and merchant device(s)116(1),116(2), . . .116(N) (collectively “merchant devices116”), where N is an integer greater than or equal to one. For instance, the network interface(s)112may include a personal area network (PAN) component to enable communications over one or more short-range wireless communication channels. For instance, the PAN component may enable communications compliant with at least one of the following standards IEEE 802.15.4 (ZigBee), IEEE 802.15.1 (Bluetooth), IEEE 802.11 (WiFi), or any other PAN communication protocol. Furthermore, the network interface(s)112may include a wide area network (WAN) component to enable communication over a wide area network. As noted above, the service computing device102may also comprise memory. The memory114may include volatile and nonvolatile memory, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program component, or other data. Such memory114includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, RAID storage systems, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by a computing device. The memory114may be implemented as computer-readable storage media (“CRSM”), which may be any available physical media accessible by the processor(s)110to execute instructions stored on the memory114. In one basic implementation, CRSM may include random access memory (“RAM”) and Flash memory. In other implementations, CRSM may include, but is not limited to, read-only memory (“ROM”), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (“EEPROM”), or any other tangible medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the processor(s)110. Further, functional components may be stored in the respective memories, or the same functionality may alternatively be implemented in hardware, firmware, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or as a system on a chip (SoC). In addition, while not illustrated, each respective memory, such as memory114, discussed herein may include at least one operating system (OS) component that is configured to manage hardware resource devices such as the network interface(s)112and so forth, and provide various services to applications or components executing on the processors. Such OS component may implement a variant of the FreeBSD operating system as promulgated by the FreeBSD Project; other UNIX or UNIX-like variants; a variation of the Linux operating system as promulgated by Linus Torvalds; the FireOS operating system from Amazon.com Inc. of Seattle, Washington, USA; the Windows operating system from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington, USA; LynxOS as promulgated by Lynx Software Technologies, Inc. of San Jose, California; Operating System Embedded (Enea OSE) as promulgated by ENEA AB of Sweden; and so forth. In examples, the memory114may also comprise an inventory-analysis component118, a recommendation component120, a transaction-processing component122, and merchant profiles124(1)-124(N) (collectively “merchant profiles124”), where N is any integer greater than or equal to one. The inventory-analysis component118may receive merchant analytic data134from the merchants106and determine one or more rates associated with one or more items offered for sale by the merchants106. For instance, the inventory-analysis component118may determine a rate at which consumers return and/or exchange one or more items from the merchants106. Alternatively, or additionally, the inventory-analysis component118may determine a rate at which a price for an item has fluctuated for the merchants116and/or a rate at which an item is re-stocked by the merchants116. The inventory-analysis component118may further determine whether one of the determined rates exceeds a threshold rate. For instance, the inventory-analysis component118may determine that it is not profitable for a merchant to carry an item in the merchant's inventory catalog126if the item is returned and/or exchanged by consumers more than ten times per month. In examples, the inventory-analysis component118may determine one or more rates. The one or more rates may be in the form of a percentage. For example, a rate may indicate a percentage of the likeliness that an item is returned and/or exchanged. Additionally, or alternatively, the one or more rates may be in the form of an average. For instance, a rate may indicate an average price charged by merchants for a specific item during the summer. Additionally, or alternatively, the one or more rates may be in the form of a maximum value. For example, a rate may indicate the maximum amount of times an item has been re-stocked and/or re-ordered for a given merchant. Additionally, or alternatively, the one or more rates may comprise a standard deviation value, a minimum value, a median value, and/or another rate value. In examples, the inventory-analysis component118may receive merchant analytic data134associated with a merchant's inventory, and analyze the data to generate one or more rates. As such, the inventory-analysis component118may receive an inventory amount for specific items stocked by a merchant, and compute a suggested inventory amount for other merchants to carry. For example, the inventory-analysis component118may receive merchant analytic data134from merchants indicating that the merchants each stock somewhere between twenty and twenty-five pairs of gloves for sale each. Accordingly, the inventory-analysis component118may compute that, on average, the merchants stock twenty-two pairs of gloves for sale at a time. Accordingly, the inventory-analysis component118may offer suggestions to other merchants that they should carry twenty-two pairs of glove in stock for sale at any given time. Alternatively, or additionally, the inventory-analysis component118may compute return rates based on transaction activity occurring at the POS device of the merchant or receive rates as generated by the merchant devices116. In this way, the service computing device102or merchant devices116may calculate a rate for how many times an item offered by a merchant has been returned and/or exchanged. For example, a merchant POS device may determine that a specific item offered for sale by the merchant is returned and/or exchanged an average of ten times per month based on transaction activity occurring at merchant POS. Accordingly, the inventory-analysis component118may receive merchant analytic data134in the form of a computed average rate for returns and/or exchanges of the item, and offer suggestions to other merchants based on the computed average rate. In examples, the inventory-analysis component118may determine threshold rates for specific items offered for sale by merchants. The threshold rates may be calculated differently for each rate category, and may comprise different values. For example, a threshold rate at which buyers of an item return and/or exchange a particular item after purchase may be set at thirty times per year based on attributes or category of the item for example (e.g., electronics may have a higher return threshold rate than furniture goods). In this way, if an item is returned and/or exchanged more than thirty times per year, for example, the item may exceed the threshold rate. As another example, a threshold rate at which a price for an item fluctuates as a function of staleness or time spent in inventory may be set to one-hundred dollars. Accordingly, if the price for an item fluctuates more than one-hundred dollars in a year, the item may exceed the threshold rate, and a suggestion may be offered to merchants selling the item. As yet another example, a threshold rate at which an item is re-stocked and/or re-ordered by merchants may be set to ten times per year. In this way, if an item is ordered more than ten times per year, merchants ordering the item may be given a suggestion to order a larger quantity of the item. Additionally, or alternatively, the threshold rates may be calculated based on an item's profitability. For example, the inventory-analysis component118may calculate an amount of times that an item may be returned and/or exchanged per year before the merchant begins to lose profit. In examples, the memory114may also comprise a recommendation component120for sending the merchants116one or more recommendation(s)128(1),128(2), . . .128(N) (collectively “recommendations128”), where N is any number greater than or equal to one. For instance, the recommendation component118may send inventory recommendations128to the merchant device(s)116suggesting that the merchants106add certain items to their inventory catalog126. Alternatively, or additionally, the recommendation component120may send a suggested price to charge for an item and/or send a suggested amount of an item to purchase for a merchant's inventory catalog126. In examples, the recommendation component120may send the inventory recommendation(s)128to the merchant devices116in response to receiving inventory request(s)130(1)-130(N) from the merchant devices116. In examples, by using predictive learning techniques, the recommendation component120may proactively target merchants who are prone to ordering too few of items to stock in their inventory catalog126. In this way, accessible merchant analytic data134may be utilized to increase merchant profits associated with missing sales due to not carrying enough stock during peak sale times. In contrast to conventional techniques involving human decision-makers, the techniques described herein allow the recommendation component120to make real-time and/or automated predictions and determinations regarding merchant inventory catalogs126, whether a recommendation128should be sent to a merchant, the type of suggestion, etc. with improved speed and accuracy. Additionally, the rules, algorithms, and various techniques described herein are designed to be implemented utilizing computerized components, as described herein, and could not be performed by human decision-makers while achieving the same results. In addition, the results achieved from the combination of steps performed and/or data points considered, allow the algorithms and machine learning techniques to constantly improve the functioning of the computerized components. For example, by more accurately predicting merchants at risk for ordering a defective item, based on a specific method and/or data points, the recommendation component120may send out fewer suggestions to merchants, suggestions less frequently, etc. as a result of determining/predicting which merchants to target, the type of suggestion to send, when to send the suggestion, and/or the content of the suggestion. More specifically, since the recommendation component120can determine/predict characteristics of suggestions with greater accuracy, to increase efficacy of the suggestions, the computer may utilize less resources sending extraneous suggestions. In addition, by refining the process using machine learning techniques and iterative algorithms, the service computing device(s)102may increase efficiency as more data points are collected. Also, the merchant recommendations128, or suggestions, described herein are time-sensitive in nature and configured to be sent to a merchant device116in real-time for display on the merchant POS device via an interface, application program, etc. In this way, the suggestions will cause the merchant POS device to display the suggestion in a timely manner and increase the likelihood that the merchant will interact with the suggestion and adjust his/her inventory catalog126accordingly. The memory114may also comprise a transaction-processing component122. In examples, the transaction-processing component122may receive transaction information from the merchant devices116via the network(s)108, and send the transaction information to the payment-fulfillment service(s)104. In examples, the transaction information may comprise bank account numbers, credit card account numbers, and/or the like. The transaction-processing component122, in examples, may bill a merchant in response to the merchant selecting an item to add to the merchant's inventory catalog126. For example, a merchant may select an item to add to the merchant's inventory catalog126based in part on a recommendation128sent to the merchant. In response the transaction-processing component122may determine the quantity of items ordered by the merchant and accordingly charge an account associated with the merchant, such as a credit card account, bank account, checking account, and/or the like. In other examples, the transaction-processing component122may handle transactions initiated by a consumer purchasing an item from a merchant. For example, the consumer may select an item to buy from the merchant's inventory catalog126, and the transaction-processing component122may accordingly charge an account associated with the consumer. As noted above, the memory114may also comprise merchant profiles122. In examples, the merchant profiles122may be categorized into location profiles132(1)-132(N) (collectively “location profiles132”) and/or MCC (merchant category code) profiles134(1)-134(N) (collectively “MCC profiles134”), where N is any integer greater than or equal to one. For instance, depending on a geographic proximity of a first POS location136(1) to other POS locations136(2)-136(N) (collectively “POS locations136”), two merchants located in the same city, region, state, country, and/or the like may be placed into the same location profile132. Additionally, or alternatively, two merchants located within a specified radius of each other may be within a threshold distance and accordingly placed into the same location profile, regardless of geographic destinations. For example, two merchants located within a one-hundred-mile radius of each other may be placed into the same location category. In examples, a merchant may additionally be able to choose a threshold distance for a location profile the merchant wants to be associated with. Alternatively, or additionally, two merchants who sell similar items, services, and/or the like may be placed into the same MCC profile134. A single merchant may further be placed into several different merchant profiles based on the merchant's location and MCC. Take for example a merchant who sells skiing gear, camping gear, climbing gear, and/or the like. Such a merchant may be placed into a skiing profile, camping profile, climbing profile, and potentially other MCC profiles. Additionally, or alternatively, the merchant may be placed into several different location profiles132based on the merchant's location, such as a city location profile, state location profile, and/or the like. In examples, the merchant profiles122may be generated utilizing, for example, one or more machine learning techniques. The merchant profiles122may be utilized to determine a probability of an outcome occurring, such as for determining a number of items to likely be sold by similarly-situated merchants. These merchant profiles122may be described herein as predictive models. A predictive model may include one or more models that utilize predictive analytics to determine one or more outcomes. Predictive analytic techniques may include, for example, predictive modelling, machine learning, and/or data mining. Generally, predictive modelling may utilize statistics to predict outcomes. Machine learning, while also utilizing statistical techniques, may provide the ability to improve outcome prediction performance without being explicitly programmed to do so. A number of machine learning techniques may be employed to generate and/or modify the layers and/or models describes herein. Those techniques may include, for example, decision tree learning, association rule learning, artificial neural networks (including, in examples, deep learning), inductive logic programming, support vector machines, clustering, Bayesian networks, reinforcement learning, representation learning, similarity and metric learning, sparse dictionary learning, and/or rules-based machine learning. FIG.2illustrates a schematic diagram of example components of a merchant device, such as merchant devices116. In examples, merchant devices116may comprise processor(s)202, memory204, user interfaces(s)206, network interface(s)208, and/or a geolocation component210. The processor(s)202, memory204, and network interface(s)208may be the same as or similar to the processor(s), memory, and/or network interface(s) described with respect toFIG.1. As shown inFIG.2, the memory204of the merchant devices116may also comprise inventory catalog(s)212for the merchant. In examples, the inventory catalog(s)212may store data corresponding to a quantity and/or type of physical items offered for sale by the merchant. For instance, a ski shop merchant's inventory catalog may store data corresponding to an amount of ski boots, ski poles, and/or helmets the merchant has left in inventory. Alternatively, or additionally, the inventory catalog(s)212may store data corresponding to services that a merchant provides. For example, the ski shop merchant's inventory catalog may store data corresponding to services provided by the ski shop merchant, such as waxing, sharpening, fitting, and the like. The memory204of the merchant devices116may further comprise application(s)214. In examples, the application(s)214may include a point-of-sale (POS) application that provides functionality for a merchant to accept payment for goods and/or services. The application(s)214may be initiated based on receiving a suggestion from a service computing device associated with a transaction-processing service. For instance, the application may be initiated based at least in part on receiving suggestions from a service computing device that causes the application to display one or more suggestions associated with the merchant's inventory catalog. As noted above, the merchant devices116may also comprise user interface(s)206. In examples, the user interface(s)206may comprise display component(s)212such as an LED display, a plasma display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a touchscreen display, and/or other display components. Additionally, or alternatively, the user interfaces(s)206may comprise input component(s)214. For instance, the user interface(s)206may comprise a mouse, keyboard, touchscreen, microphone, webcam, touchpad, and other input components. As noted above, the merchant devices116may further comprise a geolocation component210. The geolocation component210may include a GPS device able to indicate location information, or the geolocation component210may comprise another location-based sensor. The merchant devices116may also include one or more additional sensors (not shown), such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, proximity sensor, and the like. Such additional sensors may be essential in determining accurate location data corresponding to a POS device's location. Additionally, such additional sensors may provide added redundancy for the geolocation component210. In examples, the geolocation component210may perform geo-fencing to define merchant locations. The geolocation component210may be used to establish a radius for an MCC profile of a merchant. Take, for instance, a merchant who operates a mobile business, such as a food truck. In such instances, the merchant may use geo-fencing to establish a radius for receiving merchant analytic data associated with merchant locations. In this way, if the merchant's food truck is constantly changing geographic locations, the merchant may use geo-fencing to update the merchant's location every time the merchant's location changes. Additionally, the merchant devices116may include various other components that are not shown, examples of which include removable storage, a power control unit, and so forth. FIG.3illustrates an example user interface of a merchant device. In examples, the user interface of the merchant device300may, at times, display an inventory selection window302. The inventory selection window302may comprise one or more items306(1),306(2), . . .306(N) (collectively “items306”), where N is any integer greater than or equal to one. In examples, the items306may be individually selected by a merchant to be added to the merchant's inventory catalog. Additionally, or alternatively, the items306may be selected in response to a merchant entering one of an item name, an item number, a part number, a picture of the item, and/or another item identifier. For example, a merchant may type an item number associated with the item into a search field. In response, the user interface may produce the item associated with the item number for the merchant to order so as to facilitate an adjustment to the purchase order. Additionally, or alternatively, the merchant device300may, at times, display an inventory recommendation window304. In examples, the inventory recommendation window may display one or more suggestions308(1),308(2), . . .308(N) (collectively “suggestions308”), where N is any integer greater than or equal to one. For instance, the suggestions308may offer different items306to the merchant rather than an item currently selected by the merchant. In examples, the inventory recommendation window may be populated with one or more suggestions308and interactive or actionable elements in response to a merchant selecting one or more items306. As an illustrative example,FIG.3shows some of the many suggestions308a merchant may receive in response to selecting on or more items306. In examples, the suggestions308may comprise data. For example, the suggestions308shown inFIG.3may include text describing what the suggestion is. Additionally, or alternatively, the suggestions308may include selectable components for accepting or not-accepting the suggestion, such as suggestions308(1) and308(N). In examples, the suggestions308may comprise a narrative about why something is being suggested. For example, a suggestion may comprise an explanation, similar to that of suggestion308(1), stating that a second item is being suggested rather than a first item based at least in part on the first item having a high rate of returns and/or exchanges. In examples, a merchant may make a selection based on the suggestion. For instance, like suggestion308(1), the suggestion may include an option to purchase a second item rather than a first item. Accordingly, the merchant may select whether he/she wants to continue with purchasing the first item or, instead, order the second item. In examples, the merchant POS device may generate data, in response to receiving a merchant input associated with one or more suggestions308. For instance, the merchant POS device may generate data that is sent to a service computing device in response to the merchant selecting one or more suggestions. In response, a service computing device may automatically update the inventory catalog of the merchant POS device and/or order one or more items associated with the suggestion. Additionally, the data generated by the POS device may automatically adjust an active purchase order of the merchant. Traditionally, when a merchant is ordering items for his or her inventory, the merchant may have to go back and update his or her purchase order to reflect changes made as a result of learning about a defective product. However, because the interactive elements of the suggestions provided to the merchant may be linked to the purchase order of merchant, the purchase order may be automatically updated to reflect a selection made by the merchant. Additionally, or alternatively, the interactive elements may be displayed at or near a time when the user is interacting with a purchase order, allowing for time-sensitive information to be presented and for tangible changes to the purchase order to be made on the fly. Accordingly, this may save a merchant time and reduce user error for updating a purchase order. In examples, the merchant POS device may receive voice inputs from a merchant for the purpose of responding to suggestions308. For example, a merchant may respond to suggestion308(2) by saying “Yes, lower the price of item306(4) to $15.00 in my inventory catalog. Accordingly, the merchant POS device may generate data associated with the voice input. In examples, the merchant POS device may send the voice input data to the service computing device so that the service computing device may automatically adjust the inventory catalog of the merchant according to the voice input. FIGS.4-8illustrate example processes for an intelligent inventory system. The processes described herein are illustrated as collections of blocks in logical flow diagrams, which represent a sequence of operations, some or all of which may be implemented in hardware, software or a combination thereof. In the context of software, the blocks may represent computer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable media that, when executed by one or more processors, program the processors to perform the recited operations. Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures and the like that perform particular functions or implement particular data types. The order in which the blocks are described should not be construed as a limitation, unless specifically noted. Any number of the described blocks may be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement the process, or alternative processes, and not all of the blocks need be executed. For discussion purposes, the processes are described with reference to the environments, architectures and systems described in the examples herein, such as, for example those described with respect toFIGS.1-3, although the processes may be implemented in a wide variety of other environments, architectures and systems. FIG.4illustrates a logic flow diagram of an example process400for an intelligent inventory system. The order in which the operations or steps are described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described operations may be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement process400. At block402, the process400may include receiving transaction data from a plurality of merchant POS devices associated with a plurality of merchants. In examples, the transaction data may include an amount of times a specific item has been returned and/or exchanged by a customer for one or more merchants of the plurality of merchants. Additionally, or alternatively, the transaction data may indicate a price change as a function of time spent in inventory (staleness) for a specific item for one or more merchants. Additionally, or alternatively, the transaction data may include an amount of times that a specific item has been re-stocked or re-ordered by one or more merchants of the plurality of merchants to meet a consumer demand associated with the specific item. In further examples, the transaction data may indicate one or more of the above noted features for any item sold by a merchant of the plurality of merchants. Furthermore, the transaction data supplied by the plurality of merchants is not limited to the above examples, and may indicate any unique statistic associated with an item stocked or sold by a merchant. At block404, the process400may include receiving data from a merchant point-of-sale (POS) device associated with a first merchant. The data may indicate a request to add a first item to an inventory catalog associated with the first merchant. In examples, the data may have been sent from the merchant POS device in response to the first merchant selecting the first item. Alternatively, or additionally, the data may have been sent in response to the merchant POS device detecting that a quantity of the first item stored in the first merchant's inventory catalog was low. At block406, the process400may include associating the first merchant with a second merchant. The second merchant may be similarly-situated the first merchant with respect to a location of the first merchant and/or a merchant category code (MCC) of the first merchant. For instance, the first merchant may be associated with the second merchant based at least in part on geolocation data indicating that the first merchant is located within a threshold distance of the second merchant. Alternatively, or additionally, the first merchant may be associated with the second merchant based at least in part on merchant analytic data indicating that the second merchant sells the first item. At block408, the process400may include determining a first rate at which buyers of the first item from the second merchant return and/or exchange the first item with the second merchant. In other words, the first rate may be a rate at which how many times the item is returned to the second merchant for a refund and/or a new item. For instance, the first item may be defective and/or undesirable. As such, the buyers of the first item may frequently return the first item to the second merchant for a refund. Alternatively, or additionally, the buyers of the first item may exchange the first item for a second item sold by the second merchant. Alternatively, or additionally, at block410the process400may include determining a second rate at which a price for the first item has fluctuated as a function of staleness and/or time spent in the second merchant's inventory catalog. In other words, the second rate may be a rate at which the second merchant has increased or decreased the price for the first item based on the first item going in and out of season. For example, the first item may be winter gloves that the second merchant has decreased the price for during a summer season. Alternatively, or additionally, at block412the process400may include determining a third rate at which the first item has been re-stocked and/or re-ordered by the second merchant. For instance, the first item may be a popular item that is hard for merchants to keep in stock. In other instances, the first item may be a perishable item, such as fruit. In such a case, the third rate may be a rate at which the first item should be re-ordered to keep fresh stock on hand. At block414, the process400may include determining whether the first rate, the second rate, and/or the third rate exceed a threshold rate. In examples, the threshold rate may be specific to the first merchant. For instance, the threshold rate may be set by the first merchant according to the first merchant's profit expectation. Alternatively, or additionally, the threshold rate may be specific to the first item. For instance, depending on the type of item, the threshold rate for returns and/or exchanges for a first type of item may be five returns per month, whereas the threshold rate for returns and/or exchanges of a second type of item may be ten returns per year. Accordingly, if the determined first rate for returning and/or exchanging the first item is fifteen times per year, and the threshold rate is ten times per year, then the first rate would exceed the threshold rate. At block416, if the first rate, second rate, and/or third rate exceed the threshold rate, the process400may include sending a first suggestion to the merchant POS device associated with the first merchant. In examples, the first suggestion may comprise a suggested second item for the first merchant to consider adding to its respective inventory catalog rather than the first item. Alternatively, or additionally, the first suggestion may comprise a warning indicating that the first item may be defective, undesirable, or otherwise problematic and subject to frequent returns and/or exchanges by purchasers. Alternatively, or additionally, if the first rate, second rate, and/or third rate exceed the threshold rate, at block418the process400may include sending a second suggestion to the merchant POS device associated with the first merchant. In examples, the second suggestion may comprise a suggested price to charge for the first item. In further examples, the second suggestion may comprise multiple suggested prices to charge for the first item during different seasons. Alternatively, or additionally, if the first rate, second rate, and/or third rate exceed the threshold rate, at block420the process400may include sending a third suggestion to the merchant POS device associated with the first merchant. In examples, the third suggestion may comprise a suggested inventory amount to order for the first item based at least in part on a demand for the item. Alternatively, or additionally, the third suggestion may comprise a suggested future calendar date at which the first merchant may need to order a new supply of the first item. FIG.5illustrates an example logic flow diagram of an example process500for an intelligent inventory system. The order in which the operations or steps are described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described operations may be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement process500. At block502, the process500may include receiving transaction data from a plurality of POS devices associated with a plurality of merchants. In examples, the transaction data may include an amount of times a specific item has been returned and/or exchanged by a customer for one or more merchants of the plurality of merchants. Additionally, or alternatively, the transaction data may indicate a second item sold by a merchant that is commonly purchased by consumers in exchange of or in place of a first item. At block504, the process500may include receiving data from a merchant POS device associated with a merchant. The data may indicate a request to add an item to an inventory catalog associated with the merchant. In examples, the data may have been sent from the merchant POS device in response to the merchant selecting and/or ordering the item. Alternatively, or additionally, the data may have been sent in response to the merchant POS device detecting that a quantity of the item stored in the merchant's inventory catalog was low. At block506, the process500may include associating the first merchant with a second merchant. The second merchant may be similarly-situated to the first merchant with respect to a location of the first merchant and/or a merchant category code (MCC) of the first merchant. For instance, the first merchant may be associated with the second merchant based at least in part on geolocation data indicating that the first merchant is located within a threshold distance of the second merchant. Alternatively, or additionally, the first merchant may be associated with the second merchant based at least in part on merchant analytic data indicating that the second merchant sells the first item. At block508, the process500may include computing a rate at which buyers return and/or exchange the item from the merchant. For instance, the item may be undesirable, defective, and or the like. Accordingly, buyers of the item may frequently return the item to the merchant. In this way, the process may determine whether the item is profitable for the merchant to continue carrying in the merchant's inventory catalog. In examples, determining the rate could be determined for different locations of the merchant. For instance, the merchant may have multiple locations in different geographic regions. Accordingly, the process may determine a rate for each location of the merchant. At block510, the process500may include determining whether the rate exceeds a threshold rate. This may include determining whether a rate for a specific location of the merchant exceeds a threshold rate for profitability. For instance, the threshold rate may be set by the first merchant according to the first merchant's profit expectation. Alternatively, or additionally, the threshold rate may be specific to the first item. For instance, depending on the type of item, the threshold rate for returns and/or exchanges for a first type of item may be five returns per month, whereas the threshold rate for returns and/or exchanges of a second type of item may be ten returns per year. Accordingly, if the determined first rate for returning and/or exchanging the first item is fifteen times per year, and the threshold rate is ten times per year, then the first rate would exceed the threshold rate. At block512, if the rate exceeds the threshold rate, the process500may include sending a suggestion to the merchant POS device of the merchant. In examples, the suggestion may include a notification that the item may be defective, undesirable, or otherwise problematic. Alternatively, or additionally, the suggestion may include a suggested alternate item that the merchant should consider ordering rather than the original item. FIG.6illustrates an example logic flow diagram of an example process600for an intelligent inventory system. The order in which the operations or steps are described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described operations may be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement process600. At block602, the process600may include receiving transaction data from a plurality of POS devices associated with a plurality of merchants. In examples, the transaction data may include a price for which a specific item was sold by a merchant on a particular date. In this way, it may be possible to compute a rate at which the price for the specific item has changed as a function of time spent in inventory. At block604, the process600may include receiving data from a merchant POS device associated with a merchant. The data may indicate a request to add an item to an inventory catalog associated with the merchant. In examples, the data may have been sent from the merchant POS device in response to the merchant selecting and/or ordering the item. Alternatively, or additionally, the data may have been sent in response to the merchant POS device detecting that a quantity of the item stored in the merchant's inventory catalog was low. At block606, the process600may include associating the first merchant with a second merchant. The second merchant may be similarly-situated to the first merchant with respect to a location of the first merchant and/or a merchant category code (MCC) of the first merchant. For instance, the first merchant may be associated with the second merchant based at least in part on geolocation data indicating that the first merchant is located within a threshold distance of the second merchant. Alternatively, or additionally, the first merchant may be associated with the second merchant based at least in part on merchant analytic data indicating that the second merchant sells the first item. At block608, the process600may include computing a rate at which a price for the item has fluctuated as a result of staleness and/or time spent in the inventory catalog of the merchant. For instance, the item may be a seasonal item which is hard to sell in the summer, such as winter gloves. Accordingly, the merchant may routinely lower the price of the winter gloves during the summer. In examples, determining the rate could be determined for different locations of the merchant. For instance, the merchant may have multiple locations in different geographic regions. Accordingly, the process may determine a rate for each location of the merchant. At block610, the process600may include determining whether the rate exceeds a threshold rate. This may include determining whether a rate for a specific location of the merchant exceeds a threshold rate for profitability. For instance, the threshold rate may be set by the first merchant according to the first merchant's profit expectation. Alternatively, or additionally, the threshold rate may be specific to the first item. For instance, depending on the type of item, the threshold rate for returns and/or exchanges for a first type of item may be five returns per month, whereas the threshold rate for returns and/or exchanges of a second type of item may be ten returns per year. Accordingly, if the determined first rate for returning and/or exchanging the first item is fifteen times per year, and the threshold rate is ten times per year, then the first rate would exceed the threshold rate. At block612, if the rate exceeds the threshold rate, the process600may include sending a suggestion to the merchant POS device of the merchant. In examples, the suggestion may include a suggested price to charge for the item depending on a current time of year. Alternatively, or additionally, the suggestion may include suggested prices for each of the merchant's locations. FIG.7illustrates an example logic flow diagram of an example process700for an intelligent inventory system. The order in which the operations or steps are described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described operations may be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement process700. At block702, the process700may include receiving transaction data from a plurality of POS devices associated with a plurality of merchants. In examples, transaction data may be acquired from any merchant who decides to allow his or her transaction data to be gathered by the payment-processing service. The transaction data may indicate an amount of times that a specific item has been re-stocked and/or re-ordered by a merchant due to a consumer demand associated with the specific item. For instance, the transaction data may indicate that a specific item has been re-ordered by a merchant twelve times per year. At block704, the process700may include receiving data from a merchant POS device associated with a merchant. The data may indicate a request to add an item to an inventory catalog associated with the merchant. In examples, the data may have been sent from the merchant POS device in response to the merchant selecting and/or ordering the item. Alternatively, or additionally, the data may have been sent in response to the merchant POS device detecting that a quantity of the item stored in the merchant's inventory catalog was low. At block706, the process700may include associating the first merchant with a second merchant. The second merchant may be similarly-situated to the first merchant with respect to a location of the first merchant and/or a merchant category code (MCC) of the first merchant. For instance, the first merchant may be associated with the second merchant based at least in part on geolocation data indicating that the first merchant is located within a threshold distance of the second merchant. Alternatively, or additionally, the first merchant may be associated with the second merchant based at least in part on merchant analytic data indicating that the second merchant sells the first item. At block708, the process700may include computing a rate at which the merchant has re-stocked and/or re-ordered the item based at least in part on a demand for the item. In examples, determining the rate could be determined for different locations of the merchant. For instance, the merchant may have multiple locations in different geographic regions. In examples, the item may be more popular at some of the locations of the merchant and less popular at other locations. Accordingly, the process may determine a rate for each location of the merchant. At block710, the process700may include determining whether the rate exceeds a threshold rate. This may include determining whether a rate for a specific location of the merchant exceeds a threshold rate for profitability. For instance, the threshold rate may be set by the first merchant according to the first merchant's profit expectation. Alternatively, or additionally, the threshold rate may be specific to the first item. For instance, depending on the type of item, the threshold rate for returns and/or exchanges for a first type of item may be five returns per month, whereas the threshold rate for returns and/or exchanges of a second type of item may be ten returns per year. Accordingly, if the determined first rate for returning and/or exchanging the first item is fifteen times per year, and the threshold rate is ten times per year, then the first rate would exceed the threshold rate. At block712, if the rate exceeds the threshold rate, the process700may include sending a suggestion to the merchant POS device of the merchant. In examples, the suggestion may include a suggested inventory amount of the item for the merchant to order for each of the merchant's locations. Alternatively, or additionally, the suggestion may include a suggested future calendar date when the merchant may need to re-order a supply of the item for the merchant's inventory catalog. FIG.8illustrates a logic flow diagram of an example merchant process for using an intelligent inventory system. The order in which the operations or steps are described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described operations may be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement process800. At block802, the process800may include receiving a selection for a first item to add to an inventory catalog. In examples, the first item may be selected from a list of one or more items displayed on a user interface of a merchant POS device. For instance, a user interface of the POS device may display the list of items for the merchant to add to its inventory catalog based on detecting that the merchant's inventory catalog is low in stock on one or more items. Additionally, or alternatively, the user interface of the POS device may present the list of items in response to an input received from the POS device. At block804, the process800may include, receiving a notification suggesting a second item to add to the inventory catalog rather than the first item. In examples, the notification suggestion may be received in response to selecting the first item to add to the inventory catalog. For example, the first item may have a high return and/or exchange rate. As such, the notification suggesting a second item may be received if the rate at which the first item is returned and/or exchanged by consumers for similarly-situated merchants exceeds a threshold rate for returns and/or exchanges. Additionally, or alternatively, the notification suggesting the second item to add to the inventory catalog rather than the first item may be received in response to selecting a first item that is associated with a high price fluctuation rate and/or a high re-stocking rate. At block806, the process800may include receiving a selection for at least one of the first item or the second item to add to the inventory catalog. In examples, the selection of the first item or the second item may be received via an input of the merchant POS device. For instance, the notification suggestion for the second item as discussed above with respect to block804may include a selection input that enables a user to select either the first item or the second item. In further examples, the selection of the first item or the second item may be received via a touch input, a voice recognition input, an input device (i.e. a mouse, keyboard, etc.), or another input. At block808, in response to receiving a selection the first item, the process800may include receiving an updated inventory catalog. In examples, the updated inventory catalog may comprise a quantity of the first item added. For example, if a merchant requested to receive a quantity of ten items for the merchant's inventory catalog, the inventory catalog may be updated to show the additional ten items added to the inventory catalog. Additionally, or alternatively, the updated inventory catalog may comprise another type of inventory quantity for the item. For instance, the updated quantity may comprise a total weight of the item held in stock in the inventory catalog (such as pounds of flour), a total volume of the item (such as gallons of milk), and/or another quantity type. Alternatively, in response to receiving a selection for the second item, at block810the process800may include receiving an updated inventory catalog. In examples, the updated inventory catalog may comprise a quantity of the second item added to the inventory catalog. In examples, the updated inventory catalog comprising the second item may be received instantaneously after receiving the selection for the first item or the second item as described above with reference to block806. Alternatively, or additionally, the updated inventory catalog may be received in response to a physical item being delivered to a merchant for sale. As described herein, example implementations of receiving the updated inventory catalog as described above with respect to blocks808and810of the process800may be the same. For instance, examples described above with respect to block808may be implemented in block810, and vice versa. While the foregoing invention is described with respect to the specific examples, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to these specific examples. Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention. Although the application describes embodiments having specific structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are merely illustrative some embodiments that fall within the scope of the claims of the application. | 65,166 |
11861580 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings, the invention is directed to a system for tracking expenses and is generally referred to by the numeral10. The system10takes place at a transaction point T which is equipped with a processor12(which as seen in the drawings can reside at the transaction point T within a computer based device14, such as a register or kiosk or a local computer, a tablet, or a smart device (30), for example,) and be remotely operably associated with a computer based device (12A). By way of example, the computer based device14can include a transaction software16on a memory18thereof or be operably associated with transaction software of the processor12A. Computer based device30can likewise equipped with hardware and a transaction software17to cooperate with the transaction software16. In one aspect of the invention, the computer based device or processor14can be equipped with a near field communication (NFC) device21, for transmitting transaction information data related to a purchase of a good or service for example. In this embodiment, no visible media form is required, rather, the data is transmitted electronically via near field communication. It is contemplated that some other form of secure electronic signal can be used in the alternative to near field communication. The computer based device14is also operably connected to the Internet to obtain and send necessary transaction information data related to the transaction. As seen inFIG.7, for example, the computer based device14(or30) can include hardware and software for receiving credit card data, smart card data and/or biometric data15, (e.g., a smart phone, a smart watch, or smart glasses) some or all of which can be part initiation device for at least part of the transaction data. In an embodiment or in addition to the above, a media data20can be transformed in form to be displayed on a media display22and/or via printer24on paper26, e.g. thermal paper can be employed to convey at least part of the transaction information data. The transaction point T can be any retail point, contemplating on-line as well as conventional retail markets (e.g., gas station, retail store, food and beverage provider, travel service provider, bank, atm, etc.). Upon a transaction being initiated, e.g., a purchase transaction being made at the transaction point T, the processor12utilizes the transaction software16to generate an electronic signal including the transaction information data. In this example, the transaction data can include item information data, date data, time data, merchant data, purchaser data, payment data (e.g., account data, credit card data, smart card data and/or biometric data15). Remote server12A computer likewise is equipped with hardware and transaction software19to cooperate with transaction software16and/or17. An electronic signal is transmitted to the remote server12A including transaction information data, where upon receiving such signal, transaction software19in an aspect of the invention generates an automated prompting signal to at least one of the computers14and/or30at the transaction point T requiring the receiving computer14/30to tagging or manipulate the transaction data. For purposes of the invention, “tagging” can refer to marking, editing, adding or annotating the transaction information data. For example, the tagging can include the modification of transaction information data to include an increase or decrease in a transaction amount data, such as additional service fee data. Once computer14and/or30has so tagged the transaction data, the processor device of the computer14and/or30can store and/or transmit the user input “tagged” data to the remote processor of server computer12A, wherein the remote processor server computer12A is further configured to transform and tag the stored transaction information data in a database based on the user input and/or store the transformed tagged data in a local database or remote database35. This can be, for example, tagged data transformed as one of a personal transaction or a business transaction, thereby transforming transaction information data on the remote database35achieved through electronic communication therebetween. In one aspect of the invention, computer14and30can communicated wirelessly, e.g., via NFC, for direct use by hand held computer based device30having a NFC device (chip)31as seen inFIG.5and/or used by computer based device14for displaying on media data20(here shown on paper26but can be on LCD panel22or the like) for subsequent use by hand held computer based device30as seen inFIG.6. In yet another aspect of the invention, as illustrated inFIG.7, computer14can be used for transmitting and receiving transaction data15, such as credit card data, smart card data or biometric data directly with the aid of wireless communication of computer based device30. Optionally, computer30can be used for transmitting and receiving transaction data15, such as credit card data, smart card data or biometric data directly with the aid of wireless communication of computer based device14. The transaction system10for processing a transaction by a user at a transaction point T includes a data processing module configured to generate a transaction signal when an initiation of the transaction through a POST computer based device (e.g., data processing module on computer based device12) at a transaction point T by the user using a transaction initiator is detected, wherein the transaction signal comprises transaction information data. A data delivery module (e.g., data delivery module on computer based device12) configured to transmit the transaction data from the POST computer based device12to a remote processor12A (and optionally to a hand held computer based device14/30of the user using a NFC device associated with the POST device). A tagging module (e.g., tagging module on computer based device14/30) configured to enable the user to tag the transaction data when a prompt is displayed on either computer based device14/30. There can also be a report generation module configured to generate a report corresponding to any client selected by the user through the computer based device14/30of the user. As mentioned, the transaction signal can include transaction data such as, a location of a transaction, a coupon detail, a referral code detail, a terminal identifier (ID), a product and/or service purchased, a merchant information, an amount, a date, a time, and so forth. The invention includes a prompting module which can be in the transaction software for prompting the user for tagging the transaction information data, e.g., post authorization. A tagging module can be provided in the transaction software configured to enable the user to tag the transaction information data when a prompt is displayed on the POST computer based device (e.g.,14,30) of the user. A storing module is provided for storing the tagged data either remotely or locally. A report generation module is provided and configured to generate a report corresponding to any client selected by the user. A method for processing a transaction by a user at a transaction point contemplates the steps of detecting an initiation of a transaction at a transaction point using POST computer based device by the user employing a transaction initiator device; generating transaction data corresponding to the initiated transaction; transmitting the generated transaction data from the POST computer based device to a remote processor for authorization and transmitting the authorization data and transaction data back to the POST computer based device; enabling a transaction at the POST computer based device of the transaction point using the transaction data and an authorization data; prompting the user on the POST computer based device to tag the transaction data at the transaction point. In this regard, the prompting can be for one of tagging as a personal transaction or a business transaction with tagging to a particular client, or to submit answers corresponding to a plurality of survey questions at the transaction point. Subsequently, provided is a step of transmitting the tagged transaction data to the remote processor, wherein the remote processor is further configured to tag and transform and store such transaction data in a database as so tagged, e.g., one of a personal transaction or a business transaction, thereby transforming transaction data on the database through an electronic communication therebetween. It is contemplated that contemporaneously with the transaction information data transmission, there can be secondary data transmitting in the automated prompt which includes data from the remote server computer based device12A such as survey data and/or coupon data onto the processor12and/or14which is required to be tagged by the user. Hand held computer based device30, such as a smart phone or tablet, for example, can preferably include a complementary secure communication device, such as near field communication (NFC) device31, and further includes transaction software17which can be in the form of an application used by the user on the smart phone30, for example. The transaction software17resides on the device30and can be equipped as a persistent overlay of the application such that the device30alerts or prompts the user when receiving transaction information data and prompting signal from a remote device, e.g.,12A. Similarly, this can be similarly situation for transaction software16on computer based device14. In the case of the computer based device14and/or hand held computer based device30which can optionally include NFC devices, the transaction software16/17is initiated by an invitation device and upon the transaction information data electronic signal being detected on the computer based device14/30. In one application, the data15and/or media data20can be transformed as a computer readable code, e.g., as a bar or QR code28which includes details of the transaction information data, such as location, product or service purchased, merchant information, amount, date, time, card data, or biometric data, etc. By “computer readable code” inventor contemplates a readable code employing electronic computer based device. In one example, this can be a computer generated coded image, such as a QR code or Bar Code, or electronic signal, which has taken the real time transaction data and puts the real time transaction data into such format to enable a computer (such as hand held computer based device30) to use high speed data manipulation. Computer based device14/30can also be equipped with an optic device32and works together with expense transaction software16,17such that upon initiating the transaction software16/17application on the computer based device14/30, the transaction software16/17gathers the transaction information data (e.g., from the electronic signal (NFC) or from the code28using the optic device32, for example, which can be employed for scanning the code28by touching (initiating) “Scan-it” button34on screen of device30as illustrated inFIG.1and by positioning the code28in the correct position and field of view of the optic device32) and can store locally on the computer based device14/30and/or transmit the same to a remotely located processor12A. The transaction information data can be converted into a human readable form36(e.g., as seen inFIGS.3A and3B) either by the expense transaction software16/17residing on the computer based device14/30or by complementary transaction software residing on remote processor12A, for printing or later retrieval. The computer based device14/30can preferably include transaction authorization data, such as credit card information data, which is transmitted, directly via LAN, wireless communication (e.g., via NFC device31to NFC device21, cellular or cable) or Internet for purpose of making a transaction, such as a purchase or other exchange transaction. In one aspect of the application, the data15and/or media data20can be transformed as a computer readable code, e.g., as a bar or QR code28which includes details of the transaction information data, such as location, product or service purchased, merchant information, amount, date, time, card data, or biometric data, etc. By “computer readable code” inventor contemplates and readable code employing electronic computer based device. In one example, this can be a computer generated coded image, such as a QR code or Bar Code, or electronic signal, which has taken the real time transaction data and puts the real time transaction data into such format to enable a computer (such as hand held computer based device30) to use high speed data manipulation. As an example, the transaction software17provides for a client's button38, by touching (initiating) brings up a screen as depicted inFIG.2. Herein, the user can add/delete clients and purposes of expense to be tracked, and these can be stored in manner to be later retrieved and used at a later date for purposes of assigning the transaction information data36to a particular client and stated purpose. The human readable format data can be printed or stored as desired by the user. The transaction software17can store and log all such data in a sorted manner to enable quick and easy viewing of such data by client, purpose, date, merchant, good and/or service by touching (initiating) the report button40which brings up a screen enabling the viewing of such data and printing, e-mailing or exporting the same in a variety of report formats. A “my info” button42is also provided wherein the transaction software17which upon touching (initiating) enables entry of user personal information for tracking expenses, such as your name, company/companies, address(es), telephone number(s), e-mail(s), etc., and can preferably be automatically obtained from user information from the computer based device (e.g., smart phone)30and which can be edited. Once the transaction information data is obtained via electronic signal electronic signal or via code28scanned (FIG.3A or3Bshowing transaction information data36), then the user is automatically prompted (a screen46seen inFIGS.4A and4B) to tag the data, where “tagging” refers to marking, editing, adding or annotating the transaction information data. For example, the user can manually assign the expense by touching the “Assign-It” button44which bring up screen46seen inFIGS.4A and4B. The transaction information data36is manipulated back to human readable form and the screen permits editing, addition, deletion of various other items expenses. In the event, no computer readable code is provided for scanning, this button enables manual entry/tagging of data for the item. The transaction software17is also preferably equipped enable input of data into a file, such as annotated or tagged data regarding the transaction, or enables associating personal or client data with a particular transaction. It is further contemplated that the transaction software17instant invention can be fully compatible to import/export data, such as client data, company and personal data, and transaction information data, report data, etc., for example, with such programs as Quicken®, QuickBooks® and Peachtree® accounting, for example, or other accounting programs. It is also envisioned that the transaction data and prompting signal received from the remote server12A and transaction software19provides for additional and or independent data which can include survey data and coupon data as part of the transaction data. Another aspect of the invention is as follows. It is contemplated that the transaction data on both phone and processor, method for performing transaction can be implemented via a suitable electronic method NFC, Bluetooth, optic device, etc. The invention can operate as a middle layer system, independent of method of transaction, but after a point in which transaction data is complete, thus the instant invention provides software computer based system which is initiated to perform the categorization of expense items from the transaction information data and permit tagging, e.g., editing or noting of data for later use, such as reporting. The middle layer system of the invention can communicate with a bank and/or credit card/debit card transaction database to streamline the data for its end of period (e.g., month or year) reporting use. In this regard an example is as follows: the smart phone is equipped with American Express® Credit card information and the NFC provides a transaction to be completed where the processor at the transaction point communicates with remotely located processor of American Express to approve the transaction. American Express processor captures the transaction information data and categorizes the transaction information by date, time, merchant type, goods/services, etc. The transaction software of the instant invention initiated the smart phone permits the tagging of such transaction information data and can optionally locally store on the phone using transaction software or transmit data to the remotely located processor of American Express for further categorization using the tagged data. For example, it can include a note concerning the transaction, a client/matter to be assigned with the transaction information data. Optionally, the American Express can categorize said transactional data and send to the smart phone real time and permit tagging such data which has been sorted using categorization done by American Express. A typical transaction information data from American Express will appear “12/01/2012 Alamo Car Rental NY $125” and the transaction software will receive the information and be prompted to tag the transaction information data at the transaction point as “Business or Personal” and then permitted to tag further data such as purpose of the meeting, or purchase and tag it to a particular client/company. This data can be stored locally on the phone and/or on the remotely located processor of American Express, for example. Thus, all credit card transactions can be quickly and conveniently recorded as business or personal expenses. In addition, cash transactions can also be recorded by the transaction expense software of the invention, thereby providing the ability to provide a detailed expense report. FIG.7depicts a block diagram of a reporting system70, according to embodiments of the present invention, which in one example can be a mobile reporting system but could be a kiosk system as well. The system70may comprise a transaction initiator72, a hand held computer based device30, a Point Of Sale (POS) computer based device14, a reporting platform74, a remote processor12B, and a third party data storage76. The transaction initiator72, the hand held computer based device30, the POST computer based device14(interchangeably referred to as the computer based device14), the reporting platform74, the remote processor12B and the third-party data storage78may be connected through a communication network78, according to embodiments of the present invention. The communication network78may include a data network such as, but not limited to, the Internet, Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), etc. In some embodiments of the present invention, the communication network78may include a wireless network, such as, but not limited to, a Bluetooth, a Near Field Communication (NFC), an infrared, a cellular network and may employ various technologies including an Enhanced Data Rates For Global Evolution (EDGE), a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), etc. In some embodiments of the present invention, the communication network78may include or otherwise cover networks or sub-networks, each of which may include, for example, a wired or a wireless data pathway. Examples of the communication network78may further include, but are not limited to, a Personal Area Network (PAN), a Storage Area Network (SAN), a Home Area Network (HAN), a Campus Area Network (CAN), a Virtual Private Network (VPN), an Enterprise Private Network (EPN), Internet, a Global Area Network (GAN), and so forth. Embodiments of the present invention are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of network, including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies to connect components of the reporting system70. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the transaction initiator72, the hand held computer based device30, the POST computer based device14, the reporting platform74, the remote processor12B, the third party data storage76may be configured to communicate with each other by one or more communication mediums connected to the communication network78. The communication mediums may include, but are not limited to, a coaxial cable, a copper wire, a fiber optic, a wire that comprise a system bus coupled to a processor of a computing device, and so forth. Embodiments of the present invention are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of communication medium, including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies. The transaction initiator72may be a device configured to initiate a transaction at the POST computer based device14, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The transaction initiator72may be, but not limited to, a credit card, a debit card, a smart card, a smart device, a biometric device, and so forth. In an embodiment of the present invention, the transaction initiator72may be a biometric data of a user of the reporting system70that may be capable of initiating a transaction at the POST computer based device14. In another embodiment of the present invention, the transaction initiator72may be the hand held computer based device30that may be used by a user of the reporting system70to initiate a transaction at the POST computer based device14. Embodiments of the present invention are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of device and/or method, including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies that may be capable of initiating a transaction at the POST computer based device14. Further, the hand held computer based device30may be, but not limited to, a mobile device, a smart phone, a smart watch, a smart glass, a tablet computer, a portable computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, and so forth. Embodiments are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of hand held computer based device30, including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies. According to embodiments of the present invention, the hand held computer based device30may enable a user to transmit and receive data within the reporting system70. Embodiments are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of hand held computer based device30, including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies. According to embodiments of the present invention, the user may be, but not limited to, a buyer, a retailer, a store-keeper, a gas station operator, and so forth. Further, the hand held computer based device30may comprise one or more software applications such as, but not limited to, an ecommerce application, a location-based service application, a navigation application, a camera/imaging application, a media player application, a social networking application, a financial application, and so forth. Embodiments of the present invention are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the software applications including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies. In an embodiment of the present invention, the hand held computer based device30may include a transaction application16. The transaction application16may be configured to enable the user to access data and/or input data within the reporting system70, according to embodiments of the present invention. Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, the transaction application16may be managed by the reporting platform74through the communication network78. In an embodiment of the present invention, the reporting platform74may be a computer readable program provided in the hand held computer based device30. In another embodiment of the present invention, the reporting platform74may be a computer readable program provided in the POST computer based device14. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the reporting platform74may be implemented as a hardware, a firmware, a software, or a combination thereof managed by a third-party service provider (not shown). Further, the reporting platform74is explained below in more detail in conjunction withFIG.8. The hand held computer based device30may further comprise a Near Field Communication device (NFC) device31, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The NFC device31may be configured to enable the user using the hand held computer based device30to transmit and receive data to and from the POST computer based device14using the communication network78. According to embodiments of the present invention, the NFC device31may be, but not limited to, a Bluetooth communication device, an infrared communication device, and so forth. Embodiments of the present invention are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the NFC device31including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies that may be capable of transmitting and receiving data. According to embodiments of the present invention, the hand held computer based device30further comprises a scanner32(interchangeably referred to as the optic device32). The scanner32may be configured to enable the user to scan a computer readable data, according to embodiments of the present invention. The scanner32may be, but is not limited to, an optical sensor, a camera, Quick Response (QR) code scanner, a bar code scanner, and so forth. Embodiments of the present invention are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the scanner32including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies that may be capable of enabling the user to scan a computer readable data. In addition, the hand held computer based device30may include, but not limited to, a processor (not shown), a memory (not shown) for storing the processor instructions, the transaction application16, a control logic, and other application software providing secondary functionality, a plurality of input-output interfaces such as, but not limited to, a keyboard, a mouse, a printer, a display unit, and so forth, according to embodiments of the present invention. The reporting system70further includes the POST computer based device14, according to embodiments of the present invention. The POST computer based device14may be, but not limited to, a store kiosk, a desktop computer, a laptop, a smart device, a remotely operated device, a web browser, and so forth that may be available at a transaction point. Embodiments of the present invention are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the POST computer based device14including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies that may allow a user to purchase a product or a service. In an embodiment of the present invention, the POST computer based device14may comprise a processor12, the transaction application16, a memory (not shown), and so forth. The processor12of the POST computer based device14may be configured to control the operations of a plurality of components of the POST computer based device14. Further, the memory (not shown) may be configured to store the transaction application16and data related to the reporting system70, according to embodiments of the present invention. The memory may be, but not limited to, a non-volatile memory, a volatile memory, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), an Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), a FLASH-EEPROM, and so forth. Embodiments of the present invention are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the memory including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies that may be capable of data storage and retrieval. The POST computer based device14may further comprise a NFC device21, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The NFC device21may be configured to enable a data transmission and a data reception at the POST computer based device14using the communication network78. According to embodiments of the present invention, the NFC device21may be, but not limited to, a Bluetooth communication device, an infrared communication device, and so forth. Embodiments of the present invention are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the NFC device21including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies that may be capable of transmitting and receiving data. According to embodiments of the present invention, the reporting system70further includes the remote processor12B. In an embodiment of the present invention, the remote processor12B may be, but not limited to, a credit card company remote server, a financial institution remote server, and so forth. The remote processor12B may be configured to receive data and store data associated with the reporting system70in a database80. According to embodiments of the present invention, the database80may be, but not limited to, a centralized database, a distributed database, a personal database, an end-user database, a commercial database, a Structured Query Language (SQL) database, a Non-SQL database, an operational database, a relational database, a cloud database, an object-oriented database, a graph database, and so forth. Embodiments of the present invention are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the database80including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies that may be capable of data storage and retrieval. Further, the reporting system70may comprise the third-party data storage76that may be capable of receiving data and storing data associated with the reporting system70, in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.8depicts the components of the reporting platform74, according to embodiments of the present invention. The reporting platform74may include, but not limited to, a registration module100, a data collection module102, a data processing module104, a display module106, a data delivery module108, a prompting module110, a tagging module112, a storing module114, and a report generation module116, in an embodiment of the present invention. The registration module100may be configured to enable a user of the reporting system70to register into the transaction application16by using the hand held computer based device30. In another embodiment of the present invention, the registration module100may be configured to enable a user of the reporting system70to register into the transaction application16by using the POST computer based device14. According to embodiments of the present invention, the user may be, but not limited to, a buyer, a retailer, a store-keeper, a gas station operator, and so forth. Further, the registration module100may be configured to display a login page (not shown) on the hand held computer based device30, in an embodiment of the present invention. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the registration module100may enable the user to register into the transaction application16by providing user data. In an embodiment of the present invention, the user data may include, but is not limited to, a name, an address, a contact number, a social security number, a company name, an email ID, a shop name, an office address, and so forth. In another embodiment of the present invention, the registration module100may enable the user to register into the transaction application16by using a referral code. In an embodiment of the present invention, the referral code may comprise, but not limited to, a letter, a special character, a number, or a combination thereof. The referral code may be provided to the user by, but not limited to, a second user of the reporting system70, a third party service provider, a financial institution, and so forth. The registration module100may be configured to prompt the user to enter the referral code through a referral input tab (not shown), in an embodiment of the present invention. In an embodiment of the present invention, the registration module100may be further configured to generate a unique coupon code if the registration module100determines that the referral code entered by the user is valid. The unique coupon code may be used by the user as a discount coupon for any transaction at the POST computer based device14, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Further, the registration module100may be configured to enable the user to generate a user login credential. The user login credential may comprise a user identifier (ID) and a password, in an embodiment of the present invention. According to embodiments of the present invention, the user ID and password may comprise, but not limited to, a letter, a special character, a number, or a combination thereof. The user login credential may be used by the user for logging into the transaction application16of the reporting system70, in an embodiment of the present invention. Further, the registration module100may be configured to store the user registration data and the user login credential into the database80of the remote processor12B, in an embodiment of the present invention. In another embodiment of the present invention, the registration module100may be configured to store the user registration data and the user login credential into the third party data storage76. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the registration module100may be configured to locally store the user registration data and the user login credential into such as, the memory of the hand held computer based device30in addition to the database80or the third-party storage76. In another embodiment of the present invention, the registration module100may enable the user to register into the transaction application16using a social media account such as, but not limited to, a Facebook® account, a LinkedIn® account, a Twitter® account, and so forth. Further, the registration module100may be configured to extract user data from the social media account used by the user to register into the transaction application16, according to embodiments of the present invention. In another embodiment of the present invention, the registration module100may be configured to extract user data from the hand held computer based device30used by the user to register into the transaction application16. According to embodiments of the present invention, the registration module100may enable the user to login into the transaction application16of the reporting system70by using the hand held computer based device30. The registration module100may be configured to prompt the user to enter a user login credential for logging into the reporting system70through the transaction application16. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the registration module100may be further configured to authenticate the user by comparing the entered user login credential with a plurality of user login credentials stored in the database80of the remote processor12B. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the registration module100may be configured to authenticate the user by comparing the entered user login credential with a plurality of user login credentials stored in the third party data storage76. In an embodiment of the present invention, if the registration module100determines that the entered user login credential matches with the user login credential stored in the remote processor12B, then a user dashboard31is displayed on the hand held computer based device30(as shown inFIG.1). In an embodiment of the present invention, the user dashboard31may comprise options such as, but not limited to, a scan-it tab34, an assign-it tab44, a client's tab38, a report tab40, a my info button42, and so forth. The registration module100may be further configured to enable the user to add and/or edit the user data by initiating the my info button42provided on the user dashboard31, according to embodiments of the present invention. The data collection module102may be configured to enable the user of the reporting system70to add and/or edit a client data when the clients tab38is activated by the user. The activation of the clients tab38may enable the data collection module102to display a client's page39(as shown inFIG.2) on the hand held computer based device30, in an embodiment of the present invention. The clients page39may comprise options such as, but not limited to, a client list47, an add client tab48, a delete client tab49, a client name input tab50, a purpose list51, an add purpose tab52, a delete purpose tab53, a purpose input tab54, a main tab55, a scan-it tab34, a make-it tab56, a back tab57, a save tab58, and so forth. Further, the data collection module102may enable the user to add a new client data using the add client tab48. Furthermore, the data collection module102may enable the user to edit a client data using the edit client tab49, according to an embodiment of the present invention. In an embodiment of the present invention, the data collection module102may enable the user to alphabetically fetch a client data by selecting a desired alphabet from the client page39. The data collection module102may be further configured to display a list of clients sorted alphabetically through the client input tab50, in an embodiment of the present invention. The client input tab50may be a drop-down menu comprising the names of the clients already added by the user in the reporting system70, according to embodiments of the present invention. The data collection module102may enable the user to alphabetically fetch a purpose list by selecting a desired alphabet from the client page39. The data collection module102may be further configured to display a purpose list sorted alphabetically through the purpose input tab54, in an embodiment of the present invention. The purpose input tab54may be a drop-down menu comprising a list of purposes already added by the user in the mobile expense reporting system70, according to embodiments of the present invention. Further, the data collection module102may enable the user to add a new purpose using the add purpose tab52. Furthermore, the data collection module102may enable the user to edit a purpose using the edit purpose tab53, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Further, the data collection module102may be configured to transmit the received data to the remote processor12B, in an embodiment of the present invention. In another embodiment of the present invention, the data collection module102may be configured to transmit the received data to the third party data storage76. The data processing module104may be configured to determine an initiation of a transaction at the POST computer based device14, in an embodiment of the present invention. The initiation of transaction at the POST computer based device14may be made by, but not limited to, the transaction initiator72, the hand held computer based device30, and so forth. In an embodiment of the present invention, the transaction initiator72and the hand held computer based device30may comprise an authorization data that may be provided by the remote processor12B, a third party service provider, and so forth. The authorization data may be transmitted to the NFC device21of the POST computer based device14using the NFC device31of the hand held computer based device30for executing a transaction, according to an embodiment of the present invention. In another embodiment of the present invention, the authorization data may be directly provided by the remote processor12B to the POST computer based device14for executing a transaction. In an embodiment of the present invention, if the data processing module104determines an initiation of a transaction at the POST computer based device14, then the data processing module104may be configured to generate a transaction signal. The transaction signal may comprise a transaction data corresponding to the initiated transaction at the POST computer based device14, in an embodiment of the present invention. The transaction data may include, but not limited to, a location of a transaction, a coupon detail, a referral code detail, a terminal identifier (ID), a product and/or service purchased, a merchant information, an amount, a date, a time, and so forth. In another embodiment of the present invention, the transaction data may include, but not limited to, a survey data associated with the POST computer based device14, a demographic data associated with the POST computer based device14, and so forth. The data processing module104may be configured to transmit the generated transaction signal to the data collection module102. The data collection module102may be configured to transmit the received transaction signal to the remote processor12B, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The transaction signal may be stored in the database80of the remote processor12B, in an embodiment of the present invention. Further, the data processing module104may be configured to generate a computer readable code based on the transaction signal. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the computer readable code may be, but not limited to, a two-dimensional bar code, a numeric-only barcode, an alphanumeric bar code, and so forth. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the computer readable code may be a Quick Response (QR) code28(as shown in theFIG.3B). Embodiments of the present invention are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the computer readable code including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies. The data processing module104may be further configured to transmit the generated QR code28to the display module106, in an embodiment of the present invention. The display module106may be configured to display the received QR code28using the media display22(as shown in theFIG.6) of the POST computer based device14, in an embodiment of the present invention. In another embodiment of the present invention, the display module106may be configured to enable the printer24to print the generated QR code28on the paper26. In an embodiment of the present invention, the data delivery module108may be configured to enable NFC device21of the POST computer based device14to transmit the transaction signal to the NFC device31of the hand held computer based device30over the communication network78. In another embodiment of the present invention, the data delivery module108may be configured to enable the user to scan the generated QR code28using the scanner32of the hand held computer based device30. The data delivery module108may be further configured to convert the data embedded in the QR code28into human readable form for display on a transaction data screen36(as shown in theFIG.3B) on the hand held computer based device30, according to an embodiment of the present invention. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the data delivery module108may be configured to enable the remote processor12B to transmit the transaction signal to the hand held computer based device30over the communication network78. The data delivery module108may be configured to display the transaction data screen36(as shown in theFIG.3A) on the hand held computer based device30. In an embodiment of the present invention, the transaction initiator72and the hand held computer based device30may comprise an authorization data that may be provided by the remote processor12B, a third party service provider, and so forth. The authorization data may be transmitted to the NFC device21of the POST computer based device14using the NFC device31of the hand held computer based device30for executing a transaction, according to an embodiment of the present invention. In another embodiment of the present invention, the authorization data may be directly provided by the remote processor12B to the POST computer based device14for executing a transaction. The user may be enabled to execute a transaction at the POST computer based device14of the transaction point by authorizing the received transaction data and the stored authorization data through the transaction data screen36displayed on the hand held computer based device30. In an embodiment of the present invention, the data processing module104may be configured to enable the user to execute the transaction at the POST computer based device14of the transaction point when the authorization data is received at the computer based device14from the hand held computer based device30of the user. Further, the transaction data screen36may comprise options such as, but not limited to, an assign-it tab44, a back tab57, a save tab58, and so forth. The prompting module110may be configured to generate a prompt signal for the user to tag the transaction on determination of a reception of the transaction signal on the hand held computer based device30from the remote processor12B, according to embodiments of the present invention. The prompt signal may comprise a plurality of survey questions corresponding to the products and/or the services and the transaction signal, in an embodiment of the present invention. The plurality of survey questions may be, but not limited to, “How often do you use the product or service?”, “What would you improve if you could?”, “Does the product help you achieve your goals?”, “What gender do you identify as?”, “What is your age?”, “Please specify your ethnicity.”, “Where is your home located?”, “What is the highest level of education you have completed?”, “Are you married?”, and so forth. The prompt signal may be capable of notifying the user to tag the transaction data received through the transaction signal at the transaction point, in an embodiment of the present invention. Further, the prompting module110may be configured to prompt the user to submit answers corresponding to the plurality of survey questions received through the prompt signal at the transaction point. Further, the prompting module110may be configured to transmit the generated prompt signal to the hand held computer based device30. In another embodiment of the present invention, the prompting module110may be configured to transmit the generated prompt signal to the POST computer based device14. In an embodiment of the present invention, the prompting module110may be configured to prompt the user to tag the transaction or submit answers through a media display such as the media display22of the POST computer based device14at the transaction terminal. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the prompt signal may be transmitted as, but not limited to, a text message, a Short Message Service (SMS), a voice message, an email, and so forth. The prompt signal may be displayed as a screen overlay over an already running application on the hand held computer based device30, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The tagging module112may be configured to enable the user to tag the transaction data as, but not limited to, a personal transaction, a business transaction, and so forth. In an embodiment of the present invention, the tagging module112may be configured to enable the user to tag the transaction data when a prompt is displayed on the POST computer based device14. In another embodiment of the present invention, the tagging module112may be configured to enable the user to tag the transaction data when a prompt is displayed on the hand held computer based device30. Further, the tagging module112may enable the user to tag the transaction data displayed on the transaction data screen36by activating the assign-it tab44. In an embodiment of the present invention, the tagging module112may be configured to generate a tag signal when the assign-it tab44is activated by the user. In another embodiment of the present invention, the tagging module112may be configured to generate a tag signal when the tagging module112determines that the transaction data has been received by the hand held computer based device30. The tag signal may display an assign-it screen46(as shown in theFIGS.4A&FIG.4B), according to embodiment so of the present invention. In an embodiment of the present invention, the tagging module112may be configured to enable the user to manually tag the transaction data. In another embodiment of the present invention, the tagging module112may be configured to automatically tag the transaction data based on, but not limited to, the answers provided by the user, a location of the transaction point, POS terminal14associated with a merchant, and so forth. The tagging module112may be configured to enable the user to tag the transaction data with options such as, but not limited to, a client name, a purpose of transaction, a personal transaction, a business transaction, an air detail, an auto detail, a lodging detail, a meal detail, an entertainment, other details, and so forth. In another embodiment of the present invention, the tagging module112may enable the user to tag the transaction data by adding a note that may reflect an additional summary about the transaction. In yet another embodiment the tagging module112may enable the user to submit answers to at least three of the plurality of survey questions before proceeding to save a tag associated to the transaction data. According to embodiments of the present invention, the tagging module112may further enable the user to save the tagged transaction data based on the details entered by the user using the save tab58provided on the assign-it screen46. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the tagging module112may be configured to transmit the tagged transaction data and the answers corresponding to the plurality of survey questions to the database80of the remote processor12B through the communication network78. In another embodiment of the present invention, the tagging module112may be configured to transmit the tagged transaction data and the answers corresponding to the plurality of survey questions to the third party data storage76through the communication network78. In an embodiment of the present invention, the tagging module112may be configured to enable the remote processor12B to automatically tag the received transaction data based on the tagging details entered by the user and store the tagged transaction data into the database80of the remote processor12B. The remote processor12B may tag the received transaction data as one of a personal transaction or a business transaction. Further, the tagging module112may enable the user to navigate to a previous screen by using the back tab57provided on the assign-it screen46. Furthermore, the tagging module112may enable the user to navigate to a user dashboard31by using the main tab55provided on the assign-it screen46, according to embodiments of the present invention. The storing module114may be configured to receive the tagged transaction data from the tagging module112, and transforming and storing the transformed transaction data in a database. In an embodiment of the present invention, the database may be, but not limited to, the database80of the remote processor12B, the third-party data storage76, the memory or database of the hand held computer based device30, and so forth. The report generation module112may enable the user of the reporting system70to generate a report corresponding to any client selected by the user. In an embodiment of the present invention, the report generation module112may enable the user of the reporting system70to generate a report corresponding to any client selected by the user by using the POST computer based device14. In another embodiment of the present invention, the report generation module112may enable the user of the reporting system70to generate a report corresponding to any client selected by the user by using the hand-held computer based device30. The report may be fetched from the remote processor12B and/or the third party data storage76based on criteria, such as but not limited to, a client name, a location of transaction, a POST computer based device ID, a date, a time, and so forth. According to embodiments of the present invention, the report may be generated using a third party application such as, but not limited to, a Quicken®, a QuickBooks®, a Peachtree® accounting, SoGoSurvey, Qualaroo, Zoho and so forth. Embodiments of the present invention are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the accounting application including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies. Further, the report generation module112may be configured to transmit the generated report to the hand held computer based device30. According to embodiments of the present invention, the generated report may be transmitted as, but not limited to, an email, a text message, a Short Messaging Service (SMS), and so forth. Embodiments of the present invention are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the format for the generated report including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies. According to embodiments of the present invention, the report generation module112may be further configured to access the answers submitted by the user corresponding to the plurality of survey questions stored at the remote processor12B, the third-party data storage76, or a local storage such as a memory of the hand held computer based device30, or the POST computer based device14. The report generation module112may be configured to generate recommendations of products and services for the user based on the answers submitted by the user corresponding to the plurality of survey questions. The report generation module112may be further configured to generate recommendation notification for the user that may be transmitted to the hand held computer based device30, in an embodiment of the present invention. In another embodiment of the present invention, the recommendation notification may be transmitted to the POST computer based device14and displayed on the media display22. According to embodiments of the present invention, the recommendation notification may be transmitted as, but not limited to, a text message, a Short Message Service (SMS), a voice message, and so forth. Embodiments of the present invention are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of a medium for transmitting a notification including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies. FIG.9illustrates a process200for tagging a transaction data using the reporting system70, according to an embodiment of the present invention. At step202, the reporting system70may determine an initiation of a transaction at a POST computer based device14of a transaction point by a user using a transaction initiator72and/or a hand held computer based device30. At step204, the reporting system70may transmit a transaction data to the hand held computer based device30from the remote processor12B using the communication network78, in an embodiment of the present invention. In another embodiment of the present invention, the transaction data may be received when the user scans a QR code28displayed on a media display22of the POST computer based device14using the hand held computer based device30. At step206, the reporting system70may enable the user to execute a transaction at the POST computer based device14based on the transaction data and an authorization data stored in the hand held computer based device30of the user. At step208, the reporting system70may prompt the user to tag the transaction data using, but not limited to, the hand held computer based device30, the POST computer based device14, and so forth. At step210, the reporting system70may determine if the transaction data is tagged. If the reporting system70determines that the transaction data is tagged then the process200may proceed to a step212. Otherwise, the process200may return to the step208. At the step212, the reporting system70may transmit the tagged transaction data to the remote processor12B, in an embodiment of the present invention. In another embodiment of the present invention, the reporting system70may transmit the tagged transaction data to a third party data storage76. It is contemplated that the expense transaction software can be an application running in the background of the smart phone, for example, constantly running in background, which can be turned off and on, and capture transactional information data and transmit the same as they occur. The above described invention is not intended to be limited by the above disclosure, but rather intended to encompass the full scope of the invention including modifications, improvements and derivations thereto. | 57,467 |
11861581 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Technology is disclosed for processing a financial transaction by use of an identifier associated with a customer, particularly (though not exclusively) where the customer has used the identifier with a “payment card” at a point-of-sale terminal during a previous financial transaction (“the disclosed technology”). The term payment card as used herein refers to a payment mechanism that includes a conventional credit card, conventional a debit card, a conventional pre-paid gift card, “smartcards” that have embedded integrated circuit chips, e.g., Europay-MasterCard-Visa (EMV) cards, a proxy card, or any financial instrument that functions as a combination of any of these mechanisms. The term “proxy card” as used herein refers to a card that bears a card number/account number that appears to be that of a real credit or debit card account (i.e., it is in the correct format), but where that card/account number is actually only a proxy for the customer's real card/account number. The term “sale”, such as in “point-of-sale,” refers to any type of payment-oriented transaction, including a lease or rental for example, and is not limited to an actual purchase. Briefly described, the disclosed technology enables a customer, who uses a payment card to pay for product(s) or service(s) and further provides an identifier in the same transaction, to use the identifier as a payment mechanism in future transactions (with the same or different merchant). In some embodiments, the disclosed technology involves communication between a customer's user device, a payment service system (hereinafter, “PSS”), and one or more merchant POS systems associated with the PSS. The merchant POS systems collect a variety of information related to transactions conducted between the merchant POS systems and the customer, and forward this information to the PSS. This information can include identification information, such as an identifier that identifies the customer. The identifier can be a creation of the customer (i.e., user-generated identifier) having one or more alphanumeric characters (e.g., “sf49ers”), contact information of the customer (e.g., an email address or a telephone number), a device identifier identifying a computing device of the customer, etc. The PSS stores the identifying information, or identifier, in association with one or more payment cards of the customer used in the transactions. Once the identifier is stored, the customer can utilize the identifier as a payment mechanism to conduct future transactions with one or more merchant POS systems associated with the PSS. When the identifier is used in a transaction, the PSS initiates processing of payment for the transaction based on the identifier, without requiring any financial instrument from the customer. In some embodiments, the PSS sends a transaction verification request independently to the customer based on the identifier (e.g., a text message), and processes the transaction only upon confirmation by the customer. Among other benefits, the disclosed technology enables the customer to use the identifier to pay for a purchase without having to provide a payment card. Further, since, in some instances, a transaction is only approved for processing upon confirmation by the customer, the customer is provided an additional security layer, as an attacker would not have access to the medium to which the transaction verification request is sent (e.g., email account or smartphone assigned to the phone number). Additionally, the identifier can be stored in association with information collected over time through numerous transactions conducted by the customer with different merchants, thereby enabling the PSS to auto-populate information (e.g., billing address, shipping address, name, etc.) on behalf of the customer in processing the customer's transactions. Consider the following example scenario in which the disclosed technology can be implemented. The PPS is a computer system employed by a payment service to render a variety of payment services to merchants and their customers. As an example, merchants A and B each employs the service of the PSS to process payment transactions of the respective merchants, including, for example, executing or triggering the process to transfer money from a customer's financial account to the respective merchant's financial account. A customer purchases an item from merchant A and initiates a payment transaction by swiping a payment card at the merchant's physical POS device. Merchant A's physical POS system collects the transaction data (e.g., payment card information read from the card, payment amount, etc.) and forwards it to the PSS to request payment authorization. Upon obtaining payment authorization (e.g., from an acquire, card payment network, and/or issuer), the PSS approves the transaction and notifies the physical merchant POS system. In some embodiments, the PSS also provides the physical merchant POS system an option to generate an electronic receipt for the customer. For example, the PSS prompts merchant A with a message whether the merchant desires to generate an electronic receipt. Either upon receiving the prompt or before the prompt, merchant A asks the customer whether she wishes to receive the electronic receipt, and if so, to provide a contact method in order to receive the receipt. The customer submits, using an interface of the physical POS system, a telephone number, for example, to receive the receipt (e.g., by the messaging method in the form of a text message). The physical POS system forwards the telephone number to the PSS. In response, the PSS generates and delivers the receipt to the customer using the transaction data and the telephone number received from the physical POS system. Furthermore, the PSS sends a confirmation message prompting the customer to verify the telephone number. Note that the confirmation message can be sent along with the receipt or separate from the receipt, e.g., either before sending the receipt (to ensure the right individual receives the receipt) or after sending the receipt. Upon receiving a confirmation text message back from the customer, the PSS stores the telephone number as an identifier associated with the customer, as the PSS confirmation text message has verified that the telephone number belongs to the customer. In particular, the PSS stores the identifier in association with the payment card information of the payment card used in the transaction with merchant A. In a second transaction with merchant B, the customer provides the telephone number to pay for a service rendered by merchant B. Merchant B can be located at either a physical location or online. That is, the customer can provide the identifier at a physical POS system of merchant B or at a website hosted by a POS system of merchant B. Note that Merchant B can even be the same Merchant A in some embodiments, where the customer, having completed a previous transaction, can now complete a second transaction by merely providing the identifier. Upon receiving the identifier, the merchant POS system of merchant B transmits a payment request to the PSS, where the payment request includes the identifier and the transaction data related to the second transaction. In order to process the payment request, the PSS accesses one or more databases to find a matching identifier and to identify payment card information associated with the identifier. Because the identifier has been previously stored in the transaction with merchant A, the PSS is able to find a match, and in response, sends a transaction verification request message to the customer. For example, as the identifier is a telephone number, the PSS sends a text message prompting the customer to confirm the payment to merchant B. Additionally, because the identifier has been stored in association with the payment card information, the PSS is able to locate the payment card of the customer. As such, once the PSS receives the customer's confirmation to the transaction verification request message, the PSS initiates a payment authorization process using the identified payment card. In particular, the PSS causes a transfer of the payment amount from the financial account associated with the identified payment card to a financial account associated with the merchant. The term “cause” and variations thereof, as used in the preceding paragraph and elsewhere in this description, refers to either direct causation or indirect causation. For example, a computer system can “cause” an action by sending a message to a second computer system that commands, requests or prompts the second computer system to perform the action. Any number of intermediary devices may examine and/or relay the message during this process. In this regard, a device can “cause” an action even though it may not be known to the device whether the action will ultimately be executed or completed. In some embodiments, the customer is prompted to provide contact information along with the identifier, e.g., where the identifier is not already contact information. For example, the customer first submits an identifier “sally1234,” either directly to the PSS or indirectly through a merchant POS system associated with the PSS. In such an example, the customer next submits contact information, as the PSS may require the customer to provide some contact information in order to perform the transaction verification operation discussed above. In some embodiments, the contact information can be collected in an indirect or passive way, e.g., the customer submits a telephone number or an email address to receive an electronic receipt. In some embodiments, the contact information can be collected in a direct way, e.g., the customer completes a registration process with the PSS and/or through a merchant POS system associated with the PSS. Upon receiving the contact information, the PSS stores the identifier in association with the contact information, along with the payment card information. Although the example provided above uses a telephone number as an identifier according to the embodiment described above, in other embodiments, an identifier other than the telephone number may be used. The identifier can be any identification information that identifies the customer including, for example, an email address, a driver's license number, a social security number, an employee identification number (ID), a device identifier (ID), a mobile application identifier (ID), an IP address, a personal identification number (PIN), a card verification value (CVV), a security access code, a messaging handler (e.g., instant message username, social networking username, etc.), or any other identification means. The identifier can also be a biometric identifier (e.g., fingerprint, voice, face, iris, retina, heartbeat, etc.). For example, a customer looks into a camera installed at a POS device, where the camera captures a photograph of the customer's face/facial expression. The customer's photograph is then stored in association with the customer's credit card by the PSS. At a next transaction, the customer can simply have his face scanned in order to pay for the transaction. In another example, the customer provides his voice (e.g., pronounces his name and payment to be recorded) in addition to a debit card to pay for a transaction. In a next transaction at another (or same) POS system associated with the PSS, the customer can simply speak his name, along with a payment amount, in order to pay for the transaction, without provision of the debit card (or any other financial instrument). Further, the payment card used in the example above is a specific type of a financial instrument. Other types of financial instruments, other than the payment card, can be used to initiate a financial transaction. An example of another type of a financial instrument is a biometrically identifiable instrument, such as a person's finger (e.g., for fingerprint recognition), face, iris or retina, heartbeat, etc. Alternatively, a financial instrument can be a software instrument or virtual instrument, such as a virtual wallet. References in this description to “an embodiment”, “one embodiment” or the like, mean that the particular feature, function, structure or characteristic being described is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosed technology. Occurrences of such phrases in this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment. On the other hand, the embodiments referred to also are not necessarily mutually exclusive. FIG.1is a flow diagram illustrating an example process100for facilitating a financial transaction involving an identifier. As illustrated in the embodiment ofFIG.1, the process100includes at least two transactions: transaction 1 involving a merchant POS device122A belonging to a merchant101A (also referred to as “payee101A”) and a mobile device106belonging to a customer102(also referred to as “payer” or “consumer”); and transaction 2 involving a merchant POS device122B belonging to a merchant101B (also referred to as “payee101B”) and the mobile device106. The process100further includes a payment service system110(“PSS110”), a financial system130, and one or more merchant POS systems120A-N associated with the one or more merchant POS devices122A-N, where A is an integer of 1 and N is an integer greater than 1. Other configurations are also possible in other embodiments. Each of the merchant POS systems120A-N includes a respective POS device122, which can be a general purpose device with data processing capabilities. For example, the POS device122can be a mobile phone, a tablet, an e-reader, other mobile or portable computing devices such as, for example, smart watches or glasses, or other stationary computing devices such as, for example, electronic cash registers. The POS device122presents an interface126on an output device. In the illustrated embodiment, the output device is a touch screen124, although alternative configurations are possible. The mobile device106can be any mobile computing device, for example, a smart phone, tablet computer, notebook computer, and the like. A mobile payment application108runs on the mobile device106. The PSS110can be a computer system in communication with the mobile device106and the merchant POS system(s)120, such as over a network. The PSS110may be one or more computing devices. For example, the PSS110may be a server computer, a network of computing systems, a cloud computing environment, a virtualized computing environment, or any combination thereof. Communications between the mobile device106and the PSS110may be any form of data communications, including mobile telecommunication (e.g., cellular), WiFi, wireless Ethernet, wired Ethernet, or any other form of Internet connection. The PSS110facilitates Transaction 1 and Transaction 2 in the process100. Transaction 1 begins when the merchant101A swipes a payment card104through a card reader128of the merchant POS device122A. The term “swipe” here refers to any manner of triggering a physical card reader to read a physical card, such as passing a card through a magnetic stripe card reader, optical scanner, or smartcard reader, radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, or the like. The payment card is provided to the merchant101A by the customer102to initiate a payment transaction for product(s) or service(s) tendered by the merchant102A (e.g., a coffee or a haircut). The merchant POS device122A reads the payment card information from the payment card (e.g., the cardholder's name, payment card number, expiration date, card verification value (CVV), billing address, etc.) and sends it to the PSS110. The PSS110, in turn, processes the transaction by routing an authorization request to a computer system of an acquirer, where the authorization request includes data about the transaction (“transaction data”). The transaction data can include, for example, the aforementioned payment card information as well as the amount of the transaction, current date and time, data identifying the merchant and the merchant's merchant category code (MCC). The acquirer, upon receiving the transaction data, sends the data to a computer system of a card payment network (e.g., Visa, MasterCard, etc.), which forwards the data to a computer system of an issuer for authorization. If the transaction is approved or authorized by the issuer, a payment authorization message is sent from the issuer to the PSS110via a path opposite of that described above. The PSS110, in turn, sends a notification of the payment authorization to the merchant POS system120A. Once the transaction is authorized, settlement and clearing occurs. For example, the PSS110executes or triggers the settlement and clearing. During settlement and clearing, the issuer sends the funds associated with the authorized transaction through the card payment network to the acquirer to be deposited in a financial account associated with the merchant101A. The acquirer, the card payment network, and the issuer can be a part of the financial system130. In some embodiments, the PSS110, in addition to executing or triggering the transfer of the funds, sends a transaction approval message for transmission to the merchant POS system120A. In such embodiments, the transaction approval message can include a service message configured to solicit additional information from the customer102. For example, the transaction approval message prompts the merchant101A via the merchant POS device122A associated with the merchant POS system120A to decide whether the merchant desires for additional service related to the transaction. The additional service can be generation of an electronic receipt for the customer102. If the merchant102A (and/or the customer102) desires the receipt, the PSS110causes the merchant POS system120A to prompt the customer to provide contact information, such as an email address or a telephone number, that can be used to receive the receipt for Transaction 1. The merchant POS system120A communicates with the merchant POS device122A to display the prompt requesting the contact information from the customer102, who submits the requested information via a user interface of the merchant POS device122A. The merchant POS device122A forwards the submitted information to the merchant POS system120A. After receiving the contact information, the merchant POS system120A sends a message that includes the contact information to the PSS110. The PSS110generates and sends an electronic receipt to the customer102using the contact information (e.g., a text message receipt). Furthermore, the PSS110stores the contact information as an identifier of the customer102for use in future transactions. In storing the identifier, the PSS110associates the identifier with the payment card information of the payment card used in Transaction 1. The PSS110further creates an account with the PSS110on behalf of the customer102by using this newly created identifier. Accordingly, the customer102is able to initiate a future transaction by merely providing the identifier, without being required to go through any complicated registration process to obtain the account with the PSS110in the first place. That is, an association between the payment card and the customer102gets created, or established, on behalf of the customer, such that any other merchant, who receives the identifier, is able to obtain the payment card information of the customer102, thereby enabling a smooth transaction experience. In some embodiments, the PSS110causes the merchant POS system120A to prompt the customer to provide a user-created identifier (i.e., another identifier) in addition to, or in lieu of, the contact information. For example, the merchant POS system120A causes the merchant POS device122A to display a prompt asking the customer102whether she wishes to submit a user-created identifier that can be used in future transactions. If the customer102submits, for example, the user-created identifier in addition to the contact information (e.g., to receive the receipt), the merchant POS system120A forwards both the user-created identifier and the contact information to the PSS110, which stores the user-created identifier in association with the contact information and the payment card information. If the customer102submits, for example, only the user-created identifier (e.g., to conduct future transactions using the identifier), the merchant POS system120A forwards the identifier to the PSS110, which stores the identifier in association with the payment card information. In some embodiments, prior to storing the identifier, the PSS110performs a verification operation to confirm with the customer102that the identifier actually belongs to the customer102. The PSS110can include a transaction verification system112configured to perform such verification operation. The verification operation provides an additional security to the future payment transaction. That is, the PSS110, along with the customer102, can be assured that in the future payment transaction, the identifier is authentic and can serve as a payment mechanism of the customer102. In some embodiments, the PSS110performs the identifier verification operation by sending a message that can be displayed on a computing device of the customer102, such as the mobile device106. For example, the PSS110sends an email message using the email address submitted by the customer102to serve as the identifier. Note that in such example, the email address can also be the contact information submitted by the customer102, without any knowledge that such contact information is automatically used as an identifier of the customer by the PSS110. In some embodiments, the PSS110performs the identifier verification operation by prompting the customer to submit contact information, in addition to a user-created identifier. In such embodiments, the PSS110sends a message to the customer using the contact information to verify the user-created identifier (e.g., Hi, please confirm you have signed up for “SF49ers” as your identifier for future payments). The message can be displayed on a computing device of the customer102, such as the mobile device106, where the message can be, for example, an email address, a text message, or a printed message (e.g., via postal mail). The contact information is then stored in association with the user-created identifier. In some embodiments, the PSS110performs the identifier verification operation by simply prompting the customer to confirm via a user interface at a POS system. For example, after the customer submits the user-created identifier, the user interface of the POS system displays the submitted user-created identifier and prompts the customer to review and confirm. Further details regarding the identifier verification operation are discussed in reference toFIG.2. Transaction 2 begins when the customer102visits a second merchant, e.g., a merchant101B, and provides the identifier at the merchant POS device122B associated with the merchant POS system122B. The customer102provides the identifier to initiate a payment transaction, e.g., for product(s) or service(s) rendered by the merchant122B. The merchant POS device122B, communicates the received identifier along with the transaction data related to Transaction 2 to the merchant POS system122B. The merchant POS system122B sends a payment request to the PSS110, where the payment request includes the transaction data and the identifier. The transaction verification system112of the PSS110processes the payment request, e.g., by parsing the information included in the request to identify the identifier. The transaction verification system112uses the identifier to identify a payment card associated with the identifier based on a previously stored association (e.g., an association stored in Transaction 1). In particular, the transaction verification system112accesses one or more databases to locate a matching identifier and payment card information (and/or payment card) that is associated with the identifier. Further, the transaction verification system112sends a transaction verification message to the customer102by using the identifier. For example, the identifier is an email address associated with the customer102and the transaction verification message is sent as an email message from an email associated with the PSS110to the email address. In some embodiments, where the identifier does not provide contact information of the customer102, the transaction verification system112accesses the one or more databases to identify the contact information stored in association with the identifier. The transaction verification system112then sends the transaction verification message to the customer102by using the identified contact information. The customer102can receive the transaction verification message in the form of an email address, a text message, or a push notification. The push notification can be viewed through the mobile payment application108that is associated with the PSS110. The push notification can be presented with a “Swipe to confirm” sliding bar configured to receive a confirmation input from the customer102to verify the payment request. In response to a confirmation from the customer102, the PSS110proceeds to approve the payment transaction and executes or initiates a process to transfer the payment to a financial account associated with the merchant POS system120B (e.g., directly or through one or more financial institution entities as discussed above). Further details regarding the transaction verification operation will be discussed in reference toFIG.3. FIG.2is a flow diagram illustrating an example process200of receiving an identifier in connection with use of a payment card. For purposes of illustration only, the process200is explained with reference to some elements illustrated inFIG.1. The process200begins at block201, in which a merchant POS system120A initiates a payment transaction by reading card data from the consumer's payment card104in response to a card swipe through the card reader128. The payment card104can be an actual credit, debit, or pre-paid card of the consumer, for example, or it can instead be a proxy card such as described above, e.g., a card issued by the PSS110and associated with one or more financial accounts of the consumer. The card data can include, for example, the consumer's name, card number, card expiration date, and card verification value (CVV). At block202, in response to the card swipe, the merchant POS system120A transmits onto a network a transaction approval request that includes data about the transaction (“transaction data”), for transmission to the PSS110. The transaction data can include, for example, the aforementioned card data as well as the amount of the transaction, current date and time, data identifying the merchant and the merchant's merchant category code (MCC). The transaction approval request may be transmitted directly to the PSS110, or it may get routed to the PSS110through one or more intermediary entities, such as an acquirer and/or a card payment network, etc. In some embodiments, the card number on the consumer's payment card is sufficient to enable routing entities to determine that the transaction approval request should be routed to the PSS110, such as in the case where the payment card is a proxy card issued by the PSS110. At block203, upon receiving the transaction approval request, the PSS110executes a transaction authorization process using the transaction data. As discussed above, the transaction authorization process can be executed by the PSS110directly or through one or more intermediary entities. For example, the PSS110processes the payment for the transaction with the merchant POS system120A by sending an authorization request to the issuer of the payment card via the acquirer and the card payment network. Upon receiving successful transaction authorization, the PSS110approves the transaction at block204. For the sake of simplicity, the scenario in which the transaction is denied is not discussed here, since it is not germane to the technique being introduced here. In response to the transaction being approved, the PSS110performs at least two operations. At block220, the PSS110executes or triggers a process to transfer a payment from a financial account associated with the customer to a financial account associated with the merchant POS system120A. At block205, the PSS110sends onto the network a transaction approval message for transmission to the merchant POS system120A. At block206, the merchant POS system120A receives the transaction approval message sent by the PSS110in block205. In the transaction approval message, the PSS110includes a service message configured to prompt the merchant of the merchant POS system120A whether the merchant desires for additional service related to the transaction (i.e., block207). The additional service can include, for example, generation of a receipt for the transaction. In another example, the additional service can include delivery and/or shipment (e.g., in a transaction for purchase of furniture). If the merchant does not desire any additional service performed by the PSS110, the process200ends. At block208, the merchant POS system120A receives the an input from the merchant and/or the customer in response to the prompt at block207. Note that the merchant and/or the customer can provide this input at any time convenient for the merchant and/or the customer, which may be while the customer is still present at the merchant or at a later time. If the merchant desires an additional service performed by the PSS110, the process200proceeds to block209. At block209, the PSS110causes the merchant POS system120A to prompt the user to provide additional information associated with the desired service (e.g., an application installed on the merchant POS system120A prompts the merchant to ask the customer for one or more pieces of information). In one example, the customer informs the merchant that she wants an electronic receipt of the transaction. In such example, the merchant submits an input that requests for receipt generation to the application, and in response, the application causes the merchant POS system120A to display a prompt for the customer to submit her contact information, such as an email address or a telephone number, to receive the electronic receipt. Alternatively, the merchant can submit the customer's contact information into the user interface of the merchant POS system120A. In another example, the transaction is for the purchase of furniture that requires delivery. In such example, the merchant POS system120A displays on a user interface a prompt for the customer to submit her contact information, such as a delivery address, to receive the purchased furniture. Alternatively, the merchant can submit the customer's contact information into the user interface of the merchant POS system120A. In yet another example, the additional service is a payment service that allows the customer to pay for items in future transactions with any other merchant (including the merchant120A and/or a different merchant) by use of an identifier associated with the customer (“user identifier”). In such example, the merchant POS system120A displays on a user interface a prompt for the customer to submit the user identifier, such as a telephone number, an email address, or a user-generated identifier that includes one or more alphanumerical characters (e.g., “user1234”). In some embodiments, the contact information submitted by the customer is stored automatically as the user identifier. As discussed above, such user identifier can be used by the customer in a future transaction to make a purchase, in lieu of providing a payment card. In some embodiments, the merchant can prompt the customer to submit the user identifier (separate from the contact information), where the user identifier is stored in association with the contact information, and is used by the customer in a future transaction to make a purchase. In such embodiments, the customer can choose to submit one or more characters that make up the identifier, and can submit the contact information at the same time, or at another time (e.g., subsequently). In some embodiments, the contact information may have already been submitted at another transaction. In such embodiments, the customer may decide subsequently to create a user-generated identifier to be associated with the already submitted contact information. In some embodiments, the user identifier can be a biometric identifier, such as the customer's voice, face, fingerprint, heartbeat, iris, etc. In such embodiments, the POS system120A includes a mechanism that allows the customer to submit the biometric inputs (e.g., voice recorder, camera, iris scanner, fingerprint scanner, etc.) In some embodiments, the mechanism can be embedded or integrated on a computing device of the customer (e.g., mobile device106). The mechanism can be a software application installed on the customer's computing device, which is equipped with a hardware mechanism (e.g., fingerprint scanner) to receive the customer's biometric input(s). The software application can be a mobile application associated with the PSS (e.g., an app that receives instructions from the PSS110), the POS system120A (e.g., an app that receives instructions from the POS system120A and/or that executes instructions on behalf of the POS system120), or another third-party service associated with the PSS and/or the POS system120A (e.g., in communication with the PSS and/or the POS system120A via wired or wireless network). At block210, the merchant POS system120A receives inputs corresponding to the desired service(s), where the inputs include a user identifier, according to one embodiment. At block211, the merchant POS system120A sends a message that includes the user identifier, for transmission to the PSS110. At block212, the PSS110receives the message with the user identifier, and in response sends a confirmation message to the customer based on the identifier (i.e., block213), for transmission to the mobile device106. For example, the PSS110receives a telephone number as the identifier, and sends a text message using the telephone number to the customer, where the text message can be displayed on a smartphone of the customer. In another example, the PSS110receives a telephone number as the customer's contact information, in addition to a user identifier (e.g., sally1234). Upon receiving the identifier, the PSS110sends a text message to the customer using the telephone number, where the text message displays the identifier and prompts the customer to confirm that the identifier belongs to her. Note that in such confirmation, the customer can verify both her telephone number in addition to her user-generated identifier. In yet another example, the PSS110receives an email address as the customer's contact information, in addition to a user identifier (e.g., telephone number). In response to receiving the email address and the telephone number, the PSS110sends an email message to the customer using the email address, where the email message displays the telephone number and prompts the customer to confirm that the telephone number belongs to her. Note that in such confirmation, the customer can verify both her email address and her telephone number. At block214, the mobile device106of the customer receives the confirmation message sent by the PSS110by various methods that depend on the contact information and/or the user identifier. Within the mobile device106, the confirmation message is conveyed up through the various lower protocol layers to a mobile messaging application (hereinafter simply “messaging application”) that is configured to recognize the confirmation message, in accordance with one of the various methods used by the PSS110. The messaging application can include, for example, an email application, a text message application, a social networking application, a microblogging application, an instant messaging application, or any other application capable of receiving such message. In response to recognizing this message, at block215the messaging application causes the mobile device106to display the confirmation message to the customer and to prompt the customer to indicate whether the customer wishes to confirm the identifier (or cancel/end the process). For example, the messaging application displays a text message sent by the PSS110. In another example, the messaging application displays an email message. Examples of what such a display may look like are illustrated inFIGS.4A-4B. At decision block216, the messaging application receives the customer's input in response to the prompt at block215. If the customer's input indicates the customer does not confirm (e.g., customer sends a reply text message “Cancel”), the process200ends. If the input indicates the customer has confirmed (e.g., customer sends a reply text message “Cancel”), the process200proceeds to block217. At block217, the messaging application causes the mobile device106to send a message indicating confirmation by the customer, for transmission to the PSS110via the wireless network. At block218, the PSS110receives the message from the mobile device106indicating that the identifier is now verified based on the confirmation from the customer. At block219, the PSS110associates and stores the verified identifier with the card data received at block201. In some embodiments, the PSS110also associates and stores the identifier with any contact information received at block210. In such embodiments, the identifier is associated with both the card data and the contact information. In a future transaction, such as one conducted with a merchant POS system120B as described in reference toFIG.3, the customer can use the identifier to pay for the transaction without having to provide the payment card again (and/or any other payment card). FIG.3is a flow diagram illustrating an example process300of processing and verifying a transaction in connection with the use of an identifier. For purposes of illustration only, the process300is explained with reference to some elements illustrated inFIG.1. The process300begins at block301when a merchant POS system120B receives a user identifier from a customer to initiate a payment transaction. The user identifier can be the identifier stored in association with card data (or the card itself) and/or contact information associated with the customer at block219of the process200, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the merchant POS system120B receives the identifier when a merchant inputs the identifier, provided by the user, into a user interface of the merchant POS system120B. In some embodiments, the merchant POS system120B can receive the identifier when the customer herself inputs the identifier into the user interface of the merchant POS system1208. In some embodiments, the identifier can be a biometric identifier, such as the customer's voice, face, fingerprint, heartbeat, iris, etc. In such embodiments, the customer can submit the biometric input, for example, by placing her finger on a fingerprint scanner. In another example, the customer can pronounce her name (and/or a payment amount) into a voice recognition mechanism. In some embodiments, the merchant POS system120B can be a physical POS system. In some embodiments, the merchant POS system120B can be an online POS system, such as an e-commerce website hosted by a server on behalf of the merchant. Note that in the process300, the merchant POS system120B can be the same or different from the merchant POS system120A discussed in the embodiment ofFIG.2. For example, the merchant POS system120A may be a physical department store while the merchant POS system120B may be an online coffee bean specialty store. In another example, the merchant POS system120A in the process200is the same as the merchant POS system120B at which the customer revisits, where the customer can simply pay using the identifier without having to provide a payment card in the second visit. In addition to the user identifier, the merchant POS system120B has information, or data, about the transaction (“transaction data”). For example, the merchant submits the transaction data to the merchant POS system120B, where the transaction data includes the item(s) being purchased by the customer, the price(s) of the item(s), and the total transaction amount (i.e., payment amount). At block302, the merchant POS system120B transmits onto a network a payment request that includes the transaction data and the user identifier, for transmission to the PSS110. At block303, the PSS110receives the transaction data and the user identifier. The PSS110can parse the payment request to determine, for example, a payment amount being requested and a user identifier to be used in processing the payment. At block304, having determined the user identifier, the PSS110identifies a payment card based on the user identifier. In particular, the PSS110searches one or more databases (e.g., the databases702,704, and706) to identify the user identifier and payment card data associated with the identifier. Once the PSS110has successfully determined the payment card associated with the user identifier, the PSS110can initiate a transfer of the payment amount from a financial account associated with the payment card to a financial account associated with the merchant POS system120B to pay for the transaction. Initiating the transfer can include, for example, communicating with the customer (e.g., push notification, email, text message, etc.) to verify the transaction before causing monetary funds to be transferred, communicating with the merchant POS system120B to verify the transaction (e.g., “Ok to accept identifier for payment?” “Fraud?” “Confirm?” etc.), and/or communicating with various intermediary financial entities (e.g., the card payment network) to transfer funds for the payment amount. In some embodiments, the PSS110searches the one or more databases to identify contact information associated with the identifier to send a transaction confirmation request based on the contact information. In some embodiments, where the identifier provides the contact information (e.g., the identifier is an email address), the PSS110can send the transaction confirmation request to the customer based on that information. At block305, the PSS110sends a message to request confirmation of the transaction (i.e., the transaction confirmation request). As discussed above, the PSS110can send the transaction confirmation request to a telephone number, an email address, or a mobile application using a push notification service. The transaction confirmation request can be displayed on the mobile device106of the customer (e.g., as a text message, an email message, or a push notification). At block306, the mobile device106receives the transaction confirmation request, and prompts the customer to confirm the payment for the transaction (i.e., block307). In some embodiments, within the mobile device106, the transaction confirmation request is conveyed up through the various lower protocol layers to a mobile messaging application (hereinafter simply “messaging application”) that is configured to recognize the transaction confirmation request, in accordance with the method used by the PSS110to send the request. The messaging application can be, for example, an email application or a text message application. In response to recognizing the request message, at block307the messaging application causes the mobile device106to display the transaction confirmation request to the customer, and to prompt the customer to indicate whether the customer wishes to confirm the payment, thereby verifying transaction is authentic, or cancel/end the payment for the transaction initiated at block301. For example, the messaging application displays a text message sent by the PSS110, as illustrated inFIG.5B. In another example, the messaging application displays an email message, as illustrated inFIG.5C. In some embodiments, the mobile payment application108(“payment application108”) is installed on the mobile device106, where the payment application108is associated with the PSS to facilitate the transaction confirmation request. In such embodiments, the transaction confirmation request is conveyed up through the various lower protocol layers to the payment application108that is configured to recognize the request. In response to recognizing this request message, at block215the payment application108causes the mobile device106to display the transaction confirmation request to the customer, and to prompt the customer to indicate whether the customer wishes to confirm the payment, thereby verifying transaction is authentic, or cancel/end the payment for the transaction initiated at block301. For example, the payment application108displays a push notification displaying the transaction confirmation request, as illustrated inFIG.5A. At decision block308, the payment application108(or the messaging application) installed on the mobile device106receives the customer's input in response to the prompt at block307. If the customer's input indicates the customer does not confirm (e.g., customer selects “Cancel” within the push notification), the process300ends. If the input indicates the customer has confirmed (e.g., customer swipes to confirm within the push notification), the process300proceeds to block309. At block309, the payment application108(or the messaging application) causes the mobile device106to send a message indicating confirmation by the customer, for transmission to the PSS110via the wireless network. At block310, the PSS110receives the message from the mobile device106indicating that the payment has been confirmed, thereby indicating the transaction has been approved by the customer (i.e., the transaction is verified to be authentic). At block311, in response to the customer's confirmation (i.e., the customer's approval of the payment), the PSS110executes a transaction authorization process using the transaction data. The transaction authorization process can be executed by the PSS110directly or through one or more intermediary entities. For example, the PSS110processes the payment request from the merchant POS system120B by sending an authorization request to the issuer of the payment card via the acquirer and the card payment network. Upon receiving successful transaction authorization, the PSS approves the transaction at block311. For the sake of simplicity, the scenario in which the transaction is denied is not discussed here, since it is not germane to the technique being introduced here. In response to the transaction being approved, the PSS110performs at least two operations. At block312, the PSS110executes or initiates a process to transfer a payment from a financial account associated with the customer to a financial account associated with the merchant POS system120B. At block312, the PSS110sends onto the network a transaction approval message for transmission to the merchant POS system120B. At block312, the merchant POS system120B receives the transaction approval message sent by the PSS110in block312. At block314, in response to the message, the merchant POS system120B outputs a conventional transaction approval indication to the merchant. The indication may be in the form of, for example, a printed paper receipt, a message displayed on a display device, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the PSS110can generate and send an electronic receipt to the mobile device106of the customer in response to the transaction being approved at block311. FIG.4Ais a user interface diagram illustrating an example of an identifier confirmation message in the form of a text message that can be generated for display by a user's computing device to enable identifier verification. For example, the transaction verification system112generates a text message to be sent and received by the mobile device106, which can output a display401such as illustrated inFIG.4A. In the display401, the customer is shown a text message410that prompts the customer to verify the identifier (e.g., telephone number) submitted in the transaction (e.g., service at Alexis Salon) where the customer's payment card (e.g., a card issued by MasterCard ending in “1234”) has been used. The customer can confirm the identifier by inputting a text message “Confirm” into the text input field412and click the “Send” button414to verify that the identifier used in the transaction belongs to the customer. Once the identifier is confirmed, the customer can receive additional services, such as receiving a receipt for the transaction at Alexis Salon. As discussed above, the text message is sent to the customer's mobile device106based on a telephone number submitted by the customer. The telephone number can either be the identifier or contact information provided (in addition to the identifier) by the customer at the user interface of the POS system120. FIG.4Bis a user interface diagram illustrating an example of an identifier confirmation message in the form of an email that can be generated for display by a user's computing device to enable identifier verification. For example, the transaction verification system112generates an email message420to be sent and received by the mobile device106, which can output a display402such as illustrated inFIG.4B. In the display402, the customer is shown the email message420that prompts the customer to confirm the identifier (e.g., email address) submitted in a transaction (e.g., service at Alexis Salon), where the customer's payment card (e.g., a card issued by MasterCard ending in “1234”) has been used. The customer can confirm the identifier by hitting the “Reply” button422with an email message “Confirm” to verify that the identifier used in the transaction belongs to the customer. Once the identifier is confirmed, the customer can receive additional services, such as receiving a receipt for the transaction at Alexis Salon. As discussed above, the email message is sent to the customer's mobile device106based on an email address submitted by the customer. The email address can either be the identifier or contact information provided (in addition to the identifier) by the customer at the user interface of the POS system120. FIG.5Ais a user interface diagram illustrating an example of a transaction confirmation message in the form of a push notification that can be generated for display by a user's computing device to enable transaction verification. For example, the transaction verification system112and/or the PSS110generates a push notification message510to be sent and received by a mobile application installed on the mobile device106, which can output a display501such as illustrated inFIG.5A. In the display501, the customer is shown the push notification message510that prompts the customer to verify a payment transaction (e.g., purchase at Bernicio Café), where the customer has submitted to the merchant an identifier, in lieu of a payment card and/or payment card information, to pay for the purchase. As discussed above, in response to the customer's submission of the identifier, the push notification message510is sent to the customer using contact information associated with the identifier, such as a device ID identifying the mobile device106. In some embodiments, the push notification message510is sent using the identifier itself (e.g., the identifier is a device ID). The customer can confirm the purchase by selecting a “Confirm” button512, thereby verifying that the payment transaction is authentic (i.e., authorized by the customer). Alternatively, the customer can choose to cancel the payment transaction by selecting a “Cancel” button514. If the customer selects the “Confirm” button512, the payment transaction is verified. Then, the payment service system110and/or the transaction verification system112can execute and/or trigger a process to transfer a payment amount from the customer's financial account to the merchant's financial account. FIG.5Bis a user interface diagram illustrating an example of a transaction confirmation message in the form of a text message that can be generated for display by a user's computing device to enable transaction verification. For example, the transaction verification system112and/or the PSS110generates a text message520to be sent and received by the mobile device106, which can output a display502such as illustrated inFIG.5B. In the display502, the customer is shown the text message520that prompts the customer to verify a payment transaction (e.g., purchase at Bernicio Café), where the customer has submitted to the merchant an identifier, in lieu of a payment card and/or payment card information, to pay for the purchase. As discussed above, in response to the customer's submission of the identifier, the text message520is sent to the customer using contact information associated with the identifier. In some embodiments, the text message520is sent using the identifier itself (e.g., the identifier is a telephone number). The customer can confirm the purchase by inputting a text message “Confirm” into the text input field522and click the “Send” button524, thereby verifying that the payment transaction is authentic (i.e., authorized by the customer). Once the payment transaction is confirmed by the customer, the transaction verification system112and/or the PSS110can execute and/or trigger a process to transfer a payment amount from the customer's financial account to the merchant's financial account. FIG.5Cis a user interface diagram illustrating an example of a transaction confirmation message in the form of an email that can be generated for display by a user's computing device to enable transaction verification. For example, the transaction verification system112and/or the PSS110generates an email message530to be sent and received by the mobile device106, which can output a display503such as illustrated inFIG.5C. In the display503, the customer is shown the email message530that prompts the customer to verify a payment transaction (e.g., purchase at Bernicio Café), where the customer has submitted to the merchant an identifier, in lieu of a payment card and/or payment card information, to pay for the purchase. As discussed above, in response to the customer's submission of the identifier, the email message530is sent to the customer using contact information associated with the identifier. In some embodiments, the email message530is sent using the identifier itself (e.g., the identifier is an email address). The customer can confirm the purchase by hitting the “Reply” button532to send an email message “Confirm” to the transaction verification system112and/or the PSS110, thereby verifying that the payment transaction is authentic (i.e., authorized by the customer). Once the payment transaction is confirmed by the customer, the transaction verification system112and/or the PSS110can execute and/or trigger (or initiate) a process to transfer a payment amount from the customer's financial account to the merchant's financial account. FIG.6is a block diagram illustrating various components of an example transaction verification system600(“system600”) that can be used in verifying and processing a transaction. In some embodiments, the system600can be the transaction verification system112ofFIG.1, where the system600can be a component or sub-system of the payment service system110ofFIG.1. Alternatively, the system600can be implemented on a separate computing system (e.g., on a separate server or server(s)). The system600can include a transaction registration engine610and a transaction verification engine620, among others. The transaction registration engine610and the transaction verification engine620can each access one or more database tables from a customer account database630, a payment card database632, and/or a transaction history database634to retrieve and/or store data. The transaction registration engine610is triggered whenever a swiping transaction occurs at a POS device associated with a POS system of a merchant. In particular, the system600receives (a) payment card information as a result of the swipe and (b) contact information associated with the customer. The contact information can be provided by the customer at a user interface of the POS device. The contact information can be, for example, an email address of the customer. As discussed above, in some embodiments, the customer can also provide an identifier at the user interface of the POS device. The identifier can be, for example, a user-generated identifier created by the customer (e.g., sally1234). Using the payment card information, the contact information, and/or the identifier, the transaction registration engine610checks one or more database tables, such as database table702ofFIG.7stored, e.g., in a customer account database630, and the payment card database tables704,706ofFIG.7stored, e.g., in a payment card database632, to determine whether a new payment service account should be registered on behalf of the customer associated with the swiping transaction. For example, if a payment service account associated with the email address and the payment card information already exists in the database tables, a new payment service account will not be created. In another example, if the payment card that is stored in association with the email address in the database table704is different from the payment card used in the swiping transaction, then the transaction registration module610can create a new payment card record associating the payment card used in the swiping transaction with the email address in the database table704. Further, the transaction registration module610can create a new record associating the email address with the identifier in the database table702. In this manner, a customer's payment service account can have one email address associated with multiple payment cards and one identifier associated with the multiple payment cards. In yet another example, if the payment card, the email address, and the identifier from the swiping transaction are not stored at all in any of the database tables702,704,706, then the transaction registration module610can create a new payment card record associating the payment card used in the swiping transaction with the email address in the database table704. Further, the transaction registration module610can create a new record associating the email address with the identifier in the database table702. In some embodiments, the customer can provide his/her contact information in the form of a telephone number (as opposed to an email address). In such embodiments, the transaction registration module610checks the one or more database tables for the telephone number in association with the payment card (and/or in association with the identifier) in order to determine whether a new payment service account should be registered for the customer associated with the swiping transaction. In some embodiments, prior to storing the identifier, the transaction registration engine610verifies whether the identifier truly belongs to the customer. In such embodiments, the transaction registration engine610sends a confirmation message request to the customer using the customer's submitted contact information. For example, the transaction registration engine610sends a text message612(e.g., “Please confirm “sally1234” is your identifier”) to the telephone number for display on a computing device of the customer (e.g., a smartphone). In the example, the customer can confirm the identifier by replying with another text message, e.g., “Yes.” In another example, the transaction registration engine610sends an email614(e.g., “Please confirm “sally1234” is your identifier”) to the email address for display on a computing device of the customer. In such example, the customer can confirm the identifier by replying with another email message, e.g., “Yes.” Once the transaction registration engine610receives the reply message indicating the customer has confirmed the identifier, the transaction registration engine610changes the customer account status to “Verified.” Otherwise, the account status remains “Unverified.” The registration verification module620can verify payment service accounts created on behalf of customers by various methods described with reference toFIG.3. In other words, the registration verification module620can be configured to send a transaction confirmation request via a push notification622, an email624, a text message626, or any other suitable communication channel to request a customer to verify his/her transaction (in which the identifier is used) by providing a reply response through the same medium with which the transaction confirmation request has been sent. Once the registration verification module620receives the reply response confirming the transaction, the registration verification module620approves the transaction. In some embodiments, the registration verification module620communicates the approval status to the payment service system110, which executes or triggers the transfer of a payment amount from the customer's financial account to the merchant's financial account. In some embodiments, the registration verification module620itself executes or triggers the transfer of a payment amount from the customer's financial account to the merchant's financial account. One or more components and/or modules of the system600can be implemented on the merchant POS device122ofFIG.1, e.g., in a mobile payment application installed on the merchant POS device122, such as the mobile payment application108. Likewise, one or more components and/or modules of the system600can be implemented on the mobile device106ofFIG.1, e.g., in the mobile payment application108installed on the mobile device106. Additionally, in various embodiments, the functionality of the merchant POS device122and the transaction verification system600can be implemented in a single device or co-located (e.g., at a merchant's location). FIG.7are examples of database tables coupled to the system ofFIG.6for use in verifying and processing the transaction. The customer account database table702can include various fields of information such as, but not limited to: customer ID1 (e.g., email address), customer ID2 (e.g., telephone number), customer ID3 (e.g., device identifier), customer ID4 (e.g., user-generated identifier), first name, last name, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the customer account database table702can include billing address, shipping address, and/or the like. The payment card database tables704,706can each include various fields of information such as, but not limited to: customer ID1 or customer ID2 or a combination thereof, payment card number, issuer, expiration date, billing address, verification status, and/or the like. FIG.8is a high-level block diagram illustrating an example of a processing device800that can represent any of the devices described above, such as the POS device122, the POS system120, the payment service system110, the transaction verification112, and/or the financial system130, in which at least some operations related to the disclosed technology can be implemented. In alternative embodiments, the processing device operates as a standalone device or can be connected (e.g., networked) to other processing devices. In a networked deployment, the processing device can operate in the capacity of a server or a client computer in a client-server network environment, or as a peer computer in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The processing device800can be a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a mobile electronic user device, a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone or a smart phone (e.g., an iPhone or an Android phone), a web-enabled household appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, a (hand-held) gaming device, a music player, or any computer capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that computer. In the illustrated embodiment, the processing device800includes one or more processors802, one or more memories804, a network interface device808, and one or more input/output devices (I/O) devices810, all coupled to each other through an interconnect806. The interconnect806can be or include one or more conductive traces, buses, point-to-point connections, controllers, adapters and/or other conventional connection devices. The processor(s)802can be or include, for example, one or more general purpose programmable microprocessors, microcontrollers, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable gate arrays, or the like, or a combination of such devices. The processor(s)802control the overall operation of the processing device800. The one or more memor(ies)804can be or include one or more physical storage devices, which can be in the form of random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM) (which can be erasable and programmable), flash memory, miniature hard disk drive, or other suitable type of storage device, or a combination of such devices. The one or more memor(ies)804can store data and instructions that configure the processor(s)802to execute operations in accordance with the techniques described above. While the computer-readable medium or computer-readable storage medium is shown in an exemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term “computer-readable medium” and “computer-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term “computer-readable medium” and “computer-readable storage medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the computer and that cause the computer to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the presently disclosed technique and innovation. In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of the disclosed technology, can be implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application, component, program, object, module or sequence of instructions referred to as “computer programs.” The computer programs typically comprise one or more instructions set at various times in various memory and storage devices in a computer, and that, when read and executed by one or more processing units or processors in a computer, cause the computer to perform operations to execute elements involving the various aspects of the disclosure. Moreover, while embodiments have been described in the context of fully functioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various embodiments are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the disclosure applies equally regardless of the particular type of machine or computer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution. Further examples of computer-readable storage media, computer-readable media, or computer-readable (storage) media include, but are not limited to, recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memory devices, floppy and other removable disks, hard disk drives, optical disks (e.g., Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks, (DVDs), etc.), among others, and transmission type media such as digital and analog communication links. The network interface device808enables the computer to mediate data in a network with an entity that is external to the host server, through any known and/or convenient communications protocol supported by the host and the external entity. The network interface device can include one or more of a network adaptor card, a wireless network interface card, a router, an access point, a wireless router, a switch, a multilayer switch, a protocol converter, a gateway, a bridge, bridge router, a hub, a digital media receiver, and/or a repeater. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” As used herein, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” or any variant thereof, means any connection or coupling, either direct or indirect, between two or more elements; the coupling of connection between the elements can be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where the context permits, words in the above Detailed Description using the singular or plural number can also include the plural or singular number respectively. The word “or,” in reference to a list of two or more items, covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list. While some aspects of the disclosure are presented below in some claim forms, the inventors contemplate the various aspects of the disclosure in any number of claim forms. Accordingly, the applicant reserves the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the disclosure. | 70,390 |
11861582 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the embodiments and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements. Various modifications to the exemplary embodiments and the generic principles and features described herein will be readily apparent. The exemplary embodiments are mainly described in terms of particular methods and systems provided in particular implementations. However, the methods and systems will operate effectively in other implementations. Phrases such as “exemplary embodiment”, “one embodiment” and “another embodiment” may refer to the same or different embodiments. The embodiments will be described with respect to systems and/or devices having certain components. However, the systems and/or devices may include more or less components than those shown, and variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be made without departing from the scope of the current disclosure. Various embodiments will also be described in the context of particular methods having certain steps. However, the method and system operate effectively for other methods having different and/or additional steps and steps in different orders that are not inconsistent with the presented embodiments. Thus, the current disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein. A user may use a computing device, e.g., a user device, to communicate with another user device or a computing system of an organization through a communication network operated by various service providers. A service provider or a network operator may identify a user by a user identifier such as a phone number or an email address, and identify a user device by a hardware based network identifier such as a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, or a media access control (MAC) address of the user device. Furthermore, the user identifier may be associated with the identifier of a user device. Such associations between a user identifier and an identifier of a user device may be used in various applications. For example, a one-time password (OTP) for a user to operate an application may be sent from the system operating the application to a user device, e.g., a phone, associated with the user's phone number. Today OTP has become a common way to authenticate or recover an account for a user, which means that a user is represented by a phone number or a user identifier. Attackers have made attempts to perform account take over (ATO) of a user by taking over the phone number of the user. This style of attack is called SIM swapping. SIM swapping, also known as SIM jacking, is a type of ATO attack during which a malicious threat actor uses various techniques (usually social engineering) to transfer a victim's phone number to their own SIM card. SIM swapping attacks have resulted in millions in fraud and losses. It has been difficult for the current technology to protect against such SIM swapping. The telecom network companies may have insufficient validation before switching SIM cards, while the victim and target financial company has no control over the flow of SIM swapping. With the growing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, e.g., car, watch, etc., that come with a SIM and are integrated to perform financial transactions independently, protecting against SIM swapping attacks is important to current and future systems. In a SIM swapping, an attacker changes the association of a user device to a user, causing security information related to the user to be sent to a user device that may not belong to the user. Embodiments herein are relate to providing security protection of association between a user device and a user. Embodiments may verify an identifier of a user device has been activated by a user to replace an existing identifier of the user device associated with a user identifier of the user. In detail, embodiments may track the user's SIM card details and phone number or IoT device via the phone network provider such as AT&T, Verizon, etc. as a service and protect the user against SIM swapping attacks. The moment a SIM card is swapped, and a new SIM is detected via the service provider, a flag is triggered not to allow authentication via phone OTP or IoT OTP to the user device unless verified from other means that the phone (IoT)/SIM change is from a valid user. FIG.1illustrates a computing system104to verify an identifier108of a user device101has been activated by a user102to replace an existing identifier of the user device101associated with a user identifier111, in accordance with various embodiments. In embodiments, the user102is identified by a service provider103using the user identifier111. For example, a phone company identifies the user102using the user identifier111, which is a phone number. In embodiments, the user device101is to communicate to the service provider103, and the computing system104. The user device101includes the identifier108of the user device101, and an application software106operating on the user device101. The computing system104includes one or more processors, e.g., a processor105, a storage device110coupled to the one or more processors, an application software107to be operated by the one or more processors, and an authentication module109to be operated by the one or more processors. The storage device110may store the user identifier111and a set of rules113. There may be many other components within the user device101or the computing system104, not shown. For example, there may be more than one processor within the computing system104. In embodiments, the identifier108of the user device101may be a hardware based network identifier of the user device, and may include an identifier for a SIM card, or a MAC address of the user device101. For example, the identifier108may include various information, e.g., International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and the authentication key that validates the IMSI, Integrated Circuit Card Identifier (ICCID), SIM card issuer, an identifying number for the user account, or parity digits. The user device101may be a wireless phone, a cellular phone, a satellite phone, a VoIP phone, a smart phone, a laptop, a tablet, a personal computer, a point of sale (POS) terminal, a transaction terminal, an IoT device, or a handheld computer. The service provider103may be a phone service provider, e.g., AT&T® or Verizon®, or an internet service provider. The user identifier111is to identify the user102by the service provider103, and may be a phone number or an email address. The computing system104may be a computing system for an ecommerce merchant or a financial organization, and may include one or more independent computing devices coupled together. The application software106on the user device101and the application software107on the computing system104may be a pair of network software working together to accomplish the desired functions. For example, the application software106may be a client side software of an application, e.g., Visa® Checkout®, PayPal®, and the application software107may be a serve side software of the same application. In embodiments, the identifier108of the user device101may be activated for the user102by the service provider103through a communication path121and a network131. The identifier108may be activated by the user102, or by an attacker to pretend to be the user102. If the identifier108is activated by an attacker to pretend to be the user102, and the identifier108is a SIM card, a SIM swapping may have happened. However, the service provider103may not be able to detect such a SIM swapping using current technology. The service provider103may notify the computing system104that the identifier108of the user device101has been activated for the user identifier111to replace an existing identifier of the user device associated with the user identifier111. In some embodiments, the user device101may be the same device as the existing user device associated with the user identifier111, but the identifier108is changed. In some other embodiments, both the identifier108and the user device101may be changed compared to previous device and identifier associated with the user identifier111. The notification from the service provider103may only include a status change for the identifier108to be associated with the user identifier111. The notification from the service provider103may not contain the details or the complete information of the identifier108. In embodiments, the computing system104, e.g., the processor105, is configured to receive from the service provider103a notification that the identifier108of the user device101has been activated in the user device101to be associated with the user identifier111to replace an existing identifier of the user device101associated with the user identifier111. The notification may be received by the processor105through a communication path123and a network133between the service provider103and the computing system104. The storage device110may be configured to store the user identifier111of the user102to indicate that the existing identifier of the user device associated with the user identifier111has been changed. Alternatively, there can be a common ledger or a common database (single source of truth) where multiple service providers contribute to a chained ledger (similar to block chain but users are not anonymous) of phone number to sim card mappings over time. The read/write API keys are provided only to service providers so only they can update phone-sim information. Companies that require this information can automatically read from this ledger or database with API keys of they own. The shared ledger or database provides an efficient proof based system to track sim cards to phone numbers. The shared ledger or database also provides a global log for cybercrime investigations and does not allow conflicts in phone-sim mapping as there can only be one-one phone-sim mapping at any point in time. In embodiments, the application software106is to be operated on the user device101by the user102or an attacker. A request for information associated with the user identifier111may be sent from the user device101, e.g., through the application software106, to request the information to be sent to the user device101. The requested information associated with the user identifier111may be for operating the application software by the user102, e.g., a OTP to login to the application software106. The request for information associated with the user identifier111may be sent through a communication path125and a network135between the user device101and the computing system104. In some embodiments, the communication path125may be different from the communication path123. In some embodiments, the request for information associated with the user identifier111to be sent to the user device101may be a request for OTP for the user102. In embodiments, the computing system104receives from the user device101through the communication path125between the user device101and the computing system104, the request for information associated with the user identifier111to be sent to the user device101associated with the identifier108. The request for information associated with the user identifier111may be received by the application software107operated by the processor105. The information associated with the user identifier111may be for operating the application software107or the application software106by the user102. In embodiments, the authentication module109may be operated by the one or more processors, e.g., the processor105, to perform various operations for security protection of association between the user device101and the user102or the user identifier111. In detail, before sending the requested information associated with the user identifier111to the user device101associated with the identifier108, the authentication module109is to search the storage device110to look up the user identifier111to determine whether an existing identifier of the user device101associated with the user identifier111has been changed. By performing the search to determine any change of an existing identifier of the user device101associated with the user identifier111has happened, the authentication module109can stop sending any information associated with the user identifier111to the user device101associated with the identifier108, hence preventing SIM swapping if the identifier108is activated by an attacker. Accordingly, the authentication module109performs functions not normally performed by the computing system104, and improves the functionality of a conventional computing system for operating the application software107. In embodiments, when the user identifier111is found in the storage device110, the authentication module109may perform an additional authentication of the user102to verify the identifier108of the user device101has been activated by the user102. The additional authentication of the user102may be performed through a communication path127and a network137between the user102and the computing system104. After verifying the identifier108of the user device101has been activated by the user102is successful, the authentication module109or the application software107may send to the user device101through the communication path125, the requested information associated with the user identifier111. In embodiments, the authentication module109may perform an additional authentication of the user102by various operations. In detail, the authentication module109may send to the user102through the communication path127a request for authentication information different from the user identifier111of the user101. The communication path127is a communication path between the computing system104and the user102, which may be different from the communication path125between the user device101and the computing system104. For example, the communication path127may include a computing device accessible to the user102, but different from the user device101. In some other embodiments, the communication path127may include the same user device101, but through a software application operated on the user device101but different from the application software106. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the communication path127may include additional steps to be operated by the application software106or the application software107. In this way, the authentication module109may detect the change of the identifier108of the user device101is performed or authorized by the user102or not. An attacker may use a fake identifier108of the user device101, but may be difficult to have access to a different communication path directly to the user102. The authentication information requested from the user102may include information the user102knows, information the user102has, information about what the user102is, information about where the user102is, or information about what the user102does. In embodiments, the use of three communication paths, the communication path123between the service provider103and the computing system104, the communication path125between the user device101and the computing system104, and the communication path127between the user102and the computing system104, are a specific implementation on a particular machine architecture to integrate the security protection of association between the user device101and the user102or the user identifier111. Furthermore, the use of three communication paths, the communication path123, the communication path125, and the communication path127, represents a specific features that are not available in the current systems to prevent SIM swapping. For example, the use of the communication path127between the user102and the computing system104can effectively verify whether the identifier108of the user device101has been activated by the user102or by an attacker, while a conventional computing system cannot perform such a detection. The authentication module109him may receive a response message from the user102to the request for authentication information, and further authenticate the user102based on the response message and the set of rules113. The set of rules113for authenticating the user102may include a rule about a limit on a number of requests for information associated with the user identifier to be sent to the user device associated with the identifier of the user device, a rule about a limit on a number of identifiers of user devices associated with the user identifier, a rule about a limit on a number of user identifiers associated with the identifier of the user device, a rule about a restriction on providers of the user devices, or a rule providing an authentication scheme corresponding to the identifier of the user device. After the authentication of the user102is successful, the authentication module109may update the storage110to associate the identifier108of the user device101with the user identifier111for the user102, where the association of the identifier108of the user device101with the user identifier111may be saved as an item112to mark the user identifier111as verified. The generation of the item112to mark the user identifier111as verified effect a transformation of a particular article, e.g., the storage device110or the user identifier111to a different state, e.g., a verified state. FIG.2illustrates an example process200for verifying an identifier of a user device has been activated by a user to replace an existing identifier of the user device associated with a user identifier, in accordance with various embodiments. The process200may be performed by the computing system104as shown inFIG.1. In embodiments, at an interaction201, the computing system104or the processor105within the computing system104is to receive from a service provider a notification that an identifier of a user device has been activated in the user device to be associated with a user identifier to replace an existing identifier of the user device associated with the user identifier. The notification is received through a first communication path between the service provider and the computing system. The identifier of the user device is a hardware based network identifier of the user device, and the user identifier is to identify a user by the service provider. For example, the computing system104or the processor105is to receive from the service provider103a notification that the identifier108of the user device101has been activated in the user device101to be associated with the user identifier111to replace an existing identifier of the user device101associated with the user identifier111. The notification is received through the communication path123between the service provider103and the computing system104. In embodiments, at an interaction203, the computing system104or the processor105within the computing system104is to store, in a storage device, the user identifier of the user to indicate that the existing identifier of the user device associated with the user identifier has been changed. For example, the computing system104or the processor105is to store in the storage device110the user identifier111of the user102to indicate that the existing identifier of the user device101associated with the user identifier111has been changed. In embodiments, at an interaction205, the computing system104or the processor105within the computing system104is to receive from the user device a request for information associated with the user identifier to be sent to the user device associated with the identifier of the user device. The request is received through a second communication path between the user device and the computing system. For example, the computing system104or the processor105is to receive from the user device101a request for information associated with the user identifier111to be sent to the user device101associated with the identifier108. The request is received through the communication path125between the user device101and the computing system104. In embodiments, at an interaction207, the computing system104or the processor105within the computing system104is to search the storage device to look up the user identifier to determine whether an existing identifier of the user device associated with the user identifier has been changed. For example, computing system104or the processor105within the computing system104is to search the storage device110to look up the user identifier111to check whether an existing identifier of the user device101associated with the user identifier111has been changed. In embodiments, at an interaction209, the computing system104or the processor105within the computing system104is to verify the identifier of the user device has been activated by the user by an additional authentication of the user, when the user identifier is found in the storage device. The computing system104or the processor105is to verify the identifier of the user device has been activated by the user through a third communication path between the user and the computing system. For example, computing system104or the processor105is to verify the identifier108of the user device101has been activated by the user102by an additional authentication of the user102, when the user identifier111is found in the storage device. The computing system104or the processor105is to verify the identifier108of the user device101has been activated through the communication path127between the user102and the computing system104. FIG.3illustrates an example device suitable for use to practice various aspects of the present disclosure, in accordance with various embodiments. WhileFIG.3illustrates various components of a computer system, it is not intended to represent any particular architecture or manner of interconnecting the components. One embodiment may use other systems that have fewer or more components than those shown inFIG.3. InFIG.3, the data processing system370includes an inter-connect371, e.g., bus and system core logic, which interconnects a microprocessor(s)373, memory367, and input/output (I/O) device(s)375via I/O controller(s)377. The microprocessor373is coupled to cache memory379. I/O devices375may include a display device and/or peripheral devices, such as mice, keyboards, modems, network interfaces, printers, scanners, video cameras and other devices known in the art. In one embodiment, when the data processing system is a server system, some of the I/O devices375, such as printers, scanners, mice, and/or keyboards, are optional. In one embodiment, the inter-connect371includes one or more buses connected to one another through various bridges, controllers and/or adapters. In one embodiment, the I/O controllers377include a USB (Universal Serial Bus) adapter for controlling USB peripherals, and/or an IEEE-1394 bus adapter for controlling IEEE-1394 peripherals. In one embodiment, the memory367includes one or more of: ROM (Read Only Memory), volatile RAM (Random Access Memory), and non-volatile memory, such as hard drive, flash memory, etc. Volatile RAM is typically implemented as dynamic RAM (DRAM), which requires power continually in order to refresh or maintain the data in the memory. Non-volatile memory is typically a magnetic hard drive, a magnetic optical drive, an optical drive (e.g., a DVD RAM), or other type of memory system which maintains data even after power is removed from the system. The non-volatile memory may also be a random access memory. The non-volatile memory can be a local device coupled directly to the rest of the components in the data processing system. A non-volatile memory that is remote from the system, such as a network storage device coupled to the data processing system through a network interface such as a modem or Ethernet interface, can also be used. In this description, some functions and operations are described as being performed by or caused by software code to simplify description. That is, the techniques may be carried out in a computer system or other data processing system in response to its processor, such as a microprocessor, executing sequences of instructions contained in a memory, such as ROM, volatile RAM, non-volatile memory, cache or a remote storage device. Alternatively, or in combination, the functions and operations as described here can be implemented using special purpose circuitry, with or without software instructions, such as using Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). Embodiments can be implemented using hardwired circuitry without software instructions, or in combination with software instructions. Thus, the techniques are limited neither to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software, nor to any particular source for the instructions executed by the data processing system. While one embodiment can be implemented in fully functioning computers and computer systems, various embodiments are capable of being distributed as a computing product in a variety of forms and are capable of being applied regardless of the particular type of machine or computer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution. In embodiments, a storage medium may store instructions for practicing methods described with references toFIGS.1-2, in accordance with various embodiments. For example, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may include a number of programming instructions. Programming instructions may be configured to enable a device, e.g., the device370, in response to execution of the programming instructions, to perform, e.g., various operations associated with performing security protection of association between the user device101and the user102, verifying the identifier108of the user device101has been activated by the user102to replace an existing identifier of the user device101associated with the user identifier111, operations described in the process200, or other operations described herein. Routines executed to implement the embodiments may be implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application, component, program, object, module or sequence of instructions referred to as “computer programs.” The computer programs typically include one or more instructions set at various times in various memory and storage devices in a computer, and that, when read and executed by one or more processors in a computer, cause the computer to perform operations necessary to execute elements involving the various aspects. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium can be used to store software and data which when executed by a data processing system causes the system to perform various methods. The executable software and data may be stored in various places including for example ROM, volatile RAM, non-volatile memory and/or cache. Portions of this software and/or data may be stored in any one of these storage devices. Further, the data and instructions can be obtained from centralized servers or peer to peer networks. Different portions of the data and instructions can be obtained from different centralized servers and/or peer to peer networks at different times and in different communication sessions or in a same communication session. The data and instructions can be obtained in entirety prior to the execution of the applications. Alternatively, portions of the data and instructions can be obtained dynamically, just in time, when needed for execution. Thus, it is not required that the data and instructions be on a machine readable medium in entirety at a particular instance of time. Examples of computer-readable media include but are not limited to recordable and non-recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memory devices, read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory devices, floppy and other removable disks, magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media (e.g., Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs), etc.), among others. The computer-readable media may store the instructions. The instructions may also be embodied in digital and analog communication links for electrical, optical, acoustical or other forms of propagated signals, such as carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc. However, propagated signals, such as carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc. are not tangible machine readable medium and are not configured to store instructions. In general, a machine readable medium includes any mechanism that provides (i.e., stores and/or transmits) information in a form accessible by a machine (e.g., a computer, network device, personal digital assistant, manufacturing tool, any device with a set of one or more processors, etc.). In various embodiments, hardwired circuitry may be used in combination with software instructions to implement the techniques. Thus, the techniques are neither limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software nor to any particular source for the instructions executed by the data processing system. The description and drawings are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. The present disclosure is illustrative of disclosed features to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the techniques. Various features, as described herein, should be used in compliance with all current and future rules, laws and regulations related to privacy, security, permission, consent, authorization, and others. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding. However, in certain instances, well known or conventional details are not described in order to avoid obscuring the description. References to one or an embodiment in the present disclosure are not necessarily references to the same embodiment; and, such references mean at least one. | 30,169 |
11861583 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION As a retail employee or customer scans items for purchase, “scan avoidance,” which may be accidental or intentional, may occur. Scan avoidance represents loss of revenue due to theft, accident, misuse, etc. Scan avoidance event alerts can result in a manager, a security agent, a police officer, etc. becoming involved. Such situations often result in embarrassment, inconvenience, delay, etc. for a shopper. Accordingly, aspects of this disclosure can be used to confirm detection of scan avoidance events before they are alerted, thereby reducing false scan avoidance event alerts, thereby, maintaining positive customer sentiment and reducing time spent on behalf of a store. Advantageously, the examples disclosed herein achieve such benefits without the use of expensive and/or complex neural networks and/or complex image processing that are currently in use in some retail stores. Such expensive and/or complex neural networks may prevent their usage in some retail stores. Most items being sold in a retail environment include a transaction affecting indicia representing a transaction affecting payload that represents a multi-digit identification number (e.g., a universal product code (UPC), a European article number (EAN), etc.) for an item. The transaction affecting payload is conveyed to a point-of-sale (POS) system for use identifying the item and charging a customer for the item. Increasingly, manufacturers are additionally including non-transaction affecting indicia (e.g., a quick response (QR) code, etc.) representing a non-transaction affecting payload (e.g., information associated with a weblink, etc.). In some instances, such non-transaction affecting indicia are positioned near transaction affecting indicia. Non-transaction affecting payload are typically not intended for use in charging a customer for the item. Thus, such non-transaction affecting indicia or their associated non-transaction affecting payload need not be conveyed to a POS system. However, a non-transaction affecting payload may be used by the POS system to reference the payload from a transaction-affecting indicia. In some examples, non-transaction affecting indicia are scanned or read by a person using, for example, a smartphone, etc., distinct from a POS system. It has been advantageously discovered that when a non-transaction affecting indicia is identified, but a transaction affecting indicia is not identified and/or not decodable, then it is likely that a scan avoidance event has occurred, and a store manager can be notified and/or an alert be presented a POS system. In addition to and/or alternative to visual features in the form non-transaction affecting indicia, any number and/or type(s) of other non-transaction affecting visual features may be used to confirm potential scan avoidance events. Example additional on-transaction affecting visual features include, but are not limited to a non-transaction affecting indicia, a barcode, a QR code, text, a graphic, a logo, a background, an outline, a dimension, a physical feature, a human body part, etc. Thus, in general, when any type of non-transaction affecting visual feature is identified during a timeout period, but a transaction affecting indicia is not identified and/or not decodable during the same timeout period, then it is likely that a scan avoidance event has occurred, and a store manager can be notified and/or an alert presented a POS system. Additionally, when a visual feature, such a human body part, is not normally going to include an indicia, then it can be ignored and a scan avoidance event not alerted. An example timeout period represents a time period (e.g., five hundred milliseconds) during which, it is determined whether a non-transaction affecting indicia is identified and a transaction affecting indicia is not identified and/or not decodable. While for ease of discussion, the following disclosure refers to barcodes, aspects of this disclosure may be used to confirm scan avoidance events for any number and/or type(s) of indicia including, but not limited to, QR codes, custom codes, etc. Further, while the following disclosure refers to example barcode readers and POS systems, aspects of this disclosure may be used with any number and/or type(s) of symbology readers including bi-optical readers, bi-optic readers, etc. for use with any number and/or type(s) of scanners including, for example, stationary barcode readers, handheld barcode readers, presentation mode barcode readers, etc. Moreover, while example barcode readers are disclosed in conjunction with POS systems, aspects of this disclosure to detect scan avoidance events can be used in conjunction with storage systems, inventory systems, etc. FIG.1illustrates a perspective view of an example POS system100having a workstation102with a counter104and a bi-optic barcode reader106that may be used to implement the example systems and methods disclosed herein to determine, confirm, etc. potential scan avoidance events when, during a timeout period a non-transaction affecting visual feature (e.g., a non-transaction affecting indicia, a QR code, a barcode, text, a graphic, a logo, a background, an outline, a dimension, a physical feature, a human body part, etc.), but a transaction affecting indicia is not identifiable and/or not decodable during the same timeout period. The POS system100is often managed, operated, etc. by a store employee such as a clerk108. However, in other cases the POS system100may be a part of a so-called self-checkout lane where instead of a clerk, a customer is responsible for checking out his or her own products. The barcode reader106includes a first (e.g., lower) housing112and a second (e.g., raised, vertical or tower) housing114. The lower housing112includes a top portion116with a first optically transmissive window118positioned therein along a generally horizontal plane relative to the overall configuration and placement of the barcode reader106. Generally speaking, the top portion116includes a removable or a non-removable weigh platter (e.g., an electronic scale configured to measure/register the weight of objects placed on the top portion116). The top portion116is positioned substantially parallel with a top surface of the counter104. As set forth herein, the phrase “substantially parallel” means +/−30° of parallel and/or accounts for manufacturing tolerances. While inFIG.1, the counter104and the top portion116are illustrated as being about co-planar, the top portion116and the counter104may, additionally and/or alternatively, be considered as being about parallel. In some examples, the surface of the counter104is raised or lowered relative to the top portion116, while the top portion116remains substantially parallel with the top surface of the counter104. The raised housing114is configured to extend above the top portion116and includes a second optically transmissive window120positioned in a generally upright plane relative to the top portion116and/or the first optically transmissive window118. Note that references to “upright” include, but are not limited to, vertical. Thus, as an example, something that is upright may deviate from a vertical axis/plane by as much as 30°. In practice, a product, object, item122, etc., such as for example a bottle, is moved, swiped, etc. past the barcode reader106such that a transaction affecting indicia (e.g., a barcode124) associated with the item122is read (e.g., imaged and decoded) through at least one of the first optically transmissive window118and the second optically transmissive window120. This is particularly done by positioning the item122within fields of view (FOV) of digital imaging sensor(s) (e.g., a camera107) housed inside the barcode reader106behind the windows116and118. Additionally, as the item122is moved past the barcode reader106, the cameras obtain image data of the item122. In some examples, the image data is to verify that the item122scanned matches the barcode124. The example item122also includes an example non-transaction affecting visual feature in the form of a QR code126. FIG.2illustrates a cross-sectional perspective view of an example bi-optic barcode reader200that can be used to implement the barcode reader106ofFIG.1, in accordance with embodiments of this disclosure. As shown, the barcode reader200includes an example first (e.g., lower or platter) housing portion202that supports a generally horizontal weigh platter204having a first, generally horizontal window206. The barcode reader200is also shown including an example second (e.g., raised, vertical or tower) housing portion208that supports a second, generally vertical optically transmissive window210. As shown, the first window206is substantially perpendicular relative to the second window210. As set forth herein, the phrase “substantially perpendicular” means +/−30° of perpendicular and/or accounts for manufacturing tolerances. To enable imaging data to be obtained by the barcode reader200, the barcode reader200includes a printed circuit board (PCB)211with one or more imaging assemblies212,214(e.g., cameras). Each of the imaging assemblies212,214includes an imaging sensor having a plurality of photosensitive elements that define a substantially flat surface along with other components such as a housing and lens(es) for capturing image data for a FOV. The arrangement and configuration of the components including the imaging sensor, the photosensitive elements, the housing, the lens(es) define a specific FOV for each of the imaging assemblies212,214. As shown, the first imaging assembly212is configured to capture image data over a first FOV216and the second imaging assembly214is configured to capture image data over a second FOV218. The image data captured by the first and second imaging assemblies212,214may include image data representative of an environment in which a barcode or target may appear. In some examples, the logic circuit400ofFIG.4implements the PCB211. In various examples, the example processes described in reference to PCB211and/or, more generally aspects of the PCB211may be achieved in hardware, in software, firmware, and/or some combination thereof. To identify and decode indicia from images of items, the PCB211includes any number and/or type(s) of barcode decoder220. To detect potential scan avoidance events, the PCB211includes an example scan avoidance event detector222. The scan avoidance event detector222determines a potential scan avoidance event when any type of non-transaction affecting visual feature (e.g., a non-transaction affecting indicia, a QR code, a barcode, text, a graphic, a logo, a background, an outline, a dimension, a physical feature, a human body part, etc.) is identified during a timeout period, but a transaction affecting indicia is not identified and/or not decodable during the same timeout period, it is likely that a scan avoidance event has occurred. When a scan avoidance event is likely, the scan avoidance event detector222generates a scan avoidance alert signal, alert, notification, report, etc. In some examples, an indication of the generated alert indicating the potential scan avoidance event is presented to a user of the barcode reader200, e.g., via a user interface of a POS system100. Additionally and/or alternatively, an indication of the generated alert indicating the potential scan avoidance event may be sent to another (e.g., remote) computing device for presentation to an individual distinct from a user of the barcode reader200(e.g., a manager, owner, or other stakeholder associated with the retail environment). Further, the alert may be stored, recorded, etc. for subsequent recall. Alerts, notifications, etc. can be sent, transferred, etc. via any number and/or type(s) of communication interfaces, devices, networks, etc. In some examples, generating the alert or notification indicating the potential scan avoidance event includes capturing an image of a user of the barcode reader200via another camera distinct from the barcode reader's camera(s)212,214. For example, the additional camera may be positioned and/or angled to capture an image of the face of a user operating the barcode reader200. In some examples, a facial recognition algorithm may be used to analyze the image of the face of the user to identify the user associated with the potential scan avoidance event. In other examples, the image of the face of the user operating the barcode reader200may be sent to a computing device associated with a manager, owner, or other stakeholder associated with the retail environment. In some examples, the barcode decoder220and the scan avoidance event detector222are implemented as one or more modules of machine-readable instructions executing on a processor or logic device, such as the processor402of the logic circuit400ofFIG.4. Additionally and/or alternatively, the barcode decoder220and/or the scan avoidance event detector222may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, and/or some combination thereof. A flowchart300representative of example processes, methods, logic, software, computer- or machine-readable instructions for implementing the barcode reader200and the scan avoidance event detector222is shown inFIG.3. In some examples, the example processes, methods, logic, software, computer- or machine-readable instructions ofFIG.3are carried out during a decode session. The program ofFIG.3begins at block302when an item122enters one or more FOVs of the barcode reader200, for example, captured in one or more original images through one or more windows206,210(block302). When an indicia124is detected, (block302) a timeout period is started (block304). An example timeout period represents a time period (e.g., five hundred milliseconds) during which, it is determined whether a non-transaction affecting indicia126is identified and a transaction affecting indicia124is not identified and/or not decodable. The barcode reader200attempts to detect an indicia124from one or more images captured through the one or more FOVs of the barcode reader200(block306). The barcode reader200attempts to detect non-transaction affecting indicia126associated with non-transaction affecting visual features from one or more images captured through the one or more FOVs of the barcode reader200(block308). While the timeout period has not expired (block310), the barcode reader200continues attempting to detect transaction affecting indicia124and non-transaction affecting indicia126associated with non-transaction affecting visual features126from the one or more images. When the timeout period expires (block310), the scan avoidance event detector222determines whether a transaction affecting indicia124was detected and decodable (block312). If a transaction affecting indicia124was detected and successfully decoded (block312), the payload of the transaction affecting indicia is conveyed to the POS system100(block314). If a non-transaction affecting indicia126was not detected (block316), a potential scan avoidance event is not alerted, provided, stored, etc., a scan avoidance alarm signal is not generated (block318), and control exits from the program ofFIG.3. Returning to block316, if a non-transaction affecting indicia126associated with a non-transaction affecting visual feature was detected (block316), a potential scan avoidance event is alerted, provided, stored, etc. and a scan avoidance alarm signal is not generated (block320), and control exits from the program ofFIG.3. Returning to block312, when a transaction affecting indicia124was not detected (block312), control exits from the program ofFIG.3. FIG.4is a block diagram representative of an example logic circuit capable of implementing, for example, the barcode decoder220, the scan avoidance event detector222and/or, more generally, the PCB211. The logic circuit ofFIG.4is a processing platform400capable of executing instructions to, for example, implement operations of the example methods described herein, as may be represented by the flowcharts of the drawings that accompany this description. Other example logic circuits capable of, for example, implementing operations of the example methods described herein include field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The example processing platform400ofFIG.4includes an example processor402such as, for example, one or more microprocessors, controllers, and/or any suitable type of processor. The processing platform400ofFIG.4includes memory (e.g., volatile memory, non-volatile memory)404accessible by the processor402(e.g., via a memory controller). The processor402interacts with the memory404to obtain, for example, machine-readable instructions stored in the memory404corresponding to, for example, the operations represented by the flowcharts and/or examples of this disclosure. Additionally or alternatively, machine-readable instructions corresponding to the example operations described herein may be stored on one or more removable media (e.g., a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), removable flash memory, etc.) that may be coupled to the processing platform400to provide access to the machine-readable instructions stored thereon. The machine-readable instructions may be executed by the processor402to implement barcode decoder220and the scan avoidance event detector222. The memory404may additionally store scan avoidance event alerts at the barcode reader200, a remote server, etc. The example processing platform400ofFIG.4also includes a network interface406to enable communication with other machines via, for example, one or more networks. The network interface406includes any suitable type of communication interface(s) (e.g., wired and/or wireless interfaces) configured to operate in accordance with any suitable protocol(s). The network interface406may be used to communicatively couple the barcode reader200to a remote device. The processing platform400ofFIG.4also includes input/output (I/O) interfaces408to access image data from imaging devices, cameras, the imaging assemblies212,214, etc. AlthoughFIG.4depicts the I/O interfaces408as a single block, the I/O interfaces408may include a number of different types of I/O circuits or components that enable the processor402to communicate with peripheral I/O devices. Example interfaces408include an Ethernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a Bluetooth® interface, a near field communication (NFC) interface, and/or a PCI Express interface. The peripheral I/O devices may be any desired type of I/O device such as a keyboard, a display (a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, an in-place switching (IPS) display, a touch screen, etc.), a navigation device (a mouse, a trackball, a capacitive touch pad, a joystick, etc.), a speaker, a microphone, a printer, a button, a communication interface, an antenna, etc. The above description refers to a block diagram of the accompanying drawings. Alternative implementations of the example represented by the block diagram include one or more additional or alternative elements, processes and/or devices. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the example blocks of the diagram may be combined, divided, re-arranged or omitted. Components represented by the blocks of the diagram are implemented by hardware, software, firmware, and/or any combination of hardware, software and/or firmware. In some examples, at least one of the components represented by the blocks is implemented by a logic circuit. As used herein, the term “logic circuit” is expressly defined as a physical device including at least one hardware component configured (e.g., via operation in accordance with a predetermined configuration and/or via execution of stored machine-readable instructions) to control one or more machines and/or perform operations of one or more machines. Examples of a logic circuit include one or more processors, one or more coprocessors, one or more microprocessors, one or more controllers, one or more DSPs, one or more ASICs, one or more FPGAs, one or more MCUs, one or more hardware accelerators, one or more special-purpose computer chips, and one or more SoC devices. Some example logic circuits, such as ASICs or FPGAs, are specifically configured hardware for performing operations (e.g., one or more of the operations described herein and represented by the flowcharts of this disclosure, if such are present). Some example logic circuits are hardware that executes machine-readable instructions to perform operations (e.g., one or more of the operations described herein and represented by the flowcharts of this disclosure, if such are present). Some example logic circuits include a combination of specifically configured hardware and hardware that executes machine-readable instructions. The above description refers to various operations described herein and flowcharts that may be appended hereto to illustrate the flow of those operations. Any such flowcharts are representative of example methods disclosed herein. In some examples, the methods represented by the flowcharts implement the apparatus represented by the block diagrams. Alternative implementations of example methods disclosed herein may include additional or alternative operations. Further, operations of alternative implementations of the methods disclosed herein may combined, divided, re-arranged or omitted. In some examples, the operations described herein are implemented by machine-readable instructions (e.g., software and/or firmware) stored on a medium (e.g., a tangible machine-readable storage medium) for execution by one or more logic circuits (e.g., processor(s)). In some examples, the operations described herein are implemented by one or more configurations of one or more specifically designed logic circuits (e.g., ASIC(s)). In some examples the operations described herein are implemented by a combination of specifically designed logic circuit(s) and machine-readable instructions stored on a medium (e.g., a tangible machine-readable medium) for execution by logic circuit(s). As used herein, each of the terms “tangible machine-readable medium,” “non-transitory machine-readable medium” and “machine-readable storage device” is expressly defined as a storage medium (e.g., a platter of a hard disk drive, a digital versatile disc, a compact disc, flash memory, read-only memory, random-access memory, etc.) on which machine-readable instructions (e.g., program code in the form of, for example, software and/or firmware) are stored for any suitable duration of time (e.g., permanently, for an extended period of time (e.g., while a program associated with the machine-readable instructions is executing), and/or a short period of time (e.g., while the machine-readable instructions are cached and/or during a buffering process)). In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments have been described. However, one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of present teachings. Additionally, the described embodiments/examples/implementations should not be interpreted as mutually exclusive, and should instead be understood as potentially combinable if such combinations are permissive in any way. In other words, any feature disclosed in any of the aforementioned embodiments/examples/implementations may be included in any of the other aforementioned embodiments/examples/implementations. The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all the claims. The claimed invention is defined solely by the appended claims including any amendments made during the pendency of this application and all equivalents of those claims as issued. Moreover in this document, relational terms such as first and second, top and bottom, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “has”, “having,” “includes”, “including,” “contains”, “containing” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises, has, includes, contains a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by “comprises . . . a”, “has . . . a”, “includes . . . a”, “contains . . . a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises, has, includes, contains the element. The terms “a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless explicitly stated otherwise herein. The terms “substantially”, “essentially”, “approximately”, “about” or any other version thereof, are defined as being close to as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, and in one non-limiting embodiment the term is defined to be within 10%, in another embodiment within 5%, in another embodiment within 1% and in another embodiment within 0.5%. The term “coupled” as used herein is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly and not necessarily mechanically. A device or structure that is “configured” in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also be configured in ways that are not listed. Further still, unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example, “A, B or C” refers to any combination or subset of A, B, C such as (1) A alone, (2) B alone, (3) C alone, (4) A with B, (5) A with C, (6) B with C, and (7) A with B and with C. As used herein, the phrase “at least one of A and B” is intended to refer to any combination or subset of A and B such as (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B. Similarly, the phrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer to any combination or subset of A and B such as (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B. The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter may lie in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter. | 27,752 |
11861584 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and it is obvious that the embodiments described are only some of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by those of ordinary skill in the art from the embodiments of the present disclosure without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure. Technical solutions of the related arts have defects that: code scanning requires active cooperation of consumers to scan codes one by one to confirm products, which is tedious; RFID is high in cost, if each low-profit commodity is additionally provided with a RFID electronic tag, the cost is relatively high and certain environmental pollution will be caused, and when a customer quickly passes through a RFID settlement passage, tag detection may be missed due to over-high speed and the occlusion of the RFID tag, causing economic loss to supermarkets. Therefore, a new technical solution for shopping settlement is required. FIG.1is a schematic flow diagram of a self-service settlement method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and as shown inFIG.1, the self-service settlement method comprises steps101to105. Step101, obtaining a monitoring image captured by an image capture device and corresponding to commodities to be settled which are placed on a settlement counter. The image capture device can be a camera, etc. The image capture device prearranged can collect images of the commodities to be settled which is placed on the settlement counter by a customer, and the commodities to be settled can be drinks, snacks and the like. Step102, recognizing the monitoring image to obtain information of the commodities to be settled, which comprises: a category and quantity of the commodities to be settled, etc. The monitoring image can be recognized by using various image recognition technologies, and from the monitoring image, the category and the quantity of the commodities to be settled can be recognized, for example, a category of the commodities to be settled is 2 liters of Coca Cola, 5 liters of Luhua peanut oil and the like. Step103, obtaining a first weight captured by a weight detection device arranged on the settlement counter and corresponding to the commodities to be settled, and obtaining a second weight corresponding to the commodities to be settled based on the information of the commodities to be settled. The weight detection device arranged on the settlement counter can be a weight sensor or the like. A unit weight corresponding to the recognized category of the commodities to be settled can be determined in a commodity database, and a second weight of the commodities to be settled which are selected by the customer can be calculated based on the unit weight and the quantity. Step104, judging whether the information of the commodities to be settled is matched with commodities to be confirmed according to a preset matching judgment rule and a comparison result of the first weight and the second weight. Step105, obtaining purchased commodity settlement information based on the information of the commodities to be settled under the condition that the information of the commodities to be settled is matched with the commodities to be confirmed, and performing checkout processing according to the purchased commodity settlement information, wherein the purchased commodity settlement information comprises the category, quantity, settlement price of the commodities to be settled, etc. A unit price corresponding to the recognized category of the commodities to be settled can be determined in the commodity database, and the settlement price of the commodities to be settled can be calculated from the unit price and the quantity. The self-service settlement method in the above embodiment can be applied in shopping places such as convenience stores, supermarkets, is particularly suitable for scenes where there are a large number of customers purchasing a few commodities at one time (generally less than five commodities), which provides fast and accurate self-service settlement for the customers, reduces average time of a single transaction, decreases waiting time of customers and advances customer satisfaction. In some embodiments, various image recognition methods can be used for recognizing the monitoring image and obtaining the information of the commodities to be settled.FIG.2is a schematic flow diagram of recognizing the monitoring image in the self-service settlement method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and as shown inFIG.2, the self-service settlement method comprises steps201to205. Step201, determining in the monitoring image a first position corresponding to the commodities to be settled and a second position corresponding to a coordinate scale on the settlement counter. Step202, intercepting in the monitoring image an image of the commodities to be settled and a coordinate scale image according to the first position and the second position. The settlement counter is provided with the coordinate scale, for example, a graduated scale and the like are set on the settlement counter, so as to provide comparison reference for the size of the commodities to be calculated. When the commodities to be settled are placed on the settlement counter, the commodities to be settled and the coordinate scale are present in the monitoring image captured by the image capture device. The first position and the second position can be determined in the monitored image by using an object detection model. The object detection model comprises: a convolutional neural network model based on a Faster RCNN (Faster Region Convolutional Neural Network) algorithm, etc. For example, the convolutional neural network model based on the Faster RCNN algorithm is constructed, position information, images and classification information of bags, shoes, clothes and trousers and the like in the existing monitoring images are obtained in advance and marked manually as training data sets, the convolutional neural network model based on the Faster RCNN algorithm is detected and trained, so that the object detection network model is obtained. By using a RPN (Candidate region Network) network of the object detection network model to extract candidate regions having objects (the commodities to be settled and the coordinate scale) from the monitoring image, and by using a ROIpooling (Region of Interest Pooling) layer of the object detection network model to extract feature vectors from convolution feature maps of the monitoring image, the feature vector of each candidate region is sent into a classifier for classification, to judge a type to which the object belongs and determine coordinates of a rectangular region containing the object, so that the image of the commodities to be settled and the coordinate scale image are intercepted in the monitoring image. Step203, determining size information of the commodities to be settled based on the coordinate scale image and the image of the commodities to be settled. Step204, recognizing a commodity type to which the commodities to be settled in the image of the commodities to be settled belong, and obtaining the quantity corresponding to each type of commodity to be settled. The commodity type to which the commodities to be settled in the image of the commodities to be settled belong and the quantity thereof can be recognized through the neural network model, and the size information of the commodities to be settled is determined based on the coordinate scale image and the image of the commodities to be settled. For example, a fully connected layer of a convolutional neural network is established by a Softmax function, features in the coordinate scale image and the image of commodities to be settled are extracted, the features are compared with features of each type of commodity, a confidence level of the image of the commodities to be settled belonging to each commodity type is calculated by the convolutional neural network, the commodity type with the confidence level greater than a preset threshold is taken as the type of the commodities to be settled, and the quantity corresponding to each type of commodity to be settled is counted. Pooling layers, which may be a max pooling (maximum pooling) layer, can be provided between convolutional layers of the convolutional neural network, which can effectively reduce sampling rate of the image, thereby improving recognition efficiency. Instead of using dropout to discard a neural network unit, or using a batch normalization layer layer by layer, the batch normalization layer is provided only behind the last convolutional layer, which can accelerate the convergence speed of recognition and avoid gradient disappearance, thereby improving recognition efficiency and accuracy. Step205, determining the category of the commodities to be settled based on the size information of the commodities to be settled and the commodity type to which the commodities to be settled belong. The commodities to be settled in the image of the commodities to be settled and the coordinate scale in the coordinate scale image can be recognized through the neural network model, and according to a corresponding relation between the coordinate scale and the size of the commodities to be settled, a real size of the commodities to be settled is obtained. For example, the commodity type of the commodities to be settled is recognized through the neural network model as potato chips, and based on the corresponding relation between the coordinate scale and the size of the commodities to be settled, the actual size of the commodities to be settled can be obtained, and according to commodity size information in the commodity database, the category of the commodities to be settled is determined as a large pack of potato chips. In some embodiments, a commodity unit weight corresponding to the category of the commodities to be settled is captured, and the second weight is captured according to the commodity unit weight and the quantity of the commodities to be settled. For example, if it is recognized that the category of the commodities to be settled is a large pack of potato chips and the quantity is two, and according to commodity weight information in the commodity database, it is derived that the unit weight of the large pack of potato chips is 100 g, so that it is determined that the second weight is 100*2=200 g. FIG.3is a schematic flow diagram of judging whether the information of the commodities to be settled is matched with the commodities to be confirmed in the self-service settlement method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and as shown inFIG.3, the self-service settlement method comprises steps301to303. Step301, obtaining a difference between the first weight and the second weight. Step302, judging whether an absolute value of the difference is less than a preset difference threshold. Step303, determining that the information of the commodities to be settled is matched with the commodities to be confirmed under the condition that the absolute value of the difference is less than the preset difference threshold. For example, a preset difference threshold is 5 g, the first weight captured by a weight detection device arranged on the settlement counter is 300 g, and the second weight is 200 g, then the absolute value of the difference between the first weight and the second weight is 100 g, which is greater than the difference threshold of 5 g, so that it is determined that the information of commodities to be settled is not matched with the commodities to be confirmed, and an error message can be sent to a customer, a clerk, etc. When receiving the error message, the clerk can check the commodities to be settled. In some embodiments, the purchased commodity settlement information can be sent to the first display device and the second display device, respectively, so as to display the purchased commodity settlement information to the customer and the clerk, respectively. If a settlement cancellation or settlement error message sent by either of the customer and the clerk with respect to the purchased commodity settlement information is received, the checkout processing is suspended. The settlement process can be changed from the traditional settlement of a clerk scanning one-dimensional bar codes into “commodity detection and recognition settlement+verification settlement assisted by a clerk”, which avoids the tedious process of scanning commodities one by one, and greatly reduces settlement time. The image capture device can continuously detect the settlement counter, perform a recognition detection algorithm on the monitoring image every a preset number of image frames (for example, 3 image frames), to obtain the information of the commodities to be settled, and judge whether the information of the commodities to be settled is matched with the commodities to be confirmed, to obtain the purchased commodity settlement information, which realizes real time synchronization effect between the settlement counter and the purchased commodity settlement information displayed in the display device. For example, when five commodities A, B, C, D, E are placed on the settlement counter by a customer, the first display device and the second display device can display purchased commodity settlement information of the five commodities in real time, and when the commodities B and C are removed from the settlement counter, the first display device and the second display device will be updated as the purchased commodity settlement information of the three commodities A, D, E in real time. The customer can confirm the purchased commodity settlement information on the first display device, or suspend this checkout. The clerk can confirm the purchased commodity settlement information on the second display device, and if a settlement error is found, suspend settlement and payment, place the commodities to be settled again, and recognize the commodities to be settled, etc. FIG.4is a schematic flow diagram of the cost payment processing in the self-service settlement method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and as shown inFIG.4, the self-service settlement method comprises steps401to403. Step401, receiving cost payment information sent by the customer terminal and generated according to the purchased commodity settlement information. The customer can pay in many ways, for example, pay by card, etc. A payment two-dimensional code can also be generated based on the purchased commodity settlement information, and displayed on the first display device, or the purchased commodity settlement information can be sent to the customer terminal, so that the customer terminal can perform online payment by scanning the payment two-dimensional code, or perform online payment based on the purchased commodity settlement information. The customer terminal can be the customer's mobile phone or the like. Step402, if it is determined that the cost payment information is correct, sending cost payment completion information to the first display device and the second display device. The commodities to be settled are set to a paid status, so as to enable the commodities to be settled to pass the detection of the safety detection device and start next self-service settlement. For example, if it is determined that payment information of the customer is correct, processing such as fee deduction is performed, and status information of the commodities to be settled is set to a settled status in a commodity database, so that the customer can carry the commodities to be settled and pass the detection of the safety detection device. Step403, if it is determined that the cost payment information is incorrect, sending cost payment failure information to the first display device and the second display device. If the commodities to be settled is not recognized within a preset time, the current commodity recognition will be ended, and a next self-service settlement will be started. FIG.5is a schematic flow diagram of recommending a commodity in the self-service settlement method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and as shown inFIG.5, the self-service settlement method comprises steps501to504. Step501, acquiring the purchased commodity settlement information with successful cost payment and corresponding to the customer terminal, and obtaining a commodity category and shopping frequency according to the purchased commodity settlement information. Step502, determining a recommended commodity and purchase cycle according to the commodity category and the shopping frequency, and determining pushing time based on the purchase cycle. Step503, pushing the recommended commodity to the customer terminal based on the pushing time. Step504, receiving commodity preferential information, judging whether the commodity preferential information is matched with the recommended commodity, and if yes, pushing the recommended commodity and the commodity preferential information to the customer terminal. For example, after a customer pays through a mobile phone, an association between the mobile phone (e.g., mobile phone number) and purchased commodity settlement information is established. According to the historical purchased commodity settlement information, information such as commodities purchased by the customer and frequency corresponding to this mobile phone, is analyzed, to determine a shopping category and a shopping cycle of the customer. For example, if the shopping category is rice and the shopping cycle is 20 days, the rice is taken as a recommended commodity and pushed once every 20 days or so. As the pushing time comes, the recommended rice information is pushed to the customer's mobile phone. If shopping preferential information received is promotion information of a type of rice, the rice information and the promotion information are pushed to the customer's mobile phone, which can achieve intelligent advertising recommendation. In some embodiments, as shown inFIG.6, the present disclosure provides a self-service settlement apparatus60comprising: an image obtaining module61, an image recognition module62, a weight obtaining module63, a matching judgment module64, and a checkout processing module65. The image obtaining module61obtains a monitoring image captured by an image capture device and corresponding to commodities to be settled which are placed on a settlement counter. The image recognition module62recognizes the monitoring image to obtain information of the commodities to be settled; wherein the information of the commodities to be settled comprises: a category and quantity of the commodities to be settled, etc. The weight obtaining module63obtains a first weight captured by a weight detection device arranged on the settlement counter and corresponding to the commodities to be settled, and obtains a second weight corresponding to the commodities to be settled based on the information of the commodities to be settled. The matching judgment module64judges whether the information of the commodities to be settled is matched with the commodities to be confirmed according to a preset matching judgment rule and a comparison result of the first weight and the second weight. If the information of the commodities to be settled is matched with the commodities to be confirmed, the checkout processing module65obtains purchased commodity settlement information based on the information of the commodities to be settled, and performs checkout processing according to the purchased commodity settlement information; wherein the purchased commodity settlement information comprises: the category, quantity, settlement price of the commodities to be settled, etc. In some embodiments, as shown inFIG.8, the image recognition module62comprises: a position determining unit621, an image intercepting unit622, a size obtaining module623, and a recognition processing unit624. The position determining unit621determines in the monitoring image a first position corresponding to the commodities to be settled and a second position corresponding to a coordinate scale on the settlement counter. The image intercepting unit622intercepts in the monitoring image an image of the commodities to be settled and a coordinate scale image according to the first position and the second position. The size obtaining module623determines size information of the commodities to be settled based on the coordinate scale image and the image of the commodities to be settled. The recognition processing unit624recognizes a commodity type to which the commodities to be settled in the image of the commodities to be settled belong, and obtains a quantity corresponding to each type of commodity to be settled. The recognition processing unit624determines the category of the commodities to be settled based on the size information of the commodities to be settled and the commodity type to which the commodities to be settled belong. The position determining unit621determines in the monitoring image the first position and the second position with the use of an object detection model; wherein the object detection model comprises: a convolutional neural network model based on a Faster RCNN algorithm, and the like. The recognition processing unit624establishes a fully connected layer of a convolutional neural network by a Softmax function, and calculates a confidence level of the commodities to be settled belonging to each commodity type by the convolutional neural network. The recognition processing unit624takes the commodity type with the confidence level greater than a preset threshold as the commodity type of the commodities to be settled. Pooling layers are provided between convolutional layers of the convolution neural network, and a batch standardization layer is provided behind the last convolutional layer. In some embodiments, the weight obtaining module63acquires a commodity unit weight corresponding to the category of the commodities to be settled, and obtains the second weight according to the commodity unit weight and the quantity of the commodities to be settled. The matching judgment module64obtains a difference between the first weight and the second weight, judges whether an absolute value of the difference is less than a preset difference threshold, and if yes, determines that the information of the commodities to be settled is matched with the commodities to be confirmed. The checkout processing module65sends the purchased commodity settlement information to a first display device and a second display device, respectively, to display the purchased commodity settlement information to a customer and a clerk, respectively. The checkout processing module65suspends the checkout processing if a settlement cancellation or settlement error message sent by either of the customer and the clerk with respect to the purchased commodity settlement information is received. The checkout processing module65receives cost payment information sent by a customer terminal and generated from the purchased commodity settlement information, and if it is determined that the cost payment information is correct, cost payment completion information is sent to the first display device and the second display device, and the commodities to be settled is set to a paid status, so as to enable the commodities to be settled to pass the detection of a safety detection device. If it is determined that the cost payment information is incorrect, the checkout processing module65sends cost payment failure information to the first display device and the second display device. In some embodiments, as shown inFIG.7, the commodity recommending module66acquires the purchased commodity settlement information with successful cost payment and corresponding to the customer terminal, and obtains a commodity category and shopping frequency according to this purchased commodity settlement information. The commodity recommending module66determines a recommended commodity and a purchase cycle according to the commodity category and the shopping frequency, and determines pushing time based on the purchase cycle; and pushes the recommended commodity to the customer terminal based on the pushing time. The commodity recommending module66receives commodity preferential information, judges whether the commodity preferential information is matched with the recommended commodity, and if yes, pushes the recommended commodity and the commodity preferential information to the customer terminal. FIG.9is a schematic block diagram of a self-service settlement apparatus according to still other embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.9, the apparatus can comprise a memory91, a processor92, a communication interface93, and a bus94. The memory91is configured to store instructions, the processor92is coupled to the memory91, and the processor92is configured to implement the self-service settlement method described above based on the execution of the instructions stored in the memory91. The memory91can be a high-speed RAM memory, a non-volatile memory, or the like, and also be a memory array. The storage91can also be partitioned into blocks and the blocks can be combined into virtual volumes according to certain rules. The processor92can be a central processing unit CPU, or an Application Specific Integrated Circuit ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the self-service settlement method of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the present disclosure further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium has stored thereon computer instructions, which when executed by a processor, implement the self-service settlement method as mentioned in any of the above embodiments. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the embodiments of the present disclosure can be provided as a method, apparatus, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present disclosure can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present disclosure can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable non-transitory storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and so forth) having computer-usable program code therein. The present disclosure is described with reference to flow diagrams and/or block diagrams of the method, apparatus (system) and computer program product according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that by the instructions, which are executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, a means for implementing functions specified in one or more flows of the flow diagrams and/or one or more blocks of the block diagrams is created. According to the self-service settlement method, apparatus and storage medium of the above embodiments, by determining the information of the commodities to be detected in combination with the image recognition technology and the weight detection technology, fast self-service settlement can be achieved, which reduces an average time length of a single transaction, improves settlement efficiency, decreases customer's waiting time for settlement and improves shopping experience of the customer; a supervision function can be set, which effectively avoids economic loss caused by wrong settlement; neither extra auxiliary verification settlement, nor tools such as RFID price tags are needed, which results in low cost; the number of cashier staff can be reduced, which lowers operation cost; continuous contact with customers is established through an intelligent advertising technology, which not only raises customer experience, but also increases supermarket sales amount. The method and system of the present disclosure can be implemented in a number of ways. For example, the method and system of the present disclosure can be implemented through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination of software, hardware, and firmware. The above-described order for the steps of the method is for illustration only, and the steps of the method of the present disclosure are not limited to the order specifically described above unless specifically stated otherwise. Further, in some embodiments, the present disclosure may also be embodied as programs recorded in a recording medium, and these programs comprise machine-readable instructions for implementing the method according to the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure further covers a recording medium storing the programs for executing the method according to the present disclosure. The description of the present disclosure is given for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limits the present disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in this art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles and the practical applications of the present disclosure, and to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to understand the present disclosure, thereby designing various embodiments with various modifications suitable for a particular use. | 30,367 |
11861585 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION As a result of the ubiquity of mobile phones and mobile applications, every day thousands of data exchanges occur online that involve personal data. These data exchanges may occur between a user and a mobile application or between a mobile application and a backend server. These exchanges of personal data can be helpful. For example, a user may purchase goods or services or access banking information using different mobile applications. However, each time a data exchange occurs, the personal data of a user is exposed to third parties resulting in an increased chance of the personal data being compromised. For example, if a user attempts to purchase a product via a retailer's mobile application, the user will generally submit personal banking information, such as a credit/debit account number to the retailer's mobile application. In turn, the mobile application will transmit the personal banking information to the retailer's transaction processing servers. From there, the retailer's transaction processing servers will verify the personal banking information with the bank issuing the credit/debit card and complete the transaction. During this process, the user's personal banking information is exposed to the retailer's mobile application and the retailer's transaction processing servers. While most retailers act in good faith, each exposure presents a risk that the user's personal information will be compromised. In a further example, retailers may desire to enhance their mobile applications by customizing the user experience. For example, the retailer may want to offer certain discounts or coupons based on a user's personal information. Generally, the retailer can utilize user information acquired from the user directly, such as user demographics information or prior shopping behavior tracked and recorded via the mobile application. However, having access to additional user personal information, such as available credit on a financial account that was not acquired directly from the user, can substantially increase the likelihood that the user makes a purchase using the retailer's mobile application by allowing a retailer to provide targeted offers to the user. A retailer could request access to this personal information from the user directly via the retailer's mobile application by requesting personal identification information of the end user to access the financial information. However, again, while most retailers act in good faith, each exposure of personal information presents a risk that the user's personal information will be compromised. In a further example, retailers may offer retailer-specific credit cards (i.e., store-branded credit cards that can only be used at that store) to its customers. These credit cards are generally managed by third-party financial institutions (e.g., private label credit cards). In conventional systems, a user may need to access both a retailer application to access retailer-specific services and a separate financial institution application to manage the retailer-specific credit account hosted by the financial institution. Navigating between different applications can be a time-consuming process, which could result in fewer users adopting the retailer-specific credit cards. At least some embodiments of the present invention are disclosed that protect a user's personal information from being compromised by a host application (e.g., a retailer application) by integrating features from a child application (e.g., a financial institution application) into the host application while simultaneously preventing exposure of a user's personal information to the host application. In some embodiments, the host application invokes a child application that accesses and/or processes the personal information of the user. The child application then provides data to the host application for display on the display interface of a client device while also segmenting the user's personal information from the host application. These embodiments describe an integration concept where a child application is executed by a host application and control of a user interface is transferred between the host application and the child application. In these embodiments, the child application is encoded binary, not source code, meaning that the second application cannot be modified by the host application before, during or after execution. These embodiments generally improve the security functionality of a computer by providing a series of controlled access points in a computer application for a user to provide sensitive personal information without exposing the user's personal information to an unknown and unverified third party. One benefit of allowing the child application to display data and interact with the user is for enhanced security. In this modality, no data is transferred between the host and child application. Therefore, the child application may display sensitive content to the user in the form of personal identification information (PII) data or Payment Card Industry (PCI) data, without storing or transmitting such data to the host application. In addition, the child application can implement its encryption and security model for temporarily storing and transmitting the data to third parties. These embodiments also ensure that the host application will not break the security model established by the child application developer. Such an implementation also minimizes work performed by the host application developer because the developer does not need to develop corresponding host application user interfaces for child application data. Overall, these embodiments lead to a lower burden of testing and oversight into the host application development process and resulting source code. This type of integration can be used in a number of different environments or industries, including retailing, manufacturing, health care, or other environments that can utilize a customer-facing application. For example, using this functionality, a retailer can provide a native credit experience that seamlessly inserts credit functionality into a retailer shopping application without disrupting the branding of the retailer shopping application. Other examples include digital service providers who provide solutions that can be embedded within third party applications, and loyalty providers who can extend advertising to other retailer's applications. As another example, a car dealer with multiple dealerships might provide a dealership parent application to its customers while also using a car manufacturer child application, where the car manufacturer child application provides the details on cars for display on the user device when the user initiates use of the dealership parent application. Exemplary System Embodiments FIG.1illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a system10for extending functionality of a host application using data that is inaccessible to the host application, according to at least some embodiments of the invention. In this example, the system10includes a client device100, a host application server138and a child application server140to interface with an end user150. The client device100may be any computing device configured to interface with the end user150and/or the servers138and140. Examples of the client device100may include a smart phone, tablet or a personal computer, among others. In the embodiment as shown, the client device100includes a user interface102to receive inputs from and display data to the end user150. Examples of the user interface102include touch screens, and monitors with peripheral components such as a keyboard and mouse, among other things. In the embodiment as shown, the client device100includes a host application110to generate graphical user interfaces for display to the end user150. As used herein, the host application110may be any executable computer application (other than computer applications executed by the operating system of the client device100) that interacts with the end user150via a user interface. For example, in some embodiments, the host application110may be a retailer application to execute functionality offered pursuant to an application of a retailer. By way of example, the retailer application100may be programmed to execute functionality involving shopping, commerce, or a store locator, among others. The host application110may receive user inputs from the end user150via the user interface102. Alternatively, the host application110may request data from the host application server138and/or a child application120for display via the user interface102. The host application server138may be any computing device configured to manage access to a centralized resource or service in a network. In some embodiments, the host application server138may provide data resources to facilitate the host application110with providing graphical user interfaces to the end user150. For example, the host application server138may host retailer data used for shopping or commerce, among others. The retailer data may include retailer user interfaces displayable on the user interface102to aid the end user150during a shopping experience with the host application110. The retailer data may also include product information, such as product description and pricing information. In the embodiment as shown, the client device100includes the child application120, referenced above. As used herein, the child application120may be any executable computer application (other than computer applications executed by the operating system of the client device100) invoked by the host application110that interacts with the end user150via a user interface. In some embodiments, the child application120provides additional functionality (e.g., providing services) that is not provided by the host application110. For example, in some embodiments, the child application120may be a financial services application that provides financial services that extend functionality of an application of a retailer. By way of example, the child application120may be programmed to execute additional financial services of the host application110specific to the end user150, such as accessing and displaying financial account information, transaction history, credit or fund availability on a bank account, payment processing, and digital receipt information, among others. In some embodiments, the child application120may request data associated with the personal information of the end user150from a child application server140to integrate with graphical user interfaces. The child application server140may be any computing device configured to manage access to a centralized resource or service in a network. In some embodiments, the child application server140may provide data resources to facilitate the child application120with providing graphical user interfaces to the end user150. For example, the child application server140may be associated with a financial institution and may host, for the end user150, personal information including financial account information, transaction history, credit or fund availability on a bank account, payment processing, digital receipt information from a financial institution. In some embodiments, when requested by the host application110, the child application120controls the display on the user interface102. In these embodiments, the child application120may display personal information of the end user150inaccessible to and unmodifiable by the host application110. For example, the child application120may provide graphical user interfaces related to accessing financial account information or purchasing a product offered by the retailer using the financial account information. Examples of graphical user interfaces provided by the child application120include shopping cart or payment UIs that are specifically linked to a financial account of the end user150with a specific financial institution. With this functionality implemented, the child application120can ensure that the personal information of the end user150will not be compromised by the host application110, either inadvertently or intentionally, thereby improving the security functionality of the computer. Ultimately, the fewer the number of companies that have access to personal information, the less chance that the information can be compromised. In some embodiments, when requested by the host application110, the child application120may provide data associated with personal information that is otherwise inaccessible to the host application110. In these embodiments, the host application110is providing a graphical user interface to the end user150. For at least one of the user interface objects displayed to the end user150on the graphical user interface, the child application120provides data associated with the graphical user interface object. The data may be a graphical user interface object itself or data that can be processed by the host application110to generate a graphical user interface object. In some embodiments, the data provided by the child application120to the host application110includes data based on, associated with or generated from personal information of the end user150that is inaccessible to the host application110. For example, the host application110may desire to offer a discount or coupon that, if redeemed by the end user150, reduces the purchase price for an object. The discount or coupon may be based on personal information, such as credit availability, personal banking information, end user behavioral information (e.g., prior purchasing habits), and/or end user demographic information that is inaccessible to the host application110without the child application120. For example, if a user has $100 of available credit on a financial account, a retailer may desire to offer the end user a $10 off coupon for any purchase between $50 and $100 dollars using a host application110. This type of offer may be enticing for a user with $100 of available credit, but in other cases, where the user less than $50 of available credit, the user will not be able to redeem the offer because the user does not have access to sufficient funds to redeem the offer. In this case, the retailer may desire to offer a different discount, such as $5 off a purchase of $30 or more. By having access to available credit information on a financial account provided by the child application120, the retailer can provide user-specific offers to the end user150that have a greater likelihood of being redeemed. This type of functionality can be implemented by a host application110for a retailer without the end user150having to provide any personal information to the retailer via the host application110, such as personal identification information to access the financial account information. By preventing a retailer's access to personal information, while still allowing the retailer to provide targeted offers to the end user, the end user can protect personal information while still receiving enhanced functionality (e.g., targeted offers) from the retailer. These embodiments represent an improvement to the security functionality of a computer because the personal information of the end user150cannot be compromised by the host application110. On the other hand, conventional implementations risk compromising personal information of users by having host applications directly request access to a user's personal information in order to provide targeted offers. The host application110and child application120exchange data with the user interface102via connection lines132and134, respectively. Using the connection lines132and134, the host application110and child application120can control the user interface102by transmitting user interface data to the user interface102. Upon receipt, the user interface102generates a graphical user interface on a display for the end user150. The user interface102may receive user inputs from the user and transmit data representative of the user inputs to the host application110and the child application120via connection lines132and134, respectively. The host application110and the child application120exchange data via connection line130. Using the connection line130, the host application110can request the child application120to control of the user interface102. As discussed herein, by transferring control of the user interface102, the child application120can interact with the end user150so that the end user150can provide personal information without fear of access by the host application110. Using the connection line130, the host application110can request data associated with the personal information of the end user150from the child application120. The child application120can provide data associated with the personal information of the end user150to the host application110. In some embodiments, connection line130provides bidirectional communication between the host application110and the child application120and resides entirely on the client device100. The host application110connects to the host application server138and the child application120connects to the child application server140via network136. Network136connects the devices or components by carrying signals. Network136may be implemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, a phone line, a wireless link, a cellular phone link, a radio frequency link, or any other suitable communication channel. For instance, network136may be implemented using a combination of channels. Network136may be implemented as an intranet and/or an internet. Exemplary User Interfaces FIGS.2A-2Lillustrate exemplary user interfaces for extending functionality of a host application on an electronic device by providing additional services using data that is inaccessible to the host application, according to at least some embodiments of the invention. In these embodiments, the host application110is a retailer application that sells goods or services to customers. In this example, the retailer application110is associated with a fictional retailer known as “Rock Red,” a clothing company that sells clothing-related merchandise. The retailer application110, in conjunction with host application server138, provides one or more user interfaces to the end user150via user interface102. In these embodiments, the retailer application110is implemented on a mobile device (i.e., the client device100). To start the process, the end user150opens retailer application110, for example, by selecting an icon (not shown) representing the retailer application110on the end user's mobile device100. In response, the retailer application110displays a home page, as shown in exemplaryFIG.2A, on a user interface102. In this example, the user interface102is a touchscreen. The end user150may navigate through one or more user interfaces of retailer application110to shop for clothing merchandise that the end user150is interested in purchasing. As shown inFIG.2B, the user may navigate to a user interface of the retailer application110showing a shirt that the user would like to purchase.FIG.2Bincludes an image204of the shirt and a selectable purchase button206. After the end user150decides to purchase the shirt, the end user150selects the purchase button206. In response, the retailer application110displays a checkout user interface, as shown in exemplaryFIG.2C, to complete the transaction. In some embodiments, the retailer application110may include financial services functionality, such as a checkout page including a first checkout button208that, if selected, allows the end user150to provide financial account information via subsequent user interfaces to complete the purchasing transaction. Once the end user150provides the financial account information, the retailer application110displays a confirm transaction user interface, as shown in exemplaryFIG.2D. Upon selection of the confirm checkout button211by the end user150, the transaction is verified and completed. However, as described herein, if the end user150provides personal information (e.g., a credit card number) to the retailer application110, it is possible that the personal information could be compromised. To address this concern, in some embodiments, the retailer application110can provide an alternative checkout process that includes extended financial services functionality. In these embodiments, the retailer application110provides a second checkout button210, as shown inFIG.2C, that allows a user to complete the purchasing transaction using a retailer-specific credit card linked to a financial institution. In this example, the retailer-specific credit card is a “RockRed Card.” Upon selection of the second checkout button210, the retailer application110invokes a child application120that provides extended financial services of the financial institution to complete the purchasing process. In this embodiment, the child application120is an exemplary financial services application hosted by the financial institution. The retailer application110then transfers control of the touchscreen102to the financial services application120. In response to the transfer of control from the retailer application110, the financial services application120requests data associated with a financial services user interface from child application server140. In this example, the child application server140is a financial services server. The financial services server140provides data associated with a retailer-specific financial account of the end user150hosted by a financial institution. This data includes user interfaces to complete a transaction. Initially, as shown inFIG.2E, the financial services application120displays a login user interface on the touchscreen102. The user is prompted to enter personal identification information, i.e., a username at field212and a password at field214. Upon completion, the user can select a login button216to login to the financial services application120. While this embodiment includes a login user interface, it is contemplated that the login user interface may be optional, as a user may have previously provided personal identification information. Logging in to the financial services application120allows for the secure access of the end user's information stored by the financial services server140of the financial institution and use of such information in connection with the retailer application110. More particularly, financial services application120makes a call to the financial services server140of the financial institution. The call includes user credentials, i.e., a user name and password inputted during log in, and an identifier of the mobile device150being used by the end user. The security comes from both the user name and password and the ability to identify key attributes about the end user150. In some embodiments, the financial services application120may use device fingerprinting (e.g., accessing a device identifier) to provide an additional factor for authentication. In some embodiments, the financial services application120auto generates the device identifier and stores it locally within an encrypted storage. In some embodiments, if the end user150has already logged into the financial services application120, then the financial services application120can forego display of the login user interface. After the end user150has logged in and has been authenticated, the financial services application120displays a confirm checkout user interface, as shown inFIG.2F. The confirm checkout user interface includes a “Confirm Checkout using RockRed Card” confirmation button218that, when selected, completes the purchase transaction using the financial services application120. To complete the purchase transaction, the financial services application120transmits personal information of the end user150, such as personal identification information (e.g., username and password) or personal account information (e.g., credit card account information) to the financial services server140, where the purchase transaction is verified. By completing the purchase transaction using the financial services application120, the end user150avoids providing personal information (e.g., credit card information) to a retailer via the retailer application110, thereby improving the security functionality of the computer by protecting the user's personal information from being compromised. These embodiments represent an improvement over conventional applications that merely request the user to provide the personal information (e.g., credit card information) to complete the transaction. Besides the checkout functionality, different embodiments of the financial services application120include additional financial services functionality. The additional financial services functionality can be accessed via a multitude of different methods. In one example, the additional financial services functionality is accessed by the end user by selecting a credit card link219, as shown onFIG.2G. There are a number of different examples of additional financial services functionality. For instance, in some embodiments, the financial services application120displays functionality to view an account balance for an retailer-specific account of the end-user150provided by the financial institution (see, for example,FIG.2H). In a further example, in some embodiments, the financial services application120displays functionality to view an transaction history for the retailer-specific account of the end-user150provided by the financial institution (see, for example,FIG.21). In a further example, in some embodiments, the financial services application120displays functionality to pay the account balance for the retailer-specific account of the end-user150provided by the financial institution (see, for example,FIG.2J). In a further example, in some embodiments, the financial services application120displays offers associated with the retailer-specific account of the end-user150provided by the financial institution (see, for example,FIG.2K). In a further example, in some embodiments, the financial services application120implements functionality to display a digital scan-able credit card associated with the retailer-specific account of the end-user150provided by the financial institution (see, for example,FIG.2L). FIGS.2M-2Tillustrate exemplary user interfaces for applying for new credit usable for purchases in the host application by using data that is inaccessible to the host application, according to at least some embodiments of the invention. As illustrated inFIG.2M, after the user navigates through the host application to the child application, the user is presented with a user interface that includes an offer for credit (e.g., a Rock Red Store Card). In some embodiments, the child application may display opt-in options for data sharing (e.g., “Apply with Synchrony Bank” selectable icon252) to the user. If the user selects an option that involves data sharing between the host and child application, or with a third party data source, the user may be presented with a notification254, as shown inFIG.2N.FIGS.2O-2Pillustrate a user interface that displays the information shared between host and child applications with the user option to change and/or enter additional data. Examples of such information include applicant name256, applicant address258, applicant email260, applicant phone262, applicant social security number264and applicant date of birth266as shown inFIG.20. Examples of such user options include options to choose an applicant user name and password268, select statement options270and add another authorized user272.FIG.2Qillustrates a user interface that displays terms and conditions274as well as a selectable icon276for the user to submit approval to the credit provider to use the applicant information. In some embodiments, the child application may concurrently share data with the host application after the user submits approval.FIG.2Rillustrates a user interface indicating that the user has been approved to use credit (e.g., via a Rock Red card). A user electing to use their card immediately may be prompted to enroll their card in a mobile wallet, either within the host application or a third party application (e.g., APPLE PAY®), separate and distinct from the host application or child application, as illustrated inFIG.2S.FIG.2Tshows the user interface after a successful enrollment in a third party mobile wallet. In some embodiments, the retailer application110may request end-user specific data associated with the financial institution for a subsequent user interface component to be displayed on a user interface. In these embodiments, the retailer application110interfaces with the financial services application120through connection130to call or request functionality that is not available through the retailer application110but, instead, is available from the financial services server140of the financial institution (e.g., credit offers) via the financial services application120. The retailer application110may display that functionality in connection with other functionality of the retailer application100(e.g., the cart page or the home page of the retailer application110). Thus, embodiments of the present invention allow the user to take advantage of functionality of two separate applications (e.g., the retailer application110and those available from the financial services server140of the financial institution via the financial services application120) in a single user interface, e.g., displayed on mobile device100. For example, from the cart page, retailer application110can call a function (e.g., Show Promo function) executed by financial services application120to display information from the functionality that is available from the financial services server140of the financial institution. Examples of the different call functions are described in more detail below. FIGS.3A-3Cillustrate exemplary user interfaces for extending functionality of a host application on an electronic device by providing user-specific data (e.g., targeted offers) on the host application using data that is inaccessible to the host application, according to at least some embodiments of the invention. FIG.3Ais similar to the user interface shown inFIG.2B, where the user navigates to a user interface of the retailer application110showing a shirt that the user would like to purchase. In some embodiments, in response to a user indication that the user desires to buy the item (i.e., the shirt) a retailer may provide an offer or promotion (e.g., $10 off a purchase)220to an end user150via the retailer application110to use a retailer-specific credit card to complete the transaction. However, the retailer may only desire to provide the offer or promotion under certain conditions such as if certain end-user-specific offer criteria is met. In some embodiments, the end-user-specific offer criteria is based on available credit on a retailer-specific credit card of an end user150. For example, as shown inFIG.3B, the offer or promotion may only be provided if enough is credit available on the retailer-specific credit card account of the end user150to complete the transaction. In these embodiments, the retailer application110may request the financial services application120to retrieve data associated with the retailer-specific credit account (e.g., available credit) of the end user150. In response, the financial services application120retrieves the available credit information for the end user150from financial services server140. In these embodiments, if the retailer application110or the financial services application120determines that the total amount of items selected by the end user150is less than the amount of available credit associated with the retailer-specific credit account of the end user150(i.e., that the data associated with the retailer-specific credit account meets end-user-specific offer criteria), then the offer or promotion is displayed to the end user150(e.g., on the cart page user interface or front page user interface of the retailer application110or a user interface of the financial services application120). Given the amount of money to be spent on the items in the cart, the retailer application110or financial services application120can now return a promotion and ensure that the promotion is valid for someone who has the available credit to spend. In some embodiments, as shown in the checkout cart user interface illustrated inFIG.3C, a retailer application110may provide an offer or promotion222to an end user150to increase a credit limit for a retailer-specific credit account to complete a transaction if certain end-user-specific offer criteria is not met. For example, the offer or promotion222is only provided if there is not enough credit available on the retailer-specific credit card account of the end user150to complete the transaction. In these embodiments, the retailer application110may request the financial services application120to retrieve data associated with the retailer-specific credit account (e.g., available credit) of the end user150. In response, the financial services application120retrieves the available credit information for the end user150from financial services server140. In these embodiments, if the retailer application110or the financial services application120determines that the total amount of items selected by the end user150is greater than the amount of available credit associated with the retailer-specific credit card of the end user150(i.e., that the data associated with the retailer-specific credit account does not meet the end-user-specific offer criteria), then the offer or promotion to increase the credit limit for the retailer-specific credit card is displayed to the end user150(e.g., on the cart page user interface or front page user interface of the retailer application110or a user interface of the financial services application120). Upon selection to increase the credit limit, the retailer application110or the financial services application120walks the user through a process to increase the credit limit for the retailer-specific credit card of the end user150. This process can be used to ensure that the user has sufficient credit to make the purchase. While the preceding example uses available credit on a retailer-specific credit account to determine whether certain end-user-specific offer criteria is met, it is contemplate that other criteria may be used to determine whether certain end-user-specific offer criteria is met, including user demographic information and user behavioral information (e.g., purchase history), among others. Other examples of offer criteria include geographic, temporal, climate (i.e., weather), and artificial intelligent software for predicting user behavior. By leveraging available balance information on a financial account only accessible to the financial services application120, the retailer application110can provide more-effective targeted offers to the end user150without having direct access to personal information (e.g., financial account identification information) of the user. These embodiments improve the security functionality of the computer by protecting the user's personal information from being compromised while also enhancing functionality of the retailer application110to provide more-effective targeted offers. These embodiments represent an improvement over conventional applications that merely request the user to provide additional personal details, such as a personal identification information for a financial account, to access additional information (e.g., financial account information) of the user. Exemplary Process Flow Embodiments FIG.4illustrates a flow diagram depicting a method400performed by an electronic device for extending the functionality of a host application based on data that is inaccessible to the host application, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention. At step401, the electronic device (e.g., the client device100) invokes a host application executed at the electronic device100. In some embodiments, the host application is a retailer application. At step402, the electronic device100displays, using the host application110, a first host user interface (e.g., the user interface inFIG.2B, the user interface inFIG.2G) on the display (e.g., user interface102). In some embodiments, the first host user interface includes a first host user interface component (e.g., purchase button206inFIG.2B, credit card link219inFIG.2G). At step403, in response to a selection of the first host UI component in the first host user interface by an end user, the electronic device100invokes, using the host application, a child application (e.g., a financial services application120) executed at the electronic device100. At step404, in further response, the electronic device100transmits, using the host application110, a request for data associated with a child user interface component to the child application120. At step405, in further response, the electronic device100transmits, using the child application120, the request for data associated with the child user interface component to a child application server140connected to the child application120. In some embodiments, the data associated with the child user interface component is inaccessible by the host application110. In some embodiments, the child application120is configured to receive personal information provided by the end user150(e.g., via a previously-displayed child user interface) that is inaccessible by the host application. In some embodiments, the request for data associated with the child user interface component transmitted from the child application includes the personal information provided by the end user. For example, in some embodiments, the personal information is personal identification information or retailer-specific financial account information. At step406, in further response, the electronic device100receives, using the child application120, the data associated with the child user interface component from the child application server140. In some embodiments, the data associated with the child user interface component is a child user interface as shown inFIG.2Eor any ofFIGS.2H-2L. In some embodiments, data displayed on the child user interface and data received via the child user interface is inaccessible by the host application. An example of data displayed on the child user interface includes data associated with a financial account of the end user150, among others. At step407, in further response, the electronic device100displays the child user interface component on the display. In some embodiments, the child user interface component is a child user interface as shown inFIG.2EandFIGS.2H-2L. In some embodiments, the child user interface component is a selectable affordance (e.g., a confirm checkout button218, a checkout button220or a request for a credit increase on a financial account button222). In some embodiments, as shown in exemplaryFIGS.3A-3C, the electronic device100provides, using the child application120, the data associated with the child user interface component to the host application110; and displays, using the host application110, the child user interface component on the display. In some embodiments, the host application110is a retailer application, the child application120is a financial services application and the data associated with a child user interface component includes data associated with a retailer-specific financial account with a credit limit of the end user150. In these embodiments, in response to a determination that the data associated with the retailer-specific financial account (e.g., the available credit limit) meets end-user-specific offer criteria, the electronic device100displays, using the retailer application110, a first offer to the end user to use the retailer-specific credit account to make a purchase (see e.g.,FIG.3B). In some embodiments, in response to a determination that the data associated with the retailer-specific financial account (e.g., the available credit limit) does not meet end-user-specific offer criteria, the electronic device100displays, using the retailer application110, a second offer to the end user (e.g., to request a credit limit increase for the retailer-specific credit account to make a purchase (see e.g.,FIG.3C)) where the second offer is different from the first offer. By providing limited access to the data associated with the child user interface component (i.e., financial account information of an end user150) using the child application120, the end user150can avoid exposing additional personal information (e.g., personal identification information for the financial institution) from the host application110while still allowing the host application110to provide user-specific information (e.g., targeted offers) to the end user150. These embodiments represent an improvement to the security capabilities of a computer by limiting exposure of personal information to different parties while still providing enhanced functionality within a computer application. A computer system that may be used to implement the methods of the present invention, which methods may be implemented as programmable code for execution by computer system, is now described. More particularly, the computer system comprises hardware, as described more fully herein, that is used in connection with executing software/computer programming code (i.e., computer readable instructions) to carry out the steps of the methods described herein. The computer system includes one or more processors. The processor may be any type of processor, including but not limited to a special purpose or a general-purpose digital signal processor, specially programmed to perform the methods described herein. Processor may be connected to a communication infrastructure (e.g. a data bus or computer network) either via a wired connection or a wireless connection. Communication infrastructure carries signals and may be implemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, a phone line, a wireless link, a cellular phone link, a radio frequency link, or any other suitable communication channel, including a combination of the foregoing exemplary channels. The computer system includes one or more memories. The memory may include at least one of: random access memory (RAM), a hard disk drive and a removable storage drive, such as a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, or an optical disk drive. The removable storage drive reads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit. The removable storage unit can be a floppy disk, a magnetic tape, an optical disk, which is read by and written to a removable storage drive. In alternative implementations, memory may include other similar means for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into computer system. Such means may include, for example, a removable storage unit and an interface. Examples of such means may include a removable memory chip (such as an EPROM, or PROM, or flash memory) and associated socket, and other removable storage units and interfaces which allow software and data to be transferred from removable storage unit to the computer system. Alternatively, the program may be executed and/or the data accessed from the removable storage unit, using the processor of the computer system. The computer system includes one or more user interfaces. The user interface may be a program that controls a display of computer system, on which the output of the processes described herein can be displayed. The user interface may include one or more peripheral user interface components, such as a keyboard or a mouse. The end user may use the peripheral user interface components to interact with computer system. The user interface may receive user inputs, such as mouse inputs or keyboard inputs from the mouse or keyboard user interface components. Thus, in exemplary embodiments, there is included one or more computers having one or more processors and memory (e.g., one or more nonvolatile storage devices). In some embodiments, memory or computer readable storage medium of memory stores programs, modules and data structures, or a subset thereof for a processor to control and run the various systems and methods disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, perform one or more of the methods disclosed herein. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the exemplary embodiments shown and described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments shown and described, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the claims. For example, specific features of the exemplary embodiments may or may not be part of the claimed invention and features of the disclosed embodiments may be combined. It is to be understood that at least some of the figures and descriptions of the invention have been simplified to focus on elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the invention, while eliminating, for purposes of clarity, other elements that those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate may also comprise a portion of the invention. However, because such elements are well known in the art, and because they do not necessarily facilitate a better understanding of the invention, a description of such elements is not provided herein. Further, to the extent that the method does not rely on the particular order of steps set forth herein, the particular order of the steps should not be construed as limitation on the claims. The claims directed to the method of the present invention should not be limited to the performance of their steps in the order written, and one skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the steps may be varied and still remain within the spirit and scope of the present invention. | 46,566 |
11861586 | DESCRIPTION A system1for facilitating payment of a total amount comprising multiple future instalments by a customer3will now be described with reference toFIG.1. The system1includes an instalment payment server5associated with an institution9, a mobile device7associated with a customer3, and a merchant point of sale (POS) system13associated with a merchant11. The instalment payment server5has a first processing device17to perform one or more of the computer-implemented methods described herein and a server data store18. The instalment server5is in communication, over a communications network15, with both the mobile device7and the POS system13. The instalment server5may also be in communication with a financial service provider23having a financial service provider processing device25and associated data store27. The mobile device7may be a mobile communication device such as a smartphone, tablet, etc. that may typically be in the possession of a customer3. The mobile device7may have one or more user interfaces, including a display (that may also include a touchscreen display), one or more buttons, microphones, etc. The display of the mobile device7may be configured to display an optical machine readable representation, such as a barcode, quick response (QR) code, etc. The mobile device7also includes a second processing device (not shown) to perform one or more of the computer-implemented methods described herein. The merchant POS system13includes an optical scanner19for scanning optical machine-readable representations. The optical machine-readable representations may include a barcode or QR code displayed on the mobile device7. The optical scanner19may also read optical machine-readable representations associated with goods or services21(such as on a label or tag). The merchant POS system13also includes a third processing device (not shown) to perform one or more of the computer-implemented methods described herein. Overview of the Method The system1may perform the computer-implemented method100,200,300described below for facilitating payment of a total amount31comprising multiple future instalments33by a customer3. Referring to the example inFIGS.2and3, the customer3may wish to purchase the goods or services21from the merchant11. Instead of an upfront payment of the total amount31for the goods or services21, the customer3may wish to make payments in instalments, including multiple future instalments33. The system1facilitates this by performing the following method100,200,300. The instalment payment server5receives210an indication from a mobile device7to set up the payment by the multiple future instalments. This may be in the form of a request sent from the mobile device7to set up the payment and/or a confirmation sent from the mobile device7. The payment by multiple future instalments may include particular terms, such as a specified maximum for the total amount and the value and timing of the multiple future instalments. The method then includes generating220first authorisation data indicative of an authorisation of the multiple future instalments. In some examples, this is performed at the instalment payment server5. The first authorisation data is then sent230to the mobile device7. The mobile device7then displays130an optical machine readable representation of the first authorisation data. In one example, this may include a barcode that may be used to identify the customer (3) who is authorised to make transactions that include a payment for the total amount in multiple future instalments33. The optical machine representation of the first authorisation data is then scanned310by the optical scanner19at the merchant POS system13of the merchant. The method further includes receiving320, by the merchant POS system13, purchasing data for a purchase of one or more goods or services21for the total amount31. In some examples, this may include scanning a barcode associated with the goods or services21. In other examples, this may include the merchant11or customer3selecting the goods or services21at a terminal associated with the POS system13. It is to be appreciated that in various examples, this step may be done before or after the step of scanning310the optical machine readable representation of the first authorisation data. The method further includes sending330purchasing data, merchant data and second authorisation data to be received240at the instalment payment server5. The purchasing data may include, for example, the price (i.e. value or total value) of the goods or services21. The merchant data may include information in relation to the merchant11, such as a merchant identifier so that the institution9and/or financial service provider21can send information to the merchant11and/or arrange payment to the merchant11. The second authorisation data represents the scanned optical machine readable representation of the first authorisation data. This information may be used at the instalment payment server5to determine250the particular customer3that is transacting with the merchant11. It may also allow the instalment payment server5to determine a particular authorisation for payment by multiple future instalments. The method includes determining260, at the instalment payment server5, the validity of multiple future instalments. Determining the validity may be based on the total amount and the authorisation of the multiple future instalments for the determined customer. In some examples, this may include determining that the total amount does not exceed a specified maximum threshold for the customer (or for the particular authorisation of the multiple future instalments for that customer). In some examples, determining the validity of the multiple future instalments may include determining the specific value of each of the multiple future instalments33that is payable by the customer3. This determination is based on the total amount, as provided by the purchasing data, and the determined customer3. For example, this may include comparing the total amount with particular terms that have been authorised for the particular customer, such as the specified maximum for the total amount (or cumulative value of the total amounts of other transactions for that customer that remain outstanding), and the number of instalment payments. This may then be used to specify the value of the multiple future payments33and when they fall due. Based on determining valid multiple future instalments, the method further includes sending270a confirmation to the merchant POS system13to cause the merchant POS system13to generate an indication that the one or more goods or services21can be released to the customer3. For example, this may be a visual indication at a display of an operator terminal at the merchant11. The method further includes initiating280the multiple future instalments at respective points in time. For example this may include sending to the financial service provider23a request to debit a customer account for the multiple future instalments at respective points in time. In another example, this may include sending requests to the customer3to make the multiple future instalments at respective times. Referring toFIG.3, the customer3makes the instalment payments33a,33b,33c, etc. over a period of time35. In one example, the sum of all the multiple future instalments33will be sufficient to satisfy payment of the total amount31. In one example, the sum of the multiple future instalments33equals the total amount31. Therefore assuming the customer3makes all the multiple future instalments33, the customer would have covered payment for the total amount31. The payment to the merchant11may be made by the institution9on behalf of the customer3. In one example, the institution9may make a payment equivalent to the total amount31to the merchant11at, or temporally close to, the time of sending270the confirmation to release the goods or services21to the customer3. Therefore the merchant11can be satisfied that they have, or will, be paid the total amount for the goods or services21that they are releasing. Alternatively, the institution9may direct the financial service provider23to pay the total amount to the merchant11. Detailed non-limiting examples of the method will now be described. Example of Facilitating Payment Initiated at the Merchant POS System During Checkout A detailed example of facilitating payment that is initiated at the POS terminal will now be described with reference toFIGS.2,4and5. The customer3may approach a merchant13at the POS system13to settle a transaction for the goods or services21. The merchant13may then receive320purchasing data for the goods or services21by scanning a barcode of the goods or services21with the optical scanner19, whereby the barcode may provide the purchasing data itself or a pointer to purchasing data in a data store12associated with the merchant11. In other examples, the merchant11may enter details of the purchasing data via a user interface, or select items on the user interface indicative of the goods or services21. If the customer is purchasing multiple items of goods or services21, the POS system13may add the respective values to provide the total amount. The customer3may then indicate to the merchant11that they wish to make the payment by multiple future instalments. Thus the POS system13may then receive301an indication that the customer3intends pay for the total amount31by multiple future instalments33as well as a customer identifier. The customer identifier may be an identifier that the customer3is willing to provide to the POS system13. For example, this may include a phone number, an email address, a customer name, a customer number or other customer alias. Assume for this example that the customer identifier is a mobile phone number associated with the customer3and the mobile device7. The POS system13then sends303, over the communications network15, to the instalment payment server5, a request to set up the payment by the multiple future instalments33and the customer identifier. In some examples, this may also include sending the purchasing data so that the total amount can be determined by the instalment payment server5. The indication and the customer identifier is then received201by the instalment payment server5. In response the instalment payment server5may then determine203, based on the customer identifier, the particular customer3and any respective customer records. Such records may include contact details, history of the customer, alerts, loyalty information etc. The instalment payment server5then sends205, over the communications network15, to be received101at the mobile device7of the particular customer3, a prompt for the customer3to confirm that they intend to make payment for the total amount by multiple future instalments. This may include sending details of the purchasing data and the merchant11for the customer3to consider. The customer3may then confirm this intention. In one example, this may include the mobile device7receiving101, at a user interface, a request to set up payment by the multiple future instalments (this may include confirming the detailed request). This may include receiving a short message service (SMS) text message, an application notification on the mobile device7, or an email from the instalment payment server5. In one example, the customer3may be required to log into an application or a website associated with the instalment payment server5as shown inFIGS.5ato5c.FIG.5aillustrates an interface41, on a touchscreen, for the customer to enter their customer identifier and a password.FIG.5billustrates a prompt43for the customer3to enter the proposed total amount31. In some examples, the customer3may wish to enter a proposed total amount that is larger than the anticipated total amount31for the goods or services21. This may allow the customer3to have a buffer and/or purchase more items (or items at a higher price), or at a different exchange rate than initially anticipated, or to make multiple transactions (such as at different stores). FIG.5cillustrates an interface45where the customer can enter banking details47. This may include credit card details and debit card details. In some other examples, this may include a customer's bank account details. The banking details47may include the customer's nominated account from which payments for the future instalments can be withdrawn from.FIG.5calso details some of the payment terms49for the multiple future instalments. In this example, the total amount is $160 whereby the multiple future instalments include four instalments at $40 each. The instalments are to be made every 14 days. It is to be appreciated that this is only an example and other periods, amounts and other terms may be used. It is also to be appreciated that some of these steps may include the determination in step260described herein that is provided inFIG.5cfor the customer's review. At the lower portion of the interface45is a confirmation icon51. When the customer3is satisfied with the terms, the mobile device7may receive103the customer's confirmation via selecting the confirmation icon51on the mobile device7. In turn, the mobile device7may then send110, over the communications network15, an indication and/or confirmation to the instalment payment server5to set up the payment by the multiple future instalments. The instalment payment server5may then receive210this indication and/or confirmation. The instalment payment server may then generate220first authorisation data indicative of authorisation of the multiple future instalments. Ideally, this first authorisation data is unique to allow identification of the particular authorisation and customer3. Authorisation of the multiple future instalments may include the instalments payment server5checking the customer record5, including payment history, to determine the likelihood that the customer would fulfil or default on the multiple future instalments. This may also include an authorisation based on the proposed total amount. If authorised, the first authorisation data may then be generated. In some examples, the first authorisation data may be a number and/or text associated with this authorisation. In some other examples, the first authorisation data may be an optical machine readable representation, such as a barcode or QR code. In some other examples, optical machine readable representation may be derivable from the numbers and/or text. The instalment payment server5then sends230the first authorisation data, over the communications network15, that is then received120by the mobile device7. The instalment payment server5may also save the first authorisation data and other information related to this authorisation for the customer3in data store18. The mobile device7may then display an optical machine readable representation of the first authorisation data. In some examples, the optical machine readable representation is a barcode based on the first authorisation data. For example, the first authorisation data may include numbers and/or text that are converted (e.g. rendered) at the mobile device to a barcode. In some examples, the optical machine readable representation may be a QR code. In yet another example, the optical machine readable representation may be textual information comprising of numbers and/or text that can be read by the optical scanner19. Referring toFIG.5d, the interface61of the mobile device7shows a barcode63as an optical machine readable representation. Corresponding textual information65is also displayed which may be an alternative for an optical scanner19or an operator to use for receiving information related to the first authorisation data. FIG.5dalso includes a maximum amount67that the customer3may use for the total amount. This maximum amount may be greater than the anticipated total amount to allow a buffer. Also shown are other term69, such as an expiry time for when the particular authorisation is to be used. Once the optical machine readable representation is on the display, the customer3may then present this to the optical scanner19of the POS system13. This allows scanning310of the machine readable representation of the first authorisation data. This would be analogous to how a customer3would, in a normal transaction, present cash or a credit card/debit card to a merchant11as payment. In turn, the POS system13may then send330the second authorisation data representing the scanned optical machine readable representation and merchant data, over the communications network15, to be received at the instalment payment server5. The POS system13may also send, or resend, the purchasing data to the instalment payment server5, although it is appreciated that this information may have already been sent303previously so that in some examples this may not be necessary. Nonetheless, purchasing data may be sent again to the instalment payment server5to confirm the total amount. The instalment payment server5may then determine the customer3based on the second authorisation data. This may include comparing the second authorisation data with the first authorisation data and/or customer records saved in the data store18. The method also includes determining260the validity of multiple future instalments. For example, this may include determining that the authorisation for payment by multiple future instalments has not expired (in time). This may also include determining that the total amount in the purchasing data (or the cumulative value with other total amounts outstanding for the customer) does not exceed the specified maximum amount. It may also include determining that other terms and conditions are fulfilled or likely to be fulfilled. The step of determining the validity of multiple future instalments may also include determining the multiple future instalments. In some examples, the actual total amount may be the same as the anticipated total amount as discussed above. Therefore determining the multiple future instalments may include retrieving, from a data store18, payments terms49including the value and timing of the instalments (such as $40 dollars for each instalments made every 14 days in the above example). In other examples, determining the multiple future instalments may include recalculating the multiple future instalments. This may be required if additional goods or services21are purchased and/or there are fluctuations in the total amount (such as for goods or services21with a floating price or currency fluctuations). The step of determining260the multiple future instalments33may also include determining that the multiple future instalments are valid. Based on determining the validity of multiple future instalments, the instalment payment server5then sends270, over the communications network15, a confirmation to the POS system13to generate an indication that one or more goods or services can be released to the customer3. The operator at the merchant11, on receiving this indication, may then allow the customer3to leave with the goods or services. Furthermore, the instalment payment server5may also send a notification to the mobile device7to notify the customer3of the approval of payment by multiple future instalments. The method further includes the instalment payments server5initiating280the multiple future instalments33. As noted above, this may include sending to the financial service provider23a request to debit a customer account (including an account associated with a bank account, credit card, debit card, etc.) for the multiple future instalments at respective points in time. The institution9may also make a payment, or guarantee a payment, of the total amount31to the merchant11, either directly, or alternatively indirectly through the financial service provider23. In some examples, this may be done at or around the same time of sending the confirmation270. In some examples, this may be done within a specified period, for example within 24 hours, 48 hours, or 72 hours, etc. This provides certainty to the merchant11that they will be paid and improves cash flow for the merchant11. Importantly, in some examples this results in the merchant receiving the total amount11before the customer3has fulfilled all the multiple future instalments. Example of Facilitating Payment Initiated by Preapproval Before Checkout Another example will now be described with reference toFIGS.2,5and6. In this alternative example, the customer3may wish to receive preapproval for making payment for a total amount comprising multiple future instalments before checking out. For example, the customer3may wish to receive preapproval for a specified amount before they enter a merchant11(or multiple merchants) so that they can budget for their purchases. The customer device7may receive105, from a user interface, a request to preapprove a proposed amount. Referring toFIG.5b, this may include the customer3entering into the prompt43a proposed total amount that they want to preapprove. The customer device7then sends, over the communications network15, to the instalment payment server5the indication to set up payment by multiple future instalments, including the proposed total amount. The instalment payments server5then determines211that the proposed total amount is less than or equal to a specified maximum amount for the customer3. For example, the specified maximum amount may be a limit the institution9is willing to risk with the particular customer5. It is to be appreciated that in some examples that this may include determining that the proposed total amount is within a specified range. The instalment payment server5may then generate220the first authorisation data indicative of an authorisation (i.e. preapproval) of the multiple future instalments, whereby this step is conditional on the result of determining211that the proposed total amount is less than or equal to the specified maximum amount. The first authorisation data may then be sent230to the mobile device7. Referring toFIG.5d, this positive preapproval may be shown at a display of the mobile device7showing a preapproved maximum amount67(which may be based on or equal to the proposed total amount). This also shows the optical machine readable representation in the form of a barcode67as well as other terms67such as an expiry time. Once the customer3has received this first authorisation data, the customer3may then be confident that they will be able to make purchases at any merchant11(that uses this payment system1) for goods or services21up to the value of the preapproved maximum amount67. Thus the customer3may be free to look at different merchants11before deciding to make purchases up to their budgeted preapproved amount. Once the customer3has decided to make the purchase of goods or services21at a particular merchant11, the customer3can present the mobile device7displaying130the optical machine readable representation of the first authorisation data to the merchant POS system13. The optical scanner19of the merchant POS system13may then scan310the optical machine readable representation. The merchant POS system13may also receive320purchasing data for the goods or services as described above. Subsequently, the merchant POS system13sends330the purchasing data, merchant data and second authorisation data representing the scanned optical machine readable representation, over the communications network15, to be received240by the instalment payment server5. The instalment payment server5(and other parts of the system1) can then perform the successive steps as described above. Variations In some examples, the step of generating220the first authorisation data indicative of an authorisation of the multiple future instalments is conditional on determining authority to debit a customer bank account for the multiple future instalments33. For example, this may include determining that the credit card/debit card details provided by the customer3through the mobile device7are valid details. In one example, this may include the instalment payment server5requesting confirmation from the financial services provider23that the credit/debit card details are valid and that payments can be received from the respective customer bank account. In other examples, this may include debiting a nominal amount from the credit/debit card (e.g. a small amount of currency, such as $1). In other examples, this may include subsequently refunding (or reversing) the nominal amount to the customer bank account. Initial Payment (Deposit Value) In some examples, the methods described above may further include receiving a deposit value from a customer before the step of sending270the confirmation to the merchant POS system13. In some examples, this may include receiving a first instalment payment33a(or equivalent thereof) as the deposit value. In some examples, the deposit value is equal to or greater than a first multiple future instalment33aor anticipated first multiple future instalment. 1. Receiving Initial Payment at Authorisation In some examples, the deposit value may be debited from a customer account at (or around the time of) generating220and sending230the first authorisation data. For example, the method may include charging a portion of the total amount (or the proposed total amount) as part of the approval process. In some examples, the deposit value may be deducted from a nominated customer account specified by the customer3. Based on determining that the amount has been received from the customer, the method may then include sending230the first authorisation data to the mobile device. In one example of facilitating payment initiated by preapproval, this may include receiving a portion of the proposed total amount to be held as a deposit for the duration that the first authorisation data is valid. If the first authorisation data is not used for a corresponding purchase of goods or services for the total amount, the deposit may then be credited back to the customer account. 2. Receiving Initial Payment at Point of Sale In another example, the terms of the authorisation may require the customer3to pay a proportion of the total amount at the time of (including around the time of) receiving the goods or services21. Thus in another example, the instalment server5may, as part of the step of determining260the validity of multiple future instalments, deduct a proportion of the total amount (which may be equal to the first instalment amount). Based on a valid deduction of the proportion of the total amount from the customer's account (whether by direct debit, from a debit card, or credit card), this may be a factor in satisfying the instalment server5of the validity of the multiple future instalments. In turn, the confirmation may then be sent270to the POS system so that the goods and services can be released. It is to be appreciated that the deposit value may be received in other ways. In other examples, the customer3may present payment of the deposit value to the merchant11(such as cash) after which the POS system1sends a notification of receipt of the deposit value to the instalment server5. 3. Receiving Nominal Payment at Authorisation and Initial Payment at Point of Sale In yet another example, the initial payment may be received in a combination of the examples described above. This may include charging a small nominal amount from the customer account at (or around the time of) generating220and sending230the first authorisation data. For example, this may be a small amount, such as $2 so that the instalment server5may be satisfied that the associated debit card, credit card, and customer account is an active account. This may be a sufficient requirement for the instalment server5to be satisfied to send the first authorisation data. In some examples, the small nominal amount may be refunded (or reversed) after this process, although it is to be appreciated that the nominal amount may be held on as a small deposit value (which can be credited to the first instalment at a later time). At the time the customer3uses the first authorisation data (i.e. around the time the optical machine readable representation is scanned by the POS system13, and the instalment payment server5determines the validity of the multiple future instalments), the instalment payment server5may attempt to debit from the customer account a proportion of the total amount. In some examples, this proportion of the total amount is significantly larger than the total amount and may be equal to the first instalment. As this amount is larger, this may be indicative factor in determining the capacity of the customer3to fulfil the future instalment obligations. Thus if there are insufficient funds from the customer's account to debit the proportion of the total amount, the instalment payment server5may determine invalidity of multiple future instalments and halt the process. Accordingly, the instalment payment server5may send an indication the merchant POS system13and the customer mobile device7to decline proceeding and to halt the release of goods and services. Optical Machine Readable Representation The optical machine readable representation is based on the first authorisation data and may be in various and variable forms. In some examples, the first authorisation data may include numbers and/or text that are received by the mobile device7. The mobile device7may then render the numbers and/or text to the optical machine readable representation. For example, the numbers and/or text may be rendered to a barcode or Quick Response (QR) code. In other examples, the numbers and/or text may be rendered, including embedded into a picture or logo that can be scanned at the merchant POS system13. It is to be appreciated that the optical machine readable representation may, at least in part, be generated on a device other than the mobile device7. For example, the instalment payment server5may generate the barcode or QR code as an image file (e.g. digital image/photo) and send the image file (as the first authorisation data) to the mobile device7that in turn displays the image file at a display. In yet another example, at least part of the first authorisation data may be time limited. This may be used to increase security so that the associated optical machine readable representation is only valid for a window of time. For example, the instalment payment server5may send an initial portion of the first authorisation data to the mobile device7which, in turn, may be used to generate the optical machine readable representation that is valid for an associated initial time window. Thus when the instalment payment server5is determining260the validity of the multiple future transactions, this may include determining that the optical machine readable representation was scanned during the initial time window. Once the associated time window has passed, the optical machine readable representation can no longer be validly used for purchases. This may assist in preventing fraudulent use, such as by a fraudulent user intercepting the first authorisation data or from a screen capture (or photo) of the optical machine readable representation from a customer's device. However, to avoid the customer having to send multiple requests to set up payment after the initial time window has expired, the system may be configured to automatically generate one or more subsequent optical machine readable representations for the customer3(e.g. “rolling” optical machine readable representations). Therefore the method may further include sending one or more subsequent portions of the first authorisation data, wherein the subsequent portions has an associated subsequent time window. In turn, an optical machine readable representation of the subsequent portion can then be validly used for the associated subsequent time window. In some example, each time window may be in the order of minutes, for example 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes. Furthermore, there may be an overall time window (and/or number of subsequent portions). For example, authorisation of the multiple future instalments may be available for 12 hours, and portions of the first authorisation data may be sent sequentially to the mobile device7so that the multiple smaller associated time windows cover the 12 hour time frame. It is to be appreciated that in some examples, temporally adjacent associated time windows may have some overlap to assist smooth operation of the system. Account Setup, Login and Active Session Times The customer may setup an account in a native application on the mobile device7, or via a web interface on a computing device, by providing details such as an email address, customer name, customer address and a proposed password. The process may also include providing payment method and details such as details of a debit card, bank account number, or credit card. The process may also include verifying the mobile device7whereby a confirmation code is sent, via a message, to a phone number associated with the mobile device7. When entering the payment method and details, this may include providing a card security code (also known as card verification code, card verification number, card verification value, card verification code, etc.) that is associated with the debit card or credit card. This card security code provides an additional layer of security for card not present transactions. In some examples, the card security code is required once when setting up the account and is not required each time the customer wants to set up payment by the multiple future instalments. However it is to be appreciated that in some circumstances, the system may request the card security code again if there is an interaction that may affect security, for example if the customer changes the password or logs in with a new mobile device7. The login process may include using a customer identifier, such as an email address or phone number, coupled with a password. Alternatively, for mobile devices7incorporating a biometric sensor (such as a fingerprint scanner), the biometric sensor may be used to assist in identifying and authenticating the customer3for the login in process. Once the login is complete, an active session may be open for a specified session time (for example a 60 minute session). After the specified session time has expired, the application (or the website on a server) will automatically log out. This provides an added security measure in case a customer's mobile device is unattended, lost, stolen, etc. Alternative Example for Requesting Preapproval In the example shown inFIG.5, this included a prompt43asking the customer3to enter the proposed total amount31. It is to be appreciated that in alternative examples, the customer3set a default proposed total amount or nominate the specified maximum threshold as the proposed total amount. The default proposed total amount may be entered during setup of the customer account. FIG.7illustrates a number of screenshots of a display of a mobile device7to the customer in an alternative example where a customer3may make a request105for preapproval at the default proposed total amount. AtFIG.7A a request icon71for the default amount allows the customer to send110the indication to set up the payment by multiple future instalments to the instalment payment server5with a single interaction (e.g. “one click” solution). The instalment payment server5may then determine if the customer3has authorisation for multiple future instalments, which may include checks as described above. If the customer3does not satisfy the requirements and is not provide authorisation, for example if the customer3has defaulted on past instalments, the instalment payment server5may send a notification to decline the request to the mobile device7. A decline message75may be represented on the mobile device7as shown inFIG.7B, which may specify a reason and instructions to resolve the issue. Alternatively, if the instalment payment server5approves, then the first authorisation data is sent to the mobile device7and the mobile device then displays a corresponding optical machine readable representation77as shown inFIG.7C. In addition, the default total amount79may be shown so the customer is aware of the maximum value associated with the authorisation. Further textual information81may be provided, which may include instructions and terms and conditions. An indication83of the associated card number or bank account may also be provided. Referring back toFIG.7A, the customer may also have the option of specifying an amount via a second request icon73. This allows the customer to request an alternative amount. This may be advantageous if the customer wants to have multiple preapprovals for use in multiple stores, but has a limited specified maximum threshold. For example, if the specified maximum threshold is $1000 and the customer has a default proposed total amount of $400, the customer may be restricted to two preapprovals as the combined amount is $800 (and that three preapprovals would be $1200 which is above the specified maximum threshold). However, if the customer specifies a preapproval request of $200, then the customer may potentially request five preapprovals for $200. This may allow the customer confidence to plan to make purchases at five different stores for up to $200 each. In yet another example, it is to be appreciated that an application on the mobile device7may, by default, make a request for preapproval upon login or opening the application. For example, if the application determines that there are no current optical machine readable representations available for use and determines that, on this basis, the customer intends to request preapproval. That is, providing a “zero click” solution to the customer once the application is open. In such an example, the application may automatically perform the process to arrive at eitherFIG.7BorFIG.7C. Hardware None limiting examples of hardware that may be suitable for the system1will now be described. Mobile Communication Device7 The mobile device7may be a smartphone, a tablet, portable computer etc. The mobile device7may include a processing device, data store, and a user interface such as a display, keys, touchscreen, etc. The mobile device7may communicate with the communications network15via cellular networks, wireless communication network such as Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth, and may also include the internet. The mobile device7may perform the computer implemented methods described herein. This may include downloading software from an application store to perform the methods described herein. The application store may be an online store accessible via the communications network15. Examples of application stores (also known as “App store”) include Google Play™ (offered by Google, Inc.), App Store™ (offered by Apple, Inc.), Amazon Appstore™ (offered by Amazon.com, Inc.), Windows Phone Store™ or Windows Store™ (offered by Microsoft Corp.). The application store may be on a cloud based server. Merchant Point of Sale (POS) System13 The POS system13may include an electronic device, such as a computer, tablet computer, mobile communication device, computer server, computer terminal, etc. Such an electronic device may include a processing device and a data store12. The POS system13may include a user interface such as a keyboard, mouse, monitor display, touchscreen display, etc. The POS system13may also include an optical scanner19, such as a barcode scanner. This may include an active device with a light source to project laser light towards a barcode and an optical sensor to detect reflected light. In other examples, the optical scanner19may be a passive device that detects light from the barcode (or other optical machine readable representation. The Instalment Payment Server5 The instalment payment server5may include one or more processing devices17and data store18. The instalment payment server5may be operated by the institution9. In some examples, the institution may include a financial institution. The data store18may store customer information, such as banking details, credit and payment histories, customer loyalty rewards and other details. The Communications Network15 In the example illustrated inFIG.1, the communications network15is schematic represented as one network connecting nodes (network elements) such as the instalment payment server5, the merchant POS system13, mobile device7, and the financial service provider processing device25. However it is to be appreciated that there may be multiple networks for connection between two or more of the above mentioned nodes. For example, the mobile device7may be in communication with the instalment payment server5via a cellular network and/or the internet. The POS system14may be in communication with the server5via the internet and/or a separate network. Furthermore, in some examples the instalment payment server5may be in communication with the financial service provider processing device25via another separate network to maintain security. Processing Device FIG.8illustrates an example of a processing device17,25than may include processing devices associated with a mobile device7, POS system13, instalment payment server5, and financial services provider device25. The processing device17,25includes a processor1510, a memory1520and an interface device1540that communicate with each other via a bus1530. The memory1520stores instructions and data for implementing one or more of the methods100,200,300, described above, and the processor1510performs the instructions (such as a computer program) from the memory1520to implement the methods100,200,300. The interface device1540may include a communications module that facilitates communication with the communications network19and, in some examples, with the user interface and peripherals such as data store12,18,27and optical scanner19. It should be noted that although the processing device may be independent network elements, the processing device may also be part of another network element. Further, some functions performed by the processing device may be distributed between multiple network elements. For example, the server5may be associated with multiple processing devices and steps of the method200may be performed, and distributed, across more than one of these devices (and may, in some examples include the processing devices associated with the mobile device7and the POS system13. Similarly, the POS system13at the merchant11may include a plurality of individual terminals so that multiple customers may be served at one time. It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments, without departing from the broad general scope of the present disclosure. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. | 43,242 |
