RFID-based lock control system and method

Abstract

RFID technology is used to monitor defined activities by people, where these defined activities are activities that relate to behavior by people who interact with RFID tag(s) as a result of the behavior. Such behavior can take the form of customer behavior (e.g., customer shopping behavior such as customers performing task(s) while shopping for and / or purchasing items), worker behavior (e.g., employees or other workers (e.g., contractors or gig workers) performing job task(s)), etc. This RFID-based monitoring generates data that is indicative of a trustworthiness for the people whose activities are monitored. The trustworthiness data can be quantified as trust scores that are associated with different persons. Data records that track the trust scores applicable to different persons can be accessed by a control system for a lock to automate a decision process about whether to unlock a lock that controls access to a restricted space, equipment, and / or service.

Description

[0001] RFID-Based Lock Control System and Method

[0002] Cross-Reference and Priority Claim to Related Patent Application:

[0003] This patent application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application serial no. 63 / 632,856, filed April 11 , 2024, and entitled “RFID-Based Lock Control System and Method”, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0004] Introduction:

[0005] It is believed that improvements are needed in the art for controlling locks with respect to whether the locks are in a locked state or an unlocked state. Such improved locks can be applied to provide intelligent control over governing access to restricted spaces (such as premises (e.g., buildings, homes, etc.), lockers, compartments, vehicles, etc.) by controlling whether one or more doors can be opened to gain access to such spaces. Such improved locks can also be applied to provide intelligent control over governing access to equipment and / or services as discussed in greater detail below.

[0006] It is known for radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to be used with locks where an RFID reader is positioned near a locked door to read an RFID tag that has been provided to an authorized user (e.g., where the RFID tag is embedded in a portable card or badge carried by the authorized user)). If the RFID reader reads a code from the RFID tag that matches the code for an authorized user, then the lock system can be controlled to transition to an unlocked state to thereby allow the authorized user to open the door. However, this approach to RFID-based lock control merely uses RFID technology as a mechanism for obtaining an access code for unlocking the lock.

[0007] As a technical improvement in the art for controlling locks, disclosed herein is an innovative approach where RFID technology is used to monitor defined activities by people, where these defined activities are not direct requests to unlock a lock. Instead, the defined activities being monitored by the RFID technology are activities that relate to behavior by people, where such behavior can take the form of customer behavior (e.g., customer shopping behavior such as where customers are performing one or more tasks while shopping for and / or purchasing items), worker behavior (e.g., employees or other workers (e.g., contractors or gig workers) performing one or more job tasks), etc. where such behavior causes the people to interact with one or more RFID tags. Accordingly, unlike the use of an RFID tag carried by a card or fob to obtain an access code for unlocking a lock, the activities monitored by the RFID technology in accordance with the innovations described herein are only at best indirectly related to requesting that a lock be unlocked. This RFID-based monitoring operates to generate data that is indicative of a trustworthiness for the people whose activities are being monitored. The trustworthiness data can be quantified as trust scores that are associated with different persons. Data records that track the trust scores applicable to the different persons can then be accessed by a control system for a lock to automate a decision process about whether to unlock a lock that controls access to a restricted space. Over time, the RFID-based monitoring may cause the persons’ trust scores to vary as a function of the monitored activities (e.g., a person’s performance of some activities may cause that person’s trust score to decrease while the person’s performance of other activities may cause that person’s trust score to increase).

[0008] Furthermore, RFID-based monitoring of activities to support trustworthiness determinations can be combined with techniques for managing populations of RFID tags so that the activities can be better monitored via RFID. In particular, a population of RFID tags can be intelligently managed to control which RFID tags within the population are in a readable state. For example, RFID tags of interest (TOIs) within the population can be controlled via session control messages to be in a readable state while other RFID tags can be permitted to exhibit an unreadable state. This intelligent management of tag readability (e.g., keeping TOIs in a readable state while quieting other RFID tags) can reduce the level of “noise” in the RFID system, thereby providing the RFID system with more time and better signals for monitoring activities that are derived from reads of RFID tags. This is believed to be particularly helpful in environments where the tag population is quite large (e.g. hundreds, thousands, or many thousands of RFID tags). If the tag population is not intelligently managed with respect to readability, it may be the case that TOIs are unreadable when a subject activity is being monitored (while irrelevant tags are readable) or it may be the case that reads of the TOIs are drowned out by reads of readable irrelevant tags; in which case the system may have trouble accurately monitoring the activity of interest (e.g., the RFID system might be spending too much time reading irrelevant tags and miss out on detecting some aspect of an activity that could have been detected with a timely read of a TOI).

[0009] As an example of inventive technology disclosed herein, a system for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID) is described, where the system comprises (1 ) a lock, wherein the lock exhibits a locked state or an unlocked state, (2) an RFID monitoring system, the RFID monitoring system configured to read a plurality of RFID tags over time, and (3) a computer system configured to (i) generate data based on the read RFID tags over time, wherein the generated data is indicative of a plurality of activities over time by a plurality of persons and (ii) control whether the lock is in the locked state or the unlocked state based on the generated data so that a history of behavior by a subject person among the persons as reflected in the generated data with respect to a plurality of the activities by the subject person controls whether the lock is unlocked for the subject person.

[0010] The computer system may be further configured to (1 ) create a plurality of activity records based on the generated data, wherein the activity records represent the activities and (2) make decisions about controlling whether the lock is in the locked state or the unlocked state based on the activity records. The activity records can be associated with the persons and comprise data indicative of a trustworthiness of their associated persons. Further still, the computer system may be further configured to (1) compute a plurality of trust scores for the persons based on the activity records and (2) make the decisions about controlling whether the lock is in the locked state or the unlocked state based on the trust scores. In an example, the computer system can be configured to (1 ) receive an access request from a subject person with respect to the lock, (2) retrieve the trust score for the subject person, (3) compare the trust score with a threshold, and (4) in response to a determination that the trust score exceeds the threshold, generate a control signal that causes the lock to be in the unlocked state. Moreover, the computer system may be further configured to update the trust scores for the persons in response to new activity records associated with the persons being created.

[0011] Further still, as an example, the activities can comprise activities corresponding to customer behavior by a plurality of the persons. For example, the customer behavior can be customer shopping behavior such as a customer checkout process whereby a customer purchases a plurality of RFID-tagged items (e.g., a self-checkout process).

[0012] Moreover, as another example, the activities can comprise activities corresponding to worker behavior by a plurality of the persons. Examples of worker behavior can include inventory restocking tasks, cleaning tasks, tidying tasks, delivery tasks, and / or patrolling tasks.

[0013] By linking the ability of a person to unlock a lock on that person’s quantified trustworthiness as derived from RFID-based activity monitoring, the innovative technology disclosed herein can provide trusted persons with any of a number of benefits. An example of such a benefit can be an ability to access a facility (such as a retail store, warehouse, job site, etc.) outside of the normal operating hours for the facility (such as time periods where the facility is unmanned or undermanned). For example, trusted customers can be provided with early access to a retail store (before the normal operating hours for the retail store), after hours access to a retail store (after the normal operating hours for the retail store), or even 24 / 7 access to a retail store (even though the retail store is not open to the general public at all hours). Moreover, a retailer could even restrict access to a retail store via the lock to only trusted customers, regardless of the retail store’s operating hours if desired by the retailer. Similarly, trusted workers can be provided with access to a work site, either during or out of the normal operating hours for that work site. Another example of such a benefit that can be linked to a lock controlled in the fashion described herein can be an ability to access a service such as self-checkout services, express services, credit services, discount services, payment services etc. to only trusted persons. As another example of inventive technology disclosed herein, a method for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID) is described, where the method comprises (1 ) reading a plurality of RFID tags over time, (2) generating data based on the read RFID tags over time, wherein the generated data is indicative of a plurality of activities over time by a plurality of persons, (3) receiving a request to unlock a lock, the request pertaining to a subject person among the persons, and (4) controlling whether the lock is unlocked in response to the received request based on the generated data so that a history of behavior by the subject person as reflected in the generated data with respect to a plurality of the activities by the subject person controls whether the lock is unlocked in response to the received request.

[0014] As another example of inventive technology disclosed herein, a system for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID) is described, where the system comprises (1 ) a lock, wherein the lock exhibits a locked state or an unlocked state, (2) an RFID monitoring system, the RFID monitoring system configured to read a plurality of RFID tags for a plurality of RFID-tagged items in a store, and (3) a computer system configured to (i) generate data based on the read RFID tags, wherein the generated data comprises one or more attributes about an activity by the customer in the store with respect the RFID-tagged items, (ii) receive a request to unlock the lock from the customer, and (iii) control whether the lock exhibits the unlocked state in response to the received request based on the generated data.

[0015] As yet another example of inventive technology disclosed herein, a method for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID) is described, where the method comprises (1 ) reading a plurality of RFID tags for a plurality of RFID- tagged items in a store, (2) generating data based on the reading, wherein the generated data comprises one or more attributes about an activity by the customer in the store with respect the RFID-tagged items, (3) receiving a request to unlock the lock from the customer, and (4) in response to the received request, controlling whether the lock is unlocked based on the generated data. As still another example of inventive technology disclosed herein, a system for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID) is described, where the system comprises (1 ) a lock, wherein the lock exhibits a locked state or an unlocked state, (2) an RFID monitoring system, the RFID monitoring system configured to read one or more RFID tags associated with a person when the one or more RFID tags are located on a premises covered by the RFID monitoring system, and (3) a computer system configured to (i) generate data based on the read one or more RFID tags, wherein the generated data indicates a frequency of visits by the associated person to the premises over time, (ii) receive a request to unlock the lock from the customer, and (iii) control whether the lock exhibits the unlocked state in response to the received request based on the generated data.

[0016] As another example of inventive technology disclosed herein, a method for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID) is described, where the method comprises (1 ) reading one or more RFID tags associated with a person when the one or more RFID tags are located on a premises, (2) generating data based on the reading, wherein the generated data indicates a frequency of visits by the associated person to the premises over time, (3) receiving a request to unlock the lock from the associated person, and (4) in response to the received request, controlling whether the lock is unlocked based on the generated data.

[0017] As yet another example of inventive technology disclosed herein, a system for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID) is described, where the system comprises (1 ) a lock, wherein the lock exhibits a locked state or an unlocked state, (2) an RFID monitoring system, the RFID monitoring system configured to read a plurality of RFID tags for a plurality of RFID-tagged items in a facility, and (3) a computer system configured to (i) generate data based on the read RFID tags, wherein the generated data comprises one or more attributes about a work activity by a worker who interacts with the RFID-tagged items as a result of performing the work activity in the facility, (ii) receive a request to unlock the lock from the worker, and (iii) control whether the lock exhibits the unlocked state in response to the received request based on the generated data. As another example of inventive technology disclosed herein, a method for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID) is described, where the method comprises (1 ) reading a plurality of RFID tags for a plurality of RFID- tagged items in a facility, (2) generating data based on the reading, wherein the generated data comprises one or more attributes about a work activity by a worker who interacts with the RFID-tagged items as a result of performing the work activity in the facility, (3) receiving a request to unlock the lock from the worker, and (4) in response to the received request, controlling whether the lock is unlocked based on the generated data.

[0018] As still another example of inventive technology disclosed herein, a system for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID) is described, where the system comprises (1 ) a lock, wherein the lock exhibits a locked state or an unlocked state, (2) an RFID monitoring system, the RFID monitoring system configured to read one or more RFID tags associated with a worker when the one or more RFID tags are located on a premises covered by the RFID monitoring system, and (3) a computer system configured to (i) generate data based on the read one or more RFID tags, wherein the generated data comprises one or more attributes about a path by the associated worker through the facility with respect to a work activity by the associated worker, (ii) receive a request to unlock the lock from the worker, and (iii) control whether the lock exhibits the unlocked state in response to the received request based on the generated data.

[0019] As yet another example of inventive technology disclosed herein, a method for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID) is described, where the method comprises (1 ) reading a plurality of RFID tags for a plurality of RFID- tagged items in a facility, (2) generating data based on the reading, wherein the generated data comprises one or more attributes about a work activity by a worker who interacts with the RFID-tagged items as a result of performing the work activity in the facility, (3) receiving a request to unlock the lock from the worker, and (4) in response to the received request, controlling whether the lock is unlocked based on the generated data. As another example of inventive technology disclosed herein, a system for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID) is described, where the system comprises (1 ) a lock, wherein the lock exhibits a locked state or an unlocked state, (2) an RFID monitoring system, the RFID monitoring system configured to read one or more RFID tags associated with a package for delivery, and (3) a computer system configured to (i) generate data based on the read one or more RFID tags, wherein the generated data comprises one or more attributes about a delivery by a worker of the package to a destination, (ii) receive a request to unlock the lock from the worker, and (iii) control whether the lock exhibits the unlocked state in response to the received request based on the generated data.

[0020] As still another example of inventive technology disclosed herein, a method for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID) is described, where the method comprises (1 ) reading one or more RFID tags associated with a package for delivery, (2) generating data based on the reading, wherein the generated data comprises one or more attributes about a delivery by a worker of the package to a destination, (3) receiving a request to unlock the lock from the worker, and (4) in response to the received request, controlling whether the lock is unlocked based on the generated data.

[0021] As yet another example of inventive technology disclosed herein, a system for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID) is described, where the system comprises (1 ) a lock, wherein the lock exhibits a locked state or an unlocked state, (2) an RFID monitoring system, the RFID monitoring system configured to read one or more RFID tags, and (3) a computer system configured to (i) access a trust score for a person in response to a request by the person to unlock the lock, wherein the trust score is derived from RFID data about a plurality of previous activities by the person, wherein the RFID data is generated by the RFID monitoring system as a result of reading the one or more RFID tags, and (ii) control whether the lock is in the unlocked state in response to the request based on the accessed trust score.

[0022] As another example of inventive technology disclosed herein, a method for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID) is described, where the method comprises (1 ) accessing a trust score for a person in response to a request by the person to unlock a lock, wherein the trust score is derived from RFID data about a plurality of previous activities by the person and (2) controlling whether the lock is unlocked in response to the request based on the accessed trust score.

[0023] As still another example of inventive technology disclosed herein, a system is described where the system comprises (1 ) one or more radio frequency identification (RFID) readers that are configured to generate RFID data based on reads of a plurality of RFID tags with respect to a plurality of activities performed by a plurality of persons and (2) a computer system configured to (i) create a plurality of activity records for the persons, wherein the activity records comprise information about the activities by the persons that is derived from the RFID data, and (ii) store the activity records on one or more blockchains to create an immutable ledger of the activity records.

[0024] As yet another example of inventive technology disclosed herein, a method is described where the method comprises (1 ) transmitting a plurality of radio frequency (RF) signals in a vicinity of a plurality of RF identification (RFID) tags, (2) reading responses from a plurality of the RFID tags in response to the transmitting, (3) generating RFID data based on the read responses, wherein the RFID data is indicative of a plurality of activities performed by a plurality of persons, (4) creating a plurality of activity records for the persons, wherein the activity records comprise information about the activities by the persons that is derived from the RFID data, and (5) storing the activity records on one or more blockchains to create an immutable ledger of the activity records.

[0025] As noted above, these systems and methods can be further enhanced by using session control messages to intelligently manage which RFID tags within a population of RFID tags are in a readable state. For example, session control messages can be targeted to TOIs, and the system can use various defined criteria for identifying which RFID tags qualify as TOIs. This can help improve the monitoring of activities via RFID by more reliably ensuring that RFID tags which are salient to monitored activities can be read by RFID reader(s) when needed. These and other features and advantages of the inventive technology disclosed herein are discussed in greater detail below.

