Fobi AI Inc (TSX-V:FOBI, OTCQB:FOBIF) revealed that it has been granted a US patent for its IoT (Internet of Things) hardware.
In a statement, Rob Anson, CEO of Fobi, commented: “We have developed extremely valuable tech and continue to work hard to protect that technology and keep the product moat that we have created as visionaries and early movers.
"I have always been about future-proof solutions and this is exactly the approach we took with the specific claims and filings we made in our original patent submissions. Not only does the overarching value of our solutions significantly increase as a result of being granted our first patent, but I believe this successful grant can help us create even more value as numerous industries and applications have rapidly evolved and deployed over the last few years, and companies simply would not have been aware of our original filing and now patent. This scenario can provide a means to generating additional organic license fees and several new business opportunities.”
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The Fobi hardware device is used for agnostic receipt capture, providing an edge to cloud computing and injection of coupons, QR codes, and other various real-time, personalized marketing intelligence offerings for POS systems.
The company’s patent application covers:
- Receipt capture for sales analytics
- Conversion of raw receipts into structured, actionable data
- Attribution of customer data with receipt transactions
- Individual purchase history trends segmented by customer
- Alerts to store operators based on spikes in sales of particular products
- Universal rewards programs across unrelated retailers and brands
- Aggregated data from retailers provided to CPG manufacturers
- Digital storage of receipts, eliminating the need for physical copies
Fobi said the recently granted patent in the US creates favourable outcomes to be anticipated for similar patents pending in Canada and Europe.
The business implications of the company’s IoT technologies include:
- Receipt data collection and sales analytics offer retailers enhanced visibility into product performance, especially in industries where products are sold to many unrelated retailers with legacy POS systems.
- Dynamic coupons and promotions enable retailers and brands to leverage (AI) 8112 coupon standards, and cross-promote their products or offers across various, unrelated retailers.
- Hardware devices avoid complications with PCI compliance since they do not interface with any of the software that involves cardholder data.
- QR code injection onto receipts allows retailers to accept various forms of payment without requiring POS integrations or modifications (i.e. cryptocurrency, app-based payment platforms).
- The agnostic nature of the device means it can collect data from any POS system with a receipt printer, enabling data collection and coupon injection regardless of the type of printer being used.
- Customer membership and loyalty information can be collected by scanning wallet pass barcodes (using any barcode scanner), without requiring POS support specifically for membership or loyalty programs.
- Scanned wallet passes trigger cloud-based email notifications, promotions, and other personalized actions when a customer visits a particular store.
- Receipt transaction collection enables retailers to retain a backup copy of transaction history for compliance, but also in the event the primary transaction database is corrupted.
“Now that we have been granted our USA patent, the focus will now move to close out our Canadian and PCT (International) submissions. We put a great deal of protection into our filings to cover various blockchain and crypto applications, digital and personalized coupon activation, and creating a means to connect and aggregate the siloed and fragmented world of independent retail,” added Anson.
Founded in 2017 in Vancouver, Canada, Fobi is a leading AI and data intelligence company that provides businesses with real-time applications to digitally transform and future-proof their organizations. The company enables businesses to action, leverage, and monetize their customer data by powering personalized and data-driven customer experiences, and drives digital sustainability by eliminating the need for paper and reducing unnecessary plastic waste at scale.
Fobi works with some of the largest global organizations across retail & CPG, insurance, sports & entertainment, casino gaming, and more. Fobi is a recognized technology and data intelligence leader across North America and Europe and is the largest data aggregator in Canada's hospitality & tourism industry.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com