U.S. retail giant Walmart has applied to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) to patent a blockchain system for deliveries, according to an official patent document released August 30. The new patent aims to provide a technology for running “in-field authenticating of autonomous electronic devices” to enable secure deliveries. The patent specifies that “[i]n exemplary embodiments, two autonomous electronic devices, such as delivery drones or household autonomous robots, can authenticate each other using embodiments of security procedures described herein.” The patent is entitled “Systems, Devices, and Methods for In-Field Authenticating of Autonomous Robots” and was filed in January 2018 …

U.S. retail giant Walmart has applied for another patent, which describes the management of smart appliances using blockchain technology, according to an application published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office August 2. The application outlines systems and methods for managing smart appliances such as a desktop or server computer, a kiosk, a tabletop device, or more portable computing devices, such as a wearable or gaming devices, laptop computers, or portable media players. From a practical perspective, users will employ a device, whether it is wearable or not, that maintains the private key used to authorize a transaction. One use …

U.S. retail giant Walmart’s latest blockchain-related patent application describes a “secure” delivery management system, according to a filing published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) July 5. The newly published application, entitled "Delivery Reservation Apparatus and Method," outlines a blockchain-based management system for delivery lockers that can keep delivered items safe until their purchasers are able to sign for and collect them. A “blockchain reservation” system is proposed for “some embodiments” of a system to track which lockers are free, and which are occupied: "Each space on the docking station has a corresponding capacity unit for each location …

Walmart and nine other companies have partnered with IBM in order to release a blockchain for tracking food globally through its supply chain, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports June 25. The Food Trust blockchain, which includes Nestlé SA, Dole Food Co., Driscoll’s Inc., Golden State Foods, Kroger Co., McCormick and Co., McLane Co., Tyson Foods Inc. and Unilever NV, have been collaborating with IBM on the initiative since 2016, and began conducting trials of the product in August of last year. The WSJ states that the Food Trust’s goal is to improve the companies’ ability to identify issues involved …

U.S. retail giant Walmart has been awarded a patent for a system that would store medical records on a blockchain from a wearable device, according to a patent filing published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The system, according to the document, will allow medical professionals to retrieve medical data from a patient that is unable to communicate. The patient’s medical records will theoretically be stored on a blockchain, accessible by a device worn by the patient that first responders could access with an RFID scanner. The patent further explains the principles of the system's operation: “... receiving, by …

U.S. retail giant Walmart has won a patent for the development of an electrical grid that will be powered by Bitcoin (BTC) or other digital currency, according to a patent application published June 14 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The system is designed to help companies better manage energy consumption and regulate demand on an electrical grid using a publicly distributed transactions ledger. Walmart initially filed the patent in December 2017. The patent says that both households and large organizations can use a blockchain-based network of energy-consuming devices. Subsequently, they can assign each device a specific amount …

Walmart has filed a patent for a blockchain-based marketplace for reselling purchased products, according to a US Patent and Trademark Office USPTO patent filing from May 17. The application describes a service that would record a customer’s purchases in a blockchain ledger, thus allowing the customer to resell the items on a sales platform using the record of purchase. The patent notes that since customers don’t always plan to use an item for its lifespan, and are generally “left to their own devices to arrange for a subsequent resale,” the architecture described in the patent can provide “additional support to …

The application of US retail giant Walmart to patent its “Smart Package” system has been released by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Thursday, March 1, Fintech Finance reports. Walmart’s “Smart Package” patent employs a Blockchain-based tool to track package contents, environmental conditions, location, and other details. The device described in the application is intended to be used in new technologies like autonomous vehicles and unmanned drones. According to the application, Blockchain will record the "key addresses along the chain” such as “seller private key address, a courier private key address, and a buyer private key address." In …

Several major companies are adopting Blockchain technology to effectively monitor the movements of their products up to the point of sale. Walmart, IBM and Nestle which have recently collaborated on a project that aims to use the technology to make the current food system safer. Blockchain food safety trial run Walmart and IBM have already conducted early trials of the project in China and the US. In the pilot run, Blockchain was used to digitally monitor food products from pork and mango suppliers up to the stores’ shelves. Among the product data that were used in the tracking are batch …

The growing adoption of Blockchain technology has been disrupting a number of industries, including financial services, data management, healthcare, agriculture, supply chain, gambling, gaming, public services, music, airline ticketing and many more. Several companies are already piloting the technology to facilitate and improve the transparency of their transactions. One of these companies is the American retail giant Walmart, which recently launched a project to test the technology for supply chain management. The initiative aims to leverage distributed ledger technology to monitor and trace pork sourced from China and sold in the US. The use of Blockchain in the remittance industry …

On 24th March Gyft has officially announced that their gift cards are now accepted in shopping venues of the Walmart Company, including the discounter Sam’s Club. The arrangement palpably increases the amount of venues accepting Bitcoin and the variety of products to be exchanged for the virtual asset. Principles of Operation Cointelegraph has already reported about the service Gyft and the goods it provides to its customers. The gift cards issued have denominations of $25, $50, $100, $250 and $500. Spending them brings 3% back in form of loyalty points some compare to a discount equal to 3% on further …