[0026] Brief Description of the Drawings:

[0027] Figure 1 shows an example RFID-based lock control system.

[0028] Figure 2A shows an example process flow for updating activity records and trust scores based on activities that are monitored by an RFID monitoring system.

[0029] Figure 2B shows an example process flow for using trust scores to make decisions about locking or unlocking a lock.

[0030] Figure 3 shows the example system of Figure 1 augmented with one or more reference data systems.

[0031] Figure 4A shows an example RFID monitoring system.

[0032] Figure 4B shows an example RFID control system.

[0033] Figure 5 shows an example RFID monitoring system that uses different RFID readers to cover multiple zones in an area.

[0034] Figure 6A shows an example process flow for RFID-verified store checkouts.

[0035] Figures 6B and 6C show example process flows for RFID-verified visits of people to a premises such as a store or other location.

[0036] Figure 6D shows an example process flow for RFID-based verification of tasks such as the restocking of RFID-tagged items onto store shelves or the like from inventory.

[0037] Figure 6E shows an example process flow for RFID-based verification of activities such as cleaning, store upkeep, security patrols, etc. Figure 6F shows an example process flow for RFID-based verification of pickups and dropoffs of RFID-tagged packages by delivery people.

[0038] Figure 7 shows an example activity record that can be maintained by the system.

[0039] Figure 8 shows an example blockchain that can serve as an immutable ledger of the activity records.

[0040] Figure 9 shows an example where a common set of activity records that are stored in the blocks of a blockchain can be shared and accessed by different organizations to compute respective trust scores for individuals based on those activity records.

[0041] Figure 10 shows an example process flow where RFID-based monitoring of activities is combined with intelligent management of tag readability within a population of RFID tags.

[0042] Detailed Description of Example Embodiments:

[0043] Figure 1 shows an example RFID-based lock control system 100. The system includes one or more locks 102 that are actuated to exhibit locked and / or unlocked states by one or more lock actuators 104. The lock(s) 102 can take the form of one or more electro-mechanical locks or electronic locks. The lock actuator(s) 104 can generate lock commands 138 that control the locked / unlocked state for the lock(s) 102 based on control signals 136 that are received from computer system 110.

[0044] The lock(s) 102 can control access to any of a number of different types of physical spaces, equipment, and / or services. For example, a lock 102 can control an ability to open a door or otherwise gain access to a restricted access location (e.g., a door controlled by the lock 102 may control access to a home, building (e.g., office, apartment, retail store, warehouse, pharmacy, or other facility), enclosure (e.g., cabinet, safe, locker, mailbox, etc.), vehicle (e.g., automobile, truck, forklift, aerial vehicle (airplane, helicopter, drone, or the like), etc.), etc. For example, a lock 102 can control access to a vehicle via a door, an immobilizer, a starter for ignition, etc. As another example, a lock 102 can control an ability to use equipment (e.g., construction equipment, power tools, firearms, electronic devices, etc.). As still another example, a lock 102 can control an ability to access a service (e.g., use a self-checkout service that is available from a retailer, use of a credit service (e.g., “buy now / pay later”), receive priority treatment from a business, receive pricing discounts from a business, receive work or task offers from a business (e.g., assignments for gig workers), receive payment from a business (e.g., payments to a gig worker can be locked until conditions for trusting that the gig worker performed a defined work activity have been satisfied), etc.

[0045] Computer system 110 makes decisions about how to control the lock(s) 102 based on data that it receives from one or more RFID monitoring systems 108. These decisions can be communicated to the lock actuator(s) via control signal 136. In this fashion, control over whether the lock 102 is in a locked state or an unlocked state can be based on RFID monitoring activities by the RFID monitoring system 108. As such, it should be understood that a control system for the lock 102 may include one or more of the lock actuator 104, computer system 110, and / or RFID monitoring system 108; and the intelligence for making decisions about whether to unlock the lock 102 may be housed in any of these components if desired by a practitioner. For example, any of these components may generate data from which characterizations about activities by the person may be drawn, and this generated data may be used to control whether the lock 102 is unlocked. In this regard, the generated data can be indicative of a trustworthiness of the subject persons, and each person’s assessed trustworthiness can be used as a basis for making a decision about whether to unlock the lock 102.

[0046] The computer system 110 can comprise one or more processors 112 for cooperation with one or more memories 114. The processor(s) 112 can take the form of one or more compute resources such as one or more microprocessors, CPUs, ARM chips, system on a chip (SOC) processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASICs), graphics processing units (GPUs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc. The memory 114 (or memories 114) may comprise any non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that is capable of storing data for use by the one or more processors 112 (e.g., volatile or non-volatile memory such as solid-state drive(s) (SSD(s)), flash memory, disk drive(s), random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), etc.). As an example, the memory(ies) 114 may store processor-executable code, where the code can take the form of instructions (e.g., software, firmware, etc.) that are executable by the one or more processors 112 to carry out various processing tasks as described herein.

[0047] The computer system 110 can also include one or more data stores (e.g., databases or the like) which can store data that represents a plurality of activity records 120 and a plurality of trust scores 122. The data store(s) can be local to the processor(s) 112 or remote from the processor(s) 112. For example, the data store(s) can be networked storage that is accessible to the processor(s) over a network connection. Further still, it should be understood that the data store(s) may be distributed across several storage sites that are accessible via network connections.

[0048] The activity records 120 can comprise data that represents activities that have been monitored by the RFID monitoring system 108. These activity records 120 can comprise a plurality of attributes that document, characterize, and / or measure the subject activities. In an example, the activities can be associated with users (e.g., different activities may be associated with different users). The users can be persons whose activities are monitored by the system.

[0049] The trust scores 122 can comprise data that represents a trustworthiness of one or more users, where the trust scores 122 for subject users can be derived from the activity records 120 that are associated with the subject users (e.g., the trust score for User X can be derived from the activity records 120 that are associated with User X). In this fashion, the trust score 122 for a user represents an accumulated quantification of trustworthiness for the associated user based on a history of activities by the associated user (as reflected in activity records 120). In an example, the trustworthiness derived from an activity record 120 can be a reflection of whether the associated user’s performance of an activity is consistent with what the associated user has committed to do or is expected to do with respect to such an activity (for example, a person can be expected to pay for all of the items that he or she leaves a store with; as another example, Person X may have made a commitment to perform Activity Y, and the activity records 122 can reflect whether Person X has satisfied this commitment). In this fashion, the RFID monitoring system 108 can generate RFID data corresponding to the user’s activities, where such RFID data can be processed to populate activity records 120 in support of assessing the user’s conformity to such commitments / expectations. A practitioner can define the depth of previous activities for a user that would be used to compute the user’s trust score 122. For example, some practitioners may find it desirable to base a user’s trust score 122 on the full history of all of the user’s activity records 120. However, other practitioners may choose to base a user’s trust score 122 on a smaller window of the user’s activity records 120 (e.g., the previous 1 year worth of activity records 120). Furthermore, some practitioners may choose to compute a single trust score 122 for a user, while other practitioners may choose to compute a plurality of different types of trust scores 122 for a user. For example, different types of trust scores can quantify a user’s trustworthiness across different categories, such as financial / monetary trust (does the user pay for the items that he or she leaves a store with?), cleanliness trust (does the user leave a mess in his or her wake?), timeliness trust (does the user arrive early, on time, or late; or leave early, on time, or late?). Different activity types for the activity records 120 can feed the computation of such different types of trust scores 122 if desired by a practitioner.

[0050] The trust scores can be represented using any metric deemed suitable by a practitioner, including but not limited to numeric scores over a score range (e.g., scores within a range of 0 to 1 , scores within a range of 1 to 100, etc.); character code scores (e.g., discrete values of A, B, C, D, etc.); text string scores (e.g., “excellent”, “good”, “average”, “poor”, etc.) or other data types. The computer system 110 can then use these trust scores 122 to make decisions about how the lock(s) 102 should be controlled.

[0051] The computer system 110 can communicate with other system components via communication links that can be wired, wireless, or a combination thereof; and these communication links can include one or more communication networks which can take the form of any network capable of communicating data (e.g., the Internet, local area networks (LANs), cellular networks, etc.). For example, the computer system 110 can communicate a control signal 136 to the lock actuator(s) 104 via a network connection if desired by a practitioner. However, a practitioner may also choose to connect the computer system 110 with the lock actuator(s) 104 via direct wired connections (e.g., wires or cables).

[0052] The computer system 110 can exhibit any a number of different types of computing architectures. For example, the computer system 110 can be a standalone desktop computer, laptop, or server. However, a practitioner may choose to employ different architectures. For example, the computer system 110 may be a distributed computer system, such as a cloud-based computing system. Further still, it should be understood that the activity records 120 and / or the trust scores 122 may be stored as an immutable ledger in a blockchain system if desired by a practitioner. With such a blockchain-based approach, the reliability and trustworthiness of the activity records 120 and / or trust scores 122 can be increased to promote their adoption and use as a basis for controlling locks 102 across a number of different use cases and industries. For example, different parties may use and rely on a common set of trust scores 122 that are computed from the activity records 120. As another example, different parties may share access to a common set of activity records 120 that are accessible via blockchain, and each party may use the common set of activity records 120 to compute their own sets of trust scores 122. This approach would allow for different parties to leverage the activity records 120 to compute different sets of trust scores 122, possibly including scenarios where the same user may have a different trust score 122 from Party A than that user’s trust score 122 from Party B.

[0053] The activity records 120 can track a number of different types of activities that are capable of being monitored at least in part by the RFID monitoring system(s) 108. The RFID monitoring system(s) may include one or more RFID readers that are capable of reading RFID tags 130 using RF signals 132. These RFID read operations can result in the collection of activity monitoring data 134 for communication to the computer system 110 so that the activity records 120 can be updated. The activities covered by the activity records 120 can include activities that would require the user to interact in some fashion with one or more RFID tags 130 while he or she participates in the activity. Through such interactions, the RFID monitoring system 108 and / or computer system 110 can ascertain whether the user should be deemed to have successfully completed the activity. Examples of activities that can be monitored by the RFID monitoring system(s) 108 include customer behaviors and / or worker behaviors such as:

[0054] • RFID-verified customer store checkouts (e.g., at retail stores with selfcheckout capabilities where a customer optically scans or otherwise identifies the items that he or she is purchasing prior to payment and checkout, where RFID monitoring can be used to assess whether the customer correctly scanned all of the items that he or she is leaving the store with).

[0055] • RFID-verified visits of frequent customers to a store or other location

[0056] • RFID-verified restocking of RFID-tagged items onto shelves by workers at a retail store, warehouse, or other facility

[0057] • RFID-verified cleaning or other store-keeping arrangements by workers

[0058] • RFID-verified pickups and dropoffs of items by delivery people

[0059] However, it should be understood that these activities are examples only, and practitioners may choose to monitor more, fewer, and / or different activities.

[0060] In operation, a user who wants to cause the lock(s) 102 to enter an unlocked state can interact with a lock access control system 106 so that the lock access control system 106 receives input data 140. This input data 140 can take any of a number of forms, but in an example, the input data 140 can be data that identifies the subject user. For example, the input data 140 can be biometric information that would serve to identify a particular user (e.g., using technology such as facial recognition, retina scans, fingerprint recognition, etc.). As another example, the input data 140 could be a user identifier and password that the user provides to the lock access control system 106 via a user interface. As still another example, the input data 140 could be a user identifier that is carried by a fob, badge, or similar instrument that has been provided to the user. As yet another example, the input data 140 can be an identifier for a machine carried by the user - for example, an identifier for a smart phone, smart watch, or other device carried by the user. For example, the input data 140 can comprise a telephone number or International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) that can serve to identify a smart phone and the user who is associated with the smart phone. The lock access control system 106 can comprise a computer system and / or dedicated circuitry that receives the input data 140 and generates a lock access request 142 on behalf of the user identified by the input data 140. The lock access control system 106 may include a sensor or user interface through which the input data 140 is received. The lock access request 142 can be communicated from the lock access control system to the computer system 110 for the computer system 110 to make a decision about whether to unlock the lock(s) 102 based on a trust score 122 applicable to the subject user. Moreover, the lock access request 142 can be configured to identify the subject user who is associated with the request 142 (e.g., it can include the input data 140 or data derived from the input data 140 that would allow the computer system 110 to determine the applicable user).

[0061] Figure 2A shows an example process flow for execution by the system 100 to update activity records 120 and trust scores 122 based on activities that are monitored by the RFID monitoring system(s) 108.

[0062] At step 200, the party who is to be associated with the activity to be monitored is identified. The identified party can correspond to a user who is known to the system 100. Step 200 can be accomplished in a like manner as the receipt of the input data 140 discussed above in connection with the lock access control system 106. For example, the RFID monitoring system 108 can operate in conjunction with a sensor or user interface that is capable of identifying a user who is known to the system 100. The user can be identified at step 200 based on biometric data, a user identifier (with or without a password), a machine identifier, etc. Further still, it should be understood that the system 100 may interact with a third party identity management and recognition system to identify users at step 200.

[0063] At step 202, an activity by the identified user is monitored by the RFID monitoring system 108 as the issuer interacts with one or more RFID tags 130. The RFID tag reads that are generated as a result of RFID reads by the RFID monitoring system 130 can serve as data indicative of the activity being monitored by the system 100. Examples of such monitoring are discussed in greater detail below. At step 204, the data that represents the monitored activity is processed to determine an activity status for the subject activity. The processing at step 204 can be carried out by the RFID monitoring system 108 and / or computer system 110. In examples where step 204 is carried out wholly within the RFID monitoring system 108, it should be understood that data 134 can be the determined activity status. However, in examples where step 204 is at least partially carried out within the computer system 110, the data 134 can be data derived from the RFID reads by the RFID monitoring system 108 (in which case processor(s) 112 can compute the activity status based on such data 134). Examples of activity statuses that can be determined for the monitored activity can be “complete” or “incomplete”, “successful” or “unsuccessful”, “pass” or “fail”, etc. However, it should be understood that these activity statuses are just examples, and a practitioner may choose to deploy different or additional activity statuses (such as statuses that reflect more granularity with respect to an activity being monitored (such as scores or grades for such activities)).

[0064] At step 206, the computer system 110 updates the activity records 120 based on the data processing that occurred at step 204. This update may comprise associating the activity that is associated with the user identified at step 200 with an activity status as determined at step 204. Figure 7 shows an example activity record 120 that can be maintained by the computer system 110.

[0065] As shown by Figure 7, each activity record 120 may comprise an activity identifier 700 for the subject activity. The system 100 can assign a unique identifier to each activity being monitored by the system. Each activity record 120 may also comprise an activity type 702 for the subject activity. This can be useful in circumstances where the system 100 is being used to monitor a plurality of different types of activities. For example, the system 100 may be used in connection with retail store operations to monitor purchase activities by customers, restocking activities by workers, cleaning / arranging activities by workers, etc. Each of these different types of activities can be assigned their own code or other identifier for an activity type to provide more depth to the activity records 120. Each activity record 120 may also comprise an activity status 704 for the subject activity. As noted above, this activity status may simply be a simple Boolean value (e.g., “complete” or “incomplete”, “successful” or “unsuccessful”, “pass” or “fail”, etc.) or it can be a more granular value (such as a score or grade). Further still, each activity record 120 may also comprise a party identifier 706 that serves to identify the relevant party (e.g., user) for the subject activity. The party identifier 706 can be an identifier that serves to identify the user who is identified at step 200 of the Figure 2A process flow. It should be understood that a practitioner may choose to employ activity records 120 that employ more, fewer, and / or different fields. For example, a practitioner may also choose to include a date / time stamp for a subject activity as part of an activity record 120. A practitioner may also choose to include a link in a subject activity record 120 to the supporting data describing the subject activity that corresponds to the activity identifier 700 to provide an auditing trail for the subject activity record 120.