11861587 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Various non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described to provide an overall understanding of the principles of the structure, function, and use of systems and methods disclosed herein. One or more examples of these non-limiting embodiments are illustrated in the selected examples disclosed and described in detail with reference made to the figures in the accompanying drawings. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that systems and methods specifically described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings are non-limiting embodiments. The features illustrated or described in connection with one non-limiting embodiment may be combined with the features of other non-limiting embodiments. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure. The systems, apparatuses, devices, and methods disclosed herein are described in detail by way of examples and with reference to the figures. The examples discussed herein are examples only and are provided to assist in the explanation of the apparatuses, devices, systems and methods described herein. None of the features or components shown in the drawings or discussed below should be taken as mandatory for any specific implementation of any of these the apparatuses, devices, systems or methods unless specifically designated as mandatory. In addition, elements illustrated in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale for simplicity and clarity of illustration. For ease of reading and clarity, certain components, modules, or methods may be described solely in connection with a specific figure. In this disclosure, any identification of specific techniques, arrangements, etc. are either related to a specific example presented or are merely a general description of such a technique, arrangement, etc. Identifications of specific details or examples are not intended to be, and should not be, construed as mandatory or limiting unless specifically designated as such. Any failure to specifically describe a combination or sub-combination of components should not be understood as an indication that any combination or sub-combination is not possible. It will be appreciated that modifications to disclosed and described examples, arrangements, configurations, components, elements, apparatuses, devices, systems, methods, etc. can be made and may be desired for a specific application. Also, for any methods described, regardless of whether the method is described in conjunction with a flow diagram, it should be understood that unless otherwise specified or required by context, any explicit or implicit ordering of steps performed in the execution of a method does not imply that those steps must be performed in the order presented but instead may be performed in a different order or in parallel. Reference throughout the specification to “various embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “one embodiment,” “some example embodiments,” “one example embodiment,” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with any embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in various embodiments,” “in some embodiments,” “in one embodiment,” “some example embodiments,” “one example embodiment,” or “in an embodiment” in places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Throughout this disclosure, references to components or modules generally refer to items that logically can be grouped together to perform a function or group of related functions. Like reference numerals are generally intended to refer to the same or similar components. Components and modules can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. The term “software” is used expansively to include not only executable code, for example machine-executable or machine-interpretable instructions, but also data structures, data stores and computing instructions stored in any suitable electronic format, including firmware, and embedded software. The terms “information” and “data” are used expansively and includes a wide variety of electronic information, including executable code; content such as text, video data, and audio data, among others; and various codes or flags. The terms “information,” “data,” and “content” are sometimes used interchangeably when permitted by context. It should be noted that although for clarity and to aid in understanding some examples discussed herein might describe specific features or functions as part of a specific component or module, or as occurring at a specific layer of a computing device (for example, a hardware layer, operating system layer, or application layer), those features or functions may be implemented as part of a different component or module or operated at a different layer of a communication protocol stack. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the systems, apparatuses, devices, and methods described herein can be applied to, or easily modified for use with, other types of equipment, can use other arrangements of computing systems such as client-server distributed systems, and can use other protocols, or operate at other layers in communication protocol stacks, than are described. Referring now toFIG.1, in one embodiment, a system100for secure payment and secure transaction processing includes a mobile device110and a multi-factor device130. In some embodiments, such as the one shown inFIG.1, the system100also includes an account management server140and/or one or more networks150. The multi-factor authentication device130is in communication with the mobile device110. In the illustrative embodiment, the multi-factor authentication device130is in communication via a BLUETOOTH communications link. It should be appreciated, however, that the multi-factor authentication device130may also be in communication with the mobile device110via any other wireless (or wired) communication technologies (e.g., Wi-Fi®, NFC, USB, Ethernet, etc.). The mobile device110can be embodied as any type of computing device or server capable of processing, communicating, storing, maintaining, and transferring data. For example, the mobile device110can be embodied as a microcomputer, a minicomputer, a custom chip, an embedded processing device, a mobile computing device, a handheld computer, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, and/or other computing device or suitable programmable device. In some embodiments, the mobile device110can be embodied as a computing device integrated with other systems or subsystems. As illustratively shown inFIG.1, the mobile device110includes a processor112, a system bus114, a memory116, a data storage118, communication circuitry120, and one or more peripheral devices122. Of course, the mobile device110can include other or additional components, such as those commonly found in a computing device and/or server (e.g., various input/output devices), in other embodiments. Additionally, in some embodiments, one or more of the illustrative components can be incorporated in, or otherwise from a portion of, another component. For example, the memory116, or portions thereof, can be incorporated in the processor112in some embodiments. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the mobile device110can include other components, sub-components, and devices commonly found in a computer and/or computing device, which are not illustrated inFIG.1for clarity of the description. The processor112can be embodied as any type of processor capable of performing the functions described herein. For example, the processor112can be embodied as a single or multi-core processor, a digital signal processor, a microcontroller, a general purpose central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processor, a processor having a pipeline, a complex instruction set computer (CISC) processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or any other type of processor or processing/controlling circuit or controller. In various configurations, the mobile device110includes a system bus114for interconnecting the various components of the mobile device110. The system bus114can be embodied as, or otherwise include, memory controller hubs, input/output control hubs, firmware devices, communication links (i.e., point-to-point links, bus links, wires, cables, light guides, printed circuit board traces, etc.) and/or other components and subsystems to facilitate the input/output operations with the processor112, the memory116, and other components of the mobile device110. In some embodiments, the mobile device110can be integrated into one or more chips such as a programmable logic device or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In such embodiments, the system bus114can form a portion of a system-on-a-chip (SoC) and be incorporated, along with the processor112, the memory116, and other components of the mobile device110, on a single integrated circuit chip. The memory116can be embodied as any type of volatile or non-volatile memory or data storage capable of performing the functions described herein. For example, the memory116can be embodied as read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), cache memory associated with the processor112, or other memories such as dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), flash memory, a removable memory card or disk, a solid state drive, and so forth. In operation, the memory116can store various data and software used during operation of the mobile device110such as operating systems, applications, programs, libraries, and drivers. The data storage118can be embodied as any type of device or devices configured for short-term or long-term storage of data such as, for example, memory devices and circuits, memory cards, hard disk drives, solid-state drives, or other data storage devices. For example, in some embodiments, the data storage118includes storage media such as a storage device that can be configured to have multiple modules, such as magnetic disk drives, floppy drives, tape drives, hard drives, optical drives and media, magneto-optical drives and media, Compact Disc (CD) drives, Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Compact Disc Recordable (CD-R), Compact Disc Rewriteable (CD-RW), a suitable type of Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) or Blu-Ray disc, and so forth. Storage media such as flash drives, solid state hard drives, redundant array of individual disks (RAID), virtual drives, networked drives and other memory means including storage media on the processor112, or the memory116are also contemplated as storage devices. It should be appreciated that such memory can be internal or external with respect to operation of the disclosed embodiments. It should also be appreciated that certain portions of the processes described herein can be performed using instructions stored on a computer-readable medium or media that direct or otherwise instruct a computer system to perform the process steps. Non-transitory computer-readable media, as used herein, comprises all computer-readable media except for transitory, propagating signals. The communication circuitry120of the mobile device110may be embodied as any type of communication circuit, device, interface, or collection thereof, capable of enabling communications between the mobile device110and the multi-factor device130, the account management server140and/or any other computing or processing devices communicatively coupled thereto. For example, the communication circuitry120may be embodied as one or more network interface controllers (NICs), in some embodiments. The communication circuitry120may be configured to use any one or more communication technologies (e.g., wireless or wired communications) and associated protocols (e.g., Ethernet, Wi-Fi®, WiMAX, etc.) to effect such communication. In the illustrative embodiment, the communication circuitry120includes a wireless communication interface (e.g., Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, NFC, mesh network, etc.) configured to enable communications between the mobile device110and the multi-factor device130, the account management server140, and/or any other computing or processing device. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the communication circuitry120includes a wired communication interface (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial communication interface, USB, serial communication interface, parallel communication interface, etc.) configured to enable communications directly between the mobile device110and the multi-factor device130and/or the account management server140via a physical communications connection. In some embodiments, the mobile device110, the multi-factor device130, the account management server140, and/or any other computing or processing devices of the system100, can communicate with each other over one or more networks150. The network(s)150can be embodied as any number of various wired and/or wireless communication networks. For example, the network(s)150can be embodied as or otherwise include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a cellular network, or a publicly-accessible, global network such as the Internet. Additionally, the network(s)150can include any number of additional devices to facilitate communication between the computing devices of the system100. Additionally, in some embodiments, the mobile device110can further include one or more peripheral devices122. Such peripheral devices122can include any type of peripheral device commonly found in a computing device such as various user interface devices (e.g., a joystick, buttons, controls, a hardware keyboard, a keypad, a gesture or graphical input device, a motion input device, a vibratory device, a computer mouse, a voice recognition unit, etc.), a display and/or a touchscreen interface, additional data storage, speakers, an audio unit, a peripheral communication device, and any other suitable user interface, input/output device, and/or other peripheral device. In some embodiments, such as the one shown inFIGS.2A-2C, the mobile device110may be configured to execute a mobile application210(e.g., a payment processing application, digital wallet, etc.). As described herein, the mobile application210may be configured to facilitate secure transactions (e.g., one-tap payment transactions, cryptocurrency transactions, etc.) made via the mobile device110. The mobile device110may also execute a trusted execution environment214(e.g., OP-TEE, etc.), which may be used to store a public key address224(e.g., a blockchain address, etc.), in some embodiments. Referring back toFIG.1, the multi-factor device130may be embodied as any type of computing device capable of performing the functions described herein. As such, the multi-factor device130may include devices and structures commonly found in computing devices such as processors, memory devices, communication circuitry, and data storages, which are not shown inFIG.1for clarity of the description. In some embodiments, the multi-factor device130may execute a Linux distribution and a trusted execution environment (e.g., OP-TEE, etc.), which may include trusted zone storage244. The trusted zone storage244may be configured to store a private key220of a corresponding public/private key pair. In some embodiments, the private key220stored in the trusted zone storage244may be embodied as a private blockchain key. As described in more detail below in connection withFIGS.2A-2C, the multi-factor device130may also be configured to execute or otherwise function as a Bluetooth® communications server240. In such embodiments, the Bluetooth® communications server240of the multi-factor device130may be configured to handle requests received from the mobile device110. The multi-factor device130may also be configured to provide cryptographic processing for public key infrastructures. The account management server140may be embodied as any type of computing device (or devices) capable of performing the functions described herein. As such, the account management server140may include devices and structures commonly found in computing devices such as processors, memory devices, communication circuitry, and data storages, which are not shown inFIG.1for clarity of the description. In some embodiments, the account management server140is configured to provide user account information (e.g., bibliographic data, account data, credit/bank card numbers, public key address, etc.) to a mobile application (e.g., the mobile application210ofFIG.2A) executed by the mobile device110. Such account information may be stored in a local database or may be retrieved from a remote storage device or service (e.g., remote storage server, remote database, cloud storage service, etc.) by the account management server140. In some embodiments, the account management server140may be configured to provide a hosted website that acts as an account management portal similar to banking websites in which users can be registered and provided with various account management features. Referring now toFIGS.2A-2C, a simplified system processing flow diagram of secure payment processing that may be performed by the mobile device110and the multi-factor device130is depicted. As discussed, the mobile device110may execute a mobile payment application210. The mobile application210may be configured to include user account information (e.g., user credentials, bibliographic data, account data, credit/bank card numbers, etc.) and a public key address224, which may be retrieved from the account management server140(or any other source). In some embodiments, the mobile application210may also be configured to include multiple public key addresses224. It should be appreciated that in the illustrative secure payment processing technologies depicted inFIGS.2A-2C, the private key corresponding or otherwise relating to the public key address224is not used for verification. Instead, for increased security, the corresponding/related private key stored in the trusted zone storage244of the multi-factor device130is processed via cryptographic functions to rederive or regenerate the public key address, as discussed in more detail herein. Such functionality is beneficial because the private key is kept separate from the public key. That is, the public key and the private key do not reside on the same mobile device110, e.g., the private key does not leave the encrypted trusted zone storage244of the multi-factor device130. As discussed, the mobile application210of the mobile device110may retrieve the user account information and the public key address224from the account management server140(or another source), in some embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, when a user is registered they will be assigned a public key address224to their account. The public key address224may be derived from a public key of a public/private key pair. For example, in some embodiments, the public key address may be a hash of a public key derived from a private key. As discussed herein, the private key220used to generate the public key, which is subsequently used to derive the public key address224, may be stored in the trusted zone storage244of the multi-factor device130. Once the private key220has been securely stored in the trusted zone storage244of the multi-factor device130, the multi-factor device130can be shipped to the registered user via hardware supply chain (or other secure means). In some embodiments, once the user receives the multi-factor device130, the user may complete a verification process via the mobile application210to ensure that the multi-factor device130is successfully registered to the mobile application210and user information is correct on both the multi-factor device130and the mobile application210. It should be appreciated that such process increases security as the private key220is not transmitted outside the trusted zone storage244of the multi-factor device130. In operation, during a secure payment transaction, the mobile application210of the mobile device110is configured to generate a request message230, in some embodiments. In such embodiments, the request message230may include the public key address224and may be transmitted to the multi-factor device130via a Bluetooth® communications link. The Bluetooth® communications server240of the multi-factor device130may be configured to receive the request message230from the mobile device110and, based at least in part on the content of that request message230, respond accordingly. For example, the multi-factor device130may be configured to rederive or regenerate the public key address and compare that rederived/regenerated public key address to the public key address224included in the request message230received from the mobile device110. Based at least in part on the outcome of the comparison, the multi-factor device130may be configured to generate a response message250, which is transmitted to the mobile device110via Bluetooth® (or other communication technology). For example, if the rederived/regenerated public key address matches the public key address224included in the request message230, the multi-factor device130may be configured to generate a response message250indicating a status of “OK” (e.g., see252ofFIG.2B). If, however, the rederived/regenerated public key address does not match the public key address224included in the request message230, the multi-factor device130may be configured to instead generate a response message250indicating a status of “FAILED” (e.g., see254ofFIG.2B). Upon receipt of the response message250, the mobile application210of the mobile device110may be configured determine whether to allow or deny a payment transaction based at least in part on, or otherwise as a function of, the response message250received from the multi-factor device130. For example, as illustratively shown inFIG.2C, the mobile application210may be configured to determine whether the response message250indicates a status of “OK” (e.g., determination flow260) or a status of “FAILED” (e.g., determination flow262). Continuing this example, if the mobile application210determines that the response message250indicates a status of “OK,” the mobile application210may be configured to submit the transaction and process the NFC payment accordingly. If, however, the mobile application210instead determines that the response message indicates a status of “FAILED,” the mobile application210may be configured to disregard the transaction and deny the NFC payment. In this way, the multi-factor device130is configured to act as an interrupt in NFC one-tap payment processes made via the mobile device110. In doing so, a payment application (e.g., the mobile application210ofFIG.2A) of the mobile device110may be configured to deny payment authorization if the multi-factor device130is not present and connected to the mobile device110. Conversely, the payment application of the mobile device110may be configured to allow payment authorization if the multi-factor device130is present and connected to the mobile device110. In some embodiments, the mobile device110(e.g., the mobile application210or other components of the mobile device110), the multi-factor device130, and/or any other components or devices of the system100may be configured to utilize the PKI infrastructure to encrypt/decrypt communications. For example, in some embodiments, the mobile application210/mobile device110may be configured to encrypt messages (e.g., the request message230or any other type of message) sent to the multi-factor device130with a public key corresponding to the private key stored in the trusted zone storage244of the multi-factor device130. Upon receipt, the multi-factor device130may use the corresponding private key to decrypt the message received from the mobile application210/mobile device110. Additionally, in such embodiments, the multi-factor device130can be configured to encrypt messages (e.g., the response message250or any other type of message) sent to the mobile application210/mobile device110with the private key. Upon receipt, the mobile application210/mobile device110may use the corresponding public key to decrypt the message received from the multi-factor device130. Additionally or alternatively, the mobile device110(e.g., the mobile application210or other components of the mobile device110), the multi-factor device, and/or any other components or devices of the system100may be configured to utilize symmetric encryption in addition to the PKI infrastructure to encrypt/decrypt communications. For example, in some embodiments, the mobile application210/mobile device110can be configured to generate a symmetric encryption key for each transaction (e.g., a session key). In such cases, the mobile application210/mobile device110can be configured to encrypt the generated symmetric encryption key with the public key corresponding to the private key stored in the trusted zone storage244of the multi-factor device130. Upon receipt of the encrypted symmetric encryption key, the multi-factor device130can use the corresponding private key to decrypt the encrypted symmetric encryption key. Thereafter, both the multi-factor device130and the mobile application210/mobile device110can utilize the unencrypted symmetric key to encrypt and decrypt communications (e.g., the request message230, the response message250, or any other type of message or data) sent by or sent to the other device. Additionally, in some embodiments, the multi-factor device130can also be configured to generate a one-time password (OTP). In such embodiments, the mobile application210can be configured to request and verify the OTP prior to authorizing a one-tap payment NFC transaction. To do so, in some embodiments, the mobile application210can be configured to locally generate the OTP. Thereafter, the mobile application210can be configured to compare the locally-generated OTP with the OTP generated by the multi-factor device130. If the locally-generated OTP matches the OTP generated by the multi-factor device130, the mobile application210may be configured to submit the transaction and process the NFC payment. If, however, the locally-generated OTP does not match the OTP generated by the multi-factor device130, the mobile application210may instead be configured to disregard the transaction and prevent the NFC payment. Additionally or alternatively, the multi-factor device130may be configured to generate location data, which can be passed to the mobile application210in order to verify the location in which the payment is being made. In such embodiments, transactions may be permitted only in certain geographic locations. The multi-factor authentication system100can also be used to provide single sign-on functionality, in some embodiments. More specifically, components of the system100can be used to facilitate user account generation for accessing one or more electronic services. For example, in some embodiments, such as the one illustratively shown inFIG.12, a user may be registered via the Account Management Server140. During registration, a user account may be generated within a directory service. In the illustrative embodiment, the directory service may be provided by a separate active directory server1210. In other embodiments, the directory server may executed by the account management server140or another computing device of the system100. The user account generated in the directory service (e.g., the active directory server1210) may include the user's public address224as the user's principal name (e.g., username, unique identifier, etc.). Additionally, in some embodiments, additional metadata associated with the user (e.g., email address, postal address, phone number, personally identifiable information, etc.) may also be used to populate additional information fields of the newly generated user account. It should be appreciated that generating a user account including the user's public address224as the user's principal name facilitates provision of single sign-on capabilities to the user and compliance with “Know Your Customer” regulations/guidelines. Additionally, in some embodiments, the multi-factor authentication system100system100can be used in connection with various blockchain technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the system100may include one or more validator devices (e.g., nodes) of a validation network (e.g., multiple nodes) configured to communicate with each over via one or more networks. Additionally, in such embodiments, a cryptocurrency unit associated one or more electronic services, access portals, or smart contracts may be transferred from one party (e.g., an access provider, a municipality, a service provider, etc.) to a digital wallet or user account of a user (e.g., a resident, a subscriber, am acquiring user, etc.). The transfer of the cryptocurrency unit from the original entity to the digital wallet of the user may be validated via a cryptocurrency ledger (e.g., a block chain, etc.) to ensure that the user is permitted to access a particular service or agreed to a particular term. Some of the figures can include a flow diagram. Although such figures can include a particular logic flow, it can be appreciated that the logic flow merely provides an exemplary implementation of the general functionality. Further, the logic flow does not necessarily have to be executed in the order presented unless otherwise indicated. In addition, the logic flow can be implemented by a hardware element, a software element executed by a computer, a firmware element embedded in hardware, or any combination thereof. The foregoing description of embodiments and examples has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting to the forms described. Numerous modifications are possible in light of the above teachings. Some of those modifications have been discussed, and others will be understood by those skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best illustrate principles of various embodiments as are suited to particular uses contemplated. The scope is, of course, not limited to the examples set forth herein, but can be employed in any number of applications and equivalent devices by those of ordinary skill in the art. Rather it is hereby intended the scope of the invention to be defined by the claims appended hereto. | 31,001 |
11861588 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments which may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural, logical and electrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following description of example embodiments is, therefore, not to be taken in a limited sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims. The functions or algorithms described herein may be implemented in software in one embodiment. The software may consist of computer executable instructions stored on computer readable media or computer readable storage device such as one or more non-transitory memories or other type of hardware-based storage devices, either local or networked. Further, such functions correspond to modules, which may be software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. Multiple functions may be performed in one or more modules as desired, and the embodiments described are merely examples. The software may be executed on a digital signal processor, ASIC, microprocessor, or other type of processor operating on a computer system, such as a personal computer, server, or other computer system, turning such computer system into a specifically programmed machine. The functionality can be configured to perform an operation using, for instance, software, hardware, firmware, or the like. For example, the phrase “configured to” can refer to a logic circuit structure of a hardware element that is to implement the associated functionality. The phrase “configured to” can also refer to a logic circuit structure of a hardware element that is to implement the coding design of associated functionality of firmware or software. The term “module” refers to a structural element that can be implemented using any suitable hardware (e.g., a processor, among others), software (e.g., an application, among others), firmware, or any combination of hardware, software, and firmware. The term, “logic” encompasses any functionality for performing a task. For instance, each operation illustrated in the flowcharts corresponds to logic for performing that operation. An operation can be performed using, software, hardware, firmware, or the like. The terms, “component,” “system,” and the like may refer to computer-related entities, hardware, and software in execution, firmware, or combination thereof. A component may be a process running on a processor, an object, an executable, a program, a function, a subroutine, a computer, or a combination of software and hardware. The term, “processor,” may refer to a hardware component, such as a processing unit of a computer system. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof to control a computing device to implement the disclosed subject matter. The term, “article of manufacture,” as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable storage device or media. Computer-readable storage media can include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage devices, e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips, optical disk, compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD), smart cards, flash memory devices, among others. In contrast, computer-readable media, i.e., not storage media, may additionally include communication media such as transmission media for wireless signals and the like. A wireless communication session is established between an establishment communication system and a device associated with a vehicle to facilitate ordering of goods and services. The device associated with the vehicle may provide a better user experience for ordering than prior methods of speaking into a microphone at an ordering station outside the vehicle. In various embodiments, user equipment in the form a cell phone or vehicle-based communication equipment may be integrated into an ordering experience while the vehicle is near an establishment providing goods or services or both goods and services in a drive through like environment. Communications with such devices may be established by the establishment communication system based on the location of the vehicle as determined by wireless signal strength, detection of the vehicle, or visible codes placed where cameras associated with the vehicle detect such visible codes. Many vehicles, such as electric vehicles, include display screens that can be used as a touchscreen to display a menu and allow ordering of items via the display or via a voice connection. FIG.1is a top view of a block representation of an ordering environment100according to an example embodiment. Ordering environment100is just one example of a business, a drive through restaurant, in which a wireless communication session may be established to facilitate ordering. Ordering environment100includes an establishment110having a wireless communication system115. A drive through lane120is shown with multiple vehicles123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130, and131. Each vehicle may have one or more wireless communication devices associated with the vehicle. Such devices include a vehicle-based communication system such as shown at135in vehicle125and at136in vehicle131. Vehicle125may also have one or more cameras136. A downward facing camera137is illustrated and coupled to vehicle-based communication system135. Vehicle131is shown with a downward facing camera138that is coupled to vehicle-based communication system136. The wireless communication devices associated with a vehicle may also include one or more user mobile devices as indicated at139in vehicle125and at140,141,142, and143in vehicle131. Other vehicles shown may also have one or more vehicle associated wireless communication devices. Wireless communication system115may implement one or more communication protocols, including, but not limited to WiFi, Bluetooth, Ultra wide band or other limited range communication protocol that allows the establishment of a wireless connection. In one example, the wireless connection may be performed via pairing by prompting a user of the device to pair with the wireless communication system115. Such pairing may be used to create an electronic ordering session which allows the communication of data, such as ordering information, between the device and communication system115. In one embodiment, the pairing and corresponding ordering session may be initiated in one or more of several ways. In one example, a code145, such as a QR code may be encoded with connection information. InFIG.1, code145is printed or otherwise displayed on pavement in an ordering area147indicted by a broken line. Code145contains connection information for use by the device135to establish the ordering session. As vehicle125approaches the code145, the downward facing camera137captures the image of the code145and provides the ordering session establishing information to the device135which may display an option to a user to accept the ordering session or may automatically make the connection. In various examples, the code may include a website link, a conference call link, a video conference link, or other type of code suitable for establishing communications. The ordering session may include voice communications such as via Voice over IP (VoIP) or may even include a mobile phone call by presenting a phone number to dial by the device135to provide a voice connection to a person in establishment110. The ordering session may alternatively, or in addition, include an interactive menu allowing a person in the vehicle to select items and complete an order, including optionally paying for the order by providing payment information such as a credit card or other payment application information. Communication system115may be coupled with or include an ordering system to display and allow interaction with an order in the establishment110. The ordering session may also associate a vehicle with an order or transaction. This may be done via an order code provided through the ordering session and to be presented at a pickup location153for verification with establishment personnel in delivering the order. Vehicle123is shown currently located at the pickup location153inFIG.1. In further examples, the vehicle may be tracked via a communication protocol implemented by communication system115, which may first identify the vehicle device during ordering in ordering area147and continue to track the vehicle as it reaches pickup window153, providing establishment personnel an indication of the order corresponding to vehicle123at the pickup location153. Ultra wide band communication protocols may be employed to perform vehicle tracking in one example. In one example, multiple ordering lanes may be provided. Vehicle126is shown in a second ordering lane having a second ordering area155that includes code158. Code158may be associated with the second lane and is therefore different from code125. In some examples, a code may be located where it can be scanned by a user device. A code160may be located adjacent the ordering zone147for scanning by device139to establish an ordering session. Similarly, a code161may be used for a device associated with vehicle126in ordering area155. Ultra wide band protocols may alternatively or in addition to an order code may be used to track vehicle126and provide the correct order to a driver of vehicle126at the pickup window153. One or more physical menus165may also be provided for convenience proximate the ordering areas147and155. An order session establishing code may be located on the physical menu165for scanning by a vehicle side camera or user equipment in the vehicle. Menus may also be provided to devices within vehicles prior to the vehicles reaching an order area. In one example, a code170on the pavement for capture by camera138on vehicle131or on a physical display171may be used to communicate a link or other connection information to such menus for one or more devices associated with vehicle131. Such codes may lead to a connection prior to an order session being established, or simply provide a link for use by the device via a separate connection to view a menu hosted by a website. The provision of such a menu to one or more devices prior to vehicles approaching an order area can facilitate ordering once the order session is established. In one example, physical display171may also include a human readable menu. Wireless signals such as Bluetooth or WiFI allow pairing once it is the vehicle's turn to order. A webpage, with, or without a menu, can be presented with a count-down on when pairing or authentication to establish the ordering session is allowed. Used in this fashion, a vehicle currently with an ordering session in front of a next vehicle would place their order. Once placed, the order session, such as a paired connection, may be terminated. Once that connection is terminated, the next vehicle is provided either instructions on how to connect or a Wifi authorization or Bluetooth pairing option may be presented to facilitate a communication connection and order session. A unique pairing number prevents other vehicles from interfering with an order being placed via the order session. In further examples, the wireless communication order session may be established by the establishment communication system sending a communication to the communication device associated with the vehicle in response to detecting the vehicle or the communication device associated with the vehicle. The vehicle may be detected by a camera associated with the establishment communication system taking images of the vehicle and the system recognizing the vehicle via a code, such as a barcode, on the vehicle that provides contact information for sending a text or electronic message, or or address. A Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or cell signal from either the vehicle or the cell phone may also be detected via the establishment communication system, with the system responding with a text message or other notification with communication/connection instructions. For repeat customers, device IDs may be detected via such signals and associated with contact information for such communications and for performing automated wireless connections. FIG.2is a flowchart illustrating a computer implemented method200of establishing a communication connection and ordering session for vehicles at desired times. Method200begins by detecting a wireless communication device associated with a vehicle at operation210. The detection may be done via an establishment wireless communication system. At operation220, a wireless communication connection and order session is established between the communication device associated with the vehicle and the establishment communication system in response to the vehicle being within an ordering area. Note that the communication connection may already be established in one example, and the ordering session is established in response to the vehicle being within the ordering area. The wireless communication order session may comprise a paired connection. The wireless communication order session may also, or alternatively include voice communications, such as via a VoIP or cellular connection. Transaction information indicative of a transaction is received at operation230. The transaction information may be transmitted from the communication device associated with the vehicle via the ordering session. At operation240, the transaction is associated with the vehicle. The transaction information may also be displayed or otherwise communicated via communication system115to personnel of the establishment110for order fulfillment. FIG.3is a flowchart illustrating a computer implemented method300of detecting a wireless communication device associated with a vehicle. Method300begins by providing a code at operation310. The code may be displayed as a physical code such as a QR code or may be transmitted via communication system115for reception by the communication device associated with the vehicle. At operation320, the communication system115may receive order session information derived from the code and enable the order session at operation330. The connection code may be derived from an image of the code via the communication device associated with the vehicle to enable the wireless order session. In one example, the code is displayed on pavement within the ordering area. The communication device associated with the vehicle includes a downward facing camera to capture the image of the code displayed on the pavement and provide the image to the device associated with the vehicle. In another example, the code is displayed within the ordering area and wherein the communication device associated with the vehicle includes a camera to capture the image of the code, such as a vehicle side facing camera. The communication device associated with the vehicle may be a user mobile device with camera and software suitable for decoding an image of the code. In a further example, order options, such as a menu, may be provided to the communication device associated with the vehicle prior to the vehicle being within the ordering area. In one example, establishing the wireless communication session comprises detecting that the vehicle is within the ordering area via proximity sensing. The detection may be done via a sensor in pavement of the ordering area or via an ultra wide band (UWB) communication protocol implemented by the establishment communication system. Such UWB implemented protocols provide direction and distance information sufficient to provide information on the position of the vehicle both during ordering, as well as tracking the vehicle as it progresses to an order pickup window. Associating the transaction with the vehicle may include utilizing proximity sensing to track the vehicle via UWB or even multiple pavement embedded proximity sensors that track movement of the vehicles between such sensors. FIG.4is a flowchart illustrating a computer implemented method400of associating the transaction with the vehicle. At operation410, an order code is generated. The order code is used to identify which order corresponds to which vehicle. At operation420, the order code is sent to the communication device associated with the vehicle for display or oral communication at a pickup window. Once pairing or authentication has occurred, either the car display or the cell phone display can also be used to display options to the driver to accommodate speaking to the attendee. Menu items and specials of the day can be presented at restaurants, current balances or last few transactions can be presented for banking, or use of a automatic payment can also be used. Various establishments and transaction that may be conducted in the above described manners include one or more of an ATM (automated teller machine) or bank for making cash withdrawals or other banking related transactions. Drive through restaurants, as shown inFIG.1, oil change providers, state or national parks or other venues controlled by gate ticketing, or even toll booths may also benefit. FIG.5is a block schematic diagram of a computer system500to implement one or more of the communication devices and systems and for performing methods and algorithms according to example embodiments. All components need not be used in various embodiments. One example computing device in the form of a computer500may include a processing unit502, memory503, removable storage510, and non-removable storage512. Although the example computing device is illustrated and described as computer500, the computing device may be in different forms in different embodiments. For example, the computing device may instead be a smartphone, a tablet, smartwatch, smart storage device (SSD), or other computing device including the same or similar elements as illustrated and described with regard toFIG.5. Devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches, are generally collectively referred to as mobile devices or user equipment. Although the various data storage elements are illustrated as part of the computer500, the storage may also or alternatively include cloud-based storage accessible via a network, such as the Internet or server-based storage. Note also that an SSD may include a processor on which the parser may be run, allowing transfer of parsed, filtered data through I/O channels between the SSD and main memory. Memory503may include volatile memory514and non-volatile memory508. Computer500may include—or have access to a computing environment that includes—a variety of computer-readable media, such as volatile memory514and non-volatile memory508, removable storage510and non-removable storage512. Computer storage includes random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technologies, compact disc read-only memory (CD ROM), Digital Versatile Disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of storing computer-readable instructions. Computer500may include or have access to a computing environment that includes input interface506, output interface504, and a communication interface516. Output interface504may include a display device, such as a touchscreen, that also may serve as an input device. The input interface506may include one or more of a touchscreen, touchpad, mouse, keyboard, camera, one or more device-specific buttons, one or more sensors integrated within or coupled via wired or wireless data connections to the computer500, and other input devices. The computer may operate in a networked environment using a communication connection to connect to one or more remote computers, such as database servers. The remote computer may include a personal computer (PC), server, router, network PC, a peer device or other common data flow network switch, or the like. The communication connection may include a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or other networks. According to one embodiment, the various components of computer500are connected with a system bus520. Computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium are executable by the processing unit502of the computer500, such as a program518. The program518in some embodiments comprises software to implement one or more methods described herein. A hard drive, CD-ROM, and RAM are some examples of articles including a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a storage device. The terms computer-readable medium, machine readable medium, and storage device do not include carrier waves or signals to the extent carrier waves and signals are deemed too transitory. Storage can also include networked storage, such as a storage area network (SAN). Computer program518along with the workspace manager522may be used to cause processing unit502to perform one or more methods or algorithms described herein. Examples 1. A computer implemented method includes establishing a wireless communication order session between a communication device associated with a vehicle and an establishment communication system in response to the vehicle being within an ordering area, receiving transaction information indicative of a transaction transmitted from the communication device associated with the vehicle, and associating the transaction with the vehicle.2. The method of example 1 wherein establishing a wireless communication order session includes providing a code to the communication device associated with a vehicle and receiving information from the code via the communication device associated with the vehicle to enable the wireless order session.3. The method of example 2 and further including detecting the vehicle of the communication device associated with the vehicle, wherein the code is provided via a communication from the establishment communication system to the communication device associated with the vehicle in response to such detecting.4. The method of any of examples 1-3 wherein establishing a wireless communication order session comprises displaying an image of a code having connection information wherein the code is displayed on pavement within the ordering area.5. The method of example 4 wherein the communication device associated with the vehicle includes a downward facing camera to capture the image of the code.6. The method of any of examples 1-5 wherein the communication device associated with the vehicle is a user mobile device.7. The method of any of examples 1-6 and further including providing order options to the communication device associated with the vehicle prior to the vehicle being within the ordering area.8. The method of any of examples 1-7 wherein establishing the wireless communication order session comprises detecting that the vehicle is within the ordering area via proximity sensing.9. The method of example 8 wherein proximity sensing is provided via a sensor in pavement of the ordering area.10. The method of any of examples 8-9 wherein proximity sensing is provided via an ultra wide band (UWB) communication protocol implemented by the establishment communication system.11. The method of example 10 wherein associating the transaction with the vehicle comprises utilizing the proximity sensing to track the vehicle.12. The method of any of examples 1-11 wherein associating the transaction with the vehicle includes generating an order code and sending the order code to the communication device associated with the vehicle.13. The method of any of examples 1-12 wherein the wireless communication order session comprises a paired connection.14. The method of any of examples 1-13 wherein the wireless session includes a voice connection and wherein receiving transaction information comprises receiving voice communications.15. A machine-readable storage device having instructions for execution by a processor of a machine to cause the processor to perform operations to perform any of the methods of examples 1-14.16. A device includes a processor and a memory device coupled to the processor and having a program stored thereon for execution by the processor to perform operations to perform any of the methods of examples 1-14. Although a few embodiments have been described in detail above, other modifications are possible. For example, the logic flows depicted in the figures do not require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. Other steps may be provided, or steps may be eliminated, from the described flows, and other components may be added to, or removed from, the described systems. Other embodiments may be within the scope of the following claims. | 25,406 |
11861589 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION A payment device such as payment card or a mobile device operating a transaction application has an interface for providing information to a payment terminal such as a payment reader, and in many applications, may have multiple communication interfaces for communicating with the payment reader. Such interfaces include magnetic stripe interfaces (fixed or configurable), chip card interfaces, near field communication (NFC) interfaces, WiFi, Bluetooth, and other suitable interfaces. This information, in turn, may be used to process transactions in various manners. In a situation with multiple interfaces, or in some instances, with a single interface, information can be exchanged via multiple devices, programs, and/or interfaces within a single transaction (e.g., simultaneously, interleaved, multiplexed, etc.). In this manner, different types of information may be exchanged with different devices, interfaces, or programs to enable complex transaction handling strategies, and to accommodate different payment transaction situations (e.g., divergent payment devices of customers and merchant devices). A payment device may be configured to run transaction applications which may be associated with user accounts. Certain transaction applications may operate according to standard protocols, for example, for a mobile device performing payment card emulation (e.g., host card emulation (HCE), etc.) or a chip card performing EMV transactions. The payment cards may be stored in software, such as in a wallet, and associated transaction applications may communicate messages according to standard protocol exchanging transaction information, such as those promulgated by EMV, ISO, or other similar standards organizations. Payment information associated with a payment card may be exchanged via messages according to standardized payment protocol, and may be exchanged wirelessly with a payment reader, such as using NFC communication. One or more accounts may be configured to operate as a background program, and in some embodiments, according to non-standard protocols. Payment devices such as payment cards or mobile devices may operate background programs that attempt to communicate with compatible devices while located within a desired proximity of the compatible devices. The background application may perform a variety of functions, such as identifying the payment device, available accounts of the payment device, background accounts that are capable of being accessed, information about a customer or user. The background information may also receive information that is relevant to a user's current use context, such as information relevant to a merchant device (e.g., available payment interfaces, available payment programs, compatible hardware etc.), information relevant to a user's location, information relevant to likely and/or related transactions, and other similar information. For example, a payment device such as a payment card or mobile device may be configured to communicate background messages according to a protocol that falls outside of a standard payment protocol (e.g., EMV, HCE, etc.) or via one or more additional interfaces. By receiving information prior to execution of a transaction based on the background information, other information such as payment cards, loyalty cards, and other information may be pre-loaded. In some embodiments, the background information can communicate in parallel with the standard transaction application, such that transactions may be completed without use of the standard transaction application, information relevant to the transaction (e.g., coupons, typical purchased items, user selections of cards and programs, offers for items, offers for payment card incentives, etc.) may be pre-loaded for a transaction, or a transaction may be handled normally via a standard payment protocol in parallel with exchange of information via the background communications channel. In some embodiments, information to prepare or optimize payment methods and communication channels may be provided via the background channel, for example, to promote payment or loyalty usage based on certain cards, begin communications with payment systems prior to initiating the standard payment processes, and exchange relevant transaction information with payment servers and service systems. In an embodiment, merchant devices types such as payment readers may operate a background transaction processing program that facilitates communications with payment devices. The merchant device background program may be a custom device program or may be an application operating a communication device such as a mobile device operating a transaction processing program. The merchant device background program monitors for compatible payment devices and exchanges information for facilitating the processing of transactions, as described herein. In some embodiments, a compatible merchant device can send messages to a payment device indicating that the payment reader is compatible with a background communication such as non-standard protocol communication and can communicate with the payment device (e.g., a compatible transaction application on the device) via messages according to the non-standard protocol. The merchant device may periodically attempt to transmit a message via the merchant device's communication interfaces (e.g., wireless interface) indicative of its background protocol compatibility. A compatible payment device (e.g., transaction application) within range of the merchant device may receive the message and communicate with the device via the background communications. In addition, a payment device may be configured to send messages indicating to merchant devices within range of the payment device that the device can communicate messages via the background (e.g., non-standard) protocol with a compatible merchant device. In this regard, the payment device (e.g., an application running on the payment device, such as in the background) may intermittently attempt to provide a message to merchant devices within range of the payment device. If a merchant device receives a message from the payment device and responds with a message indicating that the merchant device is compatible, the payment device may communicate messages with the merchant according to the background protocol. Messages exchanged between payment device and payment reader can provide payment information for facilitating payment transactions, but in some embodiments, the messages may include various other information. Messages may include offers, such as from a merchant, card issuer, loyalty program, customer information, merchant information, product manufacturer, other suitable related information, and suitable combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the messages may include a request for approval by a user of the payment device to switch a payment method of the payment device from a standard transaction application to a background transaction application. Note that the messaging may be performed via either standard background protocol and in some embodiments, can be performed where messages from each of the payment reader and payment device exchanges messages according to the same protocol or according to a different protocol. In some embodiments, messages according to the background protocol can be provided via the same transaction application as standard protocol messaging. For example, a payment device running a single transaction application can exchange standard and background messages. In this regard, an application on a payment device may communicate both with payment readers configured to communicate according to standard protocols and payment readers configured to communicate according to background channels and protocol. In addition, the transaction application may communicate both standard and background protocol messages simultaneously, such as based on instructions stored in memory or in response to an input received from a user. In some embodiments, either or both types of messages can be provided via an application running in the background on a payment device in a manner that does not require an input from a user (e.g., transparent to a user). A compatible device (e.g., payment reader, merchant device, server, or other similar device) may include various settings that allow the device to process messages. The settings may be implemented in software and stored as instructions (e.g., as part of a transaction application) in memory at the device, but in some embodiments, the settings may be stored elsewhere. The compatible device may be used to provide messages to a user, such as via a user interface generated by a transaction application on the device. A message provided to the user may provide the user an opportunity to select a payment type, such as by switching payment types (e.g., from standard to non-standard, etc.), or to receive an offer, such as a discount, obtain a loyalty offer, receive cash back, and other similar functionality. FIG.1depicts an illustrative block diagram of a payment system1in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, payment system1includes a payment device10, payment terminal20, network30, and payment server40. In an exemplary embodiment, payment server40may include a plurality of servers operated by different entities, such as a payment service system50and a bank server60. These components of payment system1facilitate electronic payment transactions between a merchant and a customer. The electronic interactions between the merchant and the customer take place between the customer's payment device10and the merchant's payment terminal20. The customer has a payment device10such as a credit card having magnetic stripe, a credit card having an EMV chip, or a NFC-enabled electronic device such as a smart phone running a transaction application. The merchant has a payment terminal20such as a payment terminal or other electronic device that is capable of processing payment information (e.g., encrypted payment card data and user authentication data) and transaction information (e.g., purchase amount and point-of- purchase information), and engaging in additional communications with a payment device to exchange other related information. Exemplary merchant terminals include dedicated payment terminals as well as other computing devices such as a smart phone or tablet running a transaction application. In some embodiments (e.g., for low-value transactions or for payment transactions that are less than a payment limit indicated by a NFC or EMV payment device10) the initial processing and approval of the payment transaction may be processed at payment terminal20. In other embodiments, payment terminal20may communicate with payment server40over network30. Although payment server40may be operated by a single entity, in one embodiment payment server40may include any suitable number of servers operated by any suitable entities, such as a payment service system50and one or more banks of the merchant and customer (e.g., a bank server60). The payment terminal20and the payment server40communicate payment and transaction information to determine whether the transaction is authorized. For example, payment terminal20may provide encrypted payment data, user authentication data, purchase amount information, and point-of-purchase information to payment server40over network30. Payment server40may determine whether the transaction is authorized based on this received information as well as information relating to customer or merchant accounts, and responds to payment terminal20over network30to indicate whether or not the payment transaction is authorized. Payment server40may also transmit additional information such as transaction identifiers to payment terminal20. Based on the information that is received at payment terminal20from payment server40, the merchant may indicate to the customer whether the transaction has been approved. In some embodiments such as a chip card payment device, approval may be indicated at the payment terminal, for example, at a screen of a payment terminal. In other embodiments such as a smart phone or watch operating as a NFC payment device, information about the approved transaction and additional information (e.g., receipts, special offers, coupons, or loyalty program information) may be provided to the payment device for display at a screen of the smart phone or watch or storage in memory. Note that a payment device10can be various types of devices, such as a payment card, proxy card, mobile device, smart phone, smart watch, tablet, or other electronic device. In some embodiments, payment device10may be an electronic device, which may generate and provide payment card information electronically, such as a virtual card implemented in software, a proximity cards or objects (e.g., PICCs, etc.), virtual (e.g., emulated) card, or other payment object. As an example, a transaction application may be installed and running on a mobile device, and may display a payment card, such as a virtual payment card according to standard or background protocol that may be used to communicate payment information to a compatible payment reader via NFC. The payment device10may include a plurality of transaction applications, which in turn may generate a plurality of payment cards that can be used for payment transactions. In some embodiments, when payment device10is a mobile electronic device, the mobile device capable of running one or more transaction applications. In some embodiments, the payment device10may be configured to run background operations based, for example, during normal operation of the payment device or in response to a stimulus such as entering certain locations, accessing a payment device, moving a payment device in a particular manner (e.g., in response to motion sensed by motion sensors, microphones, light sensors, etc.), and other similar indicators that a background application may wish to process information relating to a transaction or potential transaction. The device10may also run an application in the foreground during operation of the payment device10, such as by displaying a user interface at a display of the device10to allow the user to provide inputs and selections and make payments via the transaction application. In some embodiments, the background operations may be running in the background during operation of the payment device10, such as without displaying a user interface, while the foreground application are running on the device in the foreground. In some embodiments, the background operations may communicate with the foreground application or operations. Whether an application is running in the foreground or background during operation of the device10, the device10may be configured to perform various operations involving payment cards, such as exchanging standard and background protocol messages and otherwise communicating with other electronic devices (e.g., payment terminals20, payment servers40, etc.). In embodiments, the merchant terminal20may include compatible programs to communicate with background and foreground applications and operations. In some embodiments, a merchant terminal may include custom programs and software installed (e.g., in firmware) of the merchant device, that facilitate background and foreground operations and applications within a protected application environment (e.g., running on physically and/or logically protected hardware and/or software operating on the merchant terminal20. In some embodiments, certain background operations or portions thereof may be operated on applications running on an operating system, or distributed between multiple devices of a merchant terminal20or other devices in communication therewith. FIG.2depicts an exemplary graphical user interface (GUI) of a payment device10in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the embodiment ofFIG.2, the payment device10is a mobile device10running a transaction processing application in the foreground and background, with a foreground portion11and a display of background12processing. In an exemplary embodiment ofFIG.2, the foreground and background display may be split into unique regions or portions11and12, although in other embodiments the portions may be integrated. Items displayed via the GUI may be visible to a user, who may make selections corresponding to payment cards based on the displayed items, e.g., in the exemplary embodiment of a GUI for a mobile device, by selection of items displayed on the GUI. Payment card information may be displayed in various ways by a transaction application, including use of graphical objects, icons, audio prompts, gesture recognition, and other similar user interface technologies. Note that payment cards associated with each of standard and background payment types may be displayed and managed by a transaction application, and may be displayed simultaneously to a user, such as is depicted byFIG.2. In some embodiments, a mobile device10may store transaction applications in memory, such as a memory of the mobile device10. Various numbers of transaction applications may be installed and stored on the mobile device10, and may be executable by a processing element of the mobile device10. Some applications may have multiple types of accounts associated with a user, device, or other criteria. For example, a user may have an account with a payment card issuer, such as a credit card issuer. A user also may have loyalty and other types of accounts, such as may be offered by a merchant, manufacturer, banking institution, transaction application facilitator, payment card issuer, service provider, or other similar entity. In some embodiments, an account in the transaction application may be created that is associated with the user's payment card account. Whenever the user wishes to use that payment card account to provide payment information as part of a payment transaction, the user may provide a selection via the transaction application indicative of the user's selection of that specific account. The transaction application may then provide payment card information associated with the selected account. Note that the foreground and background applications running on a payment device10may communicate payment information wirelessly via a wireless interface of the payment device10(e.g., via NFC, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc.), and may exchange messages with other devices multiple protocols (e.g., exchanging messages according to standard or background protocols). A mobile device10may communicate messages based on a transaction application by other techniques in other embodiments. In some embodiments, foreground and background transaction messages can be exchanged with other electronic devices (e.g., payment terminal20, payment server40, etc.) as wireless messages using NFC capability of payment device10or other protocols such as Bluetooth or WiFi. For example, transaction messages may be sent and received by a payment device10when a payment terminal20configured to communicate wirelessly is within range of wireless communication with the payment device. In some embodiments, a mobile device10may generate and format a transaction message according to protocol suitable for transmission via Bluetooth or other short-range communication protocol. Similarly, transaction messages may be communicated over a wireless network, such as a cellular network. In some embodiments, messages may be communicated wirelessly to other devices via a LAN, such as using a Wi-Fi connection or other similar communication technology. In some embodiments, multiple transaction applications installed on mobile device10may be run (e.g., be initiated to perform operations) as a foreground application (e.g., a primary application such as a payment app) and a background application (e.g., with some or all of the operations being performed in the background without user interaction). Some applications may be configured to perform operations when the payment device10transitions from a sleep state (e.g., a processor of the mobile device10begins processing, such as based on an input from a user). Such applications may be configured to run in the background on the mobile device10, regardless of whether a user selects the application to bring it into the foreground. Transaction applications may be run in various manners in other embodiments. Some transaction applications can be standard transaction applications and may perform transaction messaging and provide transaction information via standard protocols. Such standard transaction applications may store payment card accounts associated with standard payment card types according to a standardized payment card protocol. In some embodiments, a user can select from information displayed on a GUI generated by the transaction application and displayed by mobile device10. In some embodiments, the user may make a selection by providing an input, such as a touch selection, via the GUI. A transaction application may provide prompts to a user via the GUI to assist in selecting a transaction type, selecting a payment option (e.g., payment or loyalty card account, type, etc.), selecting loyalty programs, preselecting items, processing coupons or offers, and other similar functionality. In some embodiments, the transaction application can provide instructions via the GUI to guide the user through steps based on information received via the background operations and/or user selections. In some embodiments, the transaction application may provide the user different options associated with information determined or accessed by the payment application, including association of available loyalty programs with the transaction, types of payment accounts to display (e.g., standard payment card or background payment card) to use for the particular payment transaction, offers for purchase or particular payment accounts, and other similar information that may be used to assist with a transaction. In some cases this functionality can be can be facilitated by an application operating in the background that is in communication with a payment terminal20(e.g., payment reader22), in accordance with information such as user information (e.g., user consents pursuant to terms and conditions or other agreement associated with use of the transaction application), merchant information, and merchant device information. The application may exchange messages as required via a background communication channel in order to perform payment and loyalty card selection and processing transparently to the user. In some embodiments, payment, loyalty, other cards, offers, and suggestions may be selected by a transaction application running in the background. For example, a transaction application may determine that a user is likely to select a particular payment or loyalty card for use in completing a payment transaction. The mobile device10(e.g., running the transaction application) may make such a determination based on information received via communication with another electronic device, such as based on communication with a payment terminal20(e.g., payment reader22, merchant device29, etc.) based on information associated with a payment transaction in which the user may be likely to engage, or based on other related information such as a location of the mobile device10(e.g., using information about a location of the mobile device10determined via GPS, sensors, or other similar technologies). Some transaction applications may provide suggestions based on user selections, such as a user may provide to select a payment or loyalty card or payment type via the GUI associated with the transaction application. The suggestions may be made based on various information, including prior selections of payment and loyalty cards by the user at the same location on previous occasions, or other information. In addition, a standard transaction application (e.g., running in the foreground of mobile device10) can provide payment card and loyalty information to payment terminal20via transaction messages, as described herein. In some embodiments, a transaction application running on a mobile device10may be configured to provide additional background messages to the payment terminal20at various times based on user selections and contextual information. Contextual information may include information such as location of the mobile device10, location of the payment terminal20, a user's account information (e.g., user or merchant identity, payment card or loyalty card preferences), merchant device types located in proximity to the payment device, prior payment or loyalty card transaction history, payment card or loyalty card balances, incentives, standard or background messaging compatibility of each of the payment terminal20and mobile device10(e.g., compatibility of messaging via a transaction application running in the background), etc. In some embodiments, both standard and non-standard background messages may be provided in parallel (e.g., within a period of time for processing a transaction), during breaks in communications from or to the mobile device10and payment terminal20(e.g., providing standard or background payment card, loyalty card or account information in the background while other transaction messages are communicated in the foreground), or in other appropriate situations. Whether background communication of messages may be performed in parallel, during breaks in communications, or in other appropriate situations may be determined based on user selections, contextual information, rules determined at a payment server (e.g., payment server40), and based on similar information related to a user, merchant, transaction, merchant device, etc. In some embodiments, mobile device10may provide transaction messages for various payment card types. Payment card types may vary, but in some embodiments, a payment card generally may be of a standard card protocol or background card protocol type. In this regard, messages associated with a payment card type may be communicated between compatible devices according to required (e.g., standardized) protocols as dictated by various entities. For example, a mobile device10configured to communicate messages according to a standard card protocol may communicate with a payment terminal20compatible with standard card protocol messaging. Similarly, a mobile device10may be configured to communicate messages according to a background protocol with a compatible payment terminal20. In some embodiments, the mobile device10and payment terminal20each may be configured to communicate transaction messages according to both a standard and background protocol. Other types of transaction messages may be exchanged between mobile device10and other devices (e.g., payment server40, etc.) according to other protocols in other embodiments. Examples of payment card messaging using standard protocol may include protocols and standards promulgated by Visa, MasterCard, EMV Co., ISO/IEC, or other payment card issuers or standards management entities. Messages according to a standard protocol may be generated and formatted in a particular manner, which may specify various aspects of message construction, management and processing, such as byte formatting, frames, timing, etc. Examples of background protocol can include messages including information associated with or related to loyalty programs, coupons, gift cards, proprietary transaction application messaging, merchant devices, payment service systems, payment rules, and applications. In an exemplary embodiment, background messages may be processed by particular merchant devices having installed firmware and/or by applications that are able to communicate with a payment service system having capability to process such background communications. In the exemplary GUI ofFIG.2, a foreground display portion includes standard payment cards CARD1(VISA) and CARD2(MasterCard), as well as background card SQ CARD (Square Cash). In some embodiments each of the payment cards may be associated with one or more accounts, such as loyalty accounts or other accounts related to a user, device, merchant, or merchant device. Note that the mobile device10may be configured to communicate both standard protocol (e.g., payment information) and background protocol (loyalty program information) messages wirelessly to payment terminal20(e.g., payment reader22), such as via NFC. In this regard, a protocol may refer to a communications protocol (e.g., NFC, Bluetooth, WiFi) or a particular aspect thereof, an underlying messaging protocol (e.g., for EMV communications), or any other suitable communication level within a messaging stack. The mobile device10also may receive other information from the payment terminal20. In some embodiments, information communicated to the mobile device10may include information based on background information provided by background application. For example, mobile device10(e.g., the transaction application) may receive a message including a prompt or notification for interaction with a user, such as an offer to the user an opportunity to change or switch from one account to another account in order to receive an offer, such as a discount, cash back, or reduced interest rate. In addition, a prompt offering a user an opportunity to associate or add one or more loyalty cards for association with the transaction may be provided based on the background information. Other information may be provided to the mobile device10based on background information provided (e.g., to payment terminal20, to payment server40, etc.) by the background application running on the mobile device10. AlthoughFIG.2has been described with respect to a GUI displayed on a mobile device10, it will be understood that a variety of suitable payment devices10may be utilized to perform processing and user communication regarding foreground and background processing of payment transactions, such as proxy cards providing indications to a user, augmented reality displays, audio prompts, and other modes of providing processing, presenting information to a user, and receiving user inputs. FIG.3depicts an illustrative block diagram of payment device10and payment terminal20in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Although it will be understood that payment device10and payment terminal20of payment system1may be implemented in any suitable manner, in one embodiment the payment terminal20may comprise a payment reader22and a merchant device29. However, it will be understood that as used herein, the term payment terminal may refer to any suitable component of the payment terminal, such as payment reader22. In an embodiment, the payment reader22of payment terminal20may be a wireless communication device that facilitates transactions between the payment device10and a merchant device29running a point-of-sale application. In one embodiment, payment device10may be a device that is capable of communicating with payment terminal20(e.g., via payment reader22), such as a NFC device12or an EMV chip card14. Chip card14may include a secure integrated circuit that is capable of communicating with a payment terminal such as payment terminal20, generating encrypted payment information, and providing the encrypted payment information as well as other payment or transaction information (e.g., transaction limits for payments that are processed locally) in accordance with one or more electronic payment standards such as those promulgated by EMVCo. Chip card14may include contact pins for communicating with payment reader22(e.g., in accordance with ISO 7816) and in some embodiments, may be inductively coupled to payment reader22via a near field15. A chip card14that is inductively coupled to payment reader22may communicate with payment reader22using load modulation of a wireless carrier signal that is provided by payment reader22in accordance with a wireless communication standard such as ISO 14443. In addition, payment device10may include other wired and wireless communications interfaces such as Bluetooth and WiFi, for communications with payment terminal20and any suitable component thereof, as well as with other devices that may facilitate background transaction processing. NFC device12may be an electronic device such as a smart phone, tablet, or smart watch that is capable of engaging in secure transactions with payment terminal20(e.g., via communications with payment reader22). NFC device12may have hardware (e.g., a secure element including hardware and executable code) and/or software (e.g., executable code operating on a processor in accordance with a host card emulation routine) for performing secure transaction functions. During a payment transaction NFC device12may be inductively coupled to payment reader22via near field15and may communicate with payment terminal20by active or passive load modulation of a wireless carrier signal provided by payment reader22in accordance with one or more wireless communication standards such as ISO 14443 and ISO 18092. Although payment terminal20may be implemented in any suitable manner, in one embodiment payment terminal20may include a payment reader22and a merchant device29. The merchant device29runs a point-of-sale application that provides a user interface for the merchant and facilitates communication with the payment reader22and the payment server40. Payment reader22may facilitate communications between payment device10and merchant device29. As described herein, a payment device10such as NFC device12or chip card14may communicate with payment reader22via inductive coupling. This is depicted inFIG.2as near field15, which comprises a wireless carrier signal having a suitable frequency (e.g., 13.56 MHz) emitted from payment reader22. In one embodiment, payment device10may be a contactless payment device such as NFC device12or chip card14, and payment reader22and the contactless payment device10may communicate by modulating the wireless carrier signal within near field15. In order to communicate information to payment device10, payment reader22changes the amplitude and/or phase of the wireless carrier signal based on data to be transmitted from payment reader22, resulting in a wireless data signal that is transmitted to the payment device. This signal is transmitted by an antenna of payment reader22that is tuned to transmit at 13.56 MHz, and if the payment device10also has a suitably tuned antenna within the range of the near field15(e.g., 0 to 10 cm), the payment device receives the wireless carrier signal or wireless data signal that is transmitted by payment reader22. In the case of a wireless data signal, processing circuitry of the payment device10is able to demodulate the received signal and process the data that is received from payment reader22. When a contactless payment device such as payment device10is within the range of the near field15, it is inductively coupled to the payment reader22. Thus, the payment device10is also capable of modulating the wireless carrier signal via active or passive load modulation. By changing the tuning characteristics of the antenna of payment device10(e.g., by selectively switching a parallel load into the antenna circuit based on modulated data to be transmitted) the wireless carrier signal is modified at both the payment device10and payment reader22, resulting in a modulated wireless carrier signal. In this manner, the payment device is capable of sending modulated data to payment reader22. In some embodiments, payment reader22also includes an EMV slot21that is capable of receiving chip card14. Chip card14may have contacts that engage with corresponding contacts of payment reader22when chip card14is inserted into EMV slot21. Payment reader22provides power to an EMV chip of chip card14through these contacts and payment reader22and chip card14communicate through a communication path established by the contacts. Payment reader22may also include hardware for interfacing with a magnetic strip card (not depicted inFIG.2). In some embodiments, the hardware may include a slot that guides a customer to swipe or dip the magnetized strip of the magnetic strip card such that a magnetic strip reader can receive payment information from the magnetic strip card. The received payment information is then processed by the payment reader22. Merchant device29may be any suitable device such as tablet payment device24, mobile payment device26, or payment terminal28. In the case of a computing device such as tablet payment device24or mobile payment device26, a point-of-sale application may provide for the entry of purchase and payment information, interaction with a customer, and communications with a payment server40. For example, a transaction application may provide a menu of services that a merchant is able to select and a series of menus or screens for automating a transaction. A transaction application may also facilitate the entry of customer authentication information such as signatures, PIN numbers, or biometric information. Similar functionality may also be provided on a dedicated payment terminal28. Merchant device29may be in communication with payment reader22via a communication path23/25/27. Although communication path23/25/27may be implemented via a wired (e.g., Ethernet, USB, FireWire, Lightning) or wireless (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, or ZigBee) connection, in one embodiment payment reader22may communicate with the merchant device29via a Bluetooth low energy interface, such that the payment reader22and the merchant device29are connected devices. In some embodiments, processing of the payment transaction may occur locally on payment reader22and merchant device29, for example, when a transaction amount is small or there is no connectivity to the payment server40. In other embodiments, merchant device29or payment reader22may communicate with payment server40via a public or dedicated communication network30. Although communication network30may be any suitable communication network, in one embodiment communication network30may be the internet and payment and transaction information may be communicated between payment terminal20and payment server40in an encrypted format such by a transport layer security (TLS) or secure sockets layer (SSL) protocol. FIG.4depicts a block diagram of an exemplary payment reader22in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, payment reader22may be a wireless communication device that communicates wirelessly with an interactive electronic device such as a merchant device29, for example, using Bluetooth classic or Bluetooth low energy. Although particular components are depicted in a particular arrangement inFIG.4, it will be understood that payment reader22may include additional components, one or more of the components depicted inFIG.4may not be included in payment reader22, and the components of payment reader22may be rearranged in any suitable manner. In one embodiment, payment reader22includes a reader chip100, a plurality of payment interfaces (e.g., a contactless interface102and a contact interface104), a power supply106, a wireless communication interface108, and a wired communication interface110. Payment reader22may also include a general processing unit120(e.g., a terminal/reader processing unit), general memory122, a cryptographic processing unit125, and cryptographic memory128. Although in one embodiment the processing units and memories will be described as packaged in a reader chip100, and configured in a particular manner, it will be understood that general processing unit120, general memory122, a cryptographic processing unit125and cryptographic memory128may be configured in any suitable manner to perform the functionality of the payment reader22as is described herein. It will also be understood that the functionality of reader chip100may be embodied in a single chip or a plurality of chips, each including any suitable combination of processing units and memory to collectively perform the functionality of reader chip100described herein. In some embodiments, processing unit120of reader chip100of payment reader22may be a suitable processor and may include hardware, software, memory, and circuitry as is necessary to perform and control the functions of payment reader22. Processing unit120may include one or more processors, and may perform the operations of reader chip100based on instructions in any suitable number of memories and memory types. In some embodiments, processing unit120may have multiple independent processing units, for example a multi-core processor or other similar component. Processing unit120may execute instructions stored in memory122of reader chip100to control the operations and processing of payment reader22. As used herein, a processor or processing unit may include one or more processors having processing capability necessary to perform the processing functions described herein, including but not limited to hardware logic (e.g., hardware designed by software that that describes the configuration of hardware, such as hardware description language (HDL) software), computer readable instructions running on a processor, or any suitable combination thereof. A processor may run software to perform the operations described herein, including software accessed in machine readable form on a tangible non-transitory computer readable storage medium. In an exemplary embodiment, the processing unit120of reader chip100may include two RISC processors configured to operate as a hub for controlling operations of the various components of payment reader22, based on instructions stored in memory122. As used herein, memory may refer to any suitable tangible or non-transitory storage medium. Examples of tangible (or non-transitory) storage medium include disks, thumb drives, and memory, etc., but does not include propagated signals. Tangible computer readable storage medium include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Examples of such media include RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, SRAM, flash memory, disks or optical storage, magnetic storage, or any other non-transitory medium that stores information that is accessed by a processor or computing device. Reader chip100may also include additional circuitry such as interface circuitry, analog front end circuitry, security circuitry, and monitoring component circuitry. In one embodiment, interface circuitry may include circuitry for interfacing with a wireless communication interface108(e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth classic, and Bluetooth low energy), circuitry for interfacing with a wired communication interface110(e.g., USB, Ethernet, FireWire, and Lightning), circuitry for interfacing with other communication interfaces or buses (e.g., I2C, SPI, UART, and GPIO), and circuitry for interfacing with a power supply106(e.g., power management circuitry, power conversion circuitry, rectifiers, and battery charging circuitry). In an exemplary embodiment, reader chip100may perform functionality relating to processing of payment transactions, interfacing with payment devices, cryptography, and other payment-specific functionality. In some embodiments, reader chip100may include a cryptographic processing unit125for handling cryptographic processing operations. Note that each of general processing unit120and cryptographic processing unit125may have dedicated memory associated therewith (i.e., general memory122and cryptographic memory128). In this manner, specific cryptographic processing and critical security information (e.g., cryptographic keys, passwords, user information, etc.), may be securely stored by cryptographic memory128and processed by cryptographic processing unit125. One or both of general processing unit120and cryptographic processing unit125of reader chip100may communicate with the other (e.g., processing unit120may communicate with cryptographic processing unit125and vice versa), for example, using any suitable internal bus and communication technique. In this manner, reader chip100can process transactions and communicate information regarding processed transactions (e.g., with merchant device29). Reader chip100may also include circuitry for implementing a contact interface104(e.g., power and communication circuitry for directly interfacing with an EMV chip of a chip card14that is inserted into slot21). In some embodiments, reader chip100also may also include analog front end circuitry for interfacing with the analog components of contactless interface102(e.g., electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) circuitry, matching circuits, modulation circuitry, and measurement circuitry). Contactless interface102may provide for NFC communication with a contactless device such as NFC device12or chip card14. Based on a signal provided by reader chip100, an antenna of contactless interface102may output either a carrier signal or a modulated signal. A carrier signal may be a signal having a fixed frequency such as 13.56 MHZ. A modulated signal may be a modulated version of the carrier signal according to a modulation procedure such as ISO 14443 and ISO 18092. When the payment reader22is inductively coupled to a contactless device, the contactless device may also modulate the carrier signal, which may be sensed by the contactless interface102and provided to the reader chip100for processing. Based on these modulations of the carrier signal, payment reader22and a contactless device are able to communicate information such as payment information. Contact interface104may be a suitable interface for providing power to a payment chip such as an EMV chip of a chip card14and communicating with the EMV chip. Contact interface104may include a plurality of contact pins (not depicted inFIG.4) For physically interfacing with the chip card14according to EMV specifications. In some embodiments, contact interface104may include a power supply (VCC) pin, a ground (GND) pin, a reset (RST) pin for resetting an EMV card, a clock (CLK) pin for providing a clock signal, a programming voltage (VPP) pin for providing a programming voltage to an EMV card, an input output (I/O) pin for providing for EMV communications, and two auxiliary pins. In this manner, the payment reader and the chip card14are able to exchange information such as payment information. Power supply106may include one or more power supplies such as a physical connection to AC power, DC power, or a battery. Power supply106may include power conversion circuitry for converting an AC or DC power source into a plurality of DC voltages for use by components of payment reader22. When power supply106includes a battery, the battery may be charged via a physical power connection, via inductive charging, or via any other suitable method. Although not depicted as physically connected to the other components of the payment reader22inFIG.4, power supply106may supply a variety of voltages to the components of the payment reader22in accordance with the requirements of those components. Wireless communication interface108may include suitable wireless communications hardware (e.g., antennas, matching circuitry, etc.) and one or more processors having processing capability necessary to engage in wireless communication (e.g., with a merchant device29or a payment device10via a protocol such as Bluetooth low energy) and control associated circuitry, including but not limited to hardware logic, computer readable instructions running on a processor, or any suitable combination thereof. Wired communication interface110may include any suitable interface for wired communication with other devices or a communication network, such as USB, Lightning, FireWire, Ethernet, any other suitable wired communication interface, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, wired communication interface110may allow payment reader to communicate with one or both of merchant device29and payment server40. In some embodiments, general memory122may include a plurality of sets of instructions for controlling operations of payment reader22and performing general transaction processing operations of payment reader22, such as operating instructions130, transaction processing instructions132, data authentication instructions134, and background application instructions140. Operating instructions130may include instructions for controlling general operations of the payment reader22, such as internal communications, power management, processing of messages, system monitoring, sleep modes, user interface response and control, operation of the contact interface104, the wireless interface108, or the wired interface110, and the management of the other sets of instructions. In one embodiment, the operating instructions130may provide the operating system and applications necessary to perform much of the processing operations that are performed by the processing unit120of the reader chip100of payment reader22. Operating instructions130may also include instructions for interacting with a merchant device29. In one embodiment, the merchant device29may be running a point-of-sale application. The operating instructions130may include instructions for a complementary application to run on processing unit120of reader chip100, in order to exchange information with the point-of-sale application. For example, the point-of-sale application may provide a user interface that facilitates a user such as a merchant to engage in purchase transactions with a customer. Menus may provide for the selection of items, calculation of taxes, addition of tips, and other related functionality. When it is time to receive payment, the point-of-sale application may send a message to the payment reader22(e.g., via wireless interface108). The operating instructions130facilitate processing of the payment, for example, by acquiring payment information via the contactless interface102or contact interface104, facilitating processing by background application instructions140, and invoking the various resources of reader chip100to process that payment information (e.g., by executing memories stored in cryptographic memory128using cryptographic processing unit125), and by generating responsive messages that are transmitted to the point-of-sale application of the merchant device29via wireless communication interface108and wired communication interface110. Operating instructions130may also include instructions for interacting with a payment service system50at a payment server40. In one embodiment, a payment service system50may be associated with the payment reader22and the point-of-sale application of the merchant device29. For example, the payment service system50may have information about payment readers22and merchant devices29that are registered with the payment service system50(e.g., based on unique identifiers). This information may be used to process transactions with servers of the merchant and customer financial institutions, for providing analysis and reports to a merchant, aggregating transaction data, and communicating background information to facilitate transaction processing. The payment reader22may process payment information (e.g., based on operation of reader chip100) and communicate the processed payment information to the point-of-sale application, which in turn communicates with the payment service system50. In this manner, messages from the payment reader22may be forwarded to the payment service system50of payment server40, such that the payment reader22and payment service system50may collectively process the payment transaction. Transaction processing instructions132may include instructions for controlling general transaction processing operations of the payment reader22, such as controlling the interaction between the payment reader22and a payment device10(e.g., for interfacing with a payment device via the contactless interface102and contact interface104), selecting payment processing procedures (e.g., based on a payment processing entity associated with a payment method), interfacing with the cryptographic processor125, and any other suitable aspects of transaction processing. Transaction processing instructions132also may include instructions for processing payment transactions at payment reader22. In one embodiment, the transaction processing instructions may be compliant with a payment standard such as those promulgated by EMV. Depending on the payment method that is being used (e.g., Europay, MasterCard, Visa, American Express, etc.), a particular processing procedure associated with the payment method may be selected and the transaction may be processed according to that procedure. When executed by processing unit120, these instructions may determine whether to process a transaction locally, how payment information is accessed from a payment device, how that payment information is processed, which cryptographic functions to perform, the types of communications to exchange with a payment server, and any other suitable information related to the processing of payment transactions. In some embodiments, transaction processing instructions132may perform high level processing, and provide instructions for processing unit120to communicate with cryptographic processing unit125to perform most transaction processing operations. In addition, transaction processing instructions132may provide instructions for acquiring any suitable information from a chip card (e.g., via contact interface104and cryptographic processing unit125) such as authorization responses, card user name, card expiration, etc. Transaction processing instructions132may include instructions for processing payment transactions using various payment card types. For example, a transaction application running on a mobile device10(e.g., a mobile device) may be configured to provide payment information associated with various types of payment cards to payment reader22(e.g., via standard and background protocol messages). The payment card types may include standardized payment card types (e.g., Visa, MasterCard, etc.) and other information related information such as loyalty and account information. The mobile device10may establish a wireless communication connection with the payment reader22(e.g., via NFC protocol) and communicate messages to the payment reader22. Transaction processing instructions132may include instructions for receiving the transaction messages from the payment device10that comply with standardized payment card protocol. The payment reader22may process the payment messages as described further below. In some embodiments, transaction processing instructions132may include instructions for receiving a request for processing payment transaction from payment terminal20, such as from merchant device29. As part of a payment transaction, a merchant may enter transactional information (e.g., payment amount, item quantity, type or value, etc.) at a merchant device29. The merchant device29may provide a message to the payment reader22that includes the information and a request to process the payment transaction wirelessly (e.g., via NFC protocol). The transaction processing instructions132may include instructions for receiving transaction messages sent wirelessly from a mobile device10running a transaction application. In some embodiments, the transaction processing instructions132may include instructions for communicating transaction messages for the various payment card types. As indicated herein, a transaction application on a mobile device10may store information associated with a user's accounts with various payment card issuers (e.g., debit or credit cards), financial institutions, payment facilitators and others. The payment card types may vary by issuer, such as Visa, MasterCard, American Express, merchant payment cards, merchant-device related accounts, and other payment card types. Transaction card types stored by the mobile device10and used by the transaction application may be a payment card for providing payment information, loyalty program information (such as may be offered by an issuer of a payment card, a rewards program, merchant), and other identifying accounts as described herein. In some embodiments, transaction processing instructions132may include instructions for receiving and processing transaction messages from multiple transaction applications that may be installed and run on mobile device10. In some embodiments, mobile device10may be compatible with various applications, such as Apple Pay, Android Pay, or other similar application. As an example, the transaction applications may store a user's information for various payment card types associated with various payment card accounts. A message may be sent to the payment reader22based on a user's selection of a preferred payment card type or account when the transaction application is running in the foreground (e.g., displayed via GUI of the payment device10). Transaction processing instructions132may include instructions for receiving such messages indicative of payment information from the transaction applications of mobile device10(e.g., based on the standardized payment card protocol) and processing their payment information to complete a payment transaction. In some embodiments, a message provided from a transaction application of a mobile device10may include a listing of all standardized payment card types supported by the mobile device10. In addition, the message may include information indicative of a priority or ranking of the standardized payment card types (e.g., such as defined by a user or based on other information, such as incentives, offers, transaction history, etc.). In some embodiments, transaction processing instructions132may include instructions for enabling payment reader22to select a payment card type for processing at least a portion of a particular payment transaction based on an indicated priority of supported payment card applications on mobile device10. After the payment reader22determines a payment card type for processing at least one portion of a particular transaction, transaction processing instructions132may include instructions for disregarding other payment card types for the particular at least one portion of the transaction. Data authentication instructions134may include instructions for providing configuration information for a payment terminal20. The configuration information may include any suitable information, such as payment limits and types of transactions for local transactions (i.e., transactions that occur without contacting a payment server40) and supported applications. As an example, in some embodiments, data authentication instructions134may include configuration instructions such as TMS-CAPK instructions. In some embodiments, the TMS-CAPK may be tailored for a particular jurisdiction (e.g., country-specific). Background application instructions140may include instructions for performing specialized routines for processing background messages (e.g., background payment accounts, loyalty accounts, offer information, etc., communicated via background communications). The specialized routines specified in background application instructions140may include instructions for processing messages sent by a transaction application running in the background on a mobile device10, as well related as other communication devices such as merchant devices, a payment service system, etc. The messages processed according to the specialized routines set forth in background application instructions140may be implemented to process messaging received wirelessly from the mobile device10, such as via NFC, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi. In some embodiments, background application instructions140may include instructions for managing a separate wireless communication thread (BLE, Wi-Fi, or NFC) between payment reader22and mobile device10. In some embodiments, the separate wireless communication thread may be implemented to handle or manage any background communications with transaction applications that may occur. In an embodiment, the background application instructions140may include instructions for facilitating messages sent in the background according to a non-standardized protocol from a payment facilitator's proprietary transaction application, such as an application that is associated with a merchant devices and/or a payment service system. The background application instructions140may include instructions for allowing payment reader22to receive messages sent via background communications simultaneously with messages received via regular wireless communication threads (e.g., foreground communication). The payment reader22may receive standard type transaction card-type messages and background transaction card-type messages and decide how to use some or all of the information in processing the payment transaction, or in some embodiments, package some or all of the standard and background information by additional processing at another device (e.g., a merchant device and/or a payment service system). In some embodiments, the background application instructions140may include instructions for sending and receiving messages with information that identifies the payment reader22to mobile devices10within range of the messaging as a payment reader that is compatible with a transaction application operating in the background on the mobile device10. For example, a payment reader22or payment device10may intermittently broadcast a message indicating such compatibility, such as via wireless communication; any compatible device within range of or in communication with the payment reader22or payment device10may receive the message. In some embodiments, the payment reader22may broadcast or transmit such a message any time a message is received from a mobile device10. In addition, the instructions140may include instructions for examining information from a mobile device10to determine whether the mobile device10is a background application-enabled device. For example, an identifier may be present within messaging from the payment device10, or the payment reader22may query the mobile device10and determine whether it is a background application-enabled device based on a response message. In this regard, the background application instructions140may include instructions for enabling a payment reader22to efficiently identify compatible payment devices10to take advantage of background messaging capability where available. In addition, background application instructions140may include instructions for sending offers, promotions, coupons, advertisements, etc., to a mobile device10for display to user. In some embodiments, background application instructions140may include instructions for generating a message indicative of an offer or other information and broadcasting the message to any mobile devices10within range (e.g., a message sent as a wireless “beacon” signal). In some embodiments, the background application instructions140may include instructions for generating a beacon to provide options to user of transaction application to perform various operations. For example, the beacon may prompt or offer a user an opportunity to switch a payment card application for use with the payment transaction, such as a prompt to agree to switch from a standard payment card application to a background application, such as when the user may derive a benefit (e.g., a merchant or issuer's promotional offer, loyalty incentives, etc.). In some embodiments, background application instructions140may require a user response accepting offer before processing a payment card type according to background protocol, while in other embodiments, information may be received from both the standard and background application and processed elsewhere (e.g., at a merchant device or payment service system based on user preferences). The beacon message may include instructions for the background compatible application to generate a message indicative of the user's response and provide it to the payment reader22. If the user agrees to permit a switch to the background transaction application, the mobile device10may transition the background transaction application or a portion thereof to the foreground, receive user inputs and selections related to the payment transaction, and complete at least a portion of the payment transaction with the payment reader22via messaging according to the background payment protocol. Note that, in some embodiments, background application instructions140may include instructions for selecting a portion of a payment transaction to process using a standard payment card type and a portion of a payment transaction to process using background payment card type. In some embodiments, a payment card type (e.g., standardized versus non-standardized) may be selected for a portion of the payment transaction based on various information, such as priority rules included in background application instructions140. Based on background application instructions, payment reader22may make the selection based on information such as instructions stored in memory of the payment reader, rules stored at the merchant device29, and/or rules stored at a payment server40. In addition, background application instructions140may include instructions for determining that at least one portion of a wireless payment transaction may be performed by using exclusively a background payment card, and processing the at least one portion using the background payment card based on the determination. In some embodiments, the background application instructions140may include instructions for completing the at least one portion of the payment transaction using the background payment card without processing any portion using a standardized payment card type. In some embodiments, the at least one portion may be processed using a standardized payment card based on a determination that the at least one portion may be processed using exclusively the standardized payment card type. In some embodiments, the background application instructions140may include instructions for accessing user rules to generate and provide the offers or options to the mobile device10. In some embodiments, background application instructions140may include instructions for communicating with a server (e.g., payment server40) to access rules generated for the particular user of the payment device (e.g., a user associated with one or more background payment card applications for which the payment device10has indicated compatibility). The rules may specify conditions for performing (e.g., the extent to which) background communications between the payment reader22and mobile device10. Background application instructions140may include instructions for customizing offers, promotions, prompts or options provided to a payment device10for presentation to a user based on the customized rules. The customization performed based on background application instructions140may be performed based on other information and rules stored at other locations in other embodiments. In some embodiments, background application instructions140may include instructions for enabling the payment reader22to route information received based on execution of both transaction processing instructions132and background application instructions140to an appropriate destination (e.g., a merchant device29, or payment server40). In some embodiments, the background application instructions140may include instructions for routing all information received to the appropriate destination, such as a merchant device29or payment server40. In this regard, selection of a payment method for at least a portion of the payment transaction may be performed based on the information. In some embodiments an appropriate destination may be identified based on settings or rules (e.g., from payment server40or elsewhere). In some embodiments, the information may be routed based on communication by the payment reader with a transaction application running in the background on the mobile device10(e.g., for presenting offers or incentives to a user). In some embodiments, the background application instructions140may include instructions for providing point-of-sale options to a user (e.g., via an application running in the background of the mobile device10). For example, an option may be presented to a user offering the user an opportunity to change payment card type (e.g., from standard to background payment card type, or vice versa) or to associate a loyalty payment card, such as the user's own loyalty account, with the transaction. Other point-of-sale options may be provided to the user in other embodiments. As an example of operation of processing a wireless payment transaction based on standard and background payment card types at the payment reader22when executing at least transaction processing instructions132and background application instruction140, payment reader22may initially identify a standardized payment card (e.g., a payment card for processing a standardized-protocol payment transaction) from a listing of standardized payment card types. The payment reader22may use the identification to process at least a first portion of the wireless payment transaction. The payment reader22may provide information to a first remote server (e.g., payment server40, etc.) for the first remote server to authorize payment of the at least first portion of the wireless payment transaction by the standardized payment card identified by the payment reader22. In some embodiments, the information may be provided via at least one communication network (e.g., network30). In some embodiments, the information for authorizing payment of the at least first portion may comply with the standardized payment card protocol. The payment reader22may further identify a background payment card from a listing of background payment card types (e.g., a loyalty card for processing a loyalty card transaction). The payment reader22may use the identification to process at least a second portion of the wireless payment transaction. The payment reader22may provide information to a second remote server (e.g., payment server40, etc.) for the second remote server to authorize payment of the at least second portion of the wireless payment transaction by the background payment card identified by the payment reader22. In some embodiments, the information may be provided via the at least one communication network (e.g., network30). In some embodiments, the information for authorizing payment of the at least second portion may not comply with the standardized payment card protocol. In some embodiments, the payment reader22may receive an authorization for each of the at least first portion and at least second portion of the wireless payment transaction, such as from each respective first and second remote server. The payment reader22may complete the payment transaction (e.g., approve or decline the transaction) upon receiving both of the authorizations for the at least first portion and at least second portion of the wireless payment transaction. Note that, in some embodiments, payment reader22may require a response from a user authorizing use of a background payment card before identifying and processing the at least second portion of the wireless payment transaction. The response may be provided following receipt by the user of an offer to switch to a background payment card type from the standard payment card type identified to process the at least first portion of the payment transaction. If the user declines the offer, payment reader22may perform processing of the wireless payment transaction using only standard payment card types from the listing of standardized payment card types. The offer may be provided to the user via a wireless message from the payment reader22, such as a beacon or other message to a mobile device10of the user. Cryptographic processing unit125may be any suitable a processor as described herein, and, in some embodiments, may perform cryptographic functions for the processing of payment transactions. For example, in some embodiments a cryptographic processing unit125may encrypt and decrypt data based on one or more encryption keys, in a manner that isolates the encryption functionality from other components of payment reader22and protects the encryption keys from being exposed to other components of payment reader22. In some embodiments, cryptographic memory128may be any suitable memory or combination thereof as described herein, and may include a plurality of sets of instructions for performing cryptographic operations, such as payment processing instructions176, cryptographic instructions178and card processing instructions180. Payment processing instructions176may include instructions for performing aspects of payment processing, such as providing for encryption techniques to be used in association with particular payment procedures, accessing account and processing information, any other suitable payment processing functionality, or any suitable combination thereof. Cryptographic instructions178may include instructions for performing cryptographic operations. Cryptographic processing unit125may execute the cryptographic instructions178to perform a variety of cryptographic functions, such as to encrypt, decrypt, sign, or verify a signature upon payment and transaction information as part of a payment transaction. Card processing instructions180may include instructions for receiving transaction messages that are received from the payment device10. For example, a standard or background card messaging protocol may include security formatting or encryption. The cryptographic processing unit125may receive and process such messages received from a mobile device10based on card processing instructions180. In some embodiments, card processing instructions180may include instructions for enabling the payment reader to receive card messages that include card-specific information, such as a card-specific identifier (e.g., primary account number, etc.). In some embodiments, a transaction application running on a mobile device10may include card payment tokens that may have validity for performing at least one portion of a payment transaction initiated via the mobile device10(e.g., from the transaction application) or payment terminal20. A card payment token may be associated with a card based on various information, including a primary account number (PAN) or payment cryptogram. In some embodiments, a token may be associated with a dynamically generated cryptogram, which may be generated at the mobile device10and interpreted when received by the payment reader22based on card processing instructions180. In some embodiments, card processing instructions180may include instructions for processing a card payment token received at the payment reader22and generated by mobile device10, or by a remote source such as payment server40. In some embodiments, card processing instructions180may be configured to receive tokenized transaction messages indicative of payment information for either or both of messages according to standard and background payment types, as may be communicated from a transaction application operating in the foreground and a transaction application operating in the background on a mobile device10. Note that, in some embodiments, one or more portions of a payment card may be tokenized and transmitted via wireless message to the payment reader22as part of a payment transaction. Tokenization may be of various information indicated by a payment card, including typical tokenization of authorization cryptogram information, but also of user account information and other sensitive details. A token can be associated with various validity rules, such as remaining valid for certain transactions, transaction use limits, time limits, transaction types (e.g., wired or wireless), user account limitations (such as association with a particular payment card or loyalty card) or merchant limitations. Based on card processing instructions180, the payment reader22may receive the tokenized portions and process the payment transaction as described herein. FIG.5depicts an exemplary merchant device29in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Although merchant device29may be implemented in a variety of device types, in one embodiment the merchant device29may be an interactive electronic device that provides a user interface and communicates with one or more other devices. Examples of interactive electronic devices include tablets, smart phones, smart watches, desktop computers, laptop computers, custom electronic devices, and other suitable electronic devices having the necessary user interface and communication capabilities to perform the functions described herein. Although particular components are depicted in a particular arrangement inFIG.5, it will be understood that merchant device29may include additional components, one or more of the components depicted inFIG.5may not be included in merchant device29, and the components of merchant device29may be rearranged in a variety of suitable manners in order to perform the functionality describe herein. In one embodiment, merchant device29includes a processing unit202, a memory204, an interface bus206, a power supply208, a user interface210, a first wireless interface212, a second wireless interface214, and a wired interface216. In one embodiment, the merchant device29includes a processing unit202and memory204that are configured to control and perform the necessary operations of the merchant device29. In one embodiment, the processing unit202of may be a general-purpose processor running instructions for a mobile operating system, programs, and applications based on instructions that may be stored in memory204. The memory204may include any suitable memory types or combination thereof as described herein, such as flash memory and RAM memory, for storing instructions and other data and providing a working memory for the execution of the operating system, programs, and applications of the merchant device29. In one embodiment, the memory204may include a plurality of sets of instructions, such as operating instructions220, point-of-sale application instructions222, and reader management instructions224. The processing unit202may execute the instructions of memory204to interact with and control one or more other components of the merchant device29. Although the processing unit202may communicate with other components of the merchant device29in any suitable manner, in one embodiment the processing unit may utilize an interface bus206. Interface bus206may include one or more communication buses such as I2C, SPI, USB, UART, and GPIO. In one embodiment, the processing unit202may execute instructions of the memory and based on those instructions may communicate with the other components of the merchant device29via the communication buses of interface bus206. Merchant device29may also include a power supply208. Power supply208may include power conversion circuitry for converting AC power and/or generating a plurality of DC voltages for use by components of merchant device29. When power supply208includes a battery, the battery may be charged via a physical power connection, via inductive charging, or via any other suitable method. Although not depicted as physically connected to the other components of merchant device29inFIG.5, power supply208may supply a variety of voltages to the components of merchant device29in accordance with the requirements of those components. Merchant device29may also include a user interface210. User interface210may provide various options for the user of the merchant device29to interact with applications and programs running on the merchant device29. An exemplary user interface210may include hardware and software for a suitable user interface such as a touchscreen interface, voice command interface, keyboard, mouse, gesture recognition, any other suitable user interface, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the user interface210may be a touchscreen and audio interface that displays an interactive user interface and responds to voice prompts in order for a user to interact with programs and applications such as a point-of-sale application running on the merchant device29. Merchant device29may also include a plurality of wireless communication interfaces. The wireless communication interfaces may include any suitable hardware and software for providing a wireless communication interface such as Bluetooth classic, Bluetooth low energy, Wi-Fi, cellular, short message service (SMS), NFC, any other suitable wireless communication interface, or any combination thereof. In an embodiment, a first wireless communication interface212may be a wireless communication interface that communicates with payment reader22(e.g., Bluetooth low energy interface) while a second wireless communication interface214may be a wireless communication interface (e.g., Wi-Fi) that communicates with a payment service system50of payment server40(e.g., via the internet). In some embodiments (e.g., when some or all of the background instructions (e.g., background application instructions140) are executed at the merchant device29), one or more of the wireless communication interfaces may communicate with a payment device. Merchant device may also include a wired interface216, which may include any suitable interface for wired communication with other devices (e.g., a payment reader22) or a communication network (e.g., to contact a payment server40), such as USB, Lightning, FireWire, Ethernet, any other suitable wired communication interface, or any combination thereof. Operating instructions220of memory204may include instructions for controlling any suitable general operations of the merchant device29, such as internal communications, power management, control of I/O devices, control of communication devices, control of other hardware of the merchant device29, any other suitable instructions, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the operating instructions may provide instructions for the operating system of the merchant device29as well as most drivers, programs, and applications operating on the merchant device29. Operating instructions220may include instructions for controlling the operations of the user interface210. The user interface210may be controlled in accordance with the instructions of programs and applications of the operating instructions220, point-of-sale application instructions222, payment management instructions224, and other suitable instructions of the merchant device (e.g., including background application instructions140or some portion thereof). In one embodiment, the operating instructions220may include instructions to perform communications and user interface operations directly with a payment device10, e.g., in order for merchant device29to perform some or all of the processing of the background application instructions. Operating instructions220may also include instructions for interacting with a payment reader22and for interacting with a payment service system50at a payment server40. The payment reader22and/or the application running on the merchant device29may be known (e.g., via a registration process) to the payment service system50, such that the merchant device29may process payments with the payment service system50according to the point-of-sale application instructions222. Point-of-sale application instructions222may include instructions for running a point-of-sale application on the merchant device29. When executed by the processing unit202, the point-of-sale application instructions222may provide for a rich display of an interactive interface that allows a merchant to process payment transactions with customers. These instructions may include customized interfaces that allow the merchant or customer to select products for purchase, calculate sales tax, process tips, provide receipts, generate discounts or special offers, process customer loyalty programs, search for items in inventory or for delivery, and perform any other suitable retail operations. In some embodiments, the point-of-sale application instructions222may include instructions for providing a rich display of information relating to settings for interaction with a backup application operating on a payment reader22or payment device29, for example, to modify settings for providing payment options, pre-order options, special offers, payment method preferences (e.g., discounts for selecting a payment method such as a payment method accessible through the background application, and other similar information accessible or operational through a background application as described herein. In some embodiments, point-of-sale application instructions222may provide a register interface to allow a user to enter a payment amount, select items for purchase, and modify purchase options by providing inputs at the user interface230. The point-of-sale application instructions222may remain in this mode until a user provides an input indicating that the user is ready to provide payment information for processing. In some embodiments, point-of-sale application instructions222may prompt a user for selection of a payment method. The user may select a payment method based on an indication at the point-of-sale application instructions222, or by providing an input at the merchant device29or payment reader22. In some embodiments, a payment method may be selected based on interaction of a payment device10with an interface of payment reader22(e.g., contact interface104or contactless interface102). For example, in some embodiments, point-of-sale application instructions222may include instructions for identifying a chip card when it is inserted into contact interface104based on a message provided by payment reader22. In some embodiments, point-of-sale application instructions222may include instructions for displaying a customer verification method for obtaining authorization to process a payment transaction on the payment method provided, such as through user input. In some embodiments, the verification method may be a number panel for entry of a unique personal identification number (PIN) or a cardholder's signature. Other methods may be used in other embodiments. In some embodiments, point-of-sale application instructions222may provide an indicator that the transaction is complete following approval of the payment transaction at the merchant device29, such as from a transaction processing server or based on a self-approval provided at the merchant device29. Point-of-sale application may display the transaction complete indicator at the user interface230, indicating that the transaction has concluded. In some embodiments, point-of-sale application instructions222may include instructions for performing parallel processing of tasks performed during a payment transaction. For example, payment information from a payment device10may be collected and processed before a purchase amount is entered or a user begins selecting items for purchase (e.g., based on background communications with a payment device10). Following collection of the payment information, tasks such as customer verification methods and finalization of a payment amount may be completed at the point-of-sale application instructions222prior to the completion of messaging with the chip card and/or authorization of the transaction. Thus, a continuous flow of tasks in a payment transaction may be provided to the user interface230by point-of-sale application instructions222, reducing transaction duration and customer wait time in accordance with information exchanged via background messaging. In some embodiments, point-of-sale application instructions222may include instructions for performing any of the functions of point-of-sale application instructions222described herein in parallel with payment processing tasks. Payment management instructions224may include any suitable instructions for assisting with payment card management operations at the payment reader22. A merchant may initiate a payment transaction at merchant device29, such as when a customer is making a purchase. The merchant device29may provide a payment request to the payment reader22, which may perform processing of the payment transaction (e.g., by exchanging wireless messages with payment device10, such as standard and background protocol messaging). In some embodiments, payment management instructions224may include instructions for receiving processed payment card information from payment reader22. As noted herein, after a mobile device10provides payment card information (e.g., listings of standard and background payment card types) to payment reader22, the payment reader22may identify each of a standard card to process at least one portion of the payment transaction and a background card to process at least one other portion of the payment transaction. The payment reader22may determine each of the standard and background payment card types from messages comprising listings of each payment card type compatible or supported by the mobile device10, or in some embodiments, based on information about a user and/or payment device that is available at one or more of a payment reader22, merchant device29, or payment service system50. In some embodiments, the payment reader22and/or payment device10may provide information from the selected payment card types required to complete the payment transaction to merchant device29, such as via wired or wireless communication, as described herein. In some embodiments, the payment management instructions224may include some or all of the functionality of the background application instructions140, e.g., to offload some or all of the background functionality from the payment reader22. The payment management instructions224may also include instructions for forwarding both types of processed information (for each of standard and background payment card types selected at payment reader22) to remote server. The payment reader22may provide information for authorizing each of the portions of the payment transaction (e.g., associated with each of the standard and background payment card type) to the merchant device29. Based on payment management instructions224, the merchant device29may forward authorization information received from the payment reader22to one or more payment servers. Note that the merchant device29may make a determination as to where (e.g., to which remote server) to send each portion of the payment transaction based on the payment management instructions224(e.g., based on standard or background account type) and may forward the authorization information from each portion to an appropriate server (e.g., one or more payment service systems of payment server40). Merchant device29may forward the payment authorization information from each portion to other locations in other embodiments. Note that, in some embodiments, the payment management instructions224also may include instructions for deciding which processed payment card information to forward to server. For example, merchant device29may authorization information associated with a standard payment card type and background payment card type. The merchant device29may decide between providing authorization information associated with the standard payment card type versus the background payment card type based on payment management instructions224. In this regard, merchant device29may select a payment type for which to provide authorization information (e.g., authorization request), while not providing authorization information for other payment types received from payment reader. In some embodiments, payment management instructions224may include instructions for receiving rules for selecting processed authorization information for which authorization request should be provided (to a remote server, such as payment server40). In some embodiments, the rules set forth in payment management instructions224may provide for selection based on various types of information, including payment card type, card issuer, merchant information, user information, transaction history, user agreement, and/or consent. In addition to describing instructions for selecting between payment card types, rules contained in payment management instructions224may specify rules providing for selection of payment card authorization information based on payment card or loyalty card priorities. In some embodiments, payment management instructions224may include instructions for assigning a priority to particular standard or background payment card types and loyalty program types, and performing a selection based on the assigned priority. The payment management instructions224may provide rules for performing other techniques in other embodiments. FIG.6depicts an exemplary payment service system50of a payment server40in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Although the payment service system50is depicted as a single server, it will be understood that the operations and memory of the payment service system50may be distributed over any suitable number of servers. Although particular components are depicted in a particular arrangement inFIG.6, it will be understood that the payment service system50may include additional components, one or more of the components depicted inFIG.6may not be included in the payment service system50, and the components of payment service system50may be rearranged in any suitable manner. It also will be understood that, in some embodiments, payment service system50may include the necessary components and have the necessary configuration to perform any of the functionality attributed to the payment server40herein. In one embodiment, payment service system50includes at least a processing unit302, a memory304, an interface bus306, a power supply308, and a communication interface310. In one embodiment, the payment service system50includes a processing unit302and memory304that are configured to control and perform the necessary operations of the payment service system50. In one embodiment, the processing unit302of may be a high-speed processor running instructions for an operating system for the server, programs, and applications based on instructions that may be stored in memory304. The memory304may include any suitable memory types or combination thereof as described herein for storing instructions and other data and providing a working memory for the execution of the operating system, programs, and applications of the payment service system50. In one embodiment, the memory may include a plurality of sets of instructions, including but not limited to operating instructions320, payment processing instructions322, and card management instructions324. The processing unit302may execute the instructions of memory304to interact with and control one or more other components of the payment service system50. Although the processing unit302may communicate with other components of the payment service system50in any suitable manner, in one embodiment the processing unit302may utilize an interface bus306. Interface bus306may include one or more communication buses such as I2C, SPI, USB, UART, and GPIO. In one embodiment, the processing unit302may execute instructions of the memory304and based on those instructions may communicate with the other components of the payment service system50via the communication buses of interface bus306. The payment service system50may also include a power supply308. Power supply308may include power conversion circuitry for converting AC power and/or generating a plurality of DC voltages for use by components of the payment service system50. In some embodiments, power supply308may include a backup system such as a battery backup, to avoid interruptions in service during power outages. Although not depicted as physically connected to the other components of the payment service system50inFIG.6, power supply308may supply a variety of voltages to the components of the payment service system50in accordance with the requirements of those components. The payment service system50may also include a communication interface310. Although communication interface310may include any suitable communication interface or combination thereof, in some embodiments the communication interface310may utilize higher speed communication interfaces such as Wi-Fi, cellular, Ethernet, or fiber optics. The communication interface310may establish a secured connection (e.g., via TLS or SSL) with a payment terminal20(e.g., merchant device29) in order to exchange messages relating to processing of transaction information such as background payment information. The communication interface310may also communicate with other servers of the payment server40such as transaction processing servers, which may, in some embodiments, be located remotely from the payment service system50and operated by different entities than those that control the payment service system50. For example, in one embodiment, the payment service system50may be operated by an entity that provides one or more of the payment reader22, merchant device29, or point-of-sale application222. Transaction processing servers may be associated with and operated by one or more of the merchant, issuer, or customer banks. Operating instructions320may include instructions for controlling any suitable general operations of the payment service system50, such as internal communications, power management, control of communication devices, control of other hardware of the payment service system50, any other suitable instructions, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the operating instructions may provide instructions for the operating system of the payment service system50as well as most drivers, programs, and applications operating on the payment service system50. Operating instructions320may also include instructions for interacting with a merchant device29. In one embodiment, the payment service system50may communicate with the merchant device29via the communication interface310. Operating instructions320may include instructions that when executed by processing unit302control these communications and provide for secure communication by implementing procedures such as TLS, SSL or as encrypted data based on keys. Payment processing instructions322include instructions for processing payments, and may control the content of messages that are communicated to the merchant device29, payment reader22(e.g., via merchant device29), and/or transaction processing servers. In one embodiment, the payment processing instructions may include information about each payment reader22and merchant device29having an installed point-of-sale application222. In addition to performing payment processing functions such as providing payment information such as amount and a credit card number to a transaction processing system and communicating responses back to the merchant, the payment service system50may also perform complex analysis of merchant data that may be used to provide reports, metrics, or other data to a merchant (e.g., a merchant operating a plurality of merchant devices29at a plurality of locations). Card management instructions324may include instructions for determining rules for processing payment card types at payment readers22(e.g., sending the rules to the merchant device29via network30) that are in communication with the payment service system50. Although the discussion herein includes processing at both payment service system50and merchant device29, it will be understood that some or all aspects of card management instructions324may be executed at merchant device29, and that some aspects of payment management instructions224may be executed at payment service system50. In some embodiments, card management instructions324may include instructions for receiving and providing information from transaction messages, such as transaction and background information for a payment transaction sent from a payment terminal20. In some embodiments, the card management instructions324may include instructions for processing both standard and background payment card types, and for performing processing of the particular information for payment authorization based on a type of payment card or loyalty card. Card management instructions324may include instructions for receiving authorization requests for both standard and background payment card types from a payment terminal20(e.g., either or both of payment reader22and merchant device29). In some embodiments, the card management instructions324may include instructions for determining a payment card type based on information received from a payment terminal20. The card management instructions324may include instructions for determining how to provide the payment information to an appropriate server (e.g., bank server60). For example, the card management instructions324may include instructions for providing information to authorize payment for both standard and background payment card types to one or more servers (e.g., bank server60, etc.). Card management instructions324may include instructions for performing selection at payment service system50of a payment card type for which to provide payment authorization information. The selection may be made based on rules stored in payment service system50as card management instructions324, and may be based on the various information described herein for determining or selecting a payment card type for use in a payment transaction. The card management instructions324may include instructions for receiving a response to an authorization request from a server corresponding to each selected payment card type, and may provide such response or responses to payment terminal20(e.g., payment reader22or merchant terminal29) via a network. In some embodiments, card management instructions324may include instructions for generating and providing token information associated with payment card (e.g., on a mobile device running a transaction application) after use. In some embodiments, the card management instructions324may include instructions for tokenization of payment information associated with a payment card, such as a card number, PAN, or other similar information. In some embodiments, a token may be assigned to a payment card from payment service system50may be unique or static, although in some embodiments, tokens may be generated dynamically at either payment service system50or payment device10(e.g., via a transaction application on the mobile device10). Note that the tokens generated by card management instructions324may be associated with either background protocol-type payment cards and loyalty cards. In some embodiments, payment service system50may provide tokens generated based on card management instructions324to a transaction application on payment device10or to a payment terminal20(e.g., payment reader22) for use in wireless payment transactions. Note that each token may be based on authorization provided via interaction with a transaction application, such as by a user selecting an option to use tokenization for payment transactions (e.g., transactions involving wireless standard and background-type payment card and loyalty cards). A token may be provided to payment terminal20as part of information necessary to authorize payment of one or more portions. In some embodiments, thousands or even millions of payment terminals20or similar devices may be in communication with payment service system50, and may provide information about the payment terminals20themselves as well as payment transactions that occur at the payment terminals20, as well as other information. Based on the information provided, payment service system50may update rules stored in card management instructions324, and may provide updates for payment terminals20from time-to-time, such as to improve functionality of the payment terminal, or to facilitate more efficient processing of payment information during payment transactions. More specifically, information stored at payment server50may allow card management instructions324to update instructions stored in memory at merchant device29and payment reader22for performing payment card processing tasks and payment authorization in a payment transaction at the payment terminal20. In some embodiments, card management instructions324may include instructions for generating rules for controlling operations of reader chip100of payment reader22. In some embodiments, payment service system50may use information stored in card management instructions324to update transaction processing instructions132, background application instructions14, and payment management instructions224. In some embodiments, the rules may provide various procedures and steps for making determinations for processing standard and background payment card types from one or both of the merchant device29or reader chip100, as well as information relating communication of transaction options (e.g., offers, loyalty combinations, etc.) via a background application. Card management instructions324may generate rules based on a particular set of criteria and update the rules based on changes to the criteria. In one embodiment, criteria for rules stored in card management instructions324may be updated from time-to-time based on information about payment readers22in communication with payment service system50. The information may include metrics about numerous payment terminals20engaging in similar transactions (e.g., based on other terminals of the same merchant, type of merchant, geographical location, time frame, etc.). In some embodiments, rules in card management instructions324may be updated to improve and update background processing based on information such as merchant type, similar merchants, similar merchant locations, payment card applications, issuers, payment card type, loyalty programs, or other information. In some embodiments, criteria for rules stored in card management instructions324may be for a particular payment terminal20, and may be updated based on information about the particular payment terminal20. In this regard, card management instructions324may include metrics about the payment terminal20, such as merchant information, location, information about customers (e.g., accounts), payment card apps, issuers, payment card type, loyalty programs or other information. In some embodiments, rules stored in card management instructions324may be updated to improve and update background processing with information about offers, incentives, promotions, discounts, coupons, or other similar information. In some embodiments, card management instructions324may include instructions for performing analytics with regard to information stored at payment service system50to generate updated instructions for a plurality of payment terminals20. While limited examples of analytics performed by instructions stored at payment service system50will be discussed herein, it will be understood that, in some embodiments, analytics may be performed by instructions stored at payment service system50of any suitable information for generating, updating, providing, or creating instructions for payment system1and its individual components for achieving the functionality described herein. In addition, analytics performed at payment service system50may be performed by any instructions or combination of instructions stored in memory, and while examples may be provided of performance of analytics by specific instructions, it will be understood that similar analytics of any information described herein may be performed by any instructions or combination of instructions stored in memory at the payment system1. As an example of the foregoing discussion regarding analytics, in some embodiments, the analytics performed may include application of techniques such as machine learning to data stored at the payment service system50. For example, card management instructions324may determine that instructions related to background processing may be update by analyzing a set of training data regarding background communications and processing results (e.g., responses to offers, transactions in which a processing error occurred, transactions in which a customer declined to use a background account, etc.). Card management instructions324also may access additional information, such as transaction frequency, transaction authorization rates, customer authorization information, loyalty program accounts, merchant information, or other suitable information. Card management instructions324may apply algorithms such as machine learning algorithms to the information and generate updated rules included in instructions stored at the payment terminal20where the particular payment reader22is located. Card management instructions324may provide the updated rules to the payment terminal20for storage in memory as an update to relevant instructions, such as transaction processing instructions132or payment management instructions224. In view of the structures and devices described supra, methods that can be implemented in accordance with the disclosed subject matter will be better appreciated with reference to the flowcharts ofFIGS.7-8. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methods are shown and described as a series of steps, it is to be understood and appreciated that such illustrations or corresponding descriptions are not limited by the order of the steps, as some steps may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other steps from what is depicted and described herein. Any non-sequential, or branched, flow illustrated via a flowchart should be understood to indicate that various other branches, flow paths, and orders of the steps, can be implemented which achieve the same or a similar result. Moreover, not all illustrated steps may be required to implement the methods described hereinafter. FIG.7depicts a non-limiting flow diagram illustrating exemplary methods for processing a payment transaction with a payment device executing background instructions in accordance with the present disclosure. At step702, a payment reader22may communicate with a transaction application running in the background on a mobile device10. The background application may provide a message to the payment reader22, such as an indication of a user, a device, accounts, or other suitable identifiers. In some embodiments, payment reader22may provide a message in response, and may include various information, such as a request to communicate payment information (e.g., with a transaction application running in either the foreground or background). The payment reader22also may provide information indicating that the payment reader22is compatible for processing a payment transaction with the background application. The background transaction application may provide a response message to the payment reader22indicating that the mobile device10is a device enabled to perform communication via background applications. In an embodiment, the message communicated at step702may be provided via wireless communication (e.g., NFC, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular) from the mobile device10to the payment reader22. After the payment reader22communicates with the background application, processing may proceed to step704. At step704the payment reader22may communicate with a standard transaction application running on the mobile device10. The payment reader22may communicate with the mobile device10by exchanging messages, such as wireless messages communicated via NFC. The message may include a request to the standard transaction application to communicate payment information wirelessly via NFC, as well as other payment transaction information. In some embodiments, after a standard transaction application receives a request to begin a transaction from a payment reader22, the transaction application may provide (e.g., display) a listing of standard payment card types to the user may, such as via a GUI of the mobile device10. In some embodiments, the user may select a payment card via the standard transaction application for use with the particular payment transaction based on the listing displayed by the mobile device10. After the payment reader has communicated with a standard transaction application, processing may proceed to step706. At step706the payment reader22may provide available information to background application, such as user-specific promotions or offers, payment transaction information, merchant information, loyalty information, other available offers, incentives, or other information as described herein. In some embodiments, the payment reader22may provide the information based on communication with various sources, such as payment service system50, merchant device29, or other devices in communication with the payment reader22. After the payment reader22has provided available information to the background application, processing may proceed to step708. At step708, the payment reader22may receive transaction information from the standard transaction application on the mobile device10and process the information. The standard transaction application may generate a message that may include payment transaction information (e.g., a payment card type associated with the transaction application selected by the user, user account information, a payment card number or token, etc.). The transaction application may provide the payment information associated with the selected payment card to the payment reader22, which may process the information, such as by determining a destination for directing a request for information for authorizing payment of portions of the payment transaction. After the payment reader22has received payment information from the mobile device10, processing may proceed to step710. At step710the payment reader22may receive background information from the background application on the mobile device10, such as user account information, such as merchant, payment, or item-specific loyalty information, user selections, and other suitable information as described herein. The background information may be provided based on user selections (e.g., pre-selected user preferences), information received by the background application from other sources (e.g., a remote server via a wireless network, etc.), and other suitable sources as described herein. After background information has been received at the payment reader22, processing may proceed to step712. At step712The payment reader22may determine whether to suggest to the user to modify information for the particular transaction (e.g., payment information) based on the background information. A modification to payment provided by payment reader22may comprise an offer to the user (e.g., promotion, discount, loyalty incentive, etc.), or may include a prompt for allowing a user to provide payment using another payment card type. In some embodiments, the payment reader22may determine whether to provide the offer to modify payment based on various information available to the background application. If the payment reader22determines that an offer to modify payment should be provided to the user, the payment reader22may provide the offer to modify payment to the user (e.g., mobile device10) at step714. The user may accept or decline the offer, and processing may continue to step716. If an offer to modify payment should not be made, processing may continue to step716 At step716payment reader22may determine a destination for information received from each of the standard application and background application. The destinations may include one or more payment servers, such as one or more payment service systems or bank servers60of a payment server40. Payment reader22may provide each respective type of information to an appropriate destination, such as payment servers operated by a payment card issuer or loyalty program administrator, according to various types of information. The information may include information such as account information, destination identifiers included in messages exchanged with the applications running on mobile device10, instructions stored in memory, rules received via communication with other devices (e.g., merchant device29or payment service system50), and other information as described herein. After the payment reader22identifies a destination for each of the types of information received from the standard and background applications, the information may be provided to the respective destinations, and processing may continue to step718. At step718, one or more destination servers (e.g., payment server40, bank server60, etc.) may use combined information from both the standard transaction application and background transaction application to process the payment transaction. The destination servers may process the payment transaction according to various rules. In some embodiments, such rules may provide information for selecting a procedure for processing a payment transaction, such as processing a transaction, such as altering payment information to be processed based on the rules (e.g., switching payment card type from standard to background based on execution of the rules). In addition, the rules may specify that the decision of whether to alter the payment information should be provided to the user, such as via message to the mobile device10. After the servers process the respective transaction information, processing may end. FIG.8depicts a non-limiting flow diagram illustrating exemplary methods for providing a message as part of a wireless payment transaction in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the embodiment describe with respect toFIG.8, a beacon will be provided from payment device such as a mobile device10, however, it will be understood that the beacon could be provided from other devices (e.g., payment reader, merchant device, other local devices, etc.), and that processing may be modified accordingly. At step802, payment reader22may listen for a beacon from a mobile device10, such as a wireless message that conforms to a beacon or other format (e.g., advertising messages, etc.) that identifies the device or user or provides other suitable information. A beacon may be transmitted wirelessly, and may include various information provided to a mobile device10, such from a remote server or based on instructions in a mobile application running on the mobile device10. When the payment reader22receives a beacon from a mobile device10, processing may proceed to step804. At step804, the payment reader22may retrieve information to provide to the mobile device10, such as an offer to select a different payment card type (e.g., from standard to background) for use with the particular payment transaction. A message including the information may be generated at the payment reader22, and may include various information or offers, such as an offer to switch transaction applications (e.g., from standard transaction application to an application operating in the background), various incentives, loyalty information, and merchant information. The information may be received from various sources, such as from a remote server (e.g., payment server40), a merchant device29(e.g., based on inputs, instructions or rules stored on the merchant device29), or based on instructions stored in memory on the payment reader22. After the payment reader22has received information to provide to the mobile device10, processing may proceed to step806. At step806, payment reader22may provide its own beacon message (e.g., a response message) to a mobile device10. The beacon message may include information such as a location identifier of the payment reader22, merchant information, offer information, or other information as described herein. A transaction application (e.g., a background application) installed on the mobile device10may be configured to listen for such beacons and process information included in the beacon message. In an exemplary embodiment of an offer being provided to a user, the payment reader22may provide the offer or information to the mobile device10. In some embodiments, the information may be provided to the mobile device10via various suitable communication techniques, such as via wireless communication techniques (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular network, etc.). In some embodiments, payment reader22may provide the information to another device (e.g., merchant device29, payment server40, etc.) for communication to the mobile device10(e.g., a transaction application running on the mobile device10). Payment reader22may provide the information to the mobile device10via other techniques in other embodiments. After payment reader22has provided the information to the mobile device, processing may proceed to step808. At step808, the mobile device10may process the offer or information, and provide the offer or information to the user. In some embodiments, information may include information for processing by a standard application running on the mobile device10, which may display the information to the user via the mobile device10. The information also may include information for processing that should be provided to an application running in the background, which may receive and process the information transparently to the user. Whether the information (e.g., request) should be displayed may be determined based on various information, such as pre-defined user preferences, account information, or instructions stored in memory at the mobile device10(e.g., a transaction application or background application). If the information should be displayed (e.g., by the standard transaction application), the transaction application may display the information (e.g., request) to the user and receive a response. Processing may then proceed to step810. If the information should not be displayed, but instead handled by an application running in the background, processing may proceed to step812. At step810, the mobile device10may receive one or more responses from the user, such as a response accepting or declining an offer provided from the payment reader22. In some embodiments, a response may be provided indicative of a user input (e.g., selection) at each of a standard transaction application and a transaction application running in the background of the mobile device10. A response from either application may indicate a user's opting to accept or decline an offer to perform various operations, including switch transaction applications for the payment transaction (e.g., to use a different payment card or payment card type), to accept a promotion, to associate loyalty account information, and perform other operations as described herein. After responses from the user have been received, processing may proceed to step812. At step812, the mobile device may determine whether additional information related to a payment transaction should be exchanged with a transaction application running in the background on the mobile device10, e.g., based on the response received at step810or other background information. The background application may exchange information regarding a user's preferences, such as authorization or election to use a particular payment card type, loyalty card, or other account for use with future payment transactions (e.g., default payment card type, loyalty account association, etc.). In addition, the background transaction application may perform various operations in the background as part of processing the information received from payment reader22. The background operations may include gathering and associating various information with the payment transaction, as described herein. In some embodiments, information such as user information (e.g., payment and loyalty account information), payment card information, merchant information, transaction application information, merchandise or item information, and other information may be collected and generated for processing. In some embodiments, at least some of the information may be provided to a remote server (e.g., payment server40) transparently to the user. In some embodiments, information may be determined based on instructions included in the background application, responses from a remote server, or other information as described herein, and may be provided for display to the user (e.g., via a notification or other message readable by the user of the mobile device10) or may be provided via a communication with the payment reader22in the background (e.g., via NFC), transparently to the user. After any background information has been determined at the mobile device, processing may continue to step814. At step814, information relating to the transaction (e.g., based on background processing) may be provided from the mobile device10to the payment reader22. Once the payment reader has received the information, processing may continue to step816, where the payment reader22may receive and begin processing information received from the background application. At step816, payment reader22may provide payment information for authorization received from one or more transaction applications (e.g., standard transaction application or background application) and wait for execution of one or more portions of the payment transaction. In some embodiments, the payment information may include either or both standard or background-type payment information, and may be provided as an authorization request to one or more servers. In some embodiments, the payment reader22may identify a server as a destination for the authorization information request based on various information, such as information received from the user via a standard transaction application or via a background application. In addition, authorization responses may be requested and received for one or more portions of the payment transaction. A payment reader22may wait to receive an authorization response for such a portion from a server, and process the portion of the payment transaction based on the response. When the payment reader has processed all portions of the payment transaction, processing may end. The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this disclosure and various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of this disclosure. The above described embodiments are presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation. The present disclosure also can take many forms other than those explicitly described herein. Accordingly, it is emphasized that this disclosure is not limited to the explicitly disclosed methods, systems, and apparatuses, but is intended to include variations to and modifications thereof, which are within the spirit of the following claims. As a further example, variations of apparatus or process parameters (e.g., dimensions, configurations, components, process step order, etc.) may be made to further optimize the provided structures, devices and methods, as shown and described herein. In any event, the structures and devices, as well as the associated methods, described herein have many applications. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but rather should be construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims. | 128,596 |
11861590 | In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The drawings are not to scale. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Techniques described herein are directed to identity verification using payment instrument(s). In an example, an identifier corresponding to a user can be associated with a microchip or other secure storage component of a payment instrument, such as a debit card or a credit card. The identifier can be a user-designated identifier, a private key, a Universal 2ndFactor (U2F) identity credential derived by a U2F applet, or the like. A verifying entity—which can be a computing resource (e.g., an application, a web page, etc.) and/or server computing device(s) associated with a service provider—can receive a request to access the computing resource via a computing device operable by the user. The verifying entity can determine whether to grant the user access to the computing resource based on receiving the identifier via an interaction between the payment instrument and a reader device associated with the computing resource. For example, the verifying entity can receive the identifier via an interaction between the payment instrument and the reader device and, if the identifier corresponds to the user (e.g., the identifier is associated with a profile storing identification information of the user), the verifying entity can verify the identity of the user and grant the user access to the computing resource. As described above, “security keys” can be used for multi-factor authentication (MFA). Such security keys, as described above, can be fobs, Universal Serial Bus (USB)-based devices, or the like. Security keys can be physically carried around by users using security keys for MFA. Techniques described herein are directed to enabling users to use payment instruments, such as credit cards or debit cards, as security keys instead of fobs, USB-based devices, or the like. That is, techniques described herein enable users to utilize devices that are already carried around by the users for MFA purposes, thereby alleviating the need to carry around fobs, USB-based devices, or the like. In an example, a service provider providing verification services can embed—or otherwise associate—an identifier in a microchip or other secure storage component associated with a payment instrument. In some examples, the identifier can be a static, user-designated identifier (e.g., an alphanumeric identifier provided by a user). In additional or alternative examples, the identifier can be a private key that is specific to the user and the payment instrument. In at least one example, the identifier can be a U2F identity credential, which can be derived by a U2F applet (e.g., a private key that is compliant with Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) Alliance specifications for U2F, which are available in the U2F 1.0 FIDO Alliance Proposed Standard of Oct. 9, 2014 and U2F 1.2 FIDO Alliance Proposed Standard of Apr. 11, 2017). In at least one example, the payment instrument can be a payment card (e.g., a credit card, a debit card, etc.) that is enabled to communicate (e.g., send and/or receive data) via a near-field communications (NFC) network using NFC protocols. An example of such a payment card is a Europay Mastercard Visa (EMV) card. In at least one example, an NFC-enabled card can use existing antenna and/or circuitry to transmit an identifier associated with an NFC-enabled card to a reader device. In some examples, a non-NFC-enabled card can be used with a software layer that can be added to a reader device, which can translate between EMV and/or NFC (payment) protocol and the U2F (security key) protocol to access an identifier from such a (non-NFC-enabled) card and verify the identity of the corresponding user, as described herein. Such verification techniques can be useful for authenticating users requesting access to services of a service provider (e.g., that provides the cards and/or the reader device) and/or for authenticating users requesting to access services availed via third-party service providers (e.g., email service providers, banking service providers, etc.). By authenticating and/or verifying users as described herein—using payment instruments instead of security keys—the service provider(s) can determine whether to grant users access to their service(s). As an example, a user may use a peer-to-peer payment service offered by a service provider. Using the peer-to-peer payment service, the user may be able to transfer funds from an account of the user that is managed by the service provider to another user that uses the peer-to-peer payment service. In some examples, the service provider can provide a payment instrument to the user so that the user can access funds in the account using the payment instrument. In at least one example, the service provider can associate an identifier with the payment instrument so that the payment instrument can be used for identity verification, as described herein. For instance, if the user desires to access an application on their mobile device that is associated with the peer-to-peer payment service, the application can prompt the user to verify their identity with the payment instrument. In such an example, the user can tap the payment instrument to their mobile device, which can include a reader device, and the reader device can read the identifier from the payment instrument. If the identifier corresponds to the user, the application can verify the identity of the user and grant the user access to the peer-to-peer payment service. As another example, a user may use a payment processing service offered by a service provider. Using the payment processing service, the user may generate funds (e.g., from proceeds of transactions processed by the payment processing service) that are stored in an account of the user. The account can be managed by the service provider. In some examples, funds associated with the account can be transferred to a linked bank account of the user. In some examples, the funds can be maintained in the account and the service provider can provide a payment instrument to the user so that the user can access funds in the account using the payment instrument. In at least one example, the service provider can associate an identifier with the payment instrument so that the payment instrument can be used for identity verification, as described herein. For instance, if the user desires to access an application on a computing device that is associated with the payment processing service, the application can prompt the user to verify their identity with the payment instrument. In such an example, the user can swipe the payment instrument via a reader device associated with the computing device, and the reader device can read the identifier from the payment instrument. If the identifier corresponds to the user, the application can verify the identity of the user and grant the user access to the payment processing service. In at least one example, such an application can be a point-of-sale (POS) application, which is described below with reference toFIG.1. Techniques described herein enable payment instruments—such as credit cards and/or debit cards—to be used as security keys. That is, in multi-factor authentication, users can present payment instruments—which securely store information that is personal to the users (e.g., user-designated identifiers, private keys, U2F identity credentials, etc.)—as a factor for authentication. As such, techniques described herein enable users to protect themselves against thieves and/or malicious actors seeking to steal or improperly obtain information associated with such users. By enabling users to use payment instruments—which are regularly carried around by users—instead of conventional U2F hardware tokens, techniques described herein offer improvements to existing verification technology. FIG.1illustrates an example environment100for verifying an identity of a user using techniques described herein. The environment100includes a user102that is associated with a payment instrument104. The payment instrument104is illustrated as a payment card, such as a credit card, debit card, or the like. In at least one example, the payment card can be an NFC-enabled card that can use existing antenna and/or circuitry to transmit information stored thereon to a reader device (e.g., via an NFC network using NFC protocols). In additional or alternative examples, the payment instrument104may not be a card and, instead, may be a mobile device (e.g., running an application storing information associated with a payment instrument or otherwise storing such information), a wearable device (e.g., running an application storing information associated with a payment instrument or otherwise storing such information), etc. In at least one example, the payment instrument104can securely store information, such as payment data, identifier(s), and the like, on a microchip or other secure storage component. In some examples, such information can be stored in applications running on the payment instrument104. Such applications can be called applets. In at least one example, one or more applets can store payment data, which can include, but is not limited to, a name of the user102, an address of the user102, a type (e.g., credit, debit, etc.) of the payment instrument104, a number associated with the payment instrument104, a verification value (e.g., PIN Verification Key Indicator (PVKI), PIN Verification Value (PVV), Card Verification Value (CVV), Card Verification Code (CVC), etc.) associated with the payment instrument104, an expiration date associated with the payment instrument104, a primary account number (PAN) corresponding to the user102(which may or may not match the number associated with the payment instrument), restrictions on what types of charges/debts may be made, etc. In some examples, the payment data may be encrypted. In some examples, one or more applets can store identifier(s) that can be used for identity verification as described herein. Such identifier(s), as described herein can be static identifier(s) (e.g., which can be designated by a user), cryptographic identifier(s) (e.g., associated with a private key), U2F identifier(s) (e.g., U2F identity credentials generated by a U2F applet), etc. Examples of identifier(s) securely stored in association with the payment instrument104are described below with reference toFIGS.2and3. In at least one example, the user102can interact with a user computing device106to access a computing resource availed via the user computing device106. Such a computing device can include, but is not limited to, a tablet computing device, a smart phone or mobile communication device, a laptop, a netbook or other portable computer or semi-portable computer, a desktop computing device, a terminal computing device or other semi-stationary or stationary computing device, a dedicated device, a wearable computing device or other body-mounted computing device, an augmented reality device, a virtual reality device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc. For the purpose of this discussion, a computing resource can be an application, a web page, a functionality and/or process associated with an application or a web page, or other resource that enables the user102to access service(s) associated with the computing resource via the user computing device106. In at least one example, computing resources can be associated with service providers that avail the services associated with such computing resources. In some examples, such services are hosted by one or more server computing devices, as described below with reference toFIG.4. InFIG.1, the user102intends to access a POS application (e.g., “POS app”), which can be associated with a service provider offering payment processing services. That is, the user102intends to access a computing resource that is a POS application. In at least one example, the POS application can configure the user computing device106as a POS terminal whereby the user102can process payments via the service provider. In at least one example, the service provider can provide the payment instrument104to the user102and/or can provide the user computing device106and/or a reader device108associated therewith. In other examples, the payment instrument104, the user computing device106, and/or the reader device108can be provided by a third-party entity and/or the POS application and/or computing resource can be provided by a third-party entity. In at least one example, the user102can provide a first identification factor (e.g., a username and password) in association with a request to access the POS application. As described above, in some examples, the user102can provide an alternative factor (e.g., other than user name and password) as a first identification factor. To access the POS application, however, the user102may be prompted to verify his or her identity by causing the payment instrument104to interact with the reader device108. In at least one example, the user computing device106can output, via a user interface, a request for the user102to present a payment instrument (e.g., cause an interaction between the payment instrument and the reader device108) for identity verification purposes. In at least one example, user computing device106can be associated with a reader device108. In some examples, the reader device108can plug in to a port in the user computing device106, such as a microphone port, a headphone port, an audio-jack, a data port, or other suitable port. In additional or alternative examples, the reader device108can be coupled to the user computing device106via another wired or wireless connection, such as via a Bluetooth®, Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE), and so on (e.g., as illustrated inFIG.1). In such examples, the reader device108can encrypt information received from the payment instrument104prior to passing it to the user computing device106(e.g., making it difficult for malicious actors to obtain unencrypted information). In some examples, the reader device108can be integrated into the user computing device106. In such examples, the reader device108can read information from the payment instrument104using NFC, radio-frequency identification (RFID), Bluetooth®, BLE, etc. technology that is embedded in the user computing device106. Such technology can facilitate contactless payments. In at least one example, a functional component (e.g., instructions or programs that are executable by processor(s) associated with the reader device108) can be configured to encrypt information received from the payment instrument104via NFC, RFID, Bluetooth®, BLE, etc. In such an example, the functional component “reads” the information from the payment instrument104as opposed to the dedicated hardware device108shown inFIG.1(and also described above). For the purpose of this discussion, however, the “reader device” can refer to dedicated hardware device(s), functional component(s) configured to read information from payment instruments, and/or a combination of the foregoing. Additional details associated with reader devices are described below with reference toFIG.13. In some examples, the reader device108may physically interact with payment instruments, for example, by swipes, dips, and/or taps. A swipe is an interaction where a user slides a payment card having a magnetic strip through a reader device that captures payment data contained in the magnetic strip. A dip is an interaction where a user inserts a payment card having an embedded microchip (i.e., chip) into a reader device chip-side first. The payment card remains in the reader device until the reader device prompts the user to remove the payment card. In some examples, while the card is in the reader device, the microchip can create a code which can be sent from a POS system to server computing device(s) associated with a service provider, a bank, and/or a card payment network (e.g., Mastercard®, VISA®, etc.) to be matched with another code. In some examples, such “codes” can be signatures using public-key cryptography and/or symmetric cryptography. A tap is an interaction where a user may tap or hover a payment instrument, such as an NFC-enabled electronic device or an NFC-enabled payment card, over a reader device to transmit information stored on the payment instrument via NFC protocols. In some examples, additional or alternative short-range communication technologies (e.g., RFID, Bluetooth®, BLE, etc.) can be used with tap interactions. In some examples, a tap may also be called a contactless payment. In at least one example, the reader device108can obtain information that is stored on the payment instrument104via one or more of the interactions described above (e.g., swipe, dip, tap, etc.). In at least one example, based at least in part on the user102requesting to access the POS application (e.g., as shown at T1), the user102can be prompted (e.g., by the user computing device106) to cause the payment instrument104to interact with the reader device108. As such, the user102can cause the payment instrument104to interact with the reader device108(e.g., illustrated inFIG.1as a tap). Based at least in part on the payment instrument104interacting with the reader device108(e.g., as shown at T2), information stored in association with the payment instrument104(e.g., on a microchip associated therewith) can be read from the payment instrument104. In some examples, as described above, the payment instrument104can store an identifier and thus, the identifier can be read by the reader device108(e.g., from the payment instrument104). In at least one example, a verifying entity—which can be the POS application and/or server computing device(s) (e.g., associated with the service provider) can compare the identifier (e.g., read from the reader device108) with a profile of the user102to determine whether the identifier corresponds to the profile of the user102. If the identifier is associated with the profile of the user102, the verifying entity can verify the identity of the user102and can grant the user102access to the POS application (e.g., as shown at T3). As an example, the user102can be an employee (or other agent) of a seller that uses payment processing services of the service provider for processing transactions between the seller and buyers. To access such services, the employee can log-in (e.g., provide a username and password) to the POS application. To ensure that the employee is actually the employee (i.e., verify the identity of the employee), the POS application and/or the server computing device(s) associated with the service provider can prompt the user102for a second identification factor, which can include verification via a payment instrument. As such, the user102can cause an interaction between the payment instrument104and the reader device108. So long as an identifier associated with the payment instrument104corresponds to the user102, the POS application and/or the server computing device(s) can verify the identity of the user102and grant the user102access to the POS application. As such, the user102can conduct transactions on behalf of the seller, payment for which can be processed by the payment processing service. FIG.1illustrates a non-limiting example of an environment for verifying an identity of a user102and granting the user102access to a computing resource. As described above, while a POS application is illustrated as the computing resource inFIG.1, a computing resource can be any application, web page, a function and/or process associated with an application or a web page, or the like, which can be associated with the service provider described above or a third-party service provider. That is, the same or similar process can be applicable for authenticating a user looking to access computing resources including, but not limited to, an inventory management application, web page, user interface, etc.; a catalog management application, web page, user interface, etc.; a business banking application, web page, user interface, etc.; a financing application, web page, user interface, etc.; a lending application, web page, user interface, etc.; a reservation management application, web page, user interface, etc.; an estimating application, web page, user interface, etc.; an invoice application, web page, user interface, etc.; a web-development application, web page, user interface, etc.; a payroll application, web page, user interface, etc.; an employee management application, web page, user interface, etc.; an appointment application, web page, user interface, etc.; a loyalty tracking application, web page, user interface, etc.; a restaurant management application, web page, user interface, etc.; an order management application, web page, user interface, etc.; a fulfillment application, web page, user interface, etc.; a peer-to-peer payment application, web page, user interface, etc.; an onboarding application, web page, user interface, etc.; an identity verification (IDV) application, web page, user interface, etc.; an email application, web page, user interface, etc.; a social networking application, web page, user interface, etc.; a cloud storage application, web page, user interface, etc.; a telecommunications application, web page, user interface, etc.; and the like. Furthermore, whileFIG.1describes using a payment instrument104for identity verification for granting access to a computing resource, techniques described herein can be used for identity verification for any purpose. FIG.2illustrates an example environment200for associating an identifier with a payment instrument. In at least one example, server computing device(s)202can be associated with one or more functional components, such as an identifier management module204. Functional components can comprise instructions or programs that are executable by processor(s) associated with the server computing device(s)202and that, when executed, specifically configure the server computing device(s)202to perform the actions attributed thereto. In at least one example, the identifier management module204can determine identifier(s), cause identifier(s) to be associated with payment instrument(s) and/or reader device(s), and/or associate identifier(s) with respective user profile(s). Additional details are provided below. In at least one example, the server computing device(s)202can be associated with a datastore206. The datastore206, which can be integrated with the server computing device(s)202and/or otherwise accessible to the server computing device(s)202, can store data including, but not limited to profile data. Profile data can be associated with profiles of user(s), which can include seller(s), buyer(s), employer(s), employee(s), payor(s), payee(s), and the like. In at least one example, the profile data can include identifying information (e.g., name, user name, demographic information, etc.), verification information (e.g., password(s), identifier(s) associated with payment instrument(s) and/or reader device(s), etc.), and the like. The datastore206can store additional or alternative types of data as described herein. As described above, a payment instrument208, which can correspond to the payment instrument104described above with reference toFIG.1, can be a smart card (also known as an NFC card) that contains micro-processor(s) and memory. That is, in at least one example, the payment instrument208can be associated with a microchip210or other secure storage component. In some examples, the microchip210can be embedded in the payment instrument208, for example, in an EMV card. In at least one example, the microchip210can have an operating system and applications (called applets), as described above, that are capable of performing complex operations and/or securely storing data that is accessible to other computing devices (e.g., a reader device). In at least one example, the identifier management module204can send an identifier212, or indication thereof, to the microchip210or other secure storage component of the payment instrument208. In additional or alternative examples, the payment instrument208(e.g., an applet runnable thereon) can generate an identifier212. In some examples, the identifier212can be a static identifier. In at least one example, the identifier212can be designated by a user associated with the payment instrument208. For example, the identifier212can be a user-designated alphanumeric identifier that is associated with the payment instrument208and/or an account of the user, that in some examples, can be managed by a service provider as described herein. In such examples, the user-designated alphanumeric identifier, or an indication thereof, can be read by a reader device (e.g., the reader device108inFIG.1) responsive to an interaction between the payment instrument208and the reader device. The user-designated alphanumeric identifier, or the indication thereof, can be used to verify the identity of the corresponding user. In some examples, the identifier212may not be designated by the user and, instead, may be payment data that is associated with the payment instrument208. In such examples, the identifier management module204may not need to send the identifier212to the payment instrument208. In an additional or alternative example, the identifier can be a private key, that can be paired with a public key, for encrypting (and decrypting) data. In at least one example, when the payment instrument208interacts with a reader device (e.g., the reader device108inFIG.1), the payment instrument208can transmit data that is signed by the private key to the reader device. In some examples, the reader device can transmit the unsigned data to the payment instrument208during the interaction, at which time the payment instrument208can sign the data and return the signed data to the reader device. In such an example, the signed data (e.g., which can be an indication of the identifier212) can be used to verify the identity of the corresponding user (e.g., by signing the data with the private key, the payment instrument proves that the payment instrument has the private key). Additional details are described below. In some examples, the identifier212can be a U2F identity credential, which can be derived by a U2F applet. That is, in at least one example, the identifier212can be a private key that is compliant with FIDO Alliance specifications for U2F, which are available in the U2F 1.0 FIDO Alliance Proposed Standard of Oct. 9, 2014 and U2F 1.2 FIDO Alliance Proposed Standard of Apr. 11, 2017. In such examples, the identifier management module204may not send the identifier212to the payment instrument104; the U2F applet can generate the identifier212(e.g., U2F identity credential) via implementation of the U2F applet. In such an example, when the payment instrument208interacts with a reader device (e.g., the reader device108inFIG.1), the payment instrument208can transmit the U2F identity credential, or an indication associated therewith, to the reader device, which can be used to verify the identity of the corresponding user. Additional details are described below. Based at least in part on the identifier212being provided to the payment instrument208, the identifier212can be stored on the microchip210and/or in a secure storage component associated with the payment instrument208. As described above, in at least one example, the identifier212can be stored in an applet associated with the microchip210. Additionally, based at least in part on providing the identifier212to the payment instrument208, the identifier management module204can associate the identifier212with a profile of the user with whom the payment instrument is associated. A non-limiting example of a portion of the datastore206is illustrated, which includes identifiers that are mapped to, or otherwise associated with, individual users (e.g., profiles associated therewith). In at least one example, the payment instrument208can be associated with an actuation mechanism214(e.g., a button, a sensor, etc.). In an example, the actuation mechanism214can be associated with a capacitive sensor that is across an EMV contact pad of an EMV card such that an interaction with the pad reads as a button push (actuation of the actuation mechanism214). The actuation mechanism214, when actuated, can provide an indication that the user intends to use the payment instrument for verification purposes. That is, in some examples, a reader device can refrain from reading information associated with the payment instrument208and/or transmitting the information associated with the payment instrument208(e.g., to a verifying entity) until the actuation mechanism214is actuated. In some examples, the identifier112may be provided to a reader device216, which can correspond to the reader device108described above with reference toFIG.1, instead of, or in addition to, being provided to the payment instrument208. For example, in an example where the reader device216stores the identifier112, and the identifier112is a static identifier, the reader device216can send the static identifier to the verifying entity. In an example where the reader device216stores the identifier112, and the identifier112is a private key, the reader device216can sign data using the private key and send the signed data to the verifying entity. Furthermore, in an example where the reader device216stores the identifier112, and the identifier112is a U2F identity credential (e.g., derived by a U2F applet), the reader device216can transmit the U2F credential to the verifying entity. Additional details are described below. FIG.3illustrates an example process300for associating an identifier with a payment instrument and/or a profile of a user. The process300is described with reference toFIG.2for convenience and ease of understanding. However, the process300is not limited to being performed using components described inFIG.2, and such components are not limited to performing the process illustrated inFIG.3. The process300is illustrated as a collection of blocks in logical flow graphs, which represent sequences of operations that can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. In the context of software, the blocks represent computer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by processor(s), perform the recited operations. Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and the like that perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data types. The order in which the operations are described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described blocks can be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement the processes. In some embodiments, one or more blocks of the process can be omitted entirely. At operation302, the identifier management module204can determine an identifier to be associated with a payment instrument. In some examples, the identifier can be a static identifier, such as a user-designated identifier that can be designated by a user associated with the payment instrument. For example, the identifier can be a user-designated alphanumeric identifier that is associated with the payment instrument and/or an account of the user, that in some examples, can be managed by a service provider as described herein. That is, in at least one example, the identifier management module204can receive a designation of the identifier from a user associated with the payment instrument, as illustrated at operation304, prior to determining the identifier to be associated with the payment instrument. As described above, in an additional or alternative example, the identifier can be a private key, that can be paired with a public key, for encrypting (and decrypting) data. In such an example, the identifier management module204can determine the private key/public key pair and the private key to be sent to the payment instrument for storage thereon. In an additional or alternative example, the identifier management module204can receive the private key/public key pair, for example from a third-party service provider, and can determine the private key/public key pair based at least in part thereon. Furthermore, in some examples, the identifier can be a U2F identity credential, which can be derived by a U2F applet. In at least one example, the identifier management module204can determine the U2F identity credential to associate with the payment instrument. In an additional or alternative example, the identifier management module204can receive the U2F identity credential, for example from a third-party service provider, and can determine the U2F identity credential based at least in part thereon. In some examples, the identifier can be generated by the U2F applet (e.g., instead of by the identifier management module204) on the payment instrument and can be provided to the identifier management module204. At operation306, the identifier management module204can associate the identifier with the payment instrument. In at least one example, the identifier management module204can send an identifier, or indication thereof, to the payment instrument, thereby associating the identifier with the payment instrument. When the identifier is provided to the payment instrument, the identifier can be stored on a microchip and/or in a secure storage component associated with the payment instrument and can be used for verification purposes as described herein. At operation308, the identifier management module204can associate the identifier with a profile of a user associated with the payment instrument. Based at least in part on providing the identifier to the payment instrument (thereby associating the identifier with the payment instrument), the identifier management module204can associate the identifier with a profile of the user with whom the payment instrument is associated. The identifier can be stored in the profile and subsequently accessed to verify an identity of the corresponding user. In some examples, the identifier management module204can associate the identifier with the profile of the user automatically (e.g., without input from the user). For instance, if the user is associated with a profile, the identifier management module204can associate the identifier with the profile of the user prior to, or concurrently with, sending the identifier to the payment instrument. In other examples, the identifier management module204can receive a request to associate the identifier with the profile of the user, as illustrated at operation310, and the identifier management module204can associate the identifier with the profile of the user responsive to receiving such a request. In some examples, such a request can be associated with a request to generate a profile for the user (e.g., if the user is a new user and/or otherwise does not have a profile associated therewith) and/or register a payment instrument for verification services. As described above with reference toFIG.2, in some examples, the reader device216can store the identifier212. In such examples, the process300can be implemented as described, but instead of determining an identifier to be associated with a payment instrument (e.g., at operation302), associating the identifier with the payment instrument (e.g., at operation304), and so on, the identifier can be determined for a reader device, associated with the reader device, and so on. FIG.4illustrates an example system400for facilitating identity verification using payment instruments as described herein. In the system400, a user computing device402can communicate with server computing device(s)404and/or third-party server computing device(s)406via network(s)408(e.g., the Internet, cable network(s), cellular network(s), cloud network(s), wireless network(s) (e.g., Wi-Fi) and wired network(s), as well as close-range communications such as Bluetooth®, BLE, and the like). The user computing device106described above with reference toFIG.1can correspond to the user computing device402. WhileFIGS.1and4describe a single user computing device, in some examples, a user can interact with multiple computing devices, for example in a POS system that includes a buyer-facing device and a seller-facing device. In at least one example, the user computing device402can be associated with computing resource(s)410, which can include application(s), web page(s), a functionality and/or process associated with application(s) or web page(s), and/or any other resource that enables a user to access service(s) availed thereby. In at least one example, the computing resource(s)410can avail user interface(s) to enable a user to interact with the computing resource(s)410via respective user interface(s). In at least one example, the user computing device402can include or be associated with a reader device412(which can correspond to the reader device108described above with reference toFIG.1and the reader device216described above with reference toFIG.2). As described above, in some examples, the reader device412can plug in to a port in the user computing device106, such as a microphone port, a headphone port, an audio-jack, a data port, or other suitable port. In additional or alternative examples, the reader device412can be coupled to the user computing device106via another wired or wireless connection, such as via a Bluetooth®, BLE, and so on. In some examples, the reader device412can be integrated into the user computing device106. As described above, the reader device412can obtain information that is stored on a payment instrument via an interaction (e.g., swipe, dip, tap, etc.). In at least one example, the reader device412can communicate (e.g., send and/or receive data) with one or more payment instruments, such as a payment instrument414. In at least one example, the payment instrument414can be a smart card (also known as an NFC card) that contains micro-processor(s) and memory. That is, in at least one example, the payment instrument414can be associated with a microchip or other secure storage component. In at least one example, the payment instrument414can have an operating system and application(s) (called applet(s)416), as described above, that are capable of performing complex operations and/or securely storing data that is accessible to other computing devices (e.g., the reader device412). In at least one example, the operating system and applet(s)416can be stored on a microprocessor associated with the payment instrument414. In at least one example, one or more of the applet(s)416can store identifier(s) as described herein. In some examples, the reader device412can be configured to perform an application selection process to indicate to the payment instrument414which of the applet(s)416it desires to read information from. That is, as described above, the payment instrument414can have multiple applet(s)416runnable thereon and the reader device412can send a command to the payment instrument414that indicates an application identifier (AID) associated with the desired applet. In at least one example, the reader device412can receive an instruction from the user computing device402(e.g., a computing resource associated therewith) that indicates which applet to read from. Responsive to the reader device412sending the command (and the payment instrument414receiving the command), the payment instrument414can select the appropriate applet and provide a response to the reader device412so that the reader device412can read data from the correct applet. Additional details associated with application selection are described in ISO/IEC 7816. In at least one example, the user computing device402can communicate (e.g., send and/or receive data) with the server computing device(s)404via the network(s)408. In some examples, the server computing device(s)404can include functional components including, but not limited to, an identifier management module418(e.g., which corresponds to the identifier management module204described above with reference toFIG.2) and a verification module420. In at least one example, the verification module420can send verification request(s), receive verification response(s), and determine whether an identity of a user is verified based at least in part on the verification response(s). In at least one example, the server computing device(s)404can be associated with a datastore222(e.g., which corresponds to the datastore206described above with reference toFIG.2). In some examples, the server computing device(s)404can be associated with a service provider that provides one or more services, including but not limited to, payment processing services, inventory management services, catalog management services, business banking services, financing services, lending services, reservation management services, estimating services, invoice services, web-development services, payroll services, employee management services, appointment services, loyalty tracking services, restaurant management services, order management services, fulfillment services, peer-to-peer payment services, onboarding services, identity verification (IDV) services, and so on. In at least one example, the computing resource(s) can enable a user to access the service(s) described above via the user computing device402. Furthermore, as described above, in some examples, the user computing device402can communicate (e.g., send and/or receive data) with third-party server computing device(s)406via the network(s)408. The third-party server computing device(s)406can be associated with service provider(s) that are different than the service provider described above and that offer additional or alternative services than those described above. In some examples, the computing resource(s) can be availed via the third-party service provider(s). As a non-limiting example, the third-party service providers can provide email services, social networking services, cloud storage services, telecommunication services, etc. FIG.5illustrates an example process500for verifying an identity of a user as described herein. The process500is described with reference toFIG.4for convenience and ease of understanding. However, the process500is not limited to being performed using components described inFIG.4, and such components are not limited to performing the process illustrated inFIG.5. The process500is illustrated as a collection of blocks in logical flow graphs, which represent sequences of operations that can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. In the context of software, the blocks represent computer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by processor(s), perform the recited operations. Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and the like that perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data types. The order in which the operations are described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described blocks can be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement the processes. In some embodiments, one or more blocks of the process can be omitted entirely. At operation502, a verification challenger can receive a request, which can be associated with an identity of a user, to access a computing resource that is availed via a user computing device. In at least one example, a user can desire to access service(s) availed via a computing resource (of the computing resource(s)410). As described above, a computing resource can be an application, a web page, a functionality and/or process associated with an application or a web page, or other resource that enables users to access service(s) of a service provider. In at least one example, the user can interact with a user interface presented by the computing resource (e.g., via the user computing device402) to request access to the computing resource. In some examples, the user can provide a first identification factor (e.g., a username, a password, etc.). As such, in at least one example, the request to access the computing resource can be associated with an identity of the user, or an indication thereof. In at least one example, responsive to the user requesting access to the computing resource, a verification challenger can receive the request. The verification challenger can be the computing resource or server computing device(s), such as the server computing device(s)404or the third-party server computing device(s)406, which can depend on the service provider associated with the computing resource with which the user desires to access. Additional details associated with the verification challenger are described below with reference toFIGS.6-11. At operation504, the verification challenger can send a verification request to the user computing device. In at least one example, the verification request can be a “challenge” for a verification responder to provide an identifier, or an indication thereof, associated with the user. In at least one example, the verification challenger can send the verification request to the user computing device402and, responsive to receiving the verification request, the user computing device402can output a prompt requesting the user provide an identifier. In some examples, the prompt can request that the user cause an interaction between a payment instrument414and a reader device412associated with the user computing device402. In an alternative example, the user computing device402can output a prompt requesting the user to provide an identifier via another source, such as the reader device412. In some examples, the user computing device402may not specify the source of the identifier in the verification request. At operation506, the verification challenger can receive a verification response from a verification responder. The verification response can include an identifier and/or indication thereof. In at least one example, the user can cause an interaction between a payment instrument414and the reader device412. As described above, the payment instrument414can be associated with an identifier that can be read by the reader device412responsive to the interaction between the payment instrument414and the reader device412. That is, in at least one example, the payment instrument414can provide the response to the challenge via an interaction with the reader device412. In some examples, the verification responder can be the reader device412, and the reader device412can send the identifier to the verification challenger. In some examples, the verification responder can be the computing resource, which can receive the identifier from the reader device412, and the computing resource can send the identifier to the verification challenger. In some examples, the reader device412can provide the response to the challenge. In at least one example, a payment instrument414may not be associated with an identifier (e.g., via the processes described above with reference toFIGS.2and3) and/or an identifier can additionally or alternatively be associated with the reader device412, and in such examples, the reader device412can determine an identifier based on an interaction between a payment instrument414and the reader device412. In at least one example, the reader device412can store an identifier (e.g., instead of, or in addition to, a payment instrument414), and the reader device412can send the identifier and/or an indication thereof to the verification challenger. In some examples, the reader device412can send the identifier and/or an indication thereof directly to the verification challenger and/or indirectly to the verification challenger (e.g., via a computing resource to server computing device(s)). Additional details associated with the verification responder are described below with reference toFIGS.6-11. At operation508, the verification challenger can determine whether the identifier corresponds to the user. In some examples, the verification challenger can be the verification module420(e.g., associated with the server computing device(s)404). In additional or alternative examples, the verification challenger can be the computing resource(s)410. In at least one example, based at least in part on receiving the verification response, which includes an identifier and/or an indication thereof, the verification challenger can compare the identifier with a profile of the user to determine whether the identifier corresponds to the identifier associated with the profile of the user. Based at least in part on determining that the identifier corresponds to the user, the verification challenger can verify the identity of the user, as illustrated at operation510. That is, if the identifier corresponds to the same user that the username and password identified, the verification challenger can verify the identity of the user. At operation512, the verification challenger can send a response to the request to access the computing resource. The verification challenger can send a response to the computing device, which can indicate that the identity of the user has been verified (as illustrated at operation510) or that the identity of the user has not been verified. In some examples, the response can include an indication as to whether to grant the user access to the computing resource. In other examples, the computing resource can determine whether to grant the user access to the computing resource based at least in part on receiving the response from the verification challenger. Additional details are described below. FIGS.6-11illustrate example processes wherein the verification challenger and/or the verification responder, described above with reference toFIG.5, comprise different entities. The processes600-1100are described with reference toFIG.4for convenience and ease of understanding. However, the processes600-1100are not limited to being performed using components described inFIG.4, and such components are not limited to performing the processes illustrated inFIGS.6-11. The processes600-1100are illustrated as collections of blocks in logical flow graphs, which represent sequences of operations that can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. In the context of software, the blocks represent computer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by processor(s), perform the recited operations. Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and the like that perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data types. The order in which the operations are described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described blocks can be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement the processes. In some embodiments, one or more blocks of the process can be omitted entirely. With respect toFIGS.6-8, operations illustrated under the computing resource(s)410can be performed by such computing resource(s)410and operations illustrated under the reader device412can be performed by the reader device412. In an example, the computing resource(s)410and the reader device412can be associated with user computing device106. As described above, in some examples, the reader device412can be integrated with the user computing device106or can be coupled to the user computing device106via a wired or wireless connection. FIG.6illustrates an example process600for verifying an identity of a user using a payment instrument414, wherein a computing resource is a verification challenger and a reader device is a verification responder, and wherein the reader device obtains an identifier via an interaction with a payment instrument414. At operation602, a computing resource of the computing resource(s)410can receive a request (e.g., from a user) to access the computing resource. In an example, a user can interact with a user interface associated with the computing resource to provide a first identity factor (e.g., username and/or password) or otherwise request access to the computing resource. In at least one example, the request can be associated with an identity of the user, or an indication thereof (e.g., so that that verifying entity knows who to verify). At operation604, the computing resource can prompt the user to cause an interaction between a payment instrument414of the user and a reader device. In at least one example, responsive to the prompt, the user can cause an interaction between a payment instrument414and the reader device412. In some examples, the user can cause an interaction between a payment instrument414and the reader device412without first being prompted to do so. In some examples, the reader device108may physically interact with payment instrument414ssuch as magnetic stripe payment cards, EMV payment cards, and/or short-range communication (e.g., NFC, RFID, Bluetooth®, BLE, etc.) payment instrument414s(e.g., cards or devices configured for tapping). For example, the user can dip a payment instrument414into the reader device412, tap the payment instrument414on the reader device412, or swipe the payment instrument414through the reader device412. The reader device412can read information associated with the payment instrument414, which in some examples, can be stored in a secured storage component (e.g., a microchip) associated with the payment instrument414. As described above, the information can include an identifier that has been provided by a service provider, as described above with reference toFIGS.2and3. As such, the reader device412can receive an identifier from the payment instrument414, as illustrated at operation606, from an interaction between the payment instrument414and the reader device412. The reader device412can send the identifier to the computing resource, as illustrated at operation608. As described above, in some examples, the identifier can comprise a static identifier, a private key, a U2F identity credential, etc. In at least one example where the identifier is a static identifier, the identifier can be designated by a user associated with the payment instrument414. For example, the identifier can be a user-designated alphanumeric identifier that is associated with the payment instrument414and/or an account of the user, that in some examples, can be managed by a service provider as described herein. In such examples, the user-designated alphanumeric identifier, or an indication thereof, can be read by the reader device412responsive to an interaction between the payment instrument414and the reader device412. In some examples, the identifier may not be designated by the user and, instead, may be payment data that is associated with the payment instrument414. In such examples, the reader device412can read the payment data from the payment instrument414based on an interaction between the reader device412and the payment instrument414. In an additional or alternative example, the identifier can be a private key, that can be paired with a public key, for encrypting (and decrypting) data. In at least one example, when the payment instrument414interacts with the reader device412, the payment instrument414can transmit data that is signed by the private key to the reader device412. In some examples, the reader device412can transmit the unsigned data to the payment instrument414during the interaction, at which time the payment instrument414can sign the data and return the signed data to the reader device412. In some examples, the identifier can be a U2F identity credential derived by a U2F applet. That is, in at least one example, the identifier can be a private key that is compliant with FIDO Alliance specifications for U2F. In such an example, when the payment instrument414interacts with the reader device412, the payment instrument414can transmit the U2F identity credential, or an indication associated therewith, to the reader device412. In at least one example, the computing resource(s)410can send an instruction to the reader device412to instruct the reader device412to read the identifier instead of payment data associated with the payment instrument414. That is, the computing resource(s)410can instruct the reader device412to execute an application selection process to instruct the payment instrument414which applet the reader device412intends to read. As described above, responsive to receiving such an instruction, the reader device412can perform an application selection process to indicate to the payment instrument414which of the applet(s)416it desires to read information from. That is, as described above, the payment instrument414can have multiple applet(s)416runnable thereon and the reader device412can send a command to the payment instrument414that indicates an application identifier (AID) associated with the desired applet. Responsive to the reader device412sending the command (and the payment instrument414receiving the command), the payment instrument414can select the appropriate applet and provide a response to the reader device412so that the reader device412can read data from the correct applet. Additional details associated with application selection are described in ISO/IEC 7816. At operation610, the computing resource can determine whether the identifier corresponds to the user. In at least one example, the computing resource can access information associated with a profile of the user, which can be associated with the identifier. In some examples, the computing resource can receive such information from a service provider. In other examples, the computing resource can store such information locally. In at least one example, the computing resource can compare the identifier with the profile of the user to determine whether the identifier is in fact associated with the user (e.g., the profile associated therewith). In some examples, if the indicator and/or indication thereof is encrypted, the computing resource can decrypt the indicator and/or indication thereof prior to comparing the identifier with the profile of the user. In at least one example, if the identifier corresponds to the user, the computing resource can verify the identity of the user, as illustrated at operation612, and can grant the user access to the computing resource, as illustrated at operation614. However, if the identifier does not correspond to the identity of the user, the computing resource can determine that the identity of the user is not verified, as illustrated at operation616, and can deny the user access to the computing resource, as illustrated at operation618, at least because the computing resource is not able to verify the identity of the user. In some examples, the computing resource can prompt the user to submit a different authentication factor or to retry the payment instrument414. In some examples, if the computing resource is not able to verify the identity of the user, the user may be able to access one or more functionalities and/or processes associated with the computing resource but not others. That is, in an example, a user may be able to access a landing page of an application (e.g., to initiate authentication) but, without authentication, may not be able to access and other functionality of the application. Thus, as illustrated above, the computing resource is the verification challenger, issuing a challenge for the user to cause an interaction between a payment instrument414and the reader device412. The reader device412can be the verification responder, providing a response to the challenge: an identifier from a payment instrument414. Upon receiving a response from the verification responder, the computing resource can verify the identity of the user. As such, inFIG.6, the computing resource can be referred to as the “verifying entity.” FIG.7illustrates another example process700for verifying an identity of a user using a payment instrument414, wherein a computing resource is a verification challenger and a reader device is a verification responder, and wherein the reader device determines an identifier based at least in part on an interaction with a payment instrument414. InFIG.7, operations702and704are the same operations as operations602and604, described above inFIG.6. At operation706, the reader device412can determine an identifier based at least in part on information received from the payment instrument414. In at least one example, the reader device412can read information from a payment instrument414(e.g., via a standard payment protocol) and the reader device412can determine an identifier based at least in part on the information received from the payment instrument414. In such an example, the payment instrument414may not store the identifier and instead, the reader device412can determine an interaction with the payment instrument414and determine an identifier based thereon. For example, based at least in part on reading payment data from the payment instrument414, the reader device412(e.g., a functional component associated therewith) can determine an identifier based at least in part on the payment data. As a non-limiting example, a non-NFC-enabled card can be used with a functional component associated with the reader device412, which can translate between EMV and/or NFC (payment) protocol and the U2F (security key) protocol. At operation708, the reader device412can send the identifier to the computing resource and the computing resource can determine whether to grant the user access to the computing resource via operations710-718. Operations708-718are described above with reference to operations608-618ofFIG.6. Much likeFIG.6, inFIG.7, the computing resource is the verification challenger, issuing a challenge for the user to cause an interaction between a payment instrument414and the reader device412. The reader device412can be the verification responder, providing a response to the challenge. UnlikeFIG.6, however, inFIG.7, the reader device412determines the identifier based at least in part on information received from a payment instrument414. That is, the identifier may not be read from the payment instrument414, but instead may be determined by the reader device412. Upon receiving a response from the verification responder, the computing resource can verify the identity of the user. As such, inFIG.7, the computing resource can be referred to as the “verifying entity.” FIG.8illustrates an example process800for verifying an identity of a user using a payment instrument414, wherein a computing resource is a verification challenger and a reader device is a verification responder, and wherein the reader device is associated with an identifier. InFIG.8, operation802is the same operation as operation602, described above with reference toFIG.6. At operation804, the computing resource can prompt the user to provide an identifier. In some examples, the reader device412can store the identifier. That is, as described above with reference toFIGS.2and3, in some examples, the service provider (e.g., server computing device(s)404associated therewith) can provide an identifier to the reader device412for storage thereon. In such an example, responsive to the user receiving a prompt to provide an identifier, the user can interact with the reader device412to cause the reader device412to access the identifier (e.g., from a secure storage component), as illustrated at operation806, and send the identifier, or an indication thereof, to the computing resource, as illustrated at operation808. For example, in an example where the reader device412stores the identifier, and the identifier is a static identifier, the reader device412can send the static identifier to the computing resource. In an example where the reader device412stores the identifier, and the identifier is a private key, the reader device412can sign data using the private key and send the signed data to the computing resource. Furthermore, in an example where the reader device412stores the identifier, and the identifier is a U2F identity credential, the reader device412can transmit the U2F credential to the computing resource. In some examples, the reader device412can be associated with an actuation mechanism, the actuation of which can cause the identifier, or the indication thereof, to be sent to the computing resource. At operation810, the computing resource can determine whether the identifier corresponds to the user and can determine whether to grant the user access to the computing resource via operations812-818. Operations810-818are described above with reference to operations608-618ofFIG.6. Much likeFIG.6, as described above with respect toFIG.8, the computing resource is the verification challenger, issuing a challenge for the user to provide an identifier. The reader device412can be the verification responder, providing a response to the challenge. UnlikeFIG.6(orFIG.7), however, inFIG.8, the reader device412provides the identifier (without requiring an interaction between the reader device412and a payment instrument414). That is, the identifier is not read from the payment instrument414, but instead is stored by the reader device412. Upon receiving a response from the verification responder, the computing resource can verify the identity of the user. As such, inFIG.8, the computing resource can be referred to as the “verifying entity.” With respect toFIGS.9-11, operations illustrated under the server computing device(s)404can be performed by the server computing device(s)404, operations illustrated under the computing resource(s)410can be performed by such computing resource(s)410, and operations illustrated under the reader device412can be performed by the reader device412. In an example, the computing resource(s)410and the reader device412can be associated with user computing device402. As described above, in some examples, the reader device412can be integrated with the user computing device106or can be coupled to the user computing device106via a wired or wireless connection. FIG.9illustrates an example process900for verifying an identity of a user using a payment instrument414, wherein server computing device(s) are a verification challenger and at least one of a computing resource and/or a reader device is a verification responder, and wherein the reader device obtains an identifier via an interaction with a payment instrument414. InFIG.9, operation902is the same operation as operation602, described above with reference toFIG.6. At operation904, the computing resource sends the request to access the computing resource to the server computing device(s)404. At operation906, the server computing device(s)404can receive the request to access the computing resource and can request verification of the identity of the user, as illustrated at operation908. In an example, when the server computing device(s)404are the verification challenger, the server computing device(s)404can issue the verification challenge for the user computing device402and/or the reader device412to return an identifier associated with the user. In at least one example, the verification request can be sent to the computing resource and the computing resource can prompt a user to cause an interaction between a payment instrument414of the user and a reader device, as illustrated at operation910. As described above, in at least one example, the computing resource(s)410can send an instruction to the reader device412to instruct the reader device412to read the identifier instead of payment data associated with the payment instrument414. That is, the computing resource(s)410can instruct the reader device412to execute an application selection process to instruct the payment instrument414which applet the reader device412intends to read. In some examples, such an instruction can be sent from the server computing device(s)404(e.g., in association with the request for verification of the identity of the user). As described above, responsive to receiving such an instruction, the reader device412can perform an application selection process to indicate to the payment instrument414which of the applet(s)416it desires to read information from. That is, as described above, the payment instrument414can have multiple applet(s)416runnable thereon and the reader device412can send a command to the payment instrument414that indicates an application identifier (AID) associated with the desired applet. Responsive to the reader device412sending the command (and the payment instrument414receiving the command), the payment instrument414can select the appropriate applet and provide a response to the reader device412so that the reader device412can read data from the correct applet. Additional details associated with application selection are described in ISO/IEC 7816. In at least one example, responsive to the prompt, the user can cause an interaction between a payment instrument414and the reader device412. For example, the user can dip the payment instrument414into the reader device412, tap the payment instrument414on the reader device412, or swipe the payment instrument414through the reader device412. The reader device412can read information associated with the payment instrument414, which in some examples, can be stored in a secured storage component (e.g., a microchip) associated with the payment instrument414. As described above, the information can include an identifier that has been provided by a service provider, as described above with reference toFIGS.2and3. As such, the reader device412can receive an identifier from the payment instrument414, as illustrated at operation912, from an interaction between the payment instrument414and the reader device412. The reader device412can send the identifier to the computing resource, as illustrated at operation914. In some examples, the reader device412can encrypt the identifier and/or other information read from the payment instrument414s. As such, in some examples, the reader device412can send an indication of the identifier to the computing resource. As described above, in at least one example, the identifier can comprise a static identifier, a private key, a U2F identity credential, etc. In at least one example where the identifier is a static identifier, the identifier can be designated by a user associated with the payment instrument414. For example, the identifier can be a user-designated alphanumeric identifier that is associated with the payment instrument414and/or an account of the user, that in some examples, can be managed by a service provider as described herein. In such examples, the user-designated alphanumeric identifier, or an indication thereof, can be read by the reader device412responsive to an interaction between the payment instrument414and the reader device412. In some examples, the identifier may not be designated by the user and, instead, may be payment data that is associated with the payment instrument414. In such examples, the reader device412can read the payment data from the payment instrument414based on an interaction between the reader device412and the payment instrument414. In an additional or alternative example, the identifier can be a private key, that can be paired with a public key, for encrypting (and decrypting) data. In at least one example, when the payment instrument414interacts with the reader device412, the payment instrument414can transmit data that is signed by the private key to the reader device412. In some examples, the reader device412can transmit the unsigned data to the payment instrument414during the interaction, at which time the payment instrument414can sign the data and return the signed data to the reader device412. In some examples, the identifier can be a U2F identity credential, which can be derived by a U2F applet. That is, in at least one example, the identifier can be a private key that is compliant with FIDO Alliance specifications for U2F. In such an example, when the payment instrument414interacts with the reader device412, the payment instrument414can transmit the U2F identity credential, or an indication associated therewith, to the reader device412. At operation916, the computing resource can receive the identifier and send the identifier to the server computing device(s)404. Note, in some examples, the reader device412can send the identifier, or an indication thereof, directly to the server computing device(s)404without sending it first to the computing resource, as shown by the dashed line inFIG.9. At operation918, the server computing device(s)404can determine whether the identifier corresponds to the user. In at least one example, the server computing device(s)404(e.g., the verification module420) can access information associated with a profile of the user (e.g., from the datastore422), which can be associated with the identifier. In at least one example, the server computing device(s)404can compare the identifier with the profile of the user to determine whether the identifier is in fact associated with the user (e.g., the profile associated therewith). In some examples, if the indicator and/or indication thereof is encrypted, the server computing device(s)404can decrypt the indicator and/or indication thereof prior to comparing the identifier with the profile. In at least one example, if the identifier corresponds to the user, the server computing device(s)404can verify the identity of the user, as illustrated at operation920. However, if the identifier does not correspond to the user, the server computing device(s)404can determine that the identity of the user is not verified, as illustrated at operation922. At operation924, the server computing device(s)404can send a response to the computing resource. In some examples, the response can include an indication of whether the identity of the user is verified or not (e.g., as illustrated at operations920and922). In some examples, the computing resource can receive the response and determine whether to grant the user access to the computing resource. In other examples, the server computing device(s)404can determine whether to grant the user access to the computing resource, based at least in part on whether the identity of the user is verified or not, and can include an indication of such in the response sent to the computing resource. Thus, as described above, the server computing device(s)404comprise the verification challenger, issuing a challenge for the user to cause an interaction between a payment instrument414and the reader device412. The computing resource(s)410and/or the reader device412can be the verification responder, providing a response to the challenge: an identifier from a payment instrument414. Upon receiving a response from the verification responder, the server computing device(s)404can verify the identity of the user. As such, inFIG.9, the server computing device(s)404can be referred to as the “verifying entity.” FIG.10illustrates another example process1000for verifying an identity of a user using a payment instrument414, wherein server computing device(s) are a verification challenger and at least one of a computing resource and/or a reader device is a verification responder, and wherein the reader device determines an identifier based at least in part on an interaction with a payment instrument414. Operations1002-1010are described above with reference to operations902-910ofFIG.9. Operation1012is described above with reference to operation706ofFIG.7. That is, in at least one example, the payment instrument414may not store the identifier and instead, the reader device412can determine an interaction with the payment instrument414and determine an identifier based thereon. For example, based at least in part on reading payment data from the payment instrument414, the reader device412(e.g., a functional component associated therewith) can determine an identifier based at least in part on the payment data. As a non-limiting example, a non-NFC-enabled card can be used with a functional component associated with the reader device412, which can translate between EMV and/or NFC (payment) protocol and the U2F (security key) protocol. Operations1014-1024are described above with reference to operations914-924ofFIG.9. Thus, much likeFIG.9described above, inFIG.10, the server computing device(s)404are the verification challenger, issuing a challenge for the user to cause an interaction between a payment instrument414and the reader device412. The computing resource(s)410and/or the reader device412can be the verification responder, providing a response to the challenge. UnlikeFIG.9, however, inFIG.10, the reader device412determines the identifier based at least in part on information received from a payment instrument414. That is, the identifier may not be read from the payment instrument414, but instead may be determined by the reader device412. Upon receiving a response from the verification responder, the server computing device(s)404can verify the identity of the user. As such, inFIG.10, the server computing device(s)404can be referred to as the “verifying entity.” FIG.11illustrates an example process1100for verifying an identity of a user using a payment instrument414, wherein server computing device(s) are a verification challenger and at least one of a computing resource or a reader device is a verification responder, and wherein the reader device is associated with an identifier. Operations1102-1108are described above with reference to operations902-908ofFIG.9. Operations1110and1112are described above with reference to operations804and806ofFIG.8. In at least one example, the computing resource can prompt the user to provide an identifier. In some examples, the reader device412can store the identifier. That is, as described above with reference toFIGS.2and3, in some examples, the service provider (e.g., server computing device(s)404associated therewith) can provide an identifier to the reader device412for storage thereon. In such an example, responsive to the user receiving a prompt to provide an identifier, the user can interact with the reader device412to cause the reader device412to access the identifier (e.g., from a secure storage component), as illustrated at operation1112. In such an example, responsive to the user receiving a prompt to provide an identifier, the user can interact with the reader device412to cause the reader device412to access the identifier (e.g., from a secure storage component), as illustrated at operation806, and send the identifier, or an indication thereof, to the computing resource, as illustrated at operation808. For example, in an example where the reader device412stores the identifier, and the identifier is a static identifier, the reader device412can send the static identifier to the computing resource. In an example where the reader device412stores the identifier, and the identifier is a private key, the reader device412can sign data using the private key and send the signed data to the computing resource. Furthermore, in an example where the reader device412stores the identifier, and the identifier is a U2F identity credential, the reader device412can transmit the U2F credential to the computing resource. In some examples, the reader device412can be associated with an actuation mechanism, the actuation of which can cause the identifier, or the indication thereof, to be sent to the computing resource. Operations1114-1124are described above with reference to operations914-924ofFIG.9. Thus, much likeFIG.9described above, inFIG.11, the server computing device(s)404are the verification challenger, issuing a challenge for the user to provide an identifier. The computing resource(s)410and/or the reader device412can be the verification responder, providing a response to the challenge. UnlikeFIG.9(orFIG.10), however, inFIG.11, the reader device412provides the identifier (without requiring an interaction between the reader device412and a payment instrument414). That is, the identifier may not be read from the payment instrument414, but instead may be stored by the reader device412. Upon receiving a response from the verification responder, the server computing device(s)404can verify the identity of the user. As such, inFIG.11, the server computing device(s)404can be referred to as the “verifying entity.” WhileFIGS.9-11illustrate and describe the server computing device(s)404as the verifying entity, in additional or alternative examples, the third-party server computing device(s)406can perform the same or similar operations. In such examples, the user can be requesting to access a computing resource associated with a third-party service provider instead of a computing resource associated with the service provider. Furthermore, whileFIGS.9-11illustrate example processes whereby a request to access a computing resource is received via the computing resource(s)410and the computing resource(s)410send the request to the server computing device(s)404, in some examples, the request can be originated by other computing resource(s) and the request can be received from such other computing resource(s) and/or third-party server computing device(s)406. That is, the processes900-1100may not start at operations902-904,1002-1004, and/or1102-1104and instead, in some examples, may start at operations906,1006, and/or1106, respectively. FIG.12illustrates an example environment1200. The environment1200includes server computing device(s)1202that can communicate over a network1204with user devices1206(which, in some examples can be seller devices1208(individually,1208(A)-1208(N))) and/or server computing device(s)1210associated with third-party service provider(s). The server computing device(s)1202can be associated with a service provider1212that can provide one or more services for the benefit of users1214, as described below. Actions attributed to the service provider1212can be performed by the server computing device(s)1202. In at least one example, the server computing device(s)1202can correspond to the server computing device(s)404described above with reference toFIG.4. In at least one example, the network(s)1204can correspond to the network(s)408described above with reference toFIG.4. Furthermore, in at least one example, the user devices1206can correspond to the user computing device402described above with reference toFIG.4. In at least one example, the third-party server computing device(s)1210can correspond to the server computing device(s)406described above with reference toFIG.4. In at least one example, the environment1200can facilitate identity verification using payment instrument(s), as described herein. In an example, an identifier corresponding to a user can be associated with a microchip embedded in a payment instrument, such as a credit card or debit card, or otherwise associated with a secure storage of a payment instrument. The identifier can be a user-designated identifier, a private key, a U2F identity credential, or the like. A verifying entity—which can be a computing resource (e.g., an application, a web page, etc.) and/or server computing device(s)1202associated with a service provider1212(or third-party server computing device(s)1210)—can receive a request to access the computing resource availed via a computing device operable by the user, such as one of the user computing devices1206. The verifying entity can determine whether to grant the user access to the computing resource based on receiving the identifier and/or an indication of the identifier via an interaction between the payment instrument and a reader device associated with the computing resource. For example, the verifying entity can receive the identifier and/or an indication of the identifier via an interaction between the payment instrument and the reader device and, if the identifier corresponds to the user (e.g., the identifier is associated with a profile storing identification information of the user), the verifying entity can verify the identity of the user and grant the user access to the computing resource. The environment1200can therefore enable payment instruments—such as credit cards and/or debit cards—to be used as security keys. That is, in multi-factor authentication, users can present payment instruments—which securely store information that is personal to the users (e.g., user-designated identifiers, private keys, U2F identity credentials, etc.)—as a factor for authentication. As such, techniques described herein enable users to protect themselves against thieves and/or malicious actors seeking to steal or improperly obtain information associated with such users. By enabling users to use payment instruments—which are regularly carried around by users—instead of conventional U2F hardware tokens, techniques described herein offer improvements to existing verification technology. The environment1200can include a plurality of user devices1206, as described above. Each one of the plurality of user devices1206can be any type of computing device such as a tablet computing device, a smart phone or mobile communication device, a laptop, a netbook or other portable computer or semi-portable computer, a desktop computing device, a terminal computing device or other semi-stationary or stationary computing device, a dedicated device, a wearable computing device or other body-mounted computing device, an augmented reality device, a virtual reality device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc. In some examples, individual ones of the user devices can be operable by users1214. The users1214can be referred to as customers, buyers, merchants, sellers, borrowers, employees, employers, payors, payees, couriers and so on. The users1214can interact with the user devices1206via user interfaces presented via the user devices1206. In at least one example, a user interface can be presented via a web browser, or the like. In other examples, a user interface can be presented via an application, such as a mobile application or desktop application, which can be provided by the service provider1212or which can be an otherwise dedicated application. In some examples, individual of the user devices1206can have an instance or versioned instance of an application, which can be downloaded from an application store, for example, which can present the user interface(s) described herein. In at least one example, a user1214can interact with the user interface via touch input, spoken input, or any other type of input. As described above, in at least one example, the users1214can include sellers1216(individually,1216(A)-1216(N)). In an example, the sellers1216can operate respective seller devices1208, which can be user devices1206configured for use by sellers1216. For the purpose of this discussion, a “seller” can be any entity that offers items (e.g., goods or services) for purchase or other means of acquisition (e.g., rent, borrow, barter, etc.). The sellers1216can offer items for purchase or other means of acquisition via brick-and-mortar stores, mobile stores (e.g., pop-up shops, food trucks, etc.), online stores, combinations of the foregoing, and so forth. In some examples, at least some of the sellers1216can be associated with a same entity but can have different seller locations and/or can have franchise/franchisee relationships. In additional or alternative examples, the sellers1216can be different sellers. That is, in at least one example, the seller1216(A) is a different seller than the seller1216(B) and/or the seller1216(C). For the purpose of this discussion, “different sellers” can refer to two or more unrelated sellers. “Different sellers” therefore can refer to two or more sellers that are different legal entities (e.g., natural persons and/or corporate persons) that do not share accounting, employees, branding, etc. “Different sellers,” as used herein, have different names, employer identification numbers (EIN)s, lines of business (in some examples), inventories (or at least portions thereof), and/or the like. Thus, the use of the term “different sellers” does not refer to a seller with various seller locations or franchise/franchisee relationships. Such sellers—with various seller locations or franchise/franchisee relationships—can be referred to as sellers having different seller locations and/or different commerce channels. Each seller device1208can have an instance of a POS application1218stored thereon. The POS application1218can configure the seller device1208as a POS terminal, which enables the seller1216(A) to interact with one or more buyers1220. As described above, the users1214can include buyers, such as the buyers1220shown as interacting with the seller1216(A). For the purpose of this discussion, a “buyer” can be any entity that acquires items from sellers. While only two buyers1220are illustrated inFIG.12, any number of buyers1220can interact with the sellers1216. Further, whileFIG.12illustrates the buyers1220interacting with the seller1216(A), the buyers1220can interact with any of the sellers1216. In at least one example, interactions between the buyers1220and the sellers1216that involve the exchange of funds (from the buyers1220) for items (from the sellers1216) can be referred to as “POS transactions” and/or “transactions.” In at least one example, the POS application1218can determine transaction data associated with the POS transactions. Transaction data can include payment information, which can be obtained from a reader device1222associated with the seller device1208(A), user authentication data, purchase amount information, point-of-purchase information (e.g., item(s) purchased, date of purchase, time of purchase, etc.), etc. The POS application1218can send transaction data to the server computing device(s)1202. Furthermore, the POS application1218can present a UI to enable the seller1216(A) to interact with the POS application1218and/or the service provider1212via the POS application1218. In at least one example, the seller device1208(A) can be a special-purpose computing device configured as a POS terminal (via the execution of the POS application1218). In at least one example, the POS terminal may be connected to a reader device1222, which is capable of accepting a variety of payment instruments, such as credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, short-range communication-based payment instruments, and the like, as described below. In at least one example, the reader device1222can plug in to a port in the seller device1208(A), such as a microphone port, a headphone port, an audio-jack, a data port, or other suitable port. In additional or alternative examples, the reader device1222can be coupled to the seller device1208(A) via another wired or wireless connection, such as via a Bluetooth®, BLE, and so on. Additional details are described below with reference toFIG.13. In some examples, the reader device1222can read information from alternative payment instruments including, but not limited to, wristbands and the like. In some examples, the reader device1222may physically interact with payment instruments such as magnetic stripe payment cards, EMV payment cards, and/or short-range communication (e.g., NFC, RFID, Bluetooth®, BLE, etc.) payment instruments (e.g., cards or devices configured for tapping). The POS terminal may provide a rich user interface, communicate with the reader device1222, and communicate with the server computing device(s)1202, which can provide, among other services, a payment processing service. The server computing device(s)1202associated with the service provider1212can communicate with server computing device(s)1210, as described below. In this manner, the POS terminal and reader device1222may collectively process transaction(s) between the sellers1216and buyers1220. In some examples, POS terminals and reader devices can be configured in one-to-one pairings. In other examples, the POS terminals and reader devices can be configured in many-to-one pairings (e.g., one POS terminal coupled to multiple reader devices or multiple POS terminals coupled to one reader device). In some examples, there could be multiple POS terminal(s) connected to a number of other devices, such as “secondary” terminals, e.g., back-of-the-house systems, printers, line-buster devices, POS readers, and the like, to allow for information from the secondary terminal to be shared between the primary POS terminal(s) and secondary terminal(s), for example via short-range communication technology. This kind of arrangement may also work in an offline-online scenario to allow one device (e.g., secondary terminal) to continue taking user input, and synchronize data with another device (e.g., primary terminal) when the primary or secondary terminal switches to online mode. In other examples, such data synchronization may happen periodically or at randomly selected time intervals. While, the POS terminal and the reader device1222of the POS system1224are shown as separate devices, in additional or alternative examples, the POS terminal and the reader device1222can be part of a single device. In some examples, the reader device1222can have a display integrated therein for presenting information to the buyers1220. In additional or alternative examples, the POS terminal can have a display integrated therein for presenting information to the buyers1220. POS systems, such as the POS system1224, may be mobile, such that POS terminals and reader devices may process transactions in disparate locations across the world. POS systems can be used for processing card-present transactions and card-not-present (CNP) transactions, as described below. A card-present transaction is a transaction where both a buyer1220and his or her payment instrument are physically present at the time of the transaction. Card-present transactions may be processed by swipes, dips, taps, or any other interaction between a physical payment instrument (e.g., a card), or otherwise present payment instrument, and a reader device1222whereby the reader device1222is able to obtain payment data from the payment instrument. A swipe is a card-present transaction where a buyer1220slides a card, or other payment instrument, having a magnetic strip through a reader device1222that captures payment data contained in the magnetic strip. A dip is a card-present transaction where a buyer1220inserts a payment instrument having an embedded microchip (i.e., chip) into a reader device1222first. The dipped payment instrument remains in the reader device until the reader device1222prompts the buyer1220to remove the card, or other payment instrument. In some examples, while the payment instrument is in the reader device1222, the microchip can create a code which can be sent from the POS system1224to the server computing device(s)1210(which can be associated with third-party service providers that provide payment services, including but not limited to, an acquirer bank, an issuer, and/or a card payment network (e.g., Mastercard®, VISA®, etc.)) to be matched with another code. In some examples, as described above, such a “code” can be a signature associated with public-key cryptography and/or symmetric cryptography. A tap is a card-present transaction where a buyer1220may tap or hover his or her payment instrument (e.g., card, electronic device such as a smart phone running a payment application, etc.) over a reader device1222to complete a transaction via short-range communication (e.g., NFC, RFID, Bluetooth®, BLE, etc.). Short-range communication enables the payment instrument to exchange information with the reader device1222. A tap may also be called a contactless payment. A CNP transaction is a transaction where a card, or other payment instrument, is not physically present at the POS such that payment data is required to be manually keyed in (e.g., by a seller, buyer, etc.), or payment data is required to be recalled from a card-on-file data store, to complete the transaction. The POS system1224, the server computing device(s)1202, and/or the server computing device(s)1210may exchange payment information and transaction data to determine whether transactions are authorized. For example, the POS system1224may provide encrypted payment data, user authentication data, purchase amount information, point-of-purchase information, etc. (collectively, transaction data) to server computing device(s)1202over the network(s)1204. The server computing device(s)1202may send the transaction data to the server computing device(s)1210. As described above, in at least one example, the server computing device(s)1210can be associated with third-party service providers that provide payment services, including but not limited to, an acquirer bank, an issuer, and/or a card payment network (e.g., Mastercard®, VISA®, etc.) For the purpose of this discussion, the “payment service providers” can be acquiring banks (“acquirer”), issuing banks (“issuer”), card payment networks, and the like. In an example, an acquirer is a bank or financial institution that processes payments (e.g., credit or debit card payments) and can assume risk on behalf of sellers(s). An acquirer can be a registered member of a card association (e.g., Visa®, MasterCard®), and can be part of a card payment network. The acquirer (e.g., the server computing device(s)1210associated therewith) can send a fund transfer request to a server computing device of a card payment network (e.g., Mastercard®, VISA®, etc.) to determine whether the transaction is authorized or deficient. In at least one example, the service provider1212can serve as an acquirer and connect directly with the card payment network. The card payment network (e.g., the server computing device(s)1210associated therewith) can forward the fund transfer request to an issuing bank (e.g., “issuer”). The issuer is a bank or financial institution that offers a financial account (e.g., credit or debit card account) to a user. An issuer can issue payment cards to users and can pay acquirers for purchases made by cardholders to which the issuing bank has issued a payment card. The issuer (e.g., the server computing device(s)1210associated therewith) can make a determination as to whether the buyer has the capacity to absorb the relevant charge associated with the payment transaction. In at least one example, the service provider1212can serve as an issuer and/or can partner with an issuer. The transaction is either approved or rejected by the issuer and/or the card payment network (e.g., the server computing device(s)1210associated therewith), and a payment authorization message is communicated from the issuer to the POS device via a path opposite of that described above, or via an alternate path. As described above, the server computing device(s)1210, which can be associated with payment service provider(s), may determine whether the transaction is authorized based on the transaction data, as well as information relating to parties to the transaction (e.g., the buyer1220and/or the seller1216(A)). The server computing device(s)1210may send an authorization notification over the network(s)1204to the server computing device(s)1202, which may send the authorization notification to the POS system1224over the network(s)1204to indicate whether the transaction is authorized. The server computing device(s)1202may also transmit additional information such as transaction identifiers to the POS system1224. In one example, the server computing device(s)1202may include a seller application and/or other functional components for communicating with the POS system1224and/or the server computing device(s)1210to authorize or decline transactions. Based on the authentication notification that is received by the POS system1224from server computing device(s)1202, the seller1216(A) may indicate to the buyer1220whether the transaction has been approved. In some examples, approval may be indicated at the POS system1224, for example, at a display of the POS system1224. In other examples, such as with a smart phone or watch operating as a short-range communication payment instrument, information about the approved transaction may be provided to the short-range communication payment instrument for presentation via a display of the smart phone or watch. In some examples, additional or alternative information can additionally be presented with the approved transaction notification including, but not limited to, receipts, special offers, coupons, or loyalty program information. As mentioned above, the service provider1212can provide, among other services, payment processing services, inventory management services, catalog management services, business banking services, financing services, lending services, reservation management services, web-development services, payroll services, employee management services, appointment services, loyalty tracking services, restaurant management services, order management services, fulfillment services, peer-to-peer payment services, onboarding services, identity verification (IDV) services, and so on. In some examples, the users1214can access all of the services of the service provider1212. In other examples, the users1214can have gradated access to the services, which can be based on risk tolerance, IDV outputs, subscriptions, and so on. In at least one example, access to such services can be availed to the sellers1216via the POS application1218. In additional or alternative examples, each service can be associated with its own access point (e.g., application, web browser, etc.). The service provider1212can offer payment processing services for processing payments on behalf of the sellers1216, as described above. For example, the service provider1212can provision payment processing software, payment processing hardware and/or payment processing services to sellers1216, as described above, to enable the sellers1216to receive payments from the buyers1220when conducting POS transactions with the buyers1220. For instance, the service provider1212can enable the sellers1216to receive cash payments, payment card payments, and/or electronic payments from buyers1220for POS transactions and the service provider1212can process transactions on behalf of the sellers1216. As the service provider1212processes transactions on behalf of the sellers1216, the service provider1212can maintain accounts or balances for the sellers1216in one or more ledgers. For example, the service provider1212can analyze transaction data received for a transaction to determine an amount of funds owed to a seller1216(A) for the transaction. In at least one example, such an amount can be a total purchase price less fees charged by the service provider1212for providing the payment processing services. Based on determining the amount of funds owed to the seller1216(A), the service provider1212can deposit funds into an account of the seller1216(A). The account can have a stored balance, which can be managed by the service provider1212. The account can be different from a conventional bank account at least because the stored balance is managed by a ledger of the service provider1212and the associated funds are accessible via various withdrawal channels including, but not limited to, scheduled deposit, same-day deposit, instant deposit, and a linked payment instrument. A scheduled deposit can occur when the service provider1212transfers funds associated with a stored balance of the seller1216(A) to a bank account of the seller1216(A) that is held at a bank or other financial institution (e.g., associated with the server computing device(s)1210). Scheduled deposits can occur at a prearranged time after a POS transaction is funded, which can be a business day after the POS transaction occurred, or sooner or later. In some examples, the seller1216(A) can access funds prior to a scheduled deposit. For instance, the seller1216(A) may have access to same-day deposits (e.g., wherein the service provider1212deposits funds from the stored balance to a linked bank account of the seller on a same day as POS transaction, in some examples prior to the POS transaction being funded) or instant deposits (e.g., wherein the service provider1212deposits funds from the stored balance to a linked bank account of the seller on demand, such as responsive to a request). Further, in at least one example, the seller1216(A) can have a payment instrument that is linked to the stored balance that enables the seller to access the funds without first transferring the funds from the account managed by the service provider1212to the bank account of the seller1216(A). In at least one example, the service provider1212may provide inventory management services. That is, the service provider1212may provide inventory tracking and reporting. Inventory management services may enable the seller1216(A) to access and manage a database storing data associated with a quantity of each item that the seller1216(A) has available (i.e., an inventory). Furthermore, in at least one example, the service provider1212can provide catalog management services to enable the seller1216(A) to maintain a catalog, which can be a database storing data associated with items that the seller1216(A) has available for acquisition (i.e., catalog management services). In at least one example, the catalog may include a plurality of data items and a data item of the plurality of data items may represent an item that the seller1261(A) has available for acquisition. The service provider1212can offer recommendations related to pricing of the items, placement of items on the catalog, and multi-party fulfilment of the inventory. In at least one example, the service provider1212can provide business banking services, which allow the seller1216(A) to track deposits (from payment processing and/or other sources of funds) into an account of the seller1216(A), payroll payments from the account (e.g., payments to employees of the seller1216(A)), payments to other sellers (e.g., business-to-business) directly from the account or from a linked debit card, withdrawals made via scheduled deposit and/or instant deposit, etc. Furthermore, the business banking services can enable the seller1216(A) to obtain a customized payment instrument (e.g., credit card), check how much money they are earning (e.g., via presentation of available earned balance), understand where their money is going (e.g., via deposit reports (which can include a breakdown of fees), spend reports, etc.), access/use earned money (e.g., via scheduled deposit, instant deposit, linked payment instrument, etc.), feel in control of their money (e.g., via management of deposit schedule, deposit speed, linked instruments, etc.), etc. Moreover, the business banking services can enable the sellers1216to visualize their cash flow to track their financial health, set aside money for upcoming obligations (e.g., savings), organize money around goals, etc. In at least one example, the service provider1212can provide financing services and products, such as via business loans, consumer loans, fixed term loans, flexible term loans, and the like. In at least one example, the service provider1212can utilize one or more risk signals to determine whether to extend financing offers and/or terms associated with such financing offers. In at least one example, the service provider1212can provide financing services for offering and/or lending a loan to a borrower that is to be used for, in some instances, financing the borrower's short-term operational needs (e.g., a capital loan). For instance, a potential borrower that is a seller can obtain a capital loan via a capital loan product in order to finance various operational costs (e.g., rent, payroll, inventory, etc.). In at least one example, the service provider1212can offer different types of capital loan products. For instance, in at least one example, the service provider1212can offer a daily repayment loan product, wherein a capital loan is repaid daily, for instance, from a portion of transactions processed by the payment processing service on behalf of the borrower. Additionally and/or alternatively, the service provider1212can offer a monthly repayment loan product, wherein a capital loan is repaid monthly, for instance, via a debit from a bank account linked to the payment processing service. The credit risk of the seller may be evaluated using risk models that take into account factors, such as payment volume, credit risk of similarly situated sellers, past transaction history, seasonality, credit history, and so on. Additionally or alternatively, the service provider1212can provide financing services for offering and/or lending a loan to a borrower that is to be used for, in some instances, financing the borrower's consumer purchase (e.g., a consumer loan). In at least one example, a borrower can submit a request for a loan to enable the borrower to purchase an item from a seller, which can be one of the sellers1216. The service provider1212can generate the loan based at least in part on determining that the borrower purchased or intends to purchase the item from the seller. The loan can be associated with a balance based on an actual purchase price of the item and the borrower can repay the loan over time. In some examples, the borrower can repay the loan via installments, which can be paid via funds managed and/or maintained by the service provider1212(e.g., from payments owed to the seller from payments processed on behalf of the seller, funds transferred to the seller, etc.). The service provider1212can offer specific financial products, such as payment instruments, tied specifically to the loan products. For example, in one implementation, the server provider1212associates capital to a seller or buyer's debit card, where the use of the debit card is defined by the terms of the loan. In some examples, the seller may only use the debit card for making specific purchases. In other examples, the “installment” associated with the loan product is credited directly via the payment instrument. The payment instrument is thus customized to the loan and/or the parties associated with the loan. The service provider1212can provide web-development services, which enable users1214who are unfamiliar with HTML, XML, Javascript, CSS, or other web design tools to create and maintain professional and aesthetically pleasing websites. Some of these web page editing applications allow users to build a web page and/or modify a web page (e.g., change, add, or remove content associated with a web page). Further, in addition to websites, the web-development services can create and maintain other online omni-channel presences, such as social media posts for example. In some examples, the resulting web page(s) and/or other content items can be used for offering item(s) for sale via an online/e-commerce platform. That is, the resulting web page(s) and/or other content items can be associated with an online store or offering by the one or more of the sellers1216. In at least one example, the service provider1212can recommend and/or generate content items to supplement omni-channel presences of the sellers1216. That is, if a seller of the sellers1216has a web page, the service provider1212—via the web-development or other services—can recommend and/or generate additional content items to be presented via other channel(s), such as social media, email, etc. Furthermore, the service provider1212can provide payroll services to enable employers to pay employees for work performed on behalf of employers. In at least one example, the service provider1212can receive data that includes time worked by an employee (e.g., through imported timecards and/or POS interactions), sales made by the employee, gratuities received by the employee, and so forth. Based on such data, the service provider1212can make payroll payments to employee(s) on behalf of an employer via the payroll service. For instance, the service provider1212can facilitate the transfer of a total amount to be paid out for the payroll of an employee from the bank of the employer to the bank of the service provider1212to be used to make payroll payments. In at least one example, when the funds have been received at the bank of the service provider1212, the service provider1212can pay the employee, such as by check or direct deposit, often a day, a week, or more after when the work was actually performed by the employee. In additional or alternative examples, the service provider1212can enable employee(s) to receive payments via same-day or instant deposit based at least in part on risk and/or reliability analyses performed by the service provider1212. Moreover, in at least one example, the service provider1212can provide employee management services for managing schedules of employees. Further, the service provider1212can provide appointment services for enabling users1214to set schedules for scheduling appointments and/or users1214to schedule appointments. In some examples, the service provider1212can provide restaurant management services to enable users1214to make and/or manage reservations, to monitor front-of-house and/or back-of-house operations, and so on. In such examples, the seller device(s)1208and/or server computing device(s)1202can be configured to communicate with one or more other computing devices, which can be located in the front-of-house (e.g., POS device(s)) and/or back-of-house (e.g., kitchen display system(s) (KDS)). In at least one example, the service provider1212can provide order management services and/or fulfillment services to enable restaurants to manage open tickets, split tickets, and so on and/or manage fulfillment services. In some examples, such services can be associated with restaurant sellers, as described above. In additional or alternative examples, such services can be any type of seller. In at least one example, the service provider1212can provide fulfilment services, which can use couriers for delivery, wherein couriers can travel between multiple locations to provide delivery services, photography services, etc. Couriers can be users1214who can travel between locations to perform services for a requesting user1214(e.g., deliver items, capture images, etc.). In some examples, the courier can receive compensation from the service provider1212. The courier can employ one or more vehicles, such as automobiles, bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, buses, airplanes, helicopters, boats, skateboards, etc. Although, in other instances the courier can travel by foot or otherwise without a vehicle. Some examples discussed herein enable people to participate as couriers in a type of crowdsourced service economy. Here, essentially any person with a mobile device is able to immediately become a courier, or cease to be a courier, in a courier network that provides services as described herein. In at least one example, the couriers can be unmanned aerial vehicles (e.g., drones), autonomous vehicles, or any other type of vehicle capable of receiving instructions for traveling between locations. In some examples, the service provider1212can receive requests for courier services, automatically assign the requests to active couriers, and communicate dispatch instructions to couriers via user interface (e.g., application, web browser, or other access point) presented via respective devices1206. In some examples, the service provider1212can provide omni-channel fulfillment services. For instance, if a buyer places an order with a seller and the seller cannot fulfill the order because one or more items are out of stock or otherwise unavailable, the service provider1212can leverage other sellers and/or sales channels that are part of the platform of the service provider1212to fulfill the buyer's order. That is, another seller can provide the one or more items to fulfill the order of the buyer. Furthermore, in some examples, another sales channel (e.g., online, brick-and-mortar, etc.) can be used to fulfill the order of the buyer. In some examples, the service provider1212can enable conversational commerce via conversational commerce services, which can use one or more machine learning mechanisms to analyze messages exchanged between two or more users1214, voice inputs into a virtual assistant or the like, to determine intents of user(s)1214. In some examples, the service provider1212can utilize determined intents to automate buyer service, offer promotions, provide recommendations, or otherwise interact with buyers in real-time. In at least one example, the service provider1212can integrate products and services, and payment mechanisms into a communication platform (e.g., messaging, etc.) to enable buyers to make purchases, or otherwise transact, without having to call, email, or visit a web page or other channel of a seller. That is, conversational commerce alleviates the need for buyers to toggle back and forth between conversations and web pages to gather information and make purchases. In at least one example, the service provider1212can provide a peer-to-peer payment service that enables peer-to-peer payments between two or more users1214. In at least one example, the service provider1212can communicate with instances of a payment application (or other access point) installed on devices1206configured for operation by users1214. In an example, an instance of the payment application executing on a first device operated by a payor can send a request to the service provider1212to transfer an amount of funds (e.g., fiat currency or non-fiat currency such as cryptocurrency, securities, and related assets) from an account of the payor to an account of a payee (e.g., a peer-to-peer payment). The service provider1212can facilitate the transfer and can send a notification to an instance of the payment application executing on a second mobile device operated by the payee that the transfer is in process (or has been completed). In some examples, the service provider1212can send additional or alternative information to the instances of the payment application (e.g., low balance to the payor, current balance to the payor or the payee, etc.). In some implementations, the payor and/or payee can be identified automatically, e.g., based on context, proximity, prior transaction history, and so on. In other examples, the payee can send a request for funds to the payor prior to the payor initiating the transfer of funds. The funds transferred can be associated with any digital currency type, including, but not limited to, cash, cryptocurrency, etc. In some embodiments, the service provider1212funds the request to payee on behalf of the payor, to speed up the transfer process and compensate for any lags that may be attributed to payor's financial network. In some implementations, the service provider1212can trigger the peer-to-peer payment process through identification of a “payment proxy” having a particular syntax. For example, the syntax includes a monetary currency indicator prefixing one or more alphanumeric characters (e.g., $Cash). The currency indicator operates as the tagging mechanism that indicates to a computer system to treat the inputs as a request from the sender to transfer cash, where detection of the syntax (which includes one or more alphanumeric characters tagged by a monetary currency indicator) triggers a transfer of cash. The currency indicator can correspond to various currencies including but not limited to, dollar ($), euro (€), pound (£), rupee (), yuan (¥), etc. Although use of the dollar currency indicator ($) is used herein, it is to be understood that any currency symbol could equally be used. The peer-to-peer process can be initiated through a particular application executing on the user devices1206. In some embodiments, the peer-to-peer process can be implemented within a forum context. The term “forum,” as used here, refers to a content provider's media channel (e.g., a social networking platform, a microblog, a blog, video sharing platform, a music sharing platform, etc.) that enables user interaction and engagement through comments, posts, messages on electronic bulletin boards, messages on a social networking platform, and/or any other types of messages. The forum can be employed by a content provider to enable users of the forum to interact with one another, (e.g., through creating messages, posting comments, etc.). In some embodiments, “forum” may also refer to an application or webpage of an e-commerce or retail organization that offers products and/or services. Such websites can provide an online “form” to complete before or after the products or services are added to a virtual cart. The online form may include one or more fields to receive user interaction and engagement. Examples include name and other identification of the user, shipping address of the user, etc. Some of these fields may be configured to receive payment information, such as a payment proxy, in lieu of other kinds of payment mechanisms, such as credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, gift cards, virtual wallets, etc. In some embodiments, the peer-to-peer process can be implemented within a communication application context, such as a messaging application context. The term “messaging application,” as used here, refers to any messaging application that enables communication between users (e.g., sender and recipient of a message) over a wired or wireless communications network, through use of a communication message. The messaging application can be employed by the service provider1212. For instance, the service provider1212can offer messaging services that provides a communication service to users via a messaging application (e.g., chat or messaging capability). The messaging application can include, for example, a text messaging application for communication between phones (e.g., conventional mobile telephones or smartphones), or a cross-platform instant messaging application for smartphones and phones that use the Internet for communication. The messaging application can be executed on a user device1206(e.g., mobile device or conventional personal computer (PC)) based on instructions transmitted to and from the server computing device(s)1202(which, in such an example can be called a “messaging server”). In some instances, the messaging application can include a payment application with messaging capability that enables users of the payment application to communicate with one another. In such instances, the payment application can be executed on the user device1206based on instructions transmitted to and from the server computing device(s)1202(e.g., the payment service discussed in this description or another payment service that supports payment transactions). In at least some embodiments, the peer-to-peer process can be implemented within a landing page context. The term “landing page,” as used here, refers to a virtual location identified by a personalized location address that is dedicated to collect payments on behalf of a recipient associated with the personalized location address. The personalized location address that identifies the landing page can include a payment proxy discussed above. The service provider1212can generate the landing page to enable the recipient to conveniently receive one or more payments from one or more senders. In some embodiments, the personalized location address identifying the landing page is a uniform resource locator (URL) that incorporates the payment proxy. In such embodiments, the landing page is a web page, e.g., www.cash.me/$Cash. In at least one example, a user1214may be new to the service provider1212such that the user1214that has not registered (e.g., subscribed to receive access to one or more services offered by the service provider) with the service provider1212. The service provider1212can offer onboarding services for registering a potential user1214with the service provider1212. In some examples, onboarding can involve presenting various questions, prompts, and the like to a potential user1214to obtain information that can be used to generate a profile for the potential user1214. In at least one example, the service provider1212can provide limited or short-term access to its services prior to, or during, onboarding (e.g., a user of a peer-to-peer payment service can transfer and/or receive funds prior to being fully onboarded, a seller can process payments prior to being fully onboarded, etc.). In at least one example, responsive to the potential user1214providing all necessary information, the potential user1214can be onboarded to the service provider1212. In such an example, any limited or short-term access to services of the service provider1212can be transitioned to more permissive (e.g., less limited) or longer-term access to such services. The service provider1212can be associated with IDV services, which can be used by the service provider1212for compliance purposes and/or can be offered as a service, for instance to third-party service providers (e.g., associated with the server computing device(s)1210). That is, the service provider1212can offer IDV services to verify the identity of users1214seeking to use or using their services. Identity verification requires a buyer (or potential buyer) to provide information that is used by compliance departments to prove that the information is associated with an identity of a real person or entity. In at least one example, the service provider1212can perform services for determining whether identifying information provided by a user1214accurately identifies the buyer (or potential buyer) (i.e., Is the buyer who they say they are?). The service provider1212is capable of providing additional or alternative services and the services described above are offered as a sampling of services. In at least one example, the service provider1212can exchange data with the server computing device(s)1210associated with third-party service providers. Such third-party service providers can provide information that enables the service provider1212to provide services, such as those described above. In additional or alternative examples, such third-party service providers can access services of the service provider1212. That is, in some examples, the third-party service providers can be subscribers, or otherwise access, services of the service provider1212. Techniques described herein can be configured to operate in both real-time/online and offline modes. “Online” modes refer to modes when devices are capable of communicating with the service provider1212(e.g., the server computing device(s)1202) and/or the server computing device(s)1210via the network(s)1204. In some examples, the seller device(s)1208are not capable of connecting with the service provider1212(e.g., the server computing device(s)1202) and/or the server computing device(s)1210, due to a network connectivity issue, for example. In additional or alternative examples, the server computing device(s)1202are not capable of communicating with the server computing device(s)1210due to network connectivity issue, for example. In such examples, devices may operate in “offline” mode where at least some payment data is stored (e.g., on the seller device(s)1208) and/or the server computing device(s)1202until connectivity is restored and the payment data can be transmitted to the server computing device(s)1202and/or the server computing device(s)1210for processing. In at least one example, the service provider1212can be associated with a hub, such as an order hub, an inventory hub, a fulfillment hub and so on, which can enable integration with one or more additional service providers (e.g., associated with the additional server computing device(s)1210). In some examples, such additional service providers can offer additional or alternative services and the service provider1212can provide an interface or other computer-readable instructions to integrate functionality of the service provider1212into the one or more additional service providers. Techniques described herein are directed to services provided via a distributed system of user devices1206that are in communication with one or more server computing devices1202of the service provider1212. That is, techniques described herein are directed to a specific implementation—or, a practical application—of utilizing a distributed system of user devices1206that are in communication with one or more server computing devices1202of the service provider1212to perform a variety of services, as described above. The unconventional configuration of the distributed system described herein enables the server computing device(s)1202that are remotely-located from end-users (e.g., users1214) to intelligently offer services based on aggregated data associated with the end-users, such as the users1214(e.g., data associated with multiple, different sellers and/or multiple, different buyers), in some examples, in near-real time. Accordingly, techniques described herein are directed to a particular arrangement of elements that offer technical improvements over conventional techniques for performing payment processing services and the like. For small business owners in particular, the business environment is typically fragmented and relies on unrelated tools and programs, making it difficult for an owner to manually consolidate and view such data. The techniques described herein constantly or periodically monitor disparate and distinct seller accounts, e.g., accounts within the control of the service provider1212, and those outside of the control of the service provider1212, to track the business standing (payables, receivables, payroll, invoices, appointments, capital, etc.) of the sellers. The techniques herein provide a consolidated view of a seller's cash flow, predict needs, preemptively offer recommendations or services, such as capital, coupons, etc., and/or enable money movement between disparate accounts (seller's, another seller's, or even payment service's) in a frictionless and transparent manner. As described herein, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the like can be used to dynamically make determinations, recommendations, and the like, thereby adding intelligence and context-awareness to an otherwise one-size-fits-all scheme for providing payment processing services and/or additional or alternative services described herein. In some implementations, the distributed system is capable of applying the intelligence derived from an existing user base to a new user, thereby making the onboarding experience for the new user personalized and frictionless when compared to traditional onboarding methods. Thus, techniques described herein improve existing technological processes. As described above, various graphical user interfaces (GUIs) can be presented to facilitate techniques described herein. Some of the techniques described herein are directed to user interface features presented via GUIs to improve interaction between users1214and user devices1206. Furthermore, such features are changed dynamically based on the profiles of the users involved interacting with the GUIs. As such, techniques described herein are directed to improvements to computing systems. FIG.13depicts an illustrative block diagram illustrating a system1300for performing techniques described herein. The system1300includes a user device1302, that communicates with server computing device(s) (e.g., server(s)1304) via network(s)1306(e.g., the Internet, cable network(s), cellular network(s), cloud network(s), wireless network(s) (e.g., Wi-Fi) and wired network(s), as well as close-range communications such as Bluetooth®, Bluetooth® low energy (BLE), and the like). While a single user device1302is illustrated, in additional or alternate examples, the system1300can have multiple user devices, as described above with reference toFIG.12. In at least one example, the server(s)1304can correspond to the server computing device(s)404described above with reference toFIG.4. In at least one example, the network(s)1306can correspond to the network(s)408described above with reference toFIG.4. Furthermore, in at least one example, the user device1302can correspond to the user computing device402described above with reference toFIG.4. In at least one example, the system1300can facilitate identity verification using payment instrument(s), as described herein. In an example, an identifier corresponding to a user can be associated with a microchip embedded in a payment instrument, such as a credit card or debit card, or otherwise associated with a secure storage of a payment instrument. The identifier can be a user-designated identifier, a private key, a U2F identity credential, or the like. A verifying entity— which can be a computing resource (e.g., an application, a web page, etc.) and/or server(s)1304associated with a service provider (or third-party server computing device(s))—can receive a request to access the computing resource availed via a computing device operable by the user, such as one of the user computing devices1302. The verifying entity can determine whether to grant the user access to the computing resource based on receiving the identifier and/or an indication of the identifier via an interaction between the payment instrument and a reader device associated with the computing resource. For example, the verifying entity can receive the identifier and/or an indication of the identifier via an interaction between the payment instrument and the reader device and, if the identifier corresponds to the user (e.g., the identifier is associated with a profile storing identification information of the user), the verifying entity can verify the identity of the user and grant the user access to the computing resource. The system1300can therefore enable payment instruments—such as credit cards and/or debit cards—to be used as security keys. That is, in multi-factor authentication, users can present payment instruments—which securely store information that is personal to the users (e.g., user-designated identifiers, private keys, U2F identity credentials, etc.)—as a factor for authentication. As such, techniques described herein enable users to protect themselves against thieves and/or malicious actors seeking to steal or improperly obtain information associated with such users. By enabling users to use payment instruments—which are regularly carried around by users—instead of conventional U2F hardware tokens, techniques described herein offer improvements to existing verification technology. In at least one example, the user device1302can be any suitable type of computing device, e.g., portable, semi-portable, semi-stationary, or stationary. Some examples of the user device1302can include, but are not limited to, a tablet computing device, a smart phone or mobile communication device, a laptop, a netbook or other portable computer or semi-portable computer, a desktop computing device, a terminal computing device or other semi-stationary or stationary computing device, a dedicated device, a wearable computing device or other body-mounted computing device, an augmented reality device, a virtual reality device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc. That is, the user device1302can be any computing device capable of sending communications and performing the functions according to the techniques described herein. The user device1302can include devices, e.g., payment card readers, or components capable of accepting payments, as described below. In the illustrated example, the user device1302includes one or more processors1308, one or more computer-readable media1310, one or more communication interface(s)1312, one or more input/output (I/O) devices1314, a display1316, and sensor(s)1318. In at least one example, each processor1308can itself comprise one or more processors or processing cores. For example, the processor(s)1308can be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. In some examples, the processor(s)1308can be one or more hardware processors and/or logic circuits of any suitable type specifically programmed or configured to execute the algorithms and processes described herein. The processor(s)1308can be configured to fetch and execute computer-readable processor-executable instructions stored in the computer-readable media1310. Depending on the configuration of the user device1302, the computer-readable media1310can be an example of tangible non-transitory computer storage media and can include volatile and nonvolatile memory and/or removable and non-removable media implemented in any type of technology for storage of information such as computer-readable processor-executable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. The computer-readable media1310can include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state storage, magnetic disk storage, optical storage, and/or other computer-readable media technology. Further, in some examples, the user device1302can access external storage, such as RAID storage systems, storage arrays, network attached storage, storage area networks, cloud storage, or any other medium that can be used to store information and that can be accessed by the processor(s)1308directly or through another computing device or network. Accordingly, the computer-readable media1310can be computer storage media able to store instructions, modules or components that can be executed by the processor(s)1308. Further, when mentioned, non-transitory computer-readable media exclude media such as energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals per se. The computer-readable media1310can be used to store and maintain any number of functional components that are executable by the processor(s)1308. In some implementations, these functional components comprise instructions or programs that are executable by the processor(s)1308and that, when executed, implement operational logic for performing the actions and services attributed above to the user device1302. Functional components stored in the computer-readable media1310can include computing resource(s)1320to enable users to interact with the user device1302, and thus the server(s)1304and/or other networked devices. In at least one example, the computing resource(s)1320can be web page(s) presented via web browser(s), or the like. In other examples, the computing resource(s)1320can application(s), such as a mobile application or desktop application, which can be provided by a service provider1212associated with the server(s)1304, or which can be an otherwise dedicated application. In some examples, the computing resource(s)1320can correspond to the computing resource(s)410described above with reference toFIG.4. In at least one example, a user can interact with the user interface via touch input, spoken input, gesture, or any other type of input. The word “input” is also used to describe “contextual” input that may not be directly provided by the user via a user interface associated with a computing resource of the computing resource(s)1320. For example, user's interactions with the user interface(s) presented via the computing resource(s)1320are analyzed using, e.g., natural language processing techniques, to determine context or intent of the user, which may be treated in a manner similar to “direct” user input. Depending on the type of the user device1302, the computer-readable media1310can also optionally include other functional components and data, such as other modules and data1322, which can include programs, drivers, etc., and the data used or generated by the functional components. In addition, the computer-readable media1310can also store data, data structures and the like, that are used by the functional components. Further, the user device1302can include many other logical, programmatic and physical components, of which those described are merely examples that are related to the discussion herein. In at least one example, the computer-readable media1310can include additional functional components, such as an operating system1324for controlling and managing various functions of the user device1302and for enabling basic user interactions. The communication interface(s)1312can include one or more interfaces and hardware components for enabling communication with various other devices, such as over the network(s)1306or directly. For example, communication interface(s)1312can enable communication through one or more network(s)1306, which can include, but are not limited any type of network known in the art, such as a local area network or a wide area network, such as the Internet, and can include a wireless network, such as a cellular network, a cloud network, a local wireless network, such as Wi-Fi and/or close-range wireless communications, such as Bluetooth®, BLE, NFC, RFID, a wired network, or any other such network, or any combination thereof. Accordingly, network(s)1306can include both wired and/or wireless communication technologies, including Bluetooth®, BLE, Wi-Fi and cellular communication technologies, as well as wired or fiber optic technologies. Components used for such communications can depend at least in part upon the type of network, the environment selected, or both. Protocols for communicating over such networks are well known and will not be discussed herein in detail. Embodiments of the disclosure may be provided to users through a cloud computing infrastructure. Cloud computing refers to the provision of scalable computing resources as a service over a network, to enable convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. Thus, cloud computing allows a user to access virtual computing resources (e.g., storage, data, applications, and even complete virtualized computing systems) in “the cloud,” without regard for the underlying physical systems (or locations of those systems) used to provide the computing resources. The user device1302can further include one or more input/output (I/O) devices1314. The I/O devices1314can include speakers, a microphone, a camera, and various user controls (e.g., buttons, a joystick, a keyboard, a keypad, etc.), a haptic output device, and so forth. The I/O devices1314can also include attachments that leverage the accessories (audio-jack, USB-C, Bluetooth, etc.) to connect with the user device1302. In at least one example, user device1302can include a display1316. Depending on the type of computing device(s) used as the user device1302, the display1316can employ any suitable display technology. For example, the display1316can be a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, a light emitting diode display, an OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display, an electronic paper display, or any other suitable type of display able to present digital content thereon. In at least one example, the display1316can be an augmented reality display, a virtually reality display, or any other display able to present and/or project digital content. In some examples, the display1316can have a touch sensor associated with the display1316to provide a touchscreen display configured to receive touch inputs for enabling interaction with a graphic interface presented on the display1316. Accordingly, implementations herein are not limited to any particular display technology. Alternatively, in some examples, the user device1302may not include the display1316, and information can be presented by other means, such as aurally, hapticly, etc. In addition, the user device1302can include sensor(s)1318. The sensor(s)1318can include a GPS device able to indicate location information. Further, the sensor(s)1318can include, but are not limited to, an accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, proximity sensor, camera, microphone, and/or a switch. In some example, the GPS device can be used to identify a location of a user. In at least one example, the location of the user can be used by the service provider1212, described above, to provide one or more services. That is, in some examples, the service provider1212can implement geofencing to provide particular services to users. As an example, with a lending service, location can be used to confirm that a stated purpose of a loan corresponds to evidence of use (e.g., Is the user using the loan consistent with what he or she said he or she was going to use it for?). Furthermore, in some examples, location can be used for payroll purposes. As an example, if a contractor completes a project, the contractor can provide a geo-tagged image (e.g., tagged based on location information availed by the GPS device). In some examples, location can be used for facilitating peer-to-peer payments between nearby users1214and/or for sending users1214notifications regarding available appointments with seller(s) located proximate to the users1214. In at least one example, location can be used for taking payments from nearby buyers when they leave a geofence, or location can be used to initiate an action responsive to users1214enter a brick-and-mortar store of a seller. Location can be used in additional or alternative ways as well. Additionally, the user device1302can include various other components that are not shown, examples of which include removable storage, a power source, such as a battery and power control unit, a barcode scanner, a printer, a cash drawer, and so forth. In addition, in some examples, the user device1302can include, be connectable to, or otherwise be coupled to a reader device1326, for reading payment instruments and/or identifiers associated with payment objects. In some examples, as described above, the reader device1326can plug in to a port in the user device1302, such as a microphone port, a headphone port, an audio-jack, a data port, or other suitable port. In additional or alternative examples, the reader device1326can be coupled to the user device1302via another wired or wireless connection, such as via a Bluetooth®, BLE, and so on. The reader device1326can include a read head for reading a magnetic strip of a payment card, and further can include encryption technology for encrypting the information read from the magnetic strip. Additionally or alternatively, the reader device1326can be an EMV reader device, which in some examples, can be embedded in the user device1302. Moreover, numerous other types of readers can be employed with the user device1302herein, depending on the type and configuration of the user device1302. The reader device1326may be a portable magnetic stripe card reader, optical scanner, smartcard (card with an embedded IC chip) reader (e.g., an EMV-compliant card reader or short-range communication-enabled reader), RFID reader, or the like, configured to detect and obtain data off any payment instrument. Accordingly, the reader device1326may include hardware implementation, such as slots, magnetic tracks, and rails with one or more sensors or electrical contacts to facilitate detection and acceptance of a payment instrument. That is, the reader device1326may include hardware implementations to enable the reader device1326to interact with a payment instrument via a swipe (i.e., a card-present transaction where a buyer slides a card having a magnetic strip through a reader device that captures payment data contained in the magnetic strip), a dip (i.e., a card-present transaction where a buyer inserts a card having an embedded microchip (i.e., chip) into a reader device first until the reader device prompts the buyer to remove the card), or a tap (i.e., a card-present transaction where a buyer may tap or hover his or her electronic device such as a smart phone running a payment application over a reader device to complete a transaction via short-range communication) to obtain payment data associated with a buyer. Additionally or optionally, the reader device1326may also include a biometric sensor to receive and process biometric characteristics and process them as payment instruments, given that such biometric characteristics are registered and connected to a financial account with a bank server. The reader device1326may include processing unit(s), computer-readable media, a reader chip, a transaction chip, a timer, a clock, a network interface, a power supply, and so on. The processing unit(s) of the reader device1326may execute one or more modules and/or processes to cause the reader device1326to perform a variety of functions, as set forth above and explained in further detail in the following disclosure. In some examples, the processing unit(s) may include a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a CPU and a GPU, or processing units or components known in the art. Additionally, each of the processing unit(s) may possess its own local memory, which also may store program modules, program data, and/or one or more operating systems. Depending on the exact configuration and type of the reader device1326, the computer-readable media may include volatile memory (such as RAM), non-volatile memory (such as ROM, flash memory, miniature hard drive, memory card, or the like), or some combination thereof. In at least one example, the computer-readable media of the reader device1326may include at least one module for performing various functions as described herein. The reader chip may perform functionalities to control the operations and processing of the reader device1326. That is, the reader chip may perform functionalities to control payment interfaces (e.g., a contactless interface, a contact interface, etc.), a wireless communication interface, a wired interface, a user interface (e.g., a signal condition device (FPGA)), etc. Additionally, the reader chip may perform functionality to control the timer, which may provide a timer signal indicating an amount of time that has lapsed following a particular event (e.g., an interaction, a power-down event, etc.). Moreover, the reader chip may perform functionality to control the clock136, which may provide a clock signal indicating a time. Furthermore, the reader chip may perform functionality to control the network interface, which may interface with the network(s)1306, as described below. Additionally, the reader chip may perform functionality to control the power supply. The power supply may include one or more power supplies such as a physical connection to AC power or a battery. Power supply may include power conversion circuitry for converting AC power and generating a plurality of DC voltages for use by components of reader device1326. When power supply includes a battery, the battery may be charged via a physical power connection, via inductive charging, or via any other suitable method. The transaction chip may perform functionalities relating to processing of payment transactions, interfacing with payment instruments, cryptography, and other payment-specific functionality. That is, the transaction chip may access payment data associated with a payment instrument and may provide the payment data to a POS terminal, as described above. The payment data may include, but is not limited to, a name of the buyer, an address of the buyer, a type (e.g., credit, debit, etc.) of a payment instrument, a number associated with the payment instrument, a verification value (e.g., PIN Verification Key Indicator (PVKI), PIN Verification Value (PVV), Card Verification Value (CVV), Card Verification Code (CVC), etc.) associated with the payment instrument, an expiration data associated with the payment instrument, a primary account number (PAN) corresponding to the buyer (which may or may not match the number associated with the payment instrument), restrictions on what types of charges/debts may be made, etc. Additionally, the transaction chip may encrypt the payment data upon receiving the payment data. It should be understood that in some examples, the reader chip may have its own processing unit(s) and computer-readable media and/or the transaction chip may have its own processing unit(s) and computer-readable media. In other examples, the functionalities of reader chip and transaction chip may be embodied in a single chip or a plurality of chips, each including any suitable combination of processing units and computer-readable media to collectively perform the functionalities of reader chip and transaction chip as described herein. While, the user device1302, which can be a POS terminal, and the reader device1326are shown as separate devices, in additional or alternative examples, the user device1302and the reader device1326can be part of a single device, which may be a battery-operated device. In such an example, components of both the user device1302and the reader device1326may be associated with the single device. In some examples, the reader device1326can have a display integrated therewith, which can be in addition to (or as an alternative of) the display1316associated with the user device1302. The server(s)1304can include one or more servers or other types of computing devices that can be embodied in any number of ways. For example, in the example of a server, the modules, other functional components, and data can be implemented on a single server, a cluster of servers, a server farm or data center, a cloud-hosted computing service, a cloud-hosted storage service, and so forth, although other computer architectures can additionally or alternatively be used. Further, while the figures illustrate the components and data of the server(s)1304as being present in a single location, these components and data can alternatively be distributed across different computing devices and different locations in any manner. Consequently, the functions can be implemented by one or more server computing devices, with the various functionality described above distributed in various ways across the different computing devices. Multiple server(s)1304can be located together or separately, and organized, for example, as virtual servers, server banks and/or server farms. The described functionality can be provided by the servers of a single seller or enterprise, or can be provided by the servers and/or services of multiple different buyers or enterprises. In the illustrated example, the server(s)1304can include one or more processors1328, one or more computer-readable media1330, one or more I/O devices1332, and one or more communication interfaces1334. Each processor1328can be a single processing unit or a number of processing units, and can include single or multiple computing units or multiple processing cores. The processor(s)1328can be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. For example, the processor(s)1328can be one or more hardware processors and/or logic circuits of any suitable type specifically programmed or configured to execute the algorithms and processes described herein. The processor(s)1328can be configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in the computer-readable media1330, which can program the processor(s)1328to perform the functions described herein. The computer-readable media1330can include volatile and nonvolatile memory and/or removable and non-removable media implemented in any type of technology for storage of information, such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Such computer-readable media1330can include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, optical storage, solid state storage, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, RAID storage systems, storage arrays, network attached storage, storage area networks, cloud storage, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and that can be accessed by a computing device. Depending on the configuration of the server(s)1304, the computer-readable media1330can be a type of computer-readable storage media and/or can be a tangible non-transitory media to the extent that when mentioned, non-transitory computer-readable media exclude media such as energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals per se. The computer-readable media1330can be used to store any number of functional components that are executable by the processor(s)1328. In many implementations, these functional components comprise instructions or programs that are executable by the processors1328and that, when executed, specifically configure the one or more processors1328to perform the actions attributed above to the service provider1212and/or payment processing service. Functional components stored in the computer-readable media1330can optionally include a seller module1336, a training module1338, and one or more other modules and data1340. The seller module1336can be configured to receive transaction data from POS systems, such as the POS system1224described above with reference toFIG.12. The seller module1336can transmit requests (e.g., authorization, capture, settlement, etc.) to payment service server computing device(s) to facilitate POS transactions between sellers and buyers. The seller module1336can communicate the successes or failures of the POS transactions to the POS systems. The training module1338can be configured to train models using machine-learning mechanisms. For example, a machine-learning mechanism can analyze training data to train a data model that generates an output, which can be a recommendation, a score, and/or another indication. Machine-learning mechanisms can include, but are not limited to supervised learning algorithms (e.g., artificial neural networks, Bayesian statistics, support vector machines, decision trees, classifiers, k-nearest neighbor, etc.), unsupervised learning algorithms (e.g., artificial neural networks, association rule learning, hierarchical clustering, cluster analysis, etc.), semi-supervised learning algorithms, deep learning algorithms, etc.), statistical models, etc. In at least one example, machine-trained data models can be stored in a datastore associated with the user device(s)1302and/or the server(s)1304for use at a time after the data models have been trained (e.g., at runtime). The one or more other modules and data1340can include the identifier management module418and the verification module420, the functionality of which is described, at least partially, above. Further, the one or more other modules and data1340can include programs, drivers, etc., and the data used or generated by the functional components. Further, the server(s)1304can include many other logical, programmatic and physical components, of which those described above are merely examples that are related to the discussion herein. The one or more “modules” referenced herein may be implemented as more modules or as fewer modules, and functions described for the modules may be redistributed depending on the details of the implementation. The term “module,” as used herein, refers broadly to software stored on non-transitory storage medium (e.g., volatile or non-volatile memory for a computing device), hardware, or firmware (or any combination thereof) modules. Modules are typically functional such that they that may generate useful data or other output using specified input(s). A module may or may not be self-contained. An application program (also called an “application”) may include one or more modules, or a module may include one or more application programs that can be accessed over a network or downloaded as software onto a device (e.g., executable code causing the device to perform an action). An application program (also called an “application”) may include one or more modules, or a module may include one or more application programs. In additional and/or alternative examples, the module(s) may be implemented as computer-readable instructions, various data structures, and so forth via at least one processing unit to configure the computing device(s) described herein to execute instructions and to perform operations as described herein. In some examples, a module may include one or more application programming interfaces (APIs) to perform some or all of its functionality (e.g., operations). In at least one example, a software developer kit (SDK) can be provided by the service provider to allow third-party developers to include service provider functionality and/or avail service provider services in association with their own third-party applications. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the service provider can utilize a SDK to integrate third-party service provider functionality into its applications. That is, API(s) and/or SDK(s) can enable third-party developers to customize how their respective third-party applications interact with the service provider or vice versa. The computer-readable media1330can additionally include an operating system1342for controlling and managing various functions of the server(s)1304. The communication interface(s)1334can include one or more interfaces and hardware components for enabling communication with various other devices, such as over the network(s)1306or directly. For example, communication interface(s)1334can enable communication through one or more network(s)1306, which can include, but are not limited any type of network known in the art, such as a local area network or a wide area network, such as the Internet, and can include a wireless network, such as a cellular network, a local wireless network, such as Wi-Fi and/or close-range wireless communications, such as Bluetooth®, BLE, NFC, RFID, a wired network, or any other such network, or any combination thereof. Accordingly, network(s)1306can include both wired and/or wireless communication technologies, including Bluetooth®, BLE, Wi-Fi and cellular communication technologies, as well as wired or fiber optic technologies. Components used for such communications can depend at least in part upon the type of network, the environment selected, or both. Protocols for communicating over such networks are well known and will not be discussed herein in detail. The server(s)1304can further be equipped with various I/O devices1332. Such I/O devices1332can include a display, various user interface controls (e.g., buttons, joystick, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, biometric or sensory input devices, etc.), audio speakers, connection ports and so forth. In at least one example, the system1300can include a datastore1344that can be configured to store data that is accessible, manageable, and updatable. In some examples, the datastore1344can be integrated with the user device1302and/or the server(s)1304. In other examples, as shown inFIG.13, the datastore1344can be located remotely from the server(s)1304and can be accessible to the server(s)1304. The datastore1344can comprise multiple databases and/or servers connected locally and/or remotely via the network(s)1306. In at least one example, the datastore1344can store user profiles, which can include seller profiles, buyer profiles, and so on. Seller profiles can store, or otherwise be associated with, data associated with sellers. For instance, a seller profile can store, or otherwise be associated with, information about a seller (e.g., name of the seller, geographic location of the seller, operating hours of the seller, employee information, etc.), a seller category classification (MCC), item(s) offered for sale by the seller, hardware (e.g., device type) used by the seller, transaction data associated with the seller (e.g., transactions conducted by the seller, payment data associated with the transactions, items associated with the transactions, descriptions of items associated with the transactions, itemized and/or total spends of each of the transactions, parties to the transactions, dates, times, and/or locations associated with the transactions, etc.), loan information associated with the seller (e.g., previous loans made to the seller, previous defaults on said loans, etc.), risk information associated with the seller (e.g., indications of risk, instances of fraud, chargebacks, etc.), appointments information (e.g., previous appointments, upcoming (scheduled) appointments, timing of appointments, lengths of appointments, etc.), payroll information (e.g., employees, payroll frequency, payroll amounts, etc.), employee information, reservations data (e.g., previous reservations, upcoming (scheduled) reservations, interactions associated with such reservations, etc.), inventory data, buyer service data, etc. The seller profile can securely store bank account information as provided by the seller. Further, the seller profile can store payment information associated with a payment instrument linked to a stored balance of the seller, such as a stored balance maintained in a ledger by the service provider1212. Buyer profiles can store buyer data including, but not limited to, buyer information (e.g., name, phone number, address, banking information, etc.), buyer preferences (e.g., learned or buyer-specified), purchase history data (e.g., identifying one or more items purchased (and respective item information), payment instruments used to purchase one or more items, returns associated with one or more orders, statuses of one or more orders (e.g., preparing, packaging, in transit, delivered, etc.), etc.), appointments data (e.g., previous appointments, upcoming (scheduled) appointments, timing of appointments, lengths of appointments, etc.), payroll data (e.g., employers, payroll frequency, payroll amounts, etc.), reservations data (e.g., previous reservations, upcoming (scheduled) reservations, reservation duration, interactions associated with such reservations, etc.), inventory data, buyer service data, etc. In at least one example, the account(s)118, described above with reference toFIG.1, can include or be associated with the seller profiles and/or buyer profiles described above. Furthermore, in at least one example, the datastore1344can store inventory database(s) and/or catalog database(s). As described above, an inventory can store data associated with a quantity of each item that a seller has available to the seller. Furthermore, a catalog can store data associated with items that a seller has available for acquisition. The datastore1344can store additional or alternative types of data as described herein. The phrases “in some examples,” “according to various examples,” “in the examples shown,” “in one example,” “in other examples,” “various examples,” “some examples,” and the like generally mean the particular feature, structure, or characteristic following the phrase is included in at least one example of the present invention, and may be included in more than one example of the present invention. In addition, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same examples or to different examples. If the specification states a component or feature “can,” “may,” “could,” or “might” be included or have a characteristic, that particular component or feature is not required to be included or have the characteristic. Further, the aforementioned description is directed to devices and applications that are related to payment technology. However, it will be understood, that the technology can be extended to any device and application. Moreover, techniques described herein can be configured to operate irrespective of the kind of payment object reader, POS terminal, web applications, mobile applications, POS topologies, payment cards, computer networks, and environments. Example Clauses A. A method, implemented by at least one computing device, for using a near-field communication (NFC) payment card for identity verification in an application executing on a user computing device of a user, the method comprising: receiving, by the application, a request to access a computing resource of the application, wherein the request includes an identity of the user; prompting, by the application and responsive to receiving the request to access the computing resource, the user to cause an interaction between the NFC payment card and an NFC reader device integrated into the user computing device; receiving, by the application and responsive to prompting the user, an identifier from the NFC reader device, wherein the identifier is received by the NFC reader device during the interaction between the NFC payment card and the NFC reader device, and the identifier is generated based at least in part by causing a Universal 2ndFactor (U2F) applet in a microchip embedded in the NFC payment card to generate an identifier associated with the user; and granting, by the application and based on determining that the identifier corresponds to the user, the user access to the computing resource of the application. B. The method as clause A recites, wherein the NFC payment card is a Europay Mastercard Visa (EMV) card, and the interaction comprises a tap. C. The method as clause A or B recites, further comprising sending, to the NFC reader device and responsive to receiving the request to access the computing resource, an instruction identifying the U2F applet, wherein the NFC reader device sends another instruction to the NFC payment card specifying the U2F applet. D. A system comprising: one or more processors; one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions, that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations comprising: associating an identifier with a secure storage component of a payment instrument of a user, wherein the identifier is associated with the user; receiving a request to access a computing resource availed via a computing device operable by the user; and determining whether to grant the user access to the computing resource based at least in part on receiving the identifier via an interaction between the payment instrument and a reader device associated with the computing device. E. The system as clause D recites, wherein the reader device is integrated into the computing device, and the interaction comprises a swipe, a dip, or a tap. F. The system as clause D or E recites, wherein the reader device is communicatively coupled to the computing device, and the interaction comprises a swipe, a dip, or a tap. G. The system as any of clauses D-F recites, wherein the payment instrument is a near-field communication (NFC) payment card and the reader device is an NFC reader device. H. The system as any of clauses D-G recites, wherein determining whether to grant the user access to the computing resource comprises: prompting, responsive to receiving the request to access the computing resource, the user to cause an interaction between the payment instrument and the reader device; receiving, in response to prompting the user, the identifier; and determining whether the identifier corresponds to the user, wherein the request is associated with an identity of the user. I. The system as clause H recites, wherein the computing resource determines whether the identifier corresponds to the user. J. The system as clause H or I recites, wherein the system comprises one or more server computing devices associated with a service provider of the computing resource and the request to access the computing resource is received by the computing resource, the operations further comprising: sending, responsive to receiving the request to access the computing resource, the request to the one or more server computing devices; receiving, by the computing resource, a verification request from the one or more server computing devices, wherein the prompting the user is further responsive to the verification request; receiving, by the computing resource, the identifier from the reader device associated with the computing device; sending, from the computing resource, the identifier to the one or more server computing devices, wherein the one or more server computing devices determine whether the identifier corresponds to the user; and receiving, by the computing resource, a verification response from the one or more server computing devices, wherein determining whether to grant the user access to the computing resource is further based at least in part on the verification response. K. The system as any of clauses H-J recites, wherein the payment instrument is a Europay Mastercard Visa (EMV) card associated with an actuation mechanism, the operations further comprising: receiving an indication that the actuation mechanism is actuated in association with the interaction between the payment instrument and the reader device; and determining whether the identifier corresponds to the user based at least in part on receiving the indication that the actuation mechanism is actuated in association with the interaction between the payment instrument and the reader device. L. The system as any of clauses D-K recites, wherein the identifier is designated by the user prior to associating the identifier with the secure storage component of the payment instrument. M. The system as any of clauses D-L recites, wherein the identifier is associated with a private key, the operations further comprising: receiving data signed by the private key from the reader device; and determining whether to grant the user access to the computing resource based at least in part on determining whether the data is signed by the private key. N. The system as any of clauses D-M recites, wherein the identifier comprises a Universal 2ndFactor (U2F) identity credential derived from a U2F applet associated with the payment instrument. O. The system as any of clauses D-N recites, the operations further comprising sending, to the reader device and responsive to receiving the request to access the computing resource, an instruction identifying an applet storing the identifier, wherein the reader device sends another instruction to the payment instrument specifying the applet. P. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions, that when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: associating an identifier with a secure storage component of a payment instrument of a user, wherein the identifier is associated with the user; receiving a request to access a computing resource availed via a computing device operable by the user; and determining whether to grant the user access to the computing resource based at least in part on an interaction between the payment instrument and a reader device associated with the computing device. Q. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as clause P recites, wherein determining whether to grant the user access to the computing device comprises: prompting, responsive to receiving the request to access the computing resource, the user to cause an interaction between the payment instrument and the reader device; receiving, in response to prompting the user, the identifier; and determining whether the identifier corresponds to the user. R. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as clause Q recites, wherein the identifier is read by the reader device during the interaction between the payment instrument and the reader device. S. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as clause Q or R recites, wherein the identifier is determined by the reader device based at least in part on the interaction between the payment instrument and the reader device. T. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as any of clauses P-S recites, wherein the identifier comprises: a user-designated identifier; a private key; or a Universal 2ndFactor (U2F) identity credential derived from a U2F applet. While the example clauses described above are described with respect to one particular implementation, it should be understood that, in the context of this document, the content of the example clauses can also be implemented via a method, device, system, a computer-readable medium, and/or another implementation. Additionally, any of clauses A-T may be implemented alone or in combination with any other one or more of the clauses A-T. | 177,902 |
