Patent Description:
To overcome these problems, fingerprinting physical items to mint NFTs is leveraged. One or more features of a physical item are captured using a fingerprint capture system of a client device, and a fingerprint of the physical item is generated using the captured features of the physical item. The fingerprint of the physical item is provided to an authentication service to verify that the physical item corresponds to an authentic physical item by matching the fingerprint of the physical item to distinguishing features of the authentic physical item. Responsive to verification by the authentication service, a digital twin NFT is minted on a blockchain using the matched fingerprint. A combined listing for the physical item and the digital twin NFT is then generated on a listing platform.

This Summary introduces a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. As such, this Summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Conventional platforms for transferring ownership of NFTs do not enable a user to generate a combined listing that includes both a physical item and a digital twin NFT of the physical item. One reason for this is that conventional processes make it difficult to verify that the physical item is authentic such that a user who wishes to obtain both the physical item and the digital twin NFT will trust that the physical item is authentic.

To solve these problems, fingerprinting physical items to mint NFTs is described. The described techniques streamline authentication of a physical item via a user's personal computing device rather than requiring the user to physically send the physical item to a physical authentication service. To do so, the system outputs a fingerprinting interface at a client device. The fingerprinting interface provides instructions to capture features of a physical item in order to generate a unique fingerprint. As an example, the fingerprinting interface may output textual instructions as part of a graphical user interface which describe how the user is to utilize a fingerprint capture device in order to capture features of the physical item. Alternately or additionally, the instructions may be output as audio prompts which direct the user to capture the features of the physical item using the fingerprint capture device. Next, the fingerprint capture device captures features of the physical item based on the instructions provided by the fingerprinting interface. By way of example, the fingerprint capture device may be implemented as a high-resolution camera which captures high-resolution image features of the physical item.

A fingerprint which uniquely identifies the physical item is generated using the captured features. The fingerprint is then provided to an authentication service to verify that the physical item corresponds to the authentic physical item. To do so, the authentication service matches the fingerprint of the physical item to distinguishing features of the authentic physical item. For example, if the physical item is a luxury watch, then the authentication service verifies that the luxury watch is authentic by comparing the fingerprint to known features of the luxury watch.

If the physical item is determined to be authentic, then the system initiates the minting of a digital twin NFT on a blockchain. The minting programmatically encodes an association of metadata with the digital twin NFT. The metadata includes the fingerprint of the physical item, and can also include other digital content of the physical item, e.g., image(s) of the physical item, a description of the physical item, a condition of the physical item, and so forth. Notably, the condition of the physical item may change over time, whereas the fingerprint of the physical item is unique to the physical item itself and will not change even if the physical item suffers wear and tear or is damaged. In some cases, the metadata may also include an indication that the physical item has been verified as being authentic by the authentication service.

The combined listing, which includes both the physical item and the digital twin NFT, is then generated on a listing platform such that other users may obtain the physical item and the digital twin NFT, e.g., in exchange for a specified amount of cryptocurrency. Notably, a user that obtains the physical item and digital twin NFT of the combined listing may utilize a similar authentication process of fingerprinting the physical item and confirming its authenticity by comparing the fingerprint to the fingerprint associated with the digital twin NFT.

In the following discussion, an exemplary environment is first described that may employ the techniques described herein. Examples of implementation details and procedures are then described which may be performed in the exemplary environment as well as other environments. Performance of the exemplary procedures is not limited to the exemplary environment and the exemplary environment is not limited to performance of the exemplary procedures.

<FIG> is an illustration of an environment <NUM> in an example implementation that is operable to employ techniques described herein. The environment <NUM> includes a blockchain system <NUM>, a service provider system <NUM>, and a plurality of client devices (represented in the environment <NUM> by client device <NUM> and client device <NUM>) that are communicatively coupled, one to another, via a network <NUM>.

Computing devices that implement the environment <NUM> are configurable in a variety of ways. A computing device, for instance, is configurable as a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a mobile device (e.g., assuming a handheld configuration such as a tablet or mobile phone), an IoT device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), an AR/VR device, a server, and so forth. Thus, a computing device ranges from full resource devices with substantial memory and processor resources to low-resource devices with limited memory and/or processing resources. Additionally, although in instances in the following discussion reference is made to a computing device in the singular, a computing device is also representative of a plurality of different devices, such as multiple servers of a server farm utilized to perform operations "over the cloud" as further described in relation to <FIG>.

In accordance with the described techniques, the blockchain system <NUM> is implemented by a node <NUM> of a network <NUM> (e.g., a distributed network) of the nodes <NUM>. Each of the nodes <NUM> is a runtime implemented using processing, memory, and network resources of respective computing devices that operate as the infrastructure of a blockchain <NUM>. Here, the blockchain system <NUM> is illustrated including blockchain manager <NUM> and storage <NUM>, the storage <NUM> being an example of a computing resource leveraged to implement the node <NUM>. The blockchain system <NUM> also includes other resources of the one or more respective computing devices made available for operating as the node <NUM>. Broadly, the blockchain manager <NUM> is configured to leverage those resources to implement the node <NUM> on behalf of the one or more computing devices.