[0066] At step 208, the computer system 110 updates the trust score 122 for the party identified at step 200 based on the updated activity record 120 from step 206. The computer system 110 can employ any of a number of techniques for computing trust scores based on activity records 120. As noted above, the trust scores 122 represent an accumulation of trust based on a history of activities. As such, step 208 can update the relevant trust score 122 for the party identified at step 200 so that the current activity’s contribution to the assessment of the party’s trustworthiness can be combined with the party’s previous trust score 122 to yield a new / updated trust score 122. For example, the code executed by a processor 112 can be configured to increase or decrease a trust score 122 for a user based on the nature of the activity status 704 for a subject activity 120 corresponding to the user. Activity statuses that would indicate trustworthy behavior by a pertinent user would generally correspond to an increase in a user’s trust score 122, while activity statuses that would indicate untrustworthy behavior by the pertinent user would generally correspond to a decrease in a user’s trust score. As an example, a simple approach to trust scoring can be an approach where trust scores 122 are updated on an activity-by-activity basis for applicable users so that an activity status 704 corresponding to trustworthy behavior would trigger an increase of X points for the subject user’s trust score 122 while an activity status 704 corresponding to untrustworthy behavior would trigger a decrease of X points from the subject user’s trust score 122. However, it should be understood that practitioners may choose to employ more sophisticated metrics for trust scoring including techniques such as statistically-weighted scoring, normalization of trust scoring across pools of users, variable scoring for different activity types, etc. Further still, in scenarios where the system maintains a plurality of different types of trust scores 122 as discussed above, step 208 can operate to update the trust score 122 for the trust score type that corresponds to the activity type of the subject activity record 120.

[0067] Figure 2B shows an example process flow for execution by the system 100 to use trust scores 122 to make decisions about locking or unlocking a lock 102.

[0068] At step 220, the system 100 identifies a party who is seeking to access a lock 102. This identification of the party (e.g., user) can be accomplished in a like manner as step 200 discussed above in connection with Figure 2A.

[0069] At step 222, code executed by a processor 112 retrieves the applicable trust score 122 for the party identified at step 220. In circumstances where the system maintains a plurality of different types of trust scores 122 as discussed above, step 222 can also operate to retrieve the type of trust score 122 for the party identified at step 220 after taking into consideration the context of the situation (e.g., an operator that controls the lock 102 may specify the type of trust scores 122 that it wants to use to make an unlocking decision). At step 224, the code executed by a processor 112 compares the retrieved trust score 122 from step 222 with a defined threshold. If the retrieved trust score 122 for the identified party is greater than the defined threshold, then the computer system 110 can generate a control signal 136 that will trigger a command 138 by the lock actuator 104 to unlock the lock 102 (see step 226). In other words, if the party’s trust score 122 is greater than the defined threshold, then the party is granted access. If the retrieved trust score 122 for the identified party is less than the defined threshold, then the computer system 110 will not generate a control signal 136 that will trigger a command 138 by the lock actuator 104 to unlock the lock 102 (see step 228). In other words, if the party’s trust score 122 is less than the defined threshold, then the party is denied access. Step 228 can be accomplished in a passive manner (e.g., where the computer system 110 does not generate any control signal 136 (in which case the lock 102 would remain in a locked state) or an active manner (e.g., where the computer system 110 generates a control signal 136 that actively triggers the generation of a lock command 138 by the lock actuator 104). A practitioner can define the threshold that is used to govern the decision regarding whether to unlock a lock 102. As with the scoring system for trust scores 122, it should be understood that a practitioner may choose to define threshold values after taking into consideration the scoring scales for the trust scores 122 and what the practitioner believes is a suitable trustworthiness level for providing users with the ability to unlock the lock 102. As such, different practitioners may choose to set different defined threshold values for use at step 224.

[0070] Accordingly, it should be understood that the Figure 2B process flow can be used to restrict a person’s ability to unlock the lock 102 on being deemed sufficiently trustworthy according to defined criteria. The defined criteria can be any condition or combination of conditions that can be satisfied through analysis of data derived from the RFID data generated by the RFID monitoring system(s) 108 or such RFID- derived data in combination with other non-RFID data. Examples of such defined criteria are discussed in greater detail in the description above and below (see, for example, Figures 6A-6F). Trusted persons can be granted access to a restricted space, access to equipment, and / or access to a service via unlocking of lock 102. Examples of benefits that can be provisioned to trusted persons via lock 102 can include any or all of the following:

[0071] • Trusted persons can be granted access to a facility such as a retail store or work site. This access may include access outside of normal operating hours for the facility (e.g., trusted customers being granted early access to after hours access to a store).

[0072] • Trusted persons can be granted access to a restricted area of a facility or the like (e.g., a “VIP” area).

[0073] • Trusted persons can be granted access to a self-checkout service from a retail store.

[0074] • Trusted persons can be granted access to an express service from a retail store.

[0075] • Trusted persons can be granted access to a credit service (e.g., “buy now, pay later”). • Trusted persons can be granted access to a discount service (e.g., a discount on the sale price of items offered for sale by a retailer).

[0076] • Trusted persons can be granted access to job or work offers (e.g., assignments for gig workers via a job / task assignment platform for gig workers can be conditioned on the trustworthiness of those gig workers).

[0077] • Trusted persons can be granted access to payment services.

[0078] • Trusted persons can be granted access to rideshare and / or car pooling services.

[0079] • Trusted persons can be granted access to equipment such as rental equipment. This access can be physical access (such as via unlocking a cabinet in which the rental equipment is stored) and / or operational access (such as enabling the rental equipment to be operated such as by disabling a kill switch or the like for the rental equipment).

[0080] • Trusted persons can be granted access to equipment such as vehicles. This access can be physical access (such as via unlocking a door of the vehicle) and / or operational access (such as enabling the vehicle to be started via an immobilizer, ignition, or otherwise).

[0081] However, it should be understood that practitioners may choose to link the lock 102 to one or more additional or different benefits for provision to trusted persons if desired.

[0082] Figure 3 shows an example system 100 generally corresponding to the system shown by Figure 1 , but augmented with one or more reference data systems 300. The reference data system (s) 300 can generate reference data 302 for use by the computer system 110 to monitor the activities that are covered by activity records 120. In this fashion, the computer system 110 can use not only RFID data generated by the RFID monitoring system(s) 108 to monitor activities performed by users but also use the reference data 302 from reference data system(s) 300. In this regard, the reference data system(s) 300 can be characterized as an additional monitoring system for the activities performed by the users. Depending on the needs and desires of a practitioner, some activity records 120 can be based on data derived jointly from the RFID monitoring system(s) 108 and reference data system(s) 300 while other activity records 120 can be based on data derived solely from the RFID monitoring system(s) 108 and / or reference data system(s) 300.

[0083] Reference data system 300 may comprise any of a number of different types of systems. For example, the reference data system 300 may comprise an optical read system that can be used as part of a customer checkout process at a retail store (e.g., clothing store, grocery store, etc.) As an example, an optical read system can generate reference data 302 such as data that identifies products that are scanned as part of a purchase transaction by a customer. Code executed by processor(s) 112 can combine RFID data (see 132) from the RFID monitoring system 108 with optical read data (see 302) from the optical read system to generate data indicative of whether the customer successfully scanned and paid for all of the RFID-tagged items that he or she is leaving the store with. Examples of technology that can be used to integrate optical reads with RFID monitoring are described in U.S. provisional patent application 63 / 567,529, entitled “Coordinated Tracking of RFID tags Based on Optical Read Triggers”, filed March 20, 2024, and PCT patent application PCT / US25 / 20339 designating the U.S., filed March 18, 2025, and entitled “Coordinated Tracking of RFID tags Based on Optical Read Triggers”, the entire disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0084] As another example, the reference data system 300 may comprise a point of sale (POS) system and / or enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that generates POS data and / or inventory data or the like that can be used in combination with the RFID data (see 132) to make decisions about activity statuses for monitored activities.

[0085] As yet another example, the reference data system 300 may comprise a camera system. For example, the camera system can be used to monitor and determine the presence of users who are performing activities such that reference data 302 can serve as a basis for image analysis to determine, evaluate, and / or confirm a user’s performance of tasks in connection with the monitored activity. As such, camera image data can be used in combination with the RFID data (see 132) to make decisions about activity statuses for monitored activities. As still another example, in the context of use cases where the lock 102 governs access to a vehicle (or other use cases if desired by a practitioner), the reference data system(s) 300 may be one or more vehicles operated by the user that generate data indicative of the user’s driving behaviors (e.g., information characterizing whether the user drives his or her vehicle in excess of speed limits, information characterizing how often the user experiences hard braking scenarios while driving, information characterizing detected accidents or crashes while driving, etc.). This driving behavior data can be shared with the computer system 110 and used to populate one or more activity records 120 for the user.

[0086] It should be understood that different types of reference data systems 300 may be used by system 100 if desired by a practitioner.

[0087] Figure 4A shows an example architecture for RFID monitoring system 108. The RFID monitoring system 108 shown by Figure 4A comprises one or more RFID readers 402, where the RFID reader(s) 402 wirelessly communicate with a plurality of RFID tags 130. An RFID control system 420 can control the operations of the RFID reader(s) 402. The RFID monitoring system 108 can be deployed in any of a number of environments depending on the needs and desires of a practitioner. For example, the environment in which the RFID monitoring system 108 is deployed can be a facility such as a retail store, warehouse, distribution center, hospital, airport, factory, military facility, government building, casino, office building, residence (homes, apartments, condominiums, etc.), where the RFID monitoring system 108 can perform monitoring of RFID tags 130 in all or a portion of such facilities. Further still, the environment in which the system 100 is deployed need not be limited to indoor facilities. For example, RFID monitoring system 108 can be used in outdoor spaces (e.g., streets, parks, etc.) or in combinations of indoor / outdoor spaces. As examples, one or more RFID readers 402 could be deployed on outdoor infrastructure such as poles or other structures that support street lights, street signs, traffic lights, cellular communication equipment, etc. Moreover, in some example embodiments, one or more RFID readers 402 can be located in a fixed position such as by attaching an RFID reader 402 as fixed infrastructure in an environment (e.g., installations in a ceiling of a facility). However, in other example embodiments, an RFID reader 402 can be a portable RFID reader such as an RFID reader located in a mobile device. When deployed in a mobile device, such as a handheld device or wearable device, the RFID reader 402 can be moved to different positions to change the areas that are covered.

[0088] The RFID reader(s) 402 perform interrogations of the RFID tags 130. To perform such interrogations, an RFID reader 402 can wirelessly transmit RF signals that serve as read request messages 404 (such as inventory read messages) for reception by the RFID tags 130. RFID tags 130 that are within range of the messages 404 and are in a readable session state can respond to such messages 404 by wirelessly transmitting RF signals that serve as response messages 406 for reception by the RFID reader 402. These response messages 406 can include identifiers for the responding RFID tags 130. In this fashion, an RFID reader 402 can interrogate / poll an environment for RFID tags 130 that are present in the coverage zone of the RFID reader 402 and which are in a readable session state.

[0089] RFID tags 130 are circuits that are configured to receive an RF signal and respond to that RF signal with a corresponding RF response signal (see 404 and 406 in Figure 4A). RFID tags 130 are typically small, and RFID tags 130 may be active devices (e.g., self-powered such as via a battery), passive devices (e.g., relying upon the received RF signal for their operating power), or hybrids of active and passive devices. It is typically the case that RFID tags 130 are encoded with an identifier that gets included in the RFID tag’s response signal 406. These identifiers can be referred to as RFID tag identifiers. In this fashion, RFID tags 130 can be associated with items (such as inventory items) so that the RFID tags 130 serve as identifiers for the items. For example, RFID tags 130 can be attached or embedded into items in an any of a number of manners, including but not limited to direct and indirect manners such as attaching the RFID tags 130 to the items themselves or the packaging for such items and embedding the RFID tags 130 in the items themselves or the packaging for such items. Moreover, the identifiers can be globally unique identifiers (GUIDs) if desired by a practitioner, in which case the GUIDs can uniquely identify a unique instance of an item (e.g., a particular product having a stock keeping unit (SKU), Uniform Product Code (UPC), or Global Trade Item Number (GTIN, or more colloquially G10) as distinguished from other products sharing the same SKU, UPC, or G10). Moreover, the identifiers used by RFID tags 130 may encode additional information such as information about the nature of the item that the RFID tag 130 is associated with (e.g., a class / type of item).

[0090] The Electronic Product Code (EPC) is managed by EPC Global, Inc., and the EPC defines standards for RFID tags whereby EPC-based RFID tags have serial numbers that serve as GUIDs within the EPC system to uniquely identify each RFID tag (and by implication each item associated with each RFID tag on a one-to-one correspondence basis). These standards can be referenced as “EPC GEN2”.

[0091] Some protocols for RFID tags permit an RFID tag to exhibit any of a plurality of different read states. For example, under the EPC GEN2 approach, RFID tags can exhibit the following properties. An RFID tag can exhibit a readable state or an unreadable state. Under typical default operations, a practitioner may choose to make an asserted state (an “A” state) for an RFID tag the readable state and make a de-asserted state (a “B” state) for an RFID tag the unreadable state. However, it should be understood that a practitioner could also design the system to employ the reverse (where the A state serves as the unreadable state and the B state serves as the readable state). In such a case, an RFID reader 402 would query for tags 130 that are in the B state rather than the default A state. When a tag 130 in the A state is read by an RFID reader 402, that tag 130 will transition from the A state to the B state. Similarly, when a tag 130 in the B state is read by an RFID reader 402, that tag 130 will transition from the B state to the A state. Moreover, RFID tags 130 can be in any of a number of different sessions (Sessions 0, 1 , 2, and 3), where the different sessions have different characteristics in terms of how the tags will naturally transition between the A / B states.

[0092] For example, when a tag 130 in Session 0 gets read, that read will cause the tag to transition from the A state to the B state, but the tag 130 will then immediately transition back to the A state. This means that a tag 130 in Session 0 will effectively always stay enabled for readout by an RFID reader 402.

[0093] As another example, when a tag 130 in Session 1 gets read, that read will cause the tag 130 to transition from the A state to the B state; and the tag 130 will then remain in the B state for a time period of around 0.5 seconds to around 5 seconds, after which time the tag 130 automatically returns to the A state. Thus, session 1 will keep tags 130 “quiet” (or unreadable) for a certain time period after they get read.