11861591 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following detailed description of example implementations refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements. A transaction card allows a user to make purchases without having to physically carry cash. As an added benefit, the transaction card may also allow the user to make purchases of a value exceeding a current value of cash in the user's bank account at a particular time. However, the transaction card also carries a risk that a malicious person may be able to fraudulently gain access to even larger quantities of money. As a deterrent against a malicious person seeking to engage in fraud, an exterior of the transaction card may include the user's name and signature block for verification purposes. When a malicious person attempts to make a purchase at a transaction terminal that is supervised by an employee of a merchant, the employee may request that the malicious person prove that his name and/or signature match that of the transaction card. For example, the employee may ask the malicious person to provide photo identification or write their signature on a piece of paper without looking at the signature on the transaction card. In a situation where the malicious person is unable to prove ownership of the transaction card, the employee may deny the attempted transaction and notify law enforcement, and the malicious person may be subject to punishment. However, not all transaction terminals are supervised by an employee, and not all employees seek verification of ownership of the transaction card. This may leave some transaction cards susceptible to fraud. While transaction card fraud causes a great deal of frustration for the user of the transaction card, it also wastes computing resources (e.g., processor, memory, or communication resources) and/or network resources to identify, investigate, and correct fraudulent charges. In particular, transaction card fraud wastes computing resources and/or network resources to provide reports of fraud to one or more devices, provide alerts of incidents of fraud to one or more devices, provide reimbursements and/or notifications of reimbursements to one or more devices, and/or the like. Some implementations described herein provide a wearable transaction device that has multiple security measures to prevent fraud. In some implementations, the wearable transaction device may include an electronic chip within a housing. The electronic chip may be configured to detect a connection with and receive security information from a user device. The security information may indicate one or more conditions for placing the wearable transaction device in a payment mode, which may allow one or more transactions, or a non-payment mode, which prevents any transaction. Based on whether the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode or the non-payment mode, the electronic chip may perform the one or more transactions. In some implementation, the housing may be attached to a fastener component to allow a user to attach the wearable transaction device to a body part or to apparel of the user. By having an electronic chip that prevents fraudulent transactions based upon detection of one or more conditions, the wearable transaction device goes beyond the deterrent system of a printed name and/or signature block of a transaction card and conserves computing resources and/or network resources that might otherwise be used to identify, investigate, and correct fraudulent charges. In particular, the wearable transaction device conserves computing resources and/or network resources that might otherwise be used to provide reports of fraud to one or more devices, conserves computing resources and/or network resources that might be used to provide alerts of incidents of fraud to one or more devices, conserves computing resources and/or network resources that might be used to provide reimbursements and/or notifications of reimbursements to one or more devices, and/or the like. Inclusion of a fastener component on the housing of the wearable transaction device also increases convenience for the user by allowing the user to wear the wearable transaction device on a body part or attach the wearable transaction device to apparel. FIGS.1A-1Dare diagrams of one or more example implementations of a wearable transaction device100described herein.FIG.1Ais a diagram showing a front view of the wearable transaction device100.FIG.1Bis a diagram showing a rear view of the wearable transaction device100.FIG.1Cis a diagram showing an isometric view of the wearable transaction device100.FIG.1Dis a diagram showing another isometric view of the wearable transaction device100. As shown inFIG.1A, the wearable transaction device100may include a housing105. The housing105may include a front surface110and a rear surface115opposed to the front surface110. The housing105may further include a first side surface120, a second side surface125, a third side surface130, and a fourth side surface135, which connect the front surface110to the rear surface115to define an interior of the housing105. In some implementations, the wearable transaction device100may further include a button140projecting from an exterior of the housing105. In some implementations, the wearable transaction device100may include no input component on the exterior of the housing105, including no button140. The front surface110may be monolithic with and define a single piece of material with at least one of the first side surface120, the second side surface125, the third side surface130, the fourth side surface135, or the rear surface115. The single piece of material may be a durable material, including metal, plastic, and/or the like. For example, the single piece of material may be aluminum. In some implementations, the single piece of material may be free from any through holes and define a solid, continuous surface. In some implementations, the housing105may include one or more additional pieces of material to complete the housing105and define the interior. The one or more additional pieces of material may each be a durable material (e.g., metal, plastic, and/or the like). The one or more additional pieces of material may be the same material as the single piece of material. For example, the housing105may be entirely made of aluminum. In some implementations, the one or more additional pieces of material may be different material from the single piece of material. For example, the housing105may be made of aluminum and steel. In some implementations, the front surface110may not be monolithic with the first side surface120, the second side surface125, the third side surface130, the fourth side surface, or the rear surface115. The housing105may include multiple pieces of material. The multiple pieces of material may be durable material, such as metal, plastic, and/or the like. In some implementations, the multiple pieces of material may be the same material. For example, the housing105may be made entirely of aluminum. In some implementations, the multiple pieces of material may be different material. For example, the housing105may be made of aluminum and steel or aluminum and plastic. While the front surface110and the rear surface115are each shown as having a substantially rectangular shape, the front surface110and/or the rear surface115may have a different shape, such as a circular shape, an oval shape, a triangular shape, and/or the like. Accordingly, the housing105may have a different number of side surfaces. In some implementations, the housing105may form a three-dimensional shape in the form of a sphere, a pyramid, a star, and/or the like. The housing105may be sized such that the front surface110, the rear surface115, the first side surface120, the second side surface125, the third side surface130, and the fourth side surface135each has an area less than 40 centimeters squared (cm2). In some implementations, the housing105may be sized such that the front surface110, the rear surface115, the first side surface120, the second side surface125, the third side surface130, and the fourth side surface135each has an area less than 8 cm2. In some implementations, the housing105may be sized such that the front surface110and the rear surface115each has an area less than 8 cm2, and the first side surface120, the second side surface125, the third side surface130, and the fourth side surface135each has an area less than 2 cm2. The wearable transaction device100may have a weight less than 100 grams (g). In some implementations, the weight may be less than 28 g. In some implementations, the weight may be less than 12 g. In some implementations, the weight may be less than 7 g. In some implementations, the weight may be between 3 g and 7 g. In some implementations, the weight may be between 4 g and 5 g. As shown inFIG.1B, in some implementations, the wearable transaction device100may include a fastener component145attached to and/or projecting from the rear surface115of the housing105. As shown inFIG.1C, the fastener component145may include a clamping arm150pivotably attached to the rear surface115of the housing105via a pivot mechanism155. The clamping arm150has a first end160and a second end165. The first end160of the clamping arm150is attached to the pivot mechanism155. The second end165of the clamping arm150includes a clamping protrusion170. Together, the fastener component145and the housing105may define a clip that may be opened and closed.FIG.1Cshows the fastener component145pivoted to an open position175.FIG.1Dshows the fastener component145pivoted to a closed position180. In the closed position180, the clamping protrusion170contacts the rear surface115of the housing105. To maintain the fastener component145in the closed position180, in some implementations, the pivot mechanism155may include a biasing element (e.g., a coil spring, a leaf spring, a torsional spring, and/or the like). In some implementations, the pivot mechanism155may include a metal projection that is adapted to complete a circuit in the interior of the housing105when the fastener component145is in the open position175or the closed position180. In some implementations, the pivot mechanism155may include a locking element to retain the fastener component145in the closed position180. In some implementations, the button140may be adapted to release the locking element and move the fastener component145from the closed position180to the open position175. In some implementations, the fastener component145may have a different structure. For example, the fastener component145may be a support arm fixedly attached to and/or projecting from the rear surface115of the housing105. The support arm may include a portion that extends substantially parallel to the rear surface115of the housing. The support arm and the housing105together may define a hook. In some implementations, the fastener component145may be a pin backing slidably and removably attached to a pin that projects from the rear surface115of the housing105. In an open position, the pin backing is directly attached to the pin. In a closed position, the pin backing is removed from the pin. In some implementations, the fastener component145may be a pin pivotably attached to the rear surface115of the housing105. In an open position, a tip of the pin is spaced away from the housing105. In a closed position, the tip of the pin is fixed to the housing105. In some implementations, the fastener component145may be attached to and/or project from the first side surface120, the second side surface125, the third side surface130, or the fourth side surface135. In some implementations, the wearable transaction device100may not include the fastener component145. The wearable transaction device100may be portable and/or handheld. In some implementations, each of the front surface110, the rear surface115, the first side surface120, the second side surface125, the third side surface130, and the fourth side surface135may be substantially smooth and free from any projections, protrusions, and/or the like. As indicated above,FIGS.1A-1Dare provided merely as one or more examples. Other examples are possible and may be different from what is described with regards toFIGS.1A-1D. FIGS.2A-2Care diagrams of one or more examples of use of the wearable transaction device100described herein. As shown inFIGS.2A-2C, the wearable transaction device100may be attached to a body part of a user or to a portion of apparel of the user. In some implementations, as is shown inFIG.2A, the wearable transaction device100may be attached to an ear205of a user via the fastener component145such that the wearable transaction device100is worn as an earring. In some implementations, when the fastener component145includes a clamping arm (e.g., the clamping arm150ofFIGS.1C-1D), the wearable transaction device100may be adapted to retain the ear205of the user between the clamping arm150and the housing105. In some implementations, when the fastener component145takes the form of a support arm fixedly attached to and/or projecting from the housing105, the wearable transaction device100may retain the ear205of the user between the support arm and the housing105. In some implementations, when the fastener component145takes the form of a pin backing slidably and removably attached to a pin that projects from the housing105, the wearable transaction device100may penetrate a piercing in the ear205of the user. In some implementations, when the fastener component145takes the form of a pin pivotably attached to the housing105, the wearable transaction device100may be adapted to penetrate the piercing of the ear205of the user. In some implementations, as is shown inFIG.2B, the wearable transaction device100may be attached to a shirt210of the user via the fastener component145. In some implementations, when the fastener component145includes a clamping arm (e.g., the clamping arm150ofFIGS.1C-1D), the wearable transaction device100may be adapted to retain a portion of the shirt210of the user between the clamping arm150and the housing105. In some implementations, when the fastener component145takes the form of a support arm fixedly attached to and/or projecting from the housing105, the wearable transaction device100may retain the portion of the shirt210between the support arm and the housing105. In some implementations, when the fastener component145takes the form of a pin backing slidably and removably attached to a pin that projects from the housing105, the wearable transaction device may penetrate the shirt210of the user. In some implementations, when the fastener component145takes the form of a pin pivotably attached to the housing105, the wearable transaction device100may penetrate the shirt210of the user. In some implementations, as is shown inFIG.2C, the wearable transaction device100may be attached to a shoe215of the user via the fastener component145. In some implementations, when the fastener component145includes a clamping arm (e.g., the clamping arm150ofFIGS.1C-1D), the wearable transaction device100may be adapted to retain a shoelace or another portion of the shoe215between the clamping arm150and the housing105. In some implementations, when the fastener component145takes the form of a support arm fixedly attached to and/or projecting from the housing105, the wearable transaction device100may retain the shoelace or the other portion of the shoe215between the support arm and the housing105. In some implementations, when the fastener component145takes the form of a pin backing slidably and removably attached to a pin that projects from the housing105, the wearable transaction device100may penetrate the shoe215of the user. In some implementations, when the fastener component145takes the form of a pin pivotably attached to the housing105, the wearable transaction device100may penetrate the shoe215of the user. In some implementations, when the wearable transaction device100does not include the fastener component145, the wearable transaction device100may be worn and/or carried by the user in a different manner. In some implementations, the wearable transaction device100may be worn in a pocket of the user. In some implementations, the wearable transaction device100may be carried in a purse, bag, and/or the like. As indicated above,FIGS.2A-2Care provided merely as examples. Other examples are possible and may be different from what is described with regards toFIGS.2A-2C. FIG.3is a diagram of one or more example implementations of internal components of the wearable transaction device ofFIGS.1A-1D. As shown inFIG.3, the housing105of the wearable transaction device100may enclose an electronic chip305and a near field communication (NFC) antenna310within the interior of the housing105. The electronic chip305may be an integrated circuit chip (e.g., an EMV chip). The NFC antenna310may be a conductive piece of metal that is arranged in a coil shape within the interior of the housing105. When the wearable transaction device100is within an electromagnetic field, the NFC antenna310may supply power to the electronic chip305and transmit information to make a transaction. In some implementations, the housing105may enclose a battery315, which may supply power to the electronic chip305. In some implementations, the battery315may selectively provide power to the electronic chip305. For example, the battery315may provide power to the electronic chip305when the button140is in a first position and not provide power to the electronic chip305when the button140is in a second position. The button140may be configured to be slid along the housing105or depressed towards the interior of the housing105to selectively place the wearable transaction device100in a power-on mode or a power-off mode. When the wearable transaction device100is in the power-on mode, the battery315may supply power to the electronic chip305. In some implementations, the battery315may assist the NFC antenna310in supplying power to the electronic chip305. When the wearable transaction device100is in the power-off mode, the battery315may be prevented from supplying power to the electronic chip305. In some implementations, the wearable transaction device100may include one or more sensors for sensing information. In some implementations, the one or more sensors may include an accelerometer to measure a rate of acceleration and/or deceleration of the wearable transaction device100. In some implementations, the one or more sensors may include a gyroscope to measure a rate of velocity of the wearable transaction device100. In some implementations, the one or more sensors may include a global positioning system (GPS) component to track a location of the wearable transaction device100. As indicated above,FIG.3is provided merely as an example. Other examples are possible and may be different from what is described with regards toFIG.3. FIGS.4A-4Eare diagrams of one or more example implementations400of the wearable transaction device100ofFIGS.1A-1D. With respect toFIGS.4A-4E, the wearable transaction device100will be described as performing various functions. In practice, however, the electronic chip305, possibly in combination with one or more additional internal components (e.g. the NFC antenna310, the battery315, and/or the like) of the wearable transaction device100, may perform one or more or all of the functions described as being performed by the wearable transaction device100. FIGS.4A-4Cillustrate one or more examples of the wearable transaction device100interacting with a user device402to configure the wearable transaction device100for operation.FIGS.4D-4Eillustrate one or more examples of the wearable transaction device100interacting with a point of sale (PoS) terminal to selectively perform a transaction. In the one or more examples ofFIGS.4A-4C, the wearable transaction device100and the user device402are both associated with a user. As shown inFIG.4A, the user device402may include an application404related to the wearable transaction device100. The application404, once opened by the user, may provide a user interface406that inquires whether the user wants to pair the user device402with the wearable transaction device100. If the user wants to pair the user device402with the wearable transaction device100, the user may select an option (e.g., “yes” and/or the like) and bring the wearable transaction device100into a range to permit the wearable transaction device100to communicate with the user device402via wireless communication. In some implementations, when the wearable transaction device100includes the battery315and/or the button140is positioned such that the wearable transaction device100is in the power-on mode, the wireless communication may be via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, and/or the like. In some implementations, when the wearable transaction device100does not include the battery315and/or the button140is positioned such that the wearable transaction device100is in the power-off mode, the wireless communication may be via NFC. Once the user positions the wearable transaction device100within the range of the user device402to permit the wireless communication, the wearable transaction device100and the user device402may cross-authenticate to establish a communication session, as shown by reference number408. Thus, the wearable transaction device100authenticates the user device402, and the user device402authenticates the wearable transaction device100. In some implementations, the wearable transaction device100and the user device402may perform a one-way authentication, where the user device402authenticates the wearable transaction device100and the wearable transaction device100does not authenticate the user device402, or vice versa. Once the wearable transaction device100and the user device402are paired, the application404may provide a notification410to the user that the wearable transaction device100has been authenticated as being associated with the user. In some implementations, and as shown by reference number412, the application404may allow the user to customize security information related to the wearable transaction device100or to complete activation of the wearable transaction device100. InFIG.4B, assume that the user utilizes the application404to customize the security information related to the wearable transaction device100. For security purposes, the application404may provide a user interface414that allows the user to control how the wearable transaction device100is to be used. For example, as shown inFIG.4B, the application404may allow the user to enter threshold values416of one or more conditions418related to use of the wearable transaction device100. If the wearable transaction device100is later used in such a way that does not satisfy one or more (or all) of the threshold values416, the wearable transaction device100may be placed in a payment mode. The payment mode may allow the wearable transaction device100to be used to perform a transaction. If, however, the wearable transaction device100is attempted to be used in such a way that satisfies one or more (or all) of the threshold values416, the wearable transaction device100may be placed in a non-payment mode. The non-payment mode may prevent the wearable transaction device100from being used to perform any transaction until the wearable transaction device100is re-paired with the user device402. In some implementations, the user may wish to control how many times the wearable transaction device100can be used to perform transactions without being re-paired with the user device402. In this case, the user may use the application404to input a quantity threshold value that indicates how many times the wearable transaction device100can be used to perform transactions without being re-paired with the user device402. When the wearable transaction device100is used to perform a number of transactions that satisfies the quantity threshold value, this may indicate that a malicious person has obtained the wearable transaction device100. Accordingly, the one or more conditions418may indicate the quantity threshold value. For example, as shown inFIG.4B, the user may input the quantity threshold value of three. Thus, the wearable transaction device100may be limited to performing three transactions (e.g., a purchase of a meal at a restaurant, a purchase of a ticket at a movie theater, and then a purchase of popcorn at the movie theater) while the wearable transaction device100is in the payment mode. After the third transaction is performed, the wearable transaction device100may be placed in the non-payment mode and may need to be re-paired with the user device402(e.g., as shown inFIG.4A) to be used to perform a further transaction. Additionally, or alternatively, the user may wish to control how much time the wearable transaction device100can remain in the payment mode and be able to perform transactions without being re-paired with the user device402. In this case, the user may use the application404to input a timing threshold value that indicates how much time the wearable transaction device100can remain in the payment mode and be able to perform transactions without being re-paired with the user device402. When the wearable transaction device100is used for an amount of time that satisfies the timing threshold value, this may make the wearable transaction device100susceptible to theft. Accordingly, the one or more conditions418may indicate the timing threshold value. For example, as shown inFIG.4B, the user may input the timing threshold value of 30 minutes. Thus, the wearable transaction device100may only be capable of performing transactions for 30 minutes while the wearable transaction device100is in the payment mode. After 30 minutes has passed, the wearable transaction device100may be placed in the non-payment mode and may need to be re-paired with the user device402(e.g. as shown inFIG.4A) to be used to perform a further transaction. Additionally, or alternatively, the user may wish to control how much money can be spent using the wearable transaction device100without being re-paired with the user device402. In this case, the user may use the application404to input a money threshold value that indicates how much money can be spent using the wearable transaction device100without the wearable transaction device100being re-paired with the user device402. When the wearable transaction device100is used to perform a transaction with a charge that satisfies the money threshold value, this may indicate that the wearable transaction device100has been obtained by a malicious person. Accordingly, the one or more conditions418may indicate the money threshold value. For example, as shown inFIG.4B, the user may input the money threshold value of $50. Thus, the wearable transaction device100may be limited to performing transactions having a maximum value of $50 while the wearable transaction device100is in the payment mode. If a transaction having a charge of more than $50 is attempted, the wearable transaction device100may be placed in the non-payment mode and may need to be re-paired with the user device402(e.g., as shown inFIG.4A) to be used to perform a further transaction. Additionally, or alternatively, the user may wish to control how long the wearable transaction device100can be in the payment mode while the wearable transaction device100remains stationary. In this case, the user may use the application404to input a stationary threshold value that indicates how long the wearable transaction device100can be in the payment mode while the wearable transaction device100remains stationary. When the wearable transaction device100remains stationary for an amount of time that satisfies the stationary threshold value (e.g., detectable using a sensor of the wearable transaction device100), this prolonged state of being stationary may indicate that the wearable transaction device100has been dropped and/or lost by the user. Accordingly, the one or more conditions418may indicate the stationary threshold value. For example, as shown inFIG.4B, the user may enter the stationary threshold value of 20 minutes. Thus, the wearable transaction device100may only be capable of performing transactions if the wearable transaction device100has remained stationary while in the payment mode for 20 minutes or less. After 20 minutes of being stationary has passed, the wearable transaction device100may be placed in the non-payment mode and may need to be re-paired with the user device402(e.g. as shown inFIG.4A) to be used to perform a further transaction. Additionally, or alternatively, the user may wish to control how many times the fastener component145can been opened or closed without re-pairing the wearable transaction device100with the user device402. In this case, the user may use the application404to input a fastener threshold value that indicates how many times the fastener component145can be opened or closed without re-pairing the wearable transaction device100with the user device402. When fastener component145has been opened or closed for a number of times that satisfies the fastener threshold value (e.g., detectable using a sensor or switch of the wearable transaction device100) while the wearable transaction device100is in the payment mode, this may indicate that the wearable transaction device100has been obtained by another person (e.g., if the other person found the wearable transaction device100and then re-opened the fastener component145to wear the wearable transaction device100on an article of clothing). Accordingly, the one or more conditions418may indicate the fastener threshold value. For example, as shown inFIG.4B, the user may select the fastener threshold value of two, since the fastener component145may only need to be opened once or twice for the user to wear the wearable transaction device100. Thus, the wearable transaction device100may be capable of performing transactions only if the fastener component145has been opened once or twice. If the fastener component145is opened a third time, the wearable transaction device100may be placed in the non-payment mode and may need to be re-paired with the user device402(e.g., as show inFIG.4A) to be used to perform a further transaction. In some implementations, the one or more conditions418may relate to one or more virtual credit card numbers to be used for transactions associated with the wearable transaction device100. For example, the application404may generate one or more virtual credit card numbers associated with respective one or more credit card accounts. Using the application404and in relation to the one or more virtual credit card numbers, the user may set a spending limit, set an expiration time and/or date, specify a single merchant that may receive payments, and/or the like. If the user is concerned about fraudulent use of the wearable transaction device100, the user may cancel and/or delete the one or more virtual credit card numbers without affecting the respective one or more credit card accounts or other card numbers of the user. In some implementations, the one or more conditions418may relate to one or more static credit card numbers associated with respective one or more credit card accounts. Additionally, or alternatively, the one or more conditions418may correlate the closed position180of the fastener component145with the non-payment mode. Accordingly, the wearable transaction device100may prevent transactions while the fastener component145is in the closed position180. For example, the wearable transaction device100may be capable of performing transactions only when the fastener component145is held in the open position175(e.g., when the wearable transaction device100is worn on a user or apparel of the user, as shown inFIGS.2A-2C). The conditions identified above for placing the wearable transaction device100in the non-payment mode are provided merely as examples. In practice, other conditions may additionally, or alternatively, be used. In some implementations, a single condition may be used. In some implementations, a combination of conditions may be used. When a combination of conditions is used, in some implementations, satisfaction of any one of the conditions may be used to place the wearable transaction device100in the non-payment mode. When a combination of conditions is used, in some implementations, satisfaction of two or more of the conditions may be used to place the wearable transaction device100in the non-payment mode. In some implementations, one or more conditions, similar to the conditions identified above, may be used for placing the wearable transaction device100in the payment mode. In some implementations, one or more conditions, different from the conditions identified above, may be used for placing the wearable transaction device100in the payment mode. While the above description indicated that the wearable transaction device100may be re-paired with the user device402to restore the wearable transaction device100to the payment mode after the wearable transaction device100is placed in the non-payment mode, this is intended as an example. As another example, the user may restore the wearable transaction device100to the payment mode by utilizing the wearable transaction device100in a certain manner to indicate ownership (e.g., to match a code previously set in the security information via the application404). As another example, the user may restore the wearable transaction device100to the payment mode by moving the wearable transaction device in a certain manner and/or pattern (e.g., detectable using a sensor of the wearable transaction device100). As another example, the user may restore the wearable transaction device100to the payment mode by moving the button140in a certain manner (e.g., turning the wearable transaction device100on and/or off a certain number of times). As another example, the user may restore the wearable transaction device100to the payment mode by moving the fastener component145in a certain manner (e.g., opening and/or closing the fastener component145a certain number of times). The user may restore the wearable transaction device100to the payment mode in yet other ways. After the user has completed entering the security information, the user device402may transmit the security information to the wearable transaction device100, as shown by reference number420inFIG.4B. The security information may be received by and stored in memory of the wearable transaction device100, and the security information may be accessible to the electronic chip305. The wearable transaction device100may notify the user device402that the security information has been successfully stored. The application404, of the user device402, may provide a notification422to the user that the security information has been updated. In some implementations, and as shown by reference number424, the application404may provide the user with an option to complete activation of the wearable transaction device100. InFIG.4C, assume that the user selects the option to complete activation of the wearable transaction device100. The application404may provide a user interface426that inquires whether the user wants to un-pair the user device402with the wearable transaction device100. If the user wants to un-pair the user device402with the wearable transaction device100, the user may select an option (e.g., “yes” and/or the like). After the user selects the option to un-pair the user device402with the wearable transaction device100, the user device402may send a signal to activate the wearable transaction device100and, as shown by reference number428, may terminate the communication session. Once the wearable transaction device100and the user device402are un-paired, the application404may provide a notification430to the user that the wearable transaction device100is in the active mode and therefore ready for use to perform transactions independent of the user device402and/or any other form of payment. Additionally, or alternatively, after the security information has been transmitted from the user device402to the wearable transaction device100, the user may terminate the communication session by bringing the wearable transaction device100out of the range that permits the wearable transaction device100to communicate with the user device402via the wireless communication. For example, if the wireless communication was via NFC, the user may separate the wearable transaction device100from the user device402by more than 10 cm. In some implementations, when the wireless communication was of a type that requires the battery315, the user may slide or depress the button140to place the wearable transaction device100in the power-off mode to terminate the communication session and preserve the battery315for future use. In some implementations, the user may close the application404and/or turn off the user device402to terminate the communication session. In some implementations, the application404may not allow the user to customize the security information related to use of the wearable transaction device100. Accordingly, the security information, which may indicate any or all of the conditions previously set forth, may be pre-programmed into the memory of the wearable transaction device100and accessible by the electronic chip305of the wearable transaction device100. After the wearable transaction device100is paired with the user device402, the user device402may send a signal to activate the wearable transaction device100and terminate the communication session. Once the wearable transaction device100is un-paired from the user device402, the wearable transaction device100may be ready for use to perform transactions independent of the user device402and/or any other form of payment. In some implementations (e.g., as indicated by reference number412inFIG.4A), the application404may provide the user with an option to accept default settings of the security information or to customize the security information according to personal preference. In some implementations, the default settings, which may indicate any or all of the conditions previously set forth, may be pre-programmed into the memory of the wearable transaction device100. In some implementations, when the user chooses to accept the default settings of the security information, the user device402may send a signal to the wearable transaction device100to use the default settings of the security information stored within the memory. After the user device402sends the signal related to the default settings, the user device402may send a signal to activate the wearable transaction device100and terminate the communication session. Once the wearable transaction device100is un-paired from the user device402, the wearable transaction device100may be ready for use to perform transactions independent of the user device402and/or any other form of payment. In some implementations, when the user chooses to accept the default settings of the security information, the user device402may transmit the security information to the wearable transaction device100. The security information may be received by and stored in the memory of the wearable transaction device100, and the security information may be accessible to the electronic chip305. Once the security information is stored in the memory, the user device402may send a signal to activate the wearable transaction device100and terminate the communication session. After the wearable transaction device100is un-paired from the user device402, the wearable transaction device100may be ready for use to perform transactions independent of the user device402and/or any other form of payment. Once the wearable transaction device100is ready to be used to perform transactions, as illustrated in connection withFIGS.4D-4E, the wearable transaction device100may interact with a PoS terminal432to selectively perform a transaction. The PoS terminal432may be associated with a merchant (e.g., a restaurant, a store, and/or the like). As shown inFIG.4D, when the user places the wearable transaction device100within a range that permits NFC with the PoS terminal432, the PoS terminal432may request a first transaction (e.g., payment of $100 in exchange for a concert ticket), as shown by reference number434. Before performing the first transaction, the wearable transaction device100may determine, as shown by reference number436and based on the security information stored within the memory, that the wearable transaction device100is in the payment mode. For example, the security information may indicate a combination of conditions, which needs to be satisfied, that indicate a money threshold value of $50 and a quantity threshold value of 2. While the first transaction satisfies the money threshold value, the first transaction does not satisfy the quantity threshold value. Because the first transaction does not satisfy both conditions, the wearable transaction device100remains in the payment mode. Therefore, the wearable transaction device100may perform the first transaction, as shown by reference number438, and transfer $100 to the merchant, via the PoS terminal432. For example, after the user positions the wearable transaction device100close enough to the PoS terminal432to perform the first transaction, the PoS terminal432transmits transaction information to a processor, and then through a card network to an issuing bank for approval. Once approved, the issuing bank transfers the $100 from an account of the user to an account of the merchant. As another example, the security information may indicate that only a single condition of the combination of conditions needs to be satisfied in order to place the wearable transaction device100in the non-payment mode. In this case, because the first transaction satisfies the money threshold value of $50, the wearable transaction device100may instead determine that the wearable transaction device100is to transition to the non-payment mode. As described below in connection withFIG.4E, the wearable transaction device100may therefore deny the first transaction. As shown inFIG.4E, in another example, when the user places the wearable transaction device100within the range that permits NFC with the PoS terminal432, the PoS terminal432may request a second transaction (e.g., payment of $500 in exchange for multiple items of apparel), as shown by reference number440, after the wearable transaction device100performed the first transaction (e.g., as shown by reference number438inFIG.4D). Before performing the second transaction, the wearable transaction device100may determine, as shown by reference number442and based on the security information stored within the memory, that the wearable transaction device100is in the non-payment mode. For example, the security information may indicate the combination of conditions that indicate the money threshold value of $50 and the quantity threshold value of 2. Because the second transaction satisfies both the money threshold value and the quantity threshold value, the wearable transaction device100is placed in the non-payment mode. Therefore, the wearable transaction device100may deny the second transaction, as shown by reference number444. As another example, the security information may indicate that only a single condition of the combination of conditions needs to be satisfied in order to place the wearable transaction device100in the non-payment mode. In this case, because the second transaction satisfies the money threshold value of $50, the wearable transaction device100may again determine that the wearable transaction device100is to transition to the non-payment mode. Accordingly, in either example involving the second transaction, the wearable transaction device100may deny the second transaction. After denial of a transaction, in some implementations, the wearable transaction device100may be configured to send a message to the user device402and/or another device (e.g., a merchant device, such as the PoS terminal432, a law enforcement device, and/or the like) to indicate that the wearable transaction device100is in the non-payment mode and that a transaction was attempted and/or denied. The message may provide additional details of the attempted transaction, including a location of the PoS terminal432, one or more threshold values416satisfied, and/or the like. The user may re-pair the wearable transaction device100with the user device402to change the wearable transaction device100from the non-payment mode to the payment mode and reattempt the second transaction. As indicated above,FIGS.4A-4Eare provided merely as examples. Other examples are possible and may be different from what is described with regards toFIGS.4A-4E. FIG.5is a diagram of an example environment500in which systems and/or methods, described herein, may be implemented. As shown inFIG.5, environment500may include a user device510, a network520, a PoS device530, and a wearable transaction device540. Devices of environment500may interconnect via wired connections, wireless connections, or a combination of wired and wireless connections. User device510includes one or more devices capable of receiving, generating, storing, processing, and/or providing information, such as information described herein. For example, user device510may include a computer (e.g., a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a handheld computer, a server device, etc.), a mobile phone (e.g., a smart phone, a radiotelephone, etc.), an internet of things (IoT) device or smart appliance, or a similar device. In some implementations, user device510may receive information from and/or transmit information to PoS device530and/or wearable transaction device540. Network520includes one or more wired and/or wireless networks. For example, network520may include a cellular network (e.g., a fifth generation (5G) network, a long-term evolution (LTE) network, a third generation (3G) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, etc.), a public land mobile network (PLMN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a telephone network (e.g., the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)), a private network, an ad hoc network, an intranet, the Internet, a fiber optic-based network, and/or the like, and/or a combination of these or other types of networks. PoS device530includes a device that conducts and completes a transaction. For example, PoS device530may include a POS terminal, such as the PoS terminal432shown inFIGS.4D-4E. PoS device530may calculate an amount owed by a customer, may indicate the amount, may prepare an invoice for the customer, and may indicate options for the customer to make a payment. PoS device530may be a point at which a customer makes a payment to a merchant in exchange for goods or services. After receiving payment, PoS device530may issue a printed or electronic receipt for the transaction. Wearable transaction device540includes a device that is worn by a user (e.g., attached to an ear), carried by the user (e.g., in a pocket), attached to an item of apparel of the user (e.g., a shoe), and/or the like. For example, wearable transaction device540may include a wearable transaction device, such as the wearable transaction device100shown inFIGS.1A-1D. In some implementations, wearable transaction device540may include a housing, a fastener component (e.g., a clamping arm, a pin backing, a pin, and/or the like) attached to the housing, and an electronic chip within the housing. In some implementations, wearable transaction device540may perform transactions based on one or more conditions of security information, as described above. The number and arrangement of devices and networks shown inFIG.5are provided as one or more examples. In practice, there may be additional devices and/or networks, fewer devices and/or networks, different devices and/or networks, or differently arranged devices and/or networks than those shown inFIG.5. Furthermore, two or more devices shown inFIG.5may be implemented within a single device, or a single device shown inFIG.5may be implemented as multiple, distributed devices. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of devices (e.g., one or more devices) of environment500may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of devices of environment500. FIG.6is a diagram of example components of a device600. Device600may correspond to user device510, PoS device530, and/or wearable transaction device540. In some implementations, user device510, PoS device530, and/or wearable transaction device540may include one or more devices600and/or one or more components of device600. As shown inFIG.3, device600may include a bus610, a processor620, a memory630, a storage component640, an input component650, an output component660, and a communication interface670. Bus610includes a component that permits communication among multiple components of device600. Processor620is implemented in hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. Processor620is a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or another type of processing component. In some implementations, processor620includes one or more processors capable of being programmed to perform a function. In some implementations, processor620may correspond to electronic chip305inFIG.3. Memory630includes a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and/or another type of dynamic or static storage device (e.g., a flash memory, a magnetic memory, and/or an optical memory) that stores information and/or instructions for use by processor620. Storage component640stores information and/or software related to the operation and use of device600. For example, storage component640may include a hard disk (e.g., a magnetic disk, an optical disk, and/or a magneto-optic disk), a solid state drive (SSD), a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a floppy disk, a cartridge, a magnetic tape, and/or another type of non-transitory computer-readable medium, along with a corresponding drive. Input component650includes a component that permits device600to receive information, such as via user input (e.g., a touch screen display, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a button, a switch, and/or a microphone). Additionally, or alternatively, input component650may include a component for determining location (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) component) and/or a sensor (e.g., an accelerometer, a gyroscope, an actuator, another type of positional or environmental sensor, and/or the like). Output component660includes a component that provides output information from device600(via, e.g., a display, a speaker, a haptic feedback component, an audio or visual indicator, and/or the like). Communication interface670includes a transceiver-like component (e.g., a transceiver, a separate receiver, a separate transmitter, and/or the like) that enables device600to communicate with other devices, such as via a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of wired and wireless connections. Communication interface670may permit device600to receive information from another device and/or provide information to another device. For example, communication interface670may include an Ethernet interface, an optical interface, a coaxial interface, an infrared interface, a radio frequency (RF) interface, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a Wi-Fi interface, a cellular network interface, and/or the like. Device600may perform one or more processes described herein. Device600may perform these processes based on processor620executing software instructions stored by a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as memory630and/or storage component640. As used herein, the term “computer-readable medium” refers to a non-transitory memory device. A memory device includes memory space within a single physical storage device or memory space spread across multiple physical storage devices. Software instructions may be read into memory630and/or storage component640from another computer-readable medium or from another device via communication interface670. When executed, software instructions stored in memory630and/or storage component640may cause processor620to perform one or more processes described herein. Additionally, or alternatively, hardware circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to perform one or more processes described herein. Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software. The number and arrangement of components shown inFIG.6are provided as an example. In practice, device600may include additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown inFIG.6. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of components (e.g., one or more components) of device600may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components of device600. FIG.7is a flow chart of an example process700for performing a transaction. In some implementations, one or more process blocks ofFIG.7may be performed by a wearable transaction device (e.g., wearable transaction device100, wearable transaction device540, and/or the like). In some implementations, one or more process blocks ofFIG.7may be performed by another device or a group of devices separate from or including the wearable transaction device, such as a user device (e.g., user device402, user device510, and/or the like) and/or a PoS device (e.g., PoS terminal432, PoS device530, and/or the like), and/or the like. As shown inFIG.7, process700may include detecting a connection with a user device (block710). For example, the wearable transaction device (e.g., using electronic chip305, NFC antenna310, processor620, memory630, storage component640, input component650, output component660, communication interface670and/or the like) may detect a connection with a user device, as described above. As further shown inFIG.7, process700may include receiving, from the user device and via the connection, security information for operating the wearable transaction device, the security information indicating one or more conditions for placing the wearable transaction device in a payment mode or a non-payment mode, the payment mode allowing the wearable transaction device to be used to perform a transaction, and the non-payment mode preventing the wearable transaction device from being used to perform any transaction (block720). For example, the wearable transaction device (e.g., using electronic chip305, NFC antenna310, processor620, memory630, storage component640, input component650, output component660, communication interface670and/or the like) may receive, from the user device and via the connection, security information for operating the wearable transaction device, as described above. In some implementations, the security information may indicate one or more conditions for placing the wearable transaction device in a payment mode or a non-payment mode. In some implementations, the payment mode may allow the wearable transaction device to be used to perform a transaction and the non-payment mode preventing the wearable transaction device from being used to perform any transaction. As further shown inFIG.7, process700may include receiving a request to perform the transaction (block730). For example, the wearable transaction device (e.g., using electronic chip305, NFC antenna310, processor620, memory630, storage component640, input component650, output component660, communication interface670and/or the like) may receive a request to perform the transaction, as described above. As further shown inFIG.7, process700may include determining, based on the security information, whether the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode or the non-payment mode (block740). For example, the wearable transaction device (e.g., using electronic chip305, NFC antenna310, processor620, memory630, storage component640, input component650, output component660, communication interface670and/or the like) may determine, based on the security information, whether the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode or the non-payment mode, as described above. As further shown inFIG.7, process700may include selectively performing the transaction based on whether the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode or the non-payment mode (block750). For example, the wearable transaction device (e.g., using electronic chip305, NFC antenna310, processor620, memory630, storage component640, input component650, output component660, communication interface670and/or the like) may selectively perform the transaction based on whether the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode or the non-payment mode, as described above. Process700may include additional implementations, such as any single implementation or any combination of implementations described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein. In a first implementation, the wearable transaction device may comprise a housing having a front surface, a rear surface, and a side surface, where the front surface may be monolithic with the side surface; a fastener component attached to the rear surface of the housing, where the fastener component may be movable being an open position and a closed position to facilitate attaching the wearable transaction device to a user or apparel of the user; and an electronic chip enclosed within an interior of the housing, where the electronic chip may be configured to perform one or more of the blocks of process700. In a second implementation, alone or in combination with the first implementation, the front surface, the rear surface, and the side surface may each have an area of less than 40 cm2. In a third implementation, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second implementations, the fastener component may comprise one of: a clamping arm pivotably attached to the rear surface of the housing, a pin backing slidably attached to a pin that projects from the rear surface of the housing, or a pin pivotably attached to the rear surface of the housing. In a fourth implementation, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third implementations, the electronic chip may be an integrated circuit chip. In some implementations, the wearable transaction device may further comprise an antenna enclosed within the interior of the housing to supply power to the electronic chip when the wearable transaction device is within an electromagnetic field, and a battery enclosed within the interior of the housing to assist the antenna in supplying power to the electronic chip. In a fifth implementation, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth implementations, the one or more conditions may indicate a threshold number of transactions that can be made while the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode. In some implementations, process700, when determining whether the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode or the non-payment mode, may include detecting whether the threshold number has been satisfied to place the wearable transaction device in the non-payment mode. In a sixth implementation, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth implementations, the one or more conditions may be associated with whether the fastener component is in the open position or the closed position. In some implementations, process700, when determining whether the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode or the non-payment mode, may include detecting whether the fastener component is in the open position or the closed position to place the wearable transaction device in the non-payment mode. In a seventh implementation, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth implementations, the one or more conditions may indicate a threshold number of times the fastener component can be in the open position or the closed position while the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode. In some implementations, process700, when determining whether the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode or the non-payment mode, may include detecting whether the threshold number has been satisfied to place the wearable transaction device in the non-payment mode. In an eighth implementation, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh implementations, the wearable transaction device may comprise a housing having a front surface, a rear surface, and a side surface, where the front surface, the rear surface, and the side surface each may have an area less than 40 cm2; a fastener component projecting from the housing, where the fastener component may be adapted to attach the wearable transaction device to a user or apparel of the user; and an electronic chip secured within the housing, where the electronic chip may be configured to perform one or more of the blocks of process700. In a ninth implementation, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth implementations, the one or more conditions may indicate a threshold amount of time that the wearable transaction device can remain in the payment mode. In some implementations, process700, when determining whether the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode or the non-payment mode, may include detecting whether the threshold amount of time has been satisfied to place the wearable transaction device in the non-payment mode. In a tenth implementation, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth implementations, the one or more conditions may indicate a threshold amount of money that can be transferred while the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode. In some implementations, process700, when determining whether the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode or the non-payment mode, may include detecting whether the threshold amount of money has been satisfied to place the wearable transaction device in the non-payment mode. In an eleventh implementation, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth implementations, the security information may include one or more virtual credit card numbers to be used for transactions associated with the wearable transaction device. In a twelfth implementation, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh implementations, the one or more conditions may indicate a threshold amount of time the wearable transaction device can remain stationary while the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode. In some implementations, process700, when determining whether the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode or the non-payment mode, may include detecting whether the threshold amount of time has been satisfied to place the wearable transaction device in the non-payment mode. In a thirteenth implementation, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twelfth implementations, the fastener component may be a clamp arm pivotably movable between an open position and a closed position. In some implementations, the one or more conditions may indicate a threshold number of times the clamp arm can be in the open position or the closed position while the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode. In some implementations, process700, when determining whether the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode or the non-payment mode, may include detecting whether the threshold number has been satisfied to place the wearable transaction device in the non-payment mode. In a fourteenth implementation, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirteenth implementations, the wearable transaction device may comprise a button movably attached to the housing, where the button may selectively permit power to be provided to the electronic chip. AlthoughFIG.7shows example blocks of process700, in some implementations, process700may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted inFIG.7. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process700may be performed in parallel. FIG.8is a flow chart of an example process800for performing a transaction. In some implementations, one or more process blocks ofFIG.8may be performed by wearable transaction device (e.g., wearable transaction device100, wearable transaction device540, and/or the like). In some implementations, one or more process blocks ofFIG.8may be performed by another device or a group of devices separate from or including the wearable transaction device, such as a user device (e.g., user device402, user device510, and/or the like), a PoS device (e.g., PoS terminal432, PoS device530, and/or the like), and/or the like. In some implementations, the wearable transaction device540may include a fastener component that is movable between an open position and a closed position. As shown inFIG.8, process800may include detecting a connection with a user device (block810). For example, the wearable transaction device (e.g., using electronic chip305, NFC antenna310, processor620, memory630, storage component640, input component650, output component660, communication interface670and/or the like) may detect a connection with a user device, as described above. As further shown inFIG.8, process800may include receiving, from the user device and via the connection, security information for operating the wearable transaction device, the security information correlating a condition associated with the fastener component to an operating mode of the wearable transaction device, the condition relating to the open position or the closed position of the fastener component, the operating mode including a payment mode or a non-payment mode, the payment mode allowing the wearable transaction device to be used to perform a transaction and the non-payment mode preventing the wearable transaction device from being used to perform any transaction (block820). For example, the wearable transaction device (e.g., using electronic chip305, NFC antenna310, processor620, memory630, storage component640, input component650, output component660, communication interface670and/or the like) may receive, from the user device and via the connection, security information for operating the wearable transaction device, as described above. In some implementations, the security information may correlate a condition associated with the fastener component to an operating mode of the wearable transaction device. In some implementations, the condition may relate to the open position or the closed position of the fastener component. In some implementations, the operating mode may include a payment mode or a non-payment mode, where the payment mode may allow the wearable transaction device to be used to perform a transaction and the non-payment mode may prevent the wearable transaction device from being used to perform any transaction. As further shown inFIG.8, process800may include receiving a request for the transaction (block830). For example, the wearable transaction device (e.g., using electronic chip305, NFC antenna310, processor620, memory630, storage component640, input component650, output component660, communication interface670and/or the like) may receive a request for the transaction, as described above. As further shown inFIG.8, process800may include determining the condition associated with the fastener component (block840). For example, the wearable transaction device (e.g., using electronic chip305, NFC antenna310, processor620, memory630, storage component640, input component650, output component660, communication interface670and/or the like) may determine the condition associated with the fastener component, as described above. As further shown inFIG.8, process800may include determining, based on the condition associated with the fastener component and the security information, whether the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode or the non-payment mode (block850). For example, the wearable transaction device (e.g., using electronic chip305, NFC antenna310, processor620, memory630, storage component640, input component650, output component660, communication interface670and/or the like) may determine, based on the condition associated with the fastener component and the security information, whether the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode or the non-payment mode, as described above. As further shown inFIG.8, process800may include selectively perform the transaction based on whether the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode or the non-payment mode (block860). For example, the wearable transaction device (e.g., using electronic chip305, NFC antenna310, processor620, memory630, storage component640, input component650, output component660, communication interface670and/or the like) may selectively perform the transaction based on whether the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode or the non-payment mode, as described above. Process800may include additional implementations, such as any single implementation or any combination of implementations described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein. In a first implementation, the wearable transaction device may comprise a housing defining an interior; a fastener component attached to the housing, where the fastener component may be movable between an open position and a closed position to facilitate attaching the wearable transaction device to a user or apparel of the user; and an electronic chip enclosed within the interior of the housing, where the electronic chip may be configured to perform one or more blocks of process800. In a second implementation, alone or in combination with the first implementation, the fastener component may include a clamping arm pivotably movable between the open position and the closed position. In some implementations, the housing and the fastener component together may define a clip, where the clip may be adapted to retain a body part of the user or a portion of the apparel of the user between the clamping arm and the housing. In a third implementation, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second implementations, the fastener component may comprise one of a clamping arm pivotably attached to the housing, a pin backing slidably attached to a pin that projects from the housing, or a pin pivotably attached to the housing. In a fourth implementation, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third implementations, the open position of the fastener component may correspond to the payment mode, and the closed position of the fastener component may correspond to the non-payment mode. In a fifth implementation, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth implementations, the condition may indicate a threshold number of times the fastener component can be in the open position or the closed position while the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode. In some implementations, process800, when determining whether the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode or the non-payment mode, may include detecting whether the threshold number has been satisfied to place the wearable transaction device in the non-payment mode. In a sixth implementation, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth implementations, the security information may indicate one or more of a threshold number of transactions that can be made while the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode, a threshold amount of time that the wearable transaction device can remain in the payment mode, a threshold amount of money that can be transferred while the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode, or a threshold amount of time that the wearable transaction device can remain stationary while the wearable transaction device is in the payment mode. AlthoughFIG.8shows example blocks of process800, in some implementations, process800may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted inFIG.8. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process800may be performed in parallel. The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations. As used herein, the term “component” is intended to be broadly construed as hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. Some implementations are described herein in connection with thresholds. As used herein, satisfying a threshold may, depending on the context, refer to a value being greater than the threshold, more than the threshold, higher than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, fewer than the threshold, lower than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, or the like. Certain user interfaces have been described herein and/or shown in the figures. A user interface may include a graphical user interface, a non-graphical user interface, a text-based user interface, and/or the like. A user interface may provide information for display. In some implementations, a user may interact with the information, such as by providing input via an input component of a device that provides the user interface for display. In some implementations, a user interface may be configurable by a device and/or a user (e.g., a user may change the size of the user interface, information provided via the user interface, a position of information provided via the user interface, etc.). Additionally, or alternatively, a user interface may be pre-configured to a standard configuration, a specific configuration based on a type of device on which the user interface is displayed, and/or a set of configurations based on capabilities and/or specifications associated with a device on which the user interface is displayed. It will be apparent that systems and/or methods described herein may be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and/or methods is not limiting of the implementations. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and/or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code—it being understood that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems and/or methods based on the description herein. Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various implementations. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of various implementations includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set. No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Further, as used herein, the article “the” is intended to include one or more items referenced in connection with the article “the” and may be used interchangeably with “the one or more.” Furthermore, as used herein, the term “set” is intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, a combination of related and unrelated items, etc.), and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Where only one item is intended, the phrase “only one” or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be inclusive when used in a series and may be used interchangeably with “and/or,” unless explicitly stated otherwise (e.g., if used in combination with “either” or “only one of”). | 77,573 |
11861592 | DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The present inventive concept relates to a method, apparatus, and computer readable storage medium to implement providing a user with an instant credit card and thereafter associating the instant credit card with a real, physical credit card associated with the same account. A user (e.g., a consumer) can apply for a virtual card (e.g., a virtual credit card, virtual debit card, etc.) anywhere (e.g., in line at a checkout counter, at home, using a mobile device at any location, etc.). The virtual card can be used just as if it were a real card (e.g., physical credit card, debit card, etc.). The only difference is that the virtual card cannot be swiped since it does not really exist. Instead, the virtual card would have a card number, just as any physical card number would, which can be typed into a computer (or other credit card processor) and used in that manner. The virtual card can be displayed on a personal computing device using an app. A physical card can be mailed (or otherwise delivered) to the user so ultimately the user can use either the physical card or the virtual card to make transactions. FIG.1is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method for providing an instantaneous virtual card and associating it with a physical card, according to an embodiment. The method can begin with operation100, in which a user applies for an instant card. The instant card can be a number of different types of cards, such as a credit card, a debit card, a stored value card, a bitcoin card, or any other such paradigm. Note that as used herein, when the card is a credit card then physical card refers to a physical credit card and virtual card refers to a virtual credit card. When the card is a debit card then physical card refers to a physical debit card and virtual card refers to virtual debit card. When the card is a stored value card then physical card refers to a physical stored value card and virtual card refers to a virtual stored value card. When the card is a bitcoin card, then physical card refers to a physical bitcoin card and virtual card refers to a virtual bitcoin card. “Card” used by itself can refer to both a physical and virtual card. A credit card can be a VISA®, MASTERCARD®, AMERICAN EXPRESS®, DISCOVER®, or a card which can be accepted at millions of locations worldwide. A transaction with such a card is charged against a credit account owned by the user to which the user should pay off (either immediately or over time along with an interest surcharge). A debit card is a card in which is associated with a bank account and can also be associated with VISA®, MASTERCARD®, etc., but the money actually is debited out of the user's bank account and no credit is used. A processor would process the transaction using the VISA® or MASTERCARD® infrastructure but instead of the amount being further processed by a credit card the amount is processed by the user's bank (issuer of the debit card) to deduct the respective amount. A stored value card actually stores any value on the card itself Examples of stored value cards are transit system fare-cards, cafeteria cards, etc. Since the value is stored on the card itself, there is no need for a remote server to query in order to check on the value of the card. Data representing the value on a stored value card would be encrypted and stored on the stored value card. A virtual stored value card would store the same data that would be stored on a physical stored value card but on a computer memory (e.g., flash memory on a mobile phone) where it can be transmitted to a stored value card reader. A bitcoin card is a card that operates like a VISA®, MASTERCARD®, etc., but the funds are paid from a bitcoin account that is funded in bitcoins. Bitcoins are a well-known cryptocurrency. In this manner, charges made by the card are not paid for in dollars but are taken in bitcoins from the user's account (which can be a bit coin wallet). When a charge is made, the amount bitcoins equivalent to the charge would be automatically sold in order to fund the charge made. In operation100, the application for a card (actually an account which will issue a virtual card instantly and a physical card in the near future (such as in 24 hours the physical card can be mailed) can be done in a number of ways. For example, the user can use an internet-connected home computer (or personal computing device such as a cell phone, tablet, smart watch, etc.) and apply online (either using the World Wide Web or using an app). The user can also be at a retail establishment and the cashier can fill out an application for the user (by asking for the user's application information and entering application information into a terminal). The application information is information needed to process the application and render a decision, which comprises the user's name, address, social security number, employer, annual salary, etc. Note that different types of cards may have a different application process. For example, different types of cards may require different information in the application. A credit card application would require the user to enter his/her income, while a debit card application would typically not need this information. From operation100, the method proceeds to operation101, which processes the application by a processing server. The application information is transmitted to the processing server which retrieves respective information from one or more databases and evaluates the information and renders a decision whether to approve or deny the application. Each different type of card would have a different evaluation process. For example, if the card being applied for is a credit card, then the user's credit worthiness is evaluated. The processing of the evaluation for a virtual credit card takes a number of data points and uses a weighted average to determine whether or not to approve the credit application. For example, factors such as the user's current salary, current credit score, age, etc., can all be put into a formula which takes a weighted average of each factor and then, if the final result is above a particular threshold, the application is approved otherwise it is denied. Or as another example, if certain factors all meet minimum requirements, then the application is approved otherwise the application is denied. For example, an application must have a credit score of at least 700 and a current income of at least 50,000 and if both of these factors are met then the application is approved, otherwise the application is denied. In addition to an approval/denial, the processing server also determines how much of a credit limit to grant to the user. This can be determined also by a formula. For example, the credit limit can be $1,000+(current income>30,000)*10% with a cap of $10,000. In other words, the minimum credit limit that a user can get is $1,000, a maximum credit limit that a user can get is $10,000 and for every dollar in income the user makes in excess of 30,000 (e.g., user's current income—30,000) the credit line will be increased by $0.10 (i.e., ten cents). So, a user who makes $50,000 will be given a credit line of $1,000+(50,000−30,000)*0.10=$3,000. If the card being applied for is a debit card, then the processing server would evaluate whether the user has a valid and funded bank account to which the virtual debit card can draw from. If the card being applied for is a bitcoin card, then the processing server would evaluate whether the user has an active bitcoin wallet with a minimum value of bitcoins (e.g., $5.00). In operation102, if the application is denied, then the method proceeds to operation104, which rejects the application by presenting the player with a message that his/her application was denied and then the method ends. If in operation102, the application is approved, then the method proceeds to operation103, which issues to the player a virtual card (seeFIG.2and its accompanying description). The user's personal computing device (e.g., mobile phone, personal computer, tablet, smart watch, etc.) would receive the approval from processing server. The processing server would transmit to the user's computing device all information needed regarding the new virtual card, including such things like the bank name, card number (e.g., credit card number or debit card number), expiration date, CVV number, and any other relevant information. An app can be running on the user's computing device which can “construct” a virtual card (seeFIG.3). If the virtual card is a virtual credit card, it can now be used like a regular credit card (e.g., it can be a VISA® or MASTERCARD® or other such classification). While the virtual card cannot be swiped because it does not physically exist, nevertheless the credit card number on the virtual card can be used for purchases like any other physical card. They can be typed into order forms, credit card machines, etc., along with the expiration date (and optionally the CVV number) and the transaction will be processed as if the virtual card was a normal card. The virtual credit card can thus be used at many different merchants (e.g., anywhere VISA®/MASTERCARD® is accepted) and is not limited to being used at a particular store or chain of stores. Compare this to a store card, for example in which one can go to a merchant Acme Tools and apply for an in-store credit account and can receive an Acme Tools credit card subsequently in the mail. However, this Acme Tools credit card can only be used at Acme Tools stores and no other merchant (it is not a VISA® or MASTERCARD®). If the card is a virtual debit card, it can be used as if it was any standard credit card (accepted wherever VISA®, MASTERCARD®, DISCOVER®, etc. are accepted). The user can present the number on the card (or an app displaying the card) and the card shown can also be used like any credit card (by typing in the number) but the money for each charge is deducted from the user's bank account (as opposed to being applied to a credit account as in the case of a credit card). If the card is a virtual stored value card, then it can be used as if it was any stored value card. Stored value cards can encrypt information on the card which designated how much value is on the card. Using an app in place of a stored value card would work similarly, but the app would receive (e.g., via a communication device such as Bluetooth, etc.) communications from a stored value kiosk which records the data from the kiosk and can transmit such data when the user wishes to present the virtual stored value card for payment. The app would receive, store, and transmit, and data that would have been stored on a physical stored value card. If the card is a bitcoin card, then the virtual bitcoin card could be used as any virtual credit card (e.g., by presenting the card number which can be entered into a computer) which functions like a physical bitcoin card (in which the funds are taken from the user's bitcoin wallet). From operation103, the method proceeds to operation105, which issues a physical card to the user. The physical card will have printed on it the same information as the virtual card (e.g., number, name, expiration date, CVV number, etc.) and can be mailed to the user. The physical card can look identical in appearance to how the virtual card would be displayed on the personal computing device. From operation105, the method proceeds to operation106, which associates the virtual card to the physical card. The user can activate the physical card in numerous ways, such as calling a number to confirm the card was received, going to a web site and answering security questions, etc. The account that maintains the virtual card will be updated to reflect that the physical card was mailed to the user and activated. Thus, the virtual card and the physical card will both be linked to the same account. Whether the virtual card or the physical card is used would not matter as the debits would be processed by the same account. Only one statement would be mailed (or transmitted electronically) to the user which would contain transactions from both the physical card and the virtual card. Thus, the virtual version of the physical card will have the same functionality of the physical card (with the exception that the virtual card cannot be swiped) and the virtual and physical cards can be used interchangeably with no difference in effect. FIG.2is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of installing a virtual card on a mobile device, according to an embodiment. This is performed during operation103inFIG.1. In operation200, an app that is running on a user's personal computing device is downloaded. This app allows the receiving of encrypted information from the processing server and enables the virtual card to be displayed on the computing device (seeFIG.3). In operation201, the processing server will utilize the application information received from the user (e.g., the user's name, address, social security number, etc.) to generate a new record for a new virtual card. From operation201, the method proceeds to operation202, wherein the processing server will generate a new and unique card number. This is the number that is used when a charge is made to identify the card and is printed on physical cards themselves. For example, in the case of a credit card, the unique card number is the credit card number that is typically printed on the face of the physical credit card (and also displayed on the virtual credit card as well). The processing server can also generate a CVV code (a three-digit code which can be required during a transaction as an extra level of security), an expiration date, and any other data which is needed to generate a new physical card. Different types of cards would require different types of attributes (for example, a stored value card may not need a CVV code). From operation202, the method proceeds to operation203, which transmits the unique card number generated in operation202to the app running on the mobile device. The app can then use this information and generate an image of the virtual card on the mobile device (SeeFIG.3). FIG.3is a drawing of a virtual card on a mobile device, according to an embodiment. A personal computing device300(in this case a tablet) is running an app which displays an image of a virtual credit card. The image will look like a standard credit card, complete with bank logo, credit card number, expiration date, etc. WhileFIG.3shows an example of a virtual credit card, the other types of cards (e.g., debit card, stored value card, bitcoin card, etc.) would be displayed and utilized similarly. WhileFIG.3displays a virtual credit card, a virtual debit card, virtual stored value card, virtual bitcoin card would be displayed similarly (showing any information that the respective type of card would have on its face). The app can mimic a chip card (or EMV card) and handle all communications that a chip card would process, using input/output protocols such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, RFID, etc. A chip card encrypts information and transmits it to the terminal and vice versa, thus verifying the authenticity of the chip card and also maintaining the privacy of the card number (e.g., credit card number for a credit card, debit card number for a debit card, etc.). The app running on the personal computing device can implement the virtual card which can work with these terminals in the same manner that the physical card would handle such a transaction (assuming the terminal has a sufficient method of communications (e.g., Wi-Fi, RFID, Bluetooth, tee.) to communicate with the app running on the personal computing device since of course the personal computing device cannot be inserted into the terminal as would a standard physical chip card. FIG.4is a drawing of a credit card statement combining charges from both the physical and virtual credit card, according to an embodiment. The statement can be printed on paper or electronically displayed on an electronic output device. Note that whileFIG.4illustrates a credit card account (utilizing a virtual card and a physical card), such a statement can be generated for any other type of card (e.g., debit card, stored value card, bitcoin card, etc.) with the transactions from both the virtual and physical cards merged. Note that the example statement401looks like a standard credit card statement, with the only difference being the last column shows whether the charge shown was incurred via the virtual card or the physical card. When the physical card is presented to a merchant then it would be labeled as “physical” while when a purchase is made using the app or just by utilizing the credit card number (e.g., ordering online) then it would be labeled as “virtual.” FIG.5is a block diagram illustrating participants of the system, according to an embodiment. Processing server500is used to receive new card applications (see operation101) and process them by evaluating the information in the application and determining whether the applicant is a good risk (in which the application is accepted) or an unworthy risk (in which the application is rejected). The decision is typically determined and communicated to the applicant (and other involved parties) by the processing server500instantaneously. Point of sale terminal501is where a user can make an application for a virtual card (see operation100). Point of sale terminal501is also where the user can use his physical credit card and/or his/her virtual card. Remote users503,504can also apply for the virtual card remotely (as opposed to in person at a point of sale terminal501) on their personal computing device (the application of which is then transmitted to the processing server500). Authorization server502is a server which receives card authorization requests and either approves or declines them based on whether the card number used is valid and there are adequate funds left on that card. When a user makes a purchase using their card (e.g., credit card), whether it be physical or virtual, at a point of sale terminal501or online (e.g., a purchase from AMAZON.COM®) an authorization request is transmitted to the authorization server502(there can be many such servers operating simultaneously) to approve or deny such request. If the authorization request is denied, then any transaction contingent upon such approval will not be processed. If the authorization request is approved, then the transaction can be completed. The remote users503,504will also receive their statements (e.g., monthly) from a bank server505which administers the card account. When the authorization server502is queried whether to approve a transaction or not it may have to be routed to the bank server505which would then make the final determination of whether the credit authorization (which includes an amount of the requested purchase) should be approved or not. The bank server505may have access to information that the authorization server502may not, such as the value of bank accounts or how much credit is left on a credit account. In the case of a credit card, an authorization would be approved if the account associated with the credit card is in good standing (not past due) and the available credit on the credit card account is greater (or greater than equal) to the amount of the requested purchase, otherwise the authorization request would be denied. In the case of a debit card, an authorization would be approved if the account associated with the debit card is in good standing and has sufficient funds to cover the purchase amount (embedded in the authorization request). In the case of a stored value card, typically the authorization server502would not be required as a stored value card would not need to be authorized by an outside entity. In the case of a bitcoin card, the authorization request would be approved if the dollar value of the bitcoins in the associated bitcoin wallet is greater than or equal to the amount of the authorization request. FIG.6is a block diagram illustrating hardware that can be used to implement a computer/device which can implement any and all of the methods described herein. The computer can be the platform, any server, personal computing device, cell phones, or any electronic device used as part of the system. Any and all of the methods described herein can be installed as software on the device. A processing unit600(such as a microprocessor and any associated components) is connected to an output device601(such as an LCD monitor, touch screen, CRT, etc.) which is used to display to the user any aspect of all methods described herein (including any values described herein), and an input device602(e.g., buttons, a touch screen, a keyboard, mouse, etc.) which can be used to input from the user any input needed by any feature described herein. All methods and features described herein can be performed by the processing unit600by loading and executing respective instructions. The processing unit600can also be connected to a network connection603, which can connect the processing unit600to a computer communications network such as the Internet, a LAN, WAN, etc. and transmit/receive all data (whether described herein or not). The processing unit600is also connected to a RAM604and a ROM605. The processing unit600is also connected to a storage device606which can be a DVD-drive, CD-ROM, flash memory, etc. Multiple such processing units can also work in collaboration with each other (in a same or different physical location). A non-transitory computer readable storage medium607can store a program which can control the electronic device to perform any of the methods described herein and can be read by the storage device606. While one processing unit (or device/computer) is shown, it can be appreciated that one or more such processor/computer can work together (either in a same physical location or in different locations) to combine to implement any of the methods described herein. Programs and/or data required to implement any of the methods/features described herein can all be stored on any non-transitory computer readable storage medium (volatile or non-volatile, such as CD-ROM, RAM, ROM, EPROM, microprocessor cache, etc.) which can then be executed by one or more processing units. All components of the system (e.g., platform, servers, computers, databases, etc.) can communicate with each other using a computer communication network (e.g., the internet) in order to exchange data as needed by the method. Any description of a component or embodiment herein also includes hardware, software, and configurations which already exist in the prior art and may be necessary to the operation of such component(s) or embodiment(s). Further, the operations described herein can be performed in any sensible order. Any operations not required for proper operation can be optional. Further, all methods described herein can also be stored on a (non-transitory) computer readable storage medium to control a computer. Programs and/or data required to implement any of the methods/features described herein can all be stored (and executed therefrom to perform any of the methods/features) on any non-transitory computer readable storage medium (volatile or non-volatile, such as CD-ROM, RAM, ROM, EPROM, microprocessor cache, etc.). The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification and, thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. | 24,360 |
11861593 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Following below are more detailed descriptions of various concepts related to, and implementations of, methods, apparatuses, and systems for a payment card recycling system. The various concepts introduced above and discussed in greater detail below may be implemented in a variety of ways, as the concepts described are not limited to any particular manner of implementation. Examples of specific implementations and applications are provided primarily for illustrative purposes. A payment vehicle is an object that can be used by a customer to make a purchase/perform a transaction. A payment vehicle includes (e.g., contains, carries, is coupled to) one or more payment parts. Payment parts are components included with payment vehicles that are encoded with customer account information and/or other data that can be used to facilitate and/or enable a transaction (e.g., a payment using the payment vehicle). Accordingly, a payment vehicle may include, but is not limited to, a credit card, a debit card, a prepaid card, and the like. In this regard, the terms “payment card” or “transaction card” are used interchangeably herein to refer any one or more of a credit card or debit card. Therefore, in operation, to make a purchase for an amount of money, a credit card can be presented to a payment parts reader device operated by a merchant, which reads information from the credit card's payment parts to enable and/or facilitate the transaction. A common form of a payment vehicle is a transaction card, for example as depicted inFIG.1and described in detail below, but a payment vehicle may alternatively be in the form of a bracelet, a pendant, a ring, a keychain, a cellphone or mobile device, an implant, or other item configured to carry or include one or more payment parts. Therefore, it should be understood that while the bulk of the disclosure contained herein describe payment vehicles as a transaction or payment card (e.g., a credit card), this explanation and description is not meant to be limiting as the systems, methods, and apparatuses described herein may also be applicable with other alternative types of payment vehicles. With reference to payment vehicles being configured as a transaction card, the transaction card may include bespoke designs, and may be manufactured from luxury materials. In such cases, destruction and replacement of the entire transaction card may not be a good option when the payment parts become compromised, damaged, or obsolete. Additionally, current transaction card manufacturing processes typically require that payment parts be installed during the manufacture of the transaction card, generally resulting in mass production of transaction card and limiting the availability of transaction card with bespoke designs and luxury materials. The present disclosure provides a technical advantage over these shortcomings by enabling a user to retain the body of their transaction card, while the payment parts are recycled thereby allowing continued use of their desired bespoke transaction card. Such a system and method may be appealing to consumers who often replace their expensive bespoke transaction cards each time the transaction card expires, which is often a time-consuming and tedious process. These and other features and benefits of the present disclosure are described more fully herein below. Referring now toFIG.1, front and back views of a transaction card100are shown, according to an example embodiment. As mentioned above, transaction card100is one embodiment of a payment vehicle and includes payment parts and customer account information. In the example depicted, the transaction card100is configured or structured as a credit card. As such, transaction card100or credit card100may be used interchangeably herein. Transaction card100can be used with commercially available card readers to make purchases from merchants, and in some embodiments can also be used with an ATM to make a cash withdrawal or access other functions related to a cardholder's customer account. Transaction card100has a front face102and a back face104. In this example, the transaction card100is substantially rectangular; of course, in other embodiments, a variety of other shapes and sizes may be implemented the transaction card100. The front face102includes printed information relating to a customer's account information, including a card number106, an expiration date108, a card verification value (CVV)110, and a cardholder name112. In alternative embodiments, some or all of this information106-112is printed on back face104, depicted with characters formed by protrusions from the front face102or back face104, presented on an electronic display coupled to the transaction card100, or not presented on the transaction card100at all. Back face104includes a cardholder signature box113that allows a customer to affix a signature to the card using a standard writing utensil. Transaction card100includes payment parts. In this example, the payment parts are shown to include an integrated circuit device (“chip”)114and magnetic stripe (“magstripe”)116. In other embodiments, other types of payment parts such as a radio frequency identification (RFID) device (e.g., a near field communication interface) may be included with a payment vehicle, which facilitates and enables contactless payments. As shown inFIG.1, the chip114is located on the front face102of the transaction card100, positioned near a first side118of the transaction card100. The magstripe116is substantially rectangular and positioned parallel and proximate to a top edge120of the transaction card100. The size and shape of the transaction card100and the position of the chip114and the magstripe116may thereby be configured to comply with one or more standards/regulations, such as international standards such as ISO/IEC standards 7810, 7811, and 7816 and to interface with commercially-available card readers. For example, transaction card100has dimensions of 85.60 millimeters by 53.98 millimeters (3⅜ inches by 2⅛ inches) with rounded corners of radius between 2.88 millimeters and 3.48 millimeters and a thickness of 0.76 millimeters ( 1/32 inch) to conform to ISO/IEC 7810. The chip114is set into a chip pocket recessed into the front face102of the transaction card100, and may be held into place with an adhesive such as glue or epoxy. Of course, in other embodiments, different and/or additional coupling methods of the chip114to the chip pocket may be utilized. The magstripe116is similarly set into a groove recessed into the back face104, and may be held into place with an adhesive such as glue or epoxy. In other embodiments, different and/or additional coupling methods of the magstripe116to the groove may be utilized (e.g., the body of the card may overlap the magstripe to retain the magstripe, etc.). The back face104and the magstripe116may also be covered with a continuous layer of lamination. The magstripe116may be made substantially of magnetic material and may be configured to store data. Data storage in the magstripe may be based on the pattern of magnetic polarization directions of portions of the magstripe116. This data may be read using a standard magstripe reader. The data stored on the magstripe116may be encoded or altered using a standard magstripe encoder that alters the magnetic polarization of portions of the magstripe116. The magstripe116may store information relating to a customer's account, which often includes some or all of the information printed on front face102such as the card number and the customer's name. The chip114may be an integrated circuit device that stores encrypted data relating to a customer's account using binary data written in the integrated circuit. In some embodiments, the chip114may comprise gold-plated contact pads that provide electronic connectivity between the chip and a standard card reader or card writer as well as other standardized features provided by ISO/IEC 7810 and 7816, or later developed standards. In other embodiments, the chip114may be configured to transmit information without contacting a card reader, and may include an inductor to capture a radio-frequency signal, a near-field communication signal, or a Bluetooth signal and use it to power electronic elements in the chip114. This configuration was alluded to above with respect to the RFID device. In the embodiment described, the RFID device or other wireless transmitting technology may be included with the chip114(in other embodiments, this technology may be a separate component relative to the chip114). The chip may then conform to ISO/IEC 14443-4. The chip114may or may not conform to specifications maintained by EMVCo or other private standard-setting organizations. Data stored on the chip114may be encrypted such that it can be accessed by the input of a pin or other encryption key. The chip114may also be configured to prevent the writing of data to the chip or deletion of data on the chip absent a security key or token provided by a data encoder. Due to advancements in payment parts technology, physical damage to or electronic corruption of payment parts, theft of customer account information as stored on the payment parts, or various other debilitating occurrences may render the payment parts on transaction card100obsolete or unusable. Traditionally, transaction card100in its entirety must be destroyed by the customer and replaced with a new payment vehicle with updated payment parts. However, as described in detail below in reference toFIGS.2-6, payment parts such as chip114and magstripe116may instead be replaced to allow the transaction card100to be reused. Traditionally, the transaction card100, the chip114, and the magstripe116are mass manufactured. Payment vehicles such as transaction card100may also be personalized for a customer to include images or designs particular to that user, or be may offered in limited edition configurations by fashion designers. Payment vehicles such as transaction card100are generally manufactured from plastic, but may also include luxury materials such as metals or jewels. These bespoke, luxury, or designer cards may be produced by individual or small-scale artists and designers or by jewelry companies or other entities that traditionally do not manufacture, encode, or distribute payment parts for payment vehicles. The system disclosed below with reference toFIGS.2-6provide for payment parts installation on blank payment vehicles, such as those produced outside of traditional transaction card manufacturing companies. Payment vehicles also take different forms, shapes, or designs than that of transaction card100shown inFIG.1. For example, a payment vehicle may be a ring, necklace, or bracelet with antenna on the outer part of the torus of the ring, necklace, or bracelet. A hole in the torus allows for the chip assembly to snap in (and glue) from below, and mate to the antenna. In some embodiments, the payment vehicle is a ring or bracelet with prong jewelry, and one of the prong sets holds the chip assembly. The chip assembly and/or antenna may enable payments from the ring, neck, or bracelet. Thus, the chip assembly and/or antenna may include network interface capabilities to facilitate such payments (e.g., a NFC chip that transmits payment credentials, such as a token, from the ring or bracelet, to a point of sale reader). Thus, while the bulk of the description contained herein with respect to the payment vehicle being a transaction card is not meant to be limiting. Referring now toFIG.2, a block diagram of a financial institution with a card recycler system is shown, according to an example embodiment. In this example, the card recycler system200is located at a financial institution branch202. In other embodiments, the card recycler system200may be disposed in other locations and/or unaffiliated with the financial institution (e.g., maintained and operated by a third party). As shown, the card recycler system200includes card recycler mechanisms204and a card recycler processing system206, and is coupled to a financial institution computing system208, and payment parts supplier212. Each of these components is described below. Payment parts suppliers212is configured to provide an inventory of new payment parts to the card recycler system200. Thus, the payment parts suppliers212may be manufacturers or sellers of payments parts. The suppliers212may store various information electronically (e.g., type of payments parts current in inventory, how fast they can be shipped to certain locations, cost of these parts, and all other information pertaining to payment parts). The payment parts suppliers212are communicatively coupled with the card recycler system200and/or the financial institution computing system208to share information about orders, inventory, shipping, security keys or encryption features, or other relevant information. The financial institution computing system208manages and stores data relevant to the operation of a financial institution, such as customer account information and financial data. Thus, the financial institution computing system208may be owned, associated with, or otherwise managed or operated by a financial institution. A financial institution may include a banking institution, a lending institution, a transaction processing institution (e.g., an issuer, an acquirer, etc.), and/or some combination thereof. The financial institution computing system208includes customer accounts database210that stores information relating to customer accounts such as customer names, customer billing addresses, account numbers, expiration dates, card verification values, other account security keys, account balances or credit limits, order information for new cards, or any other information related to a customer's account. The financial institutional computing system208and the customer accounts database210are communicably coupled to the card recycler system200, including card recycler mechanisms204and card recycler processing system206, to allow for the sharing of customer account information and other relevant information with the card recycler system200. In general, the card recycler system200is configured to receive a payment vehicle having an existing payment part, remove the existing payment part from the payment vehicle, and install a new payment part with the payment vehicle. As shown, the card recycler system200is positioned in a financial institution branch202, where it can be used directly by a customer or by an employee of the financial institution. As mentioned above, the card recycler system200may also be located in any other suitable location, such as a department store or shopping mall. The functions and components of the card recycler system are described in detail below. The card recycler system200includes card recycler mechanisms204configured to allow card recycler system200to accept, physically modify, and dispense a customer's payment vehicle. As described in detail below with reference toFIGS.3-6, the card recycler mechanisms include a series of tools, mechanisms, and sensors suitable to collect data about a payment vehicle, remove existing payment parts from the payment vehicle, and install a new payment part with the payment vehicle. The card recycler processing system206is configured to collect data relating to a payment vehicle received by the card recycling system, determine an existing payment part for removal from the payment vehicle, determine a new payment part for installation with the payment vehicle, to control mechanisms to remove the existing payment part from the payment vehicle, and to install the new payment part with the payment vehicle. The card recycler processing system206may alternatively be housed locally within the card recycler system200or may be located remotely within financial institution computing system208, as shown. As described in detail below with reference toFIG.3-6, the card recycling system includes a combination of circuits structured to provide the data analysis, planning, and automation controls necessary to allow the card recycler system to receive a payment vehicle having an existing payment part, remove the existing payment part from the payment vehicle, and install a new payment part with the payment vehicle. Referring now toFIG.3, a detailed view of the card recycler system200ofFIG.2is shown, according to an example embodiment. The card recycler system200is an example of a payment vehicle recycler system. The card recycler system200includes the card recycler mechanisms204and card recycler processing system206, and is coupled to financial institution computing system208. The card recycler processing system206may be located within the card recycler system, in a financial institution computing system208, or some combination of the two. For clarity,FIG.3shows components of card recycler processing system206within card recycler system200, but any or all of these components may be located in the financial institution computing system208. The card recycler processing system206includes a processing circuit300, which includes memory302and a processor304, as well as an assessment and planning circuit310, an accounts and programming circuit312, and automation controls circuit314, and an interface generator316. The processor304may be implemented as a general-purpose processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), a digital signal processor (DSP), a group of processing components, or other suitable electronic processing components. The one or more memory devices302(e.g., RAM, ROM, NVRAM, Flash Memory, hard disk storage, etc.) may store data and/or computer code for facilitating at least some of the various processes described herein. In this regard, the memory302may store programming logic that, when executed by the processor304, control the operation of the card recycler processing system206. A variety of circuits including an assessment and planning circuit310, an accounts and programming circuit312, an automation controls circuit314, and an interface generator circuit316are configured to receive data from and provide controls instructions to the card recycler mechanisms204as described in detail below. While various circuits with particular functionality are shown inFIG.3, it should be understood that card recycler processing system206may include any number of circuits, interfaces, and logic for completing the functions described herein. For example, the activities of multiple circuits may be combined as a single circuit, as additional circuits with additional functionality may be included, etc. Card recycler system200includes card recycler mechanisms204that allow the card recycler system200to accept, physically modify, and dispense a customer's payment vehicle. The card recycler mechanisms204are housed within the card recycling system200, communicably coupled to the card recycler processing system206, and include a network interface218, an input slot320, a display322, a card holder324, assessment sensors326, loosening implements328, removal mechanisms330, cleaning implements332, payment parts inventory336, coupling tools334, a card reader and writer338, a printer340, and a dispenser342. The network interface318is provided to facilitate electronic communication between the card recycler mechanisms204, the card recycler processing system206, and the financial institution computing system208. The network interface318includes any of a cellular transceiver (e.g., CDMA, GSM, LTE, etc.), a wireless network transceiver (e.g., 802.11X, ZigBee, Bluetooth, etc.), a wired network interface (e.g., Ethernet), or a combination thereof (e.g., both a cellular transceiver and a Bluetooth transceiver). Further, the network interface318may include cryptography capabilities to establish a secure or relatively secure communication session with the card recycler processing system206and the financial institution computing system208. In this regard, data may be encrypted to prevent or substantially prevent the threat of hacking. Card recycler mechanisms204also include input slot320configured to accept or otherwise receive a payment vehicle such as transaction card100input by a customer. Input slot320may be configured to accept transaction cards meeting a standard size and shape within a preset tolerance, or may be configured to accept a variety of payment vehicle configurations. Input slot320may be coupled to the automation and controls circuit314to provide an indication that a payment vehicle has been inserted and to receive instructions to accept the payment vehicle by pulling the payment vehicle into the recycler system200. In some embodiments, input slot320is also configured to receive new payment parts from the customer to be installed on the payment vehicle. Display322is configured to present a user interface that is generated by the interface generator circuit316. The interface generator circuit316generates a graphical user interface for presentation on display322that may prompt and accept input related to a customer's account information, a customer's security pin or password, a customer's instructions to the card recycler system200, or other options or instructions for the card recycler system200. Input may be based on touch-screen technology in display322, or a separate input device may be included. Customer input is electronically communicated from the display to the interface generator circuit316where it can be interpreted and communicated to other circuits310-314in the card recycler processing system206as needed. In some embodiments, the interface generator circuit316may generate a user interface accessed by a user on a personal computer or mobile device, for example via an internet browser or smartphone app. Notifications and updates may be sent to the user's computer or mobile device regarding a need to recycle a payment vehicle, order status related to new payment parts, real-time updates about payment vehicle recycling while the customer's payment vehicle is received by the card recycling mechanisms204, and other relevant updates. Customer input may also be provided to the card recycler processing system206via a personal computer or mobile device. The customer's mobile device may be used as part of a multifactor authentication process to verify a request to recycle a payment vehicle, which may also include prompts or input provided via display322. Card holder324is configured to receive an inputted payment vehicle from the input slot320and grip, carry, support, suspend, or otherwise secure the payment vehicle for automated manipulation within card recycler system200. Card holder324receives controls instructions from the automation controls circuit314and may provide feedback data to the automation controls circuit314. Card holder324aligns the payment vehicle with assessment sensors326. Assessment sensors326are configured or structured as one or more devices configured to measure, capture images of, or otherwise generate and acquire data about a payment vehicle. Therefore, assessment sensors326may include a card reader for reading information off payment parts on the transaction card, such as a chip or magstripe. Additionally, assessment sensors326may also include sensors configured to collect raw data relating to the location of payment parts with relation to the payment vehicle, the physical condition of the payment parts, the material of the payment vehicle, or other physical attributes of the payment vehicle. For example, assessment sensors326may include, but are not limited to, a camera, a laser-based distance meter, an ultrasonic sensor, and digital calipers. Thus, the sensors may acquire information regarding the size of the payment parts and card itself, the location of the payment parts with respect to the card, degradation information (e.g., scratches, bends, and the like disposed on the card), characteristics of the card (e.g., thickness, material used to construct the card, etc.), and characteristics of the payment parts (e.g., type such as a chip or magstripe, version information such as when these parts were implemented with the industry, etc.). Raw data collected by assessment sensors326is transmitted to the assessment and planning circuit310within the card recycler processing system206for processing and assessment. The assessment and planning circuit310may also communicate with the memory302or other element of the financial institution computing system208to access a list providing information of payment parts attributes that signal a need to replace those payment parts, or to access customer-specific information in the customer accounts database210relating to payment parts status. The assessment and planning circuit310is configured to use the raw data from the assessment sensors326and the list of payment parts attributes and customer account information to determine the physical configuration of the inputted payment vehicle, evaluate the condition of payment parts on the payment vehicle, determine which payment parts need to be added, replaced or reprogramed, and create a plan for adding, replacing, and/or reprogramming those parts. Data analysis may include machine learning, neural networks, image recognition programs, and other approaches to autonomously or semi-autonomously drawing conclusions based on sensor data. In particular, the determination that one or more payment part needs to be removed can be based on applying a library of preset rules to the processed sensor data to determine which payment parts must be removed, for example based on the detection of a predetermined number of scratches on a magstripe, or can be made using a probabilistic modeling approach. The determination can also be based on an indication stored in the customer accounts database210that the customer has an obsolete, damaged, or compromised payment part. For example, one determination can be a comparison between a number of scratches detected on a magstripe using image processing of an image captured by a camera included in assessment sensors326and a preset number of scratches (e.g., 150) that renders a magstripe worthy of replacement. As another example, a determination can be made based on a measurement of a size, shape, or configuration of a chip that indicates the chip is of a certain model, comparing that model to a list of obsolete chip models that should be replaced, and determining to remove that chip if its model is on the list of obsolete chip models. As another example, the assessment sensors326may read data from a payment part and to identify the payment part, and compare that identification to a list stored by the financial institution computing system of payments parts that have been reported as compromised or falsified by fraudsters, and determine to replace the payment part if the payment part is on the list. If the assessment and planning circuit310determines that one or more payment parts needs to be removed as described above, the assessment and planning circuit310directs automation controls circuit314to send a signal, command, or instruction to the card holder324to deliver the payment vehicle to loosening implements328. Loosening implements328are tools or mechanisms configured to loosen the bond between a payment vehicle and a payment part. Loosening implements328may include a heating element that can be aligned with at least one of the payment parts to loosen an adhesive that binds payment parts to the payment vehicle. Loosening implements328may also include a mechanism for applying a solvent formulated to dissolve an adhesive that binds payment parts to the transaction card or otherwise reduce the binding strength of the adhesive. Under control from the automation controls circuit314, loosening implements328may be applied to the regions of a transaction card containing payment parts determined for removal, or may be generally applied to the entire transaction card. Automation controls circuit provides controls instructions to the loosening implements328to reduce the strength of the connection between a payment vehicle and payment parts. Different elements or order of loosening implements328are applied based on the assessment and plan generated by the assessment and planning circuit310. The card holder324then receives instructions from the automation controls circuit314to provide the payment vehicle to removal mechanisms330. Removal mechanisms330are tools, implements, and/or mechanisms configured to remove a payment part(s) from the payment vehicle. Removal mechanisms330may include a gripper arm with a suction cup or other latching structure that may be attached to a payment part to pull the payment part off of the payment vehicle. Removal mechanisms330may also include a scraper, blade, chisel, file or other implement for scraping, cutting, or grinding a payment part off of the payment vehicle. Removal mechanisms330are controlled by the automation controls circuit314(e.g., via one or more electronic instructions) to remove payment parts as planned by the assessment and planning circuit310. Removal mechanisms330may also include sensors that provide feedback to the automation controls circuit314. The removal mechanisms330may be instructed to direct repeated removal efforts at missed areas or removal-resistant areas by the automation controls circuit314based on this feedback signal. The removal mechanisms330and the automation controls circuit314thereby provide closed-loop, automated removal of payment parts and prevent unnecessary damage to the payment vehicle. In some cases, removal mechanisms330are instructed to remove or alter portions of the payment vehicle other than existing payment parts in order to prepare the payment vehicle to receive a new payment part. Removal mechanisms330are also configured and instructed to erase, destroy, remove, or obscure visual information printed or otherwise presented on the payment vehicle. Different elements or order of removal mechanisms330are applied based on the assessment and plan generated by the assessment and planning circuit310. The card holder324then receives instructions, signals, commands, or the like from automation controls circuit314to provide the payment vehicle to cleaning implements332. Cleaning implements332are one or more tools, mechanisms, or system configured to ensure or substantially ensure full removal of payment parts and old adhesive or other coupling means and prepare the payment vehicle for the application of new payment parts. Cleaning implements332may include fans, steam jets, sanders, cleaning wipes, or other tools to remove any unwanted, residual material from an area or areas of a payment vehicle where a new payment part will be adhered. Cleaning implements332receive instructions from the automation controls circuit314to carry out the cleaning steps, and can include sensors to provide feedback to the automation controls circuit314. For example, cleaning implements may include a camera that provides a video feed or still images that can be analyzed to determine that an area of the payment vehicle still contains a patch of old adhesive. The cleaning implements332may be instructed to direct repeated cleaning efforts at missed areas or inadequately-cleaned areas based on this feedback signal. A closed-loop, automated cleaning process may thereby be provided by cleaning implements332and automation controls circuit314. Different elements or order of cleaning implements332are applied based on the assessment and plan generated by the assessment and planning circuit310. The card holder324then receives instructions to provide the payment vehicle to coupling tools334. Coupling tools334are tools and/or mechanisms configured to cause a payment vehicle to be coupled to a payment part, for example with an adhesive or a fastener. Coupling tools334may include a glue nozzle or glue roller to apply an adhesive to the payment vehicle in areas designated for new payment parts. Coupling tools334may also apply other primer or preparatory material to the payment vehicle or make any suitable alteration to the payment vehicle to prepare the payment vehicle to receive a new payment part or parts. Coupling tools334may access a payment parts inventory336to get new payment parts for addition to the transaction card as determined by assessment and planning circuit310. In some embodiments, payment parts inventory336is cataloged by customer account information by accounts and programming circuit312to store specific, preprogrammed new payment parts for each customer. The payment parts inventory336is then controlled by automation controls circuit314to ensure the correct payment parts are provided to the coupling tools334as instructed by the accounts and programming circuit312. In other embodiments, the coupling tools334receive standard payment parts from the payment parts inventory336that are later programmed by the card recycler system200. Coupling tools334include a suction cup, gripper, roller, or other tool to place a new payment part in its desired position on the payment vehicle. Coupling tools334may include a vice or other pressure-application mechanism to hold new payment parts in place until an adhesive or other coupling method secures the payment part substantially permanently. Coupling tools334may also be configured to install a layer of material over the payment part to protect a payment part and secure it to the payment vehicle. Coupling tools334receive instructions regarding how to carry out the coupling process from automation controls circuit314. Coupling tools334may also include sensors that provide feedback to the automation controls circuit314to allow for closed-loop, automated coupling of payment parts to payment vehicles. Different elements or order of coupling tools334and the position of new payment parts are chosen based on the assessment and plan generated by the assessment and planning circuit310. The card holder324is then instructed to provide the payment vehicle to card reader and writer338. The card reader and writer338includes a magstripe reader, a chip reader, and/or another payment part reader configured to read starting encoded data off the payment parts on the transaction card. Initial encoded data is sent to accounts and programming circuit312and compared to the customer's account information accessed in the customer accounts databased by accounts and programming circuit312. The accounts and programming circuit312receives customer account information from user input via the display322and interface generator circuit316. The accounts and programming circuit312determines whether the initial encoded data must be altered in order to properly associate the transaction card with the customer's account, and, if so, identifies the desired encoded data to be programmed to the payment parts. The desired encoded data is sent to the card reader and writer338, which includes instruments capable of reprogramming payment parts with the desired encoded data. Where necessary, the card reader and writer338may also be provided with a security or decryption key by the accounts and programming circuit to allow it to access and reprogram encrypted payment parts. The card reader and writer338can then reprogram the payment parts with the desired encoded data. The card reader and writer338checks the reprogramming by reading the data off the payment parts and transmitting it to the accounts and programming circuit312to be checked against the desired encoded data. The accounts and programming circuit312may use this check to activate the new payment parts for use, for example by sending a verification notification to the customer accounts database210. The card reader and writer338may also be configured to encrypt or lock payment parts so they cannot be reprogrammed or copied without a correct decryption key. The card holder324is then directed to provide the payment vehicle to printer340. The printer340is configured to print any updated customer account information on the payment vehicle, such as a card number or expiration date. The printer340may be configured to print updated customer account information and/or a receipt on paper or on a sticker to be provided to a customer separate from the payment vehicle. In some embodiments, the updated information is printed or engraved on insets or an attractive laminate that can be coupled to the payment vehicle in a similar manner as disclosed herein for a chip or a magstripe. In some embodiments, the customer account information may be shared with a customer by the card recycler processing system206by sending a notification with the information to a user device (e.g., smartphone, personal computer) via email, smartphone application, or other form of electronic communication. The printer340is coupled with the accounts and programming circuit312to receive the information to be printed and with the automation controls circuit314to receive instructions about where and how to print the information. Different printing options are determined by the assessment and planning circuit310and/or through options selected by the customer on display322as provided by interface generator circuit316. In some embodiments, the card holder324is then directed to provide the payment vehicle to assessment sensors326. The assessment sensors326provide assessment sensor data to the assessment and planning circuit310. The assessment and planning circuit310analyzes the assessment sensor data to check that the plan was successfully followed and that the resulting updated payment vehicle is ready to be dispensed to the customer. The card holder324is then directed to provide the payment vehicle to dispenser342. Dispenser342receives the payment vehicle and delivers it to the customer. The dispenser342thereby removes the payment vehicle from the card recycler system200. The dispenser342may also be configured to dispense a receipt provided by printer340. The dispenser342may be controlled by instructions from automation controls circuit314and may be configured to send feedback signals indicating that the payment vehicle was successfully dispensed to the customer. The card recycler system200thereby outputs a payment vehicle with added, updated, and/or reprogrammed payment parts for the customer. Referring now toFIG.4, a process400of recycling a payment vehicle is shown, according to an exemplary embodiment. Because the process400may be implemented with the card recycler system200ofFIG.2-3, reference may be made to various components of the card recycler system200and the financial institution computing system208to aid explanation of process400. In general, steps or parts of steps that require physical interaction with a payment vehicle are carried out by a machine located at a location accessible to a customer or to a representative of a financial institution or other business, such as card recycler system200located at financial institution branch202. Data processing, automation controls, and customer account-related tasks may be carried out by a computing system locally within the machine, remotely in a financial institution computing system, or any combination of the two. At process402, a payment vehicle is received by the card recycler system200. For example, a payment vehicle may be inserted into input slot320by a customer, financial institution employee, or other user. To prompt a user to provide the payment vehicle to the card recycler system200, the card recycler processing system206and/or the financial institution computing system208may provide a notification (e.g., an email, a text message, an alert in a smartphone application) indicating that the payment vehicle is damaged, out of date, compromised, or otherwise in need of an update, based on information provided to the card recycler processing system by the financial institution computing system208about the condition, age, status, or other compromising characteristic of the user's payment vehicle. For example, the financial institution computing system208might store information about the origination date of the user's current payment parts, such that when the current payment parts reach a certain age (e.g., the card reaches an expiration date), the card recycler processing system and/or the financial institution computing system sends a notification to the user instructing the user to update the payment parts. As another example, the financial institution computing system208might track a number of uses of a user's payment part or parts and compare that number of uses against a preset threshold associated with payment part degradation caused by overuse (e.g., as a magstripe generally accumulates damage after a large number of swipes through card readers), and send a notification to the user to replace the card after a predetermined number of uses because of predicted overuse damage. As mentioned above, the input slot may generate a signal to notify the card recycler processing system206that a payment vehicle has been received. At process404, the payment part or parts to be removed from the payment vehicle are determined. This determination may be based on sensor data collected by assessment sensors326and provided to the assessment and planning circuit310. Sensor data may be processed and analyzed using any suitable approach by the assessment and planning circuit310. Data processing may include identifying the location, age, physical condition, design, technology type, or other characteristics of the payment part or parts on the payment vehicle, as well as reading data stored on the payment parts. Assessment may include comparing these observed characteristics to a stored list of criteria that define which payment parts must be removed or scheduled for removal. For example, a rule dictating that a magstripe with an excess of a predefined number of detected scratches must be removed (e.g., 50 scratches). Assessment may also include comparing observed characteristics and data off the payment parts to the information accessed in the customer accounts database210. For example, the customer accounts database210may indicate that payment parts should be replaced or reprogrammed because the customer account numbers they encode were electronically stolen by fraudsters, the length of time since the payment parts were issued exceeds a preset threshold, the model of payment part previously issued to the customer is no longer desirable (e.g., out-of-date), the customer has a pending order (e.g., online, in-person at a financial institution branch) for new payment parts, or an indication of a human-made decision that the payment parts should be removed was previously stored in the customer accounts database210. Using these or other approaches, one or more payment part or parts are determined for removal. In some cases, the payment vehicle begins the process400blank (i.e., with no payment parts), and so process404may include deciding that no unwanted payment parts are present. At process406, the one or more unwanted payment parts are decoupled from the payment vehicle. As described above, decoupling may be achieved using a variety of tools, such as loosening implements328and removal mechanisms330. In some embodiments, these tools are automated, for example under the control of automation controls circuit314. Sensors may provide feedback on the progress of the tools in removing the unwanted payment part or parts, which may be used to generate updated controls instructions for the tools until the unwanted payment part or parts are fully removed. At process408, the new payment part or parts that will be installed with the payment vehicle are determined. The determination may be based on the physical characteristics of the payment vehicle as assessed in process404. For example, the size and shape of the payment vehicle and/or receptacles on the payment vehicle configured to receive payment parts may limited the options for the type of payment parts that can be added to the payment vehicle. The determination may also be based on information stored in the customer accounts database210indicating the payment parts ordered by a customer or assigned to a customer. In some cases, the customer accounts database210indicates that pre-ordered, pre-programmed payment parts are available for a specified customer. In other cases, the customer accounts database210indicates that the customer should receive a new payment part of a particular type, but not preprogrammed or preassigned to that customer. These payment parts are stored in payment parts inventory336, and determining the payment parts for installation may include checking payment parts inventory336to see if the desired payment parts are currently available. In other embodiments, the customer is in possession of the new payment parts to be installed on the payment vehicle. In this instance, the card recycler system200prompts the customer to input the payment parts and accepts the payment parts via input slot320. At process410, the new payment part or parts determined for installation are coupled to the payment vehicle. As mentioned above, the new payment parts may be fetched from the payment parts inventory336and affixed to the payment vehicle using coupling tools334. Process410may also include the application of an adhesive, glue, cement, or other coupling means to secure the new payment part or parts to the payment vehicle. In some embodiments, coupling tools334are automated under control of the automation controls circuit314, and provide feedback data to guide the closed-loop coupling process. Process410may also include waiting for a length of time required for a glue or other adhesive to cure. At process412, the new payment part or parts are associated with the customer account to recycle the payment vehicle. The association process varies based on the type of payment part and the initial data encoded on a payment part. In an embodiment where the new payment parts were pre-programmed for the user, associating the payment part or parts with the customer account includes reading data encoded on the payment parts and communicating with the customer account database to confirm that the new payment parts are encoded with the correct information. Where the new payment parts are generic, process412includes encoding customer account information on the payment parts. Magstripes, for example, can be encoded and/or reprogramed using a commercially-available magstripe writer. A chip is generally more difficult to reprogram, and may require an input of a decryption key before the chip's data storage can be altered. In such a case, process412requires communicating with the financial institution computing system208or with outside entities such as payment parts suppliers212to acquire the decryption key for the chip. The chip can then be programmed with the customer's account information stored in a standard binary format and conforming with payment parts standards set by one or more standards setting organizations. The chip may also be re-encrypted or locked. Other payment parts may be associated with the customer's account in suitable ways. At process414, the recycled payment vehicle is dispensed to the customer or other user. The dispensed payment vehicle may be ready for use or may require further steps to be activated for use. In some embodiments, the card recycler processing system206activates the payment vehicle for use by communicating with the customer accounts database to store an indication that the payment vehicle was issued to the customer. The indication may include information about the payment vehicle or the payment parts included with the payment vehicle to ensure that the customer accounts database has information associating the payment parts with the customer. In some embodiments, the interface generator circuit316may also transmit a user interface to the display322that prompts the user to follow certain steps to complete the card activation process including user input to the display322. In some embodiments, the customer must log on to a website or app via a personal computer or mobile device to complete a card activation process, or must complete a card activation process over the phone or in person with a representative of the financial institution, for example at financial institution branch202. In some embodiments, the accounts and programming circuit312may send a notification (e.g., email, text message, alert in an application) to the user detailing the steps necessary to activate the new payment part(s). In some embodiments, the printer340prints directions for the user to follow to activate the new payment part(s). Advantageously, dispensing the recycled payment vehicle directly to a verified customer via card recycler system200alleviates risks of lost or stolen payment vehicle shipments that conventional activation protocols are generally designed to mitigate. Referring now toFIG.5, a process500of recycling a payment vehicle configured like transaction card100is shown, according to an example embodiment. The process500may be carried out by the card recycling mechanisms204ofFIGS.2-3, in response to controls, instructions, and information provided by the card recycler processing system206ofFIGS.2-3. Because the process500may be implemented with the card recycler system200ofFIG.2-3, reference may be made to various components of the card recycler system200and the financial institution computing system208to aid explanation of process500. At process502, a used (e.g., old, damaged, in need of update) transaction card is received by the card recycler mechanisms204. As mentioned above, the transaction card is received by input slot320configured to accept payment vehicles from users. Process502may also include accepting user input related to the inputted transaction card via display322. To prompt a customer to provide a used transaction card to the card recycler mechanisms204, the card recycler processing system206and/or the financial institution computing system208may provide a notification to a customer that the customer's transaction card is old, damaged, compromised, or otherwise in need of an update. This notification may be provided to the customer via a smartphone or tablet application, in an email or text message, or any other suitable format. Alternatively, a user's device (e.g., smartphone, tablet, etc.) may be detected by the card recycler processing system206(e.g., via interface generator circuit). Based on the detection, information regarding the user's device can be sent or transmitted to the financial institution computing system208. The user's device information may correlated with information in the database210to determine if the person's payment parts are due for replacement. If determine that they are due for a replacement, a notification (e.g., text message, phone call, etc.) may be provided to the user to prompt them to provide their transaction card to the slot for recycling of the transaction card. At process504, the transaction card is secured in a transaction card holder, such as card holder324. The transaction card may be secured in a single location within the card recycler system200as other card recycler mechanisms204are actuated to reach the transaction card, or the transaction card may be periodically relocated or reoriented by the card holder324to carry out process500. At process506, an area of the transaction card near the chip is heated to soften the glue that couples the chip to the transaction card. The heat originates from loosening implements328, operating under control of the automation controls circuit314. In some embodiments, the entire payment vehicle is heated to loosen all payment parts. The heating of process506renders the bond between the chip and the transaction card relatively weak, such that the chip can be removed from the transaction card in process508. At process508, the chip is removed from the transaction card using, for example, removal mechanisms330under the control of automation controls circuit314. A chip pocket is revealed in the volume formerly occupied by the chip. At process510, the chip pocket is cleaned to prepare the transaction card to receive and be coupled to a new chip. Cleaning may be carried out by cleaning implements332under the control of automation controls circuit314. At process512, glue is placed in the chip pocket to further prepare the transaction card to be coupled to a new chip. Process512may be carried out by coupling tools334under the control of automation controls circuit314. At process514, a new chip is placed in the chip pocket to be held in place by the glue. Process514is carried out by coupling tools334under the control of automation controls circuit314. Process514may include fetching the new chip from the payment parts inventory336. Process514may also include waiting for a prescribed time period after chip placement to allow the glue to cure, and may include holding the chip in the correct position on the transaction card during that prescribed time period. A new chip is thereby installed on the transaction card. At process516, the card recycling mechanisms collect data related to determining whether the magstripe on the transaction card must be replaced, and provide the data to the card recycler processing system. The data may include the information encoded on the magstripe, the strength of the magnetic polarizations on the magstripe, and images of the magstripe potentially showing scratches or other damage, among other suitable data. In decision517, the card recycler processing system206determines whether or not the magstripe must be replaced based on this data. The acquired data may be compared to a look-up table of rules stored in the assessment and planning circuit310, for example that a magstripe must be replaced if the strength or stability of the magnetic polarizations on the magstripe is below a preset threshold. The decision may also be made using a probabilistic artificial intelligence approach to autonomously reach conclusions about the condition of a magstripe based on the available data. If the card recycler processing system206determines that the magstripe must be replaced, then the mechanisms receive controls signals to remove the existing magstripe in process518. The removal of the magstripe in process518is carried out by removal mechanisms330under the control of automation controls circuit314. In some embodiments, process518also includes the loosening of the magstripe by loosening implements328. After the magstripe is removed, the area previously occupied by the magstripe is cleaned in process520to prepare the transaction instrument to receive a new magstripe. Process520is carried out by cleaning implements332under the control of automation controls circuit314. A new magstripe is then coupled to the payment vehicle in process522. Process522includes fetching the new magstripe from the payment parts inventory336. Process522is carried out by coupling tools334under the control of automation controls circuit314. If the card recycler processing system206determines that the existing magstripe is sufficient in decision517, the system skips to process524where the magstripe is reprogrammed with updated customer account information. In the case where a new magstripe was installed, process524includes programing the new magstripe with customer account information. Customer account information may be supplied to the card reader and writer338from the customer accounts database210via accounts and programming circuit312. The card reader and writer338may then encode the customer account information on the magstripe under the control of the automation controls circuit314. At process526, the new chip is also associated with the customer account. Process526may include reprogramming the chip to store the customer account information provided to the card reader and writer338by the accounts and programming circuit312. Process526may also involve unlocking the chip's security features or decrypting the data stored on the chip, for example by using a decryption key provided by to the card reader and writer338by the accounts and programming circuit312. In some embodiments, visual information printed on the card is also be updated at process528. For example, printer340may be controlled to print a new card number, card verification value, expiration date, or cardholder name directly on the transaction instrument. In other embodiments, printer340prints a sticker to be adhered to the transaction instrument or sheet of paper to be provided to the user with any updated customer information traditionally presented on a transaction card. Printer340receives the relevant customer information from accounts and programming circuit312. At process530, the updated transaction card is dispensed to a user, for example by using dispenser342. In some embodiments, some or all of the card number106, expiration date108, CVV110, and cardholder name112as shown inFIG.1are interchangeable and replaceable in an analogous manner as the chip. For example, if the payment vehicle is shaped like a card and is made out of sterling silver, the elements106-112are created in a matching sterling inset, and affixed and/or removed the way the chip is (i.e., as described herein in reference to removing/installing a chip). This allows for card number updates, transfer of the instrument body to someone else, etc. Or, the elements may be printed on an attractive laminate (either matching the instrument body or providing attractive contrast, or clear) that can be removed by the removal method/device described herein. In some cases, for example for business use, a company name on the payment vehicle may be permanent while the cardholder name is removable. This is an advantageous configuration because business transaction card may then be reusable with multiple different employees, which takes into consideration the fact that employees leave the business, take on different roles that no longer require them to have the business transaction card, and a myriad of other circumstances. Referring now toFIG.6, a process600for recycling a payment vehicle is shown, according to an example embodiment. Process600may be performed by the card recycler processing system206as shown inFIGS.2-3and operated within the card recycler system200, in a financial institution computing system208, or in some combination of the two. Because the process600may be implemented with the card recycler system200ofFIG.2-3, reference may be made to various components of the card recycler system200and the financial institution computing system208to aid explanation of process600. Performing process600using card recycler processing system206may involve receiving data from and sending signals to card recycler mechanisms204via network interface318. At process602, the card recycler processing system206receives a signal indicating that a payment vehicle has been inserted into the card recycler system200. In response, a user interface is generated at process604. The user interface prompts a customer for a security input, for example a personal identification number (PIN) or a password, or for other input, options, or instructions via display322. The display322may receive such input from a customer, and transmit a signal comprising the user input to the card recycler processing system206. At process606, the user input is received by the card recycler processing system206. The user's inputted security information is checked against the customer account information in the customer accounts database210by accounts and programming circuit312in process608. Process608may include any suitable cybersecurity technique to use the customer's input to gain access to customer account information in the customer's account database. At process610, the card recycler processing system requests and receives sensor data from the card recycler mechanisms204related to the condition and configuration of the payment vehicle. Sensor data may be provided to the assessment and planning circuit310and may include information useful in identifying the location, age, physical condition, design, technology type, or other observable characteristics of payment parts on the payment vehicle. At process612, sensor data, as well as customer account information and/or other relevant information is used to determine which payment parts must be removed from the payment vehicle. Other relevant information may include a list of criteria defining which observed characteristics of a payment part determine whether or not it must be removed, can be reprogrammed, or may be left as-is. The list of criteria may be stored in memory302or in assessment and planning circuit310. Any suitable means of analysis may be used to make determinations about payment part removal, including machine learning, neural networks, and other artificial intelligence approaches. At process614, control signals are sent to the card recycler mechanisms204to effect the removal of payment parts. Control signals may be formulated and transmitted by automation controls circuit314to carry out a plan generated by assessment and planning circuit310. In some embodiments, process614also includes receiving feedback signals from the card recycler mechanisms204and updating control signals in response to ensure full removal of the payment parts determined for removal. In some cases, the payment vehicle as inserted by a user does not contain any payment parts, in which case process614is skipped. At process618, the card recycler processing system also determines which new payment parts must be installed. The assessment and planning circuit310determines the payment part types that a payment vehicle is configured to receive based on sensor data from the card recycler mechanisms204. The accounts and programming circuit312accesses the customer accounts database210to retrieve any information related to payments parts ordered by a customer or assigned for a customer, or other payment-parts related instructions stored in the customer accounts database210. The assessment and planning circuit310uses some or all of this or other relevant information to select which payment parts should be added to the payment vehicle. At process618, control signals are sent to the card recycler mechanisms204to effect the installation of new payment parts. Control signals include instructions to payment parts inventory336to provide the selected payment parts to the coupling tools334. Control signals also include instructions to the coupling tools334to effect the coupling of the new selected payment parts to the payment vehicle. In some embodiments, process518may also include receiving feedback signals from the coupling tools334and updating the control signals in response to ensure proper installation of the payment parts on the payment vehicle. At process620, control signals and relevant customer account information may be sent to the card recycler mechanisms204to effect the association of the new payment parts with the customer account. For example, the card recycler processing system206may instruct the card reader and writer338to reprogram the payment parts to store the customer account information and provide the necessary account information to card reader and writer338. Process620may include unlocking or decrypting data stored on a payment part using a security key, altering that data, and relocking or encrypting the data. In some embodiments, the card recycler processing system206receives payment part identification data from the card reader and writer338and stores the payment part identification data in the customer's account in the customer accounts database210. Process620may also include activating the new payment part to be used immediately by a customer. After the new payment parts have been associated with the customer account, control signals are sent to dispense the payment vehicle to the user in process622. Process600thereby returns the payment vehicle to the customer with new or updated payment parts. The payment vehicle may be ready for use (e.g., activated in process620as mentioned above), or may require a customer to take further steps to activate the new or updated payment parts. The embodiments described herein have been described with reference to drawings. The drawings illustrate certain details of specific embodiments that implement the systems, methods and programs described herein. However, describing the embodiments with drawings should not be construed as imposing on the disclosure any limitations that may be present in the drawings. It should be understood that no claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f), unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” For the purpose of this disclosure, the terms “coupled” or “couple” means the joining of two members directly or indirectly to one another. For example and for the purposes of this disclosure, component A may be referred to as being “coupled” to component B even if component C is an intermediary, such that component A is not directly connected to component B. On the other hand and for the purposes of this disclosure, component A may be considered “coupled” to component B if component A is directly connected to component B (e.g., no intermediary). Such joining may be stationary or moveable in nature. Such joining may be achieved with the two members or the two members and any additional intermediate members being integrally formed as a single unitary body with one another or with the two members or the two members and any additional intermediate members being attached to one another. Such joining may be permanent in nature or may be removable or releasable in nature. This definition is not limited to physical connections. Rather and similarly, the terms “couple” or “coupled” have an analogous definition and interpretation with respect to communications and electrical attachments/connections. In this regard, component A may be referred to as being “coupled” to component B even if component C is an intermediary, and component A exchanges information with component B (e.g., data, commands, values, signals, etc.) via component C. Thus and in this example, there may or may not be a direct physical connection (e.g., an electrical connection) between component A and component B; yet, for the purposes of this disclosure, these components are still considered “coupled.” As used herein, the term “circuit” may include hardware structured to execute the functions described herein. In some embodiments, each respective “circuit” may include machine-readable media for configuring the hardware to execute the functions described herein. The circuit may be embodied as one or more circuitry components including, but not limited to, processing circuitry, network interfaces, peripheral devices, input devices, output devices, sensors, etc. In some embodiments, a circuit may take the form of one or more analog circuits, electronic circuits (e.g., integrated circuits (IC), discrete circuits, system on a chip (SOCs) circuits, etc.), telecommunication circuits, hybrid circuits, and any other type of “circuit.” In this regard, the “circuit” may include any type of component for accomplishing or facilitating achievement of the operations described herein. For example, a circuit as described herein may include one or more transistors, logic gates (e.g., NAND, AND, NOR, OR, XOR, NOT, XNOR, etc.), resistors, multiplexers, registers, capacitors, inductors, diodes, wiring, and so on). The “circuit” may also include one or more processors communicatively coupled to one or more memory or memory devices. In this regard, the one or more processors may execute instructions stored in the memory or may execute instructions otherwise accessible to the one or more processors. In some embodiments, the one or more processors may be embodied in various ways. The one or more processors may be constructed in a manner sufficient to perform at least the operations described herein. In some embodiments, the one or more processors may be shared by multiple circuits (e.g., circuit A and circuit B may comprise or otherwise share the same processor which, in some example embodiments, may execute instructions stored, or otherwise accessed, via different areas of memory). Alternatively or additionally, the one or more processors may be structured to perform or otherwise execute certain operations independent of one or more co-processors. In other example embodiments, two or more processors may be coupled via a bus to enable independent, parallel, pipelined, or multi-threaded instruction execution. Each processor may be implemented as one or more general-purpose processors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or other suitable electronic data processing components structured to execute instructions provided by memory. The one or more processors may take the form of a single core processor, multi-core processor (e.g., a dual core processor, triple core processor, quad core processor, etc.), microprocessor, etc. In some embodiments, the one or more processors may be external to the apparatus, for example the one or more processors may be a remote processor (e.g., a cloud based processor). Alternatively or additionally, the one or more processors may be internal and/or local to the apparatus. In this regard, a given circuit or components thereof may be disposed locally (e.g., as part of a local server, a local computing system, etc.) or remotely (e.g., as part of a remote server such as a cloud based server). To that end, a “circuit” as described herein may include components that are distributed across one or more locations. An exemplary system for implementing the overall system or portions of the embodiments might include a general purpose computing computers in the form of computers, including a processing unit, a system memory, and a system bus that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit. Each memory device may include non-transient volatile storage media, non-volatile storage media, non-transitory storage media (e.g., one or more volatile and/or non-volatile memories), etc. In some embodiments, the non-volatile media may take the form of ROM, flash memory (e.g., flash memory such as NAND, 3D NAND, NOR, 3D NOR, etc.), EEPROM, MRAM, magnetic storage, hard discs, optical discs, etc. In other embodiments, the volatile storage media may take the form of RAM, TRAM, ZRAM, etc. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of machine-readable media. In this regard, machine-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing machines to perform a certain function or group of functions. Each respective memory device may be operable to maintain or otherwise store information relating to the operations performed by one or more associated circuits, including processor instructions and related data (e.g., database components, object code components, script components, etc.), in accordance with the example embodiments described herein. It should also be noted that the term “input devices,” as described herein, may include any type of input device including, but not limited to, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, joystick or other input devices performing a similar function. Comparatively, the term “output device,” as described herein, may include any type of output device including, but not limited to, a computer monitor, printer, facsimile machine, or other output devices performing a similar function. Any foregoing references to currency or funds are intended to include fiat currencies, non-fiat currencies (e.g., precious metals), and math-based currencies (often referred to as cryptocurrencies). Examples of math-based currencies include Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and the like. It should be noted that although the diagrams herein may show a specific order and composition of method steps, it is understood that the order of these steps may differ from what is depicted. For example, two or more steps may be performed concurrently or with partial concurrence. Also, some method steps that are performed as discrete steps may be combined, steps being performed as a combined step may be separated into discrete steps, the sequence of certain processes may be reversed or otherwise varied, and the nature or number of discrete processes may be altered or varied. The order or sequence of any element or apparatus may be varied or substituted according to alternative embodiments. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims. Such variations will depend on the machine-readable media and hardware systems chosen and on designer choice. It is understood that all such variations are within the scope of the disclosure. Likewise, software and web implementations of the present disclosure could be accomplished with standard programming techniques with rule based logic and other logic to accomplish the various database searching steps, correlation steps, comparison steps and decision steps. The foregoing description of embodiments has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed, and modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from this disclosure. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principals of the disclosure and its practical application to enable one skilled in the art to utilize the various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Other substitutions, modifications, changes and omissions may be made in the design, operating conditions and arrangement of the embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as expressed in the appended claims. | 74,647 |
11861594 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Before turning to the figures which illustrate example embodiments, it should be understood that the application is not limited to the details or methodology set forth in the following description or illustrated in the figures. It should also be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description only and should not be regarded as limiting. Referring generally to the Figures, a token management system is shown. The token management system includes a token vault computer system. The token vault computer system is configured to manage and store electronic tokens. The token vault computer system may also be configured to provision electronic tokens based on information provided to the token vault computer system. The token vault computer system may be configured to provision tokens (e.g., payment tokens) based on payment information (e.g., a personal account number, a credit card number, etc.) related to a customer financial product. Provisioning the payment token may include authenticating the associated financial product, determining eligibility of the financial product for tokenization, generating the token based on the provided payment information, and linking the generated token to the associated financial product. The token vault computer system may also be configured to provision tokens based on non-payment information, such as a customer address, social security number, date of birth, or any other information. In example embodiments, the payment tokens may be utilized to facilitate payments to merchants. In example embodiments, payment tokens may be surrogate values that replace the primary account number (PAN) associated with a payment card, such as a credit card, debit card, stored value card, etc. Payment tokens may pass basic validation rules of an account number. Hence, the payment token for a credit card in many respects “looks like” a real credit card number, but in fact is only a token. As part of the token generation process, steps are taken such that the generated payment token does not have the same value as or conflict with a real primary account number (e.g., a real credit card number). Payment tokens may be provisioned to various locations for use in various types of payment scenarios, including remote storage at a merchant (e.g., a card-on-file database) for on-line transactions with the merchant, a secure storage element (“secure element”) located in a payment card for a point-of-sale transaction using the payment card, local device storage (e.g., internal memory of a mobile device) for a mobile/digital wallet transaction, and so on. In example embodiments, to process payment transactions, a payment is processed using a payment token in lieu of a primary account number (e.g., the 16-digit account number on the front of a credit card). The merchant obtains the payment token from a customer device or from the payment card, and then submits the payment token through a payment network to a computing system associated with a card network (e.g., Visa®, MasterCard®, American Express®, Discover®, Diners Club®, etc.). The card network computing system (e.g., network association computer system) de-tokenizes the payment token to obtain the PAN, i.e., replaces the payment token for its associated PAN value based on the payment token-to-PAN mapping information stored in a token database (sometimes referred to as a “token vault”). The card network computing system then transmits the PAN to the card issuer (e.g., the customer's financial institution) for processing in a manner similar to a traditional credit card transaction. For example, the card issuer may approve the transaction, in which case the transaction with the merchant is completed and payment to the merchant is made. The token database may also maintain other information that may be used to apply restrictions or other controls during transaction processing. In example embodiments, processing payment transactions using such payment tokens provides enhanced security in connection with the payment card transactions. The payment tokens may be limited to use, e.g., only in connection with a specific merchant or a specific channel (e.g., payment via a specific mobile wallet). For example, in the event of a data breach at a merchant, the risk of subsequent fraud is reduced because only the payment tokens are exposed instead of primary account numbers. In this example, the payment tokens are merchant-specific and therefore cannot be used at other merchants. Although the examples provided herein relate primarily to the use of payment tokens (which may be used to originate payment transactions), the systems and methods described herein may also be used with non-payment tokens (which may be used for ancillary processes, such as loyalty tracking). The token vault computer system may also be configured to manage the life cycle of each stored token. As part of the life cycle management, the token vault computer system may be configured to activate, de-activate, suspend, resume, and expire the stored token. The token vault computer system may also be configured to authorize a transaction using the token. The token vault computer system may authorize a transaction based on the token and other information related to an associated financial product. Once authorized, the token vault computer system may de-tokenize (e.g., resolve) the token and provide account information to the requesting party in order to process the transaction. The token vault computer system may also include a token repository for storing the tokens. The token vault computer system may automatically store tokens generated by the token vault computer system in the token repository. The token vault computer system may also receive tokens that are generated by other entities and store the third party tokens in the token repository. The token vault computer system may convert the received third party tokens to a format similar to the generated payment tokens prior to storing the third party tokens in the token repository. Referring toFIG.1, token management system100is shown, according to an example embodiment. The token management system100may be used to manage electronic tokens. The electronic tokens may be or include unique identifiers that are intended to replace sensitive information. The information that is replaced by the token may include payment information related to a financial product (e.g., credit card, debit card, checking account, etc.), such as a card number, an account number, a primary account number (PAN), etc. Tokenized payment information (i.e., a payment token) may be used instead of the primary or original account information in order to initiate payment activity. The electronic tokens may also be used to replace sensitive non-payment information, such as a customer address or other personal information. The token management system100may be used to facilitate various services associated with the tokens, including provisioning (e.g., generating) a token, authorizing the token for use in a financial transaction, storing the token, and managing the life cycle of the token. The token management system100may include, among other systems, a token vault computer system110, a network association computer system130, an account holder computer system140, an account issuer computer system150, and a merchant computer system160. In one embodiment, the systems are each owned and operated by a separate entity. In other embodiments, two or more systems may be combined or two or more systems may be owned or operated by a single entity. The systems may communicate through network170. The network170may be a single communication network configured to communicatively connect each of the systems, or the network170may include a plurality of networks each connecting two or more systems. The network170may include one or more of the Internet, a cellular network, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, a proprietary banking network, or any other type of wired or wireless network. The systems may each include a computer system (e.g., one or more servers each with one or more processing circuits), each of which include a processor and memory. The processors may be implemented as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), a group of processing components, or other suitable electronic processing components. The memory may be one or more devices (e.g., RAM, ROM, Flash memory, hard disk storage, etc.) for storing data and/or computer code for completing and/or facilitating the various processes described herein. The memory may be or include non-transient volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and non-transitory computer storage media. The memory may include data base components, object code components, script components, or any other type of information structure for supporting the various activities and information structures described herein. The memory may be communicably connected to the processor and include computer code or instructions for executing one or more processes described herein. The token vault computer system110is configured to at least provision, store, and manage electronic tokens. The token vault computer system110may be provided by a financial institution, such as a bank offering a variety of financial accounts. In an example embodiment, the token vault computer system110is provided by the account issuer computer system150. In some embodiments, the token vault computer system110is at least partially provided by the network association computer system130, and any operations herein attributed to the token vault computer system110may be performed by the account issuer computer system150and/or network association computer system130. The token vault computer system110may be configured to communicate with any of the network association computer system130, account holder computer system140, account issuer computer system150, and merchant computer system160, and may be configured to communicate with each of these systems via a separate and secure network. It should be noted that the operations attributed to the token vault computer system110, including the operations attributed to the token provisioning logic112, transaction authorization logic114, life cycle management logic116, token inquiry logic118, and token notification logic120, may be performed by the network association computer system130. including authenticating the token request, determining token eligibility, generating the token, providing terms and conditions for the token, assigning the token to an entity or financial product, and generating limited use keys for the token. The token vault computer system110includes token provisioning logic112, transaction authorization logic114, life cycle management logic116, token inquiry logic118, and token notification logic120. Such logic may be implemented in a machine (e.g., one or more networked computer servers) comprising machine-readable media having instructions stored therein which are executed by the machine to perform the operations described herein. For instance, such logic may be implemented and executed to manage electronic tokens as part of the token vault computer system110. It should be noted that the token vault computer system110may be operated by the account issuer computer system150. For instance, the account issuer computer system150may issue one or more financial accounts or products to an account holder, and the token vault computer system110may be operated by the account issuer computer system150and configured to manage various tokens related to those financial accounts. In other embodiments, the token vault computer system110may be operated separately from the account issuer computer system150. In these embodiments, the token vault computer system110may be operated by a separate financial institution from the account holder and configured to provision and manage various tokens related to the financial accounts or products issued by the account issuer computer system150. The token provisioning logic112may be executed to provision a token. The token may be provisioned based on a tokenization request received at the token vault computer system110. The tokenization request may be received from a user (i.e., an account holder, customer, etc.) of the token vault computer system110, including via the account holder computer system140. The tokenization request includes information that may be used to provision the token, including any data or information which is requested to be tokenized (i.e., replaced by a unique identifier). The token provisioning logic112is configured to tokenize payment information (i.e., account information for a financial product) and non-payment information (e.g., personal information, preferences, etc.). The tokenization request may also include information identifying the requestor or other information that may be used to authenticate the token. The token provisioning logic112may provision a payment token based on payment information provided with the token request. The payment token may then be used in lieu of actual account information (i.e., information that has been tokenized) to initiate a payment from an associated financial product (e.g., credit card account, demand deposit account, line of credit, etc.). Provisioning a token based on payment information for a financial product may include authenticating the associated financial product, determining eligibility of the financial product and/or the token, generating the token, and linking the token to the financial product. The provisioned token may be intended to replace sensitive account information for the associated financial product, such as an account number, card number, or other identifying information. For instance, an account holder (i.e., the account holder computer system140) may request a payment token from the token vault computer system110in order to make a payment using a customer financial product associated with the token vault computer system110(e.g., provided by the account issuer computer system150). The token provisioning logic112may also be configured to authenticate a tokenization request as part of the token provisioning, including authenticating an associated financial product (e.g., verifying that the financial product is associated with the account holder or other requesting party). In an example embodiment, the token vault computer system110receives a request from the account holder computer system140to provision a payment token associated with a financial product (e.g., credit card, debit card, checking account, etc.) of the account holder. In this embodiment, the token provisioning logic112is configured to authenticate the financial product prior to generating the payment token. The financial product may have been issued or provided by the token vault computer system110, the account issuer computer system150, or another financial entity. The tokenization request may include an original payment credential related to the financial product or other data that may be used by the token provisioning logic112to authenticate the product. The token provisioning logic112may also request additional information from the requesting party (e.g., the account holder) to authenticate the financial product. In other embodiments, the token provisioning logic112is configured to send communication to the issuer of the financial product (e.g., account issuer computer system150) requesting an authentication confirmation. The token vault computer system110may also store authentication rules or other information that may be used by the token provisioning logic112to authenticate the financial product. Similarly, the token provisioning logic112may also authenticate the token requestor or any other associated entity, as well as any other (non-payment) information received as part of the request. The token provisioning logic112may also be configured to determine token eligibility based on the token request, which may include whether a particular token is available for use. In an example embodiment, the provisioned token is intended to be a unique identifier for the tokenized information. In this embodiment, the token provisioning logic112may determine that a particular token is ineligible if an identical token has been used previously and/or if an identical token is currently active. The token provisioning logic112may then select a new unique identifier. The token provisioning logic112may also determine eligibility of the information for tokenization. For instance, the token provisioning logic112may determine whether a particular financial product can be tokenized to generate a payment token. For instance, the token provisioning logic112may be configured to determine the type of financial product (e.g., credit card, debit card, bank account, etc.) based on the request and determine token eligibility based on the type of financial product. Token eligibility may also be based on the issuing entity, the account holder, the requesting party, the type of transaction associated with a payment token, or other information that may be exchanged as part of a financial transaction. The token provisioning logic112may also request additional information from the requesting party in order to determine token eligibility. In an example embodiment, the token vault computer system110stores eligibility rules for determining token eligibility, and the token provisioning logic112is configured to determine token eligibility based on the eligibility rules. The eligibility rules may be determined by the token vault computer system110. The eligibility rules may also be determined by an issuer of a financial product, by a user providing the information, or another authorized party described herein. In other embodiments, the token provisioning logic112is configured to request confirmation of token eligibility from a separate entity. For instance, the token provisioning logic112may receive confirmation of token eligibility from the issuer of the financial product (e.g., the account issuer computer system150). Upon authenticating the information provided in the tokenization request and confirming token eligibility, the token provisioning logic112may be configured to generate the token. The token may be a unique identifier that replaces any sensitive or otherwise protected information with non-sensitive (e.g., non-financial) information. A payment token, for instance, is a non-financial identifier that replaces financial product information and may be used, pending activation, as a payment credential to initiate a payment using the financial product. The token may be unique to a particular requestor, token vault, financial product, token issuer, financial product issuer, account holder, and/or transaction. In an example embodiment, a payment token is generated based on a financial product such that the payment token does not have the same value as and does not otherwise conflict with the primary account number (PAN) associated with the financial product, or the PAN of another account holder. In some embodiments, the generated payment token is useable on a mobile device (e.g., tablet, cellular phone, smart watch, etc.) to make a payment. For instance, the payment token may be generated for use within a mobile wallet associated with one or more financial products. In these embodiments, the payment token may also be unique to the mobile device, such that a payment token is generated per card, per device, and per requestor (e.g., account holder). The token generated by the token provisioning logic112may be any type of token, code, or other identifier that may be exchanged between two or more parties in order to securely transmit sensitive information. The token may be generated based on the particular requirements of the token, which may be provided by any of the parties described herein, including the token requestor. A payment token, for instance, may be a code or other identifier suitable for use as a payment credential, such as a numerical code, a barcode, a quick response (QR) code, or an RF signal. The token provisioning logic112may include one or more tokenization algorithms configured to generate the payment token. In an example embodiment, the payment token is a tokenized sixteen digit number. For instance, where the financial product is a credit or debit card account, the tokenized sixteen digit number may be used as a payment credential in place of the original sixteen digit number of the credit or debit card. In one embodiment, the payment token has a unique BIN (e.g., the first four digits of the original card number), but retains the same last four digits as the original card number in order to accurately match the payment token to the account holder (i.e., the product owner). In this embodiment, the remaining numbers may be generated by the token provisioning logic112using various tokenization algorithms. In another embodiment, the payment token is a surrogate value for a PAN that is consistent with ISO 8583 message requirements. In this embodiment, the payment token may be a 13 to 19-digit numeric value that is compliant with basic validation rules of an account number. The token provisioning logic112may also be configured to provide (e.g., retrieve) any terms and conditions associated with a generated token in response to a tokenization request. The terms and conditions may be provided to the token requestor. The token vault computer system110may require the requestor to consent to the terms and conditions prior to generating the payment token. The terms and conditions may be stored at the token vault computer system110, such as being stored in the token history124or other memory of the token vault computer system110. The terms and conditions may provide how a payment token may be used, for instance, such as by specifying a type or number of transactions allowed, a preferred method of payment, an expiration date for the token, or any other use restrictions. The token provisioning logic112may also be configured to provide graphics associated with the payment token based on the tokenization request. The token provisioning logic112may also be configured to link (i.e., assign) a generated token to a particular entity or financial product. For instance, a payment token may be linked to an associated financial product such that the payment token may be re-used in a future transaction to make a payment using the same financial product. The payment token may also be linked to the financial product such that the financial product and/or the account holder must be authenticated in order to use the payment token in a transaction. The payment token may also be linked to any of the token requestor, an account holder, an associated merchant, a financial institution, or any other entity or product described herein. The token provisioning logic112may also be configured to generate limited use keys (LUKs) as part of the token provisioning. For instance, the token provisioning logic112may generate an LUK based on the tokenization request. LUKs are payment tokens that are available for a limited use. The LUKs generated by the token provisioning logic112may be derived from or based on a master domain key (e.g., the payment token) that is associated with the financial product. The LUKs may be generated such that they expire or become unusable based on determined thresholds. For instance, each LUK may have a time to live (TTL) before the LUK expires and can no longer be used as a payment credential. The LUKs may also be set to expire based on a threshold transaction velocity (i.e., speed by which funds are transmitted) or a threshold number of transactions. The token vault computer system110may be configured to determine these thresholds based on any number of factors, including the financial product and the account holder. The token vault computer system110may also be configured to refresh or replenish any expired LUKs as may be necessary or desired. In an example embodiment, the financial product relates to a payment card having an associated account number. The transaction authorization logic114may be executed to authorize a transaction in which a token is used. For instance, the token vault computer system110may receive a payment token from a recipient of the payment token such as merchant computer system160in order to validate the payment token and provide payment details based on the payment token. In particular, the transaction authorization logic114is configured to validate the payment token based on authorization rules. For instance, the transaction authorization logic114may validate that the payment token was generated by the token vault computer system110(i.e., the token provisioning logic112) or another issuing entity (e.g., account issuer computer system150). The transaction authorization logic114may also validate the payment token by verifying that the payment token was received from the account holder computer system140or another entity to which the payment token was issued by the token vault computer system110. The transaction authorization logic114may also validate a token based on information received with the token. For instance, the transaction authorization logic114may validate the token by matching a passkey (or other information) that is received with the token to similar information stored at the token vault computer system110and associated with the token. The authorization rules used by the transaction authorization logic114may be included as part of the transaction authorization logic114or stored in the token vault computer system110(e.g., in token history124) and retrieved by the transaction authorization logic114to validate the payment token and authorize the transaction. The authorization rules may be determined by the token vault computer system110. For instance, the authorization rules may be generated based on the payment token by the token provisioning logic112when the payment token is generated. The authorization rules may also be based on the financial product, the account holder, or any other information related to the payment token and described herein. The authorization rules may also be received and stored by the token vault computer system110from another entity, such as the issuer of the financial product where the issuer is an entity other than the token vault computer system110. For instance, the transaction authorization logic114may be configured to request the authorization rules from an issuing entity upon receiving the payment token from a party requesting authorization. The transaction authorization logic114may be configured to de-tokenize a payment token during authorization of the transaction. For instance, the transaction authorization logic114may de-tokenize the payment token to determine a primary account number (PAN) or other original account information upon validating the payment token. The transaction authorization logic114may then provide the de-tokenized original account information to the entity requesting the authorization, such as the merchant computer system160or the network association computer system130, so that the requesting entity may proceed with processing the transaction. The transaction authorization logic114may be configured to encrypt the original account information prior to prevent unwanted use of the original account information. In other embodiments, such as where the token vault computer system110is the issuer of the financial product, the token vault computer system110may process the transaction based on the original account information derived from the payment token. The life cycle management logic116may be executed to perform various actions related to the life cycle of the token. The actions may transition the token through various states of the token life cycle. For instance, the life cycle management logic116may be configured to activate, de-activate, suspend, resume, update, or expire the token once the token is provisioned. The life cycle management logic116may be configured to perform any of these actions in response to a request from the token requestor or the owner of the token (i.e., an account holder), or a party to the transaction having the necessary authorization. When the token is updated or a life cycle action is performed in response to a request, the life cycle management logic116may be configured to send confirmation of the update to the party requesting the update. The life cycle management logic116may also be configured to automatically perform any of the actions described herein, such as in response to another event or action. The life cycle management logic116is configured to send a notification to the token requestor (e.g., the account holder) when the payment token is updated or a life cycle action is performed based on a non-request action or event. The token may be stored in the token repository122and all actions performed by the life cycle management logic116may be performed at the token repository122. All actions performed by the life cycle management logic116and all changes to the token may be recorded and stored at the token history124. The life cycle management logic116may also be configured to activate the token. The token vault computer system110may be configured to provide token-related information in exchange for the activated token. For instance, once provisioned, a payment token may require activation so that the payment token is useable to make a payment. The token vault computer system110may accept the activated payment token in exchange for payment information required to process a payment. In some embodiments, the token may also be automatically activated by the token provisioning logic112upon provisioning the token. Once the payment token is activated, the life cycle management logic116may also be configured to de-activate the payment token such that the payment token is no longer useable for making a payment. A token may be permanently or temporarily de-activated. When the token is de-activated, the token may not be useable to receive token-related information from the token vault computer system110. For instance, the life cycle management logic116may be used to temporarily de-activate (i.e., suspend) a token. The life cycle management logic116is also configured to re-activate (i.e., resume) a suspended token. When re-activated, a payment token, for instance, is again active and may be used to make a payment. The life cycle management logic116is also configured to expire the token. The token may be expired based on various event or time-based thresholds, such as a number of uses, or a time since provisioning or after first use. The token may be expired based on a preference of the account holder, for instance. When the token is expired, the life cycle management logic116may renew the payment token or the payment token may be de-activated. The life cycle management logic116is also configured to update the token, which may include updating any information associated with the token. For instance, the life cycle management logic116may be configured to update a payment token by updating the payment information on which the payment token is based. The payment token may also be updated to be associated with a new or additional financial product. Updating the token may also include replacing the token with a new token. For instance, the token may be updated with a new token after each use (e.g., after a payment is made using a payment token, after information is provided). Updating the payment token may also include updating the token expiration date. The life cycle management logic116may be configured to update the expiration date of the payment token based on use of the payment token or another event. Updating the payment token may also include performing any of the actions described herein in relation to the life cycle management logic116. The token inquiry logic118may be executed to process an inquiry related to the payment token. The token inquiry logic118is configured to provide an appropriate response to the inquiry. The inquiry may be received at the token vault computer system110from any of the network association computer system130, the account holder computer system140, the account issuer computer system150, and the merchant computer system160, any of which may be the token requestor or a holder of the payment token. The inquiry may be related to the current state of the payment token (e.g., active, expired, suspended, etc.). The inquiry may be related to a specific payment token or the inquiry may be a batch based on at least one of an account number or financial product (e.g., PAN), a token (e.g., TPAN), or an associated device. A batch inquiry may return information for each payment token having the provided characteristics. The token inquiry logic118is configured to receive the inquiry and search the token repository122for relevant payment tokens based on the inquiry. The token inquiry logic118then sends information related to the selected payment tokens (e.g., a current state) to the requesting party in response to the inquiry. The token inquiry logic118may request authenticating information from the requesting party prior to processing the inquiry. The token inquiry logic118may validate or authenticate the request based on information within the relevant payment token(s). In some embodiments, all actions described in relation to the token inquiry logic118may otherwise be performed, in whole or in part, by the token provisioning logic112and/or the life cycle management logic116. The token notification logic120may be executed to provide a notification related to a payment token. The token notification logic120may be configured to provide the same information as described in relation to the token inquiry logic118, but the token notification logic120may provide the information in response to an action or event rather than a request. For instance, when the life cycle management logic116de-activates a payment token, the token notification logic120may send a notification to a relevant entity (e.g., a token requestor, an account holder, etc.) notifying the entity that the status of the payment token has changed. The token notification logic120may receive confirmation from the notified entity that the notification has been received. Any information related to the token notification logic120may be stored in the token history124. The token vault computer system110also includes token repository122. The token repository122may include a storage system or other memory configured to receive and store payment tokens. Once a payment token is provisioned, the payment token may be stored in the token repository122. The token repository122may be held by a financial institution and configured to store all payment tokens associated with the financial institution. In an example embodiment, the same financial institution provides the token vault computer system110, including the logic described above, as well as the token repository122and the token history124. The same financial institution may provide the financial product associated with the payment tokens stored in the repository122. The token repository122may be configured to store each payment token throughout the life cycle of the payment token. The payment tokens stored in the repository122may be generated by the token vault computer system110or generated elsewhere and converted by the token vault computer system110to match one or more characteristics of the generated payment tokens (i.e., payment tokens generated by the token provisioning logic112). For instance, payment tokens that are not generated by the token vault computer system110may be converted such that all payment tokens stored within the repository122may be similarly searched (e.g., by token inquiry logic118) in response to an inquiry. The token vault computer system110also includes token history124. The token history124includes memory configured to store information related to the payment tokens held by the token repository122. The token history124may be stored in the token repository122. The token history124includes a history of actions that are related to any payment tokens that have been stored in the token repository122or provisioned by the token provisioning logic112. For instance, the token history124may include life cycle information for each of the stored payment tokens. The token history124may be used for responding to an inquiry, such as to determine a current state of a particular payment token. The token history124may also be utilized by the token provisioning logic112in generating a payment token. For instance, the token provisioning logic112may determine whether a particular payment token is unique based on information found within the token history124. Referring now toFIG.2, a process200is shown for provisioning a token, according to an example embodiment. The process200may be performed using the token vault computer system110shown inFIG.1. In particular, the process200may be performed using the token provisioning logic112of the token vault computer system110, which is described in further detail herein. The process200may include authenticating the tokenization request, including a financial product to be associated with the token, determining token eligibility, generating the token, and/or linking the token to a financial product for future use. The process200may also include activating the token for use as part of a transaction and storing the token in the token repository122. The process200is shown inFIG.2and described below as being used to provision a payment token based on payment information related to a financial product. However, the process200may also be used to provision a token based on other information that is received with a tokenization request, including non-payment information such as a customer shipping address, a social security number or other personal identifier, and other sensitive information that may be required to be securely exchanged between two or more parties. At202, a token requestor sends a request for a payment token to be provisioned based on a financial product. The token request may also include a request for terms and conditions related to the payment token and visual graphics for reading or displaying the payment token. The token request may include additional information that may be used to provision the payment token. The additional information may include identifying information that may be used to authenticate any of the requesting device, the token requestor, the account holder, and the financial product. In an example embodiment, the token request includes at least identifying information for the token requestor (e.g., a requestor ID) and a requesting device (i.e., device information). The token request may also any other information that is necessary or useful to provision the payment token, including to authenticate the token request and generate the payment token based on the financial product. In an example embodiment, the token requestor is a merchant such as the merchant computer system160. For instance, the merchant computer system160may send the request for the payment token in response to an account holder (i.e., the account holder computer system140) initiating an online transaction with the merchant computer system160. The merchant computer system160may receive identifying information from an account holder (i.e., user of the financial product) and send the identifying information with the token request for use in provisioning the payment token. The merchant computer system160may then receive the payment token based on the financial product and process the transaction without receiving sensitive account information from the account holder. In other embodiments, the token requestor may be the account holder computer system140, the account issuer computer system150, the network association computer system130, or another entity related to the financial product or an associated transaction. In one embodiment, the token requestor may be a mobile wallet stored on a mobile device of the account holder. When the account holder (i.e., the user of the mobile device) adds a financial product to the mobile wallet or initiates a payment using the mobile wallet, the mobile device may send a token request to provision a payment token based on the financial product. The payment token may then be used by the mobile device to make a payment using the mobile wallet. In the example embodiment, the token request is sent to the network association computer system130. The network association computer system130may be provided by a network association (e.g., card association), which may be a network of issuing banks and acquiring banks that process payment cards of a specific brand. In the example embodiment, the network association computer system130is associated with the financial product being tokenized. For instance, the financial product may be a type of payment card that is processed by the network association. The token requestor may identify the network association and send the token request to the network association computer system130based on the financial product. In other embodiments, such as when the financial product is not associated with a particular network association, the token requestor may send the token request directly to the token vault computer system110to provision the payment token. At204, the network association computer system130sends the token request to the token vault computer system110. The token request may be sent to the token vault computer system110based on the financial product. For instance, the token vault computer system110may be provided by a financial institution that provides the financial product associated with the token request. The token request may also be sent to the token vault computer system110based on the account holder. For instance, the account holder of the financial product may be a customer of the financial institution providing the token vault computer system110. The account holder may also have other payment tokens stored at the token vault computer system110. At206, the token vault computer system110(i.e., the token provisioning logic112) determines the terms and conditions and the graphics associated with the payment token. The terms and conditions may specify how the payment token may be used to make a payment, storage procedures and security measures associated with the payment token, an expiration period for the payment token, and other terms and conditions that may be provided to the token requestor prior to or upon providing the generated payment token. The terms and conditions may be defined at the token vault computer system110, such as by the token provisioning logic112. The terms and conditions may be defined based on the financial product or based on any other information provided along with the token request. The graphics associated with the payment token may include information related to how the payment token will be displayed. For instance, the payment token may be displayable (e.g., via a mobile device) in order to scan the payment token at a merchant point of sale device and initiate a payment. The graphics information may specify a mode of display for the payment token and may also include data or software required to display or otherwise manipulate the payment token. Similar to the terms and conditions, the graphics configuration may be defined at the token vault computer system110, such as by the token provisioning logic112. At208, the terms and conditions and graphics information are sent by the token vault computer system110to the network association computer system130. At210, the terms and conditions and graphics information are sent by the network association computer system130to the token requestor (i.e., the merchant computer system160). In other embodiments, the terms and conditions and graphics information may be sent from the token vault computer system110directly to the token requestor. In an example embodiment, the terms and conditions for the payment token are provided to the token requestor prior to generating or providing the payment token. In this embodiment, the token requestor may be required to accept the associated terms and conditions prior to the payment token being generated or provided to the token requestor. The graphics information may also be provided to the token requestor prior to generating the payment token so that the token requestor may first confirm the ability to display the payment token having the provided graphics configuration. In other embodiments, the terms and conditions and graphics information may be provided upon providing the payment token to the token requestor. At212, the token vault computer system110(i.e., the token provisioning logic112) determines token eligibility, which may include eligibility of the financial product for tokenization. The token vault computer system110may also authenticate the financial product. The token vault computer system110may determine eligibility of the token based on tokens that have been provisioned or are currently active. The token vault computer system110determines eligibility of the financial product for tokenization based on eligibility rules, which may be stored at the token vault computer system110(e.g., token repository122, token history124). The eligibility rules may be based on the particular financial product, the account holder, the token requestor, an expected use of the payment token, or any other information received as part of the token request or otherwise known. The eligibility rules may include a table that includes all financial products issued and associated with the token vault computer system110. The table may provide an indication of whether a particular financial product is eligible for tokenization. The token provisioning logic112may be configured to determine eligibility by searching the table for the selected financial product based on any identifying information provided within the token request. The token vault computer system110may also determine the eligibility of the financial product for tokenization by sending a request to the account issuer computer system150. In an example embodiment, the request for an eligibility determination is sent to the account issuer computer system150at212. In this embodiment, the account issuer computer system150may be the issuer of the financial product and may store eligibility rules specifying which of the financial products issued by the account issuer computer system150are eligible for tokenization. At214, the account issuer computer system150may provide a determination of eligibility to the token vault computer system110. The token vault computer system110may also authenticate the payment token at212. For instance, the token request may include an original payment credential related to the financial product or other data that may be used by the token provisioning logic112to authenticate the product. The token provisioning logic112may also request additional information from the token requestor to authenticate the financial product. In an example embodiment, the token vault computer system110stores authentication rules or other information that may be used to authenticate the financial product. In other embodiments, the token provisioning logic112is configured to send identifying information from the token request to the issuer of the financial product (e.g., account issuer computer system150) and receive an authentication confirmation in response. At216, the token vault computer system110(i.e., token provisioning logic112) is configured to filter the information within the token request. For instance, in some embodiments the payment token may include the name of a requesting device or a device storing an associated mobile wallet. The name may be encrypted within the payment token when the payment token is generated. In these embodiments, the token vault computer system110may be configured to filter any offensive words or characters from the device name so that the offensive characters are not received or interpreted by an entity receiving the payment token. The token vault computer system110may also be configured to filter any other offensive terms or characters that are to be included within the payment token. The filter settings may be determined by the token vault computer system110based on stored settings. The filter settings may also be determined based on inputs received from any of the entities in system100. For instance, the merchant computer system160or the network association computer system130may specify any words or characters that should be filtered from the payment token. At218, the token vault computer system110(i.e., token provisioning logic112) is configured to generate the payment token. The payment token may be generated after authenticating the financial product and determining that the financial product is eligible for tokenization. The payment token may be generated according to any coding convention described herein. The payment token may include any of the information described herein and related to the financial product, including any information received in the token request. Any information stored within the payment token may be encrypted by the token provisioning logic112. The token requestor or another entity authorized to receive the encrypted information may be provided with a key or other information for decrypting the encrypted information. In one embodiment, the token provisioning logic112is also configured to activate the payment token upon generating the payment token. At220, the token vault computer system110may also be configured to generate limited use keys (LUKs). The token provisioning logic112may be configured to generate one or more LUKs based on the token request. The LUKs may be generated such that they expire or become unusable based on determined thresholds. For instance, each LUK may be configured to expire based on a set time period for expiration or based on a threshold transaction velocity (i.e., speed by which funds are transmitted) or number of transactions. The token vault computer system110may be configured to determine these thresholds based on any number of factors, including based on the financial product, the account issuer, the account holder, and an expected use for the payment token. The token vault computer system110may store settings, including expiration thresholds, for the LUKs at the token repository122and/or the token history124. At222, the token vault computer system110(i.e., the token provisioning logic112) may provide a notification to the account holder computer system140. The notification may include information related to the payment token, such as any information found within the token request. The notification may also provide information related to generation of the payment token, including when the payment token was generated and/or activated, the associated financial product, the token requestor, the terms and conditions, any eligibility determination or authentication performed for the payment token, any LUKs that were generated based on the payment token or the token request, or any other information received or generated by the token vault computer system110. The token provisioning logic112may provide the notification to the account holder computer system140and require confirmation by the account holder (i.e., system140) prior to generating the payment token. The token provisioning logic112may also provide the notification when the payment token is generated and/or sent to another entity. In one embodiment, the same notification may be provided by the token notification logic120. At224, the token vault computer system110may send the generated payment token to the network association computer system130(e.g., if the payment token is not generated by the system130). However, in embodiments in which the network association computer system130generates the payment token, step224is not required. At226, the network association computer system130sends the payment token to the token requester (i.e., the merchant computer system160). In other embodiments, the token vault computer system110may send the generated payment token directly to the token requestor. Along with the payment token, the token vault computer system110may also send any associated terms and conditions, any graphics information for reading or displaying the payment token, and any LUKs that were generated with the payment token. In an example embodiment, the payment token has been activated and is available for use in making a payment. As referenced above, the process200may also be utilized to provision a token based on non-payment information (e.g., to tokenize non-payment information). Any description herein related to the provisioning of payment tokens may be applied accordingly to the provisioning of tokens for non-payment information (i.e., non-payment tokens). Payment information may refer to information that may be used to initiate a process a payment, such as an account number, a card number, a routing number, and the like. Non-payment information refers to any information that is not payment information, and may particularly include personal information of an account holder such as address information (e.g., a shipping address for purchases), personal identification numbers (e.g., social security number, driver's license number, etc.), and other personal identifying information. The token provisioning logic112and the process200may be utilized to provision a token based on any non-payment information so that the non-payment information may be securely transmitted between two or more parties. For instance, an account holder (i.e., the account holder computer system140) may store at the token vault computer system110one or more non-payment tokens based on various non-payment information. The account holder may then provide the one of the non-payment tokens to a merchant (i.e., the merchant computer system160). The merchant may then provide the non-payment token to the token vault computer system110in exchange for the de-tokenized (e.g., decrypted) non-payment information. The account holder may continue to update the stored token at the single-location token vault computer system110so that any third parties that have been provided the token are able to obtain the updated non-payment information without further communication by the account holder to any individual merchants or other parties. In an example embodiment, an account holder may want for a merchant (i.e., the merchant computer system160) to have access to the account holder's current shipping address at any time. The account holder may send a tokenization request to the token vault computer system110to request that the account holder's shipping address be tokenized. Once the token is provisioned, the account holder may then provide the token to the merchant. The merchant may then provide the token to the token vault computer system110in exchange for the account holder's current shipping address (or verification of the shipping address). By providing the token to the merchant, the account holder authorizes the merchant to obtain the account holder's shipping address and any other information related to the token. The tokens and the associated information are stored at the token vault computer system110. The merchant stores only the token rather than having to store the related information. The account holder may also request that the token be updated to change the shipping address or make additional information available to the merchant. Additional information may include a title of ownership, insurance information, personal identifying information, records of past transactions with the merchant, payment schedules, celebrated birthdays and holidays, upcoming transactions, and other information that may be useful to the merchant. The token vault computer system110is configured to manage the token, including updating the token according to requests received from the account holder. The merchant may request current information using the token at any time. The token vault computer system110may provide or verify the current information to the merchant in exchange for the token and/or additional value. The merchant may continually update the files and data attributes of its customer (i.e., the account holder) using the non-payment token. The token vault computer system110is configured to store various preferences related to the tokens. For instance, the account holder may provide preferences related to each individual merchant that is provided with the token. For instance, the token vault computer system110may store for each token (a) the merchant(s) that have received the token and those that are allowed to have/use the token, (b) contract provisions that govern how the merchant is allowed to use the token and the related information, (c) attributes and/or rules regarding the specific data fields of the account holder that the merchant is allowed to retrieve when presenting the token to the token vault computer system110, (d) rules regarding when access is revocable (e.g., access expires after 90 days), and (e) specific transaction use cases. In another example embodiment, an account holder may securely provide sensitive information to an intended party via an intermediary. For instance, the account holder may be required to provide personal identifying information (e.g., a social security number) to an intermediary in order to obtain a background check or credit check, apply for a loan, apply to rent an apartment, and the like. The token vault computer system110may tokenize the personal identifying information at the request of the account holder. The account holder may then provide the provisioned token to the intermediary to provide to the intended party (e.g., a credit agency, a police department, a loan officer, etc.). The account holder may also update the preferences for the provisioned token so that the intended party, and not the intermediary, is provided access to the tokenized personal identifying information in exchange for the token. The token vault computer system110may then provide the personal identifying information to only the intended party, and not the intermediary, based on the preferences of the account holder. The token vault computer system110may require additional information to verify the identity of the intended party prior to releasing the personal identifying information. In this way, the token vault computer system110ensures that the intermediary does not have access to the sensitive information. The token vault computer system110may also be configured to group certain non-payment information according to intended use. For instance, the token vault computer system110may automatically generate non-payment tokens based on information that is required when purchasing a car, when purchasing a home, when applying for college, when applying for rental housing, etc. The account holder may then provide these non-payment tokens to a third party, depending on the particular application, to more quickly and efficiently provide any required information. Referring now toFIG.3, a process300is shown for updating a payment token, according to an example embodiment. The process300may be performed using the token vault computer system110shown inFIG.1. In particular, the process300may be performed using the life cycle management logic116of the token vault computer system110. In an example embodiment, the process300is performed after the process200is performed to provision the payment token. At302, a request is received at the token vault computer system110to update a payment token. The request may include information for identifying the payment token, including information related to an account holder, an associated financial product, or any information otherwise associated with the financial product. The token vault computer system110(i.e., the life cycle management logic116) may be configured to authenticate the update request based on the information received. The token vault computer system110may also request additional information from the entity requesting an update and authenticate the update request based on the additional information. For instance, the token vault computer system110may be configured to request identifying information or other credentials from any entity requesting an update to a payment token. In an example embodiment, the token vault computer system110receives an update request from the account issuer computer system150. The update request is related to a payment token associated with a financial product issued by the account issuer computer system150. At304, the token vault computer system110is configured to update the payment token based on the update request. For instance, the token vault computer system110may receive the update request from the account issuer computer system150and determines an appropriate update for the payment token based on the request. As an example, the update request may indicate that the account holder has closed the credit card account (i.e., financial product) associated with the payment token. In this embodiment, the life cycle management logic116is configured to permanently de-activate the payment token. The life cycle management logic116may also be configured to suspend a payment token upon receiving an indication that the account holder is past due on a payment. In other embodiments, the token vault computer system110is configured to update the payment token absent an update request. In these embodiments, the life cycle management logic116may update the payment token based on an event or action determined by the token vault computer system110. For example, the life cycle management logic116may expire a payment token based on exceeding a time threshold associated with the payment token. Although the updates described herein are related to the life cycle of the payment token, at304the token vault computer system110may also be configured to otherwise update the payment token based on an inquiry. For instance, the token vault computer system110may receive an inquiry (e.g., from the account issuer computer system150) of a payment token and update the payment token to indicate that the inquiry was received. The token vault computer system110may also provide information to the account issuer computer system150and/or another entity of system100based on the inquiry. Any information related to the payment token updates may be stored in the token history124. At306, the token vault computer system110is configured to generate and send a notification to the account holder computer system140. The notification may provide an indication that the payment token has been updated. The notification may be sent to the account holder based on settings related to the payment token and/or the account holder. For instance, the token vault computer system110may generate notification settings for each payment token and/or account holder. The notification settings may be generated based on the token request (i.e., when the payment token is provisioned). The notification settings may also be modified based on input received from the account holder. In some embodiments, the token vault computer system110may only send notifications to the account holder based on specified updates, such as when the payment token is de-activated or expired. The token vault computer system110may send the notification to a mobile device of the account holder, such as when the mobile device is associated with the payment token. In one embodiment, the notification may be sent using the token notification logic120. At308, the token vault computer system110is configured to send a notification to the network association computer system130. The token vault computer system110may identify the appropriate network association based on the payment token. The notification is based on the payment token and may provide an indication that the payment token has been updated. The notification sent to system130may be the same or similar to the notification sent to system140. The notification may be sent to the network association computer system130based on settings related to the payment token and/or the network association. At310, the network association computer system130delivers the notification to the merchant computer system160. The network association computer system130may identify the merchant computer system160based on the payment token, including based on settings related to the payment token and stored at the token vault computer system110. In other embodiments, the token vault computer system110sends the notification directly to the merchant computer system160. In these embodiments, the token vault computer system110is configured to identify the merchant computer system160based on the payment token. At312, the merchant computer system160sends a confirmation to the network association computer system130that the notification has been received. At314, the network association computer system130delivers the confirmation to the token vault computer system110. In other embodiments, the token vault computer system110may receive the confirmation directly from the merchant computer system160. The merchant computer system160may identify the network association computer system130and/or the token vault computer system110based on the notification and/or based on information stored on the payment token. Similarly, the network association computer system130may identify the token vault computer system110based on the notification and/or the payment token. At316, the token vault computer system110stores the confirmation received from the merchant computer system160. The confirmation may be stored in the token history124. The token vault computer system110may also store a confirmation received from the account holder computer system140in the token history124. Referring now toFIG.4, another process400is shown for updating a payment token, according to an example embodiment. The process400may be performed using the token vault computer system110shown inFIG.1. In particular, the process400may be performed using the life cycle management logic116of the token vault computer system110. At402, the token requestor (e.g., the merchant computer system160) sends a request to the network association computer system130to update a payment token. At404, the network association computer system130delivers the request to the token vault computer system110. In other embodiments, the merchant computer system160may send the update request directly to the token vault computer system110. The payment token may be associated with the token vault computer system110. In one embodiment, the payment token was provisioned by the token vault computer system110. The payment token is also stored at the token vault computer system110. The merchant computer system160may identify the network association computer system130and/or the token vault computer system110based on the payment token. Likewise, the network association computer system130may identify the token vault computer system110based on the payment token. For instance, an identity of any or all of the systems110,130, and160may be included within the payment token and any or all of the systems110,130, and160may be configured to at least partially decrypt the payment token to determine the identity. The update request may include information related to the payment token, including a reason for updating the payment token. For instance, the update request may include one or more transactions performed using the payment token. The update request may also include an update related to the financial product associated with the payment token, such as a new account number or expiration date for the financial product. The update request may also include a new account holder for the financial product. At306, the token vault computer system110is configured to update the payment token based on the update request. The token vault computer system110may update the status of the payment token, such as by activating, suspending, resuming, de-activating, or expiring the payment token based on the update request. The token vault computer system110may be configured to authenticate the update request based on the information received within the update request. For instance, the token vault computer system110may require authenticating credentials to be included within the update request in order to process the update. At408, the token vault computer system110stores the update request and any related information in the token history124. The token vault computer system110may also store the updated payment token in the token repository122. At410, the token vault computer system110sends a response (e.g., confirmation) to the network association computer system130, indicating that the payment token has been updated. The token vault computer system110may also send the updated payment token to the system130as part of the response. At412, the network association computer system130delivers the response to the merchant computer system160. In other embodiments, the token vault computer system110may deliver the response directly to the merchant computer system160. Where the token requestor is not the account holder (i.e., account holder computer system140), the token vault computer system110may also send a notification to the account holder computer system140indicating that the payment token has been updated. In an example embodiment, the account holder may send a tokenization request to the token vault computer system110for a payment token related to a financial product of the account holder. The payment token provisioned by the computer system110may then be provided to online merchants rather than providing credit card information or other payment information. The online merchants may then be required to provide the payment token to the token vault computer system110to initiate a payment. The token vault computer system110is configured to authorize the transaction based on preferences provided by the account holder. The token vault computer system110also tracks every transaction and stores any related information for use by the account holder. The token vault computer system110also maintains a record of any data or information that is provided to the online merchants. The token vault computer system110may also report to the account holder any online merchants that have the account holder's payment information and/or payment token. The account holder may the restrict use based on the user preferences stored at the token vault computer system110. The account holder may also delete or disable any payment tokens The token vault computer system110may also provide an interface to the account holder for managing the stored tokens. In an example embodiment, the account holder accesses the token vault computer system110via an online interface or a mobile application. The account holder is able to request that a token be provisioned and manage any existing tokens stored at the token vault computer system110using the mobile application. The account holder may also adjust various user preferences related to the tokens using the mobile application. The token vault computer system110may also be configured to collect data based on provisioned tokens and tokens that are provided to third parties. For instance, the token vault computer system110could provide a map showing geographic or virtual locations where the account holder has provided a token or where a token has been used. The token vault computer system110could also mine additional data related to the payment tokens, including purchases, preferences, and other transaction data that could be used to provide additional services and targeted products to the account holder. Referring now toFIG.5, a process500is shown for authorizing a payment token as part of a financial transaction, according to an example embodiment. The process500may be at least partially performed using the token vault computer system110shown inFIG.1. In particular, the process500may be at least partially performed using the transaction authorization logic114of the token vault computer system110. At502, an account holder (i.e., account holder computer system140) sends a payment token to a merchant (i.e., merchant computer system160) to initiate a transaction. For instance, one of the account holder and the merchant may scan the payment token from a device of the other of the account holder and the merchant in order to send the payment token to the merchant computer system160. The payment token may include a cryptogram (i.e., encrypted data) for account information that may be useable by the merchant computer system160to process the transaction once the cryptogram is decrypted. At504, the merchant computer system160sends the payment token to the network association computer system130based on the payment token. The payment token may include identifying information for the network association computer system130that is readable by the merchant computer system160. In one embodiment, the merchant computer system160is configured to decrypt at least a portion of the payment token to identify the network association computer system130. For instance, the merchant computer system160may be provided with a decryption key (e.g., by the token vault computer system110, by the account holder computer system140, etc.) in order to identify an appropriate entity to send the payment token for authorization. At506, the network association computer system130delivers the payment token to the token vault computer system110based on the payment token. Similarly, the payment token may include identifying information for the token vault computer system110that is readable by the network association computer system130. In one embodiment, the network association computer system130is configured to decrypt at least a portion of the payment token to identify the token vault computer system110. For instance, the network association computer system130may be provided with a decryption key (e.g., by the token vault computer system110, by the account holder computer system140, etc.) in order to identify an appropriate entity to send the payment token for authorization. In another embodiment, the merchant computer system160delivers the payment token directly to the token vault computer system110based on the payment token. In this embodiment, the merchant computer system160may be configured to identify the token vault computer system110based on the payment token. At508, the token vault computer system110authenticates the payment token. The token vault computer system110may authenticate the payment token by validating encrypted data (i.e., a cryptogram) stored within the payment token. For instance, the token vault computer system110may authenticate the payment token by verifying that the payment token was provisioned by the token vault computer system110. The payment token may also be authenticated by verifying that the payment token was received from the account holder computer system140. The payment token may also be authenticated by verifying any other information stored as a cryptogram within the payment token, such as account holder information, information related to the associated financial product, provisioning data, or by matching any other data stored on the payment token with data stored at the token vault computer system110(e.g., token history124). As part of authenticating the payment token, the token vault computer system110may decrypt the payment token to reveal account information necessary to process the transaction. At510, the token vault computer system110may re-encrypt the account information. For instance, the account information may be tokenized similarly to when the payment token was provisioned. The account information may be encrypted in order to securely send the account information to the merchant computer system160to complete the transaction. At512, the encrypted account information is sent by the token vault computer system110to the network association computer system130as an indication that the transaction has been authorized by the token vault computer system110. At514, the network association computer system130delivers the encrypted account information to the merchant computer system160. In an example embodiment, at least the merchant computer system160is provided with a key or rules for decrypting the encrypted account information in order to process the transaction. In other embodiments, the token vault computer system110may deliver the encrypted account information directly to the merchant computer system160. At516, the token vault computer system110is configured to store any actions related to the payment token within the token history124. The token vault computer system110may also update the payment token at the token repository122, including to update the status of the payment token. The present disclosure contemplates methods, systems and program products on any machine-readable media for accomplishing various operations. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented using existing computer processors, or by a special purpose computer processor for an appropriate system, incorporated for this or another purpose, or by a hardwired system. Embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure include program products comprising machine-readable media for carrying or having machine-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon. Such machine-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or other machine with a processor. By way of example, such machine-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or other machine with a processor. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of machine-readable media. Machine-executable instructions include, for example, instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing machines to perform a certain function or group of functions. Software implementations could be accomplished with standard programming techniques with rule based logic and other logic to accomplish the various connection steps, processing steps, comparison steps and decision steps. While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular implementations. Certain features described in this specification in the context of separate implementations can also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single implementation can also be implemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination. Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the implementations described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products embodied on tangible media. Thus, particular implementations of the subject matter have been described. Other implementations are within the scope of the following claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. The claims should not be read as limited to the described order or elements unless stated to that effect. It should be understood that various changes in form and detail may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. All implementations that come within the spirit and scope of the following claims and equivalents thereto are claimed. | 82,033 |
11861595 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to systems and methods for generation and use of a device wallet identifier. Embodiments disclosed herein may create a onetime mapping of the hardware identifier, operating system-generated identifier, and/or platform-generated identifier to a device wallet identifier, which may be called “DeviceWalletId.” The device wallet identifier may be a unique alphanumeric string that may not be reversible and/or replicable. The device wallet identifier may be generated using a combination of an issuer identifier (e.g., something that uniquely identifies the customer/user on the issuer side, such as a person identifier, customer identifier, profile identifier, etc.) and/or a hardware identifier, which may be passed to an algorithmic function and mapped, by the issuer, to the issuer identifier. Embodiments may provide some or all of the following advantages: (1) unified handling of permutation of the hardware identifier, operating system-generated identifier, and/or platform-generated identifier and the issuer identifier; (2) provides an immutable identifier that survives events involving the wallet or device (e.g., resets, uninstalls, operating system resets, etc.), thereby “hack-proofing” the hardware identifier if the device is compromised (e.g., jail broken); (3) the issuer may maintain a device history that may be used for fraud detection, decisioning, etc.; (4) allows multiple people using the same device (e.g., the same hardware identifier, operating system-generated identifier, and/or platform-generated identifier) to have different device wallet identifiers based on different issuer identifiers; (5) permits promotions, communications, offers, etc. to be sent to the customer based on usage and/or usage patterns; etc. Referring toFIG.1, a system for generation and use of a device wallet identifier is disclosed according to one embodiment. System100may include electronic device110, which may be any suitable electronic device (e.g., smartphone, tablet computer, smart watch, Internet of Things (IoT) appliance, notebook/laptop computer, desktop computer, workstation, etc.). Electronic device110may execute operating system112, and may execute one or more electronic wallets114, one or more payment application116, etc. Electronic device110may provide one or more of a hardware identifier (e.g., a manufacturer defined or assigned identifier), operating system-generated identifier, and/or platform-generated identifier for electronic wallet(s)114and/or payment application(s)116. System100may further include issuer120, which may issue one or more financial instruments that may be provisioned to electronic wallet(s)114and/or payment application(s)114. Issuer120may include backend122, which may include one or more servers, computers, etc. that may generate a device wallet identifier. Issuer120may also assign an issuer identifier (e.g., something that uniquely identifies the customer on the issuer side, such as a person identifier, customer identifier, profile identifier, etc.) to customer130. Storage124may maintain a mapping between the issuer identifier and the device wallet identifier. In one embodiment, the device wallet identifier may be stored on electronic device110, for example, in secure storage, within a cache for electronic wallet114and/or payment application, etc. In one embodiment, the device wallet identifier may be sent as part of a request or API call from electronic device110to issuer backend122. Referring toFIG.2, a method for generating a device wallet identifier is disclosed according to one embodiment. In step205, a backend for an issuer may receive a payload including, for example, a wallet identifier that may include one or more of a hardware identifier, operating system-generated identifier, and/or platform-generated identifier for an electronic wallet or payment application executed by an electronic device. In one embodiment, this may occur when a financial instrument is provisioned to the wallet, during a lifecycle event, etc. In one embodiment, at least some of the payload may be encrypted. In another embodiment, at least some of the payload may be received from a payment network (e.g., Visa, MasterCard, etc.) during provisioning. In one embodiment, a reconciliation algorithm may be used to calculate a device wallet identifier. In step210, the backend may retrieve an issuer identifier for the customer. In one embodiment, the issuer identifier may be anything that uniquely identifies the customer on the issuer side, such as a person identifier, customer identifier, profile identifier, etc. In step215, the backend may generate a device wallet identifier. In one embodiment, the device wallet identifier may be based on the wallet identifier (e.g., the hardware identifier, operating system-generated identifier, and/or platform-generated identifier) and the issuer identifier using an algorithmic function. In one embodiment, the device wallet identifier that be a unique alphanumeric string that may not be reversible and/or replicable. In one embodiment, the device wallet identifier may be unique to the customer, even if the customers are using the same device. In another embodiment, the device wallet identifier may be randomly generated. For example, a first table of sequential numbers having a fixed length may be used. For example, the first table may have four digits. Any suitable number of digits may be used as is necessary and/or desired. In one embodiment, the first table may lists the number of identifier batches intended to be used by an application. An example of a first table is provided inFIG.3A. A second table of random numbers having a fixed length that may be left padded with zeros may be used. In one embodiment, a table having six digits may be used. Any suitable number of digits may be used as is necessary and/or desired. In one embodiment, the second table may be is an estimate of the quantity of identifiers allocated in a given batch. An example of a second table is provided inFIG.3B. Next, a hash of the device identifier may be generated using the first and second tables. Referring toFIG.4, a method of deriving a Device Wallet ID is disclosed according to one embodiment. In step405, a number, X, may be selected. In one embodiment, this may be an available ID_PREFIX value from the first table (e.g., the DEVICE_ID_PREFIX table). The selected ID_PREFIX may be marked as unavailable. In one embodiment, the number X may be randomly or pseudo-randomly selected. In step410, a second number, Y, may be selected. In one embodiment, an available ID_SUFFIX value from the second table (e.g., the DEVICE_ID_SUFFIX table) may be selected and may be marked as unavailable. In one embodiment, the number Y may be randomly or pseudo-randomly selected. In step415, the two values (X and Y) may be appended and passed as a parameter into a Device Hash algorithm. In one embodiment, additional parameter(s), such as such as a person identifier, a customer identifier, a profile identifier, a hardware identifier, etc. may be appended with the two values as is necessary and/or desired. In one embodiment, a system time stamp (e.g., in milliseconds) may be appended and passed to the Device Hash function. The derived value is the DeviceWalletID. For example, an equation representing the DeviceWalletID is DeviceWalletID=DeviceHashAlgorithm(“X”+“Y”,“ProfileID”). An example table depicting DEVICE_HASH (e.g., the Device Wallet ID) is provided asFIG.3C. In step220, the device wallet identifier may be mapped to the issuer identifier for the customer, and may be stored in a database. In one embodiment, the device wallet identifier may also be calculated at runtime. Exemplary use cases for the device wallet identifier are as follows. First, the device wallet identifier may be used to send special offers based on customers' usage pattern to encourage people to use the wallet or payment application. For example, customers may be provided with incentives to encourage continued use (e.g., “super users” that frequently use the wallet or payment application), to encourage continued use (e.g., casual users that use the application occasionally), or to encourage users to try the wallet or payment application (e.g., first time users). As another example, the device wallet identifier may be used to profile a customer's behavior using the wallet or payment application on the electronic device. For example, a profile may be generated based on the type of transactions, number of transactions, transaction amount, etc. conducted by the customer using the wallet or payment application on the electronic device. A separate profile may be kept for each wallet or payment application on each of the customer's electronic devices. As another example, the device wallet identifier may be used to provide analytics for customers. For example, the customer may be provided with the customer's behavior pattern using each of the customer's wallets payment applications on each of the customer's electronic devices. As another example, the device wallet identifier may be used with a fraud rules engine to approve/reject the transactions based on the geographic coordinates of the electronic device and the device wallet identifier, to calculate a risk score based on the type of transactions/payment activities on the electronic device, etc. In one embodiment, the device wallet identifier may be used to send targeted marketing messages, notifications, personalized messages, etc. to the customer through the wallet or payment application, out of band, etc. It should be recognized that although several embodiments have been disclosed, these embodiments are not exclusive and aspects of one embodiment may be applicable to other embodiments. Hereinafter, general aspects of implementation of the systems and methods of the invention will be described. The system of the invention or portions of the system of the invention may be in the form of a “processing machine,” such as a general purpose computer, for example. As used herein, the term “processing machine” is to be understood to include at least one processor that uses at least one memory. The at least one memory stores a set of instructions. The instructions may be either permanently or temporarily stored in the memory or memories of the processing machine. The processor executes the instructions that are stored in the memory or memories in order to process data. The set of instructions may include various instructions that perform a particular task or tasks, such as those tasks described above. Such a set of instructions for performing a particular task may be characterized as a program, software program, or simply software. In one embodiment, the processing machine may be a specialized processor. As noted above, the processing machine executes the instructions that are stored in the memory or memories to process data. This processing of data may be in response to commands by a user or users of the processing machine, in response to previous processing, in response to a request by another processing machine and/or any other input, for example. As noted above, the processing machine used to implement the invention may be a general purpose computer. However, the processing machine described above may also utilize any of a wide variety of other technologies including a special purpose computer, a computer system including, for example, a microcomputer, mini-computer or mainframe, a programmed microprocessor, a micro-controller, a peripheral integrated circuit element, a CSIC (Customer Specific Integrated Circuit) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or other integrated circuit, a logic circuit, a digital signal processor, a programmable logic device such as a FPGA, PLD, PLA or PAL, or any other device or arrangement of devices that is capable of implementing the steps of the processes of the invention. The processing machine used to implement the invention may utilize a suitable operating system. Thus, embodiments of the invention may include a processing machine running the iOS operating system, the OS X operating system, the Android operating system, the Microsoft Windows™ operating systems, the Unix operating system, the Linux operating system, the Xenix operating system, the IBM AIX™ operating system, the Hewlett-Packard UX™ operating system, the Novell Netware™ operating system, the Sun Microsystems Solaris™ operating system, the OS/2™ operating system, the BeOS™ operating system, the Macintosh operating system, the Apache operating system, an OpenStep™ operating system or another operating system or platform. It is appreciated that in order to practice the method of the invention as described above, it is not necessary that the processors and/or the memories of the processing machine be physically located in the same geographical place. That is, each of the processors and the memories used by the processing machine may be located in geographically distinct locations and connected so as to communicate in any suitable manner. Additionally, it is appreciated that each of the processor and/or the memory may be composed of different physical pieces of equipment. Accordingly, it is not necessary that the processor be one single piece of equipment in one location and that the memory be another single piece of equipment in another location. That is, it is contemplated that the processor may be two pieces of equipment in two different physical locations. The two distinct pieces of equipment may be connected in any suitable manner. Additionally, the memory may include two or more portions of memory in two or more physical locations. To explain further, processing, as described above, is performed by various components and various memories. However, it is appreciated that the processing performed by two distinct components as described above may, in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, be performed by a single component. Further, the processing performed by one distinct component as described above may be performed by two distinct components. In a similar manner, the memory storage performed by two distinct memory portions as described above may, in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, be performed by a single memory portion. Further, the memory storage performed by one distinct memory portion as described above may be performed by two memory portions. Further, various technologies may be used to provide communication between the various processors and/or memories, as well as to allow the processors and/or the memories of the invention to communicate with any other entity; i.e., so as to obtain further instructions or to access and use remote memory stores, for example. Such technologies used to provide such communication might include a network, the Internet, Intranet, Extranet, LAN, an Ethernet, wireless communication via cell tower or satellite, or any client server system that provides communication, for example. Such communications technologies may use any suitable protocol such as TCP/IP, UDP, or OSI, for example. As described above, a set of instructions may be used in the processing of the invention. The set of instructions may be in the form of a program or software. The software may be in the form of system software or application software, for example. The software might also be in the form of a collection of separate programs, a program module within a larger program, or a portion of a program module, for example. The software used might also include modular programming in the form of object oriented programming. The software tells the processing machine what to do with the data being processed. Further, it is appreciated that the instructions or set of instructions used in the implementation and operation of the invention may be in a suitable form such that the processing machine may read the instructions. For example, the instructions that form a program may be in the form of a suitable programming language, which is converted to machine language or object code to allow the processor or processors to read the instructions. That is, written lines of programming code or source code, in a particular programming language, are converted to machine language using a compiler, assembler or interpreter. The machine language is binary coded machine instructions that are specific to a particular type of processing machine, i.e., to a particular type of computer, for example. The computer understands the machine language. Any suitable programming language may be used in accordance with the various embodiments of the invention. Illustratively, the programming language used may include assembly language, Ada, APL, Basic, C, C++, COBOL, dBase, Forth, Fortran, Java, Modula-2, Pascal, Prolog, REXX, Visual Basic, and/or JavaScript, for example. Further, it is not necessary that a single type of instruction or single programming language be utilized in conjunction with the operation of the system and method of the invention. Rather, any number of different programming languages may be utilized as is necessary and/or desirable. Also, the instructions and/or data used in the practice of the invention may utilize any compression or encryption technique or algorithm, as may be desired. An encryption module might be used to encrypt data. Further, files or other data may be decrypted using a suitable decryption module, for example. As described above, the invention may illustratively be embodied in the form of a processing machine, including a computer or computer system, for example, that includes at least one memory. It is to be appreciated that the set of instructions, i.e., the software for example, that enables the computer operating system to perform the operations described above may be contained on any of a wide variety of media or medium, as desired. Further, the data that is processed by the set of instructions might also be contained on any of a wide variety of media or medium. That is, the particular medium, i.e., the memory in the processing machine, utilized to hold the set of instructions and/or the data used in the invention may take on any of a variety of physical forms or transmissions, for example. Illustratively, the medium may be in the form of paper, paper transparencies, a compact disk, a DVD, an integrated circuit, a hard disk, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a magnetic tape, a RAM, a ROM, a PROM, an EPROM, a wire, a cable, a fiber, a communications channel, a satellite transmission, a memory card, a SIM card, or other remote transmission, as well as any other medium or source of data that may be read by the processors of the invention. Further, the memory or memories used in the processing machine that implements the invention may be in any of a wide variety of forms to allow the memory to hold instructions, data, or other information, as is desired. Thus, the memory might be in the form of a database to hold data. The database might use any desired arrangement of files such as a flat file arrangement or a relational database arrangement, for example. In the system and method of the invention, a variety of “user interfaces” may be utilized to allow a user to interface with the processing machine or machines that are used to implement the invention. As used herein, a user interface includes any hardware, software, or combination of hardware and software used by the processing machine that allows a user to interact with the processing machine. A user interface may be in the form of a dialogue screen for example. A user interface may also include any of a mouse, touch screen, keyboard, keypad, voice reader, voice recognizer, dialogue screen, menu box, list, checkbox, toggle switch, a pushbutton or any other device that allows a user to receive information regarding the operation of the processing machine as it processes a set of instructions and/or provides the processing machine with information. Accordingly, the user interface is any device that provides communication between a user and a processing machine. The information provided by the user to the processing machine through the user interface may be in the form of a command, a selection of data, or some other input, for example. As discussed above, a user interface is utilized by the processing machine that performs a set of instructions such that the processing machine processes data for a user. The user interface is typically used by the processing machine for interacting with a user either to convey information or receive information from the user. However, it should be appreciated that in accordance with some embodiments of the system and method of the invention, it is not necessary that a human user actually interact with a user interface used by the processing machine of the invention. Rather, it is also contemplated that the user interface of the invention might interact, i.e., convey and receive information, with another processing machine, rather than a human user. Accordingly, the other processing machine might be characterized as a user. Further, it is contemplated that a user interface utilized in the system and method of the invention may interact partially with another processing machine or processing machines, while also interacting partially with a human user. It will be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible to broad utility and application. Many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than those herein described, as well as many variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and foregoing description thereof, without departing from the substance or scope of the invention. Accordingly, while the present invention has been described here in detail in relation to its exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made to provide an enabling disclosure of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing disclosure is not intended to be construed or to limit the present invention or otherwise to exclude any other such embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications or equivalent arrangements. | 22,510 |
11861596 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following detailed description of example implementations refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements. A primary account number (PAN) may refer to an identifier (e.g., a 14 to 16 digit numerical code, number, or sequence of characters) that identifies a transaction card account (e.g., a credit card account, a debit card account, and/or the like) of an account holder. In some cases, the first six digits of the PAN may identify a transaction card network and/or a transaction card issuer, the next set of unique digits may identify the account holder's account, and the last digit may be used for additional fraud security. The PAN may uniquely identify an account of a transaction cardholder. If a PAN is obtained by a malicious user, the PAN may be used to commit transaction card fraud (e.g., by charging transaction to the cardholder's account without knowledge by and/or authorization of the cardholder). To reduce transaction card fraud, the PAN may be tokenized to obfuscate the actual PAN of a transaction card by replacing the actual PAN with an algorithmically generated tokenized PAN (e.g., a token). The tokenized PAN may be used in association with the transaction to prevent a malicious user from obtaining the actual PAN. For example, the actual PAN may be tokenized for storage in a database (e.g., a merchant database, a card issuer database, a data vault, a token vault, and/or the like). As a particular example, when a transaction card is used at a transaction terminal (e.g., by swiping the card, inserting the card, and/or the like), the transaction terminal may transmit the actual PAN to a card tokenization system, which may tokenize the actual PAN to generate a tokenized PAN, and may store the tokenized PAN and/or transmit the tokenized PAN back to the transaction terminal. However, in this scenario, the transaction terminal still obtains the actual PAN at the beginning of the transaction. As a result, a malicious user may obtain the actual PAN from the transaction terminal (e.g., using malware and/or malicious software on the transaction terminal, and/or the like), and may commit transaction card fraud using the actual PAN. Some techniques and apparatuses described herein permit an actual PAN of a transaction card to be tokenized by the transaction card. The transaction card may then transmit a tokenized PAN, rather than the actual PAN, to a transaction terminal. Thus, the transaction terminal may never receive the actual PAN, thereby improving security and reducing the likelihood of transaction card fraud. For example, a malicious user may only be able to obtain tokenized PANs, and not actual PANs, from a transaction terminal. Additional details are described below. FIG.1is a diagram of an example implementation100described herein. As shown inFIG.1, a transaction may be initiated by establishing communication and/or communicating information between a transaction card and a transaction terminal. For example, as shown, the transaction card may be inserted into the transaction terminal. Alternatively, the transaction card may be swiped at the transaction terminal, may be brought into communicative proximity of the transaction terminal (e.g., using near-field communication (NFC) and/or the like), and/or the like. Additional details regarding the transaction card and the transaction terminal are described below in connection withFIG.2. As shown by reference number105, the transaction terminal may transmit a merchant code and/or transaction data to the transaction card (e.g., after the transaction has been initiated). The transaction data may include, for example, the merchant code, a transaction amount, a transaction date, a transaction time, a transaction location, and/or the like. The merchant code may identify a merchant associated with the transaction (e.g., a seller, a retailer, a company, a business, an organization, and/or the like). As shown by reference number110, the transaction card may generate a tokenized PAN using an actual PAN of the transaction card and transaction data. For example, in some implementations, the transaction card may generate the tokenized PAN using the actual PAN and the merchant code. In some implementations, the transaction card may generate the tokenized PAN using the actual PAN and transaction data other than the merchant code. In some implementations, the transaction card may generate the tokenized PAN using the actual PAN, the merchant code, and additional transaction data (e.g., a transaction amount, a transaction date, a transaction time, a transaction location, and/or the like). The actual PAN may be a unique identifier that uniquely identifies an account associated with the transaction card (e.g., a cardholder account and/or the like). In some implementations, the actual PAN may be a 14 digit number, a 15 digit number, a 16 digit number, and/or the like. In some implementations, the tokenized PAN may be generated to have the same format as the actual PAN (e.g., using a same number of digits). In some implementations, the tokenized PAN may be generated to have a different format than the actual PAN, and may include numbers, letters, symbols, and/or the like. In some implementations, the tokenized PAN may tokenize the entire actual PAN (e.g., all digits of the actual PAN). In some implementations, the tokenized PAN may be generated to tokenize a portion of the actual PAN (e.g., a subset of digits of the actual PAN). Tokenization may use one or more tokenization algorithms and/or tokenization techniques, which may use random number generation, pseudo-random number generation, and/or the like, to generate a tokenized PAN from which the actual PAN cannot be reverse engineered without prior knowledge of the tokenization algorithm and/or technique and the parameters used as input to such tokenization algorithm and/or technique. Additionally, or alternatively, the transaction card may generate the tokenized PAN using one or more payment credentials. A payment credential may include, for example, an expiration date associated with the transaction card (e.g., a month and/or year of expiration, and/or the like), a card security code associated with the transaction card (e.g., a card verification value (CVV), a CVV2, a card verification code (CVC), CVC2, a card identifier (CID), and/or the like), a cardholder name associated with the transaction card, a billing postal code associated with the transaction card (e.g., a ZIP code and/or the like), one or more fields of a billing address associated with the transaction card (e.g., a physical address, a post office box, a street number, a street name, a city, a state, a geographic region, and/or the like), a personal identification number (PIN) associated with the transaction card, and/or the like. In some implementations, the transaction card (e.g., a combination of hardware included in the transaction card and software executing on the transaction card) may perform tokenization (e.g., a tokenization process, a tokenization algorithm, and/or the like) to generate the tokenized PAN. For example, the transaction card (e.g., one or more processors included in the transaction card) may receive the actual PAN (e.g., from secure storage included in the transaction card) and one or more parameters to be used as input for tokenization. The one or more parameters may include one or more payment credentials (as described above), information included in transaction data received from the transaction terminal (as described above), a random seed (e.g., randomly selected from a set of possible seeds), and/or the like. The transaction card may perform tokenization to modify some or all digits (and/or characters) of the actual PAN in a particular manner, depending on the one or more parameters, to generate the digits and/or characters of the tokenized PAN. In some implementations, the transaction card may use a different parameter and/or combination of parameters to perform tokenization based on one or more tokenization factors, such as a time of the transaction, a day of the week on which the transaction is performed, a date of the transaction, a merchant associated with the transaction, a cardholder associated with the transaction, a terminal identifier of the transaction terminal, and/or the like. In some implementations, the one or more tokenization factors may be communicated to the transaction terminal and/or the transaction processing system, so that the transaction processing system can detokenize the tokenized PAN to obtain the actual PAN. In this way, security may be further improved. In some implementations, the tokenized PAN may be a single-use tokenized PAN. In this case, and as described in more detail below, a transaction processing system may decline the transaction if the tokenized PAN has been previously used (has ever been used), and/or if the tokenized PAN has been previously used within a threshold time period (e.g., one hour, one week, one month, one year, two years, and/or the like). In this case, the transaction card may generate the tokenized PAN using information that may differ across different transactions (e.g., for the same merchant and same transaction card). For example, the transaction card may generate the tokenized PAN using a transaction amount, a transaction date, a transaction time, a transaction location, and/or the like. Additionally, or alternatively, in this case, the transaction card may generate the tokenized PAN using information that does not differ across different transactions (e.g., for the same merchant and same transaction card), such as one or more payment credentials, a merchant code, and/or the like. In some implementations, the tokenized PAN may be a multi-use tokenized PAN that may be used multiple times in connection with the same merchant. In this case, and as described in more detail below, a transaction processing system may decline the transaction if the tokenized PAN has been previously used for a transaction with a different merchant (e.g., associated with a different transaction code). In this case, the transaction card may generate the tokenized PAN using only information that does not differ across different transactions (e.g., for the same merchant and same transaction card). For example, the transaction card may generate the tokenized PAN using information other than a transaction amount, a transaction date, a transaction time, a transaction location, and/or the like. For example, the transaction card may generate the tokenized PAN using one or more payment credentials, a merchant code, and/or the like, which do not differ across different transactions associated with the same merchant and same transaction card. In some implementations, the transaction card may generate multiple tokenized PANs, and may transmit the multiple tokenized PANs to the transaction terminal for processing the transaction (as described in more detail below). In some implementations, the transaction card may use different sets of parameters to generate different tokenized PANs, of the multiple tokenized PANs, from the actual PAN. For example, the transaction card may generate both a single-use tokenized PAN (as described above) and a multi-use tokenized PAN (e.g., for multiple uses with a specific merchant, as described above) based on the actual PAN. In this case, a first tokenized PAN (e.g., a single-use tokenized PAN) may be generated using a first set of parameters (e.g., one or more first parameters), and a second tokenized PAN (e.g., a multi-use tokenized PAN) may be generated using a second set of parameters (e.g., one or more second parameters). In some implementations, the first set of parameters may change across transactions, and the second set of parameters may not change across transactions (e.g., with the same merchant). Additionally, or alternatively, the transaction card may combine the first tokenized PAN and the second tokenized PAN to generate a combined tokenized PAN, which may be transmitted to the transaction terminal for processing the transaction. In this way, security may be further improved. As shown by reference number115, the transaction card may transmit the tokenized PAN to the transaction terminal. Additionally, or alternatively, the transaction card may transmit one or more payment credentials to the transaction terminal (e.g., one or more payment credentials described above). For example, the transaction card may transmit the tokenized PAN and payment credential(s) to the transaction terminal after a user has interacted with the transaction terminal to approve the transaction (e.g., to approve the transaction amount, submit a signature, and/or the like). As shown by reference number120, the transaction terminal may transmit the tokenized PAN, the payment credential(s), and/or the transaction data (e.g., including the merchant code) to a transaction processing system. The transaction processing system may process, authorize, and/or authenticate the transaction using the tokenized PAN and other information received from the transaction terminal. In this way, the transaction terminal never has access to the actual PAN. Additional details regarding the transaction processing system are described below in connection withFIG.2. As shown by reference number125, the transaction processing system may derive the actual PAN from the tokenized PAN and one or more parameters received from the transaction terminal. The one or more parameters may include, for example, transaction data (e.g., a merchant code, a transaction amount, a transaction date, a transaction time, a transaction location, and/or the like), one or more payment credentials, and/or the like. In some implementations, the transaction processing system (e.g., a combination of hardware included in the transaction card and software executing on the transaction card) may perform detokenization (e.g., a detokenization process, a detokenization algorithm, and/or the like) to determine the actual PAN from the tokenized PAN. For example, the transaction processing system (e.g., one or more processors included in the transaction processing system) may receive the tokenized PAN and one or more parameters to be used as input for detokenization. The one or more parameters may include one or more payment credentials (as described above), information included in transaction data received from the transaction terminal (as described above), a random seed (e.g., randomly selected from a set of possible seeds), and/or the like. The transaction processing system may perform detokenization to modify some or all digits and/or characters of the tokenized PAN in a particular manner, depending on the one or more parameters, to generate the digits (and/or characters) of the actual PAN. As shown by reference number130, the transaction processing system may determine whether to authorize the transaction based on the actual PAN, the tokenized PAN, and/or one or more payment credentials. For example, the transaction processing system may verify the actual PAN and the one or more payment credentials to determine whether to authorize the transaction. In some implementations, the transaction processing system may perform one or more techniques to check for transaction card fraud using the actual PAN, the one or more payment credentials, and/or the transaction data. Additionally, or alternatively, as shown by reference number135, the transaction processing system may determine whether to authorize the transaction based on the tokenized PAN. For example, the transaction processing system may compare the tokenized PAN to a list of tokenized PANs stored in memory (e.g., a data structure, a database, and/or the like). The list of tokenized PANs may include a list of tokenized PANs that have previously been used for a transaction. For example, when the transaction processing system receives a tokenized PAN, the transaction processing system may store the tokenized PAN in memory. In some implementations, the transaction processing system may store the tokenized PAN in memory in association with a merchant code associated with a transaction for which the tokenized PAN is used. In some implementations, where the transaction processing system receives multiple tokenized PANs, the transaction processing system may compare all of the tokenized PANs to the list of PANs stored in memory. If all of the tokenized PANS are successfully authenticated (e.g., as described herein), then the transaction processing system may approve the transaction. However, if one of the tokenized PANs fails authentication, then the transaction processing system may decline the transaction. In some implementations, a tokenized PAN may be a single-use tokenized PAN. In this case, the transaction processing system may receive the tokenized PAN from the transaction terminal, and may perform a lookup to determine whether the tokenized PAN is stored in the list. If the tokenized PAN is stored in the list, indicating that the tokenized PAN has already been used for a transaction, then the transaction processing system may decline the transaction. Additionally, or alternatively, the transaction processing system may transmit a notification that the tokenized PAN has already been used (e.g., to a merchant device, a merchant email address, a cardholder device, a cardholder email address, and/or the like) to provide an alert of potential transaction card fraud. If the tokenized PAN is not stored in the list, then the transaction processing system may approve the transaction, and may store the tokenized PAN in the list. In some implementations, a single-use tokenized PAN may be single-use for a threshold time period, so that tokenized PANs may eventually be re-used. In this case, the transaction processing system may determine whether the tokenized PAN has been previously used within a threshold time period (e.g., one hour, one week, one month, six months, one year, and/or the like). In this case, when the transaction processing system receives a tokenized PAN from the transaction terminal, the transaction processing system may store information that identifies when the tokenized PAN was used (e.g., a time at which the tokenized PAN was transmitted, received, and/or stored, a transaction time indicated in transaction data, and/or the like). Additionally, or alternatively, the transaction processing system may delete tokenized PANs from the list after the threshold time period has elapsed (so that if the tokenized PAN is reused after the threshold time period, a matching tokenized PAN will not be stored in the list, and the transaction will be approved). In some implementations, a tokenized PAN may be a multi-use tokenized PAN permitted to be used multiple times across different transactions with the same merchant. In this case, the transaction processing system may receive the tokenized PAN and a first merchant code from the transaction terminal, and may perform a lookup to determine whether the tokenized PAN is stored in the list in association with a second (e.g., different) merchant code. If the tokenized PAN is stored in the list in association with the second merchant code, indicating that the tokenized PAN has previously been used for a transaction with a different merchant, then the transaction processing system may decline the transaction. Additionally, or alternatively, the transaction processing system may transmit a notification that the tokenized PAN has previously been used for a transaction with a different merchant (e.g., to a first merchant device, a first merchant email address, a second merchant device, a second merchant email address, a cardholder device, a cardholder email address, and/or the like) to provide an alert of potential transaction card fraud. If the tokenized PAN is not stored in the list in associated with a second merchant code (e.g., is not stored in the list, or is stored in the list in association with the first merchant code), then the transaction processing system may approve the transaction, and may store the tokenized PAN in the list in association with the first merchant code (e.g., if the tokenized PAN is not already stored in the list in association with the first merchant code). In some implementations, if the transaction is denied, the transaction processing system may determine a location of the transaction card, and may provide information that identifies the location to a user device (e.g., a smart phone, a tablet, and/or the like) of a cardholder, to a user device associated with an authority (e.g., a police officer, a police station, and/or the like), and/or the like. In some implementations, the location may be provided via a text message, an email, a phone call, and/or the like. Additionally, or alternatively, the transaction processing system may instruct the transaction card to broadcast the location. Additionally, or alternatively, the transaction processing system may flag the actual PAN and/or the tokenized PAN (e.g., by storing an indication in memory) for future transactions. As shown by reference number140, the transaction processing system may transmit an authorization result to the transaction terminal. The authorization result may be a result of determining whether to authorize the transaction, and may be an indication to approve the transaction or an indication to decline the transaction, as described above. Based on the authorization result, the transaction terminal may output an indication of whether the transaction is approved or declined, and may complete the transaction if the transaction is approved. In some implementations, the transaction processing system may determine whether to approve or deny the transaction solely based on the tokenized PAN. Additionally, or alternatively, the transaction processing system may determine whether to approve or deny the transaction based on the tokenized PAN in combination with one or more other factors and/or data points that are used by a fraud detection model of a card issuer (e.g., and applied by the transaction processing system). When the transaction card performs tokenization of an actual PAN of the transaction card and transmits a tokenized PAN to a transaction terminal, the transaction terminal may never receive the actual PAN, thereby improving security and reducing the likelihood of transaction card fraud. For example, a malicious user may only be able to obtain tokenized PANs, and not actual PANs, from the transaction terminal. Furthermore, security may be further improved by placing restrictions on tokenized PANs, such as in the case of a single-use PAN or a multi-use PAN restricted to a single merchant, as described above. In these cases, if a tokenized PAN is compromised (e.g., discovered and/or used by a malicious user), the transaction processing system may decline the transaction, and may provide an alert regarding the compromised tokenized PAN. For example, if a tokenized PAN is used in association with a first merchant, and is later used at a second merchant, the transaction processing system may provide an alert indicating that the first merchant has been compromised. As indicated above,FIG.1is provided as an example. Other examples are possible and may differ from what was described with regard toFIG.1. FIG.2is a diagram of an example environment200in which systems and/or methods, described herein, may be implemented. As shown inFIG.2, environment200may include a transaction card210, a transaction terminal220, a network230, and a transaction processing system240. In environment200, transaction card210may communicate data associated with or relating to a transaction with transaction terminal220, which facilitates processing the transaction through communication with transaction processing system240via network230. Devices of environment200may interconnect via wired connections, wireless connections, or a combination of wired and wireless connections. Transaction card210includes a transaction card with one or more hardware components and/or one or more hardware and software components (e.g., as described in more detail below in connection withFIG.3). Transaction card210is capable of storing and/or communicating data for a point of sale (PoS) transaction with transaction terminal220. For example, transaction card210may store or communicate data including account information (e.g., an account identifier, a cardholder identifier, an actual PAN, and/or the like), expiration information of transaction card210, banking information, transaction information (e.g., a payment token), and/or the like. For example, to store or communicate the data, transaction card210may include a magnetic strip and/or an integrated circuit (IC) chip (e.g., a EUROPAY®, MASTERCARD®, VISA® (EMV) chip, or the like). In some implementations, transaction card210may include software (e.g., an application, an applet, and/or the like), executing on hardware, to perform one or more processes described herein. In some implementations, transaction card210may include an antenna to communicate data associated with transaction card210. The antenna may be a passive radio frequency (RF) antenna, an active RF antenna, a boosted RF antenna, a battery-assisted RF antenna, and/or the like. In some implementations, transaction card210may be a smart transaction card, capable of communicating wirelessly (e.g., via Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), near-field communication (NFC), and/or the like) with a computing device, such as transaction terminal220, a digital wallet, and/or another device. In some implementations, transaction card210may communicate with transaction terminal220to complete a transaction (e.g., based on being moved within communicative proximity of transaction terminal220). In some implementations, transaction card210may store sensitive data, such as an actual PAN of the transaction card210and/or one or more payment credential, in a secure storage component (e.g., a secure element and/or the like) of transaction card210. Transaction terminal220includes one or more devices capable of receiving, generating, storing, processing, and/or providing information associated with facilitating a transaction (such as a PoS transaction). For example, transaction terminal220may include a communication device and/or computing device capable of receiving data from transaction card210and/or processing a transaction based on the data. In some implementations, transaction terminal220may include a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a handheld computer, and/or a mobile phone (e.g., a smart phone, a radiotelephone, etc.). Transaction terminal220may be owned and/or operated by one or more individuals or businesses engaged in a sale of goods or services (e.g., one or more merchants, vendors, service providers, and/or the like). Transaction terminal220may include one or more devices to facilitate processing a transaction via transaction card210. Transaction terminal220may include a PoS terminal, a security access terminal, an automatic teller machine (ATM) terminal, and/or the like. Transaction terminal220may include one or more input devices and/or output devices to facilitate obtaining transaction card data from transaction card210and/or interaction or authorization from a cardholder of transaction card210. Example input devices of transaction terminal220may include a number keypad, a touchscreen, a magnetic strip reader, a chip reader, and/or an RF signal reader. A magnetic strip reader of transaction terminal220may receive transaction card data as a magnetic strip of transaction card210is swiped along the magnetic strip reader. A chip reader of transaction terminal220may receive transaction card data from an IC chip (e.g., an EMV chip) of transaction card210when the chip is placed in contact with the chip reader. An RF signal reader of transaction terminal220may enable contactless transactions from transaction card210by obtaining transaction card data wirelessly from transaction card210as transaction card210comes within a range of transaction terminal220that the RF signal reader may detect an RF signal from an RF antenna of transaction card210. Example output devices of transaction terminal220may include a display device, a speaker, a printer, and/or the like. Network230includes one or more wired and/or wireless networks. For example, network230may include a cellular network (e.g., a long-term evolution (LTE) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, a 3G network, a 4G network, a 5G network, another type of next generation network, and/or the like), a public land mobile network (PLMN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a telephone network (e.g., the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)), a private network, an ad hoc network, an intranet, the Internet, a fiber optic-based network, a cloud computing network, and/or the like, and/or a combination of these or other types of networks. Transaction processing system240includes one or more devices capable of authorizing and/or facilitating a transaction. For example, transaction processing system240may include one or more servers and/or computers to store and/or provide information (e.g., authorizations, balances, payment tokens, security information, account information, and/or the like) associated with processing a transaction via transaction terminal220. Transaction processing system240may include one or more devices associated with banks and/or transaction card associations that authorize the transaction and/or facilitate a transfer of funds or payments between an account of a cardholder of transaction card210and an account of an individual or business of transaction terminal220. For example, transaction processing system240may include one or more devices of one or more issuing banks associated with a cardholder of transaction card210, one or more devices of one or more acquiring banks (or merchant banks) associated with transaction terminal220, and/or one or more devices associated with one or more card associations (e.g., VISA®, MASTERCARD®, and/or the like) associated with transaction card210. Accordingly, in response to receiving transaction card data associated with transaction card210from transaction terminal220, various banking institutions and/or card associations of transaction processing system240may communicate to authorize the transaction and/or transfer funds between the accounts associated with transaction card210and/or transaction terminal220. Transaction processing system240may include one or more devices associated with security that may provide or deny authorization associated with the transaction. For example, transaction processing system240may store and/or provide security access information that may or may not allow access through an access point (e.g., a gate, a door, and/or the like) of a secure location (e.g., a room, a building, an geographical area, a transportation terminal, and/or the like) based on information (e.g., account information, a key, an identifier, credentials, and/or the like) associated with transaction card210and/or provided by transaction terminal220. Transaction processing system240may include one or more devices associated with a rewards program with transaction card210and/or an entity (e.g., a bank, a merchant, a service provider, a vendor, and/or the like) associated with the transaction card210and/or transaction terminal220and/or an entity associated with transaction terminal220. For example, transaction processing system240may authorize the earning and/or redemption of rewards (e.g., rewards points associated with transaction card210, cash rewards, client loyalty rewards associated with an entity associated with transaction terminal220, and/or the like) based on a transaction processed by transaction terminal220with transaction card210. The number and arrangement of devices and networks shown inFIG.2are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional devices and/or networks, fewer devices and/or networks, different devices and/or networks, or differently arranged devices and/or networks than those shown inFIG.2. Furthermore, two or more devices shown inFIG.2may be implemented within a single device, or a single device shown inFIG.2may be implemented as multiple, distributed devices. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of devices (e.g., one or more devices) of environment200may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of devices of environment200. FIG.3is a diagram of example components of a device300. Device300may correspond to transaction card210, transaction terminal220, and/or transaction processing system240. In some implementations, transaction card210, transaction terminal220, and/or transaction processing system240may include one or more devices300and/or one or more components of device300. As shown inFIG.3, device300may include a bus310, a processor320, a memory330, a storage component340, an input component350, an output component360, and a communication interface370. Bus310includes a component that permits communication among the components of device300. Processor320is implemented in hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. Processor320is a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or another type of processing component. In some implementations, processor320includes one or more processors capable of being programmed to perform a function. Memory330includes a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a secure element, and/or another type of dynamic or static storage device (e.g., a magnetic memory, an optical memory, and/or the like) that stores information and/or instructions for use by processor320. Storage component340stores information and/or software related to the operation and use of device300. For example, storage component340may include a hard disk (e.g., a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optic disk, and/or a solid state disk), a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a floppy disk, a cartridge, a magnetic tape, a flash memory, and/or another type of non-transitory computer-readable medium, along with a corresponding drive. Input component350includes a component that permits device300to receive information, such as via user input (e.g., a touch screen display, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a button, a switch, and/or a microphone). Additionally, or alternatively, input component350may include a sensor for sensing information (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) component, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and/or an actuator). Output component360includes a component that provides output information from device300(e.g., a display, a speaker, and/or one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs)). Communication interface370includes a transceiver-like component (e.g., a transceiver and/or a separate receiver and transmitter) that enables device300to communicate with other devices, such as via a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of wired and wireless connections. Communication interface370may permit device300to receive information from another device and/or provide information to another device. For example, communication interface370may include an Ethernet interface, an optical interface, a coaxial interface, an infrared interface, a radio frequency (RF) interface, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a Wi-Fi interface, a cellular network interface, or the like. Device300may perform one or more processes described herein. Device300may perform these processes based on processor320executing software instructions stored by a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as memory330and/or storage component340. A computer-readable medium is defined herein as a non-transitory memory device. A memory device includes memory space within a single physical storage device or memory space spread across multiple physical storage devices. In some implementations, device300may include a secure element (e.g., a secure microcontroller), which may include a memory330(e.g., RAM, ROM, and/or the like) and a storage component340(e.g., flash memory, EEPROM, and/or the like). Additionally, or alternatively, the secure element may include one or more processors320. Software instructions may be read into memory330and/or storage component340from another computer-readable medium or from another device via communication interface370. When executed, software instructions stored in memory330and/or storage component340may cause processor320to perform one or more processes described herein. Additionally, or alternatively, hardwired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to perform one or more processes described herein. Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software. The number and arrangement of components shown inFIG.3are provided as an example. In practice, device300may include additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown inFIG.3. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of components (e.g., one or more components) of device300may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components of device300. FIG.4is a flow chart of an example process400relating to tokenizing a primary account number prior to transmission to a terminal. In some implementations, one or more process blocks ofFIG.4may be performed by a transaction card (e.g., transaction card210). As shown inFIG.4, process400may include receiving a merchant code from a transaction terminal based on initiation of a transaction with the transaction terminal (block410). For example, the transaction card (e.g., using processor320, input component350, communication interface370, and/or the like) may receive a merchant code from a transaction terminal based on initiation of a transaction with the transaction terminal, as described above in connection withFIG.1. As further shown inFIG.4, process400may include generating a tokenized primary account number, for use with the transaction, based on the merchant code and an actual primary account number of the transaction card (block420). For example, the transaction card (e.g., using processor320, memory330, and/or the like) may generate a tokenized primary account number, for use with the transaction, based on the merchant code and an actual primary account number of the transaction card, as described above in connection withFIG.1. As further shown inFIG.4, process400may include transmitting the tokenized primary account number and one or more payment credentials to the transaction terminal for performing the transaction (block430). For example, the transaction card (e.g., using processor320, output component360, communication interface370, and/or the like) may transmit the tokenized primary account number and one or more payment credentials to the transaction terminal for performing the transaction, as described above in connection withFIG.1. Process400may include additional implementations, such as any single implementation or any combination of implementations described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein. In some implementations, the tokenized primary account number is generated based on at least one payment credential of the one or more payment credentials. In some implementations, the at least one payment credential includes at least one of an expiration date associated with the transaction card, a card security code associated with the transaction card, a cardholder name associated with the transaction card, a billing postal code associated with the transaction card, one or more fields of a billing address associated with the transaction card, or a personal identification number associated with the transaction card. In some implementations, the tokenized primary account number is generated based on transaction data associated with the transaction. In some implementations, the transaction data includes at least one of a transaction amount, a transaction date, a transaction time, or a transaction location. In some implementations, the tokenized primary account number is a multi-use tokenized primary account number generated using information that does not change across transactions. In some implementations, the tokenized primary account number is a single-use tokenized primary account number generated using information that changes across transactions. In some implementations, the tokenized primary account number is generated to tokenize a portion of the actual primary account number. AlthoughFIG.4shows example blocks of process400, in some implementations, process400may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted inFIG.4. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process400may be performed in parallel. FIG.5is a flow chart of an example process500relating to tokenizing a primary account number prior to transmission to a terminal. In some implementations, one or more process blocks ofFIG.5may be performed by a transaction card (e.g., transaction card210). As shown inFIG.5, process500may include receiving transaction data from a transaction terminal based on initiation of a transaction with the transaction terminal (block510). For example, the transaction card (e.g., using processor320, input component350, communication interface370, and/or the like) may receive transaction data from a transaction terminal based on initiation of a transaction with the transaction terminal, as described above in connection withFIG.1. As further shown inFIG.5, process500may include generating a tokenized primary account number, for use with the transaction, based on the transaction data and an actual primary account number of the transaction card (block520). For example, the transaction card (e.g., using processor320, memory330, and/or the like) may generate a tokenized primary account number, for use with the transaction, based on the transaction data and an actual primary account number of the transaction card, as described above in connection withFIG.1. As further shown inFIG.5, process500may include transmitting the tokenized primary account number to the transaction terminal for processing the transaction (block530). For example, the transaction card (e.g., using processor320, output component360, communication interface370, and/or the like) may transmit the tokenized primary account number to the transaction terminal for processing the transaction, as described above in connection withFIG.1. Process500may include additional implementations, such as any single implementation or any combination of implementations described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein. In some implementations, the transaction data includes at least one of a merchant code, a transaction amount, a transaction date, a transaction time, or a transaction location. In some implementations, the tokenized primary account number is generated based on a payment credential transmitted to the transaction terminal for processing the transaction. In some implementations, the payment credential includes at least one of an expiration date associated with the transaction card, a card security code associated with the transaction card, a cardholder name associated with the transaction card, a billing postal code associated with the transaction card, one or more fields of a billing address associated with the transaction card, or a personal identification number associated with the transaction card. In some implementations, the tokenized primary account number is one of: a multi-use tokenized primary account number generated using a portion of the transaction data that does not change across transactions, or a single-use tokenized primary account number generated using a portion of the transaction data that changes across transactions. AlthoughFIG.5shows example blocks of process500, in some implementations, process500may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted inFIG.5. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process500may be performed in parallel. FIG.6is a flow chart of an example process600relating to tokenizing a primary account number prior to transmission to a terminal. In some implementations, one or more process blocks ofFIG.6may be performed by a transaction processing system (e.g., transaction processing system240). As shown inFIG.6, process600may include receiving, from a transaction terminal, a tokenized primary account number generated by a transaction card, one or more payment credentials associated with the transaction card, a merchant code, and transaction data associated with a transaction (block610). For example, the transaction processing system (e.g., processor320, input component350, communication interface370, and/or the like) may receive, from a transaction terminal, a tokenized primary account number generated by a transaction card, one or more payment credentials associated with the transaction card, a merchant code, and transaction data associated with a transaction, as described above in connection withFIG.1. As further shown inFIG.6, process600may include determining an actual primary account number of the transaction card based on the tokenized primary account number and the merchant code (block620). For example, the transaction processing system (e.g., processor320and/or the like) may determine an actual primary account number of the transaction card based on the tokenized primary account number and the merchant code, as described above in connection withFIG.1. As further shown inFIG.6, process600may include determining whether the transaction is authorized based on the actual primary account number and the one or more payment credentials (block630). For example, the transaction processing system (e.g., processor320, memory330, storage component340, input component350, output component360, communication interface370, and/or the like) may determine whether the transaction is authorized based on the actual primary account number and the one or more payment credentials, as described above in connection withFIG.1. As further shown inFIG.6, process600may include transmitting, to the transaction terminal, a result of determining whether the transaction is authorized (block640). For example, the transaction processing system (e.g., processor320, output component360, communication interface370, and/or the like) may transmit, to the transaction terminal, a result of determining whether the transaction is authorized, as described above in connection withFIG.1. Process600may include additional implementations, such as any single implementation or any combination of implementations described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein. In some implementations, the actual primary account number is determined based on at least one of information included in the transaction data or a payment credential of the one or more payment credentials. In some implementations, the transaction processing system, when determining whether the transaction is authorized, is configured to compare the tokenized primary account number to a list of tokenized primary account numbers stored in the one or more memories. In some implementations, the transaction processing system, when determining whether the transaction is authorized, is configured to decline the transaction when the tokenized primary account number has been previously used within a threshold time period. In some implementations, the transaction processing system is configured to transmit a notification that the tokenized primary account number has been previously used within the threshold time period. In some implementations, the transaction processing system, when determining whether the transaction is authorized, is configured to decline the transaction when the tokenized primary account number has been previously used in connection with a different merchant code. In some implementations, the transaction processing system is further configured to transmit a notification that the tokenized primary account number has been previously used in connection with a different merchant code. AlthoughFIG.6shows example blocks of process600, in some implementations, process600may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted inFIG.6. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process600may be performed in parallel. The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations. As used herein, the term component is intended to be broadly construed as hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. Some implementations are described herein in connection with thresholds. As used herein, satisfying a threshold may refer to a value being greater than the threshold, more than the threshold, higher than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, fewer than the threshold, lower than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, or the like. It will be apparent that systems and/or methods, described herein, may be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and/or methods is not limiting of the implementations. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and/or methods were described herein without reference to specific software code—it being understood that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems and/or methods based on the description herein. Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of possible implementations. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of possible implementations includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set. No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Furthermore, as used herein, the term “set” is intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, a combination of related and unrelated items, etc.), and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Where only one item is intended, the term “one” or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. | 52,213 |
11861597 | Reference is made to the accompanying drawings throughout the following detailed description. In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative implementations described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other implementations may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein and illustrated in the figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated and made part of this disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Database encryption can be done using cryptographic software modules on the database servers. Consequently, data encryption keys (DKs) are kept in the database system memory and used with cryptographic software to encrypt and decrypt data. For secure key management reasons, the DK cannot not be stored as cleartext, which is easily compromised. A DK may itself be encrypted using a key encryption key (KEK). However, encrypting the DK with another key for local storage does not address the key management issue as the KEK must likewise be stored as cleartext somewhere. A hardware security module (HSM) can be used to avoid this circular problem. In some systems, an HSM is used with a KEK, which can include symmetric or asymmetric keys. The DK is encrypted using the KEK, stored externally outside the HSM, and decrypted using the KEK within the HSM. However, exposing the DK as cleartext outside the HSM violates a fundamental principle of cryptographic control: an HSM cannot knowingly export cleartext keys. Conventionally, this control is often averted by treating the DK as a data element and spoofing the HSM as encrypting and decrypting data instead of an actual cryptographic key. In some systems, the DKs can be transported according to a transfer syntax described by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) RFC 7292 Password-Based Cryptography Standard (PKCS #12): Personal Information Exchange Syntax v1.1 (“PKCS #12”). For example, the DK can be encrypted using a KEK that is derived from a password. However, the password now needs to be protected to prevent the password from being compromised and used to gain unauthorized access to the DK. In some solutions, a Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP) can be used to transmit DKs over a secure connection, such as a TLS connection, that transmits data packets that are encrypted using TLS session keys. The KMIP allows both wrapped and unwrapped keys. “Wrapped keys” refer to DKs that are encrypted with both a KEK and the TLS connection. The KEK can be a dedicated KEK for the DK and can be specific to an intended recipient or group of recipients. “Unwrapped keys” refer to cleartext DKs that are encrypted with the TLS connection. Unwrapped keys are not protected with dedicated KEKs. Accordingly, any entity having the TLS session key can see the cleartext of any unwrapped keys. Furthermore, the cleartext DK is exposed wherever the TLS tunnel terminates, making the cleartext DK vulnerable. Referring to the figures generally, various embodiments described herein relate to systems and methods for securely storing and transporting a DK using a digital wallet using a database encryption wallet (DBEW) system. According to various embodiments, a hardware security module (HSM) generates a master encryption key (MK) and a keyed-hash message authentication code (HMAC) key. The HSM encrypts the HMAC key with the MK to create a secret key element and sends the secret key element to a database server over a secure connection. The database server saves the secret key element to its memory and generates an identifier (ID) corresponding to the encrypted HMAC key. The HSM deletes the HMAC key, the encrypted HMAC key, and stores the MK to its memory. The HSM generates a wallet password based on the ID generated by the database server and the HMAC key generated by the HSM. The HSM generates the digital wallet, stores a random data encryption key (DK) in the digital wallet, and locks the digital wallet using the wallet password. The digital wallet includes the DK and is unlockable only via the wallet password. The DK is stored as PKCS #12 or similar encrypted content. The password is used via PKCS #5 Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2 (PBKDF2) or a similar function to generate a content encryption key (CEK) that is used to decrypt the DK. The HSM transmits the digital wallet to the database server without the wallet password. The database server saves the digital wallet to its memory. Accordingly, interception of the digital wallet by an unauthorized entity during transmission does not compromise the DK because the wallet password is not included in the transmission. The HSM then destroys the wallet password and the HMAC key. Each time the digital wallet is unlocked, the database server transmits a digitally signed password request message including the ID and the secret key element to the HSM. The HSM uses the MK to decrypt the secret key element to obtain the HMAC key. The HSM regenerates the wallet password using the ID and the HMAC key. The HSM digitally signs and encrypts the regenerated wallet password and transmits the digitally signed and encrypted wallet password to the database server. The database server verifies the digital signature and decrypts the encrypted regenerated wallet password. The database server unlocks the digital wallet using the regenerated wallet password and retrieves the DK. The database server stores the DK in non-volatile memory such that the database server, after a system restart, must transmit a second password request message to receive the regenerated wallet password. Referring now toFIG.1, an environmental view of a database encryption key management system100for securely storing and transporting a database encryption key (DK) using a digital wallet104is shown, according to an example embodiment. The digital wallet104refers to a secure file that can securely store and transport private information, for example according to a PKCS #12 protocol. The system100includes a hardware security module (HSM)108and a database server112. The database encryption key management system100is structured so that the HSM108manages DKs generated by the HSM108without exporting cleartext keys. Exporting cleartext keys is a violation of a core tenet of cryptographic key management. According to various example embodiments, as described in further detail both herein and in U.S. co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/811,789, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, systems and methods described herein provide a technical solution to the computer-centric and internet-centric problem of encrypting data for local storage with the use of an HSM without having to transmit cleartext keys between the HSM and the database server. According to various embodiments, the HSM108generates a master key encryption key (MK) and an HMAC key, which are never transmitted outside the HSM108. The MK and the HMAC key are symmetric keys. The MK may be stored in a key database116of a memory device120of the HSM108. The HSM108encrypts the HMAC key using the MK to generate an HMAC cryptogram or secret key element, which is transmitted to the database server112. The database server112generates a unique identifier (ID)136and stores the HMAC cryptogram and the ID in the memory device152. The HSM108then destroys the HMAC key and the HMAC cryptogram. The HSM108generates a digital wallet104. As used herein, the phrase “digital wallet” refers to a secure archive file that can be used to securely store and transport data, such as encryption keys. In some embodiments, the digital wallet104may be a PKCS #12 wallet. The HSM108generates a cleartext DK and stores the cleartext DK in the digital wallet104. In other embodiments, the DK may be encrypted or obfuscated before the DK is stored in the digital wallet104. In order to generate a wallet password to lock the digital wallet104, the database server112transmits the HMAC cryptogram and the ID to the HSM108. The HSM108generates a seed using the HMAC key and the ID. In some embodiments, the HSM108can generate a salt, attach the salt to the seed to generate a salted seed, and conduct a one-way hash function on the salted seed. In some embodiments, the wallet password can be the seed. In some embodiments, the wallet password can be the output of the one-way hash function of the salted seed can be the wallet password. The HSM108locks the digital wallet104with the wallet password. The HSM108then destroys the wallet password. The HSM108transmits the locked digital wallet104back to the database server112. The database server112saves the locked digital wallet104to its disk memory. In order to unlock the digital wallet104to access the cleartext DK stored in the digital wallet104, the database server112transmits a password request message to the HSM108. The password request message includes the cryptogram and the ID. In some embodiments, the database server112digitally signs and encrypts the password request message. In other embodiments, the database server112signcrypts the password request message. The HSM108can verify the digital signature of the password request message and decrypt the password request message. The HSM108decrypts the cryptogram using the MK to regenerate the HMAC key. The HSM108then regenerates the wallet password based on the HMAC key and the ID. The HSM108then digitally signs and encrypts or signcrypts the wallet password and transmits the regenerated wallet password to the database server112over a secure connection124. The database server112receives the regenerated wallet password, verifies the digital signature of the regenerated wallet password decrypts the wallet password, and uses the regenerated wallet password to unlock the digital wallet104. The database server112then reads the cleartext DK into the volatile memory. The database server112can then use the DK to encrypt and/or decrypt data. The cleartext DK is never written to memory device152of the database server112. Accordingly, the database encryption key management system100enables secure transfer and storage of database encryption key without transmitting cleartext keys. As shown inFIG.1, the example configuration including the database encryption key management system100may be used to secure the content of a database on the database server112such that vulnerability of the database to external attacks, and the likelihood that the data stored therein would be compromised, are minimized. Additionally, in some embodiments, a first third-party computing system170, a second third-party computing system174may be in operative communication with the database encryption key management system100and/or each other via a network168. The network168is a telecommunications network of a suitable topology (e.g., the internet, intranet, peer-to-peer), using any suitable medium (e.g., wireless, fiber-optic, cellular, cable, telephone) and any suitable communications protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.x, Internet Protocol Suite, near-field communications). Multiple parties, such as users of the first third-party computing system170and the second third-party computing system174, submit requests for encrypted data, which they receive via the network168. The database server112may house a conventional data processing system, such as a database management system (DBMS) or a suitable alternative arrangement, including distributed arrangements and arrangements that are entirely software-based and where a conventional DBMS is omitted. In the embodiment illustrated inFIG.1, the database encryption key management system100includes the HSM108and the database server112. The HSM108is structured to host the digital keys generated by the key manager circuit128, including at least one master key encryption key (MK), at least one HMAC key, and at least one cryptogram. The HSM108includes the memory device120(e.g., a memory and/or a permanent storage module), in which the MK is stored and any other keys (e.g., keys used for secure communication protocols) can be stored. The database server112is communicatively coupled to the HSM108via a secure connection124. In some embodiments, the secure connection124is a Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol-based electronic connection. In other embodiments, the secure connection124is an Internet Protocol Security (IPsec)-based connection. Additionally or alternatively, the secure connection124may be established using cryptographic message syntax (CMS)-based key transport or key agreement schemes as described, for example, in the X9.73:2017 Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS)—ASN.1 and XML protocol. As used herein, the phrase “encrypted” means encrypted according the X9.73:2017 CMS protocol. Additionally or alternatively, the secure connection124may be established using a mutual authentication algorithm comprising digital certificates. After the secure connection124is established, the HSM108transmits at least the HMAC cryptogram to the database server112. The database server112may reside at least in part on a mobile device, such that a public encryption key is securely distributed to the mobile device, and/or on an internet-of-things (IoT) device, such that that a public encryption key is securely distributed to the IoT device. The HSM108includes a key manager circuit128, a wallet formation circuit132, a wallet access circuit136, the memory device120, and a network interface140. The memory device120is a disk or other non-volatile memory device. The memory device120includes the key database116. The network interface140is structured to facilitate operative communication between the database server112and other networked computing systems, such as the first third-party computing system170and the second third-party computing system174via the network168. The key manager circuit128is structured to generate and manage various cryptographic keys stored in the key database116and to encrypt data elements using the cryptographic keys. In the illustrated embodiment, the key manager circuit128may be structured to generate a public/private key pair and save the public/private key pair to the memory device120. The key manager circuit128may be structured to generate X.509 certificates for sharing the public key and an identity of the HSM108with other computing devices on the network168. In some embodiments, the key manager circuit128is structured to generate at least one master key encryption key (MK) and at least one keyed-hash message authentication code (HMAC) key. The key manager circuit128is structured to encrypt the HMAC key with the MK to generate a cryptogram or secret key element. The key manager circuit128is structured to digitally sign the cryptogram. The key manager circuit128is structured to transmit the cryptogram to the database server112over a secure connection124. The key manager circuit128is structured to save the MK to the key database116in the memory device120. The key manager circuit128is structured to erase the HMAC key and the cryptogram. The HMAC key and the cryptogram are never written to disk memory, cache memory, or any other non-volatile memory. The wallet formation circuit132is structured to generate the DK, the wallet password, and the digital wallet104. The wallet formation circuit132is structured to generate the DK. In some embodiments, the wallet formation circuit132may generate the DK using a key derivation algorithm such as a secure hash algorithm (SHA) 256, FIPS 180-4, etc. The wallet formation circuit132is structured to receive the cryptogram and the ID from the database server112. The wallet formation circuit132is structured to verify a digital signature of the cryptogram and the ID. The wallet formation circuit132is structured to decrypt the cryptogram using the MK to generate the HMAC key. The wallet formation circuit132is structured input the HMAC key and the ID into a pseudorandom function generator to generate the seed. In some embodiments, the wallet formation circuit132is structured to generate the seed according to a HMAC mechanism, such as a SHA-1, SHA-224, SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512, SHA-512/224, or SHA-512/256 mechanism as described in FIPS 180-4. In some embodiments, the wallet formation circuit132may generate a salt and append the salt to the seed to generate a salted seed. The wallet formation circuit132may conduct a one-way hash function on the salted seed. In some embodiments, a pepper may be used instead of or in addition to a salt. In some embodiments, the seed is the wallet password. In other embodiments, the output of the one-way hash function on the salted seed is the wallet password. The wallet formation circuit132is structured to generate the digital wallet104with the DK and the wallet password. The wallet formation circuit132may generate the digital wallet104according to the PKCS #12 protocol. The wallet formation circuit132is structured to store the DK in the digital wallet104. In the illustrated embodiment, the DK is stored as a cleartext DK in the digital wallet104. In other embodiments, the DK may be encrypted or obfuscated in some manner before the DK is stored in the digital wallet104. The wallet formation circuit132is structured to lock the digital wallet104using the wallet password such that the digital wallet104can only be unlocked using the wallet password. In some embodiments, the wallet formation circuit132may use the wallet password to lock the digital wallet104in accordance with the PKCS #5 v2.1: Password-Based Cryptography Standard. The DK is stored as PKCS #12 encrypted content. The password is used via PKCS #5 PBKDF2 to generate a content encryption key (CEK) that is used to decrypt the DK. In some embodiments, the wallet formation circuit132can be structured to sign the digital wallet104using the private key of the HSM108to create a digital signature for the digital wallet104. The wallet formation circuit132is structured to transmit the locked digital wallet104to the database server112. The wallet password is not sent with the digital wallet104. This prevents any unauthorized entity that has intercepted the digital wallet104from being able to unlock the digital wallet104to access the DK. The wallet formation circuit132is structured to erase the DK, the cryptogram, the seed, and the salt from the memory. The DK, the cryptogram, the seed, and the salt are never written to disk memory, cache memory, or any other non-volatile memory. After the digital wallet104has been installed in the database server112, the wallet access circuit136is structured to receive a digitally signed and encrypted password request message including the cryptogram and the ID from the database server112. The wallet access circuit136is structured to verify the digital signature of the password request message and decrypt the password request message. The wallet access circuit136is structured to decrypt the cryptogram using the MK to regenerate the HMAC key. The wallet access circuit136is structured input the HMAC key and the ID into a pseudorandom function generator to regenerate the seed. In some embodiments, the wallet access circuit136may generate a salt and add the salt to the seed to generate a salted seed. The wallet access circuit136may conduct a one-way hash function on the salted seed. In some embodiments, the seed is the wallet password. In other embodiments, output of the one-way hash of the seed and the salt is the wallet password. In some embodiments, the wallet access circuit136can be structured to digitally sign and encrypt the wallet password. In some embodiments, the wallet access circuit136can be structured to signcrypt the wallet password. The wallet access circuit136is structured to transmit the digitally signed and encrypted wallet password or the signcrypted wallet password to the database server112over the secure connection124. The wallet access circuit136is structured to erase the cryptogram, the seed, and the salt from the memory. The cryptogram, the seed, and the salt are never written to disk memory, cache memory, or any other non-volatile memory. In some embodiments, the wallet access circuit136is structured to generate a set of wallet password substitution strings. The wallet password substitution strings can each replace a portion of the wallet password (e.g., the seed or the salted seed) to generate a substitute wallet password. In such embodiments, the wallet access circuit136can send the wallet password substitution strings to the database server112over the secure network. The database server112can modify the digital wallet104such that the digital wallet104can be opened by the substitute wallet password instead of the wallet password, as described in greater detail below. In response to receiving a confirmation message from the database server112indicating successful modification of the digital wallet104, the wallet access circuit136is structured to generate the wallet password as described above. The wallet access circuit136is then structured to substitute the wallet password with the substitution strings to generate the substitute wallet password. The wallet access circuit136is structured to digitally sign and encrypt or signcrypt the substituted wallet password. The wallet access circuit136is structured to transmit the digitally signed and encrypted or signcrypted substitute wallet password to the database server112as described above with respect to the wallet password. In some embodiments, the substitute wallet password can be a one-time use password. In such an embodiment, new substitution strings are generated each time the digital wallet104is opened. The database server112includes a key manager circuit144, a wallet management circuit148, a memory device152, and a network interface154. The memory device152is a disk or other non-volatile memory device. The network interface154can be used to communicate with devices connected to the network168, such as the third-party computing systems170,174. The key manager circuit144is structured to generate and manage various cryptographic keys, and to encrypt data elements using the cryptographic keys. The key manager circuit144may be structured to generate a public/private key pair and save the public/private key pair to the memory device152. The key manager circuit144may be structured to generate X.509 certificates for sharing the public key and an identity of the database server112with other computing devices on the network168. The database server112is structured to receive the cryptogram from the HSM108over the secure connection. In embodiments in which the cryptogram is digitally signed, the key manager circuit144is structured to verify the digital signature of the cryptogram. After verifying the digital signature of the cryptogram, the key manager circuit144is structured to save the cryptogram to the memory device152. The key manager circuit144is structured to generate and store the ID that corresponds to the cryptogram provided by the HSM108. The purpose of the ID is to uniquely identify to the database server112to the HSM108. In some embodiments, the ID comprises an ordered list of database server attributes. The database server attributes may include database properties: for example, a host name, a geographic location indicator, a database server identifier, a database application name (e.g., in embodiments where a database application generates the ID), a string identifying a database encryption algorithm used in the transaction, and/or a string identifying a data element in the database. The database server112is structured to receive the digital wallet104from the HSM108over the secure connection. The wallet management circuit148is structured to verify the digital signature of the digital wallet104. In embodiments in which digital wallet104is encrypted, the wallet management circuit148is structured to decrypt the digital wallet104. The wallet management circuit148is structured to save the digital wallet104to the memory device152of the database server112. The memory device152includes the digital wallet104and a key database156. Although the digital wallet104includes the cleartext DK, the database server112cannot access the cleartext DK because the wallet password is not sent with the digital wallet104or stored in the key database156of the memory device152of the database server112. To access the DK, the wallet management circuit148is structured to generate a password request message including the cryptogram and the ID. In some embodiments, the wallet management circuit148is structured to digitally sign and encrypt the password request message. In some embodiments, the wallet management circuit148is structured to signcrypt the password request message. The wallet management circuit148is structured to transmit the password request message to the HSM108over the secure connection124. The database server112is structured to receive the digitally signed and encrypted wallet password from the HSM108. The wallet management circuit148is structured to verify the digital signature of the wallet password. The wallet management circuit148is structured to decrypt the wallet password. The wallet management circuit148is structured to unlock the digital wallet104with the wallet password to reveal the cleartext DK. The database server112is structured to encrypt and decrypt data using the DK. The wallet password and the DK are never written to disk memory, cache memory, or any other non-volatile memory. Therefore, the wallet password and the DK are erased when the database server112is restarted or powered off. Accordingly, the wallet management circuit148can unlock the digital wallet104using the wallet password to access the cleartext DK without requiring human entry of the wallet password. In embodiments in which the substitute wallet password is used, the database server112is structured to receive the digitally signed and encrypted or signcrypted substitution strings from the HSM108. The wallet management circuit148is structured to verify the digital signature of the substitution strings. The wallet management circuit148is structured to decrypt the substitution strings. The wallet management circuit148is structured to modify the digital wallet104based on the substitution strings such that the digital wallet104can be opened by the substitute wallet password. The wallet management circuit148is structured to send a confirmation message to the HSM108indicating successful modification of the digital wallet104. To open the digital wallet104, the wallet management circuit148is structured to receive the digitally signed and encrypted substitute wallet password from the HSM108. The wallet management circuit148is structured to verify the digital signature of the substitute wallet password, decrypt the substitute wallet password, and open the digital wallet104using the substitute wallet password as described above with respect to the wallet password. In some embodiments, multiple DKs may be used in a key management structure by, for example, using multiple digital wallets104to store each of the DKs and securing each of digital wallets104with a unique wallet password. Referring now toFIG.2, a method200of creating a digital wallet104without transmitting cleartext DKs is shown, according to an example embodiment. At step202, the HSM108establishes the secure connection124with the database server112. At step204, the HSM108transmits its certificate to the database server112by the key manager circuit128. In other embodiments, the HSM108and the database server112exchange certificates by the key manager circuits128,144, respectively. At step206, the database server112stores the certificate to the memory device120. At step208, the MK is generated by the key manager circuit128. At step210, the HMAC key is generated by the key manager circuit128. The purpose of the HMAC key is to further secure the message(s) exchanged by the key manager circuit128and the database server112across the secure connection124by verifying the data integrity and origin authenticity of each message. At step212, the cryptogram is generated by the key manager circuit128by encrypting the HMAC key with the MK. At step214, the HMAC key is destroyed to avoid security vulnerabilities associated with permanently storing the HMAC key. The MK, however, is retained at step206and stored on the HSM108. At step216, the key manager circuit128digitally signs and encrypts the cryptogram. In other embodiments, the key manager circuit128may signcrypt the cryptogram. At step218, the key manager circuit128transmits the cryptogram to the database server112via the secure connection124. At step220, the key manager circuit128directs the HSM108to store the MK, in the cleartext format, in permanent (e.g., non-volatile) memory, such as the memory device120of the HSM108. In some embodiments, the MK may be encrypted by the key manager circuit128and stored encrypted outside the HSM108. At step222, the HSM108destroys the cryptogram to reduce security vulnerabilities associated with storing the cryptogram. At step224, the key manager circuit144of the database server112verifies the digital signature of the digitally signed and encrypted cryptogram. At step226, the database server112stores the cryptogram to the memory device152. In embodiments where the database server112is part of an electronic device, such as a mobile device or an IoT device, the cryptogram is stored in permanent memory of the electronic device. At step228, the key manager circuit128of the database server112generates the ID. At step230, the database server112stores the ID in the memory device152of the database server112. At step232, the wallet formation circuit132generates the DK. At step234, the HSM108requests the ID and the cryptogram from the database server112. At step236, the key manager circuit144retrieves the cryptogram from the memory device152. At step238, the key manager circuit144retrieves the ID from the memory device152. At step240, the key manager circuit144retrieves the certificate from the HSM108from the memory device152. At step242, the key manager circuit144digitally signs and encrypts the ID and the cryptogram. In other embodiments, the key manager circuit144can signcrypt the ID and the cryptogram. At step244, the key manager circuit144transmits the digitally signed and encrypted ID and cryptogram to the HSM108over the secure connection124. At step246, the HSM108verifies the digital signature of the cryptogram. At step248, the wallet formation circuit132decrypts the cryptogram using the MK to regenerate the HMAC key. At step250, the seed is generated by the wallet formation circuit132using the HMAC key and the ID. The seed is generated by calling an HMAC function, the executable file for which may be, for example, installed on the HSM108. In some embodiments, the HMAC function may be a SHA-512 or a SHA-2 mechanism. At optional step252, in some embodiments, the wallet formation circuit132generates a salt and adds the salt to the seed. In some embodiments, the wallet formation circuit132inputs the salt and the seed into a one-way hash function. In some embodiments, the wallet password is the seed. In some embodiments, the wallet password is the output of the one-way hash of the seed and the salt. At step254, the wallet formation circuit132of the HSM108generates the digital wallet104with the DK and the wallet password. The wallet formation circuit132may generate the digital wallet104according to the PKCS #12 protocol. At step256, the wallet formation circuit132stores the DK in the digital wallet104. In some embodiments, the cleartext DK is stored in the digital wallet104. In other embodiments, the DK is encrypted and/or obfuscated before it is stored in the digital wallet104. At step258, the wallet formation circuit132uses the wallet password to lock the digital wallet104such that the digital wallet104can only be unlocked using the wallet password. In some embodiments, the wallet formation circuit132uses the PKCS #5 protocol to lock the digital wallet104. At step260, the wallet formation circuit132digitally signs and encrypts the digital wallet104. At step262, the HSM108transmits the digital wallet104to the database server112over the secure connection. At step264, the HSM108destroys the DK, the wallet password, the cryptogram, and the ID to reduce security vulnerabilities associated with permanently storing the DK, the wallet password, and the ID. At step268, the database server112receives the digital wallet104. At step270, the wallet management circuit148verifies the digital signature of the digital wallet104. In embodiments in which the digital wallet104is encrypted, the wallet management circuit148decrypts the digital wallet. At step272, the wallet management circuit148saves the digital wallet104to the memory device152. Transmitting the digital wallet104without the wallet password prevents an unauthorized entity from gaining access to the DK if the digital wallet104is intercepted. Furthermore, the wallet password is not stored on the database server112. Thus, even if the database server112is compromised, an unauthorized entity cannot unlock the digital wallet104to gain access to the DK. Referring now toFIG.3, a method300of regenerating the wallet password and using the regenerated wallet password to unlock the digital wallet104without requiring a human operator to input the wallet password is shown, according to an example embodiment. The database server112has started or restarted. Since the volatile memory of the database server112is erased when the database server112starts or restarts, the database server112cannot unlock the digital wallet104to access the cleartext DK. The database server112is in communication with the HSM108over the secure connection124. At step302, the database server112retrieves the cryptogram from the memory device152. At step304, the wallet management circuit148retrieves the ID from the memory device152. At step306, the wallet management circuit148reads the keys from the certificate. At step308, the wallet management circuit148generates the password request message including the ID and the cryptogram. In some embodiments, the wallet management circuit148digitally signs and encrypts the password request message. In some embodiments, the wallet management circuit148signcrypts the password request message. At step310, the wallet management circuit148of the database server112transmits the wallet password request message to the HSM108over the secure connection124. At step312, the key manager circuit128of the HSM108verifies the digital signature the password request message. The key manager circuit128decrypts the password request message. At step314, the key manager circuit128uses the MK to decrypt the cryptogram to regenerate the HMAC key. At step316, the wallet access circuit136regenerates the seed based on the ID and the HMAC key. The wallet access circuit136regenerates the seed by calling an HMAC function, the executable file for which may be, for example, installed on the HSM108. In some embodiments, at optional step318, the wallet access circuit136generates a salt and attaches the salt to the seed to generate the salted seed. The wallet access circuit136then inputs the salt and the seed to a one-way hash function. In some embodiments, the seed is the wallet password. In other embodiments, the output of the one-way hash of the salted seed is the wallet password. At step320, the wallet access circuit136digitally signs and encrypts the wallet password. In other embodiments, the wallet access circuit136may signcrypt the wallet password. At step322, the HSM108transmits the digitally signed and encrypted wallet password to the database server112over the secure connection124. At step324, the wallet access circuit136destroys the cryptogram, the HMAC key, the seed, and the optional salt. At step326, the wallet management circuit148verifies the digital signature of the wallet password and decrypts the wallet password. At step328, the wallet management circuit148uses the wallet password to unlock the digital wallet104to access the cleartext DK. At step330, the wallet management circuit148reads the DK into the volatile memory of the database server112. At step332, the data processed on the database server112is encrypted and decrypted using the DK. At step334, the wallet management circuit148destroys the wallet password. Advantageously, the DK is not stored in the memory device152associated with the database server112. As described above, the method300does not require human entry of the wallet password to unlock the digital wallet104. Although the system100and the methods200and300do not require a human operator to enter the wallet password into the database server112to enable the database server112to unlock the digital wallet104, in some embodiments it may be desired to generate a human-readable data that can be entered into the database server112by a human operator using a human-machine interface160. The human-readable data can be used to regenerate the wallet password. In such an embodiment, the wallet formation circuit132can be structured to translate the wallet password to a human-readable string of characters that can be input to the database server112via a human-machine interface160. The wallet formation circuit132can be structured to generate a plurality of components of the wallet password according to a N of N scheme or a plurality of shares of the wallet password according to a N of M scheme. The wallet formation circuit132can be structured to digitally sign and encrypt each of the components or each of the shares of the wallet password. Each of the digitally signed and encrypted components or shares can be human-readable such that the digitally signed and encrypted components or shares can be entered via the human-machine interface160. The wallet formation circuit132can be structured to write the components or the splits to a share-holder. In some embodiments, the share-holder can include storage media such as paper, smart cards, or USB sticks that are provided to human operators. In embodiments in which the wallet password can be regenerated based on data that can be entered by a human operator, the database server112includes a human-machine interface160. The wallet management circuit148can be configured to receive the wallet password from the human-machine interface160. The wallet management circuit148can be structured to combine the components or the shares to regenerate the wallet password. The arrangements described herein have been described with reference to drawings. The drawings illustrate certain details of specific arrangements that implement the systems, methods and programs described herein. However, describing the embodiments with drawings should not be construed as imposing on the disclosure any limitations that may be present in the drawings. It should be understood that no claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § X(f), unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” As used herein, the term “circuit” may include hardware structured to execute the functions described herein. In some embodiments, each respective “circuit” may include machine-readable media for configuring the hardware to execute the functions described herein. The circuit may be embodied as one or more circuitry components including, but not limited to, processing circuitry, network interfaces, peripheral devices, input devices, output devices, sensors, etc. In some embodiments, a circuit may take the form of one or more analog circuits, electronic circuits (e.g., integrated circuits (IC), discrete circuits, system on a chip (SOCs) circuits, etc.), telecommunication circuits, hybrid circuits, and any other type of “circuit.” In this regard, the “circuit” may include any type of component for accomplishing or facilitating achievement of the operations described herein. For example, a circuit as described herein may include one or more transistors, logic gates (e.g., NAND, AND, NOR, OR, XOR, NOT, XNOR, etc.), resistors, multiplexers, registers, capacitors, inductors, diodes, wiring, and so on). The “circuit” may also include one or more processors communicatively coupled to one or more memory or memory devices. In this regard, the one or more processors may execute instructions stored in the memory or may execute instructions otherwise accessible to the one or more processors. In some embodiments, the one or more processors may be embodied in various ways. The one or more processors may be constructed in a manner sufficient to perform at least the operations described herein. In some embodiments, the one or more processors may be shared by multiple circuits (e.g., circuit A and circuit B may comprise or otherwise share the same processor which, in some example embodiments, may execute instructions stored, or otherwise accessed, via different areas of memory). Alternatively or additionally, the one or more processors may be structured to perform or otherwise execute certain operations independent of one or more co-processors. In other example embodiments, two or more processors may be coupled via a bus to enable independent, parallel, pipelined, or multi-threaded instruction execution. Each processor may be implemented as one or more general-purpose processors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or other suitable electronic data processing components structured to execute instructions provided by memory. The one or more processors may take the form of a single core processor, multi-core processor (e.g., a dual core processor, triple core processor, quad core processor, etc.), microprocessor, etc. In some embodiments, the one or more processors may be external to the apparatus, for example the one or more processors may be a remote processor (e.g., a cloud based processor). Alternatively or additionally, the one or more processors may be internal and/or local to the apparatus. In this regard, a given circuit or components thereof may be disposed locally (e.g., as part of a local server, a local computing system, etc.) or remotely (e.g., as part of a remote server such as a cloud based server). To that end, a “circuit” as described herein may include components that are distributed across one or more locations. An exemplary system for implementing the overall system or portions of the embodiments might include a general purpose computing computers in the form of computers, including a processing unit, a system memory, and a system bus that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit. Each memory device may include non-transient volatile storage media, non-volatile storage media, non-transitory storage media (e.g., one or more volatile and/or non-volatile memories), etc. In some embodiments, the non-volatile media may take the form of ROM, flash memory (e.g., flash memory such as NAND, 3D NAND, NOR, 3D NOR, etc.), EEPROM, MRAM, magnetic storage, hard discs, optical discs, etc. In other embodiments, the volatile storage media may take the form of RAM, TRAM, ZRAM, etc. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of machine-readable media. In this regard, machine-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing machines to perform a certain function or group of functions. Each respective memory device may be operable to maintain or otherwise store information relating to the operations performed by one or more associated circuits, including processor instructions and related data (e.g., database components, object code components, script components, etc.), in accordance with the example embodiments described herein. It should also be noted that the term “input devices,” as described herein, may include any type of input device including, but not limited to, video and audio recording devices, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, joystick or other input devices performing a similar function. Comparatively, the term “output device,” as described herein, may include any type of output device including, but not limited to, a computer monitor, printer, facsimile machine, or other output devices performing a similar function. Any foregoing references to currency or funds are intended to include fiat currencies, non-fiat currencies (e.g., precious metals), and math-based currencies (often referred to as cryptocurrencies). Examples of math-based currencies include Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and the like. It should be noted that although the diagrams herein may show a specific order and composition of method steps, it is understood that the order of these steps may differ from what is depicted. For example, two or more steps may be performed concurrently or with partial concurrence. Also, some method steps that are performed as discrete steps may be combined, steps being performed as a combined step may be separated into discrete steps, the sequence of certain processes may be reversed or otherwise varied, and the nature or number of discrete processes may be altered or varied. The order or sequence of any element or apparatus may be varied or substituted according to alternative embodiments. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims. Such variations will depend on the machine-readable media and hardware systems chosen and on designer choice. It is understood that all such variations are within the scope of the disclosure. Likewise, software and web implementations of the present disclosure could be accomplished with standard programming techniques with rule based logic and other logic to accomplish the various database searching steps, correlation steps, comparison steps and decision steps. The foregoing description of embodiments has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed, and modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from this disclosure. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principals of the disclosure and its practical application to enable one skilled in the art to utilize the various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Other substitutions, modifications, changes and omissions may be made in the design, operating conditions and arrangement of the embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as expressed in the appended claims. | 47,306 |