[0094] As yet another example, when a tag 130 in Session 2 or Session 3 gets read, that read will cause the tag 130 to switch from the A state to the B state and remain in the B state indefinitely so long as the tag 130 remains powered. If the tag 130 becomes unpowered for a sufficient time duration (typically around 35 seconds or however long it takes for the tag’s capacitor to fully discharge), then the tag 130 will return to the A state. Thus, if a tag 130 in the B state for Session 2 or 3 is removed from the field of an RFID reader 402 such that the tag loses the energizing power of the RFID reader’s signal for an extended period of time (e.g., around 35 seconds), then that tag 130 will return to the A state, whereupon it can be read when it later returns within range of a reader 402. It is worth noting that by having two sessions with the same A / B transition properties, a facility can use different ones of Sessions 2 and 3 for different parts of the facility if desired (e.g., RFID readers 402 that read tags 130 on a sales floor can operate with tags in Session 2 while RFID readers 402 that read tags 130 in a storage backroom can operate with tags in Session 3, to permit separate tag readouts in Sessions 2 and 3 for a given tag 130 while the tag 130 is in the backroom and on the sales floor.

[0095] It should also be understood that a given tag 130 might exhibit different A / B states for multiple different sessions simultaneously. For example, a given tag may exhibit an A state for Session 1 while exhibiting a B state for Session 2. Thus, such a tag 130 would be readable by an RFID reader 402 that is operating in Session 1 , but it will not be readable by an RFID reader 402 that is operating in Session 2.

[0096] The RFID reader 402 can also wirelessly transmit RF signals that serve as session control messages for reception by the RFID tags 130. These session control messages can be targeted to specific RFID tags 130 that are within range of the RFID reader 402; and the session control messages can be operable to control a readability state for the specific RFID tags 130 to which the session control messages are targeted. For example, the session control messages can be configured to force one or more specific RFID tags 130 to be in a readable session state. In another example, the session control messages can be configured to force one or more specific RFID tags 130 to be in an unreadable session state. These session control messages can take the form of select commands from the RFID reader 402 that target one or more selected RFID tags 130 with a command to assert to de-assert a readable session state. As discussed above and below, the system can employ session control messages to intelligently manage the readability of RFID tags 130 within the population of RFID tags 130 for the system.

[0097] In an example embodiment, the read request messages 404 can take the form of query commands from the RFID reader 402. Query commands operate to interrogate a population of RFID tags 130 for their presence as part of an inventory reading cycle (which can be referred to as an inventory round). When the RFID reader 402 generates and transmits a query command, the RFID reader 402 can identify the relevant session for the query command (e.g., Session 0, 1 , 2, or 3). The RFID tags 130 that are in a readable state for the identified session would then respond (presuming they are in a “hot spot” where the RF signal which contains the query command is receivable).

[0098] The query command can include a sequence of query commands from the RFID reader 402 as part of the inventory round. As a result of the initial query command for an inventory round, the RFID reader 402 tells the readable tags 130 within the population of readable tags to randomly select a number (within a depth of numbers that should generally align with the size of the population of readable RFID tags 130 being queried - e.g., for a population of 500 tags, randomly picking a number between 0 and 499). The RFID reader 402 then transmits a signal instructing the RFID tag 130 which picked “0” to announce itself. If one of the readable tags 130 (e.g., the “A state” tags 130) had picked “0”, that tag 130 begins modulating its impedance in accordance with its RFID tag identifier. The other readable tags 130 that had not picked “0” would not be modulating their impedance. Meanwhile, the RFID reader 402 is outputting a carrier wave. The non-modulating tags 130 will either perfectly absorb or reflect the carrier wave from the RFID reader 402. By contrast, the modulating RFID tag 130 will reflect or absorb the carrier wave as a function of the 1’s and 0’s of its RFID tag identifier. Accordingly, the RFID reader 402 will receive an RF signal from the modulating RFID tag 130 (see 406) that is a modulation of the carrier wave; and the RFID reader 402 can process this modulated signal to extract the RFID tag identifier from it. This allows the RFID reader 102 to identify the responsive tag 130 based on the extracted RFID tag identifier.

[0099] The RFID reader 402 can then transmit a signal that tells the population of tags 130 to decrement their number by 1 . The modulation process can then repeat itself for the next tag 130 whose number is now at “0”. This process can then be iteratively repeated for the remaining tags 130 until the RFID reader 402 has worked its way through the population of readable tags 130. It should be understood that the inventory round will require a fair amount of time to run its course if there is a large population of tags 130 in a readable session state.

[0100] Select commands can operate to tell one or more tags 130 to take an action such as asserting their readable state or asserting their unreadable state. The select commands can exhibit a bit sequence message format such as (1 ) a group of bits in a first defined location in the bit sequence that identify the message as a select command, (2) a group of bits in a second defined location in the bit sequence that identify one or more tags 130 to which the select command is targeted, and (3) a group of bits in a third defined location in the bit sequence that tells the targeted tag(s) to assert (or de-assert) their readable state. The RFID reader 402 can then modulate this select command onto an RF signal for transmission. The targeted RFID tag(s) 130 would then receive this RF signal and update its readability state in accordance with the select command encoded by this RF signal; while the nontargeted tags 130 would ignore the select command encoded by this RF signal.

[0101] RFID control system 420 operates to make decisions and control the operations of the RFID reader 402 based on such decisions. RFID control system 420 may comprise a computer system that includes one or more processors 422, one or more memories 424, and one or more databases 426. Moreover, the computer system 420 may communicate with the RFID reader(s) 402 via communication link 408. For example, the RFID control system 420 can provide control signals to the RFID reader(s) 402 via communication link 408, where these control signals control when and how the RFID reader(s) 402 perform inventory read operations. For example, the RFID control system 420 can provide a simple enable or start signal to the RFID reader(s) 402 via communication link 408 that tells the RFID reader(s) 402 to begin running inventory rounds. As another example, the RFID control system 420 can provide control signals to the RFID reader(s) 402 via link 408, where these control signals provide the RFID reader(s) 402 with a list of RFID tag identifier information for the RFID tags 130 to which the session control messages should be targeted. This RFID tag identifier information may comprise partial RFID tag identifiers for the targeted RFID tags (e.g., SKU portion, UPC portion, or G10 portion of an RFID tag identifier for a targeted RFID tag), or this RFID tag identifier may comprise one or more full RFID tag identifiers for one or more targeted RFID tags. In this fashion, the RFID control system 420 can granularly manage the population of RFID tags 130 that are to be read by the RFID reader(s) 402. Communication link 408 may comprise wired or wireless communication links. For example, data cables can link the RFID control system 420 with the RFID reader(s) 402 to provide a wired communication link 408. As another example, the communication link 408 can provide wireless connectivity via WiFi, cellular, or other wireless connectivity techniques.

[0102] The database(s) 426 can store data about the items being tracked by RFID monitoring system 108. This data can include RFID tag identifier information for the RFID tags 130 in association with a number of attributes for the items with which the RFID tags are linked. For example, in a warehouse or retail store scenario, the database(s) 426 can associate RFID tag identifiers (full or partial) with item names, item classes / types (e.g., item SKUs), and other item characteristics. Moreover, as noted above, the RFID tag identifiers can serve as globally unique serial numbers for their associated items. It should be understood that the database(s) 426 may comprise multiple databases that are distributed across multiple computer systems if desired by a practitioner.

[0103] The processor(s) 422 can be any compute resource suitable for carrying out the operations described herein. For example, the processor(s) 422 may take the form of one or more microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), graphics processing units (GPUs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc. The memory(ies) 424 can be any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage media (e.g., computer memory) capable of cooperating with the processor(s) 422 to carry out the operations described herein, including but not limited to volatile memory (e.g., RAM) and / or non-volatile memory (e.g., ROM). For example, the memory 424 can store software code / instructions for execution by the processor(s) 422 to carry out the processing operations described herein.

[0104] In some embodiments, the RFID control system 420 may comprise one or more servers that are located on-site or off-site with respect to the premises being monitored by the RFID monitoring system 108 (e.g., a warehouse, retail store, etc.). However, it should be understood that some or all of the RFID control system 420 may be deployed as a distributed computing system deployed across multiple computer systems. As an example, the RFID control system 420 may be deployed at least in part as a cloud system that is remote from the premises being monitored by the RFID monitoring system 108.

[0105] In an example embodiment, the RFID control system 420 can include an RFID read control system 452 and a management system 454 as shown by Figure 4B. The RFID read control system 452 can provide the command and control interface with the RFID reader(s) 102. The management system 454 can serve as a backend enterprise resource planning (ERP) system or other enterprise management system (EMS). The RFID read control system 452 and the management system 454 can communicate with each other over a communication link 430, where communication link 430 can be a wired or wireless communication link. RFID read control system 452 can comprise one or more processors 462, one or more memories 464, and one or more databases 466. Similarly, management system 454 can comprise one or more processors 472, one or more memories 474, and one or more databases 476. As such, with reference to Figure 4A, it should be understood that processor(s) 422 may include one or more processors 462 and one or more processors 472, memory(ies) 424 may include one or more memories 464 and one or more memories 474, and database(s) 426 may include one or more databases 466 and one or more databases 476.

[0106] The database(s) 466 maintained by the RFID read control system 452 can log and track RFID read activity by each RFID reader 402 within system 100. The database(s) 466 can associate read RFID tag identifiers with a number of different attributes. For example, database(s) 466 can include a time series database of RFID tag identifiers read by each RFID reader 402, and this time series may include several fields of metadata associated with each read RFID tag identifier (such as a time at which each read occurs, an RSSI for each read, which RFID reader 402 read the subject tag (as applicable) and / or a location or region associated with such reader 402, which antenna of the RFID reader read the subject tag (as applicable) and / or a location or region associated with such antenna, and / or the phase of the tag reads on each antenna (as applicable), etc.

[0107] The database(s) 476 maintained by the management system 454 can include data that associates RFID tag identifier information (partial or full) with a variety of data relating to the items to which the RFID tags 130 are attached or otherwise linked. For example, database(s) 476 can include data attributes that define modulars or planograms for a facility (e.g., retail store, warehouse, etc.) to identify where different items are located in the facility. Further still, the database(s) 476 can identify a number of different attributes of the items linked to the RFID tags 130, such as a class of item, a vendor or supplier for the item, etc. Thus, the SKU portion, UPC portion, or G10 portion of an RFID tag identifier can be associated by database(s) 476 with items at any of a number of levels of generality such as a particular unique / serialized instance of an item (an electronic product code (EPC), SG10, or full RFID tag identifier), a particular class of item (e.g., size 10 men’s shoes), a general category of item (shoes), the number of items on hand, sizes of items, weights of items, and / or prices for items, etc.

[0108] Moreover, while Figure 4B shows an example where RFID control system 420 includes the RFID read control system 452 and management system 454, it should be understood that for some embodiments the RFID control system 420 may include the RFID read control system 452 but not the management system 454. For example, some practitioners may find it desirable to deploy some or all of the functionality of the management system 454 in computer system 110 shown by Figure 1 .

[0109] Figure 5 depicts an example RFID monitoring system 108 where a coverage area 500 (such as the premises of a warehouse or retail store) includes multiple RFID readers 402. The coverage area 500 can be subdivided into different coverage zones 902, and each zone 902 can have its own RFID reader 402 so that a plurality of the RFID readers 402 are in a spaced arrangement relative to each other. By employing zones 502, the population of RFID tags 130 that a particular RFID reader 402 will be responsible for can be reduced, which helps load balance the system. The RFID readers 402 can be calibrated and / or positioned so that their RF signals are operative within their respective zones 502 but not operative (or at least minimally operative) outside their respective zones 502. Further still, in an example embodiment where an RFID reader 402 has multiple antennas that cover different areas, different antennas of the RFID reader 402 could be used to communicate with tags 130 in different zones 502 if desired by a practitioner. For example, where an RFID reader 402 has multiple antennas, each antenna can define its own corresponding zone 502 as a function of the geographic extent that can be reached via the RF signals transmitted by such antennas.

[0110] In an example embodiment, one or more of the zones 502 can be a fixed zone defined by locating the RFID reader 402 for that fixed zone in a fixed location. However, it should be understood that a practitioner may choose to employ one or more RFID readers 402 that are mobile so that their coverage zones 502 may change over time.

[0111] Moreover, as explained in (1 ) U.S. provisional patent application 63 / 458,999, filed April 13, 2023, and entitled “Session Control Broadcaster for RFID Systems”, (2) U.S. Patent App. Pub. 2024 / 0346278, and (3) WIPO publication WO 2024 / 215991 , the entire disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference, a practitioner may also find it desirable to employ an RFID system where session control tasks are offloaded from one or more of the RFID readers 402 to dedicated RFID transmitters such as session control broadcasters. This offloading of session control tasks to separate RFID transmitters allows for those transmitters to focus on transmitting session control messages, which frees up the RFID readers 402 to spend more time querying for tags 130. As such, it should be understood that the RFID monitoring system 108 could employ RFID transmitters such as session control broadcasters in the manner described by the above-referenced and incorporated 63 / 458,999 patent application, U.S. Patent App. Pub. 2024 / 0346278, and WIPO publication WO 2024 / 215991.

[0112] It should be noted that the database(s) 426 (which may include database(s) 466 and / or 486 in the example of Figure 4B) can also associate the tags 130 with the zones 502 in which the tags 130 are positioned. For example, if the item layout map for coverage area 500 specifies that Item X is to be located in a location that is encompassed by Zone 1 , then the database(s) 426 can associate information relating to the RFID tag identifier for Item X with Zone 1 (in which case Zone 1 can serve as the “normal” or “expected” zone for Item X). Moreover, each RFID reader 402 can be associated in database(s) 426 with the zones 502 in which they are located. In this fashion, the control system 420 can determine when a tag 130 may be out of place because it is detected by an RFID reader 402 in a zone outside its normal / expected zone. Such a tag 130 that is detected as being “out of place” can be classified as a tag of interest for purposes of analysis / tracking if desired by a practitioner. Examples of how tags of interest can be identified and processed by an RFID system are described in the above-referenced and incorporated 63 / 458,999 patent application, U.S. Patent App. Pub. 2024 / 0346278, WIPO publication WO 2024 / 215991 , 63 / 567,529 patent application, and PCT / US25 / 20339 patent application. Tags 130 may be “out of place” for any of a number of reasons, including but limited to (for a retail shopping example) a customer putting the item linked to the subject tag 130 in his or her shopping cart and moving to another zone 502 of the coverage area 500, an item linked to the subject tag 130 being misplaced by a customer or employee in another zone 502 of the coverage area 500, etc.

[0113] Furthermore, while the examples of Figures 4A, 4B, and 5 discussed above describe an RFID monitoring system 108 where the RFID reader(s) 402 operate to read RFID tags 130 that operate in accordance with RFID standards such as EPC GEN2, it should be understood that the RFID monitoring system 108 may be designed to perform RFID in other modes of operation. For example, the RFID tags 130 and RFID techniques need not be based on EPC GEN2. The RFID tags 130 can be any capability of a device to emit RF signals that allow that device to be identified through RFID techniques. As such, the RFID monitoring system 108 can operate to detect RF signals from any of a number of devices for purposes of identifying those devices, such as detecting and identifying mobile devices such as smart phones, cell phones, etc. For example, for mobile devices that are connected to networks via RF using WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular, or other network connections, the mobile devices can be identified via their MAC addresses, IMEI numbers, and / or other signature characteristics that can be derived from RF signal transmissions.

[0114] RFID-Based Activity Monitoring:

[0115] As discussed above, the RFID monitoring system(s) 108 can monitor any of a number of activities in order to generate data indicative of the trustworthiness of parties and update the parties’ trust scores accordingly.

[0116] For example, in a retail environment, the RFID monitoring system(s) 108 can be employed to assess whether a customer is leaving a store (e.g., a retail store such as a clothing store, grocery store, etc.) with RFID-tagged items that he or she has paid for.

[0117] Figure 6A shows an example process flow for RFID-verified store checkouts. In this example, a customer is shopping at a store and purchasing various RFID-tagged items; and the store provides a self-checkout kiosk or the like. However, it should be understood that other checkout techniques could be employed, such as an approach where store employees scan the items to be purchased on behalf of the customer. At step 600, the customer optically scans the RFID-tagged items for self-checkout. This has the effect of identifying the RFID-tagged items that the customer intends to purchase. At step 602, the customer pays for the optically-scanned items. This can be accomplished using point of sale (POS) technology implemented as part of a selfcheckout kiosk or the like. At this point, a control system such as computer system 110 has a record of the items scanned and paid for by the customer. Examples of techniques for coordinating RFID tag reading operations with optical reads of RFID- tagged items are described in greater detail in the above-referenced and incorporated 63 / 567,529 and PCT / US25 / 20399 patent applications.

[0118] At step 604, the RFID monitoring system 108 identifies the RFID-tagged items that are determined to be with the customer as a result of RFID tag reading operations by one or more RFID readers 402. This can be accomplished by any of a number of techniques. For example, an RFID reader 402 can be positioned to read the RFID- tagged items that are located at the subject self-checkout kiosk and / or at the exit of the store with negligible coverage of areas outside the subject kiosk and / or exit. This would allow the RFID monitoring system to generate a list of RFID tag identifiers that correspond to the RFID-tagged items taken by the customer to the subject kiosk and / or RFID-tagged items that the customer is leaving the store with. As another example, the customer’s shopping cart can include an RFID reader 402 that is capable of reading the RFID tags 130 of RFID-tagged items that the customer places in the subject shopping cart. As yet another example, the RFID monitoring system 108 can be designed so that its control system 420 tracks and updates a list of RFID tag identifiers that are deemed to be moving with the customer as the customer moves through the store (e.g., via RFID readers 402 covering different zones 502 of a store). The intelligence used by the control system 420 for maintaining and updating such a list can also employ techniques for tracking a customer’s movement through a store such as by tracking the customer’s smart phone or other mechanisms for ascertaining customer locations over time (e.g., camera systems that employ facial recognition). By tracking the locations within a store of the various customers present in the store over time, tracking the RFID tags 130 that are read by different RFID readers 402 in the store over time, and correlating the time-stamped customer locations with the time-stamped RFID tag locations (derived from the applicable zones 502 covered by the various RFID readers 402), the control system 402 can generate lists of RFID tags 130 that are deemed to be moving with different customers. As still another example, the RFID monitoring system 108 can create different groups of RFID tags 130 that are believed to be moving in concert with each other through a store (even though those groups may not be linked to any particular customer while the tag groups are moving through the store) and update which tags 130 are assigned to which groups as new RFID read data becomes available. A particular tag group can be mapped to a particular customer during a checkout process when the customer seeks to purchase various RFID-tagged items.

[0119] At step 606, the system 100 can compare the list of RFID-tagged items that were optically scanned and paid for by the customer at steps 600 and 602 with the list of RFID-tagged items that were identified as a result of step 604 to check for matches between the two lists (see 608). If step 608 results in a determination that the RFID-derived list of items from step 604 is a complete match against the optical scan-derived list of items that were paid for at step 602, this would indicate that the customer successfully performed the selfcheckout. The process flow can proceed to step 610, where an activity record for the customer is updated to show a successfully verified self-checkout. As such, step 610 can result in the creation of an activity record 120 (e.g., see Figure 7) that documents the self-checkout that was successfully verified as being trustworthy. At step 612, the system can compute an updated trust score 122 for the subject customer based on the activity record 120 generated at step 610. For example, step 612 can operate to compute an increased value for the trust score as a result of the self-checkout that was successfully verified as being trustworthy.

[0120] If step 608 results in a determination that there were more items on the RFID-derived list of items from step 604 than were on the optical scan-derived list of items that were paid for at step 602 (an “optical undercount”), this would indicate that the customer did not optically scan and pay for all of the items in his / her possession. The process flow can proceed to step 614, where an activity record for the customer is updated to show a unsuccessfully verified self-checkout. As such, step 614 can result in the creation of an activity record 120 (e.g., see Figure 7) that documents the self-checkout that was unsuccessfully verified (e.g., indicative of untrustworthiness). At step 616, the system can compute an updated trust score 122 for the subject customer based on the activity record 120 generated at step 614. For example, step 616 can operate to compute a decreased value for the trust score as a result of the self-checkout that was deemed to include an undercount of paid for items.

[0121] In situations where step 608 results in a determination that there were more items on the optical scan-derived list of items that were paid for at step 602 than were on the RFID-derived list of items from step 604 (an “optical overcount”), this could be treated by the system in any of a number of ways. For example, a practitioner may choose to proceed to step 610 for this scenario. However, another practitioner may choose to proceed to step 614 for this scenario, while another practitioner may want to treat such a scenario as a neutral event that is deemed neither trustworthy nor untrustworthy. This can be implemented at either or both of the activity record level and / or the trust score level.

[0122] The above-referenced and incorporated 63 / 567,529 and PCT / US25 / 20399 patent applications provide additional details regarding how optical undercounts and optical overcounts can be detected.

[0123] Figures 6B and 6C show example process flows for RFID-verified visits of people to a store or other location. In these examples, a user such as a customer or other person can be provided with an object that can be detected by an RFID monitoring system 108 to allow for a determination as to whether the user has visited a defined location such as the premises of a store. For the purpose of discussion, the examples of Figures 6B and 6C will presume that the user is carrying a fob or card that is equipped with an RFID tag 130, where the RFID tag identifier of this RFID tag 130 is known to be associated with the subject user. However, it should be understood that the RFID-detectable object can be any object that is capable of being read as an RFID tag 130 or otherwise remotely detected, such as such as smart phones, wearable devices (e.g., smart watch), etc.

[0124] For the example of Figure 6B, the process flow can begin at step 620 with the RFID monitoring system 108 detecting an RFID tag 130 on the premises of a subject location (e.g., store, home, office, warehouse, etc.). The detected RFID tag 130 can be associated with a subject person. For example, database(s) 426 and / or memory(ies) 114 can maintain a record that associates the subject person with the RFID tag identifier for the subject RFID tag 130, which allows the system to infer that the person associated with the subject RFID tag 130 in on the subject premises in response to a detection by the RFID monitoring system 108 of the RFID tag identifier for the subject RFID tag 130.

[0125] At step 622, the system updates the activity record 120 for the subject person to reflect the visit by the subject person to the subject premises that was detected at step 620. The updated activity record 120 can also record time / date information for the subject person’s visit to the subject premises. At step 624, the system computes an updated trust score 122 for the subject person based on the activity record 120 that was updated at step 622. In this regard, for an example retail store scenario, the activity records 120 can reflect how frequently customers visit the subject retail store. A practitioner may find it desirable to increase a customer’s trust score 122 as a function of how frequently that customer visits the store (where frequent customers can be deemed more trustworthy than infrequent customers). This example process flow can also be used for scenarios where the person is an employee or other worker, and the activity records 120 can document the timeliness of the employee / worker. For example, if an employee / worker is expected to arrive on the premises by 8 am, the Figure 6B process flow can detect whether the employee / worker was on time. Trust scores 122 for employees / workers can then be updated as a function of the timeliness of the subject employees / workers (e.g., being on time can increase or maintain a trust score while being late can decrease a trust score).

[0126] Figure 6C depicts an example of a variation on the Figure 6B process flow. With the example of Figure 6C, the RFID monitoring system can also detect the departure of the subject RFID tag 130 from the subject premises (see step 626). Step 626 can thus operate to indicate a departure by the person associated with the subject RFID tag 130 from the premises. Thus, the activity record 120 that gets updated at step 628 can include data indicative of a visit duration by the subject person - for example, identifying the date / time or arrival and the date / time of departure). The trust score 122 can be updated at step 624 based on such an updated activity record 120.

[0127] Figure 6D shows an example process flow for RFID-based verification of tasks such as the restocking of RFID-tagged items onto store shelves or the like from inventory. In these examples, a user such as an employee or worker can be tasked with restocking a sales floor of a retail store with RFID-tagged items that are in a stockroom area of the retail store. At step 630, the system detects the employee / worker who is to perform this restocking task This can be accomplished on the basis of RFID (e.g., where the employee / worker carries an RFID-tagged fob or card) or it can be accomplished through other mechanisms (e.g., the employee / worker logging in to a system that records his or her presence at the site, camera-based facial recognition, biometric recognition, etc.). At step 632, the RFID monitoring system 108 detects the RFID tags 130 that are present in the stockroom area of a store. These detections can be accomplished by one or more RFID readers 402 that cover one or more zones 502 corresponding to the stockroom area of the store. The detections found at step 632 can be a periodically updated record of all the RFID tags 130 determined to be present in the stockroom at a given time. However, in other examples, the detections at step 632 can be performed by one or more RFID readers 402 that are positioned to detect RFID tags 130 that are passing through a doorway or other passageway connecting the stockroom area of the store with the sales floor of the store. In still other examples, these detections can be accomplished by one or more RFID readers 402 that are positioned to detect the RFID tags 130 that are present in a cart or other conveyance used by the employee / worker to move the RFID-tagged items from the stockroom area of the store to the sales floor area of the store. To facilitate a mapping of RFID tags 130 to a particular employee / worker in this scenario, the cart or other conveyance can be identifiable and associated with the subject employee / worker.

[0128] At step 634, the RFID monitoring system 108 detects the RFID tags 130 that are present in the sales floor area of the store. These detections can be accomplished by one or more RFID readers 402 that cover one or more zones 502 corresponding to the sales floor area of the store.

[0129] At step 636, the system can calculate metrics based on the RFID tag detections at steps 632 and 634. These calculated metrics can be indicative of one or more qualities of the restocking activities by the subject employee / worker. For example, a comparison between the populations of the RFID tags 130 detected at step 634 and the RFID tags 130 detected at step 632 can indicate how many of the RFID tags 130 detected at step 632 were moved to the sales floor. Accordingly, step 636 can compute a metric indicative of how many (and which) RFID tags 130 were moved to the sales floor during the time when the employee / worker was working. As another example, in scenarios where the RFID monitoring system 108 has multiple RFID readers 402 that cover different zones 502 of the sales floor, step 634 can yield data indicative of the different zones 502 of the sales floor where the RFID tags 130 were detected. This data can be compared with store planogram data that indicates where the various RFID-tagged items are supposed to be shelved on the sales floor, which can yield metrics that are indicative of whether the subject employee / worker moved the RFID-tagged items to the correct areas of the sales floor.

[0130] At step 638, the system updates the activity record 120 for the subject employee / worker based on the metrics computed at step 636. For example, the updated activity record 120 include one or more fields that comprise values for the computed metrics. At step 640, the system computes an updated trust score 122 for the subject employee / worker based on the activity record 120 that was updated at step 636. In this fashion, the trust score 122 for an employee / worker can be increased if the metrics in the activity record 120 for the subject employee / worker indicated that the employee / worker successfully completed the restocking tasks that were expected of him or her. Similarly, if the activity record 120 for the subject employee / worker shows a subpar performance of restocking tasks, then the trust score 122 of the subject employee / worker can be decreased.

[0131] Figure 6E shows an example process flow for RFID-based verification of activities such as cleaning, store upkeep (e.g., tidying of display areas of stores), security patrols, etc. In these examples, a user such as an employee or worker can be tasked with performing these activities on a premises such as a retail store, office, warehouse, etc. At step 650, the system detects the employee / worker who is to perform the subject activities. This can be accomplished on the basis of RFID (e.g., where the employee / worker carries an RFID-tagged fob or card) or it can be accomplished through other mechanisms (e.g., the employee / worker logging in to a system that records his or her presence at the site, camera-based facial recognition, biometric recognition, etc.).

[0132] At step 652, the RFID monitoring system 108 detects the movement of one or more RFID tags 130, where the detected movement is indicative of performance of the subject activity.

[0133] For example, step 652 can result in detecting the movement of an RFID tag 130 carried by the subject employee / worker as he or she moves throughout the premises in the course of performing their activity (e.g., where the employee / worker carries an RFID-tagged fob or card). In this regard, the RFID monitoring system 108 may employ multiple RFID readers 402 that cover different zones 502 of the premises, and the reads of the subject RFID tag 130 by the different RFID readers 402 over time will indicate the path of the subject employee / worker through the premises over a time period. For employees / workers who are tasked with activities such as cleaning or security patrols, the RFID data can indicate one or more qualities of the performed activity.

[0134] As another example, step 652 can result in the detection of RFID tags 130 that are moved or shifted by an employee / worker in a manner that moves those RFID tags 130 from a “null spot” to a “hot spot” of the RFID monitoring system 108. As explained by the above-referenced and incorporated 63 / 458,999 patent application, U.S. Patent App. Pub. 2024 / 0346278, and WIPO publication WO 2024 / 215991 , in situations where there is a large population of RFID-tagged items in an environment such as a retail store or warehouse, it will be the case that many of the RFID tags 130 will be located in “null spots” where they are effectively invisible to the RFID reader(s) 402 even if the tags 130 are in a readable state. However, slight movements of such RFID tags 130 can result in those RFID tags 130 moving to a “hot spot” where they are readable by the RFID reader(s) 402. Accordingly, for employees / workers who are tasked with tidying up areas such as product displays or shelves of a store, it is expected that this tidying activity will result in shifting the position of many RFID tags 130 from null spots to hot spots. This uncovering of previously hidden RFID tags 130 by the RFID monitoring system 108 would thus be indicative of interactions by the employee / worker with the area in question where the RFID tags 130 were detected, particularly if the employee / worker was detected in that area at the same time as the new detection of the RFID tags 130.

[0135] At step 654, the system can calculate metrics based on the RFID tag detections at step 652. These calculated metrics can be indicative of one or more qualities of the activities that were to be performed by the subject employee / worker. As noted above, the RFID tag detections can indicate the paths covered by the subject employee / worker through the subject premises, and thus indicate whether the employee / worker covered the areas that he or she was supposed to cover for cleaning, security patrolling, and / or tidying activities. For example, the metrics computed at step 654 can indicate a percentage of expected area covered by the subject employee / worker. Further still, as noted above, the metrics can indicate how many different areas of the subject premises that the employee / worker interacted with over a time period.

[0136] At step 656, the system updates the activity record 120 for the subject employee / worker based on the metrics computed at step 654. For example, the updated activity record 120 include one or more fields that comprise values for the computed metrics. At step 658, the system computes an updated trust score 122 for the subject employee / worker based on the activity record 120 that was updated at step 656. In this fashion, the trust score 122 for an employee / worker can be increased if the metrics in the activity record 120 for the subject employee / worker indicated that the employee / worker successfully performed the subject activity. Similarly, if the activity record 120 for the subject employee / worker shows a subpar performance of the subject activity, then the trust score 122 of the subject employee / worker can be decreased.

[0137] The RFID monitoring system 108 can also be used to detect whether restocking activities (e.g., see Figure 6D) or other work tasks (e.g., see figure 6E) by a worker resulted in one or more of the RFID-tagged items disappearing from the facility. Such a “lost” status for RFID-tagged items could arise from a sustained disappearance of the RFID tag identifier for an RFID-tagged item during tag reading operations by the RFID monitoring system 108 and / or arise from a detection of the RFID tag identifier for an RFID-tagged item near an exit of the facility. Such “lost” RFID-tagged items could trigger a decrease in trustworthiness for a subject worker.