11861598 | The drawings are not necessarily to scale and may be illustrated by phantom lines, diagrammatic representations, and fragmentary views. In certain instances, details that are not necessary for an understanding of the embodiments or that render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. DETAILED DESCRIPTION At a high level, aspects of the present disclosure are directed to apparatuses and methods for processing foreign exchanges. In an embodiment, processing foreign exchanges includes calculating the advantages of a consumer exchanging currency prior to international payments. Apparatuses and methods may be used on the behalf of financial institutions globally to encourage consumers to convert currency cross-border payments into foreign exchanges by showing cost savings. Aspects of the present disclosure can be used by financial institutions to see additional revenue when consumers choose foreign exchange. Exemplary embodiments illustrating aspects of the present disclosure are described below in the context of several specific examples. Referring now toFIG.1, an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus100for calculating foreign exchange advantages is illustrated. Apparatus100includes at least a processor104and a memory communicatively connected to the at least a processor104. Processor104may include any computing device as described in this disclosure, including without limitation a microcontroller, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP) and/or system on a chip (SoC) as described in this disclosure. Computing device may include, be included in, and/or communicate with a mobile device such as a mobile telephone or smartphone. Processor104may include a single computing device operating independently, or may include two or more computing device operating in concert, in parallel, sequentially or the like; two or more computing devices may be included together in a single computing device or in two or more computing devices. Processor104may interface or communicate with one or more additional devices as described below in further detail via a network interface device. Network interface device may be utilized for connecting processor104to one or more of a variety of networks, and one or more devices. Examples of a network interface device include, but are not limited to, a network interface card (e.g., a mobile network interface card, a LAN card), a modem, and any combination thereof. Examples of a network include, but are not limited to, a wide area network (e.g., the Internet, an enterprise network), a local area network (e.g., a network associated with an office, a building, a campus or other relatively small geographic space), a telephone network, a data network associated with a telephone/voice provider (e.g., a mobile communications provider data and/or voice network), a direct connection between two computing devices, and any combinations thereof. A network may employ a wired and/or a wireless mode of communication. In general, any network topology may be used. Information (e.g., data, software etc.) may be communicated to and/or from a computer and/or a computing device. Processor104may include but is not limited to, for example, a computing device or cluster of computing devices in a first location and a second computing device or cluster of computing devices in a second location. Processor104may include one or more computing devices dedicated to data storage, security, distribution of traffic for load balancing, and the like. Processor104may distribute one or more computing tasks as described below across a plurality of computing devices of computing device, which may operate in parallel, in series, redundantly, or in any other manner used for distribution of tasks or memory between computing devices. Processor104may be implemented using a “shared nothing” architecture in which data is cached at the worker, in an embodiment, this may enable scalability of apparatus100and/or computing device. With continued reference toFIG.1, processor104may be designed and/or configured to perform any method, method step, or sequence of method steps in any embodiment described in this disclosure, in any order and with any degree of repetition. For instance, processor104may be configured to perform a single step or sequence repeatedly until a desired or commanded outcome is achieved; repetition of a step or a sequence of steps may be performed iteratively and/or recursively using outputs of previous repetitions as inputs to subsequent repetitions, aggregating inputs and/or outputs of repetitions to produce an aggregate result, reduction or decrement of one or more variables such as global variables, and/or division of a larger processing task into a set of iteratively addressed smaller processing tasks. Processor104may perform any step or sequence of steps as described in this disclosure in parallel, such as simultaneously and/or substantially simultaneously performing a step two or more times using two or more parallel threads, processor cores, or the like; division of tasks between parallel threads and/or processes may be performed according to any protocol suitable for division of tasks between iterations. Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various ways in which steps, sequences of steps, processing tasks, and/or data may be subdivided, shared, or otherwise dealt with using iteration, recursion, and/or parallel processing. With continued reference toFIG.1, memory108includes instructions configuring at least a processor104to perform any processing step described in this disclosure. As used in this disclosure, “communicatively connected” means connected by way of a connection, attachment, or linkage between two or more relata which allows for reception and/or transmittance of information therebetween. For example, and without limitation, this connection may be wired or wireless, direct, or indirect, and between two or more components, circuits, devices, systems, and the like, which allows for reception and/or transmittance of data and/or signal(s) therebetween. Data and/or signals therebetween may include, without limitation, electrical, electromagnetic, magnetic, video, audio, radio, and microwave data and/or signals, combinations thereof, and the like, among others. A communicative connection may be achieved, for example and without limitation, through wired or wireless electronic, digital, or analog, communication, either directly or by way of one or more intervening devices or components. Further, communicative connection may include electrically coupling or connecting at least an output of one device, component, or circuit to at least an input of another device, component, or circuit. For example, and without limitation, via a bus or other facility for intercommunication between elements of a computing device. Communicative connecting may also include indirect connections via, for example and without limitation, wireless connection, radio communication, low power wide area network, optical communication, magnetic, capacitive, or optical coupling, and the like. In some instances, the terminology “communicatively coupled” may be used in place of communicatively connected in this disclosure. With continued reference toFIG.1, apparatus100and/or computing device may perform determinations, classification, and/or analysis steps, methods, processes, or the like as described in this disclosure using machine learning processes. A “machine learning process,” as used in this disclosure, is a process that automatedly uses a body of data known as “training data” and/or a “training set” (described further below) to generate an algorithm that will be performed by a computing device/module to produce outputs given data provided as inputs; this is in contrast to a non-machine learning software program where the commands to be executed are determined in advance by a user and written in a programming language. Machine-learning process may utilize supervised, unsupervised, lazy-learning processes and/or neural networks, described further below. With continued reference toFIG.1, in an embodiment, apparatus100and methods described herein may perform or implement one or more aspects of a cryptographic system. In one embodiment, a cryptographic system is a system that converts data from a first form, known as “plaintext,” which is intelligible when viewed in its intended format, into a second form, known as “ciphertext,” which is not intelligible when viewed in the same way. Ciphertext may be unintelligible in any format unless first converted back to plaintext. In one embodiment, a process of converting plaintext into ciphertext is known as “encryption.” Encryption process may involve the use of a datum, known as an “encryption key,” to alter plaintext. Cryptographic system may also convert ciphertext back into plaintext, which is a process known as “decryption.” Decryption process may involve the use of a datum, known as a “decryption key,” to return the ciphertext to its original plaintext form. In embodiments of cryptographic systems that are “symmetric,” decryption key is essentially the same as encryption key: possession of either key makes it possible to deduce the other key quickly without further secret knowledge. Encryption and decryption keys in symmetric cryptographic systems may be kept secret and shared only with persons or entities that the user of the cryptographic system wishes to be able to decrypt the ciphertext. One example of a symmetric cryptographic system is the Advanced Encryption Standard (“AES”), which arranges plaintext into matrices and then modifies the matrices through repeated permutations and arithmetic operations with an encryption key. Still referring toFIG.1, in embodiments of cryptographic systems that are “asymmetric,” either encryption or decryption key cannot be readily deduced without additional secret knowledge, even given the possession of a corresponding decryption or encryption key, respectively; a common example is a “public key cryptographic system,” in which possession of the encryption key does not make it practically feasible to deduce the decryption key, so that the encryption key may safely be made available to the public. An example of a public key cryptographic system is RSA, in which an encryption key involves the use of numbers that are products of very large prime numbers, but a decryption key involves the use of those very large prime numbers, such that deducing the decryption key from the encryption key requires the practically infeasible task of computing the prime factors of a number which is the product of two very large prime numbers. Another example is elliptic curve cryptography, which relies on the fact that given two points P and Q on an elliptic curve over a finite field, and a definition for addition where A+B=−R, the point where a line connecting point A and point B intersects the elliptic curve, where “0,” the identity, is a point at infinity in a projective plane containing the elliptic curve, finding a number k such that adding P to itself k times results in Q is computationally impractical, given correctly selected elliptic curve, finite field, and P and Q. With continued reference toFIG.1, in some embodiments, apparatus100and methods described herein produce cryptographic hashes, also referred to by the equivalent shorthand term “hashes.” A cryptographic hash, as used herein, is a mathematical representation of a lot of data, such as files or blocks in a block chain as described in further detail below; the mathematical representation is produced by a lossy “one-way” algorithm known as a “hashing algorithm.” Hashing algorithm may be a repeatable process; that is, identical lots of data may produce identical hashes each time they are subjected to a particular hashing algorithm. Because hashing algorithm is a one-way function, it may be impossible to reconstruct a lot of data from a hash produced from the lot of data using the hashing algorithm. In the case of some hashing algorithms, reconstructing the full lot of data from the corresponding hash using a partial set of data from the full lot of data may be possible only by repeatedly guessing at the remaining data and repeating the hashing algorithm; it is thus computationally difficult if not infeasible for a single computer to produce the lot of data, as the statistical likelihood of correctly guessing the missing data may be extremely low. However, the statistical likelihood of a computer of a set of computers simultaneously attempting to guess the missing data within a useful timeframe may be higher, permitting mining protocols as described in further detail below. Still referring toFIG.1, in an embodiment, hashing algorithm may demonstrate an “avalanche effect,” whereby even extremely small changes to lot of data produce drastically different hashes. This may thwart attempts to avoid the computational work necessary to recreate a hash by simply inserting a fraudulent datum in data lot, enabling the use of hashing algorithms for “tamper-proofing” data such as data contained in an immutable ledger as described in further detail below. This avalanche or “cascade” effect may be evinced by various hashing processes; persons skilled in the art, upon reading the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various suitable hashing algorithms for purposes described herein. Verification of a hash corresponding to a lot of data may be performed by running the lot of data through a hashing algorithm used to produce the hash. Such verification may be computationally expensive, albeit feasible, potentially adding up to significant processing delays where repeated hashing, or hashing of large quantities of data, is required, for instance as described in further detail below. Examples of hashing programs include, without limitation, SHA256, a NIST standard; further current and past hashing algorithms include Winternitz hashing algorithms, various generations of Secure Hash Algorithm (including “SHA-1,” “SHA-2,” and “SHA-3”), “Message Digest” family hashes such as “MD4,” “MD5,” “MD6,” and “RIPEMD,” Keccak, “BLAKE” hashes and progeny (e.g., “BLAKE2,” “BLAKE-256,” “BLAKE-512,” and the like), Message Authentication Code (“MAC”)-family hash functions such as PMAC, OMAC, VMAC, HMAC, and UMAC, Poly1305-AES, Elliptic Curve Only Hash (“ECOH”) and similar hash functions, Fast-Syndrome-based (FSB) hash functions, GOST hash functions, the Grøstl hash function, the HAS-160 hash function, the JH hash function, the RadioGatún hash function, the Skein hash function, the Streebog hash function, the SWIFFT hash function, the Tiger hash function, the Whirlpool hash function, or any hash function that satisfies, at the time of implementation, the requirements that a cryptographic hash be deterministic, infeasible to reverse-hash, infeasible to find collisions, and have the property that small changes to an original message to be hashed will change the resulting hash so extensively that the original hash and the new hash appear uncorrelated to each other. A degree of security of a hash function in practice may depend both on the hash function itself and on characteristics of the message and/or digest used in the hash function. For example, where a message is random, for a hash function that fulfills collision-resistance requirements, a brute-force or “birthday attack” may to detect collision may be on the order of O(2n/2) for n output bits; thus, it may take on the order of 2256operations to locate a collision in a 512 bit output “Dictionary” attacks on hashes likely to have been generated from a non-random original text can have a lower computational complexity, because the space of entries they are guessing is far smaller than the space containing all random permutations of bits. However, the space of possible messages may be augmented by increasing the length or potential length of a possible message, or by implementing a protocol whereby one or more randomly selected strings or sets of data are added to the message, rendering a dictionary attack significantly less effective. With continued reference toFIG.1, embodiments described in this disclosure may perform secure proofs. A “secure proof,” as used in this disclosure, is a protocol whereby an output is generated that demonstrates possession of a secret, such as device-specific secret, without demonstrating the entirety of the device-specific secret; in other words, a secure proof by itself, is insufficient to reconstruct the entire device-specific secret, enabling the production of at least another secure proof using at least a device-specific secret. A secure proof may be referred to as a “proof of possession” or “proof of knowledge” of a secret. Where at least a device-specific secret is a plurality of secrets, such as a plurality of challenge-response pairs, a secure proof may include an output that reveals the entirety of one of the plurality of secrets, but not all of the plurality of secrets; for instance, secure proof may be a response contained in one challenge-response pair. In an embodiment, proof may not be secure; in other words, proof may include a one-time revelation of at least a device-specific secret, for instance as used in a single challenge-response exchange. Still referring toFIG.1, secure proof may include a zero-knowledge proof, which may provide an output demonstrating possession of a secret while revealing none of the secret to a recipient of the output; zero-knowledge proof may be information-theoretically secure, meaning that an entity with infinite computing power would be unable to determine secret from output. Alternatively, zero-knowledge proof may be computationally secure, meaning that determination of secret from output is computationally infeasible, for instance to the same extent that determination of a private key from a public key in a public key cryptographic system is computationally infeasible. Zero-knowledge proof algorithms may generally include a set of two algorithms, a prover algorithm, or “P,” which is used to prove computational integrity and/or possession of a secret, and a verifier algorithm, or “V” whereby a party may check the validity of P. Zero-knowledge proof may include an interactive zero-knowledge proof, wherein a party verifying the proof must directly interact with the proving party; for instance, the verifying and proving parties may be required to be online, or connected to the same network as each other, at the same time. Interactive zero-knowledge proof may include a “proof of knowledge” proof, such as a Schnorr algorithm for proof on knowledge of a discrete logarithm. in a Schnorr algorithm, a prover commits to a randomness r, generates a message based on r, and generates a message adding r to a challenge c multiplied by a discrete logarithm that the prover is able to calculate; verification is performed by the verifier who produced c by exponentiation, thus checking the validity of the discrete logarithm. Interactive zero-knowledge proofs may alternatively or additionally include sigma protocols. Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various alternative interactive zero-knowledge proofs that may be implemented consistently with this disclosure. Alternatively, and continuing to refer toFIG.1, zero-knowledge proof may include a non-interactive zero-knowledge, proof, or a proof wherein neither party to the proof interacts with the other party to the proof; for instance, each of a party receiving the proof and a party providing the proof may receive a reference datum which the party providing the proof may modify or otherwise use to perform the proof. As a non-limiting example, zero-knowledge proof may include a succinct non-interactive arguments of knowledge (ZK-SNARKS) proof, wherein a “trusted setup” process creates proof and verification keys using secret (and subsequently discarded) information encoded using a public key cryptographic system, a prover runs a proving algorithm using the proving key and secret information available to the prover, and a verifier checks the proof using the verification key; public key cryptographic system may include RSA, elliptic curve cryptography, ElGamal, or any other suitable public key cryptographic system. Generation of trusted setup may be performed using a secure multiparty computation so that no one party has control of the totality of the secret information used in the trusted setup; as a result, if any one party generating the trusted setup is trustworthy, the secret information may be unrecoverable by malicious parties. As another non-limiting example, non-interactive zero-knowledge proof may include a Succinct Transparent Arguments of Knowledge (ZK-STARKS) zero-knowledge proof. In an embodiment, a ZK-STARKS proof includes a Merkle root of a Merkle tree representing evaluation of a secret computation at some number of points, which may be 1 billion points, plus Merkle branches representing evaluations at a set of randomly selected points of the number of points; verification may include determining that Merkle branches provided match the Merkle root, and that point verifications at those branches represent valid values, where validity is shown by demonstrating that all values belong to the same polynomial created by transforming the secret computation. In an embodiment, ZK-STARKS does not require a trusted setup. Further referring toFIG.1, zero-knowledge proof may include any other suitable zero-knowledge proof. Zero-knowledge proof may include, without limitation, bulletproofs. Zero-knowledge proof may include a homomorphic public-key cryptography (hPKC)-based proof. Zero-knowledge proof may include a discrete logarithmic problem (DLP) proof. Zero-knowledge proof may include a secure multi-party computation (MPC) proof. Zero-knowledge proof may include, without limitation, an incrementally verifiable computation (IVC). Zero-knowledge proof may include an interactive oracle proof (IOP). Zero-knowledge proof may include a proof based on the probabilistically checkable proof (PCP) theorem, including a linear PCP (LPCP) proof. Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various forms of zero-knowledge proofs that may be used, singly or in combination, consistently with this disclosure. With continued reference toFIG.1, in an embodiment, secure proof is implemented using a challenge-response protocol. In an embodiment, this may function as a one-time pad implementation; for instance, a manufacturer or other trusted party may record a series of outputs (“responses”) produced by a device possessing secret information, given a series of corresponding inputs (“challenges”), and store them securely. In an embodiment, a challenge-response protocol may be combined with key generation. A single key may be used in one or more digital signatures as described in further detail below, such as signatures used to receive and/or transfer possession of crypto-currency assets; the key may be discarded for future use after a set period of time. In an embodiment, varied inputs include variations in local physical parameters, such as fluctuations in local electromagnetic fields, radiation, temperature, and the like, such that an almost limitless variety of private keys may be so generated. Secure proof may include encryption of a challenge to produce the response, indicating possession of a secret key. Encryption may be performed using a private key of a public key cryptographic system or using a private key of a symmetric cryptographic system; for instance, trusted party may verify response by decrypting an encryption of challenge or of another datum using either a symmetric or public-key cryptographic system, verifying that a stored key matches the key used for encryption as a function of at least a device-specific secret. Keys may be generated by random variation in selection of prime numbers, for instance for the purposes of a cryptographic system such as RSA that relies prime factoring difficulty. Keys may be generated by randomized selection of parameters for a seed in a cryptographic system, such as elliptic curve cryptography, which is generated from a seed. Keys may be used to generate exponents for a cryptographic system such as Diffie-Helman or ElGamal that are based on the discrete logarithm problem. With continued reference toFIG.1, embodiments described in this disclosure may utilize, evaluate, and/or generate digital signatures. A “digital signature,” as used herein, includes a secure proof of possession of a secret by a signing device, as performed on provided element of data, known as a “message.” A message may include an encrypted mathematical representation of a file or other set of data using the private key of a public key cryptographic system. Secure proof may include any form of secure proof as described above, including without limitation encryption using a private key of a public key cryptographic system as described above. Signature may be verified using a verification datum suitable for verification of a secure proof; for instance, where secure proof is enacted by encrypting message using a private key of a public key cryptographic system, verification may include decrypting the encrypted message using the corresponding public key and comparing the decrypted representation to a purported match that was not encrypted; if the signature protocol is well-designed and implemented correctly, this means the ability to create the digital signature is equivalent to possession of the private decryption key and/or device-specific secret. Likewise, if a message making up a mathematical representation of file is well-designed and implemented correctly, any alteration of the file may result in a mismatch with the digital signature; the mathematical representation may be produced using an alteration-sensitive, reliably reproducible algorithm, such as a hashing algorithm as described above. A mathematical representation to which the signature may be compared may be included with signature, for verification purposes; in other embodiments, the algorithm used to produce the mathematical representation may be publicly available, permitting the easy reproduction of the mathematical representation corresponding to any file. With continued reference toFIG.1, in some embodiments, digital signatures may be combined with or incorporated in digital certificates. In one embodiment, a digital certificate is a file that conveys information and links the conveyed information to a “certificate authority” that is the issuer of a public key in a public key cryptographic system. Certificate authority in some embodiments contains data conveying the certificate authority's authorization for the recipient to perform a task. The authorization may be the authorization to access a given datum. The authorization may be the authorization to access a given process. In some embodiments, the certificate may identify the certificate authority. The digital certificate may include a digital signature. With continued reference toFIG.1, in some embodiments, a third party such as a certificate authority (CA) is available to verify that the possessor of the private key is a particular entity; thus, if the certificate authority may be trusted, and the private key has not been stolen, the ability of an entity to produce a digital signature confirms the identity of the entity and links the file to the entity in a verifiable way. Digital signature may be incorporated in a digital certificate, which is a document authenticating the entity possessing the private key by authority of the issuing certificate authority and signed with a digital signature created with that private key and a mathematical representation of the remainder of the certificate. In other embodiments, digital signature is verified by comparing the digital signature to one known to have been created by the entity that purportedly signed the digital signature; for instance, if the public key that decrypts the known signature also decrypts the digital signature, the digital signature may be considered verified. Digital signature may also be used to verify that the file has not been altered since the formation of the digital signature. With continued reference toFIG.1, processor104is configured to acquire action data112from an entity. As used in this disclosure, to “acquire” means to collect, gather, or otherwise receive data. As used in this disclosure, “action data” is information pertaining to transaction processing hosted by the entity. In some cases, transactions may include, without limitation, payments, purchases, collections, transfers, and the like thereof. In some embodiments, action data112may include any information related to domestic transaction processing hosted by the entity. In other embodiments, action data112may include any information related to international transaction processing hosted by the entity. As used in this disclosure, an “entity” is an independent and distinct existence such as a legal person. In some cases, legal person may include, without limitation, individual, group of individuals, trust, foundation, partnership, limited partnership, corporation, other business entity or firm, or the like thereof. In other cases, legal person may further include government such as, without limitation, municipality, state government, provincial government, departmental government, national or federal government, quasi-governmental organization, and/or the like thereof. In some embodiments, entity may include one or more sub-entities such as, without limitation, departments or divisions of entities listed above. In a non-limiting example, entity may include a bank or any type of financial institution for the purposes of processing foreign exchange of currency. An element of action data112includes at least a plurality of originators and at least a plurality of receivers. An “originator,” for the purposes of this disclosure, is an entity which initiates a transaction. For example, and without limitation, originator may include a person who seeks to make a cross-border payment. As used in this disclosure, a “cross-border payment” is a financial transaction where the originator and the receiver are based in separate countries or different currency unions. A “receiver,” as described herein, is an entity which accepts the transaction. For example, and without limitation, receiver may include is a person receiving the cross-border payment, such as a beneficiary. In a non-limiting example, originators within action data112may be clients of a bank or financial institution attempting to make an international payment, while receivers within action data112may be the beneficiary of the international payment. Additionally, or alternatively, other elements of action data112may include, originator's and receiver's banking information, geographic location of both parties, identification documents (e.g., driver's license, taxpayer identification number, social security number, employer identification number, and the like), currency amount to be transferred, addresses, and any other kind of information one skilled in the art would understand as appropriate and/necessary to acquire for transaction purposes. Further, processor104may be configured to acquire action data112through a network, being any described throughout this disclosure, that processor104is communicatively connected to. For example, and without limitation, entity may use any network interface device described throughout this disclosure to upload action data112that processor104may then receive and process. For another example, and without limitation, action data112may be received by processor104through a chatbot as described in further detail in reference toFIG.3. With continued reference toFIG.1, processor104is configured to process the action data112. In some embodiments, processing action data112may include classifying a plurality of action data elements to at least an originator116of the plurality of originators and a receiver120of the plurality of receivers. As used in this disclosure, an “action data element” is a unit of action data. For example, and without limitation, action data element may include a single transaction involving an originator and a receiver. For another example, and without limitation, action data element may include a bank statement. In some embodiments, classifying the plurality of action data elements may include dividing the plurality of action data elements into groups such as, without limitation, originator elements group and receiver elements group. As used in this disclosure, an “originator elements group” is a set of one or more action data elements that related to one or more originators. As used in this disclosure, an “receiver elements group” is a set of one or more action data elements that related to one or more receivers. In a non-limiting example, each entry of originator elements group may include information related to a at least an originator116and each entry of receiver elements group may include information related to at least a receiver120. Classifying the plurality of action data elements may include matching elements of action data112related to at least an originator and/or at least a receiver. Processor104may be configured to output a plurality of data bins based on the match. A “data bin” is a collection of data, such as without limitation, action data112, wherein the data within the data bin shared one or more data attributes, such as without limitation, elements of action data112. Data bin may be hashed using one or more hashing algorithms as described above. Each data bin of plurality of data bins may include, without limitation, a particular originator or receiver associated with a particular geographic location and banking information. In other embodiments, processing action data112may further include classifying the action data against a data store124including at least a foreign exchange rate128as described in further detail below. A “data store,” for the purpose of this disclosure, is a repository for persistently storing and/or managing collections of data. In some cases, data store124may include foreign exchange rates for a plurality of countries, conversion requirements, and payment terms of countries, and the like. As used in this disclosure, a “foreign exchange rate” is a relative value or price of one currency expressed in terms of another currency (or group of currencies). Continuing the non-limiting example, data bins output by processor104may also include categorization of foreign exchange rule, terms, regulations and the like pertaining to at least an originator116and at least a receiver120; for instance, and without limitation, data bin for an originator attempting to transfer money from the United States to France may include the conversion rates for U.S. dollars to euros, costs of sending dollars to France and then converting vs. potential savings if dollars are exchanged for euros prior to transfer, and the like. With further reference toFIG.1, any data processed and/or used as described in this disclosure, including any action data and/or other data used in processes herein, may be associated with one or more elements of metadata. “Metadata,” as used in this disclosure, is data that describes other data, including without limitation action data or any data usable to match action data and/or action data items to originators, receivers, or the like. Metadata may include, without limitation, a time and/or timestamp of data creation, risk scoring of data, preferred currency for a data account, a census tract, or the like. A timestamp included in metadata may include, without limitation, a timestamp of data creation, a timestamp representing a time at which an element of data was cryptographically hashed and/or included in a cryptographic accumulator, a timestamp representing a time at which such hash and/or cryptographic accumulator was entered into a database, or a timestamp representing any other time of any occurrence, action, or step described in this disclosure. A timestamp may include, without limitation, a timestamp, which may include a secure timestamp, and/or a datum linked to a secure timestamp, such as a cryptographic hash of the secure timestamp or the like. As used herein, a “secure timestamp” is an element of data that immutably and verifiably records a particular time, for instance by incorporating a secure proof, cryptographic hash, or other process whereby a party that attempts to modify the time and/or date of the secure timestamp will be unable to do so without the alteration being detected as fraudulent. Still referring toFIG.1, a secure timestamp may record a current time in a hash chain. In an embodiment, a hash chain includes a series of hashes, each produced from a message containing a current time stamp (i.e., current at the moment the hash is created) and the previously created hash, which may be combined with one or more additional data; additional data may include a random number, which may be generated for instance using any random or pseudorandom number generator. Additional data may include one or more additional data, that are received, generated, identified, and/or determined by any processor and/or any computing device described in this disclosure. Additional data may be hashed into a Merkle tree or other hash tree, or otherwise included in any cryptographic accumulator, such that a root of the hash tree and/or root or other portion of the cryptographic accumulator may be incorporated in an entry in hash chain. It may be computationally infeasible to reverse hash any one entry, particularly in the amount of time during which its currency is important; it may be astronomically difficult to reverse hash the entire chain, rendering illegitimate or fraudulent timestamps referring to the hash chain all but impossible. A purported entry may be evaluated by hashing its corresponding message. In an embodiment, the trusted timestamping procedure utilized is substantially similar to the RFC 3161 standard. In this scenario, the received data signals are locally processed at the listener device by a one-way function, e.g. a hash function, and this hashed output data is sent to a timestamping authority (TSA). The use of secure timestamps as described herein may enable systems and methods as described herein to instantiate attested time. Attested time is the property that a device incorporating a local reference clock may hash data, including without limitation any data described in this disclosure, along with the local timestamp of the device. Attested time may additionally incorporate attested identity, attested device architecture and other pieces of information identifying properties of the attesting device. In one embodiment, secure timestamp is generated by a trusted third party (TTP) that appends a timestamp to the hashed output data, applies the TSA private key to sign the hashed output data concatenated to the timestamp, and returns this signed, a.k.a. trusted timestamped data back to the listener device. Alternatively, or additionally, one or more additional participants, such as other verifying nodes, may evaluate secure timestamp, or other party generating secure timestamp and/or perform threshold cryptography with a plurality of such parties, each of which may have performed an embodiment of method to produce a secure timestamp. In an embodiment, parties authenticating digitally signed assertions, devices, and/or user credentials may perform authentication at least in part by evaluating timeliness of entry and/or generation data as assessed against secure timestamp. In an embodiment, secure proof is generated using an attested computing protocol; this may be performed, as a non-limiting example, using any protocol for attested computing as described above. Further referring toFIG.1, metadata may be associated with data described thereby in any manner described in this disclosure, including without limitation by inclusion in a data record linking to and/or also including such data, combination therewith in a cryptographic accumulator, and/or any other data link indicating an association between data and metadata. In some embodiments, and still referring toFIG.1, any data and/or metadata processed and/or used as described in this disclosure, including any action data, action data items, and/or other data used in processes herein, may be cryptographically hashed and/or included in a cryptographic accumulator; the digest, accumulator, and/or any part of accumulator including without limitation a root of accumulator, may be stored in database, linked to corresponding data or metadata, or the like. Any classification of any data and/or metadata to any other data and/or metadata may include classification of hashes and/or cryptographic accumulators to each other and/or to such data; for instance and without limitation, classification may include comparison of hashes to identify relationships and/or similarities between one datum and/or lot of data and another. As a further non-limiting example, proofs of membership in cryptographic accumulators may be used to identify data records matching a user, transaction amount, or the like to another, previously recorded user, transaction amount, or the like. As a non-limiting illustrative example, a user, whose identity may be stored in a hashed or cryptographically accumulated form, may be recorded as performing a first transaction having a first amount, such as for instance $1000 on a first day, and then maybe recorded, so identified, as having performed a second transaction in a second amount, such as $1,000,000 on another day. System and/or apparatus may compare such transactions, as linked together by common hashed and/or accumulated user identities. Where transaction amounts differ by more than a preconfigured threshold amount, apparatus may generate an alert indicating potential fraud or other anomalies. Preconfigured threshold may include a statistical measure of all previous transactions, such as without limitation an average or mean transaction amount by a user. Alternatively or additionally, a machine-learning model may be trained using training data that associates transaction pairs or sequences with user-entered labels indicating likelihood or presence of fraud, money laundering, or other irregularities; such machine-learning model may input pairs and/or sequences of transactions by a given user and output degrees of probability and/or identifications of fraud, money laundering, or other irregularities. Degrees of probability may be compared to preconfigured thresholds, and if above such a threshold may trigger an alert to another user and/or system. With continued reference toFIG.1, action data112, foreign exchange rate128and/or any data described in this disclosure may be received and/or stored in data store124such as, without a limitation, a database. Data store124may be implemented, without limitation, as a relational database, a key-value retrieval database such as a NOSQL database, or any other format or structure for use as a database that a person skilled in the art would recognize as suitable upon review of the entirety of this disclosure. Data store124may alternatively or additionally be implemented using a distributed data storage protocol and/or data structure, such as a distributed hash table or the like. Data store124may include a plurality of data entries and/or records as described above. Data entries in a database may be flagged with or linked to one or more additional elements of information, which may be reflected in data entry cells and/or in linked tables such as tables related by one or more indices in a relational database. Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various ways in which data entries in a data store may save, retrieve, organize, and/or reflect data and/or records as used herein, as well as categories and/or populations of data consistently with this disclosure. With continued reference toFIG.1, in some embodiments, processing action data112may include processing the action data using a machine-learning module, such as action data machine-learning module132, to implement one or more algorithms or generate one or more machine-learning models, such as action data classifier136, to classify plurality of action data elements to at least an originator116and/or at least a receiver120. However, the machine learning module is exemplary and may not be necessary to generate one or more machine learning models and perform any machine learning described herein. In one or more embodiments, one or more machine-learning models may be generated using training data. Training data may include inputs and corresponding predetermined outputs so that a machine-learning model may use correlations between the provided exemplary inputs and outputs to develop an algorithm and/or relationship that then allows machine-learning model to determine its own outputs for inputs. Training data may contain correlations that a machine-learning process may use to model relationships between two or more categories of data elements. Exemplary inputs and outputs may come from data store124or be provided by the entity. In other embodiments, a machine-learning module may obtain a training set by querying communicatively connected data store124that includes past inputs and outputs. Training data may include inputs from various types of data stores, resources, and/or user inputs and outputs correlated to each of those inputs so that a machine-learning model may determine an output. Correlations may indicate causative and/or predictive links between data, which may be modeled as relationships, such as mathematical relationships, by machine-learning models, as described in further detail below. In one or more embodiments, training data may be formatted and/or organized by categories of data elements by, for example, associating data elements with one or more descriptors corresponding to categories of data elements. As a non-limiting example, training data may include data entered in standardized forms by persons or processes, such that entry of a given data element in a given field in a form may be mapped to one or more descriptors of categories. Elements in training data may be linked to descriptors of categories by tags, tokens, or other data elements. Action data machine-learning module132may be used to generate action data classifier136and/or any other machine learning model described in this disclosure, using training data. With continued reference toFIG.1, a “classifier,” as used in this disclosure is a machine-learning model, such as a mathematical model, neural net, or program generated by a machine learning algorithm known as a “classification algorithm,” as described in further detail below, that sorts inputs into categories or bins of data, outputting the categories or bins of data and/or labels associated therewith. A classifier may be configured to output at least a datum that labels or otherwise identifies a set of data that are clustered together, found to be close under a distance metric as described below, or the like. Processor104and/or another device may generate a classifier using a classification algorithm, defined as a processes whereby a processor104derives a classifier from training data. Classification may be performed using, without limitation, linear classifiers such as without limitation logistic regression and/or naive Bayes classifiers, nearest neighbor classifiers such as k-nearest neighbors classifiers, support vector machines, least squares support vector machines, fisher's linear discriminant, quadratic classifiers, decision trees, boosted trees, random forest classifiers, learning vector quantization, and/or neural network-based classifiers. Still referring toFIG.1, processor104may be configured to generate a classifier using a Naïve Bayes classification algorithm. Naïve Bayes classification algorithm generates classifiers by assigning class labels to problem instances, represented as vectors of element values. Class labels are drawn from a finite set. Naïve Bayes classification algorithm may include generating a family of algorithms that assume that the value of a particular element is independent of the value of any other element, given a class variable. Naïve Bayes classification algorithm may be based on Bayes Theorem expressed as P(A/B)=P(B/A) P(A)÷P(B), where P(AB) is the probability of hypothesis A given data B also known as posterior probability; P(B/A) is the probability of data B given that the hypothesis A was true; P(A) is the probability of hypothesis A being true regardless of data also known as prior probability of A; and P(B) is the probability of the data regardless of the hypothesis. A naïve Bayes algorithm may be generated by first transforming training data into a frequency table. Processor104may then calculate a likelihood table by calculating probabilities of different data entries and classification labels. Processor104may utilize a naïve Bayes equation to calculate a posterior probability for each class. A class containing the highest posterior probability is the outcome of prediction. Naïve Bayes classification algorithm may include a gaussian model that follows a normal distribution. Naïve Bayes classification algorithm may include a multinomial model that is used for discrete counts. Naïve Bayes classification algorithm may include a Bernoulli model that may be utilized when vectors are binary. With continued reference toFIG.1, processor104may be configured to generate a classifier using a K-nearest neighbors (KNN) algorithm. A “K-nearest neighbors algorithm” as used in this disclosure, includes a classification method that utilizes feature similarity to analyze how closely out-of-sample-features resemble training data to classify input data to one or more clusters and/or categories of features as represented in training data; this may be performed by representing both training data and input data in vector forms, and using one or more measures of vector similarity to identify classifications within training data, and to determine a classification of input data. K-nearest neighbors algorithm may include specifying a K-value, or a number directing the classifier to select the k most similar entries training data to a given sample, determining the most common classifier of the entries in the database, and classifying the known sample; this may be performed recursively and/or iteratively to generate a classifier that may be used to classify input data as further samples. For instance, an initial set of samples may be performed to cover an initial heuristic and/or “first guess” at an output and/or relationship, which may be seeded, without limitation, using expert input received according to any process as described herein. As a non-limiting example, an initial heuristic may include a ranking of associations between inputs and elements of training data. Heuristic may include selecting some number of highest-ranking associations and/or training data elements. With continued reference toFIG.1, generating k-nearest neighbors algorithm may generate a first vector output containing a data entry cluster, generating a second vector output containing an input data, and calculate the distance between the first vector output and the second vector output using any suitable norm such as cosine similarity, Euclidean distance measurement, or the like. Each vector output may be represented, without limitation, as an n-tuple of values, where n is at least two values. Each value of n-tuple of values may represent a measurement or other quantitative value associated with a given category of data, or attribute, examples of which are provided in further detail below; a vector may be represented, without limitation, in n-dimensional space using an axis per category of value represented in n-tuple of values, such that a vector has a geometric direction characterizing the relative quantities of attributes in the n-tuple as compared to each other. Two vectors may be considered equivalent where their directions, and/or the relative quantities of values within each vector as compared to each other, are the same; thus, as a non-limiting example, a vector represented as [5, 10, 15] may be treated as equivalent, for purposes of this disclosure, as a vector represented as [1, 2, 3]. Vectors may be more similar where their directions are more similar, and more different where their directions are more divergent; however, vector similarity may alternatively or additionally be determined using averages of similarities between like attributes, or any other measure of similarity suitable for any n-tuple of values, or aggregation of numerical similarity measures for the purposes of loss functions as described in further detail below. Any vectors as described herein may be scaled, such that each vector represents each attribute along an equivalent scale of values. Each vector may be “normalized,” or divided by a “length” attribute, such as a length attribute l as derived using a Pythagorean norm: l=√{square root over (Σi=0nai2)}, where aiis attribute number i of the vector. Scaling and/or normalization may function to make vector comparison independent of absolute quantities of attributes, while preserving any dependency on similarity of attributes; this may, for instance, be advantageous where cases represented in training data are represented by different quantities of samples, which may result in proportionally equivalent vectors with divergent values. With continued reference toFIG.1, in some embodiments, action data classifier136may be trained by correlated inputs and outputs of training data. Training data may be data sets that have already been converted from raw data whether manually, by machine, or any other method. Training data may include previous outputs such that action data classifier136iteratively produces outputs. Action data classifier136using a machine-learning process may output converted data based on input of training data. In an embodiment, processing action data112may include classifying plurality of action data elements to at least an originator116and at least a receiver120and using machine learning model, such as action data classifier136generated by action data machine-learning module132. In a non-limiting example, action data classifier136may be trained using action training data, wherein the action training data may include a plurality of action data correlating to a plurality of action data bins. In some embodiments, action training data may include a plurality of action data element sets that are each correlated to one of a plurality of originators. In such embodiments, action training data may be used to show one or more action data elements may indicate a particular originator of the plurality of originators. In other embodiments, action training data may include a plurality of action data element sets that are each correlated to one of a plurality of receivers. In such embodiments, action training data may be used to show one or more action data elements may indicate a particular receiver of the plurality of receivers. Processing action data112using action data machine-learning module132may further include training action data classifier136as a function of action training data. Further, processing action data112using action data machine-learning module132may also include classifying plurality of action data elements to at least an originator116of plurality of originators and at least a receiver120of plurality of receivers using trained action data classifier136. With continued reference toFIG.1, processor may be configured to process action data112using a language processing module configured to extract one or more elements of action data112, such as, without limitation, any textual information from action data112. Language processing module may include any hardware and/or software module. Language processing module may be configured to extract, from the one or more documents, one or more words. One or more words may include, without limitation, strings of one or more characters, including without limitation any sequence or sequences of letters, numbers, punctuation, diacritic marks, engineering symbols, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) symbols, chemical symbols and formulas, spaces, whitespace, and other symbols, including any symbols usable as textual data as described above. Textual data may be parsed into tokens, which may include a simple word (sequence of letters separated by whitespace) or more generally a sequence of characters as described previously. The term “token,” as used herein, refers to any smaller, individual groupings of text from a larger source of text; tokens may be broken up by word, pair of words, sentence, or other delimitation. These tokens may in turn be parsed in various ways. Textual data may be parsed into words or sequences of words, which may be considered words as well. Textual data may be parsed into “n-grams”, where all sequences of n consecutive characters are considered. Any or all possible sequences of tokens or words may be stored as “chains”, for example for use as a Markov chain or Hidden Markov Model. With continued reference toFIG.1, language processing module may operate to produce a language processing model. Language processing model may include a program automatically generated by computing device and/or language processing module to produce associations between one or more words extracted from at least a document and detect associations, including without limitation mathematical associations, between such words. Associations between language elements, where language elements include for purposes herein extracted words, relationships of such categories to other such term may include, without limitation, mathematical associations, including without limitation statistical correlations between any language element and any other language element and/or language elements. Statistical correlations and/or mathematical associations may include probabilistic formulas or relationships indicating, for instance, a likelihood that a given extracted word indicates a given category of semantic meaning. As a further example, statistical correlations and/or mathematical associations may include probabilistic formulas or relationships indicating a positive and/or negative association between at least an extracted word and/or a given semantic meaning; positive or negative indication may include an indication that a given document is or is not indicating a category semantic meaning. Whether a phrase, sentence, word, or other textual element in a document or corpus of documents constitutes a positive or negative indicator may be determined, in an embodiment, by mathematical associations between detected words, comparisons to phrases and/or words indicating positive and/or negative indicators that are stored in memory at computing device, or the like. With continued reference toFIG.1, language processing module and/or diagnostic engine may generate the language processing model by any suitable method, including without limitation a natural language processing classification algorithm; language processing model may include a natural language process classification model that enumerates and/or derives statistical relationships between input terms and output terms. Algorithm to generate language processing model may include a stochastic gradient descent algorithm, which may include a method that iteratively optimizes an objective function, such as an objective function representing a statistical estimation of relationships between terms, including relationships between input terms and output terms, in the form of a sum of relationships to be estimated. In an alternative or additional approach, sequential tokens may be modeled as chains, serving as the observations in a Hidden Markov Model (HMM). HMMs as used herein are statistical models with inference algorithms that that may be applied to the models. In such models, a hidden state to be estimated may include an association between an extracted words, phrases, and/or other semantic units. There may be a finite number of categories to which an extracted word may pertain; an HMM inference algorithm, such as the forward-backward algorithm or the Viterbi algorithm, may be used to estimate the most likely discrete state given a word or sequence of words. Language processing module may combine two or more approaches. For instance, and without limitation, machine-learning program may use a combination of Naive-Bayes (NB), Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD), and parameter grid-searching classification techniques; the result may include a classification algorithm that returns ranked associations. With continued reference toFIG.1, generating language processing model may include generating a vector space, which may be a collection of vectors, defined as a set of mathematical objects that can be added together under an operation of addition following properties of associativity, commutativity, existence of an identity element, and existence of an inverse element for each vector, and can be multiplied by scalar values under an operation of scalar multiplication compatible with field multiplication, and that has an identity element is distributive with respect to vector addition, and is distributive with respect to field addition. Each vector in an n-dimensional vector space may be represented by an n-tuple of numerical values. Each unique extracted word and/or language element as described above may be represented by a vector of the vector space. In an embodiment, each unique extracted and/or other language element may be represented by a dimension of vector space; as a non-limiting example, each element of a vector may include a number representing an enumeration of co-occurrences of the word and/or language element represented by the vector with another word and/or language element. Vectors may be normalized, scaled according to relative frequencies of appearance and/or file sizes. In an embodiment associating language elements to one another as described above may include computing a degree of vector similarity between a vector representing each language element and a vector representing another language element; vector similarity may be measured according to any norm for proximity and/or similarity of two vectors, including without limitation cosine similarity, which measures the similarity of two vectors by evaluating the cosine of the angle between the vectors, which can be computed using a dot product of the two vectors divided by the lengths of the two vectors. Degree of similarity may include any other geometric measure of distance between vectors. With continued reference toFIG.1, language processing module may use a corpus of documents to generate associations between language elements in a language processing module, and diagnostic engine may then use such associations to analyze words extracted from one or more documents and determine that the one or more documents indicate significance of a category. In an embodiment, language module and/or processor104may perform this analysis using a selected set of significant documents, such as documents identified by one or more experts as representing good information; experts may identify or enter such documents via graphical user interface, or may communicate identities of significant documents according to any other suitable method of electronic communication, or by providing such identity to other persons who may enter such identifications into processor104. Documents may be entered into a computing device by being uploaded by an expert or other persons using, without limitation, file transfer protocol (FTP) or other suitable methods for transmission and/or upload of documents; alternatively or additionally, where a document is identified by a citation, a uniform resource identifier (URI), uniform resource locator (URL) or other datum permitting unambiguous identification of the document, diagnostic engine may automatically obtain the document using such an identifier, for instance by submitting a request to a database or compendium of documents such as JSTOR as provided by Ithaka Harbors, Inc. of New York. With continued reference toFIG.1, processor is configured to generate a conversion record140as a function of the processed action data112. As used in this disclosure, a “conversion record” is information pertaining to an originator exchanging currency prior to transferring currency internationally, such as rate of exchange, potential savings, optimized transfer plans and the like. In some embodiments, conversion record140may be presented in a notification format referred to as a “nudge” within this disclosure. In some embodiments, Processor104and/or computing device112is configured to generate a nudge based on action data112meeting a plurality of advantageous threshold requirements152. In some cases, a nudge may be configured to influence the behavior and decision-making of a receiver of the nudge such as, without limitation, end user as described below; for instance, nudge may include in a form of notification, reminder, and the like thereof. In a non-limiting example, nudge may facilitate end user to initiate a transaction such as, without limitation, submitting a payment instruction, based on the content within conversion record140(i.e., information related to at least an originator116, at least a receiver120, foreign exchange rate128, and the like thereof). As used in this disclosure, an “advantageous threshold requirement” is a condition configured to determine a user and/or end user's eligibility for generating and/or receiving conversion record140. An “end user,” as used in this disclosure, is a customer, originator, client, entity, and the like of the user that would carry out the transfer. In a non-limiting example, advantageous threshold requirements may include requirements such as, without limitation, minimum deposit, minimum savings, minimum number of payments, account activity, account status, and the like thereof. Advantageous threshold requirements may be determined manually by the entity. In a non-limiting example, advantageous threshold requirements may be determined by the entity based on its financial advantages, consumer advantages, bank/financial institution advantages, efficiency, reliability, and the like. In some embodiments, generating conversion record140may include constructing, by processor104, a decision tree144as a function of plurality of advantageous threshold requirements152. In a non-limiting example, processor104may map one or more advantageous threshold requirements to each node of plurality of nodes148within decision tree144. In this case, each node of plurality of nodes148may include at least one advantageous threshold requirement of plurality of advantageous threshold requirements152. As used in this disclosure, a “decision tree” is a data structure that represents and combines one or more determinations or other computations based on and/or concerning data provided thereto, as well as earlier such determinations or calculations, as nodes of a tree data structure where inputs of some nodes are connected to outputs of others. As used in this disclosure, a “node” of a tree is an entity which contains a value or data and optionally contains one or more connection to other nodes. Plurality of nodes148within decision tree144may include at least a root node, or node that receives processed action data112to the decision tree144, such as, without limitation, at least an originator116, at least a receiver120, foreign exchange rate128, any other action data elements and the like thereof. Plurality of nodes148within decision tree144may include at least a terminal node, which may alternatively or additionally be referred to herein as a “leaf node,” corresponding to an execution result of decision tree144. In other words, decisions and/or determinations produced by decision tree144may be output at the at least a terminal node. In a non-limiting example, terminal node may include a foreign exchange advantage sub-score as execution result of decision tree144. Foreign exchange advantage sub-score disclosed here will be described in further detail below. In some embodiments, plurality of nodes148within decision tree144may include one or more internal nodes, defined as nodes connecting outputs of root nodes to inputs of terminal nodes. In some cases, processor104may generate two or more decision trees144, which may overlap. In a non-limiting example, decision tree144may establish a link to a remote decision module, device, system, or the like. Root node of one decision tree may connect to and/or receive output from one or more terminal nodes of another decision tree, intermediate nodes of one decision tree may be shared with another decision tree, or the like. In some embodiments, decision tree144may incorporate plurality of advantageous threshold requirements152using an application programming interface (API). In other embodiments, decision tree144may perform one or more data store lookups and/or look-up table lookups. With continued reference toFIG.1, in some embodiments, constructing decision tree144using processor104may include constructing decision tree144as a function of a decision metric. As used in this disclosure, a “decision metric” is a quantitative measurement for determining one or more branches within decision tree144from root node to terminal node of plurality of nodes148. In a non-limiting example, plurality of nodes148within decision tree144may be split according to decision metric, wherein resulting branches (i.e., sub-trees) between plurality of nodes may include a better decision metric than previous tree; for instance, a higher probability of one class. As used in this disclosure, a “branch” is a connection between two nodes of decision tree144. Nodes may include any node described above such as, without limitation, root node, terminal node, internal node, and the like thereof. In some embodiments, branch may include a relation indicator, wherein the relation indicator is an element indicates a single relationship between connected nodes. In some cases, relation indicator may include any data type such as, without limitation, string, integer, Boolean, object, and the like thereof. In a non-limiting example, root node may be connected to a first terminal node through a first branch and a second terminal node through a second branch, wherein the first branch may include a first relation indicator of string “yes” or “satisfied” and the second branch may include a second relation indicator of string “no” or “unsatisfied.” In a non-limiting example, decision metric may include an entropy, wherein the entropy is a measurement of randomness in processed action data112and measures an amount of uncertainty within processed action data112. Decision tree144with a high entropy as decision metric may include more nodes and branches. In a non-limiting example, decision metric may include a Gini index, wherein the Gini index is a measurement of probability (i.e., likelihood) of a given element of action data112misclassified by a particular node of decision tree144. In a non-limiting example, decision metric may include an information grain (IG), wherein the information gain is a measurement of reduction in entropy or Gini index during the constructing process of decision tree144. As will be appreciated by persons having ordinary skill in the art, after having read the entirety of this disclosure, the foregoing list is provided by way of example and other metrics for determining branches and/or feature split can be added as an extension or improvements of apparatus100disclosed herein. With continued reference toFIG.1, in a non-limiting example, processor104may be configured to specify a root node within plurality of nodes148, wherein the root node may be a base advantageous threshold requirement of plurality of advantageous threshold requirements152. Generating conversion record140may further include traversing decision tree144based on processed action data112. Processor104may be configured to accept an input such as, without limitation, processed action data112and recursively performing mapping of element of processed action data112to root node of plurality of nodes148; for instance, and without limitation, processor may map an entry of bank information of at least an originator116and/or at least a receiver120to base advantageous threshold requirement of root node132. In some embodiments, traversing decision tree144may include comparing processed action data112against at least one advantageous threshold requirement of plurality of advantageous threshold requirements152at a first node of plurality of nodes148and passing processed action data112to a second node of plurality of nodes148as a function of the comparison, wherein the second node is connected to the first node. In a non-limiting example, comparing processed action data112against one or more advantageous threshold requirements corresponding to the current node may include checking, by processor104, whether at least a portion of processed action data112(i.e., one or more elements of processed action data112) satisfy the advantageous threshold requirements corresponding to the current node. Root node may be split into a plurality of internal nodes based on a decision metric, wherein the decision metric may be a satisfaction of advantageous threshold requirement; for instance, root node132may be connected with a first internal node through a first branch containing a first determination of advantageous threshold requirement satisfaction (i.e., “satisfied”) to base advantageous threshold requirement and a second internal node through a second branch containing a second determination of advantageous threshold requirement satisfaction to base advantageous threshold requirement (i.e., “unsatisfied”). First internal node may include a different set of advantageous threshold requirements than second internal node. Processor104may connect root node and one or more matched internal nodes with matched decision metric and continue map the next element of processed action data112. Processor104may create a plurality of terminal nodes at the end of recursive input mapping. Each terminal node may be a final advantageous threshold requirement of plurality of advantageous threshold requirements152. Processor104may construct decision tree144by enforcing connections/branches between root node and plurality of internal nodes and connections/branches between plurality of internal nodes and plurality of terminal nodes through decision metric. Terminal node may include a final decision regarding to the generation of conversion record140. In some cases, terminal node may include a last satisfied advantageous threshold requirement; for instance, and without limitation, processor104may terminate the construction of decision tree144upon an unsatisfied advantageous threshold requirement is reached. With continued reference toFIG.1, in some embodiments, traversing decision tree144may further include generating a foreign exchange advantage sub-score156for each node of the plurality of nodes148as a function of each comparison between the action data112and at least one of advantageous threshold requirement occurred at each node of the plurality of nodes as described above. As used in this disclosure, a “foreign exchange advantage sub-score” is an evaluation of the extent to which a single advantageous threshold requirement pertaining to a potential transaction between at least an originator116and at least a receiver120is satisfied. In some embodiments, foreign exchange advantage sub-score156may be generated as a numeric value on a scale, percentage, or a linguistic label (e.g., “Poor”, “Moderate. “Great”, and the like). In some embodiments, advantageous threshold requirements at each node may be represented as a checklist. Processor may match elements of processed action data112to each list item (i.e., advantageous threshold requirement) and mark or check the list item upon a successful match, wherein the successful match may be determined based on decision metric as described above. Processor may then generate foreign exchange advantage sub-score156as a function of marked or checked list items; for instance, processor104may be configured to determine foreign exchange advantage sub-score156based on number of checked list items, number of unchecked list items, and the like thereof. Additionally, or alternatively, decision tree144may incorporate the use of one or more machine-learning models to form a new data structure. Machine-learning models may include any machine-learning models described in this disclosure. In a non-limiting example, each node of plurality of nodes148may include a utilization of a foreign exchange advantage machine-learning model. Foreign exchange advantage machine-leaning model may be trained using a foreign exchange advantage training data, wherein the foreign exchange advantage training data comprises a plurality of advantageous threshold requirements152and action data pairs as input correlated to a plurality of foreign exchange advantage sub-scores as output. Foreign exchange advantage training data may be obtained by processor104in any manner and/or form as described anywhere in this disclosure, including and without limitation retrieving from data store124. Processor104may generate foreign exchange advantage sub-score156at each node as a function of trained foreign exchange advantage machine-learning model. Further, generating the threshold sub-scores may include using a fuzzy set inference system to generate. A fuzzy inferencing system for determination of foreign exchange advantage sub-scores156may be employed, where any or all foreign exchange advantage sub-scores156may be represented as values and/or fuzzy sets for linguistic variables measuring the same, as described in more detail inFIG.5. An inferencing system may use one or more fuzzy inferencing rules, as described below inFIG.5, to output one or more linguistic variable values and/or defuzzified values indicating foreign exchange advantage sub-scores156. With continued reference toFIG.1, generating conversion record140may include aggregating plurality of foreign exchange advantage sub-scores156associated with plurality of nodes148of decision tree144into a foreign exchange advantage score160. As used in this disclosure, a “foreign exchange advantage score” is the aggregation of a plurality of foreign exchange advantage sub-scores156generated or determined based on a plurality of advantageous threshold requirements152pertaining to a potential transaction between at least an originator116and at least a receiver120. In a non-limiting example, foreign exchange advantage score160may include an overall score of plurality of foreign exchange advantage sub-scores156generated at each node during decision tree traversal; for instance, and without limitation, foreign exchange advantage score160may include an average score of plurality of foreign exchange advantage sub-scores156. In some embodiments, terminal node of decision tree144may incorporate an aggregator, wherein the aggregator is a component configured to receive, collect, or otherwise combine data from a data source such as, without limitation, plurality of nodes148of decision tree144. In a non-limiting example, aggregator may be configured to collect foreign exchange advantage sub-scores156from a decision tree traversal path, wherein the decision tree traversal path is an array of nodes visited by processor104in order during decision tree traversal as described above. Aggregator may then combine plurality of foreign exchange advantage sub-scores156collected from the decision tree traversal path; for instance, and without limitation, aggregator may iteratively or recursively append a first foreign exchange advantage sub-score generated at a current node with a second foreign exchange advantage sub-score generated at a previous node connected with the current node. Further, processor104may then generate conversion record140as a function of foreign exchange advantage score160. In some embodiments, foreign exchange advantage score160may represent an overall eligibility of the end-user for receiving conversion record140as described in further detail below. Foreign exchange advantage score160may be used to evaluate if a nudge should or should not be sent out to the end user. In a non-limiting example, processor104may be configured to compare foreign exchange advantage score160to a threshold score. Processor104may generate conversion record140if foreign exchange advantage score160exceeds the threshold score. With continued reference toFIG.1, aggregating plurality of foreign exchange advantage sub-scores156into the foreign exchange advantage score160may include optimizing the foreign exchange advantage score using a linear optimization module164. As used in this disclosure, a “linear optimization module” is a component configured to generate optimized data output using linear optimization. A “linear optimization,” for the purpose of this disclosure, is a program that optimizes an objective function, given at least a constraint. In a non-limiting example, linear optimization module164may generate and/or optimize foreign exchange advantage score160using plurality of advantageous threshold requirements152as constraints. Linear optimization module164may generate an objective function of the plurality of foreign exchange advantage sub-scores. An “objective function,” as used in this disclosure, is a mathematical function with a solution set including a plurality of data elements to be compared, such as without limitation plurality of action data elements. Linear optimization module164may compute a score, metric, ranking, or the like, associated with each advantageous threshold requirement and select objectives to minimize and/or maximize the score/rank, depending on whether an optimal foreign exchange advantage sub-score156or foreign exchange advantage score160is represented; an objective function may be used by linear optimization module164to score each advantageous threshold requirement. Linear optimization module164may select one or more nodes of plurality of nodes148, or one or more decision tree traversal path that optimizes the objective function. In various embodiments foreign exchange advantage score160may be based on a combination of one or more foreign exchange advantage sub-scores156, including a plurality of constraints like at least an originator116, at least a receiver120, transaction dates, receive dates, transaction amount, foreign exchange rate128, number of transactions, and the like thereof. In some embodiments, plurality of advantageous threshold requirements152may be weighted or unweighted. With continued reference toFIG.1, in some embodiments, optimizing foreign exchange advantage score160may include optimizing of an objective function via a greedy algorithm process, where optimization may be performed by minimizing and/or maximizing an output of objective function through selection of constraints. A “greedy algorithm” is defined as an algorithm that selects locally optimal choices, which may or may not generate a globally optimal solution. For instance, Linear optimization module164may select objectives so that foreign exchange advantage sub-score156associated therewith are the best score for each node of plurality of nodes148of decision tree144. For instance, in non-limiting illustrative example, optimization may determine the combination of nodes (i.e., decision tree traversal path) such that each node includes the highest foreign exchange advantage sub-score156possible, and thus the most optimal foreign exchange advantage score160. Additionally, or alternatively, processor104may determine plurality of action data elements that maximize a foreign exchange advantage score160subject to a threshold constraint using linear optimization module164. For example, processed action data112pertaining to an originator's financial savings if currency is converted before international transfer may maximize the foreign exchange advantage score subject to a financial advantage threshold constraint. A mathematical solver may be implemented to solve for processed action data112that maximizes scores; mathematical solver may be implemented on processor104and/or third-party solver. In a further non-limiting embodiment, objective function may be formulated as nonlinear least squares optimization process. A “nonlinear least squares optimization process,” for the purposes of this disclosure, is a form of least squares analysis used to fit a set of m observations with a model that is non-linear in n unknown parameters, where m is greater than or equal to n. The basis of the method is to approximate the model by a linear one and to refine the parameters by successive iterations. A nonlinear least squares optimization process may output a fit of foreign exchange advantage score120to plurality of action data elements. With continued reference toFIG.1, processor104is configured to output the conversion record140to a third-party computing device. As used in this disclosure, a “third-party computing device” is any computing device belongs to a third-party platform. As used in this disclosure, a “third-party platform” is a platform hosted by an entity that is involved in an interaction that is primarily between two other entities. In a non-limiting example, third-party platform may include bank/credit union that handles transaction between at least an originator116and at least a receiver120. Third-party computing device168may include a web interface operated by the third-party platform. In some embodiments, end user, and any entity described in this disclosure may have the access to the conversion record140. In some cases, nudge (i.e., conversion record140) may include a questionnaire, for example, and without limitation, asking the at least an originator116if they would like to convert U.S. currency within the country before any international transfer with at least a receiver120. Nudge may include a variety of follow up questions about the potential international transfer. Questions may be or may be used to determine plurality of advantageous threshold requirements152as described above in this disclosure. In an embodiment, outputting conversion record140may include sending the conversion record to end user of the third-party platform computer device using a chatbot, wherein the third-party platform is connected to processor104via an API. In such embodiment, end user may include customer, originator, client, or the like of the third-party platform. As used in this disclosure, a “chatbot” is a computer program designed to simulate conversation with one or more entities. Chatbot may be configured to initiate a textual conversation with end user as a function of the third-party computing device. In some cases, chatbot may be used to generate text that is used to interact conversationally with end user. In some cases, end-user may respond to chatbot, by way of a text-based interface, for example without limitation, short message service (SMS) text message. In a non-limiting example, interacting conversationally may additionally include submitting answers to the questions described above, wherein answers may include action data112. Interacting conversationally may include recognizing at least a word or phrase in action data112, for instance and without limitation by language processing module used to process action data112as described above and recognizing the at least a word as a function of language processing model generated by language processing module. Interacting conversationally may include generating a response as a function of the at least a word; for instance, and without limitation, response may include conversion record140generated as a function of processed action data112. With continued reference toFIG.1, additionally, or alternatively, sending conversion record140may include creating an end user notification, wherein the end user notification incorporates conversion record140, and send the end user notification to the end user. As used in this disclosure, an “end-user notification” is a form of communication between chatbot and the end user in which important information is communicated to the end users such as, without limitation, conversion record140. Important information may include, as a non-limiting example, data generated by processor104based on a high foreign exchange advantage score. In some embodiments, chatbot may be configured to opt in and/or opt out for end-user notification containing conversion record140based on an end user request, wherein the end user request is a command from the end user that configures chatbot to perform certain action specified in the command. In a non-limiting example, chatbot may initiate an opt-in process as a function of end user request containing information related to an action of “actively subscribe to receive end user notification,” wherein the opt-in process may include processor104setting a state of consent related to the end user to a true value. Chatbot may initiate an opt-out process as a function of end user request containing information related to an action of “do not receive end user notification,” wherein the opt-out process may include processor104setting state of consent related to the end user to a false value. Processor104may be configured to check the state of consent related to the end user before prior to sending conversion record140to the end user; for instance, and without limitation, an end user may receive end user notification if the state of consent of the end user contains true value. End user may not receive end user notification if the state of consent contains false value. Further, sending conversion record140may include displaying conversion record140through a visual interface. As described in this disclosure, a “visual interface” is a graphical user interface (GUI) that displays any data described above to user of a remote device and permits entity to view, edit, or otherwise interact with displayed content. Visual interface may include a window in which data may be displayed. For example, and without limitation, visual interface may be configured to display conversion record HO in a window. Visual interface may include one or more graphical locator and/or cursor facilities allowing user to interact with conversion record140displayed; for instance, and without limitation, using a touchscreen, touchpad, mouse keyboard, and/or other a al data entry device. Referring now toFIG.2, an exemplary embodiment of a machine-learning module200that may perform one or more machine-learning processes as described in this disclosure is illustrated. Machine-learning module may perform determinations, classification, and/or analysis steps, methods, processes, or the like as described in this disclosure using machine learning processes. “Training data,” as used herein, is data containing correlations that a machine-learning process may use to model relationships between two or more categories of data elements. For instance, and without limitation, training data204may include a plurality of data entries, each entry representing a set of data elements that were recorded, received, and/or generated together; data elements may be correlated by shared existence in a given data entry, by proximity in a given data entry, or the like. Multiple data entries in training data204may evince one or more trends in correlations between categories of data elements; for instance, and without limitation, a higher value of a first data element belonging to a first category of data element may tend to correlate to a higher value of a second data element belonging to a second category of data element, indicating a possible proportional or other mathematical relationship linking values belonging to the two categories. Multiple categories of data elements may be related in training data204according to various correlations; correlations may indicate causative and/or predictive links between categories of data elements, which may be modeled as relationships such as mathematical relationships by machine-learning processes as described in further detail below. Training data204may be formatted and/or organized by categories of data elements, for instance by associating data elements with one or more descriptors corresponding to categories of data elements. As a non-limiting example, training data204may include data entered in standardized forms by persons or processes, such that entry of a given data element in a given field in a form may be mapped to one or more descriptors of categories. Elements in training data204may be linked to descriptors of categories by tags, tokens, or other data elements; for instance, and without limitation, training data204may be provided in fixed-length formats, formats linking positions of data to categories such as comma-separated value (CSV) formats and/or self-describing formats such as extensible markup language (XML), JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), or the like, enabling processes or devices to detect categories of data. Alternatively, or additionally, and continuing to refer toFIG.2, training data204may include one or more elements that are not categorized; that is, training data204may not be formatted or contain descriptors for some elements of data. Machine-learning algorithms and/or other processes may sort training data204according to one or more categorizations using, for instance, natural language processing algorithms, tokenization, detection of correlated values in raw data and the like; categories may be generated using correlation and/or other processing algorithms. As a non-limiting example, in a corpus of text, phrases making up a number “n” of compound words, such as nouns modified by other nouns, may be identified according to a statistically significant prevalence of n-grams containing such words in a particular order; such an n-gram may be categorized as an element of language such as a “word” to be tracked similarly to single words, generating a new category as a result of statistical analysis. Similarly, in a data entry including some textual data, a person's name may be identified by reference to a list, dictionary, or other compendium of terms, permitting ad-hoc categorization by machine-learning algorithms, and/or automated association of data in the data entry with descriptors or into a given format. The ability to categorize data entries automatedly may enable the same training data204to be made applicable for two or more distinct machine-learning algorithms as described in further detail below. Training data204used by machine-learning module200may correlate any input data as described in this disclosure to any output data as described in this disclosure. Further referring toFIG.2, training data may be filtered, sorted, and/or selected using one or more supervised and/or unsupervised machine-learning processes and/or models as described in further detail below; such models may include without limitation a training data classifier216. Training data classifier216may include a “classifier,” which as used in this disclosure is a machine-learning model as defined below, such as a mathematical model, neural net, or program generated by a machine learning algorithm known as a “classification algorithm,” as described in further detail below, that sorts inputs into categories or bins of data, outputting the categories or bins of data and/or labels associated therewith. A classifier may be configured to output at least a datum that labels or otherwise identifies a set of data that are clustered together, found to be close under a distance metric as described below, or the like. Machine-learning module200may generate a classifier using a classification algorithm, defined as a process whereby a computing device and/or any module and/or component operating thereon derives a classifier from training data204. Classification may be performed using, without limitation, linear classifiers such as without limitation logistic regression and/or naive Bayes classifiers, nearest neighbor classifiers such as k-nearest neighbors classifiers, support vector machines, least squares support vector machines, fisher's linear discriminant, quadratic classifiers, decision trees, boosted trees, random forest classifiers, learning vector quantization, and/or neural network-based classifiers. Still referring toFIG.2, machine-learning module200may be configured to perform a lazy-learning process220and/or protocol, which may alternatively be referred to as a “lazy loading” or “call-when-needed” process and/or protocol, may be a process whereby machine learning is conducted upon receipt of an input to be converted to an output, by combining the input and training set to derive the algorithm to be used to produce the output on demand. For instance, an initial set of simulations may be performed to cover an initial heuristic and/or “first guess” at an output and/or relationship. As a non-limiting example, an initial heuristic may include a ranking of associations between inputs and elements of training data204. Heuristic may include selecting some number of highest-ranking associations and/or training data204elements. Lazy learning may implement any suitable lazy learning algorithm, including without limitation a K-nearest neighbors algorithm, a lazy naïve Bayes algorithm, or the like; persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various lazy-learning algorithms that may be applied to generate outputs as described in this disclosure, including without limitation lazy learning applications of machine-learning algorithms as described in further detail below. Alternatively, or additionally, and with continued reference toFIG.2, machine-learning processes as described in this disclosure may be used to generate machine-learning models224. A “machine-learning model,” as used in this disclosure, is a mathematical and/or algorithmic representation of a relationship between inputs and outputs, as generated using any machine-learning process including without limitation any process as described above and stored in memory; an input is submitted to a machine-learning model224once created, which generates an output based on the relationship that was derived. For instance, and without limitation, a linear regression model, generated using a linear regression algorithm, may compute a linear combination of input data using coefficients derived during machine-learning processes to calculate an output datum. As a further non-limiting example, a machine-learning model224may be generated by creating an artificial neural network, such as a convolutional neural network comprising an input layer of nodes, one or more intermediate layers, and an output layer of nodes. Connections between nodes may be created via the process of “training” the network, in which elements from a training data204set are applied to the input nodes, a suitable training algorithm (such as Levenberg-Marquardt, conjugate gradient, simulated annealing, or other algorithms) is then used to adjust the connections and weights between nodes in adjacent layers of the neural network to produce the desired values at the output nodes. This process is sometimes referred to as deep learning. Still referring toFIG.2, machine-learning algorithms may include at least a supervised machine-learning process228. At least a supervised machine-learning process228, as defined herein, include algorithms that receive a training set relating a number of inputs to a number of outputs, and seek to find one or more mathematical relations relating inputs to outputs, where each of the one or more mathematical relations is optimal according to some criterion specified to the algorithm using some scoring function. For instance, a supervised learning algorithm may include action data112, and/or plurality of advantageous threshold requirement152described above as inputs, foreign exchange advantage sub-score156or foreign exchange advantage score160described above as outputs, and a scoring function representing a desired form of relationship to be detected between inputs and outputs; scoring function may, for instance, seek to maximize the probability that a given input and/or combination of elements inputs is associated with a given output to minimize the probability that a given input is not associated with a given output. Scoring function may be expressed as a risk function representing an “expected loss” of an algorithm relating inputs to outputs, where loss is computed as an error function representing a degree to which a prediction generated by the relation is incorrect when compared to a given input-output pair provided in training data204. Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various possible variations of at least a supervised machine-learning process228that may be used to determine relation between inputs and outputs. Supervised machine-learning processes may include classification algorithms as defined above. Further referring toFIG.2, machine learning processes may include at least an unsupervised machine-learning processes232. An unsupervised machine-learning process, as used herein, is a process that derives inferences in datasets without regard to labels; as a result, an unsupervised machine-learning process may be free to discover any structure, relationship, and/or correlation provided in the data. Unsupervised processes may not require a response variable; unsupervised processes may be used to find interesting patterns and/or inferences between variables, to determine a degree of correlation between two or more variables, or the like. Still referring toFIG.2, machine-learning module200may be designed and configured to create a machine-learning model224using techniques for development of linear regression models. Linear regression models may include ordinary least squares regression, which aims to minimize the square of the difference between predicted outcomes and actual outcomes according to an appropriate norm for measuring such a difference (e.g., a vector-space distance norm); coefficients of the resulting linear equation may be modified to improve minimization. Linear regression models may include ridge regression methods, where the function to be minimized includes the least-squares function plus term multiplying the square of each coefficient by a scalar amount to penalize large coefficients. Linear regression models may include least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) models, in which ridge regression is combined with multiplying the least-squares term by a factor of 1 divided by double the number of samples. Linear regression models may include a multi-task lasso model wherein the norm applied in the least-squares term of the lasso model is the Frobenius norm amounting to the square root of the sum of squares of all terms. Linear regression models may include the elastic net model, a multi-task elastic net model, a least angle regression model, a LARS lasso model, an orthogonal matching pursuit model, a Bayesian regression model, a logistic regression model, a stochastic gradient descent model, a perceptron model, a passive aggressive algorithm, a robustness regression model, a Huber regression model, or any other suitable model that may occur to persons skilled in the art upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure. Linear regression models may be generalized in an embodiment to polynomial regression models, whereby a polynomial equation (e.g., a quadratic, cubic or higher-order equation) providing a best predicted output/actual output fit is sought; similar methods to those described above may be applied to minimize error functions, as will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure. Continuing to refer toFIG.2, machine-learning algorithms may include, without limitation, linear discriminant analysis. Machine-learning algorithm may include quadratic discriminant analysis. Machine-learning algorithms may include kernel ridge regression. Machine-learning algorithms may include support vector machines, including without limitation support vector classification-based regression processes. Machine-learning algorithms may include stochastic gradient descent algorithms, including classification and regression algorithms based on stochastic gradient descent. Machine-learning algorithms may include nearest neighbors algorithms. Machine-learning algorithms may include various forms of latent space regularization such as variational regularization. Machine-learning algorithms may include Gaussian processes such as Gaussian Process Regression. Machine-learning algorithms may include cross-decomposition algorithms, including partial least squares and/or canonical correlation analysis. Machine-learning algorithms may include naïve Bayes methods. Machine-learning algorithms may include algorithms based on decision trees, such as decision tree classification or regression algorithms. Machine-learning algorithms may include ensemble methods such as bagging meta-estimator, forest of randomized trees, AdaBoost, gradient tree boosting, and/or voting classifier methods. Machine-learning algorithms may include neural net algorithms, including convolutional neural net processes. Referring toFIG.3, a chatbot system300is schematically illustrated. According to some embodiments, a visual interface304may be communicative with a processor104that is configured to operate a chatbot. In some cases, visual interface304may be local to processor104. Alternatively, or additionally, in some cases, visual interface304may remote to processor104and communicative with the processor104, by way of one or more networks, such as without limitation the internet. Alternatively, or additionally, visual interface304may communicate with processor104using telephonic devices and networks, such as without limitation fax machines, short message service (SMS), or multimedia message service (MMS). Commonly, visual interface304communicates with processor104using text-based communication, for example without limitation using a character encoding protocol, such as American Standard for Information Interchange (ASCII). Typically, a visual interface304conversationally interfaces a chatbot, by way of at least a submission308, from the user interface304to the chatbot, and a response312, from the chatbot to the visual interface304. In many cases, one or both submission308and response312are text-based communication. Alternatively, or additionally, in some cases, one or both of submission306and response312are audio-based communication. Continuing in reference toFIG.3, a submission308once received by processor104operating a chatbot, may be processed by processor104. In some embodiments, processor104processes a submission308using one or more keyword recognition, pattern matching, and natural language processing. In some embodiments, processor employs real-time learning with evolutionary algorithms. In some cases, processor104may retrieve a pre-prepared response from at least a storage component316, based upon submission308. Storage component316may include data store124described above. Alternatively, or additionally, in some embodiments, processor104communicates a response312without first receiving a submission308, thereby initiating conversation. In some cases, processor104communicates an inquiry to visual interface304; and the processor is configured to process an answer to the inquiry in a following submission308from the visual interface304. In some cases, an answer to an inquiry presents within a submission308from entity device described above may be used by processor104as an input to another function, for example without limitation generation of conversion record140. Referring now toFIG.4, an exemplary embodiment of fuzzy set comparison400is illustrated. A first fuzzy set404may be represented, without limitation, according to a first membership function408representing a probability that an input falling on a first range of values412is a member of the first fuzzy set404, where the first membership function408has values on a range of probabilities such as without limitation the interval [0,1], and an area beneath the first membership function408may represent a set of values within first fuzzy set404. Although first range of values412is illustrated for clarity in this exemplary depiction as a range on a single number line or axis, first range of values412may be defined on two or more dimensions, representing, for instance, a Cartesian product between a plurality of ranges, curves, axes, spaces, dimensions, or the like. First membership function408may include any suitable function mapping first range412to a probability interval, including without limitation a triangular function defined by two linear elements such as line segments or planes that intersect at or below the top of the probability interval. As a non-limiting example, triangular membership function may be defined as: y(x,a,b,c)={0,forx>candx<ax-ab-a,fora≤x<bc-xc-b,ifb<x≤c a trapezoidal membership function may be defined as: y(x,a,b,c,d)=max(min(x-ab-a,1,d-xd-c),0) a sigmoidal function may be defined as: y(x,a,c)=11-e-a(x-c) a Gaussian membership function may be defined as: y(x,c,σ)=e-12(x-cσ)2 and a bell membership function may be defined as: y(x,a,b,c)=[1+❘"\[LeftBracketingBar]"x-ca❘"\[RightBracketingBar]"2b]-1 Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various alternative or additional membership functions that may be used consistently with this disclosure. With continued reference toFIG.4, first fuzzy set404may represent any value or combination of values as described above, including output from one or more machine-learning models and/or a predetermined class. A second fuzzy set416, which may represent any value which may be represented by first fuzzy set404, may be defined by a second membership function420on a second range424; second range424may be identical and/or overlap with first range412and/or may be combined with first range via Cartesian product or the like to generate a mapping permitting evaluation overlap of first fuzzy set404and second fuzzy set416. Where first fuzzy set404and second fuzzy set416have a region428that overlaps, first membership function408and second membership function420may intersect at a point432representing a probability, as defined on probability interval, of a match between first fuzzy set404and second fuzzy set416. Alternatively or additionally, a single value of first and/or second fuzzy set may be located at a locus436on first range412and/or second range424, where a probability of membership may be taken by evaluation of first membership function408and/or second membership function420at that range point. A probability at428and/or432may be compared to a threshold440to determine whether a positive match is indicated. Threshold440may, in a non-limiting example, represent a degree of match between first fuzzy set404and second fuzzy set416, and/or single values therein with each other or with either set, which is sufficient for purposes of the matching process; for instance, threshold may indicate a sufficient degree of overlap between an output from one or more machine-learning models and/or a predetermined class for combination to occur as described above. Alternatively or additionally, each threshold may be tuned by a machine-learning and/or statistical process, for instance and without limitation as described in further detail below. With continued reference toFIG.4, in an embodiment, a degree of match between fuzzy sets may be used to classify any data described as classified above. Where multiple fuzzy matches are performed, degrees of match for each respective fuzzy set may be computed and aggregated through, for instance, addition, averaging, or the like, to determine an overall degree of match. With continued reference toFIG.4, in an embodiment, an element of data may be compared to multiple fuzzy sets. For instance, the element of data may be represented by a fuzzy set that is compared to each of the multiple fuzzy sets representing, e.g., values of a linguistic variable; and a degree of overlap exceeding a threshold between the datum-linked fuzzy set and any of the multiple fuzzy sets may cause computing device to classify the datum as belonging to each such categorization. Machine-learning methods as described throughout may, in a non-limiting example, generate coefficients used in fuzzy set equations as described above, such as without limitation x, c, and σ of a Gaussian set as described above, as outputs of machine-learning methods. With continued reference toFIG.4, a computing device may use a logic comparison program, such as, but not limited to, a fuzzy logic model to determine an output and/or response. An output and/or response may include, but is not limited to low, medium, advanced, superior, good, bad, and the like; each such output and/or response may be represented as a value for a linguistic variable representing output and/or response or in other words a fuzzy set as described above that corresponds to a degree of completion as calculated using any statistical, machine-learning, or other method that may occur to a person skilled in the art upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure. With continued reference toFIG.4, an inference engine may be implemented according to input and/or output membership functions and/or linguistic variables. For instance, a first linguistic variable may represent a first measurable value pertaining to an element being input to the inferencing system while a second membership function may indicate a degree and/or category of one or more other attributes and/or values that may be associated with a user. Continuing the example, an output linguistic variable may represent, without limitation, a value representing a strength and/or deficiency. An inference engine may combine rules the degree to which a given input function membership matches a given rule may be determined by a triangular norm or “T-norm” of the rule or output membership function with the input membership function, such as min (a, b), product of a and b, drastic product of a and b, Hamacher product of a and b, or the like, satisfying the rules of commutativity (T(a, b)=T(b, a)), monotonicity: (T(a, b)≤T(c, d) if a≤c and b≤d), (associativity: T(a, T(b, c))=T(T(a, b), c)), and the requirement that the number 1 acts as an identity element. Combinations of rules (“and” or “or” combination of rule membership determinations) may be performed using any T-conorm, as represented by an inverted T symbol or “⊥,” such as max(a, b), probabilistic sum of a and b (a+b−a*b), bounded sum, and/or drastic T-conorm; any T-conorm may be used that satisfies the properties of commutativity: ⊥(a, b)=⊥(b, a), monotonicity: ⊥(a, b)≤⊥(c, d) if a≤c and b≤d, associativity: ⊥(a, ⊥(b, c))=⊥(⊥(a, b), c), and identity element of 0. Alternatively or additionally T-conorm may be approximated by sum, as in a “product-sum” inference engine in which T-norm is product and T-conorm is sum. A final output score or other fuzzy inference output may be determined from an output membership function as described above using any suitable defuzzification process, including without limitation Mean of Max defuzzification, Centroid of Area/Center of Gravity defuzzification, Center Average defuzzification, Bisector of Area defuzzification, or the like. Alternatively, or additionally, output rules may be replaced with functions according to the Takagi-Sugeno-King (TSK) fuzzy model. Referring now toFIG.5, an exemplary embodiment of a cryptographic accumulator500is illustrated. A “cryptographic accumulator,” as used in this disclosure, is a data structure created by relating a commitment, which may be smaller amount of data that may be referred to as an “accumulator” and/or “root,” to a set of elements, such as lots of data and/or collection of data, together with short membership and/or nonmembership proofs for any element in the set. In an embodiment, these proofs may be publicly verifiable against the commitment. An accumulator may be said to be “dynamic” if the commitment and membership proofs can be updated efficiently as elements are added or removed from the set, at unit cost independent of the number of accumulated elements; an accumulator for which this is not the case may be referred to as “static.” A membership proof may be referred to as a as a “witness” whereby an element existing in the larger amount of data can be shown to be included in the root, while an element not existing in the larger amount of data can be shown not to be included in the root, where “inclusion” indicates that the included element was a part of the process of generating the root, and therefore was included in the original larger data set. Cryptographic accumulator500has a plurality of accumulated elements504, each accumulated element504generated from a lot of the plurality of data lots. Accumulated elements504are create using an encryption process, defined for this purpose as a process that renders the lots of data unintelligible from the accumulated elements504; this may be a one-way process such as a cryptographic hashing process and/or a reversible process such as encryption. Cryptographic accumulator500further includes structures and/or processes for conversion of accumulated elements504to root512element. For instance, and as illustrated for exemplary purposes inFIG.5, cryptographic accumulator500may be implemented as a Merkle tree and/or hash tree, in which each accumulated element504created by cryptographically hashing a lot of data. Two or more accumulated elements504may be hashed together in a further cryptographic hashing process to produce a node508element; a plurality of node508elements may be hashed together to form parent nodes508, and ultimately a set of nodes508may be combined and cryptographically hashed to form root512. Contents of root512may thus be determined by contents of nodes508used to generate root512, and consequently by contents of accumulated elements504, which are determined by contents of lots used to generate accumulated elements504. As a result of collision resistance and avalanche effects of hashing algorithms, any change in any lot, accumulated element504, and/or node508is virtually certain to cause a change in root512; thus, it may be computationally infeasible to modify any element of Merkle and/or hash tree without the modification being detectable as generating a different root512. In an embodiment, any accumulated element504and/or all intervening nodes508between accumulated element504and root512may be made available without revealing anything about a lot of data used to generate accumulated element504; lot of data may be kept secret and/or demonstrated with a secure proof as described below, preventing any unauthorized party from acquiring data in lot. Alternatively, or additionally, and still referring toFIG.5, cryptographic accumulator500may include a “vector commitment” which may act as an accumulator in which an order of elements in set is preserved in its root512and/or commitment. In an embodiment, a vector commitment may be a position binding commitment and can be opened at any position to a unique value with a short proof (sublinear in the length of the vector). A Merkle tree may be seen as a vector commitment with logarithmic size openings. Subvector commitments may include vector commitments where a subset of the vector positions can be opened in a single short proof (sublinear in the size of the subset). Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various alternative or additional cryptographic accumulators500that may be used as described herein. In addition to Merkle trees, accumulators may include without limitation RSA accumulators, class group accumulators, and/or bi-linear pairing-based accumulators. Any accumulator may operate using one-way functions that are easy to verify but infeasible to reverse, i.e., given an input it is easy to produce an output of the one-way function but given an output it is computationally infeasible and/or impossible to generate the input that produces the output via the one-way function. For instance, and by way of illustration, a Merkle tree may be based on a hash function as described above. Data elements may be hashed and grouped together. Then, the hashes of those groups may be hashed again and grouped together with the hashes of other groups; this hashing and grouping may continue until only a single hash remains. As a further non-limiting example, RSA and class group accumulators may be based on the fact that it is infeasible to compute an arbitrary root of an element in a cyclic group of unknown order, whereas arbitrary powers of elements are easy to compute. A data element may be added to the accumulator by hashing the data element successively until the hash is a prime number and then taking the accumulator to the power of that prime number. The witness may be the accumulator prior to exponentiation. Bi-linear paring-based accumulators may be based on the infeasibility found in elliptic curve cryptography, namely that finding a number k such that adding P to itself k times results in Q is impractical, whereas confirming that, given 4 points P, Q, R, S, the point, P needs to be added as many times to itself to result in Q as R needs to be added as many times to itself to result in S, can be computed efficiently for certain elliptic curves. Now referring toFIG.6, a method600for calculating foreign exchange advantages is illustrated. Method600includes a step605of acquiring, by at least a processor, action data from an entity, wherein an element of the action data includes at least a plurality of originators and at least a plurality of receivers. This may be implemented without limitation, as described above in reference toFIGS.1-5. With continued reference toFIG.6, method600includes a step610of processing, by the at least a processor, the action data, wherein processing the action data includes classifying a plurality of action data elements to at least an originator of the plurality of originators and a receiver of the plurality of receivers and classifying the action data against a data store including at least a foreign exchange rate. This may be implemented without limitation, as described above in reference toFIGS.1-5. In some embodiments, processing the action data may include processing the action data using an action data machine-learning module. With continued reference toFIG.6, method600includes a step615of generating, by the at least a processor, a conversion record as a function of the processed action data. This may be implemented without limitation, as described above in reference toFIGS.1-5. In some embodiments, generating conversion record may include constructing a decision tree as a function of the plurality of advantageous threshold requirements, wherein the decision tree may include a plurality of nodes, wherein each node of the plurality of nodes may include at least one advantageous threshold requirement of the plurality of the advantageous threshold requirements, traversing the decision tree based on the action data, and generating the conversion record as a function of the decision tree traversal. In some embodiments, traversing the decision tree may include comparing the action data against the at least one advantageous threshold requirement of the plurality of advantageous threshold requirements at a first node of the plurality of nodes and passing the action data to a second node of the plurality of nodes as a function of the comparison, wherein the second node may be connected to the first node. In some embodiments, traversing the decision tree may include generating a foreign exchange advantage sub-score for each node of the plurality of nodes as a function of each comparison between the action data and the at least one of advantageous threshold requirement occurred at each node of the plurality nodes. In some embodiments, generating the conversion record may include aggregating a plurality of foreign exchange advantage sub-scores associated with the plurality of nodes of the decision tree into a foreign exchange advantage score and generating the conversion record as a function of the foreign exchange advantage score. In some embodiments, aggregating the plurality of foreign exchange advantage sub-scores into the foreign exchange advantage score may include optimizing the foreign exchange advantage score using a linear optimization module. This may be implemented without limitation, as described above in reference toFIGS.1-5. With continued reference toFIG.6, method600includes a step620of outputting, by the at least a processor, the conversion record to a third-party computing device. This may be implemented without limitation, as described above in reference toFIGS.1-5. In some embodiments, outputting the conversion record may include sending the conversion record to an end user of the third-party computing device using a chatbot, wherein the third-party platform is connected to the at least a processor via an application programming interface (API). In some embodiments, the chat bot is configured to opt in for an end-user notification containing the conversion record based on an end user request. In other embodiments, the chat bot is configured to opt out for an end-user notification containing the conversion record based on an end-user request. This may be implemented without limitation, as described above in reference toFIGS.1-5. It is to be noted that any one or more of the aspects and embodiments described herein may be conveniently implemented using one or more machines (e.g., one or more computing devices that are utilized as a user computing device for an electronic document, one or more server devices, such as a document server, etc.) programmed according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the computer art. Appropriate software coding can readily be prepared by skilled programmers based on the teachings of the present disclosure, as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the software art. Aspects and implementations discussed above employing software and/or software modules may also include appropriate hardware for assisting in the implementation of the machine executable instructions of the software and/or software module. Such software may be a computer program product that employs a machine-readable storage medium. A machine-readable storage medium may be any medium that is capable of storing and/or encoding a sequence of instructions for execution by a machine (e.g., a computing device) and that causes the machine to perform any one of the methodologies and/or embodiments described herein. Examples of a machine-readable storage medium include, but are not limited to, a magnetic disk, an optical disc (e.g., CD, CD-R, DVD, DVD-R, etc.), a magneto-optical disk, a read-only memory “ROM” device, a random access memory “RAM” device, a magnetic card, an optical card, a solid-state memory device, an EPROM, an EEPROM, and any combinations thereof. A machine-readable medium, as used herein, is intended to include a single medium as well as a collection of physically separate media, such as, for example, a collection of compact discs or one or more hard disk drives in combination with a computer memory. As used herein, a machine-readable storage medium does not include transitory forms of signal transmission. Such software may also include information (e.g., data) carried as a data signal on a data carrier, such as a carrier wave. For example, machine-executable information may be included as a data-carrying signal embodied in a data carrier in which the signal encodes a sequence of instruction, or portion thereof, for execution by a machine (e.g., a computing device) and any related information (e.g., data structures and data) that causes the machine to perform any one of the methodologies and/or embodiments described herein. Examples of a computing device include, but are not limited to, an electronic book reading device, a computer workstation, a terminal computer, a server computer, a handheld device (e.g., a tablet computer, a smartphone, etc.), a web appliance, a network router, a network switch, a network bridge, any machine capable of executing a sequence of instructions that specify an action to be taken by that machine, and any combinations thereof. In one example, a computing device may include and/or be included in a kiosk. FIG.7shows a diagrammatic representation of one embodiment of a computing device in the exemplary form of a computer system700within which a set of instructions for causing a control system to perform any one or more of the aspects and/or methodologies of the present disclosure may be executed. It is also contemplated that multiple computing devices may be utilized to implement a specially configured set of instructions for causing one or more of the devices to perform any one or more of the aspects and/or methodologies of the present disclosure. Computer system700includes a processor704and a memory708that communicate with each other, and with other components, via a bus712. Bus712may include any of several types of bus structures including, but not limited to, a memory bus, a memory controller, a peripheral bus, a local bus, and any combinations thereof, using any of a variety of bus architectures. Processor704may include any suitable processor, such as without limitation a processor incorporating logical circuitry for performing arithmetic and logical operations, such as an arithmetic and logic unit (ALU), which may be regulated with a state machine and directed by operational inputs from memory and/or sensors; processor704may be organized according to Von Neumann and/or Harvard architecture as a non-limiting example. Processor704may include, incorporate, and/or be incorporated in, without limitation, a microcontroller, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), Graphical Processing Unit (GPU), general purpose GPU, Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), analog or mixed signal processor, Trusted Platform Module (TPM), a floating point unit (FPU), and/or system on a chip (SoC). Memory708may include various components (e.g., machine-readable media) including, but not limited to, a random-access memory component, a read only component, and any combinations thereof. In one example, a basic input/output system716(BIOS), including basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer system700, such as during start-up, may be stored in memory708. Memory708may also include (e.g., stored on one or more machine-readable media) instructions (e.g., software)720embodying any one or more of the aspects and/or methodologies of the present disclosure. In another example, memory708may further include any number of program modules including, but not limited to, an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, program data, and any combinations thereof. Computer system700may also include a storage device724. Examples of a storage device (e.g., storage device724) include, but are not limited to, a hard disk drive, a magnetic disk drive, an optical disc drive in combination with an optical medium, a solid-state memory device, and any combinations thereof. Storage device724may be connected to bus712by an appropriate interface (not shown). Example interfaces include, but are not limited to, SCSI, advanced technology attachment (ATA), serial ATA, universal serial bus (USB), IEEE 1394 (FIREWIRE), and any combinations thereof. In one example, storage device724(or one or more components thereof) may be removably interfaced with computer system700(e.g., via an external port connector (not shown)). Particularly, storage device724and an associated machine-readable medium728may provide nonvolatile and/or volatile storage of machine-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and/or other data for computer system700. In one example, software720may reside, completely or partially, within machine-readable medium728. In another example, software720may reside, completely or partially, within processor704. Computer system700may also include an input device732. In one example, a user of computer system700may enter commands and/or other information into computer system700via input device732. Examples of an input device732include, but are not limited to, an alpha-numeric input device (e.g., a keyboard), a pointing device, a joystick, a gamepad, an audio input device (e.g., a microphone, a voice response system, etc.), a cursor control device (e.g., a mouse), a touchpad, an optical scanner, a video capture device (e.g., a still camera, a video camera), a touchscreen, and any combinations thereof. Input device732may be interfaced to bus712via any of a variety of interfaces (not shown) including, but not limited to, a serial interface, a parallel interface, a game port, a USB interface, a FIREWIRE interface, a direct interface to bus712, and any combinations thereof. Input device732may include a touch screen interface that may be a part of or separate from display736, discussed further below. Input device732may be utilized as a user selection device for selecting one or more graphical representations in a graphical interface as described above. A user may also input commands and/or other information to computer system700via storage device724(e.g., a removable disk drive, a flash drive, etc.) and/or network interface device740. A network interface device, such as network interface device740, may be utilized for connecting computer system700to one or more of a variety of networks, such as network744, and one or more remote devices748connected thereto. Examples of a network interface device include, but are not limited to, a network interface card (e.g., a mobile network interface card, a LAN card), a modem, and any combination thereof. Examples of a network include, but are not limited to, a wide area network (e.g., the Internet, an enterprise network), a local area network (e.g., a network associated with an office, a building, a campus or other relatively small geographic space), a telephone network, a data network associated with a telephone/voice provider (e.g., a mobile communications provider data and/or voice network), a direct connection between two computing devices, and any combinations thereof. A network, such as network744, may employ a wired and/or a wireless mode of communication. In general, any network topology may be used. Information (e.g., data, software720, etc.) may be communicated to and/or from computer system700via network interface device740. Computer system700may further include a video display adapter752for communicating a displayable image to a display device, such as display device736. Examples of a display device include, but are not limited to, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT), a plasma display, a light emitting diode (LED) display, and any combinations thereof. Display adapter752and display device736may be utilized in combination with processor704to provide graphical representations of aspects of the present disclosure. In addition to a display device, computer system700may include one or more other peripheral output devices including, but not limited to, an audio speaker, a printer, and any combinations thereof. Such peripheral output devices may be connected to bus712via a peripheral interface756. Examples of a peripheral interface include, but are not limited to, a serial port, a USB connection, a FIREWIRE connection, a parallel connection, and any combinations thereof. The foregoing has been a detailed description of illustrative embodiments of the invention. Various modifications and additions can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. Features of each of the various embodiments described above may be combined with features of other described embodiments as appropriate in order to provide a multiplicity of feature combinations in associated new embodiments. Furthermore, while the foregoing describes a number of separate embodiments, what has been described herein is merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. Additionally, although particular methods herein may be illustrated and/or described as being performed in a specific order, the ordering is highly variable within ordinary skill to achieve methods, systems, and software according to the present disclosure. Accordingly, this description is meant to be taken only by way of example, and not to otherwise limit the scope of this invention. Exemplary embodiments have been disclosed above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, omissions and additions may be made to that which is specifically disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. | 138,740 |
11861599 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Definitions A “smart contract” in particular refers to a “wallet program” within the meaning of document WO2016120826A2 incorporated here by reference or a “smart contract” (on the blockchain, such as an Ethereum smart contract), or another means, which implements it with equivalent functionality. A “tokennode” or “generatornode/token manager,” or even “token transmitternode” refers to the node of a peer-to-peer network (i.e. the terminal connected to the network) executing the smart contract to manage the token in question, in particular to generate (issue) token units when reserving reserve units. When we talk about the purchase (of units) of a given token, we mean the conversion, into this given token, (of units) of the reserve token of this given token. When we talk about the sale (of units) of a token, we mean its conversion into (units of) its reserve token (the token is “returned” to the smart contract of the tokennode of the token in question). A “usernode” (or “user”) generally refers to a node sending a tokennode an order to buy/sell token units against reserve units. A tokennode is implemented according to a method comprising determining the value of the token units as a function at least of the value of the reserve, the tokens in circulation and the reserve ratio (hereinafter “RBT method”, RBT for “Reserve-Based-Token”). It can be a method according to the “Bancor” protocol, or a method according to another protocol (on this subject, see the explanations at https://www.blunderingcode.com/how-bancor-works/). The embodiments presented in the following are intended to provide improvements. Whenever a user node exchanges one or a set of first tokens (from one or more first issuers) with a second token or a set of second tokens (from one or more second issuers), managed by respective token nodes, for example to acquire a product from a provider associated with a transmitternode of a second token (in the case where he does not have enough second tokens for this purchase at the moment), the first token(s) are sold and the second token(s) are bought at their respective token nodes —this being implementable in a transparent manner for the user—and this causes a decrease in value of the first tokens and an increase in value of the second tokens (according to the “RBT method,” for example according to the Bancor formula). A “provider node” (which may be abbreviated as “provider”) refers to the terminal of the product provider (good, service, right or other benefit) executing the smart contract and interacting with the corresponding tokennode, the latter advantageously being implementable in a single node (merged). For the sake of brevity, the term “providernode” or “tokennode” refers to such a merged node, but this is not limiting. Furthermore, we consider here that each tokennode only corresponds to one providernode, but this is not limiting either, the mechanisms described remaining valid otherwise (in particular several provider nodes may be managed by a common intermediate node that distributes the units transferred from user nodes to the various providers according to the products to be supplied to them, manages refunds, etc.). We will thus use the terms “token node” and “provider node” interchangeably, unless there is a specific context. The integrity of the execution (by nodes) of smart contracts implementing the procedures described in this text is guaranteed insofar as the nodes in question (user, provider and token generator/manager) execute the same smart contract or another set of smart contracts that cooperate by Wallet Messages so as to form a global smart contract together (see the description of “Wallet Nodes” and “Wallet Messages” for example in WO2016120826A2). This security, where the different owners of the nodes cannot modify the behavior, is essential for the implementation of the systems of the invention. To acquire a product from the issuer of a given token, a user node generally transfers units of this given token to it, up to the amount of the purchase in question, and ultimately these units are “burned,” that is to say eliminated, in return for reserve units given to the provider. For the sake of brevity, the following describes exchanges of tokens whose reserves are of the same type (when the type of reserves used in an exchange is not specified, it is understood that these are reserve units—also called reserve account units—of the same token), conversion steps being necessary in addition otherwise. These conversions can be carried out automatically according to the RBT method (for example according to the Bancor formula) or on the market, in particular as described below. Also for the sake of brevity, unless otherwise noted, the tokens have a list price equal to 1 (i.e. 1 unit of the token is worth 1 unit of its reserve token), but this is only taken as an example, and the transition in the case where price is different is trivial for the skilled person. Chapter I—Introduction The system of this invention is a network transactional system, comprising a set of token nodes, a set of user nodes and a set of provider nodes, the nodes being capable of executing a smart contract allowing a user node to obtain token account units (Voucher tokens) by reserving reserve account units according to a value of the token units which itself varies according to the reserve, the number of token units in circulation and the reserve ratio, with each token node being associated with a provider node and the token being representative of a product or asset (good, service, right or other benefit) of the provider, or of a group of such products or assets, the system being capable, when a user node provides reserve account units necessary to obtain token units from a given token node at the current value, of transferring a first portion of these reserve account units to the reserve of said given token node, and of transferring a second portion of these reserve account units outside said reserve, and performing reverse transfers when token units are returned to the given token node, so as to limit or neutralize the value variations of the token unit when these token units are received and returned. It makes it possible to generate credit (in the form of a token) automatically for an economic actor not according to estimates, but according to actual current and future demand, the account units of the credit (although specifically named for the token of the credit in question) being interchangeable with the account units of another credit (another token) according to an RBT method. Owing to this system, each of the providers of a market is associated with a unique token transmitternode (for example “tomato” token to obtain tomatoes) and the units of this token are generated only on actual demand, for immediate or deferred supply of products, in exchange for a common reserve currency (which acts as an intermediary for conversions between tokens according to the RBT method). It should be noted here that the passage through the reserve currency can be transparent: the conversion between tokens, carried out by their respective token nodes by converting them to/from a reserve token, can be done transparently for the user. This thus avoids the problem of the decrease in value of a shared local currency due to surpluses to be converted into other currencies, since it is through the actual expression of the needs of each buyer that the system decides to allocate credits (rather than a credit issuer such as a bank, which would base itself on estimates). It is thus a currency of the self-issued credit type (in the form of vouchers), but with the advantage that when a buyer has too many units of a certain currency and not enough of another, he can exchange them automatically owing to their automatic convertibility via their respective reserves (using the RBT method). The implementation of the token nodes generating the token account units will be described in more detail below. This invention can be applied not only to the supply of products in exchange for corresponding tokens (these are vouchers generated when a demand is expressed), but also all kinds of “vouchers” such as gift cards, consumer credit, insurance benefits with consumption constraints (e.g. required car mechanic), coupons, loyalty systems, etc. Referring toFIG.1, such a system is shown schematically, with user nodes UNa, UNb, UNc, . . . token nodes TNx, TNy, TNz, . . . and provider nodes PNx, PNy, PNz, . . . . A token node TNx is associated with a provider node PNx. They can be combined. The smart contract executed in the node TNx executes an RBT method in order to generate token units Tx by reserving reserve units RU. In the present example, each node is capable of securely executing a program defining a smart contract, and is for example a “Wallet Node” within the meaning of document WO2016120826A2. Token units Tx are obtained here by a user node UNb via a message (for example a “Wallet Message” within the meaning of WO2016120826A2) which transfers a certain number n of reserve account units RU to the considered token node TNx. The smart contract executed in the TNx node assigns a fraction of these RU units (either a fraction equal to the reserve rate RR, or a different fraction as one will see below) to the reserve of the token Tx, to generate a number m of Tx tokens corresponding to this fraction, depending on the price of the token. On the other hand, the remaining fraction of the received units RU is not allocated to the reserve, but transferred in different ways according to the different embodiments that will now be described. Chapter 2—Conversion of Tokens into Voucher Tokens in Limited Quantity, with Waiting List Management The following additional features are provided here:first, the number of reserve account units of the first portion is chosen to neutralize the value variations of the token units when they are received and returned;a token node is adapted to compare the number of token units received by user nodes with a variable availability threshold and, if this threshold is exceeded, to modify the allocation of the new reserve account units made available between first and second portion;this modified allocation has a second portion with zero reserve account units;the given token node is adapted to mark the token units generated beyond said threshold so that they form an availability waiting list, and to remove this marking as the said threshold increases;This availability threshold is determined from a quantity of assets associated with the provider node and a given asset blocking ratio, this determination obeying a linear or nonlinear law;this availability threshold is determined by a smart contract at the provider node or the token node, sensitive to information supplied by asset blocking sensor means;Lastly, the system may include means for modifying the value of the availability threshold and/or the conversion value of the Voucher tokens into assets in response to a decrease (generally outside control) in the number of assets from which the initial availability threshold was established. In more detail, we propose here a model of executable contracts to issue vouchers in the form of RBT tokens convertible into assets, in limited quantity or in a controlled manner over time—model based on smart contracts such as Ethereum smart contacts or Wallet Nodes executing Wallet Programs communicating with one another by Wallet Messages (within the meaning of WO2016120826A2), executable contracts guaranteeing authenticity and integrity of execution and making it possible, in a Bancor-type approach (but not limited to the tokens of the ERC20 standard), to acquire or sell token account units in return for any type of virtual account units intended as a reserve (for example cryptocurrencies issued by a bank or government or stablecoins within the meaning of https://www.dob.texas.gov/pubile/uploads/files/Laws-Regulations/New-Actions/sm1037.pdf which states (sic) that “a sovereign-backed stablecoin may be considered money or monetary value under the Money Services Act, receiving it in exchange for a promise to make it available at a later time or different location may be money transmission”). This embodiment aims to make the vouchers exchangeable relative to one another (indirectly through reserve units) and thus to allow them to be used as money. Indeed, the system of the invention allows the user to use a voucher issued by a given provider to buy even a product from another provider, the conversion from one voucher to another being done transparently. Tokens are the support for vouchers (and they are called “voucher tokens” when they take ownership of a “voucher”), but when vouchers are themselves manipulated (bought, returned for supplies (redeemed), sold, etc.), the proposed model makes the support tokens transparent for the user. Behavior of a Token As already mentioned, the concept of token is distinguished here from that of “Voucher.” A token is an account unit generated by a smart contract according to formulas such as those presented in the aforementioned White Paper (Bancor formula). A voucher is the representation of a finite resource (asset) from the real world, such as a gift voucher. The voucher units are linked to the token units by assigning a “voucher” property to them (or “marking”), or by other equivalent means (table management, for example). To introduce this notion of marking,FIG.2Ashows a transition state diagram that describes the behavior of a considered unit of a given token. (It should be noted that any quantity of units of a given token, even with decimals, can be manipulated at the same time—to be more precise, later we will speak of m reserve units received for generated tokens (i.e. the number of token units generated divided by their price expressed in reserve units), n reserve units corresponding to those marked voucher, r units corresponding to those which are redeemed in exchange for delivery of the asset, etc.) In this transition state diagram, the initial entry into the “Convertible Token” state (i.e. the generation of the token unit by the smart contract) is due to the “Buy” transition (that is to say the purchase of the token unit, see the White Paper cited above). The “Conversion” transition switches the unit to the “Voucher Token” state (with corresponding marking) if the convertibility threshold is not reached, and the “Conversion Request” transition switches it to the “Waiting List Token” state—that is to say “in waiting list” (priority list), with corresponding marking—if the convertibility threshold has been exceeded. A “Convertibility OK” transition (from “Waiting List Token” to “Voucher Token”) is triggered automatically when the threshold value allows it again and the token can leave the waiting list favorably (the marking being changed accordingly). The “Back Conversion” transition means the return to the “Convertible Token” state. Finally, the unit is deleted (burned) during a “Sell” transition (that is to say, the unit is returned to the smart contract, see the White Paper cited above) or an “Exert” transition (by which the supply corresponding to the voucher takes place). Behavior of the Price of the Token During these Transitions Referring toFIG.2B, when generating “Convertible Token” units, the token node here received m reserve units (for example m ETH) according to its current price. Its price was then increased like in the Bancor model (see the White Paper cited above). A transition of some of these units from “Convertible Token” to “Voucher Token” (here up to n reserve units) compensates for this increase (in a proportion of n/m) because, according to one aspect of the invention, the voucher provider then withdraws (1−RR)*n reserve units (only RR*n remaining in reserve). When the voucher is redeemed (“Exert” transition), the RR*n complement which had remained in reserve is transferred to the providernode and the corresponding token units are deleted (burned). In the end, this means that the price of the token remains stable when buying Convertible Token units followed by their conversion and then their exercise. Conversely, if Voucher Tokens are “deconverted” for v reserve units (“Back Conversion” transition), subject to any conditions for deconversion, the providernode returns to the tokennode (1-RR)*v units of reserve units that it had received during the conversion (or with a different rule, determined in the smart contract) and the price of the token increases again accordingly. In one possible implementation in a smart contract, the convertible token can be subject to the following nine transitions:1. Init: When creating a new convertible token T, the quantities R (reserve) and S (supply) are initialized—this can be done by adding (from the node of the user who creates the token) to the tokennode (managing the new token in question) of a first quantity (R) of reserve units and the corresponding generation (according to the RR set and the desired initial price, for example: 1 token unit=1 reserve unit) of an initial quantity (S) of units of T.2. Buy: Subsequently, the reception by the tokennode of reserve units from the node of a user who purchases units of T causes the generation of a corresponding amount of units of T (which are sent by the tokennode to the node of this user). R, S and P increase accordingly based on the same principle as the Bancor model (see the White Paper cited above).3. Sell: the return of units of T (by a usernode, to the tokennode) causes the sending (in return, by the tokennode to the usernode) of a corresponding quantity of reserve units (according to the current price of T) and said units of T returned to the tokennode are deleted by the latter (burned). S, R and P decrease accordingly (see the White Paper cited above). This transition requires that the units in question are not marked “voucher” (or a Back Conversion transition—where a transition from the sale of units marked “voucher” can be provided elsewhere).4. Conversion: at the request of a user node and insofar as the convertibility threshold is not reached, a given quantity of T units are marked “voucher” by the tokennode (with attributes depending on the application, such as time-dependent bonus, etc.). When units of T are marked up to n reserve units, the price P of T decreases so as to compensate for the increase which their purchase had caused during the “Buy” transition: the node of the provider receives (1−RR)*n reserve units (and will receive the complement (RR*n) when supplied—see Exert transition). (Advantageously, and with reference to chapter 9, it is notably on this transition, that is to say when purchased token units are marked “voucher,” that these purchases feed the system of chapter 9, which we recall involves triggering reserve token loans).5. Conversion Request: in the event that the availability threshold of available vouchers is already reached, the units are marked “on waiting list” by the tokennode by assigning them a sequence number (or “priority”) to manage priorities. (Advantageously, with reference to chapter 9, it is notably on this transition, that is to say when purchased token units are marked “on the waiting list,” that these purchases feed the system of chapter 9 (which, let it be recalled, consists of triggering loans of reserve tokens), thus creating an interesting combination of the two embodiments.)6. Convertibility OK: for these units on the waiting list, as their turn arrives (at T), this “on waiting list” marking is replaced at the tokennode by a “voucher” marking, and the provider node receives (1−RR)*n reserve units (as in the “Conversion” transition described above). (Advantageously, with reference to the embodiment of chapter 9 below, this transition results in delivering (returning) the units loaned during the Conversion or Conversion Request transition.)7. Exert: T units marked vouchers up to r reserve units are returned to the tokennode in exchange for supply. Then, as already mentioned above, RR*r reserve units are transferred to the providers node by the tokennode and said r units of T marked “voucher” are deleted (burned) by the tokennode. The price P of the token therefore does not vary.8. Back Conversion: Request from the node of a user who had done a Conversion on units of T and who is now triggering a reverse transition up to v units of reserve. Then these units cease to be marked “vouchers” and the providernode returns to the tokennode (1−RR)*v reserve units among the (1−RR)*n that it had received on this occasion (or only in part, according to the smart contract), which results in increasing the price of T again (the returned units being added to the reserve). This transition then allows a Sell transition of the unconverted token. Note here that a reverse Conversion Request transition, with no movement of reserve units this time, must also be provided to remove the units (or a portion of the units) from the waiting list.9. Termination: Finally, when all of the units of T are deleted (burned), the token is supposed to end (see the White Paper cited above). Advantageously, a tokennode can automate a voucher transfer market between users: token units marked “voucher” or “on waiting list” can be associated with an amount (for example in reserve units) that their owner (usernode) is prepared to accept to give them away. The receipt of this amount by the latter for the token units in question automatically triggers the transfer of these token units to the node (user) which paid it this amount. Conversely, users can associate an amount proposed for their purchase, the acceptance of which by the owner also triggers a transfer transaction, with priorities in a waiting list (or a voucher marking). Alternatively (or additionally), a mechanism can be implemented according to which regular micropayments of reserve units are made by users having a priority on the waiting list, failing which the priority may decrease in favor of other users (according to the amounts of their own micropayments). Users can thus adjust their micropayments according to the priority they want: lower micropayments make it possible to delay the conversion to a voucher token (let the priority decrease); higher micropayments allow it to move forward (try to increase priority). The tokennode manages the waiting list and, when converting to a voucher token, redistributes the units received by the micropayments equitably, that is to say by fully reimbursing the users who made the micropayments as planned and without their conversion being delayed, and by managing the priorities of the other users on the waiting list based on their respective adjustments, the users who adjust their micropayments to allow the conversion to a voucher token to be delayed being compensated if necessary by the surplus of micropayments received to advance the conversion to a voucher token. It should be noted that said threshold values can be linked to separate dates (with given granularities, for example time slots) with which respective waiting lists are associated. Examples of Applications A producer of goods, here a baker, manufactures N baguettes daily. Thanks to this production, he can mark N tokens (here a “bakery” token, with a conversion value of 1 token unit for a baguette), each user thus being able to convert a “bakery” token that he owns into a “bakery” Voucher token allowing him to reserve a baguette on a given date. We understand that owing to this embodiment, a Bancor-type model is enriched in order to be able to use the tokens generated in this model for the most diverse uses, with a flexibility making it possible to control demand (periods of use of Voucher tokens, discounts linked to the date of supply, etc.), in particular depending on production and prospects. The management and visibility of the waiting lists has a self-regulating effect which prevents a producer from generating excessive convertibility compared to his actual production. In the second example which follows, we will illustrate that token vouchers are indeed linked to the assets they represent. The following example shows that a loss in value of the underlying asset is directly reflected in the value of the token. Let us take as an example the case where the provider is capable of supplying fixed quantities of a product constituting a reference good (such as metal gold). Thus, a provider of metal gold which provides a convertibility of a certain type of token into gold vouchers, each representing 1 kg of metal gold. For example, he provides a convertibility with a ratio of 1 to 1 toward 1000 vouchers by blocking 800 kg of gold (blocking rate 80% because he estimates that his customers will never want delivery of more than 80% of vouchers they own, since he is trusted and his voucher tokens weigh less than metal gold). Suppose that 1000 tokens have been converted to become 1000 “gold voucher tokens” (GVT), as described above. A serious incident occurs: half of his blocked stock is stolen (400 kg of gold disappears). In this case, one approach consists of adjusting the exercise value of the voucher, the holder of the GVT then only being entitled to 500 g of gold. The loss in value of the blocked asset (here in quantity) is therefore propagated to all of the vouchers. In the case where only a fraction of the tokens has been converted, it is possible to adjust the convertibility threshold, but without bringing it below the number of converted tokens. In the intermediate case where the number of converted tokens is between the original threshold and the new theoretical threshold linked to the loss of assets, the threshold is reduced to the number of tokens converted, thus prohibiting any new conversion, while adjusting the exercise value of the voucher. Automatic Variation of the Price of the Token According to its Underlying Asset As we have just seen in the example above, when a token represents an underlying asset (cf. the examples of assets given in the preamble), the value of this underlying asset may vary. The process which will now be described aims for the token node of this token to take account of this variation automatically or semi-automatically and to vary the price of the token accordingly by interaction with the nodes which hold it. Example 1—Automatic Consideration One unit of a “Gold” token represents 100 g of metal gold contained in a secure box, for example as described above, equipped with an electronic circuit (such as a wallet node device) capable of reporting a theft by violation of the envelope or movement detection using the GPS module. Example 2—Semi-Automatic Consideration A unit of an Equity token represents shares of a company. The value of these shares (and its variations) derives from digital signatures (certificates) by its auditor (for example), each notification of such a certificate triggering the taking into account of value variations of the shares automatically. Said taking into account (on receipt of said notification, verified by a smart contract) consists of having units of the token in question automatically sold by the nodes which hold them, when the variation consists in a decrease in value—conversely, in automatically buying when the variation consists of an increase in value—so as to bring the unit of the token in question to its fair value (i.e. to bring its price, expressed in units of its reserve(s), to its fair value). This sale—resp. this purchase—(as well as the resulting price variation) is immediate insofar as it is made without the need for compensation using the “RBT method” (for example Bancor). Advantageously, in another embodiment, it can be carried out in the form of exchanges according to the embodiment of chapter 8 below. Concretely, for the first example, when a certain quantity of the Gold asset disappears (following a theft), the price of the Gold token automatically drops by the same amount, owing to sales according to the “RBT method” (sub-units of the Gold token are delivered to the smart contract by their respective owner nodes), which cause the price of the Gold token to be brought to the exact value corresponding to the new underlying asset. As for the second example, during an increase in the value of said shares of the company, notified by digital signature or by automatically and securely referring to an external source (see the previous filings by the same inventor mentioned elsewhere), the price of the Equity token increases correspondingly, owing to purchases according to the RBT method (new sub-units of the Equity token are generated by the smart contract), which cause the price of the Equity token (expressed in its reserve units) to be brought to the exact value corresponding to the new underlying asset. These purchases (respectively these sales) in order to bring the price of the token back to its fair value are executed, by the nodes holding the token in question, in proportion to the units thereof that they hold. This is executed automatically except when the holder has opposed it in advance (by configuring his node in this sense; he may for example prefer a semi-automatic mode, which will then be implemented offline). It is understood here that the more quickly each holder node reacts by performing these operations, the more these operations are carried out with an advantageous price for this node (by the very nature of a method such as Bancor). It should be noted here that the smart contract automatically executes these operations reliably (owing to the integrity of the smart contracts already mentioned) and that it was designed to execute these operations without buying or selling more than in proportion to the units that the nodes in question hold. Advantageously, an automatic drawing of lots by the smart contract at said token node can avoid favoring certain holder nodes to the detriment of others. In the case of token purchases (on notification of an increase in the value of the underlying asset) by the token holding nodes, the latter carry out these purchases automatically as soon as (and insofar as) they hold reserve units allowing them these purchases. In a particular embodiment, the holder node performs a method consisting of acquiring the missing units automatically (cf. in particular the embodiment of chapter 8). In the particular case of a decrease in value of the underlying asset of the Voucher tokens within the meaning of the embodiment of Chapter 2, it is provided in the smart contract that only tokens not yet marked Voucher are automatically sold as described above. This embodiment thus makes it possible to pass on the value variation of the underlying asset that a token represents automatically to the price of that token. Finally, it should be noted that the same approach is advantageously adopted to implement an automatic arbitrage method in relation to the variation in the price of a token (expressed in its reserve unit(s)) on external markets (token exchanges): when its price drops (resp. goes up) externally (which can be detected automatically by automatically and securely referring to an external source, as already mentioned), units are automatically sold (resp. purchased) from token holders, in proportion to their assets, in order to automatically balance its price. Assets Playing the Role of Tokens Advantageously, the blocking of the assets, when it is a question of tangible goods, can be carried out thanks to means for detecting the presence or integrity of the goods, these means cooperating with a smart contract for generating/updating the convertibility threshold. These may include locks, electronic seals, machine-readable codes, for example within the meaning of the “Sensor Actuator Modules” described by the applicant in application PCT/IB2017/057707, the content of which is incorporated by reference, or even a combination of the integrity of an envelope as described in U.S. patent application No. 62/586,190 in the name of the applicant, the content of which is incorporated here by reference, possibly in combination with a detection of the integrity of a geographical position by GPS. Other approaches such as asset presence detection by weighing, security of the type described in https://www.crowdsupply.com/design-shift/orwl, etc., possibly combined with GPS detection can be implemented. If GPS is used, provision is made for a reinitialization of the position in secure conditions each time hands are changed. Not only tokens (whether convertible tokens, waiting lists or voucher tokens) can be transferred from one node (user) to another, but also (of course) assets (which these tokens represent) can be transferred from one node (provider) to another. When changing providers for the same assets, the tokens which correspond to them are automatically converted into tokens issued by the tokennode of the new provider. To continue with the example of the stock of 800 kg of gold having led to 1000 GVT (see above), if 200 kg (i.e. half of the stock remaining after the incident), i.e. a quarter of the original stock, has been transferred to another provider whose tokens are GVT1, a quarter of the voucher tokens, a quarter of the tokens on the waiting list and a quarter of all of the other tokens in circulation are automatically converted into GVT1. The change of provider is triggered by a process which is corroborated by the aforementioned means of detecting the presence or integrity of the goods. Advantageously, the assets here play the role of an “indivisible” token transferred from one provider to another and managed in smart contracts. For example, a 100 g metal gold ingot in a small self-sealed box can be exchanged as a token, in the same way that metal gold acted as money in the distant past (the voucher tokens described above ensuring exchangeability and divisibility in any desired fraction). Such an asset “100 g of metal gold” is a safer token because when one acquires it, in the sense that one has the asset itself rather than a promise of its supply. We thus rehabilitate the original function of a currency constituted by a good which determines its value. This is valid both for a precious metal and for other types of assets. Escrow Account In a variant embodiment, the system is such that the second portion of the reserve account units (that which is not put in the reserve) is transferred at least in part to an escrow account. This escrow account is advantageously managed within the considered token node. The smart contract includes rules for managing reserve units placed in escrow. For example, the second portion of the received reserve units is by default in a “returnable” mode, but can switch to a “non-returnable” mode at the time of an effective reservation of a product (typically a Wallet Message” indicating a firm order of the product, when the initial obtaining of units of the token in question was only an intention), for example for delivery immediately or at a later date determined according to the delivery date provided during the reservation (for example 3 days before the planned delivery date, because the provider would have to incur costs from this moment)—where the concept of date can be of variable granularity as mentioned later in this description during the discussion of Time Ranges. It should be noted here that only the returnable mode presents a risk of fraud—fraud in the sense that the provider does not return the second portion when the token is returned—but offers the essential advantage of offering convertibility with other tokens. The smart contract therefore advantageously provides that the second portion goes to an escrow account at least until the time of the reservation (and only then will be transferred to the provider when there can no longer be any question that of him returning them), which will result in mitigating any risk of fraud (essential advantage/conventional vouchers, which do not require an issue request with transfer of reserve tokens at current prices from a user node and can be issued endlessly by the provider himself). Note, however, that said fraud can also be mitigated by associating reputation information with the token. In summary, here we have the following possible events:(1) receiving token units advantageously with placing reserve units (forming the second portion) in an escrow account (here the mode is returnable),(2) (optional) returning of token units (i.e. sale of token units, i.e. conversion into reserve token units within the meaning of Bancor),(3) reservation of product(s), involving the transition to non-returnable mode and transfer to the provider of the corresponding second portion, immediately or on a date determined according to the smart contract,(4) delivery and burning of token units and transfer of the first portion to the provider. Note that in the case of a right supplied implicitly and not entailing any subsequent supply, steps (3) and (4) are absent, but there can be a return (step (2)). In the latter case, in general, the units forming the second portion are directly transferred to the provider, who is required to return them in case of an event causing step (2) and stakes his reputation. Advantageously, the units forming the second portion can also be kept in an escrow account for a limited period and transferred to the provider afterwards (if not returned in the meantime). To summarize, we have described so far that a limited number of tokens (generated by a tokennode) are marked “Voucher” (and correspond to assets blocked or to be blocked in the future for these Voucher tokens), unmarked tokens may be on a “marking waiting list”; each such marking directly entailing the transfer of (at most) an amount (1−RR)*n of reserve units to the provider(s) (n being the number of marked Voucher units divided by their price P expressed in reserve units), which restore(s) it in the event of deconversion; the supply or supplies correspond to a Voucher token being made at the request of the node which owns it (or as planned upon conversion to a Voucher token), the voucher token being then burned (deleted) by the token node and the balance (at least RR*n) then being transferred to the provider (against this supply). Thus, the system of this embodiment constitutes an alternative to the Bancor model, while retaining the advantages thereof but also making it possible to associate, with tokens of this model, vouchers representing assets in limited quantity (which Bancor does not allow), the purchase/sale of tokens not causing any change in the value of the tokens in terms of reserve units used once vouchers are associated with it (or only up to the IH factor, as we will see below). Chapter 3—Time Factors This embodiment includes the following features:means are provided for automatically causing token units to be received at a given token node in response to a reported change in the asset underlying this token unit, so as to adjust the value of the token unit on the value of the underlying asset that has varied. Optionally:this variation is signaled by detection of a variation in the quantity of a physical asset constituting the underlying asset.secure means are provided (such as sensor means managed by a smart contract) to detect this variation.this change is indicated by detection of the value variation of an intangible asset constituting the underlying asset.secure communication means are provided, managed by a smart contract, with a data source capable of providing the value of the intangible asset. In more detail, when purchasing a token, the buyer (user node) can communicate, to the provider (provider node), an initial set of one or more Time Ranges in which the buyer will request to be supplied (immediately or in the future). This set can be changed later. Advantageously, the Time Ranges communicated to the provider can be fixed or depend on rules and in particular on a resolution of constraints, and for example be gradually restricted by adding additional constraints (depending on the application). In response, the provider communicates a set of Dates to the buyer, located in the communicated set of Time Ranges, for which its supply capacity (typically a production capacity) has not yet been reached and the product will therefore be available (in the current state of the Time Ranges communicated to the provider). Here, a Date (or potential supply date) refers to a date on which the provider believes he can or cannot supply. However, instead of periodic dates, we consider here dates with a given granularity data or time slots—for example hour slots or quarter-hour slots. A Date is thus a time interval for which the provider node reserves a certain supply capacity (which is normally limited) and according to which he will indicate to the user whether he can supply the latter or not in this interval. The provider node calculates the consumption (owing to the Time Ranges linked to the purchases of the units of its token) of its supply capacity on each Date as follows:The amount of each purchase by a user is divided by the total duration (expressed in time units in the granularity set by the provider) of the Time Ranges that this user communicated for this purchase, and the result of this division is spread out along of these Time Ranges by associating it with each Date included in these Time Ranges.By accumulating these results for all users on each Date, the provider node determines the probable consumption of its supply on this Date. These operations are performed incrementally during the creation and updates of Time Ranges linked to a purchase of token units and, for each Date included in these Time Ranges, if the supply capacity is already reached, this purchase is put on the waiting list (see above), and if not, the Date in question is made available for this purchase. The reserve units received during token purchases by a user are broken down, proportionally, into a first portion corresponding to the available Dates and a second portion corresponding to the Dates on the waiting list for this user. For the first, (1−RR)*n reserve units are transferred to the provider node and only RR*n units are put in the reserve for the token, while for the second, all of the received reserve units go to the reserve (second portion equal to zero). (Within the meaning of what was previously described in chapter 2, the first portion includes the units marked voucher and the second portion includes the units placed on the waiting list.) The user can then modify his Time Ranges to better match them with the Available Dates. The capacities on the different Dates are then recalculated and the allocations of the reserve units are reallocated accordingly. Advantageously, the user nodes that are close with respect to the same provider node (see below, the tribe scores of chapter 9) mutually exchange the available dates that have been communicated to them by the latter. They also exchange information on the execution of supplies, as well as any outages of supplies, on the Dates in question. These notifications allow them to check the reliability of a provider and automatically penalize him in the event of a failure. Chapter 4—Introduction of the IH Factor In the above, the quantity of reserve units transferred to the provider node is (1-RR)*n. An embodiment is introduced here where the first portion of the reserve account units is constituted by a first sub-portion whose the number is such that they would neutralize the variations in value of the token units when they are obtained and returned and a second sub-portion, the number of which is such that they generate a controlled value variation of the token unit, with an increase during reception and a reduction during return, with the following options:the number of reserve account units in the second sub-portion is determined according to a variable parameter IH associated with the token and managed by its token node.the parameter IH is a function of time data relating to the demand for supplies and the supply of supplies at the provider node.the parameter IH is a function of a density and/or a distribution of possible supply instants in one or more time intervals where the supply is requested.the parameter IH is a function of population data from different user nodes that have obtained associated token units, where these population data can be weighted by consistency data, between these nodes, with respect to token units of other types that they have obtained (compliance).the parameter IH is a function of reliability data for the supply of products corresponding to the considered token.the parameter IH is a function of at least two of these data.a token node is adapted, in the event of variation of the parameter IH, to redistribute the allocation of reserve account units to its first portion and its second portion by transfer from outside the reserve to the reserve or vice versa. In more detail, in this embodiment, a parameter or IH factor that is defined in more detail and whose implementation is described below, increases the portion kept in the reserve during the voucher token markings, the term RR*n being replaced by (RR+IH)*n and the term (1−RR)*n being replaced by (1−RR−IH)*n, the IH factor making it possible in a way to reproduce the role of “the invisible hand of the market” when marking. We understand that with this factor, when marking token units in voucher tokens up to n reserve units, the voucher provider only withdraws (1−RR−IH)*n reserve units (instead of (1−RR)*n), and this has the effect that the increase in the price of the token which took place during its purchase is kept at the limited level of IH. Then, when the voucher is redeemed (“Exert” transition), this limited increase effect is canceled (unless there is a change in the value of the IH factor in the meantime, in which case the increase is not exactly canceled): the complement (RR+IH)*n remaining in reserve is transferred to the providernode and the corresponding token units are deleted (burned)—thus, the price of the token more or less regains its value. And, of course, when voucher tokens (up to n reserve units, i.e. the number of voucher token units returned divided by the current price P of the token) are returned to the smart contract (executed on the tokennode) by the user, (1−RR−IH)*n reserve units are at least partially (except for a “service fee,” or according to other rules) reimbursed to the user (unless they automatically go through a “Back Conversion” deconversion transition beforehand, as specified above, to put the (1−RR−IH)*n units back into the reserve before the tokens are returned). We understand that increasing the IHis supposed to make the token more volatile (since a larger portion of the received reserve account units goes into reserve, noted “(RR+IH)*p”) andreduces its “pre-financing” portion (denoted “(1−RR−IH)*p”). The idea here is that the more volatility there is (IH increases), the less pre-financing there is, which encourages the token issuer to have a safer underlying asset (by increasing its production capacity, the quality of the product, etc.) to make his token less speculative and lower the value of IH (to return to greater pre-financing). But IH is not the only factor that determines the volatility of the token. Initially, in a Bancor-type system, it is the reserve rate RR that determines the volatility of the token: the larger the RR, the less volatile the token. With IH, this role is played by RR+IH (IH varying between zero and 1−RR). In the case where IH is zero, there is no volatility at all regardless of the value of RR. The IH factor in fact makes it possible to control the impact of the reserve rate on volatility: the larger IH is, the more RR determines the volatility of the token, and the smaller IH is, the less RR determines the volatility of the token. EXAMPLE In a Bancor-type architecture, there can be no limit to the number of “Baguette” tokens that the bakers provider node sells, because they are generated automatically (by the smart contract that runs on the bakers node) each time someone want to buy it—otherwise, there would be no way of always being capable of arbitrating with external markets. But because of this non-limitation, it may be that there are too many tokens generated compared to the bakers production capacity (suppose that he becomes a rising star and buyers speculate on the value of his token). The goal of the IH factor is to capture this aspect of speculation: if there are probably more tokens generated than baguettes that the baker can provide (and we propose a method to calculate it below), then the IH is all the higher, which allows the price of this token to go up at the IH speed, but also to go back down just as quickly if people get rid of it (i.e. if they sell the Baguette token), which happens for example if his peer reinsurers let him go—his reinsurers are typically neighboring bakers who supply in his place when he cannot do so (as described below). Typically, its reinsurers will replace him when his oven breaks down or when he has health problems preventing him from producing normally, but any kind of reinsurance is possible, for example providing baguettes in his place if there is too much demand. An smart reinsurance contract then automatically exchanges the Baguette token in question with a Baguette token from another baker, via one or more reserve tokens. As we will see later, thanks to the IH factor, tokens cover all cases, and in particular this model makes it possible to achieve a unification between classic trade and insurance: Take for example boiler maintenance tokens (with repair service and 24/7 assistance), such a contract can indeed be seen as an insurance contract (insurance of the fact that the boiler will always continue to operate or, where applicable, with limited downtime). The provider of the boiler maintenance service will typically associate a price P with his token corresponding to the annual basic maintenance of a simple and basic boiler in very good condition, rarely requiring repair or assistance. Nothing will then prevent him from selling 1.2 units of this token per year to the owner of a boiler X which, according to him, risks costing him a little more work (or for a larger house to heat); 5 units per year for a very old boiler Y, etc. This is how the transaction amount (corresponding to the insurance premium) can be calculated (or negotiated) on a case-by-case basis, depending on the risk presented by the buyer. (Note that the risk presented by the buyer is not taken into account in the IH. The IH is rather a function of criteria such as the size and therefore the availability of its team taking into account the volume of its clientele, its skills and its ability to repair breakdowns, its speed of intervention (which is mainly a function of the distance), etc.) This does not prevent, in order for the market to remain socially fair, the application of constraints to this negotiation (fixed or framed public rate), these constraints being managed by the smart contract. Taking the IH factor into account leads us to a broadening of the concept of voucher tokens, allowing these to be used for insurance applications like in the example above. This is what we will now describe: We have already seen for voucher tokens that, when purchasing units of a token T that are not marked Voucher (simple “Token”), all of the units (of the reserve token of T) received for this purchase go in the reserve of T. Conversely, for a token T marked Voucher (“Voucher Token”), it is a predetermined fraction RR*p (p here being the number of reserve units received for this purchase at price P) that is assigned to the reserve, the rest being allocated to the provider, taking the place of pre-financing or deposit (or blocked to form “blocked assets” as described below). It may be desirable for the concept of Voucher to be gradual, with a variable IH factor ensuring the progressiveness between a non-Voucher token and a Voucher token. Thus all of the tokens here are, in a way, “more or less” Vouchers and it is the IH factor (for “Invisible Hand”) which makes it possible to indicate the extent to which they are, that is to say are similar to the Voucher tokens described above—the case IH=1−RR representing the extreme case of tokens which are not Vouchers at all. To illustrate this principle, if:p is the number of reserve units received,RR is the reserve ratio, andIH is the aforementioned factor, we assign (RR+IH)*p units to the reserve, and (1−RR−IH)*p constitutes the deposit paid to the provider. We will now generalize the tokens by keeping the formulas reserve=(RR+IH)*pand pre-financing=(1−RR−IH)*p for all the tokens. There is therefore no longer any distinction between Token and Voucher token, and the case IH=1−RR is a special case where the product supply commitment is not associated with the token (case of classic Bancor tokens) and therefore where all of the received reserve token units go to the reserve. In the following, the term “Token” will denote both classic Bancor tokens and Voucher Tokens with progressiveness defined above. The vocabulary used was already defined earlier in the introduction. Let us remember that: The purchase of a product from a provider is seen here as:1. Receiving a corresponding number of token units associated with this provider (i.e. their purchase by a usernode, called “user” or “customer”),2. the product in question possibly being (immediately or subsequently) supplied in exchange for these purchased token units. The tokens then act as “vouchers” purchased to obtain the supply in question. Obviously, in return for the benefit of “pre-financing” that he derives from it, the provider can offer incentives, such as discounts, bonuses, etc. in particular according to the time which has passed or which must pass before the voucher in question is redeemed. The purchase of units of a token T here refers to the conversion, into units of this token T, of reserve units of this token T (according to a given RBT method, such as Bancor). The provider for a given token T is a providernode associated with the tokennode that issued said given token T (and to facilitate reading, we consider here that there is only one, but this is not limiting). “Buyer of a token T” refers to the node purchasing a certain quantity of units of the token T in question, allowing it to obtain a certain number of units of a product from the corresponding provider. The transfer of the portion (1−RR−IH)*p to the provider can be seen as advance payment, the supplement (RR+IH)*p being paid during the supply (or the portion (1−RR−IH)*p can be reimbursed (in full if the value of IH has not changed) if there is no supply, depending on the smart contract (like for the embodiment of chapter 2). It is considered for the present explanation that the supply is done according to rules specified in the smart contract, such as “by reservation,” “based on a waiting list,” “by drawing by lots,” etc. or “on triggering event” as we will see below. These rules may require more or less commitment on the part of the provider and, as already explained, the value of IH is representative of this commitment: the IH factor is all the higher as the providernode does not commit to the future stocks, and/or the planned supply is distant in time or uncertain at the time of purchase of the token. The IH factor can thus depend on a certain number of parameters such as production capacity and rate, risk factors, possible token redemption period, etc. More generally, the value of the IH factor and its variations over time may be determined by any method, in particular for the purpose of regulating the price of the token depending on the environment or circumstances (see in particular the example of chapter 11 where the IH factor depends on traffic). Artificial intelligence algorithms may be part of such methods. Chapter 5—Times Ranges and IH Factor We will now describe an embodiment based on possible Time Ranges and Dates of supplies in combination with the exploitation of the IH factor (see chapters 3 and 4 above). As described in chapter 3, when purchasing token units, the buyer (user node) communicates an initial set of Time Ranges to the provider (provider node) and the provider then communicates a set of possible supply Dates, located in these Time Ranges, to the buyer. But here, the provider node determines its IH factor from its remaining supply capacities on these Dates (remember, owing to the integrity/authenticity properties of smart contracts). The initial value of the IH factor is determined (then revised incrementally) upon purchases of token units by user nodes according to the coverage of the Time Ranges by the Dates communicated to them as well as the available capacities remaining on these Dates. In one embodiment, the value of IH is determined according to the density and the distribution of the remaining available capacities in the Time Ranges—the better the Dates in the future cover (in terms of density and distribution) the Time Ranges specified by the users, the lower the value of IH. The density is for example determined by subtracting, from the capacity available on the different Dates, the expected consumption by users, that is to say the units they have purchased divided by the durations of the Time Ranges they indicated during their purchases. The distribution is for example determined by dichotomous breakdowns, with increasingly fine granularities so as to form a tree. At each breakdown level, the distribution level (i.e. a value representative of the regularity of the distribution in the time window constituted by the concatenation of Time Ranges) is calculated by taking into account the difference between the median remaining available capacity before breakdown and the remaining available capacity on each side after breakdown. The course of the tree by cumulating the values at the different breakdown levels makes it possible to obtain the level of distribution at the finest level (so-called Lea algorithm). The IH factor as well as the Dates communicated to the users are revised incrementally due to the fact that user nodes modify their respective Time Ranges (typically by adapting to the Possible delivery dates and available capacities communicated by the provider node) or finalize their reservations on specific Dates. Thus, the value of this factor fora certain purchase of token units is upwardly revised when the coverage of the communicated Dates corresponding to this purchase decreases, which causes a decrease in the financing portion: when the IH factor assumed for a purchase of units of a given token increases, the formulas reserve=(RR+IH)*p and pre-financing=(1−RR−IH)*p are recalculated and the provider transfers the missing reserve units as a result to the tokennode, which adds them to the reserve of this token. Consequently, the provider has an interest in keeping his supply capacities as high as possible in order to keep a value of IH that is as low as possible and to benefit from greater pre-financing, for as long as possible. Advantageously, as described in chapter 3, nodes obtaining units of the same token communicate the Dates to each other which have been communicated to them by the latter, which allows them to check the consistency of this data (advantageously, these are the user nodes that are close with respect to the same provider node—see below the tribe scores in chapter 9). They also communicate information to each other on the redemption of supplies, as well as any outages of supplies, on the reserved Dates. For example, a failure to supply may result in a penalty in the form of an increased IH value for this defaulting provider. Another approach to determining the IH factor is to give a lower IH value to more trusted issuers. The quality of “trusted issuer” is determined by counting the number of nodes that purchase the considered token. To avoid a “Sybil attack,” these buyer nodes are weighted by compliance data taking into account the types of tokens that the other nodes that buy this token also buy—the more compliant they are, the more credible they are. Thanks to this weighting, a “Sybil attack” would actually favor the nodes that it is trying to penalize. These other nodes can be those with a high tribe score (i.e. a close token purchasing profile, as described in chapter 9). The integrity of these weighted counts is guaranteed in the smart contracts. Alternatively, simply balancing these counts with the number of reserve account units paid for the purchases in question suffices (a Sybil attack in order to benefit from pre-financing will not be worthwhile if it involves blocking too many reserve units, as this would neutralize the goal). These two weighting approaches can also be combined. Furthermore, there may be many buyers of a considered token, not with a view to obtaining a product associated with the token, but to speculate on the value of the token. In this case, the fact that (according to this method) the IH decreases will dissuade them (because the more the IH decreases, the less the price P of the token fluctuates), but if we want to take account of the fact that these purchases are speculative and increase the IH rather than lowering it, advantageously we will combine this method with the previous ones (giving them priority in this case). According to yet another approach, the IH value is based on information indicating whether the neighboring nodes of a given token node obtain the product or not when they present the token (or in a more elaborate variant, whether or not they have been delivered on time in relation to their previous reservations). The neighboring nodes here are those which have a close token purchasing profile (high tribe score). Thus, if its neighbors have regularly obtained the product corresponding to the token thus far, then most likely the provider does not make empty promises, he is reliable and his IH deserves to be low (and he is thus entitled to strong pre-financing), and vice versa. This approach can also be combined with the previous ones. Chapter 6—Network Insurance and IH Factor We will now describe the specific case of a “supply upon triggering event” (such as the occurrence of an accident). In this embodiment, the token units for a given token node can be converted into supplies of products or reserve units previously blocked in blocked assets, and further comprising means for determining a number of token units to be received in order to be supplied with a given quantity of products or reserve units previously blocked based on probability data for events triggering such a supply, at least a portion of the reserve account units which have made it possible to obtain the token units being transferred to the provider node of the products and/or to the blocked assets. It may involve the supply of products like above, or the supply of reserve units. In the latter case, said units (1−RR−IH)*p then constitute “blocked assets” for this purpose. The type and conditions for validation of triggering events are defined and implemented in the smart contract. Note that in the case of supplies upon triggering events, in general the tokens in total represent more assets than the actual assets (since “all accidents do not happen on the same day”). For example, out of a population that will buy tokens allowing them to obtain a certain medicine (let us posit that the price of a box of medicine here is one token unit), only a portion of this population will fall ill and effectively convert these tokens in a box of medicine. The volume of medicine to be supplied is therefore less than the number of tokens purchased. As a result, these tokens must be obtainable at a lower price without disturbing the economy of this market. To illustrate this point, if for example one person in a population of 1000 becomes ill and needs a box of medicine, it suffices for each person to buy for 0.1% of the price in tokens of the box of medicine in order for the availability of the box of medicine to be guaranteed. In the end, the price to be paid (in tokens) by each person is equal to 0.1% of the price of the box of medicine (here ignoring brokerage fees of the “service fee” type or others). This makes it possible to unify “classic” trade and insurance. Advantageously, when all of the assets are already consumed and new triggering events occur (and trigger supplies of assets to be made), the new supplies to be made form a “supply waiting list” and are executed later when new assets become available (for example in response to a “call for contributions”) (see also the “Reinsurance” section below). Typically, but without being limiting, a triggering event is a notification by a user node of an “claim” validated by a hardware device and/or upon digital signature by one or more trusted arbitrators/experts provided for in the smart contract, and the supply to be made typically represents the payment for damage caused by this claim; another example of a triggering event is winning a lottery; finally, a type of triggering event could even be the simple request by a user for the supply of the asset in question. In all cases where this is possible, the triggering event is preferably detected by sensor means managed by a smart contract, or even via a communication channel with a reliable source of information (for example a digitally signed certificate from a doctor, the lottery information system, etc.), again with the intervention of a smart contract. Of course, the smart contract can provide that the beneficiary user can confirm or cancel the triggering event. Thus, a triggering event will be an event whose notification is validated by a smart contract. To differentiate the tokens generating supplies upon triggering events of the tokens serving as product vouchers (or to distinguish them from the Voucher tokens of the embodiments described in chapters 2 and 3), they are also called “support tokens.” We will focus below on the case where a triggering event allows the release not of products, but of reserve units included in the blocked assets. As illustrated inFIGS.4A-4C, the blocked assets may include said (1−RR−IH)*p reserve token units—minus any portion potentially taken by the provider(s) for the service rendered —, the blocking being implemented (“enforced”) automatically by the smart contract. Upon each triggering event, a portion of the blocked assets and a portion of the reserve are automatically supplied by the smart contract to the recipient node(s) of the medium provided in the smart contract for the event in question. The portion of the blocked assets is based on an estimate of the triggering events likely to occur: as for the portion of the reserve, it is calculated so as to keep the price of the token stable (to the nearest IH factor). This is described on an example with reference toFIG.4A, which shows the current situation of a support token “T” having an RR of 10% (10% of the reserve token units received are directly allocated to the reserve by the token node) and a price of 1 reserve token unit (1 unit of T=1 reserve token unit), where 99% of the 90% of the received reserve token units (1−RR=90%, IH is ignored here) are blocked by the smart contract in order to form said blocked assets, the remaining 1% of these 90% being taken here by the provider (F) for the service rendered. In the Figure, 1000 token units T have already been purchased and 891 reserve token units have been blocked to form the blocked assets (1000*90%*99%=891). FIG.4Billustrates the case where x additional purchased tokens (7) are split into:a portion R′ to increase the reserve R,a portion F′ for the provider,the rest being added to the blocked assets. In this example, it is estimated that, upon triggering events, at most 10% of the tokens T purchased (here 100 tokens) will be returned (to receive the supply in question). This estimate (taken as a parameter) allows the smart contract to determine that each token unit Tx provides 8.91 units of blocked assets ABx upon triggering event (seeFIG.4C). Indeed, these 10% here represent 100 token units T and the number of 891 blocked reserve units as underlying assets therefore had to be divided by 100 in order to obtain what the smart contract will provide to the recipient node(s) for each token unit T presented upon a triggering event. As for said (RR+IH)*p units of the reserve, each token unit T presented upon triggering event (which is then burned) involves transferring, to the recipient node(s) of the medium, RR+IH reserve units (if the current price is 1)—thus, in this example, 0.1 units are removed from the reserve—so as to keep the price stable (in a manner similar to the embodiments of the preceding chapters). To illustrate this more concretely: suppose that the triggering events here are the breaking of a leg and that the reserve token units are ETH; then, at a given moment, each token unit T costs 1 ETH (Tx) and makes it possible to receive 8.91 ETH (ABx)+0.1 ETH=9.01 ETH when its holder breaks a leg. The underlying assets may be hospital care units, ingots of 100 g of metal gold, bags of 50 kg of rice, etc., and insofar as these are “indivisible tokens” (or “solid tokens”) managed by the smart contract as mentioned above, their blocking in underlying assets is also enforced by the automatically smart contract (as well as their unblocking upon triggering events, which can be determined as has been said either by sensors or by reliable sources of information, under the guidance of a smart contract). Still in the medical field, the use of underlying assets of the care type can be triggered by physiological measurements carried out by sensors embedded in the human body and associated with a secure microdevice of the wallet node device type also embedded and powered by a battery, the smart contract advantageously being capable of collecting a validation or non-validation action by the user beforehand (preferably without this non-validation by the use being broadcast in the network). Advantageously, the tokens also have a limited lifespan (an expiration date) and the token purchases must be renewed by the user when their expiration dates occur (similar to an insurance premium), to continuously benefit from assets in the event of a triggering event. The lifespan of tokens (as well as their price) is determined so that the renewal of token purchases compensates for the supplies made at the recipient node(s) upon triggering events. Using the previous example, each token unit T provides 8.91+0.1 reserve token units upon triggering event if it is estimated (statistically) that 10% of tokens are returned upon triggering events per year and if the tokens T have a lifetime of one year (the period of one year has been taken here as an example). Thus, the lifespan of the tokens depends on the frequency and volume of triggering events (and of course the price of these tokens—note will be made here of the advantage of the possibility of purchasing token support for very short periods by micropayments). When the tokens expire, the unconsumed assets generate new units (representing these unconsumed assets) for the holders of these tokens. Advantageously, the amount of reserve token units (said 8.91+0.1 units) supplied upon triggering event and/or the lifetime of the tokens can be dynamically adjusted (continuously or periodically, or according to other rules) according to the quantity of tokens already presented upon triggering events so far (similarly to the account units of a life insurance account (“Mutual Funds”)). Chapter 7—Networked Insurance and Reinsurance In this embodiment, the nodes form a system of provider/beneficiary nodes of “support commitments” of a certain type (that is to say of commitments to supply assets upon triggering event, in exchange for support tokens)—each beneficiary node can itself provide a support commitment of the same type to some other nodes, the latter to still some others, and so on, the nodes and support commitments of a given type forming a networked insurance P2P network. Reinsurance: “Unity Makes Strength” In a networked insurance context, the nodes providing support commitments (the token nodes generating support tokens) have an interest in “reinsuring” each other and thus better benefitting from the law of large numbers. A reinsurance commitment consists in the smart contract enforcing the provision (to the beneficiary node of the reinsurance commitment) of the asset (or portion of the asset) of the provider of the reinsurance commitment when the own asset of the node benefiting from the reinsurance commitment is exhausted. For example, in the case where the underlying asset (or blocked asset) is a care provision, this mechanism makes it possible for a care provider unable to provide it (for example lack of care bed for hospital care) to be capable of replacing it by another care provider (a nearby hospital) to provide the care in question. Thus the following example illustrates the use of care units (tokens To1) versus support units (tokens To2), the former being used as a reserve for the latter, the excess needs for care units being satisfied through a smart reinsurance contract. The care units To1 here are tokens marked Voucher Token according to an embodiment of one of chapters 2 to 4 and are dated. Concretely, in this example:the reserve ratio RR of the reserve in To1 for To2 is 10%.on average per day, 10,000 users each buy 1 support unit To2, at the price of 1 To2 for 1 To1 dated (redeemable) that day. To2 tokens have a lifetime of one day.the provider has 100 beds (the provider is the hospital that sells the token To1). The bed costs an average of 90.1 care units (To1), as emerges from the following calculation. The hospital has set the price of the unit of To1 accordingly (e.g. 0.3 ETH). Based on an estimate that each day, 100 users each present 1 To2 upon triggering event, the smart contract sets out that each To2 makes it possible to benefit from 90.1 care units To1 upon triggering event (indeed, the “cake” of 10,000 units of To1, minus 10% of RR, is divided into 100 portions: 9000/100=90, and the reserve of 1000 units of To1 is divided into 10000—here ignoring the portion taken for the management of the insurance). An excess, if applicable, relative to the number of available beds means that too many units To2 were presented on that day (the triggering events are in a quantity exceeding the estimates), causing the excess of the (care units (To1) constituting the) blocked assets. When such an excess occurs, a smart reinsurance contract is automatically triggered to draw on the assets blocked for another support token (To4)—here care units (To3) from a nearby hospital (sought gradually, automatically, until one is found with an available bed—see the embodiment in chapter 10). With respect to the law of large numbers, such smart reinsurance contracts potentially offer a P2P network (having a “networked insurance” topology as stated above) the power of centralized risk pooling (traditional insurance), with the additional ability to deal with financial players (insurers strictly speaking) and operational players (medical universe, repair technicians, etc.) at the same level. Deployment of the Networked InsuranceWith regard to the deployment of support commitments, the enforcement of smart support commitment contracts is advantageously triggered automatically by other smart contracts, which entail the purchase of support tokens, thus automatically starting the smart contract of the corresponding support commitment. For example:When purchasing a product, the buyer (or seller) automatically acquires support token units from the seller (resp. from the buyer) for example for 1/100th of the amount of the purchase (remember here that a support token is divisible).The geographic proximity (or according to dimensions other than geographic) between two nodes, whatever they may be (or according to predefined conditions), periodically triggers a purchase/sale transaction of support token units. This makes it possible to receive support locally (for example, a car repair service in the event of a breakdown, etc.) rather than from a remote support provider. Advantageously, the user node automatically receives GPS coordinate information (for example when it is embedded in a smartphone), to automatically trigger the purchase of corresponding support tokens from commitment providers. Chapter 8—the Network Effect In this embodiment, the system further comprises means for transferring units from a given token (first token), in response to an increase in utility or use of a network of token nodes having this given token as a reserve unit, towards the reserve of token nodes contributing to this increase. This provides a reward for a “network effect” depending on the participation of the nodes in the operation or development of the network. Advantageously, the increase in utility or use of the network is determined by at least one of the following factors:an intention to purchase a good or service, materialized by the purchase of units of a specific token by reserving the given token,an offer for sale of a good or service with a specific token than can be obtained by reserving the given token,the actual purchase of the good or service,the conversion of the specific token into a Voucher token (according to the previous chapters) for exchange with the good or service,increasing the availability threshold for the specific token into Voucher token. Different means can be used to implement a measurement of the network effect. The network effect here is in particular within the meaning of Metcalfe's law for example, which notes that the usefulness of a network lies in the number of its potential links; however, these increase according to a law in n2. A network effect within the meaning of Reed's law, in n3, which determines the potential number of communities that the network can form, is also relevant. The principle underlying this embodiment is to remunerate nodes of a network when they increase its usefulness. Take the specific case of “indivisible tokens” representative of a gold or metal asset as mentioned above (let us call them “solid tokens”). The more solid token providers there are, the more the usefulness of the network increases, because not only is it possible to buy conventional (divisible) voucher tokens from such providers, but it is also possible to go and meet such a provider on site to buy solid tokens from him and increase the security of his assets. Throughout the duration of the sale of a solid token (here a gold token), the seller is remunerated for it (he therefore has an interest in expanding the network by putting his solid tokens up for sale). Conversely, a user can declare his request for a solid token to the network and be paid for the duration of his request. The same approach can be adopted for sales/service purchase applications. Throughout its duration, the sale (resp. purchase request) of a service is paid, since it benefits the network. Examples will be given of transport offers from “vehicle” nodes and transport requests from “passenger” nodes (advantageously, the positions/movements of these nodes being captured in a secure manner, for example as described in chapter 11—see also the applications mentioned in this same chapter). This principle can be generalized by offering rewards to different types of actions generally increasing the activity of the network (services incidental to a basic service, new physical assets, etc.), if necessary with security by sensors connected to the network. In a particular embodiment, for a given first token, the second tokens which have it in reserve form its network and the contributions to the network effect are:purchase intentions (by user nodes) for products—which are subsequently actually purchased by these user nodes—products from provider nodes whose corresponding tokens (second tokens) have this first given token as a reserve, andthe sales by said provider nodes of said products that these user nodes have actually purchased. The start date of the purchase intention is triggered by the purchase (by a user node) of units of a second token. Then, when these latter units are actually used for a purchase (of a product from a provider corresponding to the second token), this purchase causes a reward consisting of units of the first token (which thus allow the user node to purchase more second token units). As for the reward of the token node of said second token, the product of which was actually purchased, it consists of transferring more units of the first token to this node. Advantageously, the start date of the sale is triggered by the provision of vouchers (which can be combined with tokens to convert them into a “Voucher token”) according to an embodiment of chapter 2 or 3, and the duration of the sale ends when the voucher token is formed (i.e. when the token is marked as a voucher token). These rewards advantageously make it possible to regulate the price of a token, and this is what we will now describe. As already mentioned, for each token, an underlying asset is the utility of the network formed by this token. In this sense, with each purchase (upon each generation) of units of a second token up to one unit of the first token, a portion of the IH*p reserve units of the first token (which would cause its price increase—see the description above) is dedicated to the operation and development of this network, in particular to the redistribution to the nodes based on their contributions to the network effect as described above. The token price is regulated by adjusting the size of this portion. Furthermore, the volume of gains received by each node (user or provider) for its contributions (contribution to the operation/development of the network; contribution to the network effect) determines the extent to which this node participates in the governance of the network (to decide on these adjustments). An application scenario of this method is the creation of a first token, called “cooperative,” whose second tokens (which have it as a reserve) are generated by nodes (token nodes) belonging to the members of a given group, for example from a producer cooperative. Before the creation of a cooperative token, the members of the group decide together on the reward rate for the rewards that will be automatically allocated to them as actual providers contributing to the network effect of the cooperative token. Thus, they will set the size of the portion of the (1−RR−IH)*p reserve units of the first token that will be assigned to the operation and development of this network, and in particular they will set the size of the portion dedicated to the redistribution to the nodes of actual providers who are members of the group (based on their contributions to the network effect as described above) as well as to the nodes of their customers. Chapter 9—Amortization of Token Value Fluctuations According to this embodiment, the system further comprises means for transferring reserve account units between token nodes in a controlled manner so as to act on the values of the token units via their respective reserves by attenuating the fluctuations of said values caused by the token receiving and return transactions (reciprocity). According to advantageous features:the reserve account unit transfer means are capable of controlling the quantities of reserve units transferred according to scores established for each token.the score for a given token is linked to the significance of the transactions performed on the token in question.this significance of transactions on a given token is determined based on at least one of the following factors: the volume in account units of transactions of the given token, the number of user nodes triggering transactions of token units, the age of the transactions of the given token, the value variations of the token that would be obtained by applying a gross reserve rule where all reserve account units go into the reserve (in particular Bancor formula).the scores are determined by iterations on increasingly large sets of token nodes and user nodes based on links between such nodes, where these links can be formed by the transactions.a transfer from reserve to token node is carried out only if the score of the latter is above a threshold.the quantity of reserve units transferred to a token node is determined according to the score of the latter, this score for example being higher when the transactions of the given token are recent. Advantageously, this system is implemented in a decentralized peer-to-peer manner by processing integrated into the token nodes. It is recalled that one aim of the invention is to allow a user to use a token issued as a “voucher” by a given producer in order to buy a product not only from this producer, but even from another producer, the conversion from one token to another being done transparently. And that, as already mentioned in the preamble, in the RBT method, simply converting one token into another (via their reserves) inherently causes a variation in their values. In this embodiment, in order to lessen or even neutralize the variations in the value of the tokens during certain exchanges, a token node (or several token nodes) managing a second token that automatically “lend(s)” reserve units to token nodes managing a first token, which they must return to them later—they will in particular do so when they in turn play the role of second token node. In this system, these loans tend to compensate each other by design—this allows smart contracts to at least compensate for loan balances on both sides less frequently. For this purpose, in each token node an algorithm is executed for calculating “potential reciprocity scores” of tokens with respect to the node that executes the algorithm, it being noted that a token to which no score is assigned implicitly has a zero score. The algorithm is such that the tokens with a high potential reciprocity score are first of all those which in the short term are more sold/bought by a large number of same users, and the algorithm expands this set of high scoring tokens iteratively by applying this same criterion to tokens that already have a high score until the scores become negligible, as we will see below. These scores are updated incrementally during the purchases/sales of these tokens by their respective users (or according to given rules). In one particular embodiment, based on these potential reciprocity scores, each token node of a second token lends, following the purchase of its token (by user nodes) and therefore during the resulting increase in its value (according to the “RBT method,” for example according to the Bancor formula), reserve units to the token nodes of first tokens that have high potential reciprocity scores and whose values have decreased (during token exchanges, as already described). It thus causes a drop in the value of its token against the increase in the value of the tokens of the nodes to which it has lent the reserve units. A loan of reserve units can be provided selectively by verifying that the score exceeds a threshold, and possibly adjusting the number of reserve units loaned based on the value of the score. In all cases, the number of units loaned is limited by the formula (1-RR)*n (n being the number of reserve units received during said purchase—as described above). In relation toFIG.3, in one particular embodiment, the algorithm for calculating potential reciprocity scores executed on the token node of a given token (T0):obtains, from all of its user nodes (U0), information from the set (T1) of tokens that these users buy/sell (T1including T0),then obtains, from the nodes of the set T1, the information of the union of the sets of their own users (U1, including U0),then obtains, from the nodes of the set U1, the information of the set (T2) of the tokens that these users buy/sell,then forms, from the information obtained from the nodes of the set T2, the union of the sets of their own users (U2), . . .and so on. For clarity, only the sets T0, U0, T1and U1are shown inFIG.3. As already said, the algorithm aims to assign potential reciprocity scores to the elements of said sets of tokens (Ti). The algorithm also aims to assign “tribe scores” to the user nodes (Ui), the nodes to which a score has not been assigned implicitly have a zero score. At the start, a score of 1 is assigned to the starting token T0(and all of the other tokens implicitly have a zero score). Note that as a variant, the starting point may not be a single token, but a set of starting tokens, in which case each token in this set has an initial score of 1 divided by the number of elements of the set. The tribe scores of each user node in each set (U0, U1, etc.) are (re)calculated by adding the potential reciprocity scores of the tokens they have used (i.e. from which they have purchased or sold units) of the corresponding set (T0, T1, etc.), and normalizing them, i.e. dividing each score by the sum of the scores so that their total is equal to 1. Thus, in the example inFIG.3:The two nodes of U0initially have a score of ½ each (FIG.3a);Then, when the potential reciprocity scores resulting from the three nodes of T1are 0.25, 0.5 and 0.25 (see below), the nodes of U1obtain the scores 0.11, 0.33, 0.33, 0.11 and 0.11 respectively (FIG.3d). The potential reciprocity score of each token of each set (T1, etc.) is (re)calculated using the formula (F) consisting of dividingthe sum of the tribe scores of the nodes of the corresponding set (U0, U1, etc.) using this token and the (or at least one of the) token(s) T0 bythe sum of the tribe scores of the nodes of the corresponding set (U0, U1, etc.) using this token or the (or at least one of the) token(s) T0. Thus, in the example ofFIG.3, initially the tribe scores of the elements of U0being 0.5 each (FIG.3b), the respective potential reciprocity scores of the elements of T1are 0.5/2=0.25, ½=0.5 and 0.5/2=0.25 (FIG.3c). Then, once the scores of the users U1have been calculated, here being 0.11, 0.33, 0.33, 0.11 and 0.11 (see above), then by applying the formula F (seeFIG.3e):the first token of T1has 2 users, only 1 of which uses T0, and its score is therefore (0.11/(0.11+0.33))/1.51=0.17;the second token of T1(this is T0) has 2 users, both using T0, and its score is therefore (0.33+0.33)/1.51=0.44;the third token has 3 users, only 1 of which uses T0, and its score is therefore (0.33/(0.33+0.11+0.11))/1.51=0.39. The above calculations are iterated alternately towards the user nodes, then again towards the token nodes, each time with enlarged sets Un, Tn, until convergence, that is to say until both the new obtained scores no longer differ significantly relative to the previous iteration and the new added nodes do not have significant scores (use of appropriate thresholds). Advantageously, during these iterations, when a token has a very high potential reciprocity score (above a given threshold), it is inserted into the starting set T0. The sets in question and the scores of the nodes of these sets are updated incrementally (during purchases/sales of token units by users with scores deemed sufficient) or regularly, and the “raw” score values calculated as described above are weighted according to the volume of transactions (number of units purchased/sold) and by further weighting the tokens that were most recently purchased/sold. Advantageously, said weighting is carried out by taking account, in the volumes only (or more strongly), of the exchanges comprising purchases of token units for the purchase of products supplied by the nodes of these tokens and according to the amount of these purchases (units burned in fine, in return for reserve units given to the provider, as already described). Advantageously, said weighting can also be carried out as a function of the own RR of the token bought/sold in question (higher weighting for a larger RR) and/or as a function of appreciation or reputation scores (for example the number of “Likes” in a social network or the like). When purchasing units of a given token, the node of the latter lends reserve to the tokens (which have a reserve deficit) according to the scores established as above (scores tending to indicate that when they will be bought in turn, they will automatically “return” this reserve to it if it is itself experiencing a reserve deficit—this is the meaning of the term “potential reciprocity”). Advantageously, the long-term frequency of purchases/sales of tokens by users is also taken into account in the weightings, and purchases/sales appearing to be exceptional are ignored or given less weight; other rules (or configuration parameters) regarding the weighting, the amounts loaned, etc., can be applied in addition, so that the loans really tend to compensate each other (which can be implemented by self-learning), and—in order to implement a simple protocol in P2P (the token nodes determining the loans to be performed in a decentralized manner)—either a token node only assigns scores to tokens whose nodes apply the same rules as it (the other tokens having a zero score), or (or additionally) means are implemented to adjust the score calculations (and the loans) carried out at each token node by coordination with the other nodes according to rules adopted and implemented jointly. Advantageously, said loans by a given token node are endorsed at the time of the purchase of tokens (from this given node) used to purchase products supplied by this node and are adjusted in proportion to the amount of this purchase (see above the embodiment in chapter 2). A portion of the loaned amounts is explicitly returned during conversions to a “Voucher token” as we saw in the embodiment of chapter 2. Advantageously, finally, each token is also associated with a “Worth score” that decreases with sales and increases with purchases of this token according to the “RBT method,” and which can be determined simply from the value of the token that would be obtained by applying the “RBT method” or the Bancor formula (without the above arrangements). The “Worth scores” are stored in association with the times at which they were calculated. Taking the Worth score into account makes it possible to adjust the attenuation obtained owing to the mechanism described in the above as follows: we understand that, following a recent decrease in the reserve of a token causing its decrease in value, other tokens lend it reserve in order to cushion this decline (decreasing over time) as described above; but if its Worth score falls, subsequent reserve loans fall even more, which will attenuate the decline less. This avoids overly correcting fluctuations in the intrinsic value of the product(s) corresponding to the token or the capacity of the producer who issues the token: reserve loans between token nodes only mitigate temporarily and tend to smooth out fluctuations in value. Tribe scores can be used for different applications, being representative of the relationship between a user node and its environment (some of these were seen in the previous chapters). Variant: Adjusted Prices In this variant, the system further comprises means for simulating controlled transfers of reserve account units between token nodes so as to obtain simulated values of the token units corresponding to their respective simulated reserve, said simulated values having attenuated fluctuations, and means for carrying out transactions on said simulated values. The simulated values are for example weighted by tribe scores. Furthermore, advantageously, the means for carrying out transactions on said simulated values are capable of determining price adjustments based on differences between real values and simulated values, and of compensating for all of the adjustments. More precisely, according to this variant, in order to further limit the drawbacks of fluctuations, it is possible to take advantage of the smart contract at the user nodes: the fluctuations in the values of the tokens are ignored by users when they exchange tokens for their current purchases, and it is the values determined “in the tribe” that are considered instead. This can be implemented in the following way: the token nodes do not lend reserve, but determine and store the value that the tokens would have if they did (by simulating the loans according to the method described above)—value called “simulated price”—and their users exchange token units according to their simulated prices weighted by the respective tribe scores of these users, the price differences thus obtained compensating for each other during exchanges. More precisely, during each purchase or sale of units of a given token, the node of this token indicates an “adjusted price” to the user which is equal to the “normal price” of the token (according to the “RBT method”) adjusted by applying the difference between the normal price and the simulated price weighted by the tribe score of the user for this token node, with one constraint to be respected: said adjustments compensate each other (with a certain allowance) during exchanges. Here again, advantageously, to avoid purchases/sales for speculative purposes, the exchanges carried out according to this variant are endorsed at the time of product purchases (by paying with the purchased token(s)) and if necessary readjusted in proportion to the amounts of these purchases (see in chapter 2 the detailed steps of payments to providers). Such necessary exchanges during purchases can be made transparent for the user: the purchase of a product from a “token1” node triggers, on the purchasing user node, a process for exchanging token units in order to acquire the token1 units that may be missing for this purchase: the token nodes owned by the user and which are likely to be exchanged to make this purchase, declare their “adjusted prices” to the user's node according to the respective tribe scores of the latter among these token nodes; the user's node generates a combination of purchases/sales with such adjusted prices to make the exchange so that the adjustments offset each other and he has the token1 units necessary for his purchase—for example, if the adjustment is favorable to him on the purchase side of the token (the price of this token is currently increasing), the adjustments on the sale side will be unfavorable for him as well (the prices of at least some of these tokens being on the decline). As already noted, the underlying system implementing the smart contracts guarantees the integrity of these processing operations by token nodes and user nodes in combination. This variant offers the advantage of not biasing normal token prices during arbitrages taking advantage of fluctuations in the token price on external markets as mentioned in the preamble (see the white paper already cited). It can be seen as complementary, in particular in addition to reserve loans between token nodes in order to attenuate their value fluctuations (as described above), by this variant the remaining fluctuations are ignored by the users of the tribe during their exchanges of tokens for their everyday purchases. Thus, advantageously, this variant is combined with the method described above, for example the loans between token nodes are made for 20% and the price adjustments according to this variant for 80%. Variant: Other Accepted Tokens Instead of considering as in the rest of the text that, to acquire a product from the issuer of a given token (the provider), the user transfers units of this provider's token to him, the user transfers units of one (or more) other token(s) to the provider having a high potential reciprocity score compared to the providers token (up to the amount of the purchase in question, expressed in common reserve units). According to this variant, the smart contract of the provider node does not immediately liquidate the units received from said other token (so as not to lower its price). Advantageously, the nodes of the tokens having a high potential reciprocity score with the provider cover it against the risk of a drop in their value. The enforcement of such a cover can take several forms, including in particular the token support (see above the embodiment of chapter 6). Thus, in one embodiment of this variant:the length of possession of said other tokens (or a rule to determine the time of their liquidation, if applicable) is set in the smart contract and“support tokens” are issued by each token node to cover the nodes with a high potential reciprocity score compared to its token (or to cover the nodes in which the latter has a high score). Insofar as these nodes buy support token units, they are covered in relation to said drop in value (the “triggering event” of the support here is the price drop of said other received token, noted at the time of its liquidation, and the damage due to this decrease is compensated for upon consumption of said units, as described in chapter 6). Conversely, these nodes could buy support token units automatically in the event that said other received token increased its price when they liquidate it, the increases in value of said other token thus tending to compensate for the losses of support token units caused by the decreases in value of said other tokens. It is understood here that each provider node is thus insured by a plurality of other nodes (those with a high potential reciprocity score), which makes it possible to spread out the risks in the network of token nodes described above. Finally, we can also consider the case where, instead of transferring units of another token to the provider having a high potential reciprocity score compared to the providers token, the user transfers units of another token to the provider that are expressly accepted by the latter (up to the amount of the purchase in question, expressed in common reserve units) and the covers of the risk of a fall in value of this token are implemented on a customized basis (by support token or other arrangement). Typically, the expressly accepted tokens can be those of other providers from whom said provider intends to make purchases soon. Said other accepted tokens can be exchanged on an “exchange market,” according to the following method: Beforehand, the node willing to exchange tokens must communicate what it seeks to exchange to other nodes (typically, automatically to nodes having a high potential reciprocity score), the latter forming said exchange market. To do this, the user declares an ‘Amounts+’ set including the information for the token units that he is willing to sell and an ‘Amounts−’ set comprising the information for the token units that he is looking for in exchange. The counterparts required for these amounts to be exchanged are also declared. Thusfor each ‘Amounts+’ token there is a price in units of at least one reference token (at least in units of the reserve token of the node in question) andfor each ‘Amounts−’ token there is a maximum acceptable cost of at least one reference token (also at least the reserve token). The exchange market is thus a network of nodes with which ‘Amounts+’ and ‘Amounts−’ are associated, network whereof each edge (between two nodes) is a correspondence of Amounts of opposite signs for the same token. Thus, between two nodes there are as many edges as there are tokens for which there are on both sides of the ‘Amounts+’ and ‘Amounts−’ that are compatible in terms of price sought. (The edges are stored and updated by the nodes at the ends of these edges or recalculated dynamically on request.) More precisely, each edge is associated with:the token in question;the exchangeable amount (capacity within the meaning of flow networks) by matching Amounts+ and −. It is the minimum of the amounts of different signs indicated on either side of the order for this token in the case where the price on the ‘Amounts+’ side is less than or equal to the maximum acceptable cost on the ‘Amounts−’ side (expressed in reference token units); andthe units (expressed in reference tokens) to be compensated for this exchangeable amount (=exchangeable amount x price on the ‘Amounts+’ side). To take a purely illustrative example where the declared prices and costs are declared relative to the same reference token, the exchange market, seen as a flow network, makes it possible to exchange different token units between a node ‘A’ and a node ‘B’:by determining the paths for transfers maximizing the units transferred in the ‘A’ to ‘B’ direction,as well as in the opposite direction (‘B’ to ‘A’), andby transferring token units at minimum between these two directions, these transfers resulting in the maximum possible exchange taking into account the ‘Amounts+’ and the ‘Amounts−’ declared by ‘A’ and ‘B’. (In practice, the flow networks include load balancing means which are known and those skilled in the art can draw inspiration from them.) These latter variants can advantageously be combined with the preceding ones at the time of liquidation to attenuate the price variations (and the triggering of supports resulting therefrom). In summary, the system according to this embodiment tends to smooth, even neutralize, the fluctuations in value of the tokens during token exchange transactions that are “local”, the locality of a token being represented by its potential reciprocity score (“locality” relative to the token node that calculates this score). This is obtained:either at the smart contract on the token nodes, by a reserve transfer between token nodes (each node which generates token units, and which therefore sees its value rise, transfers units from its reserve to tokens having (with respect to it) a strong potential reciprocity score and having decreased in value; as a result, the latter go up and the former goes down but tends to be compensated automatically by the latter, which do the same in turn, because of their reciprocities);or at the level of the smart contract on the user nodes—these can, based on their scores, exchange the tokens according to “adjusted” prices set by the smart contract on the token nodes (by simulating the prices as if the reserve transfers had taken place), these adjustments having to compensate for one another;or at the smart contract on the token nodes, these accepting the tokens of the nodes having a high potential reciprocity score automatically (or accepting them selectively, periodically or semi-automatically), at their current conversion value, for a given duration (agreed upon in the contract) and with possible coverage by other nodes, the latter advantageously being those of the tokens with high potential reciprocity scores (coverage implemented by design, automatically); the tokens thus accepted can be exchanged at any time on a local token exchange market (these different approaches can be combined). Thus, this invention also aims to make it possible to give tokens issued individually the advantage of complementary currencies (also called local currencies, community currencies, tribal currencies, etc.), the latter additionally being freed from the constraint of the “local” (understood here in the geographical sense), which solves many technical problems. Other mechanisms using the idea of this invention could be implemented by those skilled in the art, in particular, a method for arbitrating between the exchange market and the RBT method. The steps of such a method are essentially the following: depending on the price of the tokens according to the RBT method, continually updating the prices on the ‘Amounts+’ (essentially keeping them slightly above the prices according to the RBT method) and the maximum acceptable costs on the ‘Amounts−’ (keeping them slightly below) and, as soon as an exchange transaction is triggered on the exchange market (as described above), immediately triggering the reverse exchanges according to the RBT method. Chapter 9Bis-“Neo-Barter” System and Bartering by “Pretokens” According to this embodiment, a first provider node associated with a token node of a first type of token is a provider node with respect to a first user node that is also a second provider node associated with a token node of a second type of token, including means for determining the existence or prospect of existence of reverse transactions where the first provider node would be a user node at one end and the second provider node would be a provider at the other end, if applicable via other provider nodes, and, depending on the characteristics of these actual or planned reverse transactions, transferring a given quantity first token units to the first user node from the first provider node in return for a simple transfer of reserve account units corresponding to this given quantity of first token units, in order to allocate this payment to the reserve. According to optional features:for the other user nodes, the first token account units are obtained for their real value (P);the volume and frequency of transfers of account units in return for reserve account units are only linked to the volume and frequency of transactions in the reverse transaction chain;the system includes means for modulating the amount of the transfer between the reserve value and the real value as a function of the length of the chain of reverse transactions. This embodiment aims to ensure that tokens (mainly seen here also as “vouchers”) can be generated and “exchanged” automatically between “local” nodes supplying products (“local” not necessarily in the geographic sense, but proximity in the network, with a connotation of reciprocity as described below) in order to have the advantages of a community currency, but without having to create a community token and without presenting any limitation of extensibility, such as at a geographical level. The idea here is that, insofar as nodes are the usual providers for each other in a more or less reciprocal way (directly or indirectly in the network), they can, by exchanging tokens in advance, set up a sort of advanced bartering (“neo-barter”) that softens the constraint of the “double coincidence of wants” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coincidence_of_wants), with the advantage that the exchanged tokens are generated not at the current price P in force (determined by the RBT, see the Bancor formula), but by adding reserve according to the RR ratio only (i.e. by adding just enough reserve not to want to vary their price), the imbalance (i.e. the price P times the difference between the RR ratios in the case where the RRs are different) being compensated by direct transfer of what is not put in the reserve for the one on whom the lowest RR is imposed. To illustrate this advantage: for two given tokens both having an RR of 10%, the units thus generated need only add reserve for 10% of the value of the generated token, whereas normally (taking a price P of 1 for this token as an example), a unit of the token should be generated by adding a unit of its reserve token). We therefore saved 90% of the necessary input here. In the case where the RRs are different, for example RR1=30% and RR2=10%, the first node provides 10% (RR2) in the reserve of the second and directly transfers 20% to the second (total contribution 30%), and the second node provides 30% (RR1) in the reserve of the first. The actual contribution is then equal to the greater of the two reserve rates, and remains lower than the price P. With reference toFIG.5, the actual or potential reciprocity (supplies in opposite directions) of supplies between a provider node F1and a user node U1is determined by means of an algorithm which, on each provider node, identifies characteristics of the “usual” supply chains, which start from node F1, this time as user U2, and which end at node U1, this time as provider F2, if necessary via other nodes which are at the both provider and user. The essential characteristic is the length of this chain (a short chain being an index of a reliable reciprocity), the amounts, frequencies, etc. also being taken into account. In the case where there are several chains, the characteristics of the different chains are advantageously combined. The volume and frequency of the transactions in the chain determine the volume and frequency of tokens available at the price RR. Other characteristics (in particular geolocation for local businesses) can also be taken into account. If this reciprocity is at a sufficient real or potential level, the node U1can benefit from tokens from the node F1by paying a “local price” corresponding to the reserve RR only of the token of the first node, price which is put in this reserve, and not the normal price P of the other users. If the characteristics of the chain(s) lead to a lower reciprocity (real or potential), advantageously the system sets a local price midway between RR and P. This approach must of course be symmetrical at both nodes. The actual or potential reciprocity can be characterized by accessing a transaction history and/or other account unit requests under the preferential conditions as explained above, which history is accessible via the P2P network and preferably stored in distributed and, if necessary, duplicated manner. To do this, we implement a process of traveling through the transaction network (essentially consisting of a graph with volume and frequency factors at its arcs) to identify the reverse transaction flows in this network, their characteristics serving to determine the intensity of the reciprocity in question. To avoid making the process cumbersome, we limit this network journey (maximum number of nodes traveled, minimum volume or frequency of a link (arc), possibly with a combination of these factors—for example, we travel the network starting from a given link that is that much further when the volume and/or frequency along this link is high), in particular for the first search for reverse transactions. Furthermore, in order to facilitate this search, it is possible to store information at a node relative not only to its links with immediately adjacent nodes, but also to the links of nodes immediately adjacent to other nodes, and so on. In addition, when a reverse transaction path is found, the method can look for sections parallel to portions of this path, so as to somehow thicken this path with pieces of alternative routes. The system according to the “neo-barter” embodiment making it possible to acquire vouchers without (or with fewer) reserve tokens in the presence of reciprocity circuits, this embodiment lends itself particularly well to a deployment in an environment (a community, a local market, etc.) where there is a high density of reciprocal circuits, since there will be less need for reserve tokens in order for the system to operate. For the practical implementation of this process, the person skilled in the art can also refer to the known techniques implemented in flow networks. The implementation of token nodes generating token account units can advantageously be carried out according to chapters 2 to 6. Variant—Indirect Barter Circuits (Pretokens) It is possible to implement the above “neo-barter” embodiment even without statistics when token units (vouchers) are purchased for a supply in the future. Because the period of time between the purchase of the token and the supply in question makes it possible to detect circuits of reciprocity. So far, we have only focused on a user who wants to obtain tokens, such as “baguette” tokens, “rice” tokens, etc., and who takes the initiative to buy them. But often the opposite happens: each node will receive proposals such as “will you buy my own tokens or tokens x, y or z in exchange for my purchase of tokens for your product?” or more generally: “do you want to buy x, y or z tokens to form (close, complete) an indirect barter circuit?” Indeed, if an indirect barter circuit cannot be formed, and if the buyer does not have enough reserve token units to pay, the transaction cannot be done (paying refers to paying at the price P of the Bancor formula, or at a lower price—in (RR+IH)*P, that is to say without paying the pre-financing or paying it only in part—if chains of reciprocity have been detected, as described above). Advantageously, each node publishes the list of tokens and their amounts (the number of token units) in advance that it is prepared to accept in indirect barter circuits, and exchanges can thus be triggered automatically, if necessary, to close barter circuits. Generally it will be tokens for current needs (of commonly purchased products, such as electricity, water, rice, etc.) which will be more frequently accepted to close the circuit. One advantageous embodiment is now described by means of “pretokens.” A pretoken is relative to (associated with) a particular token and does not require reserve units to be acquired. The goal is to form, with units of other pretokens (acquired by other nodes), an indirect barter circuit. To find out whether an indirect barter circuit exists, it is expected that at the request of a user node for a given amount of units of a relative pretoken (associated) with a given token, the token node of said token generates pretoken units and propagates, in P2P, the information elements necessary to form the indirect barter circuit sought. When such a circuit has been generated, the pretokens are replaced by vouchers for supply (as are the tokens, except that these vouchers cannot be returned to the smart contract, since they are not based on a reserve), vouchers which are themselves destroyed upon the supplies (as is the case for the tokens, but the provider does not receive anything more here because no corresponding reserve existed). On the other hand, in the case where an indirect barter circuit could not be generated after a given time interval (predefined in the smart contract, before delivery), the units of the pretoken can be automatically replaced by units of the token with which the pretoken is associated, against payment (transfer to the token node of reserve token units) at a price depending on the detection or non-detection of reciprocity chains, as described above. If such payment is impossible, the transaction fails and the pretokens are lost. This variant has the advantage, even for immediate or quasi-immediate supplies, of allowing a user who does not have spare units to obtain this supply, provided that the system is capable of quickly identifying the existence an indirect barter circuit. This constitutes an additional factor for the adoption of the system by the providers, because even in such circumstances a supply in return for consideration will take place. In addition, this encourages each provider to create their own token in order to benefit from the detection of indirect barter circuits. Chapter 10—Reciprocity and Networked Insurance with Automatic Reinsurance In this embodiment, the system uses the same algorithm for determining potential reciprocity scores as that of chapter 9, but on token nodes of support tokens within the meaning of chapter 6, and implements reinsurance commitments in the smart contract of the automatic reinsurance commitments towards the nodes with high scores. The automatic reinsurance commitments are set up by nodes whose potential reciprocity scores are above a certain threshold and, advantageously, the height of the automatic reinsurance commitment can be a function of the obtained score. Thus, a reinsurance commitment is automatically provided by each support commitment provider to support commitment providers who are “adjacent” within the meaning of the scores obtained for them by the latter. Advantageously, the degree of adjacency is adjusted, by learning, to better correspond to the needs of the real world—for this we will take the concrete example outlined in chapter 6: “the blocked asset” is a supply of care, and the mechanism of this invention makes it possible for a care provider unable to provide it (e.g. lack of bed for hospital care) to be compensated by another care provider (a nearby hospital) to provide the care in question.” As already described in chapter 6, the smart contract of a node which is the beneficiary of a reinsurance commitment (here it is an automatic reinsurance commitment) may, when its own blocked assets are exceeded, directly draw on the blocked assets of the provider of this commitment (hereinafter called “automatic reinsurer node”). However, advantageously, the smart contract can also draw on the assets of another automatic reinsurer node according to its “need for supply,” that is to say which more directly offers the specific supply sought (for example hospital care in general, hospital care of a certain type, etc.). Thus (using the same example), the present invention aims to ensure that, in the event that the blocked assets (care units To1) are exceeded, the smart contract selects, from among the neighboring nodes, sorted by decreasing potential reciprocity scores, the first one that has specific corresponding reserve token units (hospital care units, To3—possibly units of a certain type of care) available in their blocked assets. Advantageously, the choices of reinsurers by the beneficiary nodes are taken into account by the algorithm for determining the potential reciprocity scores, by learning, so as to gradually propose automatic reinsurer nodes that will be accepted directly. In one embodiment, a “specificity weight” (or several different weights, for different types of replacement needs, insofar as they are captured in a semi-automatic embodiment) is (are) associated with each automatic reinsurer node and incremented during each selection, and the potential reciprocity scores are weighted by means of the specificity weight(s) of the automatic insurer nodes with which they are associated (the different specificity weights making it possible to refine the selection according to the type of specific current supply need). Chapter 11—Interactions with Other Input Data The system described in the above, through smart contracts, can interact with different input data received or picked up by the nodes of the system. In particular, the system may include “attesting” or “certifying” nodes comprising physical means (sensors, actuators, etc.) making it possible, for example, to certify that a product from a provider owning a provider node has been supplied to a user who owns a user node. This certifying node can for example be held by a delivery organization, or integrated into a mailbox detecting, for example by NFC technology, the actual deposit of the product in the box. As a variant, this functionality can be integrated into the smart contract of the user node. In another embodiment, the received data can be location data (GPS or other), possibly secured by means of an envelope protection device as described in application PCT/IB2018/059003 filed on Nov. 15, 2018 in the name of the applicant, the content of which is incorporated into the present description by reference, or by known “Proof of Location” mechanisms using the blockchain, see for example https://docs.xyo.network/XYO-White-Paper.pdf. This GPS data can for example be combined with time data. This GPS data can be compared with the coordinates of one or more geographical areas in which (or for access to which) it is necessary or desirable to hold a certain token, if necessary a minimum number of units of this token. We can associate a loading constraint with this geographic verification in the considered node (typically a user node) of a certain smart contract making it possible to trigger the reception of this token. For example, in the case of a motorway toll by national flat rate with a certain period of validity (e.g. Switzerland), the following operations can be planned, executed in a smartphone provided with means for secure execution of smart contracts:upon arrival in the country, detecting the change in cellular networkin response to this detection, manually or automatically loading a smart contract for receiving “highway toll” token unitsexecuting the smart contract to receive, by reserving reserve account units, X units of this token, to which an expiration date is assigned,implementation by the smart contract, automatically or on demand, of an output interface, typically visual on screen, proving the possession of X token units in particular to the authorities. A first advantage of the invention is to regulate the cost of the toll, either by leaving it invariable or by controlling the variations in cost by varying the IH factor (thereby regulating motorway traffic). A second advantage is that it makes it possible to return unused tokens (in this case a fraction of the X token units depending on the length of stay), or even to exchange them with other tokens. Chapter 12—Token Refunds and Debt Management In this embodiment, it is provided that the smart contract executed in a token node is capable, prior to a return of token units to the given token node, of verifying the availability of the reserve account units that had been transferred to the provider node when receiving these token units and, based on this verification, performing the return within the limit of the available reserve account units, and is also capable of assigning the provider node an attribute of remaining debt of reserve account units in the event of at least partial unavailability. Optionally:the smart contract is adapted, during a subsequent transaction providing for a transfer of reserve account units to a provider node having such an attribute of remaining debt, to transfer all or part of the reserve account units to be transferred for this subsequent transaction to the user node at the origin of said return, to at least partially complete the latter;the system includes means for associating the attributes of the remaining debt of the provider nodes with other attributes of these nodes, so as to dissociate these attributes from the key pairs of said nodes. The recording of debts with respect to the various user nodes is advantageously carried out by the smart contract executed in the token node in question. In this way, the system guarantees that a debt having arisen during an incomplete return operation ends up, as other users buy this same token, being reimbursed to the creditor user. Furthermore, to prevent debts from being purely and simply erased from the system during the default or disappearance of the considered token node (which it will be recalled can be combined with the associated provider node), provision is made for user nodes, typically a set of user nodes which have high tribe scores compared to the credit user nodes, that store the debt data not (or not only) in association with the pair of keys of the token/provider node in question, but (or further) in association with attributes that permanently characterize the provider. In this way, when a provider reconstitutes a token/provider node following a default/disappearance, a recovery mechanism, managed by the smart contract, is enforced as soon as a link with the users is established. This mechanism advantageously includes an automatic notification to all of the user nodes, when the new token/provider node is established, of its public key and attributes key making it possible to find these attributes. Depending on the nature of the provider, these attributes can be of variable nature (for example the coordinates for a local business). Of course, the inventions described above are not limited to the described embodiments, but the person skilled in the art can bring numerous variants and modifications thereto, just as he can perform any combination between the features of the different inventions that he will understand as being technically compatible. Notably, in particular the calculation of the quantity of reserve units which go into the reserve strictly speaking of a token node, we can replace the formula RR*n or (RR+IH)*n, which is an affine function, with other functions which may or may not be affine. In particular, we can implement a non-linear function (in stages, or continuous), which contributes to stabilizing the value of the token. | 129,297 |
11861600 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Some implementations of the disclosed technology will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. The disclosed technology may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the implementations set forth herein. The components described hereinafter as making up various elements of the disclosed technology are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many suitable components that would perform the same or similar functions as components described herein are intended to be embraced within the scope of the disclosed electronic devices and methods. Such other components not described herein may include, but are not limited to, for example, components developed after development of the disclosed technology. It is also to be understood that the mention of one or more method steps does not preclude the presence of additional method steps or intervening method steps between those steps expressly identified. Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the disclosed technology, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and disclosed herein. Wherever convenient, the same references numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. FIG.1shows an example environment100that may implement certain aspects of the present disclosure. The components and arrangements shown inFIG.1are not intended to limit the disclosed embodiments as the components used to implement the disclosed processes and features may vary. As shown inFIG.1, in some implementations the environment100includes one or more contactless cards110aand110b, one or more computing devices120which include one or more applications122and one or more processors124, a network130, a web server140which may include a processor142and a database144, and an account server150(e.g., a server of a card issuer or card manager). As non-limiting examples, the computing device120may be a personal computer, a smartphone, a laptop computer, a tablet, or other personal computing device. The network130may include a network of interconnected computing devices more commonly referred to as the internet. The web server140may include one or more physical or logical devices (e.g., servers). The computing device120may run and display one or more applications and the related output(s) of the one or more applications (e.g, through APIs)122. The computing device120may include a card reader126or one or more components that may function to read from and/or communicate with a contactless card (e.g., a digital card reader). In conjunction with the one or more applications122, the card reader126communicates with the one or more contactless cards110aand110b(e.g., RFID cards). An example computer architecture that may be used to implement one or more of the computing device120, the account server150and the web server140is described below with reference toFIG.8. In certain implementations according to the present disclosure, the contactless card110aand/or110bincludes a radio frequency identification chip enabled to communicate via near field communication (NFC) or other short-range communication protocols. In other embodiments, the contactless card110amay communicate through other means including, but not limited to, Bluetooth, satellite, and/or WiFi. According to some embodiments, the contactless card110acommunicates with the card reader126through near field communication when the contactless card110ais within range of the card reader126. The contactless card110amay send to the application122a certificate authority public key and cardholder identification information of an account holder. The cardholder identification information may include a personal identification number (PIN), a name of the user, an address, a date of birth, and/or the like. In response to instructions from the application122, the contactless card110amay extract the issuer public key from the contactless card110a. The application122uses the issuer public key to extract the card public key of a key pair from the contactless card110a. The application122may instruct the contactless card110ato generate a digital signature using the card private key of the key pair. In some embodiments, the contactless card110amay send the digital signature to the computing device120. Turning to the computing device120, in some embodiments, the computing device120includes an application122and a processor124. According to some embodiments, the application122receives, from a user, a first application user credential associated with a user profile. The first application user credential may include biometrics data, an established gesture associated with user recognition, a username and password combination, and/or the like. The processor124compares the first application user credential with a stored second application user credential. The stored second application user credential may be associated with the user identity. In some embodiments, the stored second application user credential is maintained on a web server140and the first match is performed by the web server140. In some embodiments, upon determining a first match between the first application user credential and the stored second application user credential, the application122may grant the user access to one or more first-level user account options of a user account. The user account may be a financial account, a health insurance account, and/or any other account of the like associated with any service provider (e.g., a transit account, an entertainment account, etc.). The first-level user account options of a user account may include a display of an account balance, a display of recent transactions, and/or the like. After determining the first match, in response to one or more actions associated with the application or an account, the computing device120may further verify the user identity by communicating with the contactless card110a, and verifying the contactless card110acorresponds to the user account. The application122may communicate with the contactless card110ausing short-range wireless communication (e.g., near field communication (NFC)). The application122may be configured to interface with a card reader126of computing device120capable of communicating with a contactless card. As should be noted, those skilled in the art would understand that a distance of less than twenty centimeters is consistent with NFC range. In some embodiments, the application122communicates through an associated reader (e.g., card reader126) with the contactless card110a. The application122may receive, from the contactless card110a, a public key of a key pair of the card and cardholder identification information of an account holder of the card. The cardholder identification information may include a personal identification number (PIN), a name of the user, an address, a date of birth, and/or the like. In response to instructions from the application122, the contactless card110amay extract the issuer public key from the contactless card110a. The application122uses the issuer public key to extract the card public key of a key pair from the contactless card110a. The application122may instruct the contactless card110ato generate a digital signature using a private key of the key pair of the contactless card110a. The computing device120verifies the digital signature using the card public key. The processor124compares at least a portion of the user identity with at least a portion of the cardholder identification information. In some embodiments, upon determining a second match between the user identity (e.g., the identity previously authenticated by application122) and the cardholder identification information obtained from the contactless card, the application122grants the user access to one or more second-level user account options of a user account. According to some embodiments, the second-level user account options have a higher security requirement than the first-level user account options. As non-limiting examples, the second-level user account options of a user account may include a payment transfer, a payment request, a personal identification number (PIN) change request, an address change request, a card activation, and/or the like. In some embodiments, card activation may occur without first-level user authentication. For example, a contactless card110amay communicate with the application122through the card reader126of the computing device through NFC. The communication (e.g., a tap of the card proximate the card reader126of the computing device120) allows the application122to read the data associated with the card and perform an activation. In some cases, the tap may activate or launch application122and then initiate one or more actions or communications with an account server (e.g.,150) to activate the card for subsequent use. In some cases, if the application122is not installed on computing device120, a tap of the card against the card reader126may initiate a download of the application122(e.g., navigation to an application download page). Subsequent to installation, a tap of the card may activate or launch the application122, and then initiate (e.g., via the application or other back-end communication) activation of the card. After activation, the card may be used in various transactions including commercial transactions. According to some embodiments, the contactless card110ais a virtual payment card. In those embodiments, the application122may retrieve information associated with the contactless card110aby accessing a digital wallet implemented on the computing device120, wherein the digital wallet includes the virtual payment card. FIG.2is a timing diagram illustrating an example sequence for providing authenticated cardholder access according to an example embodiment. According to some embodiments, at202the application122receives the first application user credentials. A user may provide the first application user credentials after receiving a prompt from the application122. The first application user credentials may include biometrics data, an established gesture associated with user recognition, a username and password combination, facial recognition, and/or the like. At204, the application122communicates the first application user credentials to the processor124. The processor124compares the first application user credentials with stored second application user credential, at206. The stored second application user credential may be located within a database associated with the computing device120or with application120. In some embodiments, the stored second application user credential is maintained on a server (e.g., account server150), the first application user credential is provided to the server, and the server compares the first application user credential to the stored second application user credential. At208, the processor124communicates the comparison result to the application122(e.g., for a match). In some embodiments, a first match grants the user access to first-level user account options of a user account (e.g., display of an account balance and/or recent transactions). Responsive to finding a first match, at210, the application122initiates verifying the user identity. For example, the application122may output for display on the computing device120a notification to bring a contactless card110anear the computing device120. At212, the application122communicates with the contactless card110a(e.g., after being brought near the contactless card110a). Communication between the application122and the contactless card110amay involve the contactless card110abeing sufficiently close to the card reader126of the computing device to enable NFC data transfer between the application122and the contactless card110a. At214, the contactless card110asends, to the application122, a public key of a public/private key pair and cardholder identification information of an account holder of the card. The application122, at216, instructs the contactless card110ato generate a digital signature using a private key of the key pair of the card. In some cases, the cardholder identification information may be incorporated within the digital signature or otherwise conveyed with the digital signature. At218, the contactless card110asends the digital signature to the application122. At220, the application122communicates the digital signature with the processor124. The processor124, at222, verifies the digital signature using the public key. For example, the card may provide a hash of the card's public key encrypted by a trusted source (e.g., a private key of a card provider), and verifying the digital signature may include: decrypting the encrypted hash (e.g., with a public key of the card provider); calculating a new hash of the digital signature; and comparing the decrypted original hash to the new hash for a match, at which point the card provider (e.g., issuer), and the transaction card may be authenticated. By using this READ and WRITE NFC capability to perform offline dynamic data authentication between a contactless card and a user's computing device, the example embodiments provide unique advantages that enable application122to more reliably (e.g., with greater security from counterfeiting or card skimming, or man in the middle attacks) authenticate a contactless card to be used as a form of multifactor authentication. As disclosed below inFIG.10, communication between the application122and the contactless card110amay include additional interactions. At224, the processor124compares at least a portion of the user identity with at least a portion of the cardholder identification information. In some embodiments, a second match grants the user access to second-level user account options of a user account (e.g., a payment request, a payment transfer, a card activation, a personal identification number (PIN) change request, and an address change request). According to some embodiments, the second-level user account options represent more secured features of the application122. In some cases, verifying the digital signature may be performed by a server connected to the computing device. For example, processor124may output the digital signature for transmission to account server150, and account server150may verify the digital signature. FIG.3is a timing diagram of peer-to-peer transfer according to an example embodiment. In some embodiments, the application122may prompt a user for first application user credentials. At302, the application122receives the first application user credentials. The first application user credentials may include biometrics data, an established gesture associated with user recognition, a username and password combination, facial recognition, and/or the like. The application122communicates the first application user credentials to the processor124, at304. At306, the processor124transmits the first application user credentials to the web server140. The web server140, at308, compares the first application user credentials to a second stored application user credential stored located on the web server140(e.g., to see if they match). At310, the web server140transmits the match result to the processor124. The processor124, at312, communicates the match result to the application122. At314, in response to a match being found, the application122provides access to the user account. At316, the application122receives an indication requesting a peer-to-peer transfer (e.g., an indication of a payor or a payee from the user account). For example, the user may select a request payment option. The peer-to-peer transfer may require authentication, such as requesting cardholder identification data for comparison to the user identity. At318, the application122communicates with the contactless card110a. Communication between the application122and the contactless card110amay involve the contactless card110abeing sufficiently close to the card reader126of the computing device to enable NFC between the application122and the contactless card110a. The contactless card110asends the public key of a public/private key pair and cardholder identification information to the application122at320. At322, the application122instructs the contactless card110ato generate a digital signature using a private key of the key pair of the card. In some cases, the digital signature may include the cardholder identification information. At324, the contactless card110asends the digital signature to the application122. At326, the application122communicates the digital signature to the processor124. The processor124verifies the digital signature at328. At330, the processor124compares (e.g., for a match), at least a portion of the user identity with at least a portion of the cardholder identification information. If the digital signature and cardholder identification are verified, at331the application122may request communication with a second transaction card from a second user. In some embodiments the method may further include, at332, processing the second transaction card (e.g., the other one of payor or payee) from the second user. At332, the application processes the payment from the second user and requested by the first user. Processing the payment may involve communicating with the second contactless card110bat334. As mentioned above, communication between the application122and the second contactless card110bmay include the application122having access to card reader126(e.g., a digital reader) of the computing device120, and the second contactless card110bhaving an RFID chip. The contactless card110bmay be sufficiently close to the card reader126to enable near field communication therebetween. At336, the second contactless card110bsends data associated with the card to the application122. The application122communicates the data associated with the second contactless card110bto the processor124at338. At340, the processor124transmits the data associated with the second contactless card110band a payment authorization request to the account server150. The account server150processes the payment request by either approving or denying the payment. At342, the account server150sends a status indicator of the payment request to the processor124. The status indicator of the payment request may include an approved status indicator or a declined status indicator. At344, the processor124communicates the status indicator of the payment request to the application122. At346, the application122displays a visual representation of the status indicator on the computing device120. FIG.4is a flow chart of a method providing authenticated cardholder access according to an example embodiment. At402, the application122receives, from a user, a first application user credential associated with a user profile. As mentioned above, a user may provide the first application user credentials after receiving a prompt from the application122. In some embodiments, the first application user credential may include biometrics data, an established gesture associated with user recognition, a username and password combination, and/or the like. At404, the processor124compares the first application user credential with a stored second application user credential. The stored second application user credential may be associated with a user identity. The user identity may include a personal identification number (PIN), a name of the user, an address, a date of birth, and/or the like. According to some embodiments, after finding a first match, the application122grants access to first-level user account options including a display of an account, a display of recent transactions, and/or the like. In response to finding a match, the computing device120verifies the user identity. At406, the application122communicates with the contactless card110a, for example, via an RFID chip in the contactless card110a. The application122is associated with a card reader126allowing near field communication between the contactless card110aand the application122. At408, the application122receives a public key of a public/private key pair of the card from the contactless card110a. At408, the application may also receive card information of the contactless card110a. The card information may include cardholder information such as a personal identification number (PIN), a name of the user, an address, a date of birth, and/or the like. At410, the application122instructs the contactless card110ato generate a digital signature by using a private key of the key pair of the card. The contactless card110agenerates the digital signature, and the application122receives the digital signature from the contactless card110aat412. At414, the computing device120verifies the digital signature by using the public key of the key pair of the card. At416, the processor124compares the card information to the user account. For example, processor124may compare the user identity to cardholder identification information. In some embodiments after verifying using the contactless card110a, the application122grants access to second-level user account options including, as non-limiting examples, a payment request, a payment transfer, a card activation, a personal identification number (PIN) change request, an address change request, and/or the like. The second-level user account options may have a higher security requirement than the first-level user account options. FIG.5is a flow chart of a method providing peer-to-peer payments according to an example embodiment. Referring toFIG.5, the method includes: receiving, by the application122, a first application user credential at502from a user; and comparing, for a match, the first application user credential with a stored second application user credential at504. These features may be substantially similar to the corresponding features described above with reference toFIG.4. In response to receiving a request for a peer-to-peer payment (e.g., an in-person exchange of funds), the method may further include: communicating with a first contactless card110ausing near field communication at506; receiving, from the contactless card110a, a public key of a key pair and card information at508; instructing the contactless card110ato generate a digital signature at510; receiving the digital signature from the contactless card110aat512; verifying the digital signature at514; and comparing, for a second match, at least a portion of the user identity with at least a portion of the cardholder identification information at516. These features may be substantially similar to the corresponding features described above with reference toFIG.4. Once the first contactless card110ais verified, a prompt may be displayed requesting communication with the second contactless card110b(e.g., a card tap). At518, the application122communicates with the second contactless card110busing near field communication. Communication may involve receiving data from the second contactless card110b. For example, computing device120may receive a digital signature, a public key and/or card information from the second contactless card110bsimilar to that discussed with reference to the first contactless card110a. At520, the processor124may transmit data associated with the second contactless card110band a request for payment authorization to the account server150. The account server processes the request for payment and/or receipt either approves or declines the payment. At522, the computing device120receives, from the account server150, a status indicator of the request for payment authorization. The status request indicator may be an approved status indicator or a declined status indicator. At524, the application122displays a visual representation of the status indicator on the computing device120. FIG.6is a flow chart of a method for communicating with a contactless card according to an example embodiment. The method600may be executed, for example, by computing device120, for example, implementing a card reader126(e.g., a reader application and a short-range antenna). At602, the application communicates with the contactless card110athrough near field communications. At604, the communications may involve the application122receiving, from the contactless card110a, card information including one or more of an activation field, the card issuer identifier, and card-holder identification information. In some cases, application122may request specific data from contactless card110a. The activation field indicates whether the contactless card110ais active (e.g., whether the card is activated or inactivated). The card issuer identifier may represent an institution issuing or managing the contactless card110a. In response to receiving data indicating that contactless card110ais activated (605—Yes), the application122: receives, from the contactless card110a, a public key of a key pair at606; instructs generation of a digital signature by the contactless card110ausing a private key of the key pair of the card at608; receives the digital signature from the contactless card110aat610; and verifies the digital signature using the public key at612. The features described with reference to606-612may be substantially similar to the relevant functions described above with reference to508-514ofFIG.5. In response to verification of the digital signature, at614, the application122grants the user access to first-level user account options. At616, in response to a user request for a second-level user account options (e.g., an attempt to transfer account assets), the application122may prompt the user for a first user credential (e.g., biometrics data such as fingerprint data, optical data, and/or facial recognition, an established gesture associated with the user, and/or a username and password combination). The processor124compares at least a portion of the first user credential and a stored second user credential at618. The stored user credential may be located on the computing device120and/or on the web server140. At620, in response to finding a match, the application122grants the user access to the second-level user account options. In response to determining the contactless card110ais inactivated (605—No), computing device120may activate the contactless card110a. For example, at622, the computing device120transmits, to account server150, at least a portion of the card information and a request to activate the contactless card110a. The account server150processes the request to activate the card by either approving or denying activation of the card. Responsive to transmitting the activation request, at624, the computing device120receives a status indicator of the request to activate the contactless card110afrom the account server150. The status indicator may include an activated status indicator or a denied status indicator. At626, the application122may display a visual representation of the status indicator. In some embodiments and as shown at628, after the computing device120receives an activated status indicator, the application122may instruct the contactless card110ato update the activation field to reflect the card as being activated. In some embodiments, the contactless card110amay send a predetermined digital signature and public key to the computing device120as the card information. The computing device120may transmit, to the account server150, and request verification of the predetermined digital signature. In some cases, computing device120may further transmit additional information (e.g., a network identifier, a device phone number or identification, other device information, etc.), which may be used as a validation check for activation, fraud prevention, higher security, and/or the like. In some embodiments, a dedicated application122executing on computing device120may perform the activation of the contactless card110a. In other embodiments, a webportal, a web-based app, an applet, and/or the like may perform the activation. Activation may be performed on the computing device120, or the computing device may merely act as a go between for the contactless card110aand an external device (e.g., account server150). According to some embodiments, in providing activation, the application122may indicate, to the account server150, the type of device performing the activation (e.g., personal computer, smartphone, POS, or tablet). Further, the application122may output, for transmission, different and/or additional data to the account server150depending on the type of device involved. According to some embodiments, prior to performing card activation the application122requires the user to enter the first user credential for a user profile. The processor124verifies the first user credential against a stored second user credential associated with the user profile. The stored second user credential may be located on the computing device120and/or stored on a web server140. In response to the user logging onto the application122, the application122may display a plurality of user options (e.g., display of account balance, display of recent transactions, a card-activation option). Responsive to a user selection of the card-activation option from amongst the plurality of user options, the application122may output for display a request to communicate with the contactless card110a. In some embodiments, the example authentication communication protocol may mimic an offline dynamic data authentication protocol of the EMV standard that is commonly performed between a transaction card and a point-of-sale device, with some modifications. For example, in the disclosed embodiments, because the example authentication protocol is not used to complete a payment transaction with a card issuer/payment processor per se, some data values are not needed, and authentication may be performed without involving real-time online connectivity to the card issuer/payment processor. As is known in the art, point of sale (POS) systems submit transactions including a transaction value to a card issuer. Whether the issuer approves or denies the transaction may be based on if the card issuer recognizes the transaction value. Meanwhile, in certain embodiments of the present disclosure, transactions originating from a mobile device lack the transaction value associated with the POS systems. Therefore, in some embodiments, a dummy transaction value (i.e., a value recognizable to the card issuer and sufficient to allow activation to occur) may be passed as part of the example authentication communication protocol. POS based transactions may also decline transactions based on the number of transaction attempts (e.g., transaction counter). A number of attempts beyond a buffer value may result in a soft decline; the soft decline requiring further verification before accepting the transaction. In some implementations, a buffer value for the transaction counter may be modified to avoid declining legitimate transactions. Turning back toFIG.6, in some cases, after activating the card, the method may transition to606and/or616. Moreover, as would be understood by one of ordinary skill, the blocks may be performed in various orders, additional functions may be incorporated therebetween, and not all described functions may be performed in every embodiment. FIG.7is a flow chart of a method for pairing a card to a device according to an example embodiment. According to some embodiments, an application122is enabled on a computing device120. At702, communication between the contactless card110aand the application122begins when the contactless card is within an acceptable distance (e.g., less than twenty centimeters) of the card reader126associated with the application122. For example, application122may establish a communication link with the contactless card110ausing an NFC standard. The computing device120receives, from the contactless card110a, data associated with the card at704. The data associated with the card may include an unextracted public key of a public/private card key pair of the card. The unextracted public key may be previously encrypted by an issuer of contactless card110ausing a private key of a public/private issuer key pair. The application122using the issuer public key may extract the card public key. In some embodiments, based on the data received from the contactless card110a, the computing device may verify the compatibility of the contactless card110awith the application122. For example, the computing device120may ensure only credit cards are paired with the application122as opposed to other devices using NFC (e.g., access cards, tracking scanners). In some embodiments, the data received from the contactless card110amay be used to generate a virtual payment card as part of a digital wallet associated with the computing device120. At706, the computing device120transmits data to the contactless card110a. The data may include instructions to generate a digital signature using the private key of the key pair. Responsive to generation of the digital signature, the computing device120may receive the digital signature from the contactless card110a. The contactless card110amay be verified based on the digital signature and the public key of the public/private card key pair computing device120. As detailed above, the use of this READ and WRITE NFC capability to perform offline dynamic data authentication between a contactless card and a user's computing device provide unique advantages that enable application122to more reliably (e.g., with greater security from counterfeiting or card skimming, or man in the middle attacks) authenticate the contactless card to be used as a form of multifactor authentication. FIG.9is a flow chart of a method for activating a contactless card according to an example embodiment. According to some embodiments, an application122is enabled on a computing device120. The application122communicates with the contactless card110ausing, for example, NFC at902. At904, the computing device120receives data from the contactless card110a, which may include activation field data, a card issuer identifier, cardholder identification information, and/or the like. At906, the processor124transmits, to an account server150, at least a portion of the card-holder identification information and a request to activate the contactless card110a. In some embodiments, based on the card issuer identifier, the processor124may determine a particular account server of a plurality of account servers to transmit data to. The processor124may receive a status indicator of the request to activate the card at908. The status indicator may be an activated status indicator or a denied status indicator. At910, the application122displays a visual representation of the status indicator. In some embodiments and as shown at912, the application122may instruct the contactless card110ato update the activation field. FIG.10is a timing diagram providing authenticated cardholder access according to an example embodiment. Referring toFIG.10, the method includes: receiving, by the application122, a first application user credential at1002from a user; communicating, by the application122and to the processor124, the first application user credential at1004; comparing (e.g., for a match), the first application user credential with a stored second application user credential at1006; communicating the comparison result from the processor124to the application122, at1008; initiating, by the application122, verification of the user identity at1010; and communicating with the contactless card110aat1012. These features may be substantially similar to the corresponding features described above with reference toFIG.2. At1014, in response to and the communication, the application122receives, from the contactless card110a, an issuer public key of a key pair. The application122communicates the issuer public key to the processor124at1016. Using the issuer public key, the processor124verifies the card issuer at1018, (e.g., by decrypting certain static data certified by the card issuer using the issuer public key). In response to verifying the card issuer, at1020, the processor124communicates the verification result to the application122. At1022, the contactless card110asends the card public key of a card public/private key pair and cardholder identification information to the application122. In some embodiments, the cardholder identification information and the card public key may be transmitted separately. At1024, the application122communicates the card public key to the processor124. At1026, using the card public key, the processor124validates the card. The processor124communicates the validation result to the application122, at1028. At1030, the application122instructs the contactless card110ato generate a digital signature using the card private key of the card public/private key pair. In response to generating the digital signature, the contactless card110asends the digital signature to the application122, at1032. At1034, the application122communicates the digital signature to the processor124. At1036, the processor124verifies the digital signature. The processor124may use the card public key to verify the signature. Again, here, as detailed above, the implementation of the above READ and WRITE NFC capability to perform offline dynamic data authentication between a contactless card and a user's computing device (and/or application executing on the device) provide unique advantages that enable application122to more reliably (e.g., with greater security from counterfeiting or card skimming, or man in the middle attacks) authenticate the contactless card to be used as a form of multifactor authentication. At1038, the processor124compares, for a second match, at least a portion of the user identity with at least a portion of the cardholder identification information. Subject to the second match, the user may be able to access second-level user account options. FIG.8is a block diagram of an example computer system800that may implement certain aspects of the present disclosure. The computer system800may include a set of instructions826for controlling operation of the computer system800. In some implementations, the computer system800may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines in a Local Area Network (LAN), an intranet, an extranet, a satellite communications system, or the Internet. The computer system800may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The computer system800may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a server, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while a single computer system800is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines (e.g., computers) that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The computer system800includes a processing device802, a main memory804(e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), etc.), a static memory806(e.g., flash memory, static random-access memory (SRAM), etc.), and a secondary memory816(e.g., a data storage device), which communicate with each other via a bus808. The processing device802represents one or more general-purpose processing devices such as a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, or the like. As non-limiting examples, the processing device802may be a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microcontroller, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, a RISC microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, a processor implementing other instruction sets, or one or more processors implementing a combination of instruction sets. The processing device802may also be one or more special-purpose processing devices such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor, or the like. The processing device802is configured to execute the operations for electronically creating and trading derivative products based on one or more indices relating to volatility. The computer system800may further include a network interface device822, which is connectable to a network130. The computer system800also may include a video display unit810, i.e., a display (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a touch screen, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device812(e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device814(e.g., a mouse), and a signal generation device820(e.g., a speaker). The secondary memory816may include a non-transitory storage medium824on which is stored one or more sets of instructions826for the computer system800representing any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. For example, the instructions826may include instructions for implementing an asset tracking device including a power source and power management system or subsystem for a container or a trailer. The instructions826for the computer system800may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory804and/or within the processing device802during execution thereof by the computer system800, the main memory804and the processing device802also constituting computer-readable storage media. While the storage medium824is shown in an example to be a single medium, the term “storage medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media that store the one or more sets of instructions for a processing device. The term “storage medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing or encoding a set of instructions for execution by the machine that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the disclosure. The term “storage medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media. Throughout the specification and the claims, the following terms take at least the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or.” Further, the terms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean one or more unless specified otherwise or clear from the context to be directed to a singular form. In this description, numerous specific details have been set forth. It is to be understood, however, that implementations of the disclosed technology may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description. References to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “example embodiment,” “various embodiments,” “one implementation,” “an implementation,” “example implementation,” “various implementations,” “some implementations,” etc., indicate that the implementation(s) of the disclosed technology so described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every implementation necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase “in one implementation” does not necessarily refer to the same implementation, although it may. As used herein, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner. While certain implementations of the disclosed technology have been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and various implementations, it is to be understood that the disclosed technology is not to be limited to the disclosed implementations, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. This written description uses examples to disclose certain implementations of the disclosed technology, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice certain implementations of the disclosed technology, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of certain implementations of the disclosed technology is defined in the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims. Example Use Cases The following example use cases describe examples of particular implementations of the present disclosure. These are intended solely for explanatory purposes and not for purposes of limitation. In one case, a first friend (payor) owes a second friend (payee) a sum of money. Rather than going to an ATM or requiring exchange through a peer-to-peer application, payor wishes to pay via payee's smartphone (e.g., computing device120). Payee logs-on to the appropriate application on his smartphone and selects a payment request option. In response, the application requests authentication via payee's credit card. For example, the application outputs a display requesting that payee tap his RFID credit card. Once payee taps his RFID credit card against the screen of his smartphone with the application enabled, the card is read and verified. Next, the application displays a prompt for payor to tap his RFID card to send payment. After the payor taps his RFID card, the application reads the card information and transmits, via an associated processor, a request for payment to payor's card issuer. The card issuer processes the transaction and sends a status indicator of the transaction to the smartphone. The application then outputs for display the status indicator of the transaction. In another example case, a credit card customer receives a new credit card in the mail. Rather than activating the card by calling a provided telephone number associated with the card issuer or visiting logging into a website, the customer decides to activate the card via an application (e.g., application122) on his smartphone (e.g., computing device120). The customer selects the card activation feature from the application's menu. The application prompts the customer to tap his RFID credit card against the screen. Upon tapping the RFID credit card against the screen of the smartphone, the application communicates with a card issuer server and activates the customer's card. The application then displays a message indicating successful activation. The card activation is now complete. In another example case, a customer wants to access his financial accounts on his mobile phone. The customer launches an application (e.g, a bank application) on the mobile device and inputs a username and password. At this stage, the customer may see first-level account information (e.g., recent purchases) and be able to perform first-level account options (e.g., pay credit-card). However, if the user attempts to access second-level account information (e.g., spending limit) or perform a second-level account option (e.g., transfer to external system) he must have a second-factor authentication. Accordingly, the application requests that a user provide a transaction card (e.g., credit card) for account verification. The user then taps his credit card to the mobile device, and the application verifies that the credit card corresponds to the user's account. Thereafter, the user may view second-level account data and/or perform second-level account functions. | 48,858 |
11861601 | Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Following below are more detailed descriptions of various concepts related to, and implementations of, methods, apparatuses, and systems for secure electronic payment involving two-factor authentication in electronic commerce transactions. The various concepts introduced above and discussed in greater detail below may be implemented in any of numerous ways as the described concepts are not limited to any particular manner of implementation. Specific implementations and applications are provided primarily for illustrative purposes. Electronic commerce (e-commerce) as used herein can encompasses all commercial transactions conducted electronically. The commercial transactions can include any transaction involving a transfer of a monetary value. For instance, a commercial transaction can include transactions involving the sale or purchase of goods, software or services, making a donation, transfer of money between two entities, paying bills or a combination thereof. Electronic payment can include use of sensitive user payment data, such as, credit card information, debit card information, prepaid card information, gift card information, bank account information, other payment information or a combination thereof. A user conducting an e-commerce transaction can provide respective payment data to an electronic system for use to transfer a monetary amount from an account associated with the user to another party, e.g., a merchant, involved in the e-commerce transaction. As used herein, a merchant can refer to a party in a commerce transaction that is selling goods or software or providing services. A merchant can also include, for example, an organization or an entity collecting donations. User payment data can be subject to theft, for example, by a man in the middle (MITM). A merchant can provide an information resource (e.g., a webpage, a page of a mobile application or a page of another type of application) to prompt a user for respective user payment data. The user payment data may be sent to a remote server, such as a merchant server for processing electronic payment. A MITM attack can include intercepting user payment data transmitted from one electronic system or device, e.g., a user device, to another system or device such as a merchant server, or accessing the user payment data from the merchant server. Upon intercepting user payment data, the MITM can pose as the user and use the user payment data to get access to funds in a corresponding user account, such as a bank account, credit card account, gift card account, prepaid card account, the like or a combination thereof. MITM attacks pose a cybersecurity risk that can erode users' confidence in e-commerce and increase merchant liability. Inventive concepts described herein allow for avoiding, or at least significantly mitigating, MITM attacks that jeopardize the security and privacy of user payment data. Specifically, systems and methods described herein enhance the security of user payment data at various levels. First, the systems and methods of this disclosure can employ a two-factor authentication when processing electronic payments. The two-factor authentication can include using a first token, e.g., a session ID, and a second token that is a one time token (OTT). The OTT can be designed to expire within a predefined time period. The use of an authentication process involving two tokens, e.g., the session ID and the OTT, with one of the tokens expiring within a relatively short period of time, e.g., few minutes, from the time it is generated or provided to a user device reduces the chances or likelihood of success of a MITM in identifying both tokens before the OTT expires. Second, the systems and methods described in this disclosure can keep a merchant system (or e-commerce host) out of payment card industry (PCI) scope. Specifically, the systems and methods described in this disclosure employ an iFrame provided by, for example, a PCI data security standard (DSS) validated service provider to prompt input of user input data on a merchant information resource. The PCI DSS validated service provider, or the system thereof, can provide a uniform resource locator (URL) of the iFrame, that is valid for one time use only, to request the iFrame. Every subsequent iFrame request can involve or require generating a new session ID to get a new URL. The iFrame can receive and transmit the user payment data to a system of the service provider without the merchant information resource or the merchant system having access to the user payment data. Instead, the merchant system can receive the OTT for use to request or initiate payment pre-authorization. Associating each iFrame request with a separate session ID and a separate URL prevents, or at least reduces the likelihood of, misuse of an issued session ID. Also, keeping the merchant system out of the PCI scope (or shielding user payment data from the merchant system) reduces the likelihood of undesired access to the user payment data. Finally, the iFrame can encrypt the user payment data before sending to the PCI DSS validated service provider system (or payment managing system, in general). Also, the payment managing system can provide the iFrame to a user device via a secure communication link. The use of secure connection between the iFrame executing on the client device and the payment managing system and the encryption of the user payment data adds another security layer in terms of protecting the user payment data. In fact, each of the security measures including the two-factor authentication, the relatively short lifetime of the OTT, associating each new iFrame request with a separate session ID and a separate URL, keeping the merchant system outside the PCI scope and encrypting user payment data, adds another layer or level of security, therefore, mitigating the likelihood of successful MITM attacks. Referring toFIG.1, an example computer environment100for providing secure processing of electronic payment in e-commerce transactions is shown, according to example embodiments of the current disclosure. The computer environment100can include an e-commerce host system102(also referred to as ecommerce merchant system), a payment managing system104, a computing device106and a payment provider system108. The payment managing system104can be communicatively coupled to the e-commerce host system102, the computing device106and the payment provider system108through a communications network110. The communication network110can include the Internet, an intranet, a telephone network, such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a cellular network, an optical communication network, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless link, or a combinations thereof. Also, the e-commerce host system102can be communicatively coupled to the computing device106via the communication network110. The e-commerce host system102can be a computer system including one or more hardware computer servers112. The e-commerce host system102can be associated with an e-commerce merchant who is, for example, offering goods, software, data or services online, or collecting donations online. The e-commerce host system102, or the respective server(s)112, can provide a website or an application (e.g., a mobile application or other type of software application) executable on the computing device106. The website or application can include one or more information resources (e.g., webpage(s) or application pages) for displaying content related to, for example, goods, software or services offered by the e-commerce merchant or donations sought by the e-commerce merchant. The one or more information resources can include a checkout information resource (e.g., webpage or application page) for finalizing an e-commerce transaction once a user of the computing device106decides to make the transaction with the e-commerce merchant. For instance, once the user selects an item to purchase, the user may actuate (e.g., click or tap on) a button or interactive icon of a given information resource to load or display the checkout information resource. The checkout information resource can allow the user to make an electronic payment and finalize the e-commerce transaction. The one or more servers112can provide computing devices, such as computing device106, access to the website or application of the e-commerce merchant. For instance, the server(s)112can include a web server or an application server that can allow the computing device106to download an instance of the website or application of the e-commerce merchant. The server(s)112can be configured to, e.g., can include executable instructions which when executed cause the server(s)112to, communicate with the payment managing system104and the computing device106, for example, to execute e-commerce transactions. The computing device106can include a user (or client) device, such as a desktop, a laptop, a mobile device, a tablet, or other electronic device associated with individual users capable of executing software instructions. The computing device106can include other devices accessible to individual users, such as an electronic kiosk, among others. The computing device106can include load, and execute instructions associated with, the website or application of the e-commerce merchant. The computing device106can communicate with the e-commerce host system102and the payment management system104via the communication network110, for example, to execute e-commerce transactions. The payment provider system108can include a computer or electronic system associated with a payment provider, such as a bank or a credit card issuer, among others. The payment provider can manage monetary accounts (e.g., bank accounts, credit card accounts, gift card accounts, prepaid card accounts, among others) for various individuals or entities, and can make payments on behalf of such individuals or entities. The payment provider system108, or computer servers thereof, can electronically execute a payment on behalf of a given individual or entity upon receiving user payment data (e.g., information identifying the account of an individual or entity) and a payment amount. The receipt of the user payment data and the payment amount can be indicative of a payment authorization by the respective user or entity. The user can be an individual acting on his own behalf or on behalf of another entity (e.g., an organization, a trust, or business entity). Electronic execution of a payment can include transferring payment amount from an account of the individual or entity initiating the e-commerce transaction to another account of the e-commerce merchant. Both accounts can be associated with a single payment provider or distinct payment providers. The payment managing system104, e.g., a PCI DSS validated service provider system, can be configured to manage or handle payment processes, including exchange of user payment data between the computing device106and the payment provider system108, in a secure manner. Such payment processes can also include communicating or exchanging data with the e-commerce host system102since the respective e-commerce merchant is a party in the e-commerce transaction. In fact, the payment managing system104can be viewed as acting on behalf of the e-commerce merchant. The details of the communications and processing steps associated with a payment process are discussed in further detail below with regard toFIG.2. WhileFIG.1shows a single e-commerce host system102, in general, the payment managing system104can serve a plurality of e-commerce host systems102. Also, the payment managing system104can be communicatively coupled to a plurality of computing devices106and a plurality of payment provider systems108. The payment managing system104can include one or more hardware computer servers114configured to manage or handle electronic payment processes. The hardware computer server(s)114can include software instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of the hardware computer servers114, cause the hardware computer server(s)114to perform processes described in further detail with respect toFIG.2below. The hardware computer server(s)114can include a payment gateway and an e-commerce standard template (ECST) server (not shown inFIG.1). The payment managing system104can include a plurality of payment gateways and/or a plurality of e-commerce ECST servers. Each of the payment gateway(s) and the ECST server(s) can be implemented as a hardware server, a virtual server, a software server or combination thereof. The payment gateway(s) can be configured to communicate with the e-commerce host system102while the ECST server(s) can be configured to communicate with computing devices106as discussed in further detail below with respect toFIG.2. Referring toFIG.2, a signaling and processing flowchart depicting an example electronic payment method200is shown, according to example embodiments of the current disclosure. The signaling and processing flowchart depicts communication and processing steps performed by the systems and/or devices of the computer environment100ofFIG.1. The method200can be viewed as a combination of methods or processes, each of which performed by a respective entity among the entities in the computer environment100. The method200can include the computing device106initiating an electronic payment process (step202). For instance, upon selecting one or more purchase items (e.g., good(s), software, data item(s), donation(s), service(s)) on the website or application of the e-commerce host, a user of the computing device106can actuate a checkout button or icon to request a checkout or payment information resource (also referred to as checkout or payment page). Actuating the checkout button or icon can cause the computing device106to send a payment page request to the e-commerce host system102(step204). For instance, the checkout button or icon can be associated with a uniform resource identifier (URI) of a server112of the e-commerce host system102hosting the payment or checkout page. The website or application of the e-commerce host system102can include software instructions that are executed upon a user actuating the checkout button or icon to cause the computing device to send the request for the payment page to the server112identified by the URI. The method200can include the e-commerce host system102sending a request for a session identifier (ID) to the payment managing system104(step206), responsive to receiving the payment page request from the computing device106. The request for the session ID can be viewed as request to the payment managing system104, or the respective payment gateway, to initiate an electronic payment session. Responsive to the request for session ID (or request for electronic payment session initiation) received from the e-commerce host system102, the payment gateway (or server114) can initiate an electronic payment session, for example, by generating a session ID identifying the electronic payment session. The session ID can be a random number or random string generated responsive to request for session ID. As described in further detail below, the session ID can be viewed as a first token for use by the payment managing system104, or respective servers114, to authenticate requests from the computing device106or the e-commerce host system102. The server114can generate, responsive to the received request for session ID, a uniform resource locator (URL) of an iFrame. For instance, the payment gateway can request, responsive to the received request for session ID, a uniform resource locator (URL) of an iFrame from the ECST server, and the ECST server can generate and send the iFrame URL to the payment gateway. The iFrame can be a document provided by the ECST server to be embedded in the payment page (or payment information resource) of the e-commerce host system102. The iFrame and the payment page can be in different domains. While the payment page can be hosted or provided by the e-commerce host system102or a respective server112, the iFrame can be hosted or provided by the payment managing system104or a respective server114(e.g., ECST server). The iFrame URL can be a dynamic URL specific to the initiated electronic payment session for use to request the iFrame from the ECST server (or server114). Specifically, the ECST server (or server114) can generate a different iFrame URL for each newly initiated payment session, and each iFrame URL can be valid for a single payment session identified by a respective session ID. The iFrame can be for a single use. For instance, the ECST server (or server114) can allow a single request for the iFrame per iFrame URL. After being used once to request the iFrame, an iFrame URL can expire, and the ECST server (or server114) will ignore, or generate an error message responsive to, any subsequent request for the iFrame using the previously used (or expired) iFrame URL. The ECST server (or server114) can maintain, in a memory, a data structure associating (or linking) the iFrame URL, generated responsive to the request for the payment session, with the session ID of the payment session. The data structure can include a table, a linked list or the iFrame URL appended with the session ID, among others. An example dynamic iFrame URL can be: https://SEVER.DOMAIN-NAME.com/DIRECTORY/querystring?a=09671277 The method200can include the payment gateway (or server114) sending the iFrame URL and the session ID to the e-commerce host system102, responsive to the request for payment session initiation (step208). For instance, the payment gateway (or server114) can append the iFrame URL with the session ID and send the appended URL to the e-commerce host system102. The payment gateway (or server114) can send the iFrame URL and the session ID as two separate data items (or pieces of data) to the e-commerce host system102. The payment gateway (or server114) can send the iFrame URL and the session ID to the e-commerce host system102via a secure communication link. For instance, the payment gateway (or server114) can establish a secure communication link with a server112, and send the iFrame URL and the session ID to the server112via the established secure communication link. In a secure connection (or secure link), data can be encrypted using a security protocol before being sent on secure link. For instance, the payment gateway (or server114) can encrypt the session ID and/or the iFrame URL before sending to the e-commerce host system102. Upon receiving the iFrame URL and the session ID from the payment managing system104, the e-commerce host system102or a respective server112can send the payment page together with the iFrame URL and the session ID to the computing device106(step210). The server112can decrypt the session ID and/or the iFrame URL if received in encrypted form. The server112can embed the iFrame URL and/or the session ID into the payment page. For instance, the server112can embed a version of the iFrame URL appended with the session ID into the payment page. The server112can send the modified payment page (with the iFrame URL and/or the session ID embedded therein) to the computing device106. The server112can send the iFrame URL and/or the session ID separate from the payment page, in which case the computing device106can store or maintain the iFrame URL and/or the session ID, for example, in a memory cache associated with the merchant website or application. The method200can include the computing device106sending a request for the iFrame to the ECST server or the payment managing system102upon receiving the payment page, the session ID and the iFrame URL (step212). The payment page can include executable instructions, which when executed by the computing device106can cause the computing device106to send the request for the iFrame to the ECST server or the payment managing system102. The executable instructions can be configured to execute upon uploading (or during uploading of) the payment page on the computing device106. The request for the iFrame can include the session ID and the iFrame URL. For instance, the request for the iFrame can include the iFrame URL appended with the session ID. The computing device106can send the request for the iFrame over a secure communication link between the computing device106and the ECST server (or the payment managing system102). The method200can include the ECST server (or server114) authenticating or validating the session ID (or session ID instance) in the request for the iFrame received (step214). The ECST server (or server114) can extract the instance of the session ID from the request for the iFrame and compare the instance of the session ID to one or more session IDs, corresponding to one or more payment sessions, maintained by the ECST server (or server114). Note that the ECST server (or server114or payment managing system104) can receive iFrame requests (e.g., for various payment sessions) from a plurality of computing devices106within a given time period. Each iFrame request can include a respective iFrame instance and a respective iFrame URL. Accordingly, the ECST server (or server114) can be configured to determine whether each received request for the iFrame corresponds to an existing electronic payment session or an existing session ID. Authenticating or validating the instance of the session ID received in the request for the iFrame can include the ECST server (or server114) determining whether there is a match between the received instance of the session ID and one of the session IDs maintained by the payment managing system104. The ECST server (or server114) can determine whether the instance of the session ID and the URL received in the request for the iFrame match a pair of a session ID and an iFrame URL maintained in a data structure by the payment managing system104. The payment managing system104can maintain one or more data structures associating each session ID with a corresponding iFrame URL. The ECST server (or server114) can also determine whether the URL in the received request for the iFrame expired or not. The URL would expire if it was used in a previously received request for the iFrame. The ECST server (or server114) can keep track, e.g., in one or more data structures, of which iFrame URLs expired or can delete expired iFrame URLs. The ECST server (or server114) can declare the instance of the session ID and/or the URL received in the request for the iFrame as valid upon determining that the instance of the session ID and the URL received in the iFrame request match a URL-session ID pair maintained by the payment managing system102and that the URL in the iFrame request did not expire. The method200can include the ECST server (or server114) sending the iFrame to the computing device106for loading thereon (step216), upon validating or authenticating the iFrame request or session ID and/or URL embedded therein. The iFrame can include computer cod instructions, which when executed by the computing device106cause the computing device106to display a user interface (UI) for prompting the user to enter or input respective payment data. The UI can be displayed within the payment page on the computing device106. The iFrame can include computer code instructions, which when executed by the computing device106, cause the computing device106to receive payment data input through the UI, and secure the payment data (or at least a portion thereof). Upon receiving the iFrame, the computing device106can display the respective iFrame UI. Referring toFIGS.3A and3B, example payment pages300aand300bwith respective iFrame UIs302aand302bembedded therein are shown, according to example embodiments of the current disclosure. The iframe UIs302aand302bare displayed within the payment pages300aand300b, respectively. The iFrame UI302acan include input fields for entering a credit card number, an expiration month and expiration year of the credit card, and a billing zip code associated with the credit card. The iFrame UI302bcan include input fields for entering a user name as it appears on a credit card, a user phone number, a credit card number, an expiration month and expiration year of the credit card, and a security code of the credit card. The payment pages300aand300band the iFrame UIs302aand302brepresent illustrative examples and are not to be interpreted as limiting. For example, the iFrame URI302aor302bcan include other input fields, in addition to or in place of existing input fields, such as fields for entering a bank account number, a routing number, a gift card number, a prepaid card number, a security code, or a combination thereof, among others. Referring back toFIG.2, the method200can include the computing device106linking the iFrame to the payment page (step218). Specifically, the method200can include the computing device106setting up a message/response handler to allow for communication between the iFrame and the payment page (or the corresponding parent page). Setting up the message/response handler can include calling or initiating one or more of the functions described below. The iFrame and the payment page can be associated with different domains. The iFrame and/or the payment page can include executable instructions for linking the iFrame to the payment page. For example, the executable instructions can include the method PostMessage( ) and can be used for securely passing messages across domains. Both the payment page and the iFrame can have or include an event listener to listen (or detect) and act on messages communicated between the payment page (or the corresponding parent page) and the iFrame. The PostMessage( ) method and the event listeners can allow for communication to take place between the payment page and the iFrame. The getCardToken( ) function can be used to validate the submitted information, e.g., encrypted user payment data and session ID, (as described in step224) and after validation return the token from the payment managing system104(as described in step226). The getCardToken function can be initiated or called at the computing device106but executed at the payment managing system104. When initiated, the getCardToken function can return the OTT (step226) upon successful validation of the session ID (step224). The window.parent.postMessage function, used within the reposeHandler( ) function below can securely enable the cross communication between the payment page (or corresponding parent page) and the iFrame. The responseHandler( ) function sends the response to the payment page (or corresponding parent page) from the iFrame. The method200can include the computing device, or the iFrame, receiving user payment data as input via input fields of the iFrame (step220). The user can enter respective payment data in input fields of the iFrame. As shown inFIGS.3A and3B, the user can enter other personal information through other input fields of the payment page. Receiving the user payment data can include receiving actuation of a continue button or icon confirming that the user input data is fully entered. Actuating the continue button or icon can trigger or initiate an event listener. The iFrame can include executable instructions to cause the computing device to encrypt user payment data received via the iFrame UI. The executable instructions can cause the computing device106to encrypt the received user payment data using a Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) encryption algorithm. The iFrame can include a public key to encrypt the user payment data while a corresponding private key to decrypt the data can be maintained by the payment managing system104. The payment page and the respective domain (e.g., the e-commerce host system102or a respective server112) may not have access to the user payment data received by the iFrame or to the private key used to decrypt the user payment data. The method200can include the computing device106sending the user payment data and the session ID to the payment managing system104(step222). The iFrame or instructions thereof can cause the computing device106to send the encrypted user payment data together with the session ID (or a second instance thereof) to the ECST server or server114. In some implementations, the computing device106may not share the user payment data with the e-commerce host system102. The iFrame can cause the computing device106to send the user payment data (e.g., encrypted user payment data) and the session ID over a secure communication link between the computing device106and the ECST server (or server114). The iFrame can cause the computing device106to encrypt the session ID and send the encrypted session ID to the ECST server (or server114). The method200can include the payment managing system102authenticating or validating the second instance of the session ID and generating a one time token (OTT), responsive to receiving the user payment data (e.g., encrypted user payment data) and the second instance of the session ID (step224). Note that the payment managing system102can be managing a plurality of payment sessions at a given time point. Accordingly, the ECST server (or server114) can authenticate the second instance of the session ID to identify the corresponding payment session. For instance, the ECST server can send a request to the payment gateway to validate the session ID and generate the OTT. In response, the payment gateway can compare the second instance of the session ID to one or more session IDs maintained by the payment gateway, for example, and declare the second instance of the session ID as valid if it matches a valid (e.g., not expired) session ID maintained by the payment gateway. The payment gateway can generate the OTT, for example, upon validating the second instance of the session ID, and provide the generated OTT to the ECST server. The OTT can be (or can include) a random number, a random string of characters or a combination thereof. The payment gateway can maintain a data structure (e.g., a table or a linked list among others) to associate the OTT with the corresponding session ID. The OTT can be viewed as a token indicative of, or identifying, the user payment data received from the computing device106at step222. For instance, the payment gateway can maintain a data structure associating the OTT with the user payment data received in step222. The OTT can be configured to expire after a predefined time period. For example, the predefined time period can be equal to 15 mins, 10 mins or 5 mins, among other time durations. Configuring the OTT to expire after a given time period mitigates the likelihood of misuse of the OTT by a MITM. The method200can include the payment managing system102sending the OTT to the computing device, for example, for use to request payment pre-authorization (step226). The ECST server (or server114) can send the OTT to the iFrame on the computing device106, for example, over a secure communication link. The ECST server (or server114) can encrypt the OTT before sending to the computing device106. Upon receiving the OTT, the iFrame can pass the OTT to the response handler (step228). For example, the response handler can be defined by the responseHandler( ) function described above. The response handler can pass or communicate the OTT to the payment page (or the corresponding parent page) for sending to the e-commerce host system102. The method200can include the computing device106sending an order request to the e-commerce host system102(step230). The response handler can cause the computing device106to send the order request to server112. The order request can include the OTT. The order request can include information identifying an item or service ordered by the user of the computing device106. Upon receiving the order request, the e-commerce host system102can send a payment pre-authorization request to the payment managing system104(step232). The payment pre-authorization request can include the OTT. For instance, server112can send the payment pre-authorization request to the payment gateway or server114. The pre-authorization request can include billing information, shipping information, other user information or a combination thereof, among others. The payment managing system104or the payment gateway can use billing information, shipping information and/or the other user information for address verification and/or fraud verification. The method200can include the payment managing system102validating or authenticating the OTT received in the pre-authorization request (step234). For instance the payment gateway or server114can extract the OTT from the payment pre-authorization request and validate or authenticate OTT. Validating the OTT can include checking whether the received OTT expired or not. The payment gateway can keep track of the which OTTs (e.g., associated with various payment sessions) expired by, for example, recording the time at which each OTT was generated and comparing the elapsed time for each OTT since the time it was generated to the predefined life time of that OTT or maintain a counter for each OTT. Validating the OTT can include checking whether the OTT is associated with a valid session ID using one or more data structures maintained by the payment managing system102. For instance, the payment gateway or server114can determine whether the received OTT is associated with a valid session ID maintained by the payment managing system104. If the OTT is determined to be not expired and/or associated with a valid session ID maintained by the payment managing system104, the payment managing system104can send a payment authorization request to the payment provider system108(step236). The payment authorization request sent to the payment provider system108can include the user payment data received at step222. The payment gateway or server114can decrypt the encrypted user payment data received from computing device106at step222. The payment gateway or server114can encrypt the user payment data with a public key associated with the payment provider system108before sending the user payment data to the payment provider system108. Upon verifying the user payment data, the payment provider system108can send a payment authorization response back to the payment gateway or server114(step238). The authorization response can include a confirmation that the payment is authorized. The method200can include the payment gateway or server114generating a user payment data ID (step240), upon receiving the payment authorization response. The user payment ID can be a random number or string of characters indicative of the user payment data received at step222. The user payment data ID cannot reveal the content of the user payment data outside the payment managing system102. The payment gateway or server114can generate the user payment data ID if the user opts for such option. The user payment data ID can be used to keep record of the user payment data in a secure manner. The method200can include the payment gateway or server114providing an indication of the payment authorization to the e-commerce host system102or respective server112(step242). The payment gateway or server114can also provide the user data ID to the e-commerce host system102or respective server112for use in a subsequent e-commerce transaction. For instance, in a subsequent e-commerce transaction, the e-commerce host system102or respective server112can omit requesting a session ID and OTT, and use the user payment ID instead to indicate to the payment managing system104the user payment data to be used. The user payment ID can be referred to as card ID, for example, if the user payment data relates to a credit card, debit card, gift card or prepaid card of the user. The e-commerce host system102or respective server114can store the user payment data ID in user account or electronic wallet (step244). The method200can include the e-commerce host system102forwarding the indication of the payment authorization to the computing device (step246). Upon receiving confirmation of the payment authorization, the computing device106or the respective user can finalize the e-commerce transaction. For instance, responsive to receiving the confirmation of the payment authorization, the computing device can display a next page (e.g., of the e-commerce host website or application). The next page can be a confirmation page confirming execution of the e-commerce transaction. When a user enters the respective user payment data in the iFrame UI and hits Submit/Place Order, which can be considered as a confirmation, the website or application associated with the e-commerce host system102can display the response on confirmation page along with the order or cart details. Referring toFIG.4, a flowchart depicting an example method400performed by a payment managing system, such as payment managing system104ofFIG.1, is shown, according to example embodiments of the current disclosure. The method400can include providing a session identifier (ID) and a URL of an iFrame to an e-commerce host server (step402). The payment managing system can send the URL and the session ID over a secure communication link. The e-commerce host server can forward the URL and the session ID to a computing device responsive to the computing device initiating an e-commerce transaction on an information resource. The URL can be associated with the session ID. The method400can include receiving a request for the iFrame from the computing device (step404). The request for the iFrame can be responsive to the e-commerce host server forwarding the URL and the session ID to the computing device. The request for the iFrame can include an instance of the URL and a first instance of the session ID. The method400can include providing, upon validating the first instance of the session ID, the iFrame to the computing device for display thereon (step406). The iFrame can be for decoupling processing of user payment data from the information resource and restricting access to the user payment data to the iFrame. The method400can include receiving user payment data and a second instance of the session ID from the iFrame (step408). The method400can include providing, upon validating the second instance of the session ID, a one-time token (OTT) to the computing device for use to initiate payment pre-authorization (step410). The OTT can be associated with the session ID. The method400can include validating, upon receiving a payment pre-authorization (or payment authorization) request from the e-commerce host server including an instance of the OTT, the instance of the OTT (step412). The method400can include obtaining, upon validating the instance of the OTT, payment pre-authorization (or payment authorization) from a payment provider system using the user payment data (step414). The method400can include providing an indication of the payment pre-authorization to the e-commerce host server for forwarding to the computing device (step416). The payment pre-authorization can allow the computing device to finalize the e-commerce transaction. The payment managing system104can perform the method400as described above with regard toFIG.2. Referring toFIG.5, a flowchart depicting an example method500performed by an e-commerce host system, such as e-commerce host system102ofFIG.1, is shown, according to example embodiments of the current disclosure. The method500can include receiving a request for a payment page from a computing device (step502) for executing an e-commerce transaction. The method500can include sending a request for an electronic payment session to a payment managing system, responsive to receiving the request for the payment page from the computing device (step504). The method500can include receiving an iFrame URL and a session ID from the payment managing system over a secure communication link, responsive to the request for the electronic payment session (step506), and forwarding the URL and the session ID to the computing device (step508). The method500can include receiving, from the computing device, a payment pre-authorization request including an instance of a one-time-token (OTT) (step510). The payment managing system can provide the OTT to the computing device, responsive to receipt of an instance of the session ID and user payment data. The method500can include forwarding the payment pre-authorization request to the payment managing system (step512), and receiving a payment authorization response, in response to the payment pre-authorization request (step514). The method500can include forwarding the payment authorization response to the computing device (step516) to finalize the e-commerce transaction. The e-commerce host system102can perform the method500as described above with regard toFIG.2. The methods200,400and500can be performed using computer code instructions, which when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform any of the methods200,400or500or processes associated with each of the systems of the computer environment100. The computer code instructions can be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a storage device or memory. FIG.6is a block diagram of a computer system600that can be used to implement the e-commerce host system102or respective servers112, the payment managing system104or respective servers114, the computing device106, the payment provider system108or components thereof, and other components described herein. The computing system600can include a bus605or other communication component for communicating information and a processor610coupled to the bus605for processing information. The computing system600can also include one or more processors610coupled to the bus for processing information. The computing system600also can include main memory615, such as a RAM or other dynamic storage device, coupled to the bus605for storing information, and instructions to be executed by the processor610. Main memory615can also be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information (e.g., session ID, OTT, or user payment data) during execution of instructions by the processor610. The computing system600may further include a ROM620or other static storage device coupled to the bus605for storing static information and instructions for the processor610. A storage device625, such as a solid state device, magnetic disk or optical disk, can be coupled to the bus605for persistently storing information and instructions. Computing device600may include, but is not limited to, digital computers, such as laptops, desktops, workstations, personal digital assistants, servers, blade servers, mainframes, cellular telephones, smart phones, mobile computing devices (e.g., a notepad, e-reader, etc.) etc. The computing system600may be coupled via the bus605to a display635, such as a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), Thin-Film-Transistor LCD (TFT), an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display, LED display, Electronic Paper display, Plasma Display Panel (PDP), or other display, etc., for displaying information to a user. An input device630, such as a keyboard including alphanumeric and other keys, may be coupled to the bus605for communicating information and command selections to the processor610. In another implementation, the input device630may be integrated with the display635, such as in a touch screen display. The input device630can include a cursor control, such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys, for communicating direction information and command selections to the processor610and for controlling cursor movement on the display635. According to various implementations, the processes or methods described herein can be implemented by the computing system600in response to the processor610executing an arrangement of instructions contained in main memory615. Such instructions can be read into main memory615from another computer-readable medium, such as the storage device625. Execution of the arrangement of instructions contained in main memory615causes the computing system600to perform the illustrative processes described herein. One or more processors in a multi-processing arrangement may also be employed to execute the instructions contained in main memory615. In alternative implementations, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to effect illustrative implementations. Thus, implementations are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software. Although an implementation of a computing system600has been described inFIG.6, implementations of the subject matter and the functional operations described in this specification can be implemented in other types of digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. Implementations of the subject matter and the operations described in this specification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software embodied on a tangible medium, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. The subject matter described in this specification can be implemented as one or more computer programs, e.g., one or more modules of computer program instructions, encoded on one or more computer storage media for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively or in addition, the program instructions can be encoded on an artificially-generated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal that is generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus for execution by a data processing apparatus. A computer storage medium can be, or be included in, a computer-readable storage device, a computer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memory array or device, or a combination of one or more of them. Moreover, while a computer storage medium is not a propagated signal, a computer storage medium can be a source or destination of computer program instructions encoded in an artificially-generated propagated signal. The computer storage medium can also be, or be included in, one or more separate components or media (e.g., multiple CDs, disks, or other storage devices). Accordingly, the computer storage medium is both tangible and non-transitory. The operations described in this specification can be performed by a data processing apparatus on data stored on one or more computer-readable storage devices or received from other sources. The terms “data processing apparatus,” “computing device,” or “processing circuit” encompass all kinds of apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer, a system on a chip, or multiple ones, a portion of a programmed processor, or combinations of the foregoing. The apparatus can include special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA or an ASIC. The apparatus can also include, in addition to hardware, code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, a cross-platform runtime environment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or more of them. The apparatus and execution environment can realize various different computing model infrastructures, such as web services, distributed computing and grid computing infrastructures. A computer program (also known as a program, software, software application, script, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative or procedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network. Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for performing actions in accordance with instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computer need not have such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded in another device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio or video player, a game console, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device (e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive), to name just a few. Devices suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry. To provide for interaction with a user, implementations of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD monitor, for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular implementations. Certain features described in this specification in the context of separate implementations can also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single implementation can also be implemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination. Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the implementations described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products embodied on tangible media. References to “or” may be construed as inclusive so that any terms described using “or” may indicate any of a single, more than one, and all of the described terms. Thus, particular implementations of the subject matter have been described. Other implementations are within the scope of the following claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. The claims should not be read as limited to the described order or elements unless stated to that effect. It should be understood that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. All implementations that come within the spirit and scope of the following claims and equivalents thereto are claimed. | 54,122 |
11861602 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following description, numerous specific details are given to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments. The embodiments can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the exemplary embodiments. Reference throughout this specification to an “example embodiment” or “example embodiments” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic as described is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of these terms and similar phrases in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do not interpret the scope or meaning of the embodiments. Software, hardware, or other technology may be provided to users as a service, whereby users subscribe to the service or can use them on a pay-as-you go basis. In such a scenario, an efficient accounting and payment process is desirable. Due to concerns with security, payments (as well as provisioning of services) in SaaS have to be processed in a secure and reliable manner. This disclosure is directed providing novel methods and systems for facilitating such service availability and payment process in a secure and reliable manner. Example embodiments as disclosed provide for a payment authorization token that can be used to pay for computing services of a service provider utilized by a user or customer. The token may be encrypted and may include a combined plurality of encrypted data records. In particular, a method for creating a payment token is disclosed. The method includes a service provider computer receiving a first data record from a customer computer. The first data record includes a first data buffer signed by a private key of the customer and having a public key of the customer associated therewith wherein the first data buffer includes a first set of parameters specified by the customer. The service provider computer creates a second data buffer including a second set of parameters specified by the service provider. The second data buffer is signed with a first private key of the service provider. A first public key of the service provider is associated to the signed second data buffer to create a second data record. The first and second data records are combined to create a combined data record. The combined data record is signed with a second private key of the service provider. A second public key of the service provider is associated to the signed combined data record to create the payment token. The secure payment authorization token may incorporate a set of parameters specified by or associated with a user/customer along with a set of parameters specified by or associated with a service provider. In the description, it is to be understood that, even if not stated specifically, the term “customer” may include a computer, a computer system or a computing associated with a customer. Similarly, the terms “service provider” may include a computer, a computer system or a computing system associated with a service provider. A method100in accordance with an example embodiment is illustrated inFIG.1. Method100may be performed by hardware processor-based computing systems. A customer computer system (i.e. computing system of a customer subscribing to the services of a service provider) may create a first data buffer (DB1) at110. DB1may include a first set of parameters. The first set of parameters may include a customer identification (such as an account number) and a customer payment source information. The payment source information can be a bank account number or a credit or debit card number for example. DB1may then be signed with a private key associated with the customer (PRC) at115to create a first signed data buffer (SDB1). SDB1may have a customer public key (PBC) associated therewith to create a first data record (DR1) at120. DR1may then be communicated to a computer system associated with a service provider at125. The service provider may include a hardware processor-based computing system for managing accounting, metering, and/or other transactions associated with providing a service to the customer. The service provider (computer system) may create a second data buffer (DB2) at130. DB2may include a second set of parameters. The second set of parameters may include a customer identification and a service provider specified promotion. The service provider specified promotion may include a specific number (e.g. a payment amount) or a percentage. The specific dollar amount or percentage of the promotion may reflect an amount of credit or discount that is applied to a customer's charges incurred for using services provided by the service provider. The second set of parameters may also include an expiration date. The token including the parameters may be invalid beyond the expiration date. In some embodiments, the promotional credit or discount may no longer be applicable beyond the expiration date. The second set of parameters may also include a period of validity of the promotional credit or discount from the date of first use of the token. That is, the promotional credit or discount may expire after ten days from the date of first use of the token for example. DB2created by the service provider may be signed (by service provider computer system) with a first private key associated with the service provider (PRS1) to create a second signed data buffer (SDB2) at135. A service provider's first public key (PBS1) may be associated with SDB2to create a second data record (DR2) at140. The first and second data records (DR1and DR2) may be combined to create a combined data record (CDR) at145. CDR may be signed with a second private key of the service provider (PRS2) at150to create a signed combined data record (SCDR). A second public key of the service provider (PBS2) may be associated with SCDR to create the secure payment authorization token. In some embodiments, promotional and expiration information described above, or portions thereof, may be included in the combined data record (CDR). That is, some information may be included in the data buffer and the remaining information may be included in the CDR. The secure payment authorization token thus created may then be communicated to the computer system of a customer subscribing to or utilizing services provided by the service provider. In some embodiments, the payment token may be made available to the customer computer system upon invoking the service provider's services. The method of creating a payment authorization token may also be described as a flow diagram inFIG.2. DB1210created by a customer computer system205may be signed by a PRC to create SDB1at215. A PBC may be associated to SDB1to create DR1220that may be provided to a service provider (computer system)225. Simultaneously, subsequently or previously, DB2230created by a service provider computer system225may be signed by PRS1to create SDB2235. SDB2may be associated with PBS1to create DR2240. DR1120and DR2240may be combined by the service provider (computer system)225to create CDR245. CDR may be signed by PRS2to create SCDR250. SCDR250may be associated with PBS2to create a payment token255. The payment token created in accordance with method100ofFIG.1may be decrypted (by a service provider computer system) as illustrated inFIG.3. PBS2may be used to decrypt the token to extract CDR at310. CDR may be separated into DR1and DR2at315. As described above (with reference toFIG.2), the combined data record is made up of encrypted DR1and DR2. DR2may be decrypted using PBS1at320. DR1may be decrypted using PBC at325. Parameters in each of DB1and DB2may be accessed at330and335respectively. In some situations, the customer may wish to share payments for services utilized among different accounts. This may occur if multiple divisions, units or locations of the customer utilize the services provided by a service provider. The customer may desire to keep more accurate accounting records to apportion the expenses among the various sub-entities of the customer. Embodiments of the present disclosure facilitate such apportionment. A method in accordance with such embodiments is illustrated inFIG.4. A customer computer system (i.e. computing system of a customer subscribing to the services of a service provider such as one subscribing to a service provider) may create a first data buffer (DB1) at410. DB1may include a first set of parameters. The first set of parameters may include a customer identification (such as an account number) and a primary payment source information for customer. The payment source information can be a bank account number or a credit or debit card number. DB1may then be signed with a first private key of the customer (PRC1) to create a first signed data buffer (SDB1) at415. A first public key of the customer (PBC1) may be associated with SDB1to create a first data record (DR1) at420. The customer may then create a second data buffer (DB2) at425. DB2may include a second set of parameters. The second set of parameters may include a customer identification and a secondary or supplemental payment source information for the customer. The payment source information can be a bank account number or a credit or debit card number. DB2may be signed with a second private key of the customer (PRC2) to create a second signed data buffer (SDB2) at430. A second public Key of the customer (PBC2) may be associated with SDB2to create a second data record (DR2) at435. DR1and DR2may be communicated to a service provider computer system at440. In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG.4, DR1and DR2are created sequentially and communicated to the service provider. In some example embodiments (not illustrated), DR1and DR2can be created and each one may be communicated to the service provider separately upon its creation. The service provider may combine DR1and DR2to create a combined data record (CDR) at445. The combined data record may be signed with a private key of the service provider (PRS) to create a signed combined data record (SCDR) at450. A public key of the service provider (PBS) may be associated with SCDR to create the secure payment authorization token at455. The secure payment authorization token thus created may then be communicated to a customer (computer system) subscribing to or utilizing services provided by the service provider. In the method ofFIG.4, the customer (computer system) can further define the proportionate use of the multiple (i.e. two) accounts. For example, the customer (computer system) may specify that the cost of using the services may be split evenly between the multiple accounts. The customer may also specify the percentages that may be charged to the accounts. The customer (computer system) may also specify a first amount up to which may be charged to a first account. In this scenario, the balance (beyond the first amount) may be charged to a second account. Such customer specified information can be included within the second set of parameters (i.e. second data buffer). In some embodiments, such information or portions thereof can be included within the combined data record (CDR). That is, some information may be included in the second data buffer and the remaining information may be included in the CDR. In some example embodiments, since DB1and DB2are being encrypted by the customer (to create DR1and DR2), they can be signed with the same private/public key pair. Method of400ofFIG.4may be described as a flow diagram inFIG.5. DB1510created by a customer computer system505may be signed by PRC1to create SDB1515. PBC1may be associated with SDB1to create DR1520that may be provided to a service provider computer system540. DB2525created by the customer may be signed with PRC2to create SDB2530. PBC2may be associated with SDB2to create DR2535that may be provided to the service provider computer system. As described above with respect toFIG.4, DB1and DB2can be created sequentially and communicated to the service provider (computer system) or created separately and communicated separately (upon creation). The dashed arrow from520to545illustrates the separate creation/communication scenario. The arrow from520to525illustrates the sequential creation/communication scenario. In the sequential creation/communication scenario, DR1can be stored until DR2is created and then they can be communicated to the service provider computer system. The choice of sequential or separate communication may depend on available bandwidth, memory, etc. DR1520and DR2535may be combined by the service provider to create CDR545. CDR545may be signed by PRS to create a SCDR550. PBS may be associated with SCDR550to create a payment token555. The payment token created in accordance with method400ofFIG.4may be decrypted as illustrated inFIG.6. PBS may be used to decrypt the token to extract CDR at610. CDR may be separated into DR1and DDR2at615. DR1may be decrypted using PBC1at620. DR2may be decrypted using PBC2at625. Parameters in each of DB1and DB2may be accessed at630and635respectively. A customer may present the payment authorization token to a service provider for services utilized by the customer. The service provider may validate the token. The token may be validated by determining whether the keys used to generate it (i.e. the token) are current. The public keys may be used to decrypt the token as described above to access the data parameters. The parameters include account identifying information. In example embodiments, the service provider may maintain an account management service in which the public keys used are published. The public keys used for decryption may be checked against the published keys to determine a match. If the keys match, then the token can be utilized. The payment authorization token can be revoked by either party (i.e. customer or service provider) at will. A replacement key can be published to the account management service to invalidate an old key for example. Any number of reasons can provide the basis for such a revocation. A key can be revoked/replaced for fear of it being compromised. It can be revoked if a service agreement between a customer and a service provider is terminated. Upon the key being updated, any attempt to use an older payment authorization token will fail as the public keys used for the token will no longer match those published with the account management service. If a customer chooses to invalidate their key, the consumer can generate a new public/private key pair and re-sign the data buffer of the payment authorization token with the new private key to form a working token for subsequent use without requiring additional action by a service provider other than to accept the newly published public key. The generation of a new public/private key pair and re-signing of the data buffer of the payment authorization token may not preclude use of the old token if a customer still has a copy of the old key. In order to completely invalidate a key, the customer has to publish a replacement public key to the service provider's account management service for the customer account. Then, the old token cannot be used anymore because the customer public key in the token no longer matches the customer public key in the service. For a limited time offer, a promotional data buffer may be signed with a private key created specifically for the promotion. When the promotion ends, the corresponding public key for the promotion can be deactivated (overwritten) in the account management service and tokens using the promotion will cease to work immediately. A payment token created in accordance with the method ofFIG.1(andFIG.2) is illustrated inFIG.7. DB1705created by a customer may be signed by PRC to create a SDB1710. PBC may be associated with SDB1to create DR1715. DB2720created by a service provider may be signed by PRS1to create SDB2725. PBS1may be associated with SDB2to create DR2730. DR2730may be created by the service provider in response to receiving DR1715from a customer. In some embodiments, DR2may be created by the service provider prior to or, independent of, receiving DR1. In example embodiments, this would be done through a separate token generation service provided by the service provider. DR1and DR2(715and730) may be combined by the service provider to create a CDR735. CDR735may be signed by PRS2to create SCDR740. PBS2SP may be associated with SCDR to create the payment token745. A payment token created in accordance with the method ofFIG.4(andFIG.5) is illustrated inFIG.8. DB1805created by a customer may be signed by PRC1to create SDB1810. PBC1may be associated with SDB1to create DR1815. DB2820created by the customer may be signed by PRC2to create SDB2825. PBC2may be associated with SDB2825to create DR2830. DR1and DR2(815and830) may be created by the customer either in dependence or independent of each other. The data records may be submitted to a service provider which combines the data records to create CDR835. CDR835may be signed by PRS to create SCDR840. PBS may be associated with SCDR to create payment token845. FIG.9is a block diagram illustrating an example system. System900may include a customer computer system910and a servicer provider computer system950. Customer computer system910may include a transceiver915, a processor920, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium925and an input/output930. Communication among each of these components may be facilitated by data bus935. Service provider computer system950may include a transceiver955, a processor960, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium965and an input/output970. Communication among each of these components may be facilitated by data bus975. The non-transitory computer readable storage media925and965may store instructions executable by the respective processors920and960. In the example illustrated inFIG.9, the instructions can result in the processors implementing the steps of the methods described herein with respect toFIGS.1,2and7. Memory925can include instructions for creating DB1, signing DB1with PRC to create SDB1, associating PBC to SDB1to create DR1and for communicating DR1to service provider computer system950. PRC and PBC may also be stored in memory925. DR1may be transmitted via transceiver915. The transmitted DR1may be received by service provider computer system950via transceiver955. Memory965can include instructions for creating DB2, signing DB2with PRS1to create SDB2, associating PBS1to SDB2to create DR2, combining DR1and DR2to create CDR, signing CDR with PRS2to create SCDR and associating PBS2to SCDR to create the payment token. PRS1, PBS1, PRS2and PBS2may be also be stored on memory965. The token can be communicated to the customer computer system. The respective computing devices associated with a customer and a service provider may communicate with each other over a network940. The network can be a public network or a private network. In other embodiments, the memory925and965may include instructions that can be executed by the respective processors920and960to implement the steps of the methods described herein with respect toFIGS.4,5and8. Encryption and decryption as specified above may utilize known techniques and therefore, are not described further. In some embodiments, the encryption may be asymmetric encryption. The keys issued may also have an expiration date or period of validity from date of first use. A customer can generate multiple key pairs as needed or desired. A service provider can have multiple pairs of keys for a customer if the customer has multiple accounts with the service provider such as one for a particular project, a location or a division. The pairs of keys (private/public) can be generated and assigned to (or associated with) a particular customer account by the service provider. Similarly, the customer can generate keys and assign (or associate) them to a particular service provider. Example methods as described above for creating tokens can be performed by an automated, guided process. The user may be prompted to enter the first set of parameters by a computing device of the service provider while connected to the user computer. The interaction between the service provider and customer in creating the tokens can also be facilitated on a web browser interface. While the present disclosure has been described in connection with certain example embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, and equivalents thereof. | 21,195 |
11861603 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments disclosed herein include a system and/or method for tokenizing sensitive data. As a background, theft of sensitive data (such as credit card numbers, prepaid debit card numbers, social security numbers, etc.) has become a serious problem. As more and more vendors store sensitive data on their local systems, the security of that data may be compromised. Hackers and others with malicious intent may access sensitive data and utilize that data for identity theft, credit card theft, etc. While many vendors may encrypt the sensitive data, such encryptions may be subject to security issues. Additionally, storage of sensitive data at a vendor computing device is not desirable. Embodiments disclosed herein include a vendor computing device and a tokenization computing device. The vendor computing device may include and/or be coupled to a receiving device, such as a card swiping device. The receiving device may be coupled to the internet or other network and may be configured for communication with the tokenization computing device. The vendor computing device may also be configured to receive and store tokens and token identifiers from the tokenization computing device. In some embodiments, the tokens are a 16 digit value and the token identifier is a 6 byte value. However, this is just an example, as any size token and/or token identifier may be utilized, depending on the embodiment. Regardless, the tokenization computing device may be communicatively coupled to the vendor computing device. The tokenization computing device may include a software application to facilitate receiving of sensitive data; tokenization of the sensitive data to create a token, such as a vendor-specific token; generation of a token identifier; and/or perform other actions. Additionally, in some embodiments, the token and token identifier may be algorithmically compiled into a single value rather than discrete values. This single value may additionally be decompiled into separate values to derive the token and token identifier values that are utilized to process a transaction. As an example, a vendor may input sensitive data into the receiving device. The receiving device can encrypt the sensitive data (in this case card data) and send this encrypted data to the tokenization computing device. The tokenization computing device may then generate token, based on a random number assignment, an algorithm, and/or via another mechanism. The tokenization computing device may additionally generate a token identifier. The token identifier is then linked to the token and is configured to provide token generation data, token version data, as well as a sanity value to ensure correctness of the token. The sanity value may be similar to a check value, depending on the embodiment. More specifically, the sanity value is calculated as a result of using clear data as input into a predetermined algorithm. This data is used to validate the result from a tokenization. When a mismatch between the sanity value and the tokenization occurs, this indicates that the detokenization process has failed. The token and token identifier may then be sent to the vendor computing device, which stores the token and token identifier, with a link between the two. The vendor computing device may then utilize the token for customer transactions, customer statistics, returns, settlement files, etc. without storing or otherwise having direct access to the actual card number. Similarly, when the vendor wishes to access the card data for a stored token, the vendor can send the token and corresponding token identifier to the tokenization computing device. The tokenization computing device can access the token and identifier to determine the card data. The tokenization computing device can detokenize the token, based on the token generation identified in the token identifier. Upon detokenization, the tokenization computing device can verify that the correct card number was determined by decryption of the sanity value in the token identifier. The tokenization computing device can then encrypt the card number and send the encrypted card number to the vendor. In some embodiments, the tokenization computing device may be instructed to rotate tokens on a predetermined schedule. The schedule may be determined by the vendor, government entity, and/or via other mechanism. More specifically, in some embodiments, rotation may occur as a result of an alleged or actual network/data breach, an industry regulation requirement and/or a network regulation requirement. Regardless, the tokenization computing device can receive one or more tokens (with corresponding token identifiers) from a vendor. From the token identifiers, the tokenization computing device can determine a current generation of token. From this data, the tokenization computing device can determine the card number and verify this with the sanity value in the token identifier. Once the card number has been determined, the tokenization computing device can re-tokenize the token. The re-tokenization can be simply to update the generation and/or to utilize a different tokenization mechanism. Regardless, once the token has been updated, the token identifier may be also updated to reflect this change in the token, as well as to create a sanity value for verification. The updated tokens and token identifiers may then be sent to the vendor. Referring now to the drawings,FIG.1depicts a computing environment for tokenizing sensitive data, according to embodiments disclosed herein. As illustrated inFIG.1, a network100may include a wide area network, such as the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a mobile communications network, a public service telephone network (PSTN) and/or other network and may be coupled to a user computing device102a, a vendor computing device102b, a vendor receiving device103, and a tokenization computing device104. The user computing device102amay be any mobile or non-mobile computing device configured for facilitating electronic transactions. As an example, the user computing device102amay include a personal computer that is configured to make online purchases. A user of the user computing device102amay submit sensitive data, which may include financial sensitive data (such as a credit card number, debit card number, prepaid card number, bank account number, etc.) and/or non-financial sensitive data (such as a name, an address, a telephone number, a social security number, etc.) to facilitate payment for this transaction. Depending on the particular embodiment, the sensitive data may be numeric or alpha-numeric in form. Regardless, this data may be sent to the vendor computing device102b, which may communicate with the tokenization computing device104, as described below. Similarly, the vendor computing device102bmay also include a mobile or non-mobile personal computer (or other computing device) for facilitating transactions. In the example above, the vendor computing device102bmay be configured as an online vendor for receiving electronic orders from user computing device102a. In such embodiments, the vendor computing device102bmay receive the sensitive data from the user and submit the sensitive data to the tokenization computing device104for processing. In some embodiments however, the vendor computing device102bmay be located in a physical establishment for in-store purchases. In such embodiments, the vendor computing device102bmay be coupled to the vendor receiving device103for receiving the sensitive data directly from a card or other device. As such, the vendor receiving device103may be configured as a card swiping machine, which may be coupled to and/or integral with the vendor computing device102b. Once the sensitive data is received, the vendor computing device102bcan send the sensitive data to the tokenization computing device104for processing. The tokenization computing device104may again include any mobile or non-mobile computing device and function as part of a financial institution, such as a bank, lender, mortgage company, etc. The tokenization computing device104may receive the sensitive data from the user computing device102aand/or vendor computing device102b, as described above and may include a memory component140that stores token logic144aand token identifier (ID) logic144b. With the token logic144aand the token ID logic144b, tokenization and detokenization of sensitive data may be performed. The token logic144amay be configured to cause the tokenization computing device104to generate a token for a piece of sensitive data. Calculation of the token may include identifying a key that defines the current token. The token logic144amay also cause the tokenization computing device104to provide the sensitive data for canceling orders with the vendor, updating/rotating tokens, etc. The token ID logic144bmay cause the tokenization computing device104to create a token identifier field that is coupled to a token. More specifically, the token identifier may be configured to identify a current version of the token; provide a verification that the generated token (or sensitive data) is correct and/or provide the key that was used to generate this type of token. In some embodiments, the token ID logic144bmay also be configured to provide a rollout identifier for associating tokens from different vendors together, as described in more detail, below. It should be understood that while the user computing device102a, vendor computing device102b, the vendor receiving device103, and the tokenization computing device104are depicted inFIG.1as personal computers and/or servers, these are merely examples. More specifically, in some embodiments any type of computing device (e.g. mobile computing device, personal computer, server, etc.) may be utilized for any of these components. Additionally, while each of these computing devices102-104is illustrated inFIG.1as a single piece of hardware, this is also an example. Depending on the particular embodiment, each of the computing devices102-104may represent a plurality of computers, servers, databases, etc. It should also be understood that while the token logic144aand token ID logic144bare depicted in the tokenization computing device104, this is also just an example. In some embodiments, the user computing device102a, the tokenization computing device104, and/or the vendor computing device102bmay include this and/or similar logical components. FIG.2depicts a computing architecture for tokenizing sensitive data, according to embodiments disclosed herein. In the illustrated embodiment, the tokenization computing device104includes at least one processor230, input/output hardware232, network interface hardware234, a data storage component236(which includes token data238a, token ID data238b, and/or other data), and the memory component140. The memory component140may be configured as volatile and/or nonvolatile memory and, as such, may include random access memory (including SRAM, DRAM, and/or other types of RAM), flash memory, secure digital (SD) memory, registers, compact discs (CD), digital video discs (DVD), and/or other types of non-transitory computer-readable mediums. Depending on the particular embodiment, these non-transitory computer-readable mediums may reside within the tokenization computing device104and/or external to the tokenization computing device104. Additionally, the memory component140may be configured to store operating logic242, the token logic144a, and/or the token ID logic144b. The operating logic242may include an operating system, basic input output system (BIOS), and/or other hardware, software, and/or firmware for operating the tokenization computing device104. The token logic144aand the token ID logic144bmay each include a plurality of different pieces of logic, each of which may be embodied as a computer program, firmware, and/or hardware, as an example. A local interface246is also included inFIG.2and may be implemented as a bus or other interface to facilitate communication among the components of the tokenization computing device104. The processor230may include any processing component operable to receive and execute instructions (such as from the data storage component236and/or memory component140). The input/output hardware232may include and/or be configured to interface with a monitor, positioning system, keyboard, mouse, printer, image capture device, microphone, speaker, gyroscope, compass, and/or other device for receiving, sending, and/or presenting data. The network interface hardware234may include and/or be configured for communicating with any wired or wireless networking hardware, including an antenna, a modem, LAN port, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) card, WiMax card, mobile communications hardware, and/or other hardware for communicating with other networks and/or devices. From this connection, communication may be facilitated between the tokenization computing device104and other computing devices. The processor230may also include and/or be coupled to a graphical processing unit (GPU). It should be understood that the components illustrated inFIG.2are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. As an example, while the components inFIG.2are illustrated as residing within the tokenization computing device104, this is merely an example. In some embodiments, one or more of the components may reside external to the tokenization computing device104. It should also be understood that, while the tokenization computing device104inFIG.2is illustrated as a single device, this is also merely an example. In some embodiments, the token logic144aand the token ID logic144bmay reside on different devices. Additionally, while the tokenization computing device104is illustrated with the token logic144aand the token ID logic144bas separate logical components, this is also an example. In some embodiments, a single piece of logic may perform the described functionality. FIG.3depicts a flowchart for utilizing a database model to send a token and token identifier to a vendor, according to embodiments disclosed herein. As illustrated at block330, encrypted sensitive data may be received from a vendor. More specifically, at the point of sale, a vendor (or user) may enter sensitive data for a transaction. The received sensitive data may be encrypted, such that transmission of the sensitive data to the tokenization computing device104is at least somewhat secure. This may be referred to as a point-to-point or end-to-end encryption. At block332, the received sensitive data may be decrypted. At block334, a determination may be made regarding whether the received sensitive data has previously been tokenized. A lookup may be performed on the sensitive data to see if a token has already been generated. If so, at block336, the previously generated token and token identifier may be accessed. If at block334, a token has not been generated, at block338a token and token ID may be generated. Generation of a token may include determining the vendor. Once the vendor is determined, a token key may be determined. The token may then be generated, based on an algorithm that depends on the token key. Additionally, the token identifier may identify the key (which may include a version number of the token), as well as a token sanity value for ensuring that the token is accurately generated. At block340, the token and token ID may be sent to the vendor. With the token and token ID, the vendor no longer needs to utilize the received sensitive data for the user. As such, subsequent interaction between the user and vendor may be facilitated with the token. This allows secure transactions between the user and vendor, as well as between the vendor and the financial institution. FIG.4depicts a flowchart for using an algorithmic model to send a token and token identifier to a vendor, according to embodiments disclosed herein. More specifically, while the embodiment ofFIG.3involves storage of tokens and/or token IDs at the tokenization computing device104, the embodiment ofFIG.4is directed to an algorithmic model that does not store these values. More specifically, at block430, encrypted sensitive data may be received from a vendor. At block432, the sensitive data may be decrypted. At block434, a token can be generated. Similar to the block338fromFIG.3, the tokenization computing device104may determine the vendor that sent the sensitive information to determine a token key to utilize. With the tokenization key, the tokenization computing device104can generate the token. At block436, a corresponding token identifier may be created. As discussed above, the token identifier may identify the token version number, the token key, and/or a sanity value. At block438, the token and token identifier may be sent to the vendor FIG.5depicts a flowchart for canceling a transaction utilizing a token and token identifier in a database model, according to embodiments disclosed herein. As illustrated at block530, a request to cancel a transaction may be received, where the request includes a token and token identifier. At block532, a determination may be made from the token identifier regarding generation associated with the token. At block534, based on the determined generation, a determination may be made regarding where the associated sensitive data is stored. At block536, the sensitive data that corresponds to the received token may be retrieved. Additionally the token identifier may be utilized to check whether the retrieved sensitive data is the correct sensitive data. At block538, the sensitive data may be utilized to cancel the transaction. At block540, a confirmation of the cancelation may be sent to the vendor. FIG.6depicts a flowchart for canceling a transaction utilizing a token and token identifier in an algorithmic model, according to embodiments disclosed herein. Similar toFIG.4above,FIG.6relates to an algorithmic model, where the sensitive data may not be stored and/or accessed. At block630, a request to cancel a transaction may be received, where the request includes a token and token identifier. At block632, a token key may be determined from the token identifier. At block634, the token key may be utilized to generate the corresponding sensitive data. At block636, the token identifier may be utilized to determine the accuracy of the generated sensitive data. At block638, the sensitive data may be utilized to cancel the transaction. At block640a confirmation of the cancelation may be sent to the vendor. FIG.7depicts a flowchart for updating tokens in a database model, according to embodiments disclosed herein. As illustrated, at block730, a request to change a token may be received, where the request includes a token and token identifier. WhileFIG.7indicates that a single token and a single token identifier being received, it should be understood that depending on the particular embodiment, a plurality of tokens and token identifiers may be received in a token batch. Regardless, at block732, the token identifier may be utilized to determine a location of sensitive data. At block734, the sensitive data may be retrieved, a new token may be generated, and the token identifier may be updated. The new token may be generated based on a new token key for a particular vendor. Once the token key is determined a proprietary algorithm may be utilized to generate the token. Additionally, the token key may be updated to identify the new version. The token key may additionally include a sanity value to ensure tokenization and/or detokenization is accurately performed. At block736, the new token and token identifier may be stored. At block738, the new token and token identifier may be sent to the vendor. FIG.8depicts a flowchart for updating tokens in an algorithmic model, according to embodiments disclosed herein. As illustrated in block830, a request to change a token may be received, where the request includes a token and a token identifier. WhileFIG.8indicates that a single token and a single token identifier are received, it should be understood that depending on the particular embodiment, a plurality of tokens and token identifiers may be received in a token batch. At block832, a token key and version may be determined from the token identifier. At block834, the token key may be utilized to generate an updated token. At block836, the token identifier may be updated to reflect the new token key version. At block838, the new token and the new token identifier may be sent to the vendor. FIG.9depicts a flowchart for associating a common token key for a plurality of related entities, according to embodiments disclosed herein. As illustrated in block930, an indication that entities have joined together may be received, where the indication includes a request to associate tokens from each entity. As mentioned above, a plurality of entities may join together and wish to use similar tokens across all the entities. As such, a rollup identifier may include a pointer that points the tokens to the common token key. At block932, a token and token identifier may be received from at least one of the entities. At block934, the token and token identifier may be updated and a rollup identifier may be generated, which points to a common token key. Additionally, the rollup identifier may be stored in a lookup table for later access. At block936, the updated token and token identifier may be sent to the vendor. FIG.10depicts a flowchart for updating tokens for a plurality of related entities, according to embodiments disclosed herein. As illustrated in block1030, a request to rotate tokens may be received. At block1032, a lookup table may be accessed to determine whether the tokens are associated with a rollup identifier. A determination may be first made into the token identifier to determine a token key, token version, etc.; however depending on the particular embodiments, the token identifier may not identify whether the present token is related to tokens from other entities. At block1034, in response to determining that the tokens are associated with a rollup identifier, a token key may be determined that is utilized for all entities in the group of entities. At block1036, the tokens may be updated according to the token identifier and/or rollup identifier. At block1038, the updated tokens and/or token identifiers may be sent to the vendor. One should note that the flowcharts included herein show the architecture, functionality, and operation of a possible implementation of software. In this regard, each block can be interpreted to represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order and/or not at all. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It should be understood that conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or steps are in any way required for one or more particular embodiments or that one or more particular embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment. It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of this disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. Further, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover all permutations and sub-permutations of all elements, features, and aspects discussed above. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure. | 24,619 |
11861604 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS The following description of embodiments provides non-limiting representative examples referencing numerals to particularly describe features and teachings of different aspects of the invention. The embodiments described should be recognized as capable of implementation separately, or in combination, with other embodiments from the description of the embodiments. A person of ordinary skill in the art reviewing the description of embodiments should be able to learn and understand the different described aspects of the invention. The description of embodiments should facilitate understanding of the invention to such an extent that other implementations, not specifically covered but within the knowledge of a person of skill in the art having read the description of embodiments, would be understood to be consistent with an application of the invention. An objective of some embodiments of the present disclosure is to build one or more keys into one or more contactless cards. In these embodiments, the contactless card can perform authentication and numerous other functions that may otherwise require the user to carry a separate physical token in addition to the contactless card. By employing a contactless interface, contactless cards may be provided with a method to interact and communicate between a user's device (such as a mobile phone) and the card itself. For example, the EMV protocol, which underlies many credit card transactions, includes an authentication process which suffices for operating systems for Android® but presents challenges for iOS®, which is more restrictive regarding near field communication (NFC) usage, as it can be used only in a read-only manner. Exemplary embodiments of the contactless cards described herein utilize NFC technology. FIG.1Aillustrates a data transmission system according to an example embodiment. As further discussed below, system100may include contactless card105, client device110, network115, and server120. AlthoughFIG.1Aillustrates single instances of the components, system100may include any number of components. System100may include one or more contactless cards105, which are further explained below with reference toFIGS.5A-5B. In some embodiments, contactless card105may be in wireless communication, utilizing NFC in an example, with client device110. System100may include client device110, which may be a network-enabled computer. As referred to herein, a network-enabled computer may include, but is not limited to a computer device, or communications device including, e.g., a server, a network appliance, a personal computer, a workstation, a phone, a handheld PC, a personal digital assistant, a thin client, a fat client, an Internet browser, or other device. Client device110also may be a mobile device; for example, a mobile device may include an iPhone, iPod, iPad from Apple® or any other mobile device running Apple's iOS® operating system, any device running Microsoft's Windows® Mobile operating system, any device running Google's Android® operating system, and/or any other smartphone, tablet, or like wearable mobile device. The client device110device can include a processor and a memory, and it is understood that the processing circuitry may contain additional components, including processors, memories, error and parity/CRC checkers, data encoders, anticollision algorithms, controllers, command decoders, security primitives and tamperproofing hardware, as necessary to perform the functions described herein. The client device110may further include a display and input devices. The display may be any type of device for presenting visual information such as a computer monitor, a flat panel display, and a mobile device screen, including liquid crystal displays, light-emitting diode displays, plasma panels, and cathode ray tube displays. The input devices may include any device for entering information into the user's device that is available and supported by the user's device, such as a touch-screen, keyboard, mouse, cursor-control device, touch-screen, microphone, digital camera, video recorder or camcorder. These devices may be used to enter information and interact with the software and other devices described herein. In some examples, client device110of system100may execute one or more applications, such as software applications, that enable, for example, network communications with one or more components of system100and transmit and/or receive data. Client device110may be in communication with one or more servers120via one or more networks115, and may operate as a respective front-end to back-end pair with server120. Client device110may transmit, for example from a mobile device application executing on client device110, one or more requests to server120. The one or more requests may be associated with retrieving data from server120. Server120may receive the one or more requests from client device110. Based on the one or more requests from client device110, server120may be configured to retrieve the requested data from one or more databases (not shown). Based on receipt of the requested data from the one or more databases, server120may be configured to transmit the received data to client device110, the received data being responsive to one or more requests. System100may include one or more networks115. In some examples, network115may be one or more of a wireless network, a wired network or any combination of wireless network and wired network, and may be configured to connect client device110to server120. For example, network115may include one or more of a fiber optics network, a passive optical network, a cable network, an Internet network, a satellite network, a wireless local area network (LAN), a Global System for Mobile Communication, a Personal Communication Service, a Personal Area Network, Wireless Application Protocol, Multimedia Messaging Service, Enhanced Messaging Service, Short Message Service, Time Division Multiplexing based systems, Code Division Multiple Access based systems, D-AMPS, Wi-Fi, Fixed Wireless Data, IEEE 802.11b, 802.15.1, 802.11n and 802.11g, Bluetooth, NFC, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Wi-Fi, and/or the like. In addition, network115may include, without limitation, telephone lines, fiber optics, IEEE Ethernet 902.3, a wide area network, a wireless personal area network, a LAN, or a global network such as the Internet. In addition, network115may support an Internet network, a wireless communication network, a cellular network, or the like, or any combination thereof. Network115may further include one network, or any number of the exemplary types of networks mentioned above, operating as a stand-alone network or in cooperation with each other. Network115may utilize one or more protocols of one or more network elements to which they are communicatively coupled. Network115may translate to or from other protocols to one or more protocols of network devices. Although network115is depicted as a single network, it should be appreciated that according to one or more examples, network115may comprise a plurality of interconnected networks, such as, for example, the Internet, a service provider's network, a cable television network, corporate networks, such as credit card association networks, and home networks. System100may include one or more servers120. In some examples, server120may include one or more processors, which are coupled to memory. Server120may be configured as a central system, server or platform to control and call various data at different times to execute a plurality of workflow actions. Server120may be configured to connect to the one or more databases. Server120may be connected to at least one client device110. FIG.1Bis a timing diagram illustrating an example sequence for providing authenticated access according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. System100may comprise contactless card105and client device110, which may include an application122and processor124.FIG.1Bmay reference similar components as illustrated inFIG.1A. At step102, the application122communicates with the contactless card105(e.g., after being brought near the contactless card105). Communication between the application122and the contactless card105may involve the contactless card105being sufficiently close to a card reader (not shown) of the client device110to enable NFC data transfer between the application122and the contactless card105. At step104, after communication has been established between client device110and contactless card105, the contactless card105generates a message authentication code (MAC) cryptogram. In some examples, this may occur when the contactless card105is read by the application122. In particular, this may occur upon a read, such as an NFC read, of a near field data exchange (NDEF) tag, which may be created in accordance with the NFC Data Exchange Format. For example, a reader, such as application122, may transmit a message, such as an applet select message, with the applet ID of an NDEF producing applet. Upon confirmation of the selection, a sequence of select file messages followed by read file messages may be transmitted. For example, the sequence may include “Select Capabilities file”, “Read Capabilities file”, and “Select NDEF file”. At this point, a counter value maintained by the contactless card105may be updated or incremented, which may be followed by “Read NDEF file.” At this point, the message may be generated which may include a header and a shared secret. Session keys may then be generated. The MAC cryptogram may be created from the message, which may include the header and the shared secret. The MAC cryptogram may then be concatenated with one or more blocks of random data, and the MAC cryptogram and a random number (RND) may be encrypted with the session key. Thereafter, the cryptogram and the header may be concatenated, and encoded as ASCII hex and returned in NDEF message format (responsive to the “Read NDEF file” message). In some examples, the MAC cryptogram may be transmitted as an NDEF tag, and in other examples the MAC cryptogram may be included with a uniform resource indicator (e.g., as a formatted string). In some examples, application122may be configured to transmit a request to contactless card105, the request comprising an instruction to generate a MAC cryptogram. At step106, the contactless card105sends the MAC cryptogram to the application122. In some examples, the transmission of the MAC cryptogram occurs via NFC, however, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In other examples, this communication may occur via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or other means of wireless data communication. At step108, the application122communicates the MAC cryptogram to the processor124. At step112, the processor124verifies the MAC cryptogram pursuant to an instruction from the application122. For example, the MAC cryptogram may be verified, as explained below. In some examples, verifying the MAC cryptogram may be performed by a device other than client device110, such as a server120in data communication with the client device110(as shown inFIG.1A). For example, processor124may output the MAC cryptogram for transmission to server120, which may verify the MAC cryptogram. In some examples, the MAC cryptogram may function as a digital signature for purposes of verification. Other digital signature algorithms, such as public key asymmetric algorithms, e.g., the Digital Signature Algorithm and the RSA algorithm, or zero knowledge protocols, may be used to perform this verification. FIG.2illustrates a data transmission system according to an example embodiment. System200may include a transmitting or sending device205, a receiving or recipient device210in communication, for example via network215, with one or more servers220. Transmitting or sending device205may be the same as, or similar to, client device110discussed above with reference toFIG.1A. Receiving or recipient device210may be the same as, or similar to, client device110discussed above with reference toFIG.1A. Network215may be similar to network115discussed above with reference toFIG.1A. Server220may be similar to server120discussed above with reference toFIG.1A. AlthoughFIG.2shows single instances of components of system200, system200may include any number of the illustrated components. When using symmetric cryptographic algorithms, such as encryption algorithms, hash-based message authentication code (HMAC) algorithms, and cipher-based message authentication code (CMAC) algorithms, it is important that the key remain secret between the party that originally processes the data that is protected using a symmetric algorithm and the key, and the party who receives and processes the data using the same cryptographic algorithm and the same key. It is also important that the same key is not used too many times. If a key is used or reused too frequently, that key may be compromised. Each time the key is used, it provides an attacker an additional sample of data which was processed by the cryptographic algorithm using the same key. The more data which the attacker has which was processed with the same key, the greater the likelihood that the attacker may discover the value of the key. A key used frequently may be comprised in a variety of different attacks. Moreover, each time a symmetric cryptographic algorithm is executed, it may reveal information, such as side-channel data, about the key used during the symmetric cryptographic operation. Side-channel data may include minute power fluctuations which occur as the cryptographic algorithm executes while using the key. Sufficient measurements may be taken of the side-channel data to reveal enough information about the key to allow it to be recovered by the attacker. Using the same key for exchanging data would repeatedly reveal data processed by the same key. However, by limiting the number of times a particular key will be used, the amount of side-channel data which the attacker is able to gather is limited and thereby reduce exposure to this and other types of attack. As further described herein, the parties involved in the exchange of cryptographic information (e.g., sender and recipient) can independently generate keys from an initial shared master symmetric key in combination with a counter value, and thereby periodically replace the shared symmetric key being used with needing to resort to any form of key exchange to keep the parties in sync. By periodically changing the shared secret symmetric key used by the sender and the recipient, the attacks described above are rendered impossible. Referring back toFIG.2, system200may be configured to implement key diversification. For example, a sender and recipient may desire to exchange data (e.g., original sensitive data) via respective devices205and210. As explained above, although single instances of transmitting device205and receiving device210may be included, it is understood that one or more transmitting devices205and one or more receiving devices210may be involved so long as each party shares the same shared secret symmetric key. In some examples, the transmitting device205and receiving device210may be provisioned with the same master symmetric key. Further, it is understood that any party or device holding the same secret symmetric key may perform the functions of the transmitting device205and similarly any party holding the same secret symmetric key may perform the functions of the receiving device210. In some examples, the symmetric key may comprise the shared secret symmetric key which is kept secret from all parties other than the transmitting device205and the receiving device210involved in exchanging the secure data. It is further understood that both the transmitting device205and receiving device210may be provided with the same master symmetric key, and further that part of the data exchanged between the transmitting device205and receiving device210comprises at least a portion of data which may be referred to as the counter value. The counter value may comprise a number that changes each time data is exchanged between the transmitting device205and the receiving device210. System200may include one or more networks215. In some examples, network215may be one or more of a wireless network, a wired network or any combination of wireless network and wired network, and may be configured to connect one or more transmitting devices205and one or more receiving devices210to server220. For example, network215may include one or more of a fiber optics network, a passive optical network, a cable network, an Internet network, a satellite network, a wireless LAN, a Global System for Mobile Communication, a Personal Communication Service, a Personal Area Network, Wireless Application Protocol, Multimedia Messaging Service, Enhanced Messaging Service, Short Message Service, Time Division Multiplexing based systems, Code Division Multiple Access based systems, D-AMPS, Wi-Fi, Fixed Wireless Data, IEEE 802.11b, 802.15.1, 802.11n and 802.11g, Bluetooth, NFC, RFID, Wi-Fi, and/or the like. In addition, network215may include, without limitation, telephone lines, fiber optics, IEEE Ethernet 902.3, a wide area network, a wireless personal area network, a LAN, or a global network such as the Internet. In addition, network215may support an Internet network, a wireless communication network, a cellular network, or the like, or any combination thereof. Network215may further include one network, or any number of the exemplary types of networks mentioned above, operating as a stand-alone network or in cooperation with each other. Network215may utilize one or more protocols of one or more network elements to which they are communicatively coupled. Network215may translate to or from other protocols to one or more protocols of network devices. Although network215is depicted as a single network, it should be appreciated that according to one or more examples, network215may comprise a plurality of interconnected networks, such as, for example, the Internet, a service provider's network, a cable television network, corporate networks, such as credit card association networks, and home networks. In some examples, one or more transmitting devices205and one or more receiving devices210may be configured to communicate and transmit and receive data between each other without passing through network215. For example, communication between the one or more transmitting devices205and the one or more receiving devices210may occur via at least one of NFC, Bluetooth, RFID, Wi-Fi, and/or the like. At block225, when the transmitting device205is preparing to process the sensitive data with symmetric cryptographic operation, the sender may update a counter. In addition, the transmitting device205may select an appropriate symmetric cryptographic algorithm, which may include at least one of a symmetric encryption algorithm, HMAC algorithm, and a CMAC algorithm. In some examples, the symmetric algorithm used to process the diversification value may comprise any symmetric cryptographic algorithm used as needed to generate the desired length diversified symmetric key. Non-limiting examples of the symmetric algorithm may include a symmetric encryption algorithm such as 3DES or AES128; a symmetric HMAC algorithm, such as HMAC-SHA-256; and a symmetric CMAC algorithm such as AES-CMAC. It is understood that if the output of the selected symmetric algorithm does not generate a sufficiently long key, techniques such as processing multiple iterations of the symmetric algorithm with different input data and the same master key may produce multiple outputs which may be combined as needed to produce sufficient length keys. At block230, the transmitting device205may take the selected cryptographic algorithm, and using the master symmetric key, process the counter value. For example, the sender may select a symmetric encryption algorithm, and use a counter which updates with every conversation between the transmitting device205and the receiving device210. The transmitting device205may then encrypt the counter value with the selected symmetric encryption algorithm using the master symmetric key, creating a diversified symmetric key. In some examples, the counter value may not be encrypted. In these examples, the counter value may be transmitted between the transmitting device205and the receiving device210at block230without encryption. At block235, the diversified symmetric key may be used to process the sensitive data before transmitting the result to the receiving device210. For example, the transmitting device205may encrypt the sensitive data using a symmetric encryption algorithm using the diversified symmetric key, with the output comprising the protected encrypted data. The transmitting device205may then transmit the protected encrypted data, along with the counter value, to the receiving device210for processing. At block240, the receiving device210may first take the counter value and then perform the same symmetric encryption using the counter value as input to the encryption, and the master symmetric key as the key for the encryption. The output of the encryption may be the same diversified symmetric key value that was created by the sender. At block245, the receiving device210may then take the protected encrypted data and using a symmetric decryption algorithm along with the diversified symmetric key, decrypt the protected encrypted data. At block250, as a result of the decrypting the protected encrypted data, the original sensitive data may be revealed. The next time sensitive data needs to be sent from the sender to the recipient via respective transmitting device205and receiving device210, a different counter value may be selected producing a different diversified symmetric key. By processing the counter value with the master symmetric key and same symmetric cryptographic algorithm, both the transmitting device205and receiving device210may independently produce the same diversified symmetric key. This diversified symmetric key, not the master symmetric key, is used to protect the sensitive data. As explained above, both the transmitting device205and receiving device210each initially possess the shared master symmetric key. The shared master symmetric key is not used to encrypt the original sensitive data. Because the diversified symmetric key is independently created by both the transmitting device205and receiving device210, it is never transmitted between the two parties. Thus, an attacker cannot intercept the diversified symmetric key and the attacker never sees any data which was processed with the master symmetric key. Only the counter value is processed with the master symmetric key, not the sensitive data. As a result, reduced side-channel data about the master symmetric key is revealed. Moreover, the operation of the transmitting device205and the receiving device210may be governed by symmetric requirements for how often to create a new diversification value, and therefore a new diversified symmetric key. In an embodiment, a new diversification value and therefore a new diversified symmetric key may be created for every exchange between the transmitting device205and receiving device210. In some examples, the key diversification value may comprise the counter value. Other non-limiting examples of the key diversification value include: a random nonce generated each time a new diversified key is needed, the random nonce sent from the transmitting device205to the receiving device210; the full value of a counter value sent from the transmitting device205and the receiving device210; a portion of a counter value sent from the transmitting device205and the receiving device210; a counter independently maintained by the transmitting device205and the receiving device210but not sent between the two devices; a one-time-passcode exchanged between the transmitting device205and the receiving device210; and a cryptographic hash of the sensitive data. In some examples, one or more portions of the key diversification value may be used by the parties to create multiple diversified keys. For example, a counter may be used as the key diversification value. Further, a combination of one or more of the exemplary key diversification values described above may be used. In another example, a portion of the counter may be used as the key diversification value. If multiple master key values are shared between the parties, the multiple diversified key values may be obtained by the systems and processes described herein. A new diversification value, and therefore a new diversified symmetric key, may be created as often as needed. In the most secure case, a new diversification value may be created for each exchange of sensitive data between the transmitting device205and the receiving device210. In effect, this may create a one-time use key, such as a single-use session key. FIG.3illustrates a system300using a contactless card. System300may include a contactless card305, one or more client devices310, network315, servers320,325, one or more hardware security modules330, and a database335. AlthoughFIG.3illustrates single instances of the components, system300may include any number of components. System300may include one or more contactless cards305, which are further explained below with respect toFIGS.5A-5B. In some examples, contactless card305may be in wireless communication, for example NFC communication, with client device310. For example, contactless card305may comprise one or more chips, such as a radio frequency identification chip, configured to communication via NFC or other short-range protocols. In other embodiments, contactless card305may communicate with client device310through other means including, but not limited to, Bluetooth, satellite, Wi-Fi, wired communications, and/or any combination of wireless and wired connections. According to some embodiments, contactless card305may be configured to communicate with card reader313of client device310through NFC when contactless card305is within range of card reader313. In other examples, communications with contactless card305may be accomplished through a physical interface, e.g., a universal serial bus interface or a card swipe interface. System300may include client device310, which may be a network-enabled computer. As referred to herein, a network-enabled computer may include, but is not limited to: e.g., a computer device, or communications device including, e.g., a server, a network appliance, a personal computer, a workstation, a mobile device, a phone, a handheld PC, a personal digital assistant, a thin client, a fat client, an Internet browser, or other device. One or more client devices310also may be a mobile device; for example, a mobile device may include an iPhone, iPod, iPad from Apple® or any other mobile device running Apple's iOS® operating system, any device running Microsoft's Windows® Mobile operating system, any device running Google's Android® operating system, and/or any other smartphone or like wearable mobile device. In some examples, the client device310may be the same as, or similar to, a client device110as described with reference toFIG.1AorFIG.1B. Client device310may be in communication with one or more servers320and325via one or more networks315. Client device310may transmit, for example from an application311executing on client device310, one or more requests to one or more servers320and325. The one or more requests may be associated with retrieving data from one or more servers320and325. Servers320and325may receive the one or more requests from client device310. Based on the one or more requests from client device310, one or more servers320and325may be configured to retrieve the requested data from one or more databases335. Based on receipt of the requested data from the one or more databases335, one or more servers320and325may be configured to transmit the received data to client device310, the received data being responsive to one or more requests. System300may include one or more hardware security modules (HSM)330. For example, one or more HSMs330may be configured to perform one or more cryptographic operations as disclosed herein. In some examples, one or more HSMs330may be configured as special purpose security devices that are configured to perform the one or more cryptographic operations. The HSMs330may be configured such that keys are never revealed outside the HSM330, and instead are maintained within the HSM330. For example, one or more HSMs330may be configured to perform at least one of key derivations, decryption, and MAC operations. The one or more HSMs330may be contained within, or may be in data communication with, servers320and325. System300may include one or more networks315. In some examples, network315may be one or more of a wireless network, a wired network or any combination of wireless network and wired network, and may be configured to connect client device315to server320and325. For example, network315may include one or more of a fiber optics network, a passive optical network, a cable network, a cellular network, an Internet network, a satellite network, a wireless LAN, a Global System for Mobile Communication, a Personal Communication Service, a Personal Area Network, Wireless Application Protocol, Multimedia Messaging Service, Enhanced Messaging Service, Short Message Service, Time Division Multiplexing based systems, Code Division Multiple Access based systems, D-AMPS, Wi-Fi, Fixed Wireless Data, IEEE 802.11b, 802.15.1, 802.11n and 802.11g, Bluetooth, NFC, RFID, Wi-Fi, and/or any combination of networks thereof. As a non-limiting example, communications from contactless card305and client device310may comprise NFC communication, cellular network between client device310and a carrier, and Internet between the carrier and a back-end. In addition, network315may include, without limitation, telephone lines, fiber optics, IEEE Ethernet 902.3, a wide area network, a wireless personal area network, a local area network, or a global network such as the Internet. In addition, network315may support an Internet network, a wireless communication network, a cellular network, or the like, or any combination thereof. Network315may further include one network, or any number of the exemplary types of networks mentioned above, operating as a stand-alone network or in cooperation with each other. Network315may utilize one or more protocols of one or more network elements to which they are communicatively coupled. Network315may translate to or from other protocols to one or more protocols of network devices. Although network315is depicted as a single network, it should be appreciated that according to one or more examples, network315may comprise a plurality of interconnected networks, such as, for example, the Internet, a service provider's network, a cable television network, corporate networks, such as credit card association networks, and home networks. In various examples according to the present disclosure, client device310of system300may execute one or more applications311, and include one or more processors312, and one or more card readers313. For example, one or more applications311, such as software applications, may be configured to enable, for example, network communications with one or more components of system300and transmit and/or receive data. It is understood that although only single instances of the components of client device310are illustrated inFIG.3, any number of devices310may be used. Card reader313may be configured to read from and/or communicate with contactless card305. In conjunction with the one or more applications311, card reader313may communicate with contactless card305. The application311of any of client device310may communicate with the contactless card305using short-range wireless communication (e.g., NFC). The application311may be configured to interface with a card reader313of client device310configured to communicate with a contactless card305. As should be noted, those skilled in the art would understand that a distance of less than twenty centimeters is consistent with NFC range. In some embodiments, the application311communicates through an associated reader (e.g., card reader313) with the contactless card305. In some embodiments, card activation may occur without user authentication. For example, a contactless card305may communicate with the application311through the card reader313of the client device310through NFC. The communication (e.g., a tap of the card proximate the card reader313of the client device310) allows the application311to read the data associated with the card and perform an activation. In some cases, the tap may activate or launch application311and then initiate one or more actions or communications with an account server325to activate the card for subsequent use. In some cases, if the application311is not installed on client device310, a tap of the card against the card reader313may initiate a download of the application311(e.g., navigation to an application download page). Subsequent to installation, a tap of the card may activate or launch the application311, and then initiate (e.g., via the application or other back-end communication) activation of the card. After activation, the card may be used in various transactions including commercial transactions. According to some embodiments, the contactless card305may include a virtual payment card. In those embodiments, the application311may retrieve information associated with the contactless card305by accessing a digital wallet implemented on the client device310, wherein the digital wallet includes the virtual payment card. In some examples, virtual payment card data may include one or more static or dynamically generated virtual card numbers. Server320may comprise a web server in communication with database335. Server325may comprise an account server. In some examples, server320may be configured to validate one or more credentials from contactless card305and/or client device310by comparison with one or more credentials in database335. Server325may be configured to authorize one or more requests, such as payment and transaction, from contactless card305and/or client device310. FIG.4illustrates a method400of key diversification according to an example of the present disclosure. Method400may include a transmitting device and receiving device similar to transmitting device205and receiving device210referenced inFIG.2. For example, a sender and recipient may desire to exchange data (e.g., original sensitive data) via a transmitting device and a receiving device. As explained above, although these two parties may be included, it is understood that one or more transmitting devices and one or more receiving devices may be involved so long as each party shares the same shared secret symmetric key. In some examples, the transmitting device and receiving device may be provisioned with the same master symmetric key. Further, it is understood that any party or device holding the same secret symmetric key may perform the functions of the transmitting device and similarly any party holding the same secret symmetric key may perform the functions of the receiving device. In some examples, the symmetric key may comprise the shared secret symmetric key which is kept secret from all parties other than the transmitting device and the receiving device involved in exchanging the secure data. It is further understood that both the transmitting device and receiving device may be provided with the same master symmetric key, and further that part of the data exchanged between the transmitting device and receiving device comprises at least a portion of data which may be referred to as the counter value. The counter value may comprise a number that changes each time data is exchanged between the transmitting device and the receiving device. At block410, a transmitting device and receiving device may be provisioned with the same master key, such as the same master symmetric key. When the transmitting device is preparing to process the sensitive data with symmetric cryptographic operation, the sender may update a counter. In addition, the transmitting device may select an appropriate symmetric cryptographic algorithm, which may include at least one of a symmetric encryption algorithm, HMAC algorithm, and a CMAC algorithm. In some examples, the symmetric algorithm used to process the diversification value may comprise any symmetric cryptographic algorithm used as needed to generate the desired length diversified symmetric key. Non-limiting examples of the symmetric algorithm may include a symmetric encryption algorithm such as 3DES or AES128; a symmetric HMAC algorithm, such as HMAC-SHA-256; and a symmetric CMAC algorithm, such as AES-CMAC. It is understood that if the output of the selected symmetric algorithm does not generate a sufficiently long key, techniques such as processing multiple iterations of the symmetric algorithm with different input data and the same master key may produce multiple outputs which may be combined as needed to produce sufficient length keys. The transmitting device may take the selected cryptographic algorithm, and using the master symmetric key, process the counter value. For example, the sender may select a symmetric encryption algorithm, and use a counter which updates with every conversation between the transmitting device and the receiving device. At block420, the transmitting device may then encrypt the counter value with the selected symmetric encryption algorithm using the master symmetric key, creating a diversified symmetric key. The diversified symmetric key may be used to process the sensitive data before transmitting the result to the receiving device. For example, the transmitting device may encrypt the sensitive data using a symmetric encryption algorithm using the diversified symmetric key, with the output comprising the protected encrypted data. The transmitting device may then transmit the protected encrypted data, along with the counter value, to the receiving device for processing. In some examples, a cryptographic operation other than encryption may be performed, and a plurality of cryptographic operations may be performed using the diversified symmetric keys prior to transmittal of the protected data. In some examples, the counter value may not be encrypted. In these examples, the counter value may be transmitted between the transmitting device and the receiving device at block420without encryption. At block430, sensitive data may be protected using one or more cryptographic algorithms and the diversified keys. The diversified session keys, which may be created by the key diversification which uses the counter, may be used with one or more cryptographic algorithms to protect the sensitive data. For example, data may be processed by a MAC using a first diversified session key, and the resulting output may be encrypted using the second diversified session key producing the protected data. At block440, the receiving device may perform the same symmetric encryptions using the counter value as input to the encryptions and the master symmetric keys as the keys for the encryption. The output of the encryptions may be the same diversified symmetric key values that were created by the sender. For example, the receiving device may independently create its own copies of the first and second diversified session keys using the counter. Then, the receiving device may decrypt the protected data using the second diversified session key to reveal the output of the MAC created by the transmitting device. The receiving device may then process the resultant data through the MAC operation using the first diversified session key. At block450, the receiving device may use the diversified keys with one or more cryptographic algorithms to validate the protected data. At block460, the original data may be validated. If the output of the MAC operation (via the receiving device using the first diversified session key) matches the MAC output revealed by decryption, then the data may be deemed valid. The next time sensitive data needs to be sent from the transmitting device to the receiving device, a different counter value may be selected, which produces a different diversified symmetric key. By processing the counter value with the master symmetric key and same symmetric cryptographic algorithm, both the transmitting device and receiving device may independently produce the same diversified symmetric key. This diversified symmetric key, not the master symmetric key, is used to protect the sensitive data. As explained above, both the transmitting device and receiving device each initially possess the shared master symmetric key. The shared master symmetric key is not used to encrypt the original sensitive data. Because the diversified symmetric key is independently created by both the transmitting device and receiving device, it is never transmitted between the two parties. Thus, an attacker cannot intercept the diversified symmetric key and the attacker never sees any data which was processed with the master symmetric key. Only the small counter value is processed with the master symmetric key, not the sensitive data. As a result, reduced side-channel data about the master symmetric key is revealed. Moreover, the sender and the recipient may agree, for example by prior arrangement or other means, how often to create a new diversification value, and therefore a new diversified symmetric key. In an embodiment, a new diversification value and therefore a new diversified symmetric key may be created for every exchange between the transmitting device and receiving device. In some examples, the key diversification value may comprise the counter value. Other non-limiting examples of the key diversification value include: a random nonce generated each time a new diversified key is needed, the random nonce sent from the transmitting device to the receiving device; the full value of a counter value sent from the transmitting device and the receiving device; a portion of a counter value sent from the transmitting device and the receiving device; a counter independently maintained by the transmitting device and the receiving device but not sent between the two; a one-time-passcode exchanged between the transmitting device and the receiving device; cryptographic hash of the sensitive data. In some examples, one or more portions of the key diversification value may be used by the parties to create multiple diversified keys. For example, a counter may be used as the key diversification value. In another example, a portion of the counter may be used as the key diversification value. If multiple master key values are shared between the parties, the multiple diversified key values may be obtained by the system and processes described herein. A new diversification value, and therefore a new diversified symmetric key, may be created as often as needed. In the most secure case, a new diversification value may be created for each exchange of sensitive data between the transmitting device and the receiving device. In effect, this may create a one-time use key, such as a single session key. In other examples, such as to limit the number of times of use of the master symmetric key, it may be agreed upon by the sender of transmitting device and recipient of the receiving device that a new diversification value, and therefore a new diversified symmetric key, will happen only periodically. In one example, this may be after a pre-determined number of uses, such as every 10 transmissions between the transmitting device and the receiving device. In another example, this may be after a certain time period, a certain time period after a transmission, or on a periodic basis (e.g., daily at a designated time; weekly at a designated time on a designated day). In another example, this may be every time the receiving device signals to the transmitting device that it desires to change the key on the next communication. This may be controlled on policy and may be varied due to, for example, the current risk level perceived by the recipient of the receiving device. FIG.5Aillustrates one or more contactless cards500, which may comprise a payment card, such as a credit card, debit card, or gift card, issued by a service provider505displayed on the front or back of the card500. In some examples, the contactless card500is not related to a payment card, and may comprise, without limitation, an identification card. In some examples, the payment card may comprise a dual interface contactless payment card. The contactless card500may comprise a substrate510, which may include a single layer or one or more laminated layers composed of plastics, metals, and other materials. Exemplary substrate materials include polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl chloride acetate, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polycarbonate, polyesters, anodized titanium, palladium, gold, carbon, paper, and biodegradable materials. In some examples, the contactless card500may have physical characteristics compliant with the ID-1 format of the ISO/IEC 7810 standard, and the contactless card may otherwise be compliant with the ISO/IEC 14443 standard. However, it is understood that the contactless card500according to the present disclosure may have different characteristics, and the present disclosure does not require a contactless card to be implemented in a payment card. The contactless card500may also include identification information515displayed on the front and/or back of the card, and a contact pad520. The contact pad520may be configured to establish contact with another communication device, such as a user device, smart phone, laptop, desktop, or tablet computer. The contactless card500may also include processing circuitry, antenna and other components not shown inFIG.5A. These components may be located behind the contact pad520or elsewhere on the substrate510. The contactless card500may also include a magnetic strip or tape, which may be located on the back of the card (not shown inFIG.5A). As illustrated inFIG.5B, the contact pad520ofFIG.5Amay include processing circuitry525for storing and processing information, including a microprocessor530and a memory535. It is understood that the processing circuitry525may contain additional components, including processors, memories, error and parity/CRC checkers, data encoders, anticollision algorithms, controllers, command decoders, security primitives and tamperproofing hardware, as necessary to perform the functions described herein. The memory535may be a read-only memory, write-once read-multiple memory or read/write memory, e.g., RAM, ROM, and EEPROM, and the contactless card500may include one or more of these memories. A read-only memory may be factory programmable as read-only or one-time programmable. One-time programmability provides the opportunity to write once then read many times. A write once/read-multiple memory may be programmed at a point in time after the memory chip has left the factory. Once the memory is programmed, it may not be rewritten, but it may be read many times. A read/write memory may be programmed and re-programed many times after leaving the factory. It may also be read many times. The memory535may be configured to store one or more applets540, one or more counters545, and a customer identifier550. The one or more applets540may comprise one or more software applications configured to execute on one or more contactless cards, such as Java Card applet. However, it is understood that applets540are not limited to Java Card applets, and instead may be any software application operable on contactless cards or other devices having limited memory. The one or more counters545may comprise a numeric counter sufficient to store an integer. The customer identifier550may comprise a unique alphanumeric identifier assigned to a user of the contactless card500, and the identifier may distinguish the user of the contactless card from other contactless card users. In some examples, the customer identifier550may identify both a customer and an account assigned to that customer and may further identify the contactless card associated with the customer's account. The processor and memory elements of the foregoing exemplary embodiments are described with reference to the contact pad, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. It is understood that these elements may be implemented outside of the pad520or entirely separate from it, or as further elements in addition to processor530and memory535elements located within the contact pad520. In some examples, the contactless card500may comprise one or more antennas555. The one or more antennas555may be placed within the contactless card500and around the processing circuitry525of the contact pad520. For example, the one or more antennas555may be integral with the processing circuitry525and the one or more antennas555may be used with an external booster coil. As another example, the one or more antennas555may be external to the contact pad520and the processing circuitry525. In an embodiment, the coil of contactless card500may act as the secondary of an air core transformer. The terminal may communicate with the contactless card500by cutting power or amplitude modulation. The contactless card500may infer the data transmitted from the terminal using the gaps in the contactless card's power connection, which may be functionally maintained through one or more capacitors. The contactless card500may communicate back by switching a load on the contactless card's coil or load modulation. Load modulation may be detected in the terminal's coil through interference. As explained above, the contactless cards500may be built on a software platform operable on smart cards or other devices having limited memory, such as JavaCard, and one or more or more applications or applets may be securely executed. Applets may be added to contactless cards to provide a one-time password (OTP) for multifactor authentication (MFA) in various mobile application-based use cases. Applets may be configured to respond to one or more requests, such as near field data exchange requests, from a reader, such as a mobile NFC reader, and produce an NDEF message that comprises a cryptographically secure OTP encoded as an NDEF text tag. FIG.6illustrates NDEF short-record layout (SR=1)600according to an example embodiment. One or more applets may be configured to encode the OTP as an NDEF type 4 well known type text tag. In some examples, NDEF messages may comprise one or more records. The applets may be configured to add one or more static tag records in addition to the OTP record. Exemplary tags include, without limitation, Tag type: well known type, text, encoding English (en); Applet ID: D2760000850101; Capabilities: read-only access; Encoding: the authentication message may be encoded as ASCII hex; type-length-value (TLV) data may be provided as a personalization parameter that may be used to generate the NDEF message. In an embodiment, the authentication template may comprise the first record, with a well-known index for providing the actual dynamic authentication data. FIG.7illustrates a message710and a message format720according to an example embodiment. In one example, if additional tags are to be added, the first byte may change to indicate message begin, but not end, and a subsequent record may be added. Because ID length is zero, ID length field and ID are omitted from the record. An example message may include: UDK AUT key; Derived AUT session key (using 0x00000050); Version 1.0; pATC=0x00000050; RND=4838FB7DC171B89E; MAC=<eight computed bytes>. In some examples, data may be stored in the contactless card at personalization time by implementing STORE DATA (E2) under secure channel protocol 2. One or more values may be read by the personalization bureau from the EMBOSS files (in a section designated by the Applet ID) and one or more store data commands may be transmitted to the contactless card after authentication and secure channel establishment. pUID may comprise a 16-digit BCD encoded number. In some examples, pUID may comprise 14 digits. LengthItem(bytes)Encrypted?NotespUID8NoAutKey16Yes3DES Key for DerivingMAC session keysAutKCV3NoKey Check ValueDEKKey16Yes3DES Key for derivingEncryption session keyDEKKCV3NoKey Check ValueCard Shared4 bytesNo4 Byte True RandomRandomnumber (pre-generated)NTLVX BytesNoTLV data for NDEFmessage In some examples, the one or more applets may be configured to maintain its personalization state to allow personalization only if unlocked and authenticated. Other states may comprise standard states pre-personalization. On entering into a terminated state, the one or more applets may be configured to remove personalization data. In the terminated state, the one or more applets may be configured to stop responding to all application protocol data unit (APDU) requests. The one or more applets may be configured to maintain an applet version (2 bytes), which may be used in the authentication message. In some examples, this may be interpreted as most significant byte major version, least significant byte minor version. The rules for each of the versions are configured to interpret the authentication message: For example, regarding the major version, this may include that each major version comprise a specific authentication message layout and specific algorithms. For the minor version, this may include no changes to the authentication message or cryptographic algorithms, and changes to static tag content, in addition to bug fixes, security hardening, etc. In some examples, the one or more applets may be configured to emulate an RFID tag. The RFID tag may include one or more polymorphic tags. In some examples, each time the tag is read, different cryptographic data is presented that may indicate the authenticity of the contactless card. Based on the one or more applications, an NFC read of the tag may be processed, the token may be transmitted to a server, such as a backend server, and the token may be validated at the server. In some examples, the contactless card and server may include certain data such that the card may be properly identified. The contactless card may comprise one or more unique identifiers. Each time a read operation takes place, a counter may be configured to update. In some examples, each time the card is read, it is transmitted to the server for validation and determines whether the counter is equal (as part of the validation). The one or more counters may be configured to prevent a replay attack. For example, if a cryptogram has been obtained and replayed, that cryptogram is immediately rejected if the counter has been read or used or otherwise passed over. If the counter has not been used, it may be replayed. In some examples, the counter that is updated on the card is different from the counter that is updated for transactions. In some examples, the contactless card may comprise a first applet, which may be a transaction applet, and a second applet. Each applet may comprise a counter. In some examples, the counter may get out of sync between the contactless card and one or more servers. For example, the contactless card may be activated causing the counter to be updated and a new communication to be generated by the contactless card, but the communication may be not be transmitted for processing at the one or more servers. This may cause the counter of the contactless card and the counter maintained at the one or more servers to get out of sync. This may occur unintentionally including, for example, where a card is stored adjacent to a device (e.g., carried in a pocket with a device) and where the contactless card is read at an angle may include the card being misaligned or not positioned such that the contactless card is powered up an the NFC field but is not readable. If the contactless card is positioned adjacent to a device, the device's NFC field may be turned on to power the contactless card causing the counter therein to be updated, but no application on the device receives the communication. To keep the counter in sync, an application, such as a background application, may be executed that would be configured to detect when the mobile device wakes up and synchronize with the one or more servers indicating that a read that occurred due to detection to then move the counter forward. Since the counters of the contactless card and the one or more servers may get out of sync, the one or more servers may be configured to allow the counter of the contactless card to be updated a threshold or predetermined number of times before it is read by the one or more servers and still be considered valid. For example, if the counter is configured to increment (or decrement) by one for each occurrence indicating activation of the contactless card, the one or more servers may allow any counter value it reads from the contactless card as valid, or any counter value within a threshold range (e.g., from 1 to 10). Moreover, the one or more servers may be configured to request a gesture associated with the contactless card, such as a user tap, if it reads a counter value which has advanced beyond 10, but below another threshold range value (such as 1000). From the user tap, if the counter value is within a desired or acceptance range, authentication succeeds. FIG.8is a flowchart illustrating key operations800according to an example embodiment. As illustrated inFIG.8, at block810, two bank identifier number (BIN) level master keys may be used in conjunction with the account identifier and card sequence number to produce two unique derived keys (UDKs) per card. In some examples, a bank identifier number may comprise one number or a combination of one or more numbers, such as an account number or an unpredictable number provided by one or more servers, may be used for session key generation and/or diversification. The UDKs (AUTKEY and ENCKEY) may be stored on the card during the personalization process. At block820, the counter may be used as the diversification data, since it changes with each use and provides a different session key each time, as opposed to the master key derivation in which one unique set of keys per card is produced. In some examples, it is preferable to use the 4-byte method for both operations. Accordingly, at block820, two session keys may be created for each transaction from the UDKs, i.e., one session key from AUTKEY and one session key from ENCKEY. In the card, for the MAC key (i.e., the session key created from AUTKEY), the low order of two bytes of the OTP counter may be used for diversification. For the ENC key (i.e., the session key created from ENCKEY), the full length of the OTP counter may be used for the ENC key. At block830, the MAC key may be used for preparing the MAC cryptogram, and the ENC key may be used to encrypt the cryptogram. For example, the MAC session key may be used to prepare the cryptogram, and the result may be encrypted with the ENC key before it is transmitted to the one or more servers. At block840, verification and processing of the MAC is simplified because 2-byte diversification is directly supported in the MAC authentication functions of payment HSMs. Decryption of the cryptogram is performed prior to verification of the MAC. The session keys are independently derived at the one or more servers, resulting in a first session key (the ENC session key) and a second session key (the MAC session key). The second derived key (i.e., the ENC session key) may be used to decrypt the data, and the first derived key (i.e., the MAC session key) may be used to verify the decrypted data. For the contactless card, a different unique identifier is derived which may be related to the application primary account number (PAN) and PAN sequence number, which is encoded in the card. The key diversification may be configured to receive the identifier as input with the master key such that one or more keys may be created for each contactless card. In some examples, these diversified keys may comprise a first key and a second key. The first key may include an authentication master key (Card Cryptogram Generation/Authentication Key—Card-Key-Auth), and may be further diversified to create a MAC session key used when generating and verifying a MAC cryptogram. The second key may comprise an encryption master key (Card Data Encryption Key—Card-Key-DEK), and may be further diversified to create an ENC session key used when encrypting and decrypting enciphered data. In some examples, the first and the second keys may be created by diversifying the issuer master keys by combining them with the card's unique ID number (pUID) and the PAN sequence number (PSN) of a payment applet. The pUID may comprise a 16-digit numerical value. As explained above, pUID may comprise a 16 digit BCD encoded number. In some examples, pUID may comprise a 14-digit numerical value. In some examples, since the EMV session key derivation method may wrap at 2{circumflex over ( )}16 uses, the counter such as the full 32-bit counter may be added to the initialization arrays of the diversification method. In other examples, such as credit cards, a number, such as an account number or an unpredictable number provided by one or more servers, may be used for session key generation and/or diversification. FIG.9illustrates a diagram of a system900configured to implement one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. As explained below, during the contactless card creation process, two cryptographic keys may be assigned uniquely for each card. The cryptographic keys may comprise symmetric keys which may be used in both encryption and decryption of data. Triple DES (3DES) algorithm may be used by EMV and it is implemented by hardware in the contactless card. By using a key diversification process, one or more keys may be derived from a master key based upon uniquely identifiable information for each entity that requires a key. Regarding master key management, two issuer master keys905,910may be required for each part of the portfolio on which the one or more applets is issued. For example, the first master key905may comprise an Issuer Cryptogram Generation/Authentication Key (Iss-Key-Auth) and the second master key910may comprise an Issuer Data Encryption Key (Iss-Key-DEK). As further explained herein, two issuer master keys905,910are diversified into card master keys925,930, which are unique for each card. In some examples, a network profile record ID (pNPR)915and derivation key index (pDKI)920, as back office data, may be used to identify which Issuer Master Keys905,910to use in the cryptographic processes for authentication. The system performing the authentication may be configured to retrieve values of pNPR915and pDKI920for a contactless card at the time of authentication. In some examples, to increase the security of the solution, a session key may be derived (such as a unique key per session) but rather than using the master key, the unique card-derived keys and the counter may be used as diversification data, as explained above. For example, each time the card is used in operation, a different key may be used for creating the message authentication code (MAC) and for performing the encryption. Regarding session key generation, the keys used to generate the cryptogram and encipher the data in the one or more applets may comprise session keys based on the card unique keys (Card-Key-Auth925and Card-Key-Dek930). The session keys (Aut-Session-Key935and DEK-Session-Key940) may be generated by the one or more applets and derived by using the application transaction counter (pATC)945with one or more algorithms. To fit data into the one or more algorithms, only the 2 low order bytes of the 4-byte pATC945is used. In some examples, the four byte session key derivation method may comprise: F1:=PATC (lower 2 bytes)∥‘F0’∥PATC (four bytes) F1:=PATC(lower 2 bytes)∥‘0F’∥‘00’∥PATC (four bytes) SK:={(ALG (MK) [F1])∥ALG(MK)[F2]}, where ALG may include 3DES ECB and MK may include the card unique derived master key. As described herein, one or more MAC session keys may be derived using the lower two bytes of pATC945counter. At each tap of the contactless card, pATC945is configured to be updated, and the card master keys Card-Key-AUTH925and Card-Key-DEK930are further diversified into the session keys Aut-Session-Key935and DEK-Session-KEY940. pATC945may be initialized to zero at personalization or applet initialization time. In some examples, the pATC counter945may be initialized at or before personalization, and may be configured to increment by one at each NDEF read. Further, the update for each card may be unique, and assigned either by personalization, or algorithmically assigned by pUID or other identifying information. For example, odd numbered cards may increment or decrement by 2 and even numbered cards may increment or decrement by 5. In some examples, the update may also vary in sequential reads, such that one card may increment in sequence by 1, 3, 5, 2, 2, . . . repeating. The specific sequence or algorithmic sequence may be defined at personalization time, or from one or more processes derived from unique identifiers. This can make it harder for a replay attacker to generalize from a small number of card instances. The authentication message may be delivered as the content of a text NDEF record in hexadecimal ASCII format. In some examples, only the authentication data and an 8-byte random number followed by MAC of the authentication data may be included. In some examples, the random number may precede cryptogram A and may be one block long. In other examples, there may be no restriction on the length of the random number. In further examples, the total data (i.e., the random number plus the cryptogram) may be a multiple of the block size. In these examples, an additional 8-byte block may be added to match the block produced by the MAC algorithm. As another example, if the algorithms employed used 16-byte blocks, even multiples of that block size may be used, or the output may be automatically, or manually, padded to a multiple of that block size. The MAC may be performed by a function key (AUT-Session-Key)935. The data specified in cryptogram may be processed with javacard. signature method: ALG_DES_MAC8_ISO9797_1_M2_ALG3 to correlate to EMV ARQC verification methods. The key used for this computation may comprise a session key AUT-Session-Key935, as explained above. As explained above, the low order two bytes of the counter may be used to diversify for the one or more MAC session keys. As explained below, AUT-Session-Key935may be used to MAC data950, and the resulting data or cryptogram A955and random number RND may be encrypted using DEK-Session-Key940to create cryptogram B or output960sent in the message. In some examples, one or more HSM commands may be processed for decrypting such that the final 16 (binary, 32 hex) bytes may comprise a 3DES symmetric encrypting using CBC mode with a zero IV of the random number followed by MAC authentication data. The key used for this encryption may comprise a session key DEK-Session-Key940derived from the Card-Key-DEK930. In this case, the ATC value for the session key derivation is the least significant byte of the counter pATC945. The format below represents a binary version example embodiment. Further, in some examples, the first byte may be set to ASCII ‘A’. Message Format124880x43 (MessageVersionpATCRNDCryptogram AType ‘A’)(MAC)Cryptogram A8 bytes(MAC)MAC of284418 bytes input dataVersionpUIDpATCShared SecretMessage Format124160x43 (MessageVersionpATCCryptogram BType ‘A’)Cryptogram A8 bytes(MAC)MAC of284418 bytes input dataVersionpUIDpATCShared SecretCryptogram B16Sym Encryptionof88RNDCryptogramA Another exemplary format is shown below. In this example, the tag may be encoded in hexadecimal format. Message Format28488VersionpUIDpATCRNDCryptogram A(MAC)8 bytes884418 bytes input datapUIDpUIDpATCShared SecretMessage Format28416VersionpUIDpATCCryptogram B8 bytes84418 bytes input datapUIDpUIDpATCShared SecretCryptogram B16Sym Encryptionof88RNDCryptogramA The UID field of the received message may be extracted to derive, from master keys Iss-Key-AUTH905and Iss-Key-DEK910, the card master keys (Card-Key-Auth925and Card-Key-DEK930) for that particular card. Using the card master keys (Card-Key-Auth925and Card-Key-DEK930), the counter (pATC) field of the received message may be used to derive the session keys (Aut-Session-Key935and DEK-Session-Key940) for that particular card. Cryptogram B960may be decrypted using the DEK-Session-KEY, which yields cryptogram A955and RND, and RND may be discarded. The UID field may be used to look up the shared secret of the contactless card which, along with the Ver, UID, and pATC fields of the message, may be processed through the cryptographic MAC using the re-created Aut-Session-Key to create a MAC output, such as MAC′. If MAC′ is the same as cryptogram A955, then this indicates that the message decryption and MAC checking have all passed. Then the pATC may be read to determine if it is valid. During an authentication session, one or more cryptograms may be generated by the one or more applications. For example, the one or more cryptograms may be generated as a 3DES MAC using ISO 9797-1 Algorithm 3 with Method 2 padding via one or more session keys, such as Aut-Session-Key935. The input data950may take the following form: Version (2), pUID (8), pATC (4), Shared Secret (4). In some examples, the numbers in the brackets may comprise length in bytes. In some examples, the shared secret may be generated by one or more random number generators which may be configured to ensure, through one or more secure processes, that the random number is unpredictable. In some examples, the shared secret may comprise a random 4-byte binary number injected into the card at personalization time that is known by the authentication service. During an authentication session, the shared secret may not be provided from the one or more applets to the mobile application. Method 2 padding may include adding a mandatory 0x‘80’ byte to the end of input data and 0x‘00’ bytes that may be added to the end of the resulting data up to the 8-byte boundary. The resulting cryptogram may comprise 8 bytes in length. In some examples, one benefit of encrypting an unshared random number as the first block with the MAC cryptogram, is that it acts as an initialization vector while using CBC (Block chaining) mode of the symmetric encryption algorithm. This allows the “scrambling” from block to block without having to pre-establish either a fixed or dynamic IV. By including the application transaction counter (pATC) as part of the data included in the MAC cryptogram, the authentication service may be configured to determine if the value conveyed in the clear data has been tampered with. Moreover, by including the version in the one or more cryptograms, it is difficult for an attacker to purposefully misrepresent the application version in an attempt to downgrade the strength of the cryptographic solution. In some examples, the pATC may start at zero and be updated by 1 each time the one or more applications generates authentication data. The authentication service may be configured to track the pATCs used during authentication sessions. In some examples, when the authentication data uses a pATC equal to or lower than the previous value received by the authentication service, this may be interpreted as an attempt to replay an old message, and the authenticated may be rejected. In some examples, where the pATC is greater than the previous value received, this may be evaluated to determine if it is within an acceptable range or threshold, and if it exceeds or is outside the range or threshold, verification may be deemed to have failed or be unreliable. In the MAC operation936, data950is processed through the MAC using Aut-Session-Key935to produce MAC output (cryptogram A)955, which is encrypted. In order to provide additional protection against brute force attacks exposing the keys on the card, it is desirable that the MAC cryptogram955be enciphered. In some examples, data or cryptogram A955to be included in the ciphertext may comprise: Random number (8), cryptogram (8). In some examples, the numbers in the brackets may comprise length in bytes. In some examples, the random number may be generated by one or more random number generators which may be configured to ensure, through one or more secure processes, that the random number is unpredictable. The key used to encipher this data may comprise a session key. For example, the session key may comprise DEK-Session-Key940. In the encryption operation941, data or cryptogram A955and RND are processed using DEK-Session-Key940to produce encrypted data, cryptogram B960. The data955may be enciphered using 3DES in cipher block chaining mode to ensure that an attacker must run any attacks over all of the ciphertext. As a non-limiting example, other algorithms, such as Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), may be used. In some examples, an initialization vector of 0x‘0000000000000000’ may be used. Any attacker seeking to brute force the key used for enciphering this data will be unable to determine when the correct key has been used, as correctly decrypted data will be indistinguishable from incorrectly decrypted data due to its random appearance. In order for the authentication service to validate the one or more cryptograms provided by the one or more applets, the following data must be conveyed from the one or more applets to the mobile device in the clear during an authentication session: version number to determine the cryptographic approach used and message format for validation of the cryptogram, which enables the approach to change in the future; pUID to retrieve cryptographic assets, and derive the card keys; and pATC to derive the session key used for the cryptogram. FIG.10illustrates a method1000for generating a cryptogram. For example, at block1010, a network profile record ID (pNPR) and derivation key index (pDKI) may be used to identify which Issuer Master Keys to use in the cryptographic processes for authentication. In some examples, the method may include performing the authentication to retrieve values of pNPR and pDKI for a contactless card at the time of authentication. At block1020, Issuer Master Keys may be diversified by combining them with the card's unique ID number (pUID) and the PAN sequence number (PSN) of one or more applets, for example, a payment applet. At block1030, Card-Key-Auth and Card-Key-DEK (unique card keys) may be created by diversifying the Issuer Master Keys to generate session keys which may be used to generate a MAC cryptogram. At block1040, the keys used to generate the cryptogram and encipher the data in the one or more applets may comprise the session keys of block1030based on the card unique keys (Card-Key-Auth and Card-Key-DEK). In some examples, these session keys may be generated by the one or more applets and derived by using pATC, resulting in session keys Aut-Session-Key and DEK-Session-Key. FIG.11depicts an exemplary process1100illustrating key diversification according to one example. Initially, a sender and the recipient may be provisioned with two different master keys. For example, a first master key may comprise the data encryption master key, and a second master key may comprise the data integrity master key. The sender has a counter value, which may be updated at block1110, and other data, such as data to be protected, which it may secure share with the recipient. At block1120, the counter value may be encrypted by the sender using the data encryption master key to produce the data encryption derived session key, and the counter value may also be encrypted by the sender using the data integrity master key to produce the data integrity derived session key. In some examples, a whole counter value or a portion of the counter value may be used during both encryptions. In some examples, the counter value may not be encrypted. In these examples, the counter may be transmitted between the sender and the recipient in the clear, i.e., without encryption. At block1130, the data to be protected is processed with a cryptographic MAC operation by the sender using the data integrity session key and a cryptographic MAC algorithm. The protected data, including plaintext and shared secret, may be used to produce a MAC using one of the session keys (AUT-Session-Key). At block1140, the data to be protected may be encrypted by the sender using the data encryption derived session key in conjunction with a symmetric encryption algorithm. In some examples, the MAC is combined with an equal amount of random data, for example each 8 bytes long, and then encrypted using the second session key (DEK-Session-Key). At block1150, the encrypted MAC is transmitted, from the sender to the recipient, with sufficient information to identify additional secret information (such as shared secret, master keys, etc.), for verification of the cryptogram. At block1160, the recipient uses the received counter value to independently derive the two derived session keys from the two master keys as explained above. At block1170, the data encryption derived session key is used in conjunction with the symmetric decryption operation to decrypt the protected data. Additional processing on the exchanged data will then occur. In some examples, after the MAC is extracted, it is desirable to reproduce and match the MAC. For example, when verifying the cryptogram, it may be decrypted using appropriately generated session keys. The protected data may be reconstructed for verification. A MAC operation may be performed using an appropriately generated session key to determine if it matches the decrypted MAC. As the MAC operation is an irreversible process, the only way to verify is to attempt to recreate it from source data. At block1180, the data integrity derived session key is used in conjunction with the cryptographic MAC operation to verify that the protected data has not been modified. Some examples of the methods described herein may advantageously confirm when a successful authentication is determined when the following conditions are met. First, the ability to verify the MAC shows that the derived session key was proper. The MAC may only be correct if the decryption was successful and yielded the proper MAC value. The successful decryption may show that the correctly derived encryption key was used to decrypt the encrypted MAC. Since the derived session keys are created using the master keys known only to the sender (e.g., the transmitting device) and recipient (e.g., the receiving device), it may be trusted that the contactless card which originally created the MAC and encrypted the MAC is indeed authentic. Moreover, the counter value used to derive the first and second session keys may be shown to be valid and may be used to perform authentication operations. Thereafter, the two derived session keys may be discarded, and the next iteration of data exchange will update the counter value (returning to block1110) and a new set of session keys may be created (at block1120). In some examples, the combined random data may be discarded. Example embodiments of systems and methods described herein may be configured to provide security factor authentication. The security factor authentication may comprise a plurality of processes. As part of the security factor authentication, a first process may comprise logging in and validating a user via one or more applications executing on a device. As a second process, the user may, responsive to successful login and validation of the first process via the one or more applications, engage in one or more behaviors associated with one or more contactless cards. In effect, the security factor authentication may include both securely proving identity of the user and engaging in one or more types of behaviors, including but not limited to one or more tap gestures, associated with the contactless card. In some examples, the one or more tap gestures may comprise a tap of the contactless card by the user to a device. In some examples, the device may comprise a mobile device, a kiosk, a terminal, a tablet, or any other device configured to process a received tap gesture. In some examples, the contactless card may be tapped to a device, such as one or more computer kiosks or terminals, to verify identity so as to receive a transactional item responsive to a purchase, such as a coffee. By using the contactless card, a secure method of proving identity in a loyalty program may be established. Securely proving the identity, for example, to obtain a reward, coupon, offer, or the like or receipt of a benefit is established in a manner that is different than merely scanning a bar card. For example, an encrypted transaction may occur between the contactless card and the device, which may configured to process one or more tap gestures. As explained above, the one or more applications may be configured to validate identity of the user and then cause the user to act or respond to it, for example, via one or more tap gestures. In some examples, data for example, bonus points, loyalty points, reward points, healthcare information, etc., may be written back to the contactless card. In some examples, the contactless card may be tapped to a device, such as a mobile device. As explained above, identity of the user may be verified by the one or more applications which would then grant the user a desired benefit based on verification of the identity. In some examples, the contactless card may be activated by tapping to a device, such as a mobile device. For example, the contactless card may communicate with an application of the device via a card reader of the device through NFC communication. The communication, in which a tap of the card proximate the card reader of the device may allow the application of the device to read data associated with the contactless card and activate the card. In some examples, the activation may authorize the card to be used to perform other functions, e.g., purchases, access account or restricted information, or other functions. In some examples, the tap may activate or launch the application of the device and then initiate one or more actions or communications with one or more servers to activate the contactless card. If the application is not installed on the device, a tap of the contactless card proximate the card reader may initiate a download of the application, such as navigation to a download page of the application). Subsequent to installation, a tap of the contactless card may activate or launch the application, and then initiate, for example via the application or other back-end communication), activation of the contactless card. After activation, the contactless card may be used in various activities, including without limitation commercial transactions. In some embodiments, a dedicated application may be configured to execute on a client device to perform the activation of the contactless card. In other embodiments, a webportal, a web-based app, an applet, and/or the like may perform the activation. Activation may be performed on the client device, or the client device may merely act as a go between for the contactless card and an external device (e.g., account server). According to some embodiments, in providing activation, the application may indicate, to the account server, the type of device performing the activation (e.g., personal computer, smartphone, tablet, or point-of-sale (POS) device). Further, the application may output, for transmission, different and/or additional data to the account server depending on the type of device involved. For example, such data may comprise information associated with a merchant, such as merchant type, merchant ID, and information associated with the device type itself, such as POS data and POS ID. In some embodiments, the example authentication communication protocol may mimic an offline dynamic data authentication protocol of the EMV standard that is commonly performed between a transaction card and a point-of-sale device, with some modifications. For example, because the example authentication protocol is not used to complete a payment transaction with a card issuer/payment processor per se, some data values are not needed, and authentication may be performed without involving real-time online connectivity to the card issuer/payment processor. As is known in the art, point of sale (POS) systems submit transactions including a transaction value to a card issuer. Whether the issuer approves or denies the transaction may be based on if the card issuer recognizes the transaction value. Meanwhile, in certain embodiments of the present disclosure, transactions originating from a mobile device lack the transaction value associated with the POS systems. Therefore, in some embodiments, a dummy transaction value (i.e., a value recognizable to the card issuer and sufficient to allow activation to occur) may be passed as part of the example authentication communication protocol. POS based transactions may also decline transactions based on the number of transaction attempts (e.g., transaction counter). A number of attempts beyond a buffer value may result in a soft decline; the soft decline requiring further verification before accepting the transaction. In some implementations, a buffer value for the transaction counter may be modified to avoid declining legitimate transactions. In some examples, the contactless card can selectively communicate information depending upon the recipient device. Once tapped, the contactless card can recognize the device to which the tap is directed, and based on this recognition the contactless card can provide appropriate data for that device. This advantageously allows the contactless card to transmit only the information required to complete the instant action or transaction, such as a payment or card authentication. By limiting the transmission of data and avoiding the transmission of unnecessary data, both efficiency and data security can be improved. The recognition and selective communication of information can be applied to a various scenarios, including card activation, balance transfers, account access attempts, commercial transactions, and step-up fraud reduction. If the contactless card tap is directed to a device running Apple's iOS® operating system, e.g., an iPhone, iPod, or iPad, the contactless card can recognize the iOS® operating system and transmit data appropriate data to communicate with this device. For example, the contactless card can provide the encrypted identity information necessary to authenticate the card using NDEF tags via, e.g., NFC. Similarly, if the contactless card tap is directed to a device running the Android® operating system, e.g., an Android® smartphone or tablet, the contactless card can recognize the Android® operating system and transmit appropriate and data to communicate with this device (such as the encrypted identity information necessary for authentication by the methods described herein). As another example, the contactless card tap can be directed to a POS device, including without limitation a kiosk, a checkout register, a payment station, or other terminal. Upon performance of the tap, the contactless card can recognize the POS device and transmit only the information necessary for the action or transaction. For example, upon recognition of a POS device used to complete a commercial transaction, the contactless card can communicate payment information necessary to complete the transaction under the EMV standard. In some examples, the POS devices participating in the transaction can require or specify additional information, e.g., device-specific information, location-specific information, and transaction-specific information, that is to be provided by the contactless card. For example, once the POS device receives a data communication from the contactless card, the POS device can recognize the contactless card and request the additional information necessary to complete an action or transaction. In some examples the POS device can be affiliated with an authorized merchant or other entity familiar with certain contactless cards or accustomed to performing certain contactless card transactions. However, it is understood such an affiliation is not required for the performance of the described methods. In some examples, such as a shopping store, grocery store, convenience store, or the like, the contactless card may be tapped to a mobile device without having to open an application, to indicate a desire or intent to utilize one or more of reward points, loyalty points, coupons, offers, or the like to cover one or more purchases. Thus, an intention behind the purchase is provided. In some examples, the one or more applications may be configured to determine that it was launched via one or more tap gestures of the contactless card, such that a launch occurred at 3:51 pm, that a transaction was processed or took place at 3:56 pm, in order to verify identity of the user. In some examples, the one or more applications may be configured to control one or more actions responsive to the one or more tap gestures. For example, the one or more actions may comprise collecting rewards, collecting points, determine the most important purchase, determine the least costly purchase, and/or reconfigure, in real-time, to another action. In some examples, data may be collected on tap behaviors as biometric/gestural authentication. For example, a unique identifier that is cryptographically secure and not susceptible to interception may be transmitted to one or more backend services. The unique identifier may be configured to look up secondary information about individual. The secondary information may comprise personally identifiable information about the user. In some examples, the secondary information may be stored within the contactless card. In some examples, the device may comprise an application that splits bills or check for payment amongst a plurality of individuals. For example, each individual may possess a contactless card, and may be customers of the same issuing financial institution, but it is not necessary. Each of these individuals may receive a push notification on their device, via the application, to split the purchase. Rather than accepting only one card tap to indicate payment, other contactless cards may be used. In some examples, individuals who have different financial institutions may possess contactless cards to provide information to initiate one or more payment requests from the card-tapping individual. The following example use cases describe examples of particular implementations of the present disclosure. These are intended solely for explanatory purposes and not for purposes of limitation. In one case, a first friend (payor) owes a second friend (payee) a sum of money. Rather than going to an ATM or requiring exchange through a peer-to-peer application, payor wishes to pay via payee's smartphone (or other device) using a contactless card. Payee logs-on to the appropriate application on his smartphone and selects a payment request option. In response, the application requests authentication via payee's contactless card. For example, the application outputs a display requesting that payee tap his contactless card. Once payee taps his contactless card against the screen of his smartphone with the application enabled, the contactless card is read and verified. Next, the application displays a prompt for payor to tap his contactless card to send payment. After the payor taps his contactless card, the application reads the card information and transmits, via an associated processor, a request for payment to payor's card issuer. The card issuer processes the transaction and sends a status indicator of the transaction to the smartphone. The application then outputs for display the status indicator of the transaction. In another example case, a credit card customer may receive a new credit card (or debit card, other payment card, or any other card requiring activation) in the mail. Rather than activating the card by calling a provided telephone number associated with the card issuer or visiting a website, the customer may decide to activate the card via an application on his or her device (e.g., a mobile device such as a smartphone). The customer may select the card activation feature from the application's menu that is displayed on a display of the device. The application may prompt the customer to tap his or her credit card against the screen. Upon tapping the credit card against the screen of the device, the application may be configured to communicate with a server, such as a card issuer server which activates the customer's card. The application may then displays a message indicating successful activation of the card. The card activation would then be complete. FIG.12illustrates a method1200for card activation according to an example embodiment. For example, card activation may be completed by a system including a card, a device, and one or more servers. The contactless card, device, and one or more servers may reference same or similar components that were previously explained above with reference toFIG.1A,FIG.1B,FIG.5A, andFIG.5B, such as contactless card105, client device110, and server120. In block1210, the card may be configured to dynamically generate data. In some examples, this data may include information such as an account number, card identifier, card verification value, or phone number, which may be transmitted from the card to the device. In some examples, one or more portions of the data may be encrypted via the systems and methods disclosed herein. In block1220, one or more portions of the dynamically generated data may be communicated to an application of the device via NFC or other wireless communication. For example, a tap of the card proximate to the device may allow the application of the device to read the one or more portions of the data associated with the contactless card. In some examples, if the device does not comprise an application to assist in activation of the card, the tap of the card may direct the device or prompt the customer to a software application store to download an associated application to activate the card. In some examples, the user may be prompted to sufficiently gesture, place, or orient the card towards a surface of the device, such as either at an angle or flatly placed on, near, or proximate the surface of the device. Responsive to a sufficient gesture, placement and/or orientation of the card, the device may proceed to transmit the one or more encrypted portions of data received from the card to the one or more servers. In block1230, the one or more portions of the data may be communicated to one or more servers, such as a card issuer server. For example, one or more encrypted portions of the data may be transmitted from the device to the card issuer server for activation of the card. In block1240, the one or more servers may decrypt the one or more encrypted portions of the data via the systems and methods disclosed herein. For example, the one or more servers may receive the encrypted data from the device and may decrypt it in order to compare the received data to record data accessible to the one or more servers. If a resulting comparison of the one or more decrypted portions of the data by the one or more servers yields a successful match, the card may be activated. If the resulting comparison of the one or more decrypted portions of the data by the one or more servers yields an unsuccessful match, one or more processes may take place. For example, responsive to the determination of the unsuccessful match, the user may be prompted to tap, swipe, or wave gesture the card again. In this case, there may be a predetermined threshold comprising a number of attempts that the user is permitted to activate the card. Alternatively, the user may receive a notification, such as a message on his or her device indicative of the unsuccessful attempt of card verification and to call, email or text an associated service for assistance to activate the card, or another notification, such as a phone call on his or her device indicative of the unsuccessful attempt of card verification and to call, email or text an associated service for assistance to activate the card, or another notification, such as an email indicative of the unsuccessful attempt of card verification and to call, email or text an associated service for assistance to activate the card. In block1250, the one or more servers may transmit a return message based on the successful activation of the card. For example, the device may be configured to receive output from the one or more servers indicative of a successful activation of the card by the one or more servers. The device may be configured to display a message indicating successful activation of the card. Once the card has been activated, the card may be configured to discontinue dynamically generating data so as to avoid fraudulent use. In this manner, the card may not be activated thereafter, and the one or more servers are notified that the card has already been activated. In another example case, a customer wants to access his financial accounts on his or her mobile phone. The customer launches an application (e.g., a bank application) on the mobile device and inputs a username and password. At this stage, the customer may see first-level account information (e.g., recent purchases) and be able to perform first-level account options (e.g., pay credit-card). However, if the user attempts to access second-level account information (e.g., spending limit) or perform a second-level account option (e.g., transfer to external system) he must have a second-factor authentication. Accordingly, the application requests that a user provide a transaction card (e.g., credit card) for account verification. The user then taps his credit card to the mobile device, and the application verifies that the credit card corresponds to the user's account. Thereafter, the user may view second-level account data and/or perform second-level account functions. In some examples, the systems and methods described herein may be applied to supplement the FIDO2 framework developed by the FIDO Alliance (FIDO) by, e.g., verifying the identity of the user initiating a FIDO2 authentication. A vulnerability of the FIDO2 framework is the identity of the user seeking to undertake the FIDO2 authentication process. By confirming the user attempting to register credentials and authenticate via the FIDO2 framework is the user he or she claims to be and is authorized to undergo authentication, the security of the FIDO2 framework may be improved and unauthorized users may be excluded. In other examples, the systems and methods described herein may be applied to supplement WebAuthn, Client to Authenticator Protocol (CTAP), FIDO, or other authentication implementations. It is understood that the present disclosure may be applied to any authentication implementation, and the present disclosure is not limited to the FIDO2 framework. As described herein, embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems and methods for data transmission between a contactless card and a client device. In an embodiment, each of the contactless card and client device may contain a master key. The contactless card may generate a diversified key using the master key, and protect a counter value prior to transmitting the counter value to the client device. The client device may generate the diversified key based on the master key and counter value. The FIDO private key may facilitate a FIDO transaction between the client device and a server, which includes a corresponding FIDO public key. As further examples, the client device may randomly generate a unique public and private key pair, or the client device may generate one or more diversified keys using a master key and available identification information (e.g., a site identifier for a website associated with a service provider). In an example embodiment, the data transmission system disclosed herein may be implemented in a FIDO system. A FIDO system may include a client device and a server associated with a service provider. The client device may store a FIDO private key and the server may store a FIDO public key associated with the FIDO private key. For example, when a user registers an account with the service provider, the client device may generate the FIDO public-key-private-key pair. The client device may store the FIDO private key and transmit the FIDO public key to the server of the service provider. Subsequently, a user may sign into the account, e.g., by signing a challenge using the FIDO private key. The server may provide the challenge to the client device to sign. For example, the server may provide the user with a long random number or a long string of random characters. The client device may receive the random number or random characters and sign it using the FIDO private key. Then, the client device may transmit the signed random number to the server. The server may confirm the signed challenge using the FIDO public key and allow the user to access the account only if the signed challenge matches the original challenge. For example, the server may perform a cryptographic hash of the challenge, and then confirm the hash using the FIDO public key. If the server confirms the long random number using the FIDO public key stored on the server, such that the random numbers or letters are the same as what was transmitted to the client device, the server may grant access to the user. Otherwise, access may be denied to the client device (or the user). In one example embodiment, the FIDO private key is locked on the client device, which in this example may function as the FIDO authenticator. The FIDO private key may be stored in a secure element of the client device, and the FIDO private key may be used only after the FIDO private key is unlocked on the client device by the user. The client device may unlock the FIDO private key by a user action. For example, the user action may be swiping a finger, entering a PIN, speaking into a microphone, inserting a second-factor device or pressing a button. The second factor device may be a contactless card. In some examples, the server can provide information necessary to complete the private key, so that even if accessed or generated in an unauthorized manner, the private key could not be used. This information may include, for example, part of the private key itself, part of the mater key used to generate the private key, or other data available to the server. In some examples, the private key may be repeatedly generated based on information provided by the server. In other examples, information may be provided that requires input from the second factor device, or that is only unlocked upon use of the second factor device (e.g., by a user action involving the second factor device). In another example embodiment, the server may transmit the counter value to the client device. For example, the server may keep track of the transactions of the contactless card. Each time the contactless card conducts a transaction, the server may increment the counter value by a predetermined number. The contactless card may also increment the counter value each time the contactless card conducts a transaction in relation to the server. During a FIDO transaction, e.g., when the client device may sign a challenge, the server may transmit the counter value to the client device. This way, the contactless card and the client device may have the same counter value when transmitting and receiving the encrypted FIDO private key. FIG.13shows a FIDO system1300using a data transmission system according to an example embodiment. In this example embodiment, the FIDO system1300may include a server1310, a client device1320and a contactless card1330. The server1310may include a database for storing account information for various users of the system. The client device1320may contain and execute one or more applications, such as one or more software applications comprising instructions for execution on the client device1320, which are configured to enable communications with one or more components of system1300, transmit and/or receive data, and perform the client device functions described herein. The client device1320may be a smartphone that may be connected to various networks and send and receive communication using NFC technology, and may include one or more software applications configured to perform the functions described herein. In another example, the client device1320may be a dongle, and in a further example, the client device1320may be a network-enabled computer. The contactless card1330may include a processor, a memory and a transmitter, and perform the functions of contactless cards described herein. The server1310may be in communication with the client device1320, e.g., through a network such as the Internet. The client device1320may transmit and receive signals from the contactless card1330using the NFC technology. It is understood that the contactless card1330is not limited to a contactless card, and in some examples may be a device that is the same or similar to the client device1320. In one example embodiment, a user may visit an application or website on a user interface of the client device1320. The application may display a sign-in page1321, which may include a sign-in button1322and a setup device1323. If the user taps on the button1322, the client device1320may sign the user in using FIDO technology. If the user taps on the button1323, the client device1320may register a user account with service provider or register the client device1320in association with a user account. In an example embodiment, a user may tap on the button1323. In response, the client device1320may activate a FIDO authenticator application that may generate a FIDO key pair, i.e., a FIDO private key and FIDO public key. The FIDO key pair may be randomly generated, for example, or a one or more diversified keys may be generated using a master key and an identified associated with the service provider. As another example, a diversified key may be generating using a master key and a counter value. The client device1320may store the FIDO private key and transmit the FIDO public key to the server1310using a network such as the Internet. Once the server1310receives the FIDO public key, the server1310may store the FIDO public key in the database in association with an account for the user. In an example embodiment, a user may tap on the button1322. In response, the client device1320may transmit a signal to the server1310to request a challenge for signing. The server1310may transmit the challenge to the client device1320. The challenge can, e.g., be a string of random numbers. The client device1320may also transmit a signal to the contactless card1330to request an authentication from the contactless card1330, and upon receipt of the authentication, the client device1320may relay the authentication to the server1310. Upon receipt of the response from the server1310by the client device1320, the FIDO private key stored on the client device1320may be unlocked. In some examples, a proxy authenticator can be created on the client device1320. For example, the proxy authenticator may prompt the user to tap the contactless card1330to the client device1320in order to initiate an authentication process and establish communication with the server1310. The server1310may then perform any authentication processes necessary and sends the results of the authentication processes to client device1320. The client device1320may present the results as if generated by the client device1320without interaction with the server1310, thereby acting as the proxy authenticator. This process may be employed to unlock one or more FIDO private keys stored on the server1310. If a challenge is received, the client device1320may pass the challenge to the server1310to locate the private key, and generate the appropriate public/private key pair or the public key necessary for the challenge. Once the client device1320receives the challenge, using the FIDO private key, the client device1320may sign the challenge, e.g., encrypt the string of random numbers. The client device1320may transmit the signed challenge to the server1310. The server1310may confirm the signed challenge using the FIDO public key. If the confirmed challenge is the same as the challenge that was transmitted to the client device1320, the server1310may authenticate the client device1320(or the user of the client device1320). If the confirmed challenge is not the same as the challenge that was transmitted to the client device1320, the server1310may prevent the client device1320from access to the server1310(or other devices). In an example embodiment, the data transmission system may be used by a bank to process an online payment for a user. The bank may operate a server and the user may request the online payment on a tablet of the user. Also, the user may own a contactless card issued by the bank. When the bank issues the contactless card, the server issues a pair of FIDO keys for the user. The pair of keys include a FIDO private key and a FIDO public key. The server saves the FIDO public key, but the server stores the FIDO private key on the contactless card. The tablet may include one or more software applications and may be in communication with the server via the Internet. The tablet may also send and receive signals to the contactless card using the NFC protocol. To enhance the security of the online transaction, the bank may require the customer to verify the customer's identity for certain transactions, e.g., transactions requiring payments exceeding a predetermined payment amount. The verification may take place using the FIDO technology. In some examples, the FIDO public key may be associated with the contactless card. In these examples, the mater private key, or a fixed private key, may be stored on the device implementing the FIDO authenticator, e.g., the server or the tablet. FIG.14shows an example flowchart1400for processing an online payment. In step1410, a transaction may be initiated at the tablet of the user. For example, the user may visit a third-party website and order a diamond necklace. In step1420, the tablet may transmit the user's contactless card information (e.g., account number, account holder name, account holder address, security code, a unique card identifier) and/or transaction information (e.g., amount, merchant name, merchant location, date, time goods or services purchased) to the third-party to process a payment for the transaction. The third-party may contact the bank for authorization of the payment. In this example embodiment, the price of the diamond necklace exceeds a threshold value defined for online payments by the user and the bank may require the user to verify the user's identity before the bank processes the payment. This threshold value may be defined by the bank or the user. In step1430, the tablet may receive from the server of the bank a challenge to verify the user's identity. In response, in step1440, an application stored on the tablet (e.g., the bank's application installed on the tablet) may pop up a window and ask the user to tap the contactless card. In step1450, the user may tap the contactless card to the tablet, and in doing so the tablet may be granted permission to use the FIDO private key. In step1460, the tablet may use the FIDO private key to sign the challenge, and in step1470, the tablet may transmit the signed challenge to the server. In response to receiving the signed challenge, the server may confirm the identity of the user and authorize the payment, in step1480. When the payment is authorized, the server may transmit a message to the third-party. In step1490, the tablet may receive a message from the third-party indicating that the transaction is processed. FIG.15shows an example user interface for a client device1320for processing the online payment. In this example embodiment, the client device1320is a tablet displaying the checkout page1510. This page may show the diamond necklace that the user selected and the price for the item. The page1510may include a field1520for entering the user's credit card information. The page1510may also include a button1530for processing the transaction. Once the user taps on the button1530, the tablet may transmit the credit card information to the third-party vendor. Because in this example, the transaction amount exceeds a threshold value, the bank may require the user to verify the transaction. FIG.16shows an example user interface for a client device1320for verifying the online payment. In this example embodiment, after the third-party contacts the bank for processing the payment, the server of the bank may transmit a message or communication to the client device or tablet1320to verify the transaction. The message or communication may include a challenge and prompt the tablet1320to display a prompt1610asking the user to tap the user's contactless card1330on the tablet1320. Subsequently, the user may tap the contactless card1330on the tablet1320, and as described before, the contactless card1330may transmit the encrypted FIDO private key to the tablet1320. The tablet1320may generate the diversified key and using the diversified key may decrypt the encrypted FIDO private key. Once the tablet1320is in possession of the FIDO private key, the tablet1320may sign and transmit the challenge to the server of the bank. In one example embodiment, the tablet1320may include an application in association with the bank. The application may display various bank account information to the user. For example, the application may display the account balance for each account the user holds with the bank. The application may also receive communications or messages from the bank server and display prompts on the tablet to the user. A communication may include a challenge and a message to be displayed on the tablet. Once the application receives the communication from the bank server, the application may display a prompt or window on the screen of the tablet1320. The prompt or window may be superimposed on other windows or pages that are being displayed on the tablet1320. The present disclosure is not limited to strict compliance with the FIDO framework, and it is understood that this disclosure encompasses variations on this framework. While in some example embodiments the FIDO public-key-private-key pair may be generated on the FIDO authenticator, other combinations are also possible. For example, it is possible for the server to generate the FIDO public-key-private-key pair, and the server may transmit the FIDO private key to the authenticator, e.g., when the user wants to register a client device or open an account. As another example, the FIDO public-key-private-key pair may be stored on a contactless card. When needed, the FIDO authenticator may retrieve the FIDO public or the FIDO private key, e.g., the client device may transmit the FIDO public key to the server to register the client device, and the client device may retrieve the FIDO private key when the server transmits a challenge to the client device. As another example, upon receipt of the authentication approval from the contactless card, the FIDO authenticator itself may proceed with the signing challenge and/or providing the public keys necessary for the completion of FIDO registration. In some examples, a client device may comprise a processor, a memory containing a FIDO public key, a FIDO private key, and account information, and a communication interface in data communication with a contactless card and a server, the communication interface having a communication field. Upon receipt of an instruction to initiate a transaction, the processor may be configured to: transmit a transaction request to a first server, the transaction request including account information and transaction information relating to the transaction; receive a challenge from a second server; request a transaction verification from the contactless card; receive, via the communication interface, a transaction verification from the contactless card upon entry of the contactless card into the communication field, wherein the transaction verification permits use of the FIDO private key in connection with the challenge; sign the challenge using the private key; and transmit the signed challenge to the second server. In some examples, the processor of the client device may be configured to generate a FIDO key pair including the FIDO private key and a FIDO public key and transmit the FIDO public key to the second server. The processor may be configured to generate the FIDO key pair using a master key and a diversified key. The diversified key may be generated using the master key and a counter value. Use of the master key may be limited to a predetermined time period or to a predetermined number of uses. The communication interface may be configured to communicate with the contactless card via near field communication. In some examples, the challenge may be a string of random numbers. The challenge may be a string of random letters. The second server may be configured to create the challenge using the FIDO public key. The second server may be configured to confirm the signed challenge using the FIDO public key. The second server may transmit the challenge to the client device in response to receiving a request for a payment from the first server. In some examples, the first server and the second server may be the same. In some examples, the client device may comprise a display and the processor is configured to request a transaction verification by presenting a message asking a user to tap the contactless card on the client device on the display. The transaction information may include at least one of an account number, a transaction amount, and a unique card identifier. In some examples, an authorization method may comprise: initiating, by a client application comprising instructions for execution on a client device, a transaction with a first server; transmitting, by the client application, transaction information to the first server; receiving, by the client application, a challenge sent by a second server; requesting, by the client application, a transaction verification; receiving, by the client application, a transaction verification, wherein the transaction verification authorizes the client application to utilize a FIDO private key stored in a memory of the client device to sign the challenge; signing, by the client application, the challenge using the FIDO private key; transmitting, by the client application, the signed challenge to the server; and receiving, by the client application, an indication from the server that the transaction has been approved. In some examples, the transaction verification may include the entry of a contactless card into near field communication with the client device. The contactless card and the client device may each store a master key and a counter value. In some examples, the method may comprise: encrypting, by the client application, the FIDO private key using a combination of a diversified key and a counter value stored in the memory of the contactless card; and transmitting, by the client application, the encrypted FIDO private key to the second server. The method may comprise: generating, by the client application, a FIDO public key and a FIDO private key; and transmitting, by the client application, the FIDO public key to the second server. In some examples, a contactless card may comprise: a substrate, including: a memory containing an applet, a counter value, a master key, a diversified key, a FIDO public key, and a FIDO private key; a communication interface; and a processor in communication with the memory and communication interface, the processor configured to: update the counter value when the communication interface is within a range of a communication field of a client device; create a cryptogram using the diversified key and the counter value, wherein the cryptogram stores the FIDO public key; and transmit the cryptogram via the communication interface. In some examples, the present disclosure refers to a tap of the contactless card. However, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to a tap, and that the present disclosure includes other gestures (e.g., a wave or other movement of the card). Throughout the specification and the claims, the following terms take at least the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or.” Further, the terms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean one or more unless specified otherwise or clear from the context to be directed to a singular form. In this description, numerous specific details have been set forth. It is to be understood, however, that implementations of the disclosed technology may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description. References to “some examples,” “other examples,” “one example,” “an example,” “various examples,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “example embodiment,” “various embodiments,” “one implementation,” “an implementation,” “example implementation,” “various implementations,” “some implementations,” etc., indicate that the implementation(s) of the disclosed technology so described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every implementation necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrases “in one example,” “in one embodiment,” or “in one implementation” does not necessarily refer to the same example, embodiment, or implementation, although it may. As used herein, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner. While certain implementations of the disclosed technology have been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and various implementations, it is to be understood that the disclosed technology is not to be limited to the disclosed implementations, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. This written description uses examples to disclose certain implementations of the disclosed technology, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice certain implementations of the disclosed technology, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of certain implementations of the disclosed technology is defined in the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims. | 125,119 |
11861605 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The detailed description of exemplary embodiments herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which show various embodiments by way of illustration. While these various embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical and mechanical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Thus, the detailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation. For example, the steps recited in any of the method or process descriptions may be executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented. Moreover, any of the functions or steps may be outsourced to or performed by one or more third parties. Furthermore, any reference to singular includes plural embodiments, and any reference to more than one component may include a singular embodiment. The system may be configured to provide secured account provisioning and secured payment for near field communication (NFC) enabled devices. The system ma allow for the secure transmission and storage of transaction account numbers on an NFC-enabled device. Moreover, the system may allow for the coding of the disclosed security operations and encryptions at the native development key (NDK) level (typically built in C or C++) on ANDROID® based applications instead of the software development kit (SDK) level (typically built in JAVA®). In that regard, the system may improve the computer functioning and computer security in that coding on the NDK level may be at least partially more difficult to reverse engineer and/or decompile compared to coding on the SDK level, allowing the storage and transmission of transaction account numbers to be more secure than typical systems in the prior art (e.g., C languages are compiled into binary machine code that is at least partially more difficult to reverse engineer and/or decompile than JAVA languages that are compiled into JVM byte code). The system further improves the functioning of the computer (e.g., user device110, with brief reference toFIG.1). For example, by automating the encryption and security of confidential data (including transaction account data) as opposed to needing the user to manually input data (such as security verification codes and the like), the user performs less computer functions and provides less input, which saves on data storage and memory, thus speeding processing in the computer. Moreover, by at least partially reducing the need for user input, battery life on the computer (e.g., smartphone, phone, etc.) may be improved, and the speed of transactions using NFC-enabled devices may also be increased. Additionally, by transmitting, storing, and accessing data using the processes described herein, the security of the data is improved, which decreases the risk of the computer or network (e.g., network105), or the data itself (including confidential data such as transaction account data) from being compromised. For example, encryption keys and data may be stored on a mobile device using White Box Cryptography. In various embodiments, and with reference toFIG.1, a system100for secured account provisioning is disclosed. System100may be computer based, and may comprise a processor, a tangible non-transitory computer-readable memory, and/or a network interface, along with other suitable system software and hardware components. Instructions stored on the tangible non-transitory memory may allow system100to perform various functions, as described herein. System100may also contemplate uses in association with web services, utility computing, pervasive and individualized computing, security and identity solutions, autonomic computing, cloud computing, commodity computing, mobility and wireless solutions, open source, biometrics, grid computing and/or mesh computing. In various embodiments, system100may comprise one or more of a user device110, a network105, a secure provisioning system130, an issuer system140, an encryption module150, an account member database145, and/or a hardware security module155. Account member database145and hardware security module155may comprise one or more physically separated databases, and/or each database may be distinct. The various systems and components described herein may be in direct logical communication with each other in a bus, network, and/or through any other suitable means, or may be individually connected as described further herein. In various embodiments, user device110may comprise any suitable hardware and/or software components capable of sending and receiving data. For example, user device110may comprise a personal computer, personal digital assistant, cellular phone, kiosk, and/or the like. User device110may also comprise a near-field communication (NFC) enabled device, such as a smartphone (e.g., IPHONE®, BLACKBERRY®, and/or the like), a smart-ring, a wristwatch, and/or the like. User device110may be in operative and/or electronic communication with a secure interface120. Secure interface120may comprise a website, application, and/or the like. For example, secure interface120may comprise an application or micro-app configured to leverage the resources of the larger operating system and associated hardware on user device110, via a set of predetermined rules which govern the operations of various operating systems and hardware resources, as discussed further herein. Secure interface120may be configured to allow a transaction account owner, via user device110, access to secure provisioning system130. In that respect, secure interface120may require a secure login in order to grant the transaction account owner access to secure provisioning system130. For example, the transaction account owner may access secure provisioning system130, via secure interface120, by entering secure login information (e.g., a user name and password, transaction account number, a biometric input (e.g., a fingerprint), etc.). In various embodiments, the transaction account owner may access secure provisioning system130, via secure interface120, to provision a transaction account. In that respect, provisioning may refer to the process of securely storing transaction account information on user device110such that the transaction account may be used for NFC-enabled payments. For example, the transaction account owner may electronically access secure provisioning system130, via secure interface120, to select one or more transaction accounts to be added to the user device110for NFC-enabled payments. As discussed further herein, in response to the transaction account owner transmitting, a provisioning setup request, secure interface120may begin operations to provision a transaction account. For example, secure interface120may command secure provisioning system130to perform an initial risk check on user device110, as discussed further herein. For example, during the initial risk check, secure provisioning system130may examine software and hardware information on user device110to assess integrity of user device110(e.g., using an attestation service or the like). The initial risk check may determine whether user device110has been tampered with or rooted, whether previous provisioning requests from user device110were denied, the frequency of provisioning requests transmitted from user device110, and/or similar assessments. Based on the initial risk check, secure provisioning system130may determine whether to proceed with account provisioning. For example, secure provisioning system130may invoke an attestation service, API, or the like that may perform the initial risk check on user device110and return data indicating whether user device110is in a non-tampered state (e.g., whether user device110passes the initial risk check). In response to user device110passing the initial risk check, user device110may be configured to prompt the user to select one or more transaction accounts for provisioning. In response to the transaction account owner selecting one or more transaction accounts for provisioning, user device110, via secure interface120, may be configured to generate an account provisioning request. The account provisioning request may comprise a provisioning account and a device fingerprint. The provisioning account may comprise data indicating the one or more transaction accounts selected by the transaction account owner. The device fingerprint may be generated by secure interface120, and may comprise data indicating a unique identifier or profile of user device110. For example, the device fingerprint may comprise a hash numerical value of various user device110attributes, such as a media access control (MAC) address, attributes related to the operating system (e.g., an ANDROID® ID, an APPLE® ID, etc.), an application build ID, a build serial number, a subscriber identification module (SIM) card identifier (e.g., an international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) number, an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number, a mobile equipment identifier (MEI) number, electronic serial number (ESN), etc.), or the like. The account provisioning request may be encrypted by secure interface120. For example, the account provisioning request may be encrypted using a field level encryption key. In that regard, secure interface120may be in electronic and/or operative communication with device secured database115. Device secured database115may be located on user device110. Device secured database115may be configured to securely store encrypted account payloads, as discussed further herein. Device secured database115may also be configured to store one or more field level encryption keys. The field level encryption keys may comprise public encryption keys. For example, and as discussed further herein, the field level encryption keys may match a server root key stored by secure provisioning system130such that secure interface120may encrypt data with the field level encryption keys that may be decrypted by secure provisioning system130using the server root key. Secure interface120may retrieve the field level encryption key from device secured database115, and may encrypt the encrypted account provisioning request using the field level encryption keys. Secure interface120may transmit the encrypted account provisioning request to secure provisioning system130. In various embodiments, user device110, via secure interface120, and secure provisioning system130may be interconnected via network105. As used herein, the term “network” may include any cloud, cloud computing system or electronic Communications System or method which incorporates hardware and/or software components. Communication among the parties may be accomplished through any suitable communication channels, such as, for example, a telephone network, an extranet, an intranet, Internet, point of interaction device (point of sale device, personal digital assistant (e.g., IPHONE®, BLACKBERRY®), cellular phone, kiosk, etc.), online communications, satellite communications, communications, wireless communications, transponder communications, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), virtual private network (VPN), networked or linked devices, keyboard, mouse and/or any suitable communication or data input modality. Moreover, although the system is frequently described herein as being implemented with TCP/IP communications protocols, the system may also be implemented using IPX, APPLE® talk, IP-6, NetBIOS®, OSI, any tunneling protocol (e.g. IPsec, SSH), or any number of existing or future protocols. If the network is in the nature of a public network, such as the Internet, it may be advantageous to presume the network to be insecure and open to eavesdroppers. Specific information related to the protocols, standards, and application software utilized in connection with the Internet is generally known to those skilled in the art and, as such, need not be detailed herein. The various system components may be independently, separately or collectively suitably coupled to the network via data links which includes, for example, a connection to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) over the local loop as is typically used in connection with standard modem communication, cable modem, Dish Networks®, ISDN, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or various wireless communication methods. It is noted that the network may be implemented as other types of networks, such as an interactive television (ITV) network. Moreover, the system contemplates the use, sale or distribution of any goods, services or information over any network having similar functionality described herein. “Cloud” or “Cloud computing” includes a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. Cloud computing may include location-independent computing, whereby shared servers provide resources, software, and data to computers and other devices on demand. For more information regarding cloud computing, see the NIST's (National Institute of Standards and Technology) definition of cloud computing. In various embodiments, secure provisioning system130may be configured as a central hub for access to various components, databases, and modules of system100. Secure provisioning system130may comprise a sub-network, computer-based system, software component, and/or the like configured to provide an access point to various systems, engines, and components. Secure provisioning system130may be in electronic and/or operative communication with issuer system140and encryption module150. Secure provisioning system130may be configured to perform various operations for secured account provisioning and secured account payments using NFC-enabled devices. In various embodiments, encryption module150may be configured to decrypt the encrypted account provisioning request. Encryption module150may comprise hardware, software, or the like configured to encrypt and decrypt data payloads, and transmit data to various sources, as discussed further herein. Encryption module150may be in electronic and/or operative communication with secure provisioning system130and hardware security module155. Secure provisioning system130may transmit the encrypted account provisioning request to encryption module150, in response to receiving the encrypted account provisioning request, encryption module150may be configured to retrieve a server root key from hardware security module155. The server root key may comprise any suitable type of encryption key, such as, for example RSA 2048. Hardware security module155may be configured to store and maintain one or more server root keys. Hardware security module155may comprise any suitable type of database, and may store the data using any suitable technique described herein or known in the art. The server root key may comprise a public encryption key. In that respect, the server root key may be similar to the field level encryption key. For example, matching server root keys and field level encryption keys may allow system100to encrypt and decrypt data over network105. Encryption module150may be configured to decrypt the encrypted account provisioning request to determine the provisioning account and the device fingerprint. In that respect, encryption module150may decrypt the encrypted account provisioning request using the serer root key to determine the provisioning account and the device fingerprint contained therein. Encryption module150may transmit data comprising the provisioning account to secure provisioning system130. In response to receiving the provisioning account from encryption module150, secure provisioning system130may be configured to retrieve transaction account data based on the provisioning account. Secure provisioning system130may query issuer system140to retrieve the transaction account data. Issuer system140may be configured as a central hub to access various systems, engines, and components of a payment network, as discussed further herein. Issuer system140may be in electronic and/or operative communication with secure provisioning system130and account member database145. Account member database145may comprise any suitable type of database and may be configured store and maintain transaction account data regarding transaction accounts, such as, for example, a transaction account number, user account access data username, password, and/or the like), transaction account identifying information (e.g., owner address, city, state, zip code, etc.), a card security code (CSC) or a card verification value (CVV), transaction account balance, and/or other such similar data. Account member database145may store the data using any suitable technique described herein or known in the art. In response to being queried by secure provisioning system130, issuer system140may query account member database145to retrieve the transaction account data matching the provisioning account. The transaction account data may comprise data corresponding to the transaction account, such as, for example, a transaction account number, account identifying information, or the like. In various embodiments, issuer system140may also be configured to generate the transaction account data as a limited use payment credential (LUPC). Secure provisioning system130may transmit the transaction account data to encryption module150. Issuer system140may further calculate a cryptogram using the LUPC, and transmit the cryptogram to encryption module150. In response to receiving the transaction account data, encryption module150may be configured to generate an ENC key, a MAC key, and a DEK key. Encryption module150may generate the ENC key, the MAC key, and the DEK key based on the device fingerprint and a root key (e.g., an AES 128 root key, the server root key, etc.). For example the ENC key, the MAC key, and the DEK key may be generated to comprise distinct numerical values based on the numerical value contained within the device fingerprint. In that respect, device fingerprints having different numerical values may be used to generate ENC keys, the MAC keys, and DEK keys having different values. The ENC key (e.g., an encryption key) may be used to encrypt the account payload, as discussed further herein. The MAC key (e.g., a message authentication code key) may be used to digitally sign the encrypted account payload, as discussed further herein. The DEK key (e.g., a data encryption key) may be used to encrypt the transaction account data (e.g., a limited use payment credential (LUPC), or the like), prior to generating the account payload, as discussed further herein. In response to generating the keys, encryption module150may be configured to encrypt the transaction account data. Encryption module150may use the DEK key to encrypt the limited use payment credential (LUPC) in the transaction account data. Encryption module150may use the ENC key to encrypt the transaction account data. Encryption module150may use the MAC key to digitally sign the transaction account data. In that respect, an encrypted account payload may be generated, wherein the encrypted account payload comprises the encrypted transaction account data that has been digitally signed. In response to encrypting the transaction account data, encryption module150may transmit the encrypted account payload to secure provisioning system130. Secure provisioning system130may transmit the encrypted account payload, via network105, to secure interface120. In response to receiving the encrypted account payload, secure interface120may be configured to decrypt the account payload. Secure interface120may generate the ENC key, the MAC key, and the DEC key to decrypt the account payload. Secure interface120may be configured to generate the storage ENC key and the storage MAC key based on the device fingerprint and a storage root key (e.g., an AES 128 root key), similar to the generation of MAC keys and ENC keys. Secure interface120may encrypt the account payload using the storage ENC key. Secure interface120may use the storage MAC key to generate the HMAC based on the encrypted account payload. Secure interface120may be configured to store the encrypted account payload and the HMAC in device secured database115. The encrypted account payload and the HMAC may be stored using any suitable technique. In various embodiments, and with reference toFIG.2, a system200for secured account payments using NFC-enabled devices is disclosed. System200may enable a user device110, via secure interface120, to interact with a merchant system to make a secured payment. In various embodiments, merchant system260may be configured to initiate and conduct transactions with transaction account owners, beneficiaries, or the like. Merchant system260may comprise a POS terminal265configured as a mechanism to conduct a transaction. For example, POS terminal265may comprise a cashier station, a credit and/or debit card reader, an EMV card reader, and/or the like. POS terminal265may also comprise a near-field communication (NFC) terminal. An NFC terminal may allow for the transfer of information (e.g., payment information, payment tokens, etc.) from a NFC enabling user device (e.g., user device110), such as, for example, a mobile device, watch, and/or the like. In response to a user initiating the transaction with merchant system260, via POS terminal265, merchant system260may generate a transaction authorization request. The transaction authorization request may comprise any suitable data related to the transaction, such as a payment amount, a merchant ID, the transaction account number, or the like. Merchant system260may in electronic and/or operative communication with issuer system140. Merchant system260may be configured to transmit the transaction authorization request to issuer system140. Issuer system140may be configured to complete the payment transaction as a standard transaction typical of those known in the art. In various embodiments, merchant system260and issuer system140may be interconnected via a transaction network207. Transaction network207, which may be part of certain transactions, represents existing proprietary networks that presently accommodate transactions for credit cards, debit cards, and/or other types of transactional instruments. Transaction network207may be a closed network that is secure from eavesdroppers. In various embodiments, transaction network207may comprise an exemplary transaction network such as American Express®, VisaNet®, Mastercard®, Discover®, Interac®, Cartes Bancaires, JCB®, private networks (e.g., department store networks), and/or any other payment network. In response to the transaction account holder initiating a payment with merchant system260, secure interface120may be configured to retrieve the encrypted account payload. Secure interface120may be configured to generate a second device fingerprint. The second device fingerprint may comprise data indicating a unique identifier or profile of user device110at the time of the initiated NFC-enabled payment. For example, the second device fingerprint may comprise a hash numerical value of various user device110attributes, such as a media access control (MAC) address, attributes related to the operating system (e.g., an ANDROID® ID, an APPLE® ID, etc.), an application build ID, a build serial number, a subscriber identification module (SIM) card identifier (e.g., an international mobile equipment identity (IME)) number, an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number, a mobile equipment identifier (MEI) number, electronic serial number (ESN), etc.), or the like. In that respect, the second device fingerprint may be different than the (first) device fingerprint in response to a change in the hardware, software, or the like on user device110. The second device fingerprint may also be the same as the (first) device fingerprint in response to no changes occurring in the hardware, software, or the like on user device110. In response to generating the second device fingerprint, secure interface120may be configured to generate a second storage ENC key and a second storage MAC key, based on the second device fingerprint. Secure interface120may generate the second storage ENC key and the second storage MAC key similar to generating the (first) storage ENC key and the (first) storage MAC key. For example, secure interface120may be configured to generate the second storage ENC key and the second storage MAC key based on the second device fingerprint and the storage root key (e.g., an AES 128 root key). In that regard, in response to a change in user device110causing the second device fingerprint to be different than the (first) device fingerprint, the second storage ENC key and the second storage MAC key may be different than the (first) storage ENC key and the (first) storage MAC key previously generated. In response to second device fingerprint matching the (first) device fingerprint, the second storage ENC key and the second storage MAC key may be the same as the (first) storage ENC key and the (first) storage MAC key previously generated. Secure interface120may be configured to decrypt the encrypted account payload. Secure interface120may decrypt the encrypted account payload using the second storage ENC key. In response to the second storage ENC key not matching the (first) storage ENC key, secure interface120may be unable to decrypt the encrypted account payload. Secure interface120may calculate the second HMAC based on the decrypted account payload and the second storage MAC key. The second HMAC may be compared to the (first) stored HMAC to determine accuracy. For example, in response to the second storage MAC key not matching the (first) storage MAC key, the second HMAC may be different than the (first) stored HMAC. In response to decrypting the encrypted account payload, secure interface120may transmit the LUPC to merchant system260, via POS terminal265. Merchant system260may finalize the purchase, as discussed further herein. In response to the transaction completing successfully, secure interface120may be configured to re-encrypt the account payload. Secure interface120may generate a third storage ENC key and a third storage MAC key similar to generating the second storage ENC key and the second storage MAC key. For example, secure interface120may be configured to generate the third storage ENC key and the third storage MAC key based on the second device fingerprint and the storage root key (e.g., an AES 128 root key). In various embodiments, secure interface120may also be configured to generate the third storage ENC key and the third storage MAC key based on the second device fingerprint, the storage root key, and a random key such that the newly generated storage MAC key and storage ENC key are different after each payment. Secure interface120may encrypt the account payload and generate the third HMAC similar to encrypting the account payload and generating the (first) HMAC. Secure interface120may encrypt the account payload using the third storage ENC key. Secure interface120may use the storage MAC key to generate the third HMAC based on the encrypted account payload. In various embodiments, secure interface120may be configured to store the encrypted account payload and the third HMAC in device secured database115. Secure interface120may transmit the encrypted account payload to device secured database115for storage. Secure interface120may also transmit the third HMAC to device secured database115for storage. Referring now toFIGS.3and4, the process flows depicted are merely embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. For example, the steps recited in any of the method or process descriptions may be executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented. It will be appreciated that the following description makes appropriate references not only to the steps and elements depicted inFIGS.3and4, but also to the various system components as described above with reference toFIGS.1and2. In various embodiments, and with specific reference toFIG.3, a method301for secured account provisioning is disclosed. Method301may comprise receiving a provisioning setup request (step302). Secure provisioning system130may be configured to receive the provisioning setup request. For example, secure provisioning system130may receive the provisioning setup request from user device110, via secure interface120and network105. User device110, via secure interface120may be configured to generate and transmit the provisioning setup request in response to user input requesting to provision an account for use on user device110. The provisioning setup request may comprise data indicating the user device110to provision the account on. In various embodiments, method301may comprise performing an initial risk check on the device (step304). Secure provisioning system130may be configured to perform the initial risk check on user device110in response to receiving the provisioning setup request. During the initial risk check, secure provisioning system130may examine software and hardware information on user device110to assess integrity of user device110(e.g., using an attestation service or the like). The initial risk check may determine whether user device110has been tampered with or rooted, whether previous provisioning requests from user device110were denied, the frequency of provisioning requests transmitted from user device110, and/or similar assessments. Based on the initial risk check, secure provisioning system130may determine whether to proceed with account provisioning. For example, secure provisioning system130may invoke an attestation service, API, or the like that may perform the initial risk check on user device110and return data indicating whether user device110is in a non-tampered state (e.g., whether user device110passes the initial risk check). In various embodiments, method301may comprise venerating an account provisioning request (step306). User device110, via secure interface120, may be configured to generate the account provisioning request. The account provisioning request may comprise a provisioning account and a device fingerprint. The provisioning account may comprise data indicating the transaction account that a transaction account owner desires to have provisioned for use on user device110made available for NFC-enabled payments). The device fingerprint may be generated by secure interface120, and may comprise data indicating a unique identifier or profile of user device110. For example, the device fingerprint may comprise a hash numerical value of various user device110attributes, such as a media access control (MAC) address, attributes related to the operating system (e.g., an ANDROID® ID, an APPLE® ID, etc.), an application build ID, a build serial number, a subscriber identification module (SIM) card identifier (e.g., an international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) number, an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number, a mobile equipment identifier (MEI) number, electronic serial number (ESN), etc.), or the like. In various embodiments, method301may comprise encrypting the account provisioning request (step308). Secure interface120may be configured to encrypt the account provisioning request. For example, the account provisioning request may be encrypted using a field level encryption key. Secure interface120may retrieve the field level encryption key from device secured database115, and may encrypt the account provisioning request using the field level encryption key. User device110, via secure interface120may transmit the encrypted account provisioning request to secure provisioning system130, via network105. In various embodiments, method301may comprise retrieving a server root key (step310). Encryption module150may retrieve the server root key from hardware security module155. The server root key may comprise a public encryption key. In that respect, the server root key may be the public encryption key corresponding to the field level encryption key. Method301may comprise decrypting the encrypted account provisioning request (step312). Encryption module150may be configured to decrypt the encrypted account provisioning request using the server root key to determine the provisioning account and the device fingerprint. Encryption module150may transmit data comprising the provisioning account to secure provisioning system130. Method301may comprise retrieving transaction account data (step314). Secure provisioning system130may query account member database145, via issuer system140, to retrieve the transaction account data. In that regard, secure provisioning system130may retrieve the transaction account data based on the provisioning account (e.g., secure provisioning system130may retrieve the transaction account data corresponding to the transaction account number specified in the provisioning account). The transaction account data may comprise data corresponding to the transaction account, such as, for example, a limited use payment credential (LUPC), an account number, account identifying information, or the like. Secure provisioning system130may transmit the transaction account data to encryption module150. In various embodiments, method301may comprise generating an ENC key, a MAC key, and a DEK key (step316). Encryption module150may be configured to generate the ENC key, the MAC key, and the DEK key. Encryption module150may generate the ENC key, the MAC key, and the DEK key based on the device fingerprint and a root key (e.g., an AES 128 root key). The ENC key (e.g., an encryption key) may be used to encrypt the account payload, as discussed further herein. The MAC key (e.g., a message authentication code key) may be used to digitally sign the encrypted account payload, as discussed further herein. The DEK key (e.g., a data encryption key) may be used to encrypt the transaction account data (e.g., the LUPC), prior to generating the account payload, as discussed further herein. In various embodiments, method301may comprise encrypting the transaction account data with the ENC key, the MAC key, and the DEK key (step318). Encryption module150may be configured to encrypt the transaction account data (e.g., the LUPC). Encryption module150may use the DEK key to encrypt the LUPC in the transaction account data. Encryption module150may use the ENC key to encrypt the account payload. Encryption module150may use the MAC key to digitally sign the transaction account data (e.g., the account payload). In that respect, an encrypted account payload may be generated, wherein the encrypted account payload comprises the encrypted transaction account data (e.g., the LUPC) that has been digitally signed. In various embodiments, method301may comprise transmitting the encrypted account payload (step320). Encryption module150may transmit the encrypted account payload to secure provisioning system130. Secure provisioning system130may transmit the encrypted account payload, via network105, to secure interface120. Method301may comprise decrypting the encrypted account payload (step322). Secure interface120may be configured to decrypt the encrypted account payload by generating the (second) ENC key, the (second) MAC key, and the (second) DEK key based on the device fingerprint and the root key, similar to step316. Secure interface120may be configured to decrypt the encrypted account payload. For example, secure interface120may use MAC key to verify the digital signature of the encrypted account payload. Secure interface120may use the ENC key to decrypt the encrypted account payload. Secure interface120may use the DEK key to decrypt the LUPC in the encrypted account payload. Method301may comprise generating a storage ENC key and a storage MAC key (step324). Secure interface120may be configured to generate the storage ENC key and the storage MAC key based on the device fingerprint and a storage root key (e.g., an AES 128 root key), similar to the generation of MAC keys and ENC keys in step316. Method301may comprise encrypting the account payload and generating a keyed-hash message authentication code (HMAC) (step326). Secure interface120may encrypt the account payload using the storage ENC key. Secure interface120may use the storage MAC key to generate the HMAC based on the encrypted account payload. Secure interface120may be configured to store the encrypted account payload and the HMAC in device secured database115. In various embodiments, and with specific reference toFIG.4, a method401for payment using a secured account is disclosed. Method401may comprise retrieving an encrypted account payload (step402). For example, secure interface120may retrieve the encrypted account payload in response to user device110initiating a NFC-enabled payment with merchant system260, via POS terminal265. For example, secure interface120may receive a payment request from merchant system260. In various embodiments, method401may comprise generating a second device fingerprint (step404). The second device fingerprint may be generated by secure interface120, and may comprise data indicating a unique identifier or profile of user device110at the time of the initiated NFC-enabled payment. For example, the second device fingerprint may comprise a hash numerical value of various user device110attributes, such as a media access control (MAC) address, attributes related to the operating system (e.g., an ANDROID® ID, an APPLE® ID, etc.), an application build ID, a build serial number, a subscriber identification module (SIM) card identifier (e.g., an international mobile equipment identity (MET) number, an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number, a mobile equipment identifier (MEI) number, electronic serial number (ESN), etc.), or the like. In that respect, the second device fingerprint may be different than the (first) device fingerprint in response to a change in the hardware, software, or the like occurring on user device110. The second device fingerprint may also be the same as the (first) device fingerprint in response to no changes occurring in the hardware, software, or the like on user device110. In various embodiments, method401may comprise generating a second storage ENC key and a second storage MAC key (step406). Secure interface120may generate the second storage ENC key and the second storage MAC key similar to generating the (first) storage ENC key and the (first) storage MAC key in step324, with brief reference toFIG.3. For example, secure interface120may be configured to generate the second storage ENC key and the second storage MAC key based on the second device fingerprint and the storage root key (e.g., an AES 128 root key). In that regard, in response to a change in user device110causing the second device fingerprint to be different than the (first) device fingerprint, the second storage ENC key and the second storage MAC key may be different than the (first) storage ENC key and the (first) storage MAC key generated in step324of method301, with brief reference toFIG.3. In response to second device fingerprint matching the (first) device fingerprint, the second storage ENC key and the second storage MAC key may be the same as the (first) storage ENC key and the (first) storage MAC key generated in step324of method301, with brief reference toFIG.3. In various embodiments, method401may comprise decrypting the encrypted account payload using the second storage ENC key and calculating a second HMAC (step408). Secure interface120may decrypt the encrypted account payload using the second storage ENC key. In response to the second storage ENC key not matching the (first) storage ENC key, secure interface120may be unable to decrypt the encrypted account payload. Secure interface120may calculate the second HMAC based on the decrypted account payload and the second storage MAC key. The second HMAC, may be compared to the (first) stored HMAC to determine accuracy. For example, in response to the second storage MAC key not matching the (first) storage MAC key, the second HMAC may be different than the (first) stored HMAC. In response to decrypting the encrypted account payload, secure interface120may transmit the LUPC to merchant system260, via POS terminal265. In that respect, method401may comprise using the LUPC from the decrypted account payload to complete the NFC-enabled payment (step410). Merchant system260may transmit a transaction authorization request to issuer system140to begin completion of the transaction, as discussed further herein. In response to the transaction completing successfully, secure interface120may be configured to re-encrypt the account payload for storage. Method401may comprise generating a third storage ENC key and a third storage MAC key (step412). Secure interface120may generate the third storage ENC key and the third storage MAC key similar to generating the second storage ENC key and the second storage MAC key in step406. For example, secure interface120may be configured to generate the third storage ENC key and the third storage MAC key based on the second device fingerprint and the storage root key (e.g., an AES 128 root key). In various embodiments, secure interface120may also be configured to generate the third storage ENC key and the third storage MAC key based on the second device fingerprint, the storage root key, and a random key such That the newly generated storage MAC key and storage ENC key are different after each payment. Method401may comprise encrypting the account payload and generating a third HMAC (step414). Secure interface120may encrypt the account payload and generate the third HMAC similar to encrypting the account payload and generating the (first) HMAC in step326, with brief reference toFIG.3. Secure interface120may encrypt the account payload using the third storage ENC key. Secure interface120may use the storage MAC key to generate the third HMAC based on the encrypted account payload. Secure interlace120may be configured to store the encrypted account payload and the third HMAC in device secured database115. Method401may comprise storing the encrypted account payload (step416). Secure interface120may transmit the encrypted account payload to device secured database115for storage. Secure interface120may also transmit the third HMAC to device secured database115for storage. The disclosure and claims do not describe only a particular outcome of secured account provisioning and payments for NFC-enabled devices, but the disclosure and claims include specific rules for implementing the outcome of secured account provisioning and payments for NFC-enabled devices and that render information into a specific format that is then used and applied to create the desired results of secured account provisioning and payments for NFC-enabled devices, as set forth inMcRO, Inc. v.Bandai Namco Games America Inc. (Fed. Cir. case number 15-1080, Sep. 13, 2016). In other words, the outcome of secured account provisioning and payments for NFC-enabled devices can be performed by many different types of rules and combinations of rules, and this disclosure includes various embodiments with specific rules. While the absence of complete preemption may not guarantee that a claim is eligible, the disclosure does not sufficiently preempt the field of warranty enriched transactions at all. The disclosure acts to narrow, confine, and otherwise tie down the disclosure so as not to cover the general abstract idea of just secured account provisioning and payments for NFC-enabled devices. Significantly, other systems and methods exist for secured account provisioning and payments for NFC-enabled devices, so it would be inappropriate to assert that the claimed invention preempts the field or monopolizes the basic tools of secured account provisioning and payments for NFC-enabled devices. In other words, the disclosure will not prevent others from secured account provisioning and payments for NFC-enabled devices, because other systems are already performing the functionality in different ways than the claimed invention. Moreover, the claimed invention includes an inventive concept that may be found in the non-conventional and non-generic arrangement of known, conventional pieces, in conformance withBascomv.AT&T Mobility,2015-1763 (Fed. Cir. 2016). The disclosure and claims go way beyond any conventionality of any one of the systems in that the interaction and synergy of the systems leads to additional functionality that is not provided by any one of the systems operating independently. The disclosure and claims may also include the interaction between multiple different systems, so the disclosure cannot be considered an implementation of a generic computer, or just “apply it” to an abstract process. The disclosure and claims may also be directed to improvements to software with a specific implementation of a solution to a problem in the software arts. In various embodiments, the systems and methods may include alerting a subscriber when their computer is offline. With brief reference toFIG.1, system100may include generating customized information, via secure interface120, and alerting a remote subscriber that the information can be accessed from their computer (e.g., via user device110). The alerts are generated by filtering received information, building information alerts and formatting the alerts into data blocks based upon subscriber preference information. The data blocks are transmitted to the subscriber's wireless device (e.g., user device114which, when connected to the computer, causes the computer to auto-launch an application to display the information alert and provide access to more detailed information about the information alert. More particularly, the method may comprise providing a viewer application to a subscriber for installation on the remote subscriber computer; receiving information at a transmission server sent from a data source over the Internet, the transmission server comprising a microprocessor and a memory that stores the remote subscriber's preferences for information format, destination address, specified information, and transmission schedule, wherein the microprocessor filters the received information by comparing the received information to the specified information; generates an information alert from the filtered information that contains a name, a price and a universal resource locator (URL), which specifies the location of the data source; formats the information alert into data blocks according to said information format; and transmits the formatted information alert over a wireless communication channel to a wireless device associated with a subscriber based upon the destination address and transmission schedule, wherein the alert activates the application to cause the information alert to display on the remote subscriber computer and to enable connection via the URL to the data source over the Internet when the wireless device is locally connected to the remote subscriber computer and the remote subscriber computer comes online. In various embodiments, the system and method may include a graphical user interface (e.g., via user device110) for dynamically relocating/rescaling obscured textual information of an underlying window to become automatically viewable to the user. By permitting textual information to be dynamically relocated based on an overlap condition, the computer's ability to display information is improved. More particularly, the method for dynamically relocating textual information within an underlying window displayed in a graphical user interface may comprise displaying a first window containing textual information in a first format within a graphical user interface on a computer screen; displaying a second window within the graphical user interface; constantly monitoring the boundaries of the first window and the second window to detect an overlap condition where the second window overlaps the first window such that the textual information in the first window is obscured from a user's view; determining the textual information would not be completely viewable if relocated to an unobstructed portion of the first window; calculating a first measure of the area of the first window and a second measure of the area of the unobstructed portion of the first window; calculating a scaling factor which is proportional to the difference between the first measure and the second measure; scaling the textual information based upon the scaling factor; automatically relocating the scaled textual information, by a processor, to the unobscured portion of the first window in a second format during an overlap condition so that the entire scaled textual information is viewable on the computer screen by the user; and automatically returning the relocated scaled textual information, by the processor, to the first format within the first window when the overlap condition no longer exists. In various embodiments, the system may also include isolating and removing malicious code from electronic messages (e.g., email) to prevent a computer (e.g., user device110) from being compromised, for example by being infected with a computer virus. The system may scan, via secure interface120for example, electronic communications for malicious computer code and clean the electronic communication before it may initiate malicious acts. The system operates by physically isolating a received electronic communication in a “quarantine” sector of the computer memory. A quarantine sector is a memory sector created by the computer's operating system such that files stored in that sector are not permitted to act on files outside that sector. When a communication containing malicious code is stored in the quarantine sector, the data contained within the communication is compared to malicious code-indicative patterns stored within a signature database. The presence of a particular malicious code-indicative pattern indicates the nature of the malicious code. The signature database further includes code markers that represent the beginning and end points of the malicious code. The malicious code is then extracted from malicious code-containing communication. An extraction routine is run by a file parsing component of the processing unit. The file parsing routine performs the following operations: scan the communication for the identified beginning malicious code marker; flag each scanned byte between the beginning marker and the successive end malicious code marker; continue scanning until no further beginning malicious code marker is found; and create a new data file by sequentially copying all non-flagged data bytes into the new file, winch thus forms a sanitized communication file. The new, sanitized communication is transferred to a non-quarantine sector of the computer memory. Subsequently, all data on the quarantine sector is erased. More particularly, the system includes a method for protecting a computer from an electronic communication containing malicious code by receiving an electronic communication containing malicious code in a computer with a memory having a boot sector, a quarantine sector and a non-quarantine sector; storing the communication in the quarantine sector of the memory of the computer, wherein the quarantine sector is isolated from the boot and the non-quarantine sector in the computer memory, where code in the quarantine sector is prevented from performing write actions on other memory sectors; extracting, is file parsing, the malicious code from the electronic communication to create a sanitized electronic communication, wherein the extracting comprises scanning the communication for an identified beginning malicious code marker, flagging each scanned byte between the beginning marker and a successive end malicious code marker, continuing scanning until no further beginning malicious code marker is found, and creating a new data file by sequentially copying all non-flagged data bytes into a new file that forms a sanitized communication file; transferring the sanitized electronic communication to the non-quarantine sector of the memory; and deleting all data remaining in the quarantine sector. In various embodiments, system100may also address the problem of retaining control over customers during affiliate purchase transactions, using a system for co-marketing the “look and feel” of the host web page with the product-related content information of the advertising merchant's web page (e.g., via merchant system260, with brief reference toFIG.2). System100can be operated by a third-party outsource provider, who acts as a broker between multiple hosts and merchants. Prior to implementation, a host places links to a merchant's webpage on the host's web page. The links are associated with product-related content on the merchant's web page. Additionally, the outsource provider system stores the “look and feel” information from each host's web pages in a computer data store, which is coupled to a computer server. The “look and feel” information includes visually perceptible elements such as logos, colors, page layout, navigation system, frames, mouse-over effects or other elements that are consistent through some or all of each host's respective web pages. A customer who clicks on an advertising link, via user device110, for example, is not transported from the host web page to the merchant's web page, but instead is re-directed to a composite web page that combines product information associated with the selected item and visually perceptible elements of the host web page. The outsource provider's server responds by first identifying the host web page where the link has been selected and retrieving the corresponding, stored “look and feel” information. The server constructs a composite web page using the retrieved “look and feel” information of the host web page, with the product-related content embedded within it, so that the composite web page is visually perceived by the customer as associated with the host web page. The server then transmits and presents this composite web page to the customer so that she effectively remains on the host web page to purchase the item without being redirected to the third party merchant affiliate. Because such composite pages are visually perceived by the customer as associated with the host web page, they give the customer the impression that she is viewing pages served by the host. Further, the customer is able to purchase the item without being redirected to the third party merchant affiliate, thus allowing the host to retain control over the customer. This system enables the host to receive the same advertising revenue streams as before but without the loss of visitor traffic and potential customers. More particularly, the system may be useful in an outsource provider serving web pages offering commercial opportunities. The computer store containing data, for each of a plurality of first web pages, defining a plurality of visually perceptible elements, which visually perceptible elements correspond to the plurality of first web pages; wherein each of the first web pages belongs to one of a plurality of web page owners; wherein each of the first web pages displays at least one active link associated with a commerce object associated with a buying opportunity of a selected one of a plurality of merchants; and wherein the selected merchant, the outsource provider, and the owner of the first web page displaying the associated link are each third parties with respect to one other; a computer server at the outsource provider, which computer server is coupled to the computer store and programmed to: receive from the web browser of a computer user a signal indicating activation of one of the links displayed by one of the first web pages; automatically identify as the source page the one of the first web pages on which the link has been activated; in response to identification of the source page, automatically retrieve the stored data corresponding to the source page; and using the data retrieved, automatically generate and transmit to the web browser a second web page that displays: information associated with the commerce object associated with the link that has been activated, and the plurality of visually perceptible elements visually corresponding to the source page. Phrases and terms similar to “financial institution” or “transaction account issuer” may include any entity that offers transaction account services. Although often referred to as a “financial institution,” the financial institution may represent any type of bank, lender or other type of account issuing institution, such as credit card companies, card sponsoring companies, or third party issuers under contract with financial institutions. It is further noted that other participants may be involved in some phases of the transaction, such as an intermediary settlement institution. Phrases and terms similar to “payment vehicle,” “financial transaction instrument,” “transaction instrument” or “transaction card” may be used interchangeably throughout to refer to a financial instrument. As used herein, an account code may or may not be associated with a physical financial instrument. Phrases similar to a “processor” (e.g., payment processor) or “transaction account issuer” may include a company (e.g., a third party) appointed (e.g., by a merchant) to handle transactions, A payment processor may include an issuer, acquirer, authorizer and/or any other system or entity involved in the transaction process. Payment processors may be broken down into two types: front-end and back-end. Front-end payment processors have connections to various consumer transaction accounts and supply authorization and settlement services to the merchant banks' merchants. Back-end payment processors accept settlements from front-end payment processors and, via The Federal Reserve Bank, move money from an issuing bank to the merchant bank. In an operation that will usually take a few seconds, the payment processor will both check the details received by forwarding the details to the respective account's issuing, bank or card association for verification, and may catty out a series of anti-fraud measures against the transaction, Additional parameters, including the account's country of issue and its previous payment history, may be used to gauge the probability of the transaction being approved. In response to the payment processor receiving confirmation that the transaction account details have been verified, the information may be relayed back to the merchant, who will then complete the payment transaction. In response to the verification being denied, the payment processor relays the information to the merchant, who may then decline the transaction. As used herein, “transmit” may include sending electronic data from one system component to another over a network connection. Additionally, as used herein, “data” may include encompassing information such as commands, queries, files, data for storage, and the like in digital or any other form. Phrases and terms similar to “transaction account” may include an account that may be used to facilitate a financial transaction. For example, a transaction account as used herein may refer to an account associated with an open account or a closed account system (as described herein). The transaction account may exist in a physical or non-physical embodiment. For example, a transaction account may be distributed in non-physical embodiments such as an account number, frequent-flyer account, telephone calling, account, and/or the like. Furthermore, a physical embodiment of a transaction account may be distributed as a financial instrument, such as, for example, a credit card, debit card, and/or the like. As used herein, “satisfy”, “meet”, “match”, “associated with” or similar phrases may include an identical match, a partial match, meeting certain criteria, matching a subset of data, a correlation, satisfying certain criteria, a correspondence, an association, an algorithmic relationship and/or the like. Similarly, as used herein, “authenticate” or similar terms may include an exact authentication, a partial authentication, authenticating a subset of data, a correspondence, satisfying certain criteria, an association, an algorithmic relationship and/or the like. Terms and phrases similar to “associate” and/or “associating” may include tagging, lagging, correlating, using a look-up table or any other method or system for indicating or creating a relationship between elements such as, for example, (i) a transaction account and (ii) an item (e.g., offer, reward, discount) and/or digital channel. Moreover, the associating may occur at any point, in response to any suitable action, event, or period of time. The associating may occur at pre-determined intervals, periodic, randomly, once, more than once, or in response to a suitable request or action. Any of the information may be distributed and/or accessed via a software enabled link, wherein the link may be sent via an email, text, post, social network input and/or any other method known in the art. The system or any components may integrate with system integration technology such as, for example, the ALEXA® system developed by AMAZON®. ALEXA® is a cloud-based voice service that can help with tasks, entertainment, general information and more. All AMAZON® ALEXA® devices, such as the AMAZON® Echo, AMAZON® Dot, AMAZON® Tap, AMAZON® Fire TV, have access to the ALEXA® Voice Service. The system may receive voice commands via its voice activation technology, and activate other functions, control smart devices and/or gather information. For example, music, emails, texts, calling, questions answered, home improvement information, smart home communication/activation, games, shopping, making to-do lists, setting alarms, streaming podcasts playing audiobooks, and providing weather, traffic, and other real time information, such as news. The system may allow the user, via user device110, to access information about eligible accounts linked to an online account across all ALEXA®-enabled devices. The phrases consumer, customer, user, account holder, account affiliate, cardmember or the like shall include any person, entity, business, government organization, business, software, hardware, machine associated with a transaction account, buys merchant offerings offered by one or more merchants using the account and/or who is legally designated for performing transactions on the account, regardless of whether a physical card is associated with the account. For example, the cardmember may include a transaction account owner, a transaction account user, an account affiliate, a child account user, a subsidiary account user, a beneficiary of an account, a custodian of an account, and/or any other person or entity affiliated or associated with a transaction account. Phrases and terms similar to “account”, “account number”, “account code”, “consumer transaction account”, “consumer transaction account number”, or “consumer account” as used herein, may include any device, code (e.g., one or more of an authorization/access code, personal identification number (“PIN”), Internet code, other identification code, and/or the like), number, letter, symbol, digital certificate, smart chip, digital signal, analog signal, biometric or other identifier/indicia suitably configured to allow the consumer to access, interact with or communicate with the system. The account number may optionally be located on or associated with a rewards account, charge account, credit account, debit account, prepaid account, telephone card, embossed card, smart card, magnetic stripe card, bar code card, transponder, radio frequency card or an associated account. The account number may be distributed and stored in any form of plastic, electronic, magnetic, radio frequency, wireless, audio and/or optical device capable of transmitting or downloading data from itself to a second device. A consumer transaction account number may be, for example, a sixteen-digit account number, although each credit provider has its own numbering system, such as the fifteen-digit numbering system used by AMERICAN EXPRESS®. Each company's account numbers comply with that company's standardized format such that the company using a fifteen-digit format will generally use three-spaced sets of numbers, as represented by the number “0000 000000 00000”. The first live to seven digits are reserved for processing purposes and identify the issuing hank, account type, etc. In this example, the last (fifteenth) digit is used as a sum check for the fifteen digit number. The intermediary eight-to-eleven digits are used to uniquely identify the consumer. A merchant bank account number may be, for example, any number or alpha-numeric characters that identify a particular merchant for purposes of account acceptance, account reconciliation, reporting, or the like. In various embodiments, an account number may identify a consumer. In addition, in various embodiments, a consumer may be identified by a variety of identifiers, including, for example, an email address, a telephone number, a cookie id, a radio frequency identifier (RFID), a biometric, and the like. The system may include or interface with any of the foregoing accounts, devices, and/or a transponder and reader (e.g. RFID reader) in RF communication with the transponder (which may include a fob), or communications between an initiator and a target enabled by near field communications (NFC). Typical devices may include, for example, a key ring, tag, card, cell phone, wristwatch or any such form capable of being presented for interrogation. Moreover, the system, computing unit or device discussed herein may include a “pervasive computing device,” which may include a traditionally non-computerized device that is embedded with a computing unit. Examples may include watches, Internet enabled kitchen appliances, restaurant tables embedded with RF readers, wallets or purses with imbedded transponders, etc. Furthermore, a device or financial transaction instrument may have electronic and communications functionality enabled, for example, by: a network of electronic circuitry that is printed or otherwise incorporated onto or within the transaction instrument (and typically referred to as a “smart card”); a fob having a transponder and an RFID reader; and/or near field communication (NFC) technologies. For more information regarding NFC, refer to the following specifications all of which are incorporated by reference herein: ISO/IEC 18092/ECMA-340, Near Field Communication Interface and Protocol-1 (NFCIP-1); ISO/IEC 21481/ECMA-352, Near Field Communication Interface and Protocol-2 (NFCIP-2); and EMV 4.3 available at http://www.emvco.com/default.aspx. As used herein an “identifier” may be any suitable identifier that uniquely identifies an item. For example, the identifier may be a globally unique identifier (“GUID”). The GLAD may be an identifier created and/or implemented tinder the universally unique identifier standard. Moreover, the GLAD may be stored as 128-bit value that can be displayed as 32 hexadecimal digits. The identifier may also include a major number, and a minor number. The major number and minor a umber may each be 16 bit integers. As used herein, big data may refer to partially or fully structured, semi-structured, or unstructured data sets including millions of rows and hundreds of thousands of columns. A big data set ma be compiled, for example, from a history of purchase transactions over time, from web registrations, from social media, from records of charge (“ROC”), from summaries of charges (“SOC”), from internal data or from other suitable sources. Big data sets ma be compiled without descriptive metadata such as column types, counts, percentiles, or other interpretive-aid data points. A record of charge (or “ROC”) may comprise any transaction or transaction data. The ROC may be a unique identifier associated with a transaction. Record of Charge (ROC) data includes important information and enhanced data. For example, a ROC may contain details such as location, merchant name or identifier, transaction amount, transaction date, account number, account security pin or code, account expiry date, and the like for the transaction. Such enhanced data increases the accuracy of matching the transaction data to the receipt data. Such enhanced ROC data is NOT equivalent to transaction entries from a banking statement or transaction account statement, which is very limited to basic data about a transaction. Furthermore, a ROC is provided by a different source, namely the ROC is provided by the merchant to the transaction processor. In that regard, the ROC is a unique identifier associated with a particular transaction. A ROC is often associated with a Summary of Charges (SOC). The ROCs and SOCs include information provided by the merchant to the transaction processor, and the ROCs and SOC's are used in the settlement process with the merchant. A transaction may, in various embodiments, be performed by a one or more members using a transaction account, such as a transaction account associated with a gift card, a debit card, a credit card, and the like. Distributed computing cluster may be, for example, a Hadoop® cluster configured to process and store big data sets with some of nodes comprising a distributed storage system and some of nodes comprising a distributed processing system. In that regard, distributed computing cluster may be configured to support a Hadoop® distributed file system (HDFS) as specified by the Apache Software Foundation at http://hadoop.apache.org/docs/. For more information on big data management systems, see U.S. Ser. No. 14/944,902 titled INTEGRATED BIG DATA INTERFACE FOR MULTIPLE STORAGE TYPES and filed on Nov. 18, 2015; U.S. Ser. No. 14/944,979 titled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR READING AND WRITING TO BIG DATA STORAGE FORMATS and filed on Nov. 18, 2015; U.S. Ser. No. 14/945,032 titled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CREATING, TRACKING, AND MAINTAINING BIG DATA USE CASES and filed on Nov. 18, 2015; U.S. Ser. No. 14/944,849 titled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATICALLY CAPTURING AND RECORDING LINEAGE DATA FOR BIG DATA RECORDS and filed on Nov. 18, 2015; U.S. Ser. No. 14/944,898 titled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRACKING SENSITIVE DATA IN A BIG DATA ENVIRONMENT and filed on Nov. 18, 2015; and U.S. Ser. No. 14/944,961 titled SYSTEM AND METHOD TRANSFORMING SOURCE DATA INTO OUTPUT DATA IN BIG DATA ENVIRONMENTS and filed on Nov. 18, 2015, the contents of each of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. Any communication, transmission and/or channel discussed herein may include any system or method for delivering content (e.g. data, information, metadata, etc.), and/or the content itself. The content may be presented in any form or medium, and in various embodiments, the content may be delivered electronically and/or capable of being presented electronically. For example, a channel may comprise a website or device (e.g., Facebook, YOUTUBE®, APPLE® TV®, PANDORA®, XBOX®, SONY® PLAYSTATION®), a uniform resource locator (“URL”), a document (e.g., a MICROSOFT® Word® document, a MICROSOFT® Excel® document, an ADOBE® .pdf document, etc.), an “ebook,” “emagazine,” an application or microapplication (as described herein), an SMS or other type of text message, an email, Facebook® message, Twitter® tweet and/or message, MMS, and/or other type of communication technology. In various embodiments, a channel may be hosted or provided by a data partner. In various embodiments, the distribution channel may comprise at least one of a merchant website, a social media website, affiliate or partner websites, an external vendor, a mobile device communication, social media network and/or location based service. Distribution channels may include at least one of a merchant website, a social media site, affiliate or partner websites, an external vendor, and a mobile device communication. Examples of social media sites include FACEBOOK®, FOURSQUARE®, TWITTER®, MYSPACE®, LINKEDIN®, and the like. Examples of affiliate or partner websites include AMERICAN EXPRESS®, GROUPON®, LIVINGSOCIAL®, and the like. Moreover, examples of mobile device communications include texting, email, and mobile applications for smartphones. A “consumer profile” or “consumer profile data” may comprise any information or data about a consumer that describes an attribute associated with the consumer (e.g., a preference, an interest, demographic information, personally identifying information, and the like). In various embodiments, the methods described herein are implemented using the various particular machines described herein. The methods described herein may be implemented using the herein particular machines, and those hereinafter developed, in any suitable combination, as would be appreciated immediately by one skilled in the art. Further, as is unambiguous from this disclosure, the methods described herein may result in various transformations of certain articles. For the sake of brevity, conventional data networking, application development and other functional aspects of the systems (and components of the individual operating components of the systems) ma not be described in detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in a practical system. The various system components discussed herein may include one or more of the following: a host server or other computing systems including a processor for processing digital data; a memory coupled to the processor for storing digital data; an input digitizer coupled to the processor for inputting digital data; an application program stored in the memory and accessible by the processor for directing processing of digital data by the processor; a display device coupled to the processor and memory for displaying information derived from digital data processed by the processor; and a plurality of databases. Various databases used herein may include: client data; merchant data; financial institution data; and/or like data useful in the operation of the system. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, user computer may include an operating system (e.g., WINDOWS®, OS2, UNIX®, LINUX®, SOLARIS®, MacOS, etc.) as well as various conventional support software and drivers typically associated with computers. The present system or any part(s) or function(s) thereof may be implemented using hardware, software or a combination thereof and may be implemented in one or more computer systems or other processing systems. However, the manipulations performed by embodiments were often referred to in terms, such as matching or selecting, which are commonly associated with mental operations performed by a human operator. No such capability of a human operator is necessary, or desirable in most cases, in any of the operations described herein. Rather, the operations may be machine operations. Useful machines for performing the various embodiments include general purpose digital computers or similar devices. In fact, in various embodiments, the embodiments are directed toward one or more computer systems capable of carrying out the functionality described herein. The computer system includes one or more processors, such as processor. The processor is connected to a communication infrastructure (e.g., a communications bus, cross over bar, or network). Various software embodiments are described in terms of this exemplary computer system. After reading this description, it will become apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement various embodiments using other computer systems and/or architectures. Computer system can include a display interface that forwards graphics, text, and other data from the communication infrastructure (or from a frame buffer not shown) for display on a display unit. Computer system may also include a main memory, such as for example random access memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory. The secondary memory may include, for example, a hard disk drive and/or a removable storage drive. As will be appreciated, the removable storage unit includes a computer usable storage medium having stored therein computer software and/or data. In various embodiments, secondary memory may include other similar devices for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into computer system. Such devices may include, for example, a removable storage unit and an interface. Examples of such may include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that found in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), or programmable read only memory (PROM)) and associated socket, and other removable storage units and interfaces, which allow software and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit to computer system. Computer system may also include a communications interface. Communications interface allows software and data to be transferred between computer system and external devices. Examples of communications interface may include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc. Software and data transferred via communications interface are in the form of signals which may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical or other signals capable of being received by communications interface. These signals are provided to communications interface via a communications path (e.g., channel). This channel carries signals and may be implemented using wire, cable, fiber optics, a telephone line, a cellular link, a radio frequency (RF) link, wireless and other communications channels. The terms “computer program medium” and “computer usable medium” and “computer readable medium” are used to generally refer to media such as removable storage drive and a hard disk installed in hard disk drive. These computer program products provide software to computer system. Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) are stored in main memory and/or secondary memory. Computer programs may also be received via communications interface. Such computer programs, when executed, enable the computer system to perform the features as discussed herein, in particular, the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor to perform the features of various embodiments. Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of the computer system. In various embodiments, software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded into computer system using removable storage drive, hard disk drive or communications interface. The control logic (software), when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform the functions of various embodiments as described herein. In various embodiments, hardware components such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), implementation of the hardware state machine so as to perform the functions described herein will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s). In various embodiments, the server may include application servers (e.g. WEB SPHERE, WEB LOGIC, JBOSS, EDB® Postgres Plus Advanced Server® (PPAS), etc.). In various embodiments, the server May include web servers (e.g. APACHE, IIS, GWS, SUN JAVA® SYSTEM WEB SERVER). A web client includes am device (e.g., personal computer) which communicates via any network, for example such as those discussed herein. Such browser applications comprise Internet browsing software installed within a computing unit or a system to conduct online transactions and/or communications. These computing units or systems may take the form of a computer or set of computers, although other types of computing units or systems may be used, including laptops, notebooks, tablets, hand held computers, personal digital assistants, set-top boxes, workstations, computer-servers, main frame computers, mini-computers, PC servers, pervasive computers, network sets of computers, personal computers, such as IPADS®, IMACS®, and MACBOOKS®, kiosks, terminals, point of sale (“POS”) devices and/or terminals, televisions, or any other device capable of receiving data over a network. A web-client may run MICROSOFT® INTERNET EXPLORER®, MOZILLA® FIREFOX®, GOOGLE® CHROME®, APPLE® Safari, or any other of the myriad software packages available for browsing the internet. As those skilled in the art will appreciate that a web client may or may not be in direct contact with an application server. For example, a web client may access the services of an application server through another server and/or hardware component, which may have a direct or indirect connection to an Internet server. For example, a web client may communicate with an application server via a load balancer. In various embodiments, access is through a network or the Internet through a commercially-available web-browser software package. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, a web client includes an operating system (e.g., WINDOWS® OS, OS2, UNIX® OS, LINUX® OS, SOLARIS®, MacOS, and or the like) as well as various conventional support software and drivers typically associated with computers. A web client may include any suitable personal computer, network computer, workstation, personal digital assistant, cellular phone, smart phone, minicomputer, mainframe or the like. A web client can be in a home or business environment with access to a network. In various embodiments, access is through a network or the Internet through a commercially available web-browser software package. A web client may implement security protocols such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (“TLS”). A web client may implement several application layer protocols including http, https, ftp, and sftp. In various embodiments, components, modules, and/or engines of system100may be implemented as micro-applications or micro-apps. Micro-apps are typically deployed in the context of a mobile operating, system, including for example, a WINDOWS® mobile operating system, an ANDROID® Operating System, APPLE® IOS®, a BLACKBERRY® operating system and the like. The micro-app may be configured to leverage the resources of the larger operating system and associated hardware via a set of predetermined rules which govern the operations of various operating systems and hardware resources. For example, where a micro-app desires to communicate with a device or network other than the mobile device or mobile operating system, the micro-app may leverage the communication protocol of the operating system and associated device hardware under the predetermined rules of the mobile operating system. Moreover, where the micro-app desires an input from a user, the micro-app may be configured to request a response from the operating system which monitors various hardware components and communicates a detected input from the hardware to the micro-app. As used herein, “issue a debit”, “debit” or “debiting” refers to either causing the debiting of a stored value or prepaid card-type financial account, or causing the charging of a credit or charge card-type financial account, as applicable. Phrases and terms similar to an “item” may include any good, service, information, experience, entertainment, data, offer, discount, rebate, points, virtual currency, content, access, rental, lease, contribution, account, credit, debit, benefit, right, reward, points, coupons, credits, monetary equivalent, anything of value, something of minimal or no value, monetary value, non-monetary value and/or the like. Moreover, the “transactions” or “purchases” discussed herein may be associated with an item. Furthermore, a “reward” may be an item. The system contemplates uses in association with web services, utility computing, pervasive and individualized computing, security and identity solutions, autonomic computing, cloud computing, commodity computing, mobility and wireless solutions, open source, biometrics, grid computing and/or mesh computing. Any databases discussed herein may include relational, hierarchical, graphical, blockchain, or object-oriented structure and/or any other database configurations. The databases may also include a flat file structure wherein data may be stored in a single file in the form of rows and columns, with no structure for indexing and no structural relationships between records. For example, a flat file structure may include a delimited text file, a CSV (comma-separated values) file, and/or any other suitable flat file structure. Common database products that may be used to implement the databases include DB2 by IBM® (Armonk, NY), various database products available from ORACLE® Corporation (Redwood Shores, CA), MICROSOFT® Access® or MICROSOFT® SQL Server® by MICROSOFT® Corporation (Redmond, Washington), MySQL by MySQL AB (Uppsala, Sweden), MongoDB®, Redis®, Apache Cassandra®, HBase by APACHE®, MapR-DB, or any other suitable database product. Moreover, the databases may be organized in any suitable manner, for example, as data tables or lookup tables. Each record may be a single file, a series of files, a linked series of data fields or any other data structure. The blockchain structure ma include a distributed database that maintains a growing list of data records. The blockchain may provide enhanced security because each block may hold individual transactions and the results of any blockchain executables. Each block may contain a timestamp and a link to a previous block. Blocks may be linked because each block ma include the hash of the prior block in the blockchain. The linked blocks form a chain, with only one successor block allowed to link to one other predecessor block for a single chain. Forks may be possible where divergent chains are established from a previously uniform blockchain, though typically only one of the divergent chains will be maintained as the consensus chain. For more information on blockchain-based payment networks, see U.S. application Ser. No. 15/266,350 titled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR BLOCKCHAIN BASED PAYMENT NETWORKS and filed on Sep. 15, 2016, U.S. application Ser. No. 15/682,180 titled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DATA FILE TRANSFER BALANCING AND CONTROL ON BLOCKCHAIN and filed Aug. 21, 2017, U.S. application Ser. No. 15/728,086 titled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR LOYALTY POINT DISTRIBUTION and filed Oct. 9, 2017, U.S. application Ser. No. 15/785,843 titled MESSAGING BALANCING AND CONTROL ON BLOCKCHAIN and filed on Oct. 17, 2017, and U.S. application Ser. No. 15/785,870 titled API REQUEST AND RESPONSE BALANCING AND CONTROL ON BLOCKCHAIN and filed on Oct. 17, 2017, the contents of which are each incorporated by reference in its entirety. Association of certain data may be accomplished through any desired data association technique such as those known or practiced in the art. For example, the association may be accomplished either manually or automatically. Automatic association techniques may include, for example, a database search, a database merge, GREP, AGREP, SQL, using a key field in the tables to speed searches, sequential searches through all the tables and files, sorting records in the file according to a known order to simplify lookup, and/or the like. The association step may be accomplished by a database merge function, for example, using a “key field” in pre-selected databases or data sectors. Various database tuning steps are contemplated to optimize database performance. For example, frequently used files such as indexes may be placed on separate file systems to reduce In/Out (“I/O”) bottlenecks. More particularly, a “key field” partitions the database according to the high-level class of objects defined by the key field. For example, certain types of data may then be designated as a key field in a plurality of related data tables and the data tables may be baked on the basis of the type of data in the key field. The data corresponding to the key field in each of the linked data tables is preferably the same or of the same type. However, data tables having similar though not identical, data in the key fields may also be linked by using AGREP, for example. In accordance with one embodiment, any suitable data storage technique may be utilized to store data without a standard format. Data sets may be stored using any suitable technique, including, for example, storing individual files using an ISO/IEC 7816-4 file structure; implementing a domain whereby a dedicated file is selected that exposes one or more elementary files containing one or more data sets; using data sets stored in individual files using a hierarchical filing system; data sets stored as records in a single file (including compression, SQL accessible, hashed via one or more keys, numeric, alphabetical by first tuple, etc.); Binary Large Object (BLOB); stored as ungrouped data elements encoded using ISO/IEC 7816-6 data elements; stored as ungrouped data elements encoded using ISO/IEC Abstract Syntax Notation (ASN.1) as in ISO/IEC 8824 and 8825; and/or other proprietary techniques that may include fractal compression methods, image compression methods, etc. In various embodiments, the ability to store a wide variety of information in different formats is facilitated by storing the information as a BLOB. Thus, any binary information can be stored in a storage space associated with a data set. As discussed above, the binary information may be stored in association with the system or external to but affiliated with the system. The BLOB method may store data sets as ungrouped data elements formatted as a block of binary via a fixed memory offset using fixed storage allocation, circular queue techniques, or best practices with respect to memory management (e.g., paged memory, least recently used, etc.). By using BLOB methods, the ability to store various data sets that have different formats facilitates the storage of data, in the database or associated with system, by multiple and unrelated owners of the data sets. For example, a first data set which may be stored may be provided by a first party, a second data set which may be stored may be provided by an unrelated second party, and yet a third data set which may be stored, may be provided by an third party unrelated to the first and second party. Each of these three exemplary data sets may contain different information that is stored using different data storage formats and/or techniques. Further, each data set may contain subsets of data that also may be distinct from other subsets. As stated above, in various embodiments, the data can be stored without regard to a common format. However, the data set (e.g., BLOB) may be annotated in a standard manner when provided for manipulating the data in the database or system. The annotation may comprise a short header, trailer, or other appropriate indicator related to each data set that is configured to convey information useful in managing the various data sets. For example, the annotation may be called a “condition header”, “header”, “trailer”, or “status”, herein, and may comprise an indication of the status of the data set or may include an identifier correlated to a specific issuer or owner of the data. In one example, the first three bytes of each data set BLOB may be configured or configurable to indicate the status of that particular data set e.g., LOADED, INITIALIZED, READY, BLOCKED, REMOVABLE, or DELETED. Subsequent bytes of data may be used to indicate for example, the identity of the issuer, user transaction/membership account identifier or the like. Each of these condition annotations are further discussed herein. The data set annotation may also be used for other types of status information as well as various other purposes. For example, the data set annotation may include security information establishing access levels. The access levels may, for example, be configured to permit only certain individuals, levels of employees, companies, or other entities to access data sets, or to permit access to specific data sets based on the transaction, merchant, issuer, user or the like. Furthermore, the security information may restrict/permit only certain actions such as accessing, modifying, and/or deleting data sets. In one example, the data set annotation indicates that only the data set owner or the user are permitted to delete a data set, various identified users may be permitted to access the data set for reading, and others are altogether excluded from accessing the data set. However, other access restriction parameters may also be used allowing various entities to access a data set with various permission levels as appropriate. The data, including the header or trailer may be received by a standalone interaction device configured to add, delete, modify, or augment the data in accordance with the header or trailer. As such, in one embodiment, the header or trailer is not stored on the transaction device along with the associated issuer-owned data but instead the appropriate action may be taken by providing to the user at the standalone device, the appropriate option for the action to be taken. The system may contemplate a data storage arrangement wherein the header or trailer, or header or trailer history, of the data is stored on the system, device, or transaction instrument in relation to the appropriate data. One skilled in the art will also appreciate that for security reasons, any databases, systems, devices, servers or other components of the system may consist of any combination thereof at a single location or at multiple locations, wherein each database or system includes any of various suitable security features, such as firewalls, access codes, encryption, decryption, compression, decompression, and/or the like. Encryption may be performed by way of any of the techniques now available in the art or which may become available—e.g., Twofish, RSA, El Gamal, Schorr signature, DSA, PGP, PKI, GPG (GnuPG), HPE Format-Preserving Encryption (FPE), Voltage, and symmetric and asymmetric cryptosystems. The systems and methods may also incorporate SHA series cryptographic methods as well as ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography) and other Quantum Readable Cryptography Algorithms under development. The computing unit of the web client may be further equipped with an Internet browser connected to the Internet or an intranet using standard dial-up, cable, DSL or any other Internet protocol known in the art. Transactions originating at a web client may pass through a firewall in order to prevent unauthorized access from users of other networks. Further, additional firewalls may be deployed between the varying components of CMS to further enhance security. Firewall may include any hardware and/or software suitably configured to protect CMS components and/or enterprise computing resources from users of other networks. Further, a firewall may be configured to limit or restrict access to various systems and components behind the firewall for web clients connecting through a web server. Firewall may reside in varying configurations including Stateful Inspection, Proxy based, access control lists, and Packet Filtering, among others. Firewall may be integrated within a web server or any other CMS components or may further reside as a separate entity. A firewall may implement network address translation (“NAT”) and/or network address port translation (“NAPT”). A firewall may accommodate various tunneling protocols to facilitate secure communications, such as those used in virtual private networking. A firewall may implement a demilitarized zone (“DMZ”) to facilitate communications with a public network such as the Internet. A firewall may be integrated as software within an Internet server, any other application server components or may reside within another computing device or may take the form of a standalone hardware component. The computers discussed herein may provide a suitable website or other Internet-based graphical user interface which is accessible by users. In one embodiment, the MICROSOFT® INTERNET INFORMATION SERVICES® (IIS), MICROSOFT® Transaction Server (“MTS”), and MICROSOFT® SQL Server, are used in conjunction with the MICROSOFT® operating system, MICROSOFT® web server software, a MICROSOFT® SQL Server database system, and a MICROSOFT® Commerce Server. Additionally, components such as Access or MICROSOFT® SQL Server, ORACLE®, Sybase, Informix MySQL, Interbase, etc., may be used to provide an Active Data Object (“ADO”) compliant database management system. In one embodiment, the Apache web server is used in conjunction with a Linux operating system, a MySQL database, and the Perl, PHP, Ruby, and/or Python programming languages. Any of the communications, inputs, storage, databases or displays discussed herein may be facilitated through a website having web pages. The term “web page” as it is used herein is not meant to limit the type of documents and applications that might be used to interact with the user. For example, a typical website might include, in addition to standard HTML documents, various forms, JAVA® applets, JAVASCRIPT, active server pages (“ASP”), common gateway interface scripts (“CGI”), extensible markup language (“XML”), dynamic HTML, cascading style sheets (“CSS”), AJAX (Asynchronous JAVASCRIPT And XML), helper applications, plug-ins, and the like. A server may include a web service that receives a request from a web server, the request including a URL and an IP address (123.56.789.234). The web server retrieves the appropriate web pages and sends the data or applications for the web pages to the IP address. Web services are applications that are capable of interacting with other applications over a communications means, such as the internet. Web services are typically based on standards or protocols such as XML, SOAP, AJAX, WSDL and UDDI. Web services methods are well known in the art, and are covered in many standard texts. For example, representational state transfer (REST), or RESTful, web services may provide one way of enabling interoperability between applications. Middleware may include any hardware and/or software suitably configured to facilitate communications and/or process transactions between disparate computing systems. Middleware components are commercially available and known in the art. Middleware may be implemented through commercially available hardware and/or software, through custom hardware and/or software components, or through a combination thereof. Middleware may reside in a variety of configurations and may exist as a standalone system or may be a software component residing on the Internet server. Middleware may be configured to process transactions between the various components of an application server and any number of internal or external systems for any of the purposes disclosed herein. WEBSPHERE MQ™ (formerly MQSeries) by IBM®, Inc. (Armonk, NY) is an example of a commercially available middleware product. An Enterprise Service Bus (“ESB”) application is another example of middleware. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that there are a number of methods for displaying data within a browser-based document. Data may be represented as standard text or within a fixed list, scrollable list, drop-down list, editable text field, fixed text field, pop-up window, and the like. Likewise, there are a number of methods available for modifying data in a web page such as, for example, free text entry using a keyboard, selection of menu items, check boxes, option boxes, and the like. The system and method may be described herein in terms of functional block components, screen shots, optional selections and various processing steps. It should be appreciated that such functional blocks may be realized by any number of hardware and/or software components configured to perform the specified functions. For example, the system may employ various integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements, processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, and the like, which may carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the software elements of the system may be implemented with any programming or scripting language such as C, C++, C#, JAVA®, JAVASCRIPT, JAVASCRIPT Object Notation (“JSON”), VBScript, Macromedia Cold Fusion, COBOL, MICROSOFT® Active Server Pages, assembly, PERL, PHP, awk, Python, Ruby, Visual Basic, SQL Stored Procedures, PL/SQL, any UNIX shell script, and extensible markup language (XML) with the various algorithms being implemented with any combination of data structures, objects, processes, routines or other programming elements. Further, it should be noted that the system may employ any number of conventional techniques for data transmission, signaling, data processing, network control, and the like. Still further, the system could be used to detect or prevent security issues with a client-side scripting language, such as JAVASCRIPT, VBScrip or the like. Cryptography and network security methods are well known in the art, and are covered in many standard texts. In various embodiments, the software elements of the system may also be implemented using Node.js®. Node.js® may implement several modules to handle various core functionalities. For example, a package management module, such as Npm®, may be implemented as an open source library to aid in organizing the installation and management of third-party Node.js® programs. Node.js® may also implement a process manager, such as, for example, Parallel Multithreaded Machine (“PM2”); a resource and performance monitoring tool, such as, for example, Node Application Metrics (“appmetrics”); a library module for building user interfaces, such as for example ReachJS®; and/or any other suitable and/or desired module. A bank may be part of the system, but the bank may represent other types of card issuing, institutions, such as credit card companies, card sponsoring companies, or third party issuers under contract with financial institutions. It is further noted that other participants may be involved in some phases of the transaction, such as an intermediary settlement institution, but these participants are not shown. Each participant is equipped with a computing device in order to interact with the system and facilitate online commerce transactions. The customer has a computing unit in the form of a personal computer, although other types of computing units may be used including laptops, notebooks, hand held computers, set-top boxes, cellular telephones, touch-tone telephones and the like. The merchant has a computing unit implemented in the form of a computer-server, although other implementations are contemplated by the system. The bank has a computing center shown as a main frame computer. However, the bank computing center may be implemented in other forms, such as a mini-computer, a PC server, a network of computers located in the same of different geographic locations, or the like. Moreover, the system contemplates the use, sale or distribution of any goods, services or information over any network having similar functionality described herein The merchant computer and the bank computer may be interconnected via a second network, referred to as a payment network. The payment network which may be part of certain transactions represents existing proprietary networks that presently accommodate transactions for credit cards, debit cards, and other types of financial/banking cards. The payment network is a closed network that is assumed to be secure from eavesdroppers. Exemplary transaction networks may include the American Express®, VisaNet®, Veriphone®, Discover Card®, PayPal®, ApplePay®, GooglePay®, private networks (e.g., department store networks), and/or any other payment networks. The electronic commerce system may be implemented at the customer and issuing bank. In an exemplary implementation, the electronic commerce system is implemented as computer software modules loaded onto the customer computer and the banking computing center. The merchant computer does not require any additional software to participate in the online commerce transactions supported by the online commerce system. As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the system be embodied as a customization of an existing system, an add-on product, a processing apparatus executing upgraded software, a stand-alone system, a distributed system, a method, a data processing system, a device for data processing, and/or a computer program product. Accordingly, any portion of the system or a module may take the form of a processing apparatus executing code, an internet based embodiment, an entirely hardware embodiment, or an embodiment combining aspects of the internet, software and hardware. Furthermore, the system ma take the form of a computer program product on a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code means embodied in the storage medium. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may be utilized, including hard disks, CD-ROM, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, and/or the like. The system and method is described herein with reference to screen shots, block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods, apparatus (e.g., systems), and computer program products according to various embodiments. It will be understood that each functional block of the block diagrams and the flowchart illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks. Accordingly, functional blocks of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations support combinations of means for performing the specified functions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions, and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that each functional block of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by either special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform the specified functions or steps, or suitable combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions. Further, illustrations of the process flows and the descriptions thereof may make reference to user WINDOWS®, webpages, websites, web forms, prompts, etc. Practitioners will appreciate that the illustrated steps described herein may comprise in any number of configurations including the use of WINDOWS®, webpages, web forms, popup WINDOWS®, prompts and the like. It should be further appreciated that the multiple steps as illustrated and described may be combined into single webpages and/or WINDOWS® but have been expanded for the sake of simplicity. In other cases, steps illustrated and described as single process steps may be separated into multiple webpages and/or WINDOWS® but have been combined for simplicity. The term “non-transitory” is to be understood to remove only propagating transitory signals per se from the claim scope and does not relinquish rights to all standard computer-readable media that are not only propagating transitory signals per se. Stated another way, the meaning of the term “non-transitory computer-readable medium” and “non-transitory computer-readable storage medium” should be construed to exclude only those types of transitory computer-readable media which were found in In Re Nuijten to fall outside the scope of patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Systems, methods and computer program products are provided. In the detailed description herein, references to “various embodiments”, “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “an example embodiment”, etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described. After reading the description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement the disclosure in alternative embodiments. Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described herein with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements of the disclosure. The scope of the disclosure is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, in which reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” Moreover, where a phrase similar to ‘at least one of A, B, and C’ or ‘at least one of A, B, or C’ is used in the claims or specification, it is intended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone may be present in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, C alone may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of the elements A, B and C may be present in a single embodiment; for example, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. Although the disclosure includes a method, it is contemplated that it may be embodied as computer program instructions on a tangible computer-readable carrier, such as a magnetic or optical memory or a magnetic or optical disk. All structural, chemical, and functional equivalents to the elements of the above-described various embodiments that are known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the present claims. Moreover, it is not necessary for a device or method to address each and every problem sought to be solved by the present disclosure, for it to be encompassed by the present claims. Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element herein is intended to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112 (f) unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” As used herein, the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. | 113,743 |
11861606 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Techniques for implementing a blockchain system for confidential and anonymous execution of smart contracts are described. A token platform in the form of a smart contract can allow users to set up token accounts that are linked to the users' cryptocurrencies accounts. Operations performed in the token platform can remain confidential and anonymous such that users on the blockchain may not be able to determine transfer amounts and/or the identity of the sender/receiver. Cryptographic techniques such as zero-knowledge proofs may allow public verification of data while preserving confidentiality and anonymity. The token platform can also invoke other smart contracts to support various complex applications. Prior to discussing the details of the various embodiments, an explanation of various terms are provided below. A “blockchain” may refer to a distributed database. A blockchain can be used to maintain a continuously growing list of records called blocks. A blockchain can be used to maintain a record of transaction or events between parties in a way that is difficult to falsify. Each block in a blockchain may include several records as well as a hash of previous blocks in the blockchain. If a record in a previous block is changed, the hash may be disrupted in any following blocks. The result is that in order to falsify a given record, the hacker has to falsify that record and all subsequent records so that the hashes end up the same. This is extremely difficult in practice. Additionally, a blockchain may be distributed among a large number of entities. Any changes to the blockchain may be verified by comparing it to the numerous individual records. A “record” may refer to evidence of one or more interactions. A digital record can be electronic documentation of an interaction. A record can include a record identifier and record information. For example, record information can include information describing one or more interactions and/or information associated with the interactions (e.g., a digital signature). Record information can also include multiple data packets each of which include different data describing a different interactions. A record identifier can be a number, title, or other data value used for identifying a record. A record identifier can be nondescript, in that it may not provide any meaningful information about the record information in the record. Examples of records include medical records, academic records, transaction records, credential issuance records, etc. In some embodiments, a record can be stored in a block of a blockchain. An individual block may include an individual record or a predetermined number of records, and a blockchain can be a series of records organized into blocks. A “smart contract” may refer to distributed computer executable program code. A smart contract may contain a set of rules under which the parties to the smart contract agree to interact with each other. If and when the pre-defined rules are met, the program code is executed and the agreement implemented in the program code is automatically enforced. The smart contract code can be executed in a blockchain network to provide a decentralized automated mechanism to facilitate, verify, and enforce negotiation or performance of an agreement or transaction. A “node” or “network node” may refer to a connection point in a communication network. A network node can be a physical electronic device that is capable of creating, receiving, or transmitting data. In some embodiments, a network node may be a computing device within a record-keeping network (e.g., a blockchain network). A network node may be able to create a data package (e.g., a data payload), transfer a data package, receive a data package, validate a data package, access a central record, and/or perform any other suitable functions. Different types of network nodes may be able to perform different sets of functions within a recording network. In some embodiments, a network node may be associated with and/or operated by a resource provider such as an online service provider, a content provider, a certificate authority, a financial institution (e.g., a bank), a merchant, a transaction processing network, or any other suitable entity. A “key” may refer to a piece of information that is used in a cryptographic algorithm to transform input data into another representation. A cryptographic algorithm can be an encryption algorithm that transforms original data into an alternate representation, or a decryption algorithm that transforms encrypted information back to the original data. Examples of cryptographic algorithms may include triple data encryption standard (TDES), data encryption standard (DES), advanced encryption standard (AES), etc. A “key pair” may include a pair of linked encryption keys. For example, a key pair can include a public key and a corresponding private key. In a key pair, a first key (e.g., a public key) may be used to encrypt a message, while a second key (e.g., a private key) may be used to decrypt the encrypted message. Additionally, a public key may be able to verify a digital signature created with the corresponding private key. The public key may be distributed throughout a network in order to allow for verification of messages signed using the corresponding private key. Public and private keys may be in any suitable format, including those based on RSA or elliptic curve cryptography (ECC). In some embodiments, a key pair may be generated using an asymmetric key pair algorithm. A “signature” may refer to an electronic signature for a message or some data. A digital signature may be a numeric data value, an alphanumeric data value, or any other type of data including a graphical representation. A digital signature may be a unique data value generated from a message/data and a private key using an encrypting algorithm. In some embodiments, a validation algorithm employing a public key may be used to verify the signature. A “user” may refer to an entity such as a person, an organization, or a device or system associated with or operated by the person or organization that utilizes a resource for some purpose. A user may have one or more accounts that can be used to access the resource. A user may also be referred to as an account holder, a consumer, a subscriber, or a cardholder, etc., according to some embodiments. A “computing device” may refer to a device that includes one or more electronic components (e.g., an integrated chip) that can communicate with another device or entity. For example, a computing device may include at least one processor coupled to a memory that stores instructions or code for execution by the processor, and may include a communication interface that allows the computing device to interact with other entities. A computing device can be a portable computing device that can be transported and operated by a user. A portable computing device may provide remote communication capabilities to a network. The portable computing device can be configured to transmit and receive data or communications to and from other devices. A portable computing device may be in the form of a mobile device such as a mobile phone (e.g., smart phone, cellular phone, etc.), tablets, portable media player, personal digital assistant devices (PDAs), wearable device (e.g., watch, bracelet, ring, eyeglasses, health monitoring device such as a fitness tracker, etc.), electronic reader device, etc., or in the form of a card (e.g., smart card) or a fob, etc. Examples of portable computing devices may also include portable computers (e.g., laptops, netbooks, ultrabooks, etc.). A portable computing device may also be in the form of a vehicle (e.g., an automobile), or be integrated as part of a vehicle (e.g., an infosystem of a vehicle). Other examples of computing devices may include Internet of Things (IoT) devices, smart appliances and electronics, gaming consoles, etc. A computing device may also include multiple devices or components (e.g., when a device has remote access to a network by tethering to another device—both devices taken together may be considered a computing device). A “server computer” may refer to a powerful computer or cluster of computers. For example, the server computer can be a large mainframe, a minicomputer cluster, or a group of servers functioning as a unit. In one example, the server computer may be a database server coupled to a Web server. The server computer may be coupled to a database and may include any hardware, software, other logic, or combination of the preceding for servicing the requests from one or more client computers. The server computer may comprise one or more computational apparatuses and may use any of a variety of computing structures, arrangements, and compilations for servicing the requests from one or more client computers. A “hash” may refer to data returned by a hash function (e.g., a function that can be used to map data of arbitrary size to data of fixed size). A hash can be used to uniquely identify secret information. In many cases, it is statistically unlikely that two different input data values have the same hash. Examples of hashing algorithms may include MD5, MD6, SHA variants, etc. FIG.1illustrates a system100for implementing a blockchain network, according to some embodiments. InFIG.1, a blockchain network102is depicted as including a number of nodes. The nodes of blockchain network102may include any number of validation nodes. Each of the validation nodes106A-D may be a computing device associated with an entity or a user participating in blockchain network102, and may maintain a ledger104(e.g., a blockchain) distributed amongst the group of validation nodes106A-D in blockchain network102. In some embodiments, ledger104may contain records of transactions conduct between cryptocurrency accounts in blockchain network102. A user operating a user device (e.g., one of validation nodes106A-D, or a computing device in communication with a validation node) may initiate a transaction by generating a cryptographically signed message and sending the message to blockchain network102. The message may include transaction data such as information pertaining to a recipient and an amount. Once a validation node has received the message, the validation node may distribute the message to the other validation nodes in blockchain network102. Each of the validation nodes106A-D may include the transaction represented by the message in a block of transactions and attempt to validate or cryptographically solve the block. The first validation node that solves the block may provide the solution to the other validation nodes for verification, and ledger104maintained at each of validation nodes106A-D can be updated to add the block to ledger104to effect the transaction. In some embodiments, system100can support either a UTXO-based cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or an account-based cryptocurrency such as Ethereum. In a UTXO-based cryptocurrency model, every new transaction spends one or more UTXOs, all of which are stored on the blockchain. So for example, to spend five Bitcoins, a user must use past transactions addressed to the user whose unspent portions sum to at least five Bitcoins. In an account-based cryptocurrency model, a transaction amount is compared to the sender's account balance to ensure the account has sufficient funds. The account-based model can be referred to as being stateful, because the account balances at a point in time can represent a state of the blockchain. The stateful property of the account-based model may allow smart contracts to be built such that certain interactions are executed based on the state of the blockchain. Using an account-based model to implement a privacy-preserving smart contract mechanism in system100can have various advantages. Storage: Storage on a blockchain can be expensive (both computationally and fees collected by a validation node) and should be minimized as much as possible. If a UTXO-based model is used, then all unspent transactions need to be stored. Moreover, for an UTXO-based cryptocurrency that provide cryptographic anonymity, all spent transactions have to be stored as well. This makes the UTXO-based model expensive to use. Privacy: The account-based model provides a natural mixing property. A new transaction in the account-based model draws from the total available balance, whereas the UTXOs used to create a new transaction in the UTXO-based model can reveal a lot of information about the new transaction, even if all the amounts are cryptographically hidden. For example, if a UTXO (even encrypted) originated from a user's employer is used to create a new transaction, then the user is likely going to spend a significant amount. Furthermore, even though UTXOs may potentially provide better anonymity, users can often be de-anonymized in practice. Interoperability with smart contracts: An account-based privacy-preserving mechanism can easily interoperate with smart contracts, which typically maintain accounts for their users and for the contract itself. For example, a private account can be used to fund an account on the smart contract, or be tied to a payment channel smart contract. Funds can be added to the channel by simply adding funds to the private account. Adoption: Account-based cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Ripple, EOS, Stellar account for some of the most valuable cryptocurrencies. An account-based privacy mechanism can be used to introduce private transactions to these platforms. Simplicity for users: Privacy in the account-based model may encourage users to have a small number of accounts, making account management simpler. This also makes the system more efficient overall. Accordingly, an account-based model cryptocurrency such as Ethereum can be used as the platform for implementing a privacy-preserving mechanism in system100. In some embodiments, the privacy-preserving transaction mechanism may require no changes to the design of the underlying cryptocurrency platform such as Ethereum. The privacy-preserving transaction mechanism may be referred to herein as “Zether,” and can be implemented as a smart contract on the cryptocurrency platform. Zether, as a smart contract, can be executed either individually, by other smart contracts, or invoke other smart contracts to exchange confidential amounts of a token, denoted by “ZTH.” Zether can provide both confidentiality by hiding transaction amounts and anonymity by hiding the identity of the senders and the recipients. Although various aspects of Zether are described herein using Ethereum as the cryptocurrency platform, it should be understood that the techniques used in Zether can be applied to other account-based cryptocurrencies, independent of their consensus mechanisms. In some embodiments, to improve the computational efficiency of Zether, a new zero-knowledge (ZK) proof mechanism, referred to as Σ-Bullets is used. Σ-Bullets enhances the interoperability of Σ-protocols and Bulletproofs, and allows Bulletproofs-based range proofs to be efficiently combined with ElGamal encryptions and ring-signature based anonymous transfers. As a smart contract, Zether can be used to build other privacy-preserving applications such as a decentralized auction mechanism that fully hides the bids, a confidential payment channel mechanism, a confidential stake voting protocol, a private proof-of-stake protocol, etc. To facilitate a better understanding of Zether, a brief description of the Ethereum platform is provided below. Ethereum's basic unit are accounts. There are: (a) externally-owned accounts (EOAs) controlled by private keys; and (b) contract accounts controlled by their code. Both types of accounts can have an ether balance, denominated in units of wei (1 ether is equivalent to 1e18 wei). The Ethereum blockchain tracks the state of every account. State changes are initiated through transactions coming from EOAs. A transaction consists of the destination account address, a signature a, the transferred amount in wei, an optional data field representing inputs to a contract, a gasLimit value, and a gasPrice value. The term “gas” in Ethereum can be used to refer to the computational costs associated with posting a transaction to the blockchain. Every EOA can be associated with a nonce, which is a counter that increments with every transaction. The signature a is a cryptographic signature of the transaction and the sender's nonce. During transaction processing, a is verified against the nonce value. As a result, transactions cannot be “replayed” on the Ethereum network. A transaction can transfer wei between accounts or trigger the execution of smart contract code. Smart contracts can send messages to other smart contracts, mimicking function calls. Every transaction and code execution is replicated on all nodes in the network. Every executed operation has a specified cost expressed in terms of gas units. For example, storing 256 bits of data costs 20,000 units of gas while changing it costs 5,000 units and reading it costs 200 units. The sender pays for all smart contract operations that the transaction calls. The sender can use the gasLimit field to specify the total amount of gas it is willing to spend for a transaction, and the gasPrice field to specify the amount of wei it is willing to pay per unit of gas. A miner (e.g., a validation node) that is happy with the gas price can include the transaction in a block and collect the fee. If the gas limit falls short of the gas needed to process the transaction, the miner may collect the fee but not change the blockchain's state. Excess fees are refunded to the account that issued the transaction. The total gas consumed by all transactions in a block is limited. Thus, the number of transactions in a block can vary depending on the complexity of the transactions, but the total gas consumed by the transactions in a block should not exceed the block limit. This ensures that the time needed for processing and propagating a block remains sufficiently small, allowing for an adequately-decentralized network. Currently, that limit is around 8 million gas units. Simple arithmetic operations cost 3 gas units and the average block time is 15 seconds. The total Ethereum network can, therefore, perform less than 180k arithmetic operations per second. Some complex operations, e.g., the Keccak 256-bit hash function, however, do not need to be arithmetized, but are provide as a standalone functionality at a reduced cost (e.g., 36 gas units for a 32-byte hash). Smart contracts can be written in a specific cryptocurrency platform programming language such as Solidity. Once compiled to bytecode, the smart contract can be read and executed by an Ethereum virtual machine (EVM), a sandboxed and isolated runtime environment, where the code running inside the EVM has no access to network or other processes on the computing device. The EVM has access to a global persistent storage system, and each smart contract account can have a separate storage available to it. In Ethereum, transactions are processed individually in an arbitrary order. Therefore, smart contract codes should be written properly so that unexpected outcomes are avoided when a common part of the EVM state is changed by two or more transactions. The low computational power, along with the asynchronous transactional nature of the Ethereum network make programming complicated smart contracts a delicate endeavor. 1 Overview of Zether A high-level overview of Zether and considerations taken into account in creating the architecture of Zether will now be described. Homomorphic commitments such as Pedersen commitments can be used to make transactions confidential. Though Pedersen commitments are simple and efficient, the opening of these commitments are transferred to the recipient so that the recipient can subsequently use the funds. This randomness can be stored on-chain in some encrypted manner or sent directly to the recipient through a separate channel. In the UTXO model, if the recipient is unable to recover the randomness (an incorrect value was encrypted/sent, nothing sent at all, etc.), then the recipient cannot spend the UTXO later. However, other UTXOs controlled by the recipient are not affected at all and could still be spent. On the other hand, with an account-based model, since all the incoming transfers go into the same account, failure to recover the randomness for even a single transfer could render the whole account unusable. One solution may require sender to encrypt the randomness under recipient's public key, and prove that the commitment indeed uses the randomness encrypted. Another implementation may use ElGamal encryption with messages in the exponent. This encryption scheme has linear encoding properties (making the scheme homomorphic), which can be utilized to create efficient ZK-proofs of the correct encryption. 1.1 Transferring Confidentially A simplistic version of Zether with the core functionalities will first be described below, followed by improvements to the simplistic version. Besides privacy, one goal of Zether is to ensure funds of honest users are not lost. A Simplistic Zether The Zether smart contract (ZSC) works with Zether tokens (ZTH). Zether accounts are identified with ElGamal public keys. To fund an account with public key y with b ZTH, one can send b ETH (ether) to the smart contract. ZSC generates an ElGamal encryption of b with randomness 0 (since b is anyway part of the transaction) and adds it to the encrypted balance associated with y. One can convert ZTH back to ETH by revealing the current balance b* and providing a ZK-proof that ys ciphertext (e.g., the ciphertext associated with yon the smart contract) indeed encrypts b*. In order to transfer some b amount of ZTH to a public key y′ without revealing b itself, one can encrypt b under both y and y′. A ZK-proof is provided to show that the two ciphertexts are well-formed, they encrypt the same positive value, and the remaining balance associated with y is positive. A new ZK-proof system, called Σ-Bullets can be used to efficiently prove the statements over the encrypted transfer balance and the new sender balance. Incoming Transfers One issue with the simplistic version of Zether stems from the fact that the ZK-proofs are generated with respect to a certain state of the smart contract. For example, the ZK-proof in a transfer transaction needs to show that the remaining balance is positive. A user Alice may generates this proof with respect to her current account balance, stored in an encrypted form on the contract. However, if another user Bob transfers some ZTH to Alice, and Bob's transaction gets processed first, then Alice's transaction will be rejected because the proof will not be valid anymore. Note that Bob may be a totally benign user, yet Alice loses the fees she paid to process her transaction. This situation can be referred to as the front-running problem. Burn transactions may have a similar problem too because a proof that a ciphertext encrypts a certain value becomes invalid if the ciphertext changes. To solve this issue, one may introduce a new type of transaction that just locks an account to keep away incoming transfers. Alice could wait until this transaction gets into the blockchain before initiating an outgoing transfer (or doing a burn). While this seems to fix the issue (at the cost of making transfer, the primary transaction, a two-step process), it creates new issues for users like Bob who want to send ZTH to Alice. Alice's account may not be locked when Bob publishes a transfer transaction tx, but it may get locked before tx gets in, resulting in tx being rejected. Any kind of locking approach becomes more untenable when implementing anonymity. If Alice wants to hide herself among other users and make sure her transaction gets through, she will have to lock all the accounts in the anonymity set. Alice may not have permission to lock accounts of other users. Alternatively, Alice may only put locked accounts in her anonymity set. However, if someone unlocks their account before Alice's transaction gets in, Alice's degree of anonymity is reduced. Pending Transfers To address the front-running problem, all the incoming transfers are kept in a pending state. These transfers are rolled over into the accounts from time to time so that the incoming funds could be spent. This rollover may not happen at arbitrary times, otherwise the proofs can get invalidated again. As such, time can be divided into epochs where an epoch consists of k consecutive blocks. The choice of k depends on two factors: (1) the gap between the latest state of blockchain and any user's view; and (2) the time it takes to get a transaction into the blockchain. At the end of every epoch, pending transfers are rolled over into the corresponding accounts. Users are expected to publish their transfer or burn transaction at the beginning of an epoch so that even if they do not see the latest state of the blockchain and it takes some time for their transaction to be included, they do not step into the next epoch. As long as k is chosen properly, transactions will be processed before the account changes state. Rolling Over on a Smart Contract However, rolling over is not as straightforward as it may appear because a smart contract may not do anything unless a transaction is sent to it. One cannot expect every user to send a rollover message for every epoch. Moreover, it may be difficult to get such a message in at the right time. One idea is to rollover the pending transfers for all the accounts on the receipt of the first message in an epoch. This, however, places an unreasonably large burden on the sender of that message, as the sender will have to pay for the cost of rolling over the accounts that it does not own. Furthermore, users may have no way to know if their transaction would be the first in an epoch, so they cannot estimate the right amount of gas to supply. As such, an account can be rolled over in an epoch when the first message from that account is received. To achieve this, a separate process for rolling over is implemented, and the first thing every other method does is to call this roll over method. There can be accounts that do not get rolled over for several consecutive epochs because no transaction is initiated from them. This is not an issue because the account holder is not trying to use her balance anyway. At some later point in time, when the user wants to operate on her account, the user will publish a transaction. All the amounts transferred into her account since the last rollover will be rolled over immediately and become available to be spent. Indeed, when the user creates a ZK-proof, she will assume the state of her account to be what it would be when all the pending transfers are rolled over into it. Replay Protection The mechanism described so far may be susceptible to replay attacks. Ethereum provides replay protection of its own by associating nonces with every account, which is signed into every transaction. Unfortunately, this level of protection is not enough for Zether due to two reasons: (1) Zether accounts have their own public keys, which are not associated with Ethereum addresses; (2) Zether transactions contain non-interactive ZK-proofs. A malicious actor can steal these proofs and put them inside new transactions. If the state of the account has not changed, then the new transactions will also be processed successfully, leading to loss of funds. Another feature of Zether allows accounts to be locked to other smart contracts. Even if the request to lock a Zether account shows knowledge of the secret key, and the account is unlocked later, an adversarial entity may lock the account again by just replaying the request. To protect against such issues, a nonce can be associated with every Zether account. The nonces can be incremented as transactions are processed. A new transaction from an account must sign the latest value of the nonce associated with the account along with the transaction data, which includes any ZK-proof. This approach binds all components of a transaction together and ensures freshness. ZK-proofs cannot be imported into malicious transactions and valid transactions cannot be replayed. Although Ethereum addresses themselves can be used as the identities of Zether accounts to leverage Ethereum's replay protection and signature verification, this may force users to operate a Zether account from a fixed Ethereum address. As a result, users may not be able to delegate the account to a different address, like when locking the account to a smart contract. Furthermore, Ethereum addresses are a hash of public keys, not the full form. Proving statements about hashes in zero-knowledge is quite computationally expensive. Lastly, having separate public keys for Zether accounts also helps make the design more modular and platform-independent. 1.2 Transferring Anonymously To enable users of Zether to transfer ZTH anonymously, additional issues are address as described below. More Complex ZK-Proof An anonymous transfer transaction enables a user Alice with public key yAinterested in sending b ZTH to another user Bob with public key yBto hide both herself and Bob among a larger group of userswith public keys {y1, . . . , yn}, along with hiding b. As a result, Alice provides a more complex ZK-proof π. Specifically, Alice generates n ciphertexts C1, . . . , Cnunder keys y1, . . . , ynrespectively. π shows that all the ciphertexts are well-formed; only two of the underlying amounts are non-zero and their values only differ in sign; and the remaining balance of the account with positive amount is non-negative. Several optimizations can be used to reduce the size of π and verification cost. As noted above, the prover sends n ciphertexts, and all of them except two encrypt 0. This can be leveraged in the proof construction such that the proof statement only contains two range proofs as sub-statements. For example, one-out-of-many proofs can be used. These proofs can give a secondary encryption to one out of n ciphertexts without revealing which original ciphertext was re-encrypted. One-out-of-many proofs can be used to build ring-signatures. Alice uses this proof to create secondary encryptions of b and −b under yAand yBrespectively along with a secondary encryption of Alice's balance b*. Alice then simply shows the relationship between b and −b and that b and b*−b are non-negative using a range proof. Replay and Double-Spend Protection TAn anonymous transaction published by Alice involves multiple accounts only one of which Alice may own. To preserve anonymity, Alice's account may not be treated in any special way. Indeed, all the accounts involved in the transaction should be treated in the same way. Thus, the nonces associated with each one of them should be incremented. However, this can create another issue. Other account holders involved in Alice's transaction may have generated a transaction with the previous value of nonce. If their transactions get in later, then they will be rejected. If even one of them gets in before, then Alice's transaction will be rejected. A different approach to replay protection can be used to implement anonymity. Every epoch can be associated with a base gepochderived from hashing some predetermined fixed string such as “Zether” and the current epoch number. To initiate a transfer or burn transaction from an account with public key=gsk, gepochskcan be included in the transaction. More precisely, the proof π described above for a transfer transaction can also show knowledge of sk such thatg=gepochskforgincluded in the transaction. (Burn transactions' proofs can also include this.) It should be noted that g is computationally unlinkable to y under the DDH assumption. Thus, g can be uses as the nonce in the sequel. While in the case of confidential transfers, the transfer amount is subtracted from the sender's balance immediately but keep pending for the receiver, the same approach may not be used for anonymous transfers. All the transfer amounts, whether positive (for the receiver), negative (for the sender) or zero (for others) can be kept pending. Thus, an anonymous transfer transaction may not immediately affect the balance of any of the users involved. This may open up the system to double-spending attacks. A user may generate two transfer transactions in an epoch, sending her total balance to two different users. The attached ZK-proofs would both be valid because they will be verified against the same state. Fortunately, the nonce as described above, in addition to preventing replay attacks, can also prevent such double-spending attacks. During every epoch, ZSC can accumulate nonces as they come, rejecting any transaction that reuses a nonce. The set of nonces does not grow indefinitely; as it is reset to null at the beginning of every epoch. Thus, providing anonymity does not lead to a continuous growth in the size of the state of ZSC. Tis approach may limit even honest users to initiate at most one transfer or burn transaction in a given epoch. Global Updates With the new replay protection mechanism in place, a few global updates are t made in each epoch: set the base for the epoch and empty the nonce set. These updates can be made at the receipt of the very first message in an epoch, be it from any account. Thus, users may have to provide a little more gas to cover the possibility that their message could be the very first one in an epoch. In most cases, this extra gas can be reimbursed. 1.3 Interoperability with Smart Contracts One design goal for Zether is to be interoperable with other smart contracts. This presents a challenge as it is impossible to know in which way other smart contracts may want to use Zether. Further, the other smart contracts may contain bugs or even be maliciously designed. Unlike a cleartext currency like Ethereum (ETH), a smart contract may not simply issue a ZTH transfer as doing so requires creating ZK-proofs. Smart contracts, however, have only public states and thus are unable to store secrets necessary to create ZK-proofs. One solution is to lock an account to a smart contract, say SC. In effect, this transfers the ownership of the account to SC. Any transfer from the account will need to go through SC. The transfer still needs to contain a valid ZK-proof, and as such will need to be created by the user. SC finally can unlock an account to return control to the original user. Anonymous Transfers If some accounts involved in an anonymous transaction are locked to a smart contract then, naturally, all of the locked accounts must be locked to the same contract. Furthermore, the transaction may be processed only if it comes from that contract. Pending Locks Suppose Alice publishes a transaction in a certain epoch to lock her account to a smart contract. The locking should not take effect immediately because Bob may have published a transfer transaction (at about the same time as Alice) with Alice in his anonymity set while her account was still unlocked. If Alice's transaction gets in first, locking her account, then Bob's transaction will be rejected. The same holds for unlocking as well. Therefore, when ZSC is invoked to lock/unlock an account, it just records the request but does not act on it immediately. When the account is rolled over in some later epoch, the request will be executed. Recall that every method on ZSC first checks if there is a need for roll over. Replay Attacks Lock transactions also need replay protection. In fact, using the account secret key, the sender must sign both the nonce and an address (to which the account will be locked) in the case of confidential transfers, and both the epoch base and address in the case of anonymous transfers. As a result, for the latter case, lock transactions can be published at the beginning of an epoch just like transfer and burn transactions. 1.4 Σ-Bullets Zether ensures that encrypted transactions are correct by using ZK proofs that certify correctness without revealing any additional information. A custom proof system called Σ-Bullets can be used for Zether. Σ-Bullets integrate Bulletproofs with Σ-protocols to enable efficient proofs on algebraically-encoded values. In this manner, a set of ElGamal encrypted values can be proven efficiently to be in some range. Further, one-out-of-many proofs also known as ring signatures can be combined with range proofs to allow anonymous transfers. Σ-Bullets inherit from Bulletproofs the trapdoor-free setup and the short, logarithmic sized, proof lengths. The ability to prove statements on encrypted values further significantly reduces the prover and verifier time. 2 System Components and Methods FIG.2illustrates a block diagram of a blockchain system implementing a platform smart contract, according to some embodiments. The blockchain system may include a validation node computing device206that is part of a blockchain network and a user computing device252operated by a user. Validation node computing device206may include a processor and a memory storing computer executable code. In some embodiments, validation node computing device206may include one or more cryptoprocessors with specialized arithmetic logic units dedicated for performing cryptographic operations such as encryption, decryption, proof validation, and the like. The computer executable code stored in the memory can implement a platform smart contract210(e.g., a Zether smart contract) and maintain a local copy of a blockchain220that stores validated transaction data records in the blockchain system. In some embodiments, platform smart contract210can be written in a cryptocurrency platform programming language (e.g., Solidity used in Ethereum), and can be compiled for execution in a virtual machine (e.g., EVM). Platform smart contract210may include a set of core algorithms, and a set of helper algorithms that are called by the core algorithms to facilitate functions performed by the core algorithms. Platform smart contract210may also be associated with a platform smart contract state230representing a current state of platform smart contract210. The set of core algorithms may implement the following functions: Fund; Transfer; Lock; Unlock; and Burn. The Fund function is used to convert a cryptocurrency amount from a cryptocurrency account (e.g., ETH from an Ethereum address) into tokens (e.g., ZTH) associated with a public key. The Transfer function is used to transfer an amount of tokens from one public key to another. The Lock function is used to lock a public key (and its associated account) to an address such as an address of an application smart contract or another account. Once a public key is locked, transfer of tokens associated with the public key and unlocking of the public key cannot be performed unless the operation came from the address that the public key is locked to. The Unlock function is used to unlock a locked public key, and can be only effective if called by the address that the public key is locked to. The Burn function is used to convert tokens (e.g., ZTH) associated with a public key back to a cryptocurrency amount for a cryptocurrency account (e.g., ETH for an Ethereum address). The set of helper algorithms may implement a RollOver function and a CheckLock function. The RollOver function is used roll over or put into effect pending transactions (e.g., transfers, burns, lock/unlock operations). In some embodiments, invocation of the RollOver helper function can be the first operation performed in each of the core algorithms. The CheckLock function is used to determine that a lock/unlock function is initiated from a proper address. Validation node computing device206may also store a platform smart contract state230representing a current state of platform smart contract210. Platform smart contract state230may include a set of entries representing accounts participating in platform smart contract. Each entry may include a public key that can be used to reference an account, an encrypted balance represent the amount of tokens available for the public key, a lock status of the public key, and pending transaction(s) associated with the public key. The lock status indicates whether a public key (and its associated account) is locked. If the public key is locked, the lock status may indicated the address that the public key is being locked to. If the public key is not locked, the lock status may indicate an unlocked status Pending transactions store pending transactions associated with a public key. A transaction (e.g., transfer, and/or lock, etc.) initiated in a particular epoch can initially be considered a pending transition and is recorded as such in platform smart contract state230. The pending transaction associated with a public key can take effect or be rolled over to the corresponding account in a subsequent epoch (e.g., at later epoch when a new transaction involving that public key is invoked). The executable code stored in the memory of validation node computing device206may also implement one or more application smart contracts such as application smart contract240. Application smart contract240can be, for example, a sealed-bid auction smart contract, a payment channel smart contract, a stake voting smart contract, or a proof-of-stake smart contract, etc., and can be written in a cryptocurrency platform programming language (e.g., Solidity used in Ethereum). Application smart contract240can invoke platform smart contract210or vice versa. Application smart contract240is associated with a smart contract address (e.g., can be a cryptocurrency account address), and a public key can be locked to application smart contract240to prevent transactions with that public key from being processed by platform smart contract210unless the source of the transactions is from application smart contract240. This is achieved by invoking the lock function with the smart contract address of application smart contract240. Once a public key is locked to application smart contract240, transactions involving the public key may be processed by platform smart contract210only if the transactions came from application smart contract240, and only application smart contract240may unlock the public key. A user can interact with platform smart contract210(e.g., to issue transactions) using a user computing device252. In some embodiments, user computing device252can be a user's portable or desktop computer, mobile device, tablet, etc., another validation node computing device, or be validation node computing device206itself. User computing device252may include a processor and a memory storing computer executable code. The computer executable code stored in the memory can implement a platform smart contract interface260that can be invoked to interact with platform smart contract210. In some embodiments, platform smart contract interface260can be part of a cryptocurrency application. User computing device252may also store a set of public keys270corresponding to accounts participating in platform smart contract210, a private key280corresponding to the public key associated with the account of the user of user computing device, and a nonce290. Platform smart contract interface260may include a set of user algorithms that implement various functions to interact with platform smart contract210. The set of user algorithms may implement the following functions: CreateAddress; CreateFundTx; CreateTransferTx; CreateBurnTx; CreateLockTx; CreateUnlockTx; and ReadBalance. The CreateAddress user function is used to generate a public and private key pair. The generated public key can be used as an address to reference the account of the user in platform smart contract210. The public key is shared with other users participating in platform smart contract210. The private key is kept private, and is used to generate signatures and proofs. The CreateFundTx, CreateTransferTx, CreateBurnTx, CreateLockTx, and CreateUnlockTx are used to invoke their counterparts in platform smart contract210. These user algorithms may output transaction data to request their corresponding functions in platform smart contract210. The transaction data may include a set of public keys of the accounts involved in the transaction, ciphertexts representing amounts if a transfer is involved, a signature generated by signing nonce290with private key280, and a proof that is validated by validation node computing device206to effect the transaction. In some embodiments, the nonce can be a counter that is incremented for each transaction associated with the public key, or an epoch base that is unique for each epoch (e.g., can be derived from hashing a predetermined string and an epoch number of an epoch during which the corresponding transaction is initiated). The ReadBalance function is used to obtain the balance associated with the user's public key from platform smart contract state230. Additional details of the platform smart contract algorithms and user algorithms are further described in sections5and6below. To conduct a confidential transaction hiding the amount of the transaction, a user may first use the CreatAddresss function to generate a private and public key pair. The CreateFundTx function can then be called to generate a fund transaction request to convert a cryptocurrency amount into tokens for platform smart contract210. When platform smart contract210receives the fund transaction request, platform smart contract210may validate the cryptographic proof in the fund transaction request and invoke the Fund function. When the Fund function is invoked for the first time for a public key, a new entry is created in platform smart contract state230, and the public key and an encrypted balance representing the amount of tokens being funded from the cryptocurrency account are stored in the entry. The encrypted balance can be derived from encrypting the balance using the public key. If the public key already exists in platform smart contract state230already when the Fund function is invoked, the funding amount is encrypted using the public key and added to the encrypted balance using homomorphic encryption. The user may then invoke the CreateTransferTx to generate a transfer transaction request to transfer an amount of tokens from the user's public key to another user's public key. The transaction data of the transfer transaction request may include the public keys of the sender and receiver, a first operand ciphertext encrypting the negative of the transfer amount using the sender's public key, and a second operand ciphertext encrypting the transfer amount using the receiver's public key. When platform smart contract210receives the transfer transaction request, platform smart contract210may validate the cryptographic proof in the transfer transaction request and invoke the Transfer function. The Transfer function may then roll over any pending transactions on the public keys of the sender and receiver from prior epochs, verify that the public keys of sender and receiver are not locked (or are locked to the sender's address), verify the signature on the transfer transaction request, and post the transfer transaction as a pending transaction on the public keys of the sender and receiver. At a later epoch when another transaction is initiated on the public keys, the pending transaction is rolled over by adding the first operand ciphertext (representing a negative of the transaction amount) to the encrypted balance of the sender and adding the second operand ciphertext (representing a positive of the transaction amount) to the encrypted balance of the receiver. Because the transaction amount and updated balances are encrypted, a public view of platform smart contract state230would not be able to determine the transaction amount, thus creating confidentiality for the transaction. The confidential transaction described above does not, however, hide the transacting parties as a public view of platform smart contract state230would be able to determine which account balance have been updated. To conduct a confidential and anonymous transaction, the transaction data of the transfer transaction request may further include additional public keys of other accounts not involved in the transaction, and additional operand ciphertexts corresponding to the additional public keys by encrypting a value of zero. The transaction is then posted as a pending transaction to each of the additional public keys and the public keys of the sender and receiver. When the pending transaction is rolled over, the first operand ciphertext (representing a negative of the transaction amount) is added to the encrypted balance of the sender, the second operand ciphertext (representing a positive of the transaction amount) is added to the encrypted balance of the receiver, and the additional operand ciphertexts (encryption of zero by corresponding public key) are added to the respective balances of the additional public keys. A public view of platform smart contract state230would not be able to determine which parties are the sender and receiver because the balances associated with a larger group of public keys are all being updated. To conduct more complex functions and transactions such as sealed-bid auctions, stake voting, etc., platform smart contract210can interoperate with one or more application smart contracts such as application smart contract240. A user participating in application smart contract can invoke the CreateLockTx function to lock the user's public key to application smart contract240. Other users participating in application smart contract240can similarly be locked to application smart contract240. Application smart contract240can be executed to perform its underlying functions, causing one or more transactions to be performed on the locked public keys. Application smart contract240can then send the one or more transactions to platform smart contract210to be processed, and unlock the locked public keys. Having conducted one or more transactions in platform smart contract210, a user can convert the user's account balance from tokens back to cryptocurrency by invoking the CreateBurnTx function to generate a burn transaction. When platform smart contract210receives the burn transaction request, platform smart contract210can validate the burn transaction request, and call the Burn function. The Burn function may validate the balance, credit the cryptocurrency account of the user with the balance in the cryptocurrency, and update platform smart contract state230by adding a ciphertext representing the negative of the balance to the current encrypted balance of the corresponding public key. FIG.3illustrates a flow diagram of a process300for transacting in a platform smart contract, according to some embodiments. Process300may begin at block302by storing a set of entries representing a state of a platform smart contract (e.g., Zether) in a blockchain network. Each of the entries may include a public key associated with an account and a balance ciphertext representing a balance of the account. The balance ciphertext can be generated, for example, by encrypting the balance with the public key of the corresponding account. For example, the set of entries may include a first entry having a first public key associated with a first account, and a first balance ciphertext representing a first balance of the first account; a second entry having a second public key associated with a second account, and a second ciphertext representing a second balance of the second account; and a third entry having a third public key associated with a third account, and a third ciphertext representing a third balance of the third account. At block304, the platform smart contract may lock a set of accounts (e.g., at least the first, second, and third accounts) to an application smart contract. The set of accounts can be a subset of or all accounts participation in the platform smart contract. An account can be locked in response to receiving a lock request from a user device associated with the account. In some embodiments, the lock request may include the public key associated with the account, a smart contract address associated with the application smart contract that the account is being locked to, and a signature generated based on the smart contract address. The signature can be generated, for example, by encrypting the smart contract address and a nonce (e.g., counter value or epoch base). In some embodiments, the lock request can be received during a particular epoch, and locking of the account can occur or take effect in a subsequent epoch after the particular epoch. In some embodiments, while an account is locked to the application smart contract, only the application smart contract is permitted to unlock the account. At block306, the application smart contract is executed to perform its underlying functions resulting in one or more transactions to be performed on the locked accounts. For example, the one or more transactions resulting from execution of the application smart contract may cause the first balance of the first account to be decremented by a first amount, and the second balance of the second account to be incremented by a second amount. The transaction data of each transaction may include a cryptographic proof and a signature generated based on a nonce (e.g., counter, or an epoch base derived from hashing a predetermined string and an epoch number of an epoch during which the transaction is initiated). It should be noted that the application smart contract still relies on the user device to generate the underlying transaction data (e.g., cryptographic proof, signature), because only the user device has access to the necessary private key used in generation of the transaction data. In some embodiments, the transaction can be stored as a pending transfer transaction of the first account during a particular epoch, and roll over of the pending transfer transaction to the first account can occur in a subsequent epoch after the particular epoch. The roll over can be performed in response to receiving a subsequent transaction involving the first account. At block308, the application smart contract may unlock the accounts locked to the application smart contract, including, for example, the first, second, and third accounts from the application smart contract. At block310, the balance ciphertexts associated with the public keys can be updated based on the generated one or more transactions. For example, the first balance ciphertext of the first account can be updated by adding a first operand ciphertext to the first balance ciphertext (e.g., the first operand ciphertext can be generated by encrypting a negative of the first amount using the first public key) and the second balance ciphertext of the second account can be updated by adding a second operand ciphertext to the second balance ciphertext (e.g., the second operand ciphertext can be generated by encrypting the second amount using the second public key). If anonymity is desired the third balance ciphertext of the third account can be updated by adding a third operand ciphertext to the third balance ciphertext, where the third operand ciphertext can be generated by encrypting zero using the third public key. AlthoughFIG.3and its corresponding description above have been described with reference to executing an application smart contract to perform transactions on the platform smart contract, it should be understood that transactions can be performed on the platform smart contract without locking the public keys to an application smart contract. For example, basic transfer transactions from one account to another can be performed without locking the accounts if involvement of an application smart contract for more complex functions is not needed. FIG.4illustrates a diagram depicting the epoch concept, according to some embodiments. Blockchain400may include any number of blocks 1 through x. Each block may include one or more transactions. The number of transactions in each block can vary depending on the gas required for each transaction in the block. Transactions requiring more complex proof validation may consume more gas than less complex transactions. Each block has a fixed gas limit that is set by the system, and the sum of the gas required for each transaction in a block may not exceed the limit of the block. Thus, block(1) may include n transactions that do not exceed that limit, and block(2) may include m transactions that do not exceed that limit, where m and n can be different numbers. An epoch may include a predetermined number of blocks. For example, as shown inFIG.4, each epoch may contain five blocks. Thus, epoch(1) may include blocks(1)-(5), and epoch(2) may include blocks(6)-(10), and so on. A transaction request that is received in epoch(1) can be posted as a pending transaction until it is rolled over in a subsequent epoch such as epoch(2) or a later epoch. At that point, when the transaction takes effect, the transaction data can be recorded in a new block. 3 Implementation Preliminaries The following section describes various notations and tools used in describing the algorithms and cryptographic proofs of Zether. 3.1 Notation λ is used to denote a security parameter. Let GroupGen be a polynomial-time algorithm that on input 1λoutputs (p, g,) where p=Θ(λ), p is prime,is a group of order p, g is a generator of, and the decisional Diffie-Hellman (DDH) assumption holds in. The DDH assumption states that a tuple (g, ga, gb, ga·b) is computationally indistinguishable from (g, ga, gb, gc) for random a, b, c. It implies the discrete logarithm assumption. Letpdenote the integers modulo p.p* is the set of inverses inp. The notation [a, b] for a, b∈is used to denote the set of integers {a, a+1, . . . , b−1, b}. The notation x←$S is used to denote x is sampled uniformly at random from a set S. PPT is sued as a shorthand for probabilistic polynomial time, and negl(λ) is used to denote negligible functions. 3.2 Tools ElGamal Encryption ElGamal encryption is a public key encryption scheme secure under the DDH assumption. A random number fromp*, say x, acts as a private key, and y=gxis the public key corresponding to that. To encrypt an integer b, it is first mapped to one or more group elements. If b∈p, then a simple mapping would be to just raise g to b. Now, a ciphertext for b is given by (gbyr, gr) where r←$ℤp*. With knowledge of x, one can divide gbyrby (gr)xto recover gb. However, gbneeds to be brute-forced to compute b. It should be noted that the Zether smart contract does not need to do this, only the users would. Further, users will have a good estimate of ZTH in their accounts because the transfer amount is typically known to the receiver. Thus, the above brute-force computation may occur only rarely. One can also represent a large range of values in terms of smaller ranges. For instance, if amounts up to 64 bits are allowed, two amounts of 32 bits each can be used instead, and each one of them can be encrypted separately. In some implementations, a single range, 1 to MAX, with MAX being 232can be used. The primary benefit of putting balances in exponent is that it makes ElGamal encryption additively homomorphic. If b and b′ are encrypted under the same public key y to get ciphertexts (CL=gbyr, CR=gr) and (CL′=gb′yr′, CR′=gr′) respectively, then (CLCL′=gb+b′yr+r′, CRCR′=gr+r′) is an encryption of b+b′ under y. Zero-Knowledge Proofs A zero-knowledge (ZK) proof of a statement does not reveal any information beyond the validity of the statement. For example, one could prove that two ciphertexts encrypt the same message without revealing the message itself. Though any NP (nondeterministic polynomial) statement can be proved in zero-knowledge, the concrete costs depend on a number of factors. Σ protocols are honest-verifier public-coin zero-knowledge interactive proofs of a special form. Very efficient Σ protocols exist for proving a wide variety of algebraic statements like knowledge of b and r such that an ElGamal ciphertext encrypts b with randomness r. The Fiat-Shamir transform is a way of transforming any public-coin honest-verifier ZK-proof (like Σ-protocols) into a non-interactive zero-knowledge proof of knowledge in the random oracle model. A ZK-proof for the statement st:{(a,b,c, . . . ;x,y,z, . . . ):ƒ(a,b,c, . . . ,x,y,z, . . . )} means that the prover shows knowledge of x, y, z, . . . such that ƒ(a, b, c, . . . , x, y, z, . . . ) is true, where a, b, c, . . . are public variables. The notation st[a, b, c, . . . ] is used to denote an instance of st where the variables a, b, c, . . . have some fixed values. Signature schemes are used to authorize messages by signing them. A verifier can check a signature but will be unable to forge a signature on a previously unsigned message. Signatures can be built from Fiat-Shamir transformed NIZK proofs A non-interactive ZK (NIZK) proof system can be represented with algorithms (Setupnizk, Prove, Verifynizk), where Setupnizkoutputs some public parameters, Prove generates a proof for a statement given a witness, and Verifynizkchecks if the proof is valid with respect to the statement. Zether uses NIZKs that are correct (an honest prover can produce a valid proof), zero-knowledge (a verifier learns nothing from the proof but the validity of the statement), and sound (a computationally bounded prover cannot convince a verifier of a false statement). Σ-protocols, with the Fiat-Shamir transform applied, have all these properties. A signature scheme with algorithms (Setupsig, Sign, Verifysig) is used, where Setupsigoutputs some public parameters, Sign generates a signature on an input message, and Verifysigchecks if the signature is valid with respect to the message. Zether uses a signature scheme that is correct (it is possible to create valid signatures on arbitrary messages) and existentially unforgeable (a computationally bounded adversary can't create a valid signature on a new message, even after seeing signatures on other messages). 4 Transaction Mechanism A transaction mechanism for Ethereum consists of a set-up routine, user algorithms, and a platform smart contract. The platform smart contract maintains a state st which changes over time. The state at block height h is denoted by sth. Users rely on the state of the platform smart contract to create transactions. A user account is identified by a public key pk. Let MAX be the maximum amount of money that the mechanism can handle. Any amount below must be an integer between 0 and MAX. The transaction mechanism also provides a way to lock funds of an account to an Ethereum address addr so that the address can control the movement of funds through the account, until the lock is released. The locking/unlocking feature can be used to bring privacy to several commonly used smart contracts. The term transaction is used in Ethereum to refer to a signed data package that stores a message to be sent from an externally owned account to another account on the blockchain. It can include binary data (its payload) and ether. If the target account contains code, that code is executed and the payload is provided as input data. For a transaction tx, the notation tx. ETH is used to denote the amount of ether being sent through tx. Contracts can call other contracts or send ether to non-contract accounts by the means of message calls. The message call msg.sender.transfer (in the syntax of Solidity) transfers a certain amount of ether from a contract to the sender who called it. For a transaction tx that calls a function ƒ on a contract, ƒ(tx). ETH is used to denote the amount of ether successfully sent back to the caller when ƒ is executed with tx. The various components of the transaction mechanism will now be described. Set-Up In the set-up phase, some public parameters are generated. They could be distributed off-chain or put into the smart contract (described below). The platform smart contract is also deployed. User Algorithms A user can run one of the following algorithms to interact with the platform smart contract. The output of these algorithms are raw transactions. The transaction will be signed (using the public key of the Ethereum account from which they are sent) and destined to the Zether smart contract. Nonetheless, the notation tx:addr is used to denote the Ethereum address addr from which tx was sent. All the algorithms get the security parameter as input but is show explicitly only for the first one.1. CreateAddress(1λ)→(sk, pk). CreateAddress provides a way for a user to uniquely identify itself to the smart contract. It takes (a unary representation of) the security parameter as input and outputs a secret key sk and a public key pk. It is assumed that pk is derived in a deterministic way from sk, and use pkOf(sk) to denote the public key that corresponds to sk.2. CreateFundTx(pk, amt)→txfund. CreateFundTx is used to add funds to an account. It takes a public key pk and an amount amt as inputs. It outputs txfund=(pk, . . . ).3. CreateTransferTx(skfrom, pkto, AnonSet, amt, sth)→txtrans. CreateTransferTx is used to transfer money from one account to another amongst a set of accounts. It takes a secret key skfrom, a destination public key pkto, a set of public keys AnonSet such that both pkOf(skfrom) and pktobelong to it, an amount amt, and the state of the smart contract sthat a certain block height h as inputs. It outputs txtrans=(AnonSet, . . . ).4. CreateBurnTx(sk, sth)→txburn. CreateBurnTx is used to withdraw the entire balance from an account. It takes a secret key sk and a state sthas inputs. It outputs txburn=(pkOf(sk), amt, . . . ).5. CreateLockTx(sk, addr, sth)→txlockCreateLockTx is used to lock an account to an Ethereum address. It takes a secret key sk and an address addr as inputs. It outputs txlock=(pkOf(sk), addr, . . . ).6. CreateUnlockTx(pk)→txunlock. CreateUnlockTx is used to unlock an account. It takes a public key pk as input. It outputs txunlock=(pk, . . . ).7. ReadBalance(sk, sth)→b. ReadBalance is sued to find the balance of an account. It takes a secret key sk and state sthas inputs, and outputs an integer b. Platform Smart Contract The platform smart contract has five functions: Fund, Transfer, Burn, Lock and Unlock. They take txfund, txtrans, txlockand txunlock, respectively. These functions output 1 or 0, denoting success and failure respectively. If any of the inputs are not of the correct type the function automatically fails. Moreover the functions check certain properties of the input, such as verifying a proof or checking a nonce. If any of these checks fail, the function outputs 0. The five functions modify the state st as needed. SC is used as a shorthand to denote the platform smart contract. SC has access to the current block height and the sender of every transaction. (In Solidity, the syntax for these are block.number and msg.sender, respectively.) It makes use of two constants: maximum amount value MAX and epoch length E, where E≥1. The epoch number of a block at height h is defined to be └h/E┘. Thus, for example, the blocks at heights 0, 1, . . . , E−1 are in the first epoch, the ones at heights E, E+1, . . . , 2E−1 are in the second epoch, and so on. Honest Behavior Three of the (transaction-generating) user algorithms described above, transfer, burn and lock, take a state of the blockchain as input. An honest user is supposed to run these algorithms only at the beginning of an epoch, using the state of the epoch that just concluded. Indeed, the user may not be in complete sync with the blockchain and a transaction could suffer some delay, but a good choice of epoch length would take care of these problems. Also, no more than one transfer or burn transaction (not one of each) should be generated per account in any epoch. (This restriction can be omitted if only confidentiality is desired.) For a transfer transaction, if user puts a locked account in its anonymity set, then all accounts must be locked to the same address. 4.1 Correctness Correctness captures the basic functionality a transaction mechanism should provide if transactions are generated honestly but they could be sent from arbitrary Ethereum addresses and processed in an arbitrary order. Assume, however, that if a transaction is generated in a certain epoch, then it gets processed in the same epoch. To illustrate this, suppose Alice has X ZTH in her account. At the beginning of epoch e1, she publishes a transfer transaction to send Y ZTH to someone else. There could be other users in the network who include Alice's account in their anonymity set. Their transactions could be processed before Alice's transaction and so on. In e1, Alice also receives Z ZTH from others. Now, in any epoch after e1, if she publishes a burn transaction at the start of the epoch with amount X−Y+Z, then she should get back that amount of ETH. To specify correctness formally, the notion of an ideal state and how it evolves over time as honestly generated transactions are processed will now be described. The ideal state tracks the balance of every account and the Ethereum address (if any) to which it is locked. When a transaction is processed, the ideal state is updated depending on the type of transaction and the current state. For e.g., for a transfer transaction, it is checked that if some accounts in the anonymity set are locked, then they are all locked to the same Ethereum address. Thus, a transaction mechanism is correct if whenever a burn transaction is processed for a certain account, the amount of Ether returned to the user is equal to the amount of Zether held in the ideal state account. 4.2 Security Requirements Two security requirements can be defined for a transaction mechanism n, overdraft-safety and privacy. Overdraft-safety ensures that users cannot misuse the smart contract to withdraw more money from their accounts that they rightfully own. Privacy of a payment-mechanism ensures that no additional information about the payments of honest parties beyond the intended is leaked to an adversary. For example, no adversary should be able to distinguish between transfer transactions that transfer any amount between any two public keys in an anonymity set which consists of honest parties only, as long as the sender has enough funds. A game can be defined between a challenger Chal and an adversary Adv to capture the requirements, where Chal represents the honest users in the network. Both Chal and Adv have access to an oracleSCwho maintains the smart contract SC. Adv has full view of the oracle: it can see all the transactions sent by Chal to SC, how the state of SC changes, etc. Adv is provided with substantial control over SC's state. It can instruct any honest party at any time (via the challenger) to publish a transaction. It can create its own malformed transactions based on the transactions of honest parties, and then push the former into the blockchain ahead of the latter. In particular, it can arbitrarily delay the transactions of honest parties. For overdraft-safety, some quantities can be associated with the game with respect to Adv: EtherDeposited, ZetherReceived and EtherBurnt, which have self-explanatory names. Informally, a transaction mechanism is safe against overdrafts if EtherDeposited+ZetherReceived EtherBurnt. It should be noted that it may not be enough to just require that the total ether burnt (honest parties and adversary combined) should be no more than the total ether deposited because it could still be possible that the adversary is able to burn more than its fair share. The more direct approach of computing the amount adversary can withdraw by just reading the balance of the accounts controlled by it from the smart contract may not be used because its secret keys are not available. The game discussed above can be modified to capture the privacy requirement. Instead of sending just one instruction to Chal every time (asking an honest party to create a transaction), Adv sends two consistent instructions at some point. Chal executes the (b+1)-th instruction based on a bit b hidden from Adv, which is chosen randomly in advance. Adv is supposed to guess b at the end of the game. (This is the typical left-or-right setting used for indistinguishability-based definitions.) Consistency is defined carefully to rule out trivial wins for the adversary. For e.g., if the anonymity sets associated with two create transfer transaction instructions are different, then Adv can trivially guess b. 5 Zether Transaction Mechanism The Zether transaction mechanism will now be described. It may include three components: a global setup algorithm that is run once to generate the global parameters for the protocol as well as to deploy the Zether smart contract. The second component is the Zether smart contract (ZSC) that handles transactions between users, interoperability with external smart contracts, and keeps the state of the system. The final component of the mechanism are the user algorithms which describe how users can interact with the smart contract and create valid transactions. A user is of course not bound to the behavior described in the user algorithms. 5.1 Set-Up The set-up algorithm calls Setupπand Setupsigas subroutines, which are the set-up algorithms for the proof system and the signature scheme, respectively. The former set-up could depend on the relations for which proofs are constructed. If these subroutines are trustless, then the whole set-up is trustless, meaning that it's correctness can be verified publicly. Bulletproofs and Schnorr signatures, both of which have a trustless set-up, can be used. Zether significantly differs from ZeroCash in this respect because ZeroCash has a trusted setup and its security is broken if the setup is subverted. Zether's setup specifies an epoch length E and a maximum amount value MAX. Honest users are supposed to make only one transfer or burn transaction per epoch. If these transactions are delayed by more than E, then they may become invalid. Set-up algorithm is formally described inFIG.5. Apart from setting up proof system and signature scheme, it initializes account tables acc and pending transfers table pTransfers (recall that incoming transfers are put into a pending state first), a last roll over epoch table lastRollOver to keep track of the last epochs accounts were updated, a lock table lock to keep track of the addresses to which accounts are locked, a pending lock table pLock to temporarily hold lock requests, a nonce setto prevent replay attacks, a variable btotalthat tracks the total amount of ZTH held by the contract, a global last update variable t to record the last epoch in which any account was updated, and lastly, an epoch base gepoch. 5.2 Zero-Knowledge Relations Each transfer and burn transaction in Zether contains a ZK-proof which ensures that the transfer is valid without revealing the reasons why it's valid. Burn Transactions Consider a burn transaction where a user needs to verifiably decrypt his Zether balance. It can certainly do this by revealing its secret key to the smart contract. However, an adversary can use the secret key to decrypt all previous balances and transactions of the user, thus completely breaking its privacy. So, instead of decrypting in the clear, the user creates a ZK-proof for the following statement: stburn:{(y,CL,CR,u,b,g,gepoch;sk):y=gsk∧CL=gbCRsk∧u=gepochsk} (1) The statement shows that the user knows an sk such that y is indeed the public key corresponding to sk, CL, CRis a valid encryption of b under y, and u is the correct nonce with respect to sk for the current epoch. Confidential Transaction A transfer transaction will now be described. For intuition, valid transactions will first be described with reference to the purely confidential variant of Zether which does not provide any additional anonymity. Suppose a user wants to transfer an amount b* from a public key y to a public keyy. Let (CL, CR) be the encryption of balance associated with y. The smart contract needs to deduct b* from y's balance and add the same amount to ys balance. Since b* is hidden in this process, user will encrypt b* under both y and y to get (C, D) and (C,D), respectively. A proof is provided to show that:1. both ciphertexts are well formed and encrypt the same value;2. b* is a positive value; and,3. the remaining balance of y, say b′, is positive too. More formally, a user proves the following statement in the confidential version of Zether: stConfTransfer:{(y,y,CL,CR,C,D,C,g;sk,b*,b′,r):C=gb*yr∧C=gb*yr∧D=gr∧CL/C=gb′(CR/D)sk∧y=gsk∧b*∈[0,MAX]∧b′∈[0,MAX]} (2) To make the zero-knowledge component more efficient, the same random number r is used to encrypt b* under both y and y. Anonymous Transaction Anonymous transfers not only hide the transfer amount but also the sender and receiver in a transfer. Like above, a user wants to transfer an amount b* from a public key y toy, but now it would like to hide the two keys among a larger set of public keys, say y={y1, . . . , yn}. Let (CL, i, CR, i) be the encryption of the balance associated with key yi, for i∈[n]. The user now needs to create n ciphertexts(C1, D1), . . . , (Cn, Dn) and prove that:1. they are well-formed;2. one of them (say jth) encrypts b*, one of them (say lth) encrypts−b*, rest encrypt 0;3. b* is positive;4. remaining balance in yj(say b′) is also positive; and,5. the correct nonce is declared. To handle such a complex statement efficiently without revealing j,, b* and b′, new binary variables s1, . . . , snand t1, . . . , tnare introduced. Value 1 for an sidenotes that money is being transferred from yiand value 1 for a tjdenotes that money is being transferred to yj. The user would keep these variables secret and prove various statements using them. Only one of s1, . . . , snand one of t1, . . . , tnshould be 1. This could be shown by proving that each of these variables is either 0 or 1, Σisi=1 and Σiti=1. In addition, the user proves: ∏i=1nCisi=gb*∏i=1nyir·si(3)∏i=1nCisi+ti=∏i=1nyir·(si+ti)(4)C(1-si)·(1-ti)=yi(1-si)·(1-ti)·rfori∈[n](5)∏i=1n(CL,iCi)si=gb′(∏i=1nCR,isiD)sk(6)gepochsk=u(7) Given that exactly one of s1, . . . , snis 1 and rest are 0, Eq (3) shows that the ciphertext for non-zero siis a valid encryption of b*. Subtracting Eq (3) from Eq (4) yields Σi=1nCiti=g−b*Σi=1nyir·ti, which shows that the ciphertext for non-zero tiis a valid encryption of −b*. Thus, Eq (3) and (4) together show that the ciphertexts that encode non-zero quantities are valid. These statements can be proved more efficiently using techniques from one-out-of-many proofs and in particular the extension to ElGamal encryptions. These proofs are Σ protocols that can be used to show that a decryption of one out of n ciphertexts has certain properties, e.g. they are 0. The proof size is only logarithmic in n. This is achieved by writing i in its binary representations and constructing n products such that only the ith is 1 and all other are 0. In Eq (5), the expression (1−si)(1−ti) is non-zero only when both siand tiare zero. For such i, Cishould be an encryption of 0, which is what the equation shows. (When sior tiis non-zero, both sides are of the equation are just 0.) Eq (6) shows that b′ balance is left in the account for which siis 1. Lastly, Eq (7) shows that u is the correct nonce for the current epoch. Further, the user also needs to show that gskΣyisi, b*∈[0, MAX] and b′∈[0, MAX], where the first equation ties the secret key to the spending public key (without revealing the latter), and the rest two show that the amount being transferred and the remaining amount are in the right range. Summing it up, the user proves the following statement: stAnonTransfer:{((yi,CL,i,CR,i,Ci)i=1n,D,u,g,gepoch;sk,b*,b′,r,(si,ti)i=1n)∏i=1nCisi=gb*∏i=1nyir·si⋀∏i=1nCisi+ti=∏i=1nyir·(si+ti)⋀D=gr⋀(C(1-si)·(1-ti)=yi(1-si)·(1-ti)·r)i=1n⋀∏i=1n(CL,iCi)si=gb′(∏i=1nCR,isi)sk⋀gsk=∏i=1nyisi⋀gepochsk=u⋀(si∈{0,1}⩓ti∈{0,1})i=1n⋀∑i=1nsi=1⋀∑i=1nti=1⋀b*∈[0,MAX]⋀b′∈[0,MAX]}(8) The statement may be complex, but in fact highly structured. The resulting proof size can be logarithmic in the range and in the anonymity set. This is done by combining one-out-of-many proofs for showing that two encryptions are non-zero with Bulletproofs for range proofs and for showing that all other encryptions encrypt 0. The proofs can be efficiently combined using the extension of Bulletproofs called Σ-Bullets. Even with this efficient proof the transaction size will still be linear in the anonymity set. This is because the sender needs to send an encryption for each account in the anonymity set. This seems inherent as every account needs to be treated equally in an anonymous transfer. This limitation is not present in UTXO-based currencies where constant sized fully anonymous payment systems have been proposed and implemented. The requirement can be removed using fully homomorphic encryption. 5.3 Zether Platform Smart Contract The Zether platform smart contract (ZSC) is shown inFIG.6. It consists of five public methods (fund, burn, transfer, lock, unlock) and two additional internal helper methods (RollOver, CheckLock). The helper methods are used to modularize the contract's logic. Instead of introducing new notation, Solidity syntax is used in some places in the description of ZSC (see Table 1 for a description of the syntax). TABLE 1Solidity syntaxblock.numbercurrent block numbermsg.sendersender of the message (current call)msg.valuenumber of Wei sent with the messageaddress.transfersend given amount of Wei to addressrequirecheck conditions; current call revertsif condition fails Rolling Over Pending transfers for an account are rolled over into the account every epoch, or at least in the epochs the account is used. However, no instruction on a smart contract can execute unless triggered by a transaction. As a result, all public methods of ZSC first call RollOver on the input public key(s). Given a public key y, RollOver checks if the last roll over was in an older epoch. If yes, then it rolls over the pending transfers pTransfers[y] into acc[y] and resets the last roll over epoch. It also rolls over any changes to the locking address of y. some global changes also need to be made in an epoch. For this, RollOver checks if the last global update t was in an older epoch. If so, then it sets gepochfor the current epoch, empties the nonce setand resets t. Locking Recall that (un)locking is not supposed to take effect immediately, i.e. in the same epoch as the transaction is published; it must be deferred to the next epoch. Given a public key y, an address addr and a signaturelock, Lock checks if it is appropriate to operate on the account by calling CheckLock, which will be discussed in more detail shortly, and verifies thatlockis a valid signature on addr and the current epoch base gepoch. (This ensures that the account holder indeed wants to lock the account to addr at this time. Note that even if the signature is replayed, it would not affect anything.) It then sets addr to be a pending lock on y. Unlock method also calls CheckLock first, then sets the pending lock to be ⊥ (unlock). In a later epoch when RollOver is called, it will set the lock to be the value in pending lock. The internal method CheckLock takes as input a public key y and an Ethereum address addr, and returns 1 if it is appropriate for addr to operate on y. This is possible in two situations: (a) if lock status is I (unlock) meaning that any address could operate on y; or (b) if lock status is equal to addr. Funding Anybody can fund an account, even an account that he/she does not own, by simply specifying the public key y and transferring some ETH. The only exception is for locked accounts; they can only be operated from the locking address. fund converts ETH into ZTH. The ETH gets stored in the smart contract and the ZTH are homomorphically added to ys (pending) balance. If the account does not exist yet, a new one is created. Fund also ensures that the deposit does not exceed the total amount of funds, MAX, that Zether can handle. Burn Burn converts ZTH back to ETH. It verifies the given proof Σburn(see stburnin Eq (1)) and adds the nonce u to the set. The proof cannot be replayed in the same epoch because Burn also checks that u∉. It also cannot be replayed in any other epoch because the epoch base would be different. Note that a burn operation does not close an account. Transfer Transfer transfers some ZTH from one of the accounts in the set y to another account. Since the transfer is anonymous, all accounts are treated in the same way; some (encrypted) balance is added to each one of them. The proof πtransfermakes sure that these balances satisfy the right properties (see stAnonTransferin Eq (8)). 5.4. User Algorithms User algorithms specify how users can interact with ZSC, and are shown inFIG.7. CreateFundTx and CreateUnlockTx algorithms are straight forward and thus not specifically shown inFIG.7. The algorithms to create transfer and burn transactions first do a rollover of the input public key(s). This ensures that any pending transfers are rolled over and any pending lock request takes effect. In CreateTransferTx, the commitments Ciand the variables si, tifor the sender and receiver (indices ifromand ito) are set to correspond to non-zero values. CreateBurnTx uses ReadBalance to recover the amount of ZTH in the account. Using the private key, ReadBalance finds the right b such that CL/CRx=gb. In typical cases, a user would not have to try all positive integers one by one to recover b. It will already have a good estimate of b. 6. Basic Zether Zether can provide both anonymity and confidentiality. However, anonymity impacts both efficiency and usability: ZK-proofs are more complex and only one transfer/burn transaction can be made from an account in an epoch. A description of a non-anonymous Zether which provides just confidentiality but is more efficient will thus be described. This version of Zether can be referred to as “basic Zether”. In basic Zether, replay protection is achieved by associating a counter with every account. With every transaction, users need to provide a signature on the transaction data and the counter, binding the two together. (Ethereum takes the same approach.) Note that now there would not be any restriction on the number of transfer or burn transactions. Global Set-Up There are three main differences in set-up. First, there is no need to initialize a nonce-set, an epoch base or a global last update. Second, a new counter table ctr:→is initialized to empty. And third, there is only a single lock table lock instead of two before. Platform Smart Contract The contract methods in basic Zether will now be described highlighting differences from Zether. There is one change in the method Fund: when a new record is created for y, the corresponding counter is set to 0. In methods Burn and Transfer, any logic related to epoch base can be omitted. Instead, they take a signature as input and verify that it properly signs all the inputs and the counter. A simpler statement for transfer, StConfTransfer(see Eq (2)) is used. The statement for burn is also slightly simplified (but at the cost of an additional signature. stburn′ is the same as stburnexcept that the check u=gepochskis removed. In method Lock, the signature is based on the counter instead of the epoch base. Locking and unlocking can go into effect immediately. RollOver is slightly simplified because no global changes need to be made, and no logic related to locking needs to be handled.FIG.8provides a formal description of the basic Zether platform smart contract methods. CheckLock is the same as shown inFIG.6and thus not specifically shown inFIG.8. User Algorithms CreateAddress, CreateFundTx, CreateUnlockTx and ReadBalance do not change. CreateBurnTx and CreateTransferTx produce proofs for different statements and sign the output with the counter. CreateLockTx signs the counter instead of the epoch base.FIG.9provides for a formal description of the user algorithms. CreateAddres, CreateFundTx, CreateUnlockTx, and ReadBalance are the same as those with reference toFIG.7, and thus not specifically shown inFIG.9. 7 Optional Extensions Various modifications for Zether can be adopted. These modifications will be described below. Paying Gas in ZTH Through Economic Abstraction One limitation of the anonymity of Zether comes from the fact that every transaction needs to pay fees in ETH pegged gas. This can be cumbersome as a ZTH holder needs to maintain both a Zether and an Ethereum account. This can also have consequences for the anonymity of a transaction. Every transaction is initiated by an EOA and that EOA pays for the gas. Unfortunately, no matter what privacy guarantees Zether has, transactions that are issued by the same EOA are inevitably linked. Even if a user controls multiple EOAs, she has to make sure that they remain unlinkable in order to send anonymous transactions on Zether. (The confidentiality of a transaction is not affected by this.) Ideally, miners could receive transaction fees in ZTH instead of ETH which are by design exchangeable and have as such identical value. In order to do this, a transaction will be sent with a 0 gas price. This means that a newly created unlinked EOA can issue the transaction. Every transaction will specify the fee amount publicly. In the ZK-proof the sender now proves that his new balance is his old balance minus the transacted amount minus the fees. The fees is then sent to a fee pool within the Zether contract that can be spent from without further permission or secrets. A miner can simply insert a raking transaction at the end of the block that pays all of the fees to his account. The fee pool could also be used to fund contract-wide transactions such as RollOver. The idea of paying fees in a non-native currency is called economic abstraction. The concept is particularly interesting with respect to Zether as it is would make Zether more usable and more private. The major obstacle to this approach is that miners would need to mine these special 0 gas price transactions and properly rake the fee pool. A similar approach that circumvents the miner adoption problem is to have special delegator nodes that issue the transactions to the network. Users would send their transactions to delegators who will forward them to the miners and will pay the Ethereum gas fees. These delegator nodes could be rewarded in Zether by adding their Zether address to the transaction. The fee amount would not go to the fee pool but to that address. For anonymity, transactions should ideally be relayed to either the miners or the delegators without revealing the original sender's identity. This can be achieved through anonymous communication networks like Tor. Zether as a Native Token Zether can be viewed as a mechanism to do private transactions in an account-based currency. If a currency like Ethereum, Ripple, EOS or Stellar or even a private blockchain like Sequence wanted to introduce private transactions then they can use a Zether style system. While Zether is described as a smart contract token that can be run on a smart contract platform, it is also possible to envision Zether becoming the native token of such a platform. Using Zether as a native token has several advantages. As discussed in the previous paragraph, it is important for Zether's anonymity that miners receive fees in ZTH. This is automatically ensured if ZTH is the native token in which fees are denominated. An additional benefit of Zether as a native token is that denial-of-service protection becomes simpler. Miners can process transactions in an arbitrary order. For example the proofs can be verified before the account balances are transferred. The use of pending transactions and roll over can potentially be omitted as the ordered processing allows a user to spend ZTH even if they receive funds in the same block. Depending on the block time, it may still be useful to maintain pending transactions to allow slightly outdated transactions to be processed correctly. Various optimizations can be applied to Zether. If Zether is a native token, then these optimizations can be used to make transactions more efficient and scalable. For example, miners can run optimized proof validation software using efficient elliptic curves instead of using Ethereum's general purpose state machine. Further, Bulletproofs used in Zether can be verified more efficiently when processed in batches. This is beneficial as a fully verifying node can now more efficiently process a proposed block. This property can protect against the miners' dilemma, where miners may be disincentivized to verify blocks if verification becomes too expensive. Multiple Recipients Zether transfer transactions have one recipient only, but quite often Alice may want to send ZTH to several other users at the same time. While Alice can do a separate transfer for every recipient, a new transfer method can be implemented that accomplishes the same task much more efficiently. Consider the simpler case of confidential transactions and recall the statement stConfTransfer in Eq (2). Suppose Alice has a balance b and she wants to transfer b1*, . . . , bn* to n users. Range proofs can be the most computationally expensive components of ZK-proofs in Zether both in terms of communication and computation. If separate transactions are generated, then Alice needs to show a total of 2n values to be positive: b1*, b−b1*, b2*, (b−b1*)−b2*, . . . , bn*, (b−b1*− . . . −bn−1*)−bn*. Instead, a single transaction can be generated that consists of an encryption of {circumflex over (b)}=b1*+ . . . +bn* under Alice's public key, encryptions of b1* under ith user's public key, range proofs for b1*, and a range proof for the remaining balance b−{circumflex over (b)}. Thus, there will be a total of n+1 range proofs as opposed to 2n, a saving of about 50%. Locking Mechanism When a Zether account is locked to a smart contract, it will only be affected by transactions coming from that contract. Specifically, no one else can deposit or withdraw money from the account. There could be other more flexible ways of locking accounts though. For instance, one could allow locked accounts to be funded from any address. Proofs and Σ-Bullets Transfer and AnonTransfer are medium-sized relations that involve proofs on encrypted data. Therefore, it would be desirable to use a proving system which is efficient (e.g., has short proofs and efficient verification) and allows proofs on cryptographically encoded data. Bulletproofs is a zero-knowledge proof system that produces short (logarithmic sized) proofs without relying on a trusted setup. Bulletproofs was specifically designed to work well with Confidential Transactions as proofs of statements which include values that are committed to in a Pedersen commitment. Its short proofs and trustless setup make Bulletproofs suitable for Zether's underlying proof system. However, unlike UTXO-based Confidential Transactions Zether relies on ElGamal encryptions instead of Pedersen commitments. Thus, a proving system similar to Bulletproofs but adapted to prove statements on ElGamal encrypted values can be used. Simply replacing Pedersen commitments with ElGamal encryptions is insufficient as ElGamal encryptions cannot be opened like a commitment, and are also not additively homomorphic if encryptions are under different keys, as is the case in Zether. Further, for AnonTransfer a one-out-of-many proof is combined with range proofs. The one-out of many proof is used to select the receiver and sender transfer encryption and the range proof ensures that no overdraft is created. Bulletproofs enables efficient range proofs, and there are logarithmic sized efficient protocols for doing one-out-of-many proofs. To efficiently prove these statements and instantiate Zether, a system referred to as Σ-Bullets is used. Σ-Bullets is an extension of Bulletproofs. It enables the combination of Σ-protocols and Bulletproofs. Given an arithmetic circuit, a Σ-Bullets proof ensures that a public linear combination of the circuit's wires is equal to some witness of a Σ protocol. This enhancement in turn enables proofs on many different encodings such as ElGamal encryptions, ElGamal commitments or Pedersen commitments in different groups or using different generators. Further, it allows the combination of different specialized Σ-protocols such as one-out-of-many proofs or accumulator proofs with the generic circuit-base proof system Bulletproofs. This can benefit other systems that want to prove statements on additively encoded witnesses. Σ-Bullets Bulletproofs enables proofs on Pedersen committed values by computing a linear combination of commitments and opening that combination. This uses the homomorphic property of Pedersen commitments that use the same commitment key. The core idea of Σ-Bullets is to replace this linear combination with a Σ-protocol. The Σ-protocol ensures that the linear combination of encoded values is equal to some public value. The efficient composability of Σ-protocols allows the opening to be combined with other proofs. The prover first commits to the circuit's wires in A and to a vector of blinding values in S. The commitments are Pedersen vector commitments. The prover then receives challenges y, z and commits to polynomial t(X) using a polynomial commitment that can be verifiably opened to an evaluation of t(X). The prover does not commit to one of the coefficients of the polynomial, e.g. the 0 coefficient. If the prover is honest then the verifier can compute said coefficient from just the challenges and the commitments to wire values vis which are committed to in Vi. Finally the prover convinces the verifier that t(X) is equal to the inner product of two polynomials with vector coefficients. The two polynomials can be homomorphically constructed from A, S and the challenges. This final step uses an inner product argument which requires only O(log(n)) communication where n is the size of the circuit. The protocol can be made non-interactive using the Fiat-Shamir heuristic. Assume that given an arithmetic circuit Circuit:qn×qn→{0,1} the prover wants to prove the following that she knows {right arrow over (a)}∈qn, vi∈qnsuch that: Vi=Encode(vi)∀i∈[1,m],Circuit({right arrow over (a)},{right arrow over (v)})=1 ProverVerifierCommit to wires values {right arrow over (a )}in ACommit to randomness in SA,S⟶y, z ← $qy,z⟵Use y to combine constraintsSuch that they can be written as:t(X)+∑i=1nzivi=〈l(X),r(X)〉∈ℤqΛ t(0) = δ(y, z)l(X), r(X) ∈qnΛ deg(l, r) ≤ 3T = Commit(t(X))T⟶x ← $qx⟵{circumflex over (t)} = t(x), {right arrow over (l)} = l(x), {right arrow over (r)} = r(x)t^,l→,r→⟶ Now the verifier creates commitment P to I(X), r(X) from A, S, y, z and checks the following condition:1. T(0)=t02. Open (T·Σi=1mvizi)+δ(y,z)={circumflex over (t)}3. Open(P)={right arrow over (l)},{right arrow over (r)}4.{right arrow over (l)},{right arrow over (r)}={circumflex over (t)} Note that second condition requires that T and the Vi's are additively homomorphic. Therefore T and Vicannot be simply replaced with ElGamal encryptions as they are not homomorphic if done under different keys. The protocol can be generalized by simply requiring that the prover proves that {circumflex over (t)}=Σi=1mvi·zi+δ(y,z)+Open(T). (9) This can be achieved through a simple Σ-protocol. The burn proof below shows this can be achieved given m=2 and V1, V2being ElGamal encryptions. The security proof for the overall protocol is straightforward if the Σ-protocol proves a statement that implies Eq (9) while having special-soundness and zero-knowledge properties. The Bulletproof extractor simply extracts the openings of the Vs from the Σ-protocol. The simulator uses the Σ-protocol's simulator to generate a valid looking Σ-protocol as a sub-routine. Burn Proof Σ-protocol for proving Statement stBurn ProverVerifierksk← $Ay= gkskACR= CRkskAu= gepochkskAy,ACR,Au⟶c ← $qc⟵ssk= ksk+ c · skssk⟵gssk= Ay· ycCRssk=ACR·(CLgb)cgepockssk= Au· uc Proof Sketch The sigma protocol is complete, honest-verifier zero-knowledge, and has special-soundness. Completeness is immediate. For zero-knowledge, a simulator S constructs valid and indistinguishable transcripts given a valid statement (y, CL, CR, u, b, g, gepoch) and access to the verifier's state. The simulator will first samples a random challenge c a random sskand computes Ay=gssky-c,ACR=CRssk(CLgb)-candAu=gepochssku-c. If the verifier is honest, e.g., generates random challenges then c, sskare uniformly distributed and Ay, ACR, Auform DDH tuples. The simulated transcripts are identically distributed. To prove special-soundness an extractor can compute the witness from two accepting transcripts with the same first round message Ay, ACR, Au. The transcripts also contain (c, ssk) and (c′, ssk′) respectively. If both transcripts are accepting then the extractor can output =ssk-ssk′c-c′ as a valid witness. It can be directly deduced from the verification equations that gsky∧ CRsk=CLgb⋀gepochsk=u. Σ-Bullets ConfTransfer Proof This section describes how exactly the Σ-Bullets construction is used to create an efficient proof for stTransferthe statement which proofs that a ConfTransfer transaction is valid. Bulletproofs is used to perform the range proofs and use a sigma protocol to prove that the balances are properly encrypted. The conjunction of these two is StConfTransfer. The Σ protocol takes as input the senders public key y the receiver's public key ŷ and an encryption of the senders balance after the transfer CL,n=CLC,CR,n=CRD. Further it takes the encryption of the in and outgoing amounts as input, i.e. C, D,C. Then the bulletproof protocol is run as described above. The Σ then also takes in T the commitment to t(X) as well as an opening of it at the challenge x: ({circumflex over (t)}, τ). The protocol Note that it is important that the Σ protocol is run after the Bulletproofs protocol. In the non-interactive variant this means that the whole Bulletproofs transcript is also hashed in order to generate the Σ protocol challenge. {(y,y,CL,nCR,n,C,D,C,z,{circumflex over (t)},δ(y,z),τ;sk,b*,b′,r):C=gb*yr∧C=gb*yr∧D=gr∧CL,n=gb′CR,nsk∧gsk=y∧t={circumflex over (t)}−−δ(y,z)∧gt−b*·z2−b′·z3hτ=T1,2} (10) Prover(sk, r, b*, b′)Verifierksk, kr, kb← $qAy= gkskAD= DkrAb=gkbDkskz2CR,nkskz3Ay_=(yy_)krAt= g−kbAy,ADAb,Ay_,At⟶c⟵c ← $qssk= ksk+ csksr= kr+ crsb= kb+ c(b*z2+ b′z3)ssk,sr,sb⟵Check the following:gssk= Ayycgsr= ADDcgsb=(CcDssk)z2(CL,nCR,nssk)z3(yy_)sr=Ay_(CC_)cgt·c−sbhτ·c= AtT1,2c Proof Sketch The protocol is honest verifier zero knowledge because there exists a simulator that can simulate verifying transcripts without access to the witness. The simulator generates a random challenge c and random ssk, sr, sb. He then computes Ay, AD, Ab, Aŷand Ataccording to the verification equations. Note that they will be identically distributed to the honestly generated ones. The extractor rewinds the sigma protocol once to receive two accepting transcripts with different challenges and the same first message. Let c2, Ssk, sr, 2, sb, 2 be the second transcript. From them he computes sk=ssk-ssk,2c-c2,r=sr-sr,2c-c2,b=sb-sb,2c-c2. From the verification equations it can be deduced that y=gsk,Dr,gb=(CDsk)z2(CL,nCR,nsk)z3 and that g{circumflex over (t)}=gsk, Dr, gb+δ(y,z)T1,2. In order to extract b* and b′ the whole Σ-Bullets protocol is rewound twice to get three executions with different zs: (z1. z2, z3). Using the same extraction procedure for the Σ-protocol, the extracted witnesses (ski, ri, bi), i∈{1,2} are obtained. First note that sk1=sk2since gsk1=gsk2=y. The following equations can then be formed: gb1=(CDsk)z12(CL,nCR,nsk)z13gb2=(CDsk)z22(CL,nCR,nsk)z23 One can now easily find a linear combination of these equations to compute b* such that gb*=CDsk and b′ such that gb′=CL,nCR,nsk. This snows that a witness (sk, b*, b′, r) can be extracted that the statement (y,y, CL,n, CR,n, C, D,C, z, {circumflex over (t)}, δ(y,z), τ; sk, b*, b′, r) is in Eq (10). Signatures Zether not only uses zero-knowledge proofs but also heavily relies on signatures. Instead of instantiating a separate signature scheme, the zero-knowledge proofs can be leveraged to also provide signature functionality. The ZK-proofs in Zether are derived from interactive proof and then transformed to non-interactive proofs using the Fiat-Shamir heuristic. The Fiat-Shamir heuristic and its extension to multi-round protocol transform an interactive public-coin proof into a non-interactive proof by generating the verifiers messages from the hash of the transcript. There exists a simple transformation that creates a signature scheme from such a proof system. If the prover shows knowledge of a private key and then appends the message to the transcript before generating the challenge then the proof also acts as a signature. This leads to signatures that can be generated and verified at almost no additional computational cost. 9. Optimizations Multi-exponentiation is not used in some implementations of Zether. Multi-exponentiations reduce the number of curve operations but do this by splitting up the exponentiation. Multi-exponentiation algorithms assume that a k-bit exponentiation use k curve operations. This is not the case for Solidity however. The gas cost for an exponentiation is independent of the exponents length and curve additions are relatively overpriced to curve multiplications. A curve multiplication is only 80 times more expensive than a curve addition even if the exponent has 256 bits. Therefore, multi-exponentiation would not lower but increase the gas cost. In another optimization, the inner product argument is rolled out and combined all possible exponentiations into a single large statement. Furthermore, the recursive inner product argument is modified such that it terminates at n=4 instead of n=1. This means that instead of sending scalars a and b, the prover sends the two 4 scalar vectors [a1, a2, a3, a4] and [b1, b2, b3, b4]. By doing this, the prover has to send 6 more elements inpbut on the other hand saves sending 4 Perdersen hashes which are elements in. Since Solidity does not support point compression, i.e. points inare encoded using 64 bytes and scalars using 32 bytes, this small modification therefore saves 64 bytes in space and also reduces the number of curve exponentiations that need to be done. In total for the ConfTransfer transaction, the elliptic curve operations for the account state manipulations, the Σ-protocol and the two 32-bit range proofs use 156 curve additions and 154 curve multiplications. A further optimization concerns the common reference string (CRS). Bulletproofs unlike SNARKs does not use a structured reference string which would require a trusted setup. Nevertheless, it still requires a long linear sized reference string that the verifier needs access to. While the CRS could be generated on the fly this can add over 3.9 million gas to the cost of the transaction. Storing the CRS in the blockchain storage also creates high additional cost as loading a 32 byte word can cost 200 gas. On the other hand, loading a 32 byte code instruction can cost only 3 gas. As such, the generators can be hardcoded into the smart contract. This hardcoding makes the contract-generation more expensive but that is a one-time cost which is amortized over the lifetime of the smart contract. Another optimization that can be implemented without changing Ethereum applies to the proof verification. Bulletproofs can be batch verified. This means that verifying k proofs is significantly faster than verifying a single proof. If transactions were collected by some service provider, combined into a single transaction, and then sent to the Zether contract, it can significantly reduce the verification cost per proof. However, all transactions in a batch must be valid, because a single invalid transaction will cause the whole verification to fail. Batch verification requires randomness but this randomness can either be sampled from the block header or generated from a hash of the proofs. 10 Applications Zether's capability to lock funds to other smart contracts can make several common smart contracts more private. Even the basic version of Zether, which is more efficient, can help designers address a number of privacy concerns. Before going into the applications, it is worth noting that the Zether contract does not transfer funds without first checking an appropriate burn or transfer proof, even if the request comes from another smart contract whose rules do not permit illegal transfers. This design decision ensures that the security of Zether only depends on itself and not on any outside smart contract. Even a maliciously written or insecure smart contract cannot cause Zether to misbehave. 10.1 Sealed-Bid Auctions Auctions are used on Ethereum to sell tokens, resources, etc. Ethereum Name Service (ENS), for example, resolves human-readable names into machine-readable identifiers, such as Ethereum addresses and IPFS content hashes, and other identifiers. ENS allocates names through a Vickrey auction, a type of sealed-bid auction where the highest bidder wins but only pays the value of the second highest bid. A total of 767,750 of such auctions have been initiated as of September 2018. ENS auctions consist of three stages. First, a user initiates an auction on a name by bidding on the name it wishes to buy. Other people then get three days to place their own bids. Second, everyone reveals their bids over a period of two days. If a bid is not revealed, then the entire amount is forfeited. In the third stage, the highest bidder is awarded the name but only pays the value of the second highest bid. In the bidding phase, a bidder is supposed to make two API calls. The first call creates a sealed bid by hashing the bid value with a bidder generated secret. The second call submits the committed bid along with a certain amount of ether. ENS suggests that a bidder should deposit more ether than the bid value to disguise the true value of the latter. Drawbacks One can easily see why this mechanism does not provide good bid privacy. First, the ether deposited reveals an upper bound on the bid value. Second, the bidder may not want to deposit a very large amount of ether (assuming she has it) because, in the best case, the amount remains locked till the end of the bidding phase, and, in the worst case, till the end of the whole bidding process. Using Zether Zether provides a simple way to deal with these problems.Bidding phase: To bid b ETH in the bidding phase, a bidder, say B, can transfer b ZTH from her primary Zether account into a new account, and then lock the latter to the auction contract, call it AUC. Thus, the bid value is completely hidden without B having to deposit any extra money to obfuscate it.Reveal phase: B reveals her bid by sending b and a burn proof to AUC. AUC can check the proof and verify that b is in fact the right value. ZSC may also export the proof checking functionality as an API call. Now, there are three possibilities:1. If a bid is not revealed in this phase or the revealed value is incorrect, then AUC does not do anything. Bidder's account remains locked. Thus, bidders have a strong incentive to reveal their bid regardless of the outcome.2. If a new revealed bid is lower, then AUC can simply unlock the bidder's account.3. If a new revealed bid is highest so far, then AUC unlocks the previous highest bid and stores only its amount.Final phase: For the winning bid, AUC must only keep the next highest bid, say b*, and release the difference back to the bidder. This can be done through a Transfer transaction. However, since all amounts are public anyway, AUC can also simply burn the whole amount and retain one part (the winner's payment) while refunding the rest to the winner. This prevents AUC from having to create an expensive Transfer transaction and it can utilize the burn proof which was submitted with the bid. For simplicity, ZSC can provide a functionality to split up the burn refund directly. 10.2 Payment Channels Payment channels are a popular way to avoid the fee and delay associated with on-chain transactions. Two or more parties can set-up a payment channel amongst them by committing to some money up front. They can then send messages to each other offline to keep track of the money they owe each other. Suppose Bob wants to make small payments to Alice every time she tweets for him. Bob can open a payment channel with Alice with the help of a smart contract, say PC. Bob deposits a certain amount of ETH with PC and sets an expiration date. Whenever Alice tweets, Bob signs the total amount of money he owes to Alice so far, and sends the signature to Alice. At any time, Alice can cash out by sending the latest signature to the contract. PC will pay Alice accordingly and send the remaining balance to Bob. Drawbacks The amount of ETH Bob deposits with PC is visible to everyone. Indeed, even Alice does not need to know this amount as long as she is convinced that PC holds enough money to pay her off. Further, when Alice cashes out, everyone can see how much she charges per tweet (since the number of tweets is also public). Using Zether Zether can easily be used to create a confidential payment channel. Instead of depositing ETH directly with PC, Bob will lock his Zether account to PC (or as in previous example, transfer some money to a new Zether account and lock that to PC). Whenever Alice tweets, Bob would send a Zether transfer transaction to Alice of the amount that she expects, say b. Alice will check the validity of the transaction and that it indeed transfers b to her. When Alice wants to cash out, she would send the latest transaction to PC, who will pass it on ZSC. ZSC will process the transfer because it is locked to PC. A transfer also unlocks Bob's account. If Alice never cashes out, PC will just unlock Bob's account after the expiration date. As a result, the payment channel between Alice and Bob remains confidential to others. Furthermore, Alice does not learn the total amount Bob locked into the payment channel. Using a simple signed counter the proposal can be trivially extended to bi-directional channels which in turn can be used to build payment channel networks. With a slightly more involved design adding more funds to a channel can be achieved. Suppose Bob wants to add more ZTH to his account. He prepares a transaction for PC and then lets Alice sign the transaction. He then forwards the transaction and the signature to PC which checks both and, if valid, submits the transaction to ZSC. Note that Alice needs to sign the transaction because it might invalidate a previous payment channel transfer. Alice will require that Bob give him a new valid Zether transaction with respect to Bob's new balance. 10.3 Stake Voting A voting process can be open and transparent. A blockchain based solution can provide such benefits but voter privacy becomes a concern. The election is carried out in several stages. In the voting stage, a participant publishes a special encryption of their vote viand a ZK-proof that viis binary. In the tally stage, the votes can be summed up to compute the final tally. The encryption scheme is designed in such a way that only the final tally can be computed—individual votes remain private. A natural question is whether votes can carry weights, instead of just being zero or one. For instance, participants may cast votes of size proportional to their assets, without revealing the value of those assets. Zether provides a simple way to achieve this. In the sign-up phase of the election, participants will lock their Zether account to the voting smart contract. Then, during the voting stage, when a participant casts a vote vi(in an encrypted form), he/she will provide a ZK-proof that viis equal to the (encrypted) amount in his/her locked account. 10.4 Privacy-Preserving Proof-of-Stake Proof-of-stake (PoS) is a consensus mechanism for blockchains, where a participant is elected as a leader with a probability that is proportional to the amount of coins that the participant stakes in the election. Users stake a number of coins and then a random beacon is used to select one or a subset of them as leaders. Zether can make the PoS election process confidential such that users do not have to reveal their stake in order to participate in the election. Similar ideas could be used to implement PoS for other confidential currencies such as ZCash or Monero. Users encrypt an initial lottery ticket t under their public key and stake an encrypted Zether balance b under the same key. Then the random beacon value is used to derive a lottery drawing v. If v falls between t and t+b then the user wins the lottery (e.g., the PoS election). The user can use a range proof to prove that v is in fact between t and t+b without revealing t or b. This range proof is similar to the one used in basic Zether's Transfer. It is further possible to adjust the winning probability by scaling the range appropriately. Let p denote the desired probability of winning for a single unit of stake. Let q be the size of the ring in which the ElGamal encrypted values lie. For simplicity assume that p·q is an integer. A users wins if v falls in between t and t+b·p·q. This happens with probability b·p. The hidden lottery approach does not guarantee that at least one user wins. In order to guarantee this, a series of lottery drawings can be done by utilizing a hash functionthat is modeled as a random oracle. For beacon v, vi=(v∥i) is defined as a sequence of lottery drawings. The user who can demonstrate a winning ticket on the lowest drawing wins. To ensure that exactly 1 participant wins, the lottery drawings are uncorrelated by appending the serialized public key pk when computing the lottery drawings, e.g., vi=(v∥i∥pk). Even a malicious user will not be able to correlate lottery tickets for distinct public keys, ifis in fact a random function. Run-off lottery elections can then be used between the previous winners until a single winner remains. After multiple drawings an adversary may be able to estimate a user's stake by simply observing the user's probability of winning. This can be circumvented by having a user prove in zero-knowledge that she knows a winning ticket instead of revealing it. A similar ZK-proof can be used as the anonymous Zether transfer. The user proves that she knows a private key which won the lottery instead of revealing her stake. A similar nonce protection as for the anonymous transfer can be used to prevent that a user claims the same winning lottery ticket twice. 11 Correctness The following section provides a formal description of the correctness property. Honestly-Generated Transactions Let TX=(TX1, TX2, . . . , TXm) be a group of transactions such that for every i∈[m], TXi=(txi,1, txi,2, . . . ) is a sequence of transactions which are processed in that order into the block at height hi(h1<h2< . . . <hm). Define the k-th transaction in TX to be the k-th transaction in the sequence (tx1,1, tx2,1, . . . , tx2,1, tx2,2, . . . , . . . , txm,1, txm,2) These transactions were generated honestly if all of the following are true:All secret key, address pairs are generated through the CreateAddress algorithm.For all i, j, txi,jis generated by running one of the five user algorithms for generating transactions.For any TXi1, TXi2, . . . s. t. hi1, hi2, . . . are in the same epoch, and any pk, TXicontains at most one transfer or burn transaction (not one of each) initiated from pk.For any txi,j, if hi is in epoch e then the state after the last block of epoch e−1 was used to generate txi,j(if a state is needed at all). Recall that honest users are supposed to publish transfer, burn and lock transactions only at the beginning of an epoch. Thus, the last point above implies that even if there is some delay in processing the transaction, it is no more than the epoch length. In other words, all transactions generated for a certain epoch are assumed to be processed in the same epoch. For a block height h, let last(h) denote the height of the last block in the previous epoch, i.e. last(h)=└h/E┘·E−1, and next(h) denote the height of the first block in the next epoch, i.e. next(h)=└(h+1)/E┘·E. Ideal State The ideal state IdSt consists of two tables Bal and Lk indexed by addresses. For a public key pk, Bal[pk] gives the balance in pk and Lk[pk] gives the locking Ethereum address (or ⊥ if pk is not locked). Initially, Bal[pk] and Lk[pk] are set to 0 and ⊥, respectively, for all pk. These tables are updated as each new transaction is processed. The notations Balhand Lkhare used to denote the state of these tables when all the transactions included in blocks 0, 1, . . . h, have been processed. Ideal state for a set of transactions TX is defined recursively. Let okToOperate be a function that given a public key pk and an Ethereum address addr, returns 1 if Lk[pk] is pk or ⊥. (In either case, addr is allowed to operate on the account.) Let ldStkdenote the ideal state after the first k transactions have been processed. IdSt0, ideal state at the beginning, is set to be the initial state of Bal and Lk tables. IdStkis defined based on idStk−1and the kth transaction as follows. If the kth transaction txi,jis:txfund←CreateFundTx(pk, amt): if the sum of all balances and amt is at most MAX, and okToOperate(pk, txfund·addr)=1, then Bal[pk] is incremented by amt.txtrans←CreateTransferTx(skfrom, pkto, AnonSet, amt, stlast(hi): iffor every pk∈AnonSet, okToOperate(pk, txtrans·addr)=1, andBallast(hi)[pkOf(skfrom)]≥amt, then Bal[pkOf(skfrom)] is decremented by amt and Bal[pkto] is incremented by amt.txlock←CreateLockTx(sk, addr): if okToOperate(pk, txlock·addr)=1 then Lknext(h)[pk]=addr.txunlock←CreateUnlockTx(pk): if OkToOperate (pk, txunlock·addr)=1 then Lknext(h)[pk]=⊥.txburn←CreateBurnTx(sk, amt, stlast(hi)): if okToOperate (pk, txburn·addr)=1 and Ballast(hi)[pk]≥amt, then decrement Bal[pk] by amt. (If in any of the above cases, pk is not defined, then it must be taken to mean pkOf(sk).) Correctness A transaction mechanism is “correct” if for every group of transactions TX, whenever txi,jis a burn transaction txburn=(pk, amt, . . . ), Burn(txburn)·ETH is same as Ballast(hi)[pk]. (Recall that Burn(txburn)·ETH is the amount of Ether sent back to the user who called Burn with txburn.) Furthermore, for every sk and h, ReadBalance(sk; sth) returns Ballast(h)[pkOf(sk)]. 12 Security Requirements This section will describe the security requirements formally as two versions of a security game. The basic version is referred to as Security-Game. All the entities (Chal, Adv andSC) in the game receive the security parameter λ as input. WhenSCreceives a transaction from Chal or Adv, it adds the transaction to the queue of pending transactions. At any time, Chal can get the latest state of SC (or any older state) throughSC. Adv has full view of the oracle: it can see all the transactions sent by Chal to SC, how the state of SC changes, etc. Adversary's Influence on the Contract Adv is allowed to control the state of SC in one of the following ways: 1. It can instruct Chal to run one of the user algorithms with certain inputs and send the resulting transaction (if any) toSCfrom an Ethereum address of its choice. Example instructions are (addr, CreateAddress), and (addr, CreateFundTx, pk, amt). Note that:For a CreateAddress instruction, Chal sends the address output by this algorithm—but not the secret key—directly to Adv.For transactions that require a secret key under the possession of Chal as an input, Adv specifies the corresponding public key instead.When Chal receives an instruction, it uses the state of SC in the last block of the previous epoch (if needed) to execute the instruction.If Chal has generated a transfer or a burn transaction in an epoch with a certain public key, then instructions to generate any one of these two transactions again from the same public key in the same epoch will be rejected. Chal will also reject transfer instructions that require it to use accounts locked to different addresses in the anonymity set. (This point and the one before are important because Chal models honest parties in the system.) 2. It can directly send an arbitrary transaction toSC. 3. It can askSCto process an arbitrary (non-empty) subset of the pending transactions and update the state of SC. This captures the addition of a new block to the blockchain. The game stops when Adv so desires. Let h* be the height of the last block. Let ADDR denote the set of public keys generated by Chal (at the behest of Adv). Adv does not have the secret keys for them. 12.1 Overdraft-Safety Overdraft-safety is described by means of a game called Overdraft-Safety-Game between a challenger Chal, an adversary Adv and the oracleSC, who interact in the exact same way as Security-Game. The following quantities are associated with the game with respect to Adv:EtherDeposited. Denotes the sum of all txfund·ETH for which (txfund)=(pk, . . . ) is such that pk∉PK.ZetherReceived. Let in be the sum of all txfund·ETH for which (txfund)=(pk, . . . ) is such that pk∈PK. Let honBal=ΣpkOf(sk)∈PKReadBalance(sk, sth*) be the total balance of honest parties. (Recall that h* is the height of the last added block before the game ends.) Finally, let out be the sum of all burn(txburn)·ETH for which (txburn)=(pk, . . . ) is such that pk∈PK. Then ZetherReceived denotes in—out—honBal, which may be negative.EtherBurnt. Denotes the sum of all burn(txburn)·ETH for which burn(txburn)=(pk, . . . ) is such that pk∈PK. A payment mechanism is safe against overdrafts if for all PPT adversaries Adv, the probability that EtherDeposited+ZetherReceived<EtherBurnt in Overdraft-Safety-Game is negl(λ), where the probability is taken over the coin tosses of Adv and the challenger. 12.2. Privacy In order to capture the privacy requirement formally, a game called Privacy-Game is defined between a challenger Chal, an adversary Adv and the oracleSC, who interact in the same way as Security-Game but with one crucial difference. Instead of sending just one instruction to Chal every time, Adv sends two consistent instructions at some point and only one instruction rest of the time (consistency will be defined below). Chal executes the (b+1)-th instruction based on a bit b hidden from Adv, which is chosen randomly in advance. Adv outputs a bit b′ at the end of the game as a guess for b. (This is the typical left-or-right setting used for indistinguishability-based definitions.) Two instructions are consistent if they refer to the same user algorithm and need to be sent from the same Ethereum address. Additionally, if the instructions are forcreating a fund transaction, then they are associated with the same public key and amount.creating a transfer transaction, thenthey are associated with the same anonymity set;the amounts should be at most the value returned by ReadBalance with the respective sender's public key and the state of the last block in the previous epoch;if any of the receivers is a corrupt party, both instructions have the same receiver and the same amount.creating a lock transaction, then they are associated with the same public key and Ethereum address.creating an unlock transaction, then they are associated with the same public key.creating a burn transaction, then they are associated with the same public key, and ReadBalance with that public key and the state of the last block in the previous epoch returns the same value.executing ReadBalance, then they must return the same value. A payment mechanism is private if for all PPT adversaries Adv, the probability that b′=b in Privacy-Game is ½+negl(λ), where the probability is over the coin tosses of Adv and challenger. 13 Security Proof In this section, a sketch of a security proof of Zether with respect to the correctness and security definitions from above will be described. Correctness This section will show that Zether satisfies the correctness definition. Consider a slightly modified version of Zether where RollOver is called on all accounts at the end of each epoch. This only differs from Zether from an efficiency viewpoint as Zether implements lazy roll overs (i.e., every ZSC method rolls over all the accounts it touches in the very beginning of the call). Using this, every honestly generated transaction can be shown to be in fact processed successfully by ZSC. An honest user uses the state of the last block in the previous epoch to generate transactions. CreateTransferTx and CreateBurnTx roll over all the input public keys based on this state. Thus, any pending transfers associated with these keys are absorbed into the respective accounts and any pending lock requests take effect. Transfer and burn transactions are then generated with respect to this new state of the accounts, which will match with the state ZSC will use to process them (as long as the delay is less than the length of an epoch). Honest users put only those accounts in their anonymity set that are locked to the same address (if any of them is locked at all). Even if one of the account holders changes the lock on his/her account by calling Lock or Unlock, these methods treat the new locking address (which could be ⊥) as a pending lock. The lock request will take effect in a subsequent epoch, so transactions generated in this epoch will not be affected. The rest of the correctness follows from the homomorphic properties of ElGamal encryption as well as the correctness properties of the proof system. Though the encrypted values are inpand the ideal state handles positive integers, this is not a problem because ZSC takes deposits only up to an amount MAX, a constant much smaller than p. The homomorphic operations, therefore, would not cause an overflow. Finally, note that a user is able to create a nonce and as such a transaction or burn per epoch unlessepoch=epoch′ for epoch≠epoch′. This however happens with at most negligible probability if the hash functionis collision resistant. Overdraft-Safety This section shows that ZSC methods move the right amount of funds to/from accounts by proving that they satisfy certain properties. An inductive argument would then show that Zether is safe against overdrafts. Consider the method Fund first. Let (CL, CR) be the (rolled over) state of an account y. If, hypothetically, Burn is invoked on this state, suppose it returns b ETH. Now Fund is called with b′ ETH. If Burn is invoked again (hypothetically), it will return no more than b+b′ ETH. Since Burn returns b on the first invocation, it must be that CL=gbCRskdue to the soundness property of ZK-proofs. When b′ is deposited, pTransfers is set to (g b′, 1). Now when Burn is invoked again, the state of y will either be (CL, CR) or (CL, CR)∘(gb′, 1) depending on whether there is a roll over or not. In the first case, only b will satisfy the required relation between CLand CR, and, in the second case, only b+b′ will. So, again due to the soundness property, at most b+b′ can be obtained by burning. Next, consider the method Transfer. Let (y1, . . . , yn) be the anonymity set, (C1, D), . . . , (Cn, D) be the ciphertexts, and πtransferbe the proof for a transfer transaction tx. Let (CL,i, CR,i) be the (rolled over) state of the concerned accounts. If Burn is invoked (hypothetically) on these accounts, suppose it returns b1. . . , bnETH, respectively. Now if tx is processed successfully by Transfer, then it must be that there exists a j, k and b* s.t. (Cj, D) encrypts −b* under yj, (Ck, D) encrypts b* under yk, and rest of the ciphertexts encrypt 0 (due to the soundness property). Transfer sets pTransfers[yi] to be (Ci, D) for all i. Thus, when Burn is invoked again on yi, its state will either be (CL,i, CR,i) or (CL,i, CR,i)∘(Ci, D) depending on whether there is a roll over or not. For the accounts other than yjand yk, the same amount as before will be returned. For yk, at most bk+b* will be returned. Finally, for yj, note that no burning can take place in this epoch because transfer has already declared the nonce. When a burn is processed in the next epoch, there will be a roll over changing the account state to (CL,i, CR,i)∘(Ci, D). So Burn will return bj−b*. Therefore, it can be seen that transfer transactions cannot be used to increase the overall Zether balance of the accounts involved. Further note that the nonce along with the soundness of the proof system, enforce that an adversary will at most be able to do a single transfer per account per epoch. One can similarly analyze the method Burn. Privacy: Confidentiality & Anonymity In Privacy-Game, Adv sends one instruction to Chal every time except once, when it sends two consistent instructions. The consistency requirements prevent Adv from trivially winning the game. If the instructions are for funding, locking or unlocking, then it is easy to see that the adversary has no advantage. Two consistent burn instructions will also not reveal any additional information to Adv due to the zero-knowledge property of the proof system. The case of two consistent transfer instructions is left. A transfer transaction consists of an anonymity set y, a list of commitments C, a blinding value D, a nonce u, and πtransfer. Two consistent transactions could have two different senders, so the nonce values could be different. However, gepochx(for any x) is indistinguishable from random under the DDH assumption since both y and gepochare random (whenis modeled as a random oracle). Further, ciphertexts (Ci, D) for honest i are indistinguishable from the encryption of random messages. Now, let the receivers for the two instructions be j and k. If neither of them are under the control of Adv, then all the ciphertexts Adv can decrypt are just encryptions of 0. Otherwise, both j and k must be corrupt. In this case, Adv can decrypt (Cj, D) and (Ck, D) too, but then they must decrypt to the same amount. A computer system will now be described that may be used to implement some of the entities or components described herein. Subsystems in the computer system are interconnected via a system bus. Additional subsystems include a printer, a keyboard, a fixed disk, and a monitor which can be coupled to a display adapter. Peripherals and input/output (I/O) devices, which can couple to an I/O controller, can be connected to the computer system by any number of means known in the art, such as a serial port. For example, a serial port or external interface can be used to connect the computer apparatus to a wide area network such as the Internet, a mouse input device, or a scanner. The interconnection via system bus allows the central processor to communicate with each subsystem and to control the execution of instructions from system memory or the fixed disk, as well as the exchange of information between subsystems. The system memory and/or the fixed disk may embody a computer-readable medium. The techniques described herein may involve implementing one or more functions, processes, operations or method steps. In some embodiments, the functions, processes, operations or method steps may be implemented as a result of the execution of a set of instructions or software code by a suitably-programmed computing device, microprocessor, data processor, or the like. The set of instructions or software code may be stored in a memory or other form of data storage element which is accessed by the computing device, microprocessor, etc. In other embodiments, the functions, processes, operations or method steps may be implemented by firmware or a dedicated processor, integrated circuit, etc. The methods and processes described herein are exemplary in nature, and the methods and processes in accordance with some embodiments may perform one or more of the steps in a different order than those described herein, include one or more additional steps not specially described, omit one or more steps, combine one or more steps into a single step, split up one or more steps into multiple steps, and/or any combination thereof. Some of the software components or functions described in this application, may be implemented as software code to be executed by a processor using a suitable computer language such as, for example, Java, C++ or Perl using, for example, conventional or object-oriented techniques. The software code may be stored as a series of instructions, or commands on a computer readable medium, such as a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a magnetic medium such as a hard-drive or a floppy disk, or an optical medium such as a CD-ROM. Any such computer readable medium may reside on or within a single computational apparatus, and may be present on or within different computational apparatuses within a system or network. One or more features from any embodiment may be combined with one or more features of any other embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention. A recitation of “a,” “an,” or “the” is intended to mean “one or more” unless specifically indicated to the contrary. | 138,348 |