[0138] Figure 6F shows an example process flow for RFID-based verification of pickups and dropoffs of RFID-tagged packages by delivery people. At step 660, the system detects the employee / worker who is to perform this delivery task. This can be accomplished on the basis of RFID (e.g., where the employee / worker carries an RFID-tagged fob or card) or it can be accomplished through other mechanisms (e.g., the employee / worker logging in to a system that records his or her presence, camera-based facial recognition, biometric recognition, etc.). At step 662, the RFID monitoring system 108 detects the RFID tag 130 of an RFID- tagged package that has been picked up by the employee / worker from a source. This detection can be performed by an RFID reader 402 that is carried by the employee / worker or positioned in a delivery vehicle or the like driven by the employee / worker. If desired by a practitioner, this RFID reader 402 can also be equipped with GPS technology that allows the RFID reader 402 to determine its geographical location when the RFID tag 130 is detected.

[0139] At step 664, the RFID monitoring system 108 detects the RFID tag 130 of an RFID- tagged package that has been delivered by the employee / worker to its destination. This detection can be performed by an RFID reader 402 that is carried by the employee / worker or positioned in at the destination. If desired by a practitioner, this RFID reader 402 can also be equipped or paired with GPS technology that allows a determination to be made about a geographical location for the RFID reader 402 when the RFID tag 130 is detected.

[0140] At step 666, the system updates the activity record 120 for the subject employee / worker based on RFID tag detections at steps 662 and 664. If the RFID tag identifier that is associated with the subject package is shown by the RFID read records as being picked up from its source and delivered to its destination, then an activity record 120 can be created for the subject employee / worker that reflects the delivery data. It should be noted that the activity record 120 can include one or more fields that identify temporal data about the package delivery (e.g., the dates and times of the package pickup and delivery). The activity record 120 may also include one or more fields that identify a location where the subject package was delivered and / or identify whether the subject package was delivered to the correct destination. At step 668, the system computes an updated trust score 122 for the subject employee / worker based on the activity record 120 that was updated at step 666. In this fashion, the trust score 122 for an employee / worker can be increased if the activity record 120 indicates a timely and successful package delivery (and the trust score 122 for the subject employee / worker can be decreased if the activity record 120 indicates an untimely or unsuccessful package delivery). It should be understood that the package whose delivery is verified via the Figure 6F process flow can be any type of object that needs to be delivered to a destination. For example, the package can be a shipment of goods, equipment, papers, medicine, etc. that are enclosed or contained in a bag, box, bottle, or the like or such a shipment that is not so enclosed or contained. As another example, the package can be a delivery of food and / or drink (e.g., pizza or other types of foods / meals / beverages).

[0141] It should be understood that the process flows of Figures 6A-6F are just examples of activities that can be monitored via RFID, and a practitioner may choose to monitor one or more other activities via RFID techniques if desired.

[0142] Furthermore, as noted above, the RFID-based monitoring of activities can be combined with population management for tags 130 to control which tags 130 are in readable states over time. This allows the system to more reliably ensure that TOIs are in a readable state so the quality of activity monitoring can be improved. In this regard, RFID tags 130 within a tag population that qualify as TOIs according to defined criteria can be controlled via session control messages (e.g., select commands) to exhibit a readable state, while other RFID tags 130 in the tag population can be permitted to exhibit an unreadable state. This intelligent management of the tag population can help reduce the “noise” levels in the RFID reads to improve RFID-based activity monitoring.

[0143] Figure 10 shows an example process flow where RFID-based monitoring of activities is combined with intelligent management of tag readability within a population of RFID tags.

[0144] At step 1000, the system determines which RFID tags 130 within the population of RFID tags 130 qualify as TOIs. Step 1000 can be carried out by computer system 110 if desired by a practitioner. Although it should be understood that other system components could carry out step 1000 if they are capable of performing the operations described herein (e.g., in some examples, a practitioner may find it desirable for the RFID monitoring system 108 to perform step 1000). As discussed in the above-referenced and incorporated 63 / 458,999 patent application, U.S. Patent App. Pub. 2024 / 0346278, WIPO publication WO 2024 / 215991 , 63 / 567,529 patent application, and PCT / US25 / 20339 patent application, TOIs can be identified based on any of a number of defined criteria. Examples of different types of TOIs that can be identified by the system include moving tags, missing tags, out-of-place (OOP) tags, tags linked to optically scanned items, and / or tags that associated with TOIs according to defined criteria (e.g., tags that are associated with items that share one or more attributes with the items that are associated with TOIs can also qualify as TOIs (e.g., the system can decide that if a tag linked to a pair of jeans qualifies as a TOI, then other (or all) tags linked to jeans could qualify as TOIs)). Examples of techniques for determining such TOIs are described in the above-referenced and incorporated 63 / 458,999 patent application, U.S. Patent App. Pub. 2024 / 0346278, WIPO publication WO 2024 / 215991 , 63 / 567,529 patent application, and PCT / US25 / 20339 patent application.

[0145] At step 1002, the system transmits session control messages to the TOIs that were determined as a result of step 1000. Step 1002 can be carried out by the RFID monitoring system 108. The session control messages can be used to force TOIs into a readable state, and the session control messages can be transmitted as select commands for use with RFID reads that will occur in Session 2 or Session 3 according to the EPC GEN2 standard. Moreover, in some examples, the session control messages can be transmitted by one or more of the RFID readers 402. However, some practitioners may find it desirable to use a separate RF transmitter to transmit the session control messages in order to free up the RFID reader(s) 402 to spend more time on RFID read operations (e.g., session control broadcasters as described in the above-referenced and incorporated 63 / 458,999 patent application, U.S. Patent App. Pub. 2024 / 0346278, WIPO publication WO 2024 / 215991 , 63 / 567,529 patent application, and PCT / US25 / 20339 patent application can be used to transmit the session control messages). In these examples, the RFID transmitters can be dedicated to transmitting only session control messages and not transmitting RFID read requests (such as query commands).

[0146] Moreover, it is believed that the use of session control messages to intelligently control the readability of tags 130 will be particularly advantageous in environments where the tag population is quite large (e.g., many hundreds or many thousands of tags within the population). By focusing on reading TOIs while permitting other tags 130 to be quiet (via with passive measures (e.g., passively allowing non-TOIs to stay in an unreadable state) and / or active measures (e.g., actively forcing non-TOIs into an unreadable state via session control messages)), the system can improve the “signal-to-noise” characteristics of tag reading operations.

[0147] At step 1004, the RFID monitoring system 108 performs RFID-based monitoring of one or more activities. Figures 6A-6F show examples of processing operations that can be carried out as part of step 1004.

[0148] The process flow of Figure 10 can be performed repeatedly over time. As part of this, it should be understood that the determination of TOIs at step 1002 can be based at least in part of RFID reads that are performed as part of step 1004. In this fashion, the defined criteria used for determining TOIs can be derived from RFID read data.

[0149] Blockchain Storage:

[0150] For improved reliability, some practitioners may choose to store the activity records 120 in an immutable ledger such as one or more blockchains. With this approach, the reliability of each activity record 120 can be trusted due to the immutable nature of blockchain records. Figure 8 depicts an example blockchain 800 that can serve as an immutable ledger of the activity records 120. In this example, the blockchain 800 can comprise a sequence of blocks 802 that are linked together using cryptographic hashes.

[0151] Each block 802 can comprise (1 ) a cryptographic hash 804 of the previous block in the blockchain and (2) an activity record 120 created by the system. Each block 802 may also comprise additional data such as a timestamp for the subject activity record 120 and / or subject block 802. Thus, Block j+1 shown by Figure 8 comprises a hash 804 that is based on the content of Block j, and Block j shown by Figure 8 comprises a hash that is based on the content of Block j-1 , and so on. Because of the hashbased linking between blocks 802, the content of an activity record 120 within a given block 802 cannot be altered without causing changes in all downstream blocks 802 in the blockchain 800 from the given block 802 since the changed activity record 120 would trigger changes in all downstream hash values. This property makes blockchains effective as immutable ledgers of records.

[0152] The blockchain 800 may take the form of a public blockchain, a private blockchain, or a hybrid public / private blockchain. For example, the system can interface with a third party blockchain system to store the activity records 120 as part of a blockchain 800 on the third party blockchain system. Moreover, the blocks 802 of the blockchain 800 may be stored across a number of distributed storage resources such as across different storage resources in a cloud computing environment. For example, the blockchain 800 can be a decentralized blockchain stored across a peer-to-peer computer network.

[0153] If desired, a practitioner can bundle multiple activity records 120 in a single block 802, although this need not be the case.

[0154] By storing activity records 120 in the blocks 802 of one or more blockchains 800, a practitioner can define standardized formats for activity records 120 that may be known and accepted by a number of different organizations who may either choose to share a common trust scoring mechanism based on the activity records 120 of the blockchain 800 or develop their own trust scoring mechanism based on the activity records 120 of the blockchain 800.

[0155] Accordingly, as shown by the example of Figure 9, a common set of activity records 120 that are stored in the blocks 802 of a blockchain 800 can be shared and accessed by different organizations 900 to compute respective trust scores for individuals based on those activity records 120. As shown by Figure 9, Organization 1 can employ its own technique 902 for computing trust scores 122 for individuals based on activity records 120 held by the blocks 802 of blockchain 800 (see Trust Score Computation Algorithm 1 ); and Organization n can employ its own technique 902 for computing trust scores 122 for individuals based on activity records 120 held by the blocks 802 of blockchain 800 (see Trust Score Computation Algorithm 2). This allows each organization 900 to calibrate its valuation of trust for individuals as a function of its own assessments of which activities and activity statuses merit increases in trust and / or decreases in trust. With this approach, the computer system 110 may include different computers that are operated by different entities (e.g., Computer A within computer system 110 is operated by Organization 1 to compute the trust scores 122 for Organization 1 , while Computer B within computer system 110 is operated by Organization 2 to compute the trust scores 122 for Organization 2).

[0156] Moreover, while Figures 8-9 show examples where activity records 120 are stored on a blockchain 800, some practitioners may find it desirable to also or alternatively store the trust scores 122 for individuals on a blockchain. With this approach, the trust scores 122 would benefit from the increased reliability that arises from the use of an immutable ledger to record trust score values for individuals. As new trust scores 122 for individuals are computed as a result of new activity records 120, the system can add the new trust scores 122 to a blockchain. Computer system 110 can then access these trust scores 122 from the blockchain to make decisions about whether to lock / unlock one or more locks 102.

[0157] While the invention has been described above in relation to its example embodiments, various modifications may be made thereto that still fall within the invention’s scope. For example, the foregoing specification is rich with examples and explanations relating to the retail industry. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the principles described herein have applicability outside the retail industry and can be employed in fields that include but are not limited to health care, defense / military, aerospace, transportation, manufacturing, etc. where there are needs to apply technology in a manner that allows locks to be intelligently controlled. These and other modifications to the invention will be recognizable upon review of the teachings herein.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:1 . A system for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID), the system comprising: a lock, wherein the lock exhibits a locked state or an unlocked state; an RFID monitoring system, the RFID monitoring system configured to read a plurality of RFID tags over time; and a computer system configured to (1 ) generate data based on the read RFID tags over time, wherein the generated data is indicative of a plurality of activities over time by a plurality of persons and (2) control whether the lock is in the locked state or the unlocked state based on the generated data so that a history of behavior by a subject person among the persons as reflected in the generated data with respect to a plurality of the activities by the subject person controls whether the lock is unlocked for the subject person.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the computer system and / or the RFID monitoring system is further configured to determine which of the RFID tags qualify as tags of interest (TOIs) based on defined criteria, wherein the RFID monitoring system is further configured to transmit session control messages that target the TOIs, wherein the session control messages are configured to cause the TOIs to exhibit a readable state, and wherein the generated data is based at least in part on reads of the TOIs by the RFID monitoring system.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the TOIs comprise one or more of the RFID tags that are deemed to be moving according to the defined criteria.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein the TOIs comprise one or more of the RFID tags that are deemed to be missing according to the defined criteria.

5. The system of claim 2 wherein the TOIs comprise one or more of the RFID tags that are deemed to be out of place (OOP) according to the defined criteria.

6. The system of claim 2 further comprising an optical reader system configured to optically read one or more RFID-tagged items, and wherein the TOIs comprise one or more of the RFID tags that are associated with the one or more optically read RFID-tagged items.

7. The system of claim 2 wherein the TOIs comprise one or more of the RFID tags that are associated with one or more other TOIs according to defined criteria.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the defined criteria for the one or more other TOIs include one or more attributes in common between one or more items associated with the RFID tags.

9. The system of claim 2 wherein the RFID monitoring system includes a session control broadcaster dedicated to transmitting the session control messages.

10. The system of claim 2 wherein the session control messages are configured to cause the TOIs to exhibit a readable state for RFID reads in Session 2 or Session 3 according to EPC GEN2.11 . The system of any of claims 1 -10 wherein the computer system is further configured to: create a plurality of activity records based on the generated data, wherein the activity records represent the activities; and make decisions about controlling whether the lock is in the locked state or the unlocked state based on the activity records.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the activity records are associated with the persons and comprise data indicative of a trustworthiness of their associated persons.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein each of a plurality of the activity records comprises (1 ) an activity identifier for an activity corresponding to an applicable activity record, (2) an activity status that indicates a status for the correspondingactivity, and (3) a party identifier that identifies an applicable person for the corresponding activity.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein each of a plurality of the activity records further comprises an activity type that identifies a type for the corresponding activity.

15. The system of any of claims 11-14 wherein the computer system is further configured to: compute a plurality of trust scores for the persons based on the activity records; and make the decisions about controlling whether the lock is in the locked state or the unlocked state based on the trust scores.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the computer system is further configured to update the trust scores for the persons in response to new activity records associated with the persons being created.

17. The system of any of claims 15-16 wherein the computer system is further configured to: receive an access request from a subject person with respect to the lock; retrieve the trust score for the subject person; compare the trust score with a threshold; and in response to a determination that the trust score exceeds the threshold, generate a control signal that causes the lock to be in the unlocked state.

18. The system of any of claims 11-17 wherein the computer system is further configured to store the activity records on one or more blockchains.

19. The system of any of claims 11-18 wherein a plurality of different organizations have associated algorithms for computing trust scores based on the activity records, and wherein the computer system is further configured to compute trust scores for the different organizations using the associated algorithms based on the activity records.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the associated algorithms compute their respective trust scores based on a common set of the activity records.21 . The system of any of claims 1 -20 wherein the activities comprise activities corresponding to customer behavior by a plurality of the persons.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein the customer behavior comprises shopping by customers, wherein the shopping causes the customers to interact with a plurality of RFID tags.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the activities comprise customer checkout processes to purchase a plurality of RFID-tagged items.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein the customer checkout processes comprise self-checkouts by the customers.

25. The system of any of claims 1-24 wherein the activities comprise activities corresponding to worker behavior by a plurality of the persons.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein the worker behavior comprises inventory restocking tasks.

27. The system of any of claims 25-26 wherein the worker behavior comprises cleaning and / or tidying tasks.

28. The system of any of claims 25-27 wherein the worker behavior comprises delivery tasks.

29. The system of any of claims 25-28 wherein the worker behavior comprises patrolling tasks.

30. The system of any of claims 1 -29 further comprising: a reference data system that generates additional data about the activities; andwherein the computer system is further configured to control whether the lock is in the locked state or the unlocked state based on the generated data and the additional data.31 . The system of claim 30 wherein the reference data system comprises a camera system.