11861607 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following disclosure may provide exemplary systems, devices, and methods for conducting a financial transaction and related activities. Although reference, may be made to such financial transactions in the examples provided below, embodiments are not so limited. That is, the systems, methods, and apparatuses described herein may be utilized for any suitable purpose. I. Definitions Before discussing specific embodiments and examples, some descriptions of terms used herein are provided below. As used herein, an “access device” may be any suitable device for communicating with a merchant computer or payment processing network, and for interacting with a payment device, a user computer apparatus, and/or a user mobile device. An access device may generally be located in any suitable location, such as at the location of a merchant. An access device may be in any suitable form. Some examples of access devices include POS devices, cellular phones, PDAs, personal computers (PCs), tablet PCs, hand-held specialized readers, set-top boxes, electronic cash registers (ECRs), automated teller machines (ATMs), virtual cash registers (VCRs), kiosks, security systems, access systems, Websites, and the like. An access device may use any suitable contact or contactless mode of operation to send or receive data from, or associated with, a payment device and/or a user mobile device. In some embodiments, where an access device may comprise a POS terminal, any suitable POS terminal may be used and may include a reader, a processor, and a computer-readable medium. A reader may include any suitable contact or contactless mode of operation. For example, exemplary card readers can include radio frequency (RF) antennas, optical scanners, bar code readers, or magnetic stripe readers to interact with a payment device and/or mobile device. As used herein, an “authorization system” may refer to a system, a device, or components of a device that may utilize information to determine the probability or likelihood that a transaction is fraudulent. Although the term “merchant processor” may be referred to separately from an “authorization system” in portions of this disclosure, in some embodiments they may comprise one and the same system or systems that may perform substantially the same functionality, but in relation to different components of the system (e.g. providing information to a merchant or an issuer). In some embodiments, authorization systems may quantify the probabilities or likelihood of a fraudulent transaction by generating a “risk score.” In some embodiments, the authorization system may approve or reject a transaction. An exemplary embodiment of an authorization system is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,809,650 to Bruesewitz et al. entitled “Method and System for Providing Risk Information in Connection with Transaction Processing,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. It should be understood that embodiments are not so limited. An “authorization request message” may be an electronic message that is sent to a payment processing network and/or an issuer of a payment card to request authorization for a transaction. An authorization request message according to some embodiments may comply with ISO 8583, which is a standard for systems that exchange electronic transaction information associated with a payment made by a consumer using a payment device or payment account. The authorization request message may include an issuer account identifier that may be associated with a payment device or payment account. An authorization request message may also comprise additional data elements corresponding to “identification information” including, by way of example only: a service code, a CW (card verification value), a dCW (dynamic card verification value), an expiration date, etc. An authorization request message may also comprise “transaction information,” such as any information associated with a current transaction, such as the transaction amount, merchant identifier, merchant location, etc., as well as any other information that may be utilized in determining whether to identify and/or authorize a transaction. An “authorization response message” may be an electronic message reply to an authorization request message generated by an issuing financial institution or a payment processing network. The authorization response message may include, by way of example only, one or more of the following status indicators: Approval—transaction was approved; Decline—transaction was not approved; or Call Center—response pending more information, merchant must call the toll-free authorization phone number. The authorization response message may also include an authorization code, which may be a code that a credit card issuing bank returns in response to an authorization request message in an electronic message (either directly or through the payment processing network) to the merchant's access device (e.g. POS equipment) that indicates approval of the transaction. The code may serve as proof of authorization. As noted above, in some embodiments, a payment processing network may generate or forward the authorization response message to the merchant. As used herein, a “communications channel” may refer to any suitable path for communication between two or more entities. Suitable communications channels may be present directly between two entities such as a payment processing network and a merchant or issuer computer, or may include a number of different entities. Any suitable communications protocols may be used for generating a communications channel. A communication channel may in some instance comprise a “secure communication channel,” which may be established in any known manner, including the use of mutual authentication and a session key and establishment of an SSL session. However, any method of creating a secure channel may be used. By establishing a secure channel, sensitive information related to a payment device (such as account number, CW values, expiration dates, etc.) may be securely transmitted between the two entities to facilitate a transaction. As used herein, the term “comprising” is not intended to be limiting, but may be a transitional term synonymous with “including,” “containing,” or “characterized by.” The term “comprising” may thereby be inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps when used in a claim. For instance, in describing a method, “comprising” indicates that the claim is open-ended and allows for additional steps. In describing a device, “comprising” may mean that a named element(s) may be essential for an embodiment, but other elements may be added and still form a construct within the scope of a claim. In contrast, the transitional phrase “consisting of” excludes any element, step, or ingredient not specified in a claim. This is consistent with the use of the term throughout the specification. As used herein, an “electronic wallet” or “digital wallet” or “mobile wallet” can store user profile information, payment information (including tokens), bank account information, and/or the like and can be used in a variety of transactions, such as but not limited to eCommerce, social networks, money transfer/personal payments, mobile commerce, proximity payments, gaming, and/or the like for retail purchases, digital goods purchases, utility payments, purchasing games or gaming credits from gaming websites, transferring funds between users, and/or the like. As used herein, “identification information” may include any suitable information associated with an account (e.g. a payment account and/or payment device associated with the account). Such information may be directly related to the account or may be derived from information related to the account. Examples of account information may include a PAN (primary account number or “account number”), user name, expiration date, CVV (card verification value), dCVV (dynamic card verification value), CVV2 (card verification value 2), CVC3 card verification values, etc. CVV2 is generally understood to be a static verification value associated with a payment device. CVV2 values are generally visible to a user (e.g., a consumer), whereas CW and dCVV values are typically embedded in memory or authorization request messages and are not readily known to the user (although they are known to the issuer and payment processors). As used herein, a “mobile device” may comprise any electronic device that may be transported and operated by a user, which may also provide remote communication capabilities to a network. Examples of remote communication capabilities include using a mobile phone (wireless) network, wireless data network (e.g. 3G, 4G or similar networks), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, or any other communication medium that may provide access to a network such as the Internet or a private network. Examples of mobile devices include mobile phones (e.g. cellular phones), PDAs, tablet computers, net books, laptop computers, personal music players, hand-held specialized readers, etc. A mobile device may comprise any suitable hardware and software for performing such functions, and may also include multiple devices or components (e.g. when a device has remote access to a network by tethering to another device—i.e. using the other device as a modem—both devices taken together may be considered a single mobile device). A mobile device may also comprise a verification token in the form of, for instance, a secured hardware or software component within the mobile device and/or one or more external components that may be coupled to the mobile device. A detailed description of an exemplary mobile device is provided below. As used herein, an “online purchase” can be the purchase of a digital or physical item or service via a network, such as the Internet. As used herein, a “payment account” (which may be associated with one or more payment devices) may refer to any suitable payment account including a credit card account, a checking account, or a prepaid account. As used herein, a “payment device” may refer to any device that may be used to conduct a financial transaction, such as to provide payment information to a merchant. A payment device may be in any suitable form. For example, suitable payment devices can be hand-held and compact so that they can fit into a consumer's wallet and/or pocket (e.g., pocket-sized). They may include smart cards, magnetic stripe cards, keychain devices (such as the Speedpass™ commercially available from Exxon-Mobil Corp.), etc. Other examples of payment devices include cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, payment cards, security cards, access cards, smart media, transponders, 2-D barcodes, an electronic or digital wallet, and the like. If the payment device is in the form of a debit, credit, or smartcard, the payment device may also optionally have features such as magnetic stripes. Such devices can operate in either a contact or contactless mode. An exemplary payment device is described below. The term “transaction data” may include any data associated with one or more transactions. In some embodiments, the transaction data may merely include an account identifier (e.g., a PAN) or payment token. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the transaction data may include any information generated, stored, or associated with a merchant, consumer, account, or any other related information to a transaction. For example, transaction data may include data in an authorization request message that is generated in response to a payment transaction being initiated by a consumer with a merchant. Alternatively, transaction data may include information associated with one or more transactions that have been previously processed and the transaction information has been stored on a merchant database or other merchant computer. The transaction data may include an account identifier associated with the payment instrument used to initiate the transaction, consumer personal information, products or services purchased, or any other information that may be relevant or suitable for transaction processing. Additionally, the transaction information may include a payment token or other tokenized or masked account identifier substitute that may be used to complete a transaction and protect the underlying account information of the consumer. As used herein, a “server computer” is typically a powerful computer or cluster of computers. For example, the server computer can be a large mainframe, a minicomputer cluster, or a group of servers functioning as a unit. In one example, the server computer may be a database server coupled to a Web server. An example of a server computer is described with reference to a Payment Processing Network26inFIG.19. As used herein, “short range communication” or “short range wireless communication” may comprise any method of providing short-range contact or contactless communications capability, such as RFID, Bluetooth™, infra-red, or other data transfer capability that can be used to exchange data between a payment device and an access device. In some embodiments, short range communications may be in conformance with a standardized protocol or data transfer mechanism (e.g., ISO 14443/NFC). Short range communication typically comprises communications at a range of less than 2 meters. In some embodiments, it may be preferable to limit the range of short range communications (e.g. to a range of less than 1 meter, less than 10 centimeters, or less than 2.54 centimeters) for security, technical, and/or practical considerations. For instance, it may not be desirable for a POS terminal to communicate with every payment device that is within a 2 meter radius because each of those payment devices may not be involved in a transaction, or such communication may interfere with a current transaction involving different financial transaction devices. Typically the payment device or the access device also includes a protocol for determining resolution of collisions (i.e. when two payment devices are communicating with the access device simultaneously). The use of short range communications may be used when the merchant and the consumer are in close geographic proximity, such as when the consumer is at the merchant's place of business. Embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods for implementing a mobile tokenization hub with a common tokenization capability (CTC) module that may provide tokenization services to various entities in various contexts. For example, the CTC module can generate and store tokens for mobile payment transactions, transit transactions, digital wallet applications, merchant point of sale (POS) applications, personalization services, or any other service that may be associated, compatible, or implemented with a token or tokenization. The CTC module can interface with, and provide services to, payment processing network (PPN) systems and/or third party systems that provide and/or consume tokenization services. The mobile tokenization hub may include a service layer, which can connect or communicate with the CTC module to manage tokens and provide common tokenization services to wallet providers, issuer payment applications, and/or PPN reference applications. Each application or entity may use tokens that are formatted or otherwise customized to that particular application and/or to the user, device, entity, and/or payment channel over which the token is transmitted. For example, a token stored in a secure element of a mobile device may be formatted differently than a token stored on a non-secure element of a different mobile device. Similarly, a token generated by one issuer may use a different numbering scheme than a token generated by a second issuer. This presents a token generation and management challenge to ensure that when a token is requested, the token that is generated and returned is formatted appropriately. II. Token Format Embodiments of the invention can provide a token to a number of different systems and the token format may change depending on the type of system, entity, or device requesting a token, the type of token being requested (e.g., static or dynamic), and the context of the token request. For example, a token format for a secure element (SE) device to be used in a transaction can include a token that comprises a static element and a dynamic element. The static element of the token format may comprise a static or non-changing identifier, for example, a primary account number (PAN) substitute (i.e., static account substitute). The dynamic element may be generated using the static element, other consumer account, or device information, or may be received from a third party for one or more transactions. In some embodiments, tokens may be formatted according to the format of the account identifier the token is being used to substitute. Token format can include any configuration, including 16 or 19 digits and be defined for a particular type, length, uniqueness, and association rules. A token can be associated with a primary account number (PAN), bank identification number (BIN), or product. For example, the token may be a sequence of N numeric or alphanumeric characters, where N is an integer representing the length of the sequence. The value of N may vary depending on the length of the account identifier being substituted. For example a token representing a PAN may be a 19 digit sequence. In some embodiments, the base of the numeric or alphanumeric system may also vary, including binary, decimal, hexadecimal, etc. In some embodiments, the dynamic element can comprise Track 2 data or be generated using Track 2 data. For example, the Track 2 data can exclude a PAN, but may include a dynamic card verification value (dCVV), cryptographic data, and near-field communication (NFC)/POS data. Additionally, a token can be static or dynamic, either of which can be used in or associated with payment transactions. For example, if a token is stored on a mobile device, the token may be activated and sent from a mobile device during a payment transaction to initiate the transaction. A static token can have a long lifetime, and may be stored in a secure element (or other secure memory) of a mobile device. In another embodiment, the static token may never expire. A dynamic token can have a shorter lifetime that can be valid until the end of a configured timeline. Once expired, the token may not be reused and reissued. Dynamic tokens can be persisted (i.e., stored) in non-secure element (non-SE) devices (i.e., devices that do not use a secure element to initiate or store a transaction). In some embodiments, a token can be formatted such that it can be passed to a merchant's POS terminal from a device without making changes in the terminal or requiring changes to message formats supported by the terminal. The terminal may be able to create authorization requests based on the information received from the device, including the token. A token can provide information for printing a receipt, returns, chargeback, and other merchant requirements. A token can follow a standard format irrespective of the submitting channel and device capability. Examples of some channels and device capabilities can include near-field communication (NFC) and transmitting data via QR Codes. As described above, the lifecycle of a token can be managed by the tokenization hub. In an embodiment, the token lifecycle can be managed by a CTC module, including processes for creation, re-issuing, or expiration. A token can comply with other entities' requirements. For example, tokens can comply with requirements from banks (e.g., acquirer or issuer), third parties, international standards (e.g., EMV global standard), or digital wallets. The token may include numerous identifiers, including an issuer bank identification number (BIN), a wallet identifier, or a user account identifier. A token can support merchant/acquirer checks and satisfy transaction routing decisions to help determine where to send information (e.g., international, national) before, during, or after a transaction. The token can comply with an expiration date check at an acquirer level, fraud checks, and acquirer analytical reporting. A token can be mapped. For example, the token can correspond or map to a device, wallet, account, card, or consumer. In an embodiment, multiple wallets, multiple devices, and multiple consumers can correspond with one or more tokens. Additionally, multiple devices may map to the same token. In embodiments, a one device to many token mapping or a many device to one token mapping may be available. For example, tokens may be channel specific such that a token may change depending on the request channel for the token, response channel the token is returned to for a transaction, transaction channel in which the token is used to initiate a transaction, etc. Accordingly, a token may change depending on the channel being used and multiple different tokens may be generated from the same underlying data based on the channel used for the token. In some embodiments, multiple primary account numbers (PANs) can be mapped to a single static token. The mobile tokenization hub can allow the registered entities, including an issuers, wallet provider, or reference applications to register multiple PANs for the same static token using a PAN sequence number (PSN). In some embodiments, the static token can be pre-provisioned in the consumer's device during device manufacturing. The mobile tokenization hub can send the PAN details to the CTC module and capture the PAN generated by CTC for that PAN. The information can be sent to the consumer through issuers, wallet provider, or other reference application. Multiple devices can support a single PAN. The system can support registration of more than one device for the same consumer and account number in order to facilitate transaction from any of the devices. A token can be numeric, alphanumeric, hexadecimal, binary, or include any other combination of characters, identifiers, or information that may be used to transfer information. For example, the token can be a 19 digit alphanumeric sequence of digits and characters. In another example, the token can be a known consumer element, like a personal identification number (PIN) or password. Embodiments of the invention provide several advantages. For example, in a traditional transaction, personal account number (PAN) information is exposed to various elements involved in the transaction lifecycle like wallet providers (payment processing network, issuers, and third party), merchants, gateways, and processors. Introducing tokens in place of actual PAN can reduce the exposure and may minimize security implications for the merchants and wallet providers. This can be beneficial because if a token is compromised, the PAN and/or the underlying financial instrument can remain uncompromised. III. General Architecture Embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods for implementing a mobile tokenization hub with a common tokenization capabilities (CTC) module that may provide tokenization for various entities in various contexts. For example, the CTC module can provide and store tokens for mobile payment transactions, transit transactions, digital wallet applications, merchant point of sale (POS) applications, personalization services, and the like. FIG.1illustrates a system100according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG.1, a mobile tokenization hub102can serve as a central provider of a plurality of token-related services, such as102a-102g, for various entities. For example, the mobile tokenization hub can include modules for account registration, token registration, token provisioning, de-tokenization, token removal, audit/reporting, and token lifecycle management. As described above, tokens can be used in place of account information to more securely conduct transactions (such as mobile payment transactions, transit transactions, etc.) and to remove merchant systems and wallet providers from PCI compliance issues. However, making tokens widely available and simple for consumers to use, requires coordination of many different entities, from issuing banks and payment processing networks to mobile device manufacturers and mobile network operators, each potentially with their own data format, communication, and security requirements. As described herein, mobile tokenization hub102can interface with these various entities to manage and coordinate tokens and token services. To use services offered by the mobile tokenization hub, entities (e.g., consumers, wallet providers, issuers, etc.) can register with the mobile tokenization hub. For example, participant registration module102acan provide interfaces through which entities can provide registration information and other configuration requirements to integrate with the mobile tokenization hub102. In some embodiments, an administration user interface may be implemented to perform the registration and configuration functions for each participant. For example, the interface can help enroll participant systems (e.g., issuer, wallet provider systems) to use the mobile tokenization hub. The interface can also help manage end system public keys to exchange information between mobile devices or partner applications and the mobile tokenization hub. The interface can also help define configuration parameters, which may defined globally or on a participant-by-participant basis, such as time to live (TTL) of tokens, services subscribed to such as token provisioning, account holder registration, credential store, channels, and other services. In some embodiments, when an entity registers with the mobile tokenization hub, they can be assigned a unique identification number. Participating entities can include an issuing financial institution, PPN-branded wallet, third party wallet provider, third party payment application provider, merchants, or transit authorities providing transit applications. Participant registration information may be captured by participant registration module102ato register an entity with the mobile tokenization hub. The information can include client business identifier (BID), partner platform identifier (e.g., generated, sourced), partner platform name, partner platform type (e.g., wallet application, web application), integration type, integration information (e.g., web service connector (WSC) or federated), services subscribed (e.g., token provisioning, account holder registration enrollment, credential store, token life cycle management), and channels enrolled (e.g., NFC, online, etc.). In some embodiments, participant registration module102amay also receive and store token transaction configuration information. The system can store the configuration parameters for token generation and provisioning, such as token expiry interval, maximum number of tokens to be provisioned for a given account holder or device combination in a given day, maximum number of tokens to be provisioned to given account holder or device in a single request, and maximum transaction amount allowed for a single token. Each participant may provide different transaction configuration information. In some embodiments, consumers and/or issuers and wallet providers can register their accounts and mobile devices through one or more interfaces provided by account/card registration module102b. Account/card registration module102bcan implement registration and enrollment requirements specified by the mobile tokenization hub, CTC module, payment processing network, or other participants. These requirements can include collecting device information and consumer information during registration and enrollment. In some embodiments, the account/card registration module can provide a service registration interface and/or a client application program interface (API), which can enable the issuer application, wallet application, or PPN reference application to register consumer devices and accounts, request new tokens, deactivate tokens, deregister consumer devices, request token to PAN mapping, or request PAN to token mapping. The API may receive the information for each consumer. The information can include partner platform identifier (a unique identifier registered within the tokenization cloud service enrolled for use of such service), application identifier (a unique identifier as recognized by the initiating application or service within the partner platform), version number, application name, MSISDN, PAN, CVV2, expiry date, and PAN nickname (alias). Other information may include UUID, IMEI, IMSI, or other mobile application identifier (e.g., MAID), OS type/version (e.g., iOS/Android etc.), static token (e.g., for devices having static token stored in secure element), consumer credentials (e.g., last 4 digits of SSN/DOB for consumer account validation), consumer first name, last name, consumer address, ZIP code, and device registration identifier (generated while installing the payment application). A static token may be received if the mobile device has a secure element and the static token is stored in the device. In some embodiments, account/card registration module102bcan provide an interface for receiving device information, used to uniquely identify each mobile device registered with the mobile tokenization hub. When the participating entity is an issuer, an issuer-provided or PPN-provided wallet application may be used. The system may capture device information during registration and compare it to device information captured during subsequent transactions to confirm the requests are coming from a valid source or a legitimate mobile device owner. If activation request is coming from any third party wallet provider with proper user name and password, then the request may be considered as a legitimate request. A validation process may be implemented to determine device uniqueness. The system can validate the registration request by verifying the device identifier. If the device identifier is present, the account can be associated to an active token. If the device/account/token combination is active for the same wallet provider/issuer/reference application in the system, then the system may reject the request. The request may be an activation or registration request. The system can send an appropriate message like “device already registered and active” to the requesting application. In some embodiments, account/card registration module102bcan provide a device deregistration interface that enables issuer/wallet providers to a deregister a consumer device. The device may be deregistered by providing information, including partner platform identifier, application identifier, version, and MSISDN. Other information can be provided as well, including UUID, IMEI, IMSI, and mobile application identifier (MAID). In some embodiments, account/card registration module102bcan further include an interface to receive account holder information from a participating entity and validate the account holder during registration. In some embodiments, the mobile tokenization hub can validate account holder details by checking the user credentials against the account on the file details provided by an issuer either through a data feed to the payment processing network (PPN) or using a web service message published by the issuer. In some embodiments, participating entities may perform account holder verification, including issuers, PPN branded wallets, and white labeled third party wallet providers. The mobile tokenization hub can support one or more verification methods for the qualified participating entities. One method may include verification of account number, CVV2, expiry date based on data provided to the PPN through file by the participating entity. Another method may be real time web service integration message to the participating entity to verify account holder information including account holder first name, last name and last 4 digits of social security number (SSN) or data of birth (DOB). Another method may be direct verification of the account holder by the issuing financial institution with account holder credentials with an online banking system. During registration, account holder credential persistence may be provided by account/card registration module102b. The system may store the consumer's account and device details including user credentials received through the registration process in the credential database110aby communicating with a credential database registration API for successful activation or registration requests. Account holder credential information can include a partner platform identifier, MSISDN, PAN, CVV2, expiry date, PAN nickname (alias), UUID, IMEI, IMSI, MAID, consumer credentials (e.g., last 4 digits of SSN/DOB for account validation), consumer first name, last name, consumer address, or ZIP code. In some embodiments, during registration a default account may be designated. For example, the consumer may designate an alias of an account in their payment application as a default account to use in a transaction where no account, or account alias, is selected. In some embodiments, a consumer's default account, or an alias corresponding to that account, can be stored in credential database110a. When a consumer initiates a transaction without selecting an alias, the payment application (e.g., wallet application, issuer application, or payment processing network reference application) can request a token associated with the default account from the mobile tokenization hub. The mobile tokenization hub can query the credential database110afor the default account and, if a default is designated, return a corresponding token or to request a new token. As shown inFIG.1, mobile tokenization hub102can also include a token provisioning module102cwhich can enable the mobile tokenization hub102to integrate with a provisioning service, such as a mobile provisioning system (VMPS), trusted service manager (TSM), and/or mobile gateway, to securely write token information on a consumer's mobile device's secure element. In some embodiments, token provisioning module102cmay be configured to provision tokens into the secure element that are generated by an external entity, such as an issuer or wallet provider systems, once the tokens have been received and registered by the CTC module104. The mobile tokenization hub can provision the token information in the consumer device's secure element by communicating with a mobile gateway API. In some embodiments, mobile tokenization hub102can also include an audit/reporting module102fcan provide data auditability, reporting, performance, business analytics, and other related services for the mobile tokenization hub102, CTC module104, and/or payment processing network110. The mobile tokenization hub can provide an audit end to end token request and response activity. In some embodiments, the mobile tokenization hub may also provide a transaction logging API. Issuer and/or wallet providers can use the API to provide details of the transactions made by mobile devices to the mobile tokenization hub. The transaction data can be used for loyalty programs. The information may include partner platform identifier, application identifier, MSISDN, transaction identifier, transaction amount, transaction date/time, merchant identifier, merchant name, merchant city, merchant street, merchant country, merchant zip, UUID, IMEI, or merchant address. In some embodiments, the mobile tokenization hub can provide a periodic report to list the dynamic tokens generated and assigned to the devices and which have not been used and/or have expired. This report can be provided to CTC module and used to recycle tokens as needed. For example, unused tokens may get reassigned to a different application/PAN in the future after they are expired. Information can include a partner platform identifier, application identifier, PAN, and token. Additionally, in some embodiments, the mobile tokenization hub102can publish specification documents and API for external systems (e.g., wallet provider, issuer payment, reference applications) to integrate with the mobile tokenization hub. In an embodiment, the issuer and/or wallet provider can enhance its payment applications by using a client software development kit (SDK) published by the mobile tokenization hub102to make a secure connection to the mobile tokenization hub and to use mobile tokenization hub services. Similarly, the issuer and/or wallet provider can also enhance client payment applications (e.g., mobile wallet applications) by using a client SDK to connect to the mobile tokenization hub and request for new tokens while initiating transactions. In some embodiments, integration between the mobile tokenization hub and issuer or wallet provider systems can happen through a web service integration (WSI) infrastructure with dual factor authentication (e.g., user name/password and X509 certification). As shown inFIG.1, mobile tokenization hub102may communicate with a CTC module104that may generate, activate, store, and/or de-tokenize tokens. In some embodiments, CTC module104can be implemented on a server computer within a payment processing network. The CTC module104can include a plurality of service modules, such as modules for token activation104a, token generation104b, card/account registration104c, and de-tokenization104d. The CTC module may control the logic behind how the token is generated. In some embodiments, the CTC module can generate a token in response to a request from the mobile tokenization hub102and respond with the token back to the mobile tokenization hub which may in turn pass the token to, e.g., a requesting mobile device associated with a consumer, a wallet provider, an issuer system, or other connected system or service. In some embodiments, the CTC module104may store tokens generated by a third party, such as an issuer system. In some embodiments, the mobile tokenization hub may act as an orchestration layer or gateway through which other systems and services can request a token, send a token, establish controls with a token, adjust controls associated with a token, and request other services and/or access other systems. As shown inFIG.1, the mobile tokenization hub102can interface with mobile devices106and mobile device manufactures108, a payment processing network110, and a plurality of third party systems112. Mobile devices106can include devices with secure elements, and devices without secure elements. Devices with secure elements may securely store static and/or dynamic tokens within the secure element. Dynamic tokens may be stored in memory on devices that do not include a secure element. Depending on how a dynamic token is stored (i.e., mechanism of storing the token), different payment controls and lifecycle controls may be applied to the dynamic token. For example, if the dynamic token is stored within mobile OS memory, the token may be generated with a shorter lifespan and be valid for lower value transactions. In some embodiments, multiple tokens may be requested and persisted in a mobile device based on the partner configuration as part of the enrollment. Token lifecycle management may decide when to expire or request a new set of tokens. In some embodiments, the mobile tokenization hub can receive a request from mobile device manufacturers108for a plurality of tokens to be used to pre-provision mobile devices prior to shipment. As described further below, once a consumer purchases a mobile device with a pre-provisioned token, the consumer can send a request through the mobile device to the mobile tokenization hub102to activate the token and register a card account with the token. In some embodiments, payment processing network110can include a credential database110athat stores device information for each customer, a provisioning service/mobile gateway110bthat can securely transmit tokens to mobile devices, and a payment control service110cthat can provide lifecycle or other control data for tokens. In some embodiments, a mobile device may not include a pre-provisioned token, and the consumer can send a request to the tokenization hub directly, or through a third party partner, such as a network operator112a, issuer system112b(such as an issuer-specific mobile app), and/or a mobile wallet app from a mobile wallet provider112c. In some embodiments, payment control module110ccan provide payment controls for tokens to mobile tokenization hub102. Payment control module110cmay define payment controls, such as to set amount rule to accept exact transaction amount, the merchant category code (MCC) rule or time rule. Mobile tokenization hub102may maintain the payment control rules in token lifecycle management module102gand pass the payment control rules to CTC module104. Payment control rules may include one or more of a partner platform identifier, application identifier, token, payment control type, value or operation (e.g., add, delete, update). In some embodiments, the mobile tokenization hub102can associate a payment controls with a token for a particular amount of time. The payment control may expire when the token expires. In some embodiments, the credential store can provide an API to allow applications to register or add consumer device/account details, edit consumer device/account details, delete consumer device/account details, or retrieve consumer device/account details. The API can allow applications to store consumer device, account, and credential details. The API may be able to receive information for each consumer. The information can include an application identifier, application name, partner platform identifier, MSISDN, UUID, IMEI, IMSI, static token/dynamic token, PAN, CVV, consumer first name, last name, consumer address, ZIP Code, or consumer credentials. The credential database can be PCI compliant and implement security standards. The API can also enable applications to edit/update consumer account/device details by providing an application identifier, IMEI, MSISDN, or PAN. An application can delete consumer account/device details by providing application identifier, IMEI, MSISDN, or PAN. The application may also retrieve consumer account/device details by providing application identifier, IMEI, MSISDN, or PAN. In some embodiments, the mobile tokenization hub may be implemented on a cloud server or a plurality of servers in a cloud environment. Secure communication between applications, transaction entities, and the mobile tokenization hub102can be effected through a secure connection (e.g., secure sockets layer (SSL), transport security layer (TSL)). In some embodiments, the mobile tokenization hub can support multiple tokenization cloud instances configured to run in parallel to improve performance and/or to serve different geographical locations. The mobile tokenization hub can provide an interface to internal/external applications to request all the tokens and their attributes assigned for a given PAN and from a given date. Information can include a partner platform identifier, application identifier, PAN, and from date. The mobile tokenization hub can provide an interface to internal/external participating applications to request details for a specific token and PAN combination, such as attributes assigned. The mobile tokenization hub can provide an interface for registered internal/external applications to request authorization and settlement data for a given token/PAN combination and date range. FIG.2shows a block diagram of a mobile tokenization hub and common token capability module according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG.2, in addition to the modules shown inFIG.1, a mobile tokenization hub server may include additional modules, such as a token request interface102h. Token request interface102hcan receive token requests from consumers, issuers, wallet applications, and/or other payment processing network services and/or third party services. Token requests can include: requests to generate a new token, requests to register or update an existing token, requests to de-tokenize a token, requests to generate dynamic identification information (dCVV), and other token-related requests. In some embodiments, the token request interface102hmay allow the issuer/wallet provider to specify configuration details for tokens. The token request interface102hcan receive a token configuration file associated with a particular consumer, a set of consumers, and/or a service provider. The token request interface102hcan pass the token configuration file to a token configuration module102iwhich can parse the token configuration file and store the token configuration settings in a credential database or other storage system. When a token request is received, the mobile tokenization hub may look up the requestor in the credential database to identify token configuration settings associated with the requestor. In some embodiments, the token configuration settings can include:How many new tokens are to be assigned to a given consumer's account/device on each token request (e.g. 1 to 5 to allow a consumer to make a purchase even in the absence of a data connection);Auto assignment of new tokens once the available active tokens reaches certain limit on a device;Validity time frame for each token;Token validity time period for low ticket transactions (e.g., 1 day or 3 days etc.);Token validity for high ticket transactions (e.g., only once, not more than once in 6 hours, once per day); orLow ticket/high ticket limits (e.g., less than $1000, greater than $3000). As described further below, in some embodiments, mobile tokenization hub102can receive a bulk registration file from a service provider (such as a wallet provider or issuer) to register a plurality of existing consumers with the mobile tokenization hub. The token request interface102hcan receive the bulk registration file and send the bulk registration file to a bulk registration module102j, which parses the bulk registration file to identify consumers included in the file and to determine a type of token or tokens to be generated for each consumer in the bulk registration file. In some embodiments, the bulk registration file may include token configuration settings or may include a pointer to a token configuration settings file provided previously, or concurrently with, the bulk registration file. The mobile tokenization hub can then send requests to the CTC module104to generate tokens according to the bulk request file and the token configuration file. In some embodiments, tokens may be distributed in response to bulk token requests without assigning a PAN (PAN-less tokens) to the tokens. The tokens can be distributed to device manufacturers which can preconfigure the tokens in the mobile devices during manufacturing. The CTC module may maintain each of these PAN-less tokens in an inactive state until an activation request from the mobile tokenization hub request is received. Token activation module104a, may then activate the tokens according to the activation request. In some embodiments, the CTC module may deactivate or disable a token on a request from the mobile tokenization hub. In some embodiments, device information module102kcan receive mobile device information during registration and interface with credential database110ato store the device information. The device information can be associated with a consumer and with any tokens that are associated with the consumer. As described above, device information that may be received during registration can include an application identifier, application name, partner platform identifier, MSISDN, UUID, IMEI, IMSI, static token/dynamic token, PAN, CW, consumer first name, last name, consumer address, ZIP Code, and/or consumer credentials. The device information may also includes a device type identifier which may indicate whether the device includes a secure element. In some embodiments, a dCVV module102lcan generate a dCVV value for a token. The mobile tokenization hub102can receive a request from a registered system for a dCVV value for a token. The mobile tokenization hub send a request to the CTC module104to de-tokenize the token (using de-tokenization module104d) and return the corresponding PAN. The dCVV module102lcan then generate a dCVV value for the PAN and return the dCW value to the registered system. In some embodiments, the dCVV module102lcan send a request to a payment processing network to generate a dCW based on the de-tokenized PAN. In some embodiments, dCVV module102lmay be configured to generate other types of identification information, such as a pseudo card security code (CVV2) and expiration date for the token during a token request. Both the CVV2 and expiration date can be provided to the requesting application and the CTC module. The requesting application or its user can use the token, CVV2, and expiry date to make the transaction and CTC can validate the values with the mobile tokenization hub provided values during de-tokenization. The mobile tokenization hub can also de-tokenize the identification information to obtain the real CVV2 and expiration date values corresponding to the PAN, which may be provided to the issuer for authentication. Mobile tokenization hub102can include a token type module102mthat is configured to identify the type of token requested (e.g., static or dynamic) based on the source of the token request. For example, based on device information stored in the credential database110a, the token type module can determine if the requesting device is a mobile device with a secure element or a mobile device without a secure element. If the request originates with a mobile device with a secure element, then static tokens can be generated to provision into the secure element. If the requesting device does not include a secure element, a dynamic token with a predetermined time to live (TTL) value can be generated. In some embodiments, during the set time limit, the device can initiate any number of transactions using the assigned dynamic token. If the request comes from another internal or external system, the token type can be decided based on configuration setup during a partner registration. In some embodiments, an unregistered device module102ncan detect that a consumer's account has been installed on multiple devices, but each device has not been registered. For example, a consumer may install a mobile wallet app on their smartphone and register the smartphone and a payment account with the mobile tokenization hub102. The same consumer may subsequently install the mobile wallet app on their tablet computer. If the consumer then attempts to perform a transaction using the mobile wallet app on the tablet computer, the device information provided with the transaction data will not match the registered device information. The unregistered device module can then return a message to the consumer through the tablet computer prompting the user to register the tablet computer before the transaction can be completed. Token generation module104bmay generate tokens in response to a request from the mobile tokenization hub. In some embodiments, the token generation module104bcan select the token from a numbering scheme and activate the token. For example, with a static token, then the CTC module can create an association between the token and one or more account identifiers. With a dynamic token, the CTC module can set controls and make a pairing available to a payment processing network in order to complete the transaction processing. The CTC module can assist with de-tokenization during a transaction authorization using a de-tokenization module104d. In some embodiments, token maps module104ecan maintain token to PAN mappings for consumers registered with the mobile tokenization hub. As described above, the mappings can include many tokens to one PAN as well as many PANs to one token. In some embodiments, token maps module104ecan maintain mappings for externally generated tokens as well. For example, when mobile tokenization hub102receives a token generated by, e.g., an issuer, through token request interface102h, the externally generated token may be forwarded to CTC module104. Token maps module104ecan update its token mappings for the corresponding consumer to include the externally generated token. In some embodiments, an externally generated token may be accompanied by one or more of a partner platform identifier, application identifier, version, PAN, or token attributes. The system can register the tokens in CTC system by communicating with a CTC registration API and send the response back to the issuer or wallet provider application. In some embodiments, token generation rules module104fcan receive rules from a registered system for generating tokens. For example, the rules may include a type of token, a format of the token, security and storage requirements for the token. In some embodiments, token generation rules module may include payment control rules that are to be automatically associated with newly generated tokens. In some embodiments, each registered entity can maintain a set of rules that are commonly used when requesting new tokens. For example, an issuer may request tokens be generated of a particular length with a particular range of BINs. FIG.3shows example processes of token generation and provisioning according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG.3, tokens can be generated by CTC module104and then provisioned to mobile devices106. In some embodiments, the CTC module can generate the token in response to a token request associated with a mobile device. Depending on the type of mobile device associated with the request, the mobile tokenization hub can request a different type of token. For example, in system300, CTC module108can generate and send302a token to mobile tokenization hub102to be delivered304(i.e., provisioned) to a mobile device. As described above, the mobile tokenization hub can include a token provisioning module that enables the mobile tokenization module to directly provision the token to a mobile device, or to interface with a mobile gateway or a trusted service manager (TSM) system to provision the token to the mobile device. Any other provisioning methods may be implemented. System306shows a process of token generation and provisioning in a mobile device according to another embodiment of the present invention. As described above, the token can be generated by the CTC module104in response to a request from mobile tokenization hub, issuer, and/or mobile wallet provider and can be generated based on rules established by the requesting entity and/or by the payment processing network. For example, an issuer and/or wallet provider can send a request to the mobile tokenization hub through an application programming interface (API) to receive token information (e.g., to receive a token that has already been generated or to request a new token be generated). The issuer and/or wallet provider can then provision the token(s) to the mobile device directly, or through a trusted service manager server (TSM). In some embodiments, the payment processing network, mobile tokenization hub, CTC module, and issuer can have various roles and responsibilities. For example, account registration can be managed by the payment processing network (PPN) and/or mobile tokenization hub. Token generation can be managed by the PPN and/or CTC module. Token provisioning can be managed by the PPN and/or mobile tokenization hub. Token lifecycle management can be managed by the PPN and/or mobile tokenization hub. Token mapping can be managed by the PPN and/or CTC module. Dispute resolution can be managed by the issuer. Device and/or account holder data persistence can be managed by the PPN and/or stored credential database (SCD). FIG.4shows a process of token generation and provisioning according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in system400, the issuer and/or wallet provider may generate and send402a token to a mobile tokenization hub. The issuer and/or wallet provider can instruct the mobile tokenization hub service to provision406the tokens to the mobile device. The issuer and/or wallet provider can also request to register the token with the CTC module using the mobile tokenization hub API to provide registration information for the tokens. In some embodiments, the registration information can include one or more of a partner platform identifier, version number, primary account number (PAN), token, and/or token attributes. In some embodiments, the payment processing network, mobile tokenization hub, CTC module, and issuer can have various roles and responsibilities. For example, account registration can be managed by the issuer. Token generation can be managed by the issuer. Token provisioning can be managed by the PPN and/or mobile tokenization hub. Token lifecycle management can be managed by the issuer. Token mapping can be managed by the PPN and/or CTC module. Dispute resolution can be managed by the issuer. Device and/or account holder data persistence can be managed by the issuer. Alternatively, or additionally, as shown at408, the issuer and/or wallet provider can generate and provision410tokens to mobile device(s) through a trusted service manager server (TSM), mobile gateway, or other provisioning service. The issuer and/or wallet provider may also send412a copy of the token to the mobile tokenization hub to be stored414in the CTC module data store. When the issuer and/or wallet provider requests to store a copy of the token in the CTC module, the issuer and/or wallet provider can provide registration information to register tokens with the CTC module. The registration information can include one or more of a partner platform identifier, version number, PAN, token, and/or token attributes. In some embodiments, the payment processing network, mobile tokenization hub, CTC module, and issuer can have various roles and responsibilities. For example, account registration can be managed by the issuer. Token generation can be managed by the issuer. Token provisioning can be managed by issuer. Token lifecycle management can be managed by the issuer. Token mapping can be managed by the PPN and/or CTC module. Dispute resolution can be managed by the issuer. Device and/or account holder data persistence can be managed by the issuer. IV. Token Generation and Provisioning As described above, not all token requests may request the same type of token. For example, a token request from a mobile device with a pre-provisioned token in its secure element may be an activation request, whereas a mobile device that has not be pre-provisioned may request a new token. The mobile tokenization hub can determine whether the device contains a secure element (SE) or non-secure element (non-SE), and alter the processing based on that determination. For mobile devices with a secure element, the token requests may be for static tokens that may be usable for an extended period of time, while a token request from a mobile device without a secure element may be for a dynamic token that is limited in how long it is active or the types or amounts of transactions for which it may be used. Also, depending on how the token will be used, the token itself may be formatted differently. For example, a transit token may have one format while a token for a credit card account may have a different format. As described further below, embodiments of the present invention may determine the appropriate token to generate and provision to fulfill a given request. This simplifies the process for requesting tokens and makes it easier for consumers and partner systems to obtain and use tokens in more processes. FIG.5shows a method of provisioning tokens for different types of mobile devices according to an embodiment of the present invention. At step500, a token request is received by the mobile tokenization hub. Embodiments of the invention can provide different processing and treatment of data from mobile devices, including non-secure element (non-SE) mobile devices and secure element (SE) mobile devices. The processing can be differentiated at a central entity, such as a payment processing network (e.g., Visa®), mobile tokenization hub, or any other entity in a transaction flow. At step502, device information associated with the token request can be identified. For example, when a token request is initiated, a payment application on the mobile device can capture device information and include the device information with the token request to the mobile tokenization hub. Additionally, or alternatively, device information corresponding to the requesting device may be stored in a credential database, for use in validating subsequent transactions. In some embodiments, the credential database can be queried to determine device information associated with the token request. At step504, the mobile tokenization hub can determine a type of token corresponding to the device information. For example, the credential database can differentiate between the SE and non-SE devices and inform the mobile tokenization hub as to whether a request is associated with a SE device or non-SE device and the type of tokenization that should be implemented. In some embodiments, the type of token may be determined based on the types of previous tokens provisioned to the mobile device. As described herein, token types can include static, which may be stored on a secure element of a mobile device, and dynamic which may be stored in memory on the mobile device. At step506, a request is sent to the CTC module to generate a token of the determined type. For example, if it is determined that the request originated at a device with a secure element, a request for a static token may be sent to the CTC module, whereas if it is determined that the requesting device does not include a secure element, a request for a dynamic token may be sent. Alternatively, if the request originated from a device with a secure element with a pre-provisioned token, an activation request can be sent to the CTC module to associate the pre-provisioned token with a PAN and activate the pre-provisioned token. At step508, the requested token is received. The request token is of the requested type and may be generated according to one or more token generation rules based on the device, the payment application, the channel over which the request was received, etc. At step510, the requested token is returned to the requesting device. In some embodiments, a provisioning service may be used to open a secure connection to the device and store the token in the device's secure element. In other embodiments, the token may be encrypted and returned directly to the device or through the payment application. In some embodiments of the present invention, a mobile tokenization hub may receive a token request associated with a first mobile device, wherein the first mobile device includes a secure element, and receive a token request associated with a second mobile device, wherein the second mobile device includes a non-secure element, and the mobile tokenization hub may be capable of differentiating the first mobile device and second mobile device, such that a first token generated for the first mobile device is different than a second token generated for the second mobile device. In an SE mobile device, a “PAN substitute” can be received from a tokenization system (e.g., a mobile tokenization cloud or mobile tokenization hub) and a dynamic token can be constructed on the mobile device using the PAN substitute or other information. In an embodiment, an application on the mobile device that is in communication with the SE can generate the dynamic token in a tokenization system. The dynamic token may be generated using any available information including, in some embodiments, a combination of dynamic and static data available to the application. In an embodiment, a static token can be embedded at the time of manufacturing a mobile device, and the static token may later be activated and authenticated by a consumer. Accordingly, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) can incorporate the static token with the device or the static token may be provided by a mobile network operator (MNO) or other party at or before the time of ownership by the consumer. The consumer may then enter information to confirm the account holder's identity. A dynamic token may be provided after the mobile device is manufactured. In an non-SE mobile device, a “PAN substitute” and dynamic element can be received from the mobile tokenization hub. For example, the CTC module may generate and/or transmit the data to the mobile device via a gateway. The dynamic element may be generated based on the PAN substitute or based on other device, transaction, and/or consumer information available to the mobile device. As described further below with respect toFIGS.6-15, the mobile tokenization hub can provide different processing depending on the token request received and device associated with the token request. For example, if a token request is received from a device that includes a pre-provisioned token stored in a secure element, the mobile tokenization hub can provide token activation processing. If the token request is received from a mobile device with a secure element, but without a pre-provisioned token, the mobile tokenization hub can provide tokenization and provisioning services. If the token request is received from a device without a secure element, the mobile tokenization hub may determine that a dynamic token is to be generated and provisioned and provide tokenization and provisioning services in response. As such, token requests can be differentiated by the mobile tokenization hub based on device information and different tokenization services may be provided, as appropriate. FIG.6shows a secure element (SE) and static token activation flow according to an embodiment of the present invention. The payment application may be associated with an issuer and/or provided by a payment processing network. In some embodiments, a mobile device that includes a secure element may initiate transactions using a static token stored on the secure element. The static token may be provisioned in the secure element at the time of manufacturing, or may be provisioned after the mobile device has been purchased by a consumer. After the tokens have been activated, transactions may be initiated using the mobile device through a near-field communication (NFC)/point of sale (POS) terminal, using an issuer payment application and/or a payment processing network (PPN) reference application. The transaction data type can include a chip transaction which may include Track 2 data, a dynamic card verification value (dCVV), an application cryptogram, issuer application data, and a running serial number (ATC). In the example shown inFIG.6, the mobile device600includes a static token provisioned in the secure element of the device that has been preconfigured. In some embodiments, the consumer may have downloaded the payment application from an application store associated with the mobile device and/or the consumer's mobile network operator. In some embodiments, the consumer can login to the application using credentials previously provider to the issuer and/or payment processing network and the application can authenticate the user based on the login credentials. In some embodiments, a wallet provider or issuer payment application may have registered with a mobile tokenization hub, they may receive a partner application identifier, they may have done bulk registration for existing consumers, and the consumers may have downloaded the wallet provider or issuer branded payment application in the device. At602, the consumer can register the mobile device through the application with the issuer608via the internet604by providing a consumer credential and/or information about their mobile device. At606, information about the user device can be captured. This may include the static token or various device identifiers, including Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN) and International Mobile Station Equipment Identifier (IMEI). At610, the issuer can access registration web services at a mobile tokenization hub via a secure connection (e.g., SSL). The information may be passed in an encrypted payload. In some embodiments, two factor authentication may be used to provide additional security to the connection. For example, the two factors can include a username/password and a public/private key interchange. At614, the mobile tokenization hub can communicate with the CTC module to activate the static token and associated the static token with a PAN. In some embodiments, the device information captured at606can be provided to the mobile tokenization hub by the issuer608. The device information can be mapped to the tokens associated with the device. This can be used to provide an additional verification check when a transaction is initiated using the token. If the transaction is initiated from a different device, the transaction can be rejected or additional information can be required from the consumer before completing the transaction. At step 5, the mobile tokenization hub can communicate with a credential database at a payment processing network. The captured consumer information and/or mapping information can be transmitted and stored in the credential database. FIG.7shows a sequence diagram of token activation according to an embodiment of the present invention. At step 1, the consumer initiates account registration using their mobile device700. The consumer initiates the account registration through a payment application702on the mobile device700. In some embodiments, the payment application702can be an issuer application, a payment processing network application, or a mobile wallet application. The application can access and retrieve the static token from the secure element of the mobile device. The user can then be presented with one or more accounts associated with the application from which the consumer may select to register. In an embodiment, the user can enter the card information to register with wallet provider or issuer application. For each new card, the application can generate a new identifier, such as a PAN sequence number (PSN), to distinguish multiple PANs associated to the same token. During registration, the payment application702can capture mobile device details for mobile device700. This may include the static token or various device identifiers, including Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN) and International Mobile Station Equipment Identifier (IMEI). At step 2, the payment application702sends a registration request to the mobile tokenization hub704. In some embodiments, the issuer application sends the registration request, including the token, PAN, PSN, and device information, to the mobile tokenization hub704through an API. At step 3, the mobile tokenization hub704determines based on the device information that the device includes a pre-provisioned token and initiates token activation in CTC706. The mobile tokenization hub704can send a request to CTC706to activate the static token and associate the PAN with the token and the PSN. At step 4, the CTC706activates the token and associates the token with the PAN and PSN. The CTC706can validate the static token and store the association of the PAN, token, and PSN. The CTC can store the PAN, issuer BIN, and product information within the CTC module for future processing. At step 5, the mobile tokenization hub can persist the device information previously captured at step 1. The mobile tokenization hub can persist the device information in credential database in a payment processing network. At step 6, after the device information has been stored and the token has been activated, a status response can be sent to the payment application702. At step 7, a response message is returned to the user's mobile device, confirming that the device has been activated with an active token and is ready to perform transactions through the payment application702. If activation was unsuccessful, an error can be returned. FIG.8shows a secure element (SE) and static token activation flow according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the example shown inFIG.8, the mobile device800includes a secure element, but the secure element has not been pre-provisioned with a token. The token may be generated and provisioned to the device after device purchase. The consumer may download a payment application to the mobile device800to register the mobile device and receive a token. The payment application can authenticate the user based on the login credentials provided by the user. At802, the consumer can download the payment application from an online retailer over the Internet808, such as an online application store associated with the mobile device or the consumer's mobile network operator. At804, the consumer can initiate registration through the payment application. In the example shown inFIG.8, the payment application is a mobile wallet application and the consumer initiates registration with an associated wallet provider. However, in alternative embodiments, the payment application may be associated with an issuer or a payment processing network. At810, information about the user device may be captured by the wallet provider812. The information can include various device identifiers, like an MSISDN, carrier, or IMEI. At814, the wallet provider can access registration web services via a secure connection (SSL) at a mobile tokenization hub on a payment processing network816. Although the mobile tokenization hub is shown as integrated with the payment processing network, in some embodiments the mobile tokenization hub may be implemented separately. The information may be passed in an encrypted payload. In some embodiments, two factor authentication may be used to provide additional security to the connection. For example, the two factors can include a username/password and a public/private key interchange. At818, the mobile tokenization hub can send a token generation request to the CTC module. At820, the mobile tokenization hub can store consumer information provided in804and device information captured in810in a credential database. Consumer and device information can be mapped to the newly generated token and used as an additional verification check when a transaction is initiated. If consumer or device information provided during a transaction using the token does not match that stored during registration, the transaction may be rejected or additional information may be required from the consumer. Once the token has been generated and the consumer and device information stored, the token can be sent from the CTC module to the mobile tokenization hub. At822, the tokenization hub can open a secure connection to the mobile device800through a mobile provisioning service, such as TSM824, and the newly generated static token can be written to the device SE. FIG.9shows sequence diagram of token generation according to an embodiment of the present invention. At step 1, the consumer initiates account registration on mobile device900through a payment application902. In some embodiments, the payment application can be a mobile wallet application, an issuer-branded application, or a payment processing network reference application. In some embodiments, multiple accounts can be registered on the same device, and the user can select the account from the payment application to register. At step 2, the payment application can send a registration request to the mobile tokenization hub906. The payment application can send PAN and device information to the mobile tokenization hub through an API. At step 3, the mobile tokenization hub906can determine based on the device information that the mobile device includes a secure element and initiate token generation in CTC module908. The mobile tokenization hub can send a request to the CTC module to generate static a token to be stored in the mobile device's secure element and register the PAN for the token. Multiple tokens can be generated for one device, one for each account registered with that device. In some embodiments, multiple accounts registered with a device can be associated with the same token and a PSN can be used to distinguish between accounts. At step 4, the CTC module908can generate a new token and map the token to the PAN and device information. In some embodiments, the CTC module908can store the PAN, issuer BIN, and/or product information within CTC module for future processing. At step 5, the mobile tokenization hub906can persist the device information in a credential database in the payment processing network. The device information can be mapped to the tokens and/or accounts registered for the device and used as an additional verification mechanism, as described above. At step 6, the mobile tokenization hub can initiate a request to a provisioning service904to provision the token information in the device. At step 7, provisioning service can open a secure connection to mobile device900and provision the token in the mobile device's secure element. At step 8, after the token has been provisioned in the device, a success/status response may be sent to the payment application902from the mobile tokenization hub906. At step 9, a confirmation message can be sent to the mobile device indicating to the consumer that the mobile device has been activated with an active token ready for transactions. The mobile device is then ready to make transactions using the static token through the payment application. FIG.10shows a sequence diagram of token updating according to an embodiment of the present invention. The mobile device1000may have secure element to which token information has been provisioned. If the token has been compromised, or the consumer adds an account, or otherwise initiates a token update process, a new token may be provisioned to the consumer's mobile device1000. At step 1, the consumer can initiate an update through the payment application1002. The payment application may be a mobile wallet application, issuer-branded application, or payment processing network application. At step 2, payment application1002sends an update request including one or more new PANs and device information to the mobile tokenization hub1006through an API. At step 3, for each PAN update request, the mobile tokenization hub1006can request a new static token from CTC module1008. In an embodiment, the mobile tokenization hub can treat the update request as a new static token generation request. The mobile tokenization hub can send a request for each new PAN to the CTC module to generate a token and associate the new PAN with the new token. At step 4, the CTC module1008can generate a new token and store the association with the new PAN. At step 5, the mobile tokenization hub can persist the device information in a credential database. At step 6, the mobile tokenization hub1006can initiate a request to a provisioning service1004to provision each new token information to the device. At step 7, the provisioning service can provision each new token in the mobile device's secure element. At step 8, after the tokens have been provisioned in the device, the mobile tokenization hub can send success or status response to the payment application. In some embodiments, where multiple tokens are being provisioned to the same device, the mobile tokenization hub can send status updates after each token has been provisioned, or can send a single update after all tokens have been provisioned reflecting the status of each token. At step 9, a confirmation can message can be sent to the mobile device1000indicating that the mobile device has been loaded with one or more new static tokens ready for transactions through the payment application. FIG.11shows a non-secure element (non-SE) and dynamic token user/account registration flow according to an embodiment of the present invention. Because the mobile device1100does not include a secure element, a dynamic token with a limited lifecycle may be provided to the device to complete a transaction. The mobile device may include a payment application, such as a wallet application, issuer payment application, or PPN application. The payment application can authenticate the user based on login credentials provided by the user. As shown inFIG.11, at1102, the consumer can download the payment application from an online application store. At1104, the consumer can register the mobile device with the application provider, such as a wallet provider1108, payment processing network, or issuer. At1106, information about the mobile device can be captured, this information may include device identifiers (e.g., MSISDN, carrier, MEI). At1110, the wallet provider can communicate with the mobile tokenization hub. The mobile tokenization hub may be located as a cloud format for cloud registration. The wallet provider can access registration web services via a secure connection (SSL). The information may be passed in an encrypted payload. The mobile tokenization hub can store the mobile device and consumer information in a credential store. At1114, after mobile device and consumer information has been stored, shared secret registration can be transmitted between the mobile tokenization hub and a push notification cloud816. The shared secret registration information can include a code provided by the mobile tokenization hub or may include a question provided by the mobile tokenization hub and an answer provided by the consumer. In some embodiments, the shared secret setup interface can be provided through an API enables payment application providers (issuers, wallet providers, payment processing networks, etc.) to setup shared secret (e.g., set of N questions) as an additional security measure when dynamic tokens are requested during transactions. For example, each token request can challenge the user with a configured shared secret and validate the response. The request may originate from non-SE device issuer payment application or wallet application. FIG.12shows sequence diagram of user/account registration flow according to an embodiment of the present invention. At step 1, a consumer initiates account registration through a payment application, such as wallet application1200. The payment application may alternatively include an issuer payment application or a PPN reference application. The application can authenticate the user based on login credentials provided by the user. The user can select the account from the application to register. At step 2, application provider1202can send a PAN and device information to the mobile tokenization hub1204through an API. At step 3, the mobile tokenization hub1204can determine based on the device information whether the mobile device is associated with an account. If the mobile device is not already registered, the mobile tokenization hub can push a notification to the payment application to setup a shared secret. For example, the setup can include a set of 3 questions sent to the consumer through the wallet application1200. At step 4, the consumer may input shared secret answers, e.g., to the set of questions provided in step 3. The payment application can encrypt the answers and send the response to the mobile tokenization hub through an API. At step 5, the mobile tokenization hub1204can persist the device or platform information to a credential store1206. At step 6, once the credentials have been updated, an activation response can be sent to the application provider confirming registration. At step 7, the application provider can send confirmation to the user through the payment application. Once confirmed, the device is activated and ready for transactions using dynamic tokens through the payment application. FIG.13shows a non-secure element (non-SE) and dynamic token generation and transaction flow according to an embodiment of the present invention. As described above with respect toFIG.12, a consumer with a mobile device that does not include a secure element can download and install a payment application1300, such as a wallet application, issuer payment application, or payment processing network application. The application can authenticate the user based on login credentials provided the user. The device may be already registered in the mobile tokenization hub with a valid account. Because the mobile device does not include a secure element, it is not associated with a static token. Instead, the mobile device needs to request a dynamic token to complete a transaction. In some embodiments, a mobile device that does not include a secure element (non-SE) may be used with a dynamic token. The mobile device may be a personal computer (PC) that includes a payment application. The payment application can include an issuer payment application, a wallet provider application, and/or a PPN reference application that enables the consumer to perform card not present (e.g., an online) transactions. When a transaction is initiated, the transaction data may include a PAN, expiration date, and/or card verification value (CVV). In some embodiments, a non-SE mobile device may be used with a dynamic token. The mobile device may include a payment application, such as an issuer payment application, a wallet provider application, and/or a PPN reference application. The non-SE mobile device may perform chip transactions using the dynamic token. Transaction data for the chip transaction may include Track 2 data, a dCVV, an application cryptogram, payment application data, and an ATC. In some embodiments, the payment application at the mobile device may generate a QR code (e.g., Quick Response Code, bar code) that includes the dynamic token. The transaction data type can include a chip transaction which may include Track 2 data, a dCW, an application cryptogram, issuer application data, and an ATC. At1302, the consumer requests a token from the mobile tokenization hub1310. Using the shared secret information created during registration, at1304the mobile tokenization hub sends a challenge request to the consumer application through a push notification cloud. At1306, the consumer enters the secret response created during account registration to the tokenization hub. At1308, if the secret response returned at1306is correct, the tokenization hub sends a dynamic token to the consumer application. At1312, the consumer can initiate a transaction with a merchant1314using the token. For example, the token may be packaged into a QR code and displayed on the mobile device. The consumer may then scan the displayed code on a merchant point of sale terminal. Alternatively, the token may be transmitted from the user device to the merchant POS using NFC or other radio frequency communication. The transaction may also be performed online from the payment application, without requiring any interaction with a merchant POS. At1316, the merchant1314can submit the transaction with the dynamic token to the merchant's acquirer1318. Because the dynamic token is formatted to match the expected account identifier, no modifications are required to the merchant or acquirer systems to use the token. At1320, the acquirer1318submits the transaction with the token to a payment processing network (PPN)1322. At1324, the PPN recognizes the dynamic token as a PAN substitute. For example, a portion of the token may include a code that indicates the token is a token. The PPN sends a request to the CTC module for the PAN associated with the token. The request may include transaction data (such as consumer and device information) received from the mobile device via the merchant and acquirer. The CTC module may verify the transaction request by comparing the device information against device information associated with the token. If the CTC verifies the transaction, it can look up the PAN associated with the token, and return the PAN to the PPN. At1326, the PPN can process the transaction using the PAN retrieved from the CTC with issuer1328. The PPN can provide a response back to acquirer and merchant indicating if the transaction has been approved. FIG.14shows a non-secure element (non-SE) and dynamic token generation flow according to an embodiment of the present invention. At step 1, consumer initiates a transaction, for example by selecting an account alias in a wallet application, issuer payment application, payment processing application, or other digital wallet on the consumer's mobile device1400. At step 2, the payment application1402sends a request for a dynamic token to mobile tokenization hub1406through a mobile tokenization hub API. The payment application can include a PAN alias, device information and purchase amount in the new token request. At step 3, the mobile tokenization hub1406can retrieve shared secret details of the device from a credential store1408. The shared secret details can be provided by the consumer during device registration, as described above. At step 4, the mobile tokenization hub can select at least one of the shared secret question and send it to the payment application. At step 5, The payment application can display the secret question to the user on the mobile device1400. At step 6, the payment application receives the consumer's response to the secret question and, at step 7, encrypts the response and sends the response to the mobile tokenization hub1406. At step 8, the mobile tokenization hub1406can verify the response to the shared secret provided by the consumer. If the response is correct, the mobile tokenization hub can determine, based on the device information, a type of token to generate for the device and can then send a request to CTC module1410to generate a new token of that type and register the PAN for the token. In this example, the mobile tokenization hub can determine that the device does not include a secure element and can send a request to the CTC to generate a dynamic token for the device. At step 9, the CTC module can generate a new token and store the association of the new token with the PAN. The CTC can store real PAN, issuer BIN, or product information within CTC for future processing. At step 10, mobile tokenization hub1406can send a request to a payment control module1410to create a payment control for the token. The payment control may be based on the amount of the transaction. At step 11, the mobile tokenization hub can send the dynamic token to the payment application1402. At step 12, the payment application1402can submit the transaction with the dynamic token received from the mobile tokenization hub1406to the application provider1404. The transaction may then be processed as described above with respect toFIG.13. FIG.15shows an alternative non-secure element (non-SE) and dynamic token generation flow according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown inFIG.15, a dynamic token may be generated and sent to the consumer's mobile device1500without first confirming the consumer's identity using a previously supplied secret answer. Similar toFIG.14, at step 1, a consumer initiates a payment process by selecting an alias account corresponding to a payment account in a payment application1502, such as a wallet application, issuer payment application, or other digital wallet. At step 2, the payment application can send a token request to an application provider1504, such as a wallet provider or issuer system. The token request may include a PAN alias, device information and purchase amount. At step 3, the application provider1504sends the token request and device information to a mobile tokenization hub1506through a mobile tokenization hub token request API. At step 4, the mobile tokenization hub1506can determine, based on the device information, a type of token to generate for the device and can retrieve PAN details from a credential store1508. For example, the credential store may include a data structure that maps account aliases to account identifiers. At step 5, the mobile tokenization hub can send a request to the CTC module1510to generate a new token having the type determined in step 4 and register the PAN for the token. In some embodiments, before sending the request to the CTC module, the mobile tokenization hub can compare device information provided with the token request to device information provided when the consumer first registered an account. If the device information matches, the token request is sent to the CTC module1510. If the device information does not match, additional authentication methods may be performed to confirm the consumer's identity. At step 6, the CTC module1510can generate new token and store the association with the PAN. At step 7, the mobile tokenization hub can send a request to a payment control module to create a payment control for the given PAN, e.g., based on the purchase amount included in the transaction data. At step 8, the mobile tokenization hub can deliver the generated dynamic token to the payment application provider. At step 9, payment application provider can send the token to the payment application. At step 10, the payment application can submit the transaction with the dynamic token received from mobile tokenization hub. The transaction may then be processed as described above with respect toFIG.13. V. Bulk Requests In some embodiments, token requests may be received in a bulk format. For example, a device manufacturer may send a bulk token request for tokens to pre-provision to many different mobile devices prior to delivery to consumers. In some embodiments, wallet providers, issuers, and/or a PPN reference application can send bulk token registration requests to the mobile tokenization hub to register all the existing customers' device/card information in the mobile tokenization hub. The bulk token request may include a bulk registration file. In response to receiving a bulk token request, the mobile tokenization hub can call a credential store service for each consumer record present in the registration file to validate card information and persist device information and other consumer information in the credential store. The mobile tokenization hub can then send a request to the CTC module to perform bulk token activation/generation. For each device with SE and pre-provisioned token present in the bulk registration file, mobile tokenization hub initiates token activation in CTC. For each device with SE (no static token in the device), the mobile tokenization hub can initiate token generation in CTC. The CTC can the activate/generate tokens and associate PANs, where known, with the tokens. The mobile tokenization hub can then send a bulk provisioning file to a provisioning service (such as a mobile gateway or TSM) with the generated tokens and corresponding mobile device information. The provisioning service can then securely connect to each mobile device and provision the tokens to the mobile devices' secure elements. Upon successful provisioning, a confirmation message is received from each mobile device, and the provisioning service provides a response file to the mobile tokenization hub that indicates the status of each provisioning operation. The mobile tokenization hub can deliver registration response file to wallet provider, issuer, or reference application with details. The details may include one or more of a total number of registrations present in the request file; a number of successful registrations; a number of unsuccessful registrations; details for unsuccessful registrations; and device registrations pending for provisioning and estimated provisioning time VI. Dynamic Identification Information Generation FIG.16shows a method of generating dynamic identification information for tokens according to an embodiment of the present invention. Embodiments of the invention may provide for generation of dynamic identification information, such as a dCVV value or other dynamic verification value provided by a transaction processor, for a token received from a registered system. At step1600, the mobile tokenization hub can receive a request for dynamic identification information associated with a token from a registered system. In some embodiments, the mobile tokenization hub may provide services for verifying a dCVV associated with a token received from a registered service or entity, or may generate a new dCVV and provide the new dCVV to the requesting service or entity to be used to validate transaction data. For example, some issuers, wallet providers, acquirers, or other entities in a transaction may validate transactions by using a dCVV comparison during a transaction to ensure a transaction is legitimate. However, when substitute tokens with account identifiers that were not present at the initiation of a transaction, a new dCVV may be required in order for a transaction to be able to be verified by currently existing transaction systems. Accordingly, the mobile tokenization hub may determine a replacement dCVV to substitute in an authorization request message, transaction request, or other transaction information in order for an issuer, wallet provider, or other entity to authorize, authenticate, or continue with the transaction. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the mobile tokenization hub may request a new dCVV value be generated by the CTC during a transaction. In some embodiments, a dCVV value can be requested for a token at the time the transaction is initiated. The mobile tokenization hub can publish an application programming interface (API) to allow a registered system (e.g., wallet provider, issuer, mobile device, or other entity which has previously registered for service with the mobile tokenization hub) to request a dCVV value for a token from the mobile tokenization hub in order to validate the transaction as legitimate. In one embodiment, the mobile tokenization hub can translate the received token into a real account identifier (e.g., PAN) by communicating with a CTC de-tokenization API. As shown in step1602, the mobile tokenization hub can transmit the token to a common tokenization capability module that includes a de-tokenization module that converts the token into an account identifier. The CTC module to de-tokenize a token into an account identifier associated with a consumer account (e.g., a PAN). At step1604, the mobile payment hub receives the account identifier from the de-tokenization service. As described above, the account identifier may be a PAN. In some embodiments, the mobile tokenization hub may authenticate the requestor prior to either requesting de-tokenization or performing any operations on the de-tokenized account identifier (e.g., the mobile tokenization hub may request additional information from the requesting entity). In some embodiments, the mobile tokenization hub may communicate with the payment processing network through a dCVV API to request a dCVV value for the real account identifier (e.g., PAN) that is determined or translated through the de-tokenization process. At step1606, the mobile tokenization hub transmits the account identifier to a payment processing network to generate the dynamic identification information. In some embodiments, the mobile tokenization hub may be integrated with the payment processing network. In such embodiments, the mobile tokenization hub may include a dCVV generation module to generate the dCVV value. At step1608, the mobile tokenization service may receive the dynamic identification information from the payment processing network. At step1610, the mobile tokenization hub can transmit the dynamic identification information to the registered system. For example, the mobile tokenization hub may provide a dCVV value associated with the account identifier to the requesting application or transaction entity so that the transaction can be validated or verified using based on the dCVV value for the substituted account identifier. In some embodiments, a mobile tokenization hub may interact with a CTC module on behalf of the other services, servers, or transaction entities. However, in other embodiments, the other services, entities involved in the transaction, or servers may communicate directly with the CTC module. For example, in some embodiments, registered systems may be provided with an interface to the CTC, which may provide a more limited number of services to the registered systems than the mobile tokenization hub. In some embodiments, the dCVV can be generated and sent with transaction data to an issuer for authorization. The issuer can generate a dCVV for the de-tokenized PAN and compare it to the dCVV generated by the mobile tokenization hub to validate the token. In some embodiments, an acquirer system, payment processing network, or wallet provider may similarly validate a token by generating a dCVV for the de-tokenized PAN and comparing it to the value received from the mobile tokenization hub. If the dCVV generated by the mobile tokenization hub matches the dCVV generated by the issuer, acquirer, payment processing network, or wallet provider, then the transaction is validated. VII. Token Presence and Verification FIG.17shows a method of determining token presence on a mobile device according to an embodiment of the present invention. At step1700, the mobile tokenization hub can receive a request a request to initiate a transaction through an application on a mobile device. The application can include a wallet provider, issuer, and/or payment processing network reference application. The request can be initiated by the user by selecting an “alias” for the account. For example, the user may designate a debit card account with an alias of “checking account” or other easy to remember designation. At step1702, the mobile device can be queried for active tokens for the account associated with the alias. For example, in response to the request, the mobile tokenization hub may open a secure connection to a secure element on the mobile device and determine whether there are any tokens associated with the account. If there are tokens, the mobile tokenization hub can determine whether the tokens are still active. For example, the mobile tokenization hub can determine if the tokens have expired, have reached a preset spending limit, or whether the tokens are eligible for the current transaction (e.g., whether the amount of the transaction is within a preset range of values for the token). Additionally, or alternatively, the application the application may query the device's secure element and/or application memory to determine if there are any tokens associated with the account. If one or more tokens are identified, then the application can determine whether the tokens are active and/or available for the current transaction. At step1704it is determined that no active token is associated with the account alias. For example, all tokens found may be expired or not eligible for the transaction (e.g., because the tokens' spending limits have been reached or the amount is not within the tokens' pre-set spending range of values). At step1706, a secure connection with a mobile tokenization hub server computer is established initiate a new token request for the selected account alias. At step1708, a token request is transmitted for one or more new tokens associated with the account to the mobile tokenization hub server computer. The system can verify token presence. When a consumer initiates a transaction by selecting an account nickname (alias) in the wallet provider, issuer, PPN reference application, the application can check for the token in the device's secure element and then in application memory. If no valid token found for the selected account, a secure connection can be established with the mobile tokenization hub. A new token request can be initiated for the selected account nickname (alias). A token validity update interface can be provided. The system may provide an API to the requesting applications (internal/external) to update token validity timeframe (extend or reduce) by providing token details. The information can include a partner platform identifier, application identifier, token or new validity timeframe. VIII. Exemplary Systems Provided below is a description of an exemplary system in which embodiments provided herein may be utilized. Although some of the entities and components may be depicted as separate, in some instances, one or more of the components may be combined into a single device or location (and vice versa). Similarly, although certain functionality may be described as being performed by a single entity or component within the system, the functionality may in some instances be performed by multiple components and/or entities (and vice versa). Communication between entities and components may comprise the exchange of data or information using electronic messages and any suitable electronic communication medium and method, as described below. As used herein, an “issuer” may typically refer to a business entity (e.g., a bank or other financial institution) that maintains financial accounts for the user30and often issues a payment device32such as a credit or debit card to the user30. As used herein, a “merchant” may typically refer to an entity that engages in transactions and can sell goods or services to the user30. As used herein, an “acquirer” may typically refer to a business entity (e.g., a commercial bank or financial institution) that has a business relationship with a particular merchant or similar entity. Some entities can perform both issuer and acquirer functions. An exemplary financial transaction system is shown inFIG.18. The system20may include one or more merchants, one or more access devices34, one or more payment devices32, one or more acquirers, and one or more issuers. For example, the system20may include a merchant having a merchant computer22that comprises an external communication interface (e.g. for communicating with an access device34and an acquirer24), system memory comprising one or modules to generate and utilize electronic messages, and a data processor (for facilitating a financial transaction and the exchange of electronic messages); an acquirer having an acquirer computer24that comprises an external communication interface (e.g. for communicating with a merchant computer22and a payment processing network26), system memory comprising one or modules to generate and utilize electronic messages, and a data processor (for facilitating a financial transaction and the exchange of electronic messages); and an issuer having an issuer computer28that comprises an external communication interface (e.g. for communicating with a payment processing network26), system memory comprising one or modules to generate and utilize electronic messages, and a data processor (for facilitating a financial transaction and the exchange of electronic messages). The external communication interface of the merchant computer22may be coupled to an access device34(such that information may be received by the access device34and communicated to the merchant computer22) or, in some embodiments, the access device34may comprise a component of the merchant computer22. As used in this context, an “external communication interface” may refer to any hardware and/or software that enables data to be transferred between two or components of system20(e.g., between devices residing at locations such as an issuer, acquirer, merchant, payment processing network26, etc.). Some examples of external communication interfaces may include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, or the like. Data transferred via external communications interface may be in the form of signals which may be electrical, electromagnetic, optical, or any other signal capable of being received by the external communications interface (collectively referred to as “electronic signals” or “electronic messages”). These electronic messages that may comprise data or instructions may be provided between one or more of the external communications interface via a communications path or channel. As noted above, any suitable communication path or channel may be used such as, for instance, a wire or cable, fiber optics, a telephone line, a cellular link, a radio frequency (RF) link, a WAN or LAN network, the Internet, or any other suitable method. As would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, any suitable communications protocol for storing, representing, and transmitting data between components in the system20may be used. Some examples of such methods may include utilizing predefined and static fields (such as in core TCP/IP protocols); “Field: Value” pairs (e.g. HTTP, FTP, SMTP, POP3, and SIP); an XML based format; and/or Tag-Length-Value format. As shown in the exemplary system20inFIG.18, information from the payment device32may be provided to access device34either directly (e.g. through a contact or contactless interface) or indirectly thorough a user computer or mobile device36(e.g. in an e-commerce environment or other indirect transaction) via network40(such as the Internet). In some embodiments, the user computer or mobile device36may interact with the payment processing network26(or other entity in the system20) via the network40to form a first communications channel, such as through an Internet Protocol Gateway (IPG)27. The IPG27may be in operative communication with the payment processing network26. Although the IPG27is shown as being a separate entity inFIG.18, the IPG27could be incorporated into the payment processing network26, or could be omitted from the system20. In the latter situation, the first communications channel could directly connect the payment processing network26and the user computer or mobile device36. In general, providing communication from the user30to the payment processing network or other entity may enable a variety of increased functionalities to the user30, such as advanced authentication and verification methods (particularly in e-commerce and similar transactions), examples of which are described in U.S. Ser. No. 12/712,148 filed on Jul. 16, 2010 and U.S. Ser. No. 13/184,080 filed on Jul. 15, 2011, each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. However, embodiments are not so limited. In some embodiments, an electronic or digital wallet (i.e. “e-Wallet”) may be utilized as a payment device for conducting a financial transaction. As shown inFIG.18, such exemplary systems may comprise an electronic wallet server29, which may be accessible to the user30via network40(either directly connected or through an IPG27) and may also be in operational communication with a merchant and/or with a payment processing network26(or in some embodiments, the electronic wallet server29may comprise a part of the payment processing network26). The electronic wallet server29may be programmed or configured to provide some or all of the functionality associated with conducting transactions using an electronic wallet, including maintaining an association between the user's e-wallet and one or more payment accounts (such as a bank account or credit card account) in E-Wallet database31. To provide electronic wallet services (i.e. the use of the electronic wallet associated with a payment account to conduct a financial transaction), the electronic wallet server29may further provide a web interface (e.g. through one or more web pages) to receive and transmit requests for payments services and/or may provide an application program interface (API) (shown as electronic wallet client37) at the user computer apparatus36to provide the web service. This process is described in more detail in U.S. Ser. No. 61/466,409 filed on Mar. 22, 2011, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. As noted above, the user's electronic wallet may be stored in the E-Wallet database31, which may include information associated with the user's payment accounts can be used in conducting a financial transaction with a merchant. For example, the E-Wallet database31may include the primary account numbers of one or more payment accounts (e.g., payment accounts associated with a credit card, debit card, etc.) of the user30. The e-wallet may be populated with such information during an initial enrollment process in which the user30enters information regarding one or more of the payment accounts that may be associated with various issuers. Once the payment account information is added to the E-Wallet database31, the user30may perform transactions by utilizing only his e-wallet. When a user30performs a transaction using his electronic wallet, the user30need not provide the merchant with payment account information, but may instead provide the electronic wallet information. This information may then be included in an authorization request message, which in turn may be provided to payment processing network26. The payment processing network26may then access the user's e-wallet via a request to the electronic wallet server29, or may have direct access to the e-wallet database31so as to obtain the corresponding payment account information indicated by the information in the authorization request message. The electronic wallet client37may comprises any suitable software that provides front end functionality of the electronic wallet to the user30. For example, the electronic wallet client37may be embodied as a software application downloadable by a computer apparatus or mobile device32(e.g., a mobile phone). In some instances, the electronic wallet client37may provide a user interface (such as a series of menus or other elements) that allows the user30to manage his electronic wallet(s) (i.e. the electronic wallet client37may enable interaction with the electronic wallet server29, and thereby the e-wallet database31). In some embodiments, the electronic wallet client37may store data in a computer readable memory for later use, such as user30preferences or identifiers associated with funding sources added to the electronic wallet. A payment processing network26may be disposed between the acquirer computer24and the issuer computer28in the system20. The components of an exemplary payment processing network26are described below with reference toFIG.19for illustration purposes. Furthermore, the merchant computer22, the acquirer computer24, the payment processing network26, and the issuer computer28may all be in operative communication with each other (i.e. although not depicted inFIG.18, one or more communication channels may exist between each of the entities, whether or not these channels are used in conducting a financial transaction). The payment processing network26may include data processing subsystems, networks, and operations used to support and deliver authorization services, exception file services, and clearing and settlement services. For example, the payment processing network26may comprise a server computer, coupled to a network interface (e.g. by an external communication interface), and a database(s) of information. An exemplary payment processing network may include VisaNet™, CYBERSOURCE, AUTHORIZE.NET, PLAYSPAN, etc. Payment processing networks such as VisaNet™ are able to process credit card transactions, debit card transactions, and other types of commercial transactions. VisaNet™, in particular, includes a VIP system (Visa Integrated Payments system) which processes authorization requests and a Base II system which performs clearing and settlement services. The payment processing network26may use any suitable wired or wireless network, including the Internet. Although many of the data processing functions and features of some embodiments may be present in the payment processing network26(and a server computer therein), it should be understood that such functions and features could be present in other components such as the issuer computer28, and need not be present in the payment processing network26, or a server computer therein. With reference toFIG.19, an exemplary server computer200in payment processing network26is shown. The exemplary server computer200is illustrated as comprising a plurality of hardware and software modules (201-209). However, it should be appreciated that this is provided for illustration purposes only, and each of the modules and associated functionality may be provided and/or performed by the same or different components. That is, exemplary server computer200may, for example, perform some of the relevant functions and steps described herein with reference to the payment processing network26through the use of any suitable combination of software instructions and/or hardware configurations. It should be noted that althoughFIG.19illustrates all of the modules located on a single device, the disclosure is not meant to be so limited. Moreover, a system for implementing the functionality described herein may have additional components or less then all of these components. Additionally, some modules may be located on other devices such as a remote server or other local devices that are functionally connected to the server computer component(s). The exemplary server200is shown as comprising a processor201, system memory202(which may comprise any combination of volatile and/or non-volatile memory such as, for example, buffer memory, RAM, DRAM, ROM, flash, or any other suitable memory device), and an external communication interface203. Moreover, one or more of the modules204-209may be disposed within one or more of the components of the system memory202, or may be disposed externally. As was noted above, the software and hardware modules shown inFIG.19are provided for illustration purposes only, and the configurations are not intended to be limiting. The processor201, system memory202and/or external communication interface203may be used in conjunction with any of the modules described below to provide a desired functionality. Some exemplary modules and related functionality may be as follows: The communication module204may be configured or programmed to receive and generate electronic messages comprising information transmitted through the system20to or from any of the entities shown inFIG.18. When an electronic message is received by the server computer200via external communication interface203, it may be passed to the communications module204. The communications module204may identify and parse the relevant data based on a particular messaging protocol used in the system20. The received information may comprise, for instance, identification information, transaction information, and/or any other information that the payment processing network26may utilize in authorizing a financial transaction or performing a settlement and clearing procedure. The communication module204may then transmit any received information to an appropriate module within the server computer200(e.g. via a system bus line250). The communication module204may also receive information from one or more of the modules in server computer200and generate an electronic message in an appropriate data format in conformance with a transmission protocol used in the system20so that the message may be sent to one or more components within the system20(e.g. to an issuer computer28or merchant computer22). The electronic message may then be passed to the external communication interface203for transmission. The electronic message may, for example, comprise an authorization response message (e.g. to be transmitted to a merchant conducting a transaction) or may be an authorization request message to be transmitted or forwarded to an issuer. The database look-up module205may be programmed or configured to perform some or all of the functionality associated with retrieving information from one or more databases216. In this regard, the database look-up module205may receive requests from one or more of the modules of server200(such as communication module204, authorization module208, or settlement module209) for information that may be stored in one or more of the databases216. The database look-up module205may then determine and a query an appropriate database. The database update module206may be programmed or configured to maintain and update the databases216, such as authorization database215. In this regard, the database update module206may receive information about a user, financial institution, a payment device, and/or current or past transaction information from one of the modules discussed herein. This information may then be stored in the appropriate location in the database210using any suitable storage process. The report generation module207may be programmed or configured to perform some or all of the functionality associated with generating a report regarding a user, an account, a transaction or transactions, or any other entity or category of information with regard to system20. This may include, for instance, identifying patterns (such as patterns that indicate a fraudulent transaction or transactions) and generating one or more alerts that may be sent (e.g. via communication module204and external communication interface203) to one or more entities in the system20, including the user, merchant, or issuer. The report generation module may also, for example, request information from one or more of the databases216via database look-up module205. The authorization module208may be configured or programmed to perform some or all the functionality associated with authorizing a financial transaction associated with an authorization request message. The authorization request message may be generated by a merchant computer22and may be associated with a transaction involving the payment device32. The authorization request message may include any suitable information that may be used to authorize or identify the transaction, and may be generated by the merchant computer22in response to an interaction between a payment device32or a mobile device36and an access device34). The authorization module208may, for instance, be programmed or configured to compare the information received by via the authorization request message with stored information at the server200or a database210(such as comprising verification values). In some embodiments, if the received and stored values match, the authorization module208may authorize the transaction (or may be more likely to authorize the transaction) and may instruct the communication module201to generate an authorization response message. The authorization module207may also be programmed or configured to execute any further operations associated with a typical authorization. As shown inFIG.19, various additional modules210-212may also be present in the server computer200. For example, as described above with respect toFIG.1, the payment processing network may include a provisioning service module210that can securely connect to one or more mobile devices to provide or update tokens stored on the mobile devices. The payment processing network may also include a payment control module211which, as described above, can be used to place limits on tokens, such as lifecycle limits, spending limits, etc. The payment processing network may also include a dCVV generation module212which, as described above, may be used to generate dynamic identification information for a transaction that uses a token. The payment processing network26may include one or more databases216, such as authorization database215. Each of the databases shown in this example may comprise more than one database, and may be located in the same location or at different locations. The authorization database215may contain information related to a payment device32and/or a payment account, as well as any other suitable information (such as transaction information) associated with the payment account. For example, the authorization database215may comprise a relational database having a plurality of associated fields, including a primary account identifier (e.g. a PAN), an issuer associated with the account, expiration date of a payment device32, a verification value(s), an amount authorized for a transaction, a user name, user contact information, prior transaction data, etc. In some embodiments, the authorization module208may utilize some or all of the information stored in the authorization database215when authorizing a transaction. The databases216may also comprise a number of additional databases. For example, as described above with respect toFIG.1, the payment processing network may maintain a credential database220that includes device information, account information, and other credentials that can be used for authentication and validation. IX. Exemplary Methods Methods for example financial transaction systems20are described below with reference toFIG.20, and with further reference to the system elements inFIGS.18and19. The methods described below are exemplary in nature, and are not intended to be limiting. Methods in accordance with some embodiments described herein may include (or omit) some or all of the steps described below, and may include steps in a different order than described herein. A typical credit card transaction flow using a payment device32at an access device34(e.g. POS location) can be described as follows. (Note that embodiments of the invention are not limited to credit card transactions, but may also include other types of payment transactions including prepaid and debit transactions). A user30presents his or her payment device32to an access device34to pay for an item or service. The payment device32and the access device34interact such that information from the payment device32(e.g. PAN, PAN substitute (token), verification value(s), expiration date, etc.) is received by the access device34(e.g. via contact or contactless interface). As shown inFIG.20, the merchant computer22may then receive this information at step401from the access device34via the external communication interface. The merchant computer22may then generate an authorization request message that includes the information received from the access device34(i.e. information corresponding to the payment device32) along with additional transaction information (e.g. a transaction amount, merchant specific information, etc.) and at step402electronically transmit this information to an acquirer computer24. The acquirer typically represents, and vouches for, the merchant in financial transactions (e.g. credit card transactions). The acquirer computer24may then receive (via its external communication interface), process, and at step403forward the authorization request message to a payment processing network26(such as the server computer200shown inFIG.19), for authorization. In general, prior to the occurrence of a credit-card transaction, the payment processing network26has an established protocol with each issuer on how the issuer's transactions are to be authorized. In some cases, such as when the transaction amount is below a threshold value, the authorization module208of the payment processing network26may be configured to authorize the transaction based on information that it has about the user's account without generating and transmitting an authorization request message to the issuer computer28. In other cases, such as when the transaction amount is above a threshold value, the payment processing network26may receive the authorization request message via its external communication interface203, determine the issuer associated with the payment device32, and then at step404forward the authorization request message for the transaction to the issuer computer28for verification and authorization. As part of the authorization process, the payment processing network26or the issuer computer28may analyze a verification value or other datum provided by the payment device32. The verification value may be stored at the issuer or the payment processing network26(e.g. in one of the databases216). Once the transaction is authorized, at step405the issuer computer28may generate an authorization response message (that may include an authorization code indicating the transaction is approved or declined) and transmit this electronic message via its external communication interface to payment processing network26. At step406, the payment processing network26may then forward the authorization response message via a communication channel to the acquirer computer24, which in turn at step407may then transmit the electronic message to comprising the authorization indication to the merchant computer22. In the credit card industry, the authorization indication typically takes the form of an authorization code, which is five or six alphanumeric characters, by convention. It serves as proof to the merchant and the card holder that the issuing bank or payment processing network has authorized the transaction, and may be used by the merchant or the card holder as proof of authorization if the issuing bank later disputes the transaction, such as during settlement. The authorization code is not the same as the card verification value (or the dCVV value described below) because it does not have the same purpose as the card verification value, which is to serve as proof that the card was presented to the merchant when the transaction was conducted, and cannot be entered into the CW field of a merchant POS terminal or merchant website (which only accepts 3 or 4 numeric digits). The authorization code is also not the same as a 3-D Secure datum since it does not have the same purpose as the 3-D Secure datum, which is to serve as proof that the card was presented to the merchant when the transaction was conducted. When a user30wishes to make an online purchase with a merchant over the Internet (i.e. e-commerce), a similar method as described above with reference toFIG.20may be performed except that the user30may use his computer apparatus or mobile device36to provide information associated with a payment device32(e.g. account number, user's name, expiration date, verification value, etc.) into respective fields on the merchant's checkout page (e.g. functioning as an access device34). The access device34may then provide this information to the merchant computer22, and steps401-407may be performed. X. Exemplary Payment Devices Provided below are descriptions of some devices (and components of those devices) that may be used in the systems and methods described above. These devices may be used, for instance, to receive, transmit, process, and/or store data related to any of the functionality described above. As would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the devices described below may have only some of the components described below, or may have additional components. With reference toFIG.21, a block diagram of an exemplary mobile device36is shown that may be used in some embodiments. In some embodiments, the mobile device36may be a notification device that can receive alert messages, a payment device that can be used to make payments, an access device (e.g. POS device) that may receive information from a consumer to conduct a transaction, and/or a multi-purpose general use device. The exemplary mobile device36may comprise a computer readable medium36(b) that be present within the body (or outer casing)36(h), or the computer readable medium36(b) could be detachable from the device (e.g. the computer readable medium36(b) could comprise an external memory that could be connected through a physical interface such as a USB connection, or the data could be hosted remotely and accessed wirelessly by the device—e.g. the data could be hosted and stored at a remoter server in the “cloud”). The computer readable medium36(b) may be in the form of a memory that stores data. The memory may store information such as financial information, transit information (e.g., as in a subway or train pass), access information (e.g., access badges), serial numbers, mobile account information, and any other suitable information. In general, any of this information may be transmitted by the mobile device36(such as to an access device34), via any suitable method, including the use of antenna36(a) or contactless element36(g). The body36(h) may be in the form a plastic substrate, housing, or other structure. In some embodiments, the mobile device36may further include a contactless element36(g), which is typically implemented in the form of a semiconductor chip (or other data storage element) with an associated wireless transfer (e.g., data transmission) element, such as an antenna. Contactless element36(g) may be coupled to (e.g., embedded within) the mobile device36and data or control instructions that are transmitted via a cellular network may be applied to the contactless element36(g) by means of a contactless element interface (not shown). The contactless element interface functions to permit the exchange of data and/or control instructions between the mobile device circuitry and an optional contactless element36(g), or between another device having a contactless element (e.g. a POS terminal or a payment device). Contactless element36(g) may be capable of transferring and receiving data using a short range wireless communication capability. As noted above, mobile device36may comprise components to both be the interrogator device (e.g. receiving data) and the interrogated device (e.g. sending data). Thus, the mobile device36may be capable of communicating and transferring data or control instructions via both cellular network (or any other suitable wireless network—e.g. the Internet or other data network) and short range communications. The mobile device36may also include a processor36(c) (e.g., a microprocessor) for processing the functions of the phone36and a display36(d) to allow a consumer to see phone numbers and other information and messages. The mobile device36may further include input elements36(e) to allow a user to input information into the device, a speaker36(f) to allow the user to hear voice communication, music, etc., and a microphone36(i) to allow the user to transmit her voice through the mobile device36. The mobile device36may also include an antenna36(a) for wireless data transfer (e.g., data transmission). FIG.22shows an example of a payment device32″ in the form of a card. As shown, the payment device32″ comprises a plastic substrate32(m). In some embodiments, a contactless element32(o) for interfacing with an access device34may be present on, or embedded within, the plastic substrate32(m). Consumer information32(p) such as an account number, expiration date, and/or a user name may be printed or embossed on the card. A magnetic stripe32(n) may also be on the plastic substrate32(m). In some embodiments, the payment device32″ may comprise a microprocessor and/or memory chips with user data stored in them. As noted above and shown inFIG.22, the payment device32″ may include both a magnetic stripe32(n) and a contactless element32(o). In some embodiments, both the magnetic stripe32(n) and the contactless element32(o) may be in the payment device32″. In some embodiments, either the magnetic stripe32(n) or the contactless element32(o) may be present in the payment device32″. XI. Subsystems and Components The various participants and elements described herein may operate one or more computer apparatuses to facilitate the functions described herein. Any of the elements in the above-described Figures, including any servers or databases, may use any suitable number of subsystems to facilitate the functions described herein. Examples of such subsystems or components are shown inFIG.23. The subsystems shown inFIG.28are interconnected via a system bus445. Additional subsystems such as a printer444, keyboard448, fixed disk449(or other memory comprising computer readable media), monitor446, which is coupled to display adapter482, and others are shown. Peripherals and input/output (I/O) devices, which couple to I/O controller441(which can be a processor or other suitable controller), can be connected to the computer system by any number of means known in the art, such as serial port484. For example, serial port484or external interface481can be used to connect the computer apparatus to a wide area network such as the Internet, a mouse input device, or a scanner. The interconnection via system bus allows the central processor443to communicate with each subsystem and to control the execution of instructions from system memory442or the fixed disk449, as well as the exchange of information between subsystems. The system memory442and/or the fixed disk449may embody a computer readable medium. Any of the software components or functions described in this application, may be implemented as software code to be executed by a processor using any suitable computer language such as, for example, Java, C++ or Perl using, for example, conventional or object-oriented techniques. The software code may be stored as a series of instructions, or commands on a computer readable medium, such as a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a magnetic medium such as a hard-drive or a floppy disk, or an optical medium such as a CD-ROM. Any such computer readable medium may reside on or within a single computational apparatus, and may be present on or within different computational apparatuses within a system or network. The above description is illustrative and is not restrictive. Many variations of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the disclosure. The scope of the invention can, therefore, be determined not with reference to the above description, but instead can be determined with reference to the pending claims along with their full scope or equivalents. One or more features from any embodiment may be combined with one or more features of any other embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention. A recitation of “a”, “an” or “the” is intended to mean “one or more” unless specifically indicated to the contrary. All patents, patent applications, publications, and descriptions mentioned above are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes. None is admitted to be prior art. | 139,692 |
11861608 | DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS The embodiments described herein are not intended to be limited to the specific forms set forth herein. The embodiments are intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents that are within the scope of the appended claims. The detailed description that follows includes numerous specific details such as specific method orders, configurations, structures, elements, and connections have been set forth. It is to be understood however that these and other specific details need not be utilized to practice embodiments. In other embodiments, well-known structures, elements, or connections have been omitted, or have not been described in a manner so as not to obscure this description. Any reference within the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” is intended to indicate that a particular feature, configuration, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. The appearance of the phrase “in one embodiment” in different parts of the specification can refer to different embodiments. Embodiments described as separate or alternative embodiments are not mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be included in some embodiments and not by others. In additions, some requirements for some embodiments may not be required for other embodiments. In the following description, unless indicated otherwise terms such as “accessing” or “authenticating” or “causing” or the like, refer to the operations and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories and other computer readable media into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices. System Architecture FIG.1Ashows a centralized payment registration system50and system200for making on-demand payments via an electronic communication according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, the system200for making on-demand payments via an electronic communication facilitates on-demand payments using a centralized payment registration system (described in detail below) which registers payment services, electronic communication clients and payment requesters. In an embodiment, as used herein electronic communication is intended to refer to electronic communications, or electronic messages that can include but are not limited to email, texts, and other digital communications and messages. In an embodiment, bill payers are able to make payments to payment requesters directly from an electronic communication that they have received.FIG.1Ashows system200, database100, payment requester51, payment requester53, payment service55, payment service57, electronic communication client59, and electronic communication client61. Referring toFIG.1B, payment services, payment facilitators and payment requesters can register with the payment registration system50for purposes of enabling on demand payments from payment services such as payment service55and payment service57to payment requesters such as payment requester51and payment requester53. In an embodiment, payment service55and payment service57can include but are not limited to payment services such as Google Pay® and Apple Pay®. In an embodiment, payment requester51and payment requester53can include but are not limited to vendors such as an Comcast®, AT&T®, T-Mobile® or local utility departments. In an embodiment, electronic communication client59and electronic communication client61can include but are not limited to non-mobile electronic communication clients or mobile electronic communication clients such as Gmail® and Yahoo® mail. In an embodiment, identifiers of the payment requesters, electronic communication clients/facilitators and payment services/payers can be associated in the database. For example, referring toFIG.1A, an example association62of identifiers is shown below database100. In an embodiment, as regards mobile phone users a bill payment methodology is provided that can be used across payment requesters. In particular, the problem of users having to respond to payment requests by using a variety of methods is obviated. In an embodiment, system200for making on-demand payments via an electronic communication can be used with any electronic communication client such as Gmail®, Outlook®, etc. In an embodiment, electronic communication clients and their wallet systems can be registered with the centralized payment registration system50to provide payments through electronic communications. For example, subsequent to being registered, when an electronic communication is delivered to a user's electronic communication system, the user can directly respond to that electronic communication by making payment using a mobile wallet. Operation FIG.1Billustrates operations A-J performed by the system200for making on-demand payments via an electronic communication according to an embodiment. In particular,FIG.1Billustrates interactions between payment requester51, electronic communication client59, system200, payment service55, and direct pay service63are illustrated. Referring toFIG.1B, at A, payment requester51sends an electronic communication (EC inFIG.1B) to an electronic communication client59that includes a request for payment. At B, the electronic communication, including the request for payment, is accessed by system200via the electronic communication client59. At C, payment requester and electronic communication identifiers that are accessed from the electronic communication client59are reviewed for authentication by system200. In an embodiment, the payment requester and electronic communication identifiers are reviewed to determine if the payment requester51is registered as approved to receive payments in response to the request for payment sent in the electronic communication. For example, in an embodiment, the identifiers received from the electronic communication client59are reviewed to determine if the electronic communication and the payment requester coincides, in particular, to determine whether their identifiers are associated in the database of the centralized registration system (seeFIG.1A). At D, the payment requester51is determined to be registered and approved to receive a payment in response to the request for payment. In an embodiment, the successful authentication is then communicated to the electronic communication client59. At E, if the payment requester51is approved, the payment service55that is registered as an approved payment service for the payment requester51(in database100inFIG.1A) is automatically identified by system200. At F, the electronic communication client59requests payment from the payment service55. In an embodiment, the payment service55can include a mobile wallet. In other embodiments, the payment service55can include other electronic payment services. In an embodiment, the electronic communication client59can request payment based on the selection of an object in the electronic communication that initiates the execution of operations that effect payment. In an embodiment, the request for payment includes payment requester details and electronic communication client details. At G, a request is made for system200to authenticate the electronic communication and the payment requester51. In an embodiment, system200authenticates the electronic communication and the payment requester51by determining if the electronic communication and payment requester associated with the request for authentication coincide (e.g., by accessing a repository of the relevant information such as database100inFIG.1A). At H, system200provides an indication to the payment service55that the electronic communication and the payment requester51have been successfully authenticated. At I, payment is initiated from the payment service55. In an embodiment, the payment service55can include but is not limited to wallet-based and non-wallet based electronic payment services. At J, system200causes a transfer of funds from the approved payment service55to the payment requester51via a direct pay service63. In an embodiment, as indicated above, the transfer of funds can be based on the selection of a funds transfer triggering component in the electronic communication sent from the payment requester51. Components of System for Making on-Demand Payments Via an Electronic Communication FIG.2shows components of a system200for making on-demand payments through electronic communication according to an embodiment.FIG.2shows electronic communication information accessor201, payment requester authenticator203, approved payment service determiner205, payment service authenticator207and payment triggerer209. Electronic communication information accessor201accesses information from an electronic communication that includes a request for payment from a payment requester. In an embodiment, the information includes payment requester and electronic communication identifiers. Payment requester authenticator203authenticates the payment requester as being registered to receive payments in response to the request for payment. In an embodiment, in order to authenticate the payment requester, the payment requester and electronic communication identifiers that are accessed from the electronic communication client are compared to payment requester and electronic communication client data in a storage system or database (e.g., database100inFIG.1A) for authentication. For example, in an embodiment, the payment requester identifier can be reviewed to determine if the payment requester is registered as approved to receive payments in response to the request for payment, and the electronic communication identifier can be reviewed to determine if the electronic communication is registered as coinciding with the payment requester. Approved payment service determiner205automatically identifies a payment service that is registered as an approved payer. In an embodiment, the approved payment service can be automatically identified upon authentication of the payment requester. In an embodiment, when the payment service is identified, a request for payment can be sent from the electronic communication client to the identified payment service. Payment service authenticator207authenticates the payment service by determining if the payment service is approved to make payments to the payment requester. In an embodiment, in order to authenticate the payment service, payment requester and electronic communication identifiers are accessed from the payment service and compared to data in the storage system or database for authentication. In an embodiment, the payment requester and electronic communication identifiers are reviewed to determine if the payment service is registered as approved to make payments to the payment requester in response to the request for payment in the electronic communication. Payment triggerer209causes a transfer of funds from the approved payment service to the approved payment requester in response to a selection of a funds transfer triggering component in the electronic communication. In an embodiment, the funds can be transferred from a payment service to the payment requester via a direct payment service. In an embodiment, the direct payment service can include but is not limited to a payment service such as Visa Direct®. In other embodiments, the funds can be transferred from a payment service to the payment requester in other manners. FIG.2illustrates an example manner of implementing the system200ofFIG.1A. In an embodiment, one or more of the elements, processes, components and/or devices of the system200(e.g., electronic communication information accessor201, payment requester authenticator203, approved payment service determiner205, payment service authenticator207and payment triggerer209) may be integrated, separated, re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in other manners. In an embodiment, the components of system200(e.g., electronic communication information accessor201, payment requester authenticator203, approved payment service determiner205, payment service authenticator207and payment triggerer209) can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware and/or any combination thereof. In particular, components of system200can be implemented by one or more analog or digital circuit(s), logic circuits, programmable processor(s), application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)) and/or field programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)). In an embodiment, as regards software and/or firmware implementation of the system200, at least one of the components of such is/are hereby expressly defined to include a non-transitory computer readable storage device or storage disk such as a memory, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc. including the software and/or firmware. It should be appreciated that, the example system200can include one or more elements, processes and/or devices in addition to, or instead of, those illustrated inFIG.2, and/or may include more than one of any or all of the illustrated elements, processes and devices. FIG.3is a flowchart300of a method for making on-demand payments through electronic communication as performed by system200according to an embodiment. Referring toFIG.3, the method includes at301, accessing a first identifier of a payment requester and a first identifier of an electronic communication from an electronic communication client that identifies a payment requester and an electronic communication. At303, authenticating the payment requester as being registered to receive payments. At305, if the payment requester is authenticated, automatically identifying a payment service that is registered as an approved payer. At307, authenticating the payment service as being approved to make payments to the payment requester. At309, in response to a selection of a funds transfer triggering component in the electronic communication, causing a transfer of funds from the approved payment service to the payment requester. In an embodiment, the method further includes prior to accessing the first identifier of the payment requester and the first identifier of the electronic communication, registering and associating one or more payment requesters, electronic communications, and payment services in a database. In an embodiment, authenticating the payment requester includes accessing a database to determine if the payment requester and the electronic communication associated with the first identifier of the payment requester and the first identifier of the electronic communication coincide. In an embodiment, identifying the payment service that is registered as an approved payer includes accessing a database to determine if the payment service is registered in the database as an approved payer. In an embodiment, authenticating the payment service includes accessing a second identifier of the payment requester and a second identifier of the electronic communication from the payment service. In an embodiment, causing a transfer of funds from the approved payment service to the payment requester includes a transferring of funds directly into a payment requester account through a money transfer system. In an embodiment, the money transfer system can include but is not limited to Visa Direct®. In an embodiment, the electronic communication client and the payment service may be owned by the same company or may not be owned by the same company. In an embodiment, the operations of the flowchart300can correspond to machine readable instructions of a program that can be executed by a processor of a computer system400such as is discussed with regard toFIG.4below. In some embodiments, the program and/or portions or parts thereof can be executed by a device other than a processor. The program can be stored on a non-transitory machine or computer readable storage medium such as a hard drive, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a read-only memory, a compact disk, a floppy disk, a Blu-ray disk, a cache, a random-access memory or other storage device. As used herein, the term non-transitory computer readable medium is intended to refer to computer readable storage devices and/or storage disks and to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media. In some embodiments, the program can be embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware. In an embodiment, one or more of the operations of the flowchart can be performed without executing software or firmware. For example, one or more of the blocks may be implemented by one or more hardware circuits such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integrated circuit (ASIC), a discrete and/or integrated analog and/or digital circuit, a comparator, an operational-amplifier (op-amp), a logic circuit, etc. It should be noted that the order of execution of the blocks of the flowchart ofFIG.3may be changed. In addition, one or more of the blocks of the flowchart can be eliminated or added. While one embodiment can be implemented in fully functioning computers and computer systems, various embodiments are capable of being distributed as a computing product in a variety of forms and are capable of being applied regardless of the particular type of machine or computer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution. At least some aspects disclosed can be embodied, at least in part, in software. That is, the techniques may be carried out in a computer system or other data processing system in response to its processor, such as a microprocessor, executing sequences of instructions contained in a memory, such as ROM, volatile RAM, non-volatile memory, cache or a remote storage device. Routines executed to implement the embodiments may be implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application, component, program, object, module or sequence of instructions referred to as “computer programs.” The computer programs typically include one or more instructions set at various times in various memory and storage devices in a computer, and that, when read and executed by one or more processors in a computer, cause the computer to perform operations necessary to execute elements involving the various aspects. FIG.4shows a computer system400according to an embodiment. The computer system400can include a microprocessor(s)403and memory402. In an embodiment, the microprocessor(s)403and memory402can be connected by an interconnect401(e.g., bus and system core logic). In addition, the microprocessor403can be coupled to cache memory409. In an embodiment, the interconnect401can connect the microprocessor(s)403and the memory402to input/output (I/O) device(s)405via I/O controller(s)407. I/O devices405can include a display device and/or peripheral devices, such as mice, keyboards, modems, network interfaces, printers, scanners, video cameras and other devices known in the art. In an embodiment, (e.g., when the data processing system is a server system) some of the I/O devices405, such as printers, scanners, mice, and/or keyboards, can be optional. In an embodiment, the interconnect401can include one or more buses connected to one another through various bridges, controllers and/or adapters. In one embodiment, the I/O controllers407can include a USB (Universal Serial Bus) adapter for controlling USB peripherals, and/or an IEEE-1394 bus adapter for controlling IEEE-1394 peripherals. In an embodiment, the memory402can include one or more of: ROM (Read Only Memory), volatile RAM (Random Access Memory), and non-volatile memory, such as hard drive, flash memory, etc. Volatile RAM is typically implemented as dynamic RAM (DRAM) which requires power continually in order to refresh or maintain the data in the memory. Non-volatile memory is typically a magnetic hard drive, a magnetic optical drive, an optical drive (e.g., a DV D RAM), or other type of memory system which maintains data even after power is removed from the system. The non-volatile memory may also be a random access memory. The non-volatile memory can be a local device coupled directly to the rest of the components in the data processing system. A non-volatile memory that is remote from the system, such as a network storage device coupled to the data processing system through a network interface such as a modem or Ethernet interface, can also be used. In this description, some functions and operations are described as being performed by or caused by software code to simplify description. However, such expressions are also used to specify that the functions result from execution of the code/instructions by a processor, such as a microprocessor. Alternatively, or in combination, the functions and operations as described here can be implemented using special purpose circuitry, with or without software instructions, such as using Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). Embodiments can be implemented using hardwired circuitry without software instructions, or in combination with software instructions. Thus, the techniques are limited neither to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software, nor to any particular source for the instructions executed by the data processing system. Although specific embodiments have been described above, these embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, even where only a single embodiment is described with respect to a particular feature. Examples of features provided in the disclosure are intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive unless stated otherwise. The above description is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as would be apparent to a person skilled in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure includes any feature or combination of features disclosed herein (either explicitly or implicitly), or any generalization thereof, whether or not it mitigates any or all of the problems addressed herein. Accordingly, new claims may be formulated during prosecution of an application claiming priority to this provisional application to any such combination of features. In particular, with reference to the appended claims, features from dependent claims may be combined with those of the independent claims and features from respective independent claims may be combined in any appropriate manner and not merely in the specific combinations enumerated in the appended claims. | 22,978 |
11861609 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Those of ordinary skill in the art realize that the following descriptions of the embodiments of the present invention are illustrative and are not intended to be limiting in any way. Other embodiments of the present invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Although the following detailed description contains many specifics for the purposes of illustration, anyone of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that many variations and alterations to the following details are within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following embodiments of the invention are set forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposing limitations upon, the claimed invention. In this detailed description of the present invention, a person skilled in the art should note that directional terms, such as “above,” “below,” “upper,” “lower,” and other like terms are used for the convenience of the reader in reference to the drawings. Also, a person skilled in the art should notice this description may contain other terminology to convey position, orientation, and direction without departing from the principles of the present invention. Furthermore, in this detailed description, a person skilled in the art should note that quantitative qualifying terms such as “generally,” “substantially,” “mostly,” and other terms are used, in general, to mean that the referred to object, characteristic, or quality constitutes a majority of the subject of the reference. The meaning of any of these terms is dependent upon the context within which it is used, and the meaning may be expressly modified. Various types of computing hardware may be disclosed herein, e.g. server, computer, computerized device, smart phone, etc. Except where described otherwise, it is contemplated and included within the scope of the invention that such hardware may comprise a processor operable to execute software resulting in a described function, a memory device positioned in communication with the processor permitting the storage of software thereon as well as data generated or processed by the processor, and a communication device positioned in communication with the processor and, in some embodiments, the memory device, and is operable to send and receive data across any type of computer network as is known in the art. The memory device may be permanent and non-transitory. Referring now toFIG.1, for example, and without limitation, blockchain account types and interactions between them, are described in more detail. Blockchain is a distributed and public ledger which maintains records of all the transactions. A blockchain network100is a truly peer-to-peer network and it does not require a trusted central authority or intermediaries to authenticate or to settle the transactions or to control the network infrastructure. Users can interact and transact with the blockchain networks through Externally Owned Account (EOAs)110, which are owned and controlled by the users. Each EOA110has an account address102, account public-private keys104and a balance106(in certain units of a Cryptocurrency associated with the Blockchain network) associated with it. EOAs do not have any associated code. All transactions120on a blockchain network are initiated by EOAs. These accounts can send transactions to other EOAs or contract accounts. Another type of accounts support by second generation programmable Blockchain platforms are the Contract Accounts108. A Contract Account108is created and owned by an EOA110, is located at a contract address112, and is controlled by the associated contract code114which is stored with the contract account108. Additionally, the contract account108may comprise a balance116, which may be identical to the balance106of the EOA110. The contract code114execution is triggered by transactions118sent by EOAs or messages sent by other contracts. Referring now toFIG.2, the TCP/IP reference model layers with the VTTP protocol150as part of an application layer154, is described in more detail. VTTP150is an application layer protocol and works alongside Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)152and on top of a transport layer156executing Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)157and an Internet layer158executing Internet Protocol (IP)159. While TCP is specifically recited, all other transport layer protocols as are known in the art are contemplated and included within the scope of the invention, including, but not limited to, User Datagram Protocol (UDP), SCTP (Stream Controlled Transfer Protocol), and Quick UDP Internet Connections (QUIC). Additionally, while VTTP may operate over the Internet, it is contemplated and included within the scope of the invention that VTTP may operate over any Wide Area Network (WAN), Local Area Network (LAN), Personal Area Network (PAN), cellular network, and the like. Additionally, any communication medium is contemplated and included within the scope of the invention, including, but not limited to, Ethernet, fiber optical communication, cable communication, wireless communication (including radio, visible light, microwave, and any other electromagnetic transmission) such as IEEE 802.xx standards, and any other telecommunication standard, method, or medium. Moreover VTTP may be implemented on devices operating configured to communicate with other devices, i.e., the Internet of Things (IoT). Referring now toFIG.3, the components of the Value Token Transfer Protocol (VTTP), are described in more detail. In one embodiment, VTTP works as a request-response protocol based on a client-server architecture, where a VTTP client200sends requests to a VTTP Server212, and the server responds to the requests. The VTTP clients200may be available for different platforms and devices such as a desktop client204, a mobile client206or an embedded client208. Users202send VTTP requests to the VTTP server212using VTTP clients200. VTTP requests contain VTTP commands210which are processed by the VTTP server212. A VTTP server212may have one or more VTTP Workers214to process VTTP requests and execute the VTTP commands210sent by VTTP clients200. VTTP server212has blockchain clients216for each of the participating blockchain networks220,222,224. A separate blockchain network218may be used for user identity and access management. The identity information of each user may be maintained on a separate blockchain network. An identity verification and certification procedure is performed for securely linking blockchain accounts to real users. The identity (and associated blockchain accounts) of each user may be separately verified through an identity verification process. A system and associated methods for securely linking blockchain accounts to real users, as described in related U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/863,128 titled Method and System for Blockchain-Based Combined Identity, Ownership and Custody Management filed Jan. 5, 2018, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference except to the extent disclosure therein is inconsistent with disclosure herein. A user identity registration and certification procedure is performed that comprises receiving hashed user identification information that has been signed with a private key of the user from the user, defining a seal contract, generating an address of the seal contract, defined as a sealed user record address, and providing the sealed user record address. The procedure may further comprise receiving a hashed verification record from a certificate authority, generating an address of a verification contract from the hashed verification record, defined as a sealed verification record address and providing the sealed verification record address. Furthermore, the procedure may further comprise generating a certification contract from a combination of the sealed user record address, a certification token, and the sealed verification record address, providing a certification contract address, receiving a verification record by a certification authority comprising the hashed user identification information and a token, and receiving a combination of the certification contract address and the seal contract, defining a received certification contract address and a received seal contract, respectively. Additionally, the procedure may further comprise obtaining each of the sealed user record address and the sealed verification record address from the certification contract address, retrieving the seal contract from the sealed user record address, defining a retrieved seal contract, decrypting the retrieved seal contract using a public key associated with the user, defining a decrypted retrieved seal contract, and comparing the decrypted retrieved seal contract and the received seal contract. Yet further, the procedure may comprise retrieving the verification contract from the sealed verification record address, defining a retrieved verification contract, obtaining a certification token from the certification contract address, generating a hashed confirming verification record by hashing the combination of the decrypted retrieved seal contract and the certification token, and comparing the hashed confirming verification record to the retrieved verification contract. Upon a comparison of the decrypted retrieved seal contract and the received seal contract indicating they are at least a partial match and the comparison of the hashed confirming verification record to the retrieved verification contract indicating they are at least a partial match, a session certification token for a decentralized application may be generated. Finally, the procedure may comprise transmitting the session certification token to the user. Referring now toFIG.4, the VTTP client-server model, is described in more detail. In the client-server model, VTTP works as a request-response protocol based on a client-server architecture, where VTTP clients250,256,260,264send requests to a VTTP server258, and the server responds to the requests. The server processes the VTTP requests and generates and sends transactions to the participating blockchain networks268,270to execute a value transfer. Referring now toFIG.5, the VTTP peer-to-peer model, is described in more detail. In the peer-to-peer model, VTTP works as a peer-to-peer protocol where VTTP peers300,306,310,314, operated by respective users302,304,312,316, communicate directly with their peers and a VTTP coordinator308may be used for coordinating the communication between peers. VTTP peers300,306,310,314generate and send transactions to the participating blockchain networks268,270to execute a value transfer on blockchain networks318,320. Referring now toFIG.6, the VTTP intra-chain value transfer process, is described in more detail. The VTTP intra-chain value transfer process enables transfer of cryptocurrency or tokens from one account to another account on the same blockchain network. For example, consider an intra-chain value transfer request where a User A354wants to transfer certain units of a cryptocurrency or tokens from an account on a blockchain network374to the account of another User B358on the same blockchain network. At step1356, User A354initiates value transfer request to send cryptocurrency or tokens to User B358(e.g. to send 1 ETH from user A to user B). At step2360, the VTTP client350sends a VTTP SEND request to the VTTP server370. At step3362, the VTTP server generates a raw transaction and returns the same in SEND response. At step4364, User A signs the raw transaction with the private key and VTTP client350sends the VTTP SIGN transaction. At step5372, VTTP server370verifies the signature and broadcasts the transaction to the blockchain network374. At step6366, User A354receives a value transfer notification. At step7368, User B358receives a value transfer notification via VTTP Client352. Referring now toFIG.7, the VTTP inter-chain value transfer process, is described in more detail. The VTTP inter-chain value transfer process enables transfer of cryptocurrency or tokens from an account on a blockchain network to another account on a different blockchain network. At step1408, User A404initiates a cross chain value transfer request to User B406(e.g. to send 1 ETH from user A to user B who receives the value in equivalent number of LTC). At step2410, VTTP client400sends a VTTP SEND request to the VTTP server418. At step3434, VTTP server generates a raw transaction and returns the same in SEND response. In this raw transaction the ‘from’ field is user A's account, and ‘to’ field is a ‘Vault Account’ on blockchain network-1430. At step4412, User A404signs the raw transaction with the private key and VTTP client400sends the VTTP SIGN transaction. At step5426, VTTP server418verifies the signature and broadcasts the transaction to the blockchain network-1430. At step6422, when the value transfer from User A account to Vault account on blockchain network-1430is confirmed, the cryptocurrency and tokens are sent to a Cryptocurrency/Token Exchange account420. At step7424, cyptocurrency or tokens are exchanged. At step8428, the exchanged cyptocurrency or tokens are sent to User B account on blockchain network-2432. At step9414, User A404receives a value transfer notification. At step10416, User B406receives a value transfer notification via VTTP Client402. Referring now toFIG.8, VTTP commands are described in more detail. The VTTP GET command452is used to retrieve information about an account, contract, transaction, and an exchange rate for a token. For example, the VTTP GET command452to retrieve balance of an account may look as follows: GET vttp://ROOT_URL/ethereum/address/0x004E1A8B6d1B65C2497055e65AFC5E5A46Db750D/balance The VTTP SEND command454is used to send value from one account to another account in same network. For example, the VTTP SEND command454to send ETH from one Ethereum account to another may look as follows: SEND vttp://ROOT_URL/ethereum?from=0x004E1A8B6d1B65C2497055e65AFC5E5A46Db750D &to=0x0049b1258Fd75C021d99E2109323Daa0E9ae8a6A&value=1 A VTTP SEND command454to send ERC20 token ABC from account A and receive ERC20 token XYZ in account B may look as follows: SEND vttp://ROOT_URL/ethereum?from=0x004E1A8B6d1B65C2497055e65AFC5E5A46Db750D &to=0x0049b1258Fd75C021d99E2109323Daa0E9ae8a6A &source=ABC&destination=XYZ& &sourceContract=0x4891B15e2942FD4c176E4f2Ae3faF281E26EE466 &destinationContract=0x2fF2159D77805d489F6347BbEa3067Efb13d3176&value=1 The VTTP XSEND command456is used to send value from one account to another account in another network. For example, the VTTP XSEND command456to send ETH from an Ethereum account and receive LTC in a Litecoin account may look as follows: XSEND vttp://ROOT_URL/ethereum/litecoin? from =0x004E1A8B6d1B65C2497055e65AFC5E5A46Db750D &to=LWhC2FmafKgDbqT129rB8Yj3dB9FVGhA2E &source=ETH&destination=LTCvalue=1 The VTTP REQUEST command458is used to request value from an account in the same network. For example, the VTTP REQUEST command458to request ETH from an Ethereum account may look as follows: REQUEST vttp://ROOT_URL/ethereum? from =0x004E1A8B6d1B65C2497055e65AFC5E5A46Db750D &to=0x0049b1258Fd75C021d99E2109323Daa0E9ae8a6A&value=1 The VTTP XREQUEST command460is used to request value from an account in another network. For example, the VTTP XREQUEST command460to request LTC from a Litecoin account and receive ETH in Ethereum account may look as follows: XREQUEST vttp://ROOT_URL/ethereum/litecoin? from =0x004E1A8B6d1B65C2497055e65AFC5E5A46Db750D &to=LWhC2FmafKgDbqT129rB8Yj3dB9FVGhA2E &source=LTC&destination=ETH&value=1 The VTTP RESPOND command462is used to accept or deny a request received from an account in the same network. For example, the VTTP RESPOND command462to accept a value transfer request within Ethereum network may look as follows: RESPOND vttp://ROOT_URL/ethereum?reqid=132376876 &status=accept Similarly, the VTTP RESPOND command462to deny a value transfer request within Ethereum network may look as follows: RESPOND vttp://ROOT_URL/ethereum?reqid=132376876 &status=deny The VTTP XRESPOND command464is used to accept or deny a request received from an account in another network. For example, the VTTP XRESPOND command464to accept a value transfer request from Litecoin to Ethereum network may look as follows: XRESPOND vttp://ROOT_URL/ethereum/litecoin?reqid=63768237 &status=accept Similarly, the VTTP XRESPOND command464to deny a value transfer request from Litecoin to Ethereum network may look as follows: XRESPOND vttp://ROOT_URL/ethereum/litecoin?reqid=63768237 &status=deny The VTTP SIGN command466is used to sign and approve a transaction. For example, the VTTP SIGN command466to sign a value transfer request may look as follows: SIGN vttp://ROOT_URL/ethereum? Id=1827637&signature=0xf86b0184ee6b280082520894187 Referring now toFIG.9, the transaction signing process in VTTP, is described in more detail. VTTP transactions that transfer value are signed and approved by the user on the client side. For example, to send value from one account to another account within the same blockchain network504, the VTTP client500sends a VTTP SEND command at step506. The VTTP server502generates the blockchain network504specific raw transaction and returns the raw transaction in the response at step508. The user then signs the raw transaction with the private key514and sends the signed transaction with the VTTP SIGN command at step510. The VTTP server502verifies the signature, broadcasts the signed transaction at step516to the blockchain network504, and sends a SIGN response at step512. With this model of signing transactions on the client side, the user can retain the private keys on the user's local machine and need not share them with the VTTP server. Referring now toFIG.10, the token-based authentication process in VTTP, is described in more detail. A VTTP client550can authenticate with a VTTP server552using an authentication token which is generated by the client and verified by the VTTP server552. VTTP may use existing authentication token standards such as JSON Web Token (JWT) (described in RFC 7519) for securely transmitting information between a client and server as a JSON object. VTTP may also support other custom token standards. An example of using JSON Web Token standard for authenticating a VTTP client550with a VTTP server552is shown inFIG.10. At the client side, the username and password fields554are combined and encrypted to generate an encrypted authentication string556. The VTTP client550sends a VTTP AUTH request to the VTTP server552containing the encrypted authentication string556at step560. The VTTP server decrypts the encrypted authentication string556and verifies the user's credentials, and then generates a JSON Web token at step574. A JSON Web Token contains header, payload and signature fields. The header field may specify the token type (JWT) and the signing algorithm used (such as HMAC SHA-256 algorithm). The payload field may contain registered, private and public claims. The registered claims defined in JWT include claims such as ‘iss’ (issuer of the token), ‘sub’ (subject of the token), ‘aud’ (audience of the token), ‘exp’ (token expiration time defined in Unix time), ‘nbf’ (‘not before time’ that identifies the time before which the JWT must not be accepted for processing), ‘iat’ (Issued at′ time, in Unix time, at which the token was issued) and ‘jti’ (JWT ID). To create the signature part of a JSON Web Token the encoded header, the encoded payload, a secret, are signed using the algorithm specified in the header. For example, if the HMAC SHA256 algorithm is used, the signature is created as follows: HMACSHA256( base64UrlEncode(header)+“.”+ base64UrlEncode(payload), secret) The signature is also used to verify the message wasn't changed along the way. The VTTP server552returns a VTTP AUTH response562containing the JSON Web Token. The VTTP client550uses this token for all subsequent VTTP requests564,570, and the VTTP server552validates the authentication token and process the VTTP requests564,570, then sending respective VTTP response568,572. When the JSON Web token expires, the VTTP client550sends a new AUTH request. Referring now toFIG.11, the two-factor authentication process in VTTP, is described in more detail. VTTP supports two-factor authentication. To authenticate a VTTP client600with a VTTP server602when two-factor authentication is enabled for a user's account, the client first sends a VTTP AUTH request610containing an encrypted authentication string. The VTTP server602decrypts the authentication string and verifies the user's credentials at step628. If two-factor is enabled for user's account, the VTTP server602returns ‘is2FAEnabled’ as ‘True’ in the response612. The VTTP client600then sends another AUTH request614, containing the encrypted authentication string and a two-factor authentication token. The VTTP server602decrypts and verifies user's credentials and two-factor authentication token and generates JSON Web Token which is used as an authentication token for all subsequent requests sent by the VTTP client600at step630. The VTTP server602returns a VTTP AUTH response containing the JSON Web Token at step618. The VTTP client600uses this token for all subsequent VTTP requests620,624, and the VTTP server602validates the authentication token and process the VTTP requests620,624, then sending respective VTTP response622,626. Referring now toFIG.12, VTTP Secure (VTTPS), a secure version of VTTP that runs over SSL/TLS, is described in more detail. The use of SSL/TLS allows an encrypted channel of communication between the client and server. A handshake process is done in which the client and server compute a symmetric key which is used to encrypt all communication during their TLS session. At step658, a VTTP client650initiates a handshake by sending a Client Hello message to a VTTP server654. At step660, the VTTP server654responds with a Server Hello message and the server's certificate. At step656, the VTTP client650authenticates the server's identity by verifying the server certificate with a certificate authority652. At step662, the VTTP client650sends a key-info containing a random string of data to the server (which is encrypted with the server's public key). After this step the VTTP client650and the VTTP server654each have the random string of data which is used to calculate (independently) the symmetric key that will be used to encrypt all remaining communication for the duration of that specific TLS session, such calculations being performed at steps678and674, respectively. The VTTP client650and the VTTP server654then both send respective “Finished’ messages that have been encrypted with the symmetric key at the end of the handshake at steps664and666. All subsequent communication668,670between the VTTP client650and the VTTP server654may be encrypted using the symmetric key. Referring now toFIG.13, the multi-signature (“multisig”) transaction signing process in VTTP, is described in more detail. TheFIG.13shows an example of using VTTP for a multisig contract that requires 2 out of 3 signatures to process a transaction. At step1736, User A732initiates value transfer request to send cryptocurrency or tokens. At step2714, VTTP client712sends a VTTP SEND request to the VTTP server702. At step3716, VTTP server702generates a raw transaction and returns the same in SEND response. At step4718, User A732signs the raw transaction with the private key and VTTP client712sends the VTTP SIGN transaction. At step728, User A732may indicate the transaction ID to other signatories to the contract or other signatories may get a notification from the VTTP server702. At step5720, User B710retrieves the transaction using the transaction ID. At step6722, VTTP server702returns the raw transaction to be signed by User B710. At step7724, User B710signs the raw transaction with the private key and VTTP client700sends the VTTP SIGN transaction. At step8726, VTTP server702verifies the signatures of User A732and User B710and broadcasts the transaction to a blockchain network708. Referring now toFIG.14, an exemplary VTTP server architecture, is described in more detail. A VTTP server750may have one or more VTTP Workers752to process VTTP requests and execute the VTTP commands sent by VTTP clients. VTTP server750has blockchain clients764for each of the participating blockchain networks772,774,776. A separate blockchain network770may be used for user identity and access management. The VTTP server750may contain additional services, such as User Identity & Access Management Service760, Authentication & Authorization Service758, and Analytics & Reporting Service762. The VTTP server750may contain inter- and intra-blockchain messaging services766and connectors for databases, cloud services & blockchain networks768. A transactions filter754may be used in the server to filter transactions. The server may use various Smart Contracts756to bolster security. These smart contracts may be executed for each VTTP request and perform additional verification (such as verifying sender and receiver's address). The smart contracts may enforce checks such as time limits or quantity restrictions. Some smart contracts may perform functions similar to virus filters, for filtering out suspicious transactions. New smart contracts can be distributed to VTTP servers in a manner similar to virus updates. Referring now toFIG.15, an exemplary VTTP reference architecture, is described in more detail. Users800may use VTTP clients802,806to communicate with VTTP servers810,812,814through an API gateway804. The VTTP servers810,812,814sit under a load balancer808and expose a number API endpoints. The API gateway804makes these APIs available to the VTTP clients. Each API has an endpoint (for example, vttp://example.com/ethereum) and a set of VTTP methods or commands which are supported for the endpoint (such as GET, SEND, REQUEST, etc.). The API gateway804may use an API key to enable authentication for APIs. The API gateway804may also perform additional functions such as logging each API request and rate-limiting of requests. A separate relational (SQL) or non-relational (NoSQL) database816may be used to store data such as user credentials and application specific data. Each VTTP server is connected to all the participating blockchain networks818,820. Referring now toFIG.16, VTTP status codes850are described in more detail. The status code ‘1xx’852is used to signal that a request has been received. For example, a value transfer request is received and is being processed. The status code ‘2xx’854is used to signal that a requested action has been successfully completed. The status code ‘3xx’856is used to signal that a VTTP command has been accepted, but the requested action is being held in abeyance, pending receipt of further information. The status code ‘4xx’858is used to signal that a VTTP command was not accepted due to a client error and the requested action did not take place. The status code ‘5xx’860is used to signal that a VTTP command was not accepted due to a server error and the requested action did not take place. A further embodiment of the invention may be referred to as a VTTP+ protocol. The VTTP+ protocol may be understood to build upon the VTTP protocol, including facilitating transactions from user devices, such as smart phones. Referring now toFIG.17, TCP/IP reference model layers comprised by a VTTP+ protocol1004as part of an application layer1006, is described in more detail. VTTP+1004is an application layer protocol and works alongside Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)1000and VTTP protocol1002and on top of a transport layer1008executing TCP1010and UDP1012protocols, which are in turn on top of an Internet layer1014executing Internet Protocol (IP)1016. While TCP and UDP are specifically recited, all other transport layer protocols as are known in the art are contemplated and included within the scope of the invention, including, but not limited to, SCTP (Stream Controlled Transfer Protocol), and Quick UDP Internet Connections (QUIC). Additionally, while VTTP+ may operate over the Internet, it is contemplated and included within the scope of the invention that VTTP+ may operate over any Wide Area Network (WAN), Local Area Network (LAN), Personal Area Network (PAN), cellular network, and the like. Additionally, any communication medium is contemplated and included within the scope of the invention, including, but not limited to, Ethernet, fiber optical communication, cable communication, wireless communication (including radio, visible light, microwave, and any other electromagnetic transmission) such as IEEE 802.xx standards, and any other telecommunication standard, method, or medium. Moreover VTTP+ may be implemented on devices operating configured to communicate with other devices, i.e., the Internet of Things (IoT). Referring now toFIG.18, components of the VTTP+ protocol are described in more detail. In the current embodiment, VTTP+ works as a request-response protocol based on a client-server architecture, where a VTTP+ client1100sends requests to a VTTP+ Server1110, and the server1110responds to the requests. The VTTP+ clients1100may be available for different platforms and devices such as a desktop client1104, a mobile client1106or an embedded client1108. Users1102send VTTP+ requests to the VTTP+ server1110using VTTP+ clients1100. VTTP+ requests contain VTTP+ commands1124which are processed by the VTTP+ server1110. A VTTP+ server1110may have one or more VTTP+ Workers1112to process VTTP+ requests and execute the VTTP+ commands1124sent by VTTP+ clients1100. The VTTP+ server1110may provide a VTTP+ API1114that allows the participating blockchain networks1118, participating fiat banks1120and participating fiat wallets1122to use VTTP+ protocol for exchange of value1126,1128,1130. The VTTP+ protocol supports the following types of transactions:VTTP+ supports exchange of fiat currency (in fiat bank accounts and fiat wallet apps) with tokens on blockchain networks;Fiat value transfer between fiat accounts of participating fiat banks;Fiat value transfer between wallet accounts of participating fiat wallets;Fiat value transfer between fiat accounts of participating fiat banks and accounts of participating fiat wallets;VTTP+ allows retrieving information on accounts, balances, and transactions for all participating fiat bank accounts and fiat wallets; andVTTP+ allows retrieving information on accounts, balances, contracts, transactions for all participating blockchain networks. A separate blockchain network1116may be used for user identity and access management. The identity information of each user may be maintained on a separate blockchain network. An identity verification and certification procedure is performed for securely linking blockchain accounts to real users. The identity (and associated blockchain accounts) of each user may be separately verified through an identity verification process. A system and associated methods for securely linking blockchain accounts to real users, as described in related U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/863,128 titled Method and System for Blockchain-Based Combined Identity, Ownership and Custody Management filed Jan. 5, 2018, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference except to the extent disclosure therein is inconsistent with disclosure herein. A user identity registration and certification procedure may be performed, comprising receiving hashed user identification information that has been signed with a private key of the user from the user, defining a seal contract, generating an address of the seal contract, defined as a sealed user record address, and providing the sealed user record address. The procedure may further comprise receiving a hashed verification record from a certificate authority, generating an address of a verification contract from the hashed verification record, defined as a sealed verification record address and providing the sealed verification record address. Furthermore, the procedure may further comprise generating a certification contract from a combination of the sealed user record address, a certification token, and the sealed verification record address, providing a certification contract address, receiving a verification record by a certification authority comprising the hashed user identification information and a token, and receiving a combination of the certification contract address and the seal contract, defining a received certification contract address and a received seal contract, respectively. Additionally, the procedure may further comprise obtaining each of the sealed user record address and the sealed verification record address from the certification contract address, retrieving the seal contract from the sealed user record address, defining a retrieved seal contract, decrypting the retrieved seal contract using a public key associated with the user, defining a decrypted retrieved seal contract, and comparing the decrypted retrieved seal contract and the received seal contract. Yet further, the procedure may comprise retrieving the verification contract from the sealed verification record address, defining a retrieved verification contract, obtaining a certification token from the certification contract address, generating a hashed confirming verification record by hashing the combination of the decrypted retrieved seal contract and the certification token, and comparing the hashed confirming verification record to the retrieved verification contract. Upon a comparison of the decrypted retrieved seal contract and the received seal contract indicating they are at least a partial match and the comparison of the hashed confirming verification record to the retrieved verification contract indicating they are at least a partial match, a session certification token for a decentralized application may be generated. Finally, the procedure may comprise transmitting the session certification token to the user. Referring now toFIG.19, a VTTP+ client-server model is described in more detail. In the client-server model, VTTP+ works as a request-response protocol based on a client-server architecture, where users1206,1200,1202use VTTP+ clients1208,1209,1212to send requests1214,1204,1216to a VTTP+ server1210, and the server1210responds to the requests. The server1210processes the VTTP+ requests1214,1204,1216and generates and sends transactions1218,1220,1222to participating blockchain networks1224, participating fiat banks1226and participating fiat wallets1228, to execute a value transfer. Referring now toFIG.20, a VTTP+ peer-to-peer model is described in more detail. In the peer-to-peer model, VTTP+ works as a peer-to-peer protocol where VTTP+ peers1302,1314,1318,1326operated by respective users1300,1306,1320,1330communicate1308,1312,1328directly with their peers. A VTTP+ coordinator1316may be used for coordinating1310the communication between peers. VTTP+ peers1302,1314,1318,1326generate and send transactions1304,1322,1324,1332,1340,1342to participating blockchain networks1334, participating fiat banks1336and participating fiat wallets1338, to execute a value transfer. Referring now toFIG.21, a VTTP+ intra-entity value transfer process is described in more detail. The VTTP+ intra-entity value transfer process enables transfer of cryptocurrency, tokens or fiat currency from one account to another account on the same entity (such as a participating blockchain network, participating fiat bank or participating fiat wallet). In the present embodiment, an intra-chain value transfer request may comprise a User A1400wanting to transfer certain units of a cryptocurrency, tokens or fiat currency from an account on an entity1424(participating blockchain network, participating fiat bank or participating fiat wallet) to the account of another User B1402on the same entity1424. At step11404, User A1400initiates value transfer request to send cryptocurrency, tokens or fiat currency to User B1402(e.g. to send 1 ETH from User A to User B, or $1 from user A to user B). At step21410, a VTTP+ client1406associated with User A1400sends a VTTP+ SEND request to the VTTP+ server1420. At step31412, the VTTP+ server1420generates a raw transaction and returns the same in a SEND response to the VTTP+ client1406for User A1400. At step41414, User A1400signs the raw transaction with a private key comprised by the VTTP+ client1406and the VTTP+ client1406sends the VTTP+ SIGN transaction to the VTTP+ server1420. At step51422, the VTTP+ server1420verifies the signature and broadcasts the transaction to the entity1424. At step61416, User A1400receives a value transfer notification via the VTTP+ client1406. At step71418, User B1402receives a value transfer notification via a VTTP+ client1408associated with User B1402. Referring now toFIG.22, a VTTP+ inter-entity value transfer process is described in more detail. The VTTP+ inter-entity value transfer process enables transfer of cryptocurrency, tokens or fiat currency from an account on an entity (such as a participating blockchain network, participating fiat bank or participating fiat wallet) to another account on a different entity. At step11502, a User A1500initiates an inter-entity value transfer request to a User B1504(e.g. to send 1 ETH from user A to user B who receives the value in equivalent number of USD). At step21510, a VTTP+ client1506associated with User A1500sends a VTTP+ SEND request to a VTTP+ server1520. At step31512, the VTTP+ server1520generates a raw transaction and returns the same in a SEND response to the VTTP+ client1506. At step41514, User A1500signs the raw transaction with a private key comprised by the CTTP+ client1506and the VTTP+ client1506sends the VTTP+ SIGN transaction to the VTTP+ server1520. At step51528, the VTTP+ server1520verifies the signature and broadcasts the transaction to the entity-11532. At step61522, when the value transfer from an account associated with User A1500on entity-11532to a Vault account on entity-11532is confirmed, the cryptocurrency, tokens or fiat currency are sent to a Cryptocurrency/Token/Fiat Exchange account1526. At step71524, cyptocurrency, tokens or fiat currency are exchanged. At step81530, the exchanged cyptocurrency, tokens or fiat currency are sent to an account associated with User B1504on entity-21534. At step91516, User A1500receives a value transfer notification via the VTTP+ client1506. At step101518, User B1504receives a value transfer notification via a VTTP+ client1508associated with User B1504. Referring now toFIG.23, an exemplary VTTP+ server architecture, is described in more detail. A VTTP+ server1600may have one or more VTTP+ Workers1602that are individual services to process VTTP+ requests and execute the VTTP+ commands sent by VTTP+ clients. The VTTP+ server1600may further comprise a VTTP+ API1616that allows the participating blockchain networks1628, participating fiat banks1630and participating fiat wallets1632to use VTTP+ protocol for exchange of value. A separate blockchain network1634may be positioned in communication1620with the VTTP+ server1600and used for user identity and access management. The VTTP+ server1600may further comprise additional services, such as a User Identity & Access Management Service1612, an Authentication & Authorization Service1608, and an Analytics & Reporting Service1614. The VTTP+ server750may further comprise inter- and intra-entity messaging services1610and connectors for databases, cloud services, fiat bank networks, fiat wallet networks & blockchain networks1618. A transactions filter1604may be comprised by the server1600for filtering transactions. The server1600may use various Smart Contracts1606to bolster security. These smart contracts1606may be executed for each VTTP+ request and perform additional verification (such as verifying sender and receiver's address). The smart contracts may enforce checks such as time limits or quantity restrictions. Some smart contracts may perform functions similar to virus filters, for filtering out suspicious transactions. New smart contracts can be distributed to VTTP+ servers in a manner similar to virus updates. Referring now toFIG.24, an exemplary VTTP+ reference architecture is described in more detail. Users1700may use VTTP+ clients1702,1704to communicate with VTTP+ servers1710,1712,1714through an API gateway1706. The VTTP+ servers1710,1712,1714sit under a load balancer1708and expose a number API endpoints. The API gateway1706makes these APIs available to the VTTP+ clients1702,1704. Each API has an endpoint (for example, vttps://example.com/ethereum) and a set of VTTP+ methods or commands which are supported for the endpoint (such as GET, SEND, REQUEST, etc.). The API gateway1706may use an API key to enable authentication for APIs. The API gateway1706may also perform additional functions such as logging each API request and rate-limiting of requests. A separate relational (SQL) or non-relational (NoSQL) database1728may be used to store data such as user credentials and application specific data. Each VTTP+ server1710,1712,1714is connected to all participating blockchain networks1730, participating fiat banks1732and participating fiat wallets1734. Referring now toFIG.25, an illustration of an exemplary scenario of value transfer between two networks which use common universal tether tokens is described in more detail. A first blockchain network XX1800uses an in-network token xx1804and a tether token1808, where the in-network token xx1804can be exchanged1806for the tether token1808. A second blockchain network YY1802uses an in-network token yy1814and a tether token1810, where the in-network token yy1814can be exchanged1812for the tether token1810. The tether tokens1808and1810used in the two networks1800and1802is the same. The common tether token1808,1810may be tethered to a stable fiat currency like USD which is external to blockchain networks XX and YY1800,1802. Current cryptocurrency exchanges use a tether token such as USD Tether (USDT) and a user can sell any cryptocurrency/token and convert to USDT and then use it to get any other cryptocurrency/token on the same exchange. However, current cryptocurrency exchanges don't allow transfer of the tether token (such as USDT) from one exchange to another. A user can sell a cryptocurrency/token (such as BTC) on a first exchange to get USDT but the user cannot transfer USDT to a second exchange to buy another cryptocurrency/token (such as ETH). The use of a common tether token and VTTP/VTTP+ enables exchange of tokens1816between different token networks. The cost per in-network token transaction is very low (near zero), and conversion of tether to fiat is only done infrequently based on a time period or a certain number of transactions. Referring now toFIG.26, an illustration of an exemplary scenario of value transfer between two networks which use different tether tokens, is described in more detail. A first blockchain network XX1900uses an in-network token xx1904and a tether token1908, where the in-network token xx1904can be exchanged1906for the tether token1908. A second blockchain network YY1902uses an in-network token yy1914and a tether token1910, where the in-network token yy1914can be exchanged1912for the tether token1910. The tether tokens1908and1910used in the two networks1900and1902are different. The use of different tether tokens and VTTP/VTTP+ enables exchange of tokens between different token networks. This different tether token approach may be beneficial where the blockchain networks XX and YY1900,1902operate in different countries and national governments require local tether tokens so that money can't leave the borders to provide local guarantees for safety of consumers. Accordingly, in some embodiments, tether token1908may be tethered to a first fiat currency and tether token1910may be tethered to a second fiat currency different from the first fiat currency. Moreover, as a result of tether token1910being tethered to a second fiat currency, the value of the tether token1910may be expressed in terms of the first fiat currency that is proportionate to the conversion ratio between the first and second fiat currencies. In the present example, the tether token1910has a conversion ratio of 0.5 per 1 USD. The cost per in-network token transaction is very low (near zero), and conversion of tether to fiat is only done infrequently based on a time period or a certain number of transactions. Referring now toFIG.27, an illustration of an exemplary scenario of aggregation of in-network tokens is described in more detail. In the embodiment shown inFIG.27, there are four users. The present embodiment describes individual in-network transactions between users. The users Tom, Mary, Joe, and Jerry may each have user account addresses on a blockchain network that uses the in-network tokens. A plurality of transaction requests may be received, with each transaction action comprising a sending user account address, a receiving user account address, and a transaction value expressed in terms of a quantity of in-network tokens. The transactions may each have an associated transaction request smart contract recorded to the blockchain network, defining a plurality of transaction request smart contracts.FIG.27depicts the transactions with receiving user account addresses2000,2002,2004,2006and sending user account addresses2008,2010,2012,2014for the users. A first transaction request2020may comprise Joe2012as the sending user account address, Tom2000as the receiving user account address, and a transaction amount of three in-network. A second transaction request2022may comprise Joe2012as the sending user account address, Mary2002as the receiving user account address, and a transaction amount of 6 in-network tokens. A third transaction request2024may comprise Tom2008as the sending user account address, Mary2002as the receiving user account address, and a transaction amount of four in-network tokens. A fourth transaction request2026may comprise Jerry2014as the sending user account address, Joe2004as the receiving user account address, and a transaction amount of 7 in-network tokens. A fifth transaction request2028may comprise Joe2012as the sending user account address, Jerry2006as the receiving user account address, and a transaction amount of 9 in-network tokens.. Each user's aggregation account values are calculated in tethered tokens as shown, for instance, with Joe having a net debit of 11 in-network tokens that is converted to a value of 5.5 negative (or debited) tethered tokens, based on a conversion ratio of 2 in-network tokens for one tethered token). Determination of aggregation account value results in some user account addresses having a net credit, defining a credit user account address, and other user account addresses having a net debit, defining debit user account addresses. The aggregation of transactions may be recorded to an aggregate transaction record. Such a record may be recorded in a smart contract on the blockchain network. In some embodiments, the aggregate transaction record smart contract may comprise an address for each smart contract associated with the plurality of transaction requests. Prior to processing each transaction request, a balance check procedure may be performed do determine if each user account has a present permitted transaction amount that is sufficient to cover a debit of tokens as indicated in the transaction request. If there is a present permitted transaction amount of 15 in-network tokens for Joe, he is still allowed to “spend” 18 in-network tokens since he is credited 7 tokens from Jerry, bringing his update permitted transaction amount to 11 at the time the entire set of in-network tokens is synchronized into tethered tokens as an aggregated batch. The execution of the net transaction amount may occur upon reaching an aggregation threshold, that may be based on time, such a predefined length of time since a previous net transaction execution, value periods, a gross transaction amount (i.e. the total value of each transaction), or a risk tolerance based upon at least one of the conversion ratio, the net transactions, the present permitted transaction amount of one, some, or all of the user account addresses, or combinations thereof. The net transaction may be recorded to a net transaction smart contract on the blockchain network. Further, should there be tax or other implications for certain individual in-network transactions, or transaction costs, smart contracts will calculate taxes and/or transaction costs for individual in-network transactions and store them on the blockchain for retrieval and analysis. The VTTP services can monitor dynamic behavior of the users and the transactions and collection statistical data that may be used to adjust the period over which aggregation may take place, or its frequency based on the volume of the transactions and their relative amounts in a manner to minimize transaction costs (primarily through conversions to fiat currency, if any). Further transaction limits in terms of amounts of tokens permitted for each user may also be based on the statistics collected to ensure that risk is minimized. These analytics functionalities may assist the operators of the exchanges and VTTP services to maximize throughput and efficiency while minimizing risk and improving their cost and revenues. In some embodiments, where a sending user account address is determined to not have a present permitted transaction amount greater than a transaction amount of a transaction request, the transaction request may be re-processed, including a redetermination of if the transaction value is greater than the present permitted transaction amount of the sending user account address after at least one of a first time interval and an intervening transaction including the sending user account address. Such re-processing may be defined as a transaction retry. There may be one or more transaction retry attempts. In some embodiments, there may be a limit to transaction retry attempts based on a fixed number of attempts or a second time interval measured from the original transaction request or the first transaction retry attempt. Referring now toFIG.28, an illustration of an exemplary scenario of aggregation of transactions across two token networks, is described in more detail. As noted inFIG.28, in this embodiment there are five users, where the fifth user belongs to a second and different blockchain network that has a different second tethered token. A transaction request2070comprising Mary2062as the sending user account address and user Alexis2058as the receiving user account address on the second blockchain ratio, and a transaction amount of 12 first in-network tokens. An amount of first in-network tokens equal in value to the net credit to Alexis2058, defining a net credit value, may be exchanged for an amount of first tethered tokens having a value equal to the net credit value. The first tethered tokens resulting from this exchange may be comprised by a first tethered token transfer record that may be recorded to the first blockchain network. A transaction of sending the tokens comprised by the first tethered token transfer record to a tethered token exchange may be recorded to the first blockchain network, similar to the procedure shown inFIG.22. The first tethered tokens may be exchanged for an amount of second tethered tokens having a value equal to the net credit value. The second tethered coins resulting from the exchange may be comprised by a second tethered token transfer record. A transaction of receiving the tokens comprised by the second tethered token transfer record at the second blockchain network from the tethered token exchange may be recorded to the second blockchain network. Subsequently, the tokens comprised by the second tethered token transfer record may be exchanged on the second blockchain network for an amount of second in-network tokens having a value equal to the net credit value. The second in-network tokens resulting from this exchange may be defined as a second blockchain network deposit. The tokens of the second blockchain network deposit may then be deposited to the user account address on the second blockchain network associated with Alexis. The conversion ratio of the first tethered token in the first blockchain network to a second tethered token in a second blockchain network in the present embodiment is two to one. As noted, for user Alexis2058on the second blockchain network, there is a credit to her account of 3 second tethered tokens. assuming a ratio of 2 first tethered tokens of the first blockchain network being exchanged for one second tethered token on the second blockchain network. Accordingly, the first in-network token may have a first exchange rate with the first tethered token, the second in-network token may have a second exchange rate with the second tethered token, and the first tethered token may have a third exchange rate with the second tethered token. In some embodiments, where a transaction request requires a conversion between two tethered tokens that are tethered to different fiat currencies, the present permitted transaction amount may be updated to reflect additional risk in the transaction resulting from the multiple exchange rates involved. FIG.29shows an illustration of the result of an exemplary scenario of aggregation of transactions across two token networks in terms of the tethered tokens after suitable conversions. One may also consider embodiments that may modify the way the aggregation is done within the network and across the network, for instance, by operating on in-network tokens themselves, as opposed to converting to tethered tokens, should the business context be suitable for elimination of tethered tokens. The claims will determine the scope of our inventions, which may cover one or more of the embodiments discussed. Some of the illustrative aspects of the present invention may be advantageous in solving the problems herein described and other problems not discussed which are discoverable by a skilled artisan. While the above description contains much specificity, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any embodiment, but as exemplifications of the presented embodiments thereof. Many other ramifications and variations are possible within the teachings of the various embodiments. While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best or only mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. Also, in the drawings and the description, there have been disclosed exemplary embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms may have been employed, they are unless otherwise stated used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention therefore not being so limited. Moreover, the use of the terms first, second, etc. do not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms first, second, etc. are used to distinguish one element from another. Furthermore, the use of the terms a, an, etc. do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, and not by the examples given. The claims in the instant application are different than those of the parent application or other related applications. Applicant therefore rescinds any disclaimer of claim scope made in the parent application or any predecessor application in relation to the instant application. Any such previous disclaimer and the cited references that it was made to avoid, may need to be revisited. Further, any disclaimer made in the instant application should not be read into or against the parent application. | 57,363 |
11861610 | Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are best understood by referring to the detailed description that follows. It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, wherein showings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of the present disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems and methods for authentication via a public ledger to access, for example, a financial account, a website, and/or any other secure system known in the art. The public ledger may be dedicated for authentication (e.g., an “authentication public ledger), or may be provided as part of a crypto currency public ledger, to allow for the authentication of users to secure systems by a system provider. The public ledger authentication described herein includes an registration method in which each of a user and a system provider perform a common hash operation on user identification information (e.g., a user name, a user address, a user phone number, a user date of birth, a user social security number, etc.) to generate respective first and second static user keys. The system provider may identify a first registration public ledger address to the user, the user may identify a second registration public ledger address to the system provider, and the user may then subsequently send the first static user key to the first registration ledger address from the second registration public ledger address in a transaction in the public ledger. The system provider may then access that registration ledger address via the public ledger (using the identifications of the first and second registration ledger addresses to reference the public ledger) to retrieve the first static user key and register the user with the system if the first static user key matches the second static user key generated by the system provider. The first static user key in the public ledger then becomes a verified static user key in the public ledger that may be used for subsequent authentication of the user, and the system provider may erase or otherwise discard the user identification information and the second static user key. Following registration, the user may authenticate to the secure system in an authentication method by sending the system provider a first previous authentication public ledger address that was used in a previous authentication attempt and a first current authentication public ledger address for use in the current authentication attempt. The system provider may use the first previous authentication public ledger address to access a database that identifies previous authentication public ledger addresses used by the user in previous authentication attempts and allows for the determination of a number of previous authentication attempts by the user, and identify the verified static user key in the public ledger. The system provider may then perform a hash operation using the number of previous authentication attempts and the verified static user key to generate a first user authentication key. The system provider then provides the user a second current authentication public ledger address for use in the current authentication attempt. The user may also perform the hash operation using the number of previous authentication attempts and the verified static user key (both of which may be stored by the user in a transaction wallet) to generate a second user authentication key, and send the second user authentication key from the first current authentication public ledger address to the second current authentication public ledger address in a transaction on the public ledger. The system provider may then check the transaction sent from the first current authentication public ledger address to the second current authentication public ledger address in the public ledger to retrieve the second user authentication key and authenticate the user with the system if the second user authentication key matches the first user authentication key generated by the system provider. Referring now toFIGS.1A,1B,2, and3, a method100for providing public ledger authentication is illustrated. In the illustrated embodiment, the method100includes a registration sub-method100A and an authentication sub-method100B. In some embodiments of the method100described below, one or more system provider devices may operate to perform or enable the method100. For example, a distributed group of devices may operate to maintain the public ledger discussed below by creating (a.k.a., “mining”) a distributed crypto currency, processing transactions involving the distributed crypto currency, and/or otherwise performing actions that provide the public ledger utilized in the method100as detailed below. In a specific example, a payment service provider such as, for example, PayPal, Inc. of San Jose, Calif., may utilize a payment service provider device to perform the method100discussed below, and in some embodiments may operate in cooperation with one or more other system providers (via their system provider devices), payees (via their payee devices), payers (via their payer devices), and/or users (via their user devices) to perform the method100discussed below. However, these embodiments are meant to be merely exemplary, and one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize that a wide variety of system providers may operate, alone or together, to provide the systems and methods discussed herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Referring now toFIG.2, an embodiment of an electronic coin200is illustrated and described briefly for reference to the public ledger used in some embodiments of the method100discussed below. In those embodiments, a crypto currency system associated with the present disclosure defines an electronic coin as a chain of digital signatures provided by previous owners of the electronic coin to subsequent owners of the electronic coin. In the illustrated embodiment, the electronic coin200is owned by an owner202, andFIG.2illustrates how the electronic coin200is defined by the digital signatures of the previous owners204,206, and208. Specifically, in transaction A, a hash of the public key of owner206(i.e., the owner receiving, as a result of transaction A, an electronic coin2001defined by digital signatures provided up to transaction A) and the previous transaction (not illustrated, but occurring prior to transaction A) was signed by owner208(i.e., the owner providing, as a result of transaction A, the electronic coin2001defined by digital signatures provided up to transaction A) and added to an initial electronic coin (which was defined by digital signatures provided up to the transaction prior to transaction A) such that the electronic coin2001was transferred to owner206. Similarly, in transaction B, a hash of the public key of owner204(i.e., the owner receiving, as a result of transaction B, an electronic coin2002defined by digital signatures provided up to transaction B) and transaction A was signed by owner206and added to the electronic coin2001such that the electronic coin2002was transferred to owner204. Similarly, in transaction C, a hash of the public key of owner202(i.e., the owner receiving, as a result of transaction C, the electronic coin200defined by digital signatures provided up to transaction C) and the transaction B was signed by owner204and added to the electronic coin2002such that the electronic coin200was transferred to owner202. As is understood in the art, any payee receiving an electronic coin (e.g., owner206in transaction A, owner204in transaction B, and owner202in transaction C) can verify the signatures to verify the chain of ownership of the electronic coin. In the discussion below, it should be understood that the term “electronic coins” is used to encompass any amount of electronic coins, and in the embodiments discussed below will typically be small fractions of a coin (e.g., 0.00000001 electronic coins) or some amount of a coin with relatively low value. Referring now toFIG.3, an embodiment of a crypto currency public ledger300is illustrated and described briefly for reference to the public ledger used in some embodiments of the method100discussed below. Conventionally, the crypto currency public ledger300operates to verify that payers transferring an electronic coin (e.g., referring back toFIG.2, owner206in transaction A, owner204in transaction B, and owner202in transaction C) did not “double-spend” (e.g., sign any previous transactions involving) that electronic coin. To produce the crypto currency public ledger300, a distributed network of devices operates to agree on a single history of transactions in the order in which they were received such that it may be determined that a transaction between a payer and a payee using an electronic coin is the first transaction associated with that electronic coin. Each device in the distributed network operates collect new transactions into a block, and then to increment a proof-of work system that includes determining a value that when hashed with the block provides a required number of zero bits. For example, for a block302that includes a plurality of transactions302a,302b, and up to302c, a device in the distributed network may increment a nonce in the block302until a value is found that gives a hash of the block302the required number of zero bits. The device may then “chain” the block302to the previous block304(which may have been “chained” to a previous block, not illustrated, in the same manner) that includes a plurality of transactions304a,304b, and up to304c. When devices in the distributed network find the proof-of-work for a block, that block (e.g., block302) is broadcast to the distributed network, and other devices in the distributed network will accept that block if all the transactions in it are valid and not already spent (which may be determined by creating the next block using the hash of the accepted block302). The distributed network will always consider the longest chain of blocks to be the correct one, and will operate to continue to extend it. If a device receives two different versions of a block, it will work on the first block received, but save the second block received in case the branch of the chain that includes the second block becomes longer (at which point that device will switch to working on the branch of the chain that includes the second block). Conventionally, the electronic coin(s)200and crypto currency public ledger300discussed above provide a distributed crypto currency system in which payers and payees may participate in transactions with each other using the electronic coins discussed above and without the need for a centralized authority such as a bank. Each of those transactions is recorded in the crypto currency public ledger to ensure that the electronic coins may only be spent by a payer once. It has been discovered that the electronic coin(s)200and crypto currency public ledger300may be utilized in an authentication process that is detailed below. However, while discussed mainly in terms of the electronic coin(s)200and crypto currency public ledger300detailed above, other embodiments of the present disclosure envision authentication tokens (which are substantially similar to the electronic coin200discussed above) and an authentication public ledger (which is substantially similar to the crypto currency public ledger300discussed above) that need not be associated with crypto currencies or the electronic “coins” discussed above. As such, as discussed below, the electronic coin200may be replaced by a substantially similar authentication token that may be used to perform authentication transactions on the authentication public ledger that do not necessarily involve the transfer of value between users. Referring now toFIG.4, an embodiment of a public ledger authentication system400is illustrated and described briefly for reference in the method100discussed below. The public ledger authentication system400associated with the present disclosure may provide the public ledger discussed below as the crypto currency public ledger300discussed above inFIG.3that is part of a crypto currency system, as a dedicated authentication public ledger that need not necessarily be associated with a crypto currency system, or in other manners that would be apparent to one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure. For example, one or more system provider devices402and/or a public ledger devices404coupled together through a network406may operate to agree on a single history of transactions (e.g., crypto currency transactions, authentication transactions, etc.) in a public ledger408that may be stored on respective transaction databases402aand404athat are accessible by those system provider device(s)402and/or a public ledger device(s)404(e.g., each device may store its own copy of the public ledger). As discussed below, a user device410connected to the network406may then perform registration and authentication with the system provider device(s)402. In a specific example, for a block (e.g., similar to the blocks302and304discussed above with reference toFIG.3) that includes a plurality of transaction (e.g., crypto currency transactions, authentication transactions, etc.), any of the system provider device(s)402and/or the public ledger device(s)404may increment a nonce in that block until a value is found that gives a hash of that block the required number of zero bits. The device may then “chain” that block to the previous block (which may have been “chained” to a previous block in the same manner). When the system provider device(s)402and/or the public ledger device(s)404find the proof-of-work for a block, that block may be broadcast to the distributed network (e.g., system provider device(s)402and/or the public ledger device(s)404), and that block will be accepted if all the transactions in it are valid (which may be determined by creating the next block using the hash of the accepted block). The system provider device(s)402and/or the public ledger device(s)404will always consider the longest chain of blocks to be the correct one, and will operate to continue to extend it. If any of the system provider device(s)402and/or the public ledger device(s)404receives two different versions of a block, they will work on the first block received, but save the second block received in case the branch of the chain that includes the second block becomes longer (at which point that device with switch to working on the branch of the chain that includes the second block). As such, in some embodiments, the registration transactions and authentication attempt transactions performed in the public ledger authentication system400as discussed herein may be recorded and published in the public ledger408as part of the crypto currency transactions performed in a distributed crypto currency system (e.g., a Bitcoin system), or in a substantially similar manner in a dedicated public ledger authentication system. As discussed above, in some examples of those embodiments, the creation and monitoring of the public ledger may be performed by a distributed network of computing systems operating to provide a crypto currency system or a dedicated public ledger authentication system. In other embodiments, the creation and monitoring of the public ledger408may be performed by a central authority such as the system provider discussed below. As such, the transactions recorded in the public ledger408may not be created and monitored like a distributed crypto currency, but rather may be recorded and tracked by the system provider device(s)402without necessarily including the public keys, signatures, and/or private keys utilized in tracking the transactions in a distributed crypto currency system. As such, a wide variety of variation in the manner in which transactions are reported, recorded, and published in the public ledger408of the public ledger authentication system400are envisioned as falling within the scope of the present disclosure. Referring now toFIG.5, an embodiment of a user device500is illustrated that may be the user device410discussed above, and which may be provided by a desktop computing system, a laptop/notebook computing system, a tablet computing system, a mobile phone, and/or other user devices known in the art. In the illustrated embodiment, the user device500includes a chassis502that houses the components of the user device500, only some of which are illustrated inFIG.5. For example, the chassis502may house a processing system (not illustrated) and a non-transitory memory system (not illustrated) that includes instructions that, when executed by the processing system, cause the processing system to provide an application engine504for is configured to perform the functions of the applications and user devices discussed below. In a specific example, the application engine504is configured to provide an internet browser application504aand the transaction wallet application504bdiscussed below, although one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize that other applications and computing device functionality may be enabled by the application engine504as well. The chassis502may also house a communication system506that is coupled to the application engine504(e.g., via a coupling between the communication system506and the processing system) and configured to provide for communication through the network406as detailed below. In some embodiments, the system provider device(s)402may provide the transaction wallet application504bthrough the network to the user device500prior to or during the method100(e.g., in order to perform the registration sub-method100A). However, in other embodiments, the transaction wallet application504bmay be provided on the user device500by the user separately from the method100. For example, the transaction wallet application504bmay be utilized with a crypto currency system as discussed above to perform crypto currency transactions. As such, the transaction wallet application504bmay be a dedicated authentication transaction wallet application, a crypto currency transaction wallet application that has be “repurposed” for use in public ledger authentication, or other public ledger wallets known in the art. Referring now toFIG.1A, the registration sub-method100A begins at block102where a system provider device receives and stores user identification information from a user device. In some embodiments, the registration sub-method100A may be performed by a user of the user device410upon initial registration with the system provided by the system provider device(s)402(or utilizing the public ledger authentication system provided by the system provider device(s)402). However, in other embodiments, the registration sub-method100A may be performed by a user of the user device410that has previously registered with the system provided by the system provider devices402(or utilizing the public ledger authentication system provided by the system provider device(s)402) in order to subsequently authenticate with that system. At block102, the user device410may provide the system provider device(s)402a variety of user identification information such as, for example, a name of the user, an address of the user, a phone number of the user, a date of birth of the user, a social security number of the user, and/or any other identifier that may be utilized to identify the user. For example, the user identification information may be received via a secure data transfer using a user identification information web page provided by the system provider device(s)402through the network406to the user device410. However, in another example, the user identification information may have been previously collected from the user device410or via other means by the system provider device(s)402. At block102, the system provider device(s)402may store that user identification information in one or more databases that are accessible to the system provider device(s)402. The method100A may then proceed to block104where the system provider device generates a first user static key using the user identification information, and stores the first user static key. In an embodiment, at block104the system provider device(s)402may use a hash function to perform a hash operation on the user identification information received from the user and stored at block102in order to generate a first user static key, and store that first user static key in one or more databases that are accessible to the system provider device(s)402. As discussed below, the hash operation may be performed by the system provider device(s)402using the hash function that is shared with the user device410so that the user may generate a second static user key using their user identification information that is identical to the first user static key if that user is an authorized user that both 1) knows the user identification information, and 2) has received the correct hash function from the system provider. For example, the system provider device(s)402may provide or identify the hash function to the user device410/500through the network406, and the user device410/500may store that hash function (or the identity/location of that hash function) in the transaction wallet application504b. The registration sub-method100A then proceeds to block105where the system provider device sends a first registration public ledger address to the user device. In an embodiment, at block105the system provider device(s)402may send a first registration public ledger address through the network406to the user device410. For example, at block105, the system provider device(s)402may identify a “to” address in the public ledger408(i.e., an address in the public ledger300that is controlled by the system provider device(s)402) as a first registration public ledger address, and send that first registration public ledger address through the network406to the user device410. In an embodiment, the transmission of the first registration public ledger address may be performed via a secure data transfer. For example, the transmission of the first registration public ledger address may be performed by the system provider device(s)402over a secure data channel, the system provider device(s)402may encrypt the first registration public ledger address before its transmission, and/or a variety of other secure data transfer methods may be performed at block105to ensure that the first registration public ledger address cannot be intercepted in a manner that discloses that first registration public ledger address to entities other than the user. The registration sub-method100A then proceeds to block106where the system provider device receives a second registration public ledger address from the user device. In an embodiment, at block106the user device410may send a second registration public ledger address through the network406to the system provider device(s)402. For example, at block106, the transaction wallet application504bin the user device410/500may identify a “from” address in the public ledger408(i.e., an address in the public ledger300that is associated with electronic coin(s)200and/or authentication tokens that are controlled by the transaction wallet application504b) as a second registration public ledger address, and send that second registration public ledger address through the network406to the system provider device(s)402. In an embodiment, the transmission of the second registration public ledger address may be performed via a secure data transfer. For example, the transmission of the second registration public ledger address may be performed by the transaction wallet application504bover a secure data channel, the transaction wallet application504bmay encrypt the second registration public ledger address before its transmission, and/or a variety of other secure data transfer methods may be performed at block106to ensure that the second registration public ledger address cannot be intercepted in a manner that discloses that second registration public ledger address to entities other than the system provider. The registration sub-method100A then proceeds to block108where the system provider device retrieves a second user static key sent to the first registration public ledger address from the second registration public ledger address in a transaction in the public ledger. In an embodiment, following block106, the user device410may generate the second static user key using the hash function (received or identified by the system provider device(s)402) and the user identification information discussed above. The user device410may then send that second static user key to the first registration public ledger address from the second registration public ledger address in a transaction in the public ledger408. For example, the transaction wallet application504bin the user device410/500may generate the second user static key as discussed above and include it in a metadata field of a transaction in the public ledger408that is sent to the first registration public ledger address from the second registration public ledger address. In some embodiments, the transaction at block108may be a crypto currency transaction that sends an amount of crypto currency (e.g., 1 satoshi in a Bitcoin transaction that is worth fractions of cent) to the first registration public ledger address from the second registration public ledger address, and that includes the second static user key in metadata provided with the transaction. In other embodiments, the transaction at block108may send an authentication token to the first registration public ledger address from the second registration public ledger address, and that includes the second static user key in metadata provided with the transaction. At block108, the system provider device(s)402may retrieve the second user static key sent to the first registration public ledger address from the second registration public address in the transaction in the public ledger408by accessing the public ledger408and using the first and second registration public ledger addresses to identify the transaction that includes the second static user key in its metadata, and then retrieving the second static user key from that transaction. In the event that no static user key is included in the transaction sent to the first registration public ledger address from the second registration public ledger address, the registration sub-method100A may end and the user may not be registered with the system. As such, the secure data transfer of the first and second registration public ledger addresses between the user device410and the system provider device(s)402ensures the system provider device(s)402that a subsequent static user key retrieved in a transaction to the first registration public ledger address and from the second registration public ledger address was provided by the user. The registration sub-method100A then proceeds to block110where the system provider device verifies the second static user key using the first static user key to provide a verified static user key in the public ledger. In an embodiment, the system provider device(s)402may compare the second static user key that was retrieved from the public ledger408at block108with the first static user key that was generated by the system provider device(s)402and stored at block104to determine whether they match. In the event the second static user key retrieved from the public ledger408at block108does not match the first static user key generated and stored at block104, the registration sub-method100A may end and the user may not be registered with the system. However, if the second static user key retrieved from the public ledger408at block108matches the first static user key generated and stored at block104, the second static user key that is included in the transaction in the public ledger408becomes a verified static user key, and the user is now “registered” with the system and the user may subsequently authenticate using the system as described in detail with reference to the authentication sub-method100B discussed below. The registration sub-method100A then proceeds to block112where the system provider device(s)402discard the user identification information and the first user static key. In an embodiment, at block112the system provider device(s)402may erase, overwrite, or otherwise discard the user identification information and the first static user key that were stored in the at least one database at blocks102and104. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, following verification of the second static user key in the public ledger408to provide the verified static user key, the storage of the user identification information received at block102or the first static user key generated at block104is unnecessary as the system provider may perform the actions discussed below with regard to the authentication sub-method100B to authenticate the user simply using the verified static user key included in the transaction in the public ledger408. Thus, user identification information such as Personally Identifiable Information (PII) does not need to be stored by the system provider device(s)402, and may only reside with the user (e.g., memorized by the user, stored in the transaction wallet application504b, etc.) Referring now toFIGS.1B and6, the method100may then proceed to the authentication sub-method100B.FIG.6illustrates a user device600, which may be the user devices410and/or500discussed above, including a display device602displaying an embodiment of an authentication screen604. In the illustrated embodiment, the authentication screen604includes an Internet browser606(e.g., provided by the Internet browser application504adiscussed above with reference toFIG.5) and a transaction wallet608(e.g., provided by the transaction wallet application504bdiscussed above with reference toFIG.5.) For example, the user may access an authentication web page610that is provided on the Internet browser606and that includes a public ledger sign-in option610athat the user has previously registered for. In response to the user selecting the public ledger sign-in option610a, the transaction wallet608may automatically launch such that it is provided on the authentication screen604adjacent the Internet browser606. However, in other embodiments, the actions performed according to the authentication sub-method100B discussed below may be performed without activation or launching of the Internet browser606and/or the transaction wallet608. For example, in response to loading the authentication page610on the Internet browser, the transaction wallet608may operate in the background (e.g., without launching) to perform the actions discussed with reference to the authentication sub-method100B below. In another example, authentication may occur for a system that is not displayed in an Internet browser, and thus may occur entirely in the background (e.g., without launching the Internet browser606or the transaction wallet608) to perform the actions discussed with reference to the authentication sub-method100B below. As such, a wide variety of authentication scenarios other than those illustrated will benefit from the teachings of the present disclosure and thus are envisioned as falling within its scope. The authentication sub-method100B begins at block114where the system provider device receives a first previous authentication public ledger address and a first current authentication public ledger address from the user device. In an embodiment, at block114the transaction wallet application504bin the user device410/500may retrieve a first previous authentication public ledger address that may be the “from” address that was used in a previous authentication attempt with the public ledger authentication system400. For example, the first previous authentication public ledger address may be the “from” address utilized by the user to perform the most recent authentication with the public ledger authentication system400(e.g., the most recent performance of the authentication sub-method100B prior to the current performance of the authentication sub-method100B). In an embodiment, at block114, the transaction wallet application504bin the user device410/500may also identify a “from” address in the public ledger408(i.e., an address in the public ledger300that is associated with electronic coin(s)200and/or authentication tokens that are controlled by the transaction wallet application504b) as a first current public ledger address that will be used in the authentication attempt discussed in further detail below according to the authentication sub-method100B. At block114, the user device410/500may send the first previous authentication public ledger address and the first current authentication public ledger address through the network406to the system provider device(s)402. In an embodiment, the transmission of the first previous authentication public ledger address and the first current authentication public ledger address may be performed via a secure data transfer. For example, the transmission of first previous authentication public ledger address and the first current authentication public ledger address may be performed by the transaction wallet application504bover a secure data channel, the transaction wallet application504bmay encrypt the first previous authentication public ledger address and the first current authentication public ledger address before transmission, and/or a variety of other secure data transfer methods may be performed at block114to ensure that the first previous authentication public ledger address and the first current authentication public ledger address cannot be intercepted in a manner that discloses first previous authentication public ledger address and the first current authentication public ledger address to entities other than the system provider. The authentication sub-method100B then proceeds to block116where the system provider device uses the first previous authentication public ledger address to access the verified static user key in the public ledger. In an embodiment, the system provider device(s)402may utilize the first previous authentication public ledger address to identify at least one other previous authentication public ledger address, and use that other previous authentication public ledger address to identify the verified static user key in the public ledger408. For example, the system provider device(s)402may include a database that associates each user (including the user of the user device408) with all of the “from” public ledger addresses that have been utilized by that user in previous authentication attempts with the public ledger authentication system400. As such, at block116, the system provider device(s)402may access that database and use the first previous authentication public ledger address to determine the user that previously used that first previous authentication public ledger address in a previous authentication attempt, and then reference the other previous authentication attempt public ledger addresses (including the registration public ledger address) to access the transaction in the public ledger that was performed during the registration method100A and that includes the verified static user key. Furthermore, the system provider device(s)402may store all the previous “to” addresses used in previous authentication transaction by the user. For example, each previous “to” address may be associated in a database with its corresponding “from” address for each of the previous authentication transactions performed to authenticate the user, and at block116the system provider device(s)402may use the “to” and “from” address pairs to access the verified static user key in the public ledger. As such, the system provider device(s) may provide the user device with a different “to” address for each authentication transaction so that each authentication transaction is associated with different “to” and “from” address pairs. The authentication sub-method100B then proceeds to block118where the system provider device provides a second current authentication public ledger address to the user device. In an embodiment, at block118, the system provider device(s)402may identify a “to” address in the public ledger408(i.e., an address in the public ledger300that is associated with electronic coin(s)200and/or authentication tokens that are controlled by the system provider device(s)402) as a second current public ledger address that will be used in the authentication attempt discussed in further detail below, and send that second current authentication public ledger address through the network406to the user device410. In an embodiment, the transmission of the second current authentication public ledger address may be performed via a secure data transfer. For example, the transmission of the second current authentication public ledger address may be performed by the system provider device(s)402over a secure data channel, the system provider device(s)402may encrypt the second current public ledger address before transmission, and/or a variety of other secure data transfer methods may be performed at block118to ensure that the second current authentication public ledger address cannot be intercepted in a manner that discloses second current authentication public ledger address to entities other than the user. The authentication sub-method100B then proceeds to block120where the system provider device determines authentication attempt information. In an embodiment, at block120the system provider device(s)402determines authentication attempt information that may include, for example, a number of previous authentication attempts by the user. For example, using the first previous authentication public ledger address and the database of other previous authentication public ledger addresses used by the user in previous authentication attempts, the system provider device(s) may determine a count the number of previous authentication attempts by the user. In addition, in some embodiments the authentication attempt information may include a date and time for the current authentication attempt. For example, the system provider device(s)402and the transaction wallet application504bin the user device500may synchronize a date and time between each other, and at block120the system provider device(s) may identify a date and time for the current authentication attempt by the user. The authentication sub-method100B then proceeds to block122where the system provider device generates a first user authentication key using the authentication attempt information and the verified static user key. In an embodiment, at block122the system provider device(s)402may use a hash function to generate a first user authentication key by performing a hash operation on the authentication attempt information. For example, the system provider device(s)402may utilize a hash function (which may be shared with the user device410similarly as discussed above for the hash function used in the registration method100A) with the verified static user key that was accessed at block116, along with the number of previously authentication attempts by the user, to generate the first user authentication key. In some specific examples, the hash operation may be performed on the verified static user key, the number of previous authentication attempts by the user, the date and time for the current authentication attempt, and/or other information available to the system provider device(s). The authentication sub-method100B then proceeds to block124where the system provider device retrieves a second user authentication key sent from the first current authentication public ledger address to the second current authentication public ledger address in a transaction in the public ledger. In an embodiment, at block124the user device may generate a second user authentication key using the same hash function that was utilized by the system provider device at block122to generate the first user authentication key, and send that second user authentication key from the first current authentication public ledger address (provided to the system provider device(s)402at block114) to the second current authentication public ledger address (received from the system provider device(s)402at block118) in a transaction on the public ledger408. As such, at block124the transaction wallet application504bin the user device410/500may perform the same hash operation as was performed by the system provider device at block122on the verified static user key (which may be stored in the transaction wallet application504bor accessible by the user device410on the public ledger408), the number of previous access attempts by the user (which may be stored in or accessible by the transaction wallet application504b), and in some examples the date and time of the current authentication attempt (which is synchronized with the system provider device(s)) to generate the second user authentication key. As such, in some embodiments, the user device410may only need to store the “from” address used in the most recent authentication attempt along with a count of the number of authentication attempts to the public ledger authentication system400in order to authenticate to a secure system. The transaction wallet application504bmay then provide the second user authentication key as metadata in a transaction that is sent from the first current authentication public ledger address to the second current authentication public ledger address in a transaction on the public ledger408. As such, at block124, the system provider device(s)402may access that transaction on the public ledger408(i.e., by referencing the first current authentication public ledger address and/or the second current authentication public ledger address, both of which are known to the system provider device(s)402) and retrieve the second user authentication key. The authentication sub-method100B then proceeds to block126where the system provider device authenticates the user if the second user authentication key matches the first user authentication key. In an embodiment, if the system provider device(s)402determine that the second user authentication key retrieved at block124matches the first user authentication key generated at block122, the system provider device(s)402may authenticate the user and allow the user to access the secure system protected by the public ledger authentication system400. However, if the system provider device(s)402determine that the second user authentication key retrieved at block124does not match the first user authentication key generated at block122, the system provider device(s) does not authenticate the user and the user is not allowed to access to the secure system protected by the public ledger authentication system400. Thus, systems and methods have been described that provide for the authentication of a user to the system via a public ledger. The public ledger authentication systems and methods provide for registration and authentication of users using a public ledger in a manner that eliminates the need for the system provider to store user identification information about the user, while only requiring the user to store a previous “from” address used in an authentication attempt, along with the number of authentication attempts that have been made to the system. As such, the public ledger authentication system provides a secure authentication system where the protection of the number of authentication attempts and the addresses used in those authentication attempts prevents unauthorized authentication to the system. A wide variety of systems may be built on top of the authentication systems and methods discussed above to leverage the ability to verify and authenticate users via a public ledger as discussed above. For example, as discussed below, modifications to the authentication sub-method100A discussed above allow for the linking of a “real” identity of a user (e.g., a name, address, phone number, social security number, financial account number, payment account information, and/or other user identity information) with a verified user static key in a public ledger. That linking of the “real” identity to the verified user static key may be leveraged to provide anonymous payments in which a payer can transfer funds to a payee, while the payee may be ensured that the payer has been verified according to a variety of compliance regulations (e.g., Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations, etc.) and thus that the funds from the payer are safe and/or legal to accept. While in the embodiments discussed below, the systems and methods are described as providing for anonymous donations from a donor user to a donee user, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize that the teachings herein may be applied to variety of anonymous payments or fund transfers while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. Referring now toFIG.7, an embodiment of an anonymous payment system700is illustrated and described briefly for reference in the anonymous donation/payment method800discussed below. The anonymous payment system700includes similar components to the public ledger authentication system400described above with reference toFIG.4, and thus those similar components are provided with similar reference numbers. As such, the anonymous payment system700may provide the public ledger discussed herein that is part of a virtual or crypto-currency system, as a dedicated authentication public ledger that need not necessarily be associated with a virtual or crypto-currency system, or in other manners that would be apparent to one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure. Similarly as discussed above, the one or more system provider devices402and/or public ledger device(s)404coupled together through the network406may operate to agree on a single history of transactions (e.g., crypto-currency transactions, authentication transactions, etc.) in the public ledger408that may be stored on the respective transaction databases402aand404athat are accessible by those system provider device(s)402and/or public ledger device(s)404(e.g., each device may store its own copy of the public ledger). As discussed below, a payer device (illustrated as the donor device702inFIG.7) and a payee device (illustrated as the donee device704inFIG.7) are connected to the network406and may perform registration and authentication with the system provider device(s)402as discussed above, as well as the anonymous payment/donation functionality discussed below. With reference back toFIG.1Aand the registration sub-method100A, in some embodiments, blocks102,104,105,106,108, and110of the registration sub-method100A may be performed while block112may be modified. For example, rather than discard the user identification information as discussed above for original block112, the system provider device(s)402may perform a modified block112and operate to store the user identification information received at block102in a database (e.g., similar to the transaction database402a) in association with the verified user static key that was provided in the public ledger at block110. As such, user identity information of users including user names, user addresses, user phone numbers, user social security numbers, user financial account numbers, user payment account information (e.g., payment account access information), and/or other user identity information known in the art, may be associated in a database that is accessible by the system provider device(s)402with the verified user static keys that were created for those users during the registration sub-method100A and stored in the public ledger. In some embodiments of the modified block112discussed above, the system provider device(s)402may operate to perform a regulation verification process such as a KYC process to verify the identity of the user (e.g., using the user identification information). As is known in the art, KYC processes may be performed to ensure that money handling systems are not used by criminal elements for money laundering activities, and may include any or all of: collection and analysis of the user identification information (referred to in the United States regulations and practice as a “Customer Identification Program” or CIP); user name matching against lists of known parties (such as “politically exposed person” or PEP); determination of the customer's risk in terms of propensity to commit money laundering, terrorist finance, or identity theft; creation of an expectation of a customer's transactional behavior (e.g., using access to user payment or financial accounts provided via the user identification information); and monitoring of a customer's transactions against expected behavior and recorded profile as well as that of the customer's peers (e.g., using access to user payment or financial accounts provided via the user identification information). Furthermore, in some embodiments, the system provider may not perform the regulation verification process, but rather may communicate with a third party that has done so in order to regulation verify a user. For example, some donor users may be verified or pre-verified (e.g., prior to requesting a donation to a donee) by a third party system and the system provider may confirm that regulation verification rather with that third party system rather than perform the regulation verification process. Thus, following modified block112of the registration sub-method100A, the system provider device(s)402may include a verified user database that includes “verified” users (e.g., user's that have been verified using their user identification information according to KYC or similar regulations) associated with respective verified user static keys that are stored in the public ledger. In some embodiments, block112may be modified in a variety of manners other than those discussed above. For example, the user identification information for any user may be stored in association with the verified user static key for that user, and then subject to the verification process when a payment or donation is requested by that user. In another example, the user identification information for any user may be used to perform the verification process for that user as discussed above, and following the verification process, that user identification information may be discarded while the results of that verification process may be stored in association with the verified user static key. As such, a verified user static key may be associated with a regulation verified user indication (i.e., a KYC compliant user indication) while the user identification information used to determine that the user is regulation verified has been discarded, and a verified user static key may be associated with a regulation non-verified user indication (i.e., a non-KYC compliant user indication) while the user identification information used to determine that the user is not regulation verified has been discarded. Referring now toFIG.8, an embodiment of an anonymous payment/donation method800is illustrated. Making payments such as, for example, the donations discussed below, can subject the payer/donor to subsequent communications (e.g., “spam” communications) from any parties that receive and/or intercept their user identity information along with that payment/donation. In addition, some payers/donors may not want to publicize their generosity. To avoid such communication and/or publicity, many prospective donors may avoid making donations. One solution to this problem is for donors to make such donations anonymously. However, anonymous donations raise a number of issues. For example, many businesses, companies, and/or entities may be hesitant to accept payments and/or donations from an anonymous payer/donor, as regulatory compliance rules require that the identity of such payers/donors be known to ensure that those payments/donations are not being made by criminal elements for money laundering activities. The anonymous payment/donation method800discussed below utilizes a modified form of the registration sub-method100A and authentication sub-method100B discussed above to provide for anonymous payments/donations from a payer/donor to a payee/donee, while providing assurances to the payee/donee that the payer/donor satisfies any applicable regulatory compliance rules. The anonymous donation method begins at block802where a system provider device receives donor identity information and verifies the donor identity information. In an embodiment of block802, a donor user of the donor device702may send donor identity information to the system provider device(s)402through the network406, and the system provider device(s)402may receive that donor identity information and operate to verify the donor identity information. As discussed above, the donor user of the donor device702may operate in conjunction with the system provider and the system provider device(s)402according to the registration sub-method100A such that the donor user uses the donor device702to provide donor user identification information to the system provider device(s)402at block102; the system provider device(s)702generate a first donor user static key using the donor user identification information, and store the first donor user static key at block104; the system provider device(s)702send the first registration public ledger address to the donor device702at block105; the system provider device(s)402receive the second registration public ledger address from the donor device702at block106; the system provider device(s)402retrieve a second donor user static key sent from the first registration public ledger address to the second registration public ledger address in a transaction in a public ledger at block108; and the system provider device(s)402verify the second donor user static key using the first donor user static key to provide the verified donor user static key in the public ledger at block110; all substantially as discussed above with regard to the registration sub-method100A. Furthermore, at block802, the system provider device(s)402may then operate according to the modified block112of the registration sub-method100A discussed above to associate the verified donor user static key with the donor user identification information received from the donor user via the donor device702. As discussed above, this may involve applying a variety of regulatory compliance rules to the donor user identification information (e.g., KYC compliance rules), confirming a regulation verification of the donor user, and/or performing a variety of other actions on that donor user identification information that one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure would recognize would provide a verified donor user according to the teachings of the present disclosure Furthermore, as discussed in the example above, the donor user identification information for the donor user may be stored in association with the verified user static key for the donor user in a database of the system provider device(s)402, and then subject to the verification processes discusses above when a payment or donation is requested by the donor user at block806. Further still, as discussed in another of the examples above, the donor user identification information for the donor user may be used by the system provider device(s)402to perform the verification processes discussed above, and following the verification processes that donor user identification information may be discarded by the system provider device(s)402while the results of that verification process (e.g., a regulation-verification indicator) may be stored in association with the verified user static key for the donor user in a database of the system provider device(s)402. As such, a verified user static key may be associated with a regulation verified donor user indicator (i.e., a KYC compliant donor user indicator) while the donor user identification information for the donor user has been discarded. Similarly, a verified user static key may be associated with a regulation non-verified donor user indication (i.e., a non-KYC compliant donor user indication) while the user identification information for that donor user has been discarded. The method800then proceeds to block804where the system provider device receives donee identity information and verifies the donee identity information. In an embodiment of block802, a donee user of the donee device704may send donee user identity information to the system provider device(s)402through the network406, and the system provider device(s)402may receive that donee user identity information and operate to verify the donee user identity information. As discussed above, the donee user of the donee device702may operate in conjunction with the system provider device(s)402according to the registration sub-method100A such that the donee user uses the donee device702to provide donee user identification information to the system provider device(s)402at block102; the system provider device(s)702generate a first donee user static key using the donee user identification information, and store the first donee user static key at block104; the system provider device(s)702send the first registration public ledger address to the donee device702at block105; the system provider device(s)402receive the second registration public ledger address from the donee device702at block106; the system provider device(s)402retrieve a second donee user static key sent from the first registration public ledger address to the second registration public ledger address in a transaction in the public ledger at block108; and the system provider device(s)402verify the second donee user static key using the first donee user static key to provide the verified donee user static key in the public ledger at block110; all substantially as discussed above with regard to the registration sub-method100A. Furthermore, at block802, the system provider device(s)402may then operate according to the modified block112of the registration sub-method100A discussed above to associate the verified donee user static key with the donee user identification information for the donee user. As discussed above, this may involve applying a variety of regulatory compliance rules to the donee user identification information (e.g., KYC compliance rules), confirming the status of the donee user as a 501(3)(c) entity via the Federal Charity Registry, checking charity rating websites such as Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org), and/or performing a variety of other actions on the donee user identification information that one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure would recognize would provide a verified donee user according to the teachings of the present disclosure. Furthermore, as discussed in the example above, the donee user identification information for the donee user may be stored in association with the verified user static key for the donee user in a database of the system provider device(s)402, and then subject to the verification processes discussed above when a payment or donation is requested by the donee user at block806. Further still, as discussed in another of the examples above, the donee user identification information for the donee user may be used to perform the verification processes discussed above, and following the verification process that donee user identification information may be discarded by the system provider device(s)402while the results of that verification process may be stored in association with the verified user static key for the donee user in a database of the system provider device(s)402. As such, a verified user static key may be associated with a regulation verified donee user indication (i.e., a KYC compliant donee user indication) while the donee user identification information for the regulation verified donee user has been discarded. Similarly, a verified user static key may be associated with a regulation non-verified donee user indication (i.e., a non-KYC compliant donee user indication) while the user identification information for that regulation non-verified donee user has been discarded by the system provider deivce(s)402. One of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate that, in some embodiments, block804of the method800may be skipped. For example, in many situations, the regulation verification of the donee user may be unnecessary, as the concern associated with the donation to the donee user is the regulation verification of the donor user. As such, in many embodiments of the method800, the verification of the donee user may not be necessary (despite its performance or not at block804) because the verification of that donee user is not used in the method800. However, in some embodiments, the regulation verification of the donee user may be important to the donor user (i.e., to ensure that the donation is being provided to a KYC compliant donee user), and thus the verification of the donee user identification information may be performed at block804and utilized in the method800to, for example, verify to the donor user that the donee user is a regulation verified donee user (which may be performed in substantially the same manner as discussed below for verifying to the donee user that the donor user is a regulation verified donor user). The method800then proceeds to block806where the donor device creates a multi-signature transaction that is directed to the donee and that includes the system provider as a signing party. In an embodiment, the donor user uses the donee device702to create a multi-signature crypto-currency transaction that is directed to the donee user and that includes the system provider as a signing party. One of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize that the donor user may initiate a donation to the donee user by creating the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction that identifies an amount of funds to transfer, identifies the donee as the destination of the funds, and includes the system provider as a signing party. For example, the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction created at block806may require signatures using both of a private key available to the donor user and a private key available to the system provider in order for that crypto-currency transaction to transfer the identified funds from the donor user to the donee user. As such, the donor device702and/or the system provider device(s)420may gather (or generate) public ledger addresses on the donor device702and the system provider device(s)402, obtain public keys from the donor device702and the system provider device(s)402, and create a multi-signature crypto-currency transaction address for the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction. At block806, the donor user may then create a crypto-currency transaction that identifies the donee user as a destination of funds, and send that transaction to the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction address. As discussed below, the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction may be used to verify the donor user at block808. In some embodiment, a multi-signature crypto-currency transaction created for a first donation may then be used for verification of the donor user in a subsequent, second donation when, for example, the state of the donor user does not change and local regulations allow. However, in other embodiments a new multi-signature crypto-currency transaction may be created for each donation. While the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction is discussed above as identifying an amount of donation funds for the donee user, in some embodiments, the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction may not identify the amount of donation funds for the donee user, and the amount of donation funds for the donee user may be provided by the donor user to the system provider device(s)402separately. For example, the donation by the donor user may be identified separately from the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction through a payment website provided by the system provider device(s)402. In such embodiments, the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction may include a nominal amount of crypto-currency for transfer (e.g., 0.00000001 Bitcoins), and may be utilized below for the verification of the donor user rather than the transfer of funds from the donor user to the donee user. The method800then proceeds to block808where the system provider device identifies the multi-signature transaction, verifies the identity of the donee, and signs the multi-signature transaction. In an embodiment, at block808the system provider device(s)402identify the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction created by the donor device at block806. For example, the system provider device(s)402may identify the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction in response accessing a public ledger and determining that the donor device702has sent a transaction to a multi-signature crypto-currency transaction address that was created using a public ledger address and a public key of the system provider. Furthermore, the identification of the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction may include identifying a public ledger address of the donee user that was used (along with a public key of the donee) to create the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction address. Block808may then proceed where the system provider device(s)402verify the identity of the donor user. In an embodiment, at block808the system provider device(s)402may operate according to portions of the authentication sub-method100B discussed above to verify the identity of the donor user. For example, with reference to the authentication sub-method100B inFIG.1B, at block114the system provider device(s)402may determine the public ledger address of the donor user that was used to create the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction address (i.e., the first previous authentication public ledger address with reference to block114of the authentication sub-method100B), along with the first current authentication public ledger address from the donor user device702. The system provider device(s)402may then use the public ledger address of the donor user that was used to create the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction address (i.e., the first previous authentication public ledger address with reference to block116of the authentication sub-method100B) to access the verified user static key for the donor user in the public ledger at block116. Similarly as discussed above, then system provider device(s)402may then provide the second current authentication public ledger address to the donor user device702at block118, determine authentication attempt information at block120, generate the first donor use authentication key using the authentication attempt information and the verified user static key of the donor user at block122, retrieve a second user authentication key sent from the first current authentication public ledger address to the second current authentication public ledger address in a transaction on the public ledger at block124, and verify the donor user if the second user authentication key matches the first user authentication key. If the second user authentication key matches the first user authentication key according to the authentication sub-method100B as discussed above, the system provider device(s)402confirms that the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction identified at block808is associated with the verified user static key. Furthermore, as discussed above, that verified user static key may have been previously associated with donor user identification information and/or a regulation verified donor user indication, and thus the system provider device(s)402may confirm whether the donor user that created the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction is a regulation verified user (e.g., a KYC regulation compliant user). If the system provider device(s)402determine that the donor user is a regulation verified user, block808may proceed with the system provider device signing the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction. For example, the system provider device(s) may include rules (e.g., default rules, rules provided by the donee user, etc.) that indicate that the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction should be signed when the donor user is a regulation verified user. If the system provider device(s)402determine that the donor user is not a regulation verified user, block808may proceed with the system provider device not signing the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction. For example, the system provider device(s) may include rules (e.g., default rules, rules provided by the donee user, etc.) that indicate that the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction should not be signed when the donor user is a not a regulation verified user. However, in some embodiments, the determination that the donor use is not a regulation verified user may still result in the system provider device(s)402signing the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction. For example, the system provider device(s)402may determine that the donor user is not a regulation verified user, sign the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction, and then inform the donee user (as discussed below in block810) that the donor user is a not a regulation verified user. The method800then proceeds to block810where the system provider device transfers funds from the donor to the donee and sends a notification to the donee device. In an embodiment, subsequent to the verification of the identity of the donor user, the system provider device(s)402may perform operations to cause the transfer of funds from the donor user to the donee user. In one example, the signing of the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction by the system provider causes the transfer of funds associated with an address on the public ledger that is controlled (e.g., via a private key) by the donor user to an address on the public ledger that is controller (e.g., via a private key) by the donee user. As such, in some embodiments, the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction is configured, in addition to allowing the verification of the donor user, to transfer funds in response to being signed by each of the donor user and the system provider. However, in other examples, at block810the system provider device(s)402may operate to transfer funds from a donor user account of the donor user (e.g., provided by the system provider and/or a payment provider) to a donee user account of the donee user (e.g., provided by the system provider and/or a payment provider) separate from the signing of the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction. As such, the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction signed by the donor user and the system provider may be for a nominal amount (e.g., 0.00000001 Bitcoins), and may primarily be used for the verification of the donor user, while the donation specified by the donor user (e.g., via a payment account) may be realized via a separate fund transfer between accounts provided to the donor user and the donee user. Furthermore, at block810, the system provider device(s)402may operate to send a notification to the donee device704. In an embodiment, at block810, the system provider device402may generate a notification about the fund transfer from the donor user to the donee user and send that notification to the donee user via the donee device704(e.g., in an email, as an application notification, via conventional mail, etc.). For example, the notification send by the system provider device(s)402to the donee device704at block810may identify the amount of the donation from the donor user to the donee user, an indication of whether the donor user has been regulation verified, and/or any of a variety of other information other than donor user identification information that would be relevant to the donee user. As discussed above, some donee users may have specified that they will only accept donations from regulation verified donor users and thus the system provider device(s)402may only transfer the funds from the donor user to the donee user and send a notification of transferred funds when those funds are transferred from a regulation verified user at blocks808and810. In some embodiments, notifications at block810may include a notification sent from the system provider device(s)402to a regulatory agency device operated by the regulatory agency. As such, funds may be transferred from a donor user to a donee user anonymously in that the donee user does not have access to donor user identification information about the donor user, and the system provider prevents any donor user identification information from being released with the transfer of funds as per the donation. The method800may then proceed to optional block812where the donee device verifies the system provider device using an address in the multi-signature transaction. In some embodiments, the system provider device(s)402and the donee device704may have previously utilized the registration sub-method100A to allow the donee user to verify the identity of the system provider. As such, with reference to the registration sub-method100A, the donee device704may have previously received system provider identity information and verified the system provider identity information at block102; generated a first system provider static key using the system provider identification, and stored the first system provider static key at block104; sent the first registration public ledger address to the system provider device(s)402at block105; received the second registration public ledger address from the system provider device(s)402at block106; retrieved a second system provider static key sent from the first registration public ledger address to the second registration public ledger address in a transaction in the public ledger at block108; and verified the second system provider static key using the first system provider static key to provide the verified system provider static key in the public ledger at block110; all substantially as discussed above with regard to the registration sub-method100A. Furthermore, at optional block812, the donee device704may have operated according to a modified block112of the registration sub-method100A to associate the verified system provider static key with the system provider identification information for the system provider. Thus, at optional block812, the donee device704may then operate according to the authentication sub-method100B to verify the system provider using the address in the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction. In an embodiment, at optional block812, the donee device704identifies the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction signed by the donor device702and the system provider device(s)402. For example, the identification of the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction may include identifying a public ledger address of the system provider that was used (along with a public key of the system provider) to create the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction address of the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction that is included in the public ledger. Optional block812may then proceed where the donee device704verifies the identity of the system provider. In an embodiment, at optional block812, the donee device704may operate according to portions of the authentication sub-method100B to verify the identity of the system provider. For example, with reference to the authentication sub-method100B inFIG.1B, at block114the donee device704may determine the public ledger address of the system provider that was used to create the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction address (i.e., the first previous authentication public ledger address with reference to block114of the authentication sub-method100B), along with the first current authentication public ledger address from the system provider device(s)402. The donee device704may then use the public ledger address of the system provider that was used to create the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction address (i.e., the first previous authentication public ledger address with reference to block116of the authentication sub-method100B) to access the verified system provider static key for the system provider in the public ledger at block116. Similarly as discussed above, then donee device704may then provide the second current authentication public ledger address to the system provider device(s)402at block118; determine authentication attempt information at block120; generate the first system provider authentication key using the authentication attempt information and the verified system provider static key of the system provider at block122; retrieve a second system provider authentication key sent from the first current authentication public ledger address to the second current authentication public ledger address in a transaction on the public ledger at block124; and verify the system provider if the second system provider authentication key matches the first system provider authentication key. If the second system provider authentication key matches the first system provider authentication key according to the authentication sub-method100B as discussed above, the donee device704confirms that the multi-signature crypto-currency transaction identified at optional block812is associated with the verified system provider static key. Furthermore, as discussed above, that verified system provider static key may have been previously associated with system provider identification information, and thus the donee device702may confirm that the system provider is a trusted party. If the donee device704determines that the system provider is a trusted party, optional block812may proceed with the donee user accepting the donation (i.e., the funds transferred by the system provider from the donor user to the donee user.) However, in some embodiments, the determination that the system provider is not a trusted party may result in the donee user rejecting the donation, or in some cases requesting that the system provider perform the registration sub-method100A in order to become a trusted party. In some embodiments, the system provider device(s)402may provide the donee device704an anonymous donor user tracking number that does not include identification information about the donor user. For example, anonymous donor user tracking numbers may be provided for tracking purposes by the donee, and may include indications of whether the donee is allowed to provide subsequent communications to the donor user. In specific examples, that anonymous donor tracking number may be utilized by the donee user with subsequent communications sent to the system provider device(s)402, and the system provider device(s)402may forward those communications to the donor user using the anonymous donor user tracking number (i.e., based on a link between the anonymous donor tracking number and the “real” identity of the donor user). Thus, a donor/payer users are enabled to make anonymous donations/payments to donee/payee users via a system provider, and the donee/payee users may accept the donations/payments with the assurance of the system provider that the donor/payer is a regulation verified user. The verifications of parties in the system, as well as the donations/payments in many embodiments, may be enabled via a public ledger such as, for example, the Bitcoin Blockchain, and the system provider may act as a trusted party that operate to regulation-verify donor users (e.g., ensure that the donor users are KYC regulation compliant) and ensure the donee users of that regulation verification when anonymously transferring donations/payments from the donor user to the donee user. One of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize that providing donors/payers the ability to donate/pay anonymously while ensuring donees/payees that the donation/payment is from a regulation verified party may lead to more donations/payments that can increase funds available to charities, as well as increase the use of payment networks relative to to those that provide conventional donation/payment functionality. One of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize that a variety of modifications to the systems and methods discussed above with fall within the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the method800may begin with the donee user soliciting donations from anonymous donors via the system provider. For example, the donee user may begin a donation campaign via a website provided by the system provider (e.g., by specifying the donation cause, suggested donations amounts, etc.), and the system provider may act as an intermediary to receive anonymous donations from the donor users and provide them to the donee user via the systems and methods discussed above. In some embodiments, donor users may provide the system provider preferences and/or profiles that indicate which donation solicitations they would like to receive from donee users via the system provider. Furthermore, some embodiments may involve the system provider verifies the identity of donor/donee matching services, which allows donor users to be matched with donee users while both the donor users and donee users remain anonymous to each other (but the donor user and donor/donee matching service will be known to each other.) In such situations, the system provider may report the donor/donee matching service, the donor, the donee, and information associated with the donor/donee matching, to regulatory systems as required by local laws. Referring now toFIG.9, an embodiment of a networked system900used in the public ledger authentication system400described above is illustrated. The networked system900includes a plurality of user devices902, a plurality of public ledger devices904, and a plurality of system provider devices906in communication over a network908. Any of the user devices902may be the user devices operated by the users, discussed above. Any of the public ledger devices904may be the public ledgers devices discussed above. Any of the system provider devices906may be the system provider devices operated by the system providers, discussed above. The user devices902, public ledger devices904, and/or system provider devices906may each include one or more processors, memories, and other appropriate components for executing instructions such as program code and/or data stored on one or more computer readable mediums to implement the various applications, data, and steps described herein. For example, such instructions may be stored in one or more computer readable mediums such as memories or data storage devices internal and/or external to various components of the system900, and/or accessible over the network908. The network908may be implemented as a single network or a combination of multiple networks. For example, in various embodiments, the network908may include the Internet and/or one or more intranets, landline networks, wireless networks, and/or other appropriate types of networks. The user devices902may be implemented using any appropriate combination of hardware and/or software configured for wired and/or wireless communication over network908. For example, in one embodiment, the user devices902may be implemented as a personal computer of a user in communication with the Internet. In other embodiments, the user devices902may be a smart phone, wearable computing device, laptop computer, and/or other types of computing devices. The user devices902may include one or more browser applications which may be used, for example, to provide a convenient interface to permit the payer to browse information available over the network908. For example, in one embodiment, the browser application may be implemented as a web browser configured to view information available over the Internet. The user devices902may also include one or more toolbar applications which may be used, for example, to provide user-side processing for performing desired tasks in response to operations selected by the user. In one embodiment, the toolbar application may display a user interface in connection with the browser application. The user devices902may further include other applications as may be desired in particular embodiments to provide desired features to the user devices902. In particular, the other applications may include a payment application for payments assisted by a payment service provider. The other applications may also include security applications for implementing user-side security features, programmatic user applications for interfacing with appropriate application programming interfaces (APIs) over the network908, or other types of applications. Email and/or text applications may also be included, which allow the user to send and receive emails and/or text messages through the network908. The user devices902include one or more user and/or device identifiers which may be implemented, for example, as operating system registry entries, cookies associated with the browser application, identifiers associated with hardware of the user devices902, or other appropriate identifiers, such as a phone number. In one embodiment, the user identifier may be used to associate the user with a particular account as further described herein. Referring now toFIG.10, an embodiment of a user device1000is illustrated. The device1000may be any of the user devices discussed above. The device1000includes a chassis1002having a display1004and an input device including the display1004and a plurality of input buttons1006. One of skill in the art will recognize that the device1000is a portable or mobile phone including a touch screen input device and a plurality of input buttons that allow the functionality discussed above with reference to the method100. However, a variety of other portable/mobile devices and/or desktop devices may be used in the method100without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Referring now toFIG.11, an embodiment of a computer system1100suitable for implementing, for example, the user devices, public ledger devices, and/or system provider devices, is illustrated. It should be appreciated that other devices utilized in the public ledger authentication system discussed above may be implemented as the computer system1100in a manner as follows. In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, computer system1100, such as a computer and/or a network server, includes a bus1102or other communication mechanism for communicating information, which interconnects subsystems and components, such as a processing component1104(e.g., processor, micro-controller, digital signal processor (DSP), etc.), a system memory component1106(e.g., RAM), a static storage component1008(e.g., ROM), a disk drive component1110(e.g., magnetic or optical), a network interface component1112(e.g., modem or Ethernet card), a display component1114(e.g., CRT or LCD), an input component1118(e.g., keyboard, keypad, or virtual keyboard), a cursor control component1120(e.g., mouse, pointer, or trackball), and/or a location determination component1122(e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) device as illustrated, a cell tower triangulation device, and/or a variety of other location determination devices known in the art). In one implementation, the disk drive component1110may comprise a database having one or more disk drive components. In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, the computer system1100performs specific operations by the processor1104executing one or more sequences of instructions contained in the memory component1106, such as described herein with respect to the payer devices, payee devices, user devices, payment service provider devices, and/or system provider devices. Such instructions may be read into the system memory component1106from another computer readable medium, such as the static storage component1108or the disk drive component1110. In other embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement the present disclosure. Logic may be encoded in a computer readable medium, which may refer to any medium that participates in providing instructions to the processor1104for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. In one embodiment, the computer readable medium is non-transitory. In various implementations, non-volatile media includes optical or magnetic disks, such as the disk drive component1110, volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as the system memory component1106, and transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiber optics, including wires that comprise the bus1102. In one example, transmission media may take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio wave and infrared data communications. Some common forms of computer readable media includes, for example, floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, RAM, PROM, EPROM, FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, carrier wave, or any other medium from which a computer is adapted to read. In one embodiment, the computer readable media is non-transitory. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, execution of instruction sequences to practice the present disclosure may be performed by the computer system1100. In various other embodiments of the present disclosure, a plurality of the computer systems1100coupled by a communication link1124to the network908(e.g., such as a LAN, WLAN, PTSN, and/or various other wired or wireless networks, including telecommunications, mobile, and cellular phone networks) may perform instruction sequences to practice the present disclosure in coordination with one another. The computer system1100may transmit and receive messages, data, information and instructions, including one or more programs (i.e., application code) through the communication link1124and the network interface component1112. The network interface component912may include an antenna, either separate or integrated, to enable transmission and reception via the communication link1124. Received program code may be executed by processor1104as received and/or stored in disk drive component1110or some other non-volatile storage component for execution. Referring now toFIG.12, an embodiment of a system provider device1200is illustrated. In an embodiment, the device1200may be any of the system provider devices discussed above. The device1200includes a communication engine1202that is coupled to the network908and to an authentication engine1204that is coupled to an authentication database1206. The communication engine1202may be software or instructions stored on a computer-readable medium that allows the device1200to send and receive information over the network908. The authentication engine1204may be software or instructions stored on a computer-readable medium that is configured to perform the registration, authentication, and/or any of the other functionality that is discussed above. While the authentication database1206has been illustrated as a single database located in the device1200, one of skill in the art will recognize that it may include multiple databases and be connected to the authentication engine1204through the network908without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Where applicable, various embodiments provided by the present disclosure may be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations of hardware and software. Also, where applicable, the various hardware components and/or software components set forth herein may be combined into composite components comprising software, hardware, and/or both without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Where applicable, the various hardware components and/or software components set forth herein may be separated into sub-components comprising software, hardware, or both without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, where applicable, it is contemplated that software components may be implemented as hardware components and vice-versa. Software, in accordance with the present disclosure, such as program code and/or data, may be stored on one or more computer readable mediums. It is also contemplated that software identified herein may be implemented using one or more general purpose or specific purpose computers and/or computer systems, networked and/or otherwise. Where applicable, the ordering of various steps described herein may be changed, combined into composite steps, and/or separated into sub-steps to provide features described herein. The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the present disclosure to the precise forms or particular fields of use disclosed. As such, it is contemplated that various alternate embodiments and/or modifications to the present disclosure, whether explicitly described or implied herein, are possible in light of the disclosure. Having thus described embodiments of the present disclosure, persons of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is limited only by the claims. | 94,824 |
11861611 | In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention, which is illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the specific terms so selected and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose. For example, the words connected, connection, or terms similar thereto are often used. They are not limited to direct connection or attachment but include connection or attachment through other elements where such is recognized as being equivalent by those skilled in the art. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments described in detail in the following description. 1. SYSTEM OVERVIEW The invention is preferably a system that automates the clearing and settlement of E-Coupons. As mentioned earlier, such a system is called an “open-loop” system. An open-loop system having an access card is further described by the Assembly Committee on Banking and Finance in the following excerpt from an information hearing on “The Growing Use of Stored-Value Cards” dated Oct. 12, 2005. “With an open-loop system, the cardholder can use the card for multiple purposes and at many points of sale in order to purchase goods or services . . . ” “Open-loop cards may be issued for use in one mall where the cardholder can use the card to make purchases at any store in the mall.” “Other open-loop cards may be usable at any place a bank card is accepted, not just the stores in one mall.” In one embodiment, a coupon account would be created and “reloadable” with coupon values by the consumer, preferably via the Internet, and would replace the need for coupon clipping. The system preferably comprises a mobile account presentation means, e.g., an access device for the consumer that has an account associated with it for coupon redemption at a Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal. The system also includes a program administrator for updating the account with selected product coupon values, product information, and expiration dates. Coupon sponsors, such as consumer product manufactures are asked, e.g., through cash reserves, to cover the value of each selected product coupon. A mechanism allows registered consumers to check and print out their E-Coupon account contents, e.g., from a website if the access device is a card, or account contents may be directly viewed via the device if it is a cellular phone, PDA, or other wireless device. The mechanism also preferably allows consumers to update and reload their account with additional coupons at any time. System requirements preferably are straight forward, as much of the technology required to support the E-Coupon card product offering currently exists. These requirements include a web portal for consumer access to coupons. The web portal could be developed and maintained internally by a program administrator, e.g., an E-Coupon processing company or by partnering with an existing on-line coupon website. One such existing website is www.smartsource.com, a News America Marketing company. This website features a vast array of coupons available for printing by consumers. It supplements the Smart Source Magazine, the nation's largest coupon freestanding insert (FSI), with distribution to 70 million households via 1,200 newspapers. Relationships with consumer package goods manufacturers (CPGs) are already in place at News America Marketing. A second requirement is account set up ability, including preferably card order processing capability, which can be either outsourced or developed internally by the program administrator or E-Coupon processing business. Producing cards, programming cardholder identification information, and fulfilling card orders could also be outsourced or handled internally. Additional requirements, such as electronic funds transfer processing capabilities may be handled by electronic transaction payment processing companies. Finally, data management and report creation could be handled by the transaction processor, or a company providing strategic customer information services. Examples of reports include demographic and geographic profiles of E-Coupon account holders, by product and product category, and comparison of download and redemption trends against download and redemption trends of other manufacturers within the same product category. Another report may include consumer selected coupon statistics for a given geographical area, which a merchant in that same area may use for inventory control and in-store product placement. Additional system features will become apparent from the detailed description below. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Definitions Coupon Sponsor: Entity supplying or sponsoring coupon offer, typically a consumer product manufacturer, or so-called consumer package goods manufacturers (CPGs) such as Proctor & Gamble of Cincinnati, OH. Consumer/Purchaser: Anyone who may use the E-Coupon system including retail shoppers, commercial/industrial buyers, and other purchasers or would be customers. Transaction Processor: An entity to process the coupon redemption transactions. Preferably, the entity offers services that include electronic funds transfer (EFT) and other payment processing services including the compiling, analyzing, and reporting of the same. Such a preferred service provider may be Metavante Corp. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. E-Coupon: An electronic representation of coupon or discount stored in a database and taking various forms such as a certain amount of dollars or cents off, a percentage off, two-for-one offers, a bonus buy, a gift with purchase, and so on. Network: The coupon redemption transaction processing system, e.g., existing automated clearing house (ACH) systems which are tapped into existing financial transaction processing networks run, for example, by Visa® or MasterCard®. Merchant: Location where Consumer redeemed coupon(s), usually a grocery store or a merchant such as Wal-Mart® or Walgreens®. Program Administrator: An entity to manage the front-end or Consumer portion of the E-Coupon program and to work with the Coupon Sponsors to establish the manufacturer reserve accounts. Such a preferred service provider may be Metavante Corp. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. FIG.1shows a prior art process of traditional coupon redemption and clearing. First, paper coupons are published by consumer product manufacturers and/or other companies. These paper coupons are primarily distributed through newspaper inserts or direct mailings. Consumers clip and save these coupons for use while shopping. Next, the paper coupon is redeemed at the point-of-sale terminal at a Merchant. Presently, the majority of coupons are redeemed at grocery stores. At the end of each business day, coupons are summed by register at the Merchant to balance cash drawers. Coupons are then typically bagged in clear plastic bags, e.g., polybags. In larger chains, polybags are regularly collected and sent to the merchant headquarters, e.g., on a weekly basis. The merchant headquarters (HQ) consolidates the coupons and sends them to a clearinghouse (CH). The clearinghouse sorts the coupons, often by hand, by manufacturer and UPC scanability. The clearinghouse totals the coupon values and sends the coupons and an invoice to the manufacturer. The manufacturer then issues a payment or check to the clearinghouse or directly back to the Merchant that originally redeemed the coupons. The invoice includes the coupon values plus a processing fee, which might be as much as eight cents per coupon. The manufacturer may then send the coupons to its own clearinghouse for recounting to detect fraud or inaccurate coupon counting. Various preferred aspects of an E-Coupon system of the present invention are best illustrated inFIGS.2-11. As shown inFIG.2and/orFIG.4, the E-Coupon system5includes a Consumer10that accesses the E-Coupon system5through a global communication network20, preferably the World Wide Web via the Internet. Once access is gained to the system5, the Consumer10is able to visit a coupon selection website30. The coupon selection website30is connected to a coupon database40containing UPC and other information for goods and services for which E-Coupons are offered. The Consumer10is able to search, view and select coupon offerings, e.g., E-Coupons45of interest. Once the Consumer10has established an E-Coupon Account50through a registration process, e.g.,FIG.6, and a coupon selection is made (shown as block47), preferably an E-Coupon value processing system, e.g. the Program Administrator55, credits or “loads” the Consumer's E-Coupon Account50with detailed coupon information, such as UPC, amount, and expiration date, and stores this information in a database60associated with the Consumer's E-Coupon Account50. The term “loads” as used in this application means the updating of the Consumer Account50with a coupon amount and/or other coupon/product information. The Coupon Sponsors92may also load a Consumer's E-Coupon Account50with E-Coupons45. The Program Administrator55may also be responsible for providing a report85of selected E-Coupons45and their associated values to the Coupon Sponsors92, such as a consumer-products manufacturer. Once an E-Coupon45is selected, the Coupon Sponsor92preferably transfers funds to a cash reserve account95that may be accessed by the Transaction Processor56to reimburse Merchants, such as retailers, via electronic funds transfer (“EFT”), for the amount of the E-Coupon45upon redemption. Alternatively, there is a predetermined maximum and minimum amount for the sponsor's reserve account95. When sponsor's reserve account balance drops below the minimum amount, the sponsor92transfers more funds to the cash reserve account95, up to the maximum amount. FIG.3shows another aspect of the invention, for example, a system100which includes the global communications network20. Connected to the network20is preferably a server104operably connected to an access portal, e.g., E-Coupon website30. At the access portal30, Consumers, i.e., Purchasers, are provided with instructions117for account registration/setup and usage, as well as information123regarding available E-Coupons45from a multitude of Coupon Sponsors92. After the initial registration process is complete, an E-Coupon Account50containing consumer information109is created and housed on the server104. This information can be accessed through an account access device80, (and158inFIG.5) which may be a card, key fob, cell phone, personal digital assistant, personal computer, or similar device. Databases containing the consumer's account information122, the coupons available from each Coupon Sponsor92, which may include what brand, size, weight, discount, and etc. of each E-Coupon is available,123and the consumer's E-Coupon account contents124, are connected to the network20via the server104. The global communications network20may be connected to a “back end” processor, e.g., Transaction Processor56. Alternatively, the Transaction Processor56is preferably connected to an apparatus, e.g., POS terminal and processing system112, in communication with a processor115, through the existing electronic credit/debit processing connection121(e.g., so called “credit rails”) or other communication connection. Such a system is described in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/285,053. Moreover, the connection121between the POS terminal112and the Transaction Processor56may be made directly through the Transaction Processor's EFT Network utilizing the ISO 8583 standard, through another financial institution's EFT Network, through a virtual private network (VPN) via the Internet, a direct line, or some other similar communication means. The information exchange between the terminal112and the Transaction Processor56includes the Consumer's E-Coupon Account information and the UPCs from items presented by the consumer126for the pending transaction. The exchange also includes an authorization amount response corresponding to the total coupon discount. The Transaction Processor56is in communication with a database, or data structure,124containing the consumer's E-Coupon account contents, a database, or data structure,125containing data on the transaction details, and a database, or data structure,126including items presented by the Consumer for purchase. The Transaction Processor56contains a decision system116that uses the eligible item identifiers representing the consumer's available Coupon Sponsor coupons contained in the first data structure124, the transaction data detail contained in the second data structure125, and the Consumer purchased item identifiers contained in the third data structure126to process transactions and provide transaction information to the POS system112. Further, the POS system may contain a notification device142, such as a display screen or print out, to alert the Consumer10as to which E-Coupons45have been added by the Consumer10or Coupon Sponsor92to the Consumer Account50. At the POS, or point of redemption, information, e.g., SKUs or UPCs, is read into the processing system112for each product to be purchased through a device, such as a UPC reader111, connected to the system112. Purchaser account identification information113stored on the E-Coupon Account card, i.e., access device80, is also read into the system by an apparatus such as debit/credit card reader114. This is done in conjunction with, or at the conclusion of, scanning the items the Consumer10is purchasing. In an alternative embodiment, the Consumer10could choose to associate the E-Coupon Account50with an existing payment device, for example a credit or debit card, in which case the access device80is the same as the same as the payment device, and would be recognized as such by the Transaction Processor56. Referring again toFIG.4, a system for selecting E-Coupons45from an electronic coupon website30is shown. The Consumer10, i.e., the Purchaser, accesses website30through a mechanism, e.g. the Internet20, via computer, PDA, or other connectivity method. A listing of E-Coupons45is displayed on the screen in its entirety or limited by searching by Coupon Sponsors92, by coupon category138, or by other searchable fields. Such Coupon Sponsors92may be manufacturers or service providers such as Proctor & Gamble, General Cinema, and the like. The listing preferably has multiple sorting capabilities136that permit a Consumer10to sort by Coupon Sponsor92, product or service type, product size, brand-name, particular store layouts, expiration dates139, and so on. Description and value information140is also available for each E-Coupon45and underlying item product listed on the website30. An example of available information for an E-Coupon45may include, Pledge® Dusters, $1.00 off any size, expires Dec. 31, 2010, General Cinema Movie Admission, $0.75 off, Applebee's® buy one dinner get one free, and so on. An interface141e.g., a clickable icon or selectable check box, allows Consumers10to select E-Coupons45of interest. A tool, e.g., a mouse, may be used to make such a selection. A link or portal, e.g. an icon leading to an online registration form, may also be present to allow a first-time user to enter required information, set up an account50to select E-Coupons45, and make future selections using the website30. Such a link may also allow users to update their account information, e.g., address and married name. Once the E-Coupons45have been selected, a coupon list may be printed via a mechanism, e.g. button168. Other information about the product or the E-Coupon45may also be printed in this manner. In addition, the Consumer10may select an e-mail button164on the website30to get further information about the products and E-Coupons45such as alerts prior to coupon expiration dates. In one embodiment, a check box166may be checked to receive product or coupon alerts for selected products when they become available. In a separate embodiment, the E-Coupon Account50may only accept E-Coupons45from a particular Coupon Sponsor92. Referring again toFIG.2, a Coupon Sponsor92updates the E-Coupon Account50electronically with the E-Coupons45that have been selected by the Consumer10. The E-Coupon Account50may also be updated as subsequent coupon offers are selected from the website30or as previously selected but unredeemed E-Coupons45expire. FIG.5illustrates another aspect of the electronic coupon system5. Here the system5is shown with the Transaction Processor56connected to a plurality of Merchant POS systems or terminals112. The Transaction Processor56processes the E-Coupons45but also accesses cash reserve accounts95from various Coupon Sponsors92that may be used to cover the value of E-Coupons45redeemed by the Consumers10at the terminals112. One mobile account access device158, shown in this aspect as a cell phone, which via a mechanism, such as a wireless Internet card or Bluetooth® technology, enables Consumers to check account balances, display and/or print E-Coupon Account contents, and to electronically reload their accounts50with additional E-Coupons45at any time. The device158may also be a personal digital assistant or personal computer that has access to a global communications network20, e.g., the World Wide Web. Alternatively, a plastic card110having readable information113such as an associated account identifier or unique alphanumeric digits, may serve as the account access device80at a POS terminal112. At the point of sale, the account access device158provides open-loop194access to the electronic coupon system5. Open-loop access means that each E-Coupon45stored in the E-Coupon Account50can be redeemed or used at a variety of different Merchants or for a variety of different products. For example, when a Consumer10selects a product and presents the card110at one Merchants POS terminal112A, e.g., General Cinema Theatres, the card110is read by any of the Merchant's existing POS or credit/debit card readers114A. In an open-loop system, the Consumer10may also present the card110at a POS terminal112B of a second Merchant, e.g., Pick 'n Save®, using the second Merchant's existing readers114B. The card110can be used at multiple Merchants, for example, at Wal-Mart®, ExxonMobil® gas stations, a dry cleaner, a restaurant, or the corner grocery store, as long as they have stored-value card acceptance capabilities at their POS terminals. FIG.6shows a flow diagram of another aspect of the electronic coupon system5. In this FIG., the Consumer registration module250is shown. In the first step252, the Consumer visits the E-Coupon website. In the next step254, the Consumer has completed a registration process to establish an individualized account. The coupon system Program Administrator may create the E-Coupon Accounts and related Consumer access systems256. In step258, an order is created for the Consumer, so that the Consumer may receive his or her E-Coupon card or download a program to enable account access via wireless device (not depicted). In one embodiment, the card may be sent to the Consumer pre-funded with introductory offers and coupons like a gift card. Alternatively, if the coupon system Program Administrator permits the user to select E-Coupons45before the card is activated, the card may come with an account loaded with E-Coupons45selected by the Consumer similar to a debit card account. In step260, the E-Coupon card or account access device is provided to the Consumer. If deemed a requirement, the card is then activated by the Consumer in step262via the website prior to use or at a Merchant's POS terminal when used for the first time. The point of purchase or coupon redemption may alternatively be at an online grocery store website such as www.peapod.com. FIG.7shows another aspect270of the electronic coupon system5. After establishing an E-Coupon Account50via Consumer registration module250(FIG.6), the Consumer visits the E-Coupon website in step272and, in step274, selects from a multitude of Coupon Sponsor coupons to add to his E-Coupon Account50. The E-Coupons and associated coupon information are then added to the Consumer's account in step276. Additional E-Coupons can be added to the account at any time. In step278, the Consumer visits a retail establishment such as a bricks and mortar store or a website retailer. The Consumer selects items to purchase as shown in step280. As part of the checkout process in step282, the Consumer presents an E-Coupon Account access device at the terminal to access the E-Coupons45stored in his or her E-Coupon Account50by, for example, swiping a magnetic strip on the back of an E-Coupon card (i.e., the account access device in this example). In step284, the applicable coupon values are electronically deducted from the Consumer's total purchase amount. The coupon value is essentially treated as one form of electronic tender type, in the same way that debit, credit or gift cards are also treated as electronic tender types. Steps282and284are part of the coupon authorization process300that processes the applicable E-Coupons45and is shown in greater detail inFIG.8. After the coupon value is applied, a remaining balance, if any, is transmitted back to the POS terminal and presented to the Consumer in step286. This balance represents the total retail price of the selected product or products after the coupon values have been subtracted from the total. The payment of the remaining balance can be accomplished by check288, cash290, debit or credit card292, gift card, or any other accepted tender types. As mentioned,FIG.8shows the basic flow of the electronic coupon authorization/substantiation process, or financial system,300for the E-Coupon system5. The process starts after the items are presented for purchase in step302and then scanned at a checkout or POS terminal in step304. In step306, the Consumer presents the E-Coupon Account access device, e.g. E-Coupon card, to be scanned or swiped by a standard credit/debit reader connected to the POS terminal. Alternatively, the Consumer could use a personal information number (PIN) to access the E-Coupon Account50by entering it into the system through a portal at the POS terminal. In the preferred embodiment shown, at step308the POS terminal and processing system sends the entire list of UPC data from the pending transaction to the Transaction Processor56. Thereafter, in step310, a processing engine at the Transaction Processor56separates and examines each UPC individually. In an alternative embodiment, not shown, the POS terminal112could determine the “eligible products” and send only the UPCs for the eligible products to the Transaction Processor56. In this context, eligible products are products associated with Coupon Sponsors92who have contracted with a Program Administrator55to create and distribute E-Coupons45for at least some of their products. In this alternative embodiment, each UPC may be compared to a first data structure, containing eligible item identifiers, by the POS terminal112, by the Transaction Processor56, or by both to determine if the UPC represents an eligible product. In step312of the preferred embodiment, the processing engine determines whether a UPC represents an item for which a coupon exists in the Consumer's E-Coupon Account50, e.g., a second data structure. If it does not, the process then moves to step316to determine whether there are more UPCs from the pending transaction to be examined, and if so, the process moves back to step310and a new UPC is selected and examined. If, in step312, the processing engine determines that the E-Coupon45is in the Consumer's account, i.e., the UPC is for a product with an associated coupon in the Consumer's E-Coupon Account50, it then, in step314, tallies the coupon values (which are applied in a later step after all the UPCs have been examined and accounted for) and removes the E-Coupon45from the Consumer's account50. The process then moves to step316to determine whether there are more UPCs from the pending transaction to be examined. If so, the process moves back to step310and another UPC is selected and examined. In the preferred embodiment, after all of the UPCs from the pending transaction have been examined, the process moves to step318. In this step, a list of redeemed E-Coupons45is generated and the total redeemed coupon amount is subtracted from the total cost. Also, at some point of this process300, expired E-Coupons45may be automatically removed from the Consumer's account with the unused coupon amounts released back to the Coupon Sponsor from the reserve account. Alternatively, expired E-Coupons45can be automatically eliminated from the Consumer's account as they expire. In step320, the coupon detail and new transaction balance are returned to the POS terminal. In one embodiment, each transaction data detail could be stored in a third data structure by the Program Administrator55. In an alternate embodiment not shown, the POS terminal sends only the E-Coupon Account50number to the Program Administrator, which then sends back a list of items with corresponding E-Coupons45, e.g., coupons that the Consumer has saved to his E-Coupon Account50. The applicable coupon values are then applied by the POS terminal and processing system rather than at the E-Coupon Transaction Processor. The redeemed E-Coupon information is then sent back to the Program Administrator and the Consumer's E-Coupon Account50would be updated accordingly. In a still further embodiment (not shown), the UPC information could be combined with the payment information and sent to the Transaction Processor all at the same time. After the UPCs are examined and coupon values totaled, the payment is processed as a split tender between the redeemed coupon value and Consumer's funds. FIG.9shows one embodiment of a business process350associated with the electronic coupon system5. In this embodiment the method of producing an electronic discount system begins with step352, producing an account access device, e.g., an E-Coupon card or some other means to access an electronic coupon account that is then sent or transmitted to a registered redeemer, e.g., a Consumer. In the next step354, the Consumer, i.e., the coupon redeemer, and the Coupon Sponsor or manufacturer may share the cost of producing the account access device. In the next step356, the Program Administrator charges the Coupon Sponsor or manufacturer a fee for setting up the E-Coupon service. This may include configuring the Coupon Sponsor's systems to send coupon information to the Program Administrator when E-Coupons45become available. The coupon information would include data such as product information (either SKU or UPC numbers), amount, expiration date, and so on. In the next step358, the Coupon Sponsor is charged a coupon redemption service charge after an E-Coupon45has been redeemed electronically at POS by a Consumer. This charge generally includes a step360of processing and settling the coupon redemption transaction. In one embodiment, a step362includes charging the retailer or Merchant a fee for completing the transaction. In a step364, the Program Administrator creates a redeemer/consumer report and forwards the report to the Coupon Sponsor or manufacturer or coupon-redeeming Merchant. This report may be used to help the Coupon Sponsor better plan its discount methodology, direct marketing, production processes, and product inventory based on E-Coupons45selected by Consumers in its geographical area. In one embodiment, step366includes compiling individual consumer profile reports to be sold to the Coupon Sponsor to better help it tailor its direct marketing advertising efforts to specific Consumer profiles. In the final step368shown, the Program Administrator charges the Coupon Sponsor or manufacturer for the creation of the specific reports. While the above described flow illustrates several ways for the Program Administrator to generate revenues, there are additional ways available. For example, such an E-Coupon card process could generate revenue by:Card productionCoupon download service chargeCoupon redemption service chargeProcessing fee for the transactionReport-creationCompiling individualized consumer profile reportsCoupon redemption profiles An alternative embodiment of the electronic coupon system215is shown inFIG.10.FIG.10illustrates one possible flow of transaction information between the Merchant's POS terminal112, a financial communications Network90and a Transaction Processor56. This is part of the so-called “back end” process. The connection, e.g., Network portal299, between the POS terminal112and the Transaction Processor56via the Network90here may be directly through the E-Coupon Transaction Processor's electronic funds transfer (EFT) Network utilizing, e.g., the ISO 8583 standard, through another financial institution's BEFT Network, through a virtual private network (VPN) via the Internet, or some other similar communication means. Such methods are described in detail in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/285,053. In the embodiment shown inFIG.10, the information exchange between the Network portal and the Transaction Processor includes the Consumer's E-Coupon Account information and the UPCs from the pending transaction301A. The exchange also includes an authorization amount response301B corresponding to the total coupon discount. FIG.11illustrates in further detail the coupon redemption and settlement process shown as step360inFIG.9. As shown, Coupon Sponsor92preferably first transfers funds via line101to a cash reserve account95to cover the redemption of specific E-Coupons45being offered by that Coupon Sponsor for its products or services. However, if the E-coupons45expire or remain otherwise unredeemed, e.g., because of a product cancellation or recall, funds may be released back via line102to the Coupon Sponsor from the reserve account95. Once funds are made available to the reserve account95, the cash reserve account95may be accessed via line103by the Transaction Processor56to reimburse Merchants, such as retailers, via electronic funds transfer (“EFT”) who have redeemed E-Coupons45. As shown, the Merchant's POS terminal112transmits a consumer's E-Coupon Account50access information and the UPCs of items being purchased by the consumer via line104and as further shown inFIG.8. The Transaction Processor56preferably next determines which UPCs have a corresponding E-Coupon45in the E-Coupon Account50via line105. Preferably, the value of E-Coupons45that are being redeemed plus a redemption fee are extracted from each reserve account95of corresponding Coupon Sponsors utilizing the EFT technology (103) by the Transaction Processor, e.g., a redemption fee of 8 cents. The total value of the E-Coupons45being redeemed in that transaction is then transferred from the Transaction Processor56to the Merchant Account54utilizing EFT technology via line106. This process may occur in real-time or batch mode. The Transaction Processor56also sends transaction data back via line107to the POS112to indicate the E-Coupons45that have been redeemed, the corresponding value for each redeemed E-Coupon45, and the remaining amount owed by the consumer. Further, once the transfer of funds from the reserve account to the merchant account occurs, the Transaction Processor56preferably then prepares coupon redemption transactional reports to the Coupon Sponsor92for its records. In terms of alternative embodiments for the current invention, it should be apparent that there are several possible options for back end processing. Of course, one goal is to ensure real-time or near real-time substantiation, i.e., processing, settling, and clearing applicable E-Coupons, while the customer is purchasing products or services at the POS. This is sometimes referred to as auto-substantiation. A. Real-time Auto-Substantiation Record Match This alternative method is dependent upon a record to be sent to the Transaction Processor from the Program Administrator. As mentioned above, for example, a single provider, Metavante, may serve as both the Transaction Processor and the Program Administrator. When an E-Coupon selection record is received from the front-end of the system, Metavante will store the record in a database. Upon receipt of a real-time E-Coupon redemption authorization request, a validation check is performed to determine if the dollar amount of the authorization will match against one or more E-Coupon records in the database. When a match is determined, and all other authorization checks are valid, the transaction is approved and a hold record340is created for the authorization. The hold record340is marked as substantiated and a response is sent back to the Merchant for approval. When the settlement record is received in a batch file from the Network and posted to the system later, it is matched against the hold record340and marked as substantiated. B. Selected Merchant Transactions In this alternative method, when an E-Coupon card is presented for payment at a selected Merchant, e.g., Walgreens®, a real-time transaction is sent directly to Metavante® from Walgreens with the dollar amount and product data, e.g. an SKU. Only discount eligible items as determined internally by Walgreens are sent, e.g., special in-store discounts offered only by that Merchant. The Metavante system performs validity checks. Metavante posts the requested amount to a database and sends a response to Walgreens. Upon receipt of the response, Walgreens formats an authorization transaction that is sent to Metavante. The system will perform authorization validation along with validation against the database holding the transaction. When a database match is determined, and all other authorization checks are valid, the transaction is approved and a hold record340is created for the authorization. The hold record340is marked as substantiated and a response is sent back to Walgreens®. When the settlement record is received in the batch file from the Network and posted to the system, it is matched against the hold record340and marked as substantiated. Walgreens has described a related processing method in US Pat. Pub. No. 2005/0178828, which is herein incorporated by reference. A variation on the above described Merchant system is one implemented by another retailer, e.g., Wal-mart. Wal-mart has its own Inventory Information Approval System. When a E-Coupon card is presented for payment at Wal-mart, its system determines which items are discount eligible and then sends a real-time authorization transaction to Metavante with the dollar amount of the eligible items. The Metavante system will perform authorization validity checks and, when applicable, approve the transaction. A hold record340is created for the authorization and marked as substantiated and a response is sent back to Wal-mart. When the settlement record is received in the batch file from the Network and posted to the system, it is matched against the hold record and marked as substantiated. Furthermore, all the disclosed features of each disclosed embodiment can be combined with, or substituted for, the disclosed features of every other disclosed embodiment except where such features are mutually exclusive. It is intended that the appended claims cover all such additions, modifications, and rearrangements. Expedient embodiments of the present invention are differentiated by the appended claims. | 35,790 |
11861612 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Example implementations are described in detail herein, and examples of the example implementations are presented in the accompanying drawings. When the following description relates to the accompanying drawings, the same number in different accompanying drawings represents the same element or similar elements unless specified otherwise. Implementations described in the following example implementations do not represent all implementations consistent with the one or more implementations of the present specification. On the contrary, they are only examples of apparatuses and methods described in the appended claims in detail and consistent with some aspects of the one or more implementations of the present specification. It should be noted that, in other implementations, the steps of the corresponding method are not necessarily performed based on a sequence shown and described in the present specification. In some other implementations, the method can include more or fewer steps than the steps described in the present specification. In addition, a single step described in the present specification may be divided into multiple steps for description in other implementations, and multiple steps described in the present specification may be combined into a single step for description in other implementations. In actual applications, a user often encounters an offline transfer requirement. For example, a mobile terminal (such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or a wearable device) can perform offline transfer between user accounts by relying on an offline communication capability (such as NFC, Bluetooth, WiFi, or a quick response code) on the premise of being disconnected from the Internet. Due to a security requirement, an offline resource transfer transaction is usually protected by relying on a hardware security capability. For example, the offline resource transfer transaction is signed by using a trusted execution environment (TEE) or a secure element (SE) in a mobile terminal device, to ensure that transaction data cannot be tampered with. However, due to the rigor of a financial transaction, the TEE is still considered to have security problems such as side channels/side-channel attacks in some scenarios. In addition, even though improved in security, the SE may still have vulnerabilities in specific use and therefore may fail by being attacked by hackers. One or more implementations of the present specification provide an offline resource transfer method applicable to, e.g., a mobile terminal. The method is applied to a resource transfer system including a transferor terminal and a receiver terminal shown inFIG.1. Multiple execution environments are separately included in the transferor user terminal and the receiver user terminal. An offline blockchain network includes multiple computing nodes constructed based on the execution environments of the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal as blockchain nodes. A specific type of the transferor terminal or the receiver terminal is not limited in the present specification. The transferor terminal or the receiver terminal can include a form of a mobile terminal or a non-mobile terminal, or can include a device terminal such as a POS machine for a collection function or a cash register for near field payment. The mobile terminal includes but is not limited to an intelligent terminal such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or a wearable device. The execution environment in the one or more implementations of the present specification includes hardware components (including a processor, a memory, etc.) required for program execution, and operating systems and applications that run on the hardware components. For example, a rich execution environment (REE) includes a rich operating system (Rich OS) running on a general-purpose embedded processor and a client application thereon. In the REE, security of sensitive data cannot be ensured although many security measures such as device access control, a device data encryption mechanism, an application runtime isolation mechanism, and permission-based access control are used. A trusted execution environment (TEE) is a security extension based on CPU hardware and completely isolated from the outside. The TEE is an independent running environment that runs outside the Rich OS. The TEE provides a security service to a common operating system and is isolated from the Rich OS, to ensure isolation execution, integrity of a trusted application, confidentiality of trusted data, secure storage, etc. The TEE was originally proposed by the Global Platform. The TEE is used to resolve secure isolation between resources in mobile devices, and is parallel to an operating system to provide a trusted secure execution environment for an application. The Trust Zone technology of ARM first implements a really commercial TEE technology. With the rapid development of the Internet, a security requirement is increasingly high. In addition to the mobile device, a cloud device and a data center also propose more requirements for the TEE. The concept of TEE has also been developed and expanded at a high speed. The TEE now is a more general TEE than the concept originally proposed. For example, server chip manufacturers such as Intel and AMD successively introduce a hardware-assisted TEE, which enriches the concept and features of the TEE and is widely recognized in the industry. The TEE now usually refers to this type of hardware-assisted TEE technology. In addition, only secure resource isolation cannot meet the security requirement, and further data privacy protection is also proposed. Commercial TEEs, including Intel SGX and AMD SEV, each also provide a memory encryption technology to confine trusted hardware inside a CPU. Both bus and memory data are ciphertext to prevent a malicious user from snooping. For example, TEE technologies such as Intel software protection extension (SGX) isolate code execution, remote attestation, security configuration, secure data storage, and a trusted path for executing code. The application running in the TEE is protected in security and is difficult to be accessed by a third party. Internal APIs of the TEE mainly include key management, a password algorithm, secure storage, and a secure clock resource and service, and can further include APIs such as an extended trusted UI. The trusted UI means that when crucial information is displayed and user crucial data (for example, a password) is entered, hardware resources such as screen display and a keyboard can be controlled and accessed by the TEE and cannot be accessed by software in the Rich OS. The internal API is a trusted application programming interface provided by the TEE. An external API of the TEE is an underlying communications interface that allows a client application (CA) running in the Rich OS to access trusted application services and data. A secure element (SE) provides a processor element completely isolated from a general-purpose embedded processor, a storage element, and an operating system with relatively low complexity, and can be configured to store a key with a higher confidentiality level and perform a corresponding key operation. Although the SE externally provides an extremely limited interface and function, such as slow serial port connection, a low-performance CPU, inefficiency in processing a large amount of data, and a low UI capability, the SE has relatively high security. Therefore, the TEE is a framework running in a terminal device and providing security higher than security provided by the REE and lower than security provided by the SE, and balances costs and ease of development. However, the TEE is still considered to have security problems such as side channels/side-channel attacks in some scenarios. In addition, even though improved in security, the SE may still have vulnerabilities in specific use and therefore may fail by being attacked by hackers. Therefore, it is difficult to ensure security of a financial transaction by relying on any one of execution environments such as the REE, the TEE, or the SE alone. In the one or more implementations provided in the present specification, based on any execution environment included in the transferor terminal or the receiver terminal, a computing node (as shown inFIG.1, a computing node is constructed in each of a REE, a TEE, or an SE of each terminal) serving as an offline blockchain node can be constructed, or multiple computing nodes serving as offline blockchain nodes can be constructed. It is not limited. The multiple computing nodes constructed based on the execution environment included in the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal participate in an offline resource transfer process as offline blockchain nodes. The blockchain or blockchain network in the present specification can be specifically a P2P network system having a distributed data storage structure and obtained by nodes by using a consensus mechanism. Ledger data in the blockchain is distributed in “blocks (block)” connected in time. The current block can include a data digest of the previous block, and full data backup of all or some of the nodes is achieved based on different specific consensus mechanisms (for example, POW, POS, DPOS, or PBFT). Real data generated in the physical world can be constructed into a standard transaction (transaction) format supported by a blockchain, and then published to the blockchain. Nodes in the blockchain perform consensus processing on the received transaction, and after a consensus is reached, a node serving as a bookkeeping or mining node in the blockchain packages the transaction into a block, for persistent storage in the blockchain. Regardless of which consensus algorithm is used in the blockchain, the bookkeeping or mining node can package the received transaction to generate a latest or a proposed block and send the generated latest or proposed block to the other nodes for consensus verification. After receiving the latest or proposed block, if the other nodes learn, through verification, that the latest or proposed block has no problem, the other nodes can add the latest or proposed block to the end of the original blockchain to complete a bookkeeping process of the blockchain. In the process of verifying the new block sent by the bookkeeping or mining node, the other nodes can also execute the transaction included in the block. It should be noted that, each time a latest or proposed block is generated in the blockchain, after a transaction in the latest or proposed block is executed, a corresponding status of the executed transaction in the blockchain changes accordingly. For example, in a blockchain constructed based on an account model, an account status of an external account or a smart contract account usually also correspondingly changes with transaction execution. For example, after an “offline resource transfer transaction” in a block is executed, balances of a transferor account and a receiver account (namely, field values of balance fields of the accounts) associated with the “offline resource transfer transaction” usually also change accordingly. For example, a “smart contract invocation transaction” in a block is used to invoke a smart contract deployed on the blockchain, the smart contract is invoked in an EVM corresponding to a node device to execute the “smart contract invocation transaction,” and a data status corresponding to the smart contract invocation transaction is updated based on an execution result. In the blockchain or blockchain network, the nodes can communicate with each other by using an Internet protocol, to achieve the consensus process. The “offline blockchain” in the one or more implementations of the present specification is a blockchain that includes multiple computing nodes running in a transferor terminal and a receiver terminal. As shown inFIG.1, multiple computing nodes0,1,2,3,4, and5running in a transferor terminal and a receiver terminal constitute an offline blockchain network10. Intra-terminal computing nodes (for example, nodes0,1, and2, or nodes3,4, and5) can be connected by using an internal communication method, and inter-terminal computing nodes (for example, nodes0,1, or2and nodes3,4, or5) can be connected by using a short-range wireless communication method, or referred to as short-distance wireless communication, including NFC communication, Bluetooth communication, WiFi communication, and code scanning communication, to perform processes such as transaction broadcast, transaction verification, transaction consensus, and transaction execution in the offline blockchain. The “resource transfer” in the one or more implementations of the present specification is resource transfer between accounts of a transferor user and a receiver user. The present specification is not limited by any specific form of the resource. For example, the resource can include various resource forms such as an electronic currency, a security, a virtual digital asset, and a blockchain token (token). The blockchain token (token) can also correspond to assets such as cash, a security, a coupon, and a real estate outside the blockchain. The resource transfer method in the present specification is applicable to any scenario in which resource transfer/circulation is required, such as inter-user transfer and payment. It is not specifically limited. For an account in a blockchain, an account status of the account is usually maintained by using a structure. When a transaction in a block is executed, a status of an account associated with the transaction in the blockchain usually also changes. Taking Ethereum as an example, a structure of an account usually includes fields such as a balance field, a nonce field, a code field, and a storage field. The balance field is used to maintain the current account balance of the account. The nonce field is used to maintain a quantity of transactions of the account, and is a counter used to ensure that each transaction can be processed only once, thereby effectively avoiding a replay attack. The code field is used to maintain contract code of the account. In actual applications, the code field usually maintains only a hash value of the contract code. Therefore, the code field is also commonly referred to as a Codehash field. The storage field is used to maintain storage content of the account (a default field value is null). For a contract account, independent storage space is usually allocated to store storage content of the contract account. The independent storage space is usually referred to as account storage of the contract account. The storage content of the contract account is usually stored in the independent storage space by being constructed as a data structure of a Merkle Patricia Trie (MPT) tree. The MPT tree constructed based on the storage content of the contract account is usually also referred to as a storage tree. The storage field usually maintains only a root node of the storage tree. Therefore, the storage field is usually also referred to as a StorageRoot field. For an external account, field values of the code field and the storage field shown above are both null. A type of the transferor user account or the receiver user account is not limited in the present specification. For example, the transferor user account or the receiver user account can be an external account or a contract account. Correspondingly, the offline resource transfer transaction can be an offline resource transfer transaction between external accounts, an offline resource transfer transaction between an external account and a contract account, or an offline resource transfer transaction between contract accounts. When the offline resource transfer transaction relates to a contract account, a type of the offline resource transfer transaction can be a smart contract invocation transaction. FIG.2illustrates a blockchain-based offline resource transfer method according to an example implementation of the present specification. The method includes the following steps. Step202: A transferor terminal constructs an offline resource transfer transaction in response to an offline resource transfer operation initiated by a user on the transferor terminal, the offline resource transfer transaction including a transferor account, a receiver account, and a resource transfer quantity. For example, the user can trigger an “offline transfer” button on the transferor terminal to enter a construction interface of the offline resource transfer transaction. When constructing the offline resource transfer transaction, the transferor terminal usually needs to obtain receiver account information. The present specification is not limited by any specific method in which the transferor terminal obtains the receiver account information. In an illustrative implementation, the transferor user can manually enter the receiver account information in the construction interface of the offline resource transfer transaction based on man-machine interaction with the transferor terminal. The manually entered receiver account information can be directly stored in any computing node included in the transferor terminal. In an illustrative implementation, the transferor terminal can obtain the receiver account information by performing short-range wireless communication, for example, performing Bluetooth, WiFi, or NFC connection with a receiver terminal, or scanning a collection information graphic code provided by the receiver terminal. Collection information obtained through the short-range wireless communication can be directly stored in any computing node included in the transferor terminal. The present specification is not limited by any specific type of an execution environment participating in the short-range wireless communication in the transferor terminal or the receiver terminal. For example, the execution environment can include a REE, a TEE, or an SE. Usually, REEs of the two terminals can be communicatively connected based on the short-range wireless communication method; or a TEE in one terminal can be connected to a REE or TEE in the other terminal based on the short-range wireless communication method. However, due to a relatively high security setting and a relatively low communication configuration of the SE, the SE is usually only used to be internally connected to a REE or TEE inside the terminal. However, the present specification is not limited to the connection method. For example, some SEs having a Bluetooth communication function can be connected to a REE or TEE in the other terminal based on the short-range wireless communication method. A computing node obtaining the receiver account information and a computing node constructing the offline resource transfer transaction in the transferor terminal can be the same computing node in the same execution environment, or can be different computing nodes in the same execution environment, or can be different computing nodes in different execution environments included in the transferor terminal. It is not limited herein. For example, the computing node constructing the transaction can obtain the receiver account information stored in the other execution environment by using an internal communication method, and construct the offline resource transfer transaction based on the receiver account information. In the implementations, content of the offline resource transfer transaction can include a transaction body and a digital signature. Transaction body content can include transferor account information, the receiver account information, and resource transfer quantity information. Based on different protocol types of an offline blockchain, the transaction body content can further include other content, such as an identifier of a to-be-transferred resource. When the offline blockchain is a blockchain constructed based on a bitcoin protocol, the transaction body can further include input and output of the current transaction. For example, to prevent the offline resource transfer transaction from being a double-spending transaction, the input may be unspent transaction output (UTXO). In an illustrative implementation, the transferor terminal can construct the offline resource transfer transaction based on a wallet application client running in a first computing node. The wallet application can be developed specifically to execute the offline transfer in the present specification. A wallet account of the transferor user includes a resource specific to the offline transfer in the implementations of the present specification. For example, the wallet application is also applicable to online transfer. In this case, a part of a wallet balance of the transferor user can be loaded as an account balance of the offline blockchain, or some resources in a wallet of the transferor user can be loaded as a to-be-transferred resource quantity of the offline blockchain. The first computing node of the transferor terminal can perform digital signature based on at least the transaction body content by using a private key or certificate of the transferor user. The private key or certificate of the transferor user can be stored in the first computing node, or can be stored in another computing node of the transferor terminal. To further ensure privacy security of a key to prevent a malicious party from stealing the key and impersonating the transferor user to construct an illegal offline resource transfer transaction, the private key or certificate of the transferor user can be stored in an execution environment having a relatively high security level and included in the transferor terminal, such as a TEE or an SE. Correspondingly, a computing node constructed in the execution environment storing the private key or certificate can receive the transaction body content sent by the first computing node, perform a digital signature operation based on the transaction body content, and return a digital signature generated through calculation to the first computing node. Both the key and the key operation are stored in the execution environment with the high security level, so that security of the key and the key operation is ensured. Step204: The transferor terminal sends the offline resource transfer transaction to the receiver terminal through a short-range wireless communication between the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal, for the offline resource transfer transaction to be broadcast to multiple computing nodes included in the offline blockchain network. In an illustrative implementation, the first computing node of the transferor terminal sends the offline resource transfer transaction to a second computing node of the receiver terminal in response to the short-range wireless communication between the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal. The “sending” can include a method such as actively sending the offline resource transfer transaction or passively reading the offline resource transfer transaction. For example, the second computing node of the receiver terminal can obtain offline resource transfer transaction information by performing short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth, WiFi or NFC connection, or code scanning identification, e.g., the receiver terminal scans a graphic code generated based on the offline resource transfer transaction information, to read the offline resource transfer transaction information, with the first computing node of the transferor terminal. The present specification is not limited by any specific type of an execution environment in which the first computing node of the transferor terminal or the second computing node of the receiver terminal is located. For example, the execution environment can include a REE, a TEE, or an SE. Usually, REEs of the two terminals can be communicatively connected based on the short-range wireless communication method; or a TEE in one terminal can be connected to a REE or TEE in the other terminal based on the short-range wireless communication method. However, due to a relatively high security setting and a relatively low communication configuration of the SE, the SE is usually only used to be internally connected to a REE or TEE inside the terminal. Therefore, the SE can establish communication with a REE, a TEE, or an SE in the other terminal through transiting by the REE or TEE inside the terminal. However, the present specification is not limited to the connection method. For example, computing nodes constructed in some SEs having a Bluetooth communication function can be connected to a computing node constructed in a REE or TEE in the other terminal based on the short-range wireless communication method. The implementations are not limited by any specific method of broadcasting the offline resource transfer transaction. For example, the first computing node and the second computing node can separately broadcast the offline resource transfer transaction in multiple computing nodes included in the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal by using an internal communication method, so that the multiple computing nodes can perform verification or consensus on the offline resource transfer transaction after obtaining the offline resource transfer transaction. In some implementations, as shown inFIG.1, the first computing node or the second computing node can still broadcast the offline resource transfer transaction in multiple computing nodes included in the receiver terminal or the transferor terminal by still using the short-range wireless communication method, so that the multiple computing nodes can perform verification or consensus on the offline resource transfer transaction after obtaining the offline resource transfer transaction. In an illustrative implementation, to facilitate verification performed by multiple computing nodes included in the receiver terminal on the offline resource transfer transaction, the second computing node of the receiver terminal can obtain public key or certificate information of the transferor user by performing short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth, WiFi, or NFC connection, or code scanning identification with the first computing node of the transferor terminal. For example, the receiver terminal scans a graphic code generated by the transferor terminal based on the offline resource transfer transaction information and the public key or certificate information of the transferor user. The second computing node broadcasts the obtained public key or certificate information of the transferor user and the offline resource transfer transaction information in the multiple computing nodes included in the receiver terminal, so that the multiple computing nodes can verify the offline resource transfer transaction based on the public key or certificate information of the transferor user. In an illustrative implementation, to facilitate verification performed by multiple computing nodes included in the receiver terminal on the offline resource transfer transaction, the second computing node of the receiver terminal can exchange account information of the transferor user and a receiver user by performing short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth, WiFi, or NFC connection, or code scanning identification with the first computing node of the transferor terminal. The account information of both users, the public key or certificate information of the transferor user, and the offline resource transfer transaction information are broadcast in the multiple computing nodes included in the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal, so that the multiple computing nodes can verify the offline resource transfer transaction based on the account information of the transferor user and the public key or certificate information of the transferor user. The multiple computing nodes included in the offline blockchain can execute the offline resource transfer transaction after verification and consensus performed by the multiple computing nodes included in the offline blockchain on the offline resource transfer transaction succeed. Step206: After consensus on the offline resource transfer transaction has been successfully completed by the offline blockchain network based on a predetermined consensus mechanism succeeds, the computing nodes included in the offline blockchain execute the offline resource transfer transaction to transfer a resource corresponding to the resource transfer quantity from the transferor account to the receiver account. In an illustrative implementation, the offline blockchain network is constructed based on an Ethereum account model, and the computing nodes included in the offline blockchain network maintain initial resource quantities, e.g., account balances, held by the receiver account and the transferor account of the offline resource transfer. A process in which the computing nodes included in the offline blockchain verify the offline resource transfer transaction includes but is not limited to one or more of verification steps such as verifying validity of the digital signature, verifying effectiveness of the resource transfer quantity, for example, verifying whether a balance of the transferor account is sufficient to pay a transfer amount, and verifying effectiveness of the to-be-transferred resource, for example, verifying whether the transferor account includes an untransferred valid to-be-transferred resource. It is not limited in this implementation. The present specification is not limited by any consensus mechanism used by the computing nodes in the offline blockchain. In an illustrative implementation, to reduce a quantity of times of short-range wireless communication between the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal in a consensus phase, the offline blockchain can use a RAFT consensus mechanism. In the RAFT consensus algorithm, a node can have three states: a leader node, a follower node, and a candidate node. The leader node is responsible for replicating a packaged log on which consensus is to be performed and distributing the log to the other nodes, and only one leader stores the log in the same round of consensus. The follower node receives the log on which consensus is to be performed sent by the leader and performs consensus on a block. The candidate node is an intermediate state of conversion from the follower to the leader. In the one or more implementations provided in the present specification, the log on which consensus is to be performed includes an offline resource transfer transaction on which consensus is to be performed. The RAFT algorithm can be divided into the following steps. Step 1: Leader (Leader node) election. For example, in an initial state, all nodes are started as follower roles, and an election timer is started simultaneously (time is random to reduce a collision probability). If a node finds that the node has not received a heartbeat request sent by a leader until the time of the election timer expires, the node becomes a candidate (Candidate) and remains in this state until one of the following three cases occurs: the node (Candidate) wins the election; another node(s) wins the election; and no server wins the election after a period of time (the next round (Term) of election is entered and the time of the election timer is randomly set). Then, the candidate sends a request for vote (Request Vote) to the other nodes. If the candidate is approved of by more than half of the nodes, the candidate becomes a leader (Leader). If no leader is elected until the election expires, the next term is entered for re-election. After the leader election is completed, the leader periodically sends a heartbeat (Heartbeat) packet to the other nodes to tell the other nodes that the leader is still running, and resets election timers of these nodes. Stage 2: Log replication (Log Replication). The leader node can verify a command, for example, the offline resource transfer transaction in the present specification, after receiving the command based on short-range wireless communication, and append the command to the local log after the verification succeeds. In this case, the command is in an “uncommitted” state, and a replication state machine does not execute the command. Then, the leader concurrently replicates the command to the other nodes and waits for the other nodes to write the command to logs. If some nodes fail or are slow in this case, the leader node keeps reattempting until all the nodes save the command in logs. Then, the leader node submits a command execution instruction, for example, an instruction for executing the offline resource transfer transaction, and returns an execution result to a client constructing the command, for example, a wallet application constructing the offline resource transfer transaction. After the leader node submits the command execution instruction, a next heartbeat packet includes a message for notifying the other nodes to execute the command. After receiving the message from the leader, the other nodes apply the command to state machines (State Machine) to execute the command. Finally, the logs of all the nodes are consistent. In the RAFT algorithm, for requests with inconsistent log content, log content of the follower node is overwritten with log content of the leader node. First, the first inconsistent places in the log records of the two nodes are identified, and then overwriting is performed until the latest submitted command position is overwritten. In the one or more implementations provided in the present specification, based on the RAFT consensus mechanism, the multiple computing nodes included in the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal can store the offline resource transfer transaction on which the verification and consensus succeed in respectively locally stored offline blockchain databases; and based on execution of the offline resource transfer transaction, the resource corresponding to the resource transfer quantity is transferred from the transferor account to the receiver account, for example, the resource transfer quantity is subtracted from a maintained initial resource quantity (transferor account balance) held by the transferor account and the resource transfer quantity is added to a maintained initial resource quantity (receiver account balance) held by the receiver account. In an illustrative implementation, the transferor account and the receiver account are accounts respectively opened by the transferor user and the receiver user on an online blockchain. The online blockchain network includes a blockchain network constructed based on a long-range communications protocol such as the Internet. To further facilitate online operations of the transferor account and the receiver account, the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal can serve as nodes or clients in the online blockchain. For example, the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal respectively run wallet applications of the transferor user and the receiver user in the online blockchain, and the wallet applications respectively record identification information of accounts opened by the transferor user and the receiver user on the online blockchain and account content (for example, account balances). The wallet application in the online blockchain is also applicable to the offline blockchain in the present specification. For example, the online blockchain account identification information and the account content (for example, the account balances) of the transferor user and the receiver user can be directly applied to the offline blockchain transfer. When the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal complete the offline resource transfer based on the resource transfer process in steps202to206and the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal are in an online state (for example, Internet communication is recovered), the transferor terminal or the receiver terminal can further perform step208: Perform data synchronization with node devices in the online blockchain network, and update resource quantities held by a receiver online account and a transferor online account and maintained by the node devices in the online blockchain network based on the resource quantities held by the receiver account and the transferor account of the offline resource transfer and maintained by the computing nodes in the offline blockchain network. For example, the online blockchain can directly approve of the offline resource transfer transaction stored in the offline blockchain, and update online account balances of the two users based on the offline resource transfer transaction. In example implementations, when the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal are in an online state (for example, Internet communication is restored), the transferor terminal or the receiver terminal can send the offline resource transfer transaction recorded in the offline blockchain to the online blockchain, so that the offline resource transfer transaction is executed on the online blockchain after consensus verification performed by the online blockchain on the offline resource transfer transaction succeeds. In an illustrative implementation, the transferor account and the receiver account are offline accounts opened by the transferor user and the receiver user on the offline blockchain and corresponding to accounts respectively opened by the transferor user and the receiver user on an online blockchain. To further facilitate online operations of the transferor account and the receiver account, the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal can serve as nodes or clients of the online blockchain. For example, the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal respectively run wallet applications of the transferor user and the receiver user in the online blockchain, and the wallet applications respectively record online blockchain account identification information and account content (for example, account balances) of the transferor user and the receiver user. The wallet application in the online blockchain is also applicable to the offline blockchain in the present specification. For example, the transferor user or the receiver user can load some resources from an online blockchain account of the transferor user or the receiver user for the transfer process of the offline blockchain in steps202to206. When the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal complete the offline resource transfer based on the resource transfer process in steps202to206and the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal are in an online state (for example, Internet communication is recovered), the transferor terminal or the receiver terminal can further perform step208: Perform data synchronization with node devices in the online blockchain network, and update total resource quantities (including online balances and offline balances) held by the receiver account and the transferor account and maintained by the node devices in the online blockchain network based on the resource quantities held by the receiver account and the transferor account of the offline resource transfer and maintained by the computing nodes in the offline blockchain network, that is, update online blockchain accounts of the two users based on the offline resource transfer transaction performed by the two terminals in an offline state. According to the blockchain-based offline resource transfer method provided in the one or more implementations of the present specification, the offline resource transfer transaction can be stored in the offline blockchain constructed by the multiple computing nodes running in the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal, and the multiple computing nodes are respectively constructed based on the multiple execution environments included in the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal. Security of the offline resource transfer transaction is ensured based on the tamper-resistance mechanism of the blockchain. Therefore, difficulty in attacking and tampering with a ledger of each computing node by a hacker can be increased by constructing more computing nodes compared with performing the offline resource transfer transaction in a certain execution environment of the transferor terminal or the receiver terminal. Corresponding to the above process implementation, an implementation of the present specification further provides resource transfer apparatuses30and40. The apparatuses30and40can be implemented by using software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. Software implementation is used as an example. As a logical apparatus, the apparatus is formed by reading a corresponding computer program instruction to a memory for execution by using a central processing unit (CPU) of a device in which the apparatus is located. In terms of hardware, in addition to a CPU, a memory, and a storage shown inFIG.5, the device in which the apparatus is located usually further includes other hardware such as a chip for wireless signal sending/receiving, and/or other hardware such as a card for implementing a network communication function. As shown inFIG.3, the present specification provides a blockchain-based offline resource transfer apparatus30. A transferor terminal and a receiver terminal of offline resource transfer include multiple execution environments. An offline blockchain network includes multiple computing nodes constructed based on the execution environments of the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal as blockchain nodes. The apparatus is applied to the transferor terminal, the apparatus including: a construction unit302, configured to construct an offline resource transfer transaction in response to an offline resource transfer operation initiated by a user on the transferor terminal, the offline resource transfer transaction including identification information of a transferor account, identification information of a receiver account, and a resource transfer quantity; a sending unit304, configured to send the offline resource transfer transaction to the receiver terminal through a short-range wireless communication between the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal, for the offline resource transfer transaction to be broadcast to the multiple computing nodes included in the offline blockchain network; and an execution unit306, configured to: after consensus on the offline resource transfer transaction has been successfully completed by the offline blockchain network based on a predetermined consensus mechanism succeeds, execute the offline resource transfer transaction to transfer a resource corresponding to the resource transfer quantity from the transferor account to the receiver account. In an illustrative implementation, the computing nodes included in the offline blockchain network maintain initial resource quantities held by the receiver account and the transferor account of the offline resource transfer; and the execution unit306is further configured to: execute the offline resource transfer transaction to subtract the resource transfer quantity from a maintained initial resource quantity of the transferor account and add the resource transfer quantity to a maintained initial resource quantity of the receiver account. In an illustrative implementation, the transferor account and the receiver account are accounts respectively opened by the transferor user and a receiver user on an online blockchain; or the transferor account and the receiver account are offline accounts opened by the transferor user and the receiver user on the offline blockchain and corresponding to accounts respectively opened by the transferor user and the receiver user on an online blockchain. In an illustrative implementation, the apparatus30further includes: an online updating unit308, configured to: in response to the transferor terminal being in an online state, perform data synchronization with node devices in the online blockchain network, and update resource quantities held by the accounts corresponding to the receiver account and the transferor account and maintained by the nodes in the online blockchain network based on the resource quantities held by the receiver account and the transferor account of the offline resource transfer and maintained by the computing nodes in the offline blockchain network. For a specific implementation process of the functions of the units in the apparatus30, references can be made to the implementation process of the corresponding steps in the above resource transfer method executed by the transferor terminal. For related parts, references can be made to parts of the method implementation descriptions. Details are omitted herein for simplicity. As shown inFIG.4, the present specification further provides a blockchain-based offline resource transfer apparatus40. A transferor terminal and a receiver terminal of offline resource transfer include multiple execution environments. An offline blockchain network includes multiple computing nodes constructed based on the execution environments of the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal as blockchain nodes. The apparatus40is applied to the receiver terminal and includes: an acquisition unit402, configured to obtain, through a short-range wireless communication between the transferor terminal and the receiver terminal, an offline resource transfer transaction constructed by the transferor terminal, for the offline resource transfer transaction to be broadcast to the multiple computing nodes included in the offline blockchain network, the offline resource transfer transaction including identification information of a transferor account, identification information of a receiver account, and a resource transfer quantity; and an execution unit404, configured to: after consensus on the offline resource transfer transaction has been successfully completed by the offline blockchain network based on a predetermined consensus mechanism succeeds, execute the offline resource transfer transaction to transfer a resource corresponding to the resource transfer quantity from the transferor account to the receiver account. In an illustrative implementation, the computing nodes included in the offline blockchain network maintain initial resource quantities held by the receiver account and the transferor account of the offline resource transfer; and the execution unit404is further configured to: execute the offline resource transfer transaction to subtract the resource transfer quantity from a maintained initial resource quantity of the transferor account and add the resource transfer quantity to a maintained initial resource quantity of the receiver account. In an illustrative implementation, the transferor account and the receiver account are accounts respectively opened by the transferor user and a receiver user on an online blockchain; or the transferor account and the receiver account are offline accounts opened by the transferor user and the receiver user on the offline blockchain and corresponding to accounts respectively opened by the transferor user and the receiver user on an online blockchain. In an illustrative implementation, the apparatus further includes: an online updating unit406, configured to: when the receiver terminal is in an online state, perform data synchronization with node devices in the online blockchain network, and update resource quantities held by the accounts corresponding to the receiver account and the transferor account and maintained by the nodes in the online blockchain network based on the resource quantities held by the receiver account and the transferor account of the offline resource transfer and maintained by the computing nodes in the offline blockchain network. For a specific implementation process of the functions of the units in the apparatus40, references can be made to the implementation process of the corresponding steps in the above resource transfer method executed by the receiver terminal. For related parts, references can be made to parts of the method implementation descriptions. Details are omitted herein for simplicity. The described apparatus implementation is merely an example. The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical modules, that is, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on multiple network modules. Some or all of the units or modules can be selected based on actual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the present specification. A person of ordinary skill in the art can understand and implement the present specification without creative efforts. The apparatus, unit, or module illustrated in the above implementations can be specifically implemented by using a computer chip or an entity, or can be implemented by using a product with a certain function. A typical implementation device is a computer, and a specific form of the computer can be a personal computer, a laptop computer, a cellular phone, a camera phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant, a media player, a navigation device, an e-mail sending/receiving device, a game console, a tablet computer, a wearable device, or any combination of several of these devices. Corresponding to the above method implementation, an implementation of the present specification further provides a computer device. As shown inFIG.5, the computer device includes a memory and a processor. The memory stores a computer program that can be run by the processor. The processor executes the steps of the blockchain-based offline resource transfer method executed by the transferor terminal in the implementations of the present specification when running the stored computer program. For detailed descriptions of the steps of the blockchain-based offline resource transfer method executed by the transferor terminal, references can be made to the above content. Details are not repeated. Corresponding to the above method implementation, an implementation of the present specification further provides a computer device. As shown inFIG.5, the computer device includes a memory and a processor. The memory stores a computer program that can be run by the processor. The processor executes the steps of the blockchain-based offline resource transfer method executed by the receiver terminal in the implementations of the present specification when running the stored computer program. For detailed descriptions of the steps of the blockchain-based offline resource transfer method executed by the receiver terminal, references can be made to the above content. Details are not repeated. The above descriptions are merely example implementations of the present specification, but are not intended to limit the present specification. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc., made without departing from the spirit and principle of the present specification shall fall within the protection scope of the present specification. In a typical configuration, the computing device includes one or more processors (CPUs), input/output interfaces, network interfaces, and memories. The memory may include a form such as a non-permanent memory, a random access memory (RAM), and/or a non-volatile memory in a computer readable medium, such as a read-only memory (ROM) or a flash memory (flash RAM). The memory is an example of the computer readable medium. The computer readable medium includes persistent, non-persistent, movable, and unmovable media that can store information by using any method or technology. The information can be a computer readable instruction, a data structure, a program module, or other data. An example of the computer storage medium includes but is not limited to a phase-change random access memory (PRAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), another type of random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory or another memory technology, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD) or another optical storage, a magnetic cassette tape, a magnetic tape magnetic disk storage or another magnetic storage device, or any other non-transmission medium. The computer storage medium can be configured to store information accessible to a computing device. As defined herein, the computer readable medium does not include transitory media (transitory media), such as a modulated data signal and a carrier. It should be further noted that the term “comprise,” “include,” or their any other variant is intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, commodity, or device that includes a series of elements not only includes those elements but also includes other elements that are not expressly listed, or further includes elements inherent to such process, method, commodity, or device. An element preceded by “includes a . . . ” does not, without more constraints, preclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, commodity, or device that includes the element. A person skilled in the art should understand that the implementations of the present specification can be provided as a method, a system, or a computer program product. Therefore, the implementations of the present specification can use a form of hardware only implementations, software only implementations, or implementations with a combination of software and hardware. Moreover, the implementation of the present specification can use a form of a computer program product that is implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to a magnetic disk memory, a CD-ROM, an optical memory, and the like) that include computer-usable program code. The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. All of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications and non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further embodiments. These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure. | 55,381 |
11861613 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Examples of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods for identifying a secondary card user. In particular, the disclosed technology relates to systems and methods for receiving transaction information associated with a transaction, wherein the transaction information comprises an account number associated with a first user; determining whether the transaction is associated with a second user, and if so, prompting the first user to confirm or deny the transaction; determining whether the transaction exceeds a predetermined threshold, and if so, recommending the first user designate the second user as an authorized user of the account number. The systems and methods described herein are necessarily rooted in computer and technology as they utilize MLMs to identify characteristics of a card user (e.g., purchase history, merchant preferences, biometric information, etc.). Machine learning models are a unique computer technology that involves training the models to complete tasks, such as labeling, categorizing, identifying, or determining whether user inputs and/or preferences correspond to a certain user's identity so the MLMs learn how to label, categorize, identify, or determine whether a first user or a second user, for example, is using an account for conducting transactions. Importantly, examples of the present disclosure improve the speed with which computers can perform these automated tasks, by reducing the amount of data necessary to properly train the MLMs to make such determinations. Some implementations of the disclosed technology will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosed technology may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the implementations set forth herein. The components described hereinafter as making up various elements of the disclosed technology are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many suitable components that would perform the same or similar functions as components described herein are intended to be embraced within the scope of the disclosed electronic devices and methods. Reference will now be made in detail to example embodiments of the disclosed technology that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and disclosed herein. Wherever convenient, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. FIG.1is a diagram of an example system100that may be configured to perform one or more processes that may identify whether a card user is a first or second card user. The components and arrangements shown inFIG.1are not intended to limit the disclosed embodiments as the components used to implement the disclosed processes and features may vary. As shown, system100may include a user device102which may be connected to an organization108via a network106. Organization108may include, for example, a web server110, a transaction server112, identification system114, a database116, and a local network118. In some embodiments, system100may include a third-party server104, which may be connected to network106. According to some embodiments, organization108may be associated with an entity such as a business, corporation, individual, partnership, or any entity that may provide financial services or processing of financial transactions such as a bank, a credit card company, or the like. According to some embodiments, organization108may be associated with an entity that provides goods and services. According to some embodiments, third-party server104may be associated with an entity such as a business, corporation, individual, partnership, or any entity that may provide financial services or processing of financial transactions such as a bank, a credit card company, or the like. In some embodiments, third-party server104and organization108may be associated with the same or related entities. Accordingly, although organization108and third-party server104are shown as being separate inFIG.1, it should be understood that in some embodiments, some or all of the elements of organization108and third-party server104may be combined together into a single organization and/or into one or more components. In some embodiments, a customer may operate user device102, as described further below with respect toFIG.2. User device102may include one or more of a transaction card, a mobile device, smart phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, smart wearable device, voice command device, other mobile computing device, or any other device capable of communicating with network106, third-party server104, and/or with one or more components of organization108. Users of user device102may include individuals such as, for example, subscribers, clients, prospective clients, or customers of an entity associated with organization108and/or third-party server104. According to some embodiments and as described more fully below, user device102may include one or more of: an environmental sensor for obtaining audio or visual data (e.g., a microphone and/or digital camera), one or more biometric sensors for obtaining biometric data from a user (e.g., walking speed, gait, movement patterns, heartrate data, blood pressure data, hormonal data, body temperature data, retinal data, iris data, voice data, respiratory data, brainwave data, olfactory data, sweat data), a geographic location sensor for determining the location of the device, an input/output device such as a transceiver for sending and receiving data (e.g., via WIFI technology, cellular communications, near-field communication (NFC), BLUETOOTH technology, and the like), a display for displaying digital images, one or more processors, and a memory in communication with the one or more processors. Network106may be of any suitable type, including individual connections via the internet such as cellular or WiFi networks. In some embodiments, network106may connect terminals, services, and mobile devices using direct connections such as radio-frequency identification (RFID), NFC, BLUETOOTH technology, LOW ENERGY BLUETOOTH technology (BLE), WIFI technology, ZIGBEE protocols, ambient backscatter communications (ABC) protocols, universal serial bus (USB), wide area network (WAN), or local area network (LAN). Because the information transmitted may be personal or confidential, security concerns may dictate one or more of these types of connections be encrypted or otherwise secured. In some embodiments, however, the information being transmitted may be less personal, and therefore the network connections may be selected for convenience over security. Network106may include any type of computer networking arrangement used to exchange data. For example, network106may be the Internet, a private data network, virtual private network using a public network, and/or other suitable connection(s) that enable(s) components in the system100environment to send and receive information between the components of system100. Network106may also include a public switched telephone network (“PSTN”) and/or a wireless network. An example embodiment of user device102is shown in more detail inFIG.2. As shown, user device102may include a processor210; an input/output (I/O) device220; a memory230, which may contain an operating system (OS)232, a storage device234, which may be any suitable repository of data, and a program236; a communication interface240; a biometric sensor250; a user interface (U/I); and a power source270. In some embodiments, program236may include an MLM238that may be trained, for example, to receive user information (e.g., merchant identifiers or preferences, biometric data, etc.), and compare the received user information to stored or previously associated user information to identify a current user. In certain implementations, MLM238may issue commands in response to processing an event, in accordance with a model that may be continuously or intermittently updated. Moreover, processor210may execute one or more programs (such as via a rules-based platform or the trained MLM238), that, when executed, perform functions related to disclosed embodiments. Processor210may include one or more of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), programmable logic device, microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, co-processor or the like or combinations thereof capable of executing stored instructions and operating upon stored data. Memory230may include, in some implementations, one or more suitable types of memory (e.g., volatile or non-volatile memory, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash memory, a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), and the like) for storing files including operating system232, application programs236(including, for example, a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine, and/or other applications, as necessary), executable instructions and data. In some embodiments, processor210may include a secure microcontroller, which may be configured to transmit and/or facilitate payment transactions and/or cryptography. In some embodiments, processor210may comprise a single secure microcontroller configured to transmit and/or facilitate payment, encrypt and/or decrypt data, and/or process any other program instructions. In some embodiments, processor210may include one or more secure microcontrollers and/or other processing devices such that one or more secure microcontroller is configured to transmit and/or facilitate payment and/or encrypt and/or decrypt data, while one or more other processing device is configured to process any other program instructions. In some embodiments, some or all of the processing techniques described herein can be implemented as a combination of executable instructions and data within memory230. Processor210may be one or more known processing devices, such as a microprocessor from the PENTIUM microprocessor family manufactured by INTEL company or the TURION processor family manufactured by AMD company. Processor210may constitute a single-core or multiple-core processor that executes parallel processes simultaneously. For example, processor210may be a single core processor that is configured with virtual processing technologies. In certain embodiments, processor210may use logical processors to simultaneously execute and control multiple processes. Processor210may implement virtual machine technologies, or other similar known technologies to provide the ability to execute, control, run, manipulate, store, etc., multiple software processes, applications, programs, etc. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that other types of processor arrangements could be implemented that provide for the capabilities disclosed herein. Communication interface240may include a transceiver. In some embodiments, user device102may further include a peripheral interface, a mobile network interface in communication with processor210, a bus configured to facilitate communication between the various components of user device102, and/or a power source configured to power one or more components of user device102. In certain embodiments, user device102may include a geographic location sensor (GLS) for determining the geographic location of user device102. Biometric sensor250may be one or more biometric sensors that are configured to detect and/or measure one or more types of biological information. For example, biometric sensor250may be configured to measure one or more of a user's walking speed, gait, movement patterns, heartrate, blood pressure, hormone levels, body temperature, ocular characteristics (e.g., size, shape, color, and/or other characteristics associated with a user's retina, iris, and/or pupil), voice, respiratory rate (e.g., breathing rate), brainwaves, odor (i.e., olfactory data), and sweat (e.g., amount produced, rate of production, molecular composition). Those having skill in the art will understand that the disclosed technology contemplates any and all sensors configured to measure biological information, including those not yet created, and is not restricted to those types of biological information expressly recited herein. In some embodiments, user device102may include a microphone and/or an image capture device, such as a digital camera. In certain embodiments, user device102may include one or more sensors configured to measure environmental data, such as ambient temperature (e.g., by a thermometer or thermocouple), ambient humidity (e.g., by a hygrometer), local wind speed (e.g., by an anemometer, manometer, or pressure transducer), or any other environmental data that may be useful for the methods and techniques disclosed herein. User device102may include U/I device260for receiving user input data, such as data representative of a click, a scroll, a tap, a press, a spatial gesture (e.g., as detected by one or more accelerometers and/or gyroscopes), or typing on an input device that can detect tactile inputs. User device102may include power source270, which may be a component configured to receive power from an external power source, such as a capacitor, battery, solar powered panel, etc. In some embodiments, power source270may be configured to charge when user device102connects with a computer terminal. In some embodiments, power source270may be configured to charge wirelessly via an inductive charging coil when user device102is placed within an electromagnetic field. In some embodiments, user device102may include a peripheral interface, which may include the hardware, firmware, and/or software that enables communication with various peripheral devices, such as media drives (e.g., magnetic disk, solid state, or optical disk drives), other processing devices, or any other input source used in connection with the instant techniques. In some embodiments, a peripheral interface may include a serial port, a parallel port, a general-purpose input and output (GPIO) port, a game port, a USB, a micro-USB port, a high-definition multimedia (HDMI) port, a video port, an audio port, a BLUETOOTH technology port, an NFC port, another like communication interface, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, a transceiver may be configured to communicate with compatible devices and ID tags when they are within a predetermined range. A transceiver may be compatible with one or more of: RFID, NFC, BLUETOOTH technology, BLE (e.g., BLE mesh and/or thread), WIFI technology, ZIGBEE protocols, ABC protocols or similar technologies. A mobile network interface may provide access to a cellular network, the Internet, or another wide-area network. In some embodiments, a mobile network interface may include hardware, firmware, and/or software that allows processor(s)210to communicate with other devices via wired or wireless networks, whether local or wide area, private or public. A power source may be configured to provide an appropriate alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) to power components. As described above, user device102may be configured to remotely communicate with one or more other devices, such as organization108and/or third-party server104. In some embodiments, user device102may be configured to communicate with one or more devices via network106. In some embodiments, user device102may be configured to detect one or more other user devices associated with a user (e.g., via NFC, BLUETOOTH technology, BLE, etc.) and communicate the presence of those other user device(s) to one or more other devices of system100, such as organization108and/or third-party server104. In some embodiments, user device102may be configured to detect and transmit biometric data indicative of biological information associated with a user, such as to one or more other devices of system100(e.g., organization108and/or third-party server104). User device102may include one or more storage devices234configured to store information used by processor210(or other components) to perform certain functions related to the disclosed embodiments. As an example, user device102may include memory230that includes instructions to enable processor210to execute one or more applications, network communication processes, and any other type of application or software known to be available on computer systems. Alternatively, the instructions, application programs, etc., may be stored in an external storage or available from a memory over a network. The one or more storage devices may be a volatile or non-volatile, magnetic, semiconductor, tape, optical, removable, non-removable, or other type of storage device or tangible computer-readable medium. In some embodiments, user device102may include memory230that includes instructions that, when executed by processor210, perform one or more processes consistent with the functionalities disclosed herein. Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture consistent with disclosed embodiments are not limited to separate programs or computers configured to perform dedicated tasks. For example, user device102may include memory230that may include one or more programs236to perform one or more functions of the disclosed embodiments. Moreover, processor210may execute one or more programs236located remotely from, for example and not in limitation, web server110, transaction server112, or identification system114. For example, user device102may access one or more remote programs236, that, when executed, perform functions related to one or more disclosed embodiments. In some embodiments, one or more programs236may be configured to detect and/or measure biological information associated with a user, which may include, but is not limited to, a user's walking speed, gait, movement patterns, heartrate, blood pressure, hormone levels, body temperature, retina, iris, pupil, voice, respiratory rate (e.g., breathing rate), brainwaves, odor, and/or sweat. According to some embodiments, program(s)236may be configured to detect and/or obtain baseline user information associated with a user (e.g., biometric information, merchant preferences, purchase history, other known associated device(s), etc.). In certain embodiments, program(s)236may be configured to provide a request (e.g., audibly or via a display associated with user device102) for a user to provide baseline user information. In some embodiments, program(s)236may be configured to receive an indication from the user to begin recording biometric data that can be used as baseline biometric data. According to some embodiments, program(s)236may be configured to record biometric data that can be used as baseline biometric data for a predetermined amount of time. For example, program(s)236may be configured to record biometric data for 1 minute, 5 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 1 day, or any amount of time desired, required, or deemed necessary to provide a sufficient amount of baseline data. In certain embodiments, program(s)236may be configured to record biometric data that can be used as baseline biometric data until indication from the user to stop recording has been received. In some embodiments, user device102may determine one or more ranges of baseline biometric data, which may be based at least in part on the obtained baseline biometric data. In some embodiments, user device102may store the baseline biometric data and/or the one or more ranges of baseline biometric data locally. In certain embodiments, program(s)236may be configured to update baseline user information on a regular or semi-regular basis. For example, program(s)236may be configured to measure, record, or otherwise obtain user information associated with a user on a daily, semi-daily, bi-daily, weekly, semi-weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, semi-monthly, bi-monthly, annual, or some other predetermined basis. As another example, program(s)236may be configured to measure, record, or otherwise obtain user information associated with the user whenever a certain event occurs, such as the user opening or logging into an application associated with program(s)236(such as an application associated with user device102). In some embodiments, user device102may transmit the baseline user information such that it can be stored at memory associated with organization108(e.g., database116), or some other memory location. In some embodiments, user device102may transmit the baseline user information such that identification system114, or some other device or component, can determine one or more ranges of user information, which may be based at least in part on the obtained baseline user information. In certain embodiments, the baseline user information and/or ranges of baseline user information may be stored at multiple locations (e.g., multiple memory locations may store redundant copies of the baseline user information and/or ranges of baseline user information). Memory230may include one or more memory devices that store data and instructions used to perform one or more features of the disclosed embodiments. Memory230may also include any combination of one or more databases controlled by memory controller devices (e.g., one or more servers, etc.) or software, such as document management systems, MICROSOFT platform SQL databases, SHAREPOINT platform databases, ORACLE platform databases, SYBASE platform databases, or other relational databases. Memory230may include software components that, when executed by processor210, perform one or more processes consistent with the disclosed embodiments. In some embodiments, memory230may include a database (e.g., database234) for storing data to perform one or more of the processes and functionalities associated with the disclosed embodiments. The database may include data corresponding to one or more types of data or information (e.g., biometric data, merchant preferences, known associated device(s), etc.) associated with one or more users. User device102may also be communicatively connected to one or more memory devices (e.g., databases (not shown)) locally or through a network. The remote memory devices may be configured to store information and may be accessed and/or managed by user device102. By way of example, the remote memory devices may be document management systems, MICROSOFT platform SQL database, SHAREPOINT platform databases, ORACLE platform databases, SYBASE platform databases, or other relational databases. Systems and methods consistent with disclosed embodiments, however, are not limited to separate databases or even to the use of a database. In example embodiments of the disclosed technology, user device102may include any number of hardware and/or software applications that are executed to facilitate any of the operations. The one or more I/O interfaces may be utilized to receive or collect data and/or user instructions from a wide variety of input devices. Received data may be processed by one or more computer processors as desired in various implementations of the disclosed technology and/or stored in one or more memory devices. While user device102has been described as one form for implementing the techniques described herein, those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other functionally equivalent techniques may be employed. For example, as known in the art, some or all of the functionality implemented via executable instructions may also be implemented using firmware and/or hardware devices such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic arrays, state machines, etc. Furthermore, other implementations of the user device102may include a greater or lesser number of components than those illustrated. Some embodiments may exclude certain components discussed herein. For example, in certain embodiments, user device102may not include an OS, depending on the complexity of the program instructions. Embodiments not including an OS may have comparative limited functionality but may also decrease power consumption of user device102. The various components of user device102may include the same or similar attributes or capabilities of the same or similar components discussed with respect to identification system114. Turning back toFIG.1, organization108may be associated with and optionally controlled by one or more entities such as a business, corporation, individual, partnership, or any other entity that provides one or more of goods, services, and consultations to individuals such as customers. In some embodiments, organization108may be controlled by a third-party on behalf of another business, corporation, individual, partnership. Organization108may include one or more servers and computer systems for performing one or more functions associated with products and/or services that the organization provides. Web server110may include a computer system configured to generate and provide one or more websites accessible to customers, as well as any other individuals involved in accessing system100's normal operations. Web server110may include a computer system configured to receive communications from user device102via for example, a mobile application, a chat program, an instant messaging program, a voice-to-text program, an SMS message, email, or any other type or format of written or electronic communication. Web server110may have one or more processors122and one or more web server databases124, which may be any suitable repository of website data. Information stored in web server110may be accessed (e.g., retrieved, updated, and added to) via local network118and/or network106by one or more devices or systems (e.g., identification system114) of system100. In some embodiments, web server110may host websites or applications that may be accessed by user device102. For example, web server110may host a financial service provider website that a user device may access by providing an attempted login that are authenticated by identification system114. According to some embodiments, web server110may include software tools, similar to those described with respect to user device102above, that may allow web server110to obtain network identification data from user device102. Transaction server112may include a computer system configured to process one or more transactions involving an account associated with a customer or user, or a request received from third-party (e.g., an entity associated with third-party server104) on behalf of a customer or user who is attempting to make a purchase. In some embodiments, transactions can include, for example, a product/service purchase, product/service return, financial transfer, financial deposit, financial withdrawal, financial credit, financial debit, dispute request, warranty coverage request, and any other type of transaction associated with the products and/or services that an entity associated with organization108and/or third-party server104provides to individuals such as customers. Transaction server112may have one or more processors132and one or more transaction server databases134, which may be any suitable repository of transaction data. Information stored in transaction server112may be accessed (e.g., retrieved, updated, and added to) via local network118and/or network106by one or more devices. In some embodiments, transaction server112tracks and stores event data regarding interactions between a third-party, such as third-party server104, with organization108, on behalf of the individual (e.g., a customer or user). For example, transaction server112may track third-party interactions such as purchase requests, refund requests, warranty claims, account withdrawals and deposits, and any other type of interaction that third-party server104may conduct with organization108on behalf of an individual such as a customer or user. Local network118may include any type of computer networking arrangement used to exchange data in a localized area, such as WIFI technology, BLUETOOTH technology Ethernet, and other suitable network connections that enable components of organization108to interact with one another and to connect to network106for interacting with components in the system100environment. In some embodiments, local network118may include an interface for communicating with or linking to network106. In other embodiments, certain components of organization108may communicate via network106, without a separate local network118. In accordance with certain example implementations of the disclosed technology, organization108may include one or more computer systems configured to compile data from a plurality of sources, for example, identification system114, web server110, and/or database116. Identification system114may correlate compiled data, analyze the compiled data, arrange the compiled data, generate derived data based on the compiled data, and store the compiled and derived data in a database such as database116. According to some embodiments, database116may be a database associated with an organization and/or a related entity that stores a variety of information relating to customers, transactions, ATM, and business operations. Database116may also serve as a back-up storage device and may contain data and information that is also stored on, for example, database334, as discussed below with reference toFIG.3. Although the preceding description describes various functions of a web server110, an identification system114, and a database116, in some embodiments, some or all of these functions may be carried out by a single computing device or a plurality of computing devices in a (cloud) serverless system. An example embodiment of identification system114is shown in more detail inFIG.3. As shown, identification system114may include a processor310; an I/O device320; and a memory330containing an OS332, a storage device334, which may be any suitable repository of data, and/or a program336. In some embodiments, program336may include an MLM338that may be trained, for example, to receive user information (e.g., merchant preferences, biometric data, etc.), and compare the received user information to stored or previously associated user information to identify a current user. In certain implementations, MLM338may issue commands in response to processing an event, in accordance with a model that may be continuously or intermittently updated. Moreover, processor310may execute one or more programs (such as via a rules-based platform or the trained MLM338), that, when executed, perform functions related to disclosed embodiments. According to some embodiments, user device102and web server110, as depicted inFIG.1and described above, may have a similar structure and components that are similar to those described with respect to identification system114shown inFIG.3. In some embodiments, identification system114may include more or fewer components than those described with respect to user device102, and the various components of identification system114may include the same or similar attributes or capabilities of the same or similar components discussed with respect to user device102. Identification system114may include a computer system configured to store, maintain, and update user information (e.g., purchase history, merchant preferences, biometric data, etc.). In some embodiments, identification system114may store and/or maintain user information in database116and/or database334. In some embodiments, identification system114may include default user information, which may be based on an aggregation of all user information stored in database116and/or database334(i.e., information associated with a plurality of users) or a subset of the user information stored in database116and/or database334. In some embodiments, database116and/or database334(and/or database234, as described above with respect toFIG.2) may include a user profile associated with one or more users. Each user profile may include, for example, purchase history, merchant preferences, associated geographic locations, known devices associated with the user, and/or biometric information such as one or more of images of the user (e.g., facial and/or body images), height, weight, walking speed, gait, other movement patterns, heartrate data, blood pressure data, hormone level data, body temperature data, retina data, iris data, pupil data, voice data (e.g., tone, pitch, rate of speech, accent, etc.), respiratory rate data (e.g., breathing rate data), brainwave data, odor/scent data (i.e., olfactory data), and sweat data (e.g., amount produced, rate of production, molecular composition). In some embodiments, a user profile may include baseline user information, as described above with respect toFIG.2. In some embodiments, identification system114may be configured to receive new user information from user device102such that programs(s)336of identification system114may compare the new user information to user information included in the one or more user profiles to identify a user. Although the preceding description describes various functions of user device102, web server110, transaction server112, identification system114, database116, and third-party server104, in some embodiments, some or all of these functions may be carried out by a single computing device. For example, althoughFIG.1depicts identification system114as being present in organization108, in some embodiments, some or all of the functionalities of identification system114may be carried out by user device102. FIG.4shows a flowchart of a method for identifying a secondary card user. Method400may be performed by some or all of user device102, web server110, transaction server112, identification system114, database116, third-party server104, or any useful combination thereof. In block402, the system (e.g., via transaction server112) may receive transaction information associated with a transaction, the transaction information comprising an account number (e.g., a credit card number) associated with a first user (e.g., a primary account holder). That is, an organization (e.g., a financial institution) may receive information (e.g., date, time, location, merchant identifier, transaction amount, etc.) associated with a transaction conducted at a certain merchant location. The organization may receive the transaction information, e.g., by a user completing the transaction using a transaction card at a merchant point-of-sale (POS) terminal. In decision block404, the system (e.g., via identification system114) may determine whether the transaction is associated with a second user. That is, the system may determine whether the transaction was conducted by a second user different from the first user (e.g., a primary account holder). In some embodiments, the system may rely on biometric information associated with the first and second users to determine whether the transaction is associated with a second user. For example, the device used to conduct the transaction (e.g., user device102) may be configured with one or more biometric sensors configured to detect user biometric information. The device may be configured to detect, e.g., a gait, of the user conducting the transaction. The device may be configured to transmit the detected user gait to the system, e.g., via identification system114, such that the system may compare the detected gait to one or more gaits previously associated with the first and/or second users. In some embodiments, the system may rely on one or more other devices known to be associated with the first and/or second users to determine whether the transaction is associated with a second user. For example, user device102may be configured to detect, e.g., via BLUETOOTH technology, whether any other device associated with the first and/or second user is within a recognizable or predetermined distance from user device102. If user device102detects another device associated with, e.g., the second user, within a recognizable distance, user device may be configured to transmit this information to the system, e.g., via identification system114, such that the system may determine the second user to be the user who conducted the transaction. In some embodiments, the system may rely on other user information, for example, purchase history or merchant preferences, to determine whether the transaction is associated with a second user. For example, once the system receives the transaction information, as described above, the system (e.g., via identification system114), may be configured to compare information pertaining to the product and/or service purchased, and/or the type of merchant involved, and compare that information to any purchase and/or merchant preference information previously associated with the first and/or second user. The above embodiments provide the benefit of being able to identify whether a first or second user conducted a transaction associated with a certain account number. As described further below, this identification enables the system to follow up with the first user to ensure whoever conducted the transaction was permitted to do so, as opposed to a fraudster. In block406, responsive to determining the transaction is associated with the second user, the system (e.g., via identification system114) may transmit a first prompt to a first user device associated with the first user, the first prompt comprising a request to confirm or deny the transaction. The first prompt may comprise, for example, a text message, an email, a push notification, or a mobile application chat message. The first prompt may be displayed via a GUI of the first user device, e.g., a mobile phone, and may comprise one or more user input objects (e.g., radio buttons, dropdown menus, etc.) such that the first user may select from “confirm” or “deny” options. This feature provides the added benefit of confirming whether the first user gave the second user permission to conduct the transaction, and in doing so, identifying a potentially fraudulent transaction if no such permission was given. In block408, the system (e.g., via identification system114) may receive, via the first user device, a first user selection confirming the transaction. For example, as discussed above, the first user may select a “confirm” option via a user input object displayed on a GUI of the first user's mobile phone. In some embodiments, the system may instead receive, via the first user device, a second user selection denying the transaction. For example, the first user may instead select a “deny” option via a user input object displayed on a GUI of the first user's mobile phone. Responsive to receiving the second user selection denying the transaction, the system (e.g., via identification system114) may be configured to mark the transaction as indicative of potential fraud. The system may then be configured to provide further review of the marked transaction. In decision block410, responsive to receiving the first user selection confirming the transaction, the system (e.g., via identification system114) may determine whether the transaction exceeds a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold may be, for example, a total number of transactions, a total dollar amount, etc. The purpose of the predetermined threshold is so the system may identify when a second user may have conducted enough transactions of a specific nature to be confident in recommending the second user as an authorized user of the account, as further discussed below. The predetermined threshold may be customizable by the first user (e.g., the primary account holder) and/or may be a default setting provided by a financial organization associated with the account (e.g., organization108). In block412, responsive to determining the transaction exceeds the predetermined threshold, the system (e.g., via identification system114) may transmit a second prompt to the first user device, the second prompt comprising a recommendation to designate the second user as an authorized user of the account number. The second prompt may comprise, for example, a text message, an email, a push notification, or a mobile application chat message. The first prompt may be displayed via a GUI of the first user device, e.g., a mobile phone, and may comprise one or more user input objects (e.g., radio buttons, dropdown menus, etc.) such that the first user may select from “designate” or “do not designate” options. In some embodiments, the system may be configured to cause a GUI of a mobile application associated with the first user (e.g., an online account profile) to display an alert comprising a reminder for the first user to consider designating the second user as an authorized user of the account. For example, the system may cause a GUI of an online banking account profile associated with the first user to display a reminder banner along the top of the screen such that the first user may view the reminder each time the first user logs into his or her online account. The reminder banner may be displayed for a predetermined period of time and/or the first user may be able to remove the reminder banner from the account profile display by, for example, clicking on a “dismiss” button. In some embodiments, in response to receiving a user selection to designate the second user as an authorized user, the system may be configured to automatically designate the second user as an authorized user of the account by, for example, changing a setting in an account profile associated with the first user. In some embodiments, the system may be configured to transmit a message to the first user (e.g., via a text message, email, etc.) providing instructions as to how the first user may manually designate the second user as an authorized user of the account, for example, by logging into an online account profile associated with the first user. FIG.5shows a flowchart of a method for identifying a secondary card user. Method500may also be performed by some or all of user device102, web server110, transaction server112, identification system114, database116, third-party server104, or any useful combination thereof. Method500is similar to method400, except that method500includes causing a GUI of a mobile application associated with the first user to display an alert comprising a recommendation to designate the second user as an authorized user, rather than transmitting a second prompt to the first user to make such designation. The descriptions of blocks502,504,506,508,510, and512are the same as or similar to the respective descriptions of blocks402,404,406,408,410, and412and as such, are not repeated herein for brevity. EXEMPLARY USE CASES The following exemplary use cases describe examples of a typical user flow pattern. They are intended solely for explanatory purposes and not in limitation. In one example, a parent may allow a child to borrow the parent's credit card such that the child may go purchase school supplies to prepare for the start of a school semester. The credit card may be configured to include one or more biometric sensors such that the credit card can detect the child's gait and movement patterns when the child carries the credit card while conducting a transaction. The credit card may be configured to transmit the detected gait and movement patterns to a server of a financial institution via a network such that the financial institution may store and review the detected gait and movement patterns. The financial institution may be able to recognize that the detected gait and movement patterns are not that of the parent, the primary account holder, based on stored gait and movement patterns previously associated with the parent. Instead, the system may recognize that the child is a second user of the credit card. The system may thus send a prompt to the parent via a push notification to the parent's mobile phone, wherein the prompt asks the parent to confirm or reject the transaction. If the parent confirms the transaction by, for example, selecting a user input on the parent's mobile phone screen, the system will understand that the child, or the second user, had the parent's permission to conduct the transaction. The system may then determine whether the child's transaction exceeds a predetermined threshold, wherein the threshold is a total number of transactions conducted by the child. For example, this predetermined threshold may be five total transactions conducted by the child using the parent's credit card. If the system determines the current transaction to be at least the sixth transaction conducted by the child using the parent's credit card, the system may send the parent a second prompt recommending the parent designate the child as an authorized user of the parent's credit card. By designating the child as an authorized user of the parent's credit card, the child may be able to begin building her own credit history as the system may continue to recognize each time the child conducts a subsequent purchase using the credit card. In another example, a parent may allow a child to borrow the parent's credit card while the child is participating in a summer internship away from home. Upon the child using the credit card to purchase a new piece of clothing, the credit card may be configured to detect merchant information associated with the transaction (e.g., merchant name, category code, location, etc.). The credit card may be configured to transmit the detected merchant information to a server of a financial institution via a network such that the financial institution may store and review the detected merchant information. The financial institution may be able to determine the transaction was conducted by a second user by recognizing that the detected merchant information does not align with stored merchant preference information previously associated with the parent. The system may thus send a prompt to the parent via a push notification to the parent's mobile phone, wherein the prompt asks the parent to confirm or reject the transaction. If the parent confirms the transaction by, for example, selecting a user input on the parent's mobile phone screen, the system will understand that the child, or the second user, had the parent's permission to conduct the transaction. The system may then determine whether the child's transaction exceeds a predetermined threshold, wherein the threshold is a total dollar amount spent by the child using the parent's credit card. This predetermined threshold may be a total of $500, such that if the system determines the current transaction results in the total amount spent by the child using the parent's credit card exceeding $500, the system may recommend the parent designate the child as an authorized user of the parent's credit card. To make such recommendation, the system may cause a GUI of a mobile banking application associated with the parent to display a banner along the top of the screen such that the parent sees the recommendation each time the parent logs into her online banking account over the next ten days. In some examples, disclosed systems or methods may involve one or more of the following clauses: Clause 1: A system for identifying a secondary card user comprising: one or more processors; and a memory in communication with the one or more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, are configured to cause the system to: receive transaction information associated with a transaction, the transaction information comprising an account number associated with a first user; determine, using a machine learning model, whether the transaction is associated with a second user; responsive to determining the transaction is associated with the second user, transmit a first prompt to a first user device associated with the first user, the first prompt comprising a request to confirm or deny the transaction; receive, via the first user device, a first user selection confirming the transaction; responsive to receiving the first user selection confirming the transaction, determine whether the transaction exceeds a predetermined threshold; and responsive to determining the transaction exceeds the predetermined threshold, transmit a second prompt to the first user device, the second prompt comprising a recommendation to designate the second user as an authorized user of the account number. Clause 2: The system of clause 1, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the system to: receive, via the first user device, a second user selection denying the transaction; and responsive to receiving the second user selection denying the transaction, mark the transaction as indicative of potential fraud. Clause 3: The system of clause 1, wherein determining whether the transaction is associated with the second user is based on one or more of purchase history, merchant preferences, geographic area, or combinations thereof. Clause 4: The system of clause 1, wherein the transaction is conducted during a first period of time, and wherein determining whether the transaction is associated with the second user is based on: receiving a movement pattern of a transaction card detected and transmitted by the transaction card during the first period of time; receiving a second gait of the second user detected by the transaction card based on the movement pattern of the transaction card during the first period of time; comparing the second gait of the second user and a first gait previously associated with the first user; and determining whether a comparison of the second gait of the second user and the first gait previously associated with the first user exceeds a first predetermined threshold. Clause 5: The system of clause 1, wherein determining whether the transaction is associated with the second user is based on: receiving one or more second biometric user inputs of the second user; comparing the one or more second biometric user inputs of the second user to one or more first biometric user inputs previously associated with the first user; and determining whether a comparison of the one or more second biometric user inputs of the second user and the one or more first biometric user inputs previously associated with the first user exceeds one or more first predetermined thresholds. Clause 6: The system of clause 1, wherein the predetermined threshold comprises a total number of transactions. Clause 7: The system of clause 1, wherein the predetermined threshold comprises a total dollar amount. Clause 8: The system of clause 1, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the system to: responsive to determining the transaction exceeds the predetermined threshold, cause a graphical user interface (GUI) of a mobile application associated with the first user to display an alert comprising a reminder for the first user to consider designating the second user as the authorized user of the account number. Clause 9: A system for identifying a secondary card user comprising: one or more processors; and a memory in communication with the one or more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, are configured to cause the system to: receive transaction information associated with a transaction, the transaction information comprising an account number associated with a first user; determine, using a machine learning model, whether the transaction is associated with a second user; responsive to determining the transaction is associated with the second user, transmit a first prompt to a first user device associated with the first user, the first prompt comprising a request to confirm or deny the transaction; receive, via the first user device, a first user selection confirming the transaction; responsive to receiving the first user selection confirming the transaction, determine whether the transaction exceeds a predetermined threshold; and responsive to determining the transaction exceeds the predetermined threshold, cause a graphical user interface (GUI) of a mobile application associated with the first user to display an alert comprising a recommendation to designate the second user as an authorized user of the account number. Clause 10: The system of clause 9, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the system to: receive, via the first user device, a second user selection denying the transaction; and responsive to receiving the second user selection denying the transaction, mark the transaction as indicative of potential fraud. Clause 11: The system of clause 9, wherein determining whether the transaction is associated with the second user is based on one or more of purchase history, merchant preferences, geographic area, or combinations thereof. Clause 12: The system of clause 9, wherein the transaction is conducted during a first period of time, and wherein determining whether the transaction is associated with the second user is based on: receiving a movement pattern of a transaction card detected and transmitted by the transaction card during the first period of time; receiving a second gait of the second user detected by the transaction card based on the movement pattern of the transaction card during the first period of time; comparing the second gait of the second user and a first gait previously associated with the first user; and determining whether a comparison of the second gait of the second user and the first gait previously associated with the first user exceeds a first predetermined threshold. Clause 13: The system of clause 9, wherein determining whether the transaction is associated with the second user is based on: receiving one or more second biometric user inputs of the second user; comparing the one or more second biometric user inputs of the second user to one or more first biometric user inputs previously associated with the first user; and determining whether a comparison of the one or more second biometric user inputs of the second user and the one or more first biometric user inputs previously associated with the first user exceeds one or more first predetermined thresholds. Clause 14: The system of clause 9, wherein the predetermined threshold comprises a total number of transactions. Clause 15: The system of clause 9, wherein the predetermined threshold comprises a total dollar amount. Clause 16: A system for identifying a secondary card user comprising: one or more processors; and a memory in communication with the one or more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, are configured to cause the system to: receive transaction information associated with a transaction, the transaction information comprising an account number associated with a first user; determine whether the transaction is associated with a second user; responsive to determining the transaction is associated with the second user, transmit a first prompt to a first user device associated with the first user, the first prompt comprising a request to confirm or deny the transaction; receive, via the first user device, a first user selection confirming the transaction; responsive to receiving the first user selection confirming the transaction, determine whether the transaction exceeds a predetermined threshold; and responsive to determining the transaction exceeds the predetermined threshold, transmit a second prompt to the first user device, the second prompt comprising a recommendation to designate the second user as an authorized user of the account number. Clause 17: The system of clause 16, wherein determining whether the transaction is associated with the second user is based on one or more of purchase history, merchant preferences, geographic area, or combinations thereof. Clause 18: The system of clause 16, wherein the transaction is conducted during a first period of time, and wherein determining whether the transaction is associated with the second user is based on: receiving a movement pattern of a transaction card detected and transmitted by the transaction card during the first period of time; receiving a second gait of the second user detected by the transaction card based on the movement pattern of the transaction card during the first period of time; comparing the second gait of the second user and a first gait previously associated with the first user; and determining whether a comparison of the second gait of the second user and the first gait previously associated with the first user exceeds a first predetermined threshold. Clause 19: The system of clause 16, wherein determining whether the transaction is associated with the second user is based on: receiving one or more second biometric user inputs of the second user; comparing the one or more second biometric user inputs of the second user to one or more first biometric user inputs previously associated with the first user; and determining whether a comparison of the one or more second biometric user inputs of the second user and the one or more first biometric user inputs previously associated with the first user exceeds one or more first predetermined thresholds. Clause 20: The system of clause 16, wherein the predetermined threshold comprises a total number of transactions. The features and other aspects and principles of the disclosed embodiments may be implemented in various environments. Such environments and related applications may be specifically constructed for performing the various processes and operations of the disclosed embodiments or they may include a general-purpose computer or computing platform selectively activated or reconfigured by program code to provide the necessary functionality. Further, the processes disclosed herein may be implemented by a suitable combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. For example, the disclosed embodiments may implement general purpose machines configured to execute software programs that perform processes consistent with the disclosed embodiments. Alternatively, the disclosed embodiments may implement a specialized apparatus or system configured to execute software programs that perform processes consistent with the disclosed embodiments. Furthermore, although some disclosed embodiments may be implemented by general purpose machines as computer processing instructions, all or a portion of the functionality of the disclosed embodiments may be implemented instead in dedicated electronics hardware. The disclosed embodiments also relate to tangible and non-transitory computer readable media that include program instructions or program code that, when executed by one or more processors, perform one or more computer-implemented operations. The program instructions or program code may include specially designed and constructed instructions or code, and/or instructions and code well-known and available to those having ordinary skill in the computer software arts. For example, the disclosed embodiments may execute high level and/or low-level software instructions, such as machine code (e.g., such as that produced by a compiler) and/or high-level code that can be executed by a processor using an interpreter. The technology disclosed herein typically involves a high-level design effort to construct a computational system that can appropriately process unpredictable data. Mathematical algorithms may be used as building blocks for a framework, however certain implementations of the system may autonomously learn their own operation parameters, achieving better results, higher accuracy, fewer errors, fewer crashes, and greater speed. As used in this application, the terms “component,” “module,” “system,” “server,” “processor,” “memory,” and the like are intended to include one or more computer-related units, such as but not limited to hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets, such as data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet with other systems by way of the signal. Certain embodiments and implementations of the disclosed technology are described above with reference to block and flow diagrams of systems and methods and/or computer program products according to example embodiments or implementations of the disclosed technology. It will be understood that one or more blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flow diagrams, respectively, can be implemented by computer-executable program instructions. Likewise, some blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams may not necessarily need to be performed in the order presented, may be repeated, or may not necessarily need to be performed at all, according to some embodiments or implementations of the disclosed technology. These computer-executable program instructions may be loaded onto a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a particular machine, such that the instructions that execute on the computer, processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing one or more functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement one or more functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks. As an example, embodiments or implementations of the disclosed technology may provide for a computer program product, including a computer-usable medium having a computer-readable program code or program instructions embodied therein, said computer-readable program code adapted to be executed to implement one or more functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks. Likewise, the computer program instructions may be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational elements or steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide elements or steps for implementing the functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks. Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams support combinations of means for performing the specified functions, combinations of elements or steps for performing the specified functions, and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flow diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flow diagrams, can be implemented by special-purpose, hardware-based computer systems that perform the specified functions, elements or steps, or combinations of special-purpose hardware and computer instructions. Certain implementations of the disclosed technology described above with reference to user devices may include mobile computing devices. Those skilled in the art recognize that there are several categories of mobile devices, generally known as portable computing devices that can run on batteries but are not usually classified as laptops. For example, mobile devices can include, but are not limited to portable computers, tablet PCs, internet tablets, PDAs, ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs), wearable devices, and smart phones. Additionally, implementations of the disclosed technology can be utilized with internet of things (IoT) devices, smart televisions and media devices, appliances, automobiles, toys, and voice command devices, along with peripherals that interface with these devices. In this description, numerous specific details have been set forth. It is to be understood, however, that implementations of the disclosed technology may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description. References to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “example embodiment,” “various embodiments,” “one implementation,” “an implementation,” “example implementation,” “various implementations,” “some implementations,” etc., indicate that the implementation(s) of the disclosed technology so described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every implementation necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase “in one implementation” does not necessarily refer to the same implementation, although it may. Throughout the specification and the claims, the following terms take at least the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term “connected” means that one function, feature, structure, or characteristic is directly joined to or in communication with another function, feature, structure, or characteristic. The term “coupled” means that one function, feature, structure, or characteristic is directly or indirectly joined to or in communication with another function, feature, structure, or characteristic. The term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or.” Further, the terms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean one or more unless specified otherwise or clear from the context to be directed to a singular form. By “comprising” or “containing” or “including” is meant that at least the named element, or method step is present in article or method, but does not exclude the presence of other elements or method steps, even if the other such elements or method steps have the same function as what is named. It is to be understood that the mention of one or more method steps does not preclude the presence of additional method steps or intervening method steps between those steps expressly identified. Similarly, it is also to be understood that the mention of one or more components in a device or system does not preclude the presence of additional components or intervening components between those components expressly identified. Although embodiments are described herein with respect to systems or methods, it is contemplated that embodiments with identical or substantially similar features may alternatively be implemented as systems, methods and/or non-transitory computer-readable media. As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the use of the ordinal adjectives “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., to describe a common object, merely indicates that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and is not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner. While certain embodiments of this disclosure have been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and various embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. This written description uses examples to disclose certain embodiments of the technology and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice certain embodiments of this technology, including making and using any apparatuses or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of certain embodiments of the technology is defined in the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims. | 69,578 |
11861614 | This demonstrates some of the ways the multilayered consortium ledger network, with the use of other technologies like blockchain and self executing contracts, may be used to support a network of submitting child support payments, processing and distributing such payments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG.1illustrates an embodiment of the multilayered child support disbursement structures in which a plurality of platforms, technologies, entities and the like are connected for the purposes of creating and maintaining multilayer consortium ledger networks used for making, processing, and disbursing child and family support payments from “senders of payments” to “receivers of payments” for mutual child(ren)/family members' family constructs; and the multilayer consortium ledger network is capable of charging and receiving variable fees for usage of the network, comprising in its entirety with full range of equivalents and modifications thereto. The genesis block is created. The genesis block is the first block created and represents block 0. Blockchain and other technologies are stored on every node a part of the network. This allows for a variety of blockchain and other platforms to work independently, or a combination thereof, in different orders, different embodiments and applications without limitation and are not meant to hinder or limit what is claimed. In some embodiments, a plurality of components described here may be used in conjunction with the multilayered consortium ledger network: hardware, software, firmware, IoT technologies, without limitation and use of other technologies, Personal Area Network (PAN), a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Storage Area Network, a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) a wireless network, a cellular communications network, a public switched telephone network and/or other network, hardware, and/or software that configures hardware without limitation, the internet, intranet, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP), Single Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), REST API, API, Direct Memory Access (DMA) and DMA controllers. A plurality of applications leveraging Software Development Kits (SDK), like apps, may be used in conjunction with REST API and/or other protocols, platforms, and technologies like blockchain and IoT. A plurality of protocols and entry and exit points may be used in addition to the ones mentioned here. Another layer in the multilayered consortium ledger network contains multiple template containers, Contract Code Accounts; big data oracles, centralized, decentralized and distributed oracles as well as big blockchain cloud data centers as well as cloud data centers and cloud security systems. The multilayered consortium ledger network allows updates and modifications to various layers without impacting other portions of the framework. The plurality of entities that enable connecting to message queues and/or oracles, sending messages and receiving messages on the network. Plurality of node applications can be as local or broad, working independently or together or combination of the two with the capacity to scale worldwide. There is limitless numbers of interconnected computers & nodes. Information may be stored on varying size integration circuits and/or gateways without limitation. The multilayered consortium ledger network supports database storage login verifications, notifications, location directories, and global mapping capabilities and has the capacity to be stored centrally and/or across a community of servers. It is connected to the web, mobile, telephone, desk tops, smart devices, as well as other auxiliary systems without limitations. The multilayer consortium ledger network is able to capture user data and acquire usage data like tallying the amount of payment transactions performed as a result of customer usage. In some embodiments, there's one-way communication, two-way communication, and/or multiple lines of communication. In some embodiments, one or more may be used independently or in conjunction with each other without limitation: portable and/or personal computers, tablets, wireless devices and communication, desktop computers, laptops, smart phones, tablets, thin clients, printers, point of sale terminal (POS) like the “Square”, smart devices, personal digital assistants, any internet-capable computer hardware device on a TCP/IP network, console, server and/or any appropriate computing device, or combination of devices. The platforms, protocols, data storage, databases may comprise software, hardware, firmware, and/or circuitry. They may be combined or divided differently as well as share similar functions. Users may switch from one blockchain application to another, one currency to another as well as to the child support token and one language to another language supported by the platform. The platforms and/or applications can be combined with each other as well as with other applications to build intelligent interactive experiences. The range of operations described may be carried out at various times during the day. Also, the information sent between various protocols may be accomplished via a plurality of data networks, internet, intranet, blockchain technology, IoT, self executing contracts, oracles, big data storage centers, voice network, an Internet Protocol Network, a wireless device, a wired device and/or via a plurality of other protocols. Also, the messages sent or received may be sent or received directly and/or via one or more platforms/applications. The protocols, processors, oracles, nodes and self executing contracts may be single instructions or a plurality. They may be localized or distributed with the capacity to scale globally over different self executing contracts, oracles, blockchain technologies, IoT, different programs and/or platforms and across a multitude of memory devices like big data storage centers without limitation and still achieve its purpose. Operational data may be collected as a single data set or distributed over different locations including over different storage devices, like but not limited to big blockchain data centers. FIG.2illustrates an embodiment of the multilayered child support disbursement structures. The consortium ledger network supports multi factor verification processes for payments made using, but not limited to, domestic/foreign fiat, cryptocurrencies, child support tokens, credit/debit payments, garnishments, ETF/ACH, and from financial institutions. Child support tokens that are created a native token and hold no intrinsic value; acts as a placeholder while on the platform with a ratio of 1:1 with US fiat and the tokens can be converted back to supported fiats and/or cryptocurrencies by the receiver of payments. If the correct information is not entered during the multi factor verification process, the self executing contract will not deploy and the sender of payments will be asked to resubmit the correct information in order to successfully submit child support payments. In some embodiments, there are encrypted crypto signatures generation operations and decryption crypto signature verification operations. In some embodiments, foreign employers and/or foreign sender of payments may submit disbursement files to the Contract Code Account; self executing contract/agreement in the account will be triggered and convert foreign fiat/crypto currency via LIBOR/variable interest rate at given value, currency of payment, currency rate, time and date, and will send payment and participant identifiers via the appropriate payment platform. Payment receptacles may include electronic, digital, crypto, fiat wallets in addition but not limited to financial institutions and other payment receptacles: participants enter multi factor verification identifiers to access and withdrawal currencies out of the receptacles; the multilayered consortium ledger network supports and accepts a variable fee for usage of the network; and fees are charged and distributed as payment to the nodes and other entities as appropriate with accompanying security systems in place. There are entry points for each of these platforms/methods of payment whether the web, mobile device, telephonic service and/or other entry point supported by the multilayered child support disbursement structures. Available funds are verified before payments can be submitted. Any form of payment can be converted into child support tokens on the meshed consortium distributed ledger at a 1:1 ratio. Once it is received by the “receiver of payments”, they may convert it back to the currency of choice supported by the blockchain platform. It is the user's choice if they want to convert fiat/cryptocurrencies/tokens into child support tokens. Child support tokens have no intrinsic value in the child support system as it is a placeholder for the type of payment made while in the child support system. Native coins hold no intrinsic value. The multilayered consortium ledger is distributed across several nodes, where data is replicated and stored instantly on each node a part of the network. When payments and/or transactions, like fees being paid, are made they are recorded in the blockchain, details of the payments and/or transactions are recorded, verified and reconciled across all of the nodes in the network. Depending on certain conditions, in some embodiments, payments are submitted directly on the ledger and/or self executing contracts and/or pulled from financial institutions and/or wallets. There is a plurality of template data storage centers, big data engines, central, distributed and meshed data centers, plurality of payment oracles and blockchain cloud centers associated with payment, processing of payments, disbursement, reimbursement of payments and the like without limitation. The multilayered consortium ledger network has the capacity, but not limited, to be used as a “plug and play” with child support/district attorney offices that manage child support cases. Payments submitted on the multilayered consortium ledger network are linked to child support agency(ies') systems for verification of identifiers; once verified, the self executing contracts are triggered to disburse to Obligees. If the submitted information is rejected the senders of payments are notified and asked to correct/re-enter data and resubmit the payment(s). Parties and/or Parents are able to make/receive child support payments amongst themselves by multi factor verification process to access account, place their agreed upon child support payment amount(s) and related identifiers on self-executing contracts, acknowledge agreement, sign and submit them on an embodiment of the consortium ledger network. If the agreement needs to be updated, a new self executing contract is created between the involved parents/parties and submitted on the consortium network. In other embodiments, once a year, parties/parents are able to select which family unit they are sending payments to. During the rest of the year, all payments made will disburse evenly amongst each family unit the sender of payments has within the network. Parties/Parents are able to close and reopen their account at any time. In some embodiments the consortium distributed ledger may be connected directly to financial institutions for automatic recurring payments by sender of payments where personally identifiable information, payment details, court ordered amount and/or payment amount is entered onto the self executing contract, confirmed and disbursed on preset dates. In some embodiments, Parties/Parents' mobile devices and/or personal computing devices temporarily act as “nodes” that power their own transactions on the blockchain. The fee is low and the cost to send the transaction is low. Their reward may be native tokens: Child Support Tokens. They do not have value now but in some embodiments, value will be valuated as they become accumulated and accepted in place of fiat, crypto currencies and tokens. The Parties'/Parents' and/or other users' payment and/or transaction history(ies) are public to their own history(ies) and closed to 3rd parties unless the Parties'/Parents' and/or other users allow 3rd party(ies) to view their personal transactions. The multilayered consortium ledger networks can be as central to the individual local agency(ies), inclusive of all child support agencies, and/or function independently. It may be used by Parties/Parents who want to use a secure and trackable way to send payments amongst themselves outside of child support agencies. There are implications of its usage being central as well as its usage being national and international. This allows for centralized, decentralized, private, and consortium networks, and/or a combination thereof without limitation to the technologies and platforms used. The multilayered consortium ledger network has the capacity to collect and store all users personal and payment identifiers in consortium centralized, decentralized, distributed databases, blockchain and IoT cloud databases, big storage units and the like and/or similar IoT big storage and retrieval centers using a plurality of technologies without limitations. The plurality of data and cloud databases and/or storage units will be able to capture all information entered including but limited to “sender of payment” information, parties/parents and children's names, DOBs, last four of SSN, payment identifiers, payments made and disbursed and employer information. Parties/Parents are able to retrieve payment history amongst other items. The multilayered consortium ledger network has the capacity to return and refund payments to senders of payments when appropriate. In some embodiments, the payment database centers may be used to help facilitate payment verification and reconciliation of funds submitted on the networks. In some embodiments, child support payments will be made via the phone services through the phone's automated system or with a live representative, identifiers are entered on a self executing contract, payment funds confirmed and entered, and once deployed and verified via the consortium ledger network and/or child support agency system, payments are dispersed from the sender of payments' financial institution and/or the self executing contract itself and sent to the receiver of payments. In some embodiments, when a payment is made via a payment kiosk, participant and payment information is entered onto the blockchain via self executing contract/agreement linked to the kiosks mainframe system. The multilayered consortium ledger network supports payment receptacles including but not limiting to financial institution, child support wallets, cryptocurrency wallet, fiat wallet, mobile app, and other means; participants enter multi factor verification identifiers to access and withdrawal currencies out of the receptacles. These embodiments demonstrate some of the ways the multilayered consortium ledger networks may be used to support child/family support payments being made by senders of payments and distributed to Obligees, Parties/Parents (receivers of payments). FIG.3illustrates another embodiment of the multilayered child support disbursement structures in which the security layers are discussed. Each layer within the consortium ledger network, there is a security layer associated with it. In addition, at each connection point between layers as well as connection points with the outside world, there are advanced security structures and measures in place to detect, block, and respond to access attempts and other risky activities on each layer, each connection point within the structures, as well as but not limited to each endpoint to the outside world. Security protection of computer networks that are remotely bridged to client devices are in place as well. A multi factor verification layer is added, advanced detection and response to attacks is implemented. Security layer is at each level, with each protocol and application in the architecture. In some embodiments, cloud-based security is used to secure network data, user data and data obtained and stored on the network. In some embodiments, blockchain cloud security will be used to break up the user's data into smaller chunks to store in the blockchain cloud network. An additional layer of security is present and distributed throughout the network. In some embodiments, the hashing function, public and private keys' encryption and transaction ledgers are used and maintained. Security measures are taken to include but is not limited to the reduction and/or elimination of spam, provide update services, encryption of files and data at rest, in motion, and via mobile device usage, firewall services, multi factor authentication to protect data, establish a baseline and routinely review networks to close existing vulnerabilities and usage of big data engines to review events and security logs to protect against advanced threats. FIG.4illustrates yet another embodiment of the multilayered child support disbursement structures linked as a “plug and play” to child support/district attorney agencies. The consortium ledger network may be used independent of child support agencies/district attorneys' offices who manage child support cases as well as those who process child support payments. As a “plug and play”, it begins with “senders of child support payments” submitting payments and/or appropriate identifiers that capture who is sending the payments, obligor identifiers, payment amounts, and Obligees identifiers, via self executing contracts on the consortium ledger network. The payment and/or self executing contracts are submitted on the consortium ledger network and linked to child support agencies for verification of identifiers via the consortium ledger network. After verification, the self executing contracts are triggered to release the payments placed on it or it's triggered to pull the funds from financial institutions and/or storages of currency, like crypto wallets. The payments are then disbursed to Obligees via their preferred receptacles like bank accounts, child support wallets, and the like. If a payment is not verified, the self executing contracts are rejected by the child support agencies, the self executing contract is pre-coded to notify the sender to correct and resubmit information entered on the self executing contracts. The multilayered consortium ledger network may be used for a variety of purposes. For example, it is capable of supporting profile information being entered in self executing contracts, deployed directly on the consortium ledger network, managed from profile (re)opening to profile closure and processing payments made by using self-executing contracts and other technologies. FIG.5illustrates another embodiment of the multilayered child support disbursement structures in which Parties and/or Parents who may or may not have child support orders are able to use the multi-use platform to make and/or receive child support payment outside of using child support/district attorney agencies. In an embodiment of this process, they would register to use the platform via a variety of channels like the web, mobile app, and the like. The parents and/or parties would complete an application that is inputted in self executing contracts starting with their first and last name along with their middle initial and email address; participate in a multi factor verification process before completing the rest of the application. The application process consists of executing the two-step verification process that was created. As they continue, the previous identifiers entered would auto populate in the appropriate fields and they would proceed to enter the agreement terms that consist of but not limited to their DOB and last four of their SSN, the other parent's first and last name, DOB, last four of SSN, mutual child(ren's) name and DOB, child/family support agreed to pay/receive, and for how long the agreement is for. Both parties/parents would sign/acknowledge they agree to the terms. Parties/Parents are able to make/receive child support payments amongst themselves by two step verification process to access account, place their agreed upon child support payment amount, frequency of payments, personal, financial, and in addition but not limited to payment identifiers on self-executing contracts and submit them on an embodiment of the consortium ledger network. The ledger records who made every payment, every payment disbursed, and who received every payment. In the event child support case(s) are (re)opened there are records of who made the child support payment(s), child support payment(s) disbursed, and who received the payment. If the agreement needs to be updated, a new self executing contract is created between the involved parents/parties and submitted on the consortium network. In some embodiments, the history of child/family support payments may be printed out and used by Parties and/or Parents and/or legal guardians for court purposes, child/family support and tax agencies' purposes and the like. In the event child support case(s) and or profiles are (re)opened there are records of who made the child support payment(s), child support payment(s) disbursed, and who received the payment. Child support payment records may be retrieved from platform data to prove what payments were made, by whom, and/or received, by whom. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments mentioned herein. Embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Those of ordinary skill in the art realize that the following descriptions of the embodiments of the present invention are illustrative and are not intended to be limiting in any way. Other embodiments of the present invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure. The meaning of any terms expressed is dependent upon the context within which it is used, and the meaning may be expressly modified. | 22,338 |
11861615 | This demonstrates some of the ways the multilayered consortium ledger network, with the use of other technologies like blockchain and self executing contracts, may be used to support a network of submitting child support payments, processing and distributing such payments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG.1illustrates an embodiment of the multilayered child support disbursement structures in which a plurality of platforms, technologies, entities and the like are connected for the purposes of creating and maintaining multilayer consortium ledger networks used for making, processing, and disbursing child and family support payments from “senders of payments” to “receivers of payments” for mutual child(ren)/family members' family constructs; and the multilayer consortium ledger network is capable of charging and receiving variable fees for usage of the network, comprising in its entirety with full range of equivalents and modifications thereto. The genesis block is created. The genesis block is the first block created and represents block 0. Blockchain and other technologies are stored on every node a part of the network. This allows for a variety of blockchain and other platforms to work independently, or a combination thereof, in different orders, different embodiments and applications without limitation and are not meant to hinder or limit what is claimed. In some embodiments, a plurality of components described here may be used in conjunction with the multilayered consortium ledger network: hardware, software, firmware, IoT technologies, without limitation and use of other technologies, Personal Area Network (PAN), a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Storage Area Network, a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) a wireless network, a cellular communications network, a public switched telephone network and/or other network, hardware, and/or software that configures hardware without limitation, the internet, intranet, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP), Single Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), REST API, API, Direct Memory Access (DMA) and DMA controllers. A plurality of applications leveraging Software Development Kits (SDK), like apps, may be used in conjunction with REST API and/or other protocols, platforms, and technologies like blockchain and IoT. A plurality of protocols and entry and exit points may be used in addition to the ones mentioned here. Another layer in the multilayered consortium ledger network contains multiple template containers, Contract Code Accounts; big data oracles, centralized, decentralized and distributed oracles as well as big blockchain cloud data centers as well as cloud data centers and cloud security systems. The multilayered consortium ledger network allows updates and modifications to various layers without impacting other portions of the framework. The plurality of entities that enable connecting to message queues and/or oracles, sending messages and receiving messages on the network. Plurality of node applications can be as local or broad, working independently or together or combination of the two with the capacity to scale worldwide. There is limitless numbers of interconnected computers & nodes. Information may be stored on varying size integration circuits and/or gateways without limitation. The multilayered consortium ledger network supports database storage login verifications, notifications, location directories, and global mapping capabilities and has the capacity to be stored centrally and/or across a community of servers. It is connected to the web, mobile, telephone, desk tops, smart devices, as well as other auxiliary systems without limitations. The multilayer consortium ledger network is able to capture user data and acquire usage data like tallying the amount of payment transactions performed as a result of customer usage. In some embodiments, there's one-way communication, two-way communication, and/or multiple lines of communication. In some embodiments, one or more may be used independently or in conjunction with each other without limitation: portable and/or personal computers, tablets, wireless devices and communication, desktop computers, laptops, smart phones, tablets, thin clients, printers, point of sale terminal (POS) like the “Square”, smart devices, personal digital assistants, any internet-capable computer hardware device on a TCP/IP network, console, server and/or any appropriate computing device, or combination of devices. The platforms, protocols, data storage, databases may comprise software, hardware, firmware, and/or circuitry. They may be combined or divided differently as well as share similar functions. Users may switch from one blockchain application to another, one currency to another as well as to the child support token and one language to another language supported by the platform. The platforms and/or applications can be combined with each other as well as with other applications to build intelligent interactive experiences. The range of operations described may be carried out at various times during the day. Also, the information sent between various protocols may be accomplished via a plurality of data networks, internet, intranet, blockchain technology, IoT, self executing contracts, oracles, big data storage centers, voice network, an Internet Protocol Network, a wireless device, a wired device and/or via a plurality of other protocols. Also, the messages sent or received may be sent or received directly and/or via one or more platforms/applications. The protocols, processors, oracles, nodes and self executing contracts may be single instructions or a plurality. They may be localized or distributed with the capacity to scale globally over different self executing contracts, oracles, blockchain technologies, IoT, different programs and/or platforms and across a multitude of memory devices like big data storage centers without limitation and still achieve its purpose. Operational data may be collected as a single data set or distributed over different locations including over different storage devices, like but not limited to big blockchain data centers. FIG.2illustrates an embodiment of the multilayered child support disbursement structures. The consortium ledger network supports multi factor verification processes for payments made using, but not limited to, domestic/foreign fiat, cryptocurrencies, child support tokens, credit/debit payments, garnishments, ETF/ACH, and from financial institutions. Child support tokens that are created a native token and hold no intrinsic value; acts as a placeholder while on the platform with a ratio of 1:1 with US fiat and the tokens can be converted back to supported fiats and/or cryptocurrencies by the receiver of payments. If the correct information is not entered during the multi factor verification process, the self executing contract will not deploy and the sender of payments will be asked to resubmit the correct information in order to successfully submit child support payments. In some embodiments, there are encrypted crypto signatures generation operations and decryption crypto signature verification operations. In some embodiments, foreign employers and/or foreign sender of payments may submit disbursement files to the Contract Code Account; self executing contract/agreement in the account will be triggered and convert foreign fiat/crypto currency via LIBOR/variable interest rate at given value, currency of payment, currency rate, time and date, and will send payment and participant identifiers via the appropriate payment platform. Payment receptacles may include electronic, digital, crypto, fiat wallets in addition but not limited to financial institutions and other payment receptacles: participants enter multi factor verification identifiers to access and withdrawal currencies out of the receptacles; the multilayered consortium ledger network supports and accepts a variable fee for usage of the network; and fees are charged and distributed as payment to the nodes and other entities as appropriate with accompanying security systems in place. There are entry points for each of these platforms/methods of payment whether the web, mobile device, telephonic service and/or other entry point supported by the multilayered child support disbursement structures. Available funds are verified before payments can be submitted. Any form of payment can be converted into child support tokens on the meshed consortium distributed ledger at a 1:1 ratio. Once it is received by the “receiver of payments”, they may convert it back to the currency of choice supported by the blockchain platform. It is the user's choice if they want to convert fiat/cryptocurrencies/tokens into child support tokens. Child support tokens have no intrinsic value in the child support system as it is a placeholder for the type of payment made while in the child support system. Native coins hold no intrinsic value. The multilayered consortium ledger is distributed across several nodes, where data is replicated and stored instantly on each node a part of the network. When payments and/or transactions, like fees being paid, are made they are recorded in the blockchain, details of the payments and/or transactions are recorded, verified and reconciled across all of the nodes in the network. Depending on certain conditions, in some embodiments, payments are submitted directly on the ledger and/or self executing contracts and/or pulled from financial institutions and/or wallets. There is a plurality of template data storage centers, big data engines, central, distributed and meshed data centers, plurality of payment oracles and blockchain cloud centers associated with payment, processing of payments, disbursement, reimbursement of payments and the like without limitation. The multilayered consortium ledger network has the capacity, but not limited, to be used as a “plug and play” with child support/district attorney offices that manage child support cases. Payments submitted on the multilayered consortium ledger network are linked to child support agency(ies') systems for verification of identifiers; once verified, the self executing contracts are triggered to disburse to Obligees. If the submitted information is rejected the senders of payments are notified and asked to correct/re-enter data and resubmit the payment(s). Parties and/or Parents are able to make/receive child support payments amongst themselves by multi factor verification process to access account, place their agreed upon child support payment amount(s) and related identifiers on self-executing contracts, acknowledge agreement, sign and submit them on an embodiment of the consortium ledger network. If the agreement needs to be updated, a new self executing contract is created between the involved parents/parties and submitted on the consortium network. In other embodiments, once a year, parties/parents are able to select which family unit they are sending payments to. During the rest of the year, all payments made will disburse evenly amongst each family unit the sender of payments has within the network. Parties/Parents are able to close and reopen their account at any time. In some embodiments the consortium distributed ledger may be connected directly to financial institutions for automatic recurring payments by sender of payments where personally identifiable information, payment details, court ordered amount and/or payment amount is entered onto the self executing contract, confirmed and disbursed on preset dates. In some embodiments, Parties/Parents' mobile devices and/or personal computing devices temporarily act as “nodes” that power their own transactions on the blockchain. The fee is low and the cost to send the transaction is low. Their reward may be native tokens: Child Support Tokens. They do not have value now but in some embodiments, value will be valuated as they become accumulated and accepted in place of fiat, crypto currencies and tokens. The Parties'/Parents' and/or other users' payment and/or transaction history(ies) are public to their own history(ies) and closed to 3rd parties unless the Parties'/Parents' and/or other users allow 3rd party(ies) to view their personal transactions. The multilayered consortium ledger networks can be as central to the individual local agency(ies), inclusive of all child support agencies, and/or function independently. It may be used by Parties/Parents who want to use a secure and trackable way to send payments amongst themselves outside of child support agencies. There are implications of its usage being central as well as its usage being national and international. This allows for centralized, decentralized, private, and consortium networks, and/or a combination thereof without limitation to the technologies and platforms used. The multilayered consortium ledger network has the capacity to collect and store all users personal and payment identifiers in consortium centralized, decentralized, distributed databases, blockchain and IoT cloud databases, big storage units and the like and/or similar IoT big storage and retrieval centers using a plurality of technologies without limitations. The plurality of data and cloud databases and/or storage units will be able to capture all information entered including but limited to “sender of payment” information, parties/parents and children's names, DOBs, last four of SSN, payment identifiers, payments made and disbursed and employer information. Parties/Parents are able to retrieve payment history amongst other items. The multilayered consortium ledger network has the capacity to return and refund payments to senders of payments when appropriate. In some embodiments, the payment database centers may be used to help facilitate payment verification and reconciliation of funds submitted on the networks. In some embodiments, child support payments will be made via the phone services through the phone's automated system or with a live representative, identifiers are entered on a self executing contract, payment funds confirmed and entered, and once deployed and verified via the consortium ledger network and/or child support agency system, payments are dispersed from the sender of payments' financial institution and/or the self executing contract itself and sent to the receiver of payments. In some embodiments, when a payment is made via a payment kiosk, participant and payment information is entered onto the blockchain via self executing contract/agreement linked to the kiosks mainframe system. The multilayered consortium ledger network supports payment receptacles including but not limiting to financial institution, child support wallets, cryptocurrency wallet, fiat wallet, mobile app, and other means; participants enter multi factor verification identifiers to access and withdrawal currencies out of the receptacles. These embodiments demonstrate some of the ways the multilayered consortium ledger networks may be used to support child/family support payments being made by senders of payments and distributed to Obligees, Parties/Parents (receivers of payments). FIG.3illustrates another embodiment of the multilayered child support disbursement structures in which the security layers are discussed. Each layer within the consortium ledger network, there is a security layer associated with it. In addition, at each connection point between layers as well as connection points with the outside world, there are advanced security structures and measures in place to detect, block, and respond to access attempts and other risky activities on each layer, each connection point within the structures, as well as but not limited to each endpoint to the outside world. Security protection of computer networks that are remotely bridged to client devices are in place as well. A multi factor verification layer is added, advanced detection and response to attacks is implemented. Security layer is at each level, with each protocol and application in the architecture. In some embodiments, cloud-based security is used to secure network data, user data and data obtained and stored on the network. In some embodiments, blockchain cloud security will be used to break up the user's data into smaller chunks to store in the blockchain cloud network. An additional layer of security is present and distributed throughout the network. In some embodiments, the hashing function, public and private keys' encryption and transaction ledgers are used and maintained. Security measures are taken to include but is not limited to the reduction and/or elimination of spam, provide update services, encryption of files and data at rest, in motion, and via mobile device usage, firewall services, multi factor authentication to protect data, establish a baseline and routinely review networks to close existing vulnerabilities and usage of big data engines to review events and security logs to protect against advanced threats. FIG.4illustrates yet another embodiment of the multilayered child support disbursement structures linked as a “plug and play” to child support/district attorney agencies. The consortium ledger network may be used independent of child support agencies/district attorneys' offices who manage child support cases as well as those who process child support payments. As a “plug and play”, it begins with “senders of child support payments” submitting payments and/or appropriate identifiers that capture who is sending the payments, obligor identifiers, payment amounts, and Obligees identifiers, via self executing contracts on the consortium ledger network. The payment and/or self executing contracts are submitted on the consortium ledger network and linked to child support agencies for verification of identifiers via the consortium ledger network. After verification, the self executing contracts are triggered to release the payments placed on it or it's triggered to pull the funds from financial institutions and/or storages of currency, like crypto wallets. The payments are then disbursed to Obligees via their preferred receptacles like bank accounts, child support wallets, and the like. If a payment is not verified, the self executing contracts are rejected by the child support agencies, the self executing contract is pre-coded to notify the sender to correct and resubmit information entered on the self executing contracts. The multilayered consortium ledger network may be used for a variety of purposes. For example, it is capable of supporting profile information being entered in self executing contracts, deployed directly on the consortium ledger network, managed from profile (re)opening to profile closure and processing payments made by using self-executing contracts and other technologies. FIG.5illustrates another embodiment of the multilayered child support disbursement structures in which Parties and/or Parents who may or may not have child support orders are able to use the multi-use platform to make and/or receive child support payment outside of using child support/district attorney agencies. In an embodiment of this process, they would register to use the platform via a variety of channels like the web, mobile app, and the like. The parents and/or parties would complete an application that is inputted in self executing contracts starting with their first and last name along with their middle initial and email address; participate in a multi factor verification process before completing the rest of the application. The application process consists of executing the two-step verification process that was created. As they continue, the previous identifiers entered would auto populate in the appropriate fields and they would proceed to enter the agreement terms that consist of but not limited to their DOB and last four of their SSN, the other parent's first and last name, DOB, last four of SSN, mutual child(ren's) name and DOB, child/family support agreed to pay/receive, and for how long the agreement is for. Both parties/parents would sign/acknowledge they agree to the terms. Parties/Parents are able to make/receive child support payments amongst themselves by two step verification process to access account, place their agreed upon child support payment amount, frequency of payments, personal, financial, and in addition but not limited to payment identifiers on self-executing contracts and submit them on an embodiment of the consortium ledger network. The ledger records who made every payment, every payment disbursed, and who received every payment. In the event child support case(s) are (re)opened there are records of who made the child support payment(s), child support payment(s) disbursed, and who received the payment. If the agreement needs to be updated, a new self executing contract is created between the involved parents/parties and submitted on the consortium network. In some embodiments, the history of child/family support payments may be printed out and used by Parties and/or Parents and/or legal guardians for court purposes, child/family support and tax agencies' purposes and the like. In the event child support case(s) and or profiles are (re)opened there are records of who made the child support payment(s), child support payment(s) disbursed, and who received the payment. Child support payment records may be retrieved from platform data to prove what payments were made, by whom, and/or received, by whom. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments mentioned herein. Embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Those of ordinary skill in the art realize that the following descriptions of the embodiments of the present invention are illustrative and are not intended to be limiting in any way. Other embodiments of the present invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure. The meaning of any terms expressed is dependent upon the context within which it is used, and the meaning may be expressly modified. | 22,338 |
11861616 | This demonstrates some of the ways the multilayered consortium ledger network, with the use of other technologies like blockchain and self executing contracts, may be used to support a network of submitting child support payments, processing and distributing such payments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG.1illustrates an embodiment of the multilayered child support disbursement structures in which a plurality of platforms, technologies, entities and the like are connected for the purposes of creating and maintaining multilayer consortium ledger networks used for making, processing, and disbursing child and family support payments from “senders of payments” to “receivers of payments” for mutual child(ren)/family members' family constructs; and the multilayer consortium ledger network is capable of charging and receiving variable fees for usage of the network, comprising in its entirety with full range of equivalents and modifications thereto. The genesis block is created. The genesis block is the first block created and represents block 0. Blockchain and other technologies are stored on every node a part of the network. This allows for a variety of blockchain and other platforms to work independently, or a combination thereof, in different orders, different embodiments and applications without limitation and are not meant to hinder or limit what is claimed. In some embodiments, a plurality of components described here may be used in conjunction with the multilayered consortium ledger network: hardware, software, firmware, IoT technologies, without limitation and use of other technologies, Personal Area Network (PAN), a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Storage Area Network, a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) a wireless network, a cellular communications network, a public switched telephone network and/or other network, hardware, and/or software that configures hardware without limitation, the internet, intranet, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP), Single Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), REST API, API, Direct Memory Access (DMA) and DMA controllers. A plurality of applications leveraging Software Development Kits (SDK), like apps, may be used in conjunction with REST API and/or other protocols, platforms, and technologies like blockchain and IoT. A plurality of protocols and entry and exit points may be used in addition to the ones mentioned here. Another layer in the multilayered consortium ledger network contains multiple template containers, Contract Code Accounts; big data oracles, centralized, decentralized and distributed oracles as well as big blockchain cloud data centers as well as cloud data centers and cloud security systems. The multilayered consortium ledger network allows updates and modifications to various layers without impacting other portions of the framework. The plurality of entities that enable connecting to message queues and/or oracles, sending messages and receiving messages on the network. Plurality of node applications can be as local or broad, working independently or together or combination of the two with the capacity to scale worldwide. There is limitless numbers of interconnected computers & nodes. Information may be stored on varying size integration circuits and/or gateways without limitation. The multilayered consortium ledger network supports database storage login verifications, notifications, location directories, and global mapping capabilities and has the capacity to be stored centrally and/or across a community of servers. It is connected to the web, mobile, telephone, desk tops, smart devices, as well as other auxiliary systems without limitations. The multilayer consortium ledger network is able to capture user data and acquire usage data like tallying the amount of payment transactions performed as a result of customer usage. In some embodiments, there's one-way communication, two-way communication, and/or multiple lines of communication. In some embodiments, one or more may be used independently or in conjunction with each other without limitation: portable and/or personal computers, tablets, wireless devices and communication, desktop computers, laptops, smart phones, tablets, thin clients, printers, point of sale terminal (POS) like the “Square”, smart devices, personal digital assistants, any internet-capable computer hardware device on a TCP/IP network, console, server and/or any appropriate computing device, or combination of devices. The platforms, protocols, data storage, databases may comprise software, hardware, firmware, and/or circuitry. They may be combined or divided differently as well as share similar functions. Users may switch from one blockchain application to another, one currency to another as well as to the child support token and one language to another language supported by the platform. The platforms and/or applications can be combined with each other as well as with other applications to build intelligent interactive experiences. The range of operations described may be carried out at various times during the day. Also, the information sent between various protocols may be accomplished via a plurality of data networks, internet, intranet, blockchain technology, IoT, self executing contracts, oracles, big data storage centers, voice network, an Internet Protocol Network, a wireless device, a wired device and/or via a plurality of other protocols. Also, the messages sent or received may be sent or received directly and/or via one or more platforms/applications. The protocols, processors, oracles, nodes and self executing contracts may be single instructions or a plurality. They may be localized or distributed with the capacity to scale globally over different self executing contracts, oracles, blockchain technologies, IoT, different programs and/or platforms and across a multitude of memory devices like big data storage centers without limitation and still achieve its purpose. Operational data may be collected as a single data set or distributed over different locations including over different storage devices, like but not limited to big blockchain data centers. FIG.2illustrates an embodiment of the multilayered child support disbursement structures. The consortium ledger network supports multi factor verification processes for payments made using, but not limited to, domestic/foreign fiat, cryptocurrencies, child support tokens, credit/debit payments, garnishments, ETF/ACH, and from financial institutions. Child support tokens that are created a native token and hold no intrinsic value; acts as a placeholder while on the platform with a ratio of 1:1 with US fiat and the tokens can be converted back to supported fiats and/or cryptocurrencies by the receiver of payments. If the correct information is not entered during the multi factor verification process, the self executing contract will not deploy and the sender of payments will be asked to resubmit the correct information in order to successfully submit child support payments. In some embodiments, there are encrypted crypto signatures generation operations and decryption crypto signature verification operations. In some embodiments, foreign employers and/or foreign sender of payments may submit disbursement files to the Contract Code Account; self executing contract/agreement in the account will be triggered and convert foreign fiat/crypto currency via LIBOR/variable interest rate at given value, currency of payment, currency rate, time and date, and will send payment and participant identifiers via the appropriate payment platform. Payment receptacles may include electronic, digital, crypto, fiat wallets in addition but not limited to financial institutions and other payment receptacles: participants enter multi factor verification identifiers to access and withdrawal currencies out of the receptacles; the multilayered consortium ledger network supports and accepts a variable fee for usage of the network; and fees are charged and distributed as payment to the nodes and other entities as appropriate with accompanying security systems in place. There are entry points for each of these platforms/methods of payment whether the web, mobile device, telephonic service and/or other entry point supported by the multilayered child support disbursement structures. Available funds are verified before payments can be submitted. Any form of payment can be converted into child support tokens on the meshed consortium distributed ledger at a 1:1 ratio. Once it is received by the “receiver of payments”, they may convert it back to the currency of choice supported by the blockchain platform. It is the user's choice if they want to convert fiat/cryptocurrencies/tokens into child support tokens. Child support tokens have no intrinsic value in the child support system as it is a placeholder for the type of payment made while in the child support system. Native coins hold no intrinsic value. The multilayered consortium ledger is distributed across several nodes, where data is replicated and stored instantly on each node a part of the network. When payments and/or transactions, like fees being paid, are made they are recorded in the blockchain, details of the payments and/or transactions are recorded, verified and reconciled across all of the nodes in the network. Depending on certain conditions, in some embodiments, payments are submitted directly on the ledger and/or self executing contracts and/or pulled from financial institutions and/or wallets. There is a plurality of template data storage centers, big data engines, central, distributed and meshed data centers, plurality of payment oracles and blockchain cloud centers associated with payment, processing of payments, disbursement, reimbursement of payments and the like without limitation. The multilayered consortium ledger network has the capacity, but not limited, to be used as a “plug and play” with child support/district attorney offices that manage child support cases. Payments submitted on the multilayered consortium ledger network are linked to child support agency(ies') systems for verification of identifiers; once verified, the self executing contracts are triggered to disburse to Obligees. If the submitted information is rejected the senders of payments are notified and asked to correct/re-enter data and resubmit the payment(s). Parties and/or Parents are able to make/receive child support payments amongst themselves by multi factor verification process to access account, place their agreed upon child support payment amount(s) and related identifiers on self-executing contracts, acknowledge agreement, sign and submit them on an embodiment of the consortium ledger network. If the agreement needs to be updated, a new self executing contract is created between the involved parents/parties and submitted on the consortium network. In other embodiments, once a year, parties/parents are able to select which family unit they are sending payments to. During the rest of the year, all payments made will disburse evenly amongst each family unit the sender of payments has within the network. Parties/Parents are able to close and reopen their account at any time. In some embodiments the consortium distributed ledger may be connected directly to financial institutions for automatic recurring payments by sender of payments where personally identifiable information, payment details, court ordered amount and/or payment amount is entered onto the self executing contract, confirmed and disbursed on preset dates. In some embodiments, Parties/Parents' mobile devices and/or personal computing devices temporarily act as “nodes” that power their own transactions on the blockchain. The fee is low and the cost to send the transaction is low. Their reward may be native tokens: Child Support Tokens. They do not have value now but in some embodiments, value will be valuated as they become accumulated and accepted in place of fiat, crypto currencies and tokens. The Parties'/Parents' and/or other users' payment and/or transaction history(ies) are public to their own history(ies) and closed to 3rd parties unless the Parties'/Parents' and/or other users allow 3rd party(ies) to view their personal transactions. The multilayered consortium ledger networks can be as central to the individual local agency(ies), inclusive of all child support agencies, and/or function independently. It may be used by Parties/Parents who want to use a secure and trackable way to send payments amongst themselves outside of child support agencies. There are implications of its usage being central as well as its usage being national and international. This allows for centralized, decentralized, private, and consortium networks, and/or a combination thereof without limitation to the technologies and platforms used. The multilayered consortium ledger network has the capacity to collect and store all users personal and payment identifiers in consortium centralized, decentralized, distributed databases, blockchain and IoT cloud databases, big storage units and the like and/or similar IoT big storage and retrieval centers using a plurality of technologies without limitations. The plurality of data and cloud databases and/or storage units will be able to capture all information entered including but limited to “sender of payment” information, parties/parents and children's names, DOBs, last four of SSN, payment identifiers, payments made and disbursed and employer information. Parties/Parents are able to retrieve payment history amongst other items. The multilayered consortium ledger network has the capacity to return and refund payments to senders of payments when appropriate. In some embodiments, the payment database centers may be used to help facilitate payment verification and reconciliation of funds submitted on the networks. In some embodiments, child support payments will be made via the phone services through the phone's automated system or with a live representative, identifiers are entered on a self executing contract, payment funds confirmed and entered, and once deployed and verified via the consortium ledger network and/or child support agency system, payments are dispersed from the sender of payments' financial institution and/or the self executing contract itself and sent to the receiver of payments. In some embodiments, when a payment is made via a payment kiosk, participant and payment information is entered onto the blockchain via self executing contract/agreement linked to the kiosks mainframe system. The multilayered consortium ledger network supports payment receptacles including but not limiting to financial institution, child support wallets, cryptocurrency wallet, fiat wallet, mobile app, and other means; participants enter multi factor verification identifiers to access and withdrawal currencies out of the receptacles. These embodiments demonstrate some of the ways the multilayered consortium ledger networks may be used to support child/family support payments being made by senders of payments and distributed to Obligees, Parties/Parents (receivers of payments). FIG.3illustrates another embodiment of the multilayered child support disbursement structures in which the security layers are discussed. Each layer within the consortium ledger network, there is a security layer associated with it. In addition, at each connection point between layers as well as connection points with the outside world, there are advanced security structures and measures in place to detect, block, and respond to access attempts and other risky activities on each layer, each connection point within the structures, as well as but not limited to each endpoint to the outside world. Security protection of computer networks that are remotely bridged to client devices are in place as well. A multi factor verification layer is added, advanced detection and response to attacks is implemented. Security layer is at each level, with each protocol and application in the architecture. In some embodiments, cloud-based security is used to secure network data, user data and data obtained and stored on the network. In some embodiments, blockchain cloud security will be used to break up the user's data into smaller chunks to store in the blockchain cloud network. An additional layer of security is present and distributed throughout the network. In some embodiments, the hashing function, public and private keys' encryption and transaction ledgers are used and maintained. Security measures are taken to include but is not limited to the reduction and/or elimination of spam, provide update services, encryption of files and data at rest, in motion, and via mobile device usage, firewall services, multi factor authentication to protect data, establish a baseline and routinely review networks to close existing vulnerabilities and usage of big data engines to review events and security logs to protect against advanced threats. FIG.4illustrates yet another embodiment of the multilayered child support disbursement structures linked as a “plug and play” to child support/district attorney agencies. The consortium ledger network may be used independent of child support agencies/district attorneys' offices who manage child support cases as well as those who process child support payments. As a “plug and play”, it begins with “senders of child support payments” submitting payments and/or appropriate identifiers that capture who is sending the payments, obligor identifiers, payment amounts, and Obligees identifiers, via self executing contracts on the consortium ledger network. The payment and/or self executing contracts are submitted on the consortium ledger network and linked to child support agencies for verification of identifiers via the consortium ledger network. After verification, the self executing contracts are triggered to release the payments placed on it or it's triggered to pull the funds from financial institutions and/or storages of currency, like crypto wallets. The payments are then disbursed to Obligees via their preferred receptacles like bank accounts, child support wallets, and the like. If a payment is not verified, the self executing contracts are rejected by the child support agencies, the self executing contract is pre-coded to notify the sender to correct and resubmit information entered on the self executing contracts. The multilayered consortium ledger network may be used for a variety of purposes. For example, it is capable of supporting profile information being entered in self executing contracts, deployed directly on the consortium ledger network, managed from profile (re)opening to profile closure and processing payments made by using self-executing contracts and other technologies. FIG.5illustrates another embodiment of the multilayered child support disbursement structures in which Parties and/or Parents who may or may not have child support orders are able to use the multi-use platform to make and/or receive child support payment outside of using child support/district attorney agencies. In an embodiment of this process, they would register to use the platform via a variety of channels like the web, mobile app, and the like. The parents and/or parties would complete an application that is inputted in self executing contracts starting with their first and last name along with their middle initial and email address; participate in a multi factor verification process before completing the rest of the application. The application process consists of executing the two-step verification process that was created. As they continue, the previous identifiers entered would auto populate in the appropriate fields and they would proceed to enter the agreement terms that consist of but not limited to their DOB and last four of their SSN, the other parent's first and last name, DOB, last four of SSN, mutual child(ren's) name and DOB, child/family support agreed to pay/receive, and for how long the agreement is for. Both parties/parents would sign/acknowledge they agree to the terms. Parties/Parents are able to make/receive child support payments amongst themselves by two step verification process to access account, place their agreed upon child support payment amount, frequency of payments, personal, financial, and in addition but not limited to payment identifiers on self-executing contracts and submit them on an embodiment of the consortium ledger network. The ledger records who made every payment, every payment disbursed, and who received every payment. In the event child support case(s) are (re)opened there are records of who made the child support payment(s), child support payment(s) disbursed, and who received the payment. If the agreement needs to be updated, a new self executing contract is created between the involved parents/parties and submitted on the consortium network. In some embodiments, the history of child/family support payments may be printed out and used by Parties and/or Parents and/or legal guardians for court purposes, child/family support and tax agencies' purposes and the like. In the event child support case(s) and or profiles are (re)opened there are records of who made the child support payment(s), child support payment(s) disbursed, and who received the payment. Child support payment records may be retrieved from platform data to prove what payments were made, by whom, and/or received, by whom. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments mentioned herein. Embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Those of ordinary skill in the art realize that the following descriptions of the embodiments of the present invention are illustrative and are not intended to be limiting in any way. Other embodiments of the present invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure. The meaning of any terms expressed is dependent upon the context within which it is used, and the meaning may be expressly modified. | 22,338 |
11861617 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The inventor has conceived, and reduced to practice, a system and method for minimal contact in-person business transactions using a code generator and a mobile device. One or more different aspects may be described in the present application. Further, for one or more of the aspects described herein, numerous alternative arrangements may be described; it should be appreciated that these are presented for illustrative purposes only and are not limiting of the aspects contained herein or the claims presented herein in any way. One or more of the arrangements may be widely applicable to numerous aspects, as may be readily apparent from the disclosure. In general, arrangements are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice one or more of the aspects, and it should be appreciated that other arrangements may be utilized and that structural, logical, software, electrical and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the particular aspects. Particular features of one or more of the aspects described herein may be described with reference to one or more particular aspects or figures that form a part of the present disclosure, and in which are shown, by way of illustration, specific arrangements of one or more of the aspects. It should be appreciated, however, that such features are not limited to usage in the one or more particular aspects or figures with reference to which they are described. The present disclosure is neither a literal description of all arrangements of one or more of the aspects nor a listing of features of one or more of the aspects that must be present in all arrangements. Headings of sections provided in this patent application and the title of this patent application are for convenience only, and are not to be taken as limiting the disclosure in any way. Devices that are in communication with each other need not be in continuous communication with each other, unless expressly specified otherwise. In addition, devices that are in communication with each other may communicate directly or indirectly through one or more communication means or intermediaries, logical or physical. A description of an aspect with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. To the contrary, a variety of optional components may be described to illustrate a wide variety of possible aspects and in order to more fully illustrate one or more aspects. Similarly, although process steps, method steps, algorithms or the like may be described in a sequential order, such processes, methods and algorithms may generally be configured to work in alternate orders, unless specifically stated to the contrary. In other words, any sequence or order of steps that may be described in this patent application does not, in and of itself, indicate a requirement that the steps be performed in that order. The steps of described processes may be performed in any order practical. Further, some steps may be performed simultaneously despite being described or implied as occurring non-simultaneously (e.g., because one step is described after the other step). Moreover, the illustration of a process by its depiction in a drawing does not imply that the illustrated process is exclusive of other variations and modifications thereto, does not imply that the illustrated process or any of its steps are necessary to one or more of the aspects, and does not imply that the illustrated process is preferred. Also, steps are generally described once per aspect, but this does not mean they must occur once, or that they may only occur once each time a process, method, or algorithm is carried out or executed. Some steps may be omitted in some aspects or some occurrences, or some steps may be executed more than once in a given aspect or occurrence. When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device or article may be used in place of a single device or article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that a single device or article may be used in place of the more than one device or article. The functionality or the features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices that are not explicitly described as having such functionality or features. Thus, other aspects need not include the device itself. Techniques and mechanisms described or referenced herein will sometimes be described in singular form for clarity. However, it should be appreciated that particular aspects may include multiple iterations of a technique or multiple instantiations of a mechanism unless noted otherwise. Process descriptions or blocks in figures should be understood as representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Alternate implementations are included within the scope of various aspects in which, for example, functions may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art. Definitions “Artificial intelligence” or “AI” as used herein means a computer system or component that has been programmed in such a way that it mimics some aspect or aspects of cognitive functions that humans associate with human intelligence, such as learning, problem solving, and decision-making. Examples of current AI technologies include understanding human speech, competing successfully in strategic games such as chess and Go, autonomous operation of vehicles, complex simulations, and interpretation of complex data such as images and video. “Machine learning” as used herein is an aspect of artificial intelligence in which the computer system or component can modify its behavior or understanding without being explicitly programmed to do so. Machine learning algorithms develop models of behavior or understanding based on information fed to them as training sets, and can modify those models based on new incoming information. An example of a machine learning algorithm is AlphaGo, the first computer program to defeat a human world champion in the game of Go. AlphaGo was not explicitly programmed to play Go. It was fed millions of games of Go, and developed its own model of the game and strategies of play. “Neural network” as used herein means a computational model, architecture, or system made up of a number of simple, highly interconnected processing elements which process information by their dynamic state response to external inputs, and is thus able to “learn” information by recognizing patterns or trends. Neural networks, also sometimes known as “artificial neural networks” are based on our understanding of the structure and functions of biological neural networks, such as the brains of mammals. A neural network is a framework for application of machine learning algorithms. Conceptual Architecture FIG.1is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system architecture for minimal contact in-person business transactions using a banking card and mobile device, according to a preferred embodiment. A server110operates at least a QR code generator111, interaction handler112, and transaction page generator113, which may be separate devices connected directly or over a network and interacting with a server110, or may be software operating on the server110itself, or software operating over a network and communicating over a network with the server110. Such a server may be operating one of a variety of operating systems and server software including WINDOWS SERVER™, LINUX™, APACHE™, or other software. The server110may also run other software or have other hardware components aside from only the QR code generator111, interaction handler112, and transaction page generator113. A QR code generator111is a tool or set of tools for taking a certain Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) and encoding it as a QR code to be sent to requesting users. The URL encoded by the QR code generator111is a URL generated by a transaction page generator113, the interactions between the two devices, and interactions with external services such as a third party POS130, being handled by an interaction handler112. A transaction page may be generated simply as an interactive web page such as one designed with JAVASCRIPT™ elements, or such as one compiled with WEBASSEMBLY™ technology, that allows a user to input data such as a tip amount, their signature, receipt preferences, email preferences, or other data, as applicable and determined by the POS130, in order to complete a transaction. The internet120may be used to facilitate communications between several different devices or institutions or individuals, including a customer's mobile device160, a business POS130, a server110, and at least one but potentially multiple financial institutions140,150. A business' POS130may have components including a cashier module or display131, a card reader and associated display132, and a QR code interface133. A cashier module or display131is the part of the system attended to by an actual cashier, and may be handled automatically as part of a self-checkout device or by a human such as in a supermarket. The card reader and display132is a device that allows at least the insertion of a banking card170from a customer and is capable of displaying images at least in the required resolution for a QR code to be displayed, which may be performed with a QR code interface133if no separate screen for the card reader is possible. For example, if a card reader is a small hand-held card reader without a moderate resolution digital display, a separate device for a QR code interface133may be present to display the QR code. In other instances, the QR code interface133may be merely a part of the card reader and display132, a software component able to render the QR code on the screen. A banking card170may also be swiped or instead held nearby if it is RFID enabled or similar. Regardless of which implementation is used by a given POS130, a customer must have not only their banking card170but also a mobile device160with a camera161and QR code application162, such as a tablet computer or a smartphone. The QR code application162is software operating on the mobile device160that may use the camera161to identify and scan QR codes the camera is pointed to, and access the URL that they encode, along with possibly other features including interactive web page integration and the ability to operate compiled code such as WEBASSEMBLY™ code, such as that sent from an interaction handler112when a URL is accessed that leads to a page generated by a transaction page generator113. In this way, the user may use their mobile device to scan a displayed QR code, and finish their transaction without touching any other POS device aside from the banking card interaction. The finished transaction may then have funds transferred as per usual for a transaction with banking cards, with at least one, but potentially multiple financial institutions and accounts140,150. For instance, funds may be withdrawn from a user's account at one institution, and deposited into an account at another institution operated by the business. FIG.2is another block diagram illustrating an exemplary system architecture for minimal contact in-person business transactions using a banking card and mobile device, according to an alternative embodiment, where a financial institution operates the system. A server or service operated by a financial institution210operates at least a QR code generator211, interaction handler212, and transaction page generator213, which may be separate devices connected directly or over a network and interacting with a financial institution server or service210, or may be software operating on a server itself, or software operating over a network and communicating over a network with the server. Such a server may be operating one of a variety of operating systems and server software including WINDOWS SERVER™, LINUX™ APACHE™, or other software. The financial institution server or servers210may also run other software or have other hardware components aside from only the QR code generator211, interaction handler212, and transaction page generator213. A QR code generator211is a tool or set of tools for taking a certain Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) and encoding it as a QR code to be sent to requesting users. The URL encoded by the QR code generator211is a URL generated by a transaction page generator213, the interactions between the two devices, and interactions with external services such as a third party POS130, being handled by an interaction handler212. A transaction page may be generated simply as an interactive web page such as one designed with JAVASCRIPT™ elements, or such as one compiled with WEBASSEMBLY™ technology, that allows a user to input data such as a tip amount, their signature, receipt preferences, email preferences, or other data, as applicable and determined by the POS130, in order to complete a transaction. The internet120may be used to facilitate communications between several different devices or institutions or individuals, including a customer's mobile device160, a business POS130, a financial institution server or servers210, and at least one but potentially multiple financial institutions210,150. A business' POS130may have components including a cashier module or display131, a card reader and associated display132, and a QR code interface133. A cashier module or display131is the part of the system attended to by an actual cashier, and may be handled automatically as part of a self-checkout device or by a human such as in a supermarket. The card reader and display132is a device that allows at least the insertion of a banking card170from a customer and is capable of displaying images at least in the required resolution for a QR code to be displayed, which may be performed with a QR code interface133if no separate screen for the card reader is possible. For example, if a card reader is a small hand-held card reader without a moderate resolution digital display, a separate device for a QR code interface133may be present to display the QR code. In other instances, the QR code interface133may be merely a part of the card reader and display132, a software component able to render the QR code on the screen. A banking card170may also be swiped or instead held nearby if it is RFID enabled or similar. Regardless of which implementation is used by a given POS130, a customer must have not only their banking card170but also a mobile device160with a camera161and QR code application162, such as a tablet computer or a smartphone. The QR code application162is software operating on the mobile device160that may use the camera161to identify and scan QR codes the camera is pointed to, and access the URL that they encode, along with possibly other features including interactive web page integration and the ability to operate compiled code such as WEBASSEMBLY™ code, such as that sent from an interaction handler212when a URL is accessed that leads to a page generated by a transaction page generator213. In this way, the user may use their mobile device to scan a displayed QR code, and finish their transaction without touching any other POS device aside from the banking card interaction. The finished transaction may then have funds transferred as per usual for a transaction with banking cards, with at least one, but potentially multiple financial institutions and accounts210,150. For instance, funds may be withdrawn from a user's account at one institution, and deposited into an account at another institution operated by the business. FIG.3is another block diagram illustrating an exemplary system architecture for minimal contact in-person business transactions using a banking card and mobile device, according to an alternative embodiment, where there is only one financial institution instead of a possible plurality of institutions. A server110operates at least a QR code generator111, interaction handler112, and transaction page generator113, which may be separate devices connected directly or over a network and interacting with a server110, or may be software operating on the server110itself, or software operating over a network and communicating over a network with the server110. Such a server may be operating one of a variety of operating systems and server software including WINDOWS SERVER™, LINUX™, APACHE™, or other software. The server110may also run other software or have other hardware components aside from only the QR code generator111, interaction handler112, and transaction page generator113. A QR code generator111is a tool or set of tools for taking a certain Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) and encoding it as a QR code to be sent to requesting users. The URL encoded by the QR code generator111is a URL generated by a transaction page generator113, the interactions between the two devices, and interactions with external services such as a third party POS130, being handled by an interaction handler112. A transaction page may be generated simply as an interactive web page such as one designed with JAVASCRIPT™ elements, or such as one compiled with WEBASSEMBLY™ technology, that allows a user to input data such as a tip amount, their signature, receipt preferences, email preferences, or other data, as applicable and determined by the POS130, in order to complete a transaction. The internet120may be used to facilitate communications between several different devices or institutions or individuals, including a customer's mobile device160, a business POS130, a server110, and one financial institution310. A business' POS130may have components including a cashier module or display131, a card reader and associated display132, and a QR code interface133. A cashier module or display131is the part of the system attended to by an actual cashier, and may be handled automatically as part of a self-checkout device or by a human such as in a supermarket. The card reader and display132is a device that allows at least the insertion of a banking card170from a customer and is capable of displaying images at least in the required resolution for a QR code to be displayed, which may be performed with a QR code interface133if no separate screen for the card reader is possible. For example, if a card reader is a small hand-held card reader without a moderate resolution digital display, a separate device for a QR code interface133may be present to display the QR code. In other instances, the QR code interface133may be merely a part of the card reader and display132, a software component able to render the QR code on the screen. A banking card170may also be swiped or instead held nearby if it is RFID enabled or similar. Regardless of which implementation is used by a given POS130, a customer must have not only their banking card170but also a mobile device160with a camera161and QR code application162, such as a tablet computer or a smartphone. The QR code application162is software operating on the mobile device160that may use the camera161to identify and scan QR codes the camera is pointed to, and access the URL that they encode, along with possibly other features including interactive web page integration and the ability to operate compiled code such as WEBASSEMBLY™ code, such as that sent from an interaction handler112when a URL is accessed that leads to a page generated by a transaction page generator113. In this way, the user may use their mobile device to scan a displayed QR code, and finish their transaction without touching any other POS device aside from the banking card interaction. The finished transaction may then have funds transferred as per usual for a transaction with banking cards, with at least one financial institution and account310. For instance, a gift card may be used in which case only one financial institution might be utilized for completion of the transaction, or cash may be utilized for part or all of the transaction, or the customer and business may utilize accounts at the same financial institution, or a single institution might be contacted and then later the institution may have systems to withdraw funds from the customer's own financial institution. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY ASPECTS FIG.4is a method diagram illustrating the operation of a system for minimal contact in-person business transactions using a banking card and mobile device, according to one embodiment. A cashier may start a transaction410with a customer, such as ringing up a customer's goods at a supermarket such as WALMART™, SAFEWAY™, TARGET™, or others. Initiating a transaction may prompt a customer to use their card with a card reader420, which may or may not have its own digital display, allowing a customer to insert or swipe or otherwise interact their banking card with the card reader430. Such a banking card may be a credit card, debit card, prepaid card, gift card, or even a smart wallet application or similar such as APPLE PAY™. The point-of-sale system may then query a server for a QR code440with which to finish the transaction, over the internet. The QR server generates and sends the QR code to the POS450over the internet, the QR code containing a URL leading to an interactive web page such as one written in HTML and page scripting such as JAVASCRIPT™, or potentially a compiled page or application such as one built with WEBASSEMBLY™ technology. A customer may scan the QR code460, at which point the customer may interact with the page or pages delivered via the scanned QR code's URL, for purposes such as setting a tip for the transaction, leaving feedback or responding to a survey, leaving the customer's signature, choosing receipt options such as via email or text message, signing up for extra services such as a membership for the business in question, or other possible options when finishing a transaction at a business470. The POS then receives the data specified by the customer480, and is able to complete the transaction, at which point the POS may interact with at least one financial institution to accomplish the transaction as normal490, such as withdrawing or transferring funds from the customer to the business account. A transaction completion message may be displayed, indicating to the cashier or other worker that the transaction has finalized. The financial institution may be the one to operate the server or servers used for generating the QR code and supplying the interactive web page data, or it may be operated independently. Page data may be generated in differing compositions for each POS or each business depending on the business' choices when registering for the use of this service. For instance, a business may sign up for usage of this server with their POS systems, and enable only signature and receipt options for their web pages, in which case customers, when checking out from this business' POS, would only receive a web page with signature and receipt options and interaction capabilities. FIG.5is a method diagram illustrating the operation of a QR code server, according to an embodiment. A server may receive a request over the internet for a QR code for aiding in or handling a customer transaction, the request including at least the transaction type or identity of the POS or business making the request505. For instance, a request may take the form of an encrypted or otherwise secured JSON string placed in an HTTP request, where the JSON string contained the name of the business such as “Businessplace LLC” and a transaction ID or business ID such as “12345654321”, so that the QR code server can identify properly what manner of transaction page should be served in response. After receiving such a request, the server may generate a URL for the customer transaction with the target business, with specific settings designated by the transaction type and/or business' ID, the URL comprising at least the address to load interactive web page or pages for customer to enter transaction details such as tip, receipt preferences, etc.510. The URL is not served by itself however, and first the server may generate a transaction page to be served to the customer, via the URL515, if such a page is not already generated. The page is then reachable at the specified URL, and the server generates a QR code from the URL520, before sending the QR code to the requesting POS525, to be eventually served to the customer in some way, such as displayed on a card reader display. The URL may then be accessed from customer scanning the QR code530, which may be done with a specialized application on a mobile device, or may be done with a general QR code scanning application that may be designed to simply scan QR codes and access the URLs scanned, many of which are frequently available on app stores and similar. In response to scanning the QR code and opening the URL, the generated transaction page is served to the customer535, at which point a user application running on their mobile device and used to scan the QR code receives and loads the page, and after user interactions, sends the user interactions to the POS (i.e. tip, receipt preferences)540. This may be accomplished either by directly connecting to the POS such as with near-field communications or RFID, or an internet tether negotiated by the server, or the server may manage some or all of the user responses and forward the data to the POS rather than the POS receiving the data directly from the user's mobile device545. FIG.6is a method diagram illustrating the operation of a QR code application and a business POS serving QR codes to a customer, according to an embodiment. The POS may first start the transaction610, whether by a cashier manually starting the transaction or by a self-service POS such as an automated checkout station beginning it with the customer. A customer may insert their card into card reader620, although swiping, waving nearby, or otherwise utilizing card-based or digital payment methods such as APPLE PAY™ may also be done, at which point the POS may send a request to a QR code server630. After receiving a QR code from such a server, the QR code may be displayed on a card reader display640, which may be a separate display from a self-service or cashier display, or may be the same display, allowing a customer to scan the displayed QR code with a QR code application650operating on a mobile device controlled by the customer. The QR code application then accesses the encoded URL from the scanned QR code660, allowing the QR code application to load an interactive webpage or pages, or download compiled code that is able to operate on the mobile device, allowing the customer to interact with the page or pages and enter responses to queries, such as a tip amount or signature670. The transaction responses are then sent to the POS, either directly or through the QR server from the QR code application operating the interactive page or pages680, allowing the POS to finalize and finish the transaction690, which may require the use of the QR code server if the server is utilized in processing and forwarding data from the page or pages used by the customer, to the POS. FIG.7is a message flow diagram illustrating the operation of a system for minimal contact in-person business transactions using a banking card and mobile device, according to one embodiment. A server110operates at least a QR code generator, interaction handler, and transaction page generator, which may be separate devices connected directly or over a network and interacting with a server110, or may be software operating on the server110itself, or software operating over a network and communicating over a network with the server110. Such a server may be operating one of a variety of operating systems and server software including WINDOWS SERVER™, LINUX™, APACHE™, or other software. The server110may also run other software or have other hardware components aside from only the QR code generator, interaction handler, and transaction page generator. A QR code generator is a tool or set of tools for taking a certain Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) and encoding it as a QR code to be sent to requesting users. The URL encoded by the QR code generator is a URL generated by a transaction page generator, the interactions between the two devices, and interactions with external services such as a third party POS130, being handled by an interaction handler. A transaction page may be generated simply as an interactive web page such as one designed with JAVASCRIPT™ elements, or such as one compiled with WEBASSEMBLY™ technology, that allows a user to input data such as a tip amount, their signature, receipt preferences, email preferences, or other data, as applicable and determined by the POS130, in order to complete a transaction. The internet may be used to facilitate communications between several different devices or institutions or individuals710, including a customer's mobile device160, a business POS130, a server110, and at least one but potentially multiple financial institutions710. A business' POS130may have components including a cashier module or display, a card reader and associated display, and a QR code interface. A cashier module or display is the part of the system attended to by an actual cashier, and may be handled automatically as part of a self-checkout device or by a human such as in a supermarket. The card reader and display is a device that allows at least the insertion of a banking card170from a customer and is capable of displaying images at least in the required resolution for a QR code to be displayed, which may be performed with a QR code interface if no separate screen for the card reader is possible. For example, if a card reader is a small hand-held card reader without a moderate resolution digital display, a separate device for a QR code interface may be present to display the QR code. In other instances, the QR code interface may be merely a part of the card reader and display, a software component able to render the QR code on the screen. A banking card170may also be swiped or instead held nearby if it is RFID enabled or similar. Regardless of which implementation is used by a given POS130, a customer must have not only their banking card170but also a mobile device160with a camera and QR code application, such as a tablet computer or a smartphone. The QR code application is software operating on the mobile device160that may use the camera to identify and scan QR codes the camera is pointed to, and access the URL that they encode, along with possibly other features including interactive web page integration and the ability to operate compiled code such as WEBASSEMBLY™ code, such as that sent from an interaction handler when a URL is accessed that leads to a page generated by a transaction page generator. In this way, the user may use their mobile device to scan a displayed QR code, and finish their transaction without touching any other POS device aside from the banking card interaction. The finished transaction may then have funds transferred as per usual for a transaction with banking cards, with at least one, but potentially multiple financial institutions and accounts710. For instance, funds may be withdrawn from a user's account at one institution, and deposited into an account at another institution operated by the business. A cashier may start a transaction with a customer, such as ringing up a customer's goods at a supermarket such as WALMART™, SAFEWAY™, TARGET™, or others. Initiating a transaction may prompt a customer to use their card with a card reader, which may or may not have its own digital display, allowing a customer to insert or swipe or otherwise interact their banking card with the card reader715. Such a banking card may be a credit card, debit card, prepaid card, gift card, or even a smart wallet application or similar such as APPLE PAY™. The point-of-sale system may then query a server for a QR code with which to finish the transaction720, over the internet. The QR server generates and sends the QR code to the POS over the internet725, the QR code containing a URL leading to an interactive web page such as one written in HTML and page scripting such as JAVASCRIPT™, or potentially a compiled page or application such as one built with WEBASSEMBLY™ technology. A customer may scan the QR code730, at which point the customer may interact with the page or pages delivered via the scanned QR code's URL735,740, for purposes such as setting a tip for the transaction, leaving feedback or responding to a survey, leaving the customer's signature, choosing receipt options such as via email or text message, signing up for extra services such as a membership for the business in question, or other possible options when finishing a transaction at a business. The completed page data with user interactions and responses is then sent back to the server745. The POS then receives the relevant transaction data specified by the customer750, and is able to complete the transaction, at which point the POS may interact with at least one financial institution to accomplish the transaction as normal, such as withdrawing or transferring funds from the customer to the business account755. The financial institution may be the one to operate the server or servers used for generating the QR code and supplying the interactive web page data, or it may be operated independently. Page data may be generated in differing compositions for each POS or each business depending on the business' choices when registering for the use of this service. For instance, a business may sign up for usage of this server with their POS systems, and enable only signature and receipt options for their web pages, in which case customers, when checking out from this business' POS, would only receive a web page with signature and receipt options and interaction capabilities. FIG.8is a message flow diagram illustrating the operation of a QR code server, according to an embodiment. A server operates at least a QR code generator111, interaction handler112, and transaction page generator113, which may be separate devices connected directly or over a network and interacting with a server, or may be software operating on the server itself, or software operating over a network and communicating over a network with the server. Such a server may be operating one of a variety of operating systems and server software including WINDOWS SERVER™, LINUX™, APACHE™, or other software. The server may also run other software or have other hardware components aside from only the QR code generator111, interaction handler112, and transaction page generator113. A QR code generator111is a tool or set of tools for taking a certain Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) and encoding it as a QR code to be sent to requesting users. The URL encoded by the QR code generator111is a URL generated by a transaction page generator113, the interactions between the two devices, and interactions with external services such as a third party POS130, being handled by an interaction handler112. A transaction page may be generated simply as an interactive web page such as one designed with JAVASCRIPT™ elements, or such as one compiled with WEBASSEMBLY™ technology, that allows a user to input data such as a tip amount, their signature, receipt preferences, email preferences, or other data, as applicable and determined by the POS130, in order to complete a transaction. The internet may be used to facilitate communications between several different devices or institutions or individuals, including a customer's mobile device160, a business POS130, a server, and at least one but potentially multiple financial institutions. A business' POS130may have components including a cashier module or display, a card reader and associated display, and a QR code interface. A cashier module or display is the part of the system attended to by an actual cashier, and may be handled automatically as part of a self-checkout device or by a human such as in a supermarket. The card reader and display is a device that allows at least the insertion of a banking card from a customer and is capable of displaying images at least in the required resolution for a QR code to be displayed, which may be performed with a QR code interface if no separate screen for the card reader is possible. For example, if a card reader is a small hand-held card reader without a moderate resolution digital display, a separate device for a QR code interface may be present to display the QR code. In other instances, the QR code interface may be merely a part of the card reader and display, a software component able to render the QR code on the screen. A banking card may also be swiped or instead held nearby if it is RFID enabled or similar. Regardless of which implementation is used by a given POS130, a customer must have not only their banking card but also a mobile device160with a camera and QR code application, such as a tablet computer or a smartphone. The QR code application is software operating on the mobile device160that may use the camera to identify and scan QR codes the camera is pointed to, and access the URL that they encode, along with possibly other features including interactive web page integration and the ability to operate compiled code such as WEBASSEMBLY™ code, such as that sent from an interaction handler112when a URL is accessed that leads to a page generated by a transaction page generator113. In this way, the user may use their mobile device to scan a displayed QR code, and finish their transaction without touching any other POS device aside from the banking card interaction. The finished transaction may then have funds transferred as per usual for a transaction with banking cards, with at least one, but potentially multiple financial institutions and accounts. For instance, funds may be withdrawn from a user's account at one institution, and deposited into an account at another institution operated by the business. A server may receive a request over the internet for a QR code for aiding in or handling a customer transaction810, the request including at least the transaction type or identity of the POS or business making the request. For instance, a request may take the form of an encrypted or otherwise secured JSON string placed in an HTTP request, where the JSON string contained the name of the business such as “Businessplace LLC” and a transaction ID or business ID such as “12345654321”, so that the QR code server can identify properly what manner of transaction page should be served in response. After receiving such a request820, the server may generate a URL for the customer transaction with the target business830, with specific settings designated by the transaction type and/or business' ID, the URL comprising at least the address to load interactive web page or pages for customer to enter transaction details such as tip, receipt preferences, etc. The URL is not served by itself however, and first the server may generate a transaction page to be served to the customer, via the URL, if such a page is not already generated. The page is then reachable at the specified URL, and the server generates a QR code from the URL, before sending the QR code to the requesting POS840, to be eventually served to the customer in some way, such as displayed on a card reader display. The URL may then be accessed from customer scanning the QR code840, which may be done with a specialized application on a mobile device, or may be done with a general QR code scanning application that may be designed to simply scan QR codes and access the URLs scanned850, many of which are frequently available on app stores and similar. In response to scanning the QR code and opening the URL850, the generated transaction page is served to the customer860, at which point a user application running on their mobile device and used to scan the QR code receives and loads the page, and after user interactions870, sends the user interactions to the POS (i.e. tip, receipt preferences)880. This may be accomplished either by directly connecting to the POS such as with near-field communications or RFID, or an internet tether negotiated by the server, or the server may manage some or all of the user responses and forward the data to the POS rather than the POS receiving the data directly from the user's mobile device. FIG.9is a message flow diagram illustrating the operation of a QR code application and a business POS serving QR codes to a customer, according to an embodiment. A server operates at least a QR code generator, interaction handler, and transaction page generator, which may be separate devices connected directly or over a network and interacting with a server, or may be software operating on the server itself, or software operating over a network and communicating over a network with the server. Such a server may be operating one of a variety of operating systems and server software including WINDOWS SERVER™, LINUX™, APACHE™, or other software. The server may also run other software or have other hardware components aside from only the QR code generator, interaction handler, and transaction page generator. A QR code generator is a tool or set of tools for taking a certain Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) and encoding it as a QR code to be sent to requesting users. The URL encoded by the QR code generator is a URL generated by a transaction page generator, the interactions between the two devices, and interactions with external services such as a third party POS, being handled by an interaction handler. A transaction page may be generated simply as an interactive web page such as one designed with JAVASCRIPT™ elements, or such as one compiled with WEBASSEMBLY™ technology, that allows a user to input data such as a tip amount, their signature, receipt preferences, email preferences, or other data, as applicable and determined by the POS, in order to complete a transaction. The internet may be used to facilitate communications between several different devices or institutions or individuals, including a customer's mobile device, a business POS, a server, and at least one but potentially multiple financial institutions. A business' POS may have components including a cashier module or display131, a card reader and associated display132, and a QR code interface133. A cashier module or display131is the part of the system attended to by an actual cashier, and may be handled automatically as part of a self-checkout device or by a human such as in a supermarket. The card reader and display132is a device that allows at least the insertion of a banking card from a customer and is capable of displaying images at least in the required resolution for a QR code to be displayed, which may be performed with a QR code interface133if no separate screen for the card reader is possible. For example, if a card reader is a small hand-held card reader without a moderate resolution digital display, a separate device for a QR code interface133may be present to display the QR code. In other instances, the QR code interface133may be merely a part of the card reader and display132, a software component able to render the QR code on the screen. A banking card may also be swiped or instead held nearby if it is RFID enabled or similar. Regardless of which implementation is used by a given POS, a customer must have not only their banking card but also a mobile device with a camera161and QR code application162, such as a tablet computer or a smartphone. The QR code application162is software operating on the mobile device that may use the camera161to identify and scan QR codes the camera is pointed to, and access the URL that they encode, along with possibly other features including interactive web page integration and the ability to operate compiled code such as WEBASSEMBLY™ code, such as that sent from an interaction handler when a URL is accessed that leads to a page generated by a transaction page generator. In this way, the user may use their mobile device to scan a displayed QR code, and finish their transaction without touching any other POS device aside from the banking card interaction. The finished transaction may then have funds transferred as per usual for a transaction with banking cards, with at least one, but potentially multiple financial institutions and accounts. For instance, funds may be withdrawn from a user's account at one institution, and deposited into an account at another institution operated by the business. The POS may first start the transaction, whether by a cashier manually starting the transaction or by a self-service POS such as an automated checkout station beginning it with the customer910. A customer may insert their card into card reader, although swiping, waving nearby, or otherwise utilizing card-based or digital payment methods such as APPLE PAY™ may also be done920, at which point the POS may send a request to a QR code server. After receiving a QR code from such a server, the QR code may be displayed on a card reader display, which may be a separate display from a self-service or cashier display, or may be the same display, allowing a customer to scan the displayed QR code930with a QR code application operating on a mobile device controlled by the customer940. The QR code application then accesses the encoded URL from the scanned QR code, allowing the QR code application to load an interactive webpage or pages, or download compiled code that is able to operate on the mobile device, allowing the customer to interact with the page or pages and enter responses to queries, such as a tip amount or signature. The transaction responses are then sent to the POS950, either directly or through the QR server from the QR code application operating the interactive page or pages, allowing the POS to finalize and finish the transaction, which may require the use of the QR code server if the server is utilized in processing and forwarding data from the page or pages used by the customer, to the POS. Hardware Architecture Generally, the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented on hardware or a combination of software and hardware. For example, they may be implemented in an operating system kernel, in a separate user process, in a library package bound into network applications, on a specially constructed machine, on an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or on a network interface card. Software/hardware hybrid implementations of at least some of the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented on a programmable network-resident machine (which should be understood to include intermittently connected network-aware machines) selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in memory. Such network devices may have multiple network interfaces that may be configured or designed to utilize different types of network communication protocols. A general architecture for some of these machines may be described herein in order to illustrate one or more exemplary means by which a given unit of functionality may be implemented. According to specific aspects, at least some of the features or functionalities of the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented on one or more general-purpose computers associated with one or more networks, such as for example an end-user computer system, a client computer, a network server or other server system, a mobile computing device (e.g., tablet computing device, mobile phone, smartphone, laptop, or other appropriate computing device), a consumer electronic device, a music player, or any other suitable electronic device, router, switch, or other suitable device, or any combination thereof. In at least some aspects, at least some of the features or functionalities of the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented in one or more virtualized computing environments (e.g., network computing clouds, virtual machines hosted on one or more physical computing machines, or other appropriate virtual environments). Referring now toFIG.10, there is shown a block diagram depicting an exemplary computing device10suitable for implementing at least a portion of the features or functionalities disclosed herein. Computing device10may be, for example, any one of the computing machines listed in the previous paragraph, or indeed any other electronic device capable of executing software- or hardware-based instructions according to one or more programs stored in memory. Computing device10may be configured to communicate with a plurality of other computing devices, such as clients or servers, over communications networks such as a wide area network a metropolitan area network, a local area network, a wireless network, the Internet, or any other network, using known protocols for such communication, whether wireless or wired. In one aspect, computing device10includes one or more central processing units (CPU)12, one or more interfaces15, and one or more busses14(such as a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus). When acting under the control of appropriate software or firmware, CPU12may be responsible for implementing specific functions associated with the functions of a specifically configured computing device or machine. For example, in at least one aspect, a computing device10may be configured or designed to function as a server system utilizing CPU12, local memory11and/or remote memory16, and interface(s)15. In at least one aspect, CPU12may be caused to perform one or more of the different types of functions and/or operations under the control of software modules or components, which for example, may include an operating system and any appropriate applications software, drivers, and the like. CPU12may include one or more processors13such as, for example, a processor from one of the Intel, ARM, Qualcomm, and AMD families of microprocessors. In some aspects, processors13may include specially designed hardware such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and so forth, for controlling operations of computing device10. In a particular aspect, a local memory11(such as non-volatile random access memory (RAM) and/or read-only memory (ROM), including for example one or more levels of cached memory) may also form part of CPU12. However, there are many different ways in which memory may be coupled to system10. Memory11may be used for a variety of purposes such as, for example, caching and/or storing data, programming instructions, and the like. It should be further appreciated that CPU12may be one of a variety of system-on-a-chip (SOC) type hardware that may include additional hardware such as memory or graphics processing chips, such as a QUALCOMM SNAPDRAGON™ or SAMSUNG EXYNOS™ CPU as are becoming increasingly common in the art, such as for use in mobile devices or integrated devices. As used herein, the term “processor” is not limited merely to those integrated circuits referred to in the art as a processor, a mobile processor, or a microprocessor, but broadly refers to a microcontroller, a microcomputer, a programmable logic controller, an application-specific integrated circuit, and any other programmable circuit. In one aspect, interfaces15are provided as network interface cards (NICs). Generally, NICs control the sending and receiving of data packets over a computer network; other types of interfaces15may for example support other peripherals used with computing device10. Among the interfaces that may be provided are Ethernet interfaces, frame relay interfaces, cable interfaces, DSL interfaces, token ring interfaces, graphics interfaces, and the like. In addition, various types of interfaces may be provided such as, for example, universal serial bus (USB), Serial, Ethernet, FIREWIRE™, THUNDERBOLT™, PCI, parallel, radio frequency (RF), BLUETOOTH™, near-field communications (e.g., using near-field magnetics), 802.11 (WiFi), frame relay, TCP/IP, ISDN, fast Ethernet interfaces, Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, Serial ATA (SATA) or external SATA (ESATA) interfaces, high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), digital visual interface (DVI), analog or digital audio interfaces, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) interfaces, high-speed serial interface (HSSI) interfaces, Point of Sale (POS) interfaces, fiber data distributed interfaces (FDDIs), and the like. Generally, such interfaces15may include physical ports appropriate for communication with appropriate media. In some cases, they may also include an independent processor (such as a dedicated audio or video processor, as is common in the art for high-fidelity A/V hardware interfaces) and, in some instances, volatile and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., RAM). Although the system shown inFIG.10illustrates one specific architecture for a computing device10for implementing one or more of the aspects described herein, it is by no means the only device architecture on which at least a portion of the features and techniques described herein may be implemented. For example, architectures having one or any number of processors13may be used, and such processors13may be present in a single device or distributed among any number of devices. In one aspect, a single processor13handles communications as well as routing computations, while in other aspects a separate dedicated communications processor may be provided. In various aspects, different types of features or functionalities may be implemented in a system according to the aspect that includes a client device (such as a tablet device or smartphone running client software) and server systems (such as a server system described in more detail below). Regardless of network device configuration, the system of an aspect may employ one or more memories or memory modules (such as, for example, remote memory block16and local memory11) configured to store data, program instructions for the general-purpose network operations, or other information relating to the functionality of the aspects described herein (or any combinations of the above). Program instructions may control execution of or comprise an operating system and/or one or more applications, for example. Memory16or memories11,16may also be configured to store data structures, configuration data, encryption data, historical system operations information, or any other specific or generic non-program information described herein. Because such information and program instructions may be employed to implement one or more systems or methods described herein, at least some network device aspects may include nontransitory machine-readable storage media, which, for example, may be configured or designed to store program instructions, state information, and the like for performing various operations described herein. Examples of such nontransitory machine-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROM disks; magneto-optical media such as optical disks, and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and perform program instructions, such as read-only memory devices (ROM), flash memory (as is common in mobile devices and integrated systems), solid state drives (SSD) and “hybrid SSD” storage drives that may combine physical components of solid state and hard disk drives in a single hardware device (as are becoming increasingly common in the art with regard to personal computers), memristor memory, random access memory (RAM), and the like. It should be appreciated that such storage means may be integral and non-removable (such as RAM hardware modules that may be soldered onto a motherboard or otherwise integrated into an electronic device), or they may be removable such as swappable flash memory modules (such as “thumb drives” or other removable media designed for rapidly exchanging physical storage devices), “hot-swappable” hard disk drives or solid state drives, removable optical storage discs, or other such removable media, and that such integral and removable storage media may be utilized interchangeably. Examples of program instructions include both object code, such as may be produced by a compiler, machine code, such as may be produced by an assembler or a linker, byte code, such as may be generated by for example a JAVA™ compiler and may be executed using a Java virtual machine or equivalent, or files containing higher level code that may be executed by the computer using an interpreter (for example, scripts written in Python, Perl, Ruby, Groovy, or any other scripting language). In some aspects, systems may be implemented on a standalone computing system. Referring now toFIG.11, there is shown a block diagram depicting a typical exemplary architecture of one or more aspects or components thereof on a standalone computing system. Computing device20includes processors21that may run software that carry out one or more functions or applications of aspects, such as for example a client application24. Processors21may carry out computing instructions under control of an operating system22such as, for example, a version of MICROSOFT WINDOWS™ operating system, APPLE macOS™ or iOS™ operating systems, some variety of the Linux operating system, ANDROID™ operating system, or the like. In many cases, one or more shared services23may be operable in system20, and may be useful for providing common services to client applications24. Services23may for example be WINDOWS™ services, user-space common services in a Linux environment, or any other type of common service architecture used with operating system21. Input devices28may be of any type suitable for receiving user input, including for example a keyboard, touchscreen, microphone (for example, for voice input), mouse, touchpad, trackball, or any combination thereof. Output devices27may be of any type suitable for providing output to one or more users, whether remote or local to system20, and may include for example one or more screens for visual output, speakers, printers, or any combination thereof. Memory25may be random-access memory having any structure and architecture known in the art, for use by processors21, for example to run software. Storage devices26may be any magnetic, optical, mechanical, memristor, or electrical storage device for storage of data in digital form (such as those described above, referring toFIG.10). Examples of storage devices26include flash memory, magnetic hard drive, CD-ROM, and/or the like. In some aspects, systems may be implemented on a distributed computing network, such as one having any number of clients and/or servers. Referring now toFIG.12, there is shown a block diagram depicting an exemplary architecture30for implementing at least a portion of a system according to one aspect on a distributed computing network. According to the aspect, any number of clients33may be provided. Each client33may run software for implementing client-side portions of a system; clients may comprise a system20such as that illustrated inFIG.11. In addition, any number of servers32may be provided for handling requests received from one or more clients33. Clients33and servers32may communicate with one another via one or more electronic networks31, which may be in various aspects any of the Internet, a wide area network, a mobile telephony network (such as CDMA or GSM cellular networks), a wireless network (such as WiFi, WiMAX, LTE, and so forth), or a local area network (or indeed any network topology known in the art; the aspect does not prefer any one network topology over any other). Networks31may be implemented using any known network protocols, including for example wired and/or wireless protocols. In addition, in some aspects, servers32may call external services37when needed to obtain additional information, or to refer to additional data concerning a particular call. Communications with external services37may take place, for example, via one or more networks31. In various aspects, external services37may comprise web-enabled services or functionality related to or installed on the hardware device itself. For example, in one aspect where client applications24are implemented on a smartphone or other electronic device, client applications24may obtain information stored in a server system32in the cloud or on an external service37deployed on one or more of a particular enterprise's or user's premises. In addition to local storage on servers32, remote storage38may be accessible through the network(s)31. In some aspects, clients33or servers32(or both) may make use of one or more specialized services or appliances that may be deployed locally or remotely across one or more networks31. For example, one or more databases34in either local or remote storage38may be used or referred to by one or more aspects. It should be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art that databases in storage34may be arranged in a wide variety of architectures and using a wide variety of data access and manipulation means. For example, in various aspects one or more databases in storage34may comprise a relational database system using a structured query language (SQL), while others may comprise an alternative data storage technology such as those referred to in the art as “NoSQL” (for example, HADOOP CASSANDRA™, GOOGLE BIGTABLE™, and so forth). In some aspects, variant database architectures such as column-oriented databases, in-memory databases, clustered databases, distributed databases, or even flat file data repositories may be used according to the aspect. It will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art that any combination of known or future database technologies may be used as appropriate, unless a specific database technology or a specific arrangement of components is specified for a particular aspect described herein. Moreover, it should be appreciated that the term “database” as used herein may refer to a physical database machine, a cluster of machines acting as a single database system, or a logical database within an overall database management system. Unless a specific meaning is specified for a given use of the term “database”, it should be construed to mean any of these senses of the word, all of which are understood as a plain meaning of the term “database” by those having ordinary skill in the art. Similarly, some aspects may make use of one or more security systems36and configuration systems35. Security and configuration management are common information technology (IT) and web functions, and some amount of each are generally associated with any IT or web systems. It should be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art that any configuration or security subsystems known in the art now or in the future may be used in conjunction with aspects without limitation, unless a specific security36or configuration system35or approach is specifically required by the description of any specific aspect. FIG.13shows an exemplary overview of a computer system40as may be used in any of the various locations throughout the system. It is exemplary of any computer that may execute code to process data. Various modifications and changes may be made to computer system40without departing from the broader scope of the system and method disclosed herein. Central processor unit (CPU)41is connected to bus42, to which bus is also connected memory43, nonvolatile memory44, display47, input/output (I/O) unit48, and network interface card (NIC)53. I/O unit48may, typically, be connected to peripherals such as a keyboard49, pointing device50, hard disk52, real-time clock51, a camera57, and other peripheral devices. NIC53connects to network54, which may be the Internet or a local network, which local network may or may not have connections to the Internet. The system may be connected to other computing devices through the network via a router55, wireless local area network56, or any other network connection. Also shown as part of system40is power supply unit45connected, in this example, to a main alternating current (AC) supply46. Not shown are batteries that could be present, and many other devices and modifications that are well known but are not applicable to the specific novel functions of the current system and method disclosed herein. It should be appreciated that some or all components illustrated may be combined, such as in various integrated applications, for example Qualcomm or Samsung system-on-a-chip (SOC) devices, or whenever it may be appropriate to combine multiple capabilities or functions into a single hardware device (for instance, in mobile devices such as smartphones, video game consoles, in-vehicle computer systems such as navigation or multimedia systems in automobiles, or other integrated hardware devices). In various aspects, functionality for implementing systems or methods of various aspects may be distributed among any number of client and/or server components. For example, various software modules may be implemented for performing various functions in connection with the system of any particular aspect, and such modules may be variously implemented to run on server and/or client components. The skilled person will be aware of a range of possible modifications of the various aspects described above. Accordingly, the present invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents. | 66,198 |
11861618 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments of the present invention utilize proximal distance thresholds and usage patterns to manage access to a financial device associated with a user. Subsequent to receiving configuration settings for a device profile associated with the financial device, embodiments of the present invention initialize the financial device based on the configuration settings as defined by the device profile. By receiving movement data and usage data for the financial device, embodiments of the present invention determine patterns and thresholds for the financial device and update the device profile. Based on the device profile, embodiments of the present invention identify a trigger event and validate the trigger event based on one or more network devices in the vicinity of the financial device. Responsive to the one or more network devices validating the trigger event, embodiments of the present invention apply a temporal lock to the financial device. Responsive to a user being validated, embodiments of the present invention update the financial profile based on the trigger event. Alternatively, responsive to the user not being validated, embodiments of the present invention apply a hard lock on the financial device and notify the user associated with financial device of a potential security breach. Improvements to technology include a proactive system that monitors activates of a financial device with respect to a linked device to detect instances of potential security breaches. FIG.1is a functional block diagram illustrating a distributed data processing environment, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The distributed data processing environment includes server computer102, client device104, financial device120, and network device122A,122B, and122N, all interconnected over network106. Server computer102may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a specialized computer server, a smartphone, or any computer system capable of executing the various embodiments of access management program108. In certain embodiments, server computer102represents a computer system utilizing clustered computers and components that act as a single pool of seamless resources when accessed through network106, as is common in data centers and with cloud computing applications. In general, server computer102is representative of any programmable electronic device or combination of programmable electronic devices capable of executing machine-readable program instructions and communicating with other computer devices via a network. Server computer102has the ability to communicate with other computer devices (not illustrated inFIG.1) to query the computer devices for information. In this embodiment, server computer102includes access management program108capable of communicating with database110, where database110includes financial device profiles112, movement data114, and usage data116. Client device104may be a cellphone, smartphone, smartwatch, laptop, tablet computer, or any other electronic device capable of communicating via network106. In general, client device104represents one or more programmable electronic devices or combination of programmable electronic devices capable of executing machine readable program instructions and communicating with other computing devices (not shown) within distributed data processing environment via a network, such as network106. In one embodiment, client device104represents one or more devices associated with a user. Client device104includes user interface118, where user interface118enable a user of client device104to interact with access management program108on server computer102. Financial device120represents a device capable of executing an electronic payment, where financial device120can be connected (i.e., paired) to client device104. In one embodiment, financial device120is a smart card that includes an embedded integrated circuit chip with a pattern of metal contacts to electrically connect to the internal chip and/or a contactless embedded integrated circuit chip to communicate with a terminal via near-field communication (NFC). Embodiments where financial device120is a smart card, a smart wallet can be utilized to track and secure financial device120. In another embodiments, financial device120is a mobile phone (e.g., smartphone) or smartwatch capable of executing a mobile payment utilizing NFC. Access management program108utilizes financial device profiles112, movement data114, and usage data116to determine usage patterns and proximal distance thresholds for financial device120. Access management program108receives configuration settings for financial device profile112associated with financial device120and initializes financial device120based on the configuration settings. As a user utilizes financial device120to execute an electronic payment, access management program108receives movement data114based on a location of financial device120and receives usage data116based on a purchase for which financial device120executed the electronic payment. Access management program108determines usage patterns and proximal distance thresholds for financial device120based on the movement data114and the usage data116. Subsequently, access management program108updates financial device profile112for financial device120based on the determined usage patterns and proximal distance thresholds for financial device120. Access management program108utilize an iterative machine learning process to continuously update financial device profile112with movement data114, usage data116, and determined usage patterns and proximal distance thresholds for financial device120. Access management program108determines whether to initialize financial device profile112for financial device120by determining if another iteration of the machine learning process is required to update financial device profile112. Responsive to determining not initialize financial device profile112for financial device120, access management program108reverts back to perform another iteration of the machine learning process and receives additional movement data114and usage data116. Responsive to determining to initialize financial device profile112for financial device120, access management program108monitors financial device120to identify a trigger event based on financial device profile112. Responsive to identifying a trigger event based on financial device profile112for financial device120, access management program108queries network devices122A,122B, and122N for validation of the trigger event. It is to be noted, network device122A represents a first network device, network device122B represents a second network device, and network device122N represents a final network device in a vicinity of financial device, where network device124N can for example represent a fifth network device or a seventh network device in the vicinity of financial device120. Network device122A,122B, and122N represents any Internet of Things (IoT) device capable of connecting and exchanging data with other devices (e.g., sever computer102, client device104, and financial device120) and systems over network106. Responsive to access management program108determining network device122A,122B, and122N could not confirm the trigger event, access management program108reverts back to monitoring financial device120to identify another trigger event based on financial device profile112. Responsive to access management program108determining network device122A,122B, and122N could confirm the trigger event, access management program108determines to apply a temporal lock on financial device120to prevent any future electronic payments from occurring for a predetermined amount of time. Subsequent to applying the temporal lock on financial device120, access management program108determines whether the user of financial device120can be validated during the occurrence of the trigger event. Responsive to validating the user of financial device120, access management program108updates financial device profile112based on the trigger event and reverting back to monitoring financial device120to identify another trigger event based on financial device profile112. Responsive to not validating the user of financial device120, access management program108determines to apply a hard lock on financial device120and notifies a known user associated with the financial device via client device104(e.g., smartphone, smartwatch) associated with the known user. Access management program108displays in user interface118on client device104a notification stating that a hard lock was applied to financial device120based on a trigger event and a failure to validate the user of financial device120. In embodiments where financial device120is a smartphone or smartwatch, access management program108notifies the known user associated with financial device120utilizing one or more previously stored methods of contacting the known user of financial device120(e.g., email address). Database110is a repository for data utilized by sensor event coverage program108such as, financial device profiles112, movement data114, and usage data116. In the depicted embodiment, database110resides on server computer102. In another embodiment, database110may reside on client device104or elsewhere within distributed data processing environment provided access management program108has access to database110. Database110can be implemented with any type of storage device capable of storing data and configuration files that can be accessed and utilized by generated design program108, such as a database server, a hard disk drive, or a flash memory. Financial device profiles112provide usage patterns and proximal distance thresholds for various financial devices120, where each financial device profile112is associated with a single financial device120. Access management program108can receive configuration settings for financial device120from a user, a financial institution, and/or a mobile payment provider associated with financial device120. Access management program108stores the configuration settings for financial device profile112and utilizes the configuration settings as base usage patterns and proximal distance thresholds for financial device120. As access management program108receives movement data114and usage data116for financial device120, access management program108determines usage patterns and proximal distance thresholds based on movement data114and usage data116. Movement data114represents one or more locations that access management program108identifies for financial device120and usage data116represents one or more instances of utilization (e.g., financial transaction) that access management program108identifies for financial device120. Access management program108updates financial device profile112with the determined usage patterns and proximal distance threshold, where an update of financial device profile112represents an iteration of the machine learning process. Access management program108can associate movement data114and usage data116with a specific point in time and a specific financial device (e.g., financial device120) and store movement data114and usage data116in database110. In general, network106can be any combination of connections and protocols that will support communications between server computer102, client device104, financial device120, and network device122A,122B, and122N. Network106can include, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet, a cellular network, or any combination of the preceding, and can further include wired, wireless, and/or fiber optic connections. In one embodiment, access management program108can be a web service accessible via network106to a user of client device104. In another embodiment, access management program108may be operated directly by a user of server computer102. FIG.2Ais a flowchart depicting operational steps of an access management program, on a server computer within the distributed data processing environment ofFIG.1, for providing sensor network event coverage, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. An access management program allows for dynamic triggering of service enablement or disablement for a valuable asset (e.g., a financial device) associated with a user for a temporal period based on determined proximal distance thresholds and usage patterns for the valuable asset. The service enablement or disablement of the financial device is based on a monitoring of a user's profile (i.e., financial device profile) in a geospatial environment in correlation with activities being performed in order to configure a timer for controlling access restrictions on a service associated with the financial device. The access management program performs a setup process that allows a user to connect the financial device to a linked device (e.g., mobile phone) associated with the user via a wireless pairing protocol mechanism. The access management program can receive configuration preferences with a base proximal distance threshold and timer configured by the user, where the access management program stores the base proximal distance threshold for the financial device. Based on pre-established user privacy settings for the financial device, the access management program can collect movement data and usage data for the financial device, in conjunction with calendar data motored from the linked device to establish a pattern history for the financial device and associated user. Various network devices (e.g., IoT devices) in the vicinity of the financial device can provide additional movement data and usage data for the financial device, where the access management program can receive the additional movement data and usage data for utilization in a machine learning process for determining proximal distance thresholds and usage patterns. The access management program generates proximal distance thresholds by monitoring a user's proximal distance via the linked device with respect to the financial device to determine the proximal distance threshold for the timer to be activate or deactivated for controlling accessing restriction to the financial device. The access management program monitors the financial device with respect to the linked device associated with the user and if the linked device at time interval X during task Y is greater than Z meters (i.e., trigger event), the access management program activates the timer. In other embodiments, the access management program utilizes a geofenced area surrounding the financial device to determine whether the proximal distance threshold was reach and/or exceeded. Subsequent to the activation of the timer, the access management program can query one or more network devices to validate the trigger event. If a timer threshold is reached and the one or more network devices validated the trigger event, the access management program applies a temporal lock restricting access to the financial device, where the financial device can no longer be utilized to execute a financial transaction. If the linked device associated with user remains outside the geofenced zone for a predetermined amount of time and/or a user is not validated during the temporal lock utilizing a trusted device (e.g., linked device), a hard lock restricting access to the financial device is applied to the financial device. However, if the user enters the geofenced zone of the financial device, the access management program restores function to the financial device and removes the access restriction. Access management program108receives configuration settings for a financial device profile associated with a financial device (202). Configuration settings represent base usage patterns and base proximal distance thresholds for the financial device profile as defined by a user, a financial institution, and/or a mobile payment provider associated with the financial device. Base usage patterns represent base rules for financial transactions performed by the user associated with the financial device. For example, a base usage pattern can include access management program108applying a temporal lock on the financial device for financial transactions occurring outside of the region associated with a billing address of a user associated with the financial device. In another example, a base usage pattern can include access management program108applying a temporal lock on the financial device for financial transactions above a threshold value (e.g., x>$1000) and allowing financial transaction at or below the threshold value (e.g., x≤$1000). In yet another example, a base usage pattern can include access management program108applying a temporal lock on the financial device for financial transactions above a threshold value (e.g., x>$500), where the financial device is outside of a geofence area as defined by a base proximal distance threshold (e.g., x>100 meters). Base proximal distance thresholds represent base geofence areas with relation to the financial device and/or one or more locations. For example, a base proximal distance for a financial device can include a geofence area as defined by a circle that includes a radius of 100 meters. Access management program108can apply a temporal lock on the financial device for financial transactions if a user with a linked device (i.e., mobile device) is located more than 100 meters with regards to the financial device. In another example, a base proximal distance for a financial device can include a geofence area as defined by a footprint area of a structure (e.g., home improvement store) in which the financial device is location. Access management program108can apply a temporal lock on the financial device for financial transactions if a user with a linked device is located outside of the footprint area of the structure in which the financial device is located. Alternatively, access management program108can apply a temporal lock on the financial device for financial transactions if a user with a linked device is located inside the footprint of the structure, while the financial device is located outside of the footprint of the structure. Access management program108also has the ability to apply different base proximal distance thresholds for one or more locations. In one example, for a location with a denser gathering of individuals (e.g., conference arenas, stadiums), access management program108can utilize a smaller base proximal distance threshold (e.g., 10 meters versus 100 meters) compared to a location with a less dense gathering of individuals (e.g., residential house). In another example, for a location with random individuals (e.g., conference arenas, stadiums), access management program108can utilizes a smaller base proximal distance threshold (e.g., 10 meters versus 100 meters) compared to a location (e.g., office building) with associated individuals (e.g., co-workers). Furthermore, access management program108can apply multiple base proximal distance thresholds for a single location for different time periods. For example, for location A, access management program108applies a first base proximal distance threshold of 100 meters for the hours between 9 AM and 9 PM and a second base proximal distance threshold of 10 meters for all other hours. Access management program108initializes the financial device based on the configuration settings (204). In this embodiment, access management program108establishes a connection between the financial device and a linked device (e.g., smartphone, smartwatch) associated with the user via a wireless pairing protocol mechanism. In one example, a financial device is a smart card that utilizes NFC technology to execute a financial transaction and the linked device is a smartphone. In another example, a financial device is a smartphone that utilizes NFC technology to execute a financial transaction and the linked device is a smartwatch. In yet another example, a financial device is a smart wallet that include one or more financial cards and the linked device is a smartphone, where the smart wallet is capable of establishing a connection to the smartphone. Access management program108utilizes the established connection between the financial device and the linked device to determine whether a proximal distance threshold was exceeded, and a trigger event was detected. Access management program108initializes the financial device by applying to the financial device, the base usage patterns and base proximal distance thresholds received as configuration settings of the financial device profile. Subsequent to initialization of the financial device, the user utilizes the financial device to perform financial transactions at various locations. Access management program108receives movement data (206). As previously discussed, movement data represents one or more locations that access management program108identifies for the financial device. Access management program108can receive movement data for the financial device for each instance the financial device is utilized for a financial transaction. For example, if the user arrives at a hotel to reserve a room and the financial device is utilized by the user to reserve the room, access management program108utilizes a known location for the hotel as movement data for the financial device. Access management program108can also receive movement data for the financial device for each instance the financial device establishes an internet connect to a surrounding network (e.g., public Wi-Fi, cellular network) and/or on an interval basis (e.g., every minute), if a constant internet connection is present through which access management program108can receive movement data for the financial device. The user has the option to dictate when access management program108can receive movement data for the financial device. In another example, access management program108receives movement data for the linked device that is connected to the financial device. Access management program108can query the linked device to determine whether the financial device is still connected to the linked device and responsive to determining the financial device is still connected to the linked device, access management program108can receive the movement data for the linked device for utilization as the movement data for the financial device. Access management program108receives usage data (208). As previously discussed, usage data represents one or more instances of utilization (e.g., financial transaction) that access management program108identifies for the financial device, where each instance of utilization includes an associated time stamp for when the utilization occurred. In one example, a user is a utilizing a smartphone as a financial device and access management program108receives usage data for the financial device when the user utilizes the smartphone to complete a purchase at a home improvement store. In another example, a user is utilizing a smartphone as a financial device and access management program108received usage data for the financial device when the user utilized the smartphone to complete a mobile payment for a restaurant order that is being collected at the restaurant location. In yet another example, a user is utilizing a smart card as a financial device and access management program108receives usage data from a linked device for the financial device when the user utilizes the smart card to complete a hotel reservation. The linked device determines the smart card was utilized to complete a transaction and access management program108receives the usage data from the linked device for the transaction executed by the smart card. Access management program108determines patterns and thresholds for the financial device (210). Access management program108utilizes an iterative machine learning process to determine usage patterns and proximal distance thresholds based on the received movement data and usage data for a specific point in time. Access management program108compares the movement data and the usage received in (206) and (208) to the base usage patterns and the base proximal distance thresholds received in the configuration settings (202) and/or any historic usage patterns and proximal distance thresholds determined in a previous iteration of the machine learning process. Based on the comparison, access management program108determines usage patterns and proximal distance thresholds for the financial device. In one example, a user attends a technology conference at a hotel, where the user carries a financial device while attending the conference but leaves a linked device (e.g., smartphone, smartwatch) in a hotel room to not interrupt a presentation. However, during the technology conference the user utilizes the financial device to purchase a drink. For the purchase of the drink at the technology conference, access management program108receives movement data and usage data for the financial transaction (i.e., drink purchase). Access management program108determines a usage pattern based on the received movement data, usage data, and the historic usage patterns and proximal distance thresholds for the financial transaction at hotels by the user. Access management program108determines a usage pattern that indicates that when the user executes a financial transaction utilizing the financial device within a hotel (i.e., structure), the linked device is located within the hotel but greater than a base proximal distance threshold of 10 meters established via received configuration settings. Access management program108determines to update the proximal distance threshold of 10 meters to a geofence as defined by a footprint of the structure (i.e., hotel). In another example, a user is at an international airport, where the user with a financial device and a linked device purchases an item at a duty-free store. Access management program108receives movement data and usage data for the financial transaction (i.e., duty-free purchase). Access management program108determines a usage pattern that indicates when the user executes a financial transaction utilizing the financial device at the international airport, the linked device is located within a base proximal distance threshold of 10 meters established via received configuration settings. Furthermore, access management program108has the ability to determine how dense (i.e., how busy) a location (i.e., airport) is at the specific point in time for the financial transaction based on publicly available data for the location. If access management program108determines there is a denser gathering of individuals at the location for the specific point in time, access management program108determines to update the proximal distance threshold from 10 meters to 2 meters. If access management program108determines there is a lesser dense gathering of individuals at the location for the specific point in time, access management program108affirms the base proximal distance threshold previously established with the received configuration settings. Access management program108has the ability to increase and decrease a proximal distance threshold based on a location and/or a density for a gathering of individuals at the location for a specific point in time. Access management program108updates the financial device profile with the determined patters and thresholds (212). For previously stored usage patterns and proximal distance thresholds, access management program108updates the previously stored usage patterns and proximal distance thresholds for the financial device profile. Access management program108can utilize time stamps associated with the received movement data and usage data utilized to update the financial device profile with the usage patterns and proximal distance threshold for a specific time period. For newly determined usage patterns and proximal distance thresholds, access management program108updates the financial device profile with the newly determined usage patterns and proximal distance thresholds. Access management program108also stores the received movement data and usage data, along with the associated time stamps in a database for subsequent utilization as historic movement data and historic usage data. Access management program108determines whether to initialize the financial device profiles (decision214). In one embodiment, access management program108utilizes a total iteration count (e.g., one hundred iterations) for the machine learning process to determine whether enough movement data and usage data for the financial device associated with the user was received to establish financial device profiles for identifying trigger events. In another embodiment, access management program108utilizes a stabilization iteration count (e.g., five iterations) for the machine learning process, where the stabilization count represents an amount of times movement data and usage data was collected where there were no updates to the financial device profiles. In the event access management program108determines to initialize the financial device profiles (“yes” branch, decision214), access management program108identifies a trigger event (216). In the event access management program108determines not to initialize the financial device profiles (“no” branch, decision214), access management program108reverts back to (206) to receive movement data for the financial device. Access management program108identifies a trigger event (216). Access management program108initializes the financial device profile for the financial device and monitors the activates of the financial device relative to the linked device, to identify a trigger event based on the usage patterns and the proximal distance thresholds of the financial device profile. A trigger event represents an instance where the financial device exceeds a proximal distance threshold relative to the linked device based on the usage patterns of the financial profile. For each trigger event, access management program108identifies a trigger event where a linked device at time interval (X) and during task (Y) is more than distance (Z) away from a financial device. In one example, access management program108identifies a trigger event where a financial device is located within a footprint of a structure (e.g., hotel) but a linked device is located outside of the footprint of the structure during a financial transaction that occurs at the structure. In another example, access management program108identifies a trigger event where a financial device is located a distance (e.g., 15 meters) that exceeds a proximal distance threshold (e.g., 10 meters) relative to a linked device while at given location (e.g., sports arena). In some embodiment, access management program108utilizes a timer when to confirm an identified trigger event. In the event access management program108determines a proximal distance threshold is exceeded for a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 5 minutes), access management program108confirms the identified trigger event. In the event access management program108determines a proximal distance threshold was not exceed for a predetermined amount of time, access management program108labels the identified trigger event as erroneous. Access management program108queries one or more network devices for validation (218). Access management program108identifies a location for the financial device and subsequently, identifies one or more network devices in the vicinity of the financial device to query for validation. Access management program108can identify the location for the financial device by querying the financial device for a location, querying the linked device for a last known location where the financial device did not exceed the proximal distance threshold, or identifying a location for a last known financial transaction executed by the financial device. Subsequent to identifying the location for the financial device, access management program108queries one or more network device in a vicinity (e.g., 30 meter radius) to confirm the trigger event. In one example, access management program108identifies a location for the financial device as a lobby of a hotel and queries one or more cameras in the hotel to locate the financial device utilizing object identification software. In another embodiment, access management program108identifies a location for the financial device as a hardware store and queries one or more cameras on a payment kiosk to locate the financial device. In yet another embodiment, access management program108identifies one or more network devices that can electronically communicate with the financial device (e.g., Wi-Fi, NFC), where the one or more network devices send a ping to detect whether the financial device is in the vicinity. FIG.2Bis a continued flowchart fromFIG.2Adepicting operational steps of an access management program, on a server computer within the distributed data processing environment ofFIG.1, for providing sensor network event coverage, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Access management program108determines whether the trigger event confirmed by the one or more network devices (decision220). In the event access management program108determines the trigger event was confirmed by the one or more network devices (“yes” branch, decision220), access management program108determines to apply a temporal lock on the financial device (222). The one or more network devices confirm a location for the financial device and access management program108utilizes the confirmed location of the financial device and a known location of the linked device to determine that the proximal distance threshold has been exceeded. In the event access management program108determines the trigger event was not confirmed by the one or more network devices (“no” branch, decision220), access management program108reverts back to (216) to identify another trigger event. Access management program108can send a notification to the linked device associated with the user stating that a trigger event has occurred due to a proximal distance threshold being exceeded between the linked device and the financial device. In some embodiments, access management program108confirms a trigger event based on a timer, where the proximal distance threshold between the financial device and the linked device was exceeded for a predetermined amount of time. Access management program108determines to apply a temporal lock on the financial device (222). Access management program108applies a temporal lock on the financial device which can be time-based and/or action based. For a time-based temporal lock, access management program108applies a temporary lock on the financial device to prevent financial transactions that lasts a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 30 minutes). The pre-determined amount of time can be defined by the user of the financial device or defined by financial institution associated with the financial device and stored with the financial device profile. For an action based temporal lock, access management program108applies a temporary lock on the financial device to prevent financial transactions until the user of the financial device has performed an action acknowledging the identified trigger event. In one embodiment, access management program108sends a notification via a text message to the linked device (e.g., smartphone) associated with the user, where a user views the notification in a user interface and selects a button acknowledging receipt of the notification. Access management program108determines whether the user is validated (decision224). In one embodiment, access management program108validates the user by determining whether the proximal distance threshold is still exceeded between the financial device and the linked device. In another embodiment, access management program108validates the user by determining whether the user has performed an action (i.e., acknowledging the identified trigger event) to release the temporal lock. In the event access management program108determines the user is validated (“yes” branch, decision224), access management program108updates the financial profile based on the trigger event (226) and reverts back to (216) to identify another trigger event. In the event access management program108determines the user is not validated (“no” branch, decision224), access management program108determines to apply a hard lock on the financial device (228). Access management program108updates the financial profile based on the trigger event (226). In this embodiment, access management program108updates the financial profile based on the trigger event in the event access management program108received a user acknowledgement of the trigger event and a confirmation to release the temporal lock. Access management program108release the temporal lock on the financial device and access management program108updates the financial profile based on the trigger event, for future instances with a similar location and similar time of occurrence. Access management program108reverts back to (216) to identify another trigger event. Access management program108determines to apply a hard lock on the financial device (228). In this embodiment, access management program108applies a hard lock on the financial device that would require replacement of the financial device, such as, a new smartcard or a new smartphone. In another embodiment, access management program108applies a hard lock on the financial device that would require contacting the financial institution for the financial device to go through a multi-step verification of the user. Access management program108notifies the user associated with the financial device (230). Access management program108notifies the user utilizing one or more previously stored communication methods of contacting the known user of financial device. In one embodiment, access management program108notifies the user associated with the financial device utilizing a method that does not include the linked device. For example, access management program108sends a notification to a primary email address for the known user associated with the financial device and/or a secondary email address for the known user associated with the financial device. FIG.3illustrates an example of the access management program restricting access to financial device based on proximal distance and usage patterns, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, financial device120includes a proximal distance threshold as defined by area302, where user304with linked device306has exceed the proximal distance threshold. User304traveled along path308and exceed the proximal distance threshold at point310. At point310, access management program108identifies a trigger event and queries one or more network devices in the vicinity of financial device120. In this embodiment, a first network device has observation area312, where observation area312includes financial device120. Access management program108can receive validation from the first network device that confirms a location of financial device120. A second network device has an observation area314, where the observation area314includes user304with linked device306. In this embodiment, access management program108can receive validation from the second network device that confirms a location of linked device306. Alternatively, access management program108queries linked device306directly to obtain a location for user304. Access management program108confirms the trigger event utilizing the first network device and the second network device and applies a temporal lock on financial device120to temporarily prevent financial transactions. Access management program108maintains the temporal lock until user304with linked device306re-enters area302and no longer exceeds the proximal distance threshold. As discussed with regards toFIG.2B, access management program108can validate user304and determine whether to apply a hard lock on financial device120or release the temporal lock on financial device120, update a financial device profile for financial device120based on the trigger event, and revert back to identifying another trigger event. In one embodiment, access management program108utilizes generative crowdsourced data from other financial device locking events from other user in geographical (historic) proximity to show areas with higher risk for financial device owners. These areas include a higher density of individuals where a financial device is easily misplaced, such as, airports and conference centers, and allows users to be aware of financial device usage when entering an area with a high number of trigger events relating to the higher density of people. In another embodiment, access management program108performs risk modeling prediction through profile-based statistic modeling usage. For profiled users with similar and/or matching financial device profiles, access management program108establishes a risk profile on unique qualities of when access management program108applies the temporal lock and the hard lock on the financial device. Through profile-based evolution, access management program108is able to derive time series forecasting for the profile data over time, allowing for access management program108to establish classical probability models. Access management program108can compare profiles, where a positive match between profiles allows for risk-based models to drive probabilities for risk at various geographical location and a negative match between profile allow for normal behavior theory to be applied. In yet another embodiment, access management program108utilizes generic and specific third-party validation and verification. Access management program108allows a user to utilize a form of reverse verification, where access management program108logs usage patterns and categorizes them as a generic usage pattern or a specific usage pattern. In an example of a generic usage pattern, a user takes a business flight most weeks in a given year and access management program108detects often seeing In-Flight Wi-Fi Provider A providing a connection for the financial device and the linked device to verify travel and transaction activity. In another example of a generic usage pattern, access management program108utilizes quantity and other peripheral mesh network data patter to verify financial device activities. Access management program108determines a user goes to a coffee shop ever workday and is surrounded by at least six other network devices and a workday where the user does not go to the coffee shop, access management program108can classify as a risk. In an example of a generic usage pattern, a user typically interacts with a bank account at work, where the work location is determined by a passing user in the hallway with a connected network device. Since the user passes through the proximal distance threshold of the financial device, the mere presence of a third-party device (i.e., the passing user with the network device) allows for access management program108to validate the financial device FIG.4depicts a computer system, where server computer102is an example of a computer system that can include access management program108. The computer system includes processors404, cache416, memory406, persistent storage408, communications unit410, input/output (I/O) interface(s)412and communications fabric402. Communications fabric402provides communications between cache416, memory406, persistent storage408, communications unit410, and input/output (I/O) interface(s)412. Communications fabric402can be implemented with any architecture designed for passing data and/or control information between processors (such as microprocessors, communications and network processors, etc.), system memory, peripheral devices, and any other hardware components within a system. For example, communications fabric402can be implemented with one or more buses or a crossbar switch. Memory406and persistent storage408are computer readable storage media. In this embodiment, memory406includes random access memory (RAM). In general, memory406can include any suitable volatile or non-volatile computer readable storage media. Cache416is a fast memory that enhances the performance of processors404by holding recently accessed data, and data near recently accessed data, from memory406. Program instructions and data used to practice embodiments of the present invention may be stored in persistent storage408and in memory406for execution by one or more of the respective processors404via cache416. In an embodiment, persistent storage408includes a magnetic hard disk drive. Alternatively, or in addition to a magnetic hard disk drive, persistent storage408can include a solid state hard drive, a semiconductor storage device, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, or any other computer readable storage media that is capable of storing program instructions or digital information. The media used by persistent storage408may also be removable. For example, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage408. Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, and smart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto another computer readable storage medium that is also part of persistent storage408. Communications unit410, in these examples, provides for communications with other data processing systems or devices. In these examples, communications unit410includes one or more network interface cards. Communications unit410may provide communications through the use of either or both physical and wireless communications links. Program instructions and data used to practice embodiments of the present invention may be downloaded to persistent storage408through communications unit410. I/O interface(s)412allows for input and output of data with other devices that may be connected to each computer system. For example, I/O interface412may provide a connection to external devices418such as a keyboard, keypad, a touch screen, and/or some other suitable input device. External devices418can also include portable computer readable storage media such as, for example, thumb drives, portable optical or magnetic disks, and memory cards. Software and data used to practice embodiments of the present invention can be stored on such portable computer readable storage media and can be loaded onto persistent storage408via I/O interface(s)412. I/O interface(s)412also connect to display420. Display420provides a mechanism to display data to a user and may be, for example, a computer monitor. It is to be understood that although this disclosure includes a detailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachings recited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather, embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented in conjunction with any other type of computing environment now known or later developed. Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing, memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or interaction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may include at least five characteristics, at least three service models, and at least four deployment models. Characteristics are as Follows: On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with the service's provider. Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs). Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to demand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter). Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out and rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any time. Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service. Service Models are as Follows: Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer is to use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure. The applications are accessible from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specific application configuration settings. Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications created using programming languages and tools supported by the provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, or storage, but has control over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting environment configurations. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to the consumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include operating systems and applications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networking components (e.g., host firewalls). Deployment Models are as Follows: Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for an organization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party and may exist on-premises or off-premises. Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third party and may exist on-premises or off-premises. Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services. Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load-balancing between clouds). A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus on statelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability. At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure that includes a network of interconnected nodes. Referring now toFIG.5, illustrative cloud computing environment50is depicted. As shown, cloud computing environment50includes one or more cloud computing nodes10with which local computing devices used by cloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA) or cellular telephone54A, desktop computer54B, laptop computer54C, and/or automobile computer system54N may communicate. Nodes10may communicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physically or virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community, Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combination thereof. This allows cloud computing environment50to offer infrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloud consumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computing device. It is understood that the types of computing devices54A-N shown inFIG.6are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10and cloud computing environment50can communicate with any type of computerized device over any type of network and/or network addressable connection (e.g., using a web browser). Referring now toFIG.6, a set of functional abstraction layers provided by cloud computing environment50(FIG.5) is shown. It should be understood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shown inFIG.6are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of the invention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers and corresponding functions are provided: Hardware and software layer60includes hardware and software components. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes61; RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers62; servers63; blade servers64; storage devices65; and networks and networking components66. In some embodiments, software components include network application server software67and database software68. Virtualization layer70provides an abstraction layer from which the following examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage72; virtual networks73, including virtual private networks; virtual applications and operating systems74; and virtual clients75. In one example, management layer80may provide the functions described below. Resource provisioning81provides dynamic procurement of computing resources and other resources that are utilized to perform tasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloud computing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of these resources. In one example, these resources may include application software licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloud consumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources. User portal83provides access to the cloud computing environment for consumers and system administrators. Service level management84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such that required service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planning and fulfillment85provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of, cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipated in accordance with an SLA. Workloads layer90provides examples of functionality for which the cloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads and functions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping and navigation91; software development and lifecycle management92; virtual classroom education delivery93; data analytics processing94; transaction processing95; and access management program108. The programs described herein are identified based upon the application for which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of the invention. However, it should be appreciated that any particular program nomenclature herein is used merely for convenience, and thus the invention should not be limited to use solely in any specific application identified and/or implied by such nomenclature. The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computer program product. The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention. The computer readable storage medium can be any tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire. Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device. Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention. Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions. These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, a segment, or a portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions. The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiment, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein. | 64,278 |