32. The system of claim 30 wherein the reference data system comprises an optical reader system.

33. The system of any of claims 1-32 wherein the RFID monitoring system comprises an RFID reader that reads a plurality of RFID tags.

34. The system of claim 33 wherein the RFID monitoring system comprises a plurality of RFID readers that read the RFID tags.

35. The system of claim 34 wherein a plurality of the RFID readers cover a plurality of different zones in an area.

36. The system of any of claims 1 -35 wherein the lock controls access to a restricted space.

37. The system of claim 36 wherein the restricted space comprises a retail store for access by persons outside of normal operating hours.

38. The system of any of claims 36-37 wherein the restricted space comprises an enclosure.

39. The system of any of claims 1-38 wherein the lock comprises a plurality of locks.

40. The system of any of claims 1-29 wherein the RFID monitoring system comprises a plurality of RFID monitoring systems.41 . The system of any of claims 1 -40 wherein the computer system comprises a distributed computing system.

42. A method for controlling a lock using radio frequency identification (RFID) monitoring of activities, the method comprising: reading a plurality of RFID tags over time; generating data based on the read RFID tags over time, wherein the generated data is indicative of a plurality of activities over time by a plurality of persons; receiving a request to unlock a lock, the request pertaining to a subject person among the persons; and controlling whether to unlock the lock in response to the received request based on the generated data so that a history of behavior by the subject person as reflected in the generated data with respect to a plurality of the activities by the subject person controls whether the lock is unlocked in response to the received request.

43. The method of claim 42 further comprising: determining which of the RFID tags qualify as tags of interest (TOIs) based on defined criteria; and transmitting session control messages that target the TOIs, wherein the session control messages are configured to cause the TOIs to exhibit a readable state; and wherein the generated data is based at least in part on reads of the TOIs by the reading step.

44. The method of any of claims 42-43 further comprising: computing a plurality of trust scores for the persons based on the generated data; retrieving the trust score for the subject person in response to the received request; comparing the retrieved trust score with a threshold; andunlocking the lock in response to the received request based on the comparing resulting in a determination that the retrieved trust score exceeds the threshold.

45. The method of any of claims 42-44 wherein the generated data comprises a plurality of activity records, wherein each of a plurality of the activity records is associated with a person among the persons and provides information derived from the reading step that is indicative one or more attributes of an activity performed by the associated person.

46. The method of claim 45 further comprising: storing the activity records on one or more blockchains.

47. The method of any of claims 42-46 wherein the generated data comprises data indicative of trustworthiness for the persons.

48. The method of any of claims 42-47 wherein the activities comprise activities corresponding to customer behavior by a plurality of the persons.

49. The method of claim 48 wherein the customer behavior activities comprise shopping transactions where customers purchase one or more RFID-tagged items.

50. The method of claim 49 wherein the shopping transactions include purchases by customers based on optical scans of a plurality of RFID-tagged items, the method further comprising: based on the reading step, assigning a status to a purchase transaction by a subject customer, wherein the status indicates if an optical undercount condition exists, wherein the subject customer is a person among the persons; and creating an activity record for the subject customer based on the assigned status; and updating a trust score for the subject customer based on the created activity record, wherein the trust score controls whether the lock is unlocked.51 . The method of any of claims 48-50 wherein the generated data comprises data indicative of a frequency of visits by a subject customer to a store, wherein the subject customer is a person among the persons.

52. The method of any of claims 43-51 wherein the activities comprise activities corresponding to worker behavior by a plurality of the persons.

53. The method of claim 52 wherein the worker behavior comprises inventory restocking tasks.

54. The method of any of claims 52-53 wherein the worker behavior comprises cleaning and / or tidying tasks.

55. The method of any of claims 52-54 wherein the worker behavior comprises delivery tasks.

56. The method of any of claims 52-55 wherein the worker behavior comprises patrolling tasks.

57. The method of any of claims 42-56 wherein the lock controls access to a restricted space.

58. The method of claim 57 wherein the restricted space comprises a retail store for access by persons outside of normal operating hours.

59. The method of any of claims 57-58 wherein the restricted space comprises a warehouse.

60. The method of any of claims 57-59 wherein the restricted space comprises an enclosure.61 . A system for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID), the system comprising: a lock, wherein the lock exhibits a locked state or an unlocked state;an RFID monitoring system, the RFID monitoring system configured to read a plurality of RFID tags for a plurality of RFID-tagged items in a store; and a computer system configured to (1 ) generate data based on the read RFID tags, wherein the generated data comprises one or more attributes about an activity by the customer in the store with respect the RFID-tagged items, (2) receive a request to unlock the lock from the customer, and (3) control whether the lock exhibits the unlocked state in response to the received request based on the generated data.

62. The system of claim 61 wherein the one or more attributes are indicative of a trustworthiness according to defined criteria for the customer with respect to the activity.

63. The system of any of claims 61 -62 wherein the one or more attributes are derived from the read RFID tags and are indicative of whether the customer has satisfied one or more defined conditions for being deemed to have exited the store without paying for one or more RFID-tagged items.

64. The system of any of claims 61 -63 wherein the one or more attributes are indicative of whether an optical undercount exists for a purchase transaction by the customer, the system further comprising: an optical read system, wherein the optical read system is configured to optically read one or more RFID-tagged items a purchase transaction by the customer; wherein the computer system is further configured to (1 ) compare first data derived from the optical read system with second data derived from the RFID monitoring system to determine whether the optical undercount condition exists for the purchase transaction and (2) quantify a trustworthiness for the customer based on the determination as to whether the optical undercount condition exists.

65. The system of claim 64 wherein the purchase transaction includes a plurality of RFID-tagged items, wherein the first data comprises data indicative of the RFID- tagged items included in the purchase transaction, wherein the second data comprises data indicative of a plurality of RFID-tagged items that are indicated asmoving with the customer in the store based on the read RFID tags, and wherein the computer system is further configured to (1 ) compare the first data with the second data and (2) determine that the optical undercount condition exists if the second data indicates there is a larger number of RFID-tagged items moving with the customer in the store than are included in the purchase transaction.

66. The system of claim 65 wherein the second data comprises data indicative of the RFID-tagged items that were indicated by the read RFID tags as moving with the customer in the store when the customer leaves the store with respect to the purchase transaction.

67. The system of any claims 64-66 wherein the computer system is further configured to quantify the trustworthiness for the customer so that the trustworthiness is increased or maintained if the first data matches with the second data.

68. The system of any of claims 61-67 wherein the generated data comprises an activity record for the activity by the customer, wherein the activity record comprises the one or more attributes about the activity, wherein the one or more attributes are derived from the read RFID tags, and wherein the computer system is further configured to (1 ) compute a trust score for the customer based on the activity record and (2) in response to the received request, (i) retrieve the trust score for the customer, (ii) compare the retrieved trust score with a defined threshold, and (iii) issue a command for unlocking the lock if the retrieved trust score exceeds the defined threshold.

69. The system of claim 68 wherein the computer system is further configured to update the trust score for the customer based on additional activity records that are created for the customer over time and derived from the read RFID tags over time.

70. The system of any of claims 68-69 wherein the computer system is further configured to store one or more activity records for the customer on one or more blockchains.71 . The system of any of claims 61 -70 wherein the lock controls access to the store by the customer subsequent to the activity.

72. The system of any of claims 61-71 wherein the lock controls access to the store outside of normal operating hours by the customer subsequent to the activity.

73. The system of any of claims 61 -72 wherein the lock controls access to a service from the store for the customer.

74. The system of claim 73 wherein the service comprises a self-checkout service.

75. The system of any of claims 61 -74 wherein the generated data is derived from the read RFID tags over time and indicates trustworthiness according to the defined criteria with respect to a plurality of activities over time by the customer in the store.

76. The system of claim 75 wherein the computer system is further configured to perform its operations with respect to a plurality of customers over time.

77. The system of claim 76 further comprising a plurality of RFID monitoring systems that read RFID tags in a plurality of different stores, and wherein the generated data is derived from the read RFID tags in the different stores over time.

78. The system of any of claims 61 -77 wherein the RFID monitoring system comprises a plurality of RFID readers that cover a plurality of zones within the store.

79. The system of any of claims 61-78 wherein the computer system comprises a distributed computer system.

80. A method for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID), the method comprising: reading a plurality of RFID tags for a plurality of RFID-tagged items in a store; generating data based on the reading, wherein the generated data comprises one or more attributes about an activity by the customer in the store with respect the RFID-tagged items;receiving a request to unlock the lock from the customer; and in response to the received request, controlling whether to unlock the lock based on the generated data.81 . A system for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID), the system comprising: a lock, wherein the lock exhibits a locked state or an unlocked state; an RFID monitoring system, the RFID monitoring system configured to read one or more RFID tags associated with a person when the one or more RFID tags are located on a premises covered by the RFID monitoring system; and a computer system configured to (1 ) generate data based on the read one or more RFID tags, wherein the generated data indicates a frequency of visits by the associated person to the premises over time, (2) receive a request to unlock the lock from the customer, and (3) control whether the lock exhibits the unlocked state in response to the received request based on the generated data.

82. The system of claim 81 wherein the computer system is further configured to (1 ) quantify a trustworthiness for the associated person based on the generated data and (2) control whether the lock exhibits the unlocked state in response to the received request based on the quantified trustworthiness for the associated person.

83. The system of any of claims 81-82 wherein the generated data comprises a plurality of activity records associated with the associated person, wherein the activity records identify visits to the premises by the associated person that were detected by the RFID monitoring system via the one or more RFID tags.

84. The system of claim 83 wherein the computer system is further configured to (1 ) compute a trust score for the associated person based on the activity records and (2) in response to the received request, (i) retrieve the trust score for the associated person, (ii) compare the retrieved trust score with a defined threshold, and (iii) issue a command for unlocking the lock if the retrieved trust score exceeds the defined threshold.

85. The system of claim 84 wherein the computer system is further configured to compute the trust score so that a higher frequency of visits by the associated person to the premises as indicated by the activity records yields a higher trust score than would be yielded by a lower frequency of visits by the associated person to the premises as indicated by the activity records.

86. The system of any of claims 84-85 wherein the activity records indicate a duration of each detected visit by the associated person to the premises.

87. The system of claim 86 wherein the computer system is further configured to compute the trust score so that longer duration detected visits by the associated person to the premises as indicated by the activity records yield larger increases in trust scores for the associated person than shorter duration detected visits by the associated person to the premises as indicated by the activity records.

88. The system of any of claims 84-87 wherein the computer system is further configured to update the trust score for the associated person based on additional activity records that are created for the associated person over time and derived from the read one or more RFID tags over time.

89. The system of any of claims 83-88 wherein the computer system is further configured to store the activity records for the associated person on one or more blockchains.

90. The system of any of claims 81-89 wherein the premises comprises a store, and wherein the associated person is a customer.91 . The system of any of claims 81 -90 wherein the premises comprises a warehouse.

92. The system of any of claims 81-91 wherein the associated person is a worker who works on the premises.

93. The system of any of claims 81 -92 wherein the lock controls access to the premises by the associated person subsequent to the visits.

94. The system of any of claims 81 -93 wherein the lock controls access to the premises outside of normal operating hours by the associated person subsequent to the visits.

95. The system of any of claims 81 -94 wherein the lock controls access to a service for the associated person.

96. The system of claim 95 wherein the service comprises a self-checkout service at a store.

97. The system of any of claims 95-96 wherein the service comprises an express service in a store that is available only to a subset of customers.

98. The system of any of claims 81-97 wherein the computer system is further configured to perform its operations with respect to a plurality of persons over time.

99. The system of any of claims 81-98 wherein the computer system comprises a distributed computer system.

100. A method for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID), the method comprising: reading one or more RFID tags associated with a person when the one or more RFID tags are located on a premises; generating data based on the reading, wherein the generated data indicates a frequency of visits by the associated person to the premises over time; receiving a request to unlock the lock from the associated person; and in response to the received request, controlling whether to unlock the lock based on the generated data.101 . A system for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID), the system comprising:a lock, wherein the lock exhibits a locked state or an unlocked state; an RFID monitoring system, the RFID monitoring system configured to read a plurality of RFID tags for a plurality of RFID-tagged items in a facility; and a computer system configured to (1 ) generate data based on the read RFID tags, wherein the generated data comprises one or more attributes about a work activity by a worker who interacts with the RFID-tagged items as a result of performing the work activity in the facility, (2) receive a request to unlock the lock from the worker, and (3) control whether the lock exhibits the unlocked state in response to the received request based on the generated data.

102. The system of claim 101 wherein the one or more attributes are indicative of a trustworthiness according to defined criteria for the worker with respect to the work activity.

103. The system of any of claims 101 -102 wherein the one or more attributes are derived from the read RFID tags, and wherein the computer system is further configured to create an activity record for the work activity, wherein the activity record comprises the one or more attributes.

104. The system of claim 103 wherein the computer system is further configured to calculate one or more metrics for the worker activity based on the read RFID tags, and wherein the one or more attributes comprise the one or more metrics.

105. The system of any of claims 103-104 wherein the computer system is further configured to (1 ) compute a trust score for the worker based on the activity record and (2) in response to the received request, (i) retrieve the trust score for the worker, (ii) compare the retrieved trust score with a defined threshold, and (iii) issue a command for unlocking the lock if the retrieved trust score exceeds the defined threshold.

106. The system of claim 105 wherein the computer system is further configured to update the trust score for the worker based on additional activity records that are created for the worker over time and derived from the read RFID tags over time.

107. The system of any of claims 103-106 wherein the computer system is further configured to store one or more activity records for the worker on one or more blockchains.

108. The system of any of claims 101 -107 wherein the worker activity comprises a restocking activity where a plurality of RFID-tagged items are restocked by the worker at the facility, and wherein the RFID monitoring system is further configured to generate RFID read data indicative of detections of a plurality of RFID-tagged items restocked by the worker as part of the restocking activity.

109. The system of claim 108 wherein the computer system is further configured to calculate one or more metrics for the restocking activity based on the read RFID tags, and wherein the one or more attributes comprise the one or more metrics.

110. The system of claim 109 wherein the one or more metrics indicate how many RFID-tagged items were restocked as part of the restocking activity.

111. The system of any of claims 109-110 wherein the one or more metrics indicate how many and which RFID-tagged items were restocked as part of the restocking activity.

112. The system of any of claims 109-111 wherein the one or more metrics indicate whether restocked RFID-tagged items were restocked at correct locations in the facility.

113. The system of any of claims 108-112 wherein the RFID monitoring system comprises a plurality of RFID readers that cover different zones of the facility, and wherein the RFID monitoring system is further configured to detect movements of RFID-tagged items between different zones as part of the restocking activity.

114. The system of claim 113 wherein the facility comprises a store, the store comprising a stockroom and a sales floor area, wherein the RFID monitoring system comprises (1 ) one or more RFID readers positioned to detect RFID tags in the stockroom and (2) one or more RFID readers positioned to detect RFID tags in thesales floor, and wherein the RFID monitoring system is configured to detect movements of RFID-tagged items from the stockroom to the sales floor area.

115. The system of any claims 108-114 wherein the computer system is further configured to quantify a trustworthiness for the worker so that (1 ) the trustworthiness is increased or maintained if the RFID read data indicates the restocking activity was successful and / or (2) the trustworthiness is decreased if the RFID read data indicates the restocking activity resulted in one or more of the RFID-tagged items are lost.