11861619 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Various non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described to provide an overall understanding of the principles of the structure, function, and use of systems and methods disclosed herein for payment transactions, alerts, dispute settlement, and settlement payments, using multiple blockchains. As described above, existing methods of resolving disputes in payment transactions, which use the payment network as a mediator, have proven to be complicated, lengthy, and cumbersome for issuers, consumers, merchants, and/or acquirers. Parties to a payment transaction may be burdened with making costly changes by having to comply with the frequent changes in payment networks and the rules used by the payment networks for resolving disputes. Furthermore, in replacing conventional payment networks, blockchain networks may need to comply with standards and regulations set for the payment industry. It is also contemplated that some participants in the business of or related to a payment transaction may not want to share all information or be privy to other participants in the business of or related to the business transaction. Therefore, there may be a need for multiple networks involved in the payment transaction process for various business or functions. Each network may have its own blockchain with member participants, and the blockchain networks may communicate with one another, for example, using inter ledger communication protocol. Thus, the embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a system and method for enabling consumers and their issuers to resolve disputes with merchants and their respective acquirers in a dispute resolution process that is efficient, transparent, and standardized (e.g., to account for multiple payment networks), reduces costs for parties, complies with existing regulations, minimizes risks and incidents of fraud, and processes a payment transaction, using multiple blockchains. In some embodiments, one blockchain may be responsible for functions of storing transaction information used for alerts and dispute settlements, whereas another blockchain (e.g., Ripple) may be used for the function of actually exchanging currency or cryptocurrency (e.g., Bitcoins, Litecoins, etc.) for the processing of the transaction. In various embodiments, a blockchain may refer to an open, distributed ledger (e.g., “shared permissioned ledger”) that can record transactions between parties to a payment transaction efficiently and in a verifiable and a permanent way (e.g., by providing visibility or by being transparent to various participants of the blockchain). A blockchain may be operated by many different parties that come to share consensus. It may maintain a growing list of ordered records, called blocks. Each block may have a timestamp and a link to a previous block. Records may not be altered retroactively. A common analogy for a blockchain may be a digital network of safety deposit boxes. These boxes can secure any digital asset (e.g., currency, securities, loyalty points, contracts). Each box is locked with a crypto private key. The owner of the box can use their key to unlock the box and push a digital asset to another safety deposit box that is secured by the keys of the recipient. The recipient can then retrieve the digital asset from their safety deposit box. A blockchain may include one or more of the following features. In some embodiments, a blockchain may include a database, and tabular schemes may be used to encode core data types on top of a traditional database. In such embodiments, tables may consist of blocks, which may be bundles of transactions. Furthermore, such embodiments may be configured so that blockchain transactions may be all or nothing. A blockchain may be rendered immutable, ensuring that the data stored in a block cannot be changed. Each block in the chain may include reference to the previous block, so in chains with a high rate of new transactions, the block may be securely linked to previous blocks. The block may also be replicated numerous times. Cryptography may ensure that users of a blockchain may only edit the parts of the blockchain that they “own” by possessing the private keys necessary to write to the file. Cryptography may also ensure that copies of the distributed blockchain are kept in sync. Distributed ledgers (“shared ledgers”) may be used for transaction integrity. Thus, ledgers may be maintained by multiple independent entities on different computing devices. A consensus protocol may be followed by each entity to maintain a consistent view of the ledger. Distributed ledgers provide for greater resiliency against malicious attacks or system failures. Furthermore, a blockchain may be “permissioned”—e.g., allow access to only a specific set of participants. It is contemplated that it may be useful for financial applications to use distributed, centralized, permissioned, tokenless ledgers as a basis for the implementations of various systems and methods presented herein. In some embodiments, a different blockchain network may be used for the processing of a payment transaction that may involve an exchange of funds, currencies, and/or cryptocurrencies, For example, this blockchain network may be based on Ripple, which is a real-time gross settlement system (RTGS), currency exchange and remittance network enabling secure, instant, and cheap global financial transactions with no chargebacks. Ripple may support tokens representing fiat currency, crypto, currency, crypto currency, commodity, etc. Ripple may be based around a shared public blockchain and/or shared ledger, which may use a consensus process that may allow for payments to occur in a decentralized, distributed process. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, “currency” may be used to refer to both fiat currency (e.g., dollars, pounds, euro, yen, rupees, etc.) or digital currency (e.g., bitcoins, Litecoins, etc.) Thus, various parties of a transaction (e.g., consumers, issuers, merchants, acquirers, etc.) may be a part of the Ripple network to be able to leverage this settlement system. In such embodiments, blockchain networks used for the processing of the payment transaction, like Ripple, may be designed to comply with risk, privacy and compliance requirements and specifically designed for financial services industry with a number of banks/financial institutions already in the network. While Ripple is used as an example blockchain network or platform to serve the function of the settlement or transfer of funds, currency, ad/or cryptocurrency, it is contemplated that similar blockchain networks that provide the benefits described above may be used. The use of blockchain may have a long term impact on the financial services industry in paring down transaction settlement time from days to minutes and minimizing the need for intermediaries. Furthermore, it may enable point to point exchanges of digital assets without a need for trust between the parties in the exchange. This may reduce the need for third party engagement in transactions and may reduce the cost involved in verifying a transaction. As applied to at least some embodiments presented herein, a blockchain having a shared permissioned ledger may be available to participants and may provide visibility to the participants of the blockchain, which may be the parties of a payment transaction initiated by a consumer and originating at a merchant. These parties may include, but are not limited to, the consumer, the merchant at which the transaction originates, the merchant's acquiring bank or institution, and the issuing institution or bank of the consumer. The ledger of one or more of the blockchain networks may be programmed to trigger transactions or resolve disputes based on the payment transaction automatically (e.g., via Smart Contracts). Thus, the use of blockchains for e.g., record keeping and dispute resolution of payment transactions (“blockchain for transaction information”), a settlement or exchange of funds or currency (“blockchain for settlement”), or for various other functions may result in efficiencies, reduced chargebacks, efficient allocation of resources, and reduction in costs for both issuers and merchants. Furthermore, the blockchains may be interlinked, for example, via a partially or fully shared ledger, or a means of communicating necessary information for a transaction in a secure way (e.g., “inter ledger communication” protocol). For example, the blockchain for transaction events records various events of a transaction. The participants of the transaction may dispute the data for one or more transaction attributes, and the blockchain for transaction events may be used to for retrieving information to resolve the dispute (e.g., using a Smart Contract API from a blockchain interface server). However, if the blockchain for transaction events successfully resolves a dispute (e.g., if the parties to the dispute agree with or do not contest with the results of the blockchain dispute resolution), the blockchain for settlement may duly process and record the appropriate exchange of funds between the parties of the transaction. In some embodiments, if a blockchain dispute resolution process (involving the blockchain for transaction information) is unsuccessful in resolving a dispute (e.g., if one or more of the parties to the dispute indicate that they do not agree with the result of the blockchain dispute resolution) the payment network may take over in handling the dispute (e.g., via the traditional network dispute resolution process, referred to as “payment network dispute resolution” herein). Nevertheless, the blockchain dispute resolution process may be able to help address a large proportion of the disputes and/or chargebacks of payment transactions without the network intermediary, for example, if there exists a degree of trust between the participants in the dispute (e.g., consumers, issuers, merchants, acquirers, etc.). It is contemplated that the blockchain dispute settlement process may reduce the need for payment network dispute settlement, and thereby reduce the need for maintaining two dispute settlement systems for a potential dispute. In some embodiments, it is also contemplated that any dispute settlement may be confined to the blockchain dispute settlement process, e.g., to reduce the cost of having to maintain more than one dispute settlement systems. In some embodiments, the participants of the dispute may be represented as nodes of a blockchain and/or may be able to access and/or contribute to the blockchain. Unlike network dispute resolution process, which may rely on a centralized authority (e.g., a payment network), a blockchain dispute resolution process, e.g., as described by various embodiments of the present disclosure, may facilitate a transparent, rules-based, communication process to possibly reduce costs for both merchants and acquirer, using one or more blockchains (e.g., the blockchain for transaction events and the blockchain for settlement). The types of blockchain systems used for dispute management for payment transactions may include, for example, public blockchains, private blockchains, a hybrid form of a public and private blockchain (e.g., a consortium blockchain or hyperledger blockchain), or a ripple blockchain as described above (e.g., for the exchange of funds for the processing of a transaction). In a consortium blockchain, the consortium may include and be accessible to the participants of the blockchain (e.g., consumers, issuers, merchants, and/or acquirers of a payment transaction). A consortium blockchain may proffer the benefits of setting control of the rules for dispute settlement within the bounds as agreed upon by the participants. Thus, the rights to read and/or access the blockchain may be restricted to different participants, based on individual classes or identities of the participants. In some embodiments, a blockchain interface server would periodically or continually read and/or access the blockchain to provide posted information to interest parties (e.g., consumer, merchant, issuer, acquirer, etc.). Allowing the blockchain interface server to act as an intermediary between the blockchain and the participants may ensure, for example, the protection of private information. The blockchain interface server may also add to the blockchain based on the input of the interested parties. In some embodiments, the participants of a blockchain, prior to joining the blockchain, may be vetted, and hence may not be anonymous participants. Vetting may reduce the risk of any form of malicious attacks on the blockchain. In other embodiments, the new entrants to a blockchain may be restricted to those known by other known participants of the blockchain. These blockchains (e.g., a consortium blockchain) may significantly reduce the risks of attacks that are prevalent, for example, in public blockchains (e.g., 51% attack). The risks may be significantly reduced due to restrictions placed on the entry of new members. The transactions may resemble the “colored pin” approach of transferring ownership to different participants in the blockchain. It may also be efficient to use certain blockchains (e.g., consortium blockchains) due to the limited number of nodes that may need to be updated and the limited role of verifying the blocks before those are appended to the blockchain. The members or participants of the blockchain may be represented as nodes of the blockchain. In some embodiments, for example, where the nodes may be “trusted” and/or be well connected, a blockchain may enable the nodes to easily spot and/or fix any failures or inconsistencies of the blockchain. For example, in a consortium blockchain, payment transactions and/or dispute resolution processes caused by the payment transactions may be many degrees cheaper compared to their implementation on a public blockchain. Additionally or alternatively, a blockchain may be used that may provide flexibility to develop on the blockchain infrastructure. For example, a hyperledger may be specifically built to expand to other non-traditional use cases of the blockchain. Since verification may be needed by a comparatively larger number of nodes in the public blockchain as compared to a consortium or private blockchain, a public blockchain may require a higher level of computational power than a consortium or private blockchain. It may also be useful to use certain blockchains (e.g., Ripple) for specific functions like a settlement or exchange of funds, because such blockchains may be designed to satisfy risk, privacy, and compliance requirements and/or may be specifically designed for the financial services industry with a number of banks and/or financial institutions already in the network. In some embodiments, the blockchain dispute resolution process may involve a Smart Contracts application. In various embodiments, “Smart Contracts” may refer to a computerized transaction protocol that facilitates, verifies, and/or enforces the negotiation or performance of a contract (e.g., as the one governing a payment transaction between the issuer and the merchant or merchant's acquirer). A Smart Contract may satisfy common contractual conditions (e.g., payment terms, liens, confidentiality, enforcement, etc.), reduce malicious and/or accidental exceptions, and/or reduce the need for trusted intermediaries. Different types of algorithms may be employed to offer finality (e.g., of a contract) in a shorter timeframe. Various rules for initiating or managing the dispute settlement between parties can be “codified” into the smart contract between the participants. In some embodiments, once the rules have been “codified” into the blockchain, the rules of the Smart Contracts may be rendered or configured to be final and/or immutable during its execution of the Smart Contract. Furthermore, the blockchain may serve as an audit trail for the resolution of disputes among the participants, should questions arise as to the dispute settlement process. For example, the blockchain dispute resolution process may be governed and/or at least initialized using Smart Contracts. Participants of the dispute resolution process (e.g., consumers, issuers, merchants, acquirers, etc.,) may establish the underlying attributes of the contract governing the payment transaction, or the underlying rules of the dispute resolution process. Smart Contracts may then proceed to execute the payment transaction based on the underlying attribute values or facilitate the dispute resolution process using the underlying rules. In some embodiments, cryptographic assurances may be available to the participants. Any documents may be captured and securely stored by the blockchain, for example, in an off-the-blockchain storage (e.g. NoSQL database), for retrieval by the other party. Identifiers to these documents may be stored in the blockchain. These documents may include, for example, receipts of purchases, identification information of the consumer, merchant, issuer, or acquirer, available funds or resources, geographical information, or temporal information. In further embodiments, user interface systems and methods are disclosed for analyzing the various data stored in the blockchain. The various data may include information regarding a specific attribute(s) of a transaction (e.g., other transactions that share the same attribute(s)). In some embodiments, one or more of the specific attribute(s) that is being analyzed may be in dispute in the original transaction. The attributes may include, for example, a party to the transaction or transaction dispute, and such embodiments may also be able to provide analytical data on that party (e.g., transaction history of that party, incidents of fraud that resulted from that party, etc.) One or more examples of these non-limiting embodiments are illustrated in the selected examples disclosed and described in detail with reference made toFIGS.1-3in the accompanying drawings. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that systems and methods specifically described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings are non-limiting embodiments. The features illustrated or described in connection with one non-limiting embodiment may be combined with the features of other non-limiting embodiments. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure. FIG.1depicts an illustration of the environment of the payment transactions, alerts, dispute settlement, and settlement payments, using multiple blockchains, in accordance with non-limiting embodiments. At a high level, the environment comprises: a consumer102equipped with a payment vehicle104from an issuing bank or institution, i.e., “issuer”110; a merchant106with an acquiring bank or institution, i.e., “acquirer”108; a server or computing system that manages or is involved with the payment transactions, alerts, dispute settlement, and settlement payments of the various blockchain networks (“blockchain interface server”112); and a plurality of blockchains, e.g., a blockchain for transaction events116, and a blockchain that is involved with the actual transfer of funds, currency or cryptocurrency (“blockchain for settlement”114). To emphasize the existence of a network of nodes or member participants of a blockchain, “blockchain network” may be used in lieu of blockchain throughout this disclosure. It is contemplated that the blockchain dispute settlement process described herein may eliminate the need for a payment network server that was traditionally used for settling disputes. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the acquirer108and the issuer110may also refer to the computing system or server of the acquirer108or issuer110, respectively. Various embodiments of the present disclosure may involve consumer102conducting a payment transaction with merchant106using a payment vehicle104, e.g., a credit card, debit card, mobile device, a bitcoin or Litecoin account ID or card, or the like. It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that consumer102may present payment vehicle104at a POS terminal of merchant106to initiate a payment transaction. However, in some embodiments, there may be an online portal of a merchant for the consumer to initiate a payment transaction in lieu of a physical POS terminal. Upon initiation of the payment transaction by a consumer, the merchant and/or the POS terminal of the merchant may transmit transaction information to the acquirer108of the merchant. The transaction information may include, for example, information identifying the issuer110of the payment vehicle104of the consumer102, or information identifying a cryptocurrency (e.g., bitcoin, Litecoin, etc.,) account of the consumer102or the issuer110. The acquirer108may transmit the transaction information to the issuer110, and request payment of funds, in accordance with the terms of the transaction. The issuer110may dispute one of the terms of the transaction, e.g., the amount of funds required, the type of purchase made, the payment vehicle used, etc. If there is a disagreement between the acquirer108(or merchant106) and the issuer110(or consumer102) as to the terms of the transaction, one or more of the disputants (e.g., acquirer, issuer, merchant, or consumer) may relay information related to the dispute (“dispute information”) to the blockchain interface server112. The dispute information may be encrypted and entered into a blockchain where the disputants may be members (e.g., nodes), and therefore may be able to read and/or access each block of the blockchain. The blockchain interface server112may attempt to resolve the dispute using at least some of the methods described in the present disclosure. The blockchain interface server112may present the dispute resolution to the disputants (e.g., acquirer, merchant, issuer, consumer, etc.). The dispute resolution may itself be another entry into the distributed ledger of one or more blockchains (e.g., the blockchain for transaction events), which the members of the blockchain may be able to read and/or access. Furthermore, the blockchain interface server112may facilitate communication between the blockchain for transaction events and blockchain for settlement114(e.g., Ripple) for immediate settlement of payment. In some embodiments, if one or more of the disputants do not agree with the dispute resolution presented by the blockchain interface server, the dispute information may be relayed to a payment network server to resolve the dispute through conventional dispute settlement processes. In other embodiments, it is contemplated that the blockchain dispute settlement process may eliminate the need for payment network dispute settlement, and thereby prevent the need for maintaining two dispute settlement systems for a potential dispute. In further embodiments, it is also contemplated that any dispute settlement may be confined to the blockchain dispute settlement process, e.g., to reduce the cost of having to maintain more than one dispute settlement systems. FIG.2depicts a block diagram of an example network200of the payment transactions, alerts, dispute settlement, and settlement payments, using multiple blockchains, in accordance with non-limiting embodiments. Specifically, the network may include the payment vehicle202of a consumer, a consumer device204of a consumer, the merchant206, the acquiring institution or computing system (“acquirer”208), a server (“blockchain interface server”)210that may manage payment transactions, alerts, and disputes, by observing and/or updating one or more blockchains, an issuing institution or computing system (“issuer”214), and one or more blockchain networks performing various functions or playing various roles related to a payment transaction. The one or more blockchain networks may include, for example, a blockchain (“blockchain for transaction events”216) for storing transaction information that can be retrieved by blockchain interface server210to trigger alerts or disputes (e.g., a consortium blockchain) and a blockchain (“blockchain for settlement”212) that is used in the processing of the transaction involving the transfer of funds and/or record keeping of the exchange of a currency or crypto currency. In one embodiment, the Ripple blockchain may be used as the blockchain for settlement. It is contemplated, however, that in some embodiments, the blockchain dispute settlement process involving the multiple blockchains may reduce the need for payment network servers that are conventionally used in resolving disputes. The payment vehicle202may be linked with a financial account of resources or funds defined by a primary account number (“PAN”)202A. In one embodiment, the PAN may identify one or more payment source accounts of the consumer, issued or established by a given issuer214. Alternatively or additionally, the payment vehicle202may be linked with a financial account of cryptocurrency resources or funds (e.g., bitcoin, Litecoin, etc.,) defined by cryptocurrency identification (ID)202B. In one embodiment, the PAN or cryptocurrency ID may identify one or more payment source accounts of the consumer, issued or established by a given issuer214. Unless otherwise specified herein, a payment vehicle may include a physical card including a plastic or metallic card having a magnetic stripe, bar code, or other device or indicia indicative of an account number or other account information, and/or a virtual card, such as a display or screen shot for a mobile phone or for another portable device (e.g., a flash drive, smart chip, a laptop or portable computer), or for a computer device (e.g., a desktop computer) in combination with data indicative of an account number or other account indicative information. It is also contemplated that the payment vehicle202may have multiple embodiments or forms. For example, payment vehicle202can be a physical card (e.g., in the form of magnetic striped plastic card), a virtual card (e.g., in the form of a display on a smart phone), or both. The virtual card may be communicated by displaying a display or screen shot, and/or by transmitting a signal, such as by using NFC (Near Field Communication) technology or other secure transport technologies to complete the transaction with the selected merchants. Optionally, the virtual card may have a display element (e.g., a bar code or string of numbers) which identifies the account number (e.g., PAN) associated with the card. Alternatively, the virtual card may have display elements relating to the merchants that accept the card. A consumer, sometimes referred to as the end user, a cardholder, or a card member, may provide identifying information, e.g., via the PAN202A or cryptocurrency ID202B of the user, to the POS system206A of the merchant206to initiate a transaction with merchant206using the consumer's payment vehicle202(e.g., an enrolled credit card). In some cases, the consumer may use a computing device or mobile device (“consumer device”204) to initiate the transaction, such as for a card-not-present transaction at an online merchant. Thus, payment vehicle202may enable the consumer to initiate a transaction with merchant206using the payment source associated with the issuer214that issued the payment vehicle202to the consumer. A consumer may also use the consumer device204to oversee, manage, or access details regarding a payment transaction via user interface204A. Transaction details may be accessible to the consumer via a shared ledger250, which the consumer may access via the user interface204A of consumer device204. The shared ledger may have information shared by one or more of the blockchains, depending on the extent to which each blockchain network is designed or configured to share with the specific end user (e.g., consumer, merchant, acquirer, issue, etc.) Thus, during a dispute settlement process mediated by the blockchain interface server210, a consumer may view the results of a dispute settlement process posted on the shared ledger250using the user interface204A of consumer device204. In some embodiments, the blockchain interface server210may periodically or continually retrieve the latest data of stored in one or more of the blockchains and/or shared ledger of one or more of the blockchains, and then make it accessible to interested parties (e.g., consumer via user interface204A, merchant206, acquirer208, issuer214, etc.). It is contemplated that in some embodiments, transaction information (e.g., merchant, consumer, transaction amount, good or service, etc.) stored in the blockchain for transaction events216would be made accessible by blockchain interface server210to interested parties (e.g., consumer, merchant, issuer, acquirer, etc.,), whereas account balance information of various parties that are stored, for example, in the blockchain for settlement212(e.g., Ripple) may not be as easily accessible due to privacy concerns. The blockchain interface server210may need to decode entries stored in the one or more blockchain networks, via encoder/decoder. A consumer may also use the consumer device204to initiate a dispute and/or have a computing system of issuer214initiate a dispute based on information presented via user interface204A. In various embodiments described herein, a merchant206may refer generally to any type of retailer, service provider, or any other type of business that is in networked communication with the computing system of an acquiring institution or bank (“acquirer”208) and uses the payment processing services of acquirer208. Payment processing services may include receiving and responding to authorization requests as well as facilitating the settlement of funds associated with card-based transactions occurring at merchant206. In some embodiments, as described herein, the acquirer208may use the blockchain interface server210to facilitate the settlement of funds (e.g., using blockchain for settlement212) associated with the card-based transactions occurring at merchant206. A merchant206may have one or more POS systems206A. In various embodiments described herein, a POS system206A may refer broadly to include POS systems at brick and mortar locations and “virtual” POS systems that can be associated with online retailors or “in-app” purchases. In some cases, a POS system206A may include a physical terminal, or other network computing system used to facilitate a payment transaction at a location of merchant206. Each POS system206A may be generally unmodified or “stock” and simply facilitate the standard transmission of transaction-related information to the acquirer computing system208, as is known in the art. The transaction-related information may comprise a transaction authorization request (“authorization request”), including but not limited to, a payment amount, a date, a time, a primary account number, as well as other types of identifying indicia (e.g., merchant identification). The identifying indicia may vary based on POS system206A, the type of merchant, and the type of transaction, but example types of identifying indicia may include any of the following: an alternative identifier to the primary account number of the user; a user's name or other user identifier; a merchant identification (MID) identifier; a merchant category code (MCC) identifier; a media access control (MAC) identifier; an internet protocol (IP) identifier; a geographic identifier; and/or a payment type identifier. In some embodiments, as described herein, a merchant206may also be able to oversee, manage, and/or access details regarding a payment transaction originating at the merchant206, via a shared ledger250. For example, during a dispute settlement process mediated by the blockchain interface server, a merchant may view the results of a dispute settlement process posted on the shared ledger250. In other embodiments, the blockchain interface server210may periodically or continually retrieve the latest data of stored in blockchain for transaction events216and/or its shared ledger, and then make the latest data accessible to interested parties (e.g., consumer via user interface204A, merchant206, acquirer208, issuer214, etc.). In such embodiments, the blockchain interface server210may need to decode entries stored in the blockchain216, via encoder/decoder. A merchant206may also initiate a dispute and/or have the acquirer computing system208initiate a dispute, and have the blockchain interface server210facilitate the dispute. Referring now to acquirer computing system208, authorization interface208A may receive a transaction authorization request from POS system206A of merchant206. The authorization request may comprise various data, including, for example, a MID, a MCC, the cardholder's primary account number202A or cryptocurrency ID202B, and a transaction amount, among other things. In some embodiments, acquirer computing system208may also receive other consumer-identification related data, e.g., an email address, an IP address, etc. In yet another embodiment, the transaction authorization request detail may contain identifying information about the merchant. Once the authorization request is received, acquirer computing system208may transmit the transaction authorization request, including the amount of funds required for the transaction (“transaction amount”) and the primary account number202A of the user, received from POS system206A, to blockchain for settlement212for further processing of the payment transaction. In some embodiments, a component of acquirer computing system208(e.g., authorization interface208A) may also transmit data identifying the acquirer (e.g., the identifying information of the acquirer bank, for example, the acquirer's cryptocurrency ID) to blockchain for settlement212. In other embodiments, a merchant206may directly transmit the payment authorization request to blockchain for settlement212for further processing of the payment transaction. It is also contemplated that in some embodiments, the settlement of funds and further processing of the transaction by blockchain for settlement212is facilitated by blockchain interface server210. In such embodiments, once the authorization request is received, acquirer computing system208may transmit the transaction authorization request, including the amount of funds required for the transaction (“transaction amount”) and the primary account number202A or cryptocurrency ID202B of the user, received from POS system206A, to blockchain interface server210. Still referring toFIG.2, once the transaction authorization request is delivered to blockchain interface server210, the blockchain interface server may store transaction information of the transaction authorization request into a blockchain (e.g., “blockchain for transaction events”250) and/or its shared ledger. Transaction information of the transaction authorization request, by way of being stored in the blockchain and/or shared ledger may be accessible to interested parties (e.g., consumer, issuer, merchant, acquirer, etc.) or may be made accessible by the blockchain interface server. By viewing various transaction information, an interested parties may be able to contest an entered data for one or more transaction attributes. In some embodiments, the blockchain interface serve may be able to enter the claims of the disputants into one or more blockchains as to what each disputant believes is the correct data entry for a transaction attribute. The blockchain interface server may facilitate a dispute resolution process using, for example, Smart Contracts210C. If no parties dispute the published and/or accessible transaction information, the transaction authorization request may be processed at blockchain for settlement212A. In some embodiments, the blockchain interface server may relay the transaction authorization request and/or facilitate communication between blockchain for transaction events216and blockchain for settlement212using electronic communication channels for communication between blockchain networks (e.g., “inter ledger communication” protocol210F). An example of blockchain for settlement212A includes but is not limited to real-time gross settlement systems (RTGS), like Ripple, which facilitate currency or cryptocurrency exchange and remittance via a network. Such blockchain networks may enable secure instant and nearly free global financial transactions of any size with no chargebacks, and may support tokens representing fiat currency, cryptocurrency, commodities etc. It is also contemplated that such blockchain networks, like Ripple, would be designed to comply with risk, privacy and compliance requirements and specifically designed for financial services industry with a number of banks/financial institutions already in the network. Thus, issuer214and acquirer208may be a part of the network comprising the blockchain for settlement212. Thus the blockchain for settlement212may record the funds extracted from one or more of the consumer, merchant, acquirer, or the issuer. Additionally or alternatively, the transaction authorization request may be processed according to methods known to those having ordinary skill in the art. For example, payment network server, may store the transaction related information and route the payment authorization request to the issuer to request funds to complete the transaction. In some embodiments, the payment network server may also extract funds from one or more of the merchant, acquirer, or the issuer, for the payment network that serves as an intermediary for the transaction. Traditionally, when disputes arise concerning information of a payment transaction, the payment network used for the payment transaction provides a means for the dispute resolution (“payment network dispute resolution”). Often during the payment network dispute resolution, a server, application, or department of one of the various entities described inFIG.2(e.g., fraud detection214B of issuer214) may investigate the payment transaction for possible fraud. In some embodiments, the participants of the dispute may resort to the payment network server for resolving disputes if the participants cannot agree to the results of a dispute resolution process mediated by blockchain interface server210(“blockchain dispute resolution”) using one or more of the blockchains. In other embodiments, it is contemplated that the blockchain dispute settlement process may eliminate the need for payment network dispute settlement, and thereby prevent the need for maintaining two dispute settlement systems for a potential dispute. In further embodiments, it is also contemplated that any dispute settlement may be confined to the blockchain dispute settlement process, e.g., to reduce the cost of having to maintain more than one dispute settlement systems. In various embodiments described herein, an issuer214may refer to an institution or organization that issues a payment vehicle202to the consumer or to the computing system of the institution or organization. The issuer214may enable the consumer to use funds from a payment source and/or cryptocurrency held by or managed by the issuer. For example, the issuer214may be the bank of the consumer, which stores the consumer's checking and savings account. In some embodiments, an issuer may utilize an issuer computing system to receive and transmit various transaction-related information (e.g., receive transaction authorization request from the acquirer). After receiving a transaction authorization request, an issuer may use the primary account number (PAN)202A associated with the transaction authorization request to locate data regarding a consumer (“consumer data”214A). The consumer data214A may include, for example, the account balance of the consumer, and/or a designated account to be used for the transaction. In one embodiment, at least some of the consumer data as it pertains to a payment transaction may be stored in a shared ledger250of one or more blockchains, where the participants of the blockchain include the parties involved in the payment transaction (e.g., consumer, merchant, issuer, acquirer, etc.). In some embodiments, the transaction authorization request made by the acquirer may itself be a block in one or more blockchains, accessible to the issuer (and other participants of the blockchain) on the shared ledger250. In some embodiments, the blockchain interface server210may assist in the storage of fraud information related to current and/or or prior transactions related to the consumer, merchant, issuer, and/or acquirer. In such embodiments, before a transaction authorization request is initiated, a participant of the blockchain (e.g., acquirer) may check the blockchain interface server210for any records of fraud related to the PAN, cryptocurrency ID, or identifying information related to a party of the transaction, and then may deny the transaction (e.g., based on possibilities of fraud). The issuer,214, using, fraud detection214B, may be useful in providing fraudulent data to the blockchain interface server210so that parties to a transaction may collaboratively resolve a dispute, should a dispute arise. In some embodiments, the blockchain interface server210may store the fraud information into one or more blockchains (e.g., blockchain for transaction information216), and may retrieve the information, e.g., upon request by an interested party. Once the funds are withdrawn, a new entry may be published in the blockchain for transaction events216by the blockchain interface server210(e.g., via encoder/decoder210A) to signify, for example, that a fund transfer was completed. Additionally or alternatively, the blockchain interface server210(e.g., via encoder/decoder210A)may publish in the ledger of the blockchain for settlement216, and/or cause the ledger of the blockchain for settlement216to reflect, new account balances for one or more parties to the transaction as a result of the exchange of the currency or cryptocurrency involved. In some embodiments, the blockchain interface server210may periodically or continually observe one or more of the blockchains and inform the participants of the blockchain of the new entry. In one embodiment, the blockchain interface server210directs its observation at the blockchain for transaction events216, which may function as a record keeper for the various “events” of a transaction process. The blockchain for settlement212(e.g., Ripple) may function as a master record keeper of account balances and fund transfers for its various member participants. In other embodiments, the participants of the blockchain (e.g., merchant, acquirer, consumer, issuer, etc.) may be informed of new entries into the one or more blockchains directly, e.g., via the shared ledger250. In further embodiments, while the shared ledger of the blockchains may be accessible to all participants of the blockchain, the blockchain interface server210may assist in decoding information within the shared ledger and/or in otherwise making the information of the shared ledger more accessible or understandable to the participants of the blockchain. For example, as will be described inFIGS.5A-5B,6, and7, the blockchain interface server may present the information using data analytics and Smartbots. After any block providing information regarding one or more attributes of a payment transaction has been published in a blockchain (e.g., blockchain for transaction events216), one or more participants of the blockchain may dispute the accuracy of the information presented. Thus, a dispute may be initiated by one or more participants of the blockchain at any point in the payment transaction process. The blockchain interface server210may oversee the dispute resolution process when one or more participants of the blockchain disputes any data about an attribute of the payment transaction (“transaction information”) posted on the shared ledger250. The attributes may include, but are not limited to: the identity of the merchant, consumer, acquirer, or issuer of the payment transaction; the transaction amount; an itemization and description of the goods and/or services transacted for; any geographical and/or temporal information of the payment transaction; any taxes, any tips, any discounts; any fees directed towards acquirers, issuers, payment networks; currency exchange rates; etc. In some embodiments, any data (e.g., value, name, etc.) for an attribute of the transaction information posted to a blockchain may be encrypted using encoder/decoder210A, for example, to provide security and/or protect sensitive information. Data stored for these attributes may be quantitative (e.g., an amount) and/or qualitative (e.g., name of merchant). In some embodiments, metadata may also be stored. A blockchain update interface210B may be one or more of an application, application program interface, software, hardware, server, or protocol that allows the addition of data (e.g., a new attribute or a detail regarding an attribute for the payment transaction or dispute, a proposed modification of the attribute by a disputing party, etc.) to a blockchain and/or shared ledger250. In some embodiments, the blockchain update interface210B may respond to input to add data to a blockchain and/or shared ledger by having the encoder/decoder210A to encrypt the data before it is added into the blockchain. In other embodiments, the encoder/decoder210A may also serve the functions of and/or be used in lieu of a blockchain update interface2106. Thus, blockchain update interface2106and/or an encoder/decoder210A may respond to requests to add attributes of a payment transaction, dispute one or more of the previously posted data for a transaction attribute (e.g., by entering into a blockchain an indication of the dispute), and/or add a proposed modification to an existing transaction attribute (e.g., for initiating a dispute) or to a data of an existing transaction attribute. A blockchain state observer210C may enable the search, access or retrieval of data for any attribute of the transaction information (or data stored for the attribute) from the shared ledger250and/or blockchain for transaction events216. For example, a blockchain state observer210may periodically (e.g., every second, minute, 10 minutes, hourly, daily, etc., or continuously retrieve the latest updates made to the blockchain for transaction events216and present it to participants of the blockchain e.g., by decoding information via encoder/decoder210A, or by utilizing data analytics to make the information more understandable or relatable. In some embodiments, the frequency at which blockchain state observe210retrieves the information may depend on the nature of the notification. For example, if there is a need for near-real-time settlement, then the frequency may be less than an hour. Otherwise, the frequency of the retrieval may be less frequent. Based on the information received from the blockchain for transaction events216, the blockchain state observer210may also trigger a series of events based on the received information. For example, if the blockchain state observer receives information of an initiation of a transaction dispute from the blockchain for transaction events216, the blockchain state observer may prompt one or more parties to respond to the dispute initiation, or enable the Smart Contracts210D to resolve the dispute. Method400, as depicted inFIG.4explains various events that may be triggered as a result of the received information in further detail. In various embodiments, “Smart Contracts”210C may refer to one or more of an application, application program interface (API), software, hardware, server, or computerized transaction protocol that facilitates, verifies, and/or enforces the negotiation or performance of a contract. In various embodiments presented herein, the contract is configured to govern the payment transaction between the issuer and the merchant or merchant's acquirer. The terms of the contract may be set, for example, by the attributes210D of the payment transaction as posted to the blockchain, and/or by predetermined rules governing the performance of the contract or dispute resolution. Participants of a dispute resolution process (e.g., consumers, issuers, merchants, acquirers, etc.,) may establish the underlying attributes210D of the contract governing the payment transaction, and/or the underlying rules of the dispute resolution process, e.g., at the time the participants become members of the blockchain. Smart Contracts210C may then proceed to execute the payment transaction based on the underlying attributes210D (and their values) or facilitate the dispute resolution process using the underlying rules. After a blockchain dispute resolution process is performed, the results may be posted to the shared ledger250of one or more blockchains, for participants of the blockchains (e.g., the parties to the payment transaction) to view. A party may not agree with the results, and may therefore reinitiate or represent a dispute. A dispute may be settled when both parties agree on the liability. There may be sophisticated rules that govern the settlement in the case both the parties do not agree or if there is a stalemate. For example, the parties may agree to split the liabilities in the case of a disagreement. Furthermore, fraudulent transactions and/or card-not-present (CNP) transactions may be prevented since a merchant or an acquirer may be able to look up this additional information in the blockchain to deny the transaction. In some embodiments, traditional methods of dispute resolution (e.g., payment network dispute resolution) may be relied on after one or more unsuccessful blockchain dispute resolution processes. In some embodiments, if the transaction information posted to the shared ledger250of blockchain for transaction events216is agreed on by all participants of the payment transaction, blockchain interface server210my use blockchain for settlement212for settlement or exchange of funds between the parties of the transaction. Blockchain interface server210may facilitate communication and/or transfer data between the blockchains using inter-ledger communication protocol210F. FIGS.3A-3Bdepict simplified sequence flow diagrams of a method for managing payment transactions, alerts, dispute settlement, and settlement payments, using multiple blockchains, in accordance with non-limiting embodiments. Method300may be executed by the devices and/or components related to the consumer340(e.g., consumer device340A), the issuer345, the blockchain interface server350(e.g., blockchain state observer350A; Smart Contracts API350B; update server350C; encoder/decoder350D; a server, system, protocol, and/or plug-in for inter ledger communication350E, etc.), one or more blockchains355(e.g., blockchain for transaction events355A, blockchain for settlement355B, etc.), acquirer360(e.g., authorization interface360A), and merchant370(merchant device370A). As explained inFIG.2, a shared ledger (e.g., as in250inFIG.2) may be accessible to participants of the blockchain, for example, consumer340(via consumer device340A), issuer345, acquirer360, and merchant370. The blockchain interface server350may continually or periodically observe the shared ledger and/or blockchain for transaction events355A, trigger events based on the observations, analyze and/or present the observations (e.g., via data analytics), and/or update one or more of the blockchains and/or shared ledger, e.g., the blockchain for settlement355B after a fund transfer. In process flow306A, a consumer may identify a cause for a dispute. For example, consumer340may browse the consumer's bank statements using consumer device340A to discover that consumer340was charged or is being charged more than what was transacted for in a payment transaction originating at merchant370. Thereafter, in process flow308A, the consumer may inform the issuer (e.g., consumer's bank) of the dispute. In process flow310A, the issuer (e.g., issuer345) may relay dispute information, including transaction information and the disputed attributes of the transaction, to blockchain interface server350(e.g., at the update server350D). Alternatively or additionally, the dispute may be initiated by the issuer. For example, an issuer may receive transaction related information from an acquirer in a transaction authorization request. An issuer may also receive transaction related information by other means, for example, by the consumer, or via saved records of past transactions originating at the merchant. An issuer may initiate a dispute if there is an inconsistency between the transaction related information received from one or more sources. It is contemplated that in some embodiments, transaction related information may be accessible to the issuer via a shared ledger250, as part of the blockchain for transaction events355A, or may be presented by the blockchain interface server (e.g., blockchain state observer) that periodically or continually observes the blockchain for transaction events355A and/or shared ledger of one or more blockchains to present pertinent information in presentable format to participants of the one or more blockchains. For example, in such embodiments, prior to process flows306A-310A, process flow302may include receiving an update on a transaction by blockchain state observer350A, and process flow304may include decoding and/or publishing the update to the parties (e.g., via the update server350C and/or encoder/decoder350D). In some embodiments or scenarios, for example in process flow306B, it may be the merchant that identifies a cause for a dispute (e.g., using merchant device370A) and inform acquirer360(e.g., a merchant's bank) of the dispute (e.g., as in process flow308B). Subsequently, in process flow3106, the acquirer may relay the dispute information, transaction information, and the disputed attributes of the transaction to the blockchain interface server (e.g., to the update server350D). Alternatively or additionally, the dispute may be initiated by acquirer360. In some embodiments, as shown in process flow312, blockchain interface server350may enter the received dispute information into blockchain for transaction events355A and/or shared ledger of the blockchain using the blockchain update server350D. In some embodiments, process flow312may involve encrypting and then entering the encrypted information using, e.g., update server350C and/or encoder/decoder350D. In some embodiments encoder/decoder350D may be a part of and/or serve the encoding/decoding function of blockchain update server350D. The encryption may protect sensitive information of the consumer or merchant, and/or restrict the accessibility of the information. The dispute information may include one or more attributes of the disputed payment transaction originating at the merchant and initiated by the consumer. The attributes of the payment transaction may include, but are not limited to, e.g., an identification of the merchant, an identification of the consumer, the transaction amount, an itemization of the goods and/or services transacted for, geographical and/or temporal information of the transaction, any taxes, any tips, any discounts; any fees directed towards acquirers, issuers, payment networks; etc. The encoded dispute information may further include, but is not limited to: an identification of one or more of the attributes that is in dispute, an identification of the disputant, the disputant's proposed modification to the disputed attribute, and geographical and/or temporal information of the dispute. The blockchain interface server may include an interface (e.g., update server350D) that may include one or more of an application, application program interface, software, hardware, server, or protocol that allows the addition of information (e.g., an attribute of the payment transaction, a proposed modification of an attribute by a disputing party, etc.) to a blockchain (e.g., blockchain for transaction events355A) and/or shared ledger. Thus, update server350D of blockchain interface server350may respond to requests to add attributes of a payment transaction, dispute one or more of the previously posted transaction attributes, and/or add a proposed modification to an existing transaction attribute (e.g., for initiating a dispute). The ledgers and/or sub-ledgers of the one or more blockchains may be periodically and/or continually updated, and may be updated to reflect accurate details regarding the payment transaction between participants of the blockchain. Blockchain state observer350A may periodically or continually receive the latest information from blockchain for transaction events355A, process and/or analyze the information, and present the information (e.g., in an understandable way) to participants of the transaction, who may also be member participants or nodes of the blockchain for transaction events355A. Thus, merchant370involved in the disputed payment transaction, acquirer360for merchant370, consumer340initiating the payment transaction, and issuer345for merchant370, as participants, may be able to understand information and/or events at blockchain for transaction events355A, or confirm the accuracy of the payment transaction details directly from blockchain for transaction events355A and/or shared ledger of the blockchain or through blockchain interface server350that presents the information from blockchain for transaction events355A and/or shared ledger. If one of the participants disputes the accuracy of a posted transaction attribute, the participant may initiate the process of entering the disputed information into blockchain for transaction events355A (e.g., as in process flows302-310). The ledger may be updated and/or new details may be posted by adding blocks to blockchain for transaction events355A using pre-defined rules, e.g., agreed on by the participants of the blockchain. In other embodiments, the ledger may be updated and/or new details may be posted, using blockchain mining methods known to persons having skill in the art. At process flow314, blockchain state observer350A of blockchain interface server350, as part of its function to periodically or continually observe updates to blockchain for transaction events355A, may receive the update on the entered dispute information from process flow312. In some embodiments, blockchain state observer350A need not wait for information to first be entered into blockchain for transaction events355A before observing the entered information. Thus, in such embodiments, process flow312and process flow314may occur simultaneously, e.g., blockchain state observer350A may observe the entering in of the dispute information. Thus, in some embodiments, blockchain for transaction events355A may function as a record keeper for the various “events” of a transaction process. “Events” may be observed by blockchain interface server and may set off a downstream process, act as an alert for participants of the blockchain or transaction, may be used for data collecting and/or analytics, and/or may be disregarded. The blockchain for settlement355B (e.g., Ripple) may function as a master record keeper of account balances and fund transfers for its various member participants. Thus, blockchain for settlement355B may be utilized once a transaction is ready for final processing or settlement, for example, if no party disputes the transaction information in the blockchain for transaction events355A. At process flow316, blockchain state observer350A may process the received information from process flow314(e.g., the entered dispute information) and detect that there is a contractual dispute. In some embodiments, various aspects of the received information may trigger the detection of a contractual dispute. This detection may be performed by Smart Contracts API350B. In process flow318, blockchain interface server350(e.g., via Smart Contracts API350B) may resolve the dispute related to one or more attributes of the payment transaction using the predetermined rules for dispute resolution. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, attributes of the payment transaction may refer to, for example, details related to a payment transactions (e.g., an identification of the merchant, an identification of the consumer, the transaction amount, an itemization of the goods and/or services transacted for, geographical and/or temporal information of the transaction, any taxes, any tips, any discounts; any fees directed towards acquirers, issuers, payment networks; currency exchange rates; etc.). The rules of the dispute resolution may refer to procedures used for interpreting the transaction attributes, obtaining information related to the dispute, and resolving the dispute. In some embodiments, process flow318may be performed using Smart Contracts API350B, or any computerized transaction protocol that facilitates, verifies, and/or enforces the negotiation or performance of a contract (e.g., as the one governing the payment transaction between the issuer and the merchant or merchant's acquirer). The predetermined rules for the dispute resolution may be set and/or agreed to by participants of the blockchain. For example, the acquirer and the issuer may agree to use certain methods of calculating prices. In another example, the participants may agree that if the issuer approved a transaction that was associated with a fraudulent account, the issuer will not have the right to initiate a chargeback. Participants may enact rules to check for invalid disputes related to fraud, e.g., if the fraud type and the conditions do not match, for example, if the fraud type is a counterfeit fraud but the conditions indicate a theft. Participants may agree to rules to initiate settlement real-time using the blockchain infrastructure to initiate payments. Furthermore, participants may also agree that if the dispute reason is a certain category, e.g., a fraud or an authorization decline, the liable parties may be automatically assigned based upon agreed-upon electronic contracts/rules which use the data in the blockchain to assign liability and may directly initiate settlement if, for example, there is not a trace of doubt in the liable party. In some embodiments, the rules for the dispute resolution may be set by blockchain interface server350according to industry standards. In other embodiments, the rules for the dispute resolution may be borrowed from the rules used by various payment networks for the management of disputes. In some embodiments, blockchain interface server350may output results of the dispute resolution by publishing resolved attributes of the payment transaction into one or more blockchains (e.g., blockchain for transaction events355A), via blockchain update server350D as in process flow320. For example, a dispute may be initiated by a merchant who does not agree with a transaction amount contained within a transaction authorization request that is published in a ledger shared by participants of the blockchain (parties to a payment transaction). After the blockchain dispute resolution, the results may include a new block published in a ledger of one or more blockchains, which posts a corrected transaction amount to be deducted from the consumer's payment source. In some embodiments, process flow320may involve encrypting the resolved attributes using encoder/decoder350D of update server350C. At process flow322, blockchain state observer350A of blockchain interface server350, as part of its function to periodically or continually observe updates to blockchain355may receive the update on the resolved dispute information that has been entered into the blockchain in process flow320. In some embodiments, the blockchain state observer need not wait for information to first be entered into the blockchain before observing the entered information. Thus, in such embodiments, process flow320and process flow322may occur simultaneously, e.g., the blockchain state observer may observe the entering in of the dispute results. Blockchain state observer350may process the received information from process flow320(e.g., the entered dispute results) and detect that a dispute was resolved. This detection may trigger blockchain interface server350to inform and/or present the dispute resolution results to various interested parties (e.g., consumer340, issuer345, acquirer360, merchant370, etc.). In some embodiments, process flows324A and324B may involve decoding the received information on the dispute resolution results (via encoder/decoder350C) so that the results are readable and/or understandable. Thus, in process flows326A,326B,328A, and328B, the results of the dispute resolution may be available to issuer345, acquirer360, consumer340, and merchant370, respectively. In some embodiments, the results and/or process of the dispute resolution may be published in the shared ledger and/or blockchain for transaction events355A, which may be readily available to the participants of the blockchain (e.g., issuer345, acquirer365, consumer340, and merchant370, etc.). In other embodiments, while entries in the shared ledger may be accessible to participants of the one or more blockchains, the blockchain interface server may present the information from the shared ledger in a form understandable to the parties or trigger events based on new entries or updates in the one or more blockchains. At process flow332A, issuer345may accept or reject the results of the dispute resolution, as mediated by blockchain interface server350. Likewise, at process flow3326, acquirer360may accept or reject the results of the dispute resolution, as mediated by blockchain interface server350. Process flows330A and330B may involve prompting issuer345and/or acquirer360, respectively, to respond to the results of the blockchain dispute resolution process, as published in the blockchain. In some embodiments, the acceptance or rejection of the dispute resolution results may be based on the input of consumer340or merchant370(e.g., as in process flows330A and330B, respectively). Using, e.g., a consumer device, the consumer may view the results of the dispute resolution process as posted on a ledger shared with other participants of the blockchain or as presented by the blockchain interface server based on information gathered from the shared ledger. Likewise, the merchant may view the results of the dispute resolution directly from the same shared ledger or as presented by blockchain interface server350based on information gathered from the same shared ledger, using, for example, the merchant's computing system. If one or more of the participants are not satisfied with the results of the blockchain dispute resolution process, the one or more participants may be able to notify blockchain interface server350that they disagree with the results (“rejection”), and may also input further information regarding the continued dispute. The one or more participants that are unsatisfied with the blockchain dispute resolution results may enter various dispute information, including, for example, any attributes of the resolved payment transaction that the one or more participants still disputes. For example, after viewing the results of the blockchain dispute resolution, as determined in process flow318, a merchant (or its issuer) may still not agree with the corrected transaction amount to be deducted from the consumer's payment source to pay for the payment transaction. The merchant (or its issuer) may inform the blockchain interface server of its rejection of the results, and submit new dispute information, including the transaction amount that the merchant (or its issuer) believes to be correct. The blockchain interface server may use the received dispute information, including the new proposed attributes of the payment transaction, to initiate and resolve a new dispute. Thus, process flows302through332A-B may be repeated until the participants agree to the results of the blockchain dispute resolution. In some embodiments, there may be rules that provide bounds on the number of times a dispute can be re-initiated. It is contemplated that in such embodiments, the smart contract rules may be configured to be at least sufficiently inclusive and versatile to handle multiple different dispute scenarios to prevent or minimize the possibility of failed dispute resolutions. Alternatively or additionally if one or more of the participants indicate that they are still unsatisfied with the results of the blockchain dispute resolution, and present further dispute information, the blockchain interface server may relay the dispute information to a payment network system conventionally used to resolve disputes. according to conventional methods known to those having ordinary skill in the art. In other embodiments, it is contemplated that the blockchain dispute settlement process may eliminate the need for payment network dispute settlement, and thereby prevent the need for maintaining two dispute settlement systems for a potential dispute. In further embodiments, it is also contemplated that any dispute settlement may be confined to the blockchain dispute settlement process, e.g., to reduce the cost of having to maintain more than one dispute settlement systems. In some embodiments, the results of a dispute settlement may be readily available to the issuer, acquirer, consumer, and merchant, as participants in a blockchain, via a shared ledger that may be viewed, for example on a consumer device or computing system. In such embodiments, the results and/or process of the dispute resolution may be published in blockchain for transaction events355A, which may be readily available to the participants of the blockchain (e.g., issuer, acquirer, consumer, merchant, etc.) or be presented by the blockchain interface server in a way that is readable and understandable to the parties. If there is no dispute as to the results of the dispute settlement, and/or the parties to the transaction (or participants of the blockchain for transaction events355A) consent to the validity of the corrected transaction information, process flows334A and334B may include relaying at least some of the transaction information to blockchain for settlement355B. The at least some of the transaction information may include for example, the amounts of a fund or resources to be transferred and the identities of the parties and/or the accounts of each party from which to be transacted. Process flow336A may include relaying the consumer's or issuer's PAN, cryptocurrency ID, and/or other account identifier to blockchain for settlement355B. Likewise, process flow336B may include relaying the merchant's or acquirer's issuer's PAN, cryptocurrency ID, and/or other account identifier to the blockchain for settlement355B. In some embodiments, process flows334and336A-B may be performed as one process flow. The blockchain interface server may be in charge of relaying the transaction information from blockchain for transaction events355A to blockchain for settlement355B using, for example, inter ledger communication350E. The relayed transaction information and various account IDs, PANs, or cryptocurrency IDs may be published and/or encrypted into blockchain for settlement355B using update server350C and encoder/decoder350D. In some embodiments, the blockchain for settlement355B may be a real-time gross settlement system (RTGS), which may facilitate the exchange of a currency or cryptocurrency and serve as a remittance network, and which may be designed to comply with risk, privacy and compliance requirements (e.g., Ripple). Thus, at process flow338, the transaction may be processed by facilitating the transfer of funds or resources from the respective accounts of the parties to the transaction. At process flow340, blockchain for settlement is updated (e.g., via update server350C and/or encoder/decoder350D) to reflect the new balance of the accounts for the participants of the transaction. At process flow342, blockchain state observer350A of blockchain interface server350, as part of its function to observe updates to blockchains, may receive an update to the accounts of transacting parties by observing blockchain for settlement355B. At process flow344, blockchain interface server350may decode and/or otherwise make accessible, information of the updated account balances to the transacting parties (e.g., consumer340, issuer345, acquirer365, merchant370, etc.). Blockchain interface server350may be configured to ensure privacy, for example, each transaction participant may be only allowed to see their own account balances. In some embodiments, parties may be able to view their new account balances readily via a shared ledger of the blockchain for settlement355B, or via other means. The end users of the systems for payment transactions presented herein may be able to view the processes involved, including the transfer of funds, via a front-end integration using a Microservices based architecture. While settlement of funds (e.g., using blockchain for settlement) can be driven by events generated from the Blockchain for transaction events (e.g., a resolution or a lack of a transaction information dispute), transaction events may also lead to further events other than a settlement of funds. These other events may include, but are not limited to fraud events, risk or compliance events, etc. It is contemplated that other blockchain networks may be used like the blockchain for settlement for the purpose of managing or recording these various functions driven by the events. These events can be choreographed using Micro Services as opposed changing the front-end or using orchestration. There are significant benefits tied to using a Microservices based architecture to decouple applications and employing a development operations (DevOps) approach for development and scaling the services independently, the benefits including but not limited to continuous delivery and deployment. It is contemplated that architectures similar to or providing benefits as Microservices may also be used. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, Microservices may refer to individual services provided to the end user, to enhance the user's interaction with various blockchain networks. In some embodiments, Microservices may interact with queues to publish updates and/or other services with specific functions, e.g., settlement services, notifications. For merchants, Microservices may enable a queue to be read and nay perform settlement. Furthermore, Microservices may display various information, e.g., in a customer service portal. Thus, Microservices may be designed to perform very specific functions well and may have its own infrastructure and repository, and hence can be scaled independently of other micro services depending on the volume and traffic. The Microservices component may adds additional flexibility to the overall architecture. FIG.4depicts a block diagram of a general method400for processing and executing upon information received by a blockchain interface server, in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment. Moreover, information may be received periodically and/or continually from the blockchain, e.g., via the blockchain state observer of the blockchain interface server. Various events may be generated based on the received information. Some events may involve, for example, storing information into a data store, and this information may be used for data analytics, or be presented via a Smartbot to a user. Furthermore, some events may involve, for example action notifications that may kick-off downstream activities, for example, settlement or dispute notice generation. In at least some embodiments of the present disclosure, a blockchain and/or shared ledger may record the series of events for a transaction, from which the blockchain interface server may observe and generate downstream events, if needed and/or merely alert participants of the transaction of the event. The information being received from the blockchain for transaction events and/or shared ledger may be a transaction event of a series of transaction events for a transaction. In some embodiments, the series of transaction events for a transaction may signify the various events that occurred during the course of a transaction, e.g., from its initiation at a merchant by a consumer to the initiation of a dispute. Further, each transaction event may be added to the blockchain for transaction events and/or shared ledger of the blockchain in a chronological order or may be time-stamped. Thus, in some embodiments, the blockchain interface server may receive information about a transaction, as each new transaction event is added to the blockchain for transaction events and/or shared ledger of the blockchain. In some embodiments, prior to the blockchain interface server being able to receive information about a payment transaction, a payment transaction may be initiated. Thus, step402may include entering the initiation of payment transaction on to one or more blockchains of a plurality of blockchain networks. These blockchains may each be involved in the various functions or business of a payment transaction. For example, a blockchain for transaction events may serve as a record keeper for the various events involved in a payment transaction originating at a merchant. A blockchain for settlement may be involved in the final transfer or settlement of a currency or cryptocurrency between participants of a transaction. Having a plurality of blockchains may ensure that information may be shared by some member participants but kept private from other member participants of the payment transaction. Having a separate blockchain for settlement (e.g., Ripple) may also assist in the compliance of the blockchain-based payment system with regulations and standards of the financial industry. Thus, at step402, a block may be added that encodes (e.g., using an encoder/decoder) the attributes of an initiated transaction (e.g., merchant and/or acquirer ID; transaction amount; issuer and/or consumer ID; description and/or ID of transacted good(s) and/or services; geographical and/or temporal information; taxes, tips, and/or discounts; any fees to be directed to acquirers/issuers, etc.) Step404may include continually or periodically observing status of the transaction, for example, using a transaction identification. In some embodiments, the transaction identification may serve as a key to access information regarding the attributes of the payment transaction. The observed status may include, for example, a step in the payment transaction process, an initiation of a dispute regarding the payment transaction, a step in the dispute settlement process of the payment transaction, etc. The status may be observed, for example, from the blockchain for transaction events, which may serve as a record of events that take place through a payment transaction. Step406may include decoding and/or publishing the observed status to one or more parties of the transaction. The decoding and/or publishing may be performed by an encoder/decoder of the blockchain interface server so that the results are readable and/or understandable. The published status may be accessible to interested parties (e.g., merchant, consumer, acquirer, issuer, etc.), for example, via a user interface on a user device. Step408may include determining whether the observed status warrants further action before a transaction is ready for processing. Various statuses may warrant action, and this may involve determining, for example, whether the observed status is awaiting for an input (e.g., a response) from a party (e.g., as in410A), and/or determining whether the observed status indicates an unresolved dispute (e.g., as in step414A). In some embodiments, if the blockchain interface server had received instructions or input to perform data analytics for one or more attributes of the transaction, the observed status may warrant a further action to perform and display data analytics for the one or more attributes of the transaction, as will be described in further detail in method500as depicted inFIGS.5A-5B. Therefore, in one embodiment, if at step408, the blockchain interface server determines that the observed status warrants further action before the transaction is ready for processing, subsequent steps would involve determining the further action. For example, step410A may include determining whether the observed status awaits input from a party of the transaction. In some embodiments, the party of the transaction may be a member participant of a blockchain and/or shared ledger (e.g., blockchain for transaction events). If, at step410A, the blockchain interface server determines that the observed status is awaiting for an input from a party, the blockchain interface server may inform the party and receive the awaited input from the party (e.g., as in step410B). Furthermore, a party may already be informed of the observed status and the awaited and/or requested input, for example, from step406. In such embodiments, a party may merely respond and/or may provide an input based on the information published in step406. At step412, the blockchain interface server may encode and/or enter the received input from the party on to the blockchain for transaction events and/or shared ledger of the blockchain. Alternatively or additionally, the received input may be published and/or otherwise be accessible to one or more parties of the transaction (e.g., as in step406). Subsequently, the blockchain interface server may proceed to step414A, which may involve determining whether the observed status indicates an unresolved dispute. Additionally, if, at step410A, the blockchain interface server determines that the observed status is not awaiting for an input from a party, the blockchain interface server may subsequently determine, at step414A, whether the observed status indicates an unresolved dispute. In some embodiments, there may be an indication of an unresolved dispute if there are conflicting entries or data for a transaction attribute (e.g., the merchant and consumer contest the amount of a transaction good(s) and/or service(s)). The conflicting entries may be detected from the blockchain for transaction events by the blockchain interface server, for example, if two differently timestamped blocks have inconsistent data entries for the same transaction attribute of the same transaction. If, at step414A, the blockchain interface server determines that the observed status indicates an unresolved dispute, step414B may include enabling Smart Contracts to resolve the dispute. Smart Contracts may also be used to exchange money or anything of value in general. For example, Smart Contract may be a logical construct that may be executed when a dispute reaches a certain state. For example, if there is a duplicate transaction in the receipt attributed to a cardholder, it may be the case that a cardholder would not be held responsible for the additional transaction if he or she did not make that transaction. The blockchain may be updated and indicate a state change of “transfer funds back to cardholder.” The state change may be indicated using specific codes, and the state may be reflected on each node of the blockchain governing a dispute. Once this happens, the money may change hands. A Smart Contract may facilitate and/or enhance this process. In the above example, a Smart Contract may credit the card holder through the Issuer or financial institution that the card holder interacts with and send debit to the Merchant. Similarly, if a card holder were to be found liable, the card holder may be penalized, e.g., for a friendly fraud, which might limit the card holder's ability to initiate disputes in the future. Thus, a Smart Contract may define the rules and penalties around an agreement in a similar method of a traditional contract, and may also automatically enforce those obligations. Intermediaries need not be required for a Smart Contract to be completed. At step414C, the blockchain interface server may encode and/or enter the resolved dispute information (from step414B) on to the blockchain and/or shared ledger. Alternatively or additionally, the blockchain interface server may also publish and/or make accessible the resolved dispute information (e.g., as in step406). On the other hand, if the blockchain interface server determines, at step414A, that the observed status does not indicate an unresolved dispute, the blockchain interface server may relay and/or encode the transaction information to another blockchain (e.g., blockchain for settlement) of the plurality of blockchain networks (e.g., as in step416A). If at step408, the blockchain interface server determines that the observed status does not warrant any further action before the transaction is ready for processing, the blockchain interface server may also proceed to relay and/or encode the transaction information to another blockchain (e.g., blockchain for settlement) of the plurality of blockchain networks (e.g., as in step416A). This blockchain (e.g., blockchain for settlement) may be in charge of recordkeeping account data of the various participants of the transaction. The transfer of pertinent transaction information by the blockchain interface server may involve, for example, an inter ledger communication protocol, as known by persons having ordinary skill in the art. The pertinent transaction information may include, for example, the transaction participants' identifications, for the blockchain for settlement to appropriately track the accounts of the participants, the amounts owed or to be transferred for each participant, etc. Subsequently, the blockchain interface server may then process the transaction and update the blockchain for settlement and/or shared ledger of the blockchain (e.g., as in step416). The processing and updating of the transaction may include, for example, adding or updating the blocks of the blockchain for settlement that indicates new account balance for the participants of the transaction that are involved in the exchange of funds. The new account balance can reflect currency, cryptocurrency (e.g., bitcoins, Litecoins, etc.), commodities, etc. For example, Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency, may be a completely decentralized digital payment system peer to peer (p2p) system enabling settlement or transactions to take place between two parties without an intermediary. Each party may identify the other party using a public bitcoin address and do not know anything in addition to that about the other party. The blockchain for settlement may use this bitcoin address to track the transaction participant's account for the purpose of updating and recording the transfer of bitcoins for the transaction. In such embodiments, the transactions may be verified by network nodes of the blockchain (e.g., blockchain for settlement) and may be recorded in a public or private ledger of the blockchain. It is also contemplated that cryptocurrency other than bitcoins may be used for the processing of the transaction. Using other forms of cryptocurrency may overcome the growing problem of “Bitcoin latency,” where verifying a transaction takes an inconveniently long time (e.g., approximately 43 minutes). “Bitcoin latency” may partially stem from the fact that participants and/or members of a transaction (e.g., consumers, issuers, merchants, acquirers, etc.) may add a fee to every bitcoin transaction, which may bump that transaction up in a queue. This may result in those who could not pay such a fee (or could not pay a sufficiently big fee) to wait hours and sometimes even days for a transaction to complete. Therefore, in some embodiments, Litecoin may be an alternate cryptocurrency that may be used in the processing of the transaction, e.g., by a blockchain for settlement. Litecoin may be a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency and open source software project released under the MIT/X11 license, and may be inspired by and/or be technically nearly identical to bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin creation and transfer may be based on an open source protocol and thus may decentralized. The Litecoin Network aims to process a block every 2.5 minutes, and may therefore allow for faster transaction confirmation A drawback to Litecoins may include a higher probability of orphaned blocks in the blockchain (e.g., blockchain for settlement). Advantages of using Litecoins may include, for example. greater resistance to a double spending attack over the same period as a bitcoin. However, the total work done may be a consideration. For example, if the Litecoin Network has comparatively ten times less computing work done per block than the bitcoin network, the bitcoin confirmation may be around ten times harder to reverse, even though the Litecoin Network may be likely to add confirmation blocks at a rate that may be four times faster. Nevertheless, alternate cryptocurrencies like Litecoins, may be able to overcome regulatory and/or compliance issues that may result from adopting a public bitcoin network for the cryptocurrency used in processing the transaction, e.g., in step416B. In one embodiment, step416B may be performed by an entity other than the blockchain interface server. In some embodiments, subsequent to resolving a dispute (e.g., as in step414C) or processing a transaction (e.g., as in step416B), the blockchain interface sever may continue to periodically or continually observe the status of the payment transaction (e.g., as in404) and repeat one or more of the steps described above. In one or more embodiments, the published records of transaction information and dispute information (e.g., in the blockchain for transaction events) may be periodically or continually retrieved and stored in computing systems in addition to or other than the blockchain interface server that may be participants of one or more of the blockchains. The stored transaction information and dispute information may be periodically or continually analyzed to generate information (e.g., data analytics) that may be useful to other participants of the transaction or the plurality of blockchains. FIGS.5A-5Bdepict block diagrams of a general method of analyzing data received from multiple blockchains, in accordance with non-limiting embodiments. Method500may be performed by the blockchain interface server, which may, at the request of a participant or user (e.g., consumer, merchant, acquirer, issuer, etc.) periodically or continually observe the status of a blockchain (e.g., blockchain for transaction events) and/or shared ledger pertaining to a payment transaction or dispute, receive information from the blockchain (e.g., blockchain for transaction events) and/or shared ledger of the blockchain pertaining to a payment transaction or dispute, and perform data analysis. In other embodiments, method500may be performed by a computing system and/or server that may be a participant or be able to access a blockchain (e.g., blockchain for transaction events) or shared ledger and retrieve transaction information of transactions and/or dispute information regarding dispute settlement processes involving the transactions. Step502may include receiving transaction information of a transaction from a blockchain (e.g., blockchain for transaction events) the shared ledger. In order to receive the transaction information, the blockchain interface server may retrieve transaction information using a transaction identifier, for example, based on the request or input by a participant of the blockchain or payment transaction, or as part of a periodic routine. In some embodiments, step502may be performed by a computing system or server of a participant of the blockchain or shared ledger in which the transaction information has been encrypted or stored (e.g., in a block). The transaction information may include various attributes of the transaction, which may be identified in step504. For example, the attributes of the transaction may include, but are not limited to, e.g., an identification of the merchant and/or acquirer (e.g., merchant and/or acquirer ID504A), the transaction amount(s) of one or more transacted good(s) or service(s)504B, an identification of the issuer and/or consumer (e.g., issuer and/or consumer ID504C), a description and/or identification of the transacted good(s) and/or service(s)504D, geographical and/or temporal information of the transaction504E, any taxes, tips, and/or discounts504F; and any fees directed to the acquirer or issuers504G (e.g., markup fees, interchange fees, etc.). Alternatively or additionally, step506may include receiving any dispute information of the transaction from the shared ledger. In order to receive the dispute information, the blockchain interface server may use a transaction identifier to access blocks of the blockchain and/or shared ledger having information on the latest update and/or status. Like step502, in some embodiments, step506may be performed by a computing system or server of a participant of the blockchain or shared ledger in which the dispute information has been encrypted or stored (e.g., in a block). The dispute information may include, but are not limited to: an identification of one or more of the attributes that is in dispute506A, an identification of the disputant(s)506B, a disputant's proposed modification to the disputed attribute506C, and geographical and/or temporal information of the dispute506D. It is contemplated, however, that there may not have been any disputes for some transactions whose information may be stored in and/or published in the shared ledger, and for whom transaction information may be received in step502. In such embodiments, step506may not be performed. Step508may include selecting one or more of the identified attributes and/or one or more of the dispute information, e.g., for further analysis. In some embodiments, the selection may be made on the basis of a user input. For example, a user (e.g., a fraud prevention service) may be interested in knowing more about the disputant to a transaction. In such an example, the user may input the selection of the disputant in the blockchain interface server performing method500to determine, e.g., whether the disputant in a transaction has a history of initiating frivolous disputes in other transactions. Step510may include searching one or more blockchains and/or a shared ledgers for one or more other transactions involving one or more of the selected attribute(s) and/or dispute information. For example, a user may want to know other transactions involving the same disputant as the transaction whose information was received in step502. In another example, a user may want to know other transactions involving the same good and/or service transacted for in the transaction whose information was received in step502. The searched blockchain and/or shared ledger may be the same as that from which the transaction information was received in step502. Alternatively or additionally, the searched blockchain and/or shared ledger may be different, or may involve different participants. Step512may include compiling a list of the searched one or more other transactions involving the one or more selected attribute and/or dispute information. Step514may include receiving transaction information for the one or more other transactions involving the one or more selected attribute or dispute information. For example, if the transaction information received in step502involved a transaction of an airline flight, and a user had selected (via user input) to receive more information about other transactions involving the same airline flight, step514may include receiving transaction information (e.g., attributes) of the other transactions involving the airline flight. Each of the other transactions may have its own transaction information with its own set of attributes. For example, the user may be able to know of other merchants, consumers, issuers, and/or acquirers involved in the airline flight purchase, transaction amounts for those other transactions involved in the airline flight purchase, etc. This information may be useful, for example, to see inconsistencies in transaction amounts, or to detect a fraudulent party. Step516may include generating data based on the one or more selected attribute or dispute information of the received transaction information (e.g., from step502) for the one or more other transactions involving the one or more selected attribute or dispute information. In various embodiments presented herein, the generated data may be collectively referred to as “blockchain analytics.” For example, if the attribute of the original transaction that had been selected in step508to be analyzed is the consumer of the original transaction, blockchain analytics may show other trends based on other transactions of the consumer. These other transactions of the consumer may not have the rest of the same attributes as the original transaction. For example, these other transactions may be between the consumer and other merchants, for different good(s) and/or services, or conducted in entirely different geographical and/or temporal settings. The generated blockchain analytics may provide trends416B in the consumer's other transactions, for example, the number of transactions conducted by the consumer over time, an inclination of the consumer towards transacting with certain merchants and/or merchant groups or for certain good(s) and/or services over time, and etc. In some embodiments, blockchain analytics may provide key statistics (e.g., mean, median, correlational data, etc.) for the one or more attributes of the original transaction, as being used in other transactions, for example. The key statistics may help identify patterns in the attribute (e.g., consumer behavior) that indicate fraud and/or initiate disputes. Alternatively or additionally, step516may include generating blockchain analytics to analyze disputes/fraud data516A to enable merchants and issuers (FIs) to reduce to occurrences of fraud. The fraud may include unintentional, “friendly” fraud and/or other types. For example, if one or more attributes being analyzed includes the good and/or service being transacted for in the original transaction, and the blockchain analytics indicates (e.g., in the trends516B) that the particular good and/or service being transacted for has caused disputes or has been found to be fraudulent in multiple other transactions, a participant of the original transaction (e.g., merchant or consumer) who is seeking to transact the good and/or service may use this data to stop the transaction, and thereby prevent a future fraud from occurring. Thus, participants of the original transaction (e.g., merchant, consumer, etc.) may use the blockchain analytics data to pro-actively identify a fraudulent transaction and stop the shipment of goods/services. Analyzing trends516B may lead one to predict future fraud or to prevent disputes. FIG.6depicts an exemplary flow diagram of two blockchains used in the management of payment transactions, alerts, dispute settlement, and settlement payment, in accordance with non-limiting embodiments. For example a blockchain for transaction events606may record sequential events of a payment transaction, from the origination at a merchant by a consumer to the final processing. The recordation of each event may be made to a shared ledger of blockchain for transaction events606, which allows for permanence, encryption, and proof-of-work, as known to persons having ordinary skill in the art. Thus, blockchain for transaction events606may record events for any number of transactions involving a number of participants (e.g., issuer1. . . n612A, merchants1. . . n612B, consumer, acquirer, etc.), each transaction being based on and/or trackable via a transaction identifier, Blockchain for transaction events606may be, a public, private, and/or hybrid blockchain (e.g., a consortium blockchain), having a ledger that may be shared by member participants. A blockchain for settlement of currency or cryptocurrency602may a real time gross settlement system that records the final transfer of funds or tokens between transacting parties (e.g., issuer612A and merchant612B). The shared ledger of blockchain for settlement of currency or cryptocurrency602may be updated to reflect the new account balances of the transacting parties, following the processing of the transaction. Thus, blockchain for settlement of currency or cryptocurrency602may hold, at least the undisputed balance of, the accounts for its various member participants, for example, any number of issuers (e.g., issuer1. . . n612A) and any number of merchants (e.g., merchants1. . . n612B). One example of the blockchain for settlement of currency or cryptocurrency602is Ripple, a real-time gross settlement system that may enable a secure, instant, and nearly free financial transaction, which may support the use of currency, cryptocurrency (e.g., bitcoins, Litecoins, etc.), and/or commodities, based on a shared ledger. In some embodiments, the shared ledger of blockchain for settlement of currency or cryptocurrency602may overlap in member participants (nodes) or in the information recorded with blockchain for transaction events606. Nevertheless, having distinct blockchains may help ensure privacy of information, integration with existing financial transaction regulations and standards, and a division of business functions. Blockchain interface server604may periodically or continually observe the blockchains for new updates (e.g., events608A and608B) for a payment transaction and present and/or make accessible information related to each update to the interested participants (issuer1. . . n612A, merchant1. . . n612B, etc.). The participants of the transaction may be informed of these events, analyze or research further based on these events, and/or enter input (e.g., initiate dispute, accept or reject dispute resolution results) using user interface on a user device or computing system (e.g., User Interface/SmartBots610A and610B). For example, a user may wish to analyze certain attributes of a transaction further using data analytics according to method400presented inFIGS.4A-4B. Furthermore, as illustrated inFIG.8and explained herein, the user interface may allow the user to utilize Smartbots to be able to be able to better interact with data presented. FIG.7depicts an exemplary flow diagram of an interactive bot feature of the user interface for analyzing transaction attributes and dispute information, using blockchain. The interactive bot (“SmartBot,” “avatar,” etc.),702A and702B, may be an artificial intelligence (AI) based application that can translate customer request and/or speech into system commands. The interactive bot,702A and702B, may available to the user of the user interface who seeks to view blockchain analytics data708generated from information in the blockchain710. It is contemplated that this user may be a participant of the blockchain used in the transaction and dispute management system, and therefore this user may include, for example, an issuer706A, or a merchant706B. The translator application program interface (API),704A and704B, may be the interface layer that may convert speech or text that is input by the user (e.g., an issuer706A or a merchant706B) via a user interface into commands that may retrieve information from or display various aspects of blockchain analytics708. Furthermore, the blockchain analytics708may be generated based on the data that participants of the blockchain (e.g., issuers, consumers, merchants, and/or acquirers) add to the blockchain710and/or shared ledger via the blockchain user interface712, for example, during a transaction or transaction dispute management. Furthermore, blockchain analytics708may be generated based on methods presented inFIG.5A-5B. Thus, blockchain analytics708may be a system that takes structured and/or unstructured data from, blockchain disputes system and may slice and dice the data to provide actionable insights. The interactive bot technology may be used to enhance and improve customer experience and anticipate the customer before the customer explicitly requests information. Thus, the interactive bot technology can be effective in areas where participants of a transaction or transaction dispute need to be educated on the process and when to anticipate a response. Interactive bots702A and702B may be dependent on the blockchain analytics708to drive the optimal customer experience and may provide useful information to participants (e.g., merchant, issuer, etc.) of the blockchain who are able to view blockchain analytics via a user interface. For example, a user may be able to gather information on the mean times for response for a disputing party of a transaction dispute based upon historical data. FIG.8depicts an exemplary screenshot of a user interface for analyzing transaction attributes and dispute information using a blockchain interface server. Participants of a payment transaction, as members of one or more blockchain networks used in the systems and methods for transaction dispute management, as presented in various embodiments herein, may be able to view blockchain analytics on a user interface. The participants (e.g., issuer, merchant, acquirer, consumer, etc.) may include the parties of a transaction or a transaction dispute, and the blockchain analytics may be generated according to methods presented inFIGS.5A-5B. As illustrated in an exemplary screenshot, the blockchain interface server may identify the original transaction802, for which a user wishes to seek more information regarding one or more attributes of the transaction. Furthermore, the particular block804in which an attribute or transaction information is stored may also be identified. The user may be able to gain a summary806of the current transaction, or gain information on a particular attribute of the transaction. For example, a user may view information related to the consumer808of the transaction (or any other party of the transaction). As shown inFIG.8, when selecting to gain more information about the consumer of the transaction, a user may be able to view, for example a consumer's transaction history810, incidents of fraud812, an encrypted identifier of the consumer's primary account number814, an encrypted identifier of the user identification number816. The user may be able to view the consumer's transaction history in multiple forms, e.g., tables810A, pie charts810B, bar graphs810C, etc. A transaction history810of the consumer may display for example, the number of transactions conducted by the transaction over time818. In some embodiments, the blockchain analytics performed and displayed by the blockchain interface server on the blockchain may also present a consumer's overall success rate820in transaction disputes, for example, to ascertain how difficult it is to overcome a dispute settlement process with a consumer. The user may also be able to detect incidents of fraud812resulting from the consumer, for example, to proactively avoid fraud by stopping a transaction with the consumer. In other embodiments, the user may also view information related to the transacted good(s) and/or service(s) of the transaction822, geographical information of the transaction824, temporal information of the transaction826, or any other attribute. The methods performed by the blockchain interface server of gaining more information for the various attributes of the current transaction from the blockchain may include gaining information on other transactions sharing the attribute, and may employ methods presented inFIGS.5A-5B. In further embodiments, the user may also view information related to more than one attributes at a time. For example, blockchain analytics presented by the blockchain interface server may provide information on a consumer's transaction involving a particular good and/or service over time (from other merchants, for example). In another example, blockchain analytics presented by the blockchain interface server may be able to provide information on incidents of dispute arising from a particular participant of the blockchain over a particular transacted good or service. These information may be used, for example, to proactively identify and/or report fraud. In some embodiments, the blockchain interface server, via the user interface (as shown inFIG.8) on a user device may be able to enhance the user's experience in able to use blockchain analytics, via an interactive bot828(e.g., “SmartBot”). The interactive bot828may receive input from the user to direct the user towards finding the appropriate information from the blockchain analytics and/or use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to detect information about the user and proactively predict what the user may be looking for. The interactive bot may be implemented based on methods described inFIG.8. These and other embodiments of the systems and methods may be used as would be recognized by those skilled in the art. The above descriptions of various systems and methods are intended to illustrate specific examples and describe certain ways of making and using the systems disclosed and described here. These descriptions are neither intended to be nor should be taken as an exhaustive list of the possible ways in which these systems can be made and used. A number of modifications, including substitutions of systems between or among examples and variations among combinations can be made. Those modifications and variations should be apparent to those of ordinary skill in this area after having read this disclosure. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims. | 110,761 |
11861620 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments or examples illustrated in the drawings are disclosed below using specific language. It will nevertheless be understood that the embodiments or examples are not intended to be limiting. Any alterations and modifications in the disclosed embodiments and any further applications of the principles disclosed in this document are contemplated as would normally occur to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. Described herein are examples of systems, methods, and other embodiments associated with a fraudulent activity shell. FIG.1is an illustration of an example embodiment of a system100associated with a fraudulent activity shell. The system100includes an application110. The application110may be a banking application such as an online and/or mobile banking application, stock trading application, financial planning application, etc. In one embodiment, the application110is hosted by an entity such as a financial institution. Actions are received by the application110. The application110then executes the actions. For example, an action may be a transfer of funds from a first account to a second account. Accordingly, the funds can be debited from the first account and deposited in the second account based on the action using the application110. The application110is bifurcated into a normal environment120and shell environment130. The normal environment120and the shell environment130run in tandem. The actions are executed in the normal environment120. For example, the normal environment may perform actions such as trading, depositing, withdrawing, posting, and holding actions. An action may be one or more actions operating together. When an action posts as being completed in the normal environment120, the action has been executed. The normal environment120reflects executed actions received and processed by the host (e.g., financial institution) of the application110. The normal environment120may be available to the host of the application110, but may not be available to the public at large. The shell environment130may be available to a broader group of individuals than the normal environment120. For example, the shell environment130may be made available to the public at large. Accordingly, the normal environment120may be available to different groups than the shell environment130. Alternatively, the normal environment120may be available to a subset of the groups that have access to the shell environment130. The manner in which the normal environment120and the shell environment130handle actions is dependent on the mode in which the application100is operating. The application110has two modes: a default mode and a fraudulent activity mode. The default mode is the default setting of the application110. In the default mode, the normal environment120processes actions as they are received and posts the actions once they are processed. Because the application110is in the default mode, the actions are being processed in the normal environment120and the shell environment130mimics the normal environment120. Thus, the normal environment120processes the actions and the shell environment130logs the actions. As discussed above, the shell environment130is not capable of executing actions. Instead, in the default mode, the shell environment130scripts and logs actions as the actions are received. The fraudulent activity mode is triggered to override the default mode when a fraud is suspected. Specifically, the fraudulent activity mode is triggered by trigger logic140. The trigger logic140determines that an action is related to a potential fraud by determining that an action satisfies a trigger condition. The trigger condition may include one or more fraudulent activity indicators. In one embodiment, a fraudulent activity indicator may be based on metadata (e.g., an amount, withdrawal account, deposit account, time, date, initiation location, device used to perform action, etc.) of the actions. For example, a fraudulent activity indicator may identify actions that transfer large amounts of funds to an unknown account. Alternatively or additionally, a fraudulent activity indicator may include receiving an action from an unknown device where the action was initiated at an unknown location. In this manner, the trigger logic140identifies potentially fraudulent actions by determining that the action meets the one or more fraudulent activity indicators defined as the triggering condition. When the trigger logic140determines that an action meets a trigger condition, the trigger logic140triggers the fraudulent activity mode for the application110. When the trigger logic140triggers the fraudulent activity mode, two things happen. One, the potentially fraudulent action is held in the normal environment120, and consequently, the potentially fraudulent action is not performed. Two, the shell environment130no longer mirrors the normal environment120. Instead, the shell environment130logs the action identified by the trigger logic140as if the action has been executed. Accordingly, the normal environment120may not show the action because it has been held, but the action will appear in the shell environment130as if executed. As discussed above, the normal environment120may be visible to the host of the application110because the normal environment reflects a true accounting of actions as the actions are processed. However, the normal environment may not be made accessible to the public (e.g., users, customers, potential customers, individuals not employed by the host of the application110). Instead, the public may only have access to the shell environment130. The host of the application110may also have access to the shell environment130so that the host can view the actions as a member of the public would view the actions. Even when an action is identified as being potentially fraudulent, the action is logged in the shell environment130. Thus, to a member of the public, the potentially fraudulent action appears to have been processed even though this action will not appear in the normal environment120because the action has been held. The shell environment130operates and responds as if it was the normal environment120such that additional inquires or additional actions appear executed and overall balances appear to reflect the changes. At the same time more detailed logging and tracing is executed after the trigger event. Accordingly, if the potentially fraudulent action is legitimate, the user is unaware of any delay as the scripted and logged activity will be “replayed” and executed in the normal environment120after the fraud hold is released as if it was done originally in the normal environment120and thus resulting actions with the external systems are executed as they normally would have been. The session activity for the normal environment120and the shell environment130can be held for as long as defined by the system configuration. Thus another session can be started while disposition of the previous session is being determined. Sessions can stay in a queue to be dispositioned. When the disposition occurs, the session is rolled back and logged if fraud and it is set for replay and execution if valid. Conversely, if the potentially fraudulent action is fraudulent, the fraudster is unaware that the host of the application110is suspicious. Instead, the fraudster will think that the action was processed. Accordingly, in the event of a fraudster, continue to collect evidence to be handed over to law enforcement and track their whereabouts. Furthermore, in the event of a legitimate user, adjust our model for legitimate use in order to not trigger a false positive next time similar behavior is detected. Therefore, legitimate users are not inconvenienced and the host has an advantage over fraudsters. In one embodiment, the shell environment130returns to the default mode from the fraudulent activity mode for a subsequent action. Thus, each action receives the same treatment. Accordingly, when a subsequent action is received, the trigger logic140determines whether the action is potentially fraudulent. If the action is not deemed potentially fraudulent, it is processed in the default mode. Specifically, the action is processed in the normal environment120, which is mimicked in the shell environment130. If the action is deemed potentially fraudulent, the potentially fraudulent action is held in the normal environment120but logged as being executed in the shell environment130, as discussed above. For example, suppose that a first user is logged into a session of online banking for a specific account, and the first user performs one or more actions before logging out. If at least one of the transactions is deemed fraudulent, each of the actions performed during the session is held in the normal environment120according to the fraudulent activity mode. However, the next time the specified account is accessed, for example by a second user, the actions are processed according to the default mode. The shell environment130shows the actions performed by the first user to the second user as though the actions have been processed. In another embodiment, once the fraudulent activity mode is triggered, subsequent actions are similarly treated as being potentially fraudulent. Accordingly, a subsequent action may be held in the normal environment120and logged in the shell environment130until there is manual intervention by the host of the application110. For example, an agent of the host may review the actions and put the application110into the default mode based on his or her review. Additionally or alternatively, the agent of the host may contact the purported user that requested the action to determine if the action is legitimate, and put the shell environment130in the default mode based on the contact with the purported user. In other words, a potential fraud puts a hold on the actions in the normal environment120and causes all activity to take place in the shell environment130. In one embodiment, any external actions to active systems are excepted until the hold is released. When the hold is released, legitimate activity is replayed via the logging and scripting and then executed via the normal environment120. FIG.2illustrates one embodiment of a system200associated with a fraudulent activity shell. The system200includes an application110, a normal environment120, a shell environment130, and a trigger logic140that operate in a similar manner as described above with respect toFIG.1. The system200further includes risk analysis logic210. The risk analysis logic210operates when the application110is in the fraudulent activity mode. As discussed above, in the fraudulent activity mode actions are held in the normal environment120. The risk analysis logic210performs risk analysis to calculate a fraudulent score for the action when the application110is in the fraudulent activity mode. The fraudulent score is indicative of the likelihood that the action is fraudulent. In one embodiment, the fraudulent score is based on the metadata of the action. For example, the metadata may include metadata describing the type of action, location where action was attempted, device on which the action was attempted, and so on. In another embodiment, the metadata may include information about the user attempting the action. In one embodiment, a user is identified based on identity information (e.g., social security number, account number, username) provided by the user attempting the action. In another embodiment, the action can be verified based on the fraudulent score. For example, the fraudulent score may be compared to a minimum threshold value. In another embodiment, predetermined action steps are selected based on the fraudulent score. For example, if the risk analysis logic210determines that the fraudulent score does not meet a threshold value, the trigger logic140may cause the application110to re-enter the default mode such that subsequent actions are executed in the default mode. In another embodiment, the predetermined action steps may identify ways to remediate the hold on the action, such as by confirming the action with an account holder. In another example, suppose that the risk analysis logic210determines that the fraudulent score meets or exceeds a threshold value. In this example, the trigger logic140may cause the application110to enter or stay a fraudulent activity mode. FIG.3illustrates one embodiment of a method associated with a fraudulent activity shell. At310, an action, such as a transaction, is received at an application. As discussed above, the application is separated into a normal environment and a shell environment. The application may also include additional environments. For example, the application may also include a test environment for the normal and shell environment in which the applications implementation details can be tested before rolling out the application or changes to the particular environment. In one embodiment, the shell environment and the normal environment have separate testing environments. At320, it is determined that the action satisfies a trigger condition. In response to determining that the trigger condition is satisfied, the application is triggered to enter a fraudulent activity mode from a default mode, at330. As discussed above the trigger condition may include any number of fraudulent activity indicators. For example, to satisfy the trigger condition the fraudulent activity indicators may be defined such that the first fraudulent activity indicator is that the action originated at an unknown device and the second fraudulent activity indicator is that the action be for more than $5,000. If the first fraudulent activity indicator and second fraudulent activity indicator are satisfied (e.g., the action is for $6,000 and originated from an unknown device), the trigger condition is satisfied. If only a single fraudulent activity indicator is met, the action does not satisfy the trigger condition. For example, if the action is for $6,000 but originates at a known device, then the action has satisfied the second fraudulent activity indicator, but has failed to satisfy the first, then the trigger condition is not satisfied. Accordingly, each of the fraudulent activity indicators is met to satisfy the trigger condition. In another embodiment, a specific number of fraudulent activity indicators may be met to satisfy the trigger condition. For example, three fraudulent activity indicators may be set and two of three fraudulent activity indicators must be met to satisfy the trigger condition. In yet another embodiment, a predetermined combination of fraudulent activity indicators must be met to satisfy the trigger condition. Suppose that there are three fraudulent activity indicators. For example, to satisfy the trigger condition, the first fraudulent activity indicator must be met and then either the second or third fraudulent activity indicator must be met. Accordingly, any number of triggers of fraud detection may be utilized. Once in the fraudulent activity mode, the action is held in the normal environment, at340. Because the action is held, the action is not executed in the normal environment. However, as discussed above, the held action may appear to be executed in the shell environment, despite the action being held. At350, the action is displayed as executed in the shell environment based, at least in part, on the fraudulent activity mode. FIG.4illustrates one embodiment of a method associated with automated secondary linking for fraud detection systems previously described employing an alert trigger. Steps410,420,430,440, and450operate in a similar manner as steps310,320,330,340, and350, respectively, as described with respect toFIG.3. Therefore, at410, an action, such as a transaction, is received at the application. As discussed above, an action may be a request or action that may or may not result in the movement of funds. For example, the action may include a balance check or activity inquiry or action image or description request verses funds transfer and account balance changes. At420, it is determined that the action satisfies a trigger condition. At430, the application is triggered to enter the fraudulent activity mode based, at least in part, on the trigger condition being satisfied. At440, the action is held in the normal environment in the fraudulent activity mode. At450, the action is displayed as having been executed in the shell environment. At460, a fraudulent score is calculated for the action when the application is in the fraudulent activity mode. The fraudulent score may be calculated based on a number of predetermined parameters that indicate the fraud. For example, a host of the application may determine a number of parameters that indicate fraud. The parameters may be checked against known information about the person attempting the action, for example, the user's known devices, patterns in the user's behavior, etc. In one embodiment, the parameters may be weighted. At470, the action is verified based, at least on, the fraudulent score. For example, the action may be verified as having been performed by a known user. Suppose that a user uses a new device to perform an action. The metadata from the action may relate to the user with the exception of the unknown device. The fraudulent score is calculated based on the metadata. In one embodiment, to verify the action, the fraudulent score is compared to a threshold value. In one embodiment, if the fraudulent score meets or exceeds the threshold value, the action may be determined to have been conducted by a known user and is therefore be verified. In another embodiment, predetermined action steps are selected based on the fraudulent score. The predetermined action steps may identify ways to remediate the hold on the action, such as by confirming the action with an account holder. Accordingly, the verification activity includes monitoring what is going on in the shell environment. Once the activity is verified, a release is generated and the scripting and logging in the shell environment triggers a replay to execute in the normal environment at the point where the fraudulent activity occurred. Thus, once the fraudulent activity is verified as legitimate, the fraudulent activity and following actions are re-executed; thereby making the fraudulent activity and following actions appear normal. If the fraudulent activity is not verified, the normal environment is cleansed of the fraudulent activity and following actions such that the fraudulent activity and following actions are not processed in the normal environment. In one embodiment, the fraudulent activity and following actions are logged and maintained in an audit area. Accordingly, legitimate users, such as account holders, have more secure transactional experiences and experience less delay because actions appear to have been executed in the shell environment without the apparent delay of added scrutiny. Thus, the actions appear to be executed immediately, while the actions may be scrutinized in the shell environment. Furthermore, by allowing potentially fraudulent actions appear to progress in the shell environment, fraudsters are not inadvertently alerted that fraudulent behavior has been detected, traced, and/or tracked. Accordingly, the system continues to protect legitimate users, whose activity may merit additional scrutiny, by not delaying the actions or locking the users out of the system. FIG.5illustrates one embodiment of an example computer environment associated with automated secondary linking of fraud detection systems. The computer environment in which the systems and methods described herein, and equivalents, may operate, may include a computer500. The computer includes a processor505, a memory510, and input/output ports560operably connected by a bus525. In one example, the computer500may include an application520and a trigger logic530. The application520is configured to allow individuals to perform and access actions. As discussed above, the application520is bifurcated into a normal environment and a shell environment. The operation of the application520is based on the mode of the application. The trigger logic530is configured to trigger modes of the application520based on information about the action. For example, the trigger logic may trigger the application520to enter a fraudulent activity mode. In different examples, the application520and the trigger logic530may be implemented in hardware, a non-transitory computer-readable medium with stored instructions, firmware, and/or combinations thereof. While the application520and the trigger logic530are illustrated as hardware components attached to the bus525, it is to be appreciated that in one example, the application520and/or the trigger logic530could be implemented in the processor505. In one embodiment, the application520is a means (e.g., hardware, non-transitory computer-readable medium, firmware) for executing actions for both individuals and an entity hosting the application520. The trigger logic530is a means (e.g., hardware, non-transitory computer-readable medium, firmware) for triggering modes in the application520. The means may be implemented, for example, as an ASIC programmed to trigger the application to process actions differently in each environment. The means may also be implemented as stored computer executable instructions that are presented to computer500as data540that are temporarily stored in memory510and then executed by processor505. Generally describing an example configuration of the computer500, the processor505may be a variety of various processors including dual microprocessor and other multi-processor architectures. A memory510may include volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may include, for example, ROM, PROM, and so on. Volatile memory may include, for example, RAM, SRAM, DRAM, and so on. A disk550may be operably connected to the computer500via, for example, an input/output interface (e.g., card, device)555and an input/output port560. The disk550may be, for example, a magnetic disk drive, a solid state disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a tape drive, a Zip drive, a flash memory card, a memory stick, and so on. Furthermore, the disk550may be a CD-ROM drive, a CD-R drive, a CD-RW drive, a DVD ROM, and so on. The memory510can store a process565and/or a data540, for example. The disk550and/or the memory510can store an operating system that controls and allocates resources of the computer500. The bus525may be a single internal bus interconnect architecture and/or other bus or mesh architectures. While a single bus is illustrated, it is to be appreciated that the computer500may communicate with various devices, logics, and peripherals using other busses (e.g., PCIE,1394, USB, Ethernet). The bus525can be types including, for example, a memory bus, a memory controller, a peripheral bus, an external bus, a crossbar switch, and/or a local bus. The computer500may interact with input/output devices via the i/o interfaces506and the input/output ports560. Input/output devices may be, for example, a keyboard, a microphone, a pointing and selection device, cameras, video cards, displays, the network devices545, the disk550, and so on. The input/output ports560may include, for example, serial ports, parallel ports, and USB ports. The computer500can operate in a network environment and thus may be connected to the network devices545via the I/O interfaces555, and/or the I/O ports560. Through the network devices520, the computer500may interact with a network. Through the network, the computer500may be logically connected to remote computers. Networks with which the computer500may interact include, but are not limited to, a LAN, a WAN, and other networks. In another embodiment, the described methods and/or their equivalents may be implemented with computer executable instructions. Thus, in one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is configured with stored computer executable instructions that when executed by a machine (e.g., processor, computer, and so on) cause the machine (and/or associated components) to perform the method. The following includes definitions of selected terms employed herein. The definitions include various examples and/or forms of components that fall within the scope of a term and that may be used for implementation. The examples are not intended to be limiting. Both singular and plural forms of terms may be within the definitions. References to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “one example”, “an example”, and so on, indicate that the embodiment(s) or example(s) so described may include a particular feature, structure, characteristic, property, element, or limitation, but that not every embodiment or example necessarily includes that particular feature, structure, characteristic, property, element or limitation. Furthermore, repeated use of the phrase “in one embodiment” does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, though it may. “Computer storage medium”, as used herein, is a non-transitory medium that stores instructions and/or data. A computer storage medium may take forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, and volatile media. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical disks, magnetic disks, and so on. Volatile media may include, for example, semiconductor memories, dynamic memory, and so on. Common forms of a computer storage medium may include, but are not limited to, a computer-readable medium, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, other magnetic medium, an ASIC, a CD, other optical medium, a RAM, a ROM, a memory chip or card, a memory stick, and other media that can store instructions and/or data. Computer storage medium described herein are limited to statutory subject matter under 35 U.S.C § 101. “Logic”, as used herein, includes a computer or electrical hardware component(s), firmware, a non-transitory computer storage medium that stores instructions, and/or combinations of these components configured to perform a function(s) or an action(s), and/or to cause a function or action from another logic, method, and/or system. Logic may include a microprocessor controlled by an algorithm to perform one or more of the disclosed functions/methods, a discrete logic (e.g., ASIC), an analog circuit, a digital circuit, a programmed logic device, a memory device containing instructions, and so on. Logic may include one or more gates, combinations of gates, or other circuit components. Where multiple logics are described, it may be possible to incorporate the multiple logics into one physical logic component. Similarly, where a single logic component is described, it may be possible to distribute that single logic component between multiple physical logic components. In some embodiments, one or more of the components and functions described herein are implemented using one or more of the logic components. Logic as described herein is limited to statutory subject matter under 35 U. S. C § 101. While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, illustrated methodologies are shown and described as a series of blocks. The methodologies are not limited by the order of the blocks as some blocks can occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from that shown and described. Moreover, less than all the illustrated blocks may be used to implement an example methodology. Blocks may be combined or separated into multiple components. Furthermore, additional and/or alternative methodologies can employ additional, not illustrated blocks. The methods described herein is limited to statutory subject matter under 35 U.S.C § 101. To the extent that the term “includes” or “including” is employed in the detailed description or the claims, it is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as that term is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim. While example systems, methods, and so on have been illustrated by describing examples, and while the examples have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the systems, methods, and so on described herein. Therefore, the disclosure is not limited to the specific details, the representative apparatus, and illustrative examples shown and described. Thus, this application is intended to embrace alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims, which satisfy the statutory subject matter requirements of 35 U.S.C. § 101. Various operations of embodiments are provided herein. The order in which one or more or all of the operations are described should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. Alternative ordering will be appreciated based on this description. Further, not all operations may necessarily be present in each embodiment provided herein. As used in this application, “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. Further, an inclusive “or” may include any combination thereof (e.g., A, B, or any combination thereof). In addition, “a” and “an” as used in this application are generally construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. Additionally, at least one of A and B and/or the like generally means A or B or both A and B. Further, to the extent that “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising”. Further, unless specified otherwise, “first”, “second”, or the like are not intended to imply a temporal aspect, a spatial aspect, an ordering, etc. Rather, such terms are merely used as identifiers, names, etc. for features, elements, items, etc. For example, a first channel and a second channel generally correspond to channel A and channel B or two different or two identical channels or the same channel. Although the disclosure has been shown and described with respect to one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur based on a reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. The disclosure includes all such modifications and alterations and is limited only by the scope of the following claims. | 30,871 |
11861621 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments will be described in detail here, examples of which are shown in the drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numerals in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The implementations described in the following example embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with the specification. Rather, they are only examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of the specification as recited in the appended claims. In embodiments of the present specification, a payment risk control process for a scenario of electronic payment of public transportation fees involves an application side and a risk control side. The application side may be deployed on mobile terminal devices, such as users' smart phones, tablet computers, and other mobile terminal devices where applications can be installed. The application side may be applications such as e-wallet clients installed on the devices, so that users can conveniently pay public transportation fees through clients in mobile terminals they carry when they travel outdoors. The risk control side may be deployed on a cloud server in the form of a cloud risk control side, and realize communication connection with the application side through various forms of wireless networks. The cloud server may be a specific server or server cluster. In some embodiments, when the users take public transportation vehicles such as buses, subways, ferries, etc., the movement of the vehicles, or location in closed cars and underground and other factors may degrade quality of a network connection between the mobile terminal device and the cloud server, which affects real-time risk control of the payment process. Therefore, the risk control side may also be deployed in the form of a local risk control side on a local mobile terminal device where the application side is located, and be connected with the application side through a wired link in the terminal device. For example, a risk control software development kit (SDK) may be implanted in an e-wallet client. The methods in the present specification can be implemented by the application side and the cloud risk control side, or by the application side and the local risk control side. The methods can also be implemented by combining the application side with the local risk control side and the cloud risk control side, which is not limited in the present specification. FIG.1is a schematic diagram of a payment risk control system according to an embodiment. As shown inFIG.1, the payment risk control system includes an application side device10and a risk control side device20. The application side device10may be a mobile terminal device such as a smart phone or a tablet computer carried by a user, and the risk control side device20may be a cloud server or the mobile terminal device where the application side is located. FIG.2is a flowchart of a payment risk control method according to an embodiment. ReferringFIG.2, the method may include the following steps. In step S201, after receiving trigger of a station entering and exiting payment operation, an application side generates a payment graphic code generation request carrying preset risk control features, and sends the request to a risk control side, wherein the risk control features include: a payment account feature of an account, a current location feature, and a station entering and exiting feature. In an embodiment, in a public transportation fee payment scenario, a user needs to perform a station entering and exiting payment operation on the application side when entering and exiting a station. For example, when passing station entering and exiting gates of a subway or getting on or off a bus or ferry, the user can turn on an e-wallet client (application side) installed in a mobile phone (application side device), and then perform operations such as clicking a button provided by the client to carry out the station entering and exiting payment operation. After receiving the trigger of the station entering and exiting payment operation, the application side may display a payment graphic code to pay the fee. A general payment graphic code may be generated by the application side or the risk control side. In the embodiment, the application side device may have poor network signals and consequently may not transmit data with the cloud risk control side through a wireless network. Therefore, in the embodiment, the payment graphic code is generated and displayed by the application side, and whether there is a transaction risk on the application side is detected before generating the graphic code so as to ensure the security of the payment process. In an embodiment, a code reading device may be used to further detect whether an obtained payment graphic code is correct, whether it has been reused, or whether it has expired. Accordingly, after receiving the trigger of the station entering and exiting payment operation, the application side generates the payment graphic code generation request carrying the preset risk control features and further sends the request to the risk control side. In the embodiments of the present specification, in the case where the risk control side includes the cloud risk control side and the local risk control side, the cloud risk control side with better performance is preferably used for this payment risk control, but when it is not suitable to use the cloud risk control side due to poor quality of the wireless network connection between the application side and the cloud risk control side, a wired link is preferably used for communication, so the local risk control side with more stable data transmission performs this payment risk control. For example, before sending the payment graphic code generation request by the application side, it is determined whether a current network signal of a mobile terminal where the application side is located has reached a preset strength. If so, it indicates that the current network signal is good, and the payment graphic code generation request may be sent to the cloud risk control side through the wireless network; and if not, it indicates that the current network signal is not good, it is not suitable to send data to the cloud risk control side, and the payment graphic code generation request may be sent to the local risk control side through the wired link. In step S202, after receiving the payment graphic code generation request sent by the application side, the risk control side obtains pre-stored historical risk control features of the account according to the payment account feature in the request. In step S203, the risk control side detects whether there is a transaction risk on the application side by comparing the obtained historical risk control features with the risk control features carried in the payment graphic code generation request, and returns a risk control detection result to the application side. Whether there is a transaction risk on the application side may be detected through multiple methods according to various risk control features carried in the request sent by the application side and the historical risk control features. In an embodiment, whether the payment graphic code to be generated is used for station entering or station exiting may be determined according to the station entering and exiting feature. If it is determined that the payment graphic code to be generated is for station entering, whether a frequency of the payment graphic code generation request is higher than a preset threshold is determined, and if so, it indicates that the frequency of station entering paid through this account is too high, and there may be risks such as account theft, maliciously sharing an account, etc., so it can be determined that there is a transaction risk. In addition, the time of this request and the time of each request in history may be further determined, and combined with the current location feature and a location feature of each request in history, whether the location change of each time of station entering is reasonable is determined, e.g., whether the location changes frequently, or whether the change distance is large within a short period of time, so whether there are risks of account theft, collusion, etc. is determined. If it is determined that the payment graphic code to be generated is for station exiting, whether the current location feature and a corresponding station entering location feature in the historical risk control features meets a preset location relation condition is determined, and if not, it is determined that there is a transaction risk. For example, the time and location of station entering, the time and location of this time of station exiting, the running speed and route of used public transportation, and other information may be determined to determine whether the time and location of station exiting are reasonable so as to determine whether there are risks such as account theft and collusion. In an embodiment, a pre-stored blacklist may also be obtained. Objects with transaction risks are recorded in the blacklist, and may be a payment account, user information (such as a name, an ID number, a mobile phone number, a bank card number, etc.) bound to the payment account, and/or device information (such as a mobile phone identification code, a currently used wireless hotspot, etc.) of the mobile terminal where the application side is located, and the risk control side may determine whether an object corresponding to the request is recorded in the blacklist according to the risk control features in the payment graphic code generation request. In an embodiment, historical payment records of the payment account may also be obtained, and whether the account has risks is determined according to the historical payment records, so that whether there is currently a transaction risk on the application side is determined. For example, whether there is an unpaid amount, whether the payment amount is correct, whether there is a situation where the payment amount does not match the balance change, etc. may be determined. In an embodiment, after receiving the payment graphic code generation request sent by the application side, the risk control side may also update the historical risk control features of the corresponding payment account by using the risk control features carried in the payment graphic code generation request, so as to subsequently detect the transaction risk according to the updated historical risk control features. In an embodiment, the cloud risk control side and the local risk control side may synchronize data with each other to update locally stored historical records in time. In step S204, after receiving a result of no transaction risk returned by the risk control side, the application side generates and displays a payment graphic code. In an embodiment, the application side generates the payment graphic code only after receiving the result of no transaction risk returned by the risk control side. The result returned by the risk control side may also include a specific permission identification which is included in the payment graphic code generated by the application side, so that in subsequent further detection, the code reading device may determine whether the graphic code is generated when the risk control side determines that there is no transaction risk. In an embodiment, besides real-time risk control in the process of generating and displaying the payment code on the application side, asynchronous data accumulation may also be performed between the application side and the risk control side, so that non-real-time risk control is performed on data of establishing a station entering and exiting payment service by a user and transaction settlement data, thereby realizing payment risk control on the application side in the whole payment process. FIG.3is a flowchart of a payment risk control method executed on an application side according to an embodiment. Referring toFIG.3, the method may include the following steps. In step S301, after receiving trigger of a station entering and exiting payment operation, a payment graphic code generation request carrying preset risk control features is generated. In step S302, the payment graphic code generation request is sent to a risk control side, so that the risk control side detects whether there is a transaction risk on the application side according to the risk control features carried in the request and returns a detection result. The risk control features include: a payment account feature of an account, a current location feature, and a station entering and exiting feature. In step S303, after receiving a result of no transaction risk returned by the risk control side, a payment graphic code is generated and displayed. FIG.4is a flowchart of a payment risk control method executed on a risk control side according to an embodiment. Referring toFIG.4, the method may include the following steps. In step S401, after receiving a payment graphic code generation request sent by an application side, pre-stored historical risk control features of an account are obtained according to a payment account feature in the request. In step S402, whether there is a transaction risk on the application side is detected by comparing the obtained historical risk control features with risk control features carried in the request, and a risk control detection result is returned to the application side. In an embodiment, a method for detecting the transaction risk includes: determining whether a payment graphic code to be generated is used for station entering or station exiting according to a station entering and exiting feature; if it is for station entering, determining whether a frequency of the payment graphic code generation request is higher than a preset threshold, and if so, determining that there is a transaction risk; and if it is for station exiting, determining whether a current location feature and a corresponding station entering location feature in the historical risk control features meet a preset location relation condition, and if not, determining that there is a transaction risk. In an embodiment, a payment risk control process for a scenario of electronic payment of public transportation fees can be divided into three stages: a service establishing stage, a payment graphic code generating stage, and a transaction settlement stage. Taking the payment of subway ride fees as an example, when the risk control side performs risk control, required input data may include: application side device information, current location information, a transaction account, balance change and payment history of the account, a blacklist of the risk control side, etc. According to the above input data, whether there are risks such as account theft, deduction failure, collusion, etc. are detected based on detection conditions such as whether it is in the blacklist, geographical location changes, payment frequency, balance changes, etc. Example embodiments are described below from the three stages. FIG.5is a schematic diagram of the service establishing stage according to an embodiment. After a user installs an e-wallet client in a mobile phone, accepts agreement terms (502), and enters passwords for identity verification (504), the client (application side) sends a request to establish a station entering and exiting payment service to the risk control side. The risk control side may include a background server and a risk control engine of the e-wallet, and the request is first sent to the background server. After receiving the request, the background server may perform relatively simple detection on the request based on preset rules (506), so as to determine whether to allow this establishing request (508), and return a result to the client (510). The preset rules may include risk detection rules, such as whether a credit value of the account meets the standard, and may also include other business rules, such as whether personal information of the user corresponding to the account meets the conditions. The background server further sends the service establishing request and the processing result to the risk control engine (512), so that the risk control engine obtains the above input data, and detects whether there are risks of account theft, deduction failure, collusion, etc. based on the above detection conditions (514), and the process may be performed not in real time. FIG.6is a schematic diagram of the payment graphic code generating stage according to an embodiment. The user clicks a corresponding button in the client of the e-wallet, so that the client receives the trigger of the station entering and exiting payment operation (602) and sends the payment graphic code generation request (604) to the background server, and the background server forwards the request to the risk control engine (606), so that the risk control engine obtains the above input data and detects whether there are risks of account theft, deduction failure, collusion, etc. based on the above detection conditions (608). In addition, the background server may also perform relatively simple risk detection based on the preset rules (610). The risk control engine returns the detection result to the background server (612). The background server combines risk detection performed at the local end to comprehensively make a decision on whether to allow the payment graphic code to be generated (614), and sends the decision to the client (616). After receiving the result that there is no transaction risk and the payment graphic code can be generated, the client generates and displays the payment graphic code used for entering and exiting subway station gates (618). The background server also sends the comprehensive processing result to the risk control engine for updating recorded related data. This process may be performed in non-real time. FIG.7is a schematic diagram of the transaction settlement stage according to an embodiment. Based on an operation trigger (702), a transaction server may send transaction data (704) to the risk control engine in real time or not in real time, so that the risk control engine detects whether there are risks of account theft, deduction failure, collusion, etc. based on the above detection conditions according to the transaction data and data asynchronously accumulated in advance (706). For the scenario of electronic payment of the public transportation fees, detection of transaction risk may be performed on the application side in real time before the payment graphic code is generated on the application side, to avoid public transportation payment by generating the graphic code in the presence of a transaction risk on the application side, thereby improving the security of users and payment institutions in this scenario. In addition, for the situation of unstable network connecting quality in public transportation, the risk control side may be deployed in the mobile terminal device where the application side is located and connected to the application side through a wired link, and in the service establishing and transaction settlement stages, risk control is performed through asynchronous data accumulation, so that transaction risk detection can be performed in a more timely manner without affecting the normal use by the user, so as to provide a better payment risk control service. The methods provided in the present specification may be applied to a risk control enabling scenario, that is, the risk control engine or risk control SDK is directly interfaced with an e-wallet that requires risk control so as to perform risk control at three stages of service application, payment graphic code generation, and transaction settlement. On the premise that the e-wallet's own system does not need to be significantly modified, the e-wallet can obtain the risk control capability, and there is no need to re-develop the risk control engine, thereby improving the utilization efficiency of human and material resources. Corresponding to the above method embodiments, embodiments of the present specification further provide a payment risk control apparatus. FIG.8is a schematic diagram of a payment risk control apparatus applied to an application side according to an embodiment. As shown inFIG.8, the apparatus may include: a request generating module110configured to generate a payment graphic code generation request carrying preset risk control features after receiving trigger of a station entering and exiting payment operation; a request sending module120configured to send the payment graphic code generation request to a risk control side, so that the risk control side detects whether there is a transaction risk on an application side according to the risk control features carried in the request and returns a detection result, wherein the risk control features include: a payment account feature of an account, a current location feature, and a station entering and exiting feature; and a graphic code generating module130configured to generate and display a payment graphic code after receiving a result of no transaction risk returned by the risk control side. FIG.9is a schematic diagram of a payment risk control apparatus applied to a risk control side according to an embodiment. As shown inFIG.9, the apparatus may include: a feature obtaining module210configured to obtain pre-stored historical risk control features of an account according to a payment account feature of the account in a payment graphic code generation request sent by an application side after receiving the payment graphic code generation request; and a risk detecting module220configured to detect whether there is a transaction risk on the application side by comparing the obtained historical risk control features with risk control features carried in the request, and return a risk control detection result to the application side, In an embodiment, the risk detecting module220detects the transaction risk through the following method: determining whether a payment graphic code to be generated is used for station entering or station exiting according to a station entering and exiting feature; if it is for station entering, determining whether a frequency of the payment graphic code generation request is higher than a preset threshold, and if so, determining that there is a transaction risk; and if it is for station exiting, determining whether a current location feature and a corresponding station entering location feature in the historical risk control features meet a preset location relation condition, and if not, determining that there is a transaction risk. Embodiments of the present specification further provide a device including a processor, and a memory storing instructions executable by the processor. The processor is configured to perform the above described payment risk control method, for example, including: after receiving trigger of a station entering and exiting payment operation, generating, by an application side, a payment graphic code generation request carrying preset risk control features, and sending the request to a risk control side, wherein the risk control features include: a payment account feature of an account, a current location feature, and a station entering and exiting feature; after receiving the payment graphic code generation request sent by the application side, obtaining, by the risk control side, pre-stored historical risk control features of the account according to the payment account feature in the request; detecting, by the risk control side, whether there is a transaction risk on the application side by comparing the obtained historical risk control features with the risk control features carried in the request, and returning a risk control detection result to the application side; and after receiving a result of no transaction risk returned by the risk control side, generating and displaying, by the application side, a payment graphic code. FIG.10is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for payment risk control according to an embodiment. The apparatus may include: a processor1010, a memory1020, an input/output interface1030, a communication interface1040, and a bus1050. The processor1010, the memory1020, the input/output interface1030, and the communication interface1040realize mutual communication connection in the apparatus through the bus1050. The processor1010may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits. The memory1020may be a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a static storage device, a dynamic storage device, etc. The memory1020may store an operating system, instructions, and other application programs. The processor1010may execute the instructions to perform the above described methods. The input/output interface1030is configured to be connected with an input/output module to realize information input and output. The input/output module may be configured as a component in the apparatus (not shown in the figure), or may also be externally connected to the apparatus to provide corresponding functions. An input device may include a keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen, a microphone, various sensors, etc., and an output device may include a display, a speaker, a vibrator, an indicator light, etc. The communication interface1040is configured to be connected with a communication module (not shown in the figure) to implement communication interaction between the apparatus and other devices. The communication module may realize communication in a wired mode (such as a USB, a network cable, etc.), or in a wireless mode (such as a mobile network, WIFI, Bluetooth, etc.). The bus1050includes an access and transmits information between all components (such as the processor1010, the memory1020, the input/output interface1030, and the communication interface1040) of the apparatus. Those skilled in the art will understand that the components shown inFIG.10are for illustrative purpose only, and the apparatus may include more or fewer components than those shown inFIG.10. Embodiments of the present specification further provide a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the above described payment risk control method, for example, including: after receiving trigger of a station entering and exiting payment operation, generating, by an application side, a payment graphic code generation request carrying preset risk control features, and sending the request to a risk control side, wherein the risk control features include: a payment account feature of an account, a current location feature, and a station entering and exiting feature; after receiving the payment graphic code generation request sent by the application side, obtaining, by the risk control side, pre-stored historical risk control features of the account according to the payment account feature in the request; detecting, by the risk control side, whether there is a transaction risk on the application side by comparing the obtained historical risk control features with the risk control features carried in the request, and returning a risk control detection result to the application side; and after receiving a result of no transaction risk returned by the risk control side, generating and displaying, by the application side, a payment graphic code. The computer-readable storage medium includes permanent and non-permanent, removable and non-removable media, and can store information by any method or technology. The information may be computer-readable instructions, data structures, modules of programs, or other data. Examples of computer storage media include, but are not limited to, a phase change memory (PRAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), other types of random access memories (RAM), read-only memories (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROM), flash memories or other memory technologies, read-only compact disc read-only memories (CD-ROM), digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic tape cassettes, magnetic tape magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transmission media, and the computer storage media can be used to store information that can be accessed by computing devices. The computer-readable media do not include transitory computer-readable media, such as modulated data signals and carrier waves. In some embodiments, the above described methods can be implemented by means of software plus a general hardware platform, such as in the form of software products. The software products can be stored in a storage medium, such as ROM/RAM, magnetic disks, optical disks, etc., and include a plurality of instructions to enable a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device) to perform the methods described above. The system, apparatus, module, or unit explained in the above embodiments may be implemented by a computer chip or entity, or implemented by a product having a certain function. A typical implementation device is a computer, including a personal computer, a laptop computer, a cellular phone, a camera phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, a media player, a navigation device, an email sending and receiving device, a game console, a tablet computer, a wearable device, or a combination of any of these devices. The apparatus embodiments described above are only schematic, wherein the modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the functions of the modules may be implemented in the same or multiple pieces of software and/or hardware. Part or all of the modules may also be selected according to actual needs. Although the present specification has been described with reference to the embodiments, those of ordinary skills in the art will understand that the present specification has many variations and changes without departing from the spirit of the present specification, and the appended claims cover these variations and changes. | 30,684 |
11861622 | Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description of exemplary embodiments are intended for illustration purposes only and are, therefore, not intended to necessarily limit the scope of the disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION System for Preventing Unauthorized Transactions Indicative of Scalping FIG.1illustrates a system100that facilitates secure private transfers in a blockchain through the use of privacy groups, smart contracts, and a third party authority. The system100can include a processing server102. The processing server102, discussed in more detail below, can be configured to prevent unauthorized transactions, such as those that are indicative of an attempt at scalping. In some embodiments, the processing server102can be part of a payment network. A payment network can be a system or network used for the transfer of money via the use of cash-substitutes for thousands, millions, and even billions of transactions during a given period. Payment networks can use a variety of different protocols and procedures in order to process the transfer of money for various types of transactions. Transactions that can be performed via a payment network can include product or service purchases, credit purchases, debit transactions, fund transfers, account withdrawals, etc. Payment networks can be configured to perform transactions via cash-substitutes, which can include payment cards, letters of credit, checks, transaction accounts, etc. Examples of networks or systems configured to perform as payment networks include those operated by Mastercard®, VISA®, Discover®, American Express®, PayPal®, etc. Use of the term “payment network” herein can refer to both the payment network as an entity, and the physical payment network, such as the equipment, hardware, and software comprising the payment network. In other embodiments, the processing server102can be external to the payment network and in communication therewith, such as via payment rails of the payment network or another suitable communication method. Payment rails can referred to specialized infrastructure of a payment network used thereby for electronic communications where such communications can be pursuant to specific standards and protocols. The system100can further include a plurality of merchant systems104, represented inFIG.1by three different merchant systems104in the system100, illustrated as merchant systems104a,104b, and104c. Each merchant system104can be configured to participant in electronic payment transactions, such as with a consumer106that purchases one or more goods or services from a merchant associated with the merchant system104. As used herein “merchant system” can refer to the merchant itself or to one or more computing systems, such as a point of sale system, utilized by the merchant in conducting electronic payment transactions with one or more consumers106. As discussed herein, a “payment transaction” can be a transaction between two entities in which money or other financial benefit is exchanged from one entity to the other. The payment transaction can be a transfer of funds, for the purchase of goods or services, for the repayment of debt, or for any other exchange of financial benefit as will be apparent to persons having skill in the relevant art. In some instances, payment transaction can refer to transactions funded via a payment card and/or payment account, such as credit card transactions. Such payment transactions can be processed via an issuer, payment network, and acquirer. The process for processing such a payment transaction can include at least one of authorization, batching, clearing, settlement, and funding. Authorization can include the furnishing of payment details by the consumer to a merchant, the submitting of transaction details (e.g., including the payment details) from the merchant to their acquirer, and the verification of payment details with the issuer of the consumer's payment account used to fund the transaction. Batching can refer to the storing of an authorized transaction in a batch with other authorized transactions for distribution to an acquirer. Clearing can include the sending of batched transactions from the acquirer to a payment network for processing. Settlement can include the debiting of the issuer by the payment network for transactions involving beneficiaries of the issuer. In some instances, the issuer can pay the acquirer via the payment network. In other instances, the issuer can pay the acquirer directly. Funding can include payment to the merchant from the acquirer for the payment transactions that have been cleared and settled. It will be apparent to persons having skill in the relevant art that the order and/or categorization of the steps discussed above performed as part of payment transaction processing. As discussed herein “issuer” can refer to a financial institution or other entity that issues a transaction account to a consumer106for funding electronic payment transactions, and “acquirer” can refer to a financial institution or other entity that issues a transaction account to a merchant system104for use in receiving funds as part of an electronic payment transaction. In the system100, a consumer106can participate in a payment transaction with a merchant system104. As part of the payment transaction, the consumer106can provide payment details associated with a transaction account for use in funding the payment transaction, such as via a payment card, credit card, or other suitable payment method. The payment details can be included in a transaction message along with other transaction data for the attempted payment transaction. A transaction message can be a data message that is specially formatted pursuant to one or more standards governing the exchange of financial transaction messages, such as the International Organization of Standardization's ISO 8583 or ISO 20022 standards. A transaction message can include a message type indicator indicative of a type of message and one or more data values, where each data value is configured to store data according to the applicable standard(s). In a standard payment transaction, the merchant system104can generate a transaction message that includes a message type indicator indicative of an authorization request for the payment transaction. The data values included in the authorization request can store any transaction data suitable for use in processing the payment transaction and performing the functions discussed herein. Such transaction data can include, for example, a merchant identifier, merchant name, transaction time, transaction date, geographic location, point of sale identifier, currency type, transaction type, payment method, payment details (e.g., transaction account number, name, expiration date, security code, billing address, etc.), shipping address, product data (e.g., product identifiers, quantities, serial numbers, etc.), coupon data, offer data, loyalty data, reward data, etc. The authorization request is electronically submitted to a payment using payment rails associated therewith directly by the merchant system104or via one or more intermediary systems, such as an acquiring institution. The payment network can receive the authorization request and route the authorization request to an issuing financial institution that issued the transaction account used to pay for the payment transaction based on the payment details included in the authorization request. The issuing institution can approve or deny the payment transaction and return a response indicating the approval or denial to the payment network. A transaction message that includes a message type indicator indicative of an authorization response is returned to the merchant system104(e.g., directly or via an intermediary system) where a data element included therein stores a response code indicating the approval or decline (e.g., and a reason for the decline) of the payment transaction. The merchant system104can then finalize the payment transaction, such as by providing the purchased goods or services to the consumer106if the payment transaction was approved. In the system100, the processing server102can be configured to assist the merchant systems104in the detection of attempts at scalping by consumers106and in the prevention of transactions that have a likelihood of scalping. To assist merchant systems104, the processing server102can collect transaction data for any payment transactions involving a consumer106and store the transaction data in a profile associated with the consumer106in a storage of the processing server102or otherwise accessible thereby. In embodiments where the processing server102is a part of a payment network, the processing server102can receive transaction messages for payment transaction during the processing thereof and parse transaction data from the received transaction messages. In some embodiments, merchant systems104can register with the processing server102for services via the functions discussed herein where, as part of the participation of the merchant system104, the merchant system104can submit transaction data for payment transactions in which the merchant system104is a participant. When the processing server102receives transaction data for a payment transaction, the processing server102can use consumer identification data included therein to match the transaction data to an established consumer profile. If no consumer profile is identified that is a match with the consumer identification data, a new consumer profile can be generated by the processing server102. A match can be made using one or more pieces of consumer identification data. For instance, a transaction message can include a payment account number, cardholder name, shipping address, and billing address, where each of these data items can be considered consumer identification and used to match received transaction data with a consumer profile. In cases where the payment transaction is an electronic commerce transaction, the transaction data can include additional consumer identification data, such as a media access control (MAC) address, serial number, Internet Protocol (IP) address, or other data associated with the device used to participate in the electronic commerce transaction, or other additional data that can be submitted by the consumer106as part of the payment transaction, such as an e-mail address. The processing server102can receive transaction data for one or more payment transactions involving a consumer106from each of a plurality of different merchant systems104. The processing server102can match all of the transaction data to the consumer106using the consumer identification data and build a profile of the consumer's transaction behavior as a result. The processing server102can analyze the historical transaction data for a consumer106and generate a score where the score is indicative of the likelihood that the consumer106is participating in scalping. In some cases, the processing server102generate the score separate from a payment transaction. In some instances, the processing server102can receive an authorization request for a newly attempted payment transaction involving the consumer106or transaction data included therein and generate a score indicative of the likelihood that the attempted payment transaction involves scalping, which can be based on a score generated for the consumer profile prior to the transaction or can be based on analysis of the historical transaction data combined with the transaction data for the attempted payment transaction. The score can be represented on any scale that can be suitable for performing the functions discussed herein, such as a numerical scale (e.g., 0 to 100). In some embodiments, the processing server102can report scores for attempted payment transactions to the merchant system104or other entity involved in the payment transaction (e.g., an acquirer, issuer, etc.) and the merchant system104or other entity can decide to proceed or halt the payment transaction as a result. For instance, each merchant system104or other entity can have its own score threshold value where a scalping score above the threshold level can result in automatic decline of the payment transaction. In other embodiments, the processing server102can determine whether or not to decline the payment transaction on behalf of a merchant system104because of the score. For instance, the processing server102can have a threshold value (e.g., for all transactions or a merchant-specific threshold value) where, if the generated score is above the threshold value, the processing server102can generate an authorization response that includes a response code declining the payment transaction and return the authorization response to the merchant system104. If the score is below the threshold value, the authorization request can be routed to an issuing financial institution or other entity for processing using standard practices. In an example implementation, in the system100each of the merchant systems104a,104b, and104ccan sell a new gaming console and set a limit on purchases thereof to two per household. A consumer106can visit the merchant system104to initiate a first transaction of two consoles from the merchant system104a. The authorization request for the first transaction can be routed to the processing server102. The processing server102can use the consumer identification included therein to try and identify a consumer profile for the consumer106. The processing server102can then generate a score for the first transaction based on the consumer profile and the transaction data for the first transaction. If there is no record of the consumer106having purchased the console previously from any merchant, the processing server102can generate a low score (e.g., 0 if there is no indication of scalping, 15 if the consumer106has a past history indicating the consumer106can have made purchases for resale previously, etc.). The score can be below a threshold value set by the merchant system104a(e.g., 65) and so the processing server102can forward the authorization request to the issuer for the consumer's transaction account for standard processing. Following the first transaction and the consumer's successful purchase of two consoles, the consumer106can visit the merchant system104bfor the purchase of one console. The merchant system104bcan submit an authorization request for this second payment transaction to the processing server102. The processing server102can receive the authorization request and identify the consumer profile for the consumer106again (e.g., matching the shipping address even if a different payment method was provided). The processing server102can generate a score for the second payment transaction, which can be higher than the score generated for the first transaction due to the consumer106visiting a second merchant system104bafter already purchasing the two console limit from the first merchant system104a. For instance, the processing server102can generate a score of 45 because of the purchase of a third console, which can indicate scalping, but can be limited because the consumer106is only purchasing one from the merchant system104binstead of the allowed limit of two. The processing server102can compare the generated score with the threshold value set by the merchant system104b(e.g., 70) and then, because the score is below the threshold value, forward the authorization request to the issuer for the consumer's transaction account for standard processing. After the second payment transaction, the consumer106can visit the merchant system104cfor the purchase of two more consoles. The merchant system104ccan submit an authorization request for this third attempted payment transaction to the processing server102. The processing server102can receive the authorization request and identify the consumer profile for the consumer106once more (e.g., matching an e-mail address for the receipt even if a new shipping address was provided). The processing server102can generate a score for the third payment transaction, which can be significantly higher than the first two scores because of the significantly higher likelihood that the consumer106is attempting to purchase the consoles for scalping. The processing server102can generate a score of 80 for the third payment transaction and then compare the score with a threshold value associated with the merchant system104c(e.g., 55). Because the score is above the threshold value, the processing server102can generate an authorization response for the third payment transaction that includes a response code declining the payment transaction and forward the authorization response back to the merchant system104c. The merchant system104ccan then halt the third payment transaction and retain the two consoles for a different consumer106with a better score. In traditional systems, the consumer106could successfully purchase all five consoles, even in cases where the merchant systems104share some consumer information, such as shipping addresses or e-mail addresses, because the consumer106did not provide consistent information to all three merchant systems104. In the system100, the processing server102matched the purchases using the consumer identification data and was able to provide the merchant system104cwith a score to enable the merchant system104cto stop the purchase of the additional consoles. As a result, the consumer106can be prevented from scalping the two extra consoles and two other genuine consumers106can purchase a console where they would have been unable to in a traditional system. Additionally, because the processing server102performs the functions discussed herein using transaction data, which can be parsed directly from transaction messages that the processing server102can receive using payment rails, the methods and systems discussed herein can be implemented without any modification to merchant systems104that include blockchain nodes104a,104b,104c, etc., thus providing a valuable service for merchants and consumers106with the greatest convenience. In some embodiments, the system100can include a third party system108. The third party system108can be any additional entity that has an interest in participating in the system100to assist in the prevention of scalping. For example, the third party system108can be resale market that provides the processing server102with data on scalpers that use the platform for inputting into consumer profiles in order to help prevent additional purchases by nefarious consumers106. In another example, the third party system108can be a company that collects transaction data for payment transactions on behalf of merchant systems104and provides the transaction data to the processing server102, such as to protect the identity of merchant systems104or redact potentially personally identifiable information as necessary to comply with any rules or regulations. In such an example, the processing server102can operate and assist merchant systems104without the merchant systems104having to directly provide any data to the processing server102. In yet another example, the third party system108could provide a service to consumers106purchasing secondhand items using a web page or application program. A consumer106through a participant system106aor106bcan contact the third party system108and provide information regarding a reseller with whom the consumer106is interested in purchasing the secondhand item. The third party system108can provide the information to the processing server102, which can generate a score for the reseller and/or the potential transaction and provide the score to the third party system108, which can assist the consumer106in determining whether or not to move forward with the transaction. For instance, the consumer106can refuse to purchase the item from a scalper to help discourage engagement of nefarious actors in scalping. In some embodiments, the system100can utilize a blockchain. In such embodiments, the system100can include a blockchain network. The blockchain network can be comprised of a plurality of blockchain nodes. Each blockchain node can be a computing system, such as illustrated inFIG.2or6, discussed in more detail below, that is configured to perform functions related to the processing and management of the blockchain, including the generation of blockchain data values, verification of proposed blockchain transactions, verification of digital signatures, generation of new blocks, validation of new blocks, and maintenance of a copy of the blockchain. The blockchain can be a distributed ledger that is comprised of at least a plurality of blocks. Each block can include at least a block header and one or more data values. Each block header can include at least a timestamp, a block reference value, and a data reference value. The timestamp can be a time at which the block header was generated, and can be represented using any suitable method (e.g., UNIX timestamp, DateTime, etc.). The block reference value can be a value that references an earlier block (e.g., based on timestamp) in the blockchain. In some embodiments, a block reference value in a block header can be a reference to the block header of the most recently added block prior to the respective block. In an exemplary embodiment, the block reference value can be a hash value generated via the hashing of the block header of the most recently added block. The data reference value can similarly be a reference to the one or more data values stored in the block that includes the block header. In an exemplary embodiment, the data reference value can be a hash value generated via the hashing of the one or more data values. For instance, the block reference value can be the root of a Merkle tree generated using the one or more data values. The use of the block reference value and data reference value in each block header can result in the blockchain being immutable. Any attempted modification to a data value would require the generation of a new data reference value for that block, which would thereby require the subsequent block's block reference value to be newly generated, further requiring the generation of a new block reference value in every subsequent block. This would have to be performed and updated in every single blockchain node in the blockchain network prior to the generation and addition of a new block to the blockchain in order for the change to be made permanent. Computational and communication limitations can make such a modification exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, thus rendering the blockchain immutable. In some embodiments, the blockchain can be used to store information regarding blockchain transactions conducted between two different blockchain wallets. A blockchain wallet can include a private key of a cryptographic key pair that is used to generate digital signatures that serve as authorization by a payer for a blockchain transaction, where the digital signature can be verified by the blockchain network108using the public key of the cryptographic key pair. In some cases, the term “blockchain wallet” can refer specifically to the private key. In other cases, the term “blockchain wallet” can refer to a computing device (e.g., participant system106aor106b, etc.) that stores the private key for use thereof in blockchain transactions. For instance, each computing device can each have their own private key for respective cryptographic key pairs, and can each be a blockchain wallet for use in transactions with the blockchain associated with the blockchain network. Computing devices can be any type of device suitable to store and utilize a blockchain wallet, such as a desktop computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, tablet computer, cellular phone, smart phone, smart watch, smart television, wearable computing device, implantable computing device, etc. Each blockchain data value stored in the blockchain can correspond to a blockchain transaction or other storage of data, as applicable. A blockchain transaction can consist of at least: a digital signature of the sender of currency (e.g., a first participant system106a) that is generated using the sender's private key, a blockchain address of the recipient of currency (e.g., a second participant system106b) generated using the recipient's public key, and a blockchain currency amount that is transferred or other data being stored. In some blockchain transactions, the transaction can also include one or more blockchain addresses of the sender where blockchain currency is currently stored (e.g., where the digital signature proves their access to such currency), as well as an address generated using the sender's public key for any change that is to be retained by the sender. Addresses to which cryptographic currency has been sent that can be used in future transactions are referred to as “output” addresses, as each address was previously used to capture output of a prior blockchain transaction, also referred to as “unspent transactions,” due to there being currency sent to the address in a prior transaction where that currency is still unspent. In some cases, a blockchain transaction can also include the sender's public key, for use by an entity in validating the transaction. For the traditional processing of a blockchain transaction, such data can be provided to a blockchain node104in the blockchain network102, either by the sender or the recipient. The node can verify the digital signature using the public key in the cryptographic key pair of the sender's wallet and also verify the sender's access to the funds (e.g., that the unspent transactions have not yet been spent and were sent to address associated with the sender's wallet), a process known as “confirmation” of a transaction, and then include the blockchain transaction in a new block. The new block can be validated by other nodes in the blockchain network102before being added to the blockchain and distributed to all of the blockchain nodes104in the blockchain network102, respectively, in traditional blockchain implementations. In cases where a blockchain data value cannot be related to a blockchain transaction, but instead the storage of other types of data, blockchain data values can still include or otherwise involve the validation of a digital signature. In the system100, the blockchain can be configured to store the collected transaction data for consumer profiles. In such embodiments, the consumer identification data can be removed, encrypted, hashed, or otherwise prevented from being stored in an accessible manner in the blockchain to protect the privacy of consumers106. A blockchain data entry in the blockchain can include transaction data for a payment transaction involving a merchant system104and a consumer106that is matched to a consumer106with an identification value associated therewith (e.g., an identification number, a public key, etc.) also included in the blockchain data entry. When a score is to be generated, the processing server102can identify all blockchain data entries that includes the identification value associated with the consumer106attempting a new transaction and generate the score based on the transaction data stored in the identified blockchain data entries. Use of the blockchain can prevent an entity from modifying the transaction data to hide behavior that could prevent future transactions due to scalping. Additionally, the blockchain can be made public to provide transparency. Furthermore, use of a blockchain, which is decentralized, can provide for greater convenience in implementations where multiple processing servers102can be used. For instance, the functions of the processing server102can be performed by on-site interface processors at merchant systems104using the blockchain, which can have transactions approved or declined with respect to scalping before an authorization request is ever submitted to a payment network, which can reduce bandwidth and improve transaction speeds. In some such embodiments, the blockchain can utilize smart contracts to perform one or more of the functions discussed herein. A smart contract can be a self-executable data object that is stored on the blockchain in a blockchain data value that executes once one or more criteria have been satisfied. In an example, when an authorization request for a new transaction is received, the transaction data for the transaction can be provided as input to a smart contract stored on the blockchain. The smart contract could determine the suspicion score for the transaction based on the received transaction data and additional data identified by the smart contract (e.g., past transaction history of the consumer106identified using consumer identification in the authorization request) and provide an approval or rejection of the authorization request accordingly. In some cases, the authorization request and the result of the execution of the smart contract can both be stored in new blockchain data entries in the blockchain. Processing Server FIG.2illustrates an embodiment of a processing server102. It will be apparent to persons having skill in the relevant art that the embodiment of the processing server102illustrated inFIG.2is provided as illustration only and cannot be exhaustive to all possible configurations of the processing server102suitable for performing the functions as discussed herein. For example, the computer system600illustrated inFIG.6and discussed in more detail below can be a suitable configuration of the processing server102. In some cases, additional components of the system100, such as the merchant systems104and third party system108can include the components illustrated inFIG.2and discussed below. The processing server102can include a receiving device202. The receiving device202can be configured to receive data over one or more networks via one or more network protocols. In some instances, the receiving device202can be configured to receive data from merchant systems104, third party systems108, payment networks, blockchain nodes, financial institutions, and other systems and entities via one or more communication methods, such as radio frequency, local area networks, wireless area networks, cellular communication networks, Bluetooth, the Internet, etc. In some embodiments, the receiving device202can be comprised of multiple devices, such as different receiving devices for receiving data over different networks, such as a first receiving device for receiving data over a local area network and a second receiving device for receiving data via the Internet. The receiving device202can receive electronically transmitted data signals, where data can be superimposed or otherwise encoded on the data signal and decoded, parsed, read, or otherwise obtained via receipt of the data signal by the receiving device202. In some instances, the receiving device202can include a parsing module for parsing the received data signal to obtain the data superimposed thereon. For example, the receiving device202can include a parser program configured to receive and transform the received data signal into usable input for the functions performed by the processing device to carry out the methods and systems described herein. The receiving device202can be configured to receive data signals electronically transmitted by merchant systems104directly thereby or via one or more intermediary systems, which can be superimposed or otherwise encoded with transaction messages or other data messages that include transaction data. The receiving device202can also be configured to receive data signals from third party systems108or other entities that can be superimposed or otherwise encoded with requests for scalping scores, transaction data, consumer identification data, etc. The receiving device202can be further configured to receive data signals electronically transmitted by nodes in a blockchain network, which can be superimposed or otherwise encoded with blockchain data, such as blocks or blockchain data values stored therein. The processing server102can also include a communication module204. The communication module204can be configured to transmit data between modules, engines, databases, memories, and other components of the processing server102for use in performing the functions discussed herein. The communication module204can be comprised of one or more communication types and utilize various communication methods for communications within a computing device. For example, the communication module204can be comprised of a bus, contact pin connectors, wires, etc. In some embodiments, the communication module204can also be configured to communicate between internal components of the processing server102and external components of the processing server102, such as externally connected databases, display devices, input devices, etc. The processing server102can also include a processing device. The processing device can be configured to perform the functions of the processing server102discussed herein as will be apparent to persons having skill in the relevant art. In some embodiments, the processing device can include and/or be comprised of a plurality of engines and/or modules specially configured to perform one or more functions of the processing device, such as a querying module216, generation module218, verification module220, etc. As used herein, the term “module” can be software or hardware particularly programmed to receive an input, perform one or more processes using the input, and provides an output. The input, output, and processes performed by various modules will be apparent to one skilled in the art based upon the present disclosure. The processing server102can include a consumer database206. The consumer database206can be configured to store a plurality of consumer profiles208using a suitable data storage format and schema. The consumer database206can be a relational database that utilizes structured query language for the storage, identification, modifying, updating, accessing, etc. of structured data sets stored therein. Each consumer profile208can be a structured data set configured to store data related to a consumer106. A consumer profile208can include, for example, consumer identification data, transaction data for a plurality of different payment transactions involving the associated consumer106and one or more merchant systems104, score history, etc. The processing server102can also include a memory214. The memory214can be configured to store data for use by the processing server102in performing the functions discussed herein, such as public and private keys, symmetric keys, etc. The memory214can be configured to store data using suitable data formatting methods and schema and can be any suitable type of memory, such as read-only memory, random access memory, etc. The memory214can include, for example, encryption keys and algorithms, communication protocols and standards, data formatting standards and protocols, program code for modules and application programs of the processing device, and other data that can be suitable for use by the processing server102in the performance of the functions disclosed herein as will be apparent to persons having skill in the relevant art. In some embodiments, the memory214can be comprised of or can otherwise include a relational database that utilizes structured query language for the storage, identification, modifying, updating, accessing, etc. of structured data sets stored therein. The memory214can be configured to store, for example, cryptographic keys, cryptographic key pairs, cryptographic algorithms, encryption algorithms, communication information, data formatting rules, transaction processing rules, transaction message standards, transaction message routing rules, merchant data, score threshold values, etc. Likewise, given the processing server102can act as a blockchain node, under such circumstances it can have a memory for blockchain data212. The processing server102can include a querying module216. The querying module216can be configured to execute queries on databases to identify information. The querying module216can receive one or more data values or query strings, and can execute a query string based thereon on an indicated database, such as the group database206of the processing server102to identify information stored therein. The querying module216can then output the identified information to an appropriate engine or module of the processing server102as necessary. The querying module216can, for example, execute a query on the consumer database206to identify a consumer profile208corresponding to a received transaction message for use of the transaction data stored therein for the generation of a score. The processing server102can also include a generation module218. The generation module218can be configured to generate data for use by the processing server102in performing the functions discussed herein. The generation module218can receive instructions as input, can generate data based on the instructions, and can output the generated data to one or more modules of the processing server102. For example, the generation module218can be configured to generate scores indicative of a likelihood of scalping for a consumer profile208or a transaction based on analysis of historical transaction data for a plurality of payment transactions involving a consumer106matched using consumer identification values. The generation module218can be further configured to generate other data for use in performing the functions discussed herein, such as transaction messages including authorization responses, blockchain data, notification messages, etc. The processing server102can also include a verification module220. The verification module220can be configured to perform verifications for the processing server102as part of the functions discussed herein. The verification module220can receive instructions as input, which can also include data to be used in performing a verification, can perform a verification as requested, and can output a result of the verification to another module or engine of the processing server102. The verification module220can, for example, be configured to verify consumer identification data, verify generated scores, verify transaction data, etc. The processing server102can also include a transmitting device222. The transmitting device222can be configured to transmit data over one or more networks via one or more network protocols. In some instances, the transmitting device222can be configured to transmit data to merchant systems104, third party systems108, payment networks, financial institutions, nodes in blockchain networks, and other entities via one or more communication methods, local area networks, wireless area networks, cellular communication, Bluetooth, radio frequency, the Internet, etc. In some embodiments, the transmitting device222can be comprised of multiple devices, such as different transmitting devices for transmitting data over different networks, such as a first transmitting device for transmitting data over a local area network and a second transmitting device for transmitting data via the Internet. The transmitting device222can electronically transmit data signals that have data superimposed that can be parsed by a receiving computing device. In some instances, the transmitting device222can include one or more modules for superimposing, encoding, or otherwise formatting data into data signals suitable for transmission. The transmitting device222can be configured to electronically transmit data signals to merchant systems104that can be superimposed or otherwise encoded with scalping scores, requests for transaction data, transaction messages, etc. The transmitting device222can also be configured to electronically transmit data signals to financial institutions and other entities participating in electronic payment transactions, which can be superimposed or otherwise encoded with transaction messages, scalping scores, etc. The transmitting device222can be further configured to electronically transmit data signals to nodes in blockchain networks that can be superimposed or otherwise encoded with blockchain data values, requests for blockchain data, etc. Process for Collecting Transaction Data FIG.3illustrates a process300for collecting transaction data for use in preventing scalping as performed by the processing server102of the system100ofFIG.1and ofFIG.2. In step302, the receiving device202of the processing server102can receive transaction data for a processed payment transaction. The transaction data can be included in a transaction message, which can be received during the processing of the payment transaction (e.g., an authorization response before being forwarded to a merchant system104) or after the payment transaction has been processed (e.g., as provided by a merchant system104after finalizing the payment transaction with the consumer106). In step304, the querying module216of the processing server102can execute a query on the consumer database206of the processing server102to attempt to identify a consumer profile208that includes one or more consumer identification values that are included in the received transaction data for the payment transaction. In step306, the processing server102can determine if a consumer profile208already exists that includes at least one of the one or more consumer identification values. If no consumer profile208exists that includes a match with anything in the transaction data, then, in step310, the querying module216of the processing server102can execute another query on the consumer database206to insert a new consumer profile208into the consumer database206that includes the received transaction data. If a consumer profile208is successfully identified in step306, then, in step308, the querying module216of the processing server102can execute another query on the consumer database206to update the identified consumer profile208to add the received transaction data. In cases where, in step306, the processing server102identifies multiple consumer profiles208, the processing server102can select one of the consumer profiles208for use in step308using any suitable criteria (e.g., match priorities for consumer identification values) or, in some instances, can merge the consumer profiles208during step308. The result of the process300is that consumer profiles208are kept up to date with consumer transaction data for use in making determinations regarding attempted scalping transactions, such as illustrated in process400inFIG.4and discussed below. Process for Scoring Initiated Transactions for Scalping FIG.4illustrates a process for scoring an initiated payment transaction for likelihood of scalping as performed by the processing server102of the system100ofFIGS.1and2. In step402, the receiving device202of the processing server102can receive an authorization request for a payment transaction that has been initiated by a consumer106at a merchant system104. In an example, the merchant system104can submit an authorization request to a payment network via payment rails associated therewith, where, as part of processing, the payment network can provide the authorization request to the processing server102for scoring thereof as part of a scalping prevention service. In step404, the querying module216of the processing server102can execute a query on the consumer database206of the processing server102to identify a consumer profile208that includes one or more consumer identification values that match consumer identification values included in the received authorization request. In step406, the generation module218of the processing server102can generate a suspicion score for the initiated payment transaction based on transaction data included in the consumer profile208identified in step404as well as transaction data included in the received authorization request. The suspicion score can represent a likelihood that the transaction is an attempt at scalping, such as due to repeated purchases of a high-demand or limited-availability item, attempted evasions at having repeated transactions detected, etc. In step408, the processing server102can determine if the generated suspicion score is above a threshold value, which can be set by the processing server102or by the merchant system104that submitted the authorization request. If the suspicion score is below the threshold value, then, in step410, the transmitting device222of the processing server102can forward the authorization request to an issuing financial institution that issued the transaction account used to fund the initiated payment transaction by the consumer106, which can be identified using transaction data included in the authorization request, such as a bank identification number included in a transaction account number stored in an appropriate data element in the authorization request. If the suspicion score is above the threshold value, then, in step412, the generation module218of the processing server102can generate an authorization response for the initiated payment transaction that includes a response code indicative of a decline of the payment transaction. The transmitting device222of the processing server102can then electronically transmit the authorization response to the merchant system104using payment rails associated with the payment network, where the merchant system104can then prevent the purchase due to the unacceptable likelihood of scalping. Exemplary Method for Preventing Unauthorized Transactions FIG.5illustrates a method500for preventing an unauthorized transaction that is indicative of an attempt at scalping based on historical transaction data. In step502, transaction data for a first payment transaction can be received by a receiver (e.g., receiving device202) of a processing server (e.g., processing server102), the transaction data including at least one or more product identifiers associated with one or more products purchased in the first payment transaction and consumer identification data. In step504, a consumer profile (e.g., consumer profile208) can be updated by a processor (e.g., querying module216) of the processing server based on at least the one or more product identifiers, wherein the consumer profile is identified based on at least the consumer identification data. In step506, a transaction message for a second payment transaction can be received by the receiver of the processing server, wherein the transaction message includes one or more data values including at least one product identifier included in the one or more product identifiers and at least one consumer data value, and wherein the at least one consumer data value is included in the consumer profile. In step508, a suspicion score can be determined by the processor (e.g., generation module218) of the processing server for the consumer profile, wherein the suspicion score is above a predetermined threshold value. In step510, an authorization response message can be transmitted by a transmitter (e.g., transmitting device222) of the processing server for the second payment transaction, wherein the authorization response message includes a response code indicative of rejection of the second payment transaction. In one embodiment, the transaction message can be transmitted via payment rails. In some embodiments, the transaction message can be formatted according to one or more standards, and the one or more data values can be stored in a plurality of data fields included in the transaction message and specified in the one or more standards. In one embodiment, the transaction message can be received from an external computing system (e.g., merchant system104), and the authorization response can be transmitted to the external computing system. In some embodiments, the consumer profile can be stored on a blockchain, and updating the consumer profile can comprise generating a new block for the blockchain that includes a blockchain data entry including at least the one or more product identifiers and a public key of a cryptographic key pair associated with the consumer profile. In one embodiment, the suspicion score can be indicative of a likelihood of the second payment transaction purchasing a product associated with the one or more product identifiers for scalping. In some embodiments, the suspicion score can be based on a number of product identifiers stored in the consumer profile compared to a predetermined value. In one embodiment, the first payment transaction can involve a first merchant (e.g., merchant system104a) of a plurality of merchants, the second payment transaction can involve a second merchant (e.g., merchant system104b) of the plurality of merchants, and the first merchant can be different from the second merchant. Computer System Architecture FIG.6illustrates a computer system600in which embodiments of the present disclosure, or portions thereof, can be implemented as computer-readable code. For example, the processing server102ofFIGS.1and2and the merchant systems104and third party system108ofFIG.1can be implemented in the computer system600using hardware, non-transitory computer readable media having instructions stored thereon, or a combination thereof and can be implemented in one or more computer systems or other processing systems. Hardware can embody modules and components used to implement the methods ofFIGS.3-5. If programmable logic is used, such logic can execute on a commercially available processing platform configured by executable software code to become a specific purpose computer or a special purpose device (e.g., programmable logic array, application-specific integrated circuit, etc.). A person having ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that embodiments of the disclosed subject matter can be practiced with various computer system configurations, including multi-core multiprocessor systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, computers linked or clustered with distributed functions, as well as pervasive or miniature computers that can be embedded into virtually any device. For instance, at least one processor device and a memory can be used to implement the above described embodiments. A processor unit or device as discussed herein can be a single processor, a plurality of processors, or combinations thereof. Processor devices can have one or more processor “cores.” The terms “computer program medium,” “non-transitory computer readable medium,” and “computer usable medium” as discussed herein are used to generally refer to tangible media such as a removable storage unit618, a removable storage unit622, and a hard disk installed in hard disk drive612. Various embodiments of the present disclosure are described in terms of this example computer system600. After reading this description, it will become apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art how to implement the present disclosure using other computer systems and/or computer architectures. Although operations can be described as a sequential process, some of the operations can in fact be performed in parallel, concurrently, and/or in a distributed environment, and with program code stored locally or remotely for access by single or multi-processor machines. In addition, in some embodiments the order of operations can be rearranged without departing from the spirit of the disclosed subject matter. Processor device604can be a special purpose or a general purpose processor device specifically configured to perform the functions discussed herein. The processor device604can be connected to a communications infrastructure606, such as a bus, message queue, network, multi-core message-passing scheme, etc. The network can be any network suitable for performing the functions as disclosed herein and can include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless network (e.g., WiFi), a mobile communication network, a satellite network, the Internet, fiber optic, coaxial cable, infrared, radio frequency (RF), or any combination thereof. Other suitable network types and configurations will be apparent to persons having skill in the relevant art. The computer system600can also include a main memory608(e.g., random access memory, read-only memory, etc.), and can also include a secondary memory610. The secondary memory610can include the hard disk drive612and a removable storage drive614, such as a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, a flash memory, etc. The removable storage drive614can read from and/or write to the removable storage unit618in a well-known manner. The removable storage unit618can include a removable storage media that can be read by and written to by the removable storage drive614. For example, if the removable storage drive614is a floppy disk drive or universal serial bus port, the removable storage unit618can be a floppy disk or portable flash drive, respectively. In one embodiment, the removable storage unit618can be non-transitory computer readable recording media. In some embodiments, the secondary memory610can include alternative means for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into the computer system600, for example, the removable storage unit622and an interface620. Examples of such means can include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (e.g., as found in video game systems), a removable memory chip (e.g., EEPROM, PROM, etc.) and associated socket, and other removable storage units622and interfaces620as will be apparent to persons having skill in the relevant art. Data stored in the computer system600(e.g., in the main memory608and/or the secondary memory610) can be stored on any type of suitable computer readable media, such as optical storage (e.g., a compact disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.) or magnetic tape storage (e.g., a hard disk drive). The data can be configured in any type of suitable database configuration, such as a relational database, a structured query language (SQL) database, a distributed database, an object database, etc. Suitable configurations and storage types will be apparent to persons having skill in the relevant art. The computer system600can also include a communications interface624. The communications interface624can be configured to allow software and data to be transferred between the computer system600and external devices. Exemplary communications interfaces624can include a modem, a network interface (e.g., an Ethernet card), a communications port, a PCMCIA slot and card, etc. Software and data transferred via the communications interface624can be in the form of signals, which can be electronic, electromagnetic, optical, or other signals as will be apparent to persons having skill in the relevant art. The signals can travel via a communications path626, which can be configured to carry the signals and can be implemented using wire, cable, fiber optics, a phone line, a cellular phone link, a radio frequency link, etc. The computer system600can further include a display interface602. The display interface602can be configured to allow data to be transferred between the computer system600and external display630. Exemplary display interfaces602can include high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), digital visual interface (DVI), video graphics array (VGA), etc. The display630can be any suitable type of display for displaying data transmitted via the display interface602of the computer system600, including a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diode (LED) display, capacitive touch display, thin-film transistor (TFT) display, etc. Computer program medium and computer usable medium can refer to memories, such as the main memory608and secondary memory610, which can be memory semiconductors (e.g., DRAMs, etc.). These computer program products can be means for providing software to the computer system600. Computer programs (e.g., computer control logic) can be stored in the main memory608and/or the secondary memory610. Computer programs can also be received via the communications interface624. Such computer programs, when executed, can enable computer system600to implement the present methods as discussed herein. In particular, the computer programs, when executed, can enable processor device604to implement the methods illustrated byFIGS.3-5, as discussed herein. Accordingly, such computer programs can represent controllers of the computer system600. Where the present disclosure is implemented using software, the software can be stored in a computer program product and loaded into the computer system600using the removable storage drive614, interface620, and hard disk drive612, or communications interface624. The processor device604can comprise one or more modules or engines configured to perform the functions of the computer system600. Each of the modules or engines can be implemented using hardware and, in some instances, can also utilize software, such as corresponding to program code and/or programs stored in the main memory608or secondary memory610. In such instances, program code can be compiled by the processor device604(e.g., by a compiling module or engine) prior to execution by the hardware of the computer system600. For example, the program code can be source code written in a programming language that is translated into a lower level language, such as assembly language or machine code, for execution by the processor device604and/or any additional hardware components of the computer system600. The process of compiling can include the use of lexical analysis, preprocessing, parsing, semantic analysis, syntax-directed translation, code generation, code optimization, and any other techniques that can be suitable for translation of program code into a lower level language suitable for controlling the computer system600to perform the functions disclosed herein. It will be apparent to persons having skill in the relevant art that such processes result in the computer system600being a specially configured computer system600uniquely programmed to perform the functions discussed above. Techniques consistent with the present disclosure provide, among other features, systems and methods for preventing an unauthorized transaction indicative of scalping. While various exemplary embodiments of the disclosed system and method have been described above it should be understood that they have been presented for purposes of example only, not limitations. It is not exhaustive and does not limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or can be acquired from practicing of the disclosure, without departing from the breadth or scope. | 59,358 |
11861623 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Some implementations described herein include methods and systems that enable sellers to implement a technical fallback infrastructure to authorize a payment transaction without or minimal seller intervention, during a technical fallback scenario. Technical fallback occurs when there is an issue with an EMV card or the point of sale (POS) terminal that prevents the two from successfully communicating. If the terminal cannot read the chip of the EMV card, the transaction can switch or fallback to a magnetic stripe or key-entered transaction. Depending on how the terminal is configured, multiple attempts to read the EMV card may be required before fallback is allowed. The disclosed infrastructure is particularly helpful in implementing technical fallback in a POS system with distributed hardware payment components, where the POS system includes components, such as a payment object reader for an EMV card, a payment object reader for a magnetic stripe card, and a POS terminal to process a payment transaction received at either of the payment object readers. As disclosed herein, the distributed POS system includes a payment object reader to read data of an integrated circuit card, such as an EMV smart card dipped into a reader, where the reading of the card requires adherence to a multiple step protocol (EMV standard), the reader is hereinafter referred to as “EMV card reader.” The POS system also includes another payment object reader, separate from the EMV card reader, to read data off of the payment object having one or more magnetic stripes that is swiped in the second payment object reader, the reader is hereinafter referred to as “magstripe object reader.” Chip-based payment cards contain embedded microprocessors that provide strong transaction security features and other application capabilities not possible with traditional mag-stripe cards. In the foregoing set-up, the magstripe object reader is unaware whether an EMV card reader is connected to the communication device. As such, conventional mechanisms of addressing technical fallback cannot be applied to arrangements where the card-reading capabilities are distributed across multiple readers. The problem being addressed in the current disclosure is better understood in light of traditional systems and methods of technical fallback implementation described below. Traditionally, a single point-of-sale (POS) terminal is dedicated to accept both magnetic stripe cards and EMV cards that are introduced through separate entry points or interfaces depending on the type of card. EMV card payments are initiated by an integrated-circuit chip (“chip”) on the card, which is read by the EMV interface of the terminal. The magstripe card payments are initiated by a magnetic stripe on a card, which is read by the magstripe interface of the terminal. The EMV and magstripe reading technology enables backwards compatibility so that customers can continue to transact in non-EMV environments thereby helping merchants and customers who are not going to be adopting EMV technology or are in the process of transitioning from magstripe-based technology to EMV-based technology. Additionally, the magstripe object reader also accepts magstripe cards with faulty chips thereby supporting technical fallback if the EMV enabled chip is unreadable. Technical fallback is the exception process that kicks in when the POS terminal cannot read the chip of the EMV card due to technical/malfunction issues with the chip or even the EMV card interface, unbeknownst to the merchant. It is called fallback because when the chip cannot be read, the terminal decides to fall back on the magnetic stripe data so that the transaction can proceed. Any other scenario is not fallback scenario. For example, if the merchant is using a phased approach to EMV deployment and the merchant chooses to override the chip service code on the card, then, pursuant to the EMV protocol and payment network rules, the terminal must reflect the terminal entry capability as magnetic stripe only or risk consequences arising from incorrect tagging of fallback. When an EMV card read fails, the terminal displays a message instructing the customer to re-insert the card a number of times (generally, two to three). If the EMV card still cannot be read, the convention dictates to follow EMV hierarchies of risk management, i.e., the next lowest risk transaction is to use the magnetic stripe swipe. Thus, the magnetic stripe, rather than the chip data, of the card is read by the same terminal but through the magnetic stripe interface. And if that fails as well, the merchants can resort to manual key entry of the card information. In chip-read fail scenarios, the transaction is treated as a technical fallback. In traditional methods, technical fallback is determined and implemented in the following manner: when a card is inserted at a chip-enabled ATM or POS terminal, the POS terminal determines whether the card was created as a magnetic stripe card or as an EMV card. The way this is done varies depending on the type of card reader but generally, the POS terminal reads the chip and interrogates the first byte of the service code in track 2, which indicates whether the card is a magnetic stripe card or an EMV card. If the service code indicates that the card is an EMV card, the terminal attempts to communicate with the chip of the EMV card. Assuming this communication is successful, the chip of the EMV card and the POS terminal exchange the rest of the card information, and if all goes well, the transaction proceeds as an EMV transaction. But, assume that even though the chip was detected successfully, the terminal is not able to communicate with the chip on the EMV card. As mentioned before, this may happen if the chip on the EMV card has been damaged, or the card reader in the terminal is not working properly. In this case, the terminal requests the customer to re-try the EMV card, generally three times. The POS terminal detects and keeps a count of the times the EMV card is dipped in an EMV interface by saving the count in a local counter. The POS terminal can do so because the card data obtained during each read is unencrypted, enough to indicate whether an EMV card was read or a magnetic stripe is read. Based on the information in the local counter, the POS terminal makes a decision, again locally, whether to implement technical fallback or not. Of course, these technical fallback methods can only be applied when the card read is unencrypted, the counter is locally available, and the POS terminal is an integrated device supporting payments made by magnetic stripe cards and EMV cards. It is worth mentioning that in technical fallback situations, the EMV security protocols are bypassed and the security of the transaction is limited to the magnetic stripe. While technical fallback can indicate a faulty card reader or a malfunctioning chip card, it can also indicate an attempt to circumvent EMV security measures. For example, fraudsters can intentionally disable the chip in an attempt to bypass the chip-and-PIN security measures. For this reason, unattended payment terminals having both magnetic stripe and EMV reading capabilities are particularly susceptible to fraudulent attempts that incorrectly implement technical fallback particularly in cases where data is unencrypted. To this end, the disclosed methods and systems define a POS system that includes separate readers depending on the type of payment card and a POS terminal to which the readers connect. Further, the readers are configured to encrypt the card information and may or may not allow decryption of card data at the terminal level. In such scenarios, the card information, along with decision making related to the card type—determination whether it is a magnetic stripe card or an EMV card—is passed onto the cloud or central server where the information is stored and decrypted. Further, even though the terminal or reader can keep a count of the number of failed dips or the magstripe swipes, the PPS can collate and analyze the information from disparate sources to determine whether or not technical fallback. The central server, also referred to as the payment processing system (PPS) hereinafter communicates with at least the POS terminal and in some scenarios, with all the entities of the payment flow, including the readers and the customer's mobile devices to determine whether or not technical fallback should be implemented. The payment processing system receives encrypted card data through various intermediary entities, like the POS terminal and readers, thus ensuring that the data is not comprised in anyway, which discourages fraudsters from bypassing security measures. Further, the mechanisms to count the successful and failed attempts can be both local or at the server level. However, since the entities, such as the card readers and the terminal, are distributed, decision-making and mechanisms related to institution of technical fallback are determined by the PPS. This is because the magnetic stripe reader is unaware of whether the chip card reader is connected to the terminal, and the service code (which reveals whether the card has a chip or a magstripe) and the point-of-sale entry code (which indicates whether the card was swiped or dipped) are encrypted parameters, extractable at the server level. The disclosed methods and systems describe treatment of a payment transaction when the EMV reader fails to read the chip of an EMV card fails one or more times and the customer or the merchant attempts a magnetic stripe payment instead. So, a payment transaction involves a customer providing a payment card, such as a credit card or debit card, to pay for a product or service that the customer purchases from a merchant. Assume that the credit card includes both magnetic stripes to allow for magnetic stripe payment and EMV chip to allow for chip payments. The customer approaches the merchant's POS system having a separate EMV card reader and a magstripe object reader, both connected to a POS terminal. To this end, the POS terminal updates an internal connection status indicator to indicate which readers are actually connected via a communication network whether physical or logical to the POS terminal. The customer attempts to dip the card in an EMV card reader, where the card read process includes encrypting data read off the payment object obtained from the magnetic stripe card reader or the EMV card reader, where the encrypted data at least includes an encrypted value of a service code indicating whether the payment object's stripe was swiped or chip was inserted. Each time the card is dipped, the encrypted data is passed onto the PPS, which detects by reading the service code that a chip is being dipped. Due to faulty chip, the card information may be missing even though the reader still detects an entry of an object. Thus, the PPS requests the merchant or customer to re-attempt the dip action. If the EMV reader fails to read the chip three times in a row, the POS terminal detects a magstripe object reader connected to it, for example based on the internal connection status indicator. Accordingly, the POS terminal through the payment processing system, allows the merchant or customer to swipe the card as if it were a magnetic stripe card payment transaction. The POS terminal generates a payment request in response to the swiping action and based on the data collected from the credit card. The POS terminal electronically sends the payment request to the PPS over an available network for authorization. The PPS registers such as a transaction as an EMV transaction in fallback and sends it to a payment card processor for authorization. From there, the payment card processor, with or without performing an analysis of the payment request, routes the request to a card network, e.g., Visa® or MasterCard®, which in turn sends the request to the card issuer, e.g., a bank, for approval, the request indicating that this was a technical fallback transaction. Usually, after a short delay, the POS terminal may receive an indication of whether the payment card has been approved (i.e., authorized) or declined (i.e., failed to authorize) for an amount of the transaction, such as a cost of the good or service. Assuming the card issuer approves the transaction, the payment card processor causes funds to be transferred from the buyer's bank account to a merchant's bank account, and optionally creates a receipt indicating successful processing of a payment transaction, which is sent to a buyer's phone. In some cases, the PPS tracks the technical fallback events at each merchant location or at merchant locations in a particular neighborhood. This is to determine whether the technical fallback events are a result of faulty chips or faulty readers. For example, the PPS determines whether technical fallback events have happened within a certain time period on the same reader but with different customers or payment cards, thus indicating a possibility that the reader may be defective. In some cases, a higher ratio of technical fallback events in a particular neighborhood can indicate the same customer or a group of customers attempting to force technical fallback by tricking the EMV card reader through a defective EMV card or another object. In some cases, the PPS, POS terminal or even the reader may count the failed dip attempts and assign a threshold number of the number of times at the lapse of which technical fallback treatment is applied for a specific payment card or customer. At the lapse of the threshold number of such technical fallback events, the PPS chooses to either reject the transaction altogether or generate a message to try another method of payment. The systems and methods described herein support establishment of a technical fallback across multiple hardware devices, especially when the EMV and magnetic stripe reading capabilities are separate. As described above, the disclosed technology enables the technical fallback decision-making to be moved to the server level with encryption of data at the reader level thus reducing fraudulent attempts at the reader level. While the description hereinafter discusses a certain number of hardware devices, it will be understood that any number of devices may form a payment system. Further, while the data is encrypted at the reader level, the data may also be unencrypted and the counter that counts the number of successful or failed attempts can be local. While the embodiments described herein may relate to technical fallback for EMV and magstripe functionalities of POS terminals, including self-checkout terminals, it will be understood that the embodiments can be extended to any other kind of payment hierarchy, such as between NFC and EMV, magstripe and manual entry, and so on. Various embodiments and implementations of the disclosed payment technology are now described. The following description provides specific details for a thorough understanding and an enabling description of these implementations. One skilled in the art will understand, however, that the disclosed system and methods may be practiced without many of these details. Additionally, some well-known structures or functions may not be shown or described in detail, so as to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the relevant description of the various implementations. The terminology used in the description presented below is intended to be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific implementations of the disclosed system and methods. Some frequently used terms are now described. As used herein, a merchant may include any business engaged in the offering of goods or services for acquisition by buyers. Actions attributed to a merchant may include actions performed by owners, employees, or other agents of the merchant and thus no distinction is made herein unless specifically discussed. In addition, as used herein, a customer or buyer may include any entity that acquires goods or services from a merchant, such as by purchasing, renting, leasing, borrowing, licensing, or the like. Hereinafter, goods and/or services offered by merchants may be referred to as items. Thus, a merchant and a buyer may interact with each other to conduct a transaction in which the buyer acquires an item from a merchant, and in return, the buyer provides payment to the merchant, for example through a payment instrument. As used herein, a ‘payment transaction’ or simply ‘transaction’ may include a financial transaction for the acquisition of goods and/or services that is conducted between a buyer and a merchant. For example, when paying for a transaction, the buyer can provide the amount that is due to the merchant using a payment instrument or even a payment proxy. In other cases, the payment transaction includes transfer of money from one party to another for any number of reasons. Thus, while the description refers to as buyer and merchant as parties to the payment transaction, it will be understood that the parties can be a sender and a recipient, a land lord and a renter, a bank and a bank customer, a first friend and a second friend, and so on. The term ‘payment card’ or ‘payment object’ refers to a payment mechanism that includes a conventional debit card, a conventional credit card, a prepaid gift card, or the like, a smartcard that has an embedded integrate circuit chip (e.g., Europay-MasterCard-visa (EMV) card), a proxy card, or any card that functions as a combination of any of these mechanisms. The term ‘proxy card’ as used herein refers to a card that may or may not bear a card number or an account number that appears to be that of a real credit or debit card account (i.e., it is in the correct format), but where that card/account number is actually only a proxy for the buyer's real card/account number. Additionally, the payment card used in the example above is a specific type of a financial instrument. Other types of financial instruments, other than the payment card, can be used to initiate the transfer of funds. A financial instrument can be a software instrument or virtual instrument, such as a virtual wallet. Other examples of payment card may also include a prepaid card, a gift card, a rewards card, a loyalty points' card, a frequent flyer miles card, a check, cash, or any other kind of payment instrument that holds financial value or provides a promise to pay at a later time. Payment card may also include a payment object, such as an electronic device configured to initiate contactless payment transactions, e.g., a key fob, a mobile device (such as a mobile device having an NFC tag). And finally, the payment object can also be a payment proxy having a syntax of a monetary indicator followed by a string of alphanumeric characters or in general, any identifier that is representative of the buyer or merchant's financial account. The payment proxy can be used in the context of and within a webpage as part of the web address, a social networking handle or username, a forum, a messaging application, and so on. The payment proxy can also be a biometric payment instrument. The term ‘biometric payment instrument’ is a type of payment object or financial instrument that is biometrically identifiable and initialized by a biometric characteristic, such as a person's finger (e.g., for fingerprint recognition), face, iris or retina, heartbeat, voice, etc. The term “landing page,” as used here, refers to a virtual location identified by a personalized location address that is dedicated to collect payments on behalf of a recipient associated with the personalized location address. The personalized location address can include the payment proxy discussed above. In some embodiments, the landing page is identified by a uniform resource locator (URL) that includes a payment proxy, where the URL is accessible through a web browser application installed on a client device of the sender. For example, the URL is www . . . com/$charityName. In another example, the URL is www . . . com/$aaron. In some embodiments, the landing page is identified by a graphical user interface (GUI) of a mobile payment application installed on a client device of the sender. For example, the GUI of the mobile payment application is dedicated to $charityName, where there can be multiple GUIs each dedicated to a different payment proxy. The landing page is generated by the payment service system to receive, e.g., collect, one or more payments on behalf of the recipient from one or more senders. The sender can access the landing page, e.g., by entering a URL into a web browsing application installed on the sender's client device. Upon navigating to the URL, the sender can simply enter a payment amount, e.g., in a web form field, and send the money, e.g., by selecting a “Pay” action button displayed on the website. In another example, the sender can access the landing page, e.g., by selecting a GUI within a mobile payment service application, where the GUI, e.g., is labeled with the payment proxy $aaron. The sender can further enter a payment amount at the GUI and send the money, e.g., by selecting a “Pay” action button displayed on the GUI. The term “forum,” as used here, refers to a media channel (e.g., a social networking website, a microblog, a blog, etc.) that enables user interaction and engagement through comments, posts, and/or messages. The forum can be employed by a service provider to provide various services to users of the forum, e.g., create messages, post comments, interact with one another, etc. Within a forum context, a user can indicate an intent to transfer money by specifying a payment proxy in a message that the user submits, e.g., “posts,” on a particular forum, where that payment proxy carries the syntax of the monetary indicator preceding one or more alphanumeric characters. For example, the user posts a message “I support $funnyguy311 with $10.” In such an example, the payment service system detects the user's intent to send money, e.g., $10, to “$funnyguy311” and initiates the transfer of money upon identification of a recipient financial account associated with “$funnyguy311.” The monetary indicator can correspond to various currencies, e.g., dollar ($), euro (€), pound (£), yuan (¥), etc. Although use of the dollar monetary indicator ($) is used herein, it is to be understood that any currency symbol could equally be used. The term “merchant application,” “registration application” or “mobile payment portal” as used here, refers to any messaging application that enables communication between users (e.g., sender and recipient of a message) over a wired or wireless communications network. A service provider that delivers a communication service to users, e.g., chat capability, can employ the messaging application. The messaging application can include, for example, a text messaging application for communication between phones (e.g., conventional mobile telephones or smartphones), or a cross-platform instant messaging application for smartphones and phones that use the Internet for communication. Within a messaging application context, a user can indicate an intent to transfer money by specifying a payment proxy in a TO field of, e.g., a message, that the user inputs within the messaging application. For example, the user enters into the TO field “$redcross.” In another example, the user enters into the TO field “$aaron.” Once the user enters a payment proxy, or input, into the TO field, the user can enter a message in a body of the message, e.g., “Here is $10,” and send the message. In various embodiments, the message can be a text message, a chat message, an email message, or indeed any other type of message that is capable of being exchanged between computing devices. Although this specification may employ text messages as an example, it is to be understood that the payment proxy technology may employ any of these types of messages. Upon receiving an indication to send (e.g., after detecting that the user has clicked “Send”), the messaging application transmits a message, e.g., the text message to a messaging application computer system (“messaging application system”). The messaging application system detects that the input in the TO field of the message it has received includes a syntax of a monetary indicator preceding one or more alphanumeric characters. In response, the messaging application system forwards the text message to the payment service system for processing. The payment service system identifies a recipient associated with the input (or payment proxy) that is derived from the TO field, and further identifies a recipient financial account associated with that recipient. Upon identification of the recipient financial account, the payment service system initiates the transfer of money. With a number of cardholder payment options (e.g., magnetic stripe, contact chip and contactless chip) and methods in development (e.g., mobile and cloud-based), the card issuing institutions bake various kinds of information in the payment object. This information includes a card number, an expiry date, and a service code. A card number is a sequence of digits that identifies a bank that issued the credit card and an account number that is specific to the cardholder. In some circumstances, a card number is also referred to as a “primary account number” (PAN). An expiry date of a credit card indicates a date when the credit card expires. A service code of a credit card indicates how the cardholder is permitted to use the credit card. The transaction attributes embedded in the card information reveal various aspects about the transaction, for example, where the transaction was performed, the entry point, whether the transaction was manual entry or not, and so on. Some transaction attributes are now defined: Card Verification Value (CVV)—a unique and distinct code that verifies that a card is in the possession of the cardholder—in conjunction with other authentication factors to prevent counterfeit, primary account number (PAN) key-entered and card-not-present fraud. The CVV can be used to detect a counterfeit card in cases where a magnetic stripe has been encoded or re-encoded with valid account information from other sources. Issuers require that all cards—including emergency replacement cards—are encoded with the CVV, which is calculated by applying a cryptographic algorithm to the encoded account information (card account number, expiration date and service code). In addition, to prevent fraud from occurring, variations of CVV exist across the different interfaces of payment transactions as described herein. The CVV can be associated a first card verification value (CVV1) and a second card verification value (CVV2). An issuing bank may generate the CVV1 of a credit card by digitally encrypting the card number, the expiry date, and the service code of the credit card using a secret encryption key. The issuing bank may generate the CVV2 of a credit card by digitally encrypting the same information using a different encryption method. The CVV1 of a credit card, along with the card number, expiry date, and service code of the credit card, is typically stored in a magnetic stripe on the back of the credit card. Because the CVV1 of the credit card is stored in the magnetic stripe of the credit card, the CVV1 of the credit card is not visible to the cardholder. The CVV2 of a credit card is typically printed on the back or front of the credit card such that the CVV2 of the credit card is visible to the cardholder. Magnetic-Stripe Interface—CVV: A unique three-digit code encoded in Track 1 and the Discretionary Data field in Track 2 of the magnetic stripe or the chip magnetic-stripe image (MSI). Card-Not-Present Interface—CVV2: As mentioned above, CVV2 is a fraud prevention technique used in the card-not-present environment to ensure the card is valid. The CVV2 is a three-digit value printed on the back of cards which can be submitted by the merchant as part of the authorization request. The CVV2 is different than the CVV contained on the magnetic stripe and is validated using a different calculation. CVV2 failures may indicate fraudulent use of an account number where the fraudster does not have the card in hand, and as a result, does not know the CVV2 value. Contactless Interface—Dynamic Card Verification Value (dCVV): An authentication technique on the magnetic-stripe data version of contactless transactions used to reduce the threat of data compromises and counterfeiting. Chip Interface—Integrated Card Verification Value (iCVV): A tool used to protect against data being copied from a chip card and applied to the magnetic stripe of a counterfeited plastic card. Chip Cryptogram: A cryptogram included in the authorization message of chip-based transactions using chip data. The cryptogram should be verified to ensure authenticity of the chip card. The card information can also include references to a point-of-sale entry code, which indicates whether the payment object was swiped or dipped or introduced in any other way. The point-of-sale (POS) entry code sent in the transaction tells the issuer how the transaction data was acquired at the merchant. Because the POS entry code identifies the acceptance channel in combination with other authorization parameters (e.g., the POS condition code), verification of this information is an essential step to identifying and preventing fraud. The most common POS entry modes include: ⋅01—Manual key entry, 02 or 90—Magnetic stripe read, 05 or 95—Chip read, 07—Contactless, using chip data rules, 91—Contactless, using magnetic-stripe data rules. The Service Code is another transaction attribute that may be useful in segregating magstripe and EMV based payments. The service code is a sequence of digits that—taken as a whole—allows the issuer to define various services, differentiates card usage in international or domestic interchange, designates PIN and authorization requirements and identifies card restrictions. The use of a service code is applicable to all Visa products. Typical service code examples are: 101—International-use credit and debit cards, 120—International-use credit and debit cards where PIN is required, 201—EMV chip credit card, 221—EMV chip debit card, 601—Domestic-use EMV chip credit and debit cards. Service codes of 000 or 999 are not valid as identifiers of the card capability or usage, but rather are used in the calculation of CVV2 or iCVV. Therefore, service codes of 000 or 999 should not be encoded on a magnetic stripe. Thus, an issuer would be aware of scenarios in which either 000 or 999 has been encoded on the magnetic stripe of counterfeit cards, resulting in issuer fraud losses. CVV values, POS entry codes and service codes should be used in combination to identify logical conflicts and mitigate preventable counterfeit and card-not-present fraud and also implement technical fallback as described herein. Issuers need to ensure that the POS entry code identifies a supported payment interface and that the service code is valid. After reviewing an authorization request, issuers incorporate the corresponding CVV result as part of the decision process. When an issuer validates the POS entry mode, the appropriate service code and the corresponding CVV, they can automatically validate whether the transaction is an appropriate technical fallback transaction. It is noted that the technical fallback technology is equally applicable in other embodiments to various other content providers and various other types of providers, such as financial service providers or to any application that involves communication of messages between users, and that the technical fallback technology is not limited to a certain number of readers or set-up of POS system. The preceding summary is provided for the purposes of summarizing some exemplary embodiments to provide a basic understanding of aspects of the subject matter described herein. Accordingly, the above-described features are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following description of Figures and Claims. Turning now to the Figures,FIG.1is an example architecture of payment communication system100for enabling point-of-sale (POS) transactions between merchants102A and customers102B particularly in technical fallback scenarios. In the example ofFIG.1, the payment communication system100includes a point-of-sale (POS) system that further includes a POS terminal104(associated with a merchant102B) executing an instance of a merchant application106and a plurality of payment object readers, such as a magstripe object reader108and an EMV object reader110connected to the POS terminal104. The system100further includes a payment processing system114(“PPS114”), one or more bank computing device(s)116, an issuer of the payment object117, and a card payment network computing device(s)118; all of which are connected via a communications network(s)120and122, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter. The customer102B can use any of a variety of payment objects112, such as credit cards, debit cards, etc., when participating in POS transaction with a merchant102A. In some embodiments, payment objects112can include one or more magnetic stripes112-1with customer financial information stored thereon. The data can be read when the magnetic stripes112-1are swiped in a magstripe object reader108communicatively coupled to POS terminal104. In some embodiments, other types of payment objects112can be used, for example smart cards having a built in integrated circuit including a memory chip112-2(e.g. EMV payment objects), a radio frequency identification tag (e.g. near field communication enabled objects), and the like. For this, the EMV object reader obtains data off the EMV chip112-2on the payment object112. In some examples, the payment object112includes EMV chip112-2and also magstripes112-1to allow backward compatibility with legacy readers. Separate readers for different methods of payment facilitate object reading capabilities to be distributed between the magnetic object reader108and the EMV object reader110depending on whether the magnetic stripes are being read or the EMV chip. The payment communication system100in the example ofFIG.1illustrates the POS terminal104associated with the merchant102A that participates in the payment service provided by the service provider of PPS114. The PPS114, in one implementation, may include the control logic registers, such as a device status register128, a transaction count register124and a threshold count register126to store data which can be used to process and authorize payment transactions received at the POS terminal104, described in subsequent paragraphs. In some implementations, the count registers124,126, and128can be stored in the POS terminal104or the EMV object reader110. For example, storage and determination of the count locally is useful because the network connection with the PPS114is established only after the count is exceeded. The POS terminal104can be a computing device (e.g., a mobile computing device) able to communicate with the PPS114, and with various other computing devices, through suitable communication protocols, interfaces, and networks, including network120, for example to generate and forward information into the registers124,126and128. In one example, the POS terminal104is a communication device such as a mobile phone, laptop, tablet computer, and the like, associated with a merchant providing an item or service for purchase. In another example, the POS terminal104is a mobile device that is wearable or otherwise connected to or associated with the buyer, for example, the computing device may be an Apple® watch or a Fitbit®. Further, the POS terminal104can be any appropriate device operable to send and receive requests, messages, or other types of information over the network120. Additionally, while only a single POS terminal104is illustrated in the example ofFIG.1, in some embodiments there can be additional terminals depending on the number of merchants participating in the payment service, or a plurality of components arranged as a POS system. The POS terminal104can be an electronic cash register that is connected to a payment object reader110capable of accepting a variety of payment objects112, such as credit cards, debit card, gift cards, near-field communication (NFC) based payment instruments, and the like. As mentioned, the POS terminal104can be connected to a central processing server, the PPS114to obtain inventory of available products and services. The POS terminal104can work in both online and offline modes to allow the merchant102A to both access the inventory and provisionally process payments whether or not the communication network between the PPS114is established or not. While some implementations describe the decision making to occur at the server or PPS level, it will be understood that in certain implementations, for example offline implementations, the POS terminal104can proxy for the PPS114. The POS terminal104can include an instance of a merchant application106executing on POS terminal104. Merchant application106provides POS functionality to enable the merchant102A to accept payments at a POS location using POS terminal104. In some types of businesses, the POS location can correspond to a store or other place of business of the merchant, and thus, can be a fixed location that typically does not change on a day-to-day basis. In other types of businesses, however, the POS location can change from time to time, such as in the case that merchant102A operates a food truck, is a street vendor, a cab driver, or has an otherwise mobile business, e.g., in the case of merchants who sell items at buyers' homes, buyers' places of business, etc. The merchant application106on POS terminal104can send transaction information to PPS114, e.g., as the transaction is being conducted at the POS location. In some embodiments, such as if a particular POS terminal104is not connected to the network114and is therefore processing transactions offline, the transaction information can be sent in a batch at a subsequent point in time or using other suitable techniques. In some embodiments, the transaction information can be sent via SMS, MMS, or a voice call. The POS terminal104includes specific communication ports to connect with a variety of devices, such as the magstripe object reader108and the EMV object reader110and even other remote devices, such as the PPS114. The POS terminal104is communicatively coupled to the magstripe object reader108and the EMV object reader110, either by direct connection, for example through an audio jack of the mobile phone connected to an audio plug of the magstripe object reader, a line input port, and a USB port, or through wireless connection, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, BLE (Bluetooth low energy), NFC, or other appropriate short-range communication. Short-range communication as used herein refers to communication protocols having a generally short range of communication (less than 100 meters in some embodiments), such as NFC communication, RFID (radio frequency identification) tags, or Wi-Fi, etc. While the magstripe object reader108can read data from a payment object, such as magnetic stripe object, the EMV object reader110reads data from the chip-type object, the read data in both cases is communicated to POS terminal104. In one implementation, the magstripe object reader108includes a magnetic read head to read a magnetic stripe of the payment object as it is swiped through a groove of the magnetic stripe card reader whereas the EMV object reader110includes electrical contacts in a slot to connect with contacts of a chip of the payment object when it is inserted into the slot. The EMV object reader110can also read data from an NFC device and communicate the data to POS terminal104. In one implementation, the EMV object reader110detects insertion of an EMV chip or such object in the slot of the EMV object reader110by establishing contact between the chip and the contacts in the slot. Subsequently, the EMV object reader110powers the chip. In some implementations, insertion of the chip causes the EMV object reader110to be activated. The data read off the payment objects112is payment transaction data includes information required for processing payment transactions, including, but not limited to, service code, point-of-sale entry code, debit account information, credit cardholders name, credit card number, expiration date and card verification value (CVV), digital permanent account number (PAN) and so on. Note that in one embodiment, the POS terminal104is also equipped to register the connection status of the readers110and108, but does not recognize a swipe from a dip action of the payment object or even differentiate a chip from a magstripe object. In other words, while the POS terminal104recognizes the presence of both a magstripe object reader and the EMV reader, without the solution disclosed herein, the terminal104has no way to force the customer or merchant to stop a magstripe payment through a chip and magstripe card if an EMV card reader is present and functioning. The readers110and108are both capable of encrypting the payment transaction data read off the payment object, such that a decryption algorithm is required to read the data embedded within. This also makes the process of stopping magstripe payments in the presence of the EMV object reader difficult. However, as disclosed herein and in subsequent paragraphs, the PPS114obtains all such information from the readers108and110through the POS terminal104to allow magstripe payments in cases of technical fallback and “true” magstripe payment transactions, and reject magstripe payments in case an EMV object reader is available and functioning, where the EMV object reader110is said to be functioning if on dipping the payment object, the EMV chip can be successfully detected and read. The PPS114can decrypt the obtained payment transaction data to process transactions, authorize transactions, institute technical fallback flows, and so on. For example, the POS terminal104sends both the connection status, indicating which readers are connected to it at a point in time, and encrypted data, which indicates whether the object was swiped or dipped. The reader110or the POS terminal104can track and store the number of failed “dips,” which is the number of times the payment object is detected to be dipped in the payment object reader110without yielding data. This count too is sent to the PPS114along with other encrypted data. By analyzing the aforementioned data parameters, the PPS114can make determinations whether to allow magstripe payments or to force EMV payments. So, when the payment object is swiped or dipped into a reader, the POS terminal104sends a message MS1to the PPS114. The message MS1includes information related to the readers108or110or both connected to the POS terminal104and data read from the payment object112, which is encrypted and therefore secured from the POS terminal104or the merchant application106executing thereon. The PPS114analyzes the message MS1by decrypting the data read from the payment object112, specifically a service code or a POS entry code, to determine whether the payment object was a chip or a magstripe, whether it was swiped or dipped into a reader, and the number of times the card was unsuccessfully dipped in the card reader. The decryption can yield, substantially, any of the following scenarios: In scenario A (illustrated byFIG.2A), message MS1includes information of a service code and a POS entry code that indicates the type of object and that the object was swiped into a payment object reader108connected to the POS terminal104. The connection status from the POS terminal104indicates that only a magnetic stripe reader108was present at the time of payment transaction. The service code indicates that the payment object includes magstripe only. As such, only the magstripe object reader is sufficient to process payment transactions. The PPS114can process the transaction as a “true” magstripe transaction if the reader108is able to read data off of the magstripe212-1of the object212. In scenario B (illustrated byFIG.2B), message MS1includes information of the service code and the POS entry code that indicates the type of object and that the object was dipped into the EMV object reader110connected to the POS terminal104. On insertion of an object, the EMV object reader110either powers the chip of the object or gets powered thus updating the connection status. The connection status from the POS terminal104indicates that EMV object reader110was present at the time of payment transaction. The service code indicates that the payment object includes EMV chip only. As such, only the EMV reader is sufficient to process payment transactions whether or not the magstripe object reader is present. The PPS114can process the transaction as a “true” EMV transaction. In scenario C (illustrated byFIG.2C), the connection status from the POS terminal104indicates that both EMV object reader110and magstripe object reader108are present at the time of payment transaction. Further assume that the customer102B has an object that includes both a chip and magstripe on the object. The customer first attempts to swipe the payment object. The POS terminal104or the PPS114, through the connection status, rejects the transaction as the customer102B needs to dip the card in the EMV object reader110. Thus, the swipe action generates a message MS1which includes information of the service code and the POS entry code that indicates the type of object and that the object was swiped in the magstripe object reader in the presence of an EMV object reader. The PPS114analyzes message MS1and rejects the payment transaction. Subsequently, PPS114may update a transaction count, which may be stored and associated with a register within the PPS114. In some implementations, the transaction count may be stored locally within the PPS114. It also sends a message or alert MS2back to the POS terminal104requesting the customer102B to attempt an EMV payment instead. In other words, the PPS114generates an alert causing the customer to engage the chip112-1of the payment object112with the EMV object reader110. In one implementation, the alert MS2has embedded within it an instruction set for the customer to establish contacts between the EMV chip112-1of the payment object and the EMV object reader110connected to the POS terminal104. In other implementations, engagement with the alert or a link therein causes an automatic execution of the instruction set. In some cases, if the customer102B repeatedly attempts to swipe instead of dip the payment object even once, the transaction may still be sent to PPS114for processing. The PPS114can flag such transactions as such so that the issuer can switch liability from the issuer to the merchant as EMV was not used or the EMV object reader110was not available to take EMV payments. In scenario D (illustrated byFIG.2D), the connection status from the POS terminal104indicates that both EMV object reader110and magstripe object reader108are present at the time of payment transaction. Further assume that the customer102B has an object that includes both a chip and magstripe on the object. To this end, the customer102B dips the payment object112having chip112-2in the EMV object reader110. The EMV object reader110powers itself up and/or the chip due to insertion of an object. The payment object reader110updates an internal transaction count value stored in the POS terminal104or within the reader itself. If the chip112-2is faulty, the EMV object reader110cannot read any data and the result of a chip read yields a null value. The POS terminal104or the reader110stores the transaction count, a threshold count, and compares the transaction count with the threshold count. If the transaction count is less than the threshold count, the customer102B is asked to re-attempt dipping of the EMV chip until the threshold count is met. However, after repeated attempts of dipping and no data extraction, the technical fallback can be instituted. So, after a threshold number of failed attempts to read data off of the chip being dipped in the EMV object reader, the POS terminal104can detect whether a magstripe object reader108is connected. If not, the POS terminal104can instruct the merchant102A to connect one. However, if it is connected, the POS terminal104generates instructions for the merchant102A to accept payment through a swipe of the payment object112. The message MS1includes information of a service code and a POS entry code that indicates that the object was dipped into a reader a threshold number of times only to fail and then swiped into a magstripe object reader. The connection status from the POS terminal104indicates that both EMV object reader110and magstripe object reader108were present at the time of payment transaction. PPS114analyzes message MS1and further analyzes a transaction count value. As mentioned before, the transaction count value stores any previous attempts made by the customer or the merchant to use EMV chip prior to swiping the magnetic part of the payment object112. The fact that the customer or merchant had to make multiple attempts with the EMV chip indicate either a faulty chip or a faulty reader, both cases warranting institution of technical fallback. In some implementations, the counter is managed at the server level. So, after detecting a dip, the message MS1includes information of a service code and a POS entry code that indicates that the object was dipped into a reader, the connation status indicator, and the transaction count value. If the transaction count value is less than a predetermined threshold value (CTH) PPS114rejects the payment transaction and sends a message or alert MS2back to the POS terminal104requesting the customer102B to attempt an EMV payment instead. In other words, the PPS114generates an alert causing the customer to engage the chip112-1of the payment object112with the EMV object reader110. In one implementation, the alert MS2has embedded within it an instruction set for the customer to establish contacts between the EMV chip112-1of the payment object and the EMV object reader110connected to the POS terminal104. In other implementations, engagement with the alert or a link therein causes an automatic execution of the instruction set. However, if the transaction count is more than the predetermined threshold value CTH, PPS114tags the payment transaction as a magstripe transaction in technical fallback and forwards the payment transaction to the issuer, which then either processes or rejects the payment transaction based on various factors, such as risk rating of the customer, merchant, the payment object, and so on. In other variations of scenario D where the message MS1includes information of the POS entry code that indicates that the object was swiped into a reader, and the connection status from the POS terminal104indicates that both EMV object reader110and magstripe object reader108were present at the time of payment transaction, the receipt of message MS1may automatically trigger querying of the value of transaction count.FIG.2delves into the various scenarios in further detail. With reference to scenarios C and D, it should be noted that since the customer102B has an EMV-chip enabled object, the customer102B should first attempt to pay for the transaction using the EMV-chip112-2, as per EMV specifications. Accordingly, the merchant102A should have EMV object readers112to support acceptance of EMV payment object. For this, the POS terminal104or the PPS114first checks the kind of readers that are connected to the POS terminal104. The PPS114and the POS terminal104know which readers are connected based on a stored connection status identifier, which is enabled when any communication is established between a reader and the POS terminal104. However, note that the POS terminal104may not know whether an object was swiped or dipped especially in cases where the readers encrypt the data on read with the decryption algorithm residing in the PPS114. The POS terminal104can assign a value of the connection status indicator according to the communication protocol that is used to connect to a reader and/or the kind of reader that is being connected to. For example, if the POS terminal104establishes a communication channel with an EMV object reader112only, the connection status identifier may be set to 1, whereas the status can be set to 2 if only the magstripe object reader110is connected, and 3 if both the EMV and the magstripe object readers are connected. Such values can be saved in the PPS114as well, for example, in the device status register128. Assuming that both EMV object reader108and the magstripe object reader110are connected to the POS terminal104, the POS terminal104generates a message through its merchant application106to instruct the customer or merchant to dip the EMV-chip side of the object112in a slot of the EMV object reader112. Now assume that the chip-object is faulty. This may happen if the chip112-1on the object112has been accidentally damaged, has dirt on the contacts of the chip112-1, is not compatible with the reader due to interoperability issues, or the EMV object reader110is not working properly. Understandably, the POS terminal104cannot read all or part of the payment transaction data off the faulty EMV-chip112-1and generates a reading error but can still register that a dip attempt was made. In some cases, the POS terminal104receives encrypted data from the readers110or108and sends the encrypted transaction data (but unbeknownst to the POS terminal104as incomplete or defective) to the PPS114, which then returns the reading error to indicate that the data is unreadable on decryption and that the chip read is useless. If chip cannot be read correctly in either of the above cases, the merchant application106indicates in a message that the customer should re-try dipping the chip112-1in the EMC object reader110, each time incrementing a count value to indicate the number of times the read operation of the EMV chip112-1fails “dip-read-failure”. Again, the counter maintaining the dip-read-failures can either be local to the POS terminal104and reader110or remote, for example, in the PPS114. After a certain number of attempts trying to read the chip112-1, the number being set by the institutions processing or issuing the payment object112, the PPS114allows for technical fallback to be instituted. Most EMV cards contain a magnetic stripe, for either backwards compatibility in non-EMV environments or to support technical fallback if the EMV enabled chip is unreadable. Technical fallback describes an exception process wherein the magnetic stripe rather than the chip data on an EMV card is read by an EMV-capable device. In such situations the security mechanisms provided by EMV are effectively bypassed, and the transaction security reverts to that of a magnetic stripe. In many mature EMV markets, however, technical fallback is usually restricted and controlled, limiting this type of fraud. The number of acceptable dip-read-failure attempts can be two or three before magstripe payments are permitted in lieu of EMV based payments. In one embodiment, the total count of EMV payment attempts can be maintained locally, i.e., as the client level, or remotely, i.e., at the server-level. For example, in one embodiment, the POS terminal104can maintain the number of times the EMV chip is dipped in the EMV object reader110to cause EMV payment which then resulted in a read-failure. The POS terminal104can then store the value within a local counter, e.g., within a secure enclave in the POS terminal104or in a database associated with the POS terminal104. In another embodiment and as contemplated here, the PPS114maintains the value of the number of times the EMV chip112-1establishes contact with the EMV reader110. The PPS114includes a transaction count register124to maintain the value in a parameter called transaction count, which increments every time a read-failure of the EMV chip is detected. Further, a threshold register count detects whether the transaction count exceeds a predetermined threshold count. If yes, the threshold register may comprise additional registers to specify conditions for which the magstripe object reader108is to be triggered for technical fallback or conditions where the EMV object reader110shall give an interrupt to another device, e.g. magstripe object reader108when it monitors that a maximum threshold count is exceeded. As mentioned before, the POS terminal104and the PPS114are aware that another card reader is connected to the POS terminal104. The other reader may be a magstripe object reader108. The POS terminal104can detect that by checking the connection status indicator value. In another embodiment, if another reader is not connected and the EMV chip read has been failing, the PPS114can indicate to the merchant, for example through a text, email or GUI notification on the merchant application106, to connect a magstripe object reader108to allow an alternate form of payment. On establishing connection with a magstripe object reader108, the PPS114—having determined that the transaction count have exceeded the threshold count—can generate a notification to allow the customer to swipe the magnetic stripes112-1of the payment object112. In this case, the magstripe object reader108reads the transaction data off of the magstripes112-1, encrypts the data and sends it to the POS terminal104, which sends it to the PPS114. The PPS114decrypts the data and makes the determination whether to allow the transaction to proceed to the issuer or not. On receiving authorization or contemporaneous to the authorization step, the POS terminal104or the payment processing system114on behalf of the merchant, generates a fund transfer request for the amount of product or service requested by the merchant102A and sends to a computer system114of a payment processing service (referred to as “payment processing system” or “PPS114”) via a communications network120. The PPS114can be a cloud computing environment, a virtualized computing environment, a computer cluster, or any combination thereof. The PPS114can analyze the fund transfer request based on a plurality of rules stored in a knowledge database (not shown) before sending the fund transfer request to a computer system116of the PPS' acquirer or merchant's acquirer (hereinafter “acquirer116”). For example, one of the rules in the knowledge base may be determining whether the request is in a certain format or whether the request when run against a risk machine yields a safe score, or that the request was authorized based on technical fallback. In one implementation, the acquirer120is a bank or financial institution that processes payments (e.g., credit or debit card payments) and may assume risk on behalf of a merchant102B or a plurality of merchants103aggregated by and represented under PPS114. The acquirer116sends the fund transfer request to the computer system118of a card payment network (e.g., Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express) (hereinafter “card payment network118”) to determine whether the transaction is authorized or deficient in any other way. In some implementations, PPS114may serve as an acquirer and connect directly with the card payment network118. The card payment network118forwards the data to the computer system of an issuing bank117. The issuer117is a bank or financial institution that offered a financial account (e.g., credit or debit card account) to the buyer102B or102A. The issuer117makes a determination as to whether the buyer's payment information is valid and whether the buyer102B has the capacity to absorb the relevant charge associated with the payment transaction. Each of the aforementioned computer systems can include one or more distinct physical computers and/or other processing devices which, in the case of multiple devices, can be connected to each other through one or more wired and/or wireless networks. All of the aforementioned devices are coupled to each other through the communications network122and120, including the Internet, intranet, a cellular network, a local area network, a wide area network, or any other such network, or combination thereof. Protocols and components for communicating over such a network are well known and are not discussed herein. Furthermore, PPS114, the POS terminal104, and the readers108and110can also communicate over the communications network120using wired or wireless connections, and combinations thereof. If the payment transaction is approved by the issuer124and/or the card payment network122, a payment authorization message is communicated from the issuer to the merchant computing device104via a path opposite of that described above. While the description above may be described with reference to a single device being mapped to a single object, it will be understood that various variations are within the realm of this methodology. For example, multiple devices can be registered with a single payment object or multiple payment objects in a manner described in the foregoing paragraphs. In such implementations, the authorization of a payment transaction in response to an introduction of a payment object in a technical fallback scenario may be based on the detection of a specific device or a collection of devices associated with a customer. Alternatively, the authorization may be based on the detection of a specific cluster of devices, in a specific order or location. In another scenario, the authorization may be based on detection of a specific object with a specific device amongst the cluster of devices, where the absence of another device indicates a more formal means of authorization. So, a buyer may be asked to key in a PIN or password shown on the first or a third device, either through a text or email notification, to authorize the payment transaction. Further, in some implementations, the technical fallback may also be implemented in certain geographical areas, for specific merchants, or at certain times. FIGS.2A-2Dare illustrations of the different ways in which communication is established between the POS terminal204and readers208and210, and subsequent treatment of a payment transaction based on the status of communication, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter. In one implementation, the POS terminal204is similar to POS terminal104, also readers208and210are similar to readers108and110in both operation and construction. As a reminder, magstripe object reader208allows magstripe payments, while EMV object reader210is specifically for EMV and NFC based card payments. In the recent past, financial services providers all over the world have been replacing magnetic stripe objects with EMV objects to prevent cyber attacks at terminals to stem the growing tide of cyber attacks which had been greatly hurting banks. While the financial industry is switching from EMV to magstripe, businesses and card issuers want to provide both backward compatibility to customers and merchants who are yet to switch and also support an alternate mode of payment in cases EMV chip falls through during the initial years of set-up. It should be understood that EMV and Payment Card Industry (PCI) standard specifications stipulate use of EMV chip whenever the merchant202B has an appropriate reader, such as EMV object reader210connected to the POS terminal204. The EMV technology is much more secured than typical magnetic stripes as the chip encrypts financial payment data multiple times before communicating with a POS terminal104. With the liability shift, if a customer presents an EMV object at a point-of-sale and there is no EMV object reader, the business may still use the object's magnetic stripe to complete a transaction but are held liable for any fraud stemming from that transaction. However, if an EMV object reader is present but cannot be used in cases of faulty chip212-2or due to failure in reading the EMV chip212-2, the merchant202B can read the magstripe212-1to avoid the risk of the merchant losing the sale. This option for the merchant to ‘fall back’ to accepting the magstripe to complete the transaction is referred to as technical fallback. In such instances, the bank is still liable for the fraud as it would be for true EMV payment transactions. The infrastructure to support technical fallback with the payment processing systems layout shown inFIG.1is explained hereinafter with reference to an example scenarios below. In the example scenarios, the customer202B approaches the POS terminal204being manned by a merchant202A, to pay for a product or service in a dedicated checkout area within a merchant store by presenting a payment object212. The payment object212, in this example, is a single object that includes both magnetic stripes (“magstripe”)212-1and an EMV chip212-2. This is however not required. The customer202A can present two objects, one with magnetic stripes212-1and another with the EMV chip212-2. Consider scenario A (illustrated byFIG.2A) in which the POS terminal204is connected to the magstripe object reader208only (and the EMV object reader210is disconnected as shown by dotted connection lines) and the customer202B has the payment object212(that is one having both EMV ship and magstripe) which the merchant202A swipes into the reader208. The POS terminal204, through a merchant application for example, sends a message called MS1to the PPS214based at least on the data acquired from the object swiped. MS1includes information of a point-of-sale entry code that indicates that the object was swiped into a reader, a service code (SC) that shows it was both a chip and magstripe object, the connection status (CS) from the POS terminal204indicates that only a magnetic stripe reader108was present at the time of payment transaction. The PPS214can process the transaction as a “true” magstripe transaction and indicate as such in MS2to the POS terminal204. Consider scenario B (illustrated byFIG.2B) in which the POS terminal204is connected to the magstripe object reader208and the EMV object reader210and the customer202B has the payment object212(that is one having both EMV ship and magstripe) which the merchant202B dips into a slot of the reader210. The POS terminal104, through a merchant application for example, sends a message MS1to the PPS114based at least on the data acquired from the object inserted. In scenario B, message MS1includes information of a POS entry code that indicates that the object was dipped into a reader, a service code (SC) that shows it was both a chip and magstripe object, and the connection status from the POS terminal204indicates that EMV object reader210was present at the time of payment transaction. The PPS114can process the transaction as a “true” EMV payment transaction and indicate as such in MS2to the POS terminal204. Consider scenario C (illustrated byFIG.2C) in which the POS terminal204is connected to the magstripe object reader208and the EMV object reader210and the customer202B has the payment object212(that is one having both EMV ship and magstripe) which the merchant202B swipes into the reader208. The POS terminal204sends a message MS1to the PPS114based at least on the data acquired from the object swiped. In scenario C, message MS1includes information of the POS entry code that indicates that the object was swiped into a reader, a service code indicating the object has both chip and magstripes, and the connection status from the POS terminal204indicates that both EMV object reader210and magstripe object reader208were present at the time of payment transaction. PPS214analyzes message MS1and rejects the payment transaction. It also sends a message or alert MS2back to the POS terminal204requesting the customer102B to attempt an EMV payment instead. In other words, the PPS214generates an alert causing the customer to engage the chip212-1of the payment object112with the EMV object reader210. In one implementation, the alert MS2has embedded within it an instruction set for the customer to establish contacts between the EMV chip212-1of the payment object and the EMV object reader210connected to the POS terminal204. In other implementations, engagement with the alert or a link therein causes an automatic execution of the instruction set. Thus the PPS114requests the customer to dip the object instead. On dipping, the chip may fail to be read. Subsequently, PPS214updates a transaction count (TC), which may be stored and associated with a register within the PPS114, and optionally appended to the MS1as MS1*. In some implementations, the transaction count may be stored locally within the PPS214. After determining that a threshold number of dip-read-failures have been detected, the PPS214allows the customer to swipe thus instituting technical fallback. In scenario D (illustrated byFIG.2D), message MS1includes information of the POS entry code that indicates that the object was swiped into a reader, the service code indicates that both chip and magstripe are included in the object, and the connection status from the POS terminal204indicates that both EMV object reader210and magstripe object reader208were present at the time of payment transaction. PPS214analyzes message MS1and further analyzes a transaction count value. The transaction count value stores any previous attempts made by the customer or the merchant to use EMV chip prior to swiping the magnetic part of the payment object212. The fact that the customer or merchant had to make multiple attempts with the EMV chip indicate either a faulty chip or a faulty reader, both cases warranting institution of technical fallback. If the transaction count value is less than a predetermined threshold value (CTH) PPS214rejects the payment transaction and sends a message or alert MS2back to the POS terminal204requesting the customer202B to attempt an EMV payment instead. In other words, the PPS214generates an alert causing the customer to engage the chip212-1of the payment object212with the EMV object reader210. In one implementation, the alert MS2has embedded within it an instruction set for the customer to establish contacts between the EMV chip212-1of the payment object and the EMV object reader110connected to the POS terminal204. In other implementations, engagement with the alert or a link therein causes an automatic execution of the instruction set. However, if the transaction count is more than the predetermined threshold value CTH, PPS214indicates to the customer to attempt swiping the magstripe of the magstripe object. The PPS214then tags the payment transaction as a magstripe transaction in technical fallback (for example by appending MS1* with such information) and forwards the payment transaction to the issuer, which then either processes or rejects the payment transaction based on various factors, such as risk rating of the customer, merchant, the payment object, and so on. In other variations of scenario D where the message MS1includes information of the POS entry code that indicates that the object was swiped into a reader, and the connection status from the POS terminal204indicates that both EMV object reader210and magstripe object reader208were present at the time of payment transaction, the receipt of message MS1may automatically trigger querying of the value of transaction count. FIG.3is a flowchart illustrating an example method300of facilitating a magnetic stripe (magstripe) payment from a payment object equipped with both magnetic stripes and chip, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter. The process300can be performed by one or more components, devices, or modules such as, but not limited to, the mobile device, the payment processing system, merchant device or POS terminal, or payment beacon or other components or devices. For the sake of explanation, the description hereinafter is described with reference to components described inFIG.1, however components other than the ones mentioned inFIG.1may be used. As illustrated inFIG.3, the process300includes a set of operations from block302to block330. The process300starts with the operation at block302. A buyer102B with a payment object112approaches a checkout area at a merchant location, which is equipped with a payment object reader108and presents the method of payment, e.g., a payment object112like a credit card having both magstripes and chip. The buyer however only inserts the magstripes into the magstripe object reader108, for example through a swipe action. The reader thus establishes contact with the magnetic stripes of the payment object112. At this point, the customer may or may not have made previous attempts to dip the chip of the payment object in the EMV object reader. The transaction count that stores the number of times attempts were made to dip the card, which then resulted in dip-card-failures, may be stored in the POS terminal104. (step302). The magstripe object reader108may store the location coordinates of the buyer or a device associated with the buyer by establishing connection with the buyer device. The payment object reader108also scans the payment object that was inserted or otherwise introduced in the magstripe object reader108. For example, the magstripe object reader108obtains the payment object information, e.g., the last four of the card data, CVV1, CVV2, service code, point-of-sale entry code, and other such information. The payment object information also includes information indicating that the payment object includes an integrated circuit as an alternate mode of payment as well (step304). The magstripe object reader108can include a card interface for reading a magnetic stripe and can include encryption technology for encrypting the information read from the payment object112. The encryption technology includes a National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) compliant True Random Number Generator (TRNG) that can generate the pseudo-random numbers. The encoding can also be done based on keys generated by a cryptographic unit (not shown). Examples of keys include authentication keys, which include SCP03 master keys (Message Authentication Code Key: MAC, Encryption Key: ENC and Key Encryption Key: KEK, which are 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) symmetric keys with associated key derivation data) or Key Agreement Keys (e.g., user server signature verification public key, user server static public key, user static key pair with both public and private key). The encrypted fingerprint can also be created using other schemes, such as fuzzy vault algorithm, a cancelable fuzzy vault scheme based on irreversible hash functions, such as hash functions, such as MD, RIPEMD, and SHA. The magstripe object reader108sends the encrypted data to the POS terminal104to which it is connected (step306). The POS terminal obtains the connection status indicator. The POS terminal saves connection status identifier as a value to indicate the devices connected to the POS terminal, include the magstripe object reader108. This status is updated for example at the time the POS terminal establishes connection with the devices (step308). In this case, only the magstripe object reader108and a printer are connected. The connection status identifier indicates as such. The POS terminal104packages the received encrypted data along with connection status identifier and the transaction count into a message MS1and sends the message to a payment processing system, which may be a server or cloud-based implementation (step310). At step312, the payment processing system decrypts the message MS1containing the information related to the swiped object and the connection status identifier, by using a decryption algorithm based on the same algorithm as the encryption technology. At step314, the PPS114determines whether the magstripe transaction can be allowed. For example, on analysis, PPS determines whether the payment object includes an integrated chip as well. Additionally, PPS114may determine whether an EMV object reader110is connected. If the determination is “No,” that is if the payment object includes no chip and/or there is not EMV object reader, the transition proceeds to whether there is sufficient payment information to process the transaction (step316). If not, the customer is requested to re-swipe the card or manually enter the card information as shown in319, but if the transaction information is sufficient, the transaction information is sent to the card processing networks for further processing (as shown in step318) and a message indicating successful transaction is displayed on the POS terminal104(step320). Step322follows the step of determining whether the object has a chip card. If yes, the PPS determines whether an EMV object reader is connected to the POS terminal104, for example by checking the connection status identifier. If the EMV object reader is connected, the EMV certifications stipulate that EMV chip be inserted instead. Accordingly, that process is followed and the magstripe payment is rejected if a certain number of dip attempts have not been made already. This is discussed inFIG.4. FIG.4is an example method400of rejecting a magnetic stripe (magstripe) payment from a payment object equipped with both magnetic stripes and chip when the technical fallback scenario is not met, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter. The process400can be performed by one or more components, devices, or registers such as, but not limited to, the mobile device, the payment processing system, merchant device or POS terminal, or payment beacon or other components or devices. For the sake of explanation, the description hereinafter is described with reference to components described inFIG.1. As illustrated inFIG.4, the process400includes a set of operations from block402to block408. The process400continues from step322. In one implementation, the PPS114can determine whether another payment alternative is present, for example, by communicating with the POS terminal104. In another implementation, the PPS114determines connection status of other devices by accessing the connection status identifier. On detecting an EMV object reader110, the PPS114accesses a value referred to as transaction count, which indicates if an EMV chip has been dipped in response to the transaction in question. The transaction count may be stored in the POS terminal104as well (step402). The transaction count is then compared to a threshold count value at step404. In some implementations, the POS terminal104makes the comparisons and transmits the status of whether or not the threshold has been met to the PPS114, instead of sending the transaction count. The transaction count value can be based on a number of factors and can be both static and/or dynamic. For example, in one instance, the location of the merchant store, for example in a neighborhood with high fraud events, can have a lower threshold value. On comparison, it is determined whether the transaction count is more than the threshold count in step406. If the transaction count is less than a threshold value, the magstripe payment transaction is considered invalid (step408) and the customer is asked to dip the object instead through a message notification on merchant application106(step410) This process continues until read data is obtained off of the EMV chip. However, if the transaction count is more than the threshold count, the magstripe payment is processed differently as will be discussed inFIG.5. FIG.5is an example method500of facilitating a magnetic stripe (magstripe) payment from a payment object equipped with both magnetic stripes and chip when the technical fallback is instituted, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter. The process500can be performed by one or more components, devices, or registers such as, but not limited to, the mobile device, the payment processing system, merchant device or POS terminal, or payment beacon or other components or devices. For the sake of explanation, the description hereinafter is described with reference to components described inFIG.1. As illustrated inFIG.5, the process500includes a set of operations from steps502and516. The process500starts with the operation at step502after it is determined that a threshold number of dip-read-failure attempts have been made to read the chip of the EMV payment object in an EMV object reader. If the transaction count is more the threshold count, the PPS generates a technical fallback alert. The alert can also includes an instruction set guiding the customer or the merchant to activate a magstripe object reader if it is not already connected and processing payments through the magstripe of the payment object. (step502). The PPS sends the technical fallback alert to the POS terminal104and displays on the merchant application106, for example. The alert can include engagement links for the customer or merchant, which when activated enables the magstripe payment process (Step504). At step506, the POS terminal104receives engagement from the user to provide magstripe payment instrument. The magstripe object reader108is initialized at step508and the magstripe of the payment object112is read through the magstripe object reader108at step510. The data is encrypted and sent to the POS terminal104at step512. The POS terminal104can add connection status identifier to the data after encryption to indicate the presence of EMV object reader110(step514). Further, the PPS114appends the technical fallback information before sending to the issuer, which processes the transaction as it would in a technical fallback scenario (step516). FIG.6is an exemplary representation of a data structure in which the data may be stored and retrieved for processing of payment transactions, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter. The data structure600includes, for instance, data tables602,604,606, and608for payment transaction data, transaction count, threshold count and connection status identifier respectively. Further, there may be multiple data tables corresponding to each merchant or customer or both. The data structure600can be stored within the POS terminal104or the PPS114. In one implementation, the data table602includes data read off the payment object and includes fields such as service code and POS entry code. The data table608indicates connection status identifier showing the devices connected to a terminal at a specific merchant location. The threshold count is the counter value with which the number of failed EMV attempts is mapped. The threshold count may vary on a merchant, customer or transaction basis. The conditions or rules controlling the threshold count may be stored in PPS114in the same register called threshold count606and may vary the threshold count in real-time or set it to be static over a period of time. The transaction count controls the number of EMV payment attempts corresponding to a particular transaction. In some cases, these values may be mapped to a customer and payment object for analysis related to fallback transactions associated with a location or customer's payment object. It will be understood the data-structures shown inFIG.6are only for the purpose for illustration. The content, format and layout may vary from one device and one operating system to another. Further the content can vary based on various factors such as the method of decryption, and rules and conditions set by the PPS, merchant or customer or both. FIG.7is a block diagram illustrating embodiments of a PPS700configured to allow processing of payment transactions between entities, such as a merchant and a buyer, or a sender and recipient of funds by authorizing transactions initiated by registered devices. In one embodiment, the PPS700may serve to aggregate, process, store, search, serve, identify, instruct, generate, match, and/or facilitate interactions with a computer through various technologies, and/or other related data. The PPS700may be used to collect data for later retrieval, analysis, and manipulation, which may be facilitated through an internal or external database. For example, the PPS700on receiving payment related information may complete the transaction, generate receipt as proof of the transaction, update inventory of the product after the transaction, and obtain data related to the buyer involved in the transaction, such as transaction history, location data, and the like. In some implementations, the components of the PPS700can also be found in a buyer device (for example, a mobile phone of a buyer), a merchant device (for example, a point-of-sale terminal for processing payment transactions), and a payment beacon to send and receive static or dynamic information, for example, the payment proxy, transaction summary or receipt, either perpetually or on activation. The devices may have fewer or more components than defined here as will be clear by context. The PPS700may communicate with a POS terminal (e.g., transaction processing software applications executing on a tablet, or a computer) and various neighboring and remote, but connected, devices, such as buyer devices. The PPS700has the circuitry and logic to register a new device presented at the time of transaction along with a payment object, and mapping the device with the object or without the object for any subsequent payment transactions. The device may be registered in a variety of ways based on the characteristics that are obtained. For example, if the radiated performance is to be used as a factor in device registration and identification, the antenna transmitter and receiver of the PPS700are initialized. In another example, if the manufacturing tolerances are to be measures, components like the sensors and accelerometers of the PPS700are activated. Users702A, who may be buyers, merchants, consumers, senders or recipients of funds, buyers, sellers, and/or other entities or systems, may engage information technology systems (e.g., computers, mobile devices, laptops, servers) to facilitate processing of information, such as transactional, financial, and so on. It should be noted that the term “server” as used throughout this application refers generally to a computer, other device, program, or combination thereof that processes and responds to the requests of remote users across a communications network. Servers serve their information to requesting “clients”702B connected to the users702A. The term “client” or “buyer device” as used herein refers generally to a computer, program, other device, user and/or combination thereof that is capable of processing and making requests and obtaining and processing any responses from servers across a communications network704. Networks704facilitate the transfer of information from source points to destinations. The users (e.g., merchants) may directly interact with the PPS700, e.g., via the user inputs devices605. In one implementation, the PPS700can be configured to receive a payment card or payment card information to process payment card transactions (i.e., those involving reading of a payment card physically provided by the buyer at the merchant's location), as well as card-not-present (CNP) transactions (i.e., those where the instrument is not physically presented at the time that the payment is effected, e.g., through payment proxy), either through a card reader606or by providing a graphical user interface708to accept financial account information of the user702A initiating the payment. A payment card transaction may be any transaction where a merchant or a buyer uses a payment card to purchase a product or service offered by the merchant, for example, by swiping a user's credit card through a magnetic rails or chip contacts706or by providing the information through voice, text, or other wired or wireless data communication techniques. The term “swipe” here refers to any manner of triggering a magnetic rails or chip contacts706to read data from a payment card, such as by passing a card into or through a magnetic stripe card reader, optical scanner, smartcard (card with an embedded IC chip) reader (e.g., an EMV-compliant card reader or NFC enabled reader), radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, or the like. The magnetic rails or chip contacts are integrated within the PPS700(as shown) or connected externally with the PPS controller700and/or client(s)702B as peripheral devices710. If the card reader706is connected externally, the peripheral devices710may be connected via wired or wireless communication network704and interact to each other through customized interfaces. In one implementation, the PPS700can be connected to an audio plug of another device, such as the POS terminal. If the PPS700is integrated within the POS terminal, the one or more interfaces and components can be configured to accept payment data through various communication protocols. Accordingly, hardware implementation may include creation of slots, magnetic tracks, and rails with one or more sensors to facilitate a user702A, e.g., a merchant, to detect and accept a payment card. In one implementation, the payment card and the peripheral devices606may support the same technology for short-range (typically less than 100 meters) and/or low power wireless communication protocols and technologies, such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), standard Bluetooth, WiFi, Near Field Communication (NFC) or Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID). According to the communication protocol preferred or implemented, the PPS700may require additional steps to configure the rails or chip contacts706to operate and work alongside the PPS700. For example, a pairing component (described later) may be used to connect, synchronize, and pair various devices to facilitate exchange of data obtained off the payment card. The term “payment card’ or ‘payment object’ refers to a payment mechanism that includes a conventional debit card, a conventional credit card, a prepaid gift card, or the like, a smartcard that has an embedded integrated circuit chip (e.g., Europay-MasterCard-visa (EMV) card), a proxy card, or any card that functions as a combination of any of these mechanisms. The term “proxy card” as used herein refers to a card that may or may not have a card number/account number that appears to be that of a real credit or debit card account (i.e., it is in the correct format), but where that card/account number is actually only a proxy for the buyer's real card/account number. The card/account number generally adheres to a naming standard set by the financial institution associated with or issuing the payment card. Other examples of payment card may also include a prepaid card, a gift card, a rewards card, a loyalty points card, a frequent flyer miles card, a check, cash, or any other kind of payment instrument that holds financial value or provides a promise to pay at a later time. The payment card used in the example above is one type of a financial instrument. Other types of financial instruments, other than the payment card, can be used to initiate the transfer of funds. Another example of a financial instrument is a biometrically identifiable instrument, such as a person's finger (e.g., for fingerprint recognition), face, iris or retina, heartbeat, voice pattern, genetic parameter unique to the user, etc. Alternatively, a financial instrument can be a software instrument or virtual instrument, such as a virtual wallet, optionally embedded in a hardware device to enable contact or contactless payments. Payment Object Reader Architecture In one implementation, the PPS700may be based on computer systems that may comprise, but are not limited to, PPS units712and memory714. Furthermore, PPS units can comprise hardware and/or software components, referred to as PPS units712, which may comprise a central processing unit (“CPU(s)” and/or “processor(s) and/or microprocessor(s)” (these terms are used interchangeably))716and an interface bus718, which may be interconnected and/or communicating through a system bus720on one or more motherboard(s) having conductive and/or otherwise communicative pathways through which instructions (e.g., binary encoded signals) may travel to enable communications, operations, storage, etc. The interface bus718may also include other interfaces or adapters specific to network, storage, peripherals, and input-output interface(s), through which data may pass into and out of a computer and which allow users to access and operate various system components. The interface bus718may be connected to external units, such as peripheral devices710or client(s)702B via communication network704. Each of the exemplary components712is now described in detail. Processor(s) The CPU716may incorporate various specialized processing units, such as, but not limited to: integrated system (bus) controllers, memory management control units, floating point units, and even specialized processing sub-units like graphics processing units, digital signal processing units, and/or the like. In various embodiments, the processor core may be a low-power/ultra-low power/low-cost microcontroller; examples include an Intel Processor like Intel Atom, Apple A4, NVidia Tegra 2, Marvell Armada, Qualcomm Snapdragon, Samsung Hummingbird and Exynos, Texas Instruments OMAP and MSP microcontroller, ARM Holdings processor like the Cortex-A, -M -R, Series, or ARM series and/or the like processor(s). Should processing requirements dictate a greater amount speed and/or capacity, distributed processors (e.g., Distributed PPS700), mainframe, multi-core, parallel, and/or super-computer architectures may similarly be employed. Alternatively, should deployment requirements dictate greater portability, smaller Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) may be employed. Depending on the particular implementation, features of the PPS700may be achieved by implementing a microcontroller, such as Freescale's Kinetis K21D; and/or the like. Also, to implement certain features of the PPS700, some feature implementations may rely on embedded components, such as: Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (“ASIC”), Digital Signal Processing (“DSP”), Field Programmable Gate Array (“FPGA”), and/or the like embedded technology. Depending on the particular implementation, the embedded components may include software solutions, hardware solutions, and/or some combination of both hardware/software solutions. Interface Bus and Adapters Interface bus(ses)718may accept, connect, and/or communicate to a number of interface adapters, although not necessarily in the form of adapter cards, such as but not limited to: input-output interfaces (I/O)722, storage interfaces724, network interfaces726, and/or the like. Optionally, cryptographic processor interfaces728may be connected to the interface bus718. Storage interfaces724may accept, communicate, and/or connect to a number of storage devices such as, but not limited to: storage devices730, removable disc devices, and/or the like. Storage interfaces724may employ connection protocols such as, but not limited to: (Ultra) (Serial) Advanced Technology Attachment (Packet Interface) ((Ultra) (Serial) ATA(PI)), (Enhanced) Integrated Drive Electronics ((E)IDE), fiber channel, Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI), Universal Serial Bus (USB), and/or the like. Input-Output interfaces (I/O)722may accept, communicate, and/or connect to user input devices705, peripheral devices710, such as externally connected card readers, cryptographic processor devices731, and/or the like. I/O may employ connection protocols such as, but not limited to: audio: analog, digital, monaural, RCA, stereo, and/or the like; data: Apple Desktop Bus (ADB), IEEE 1394a-b, serial, universal serial bus (USB); USB 2.0; USB 3.1; USB Type C; Ethernet; infrared; joystick; keyboard; midi; optical; PC AT; PS/2; parallel; radio; video interface: Apple Desktop Connector (ADC), BNC, coaxial, component, composite, digital, Digital Visual Interface (DVI), high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), RCA, RF antennae, S-Video, VGA, and/or the like; wireless transceivers: 802.11a/b/g/n/x; Bluetooth; cellular (e.g., code division multiple access (CDMA), high speed packet access (HSPA(+)), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), global system for mobile communications (GSM), long term evolution (LTE), WiMax, Li-Fi etc.); and/or the like. In various embodiments, an audio or video display with a touch screen and driver may be included, the touch screen being based upon a variety of later-developed or current touch screen technology including resistive displays, capacitive displays, optical sensor displays, electromagnetic resonance, or the like. Additionally, touch screen display may include single touch or multiple-touch sensing capability. Any display technology may be used for the output display, such as a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or solid state device such as light-emitting diode (LED) or organic light-emitting diode (OLED), Plasma display, trans-reflective (Pixel Qi) display, electronic ink display (e.g. electrophoretic, electrowetting, interferometric modulating). In various embodiments, the resolution of such displays and the resolution of such touch sensors may be set based upon engineering or non-engineering factors (e.g. sales, marketing). In some embodiments, speakers and LED indicators can be used to present audio and visual identifiers of transaction and device status. In addition, buttons may be configured to power PPS700on or off, operate the controller or reset the controller600. In some embodiments of the PPS700, image capture device may be included, which may further include a sensor, driver, lens and the like. The sensor may be based upon any later-developed or convention sensor technology, such as CMOS, CCD, or the like. Image recognition components may be provided to process the image data. For example, such components can support functionalities including, but not limited to, barcode detection, facial recognition, camera parameter control, etc. Network interface(s)726may be regarded as a specialized form of an input-output interface. One or more network interfaces726may be used to engage with various communications network types704. For example, multiple network interfaces may be employed to allow for the communication over broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast networks. Through a communications network704, the PPS controller700is accessible through remote clients702B (e.g., computers with web browsers) by users702A. Network interfaces726may employ connection protocols such as, but not limited to: direct connect, Ethernet (thick, thin, twisted pair 10/100/1000 Base T, and/or the like), Token Ring, wireless connection such as IEEE 802.11a-x, and/or the like. Should processing requirements dictate a greater amount speed and/or capacity, distributed network controllers (e.g., Distributed PPS architectures may similarly be employed to pool, load balance, and/or otherwise increase the communicative bandwidth required by the PPS700. In some implementations, the network interfaces726may be communicatively coupled to hardware components, which facilitate detection of payment cards. For example, the network interfaces726may couple to a payment card slot or rail designed to accept payment cards through swipe or insertion or any other action. In another example, the network interfaces726may couple to one or more sensors included to detect presence of payment card or a tap of the payment card onto a surface of the PPS700. In various embodiments, the network interface726may also support wireless data transfers between the PPS700and external sources, such as clients602B and cameras, or the like. Wireless protocols may include Wi-Fi (e.g. IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, WiMax), Bluetooth or Bluetooth low energy (BLE); infrared, and the like, through BLE interface, WiFi interface, QR interface, NFC interface, EMV interface, cellular technology interface, and other interface(s), described subsequently. According to one implementation, BLE interface (“BLE”)732is configured to work on Bluetooth® or BLE® protocol to facilitate communication with a BLE transceiver installed on other devices. In one implementation, BLE is intended for low-power and low-latency applications for wireless devices within a short range, such as up to about 50 meters. BLE interface732may be used in applications requiring intermittent communications, smaller amounts of data transfer and bandwidths, and/or low duty cycles. BLE interface732can be configured to use only a fraction of the power as compared to other interfaces. In many cases, BLE interface732may be able to operate more than a year on the power source without charging. BLE interface732is capable of being paired with a peripheral device, such as another reader, a payment card, or a client702B associated with a user702A, thus allowing the PPS700to (a) serve as a “beacon” and broadcast data and/or (b) become a relay point between the PPS700and payment card, card reader706or a client702B serving as a point of sale terminal for a merchant. The BLE interface732allows the controller700with BLE interface732can be placed at merchant locations, museums, ski resorts, state parks, entertainment venues, parking garages, etc. As defined herein, a beacon is a short range communication device having a known or fixed location that provides a signal that can be detected by mobile devices within proximity of the beacon. For example, BLE interface732can transmit a radio frequency (RF) signal that includes its position coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude), which can be detected by a mobile device. Alternatively, BLE interface732can transmit other data, such as payment proxy related to the financial account information of the user702B. The PPS700BLE beacon allows for constant, scheduled or random scanning of other Bluetooth peripherals and devices. In one implementation, a component, such as BLE interface component, within the PPS700and/or the client702B can be set to run in the background under a BLE protocol, persistently, intermittently or on activation monitoring for a significant change in location and/or presence of an appropriate BLE peripheral or beacon at a merchant or vendor location. BLE beacon also allows for persistent or intermittent transmission of data. For example, BLE beacon may persistently transmit or receive information related to payment proxy associated with the client702B or PPS700. When the owner or user of the client702B or payment card enters a store having PPS700as a point of sale terminal, he or she would get in the BLE network radius of the PPS700. PPS700then serves as a bidirectional conduit for the card reader706to communicate with the CPU724collecting or handling the credit card transaction. Along with receiving transaction data or any other data by the BLE interface732, the PPS700may also encrypt, decrypt, or store the data for future processing. It does these actions in addition to running the payment application itself, which may display items for sale, up-sell based on purchases, allow confirmation of purchases, application of coupons, the ability to provide feedback, etc. In one implementation, the PPS700or the client702B may be connected to a BLE peripheral device having BLE interface732functionalities. In some implementations, the payment card may include a chip supporting BLE functionalities. A control logic unit (not shown) may also be included to bridge BLE interface either to ISO 7816 contact interface or ISO 14443 contactless interface to provide for autonomous bi-directional data transfer between paired devices. In one implementation, the PPS700is capable of communicating using Bluetooth, and is thus able to pair with a peripheral device710to obtain payment object information from a phone that at least has Bluetooth capabilities. In one implementation, a plurality of BLE peripheral devices may be connected via the BLE protocol, or other communication network, to form a mesh network. Such a mesh network may allow for transfer of data between the peripheral devices, even those that are more than the distance prescribed by the BLE protocol. Similar to BLE beacons, data can be exchanged using other kind of RF beacons, infrared beacons, cellular communications (CDMA, GSM, LTE, etc.), beacons, pattern generation beacons, such as barcodes, Quick Response (QR) codes, or a radio frequency identifier (RFID) tag. QR code or NFC may have short range but high accuracy; Wi-Fi or Bluetooth may have mid-range and medium accuracy; and cellular may have long-range but low accuracy. In some embodiments, the controller700can receive and permanently store payment information so that the controller600acts as a payment object that does not require a payment card or other payment object to be present. In one example, an NFC interface734(“NFC”) can allow for close range communication using standards such as ISO 18092, ISO 21481, TransferJet® protocol and in compliance with FIME certifications. Close range communication with the NFC interface may take place via magnetic field induction, allowing an NFC interface chip634to communicate with other NFC devices or to retrieve information from tags having RFID circuitry via the NFC interface. In instances where it is desired to read an NFC enabled payment object, or an NFC enabled payment object is determined to be in proximity to the CPU716may be configured to drive antenna745via a driving circuit (not shown) to induce a magnetic field capable of being modulated by the NFC enabled payment object. From here, the modulated magnetic field signal may be converted into a digital signal that CPU716can interpret via the NFC component734. On the other hand, when it is desired to transmit data via antenna745, CPU716may be configured to disable the driving circuit and transmit data using the NFC protocol by instructing a NFC modulator (not shown) to modulate the magnetic field to which antenna745is operatively coupled. In some embodiments, there can be a switch within the NFC modulator to turn on or off the load applied to the antenna745. The switch can be under the control of the CPU716. In some embodiments the antenna745can drift from a desired frequency (become detuned). This can be the result of a metal object being in the proximity of device610or reader700. The monitor circuit (not shown) can monitor the frequency of the antenna745, and determine when the frequency of the antenna745has drifted away from the desired frequency. When the it is determined that the NFC antenna745is out of tune, NFC antenna monitor circuit can work in concert with the CPU716to vary one or parameters such as capacitance, voltage, or impendence of the antenna745to tune the NFC antenna745. The antenna745along with transmitter-receiver644is configured to detect characteristics, such as radiated performance, radiated signal strength, frequencies, etc., via radio communication protocol. In another example, an EMV interface736(“EMV”) can allow the PPS700to accept Chip and PIN cards follow technical standards more formally known as EMV, after Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV). In one implementation, the EMV interface complies with EMV's Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 certifications. In some instances, CPU716receives payment data read by the EMV interface736via the card contacts (not shown), or alternatively from a magnetic stripe reader reading payment data from a magnetic stripe card. The payment data received at the CPU716is stored, either temporarily or permanently, in memory714of the reader700. The payment data stored in memory can then be transmitted via the NFC antenna718. The network interfaces626may work in conjunction with components explained later. In other implementations, a plurality of beacon technologies may be used based on specific accuracy or power requirements. Such technologies may be combined based on weight or some other relationship. In yet another implementation, selections may be made based on user preference or availability of the beacon technology at that time. For example, the reader700may be configured to provide and detect a plurality of beacons. For example, if a camera is on, a QR code on the client702B display may be read, for example to pair two payment devices. If only cellular is on, a modem may detect a femtocell may be nearby. The client702B, such as a merchant's register or point of sale terminal, may combine data from the multiple beacons and use such data for analysis of transactions over a course of time. For example, the buyer device702B may be configured to use Wi-Fi RSSI/RTT and BT RSSI/RTT measurements from a first beacon, QR code value from a second beacon, and WiFi RSSI and cellular measurements from a third beacon for accurately identifying and establishing secured connections with the buyer device702B. The beacons can be dynamic with data and other beacon parameters changing as per environment or the type of device pairing with the reader700; in other implementations, the beacons can be static and displayed using LED displays, electronic displays, or the like, described with reference to I/O interface. In one embodiment, the PPS700may also be connected to and/or communicate with entities such as, but not limited to: one or more users, for example users602A, associated with user input devices705; one or more users602A through their respective buyer devices702B; peripheral devices710; an internal or external cryptographic processor device731; and/or a communications network704. Communications Network The network704can include any combination of local area and/or wide area networks, using both wired and wireless communication systems. In some embodiments, the network704uses standard communications technologies and/or protocols. Thus, the network704can include links using technologies such as Ethernet, 802.11, a Wi-Fi, a Bluetooth network; and/or the like worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), 3G, 4G, CDMA, digital subscriber line (DSL), etc. Similarly, the networking protocols used on the network608may include multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), hypertext transport protocol (HTTP), and/or file transfer protocol (FTP). Data exchanged over the network708can be represented using technologies and/or formats including hypertext markup language (HTML) or extensible markup language (XML). In addition, all or some links can be encrypted using conventional encryption technologies such as secure sockets layer (SSL), transport layer security (TLS), and Internet Protocol security (IPsec). Additionally, the communication network may be a mesh network. For example, in a wireless local area network (WLAN), network devices may be configured to receive and forward communications which are ultimately destined for a different device. These types of networks are generically referred to as “mesh” networks, where network nodes may form a “mesh” of paths for which communications may travel to reach their destination. Wireless networks may use beacon transmissions to advertise the network's existence, as well as provide information about the network and capabilities associated with the network. Different kinds of beaconing mechanisms may be used, for example, one for infrastructure mode networks (also called basic service set (BSS) networks) and one for ad-hoc mode networks (also called independent basic service set (IBSS) networks). In infrastructure networks, access points (APs) are the entities responsible for generating beacons whereas in ad hoc networks, all network nodes (including user stations) participate in the generation of beacons. The ad hoc network beacons (referred to as IBSS beacons) are used to advertise the network (which consists of all the nodes) as a whole while the infrastructure network beacons (referred to as BSS beacons) are generated by an AP and meant to advertise the existence of only that individual AP. Clock Clock738may have a crystal oscillator that generates a base signal through the reader's circuit pathways. The clock738may be coupled to the system bus720and various clock multipliers that increase or decrease the base operating frequency for other components interconnected in the PPS700. Power Source The units712may also include a power source740. The power source640may be of any form capable of powering small electronic circuit board devices such as the following power cells or batteries: alkaline, lithium hydride, lithium ion, lithium polymer, nickel cadmium, solar cells, and/or the like. Other types of AC or DC power sources may be used as well. The power source740is connected to at least one of the interconnected subsequent components of the PPS700thereby providing an electric current to all subsequent components. In one example, the power source740is connected to the system bus704. In an alternative embodiment, an outside power source740is provided through a connection across the I/O722interface. For example, a USB connection can carry both data and power across the connection and is therefore a suitable source of power. To this end, coupled to power source740may be a USB micro interface (not shown) configured to receive a USB micro jack, although other types of connectors are anticipated. In certain embodiments, connection of a jack to USB micro interface can activate a switch within power source740to override power supplied by the battery. This allows for battery power to be conserved for situations where external power cannot be provided. Furthermore, power source740may also include a battery charger to allow the battery to be charged when external power is supplied via USB micro interface. In one implementation, the power source740may include a selector (not shown) to selectively power one or more units within the PPS700. For example, the power source740may power the BLE network interface and BLE component and power the CPU716only on receiving a wake up signal, using an activation signal, triggered by a tactile, visual, or audio input. To this end, the PPS700may include wake-up electronics (not shown) configured to wake-up the PPS700from a low-power state to an active state in response to detection of a payment object. In some embodiments, wake-up electronics can also power down PPS700to a low-power state after a predetermined amount of time or after completion of a communication. Cryptographic Processor A cryptographic processor642and/or transceivers (e.g., ICs)644may be connected to the system bus620. In another embodiment, the cryptographic processor and/or transceivers may be connected as either internal and/or external peripheral devices610via the I/O interface bus622. To this end, the transceivers644may be connected to antenna(s)645, thereby enabling wireless transmission and reception of various communication and/or sensor protocols. For example the antenna(s) may connect to a transceiver chip or a wireless microcontroller targeting Bluetooth applications, e.g., providing 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.2, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, FM, GSM/EDGE/GPRS/2G/3G/HSDPA/HSUPA/LTE (4G) communications, global positioning system (GPS) thereby allowing PPS700to determine its location, for example. A separate GPS unit746(also referred to as the location component) may be used to determine the location of a merchant or buyer performing a payment transaction using a payment card. The GPS unit may work on any of the protocols mentioned above. The location information may be used to advertise location specific information to the user. Furthermore, the communicative instructions may be stored and/or transmitted in batches (e.g., batches of instructions) as programs and/or data components to facilitate desired operations. Peripheral Devices Peripheral devices710may be connected and/or communicate to I/O interface722and/or other facilities of the like such as network interfaces, storage interfaces, directly to the interface bus718, system bus, the CPU, and/or the like. Peripheral devices710may be external, internal and/or part of the PPS700. Peripheral devices710may include: antenna, audio devices (e.g., line-in, line-out, microphone input, speakers, etc.), cameras (e.g., still, video, webcam, etc.), dongles (e.g., for ensuring secure transactions with a digital signature, and/or the like), external processors (for added capabilities; e.g., crypto devices731), force-feedback devices (e.g., vibrating motors), network interfaces, printers, scanners, storage devices, transceivers (e.g., cellular, GPS, etc.), video devices (e.g., goggles, monitors, etc.), video sources, visors, and/or the like. The card reader700may comprise user interfaces, such as, for example, a PC/SC EMV L1/L2/NFC certified Smart Card Reader, a keypad for PIN entry, such as key keypad, a display, such as the illustrated LCD display, etc., and electrical interfaces, an interface for back-up battery power, an interface for a display, a power interface, LED lights for indicating status of a transaction, a buzzer, etc. The card reader may be, for example, PCI v3 compliant and configured to facilitate the acceptance of credit/debit card payments. A sensor790may be included. In some embodiments, the sensor790may include accelerometers, antenna decouplers, signal generator, signal modification and conditioning components to detect certain characteristics of neighboring devices. The characteristics are generally physical, mechanical or design related. The sensor790is also capable of sending and receiving signals or test parameters, the parameters are then compared internally to determine whether the values correspond to a known device. Peripheral devices710may also include sensors, devices, and subsystems can be coupled to network interface to facilitate multiple functionalities. For example, motion sensor, magnetic, light sensor, and proximity sensor can be coupled to network interface to facilitate orientation, detection, lighting, and proximity functions of the PPS700, by analyzing any input, such as audio, visual, tactile, mechanical, electrical, magnetic, hydraulic, electromagnetic input, and the like. Location processor (e.g., GPS receiver similar to GPS646) can be connected to the network interface to provide geo-positioning. Motion sensor can include one or more accelerometers configured to determine change of speed and direction of movement of the PPS700. Magnetic sensors may detect presence or absence of a payment card and differentiate a payment card from other cards. Peripheral devices710may also include a camera subsystem and an optical sensor, e.g., a charged coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) optical sensor, can be utilized to facilitate camera functions, such as recording photographs and video clips. Peripheral devices710may also include an audio subsystem can be coupled to a speaker and a microphone to facilitate voice-enabled functions, such as voice recognition, voice replication, digital recording, and telephony functions. Audio subsystem can be configured to receive voice commands from the user. Peripheral devices710may also include an I/O subsystem that can include touch surface controller and/or other input controller(s). Touch surface controller can be coupled to a touch surface or pad. Touch surface and touch surface controller can, for example, detect contact and movement or break thereof using any of a plurality of touch sensitivity technologies, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contact with touch surface. Touch surface can include, for example, a touch screen. Other input controller(s) can be coupled to other input/control devices, such as one or more buttons, rocker switches, thumb-wheel, infrared port, USB port, and/or a pointer device such as a stylus. The one or more buttons (not shown) can include an up/down button for volume control of speaker and/or microphone. In one implementation, a pressing of the button for a first duration may disengage a lock of the touch surface; and a pressing of the button for a second duration that is longer than the first duration may turn power to PPS controller100on or off. The user may be able to customize a functionality of one or more of the buttons. The touch surface can, for example, also be used to implement virtual or soft buttons and/or a keyboard. The touch surface may also activate the PPS controller to actively relay information. At all other times, the reader700may be dormant to conserve power. User input devices705often are a type of peripheral device710(see below) and may include: card readers, dongles, finger print readers, gloves, graphics tablets, joysticks, keyboards, microphones, mouse (mice), remote controls, retina readers, touch screens (e.g., capacitive, resistive, etc.), trackballs, trackpads, sensors (e.g., accelerometers, ambient light, GPS, gyroscopes, proximity, etc.), styluses, and/or the like. The card readers, as mentioned before, may be configured to read a variety of payment cards. Such card readers may either be dongle like or puck style. Cryptographic units such as, but not limited to, microcontrollers, processors716, interfaces718, and/or devices731may be attached, and/or communicate with the PPS700. Cryptographic units support the authentication of communications from interacting agents, as well as allowing for anonymous transactions. Cryptographic units may also be configured as part of the CPU. It should be noted that although user input devices705and peripheral devices710may be employed, the PPS700may be embodied as an embedded, dedicated, and/or monitor-less (i.e., headless) device(s), wherein access would be provided over a network interface connection. Additionally, part or all peripheral devices may be integrated within the PPS700. Memory Memory714may further include, but is not limited to, one or more components748that include programs that supplement applications or functions performed by the PPS700, database750, operating system752, random access memory (RAM)754, read only memory (ROM)756, and storage device730, etc., into which data may be saved that serves, amongst other things, as repository for storing data pertinent to functioning of the components. The PPS700may employ various forms of memory614, such as ROM754, and a storage device730. Storage devices may include a drum; a (fixed and/or removable) magnetic disk drive; a magneto-optical drive; an optical drive (i.e., Blueray, CD ROM/RAM/Recordable (R)/ReWritable (RW), DVD R/RW, HD DVD R/RW etc.); an array of devices (e.g., Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID)); solid state memory devices (USB memory, solid state drives (SSD), etc.); other processor-readable storage mediums; and/or other devices of the like. PPS Components The memory714may contain a collection of program and/or database components and/or data such as, but not limited to: operating system component(s)752(operating system); information server component(s)758(information server); user interface component(s)708(user interface); Web browser component(s)760(Web browser); database(s)750; cryptographic server component(s)762(cryptographic server); the component(s)748; and/or the like (i.e., collectively a component collection). These components748may be stored and accessed from the storage devices and/or from storage devices accessible through an interface bus718. Operating System The operating system component752is an executable program component facilitating the operation of the PPS700. The operating system can facilitate access of I/O, network interfaces, peripheral devices, storage devices, and/or the like. In various embodiments, any number of current or future operating systems may be supported such as: any highly fault tolerant, scalable, portable, ROM-able, real-time, deterministic, multitasking and secure kernels systems, e.g., μC/OS-III, μC/OS-III, Apple Macintosh OS X (Server); Unix and Unix-like system distributions; Linux distributions; limited and/or less secure operating systems, e.g., AppleMacintoshOS, MicrosoftWindows XP, Windows Server2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server2012, Windows Vista®, Windows 7, and Windows 8, Blackberry OS (e.g., Blackberry 10), Firefox OS, Sailfish OS, Tizen, Ubuntu Touch OS, Chrome OS, iPhone OS (e.g. iOS), WindowsMobile (e.g. Windows 10 Mobile), Google Android (e.g. Lollipop 5.1); and/or the like. In various embodiments of the present subject matter, the operating system may be a multi-threaded multi-tasking operating system. Accordingly, inputs and/or outputs from and to a display and inputs/or outputs to physical sensors may be processed in parallel processing threads. In other embodiments, such events or outputs may be processed serially, or the like. Inputs and outputs from other functional blocks may also be processed in parallel or serially, in other embodiments, such as image acquisition device and physical sensors. The operating system752may provide communications protocols that allow the PPS700to communicate with other entities through a communications network713. Various communication protocols may be used by the PPS700as a subcarrier transport mechanism for interaction, such as, but not limited to: multicast, TCP/IP, UDP, unicast, and/or the like. Information Server The information server758may: support secure communications protocols such as, but not limited to, File Transfer Protocol (FTP); HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP); Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS), Secure Socket Layer (SSL), messaging protocols; provide results in the form of Web pages to Web browsers; and allows for the manipulated generation of the Web pages through interaction with other program components. Web Browser A Web browser component760is a stored program component that is executed by a CPU. The Web browser may be a hypertext viewing application such as Google Chrome or Macintosh Safari. Web browsers and like information access tools may be integrated into PDAs, cellular telephones, and/or other mobile devices. Also, in place of a Web browser and information server, a combined application may be developed to perform similar operations of both. The combined application would similarly affect the obtaining and the provision of information to users, user agents, and/or the like from the enabled nodes. The web browser may be coupled to a web server (not shown). In other implementations, the PPS700may host a website (hereinafter, “system website”) that includes one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for organizing and presenting content to users. For example, through the system website, users create account logins to connect to their social identities (e.g., social profiles or social accounts), read content (e.g., messages, comments, posts), create or post content, communicate in real-time with other users (e.g., chat), and/or otherwise engage or interact with other users of the system website (e.g., “friends,” “followers,” “social contacts,” or other types of social network connections). In some embodiments, the user interactions on the system website lead to internal API communication, which involves the PPS700monitoring the user interactions for an indication of an intent to transfer money, sending, in response to such indication, requests (e.g., POST or GET requests) to the API of the server(s) to query the database(s)750, and displaying the data returned by the API of the server(s) as appropriate. The indication of the intent is determined may be based on an identification of a user input, e.g., a string of characters, that has a particular syntax, the syntax being a monetary indicator preceding one or more alphanumeric characters. The user input having the syntax operates as a trigger to send money to a payment proxy represented by the user input. User Interface The user interface708may allow for the display, execution, interaction, manipulation, and/or operation of program components and/or system facilities through textual and/or graphical facilities through one or more interaction interface elements, such as check boxes, cursors, menus, scrollers, and windows (collectively and commonly referred to as widgets) to facilitate the access, capabilities, operation, and display of data and computer hardware and operating system resources, and status. Graphical user interfaces (GUIs)708may be used to provide a baseline and means of accessing and displaying information graphically to users. The user interface may also be a graphic user interface as provided by, with, and/or atop operating systems and/or operating environments such as already discussed. Cryptographic Server A cryptographic server component762is a stored program component that is executed by a CPU716, cryptographic processor742, cryptographic processor interface728, cryptographic processor device731, and/or the like, to enable encryption schemes allowing for the secure transmission of information across a communications network to enable the PPS components to engage in secure transactions. The cryptographic server762facilitates the secure accessing of resources on the PPS and facilitates the access of secured resources on remote systems; i.e., it may act as a client and/or server of secured resources. Cryptographic processor interfaces728can allow for expedition of encryption and/or decryption requests by the cryptographic component. The cryptographic component allows for the encryption and/or decryption of provided data. The cryptographic component allows for both symmetric and asymmetric (e.g., Pretty Good Protection (PGP)) encryption and/or decryption. The cryptographic component may employ cryptographic techniques such as, but not limited to: digital certificates (e.g., X.509 authentication framework), digital signatures, dual signatures, enveloping, password access protection, public key management, and/or the like. The cryptographic component will facilitate numerous (encryption and/or decryption) security protocols such as, but not limited to: checksum, Data Encryption Standard (DES), Elliptical Curve Encryption (ECC), International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA), Message Digest 5 (MD5, which is a one way hash operation), passwords, Secure Socket Layer (SSL), Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS), and/or the like. Employing such encryption security protocols, the PPS700may encrypt all incoming and/or outgoing communications. The PPS700may be associated with a secure enclave unit (not shown) that may represent any logic, circuitry, hardware, or other structures for creating and maintaining a secured, protected, or isolated environment, in which an application or other software may run, execute, be loaded, or otherwise be present an information processing system. The secure enclave unit may further include encryption unit (not shown), which may include any logic, circuitry, or other hardware to execute any one or more encryption algorithms and the corresponding decryption algorithms, and may include logic, circuitry, or other hardware shared with another encryption unit in processor. In one embodiment, the secure enclave unit includes the digital signatures, and biometric payment instruments created thereof. Database The database component750may be a fault tolerant, relational, scalable, secure database, such as Oracle or Sybase. Alternatively, the database750may be implemented using various data-structures, such as an array, hash, (linked) list, struct, structured text file (e.g., XML), table, and/or the like. Such data-structures may be stored in memory and/or in structured files. In another alternative, an object-oriented database may be used. Also, the database may be implemented as a mix of data structures, objects, and relational structures. In one embodiment, the database750includes several data tables750A-E. A transaction data table750A includes fields such as, but not limited to: transaction information, service code, POS entry code, CVV, CVV2, and/or the like. A transaction count data table750B includes fields such as, but not limited to: transaction count threshold, transaction count, transaction count condition, transaction count exception. A connection status data table750C includes fields such as, but not limited to: location coordinates, connection status, EMV status, magstripe status, NFC status, communication channel, open communication port, and the like. An alert data table750D includes fields such as, but not limited to: messages sent, messages received, links generated, etc. An other data table750E includes fields such as, but not limited to: authorization flag, rejection flag, and the like. In one embodiment, specific tables may be created when each of the components are executed. Furthermore, the tables may be stored temporarily or permanently in the database750. Components The component(s)748is a stored program component that is executed by the CPU716. In one embodiment, the PPS component748incorporates any and/or all combinations of the aspects of the PPS700that was discussed in the previous figures. As such, the PPS700affects accessing, obtaining and the provision of information, services, transactions, and/or the like across various communications networks. Examples of components include, but are not limited to, transaction analysis component(s)764, Authorization component(s)766, POS component(s)768, location component770, Technical Fallback component771, Device Detection Component772, mapping component(s)774, and other component(s)776. The transaction analysis component764receives data from POS terminals and determines whether to allow or reject payment transactions. The authorization component766may allow and enable the PPS700to accept the payment instruments in the correct readers. The POS component768may allow and enable the PPS700to accept payment object data, e.g., from the credit card or NFC based payment methods, and process or transfer the transaction data to an external server, such as a payment processing system and financial network system, to obtain financial account information of users to fulfill a transaction. The location component(s)770tracks the user's mobile device and the merchant point of sale device to push information based on proximity through for example, short-range communication networks, such as Bluetooth, BLE, and NFC technologies. The technical fallback component671allows and enables the PPS700to institute technical fallback by creating APIs such as determining which protocols or ports are available in proximate devices, which devices are proximate, for creating receipts, associating rewards, recording loyalty points, applying technical fallback, etc. The device detection component772detects devices such as POS terminal and readers surrounding a specific POS terminal or in communication with the PPS700. The device detection component772can encrypt the data obtained from the devices based on keys generated by a cryptographic unit (not shown). Examples of keys include authentication keys, which include SCP03 master keys (Message Authentication Code Key: MAC, Encryption Key: ENC and Key Encryption Key: KEK, which are 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) symmetric keys with associated key derivation data) or Key Agreement Keys (e.g., user server signature verification public key, user server static public key, user static key pair with both public and private key). The device detection component772can also create the digital signature or an encrypted fingerprint using other schemes, such as fuzzy vault algorithm, a cancelable fuzzy vault scheme based on irreversible hash functions, fingerprint minutiae algorithms based on a thinned fingerprint image as opposed to an original fingerprint image using hash functions, such as hash functions, such as MD, RIPEMD, and SHA. The mapping component(s)774may allow and enable the PPS700to map the payment objects to customers and merchant locations. The structure and/or operation of any of the PPS700components may be combined, consolidated, and/or distributed in any number of ways to facilitate development and/or deployment. To this end, one may integrate the components into a common code base or in a facility that can dynamically load the components on demand in an integrated fashion. The components may be consolidated and/or distributed in countless variations through standard data processing and/or development techniques. Multiple instances of any one of the program components may be instantiated on a single node, and/or across numerous nodes to improve performance through load-balancing and/or data-processing techniques. Furthermore, single instances may also be distributed across multiple controllers and/or storage devices; e.g., databases. If component collection components are discrete, separate, and/or external to one another, then communicating, obtaining, and/or providing data with and/or to other component components may be accomplished through inter-application data processing communication techniques such as, but not limited to: Application Program Interfaces (API) information passage; (distributed) Component Object Model ((D)COM), (Distributed) Object Linking and Embedding ((D)OLE), and/or the like), Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), SOAP, process pipes, shared files, and/or the like. Messages sent between discrete component components for inter-application communication or within memory spaces of a singular component for intra-application communication may be facilitated through the creation and parsing of a grammar. A grammar may be developed by using development tools such as lex, yacc, XML, and/or the like, which allow for grammar generation and parsing capabilities, which in turn may form the basis of communication messages within and between components. The grammar syntax itself may be presented as structured data that is interpreted and/or otherwise used to generate the parsing mechanism. Also, once the parsing mechanism is generated and/or instantiated, it itself may process and/or parse structured data such as, but not limited to: character (e.g., tab) delineated text, HTML, structured text streams, XML, and/or the like structured data. In another embodiment, inter-application data processing protocols themselves may have integrated and/or readily available parsers (e.g., SOAP, and/or like parsers) that may be employed to parse (e.g., communications) data. Further, the parsing grammar may be used beyond message parsing, but may also be used to parse: databases, data collections, data stores, structured data, and/or the like. Again, the desired configuration will depend upon the context, environment, and requirements of system deployment. Regarding the process300,400, and500while the various steps, blocks or sub-processes are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments can perform routines having steps, or employ systems having steps, blocks or sub-processes, in a different order, and some steps, sub-processes or blocks can be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified to provide alternative or sub-combinations. Each of these steps, blocks or sub-processes can be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, while steps, sub-processes or blocks are at times shown as being performed in series, some steps, sub-processes or blocks can instead be performed in parallel, or can be performed at different times as will be recognized by a person of ordinary skill in the art. Further, any specific numbers noted herein are only examples; alternative implementations can employ differing values or ranges. While aspects of the described subject matter can be implemented in any number of different systems, circuitries, environments, and/or configurations, the embodiments are described in the context of the following exemplary system(s) and configuration(s). The descriptions and details of well-known components are omitted for simplicity of the description. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter. Furthermore, all examples recited herein are intended to be for illustrative purposes only to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the present subject matter and the concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the present subject matter, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof. Some recurring terms are now described. These definitions should not be considered limiting. It should also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams, steps, or sub-processes herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the principles of the present subject matter. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and so executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown. The order in which the methods are described are not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified in any order to implement the methods, or an alternative combination or sub-combinations. Also, while steps, sub-processes or blocks are at times shown as being performed in series, some steps, sub-processes or blocks can instead be performed in parallel, or can be performed at different times as will be recognized by a person of ordinary skill in the art. Further any specific numbers noted herein are only examples; alternative implementations can employ differing values or ranges. Furthermore, the methods can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof. Reference to an “embodiment” in this document does not limit the described elements to a single embodiment; all described elements may be combined in any embodiment in any number of ways. Furthermore, for the purposes of interpreting this specification, the use of “or” herein means “and/or” unless stated otherwise. The use of “a” or “an” herein means “one or more” unless stated otherwise. The use of “comprise,” “comprises,” “comprising,” “include,” “includes,” and “including” are interchangeable and not intended to be limiting. Also, unless otherwise stated, the use of the terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” “upper,” “lower,” and the like do not denote any spatial, sequential, or hierarchical order or importance, but are used to distinguish one element from another. It is to be appreciated that the use of the terms “and/or” and “at least one of”, for example, in the cases of “A and/or B” and “at least one of A and B”, is intended to encompass the selection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of the second listed option (B) only, or the selection of both options (A and B). As a further example, in the cases of “A, B, and/or C” and “at least one of A, B, and C”, such phrasing is intended to encompass the selection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of the second listed option (B) only, or the selection of the third listed option (C) only, or the selection of the first and the second listed options (A and B) only, or the selection of the first and third listed options (A and C) only, or the selection of the second and third listed options (B and C) only, or the selection of all three options (A and B and C). This may be extended, as readily apparent by one of ordinary skill in this and related arts, for as many items listed. Additionally, note that the terms “connected” or “coupled” and related terms used throughout the description are used in an operational sense and are not necessarily limited to a direct physical connection or coupling. Thus, for example, two devices may be coupled directly, or via one or more intermediary media or devices. As another example, devices may be coupled in such a way that information can be passed there-between, while not sharing any physical connection with one another. Based on the disclosure provided herein, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate a variety of ways in which connection or coupling exists in accordance with the aforementioned definition. The term “cause” and variations thereof, as used throughout this description, refers to either direct causation or indirect causation. For example, a computer system can “cause” an action by sending a message to a second computer system that commands, requests or prompts the second computer system to perform the action. Any number of intermediary devices may examine and/or relay the message during this process. In this regard, a device can “cause” an action even though it may not be known to the device whether the action will ultimately be executed or completed. In some implementations, the network(s) may be any type of network known in the art, such as a local area network or a wide area network, such as the Internet, and may include a wireless network, such as a cellular network, a cloud network, a local wireless network, such as Wi-Fi and/or close-range wireless communications, such as Bluetooth® and Bluetooth® low energy, near field communications (NFC), a wired network, or any other such network, or any combination thereof. Accordingly, the one or more networks may include both wired and/or wireless communication technologies, including Bluetooth®, Bluetooth® low energy, Wi-Fi and cellular communication technologies like worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), 3G, 4G, CDMA, digital subscriber line (DSL), etc., cloud computing technologies, as well as wired or fiber optic technologies. Additionally, the communication network may be a mesh network. For example, in a wireless local area network (WLAN), network devices may be configured to receive and forward communications which are ultimately destined for a different device. These types of networks are generically referred to as “mesh” networks, where network nodes may form a “mesh” of paths for which communications may travel to reach their destination. Wireless networks may use beacon transmissions to advertise the network's existence, as well as provide information about the network and capabilities associated with the network. Different kinds of beaconing mechanisms may be used, for example, one for infrastructure mode networks (also called basic service set (BSS) networks) and one for ad-hoc mode networks (also called independent basic service set (IBSS) networks). In infrastructure networks, access points (APs) are the entities responsible for generating beacons whereas in ad hoc networks, all network nodes (including user stations) participate in the generation of beacons. The ad hoc network beacons (referred to as IBSS beacons) are used to advertise the network (which consists of all the nodes) as a whole while the infrastructure network beacons (referred to as BSS beacons) are generated by an AP and meant to advertise the existence of only that individual AP. Components used for such communications can depend at least in part upon the type of network, the environment selected, or both. Protocols for communicating over such networks are well known and are not discussed herein in detail. The term “component,” “module” or “engine” refers broadly to general or specific-purpose hardware, software, or firmware (or any combination thereof) components. Components and engines are typically functional components that can generate useful data or other output using specified input(s). A component or engine may or may not be self-contained. Depending upon implementation-specific or other considerations, the components or engines may be centralized or functionally distributed. An application program (also called an “application”) may include one or more components and/or engines, or a component and/or engine can include one or more application programs. | 149,681 |
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