116. The system of any of claims 101-115 wherein the worker activity comprises a cleaning, arranging, or tidying activity where a plurality of RFID-tagged items are moved by the worker at the facility as part of the cleaning, arranging, or tidying activity, and wherein the RFID monitoring system is further configured to generate RFID read data indicative of detections of a plurality of RFID-tagged items moved by the worker as part of the cleaning, tidying, or arranging activity.

117. The system of any of claims 101-116 wherein the lock controls access to the facility by the worker subsequent to the worker activity.

118. The system of any of claims 101-117 wherein the lock controls access to a service for the worker.

119. The system of any of claims 101-118 wherein the computer system comprises a distributed computer system.

120. A method for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID), the method comprising: reading a plurality of RFID tags for a plurality of RFID-tagged items in a facility; generating data based on the reading, wherein the generated data comprises one or more attributes about a work activity by a worker who interacts with the RFID- tagged items as a result of performing the work activity in the facility; receiving a request to unlock the lock from the worker; andin response to the received request, controlling whether to unlock the lock based on the generated data.121 . A system for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID), the system comprising: a lock, wherein the lock exhibits a locked state or an unlocked state; an RFID monitoring system, the RFID monitoring system configured to read one or more RFID tags associated with a worker when the one or more RFID tags are located on a premises covered by the RFID monitoring system; and a computer system configured to (1 ) generate data based on the read one or more RFID tags, wherein the generated data comprises one or more attributes about a path by the associated worker through the facility with respect to a work activity by the associated worker, (2) receive a request to unlock the lock from the worker, and (3) control whether the lock exhibits the unlocked state in response to the received request based on the generated data.

122. The system of claim 121 wherein the one or more attributes are indicative of a trustworthiness according to defined criteria for the associated worker with respect to the work activity.

123. The system of any of claims 121-122 wherein the one or more attributes are derived from the read one or more RFID tags, and wherein the computer system is further configured to create an activity record for the work activity, wherein the activity record comprises the one or more attributes.

124. The system of claim 123 wherein the computer system is further configured to calculate one or more metrics for the worker activity based on the read RFID tags, and wherein the one or more attributes comprise the one or more metrics.

125. The system of claim 124 wherein the one or more metrics include a metric that indicates whether the path for the associated worker covered an area of the facility that the worker activity was supposed to cover.

126. The system of claim 125 wherein the one or more metrics include a metric that indicates a percentage of the area covered by the path.

127. The system of any of claims 125-126 wherein the one or more metrics include a metric that identify how many different areas of the facility were covered by the path.

128. The system of any of claims 123-127 wherein the computer system is further configured to (1 ) compute a trust score for the associated worker based on the activity record and (2) in response to the received request, (i) retrieve the trust score for the associated worker, (ii) compare the retrieved trust score with a defined threshold, and (iii) issue a command for unlocking the lock if the retrieved trust score exceeds the defined threshold.

129. The system of claim 128 wherein the computer system is further configured to update the trust score for the associated worker based on additional activity records that are created for the worker over time and derived from the read one or more RFID tags over time.

130. The system of any of claims 123-129 wherein the computer system is further configured to store one or more activity records for the worker on one or more blockchains.131 . The system of any of claims 121-130 wherein the one or more RFID tags are carried by the associated worker.

132. The system of claim 131 wherein the one or more RFID tags are included in a card, fob, phone, or wearable carried by the associated worker.

133. The system of any of claims 131 -132 wherein the worker activity comprises a cleaning, arranging, or tidying activity where the associated worker is responsible for cleaning, arranging, or tidying an area of the facility, and wherein the RFID monitoring system is further configured to generate RFID read data indicative ofdetections of the one or more RFID tags as the associated worker moves through the facility for the cleaning, arranging, or tidying activity.

134. The system of any of claims 131 -133 wherein the worker activity comprises a patrolling activity where the associated worker is responsible for patrolling an area of the facility, and wherein the RFID monitoring system is further configured to generate RFID read data indicative of detections of the one or more RFID tags as the associated worker moves through the facility for the patrolling activity.

135. The system of any of claims 131 -134 wherein the RFID monitoring system comprises a plurality of RFID readers that cover different zones of the facility, and wherein the RFID monitoring system is further configured to detect movements of the one or more RFID tags into different zones as part of the cleaning, arranging, tidying, or patrolling activity.

136. The system of any claims 133-135 wherein the computer system is further configured to quantify a trustworthiness for the associated worker so that (1 ) the trustworthiness is increased or maintained if the RFID read data indicates the cleaning, arranging, tidying, or patrolling activity was successful according to defined criteria and / or (2) the trustworthiness is decreased if the RFID read data indicates the cleaning, arranging, tidying, or patrolling activity was unsuccessful according to defined criteria.

137. The system of any of claims 121-136 wherein the lock controls access to the facility by the associated worker subsequent to the worker activity.

138. The system of any of claims 121-137 wherein the lock controls access to a service for the associated worker.

139. The system of any of claims 121-138 wherein the computer system comprises a distributed computer system.

140. A method for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID), the method comprising:reading a plurality of RFID tags for a plurality of RFID-tagged items in a facility; generating data based on the reading, wherein the generated data comprises one or more attributes about a work activity by a worker who interacts with the RFID- tagged items as a result of performing the work activity in the facility; receiving a request to unlock the lock from the worker; and in response to the received request, controlling whether to unlock the lock based on the generated data.141 . A system for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID), the system comprising: a lock, wherein the lock exhibits a locked state or an unlocked state; an RFID monitoring system, the RFID monitoring system configured to read one or more RFID tags associated with a package for delivery; and a computer system configured to (1 ) generate data based on the read one or more RFID tags, wherein the generated data comprises one or more attributes about a delivery by a worker of the package to a destination, (2) receive a request to unlock the lock from the worker, and (3) control whether the lock exhibits the unlocked state in response to the received request based on the generated data.

142. The system of claim 141 wherein the one or more attributes are indicative of a trustworthiness according to defined criteria for the worker with respect to the delivery.

143. The system of any of claims 141-142 wherein the one or more attributes are derived from the read one or more RFID tags, and wherein the computer system is further configured to create an activity record for the delivery, wherein the activity record comprises the one or more attributes.

144. The system of any of claims 141-143 wherein the one or more attributes comprises temporal data for delivery of the package to the destination.

145. The system of claim 144 wherein the temporal data comprises a date and time for delivery of the package to the destination.

146. The system of any of claims 141 -145 wherein the one or more attributes comprises location data that identifies where the package was delivered.

147. The system of any of claims 141 -146 wherein the one or more attributes comprises data that identifies whether the package was delivered to a correct destination.

148. The system of any of claims 141 -147 wherein the one more attributes comprises temporal data for a pickup of the package from a source prior to delivery of the package to the destination.

149. The system of claim 148 wherein the temporal data comprises a date and time for the pickup of the package.

150. The system of any of claims 143-149 wherein the computer system is further configured to (1 ) compute a trust score for the worker based on the activity record and (2) in response to the received request, (i) retrieve the trust score for the worker, (ii) compare the retrieved trust score with a defined threshold, and (iii) issue a command for unlocking the lock if the retrieved trust score exceeds the defined threshold.151 . The system of claim 150 wherein the computer system is further configured to update the trust score for the worker based on additional activity records that are created for the worker over time with respect to package deliveries by the worker and derived from the read one or more RFID tags over time.

152. The system of any of claims 143-151 wherein the computer system is further configured to store one or more activity records for the worker on one or more blockchains.

153. The system of any of claims 141 -152 wherein the one or more RFID tags are part of the package.

154. The system of any of claims 141-153 wherein the RFID monitoring system comprises one or more portable RFID readers for reading the one or more RFID tags with respect to the delivery of the package.

155. The system of any of claims 141-153 wherein the RFID monitoring system comprises one or more RFID readers positioned in a delivery vehicle for the worker to support reading the one or more RFID tags with respect to the delivery of the package.

156. The system of any of claims 141-155 wherein the RFID monitoring system comprises one or more RFID readers that read the one or more RFID tags with respect to the delivery of the package, the system further comprising GPS technology in coordination with the one or more RFID readers that generated data indicative of a geographic location for one or more RFID readers when the one or more RFID tags are read.

157. The system of any claims 141-156 wherein the computer system is further configured to quantify a trustworthiness for the worker so that (1 ) the trustworthiness is increased or maintained if RFID read data by the RFID monitoring system indicates the delivery was successful according to defined criteria and / or (2) the trustworthiness is decreased if the RFID read data indicates the delivery was unsuccessful according to defined criteria.

158. The system of any of claims 141-157 wherein the lock controls access to a facility or a service for the worker.

159. The system of any of claims 141-158 wherein the computer system comprises a distributed computer system.

160. A method for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID), the method comprising: reading one or more RFID tags associated with a package for delivery; generating data based on the reading, wherein the generated data comprises one or more attributes about a delivery by a worker of the package to a destination;receiving a request to unlock the lock from the worker; and in response to the received request, controlling whether to unlock the lock based on the generated data.161 . A system for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID), the system comprising: a lock, wherein the lock exhibits a locked state or an unlocked state; an RFID monitoring system, the RFID monitoring system configured to read one or more RFID tags; and a computer system configured to (1 ) access a trust score for a person in response to a request by the person to unlock the lock, wherein the trust score is derived from RFID data about a plurality of previous activities by the person, wherein the RFID data is generated by the RFID monitoring system as a result of reading the one or more RFID tags, and (2) control whether the lock is in the unlocked state in response to the request based on the accessed trust score.

162. The system of claim 161 further comprising any feature or combination of features disclosed herein.

163. A method for controlling a lock based on radio frequency identification (RFID), the method comprising: accessing a trust score for a person in response to a request by the person to unlock a lock, wherein the trust score is derived from RFID data about a plurality of previous activities by the person; controlling whether the lock is unlocked in response to the request based on the accessed trust score.

164. The method of claim 163 further comprising any feature or combination of features disclosed herein.

165. A system comprising: one or more radio frequency identification (RFID) readers that are configured to generate RFID data based on reads of a plurality of RFID tags with respect to a plurality of activities performed by a plurality of persons; anda computer system configured to (1 ) create a plurality of activity records for the persons, wherein the activity records comprise information about the activities by the persons that is derived from the RFID data, and (2) store the activity records on one or more blockchains to create an immutable ledger of the activity records.

166. The system of claim 165 wherein each activity record comprises (1 ) an identifier for a person associated with the activity record and (2) status data about a status for the activity record, wherein the status data is derived from the RFID data.

167. The system of claim 166 wherein each activity record further comprises (1 ) an identifier for an activity defined by the activity record and (2) an identifier for an activity type for the activity defined by the activity record.

168. The system of any of claims 165-167 wherein the computer system is further configured to (1 ) access the activity records from the one or more blockchains and (2) compute trust scores for the persons based on the accessed activity records.

169. The system of claim 168 wherein the computer system is further configured to store the trust scores on one or more blockchains to create an immutable ledger of the trust scores.

170. The system of claim 169 wherein the computer system comprises different computers that (1 ) create at least a subset of the activity records and (2) compute at least a subset of the trust scores.

171. The system of any of claims 165-170 wherein the computer system comprises a distributed computer system.

172. A method comprising: transmitting a plurality of radio frequency (RF) signals in a vicinity of a plurality of RF identification (RFID) tags; reading responses from a plurality of the RFID tags in response to the transmitting;generating RFID data based on the read responses, wherein the RFID data is indicative of a plurality of activities performed by a plurality of persons; creating a plurality of activity records for the persons, wherein the activity records comprise information about the activities by the persons that is derived from the RFID data; and storing the activity records on one or more blockchains to create an immutable ledger of the activity records.

173. The system or method of any of claims 1 -172 wherein the lock governs access to equipment.

174. The system or method of claim 173 wherein the equipment comprises construction equipment.

175. The system or method of any of claims 173-174 wherein the equipment comprises a power tool.

176. The system or method of any of claims 173-175 wherein the equipment comprises a firearm.

177. The system or method of any of claims 173-176 wherein the equipment comprises an electronic device.

178. The system or method of any of claims 1 -177 wherein the lock governs access to a vehicle.

179. The system or method of claim 178 wherein the vehicle comprises an automobile.

180. The system or method of any of claims 178-179 wherein the vehicle comprises a truck.181 . The system or method of any of claims 178-180 wherein the vehicle comprises a forklift.

182. The system or method of any of claims 178-181 wherein the vehicle comprises an aerial vehicle.

183. The system or method of any of claims 178-182 wherein the governed access for the vehicle is operational access where the lock controls an immobilizer for the vehicle.

184. The system or method of any of claims 1 -183 wherein the lock governs access to a home.

185. The system or method of any of claims 1 -184 wherein the lock governs access to a building.

186. The system or method of any of claims 1 -185 wherein the lock governs access to an enclosure.

187. The system or method of any of claims 173-186 wherein the governed access comprises operational access.

188. The system or method of any of claims 173-187 wherein the lock governs access to a ridesharing service or a car pooling service.

189. The system or method of any of claims 1 -188 wherein the lock governs access to a job or task offer or assignment from a job assignment platform for gig workers.

190. The system or method of any of claims 1 -189 wherein the computer system detects the person(s) whose activities are monitored so that the generated data about those activities can be associated with the detected person(s).191 . The system or method of any of claims 1 -190 wherein the computer system assesses a trustworthiness of a person who requests to unlock the lock based on data that represents an accumulation of previous activities by the person, wherein the lock is controlled based on the assessed trustworthiness.

192. The system of method of claim 191 wherein the computer system assesses the trustworthiness of a plurality of persons using a plurality of types of trust scores.

193. The system or method of any of a determination is made regarding which of the RFID tags qualify as tags of interest (TOIs) based on defined criteria, wherein the RFID monitoring system is further configured to transmit session control messages that target the TOIs, wherein the session control messages are configured to cause the TOIs to exhibit a readable state, and wherein the generated data is based at least in part on reads of the TOIs by the RFID monitoring system.

194. The system or method of claim 193 wherein the TOIs comprise one or more of the RFID tags that are deemed to be moving according to the defined criteria.

195. The system or method of any of claims 193-194 wherein the TOIs comprise one or more of the RFID tags that are deemed to be missing according to the defined criteria.

196. The system or method of any of claims 193-195 wherein the TOIs comprise one or more of the RFID tags that are deemed to be out of place (OOP) according to the defined criteria.

197. The system or method of any of claims 193-196 further comprising an optical reader system configured to optically read one or more RFID-tagged items, and wherein the TOIs comprise one or more of the RFID tags that are associated with the one or more optically read RFID-tagged items.

198. The system or method of any of claims 193-197 wherein the TOIs comprise one or more of the RFID tags that are associated with one or more other TOIs according to defined criteria.

199. The system or method of claim 198 wherein the defined criteria for the one or more other TOIs include one or more attributes in common between one or more items associated with the RFID tags.

200. The system or method of any of claims 193-199 wherein the RFID monitoring system includes a session control broadcaster dedicated to transmitting the session control messages.201 . The system or method of any of claims 193-200 wherein the session control messages are configured to cause the TOIs to exhibit a readable state for RFID reads in Session 2 or Session 3 according to EPC GEN2.

202. The apparatus, system, method, computer program product, and / or article of manufacture comprising any feature or combination of features disclosed herein.

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