By way of example, the blockchain manager <NUM> manages the storage <NUM> of the one or more computing devices implementing the node <NUM>, such as by causing a copy of the blockchain <NUM> to be maintained in the storage <NUM>. The copy of the blockchain <NUM> stored at the storage <NUM> may be a partial or full copy of the blockchain <NUM>, depending on one or more characteristics of the node <NUM> (e.g., a type) and/or a time (e.g., whether updates have been made to the blockchain <NUM> via other nodes <NUM> in the network <NUM>). The blockchain manager <NUM> may manage other resources of those computing devices in connection with operation of the blockchain <NUM>, such as memory and processors of those devices to perform computations (e.g., transaction validation), operating systems of those devices, and network connections of those devices (e.g., to commit changes to the blockchain <NUM> and to receive updates to the node <NUM>'s copy of the blockchain), to name just a few. In short, the nodes <NUM> store, communicate, process, and manage data that makes up the blockchain <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG>, the nodes <NUM> are interconnected to exchange data via the network <NUM>, e.g., as a peer-to-peer network in a distributed and decentralized manner.

Broadly speaking, the blockchain <NUM> is formed using a plurality of blocks <NUM>, illustrated in <FIG> as including a respective hash <NUM> and transaction data <NUM>. The transaction data <NUM> of the blocks <NUM> includes batches of validated transactions that are hashed and encoded. Each of the blocks <NUM> includes the hash <NUM>, which is a cryptographic hash of a previous block <NUM> in the blockchain <NUM>, thereby linking the blocks <NUM> to each other to form the blockchain <NUM>. As a result, the blocks <NUM> cannot be altered retroactively without altering each subsequent block <NUM> in the blockchain <NUM> and in this way protecting against attacks by malicious parties.

In order to publish the blocks <NUM> for addition to the blockchain <NUM>, a node <NUM> may be implemented as a "miner" to add a block of transactions to the blockchain <NUM>. In one or more implementations, other nodes may communicate transactions received at those nodes to one or more mining nodes for validation. Mining nodes may perform peer-to-peer computations to check if transactions intended for the blockchain <NUM> are valid and, if validated, may add validated transactions to a block <NUM> that those nodes are building. If the transactions are determined to be valid, for instance, then the transaction data <NUM> describing those transactions is encoded in or otherwise stored on a respective block <NUM>, which is linked to the blockchain <NUM> such that the new block is "at the end" or "at the top" of the blockchain <NUM>, e.g., through inclusion of the hash <NUM> of a previous block in the chain.

The nodes <NUM> then broadcast this transaction history via the network <NUM> for sharing with other nodes <NUM>. This acts to synchronize the blocks <NUM> of the blockchain <NUM> across the distributed architecture of computing devices. A variety of "types" of nodes <NUM> may be used to implement the blockchain <NUM>. By way of example, the blockchain <NUM> may be implemented at least in part using "full" nodes, which are nodes that store an entirety of the blockchain <NUM>, e.g., locally in computer-readable storage media of respective computing devices of the nodes <NUM>. Other types of nodes may also be employed to implement additional functionality to govern voting events, execution of protocol operations, rules enforcement, and so forth.

The blockchain <NUM> may be leveraged to provide a diverse range of functionality. Due in part to the distributed storage and updating of the blockchain <NUM> over the network <NUM> of nodes <NUM>, the blockchain <NUM> may store its data in a decentralized manner, without a centralized database (e.g., run by a clearinghouse), and thus operate as a distributed ledger. The decentralized storage of the blockchain <NUM> overcomes one of the major disadvantages of centralized storage, which is that centralized storage essentially has a single point of failure. It is to be appreciated that in one or more implementations, the blockchain <NUM> may be public (e.g., like Ethereum and Bitcoin blockchains), such that transactions on the blockchain <NUM> are generally viewable with a connection to the Internet. Alternatively, the blockchain <NUM> may be configured as a private blockchain, in one or more implementations. When the blockchain <NUM> is a "private" blockchain, the computing devices used to implement the nodes <NUM> may be controlled by a centralized authority, such as a company or a consortium of entities.

As a distributed ledger, the blockchain <NUM> supports the secure transfer of digital assets, such as the transfer of a cryptocurrency and/or tokens. Broadly speaking, cryptocurrencies (e.g., coins of the cryptocurrency) are the native assets to blockchains, whereas tokens are created "on top" of these blockchains. Tokens may be created "on top" of the blockchain <NUM> by using a "token standard" which allows the token to interoperate with the blockchain <NUM>'s network of nodes <NUM> according to one or more protocols of the blockchain, such that the transaction data <NUM> and the hashes <NUM> of the blocks <NUM> are leveraged to create, trade, and update tokens. By way of example, the Ethereum blockchain's native asset is ether (ETH), a cryptocurrency. Nevertheless, tokens may be created on top of Ethereum's blockchain by using one or more of Ethereum's token standards for creating tokens, such as by using ERC-<NUM>, ERC-<NUM>, ERC-<NUM>, and EIP-<NUM>, to name just a few.

Regardless of the particular blockchain protocol(s) and features used, the tokens created on top of the blockchain <NUM> may be "programmable," meaning that they run on software protocols and can be configured to include logic executed by computing resources (e.g., of the nodes <NUM>). This enables the tokens to implement smart contracts that define conditions for the token and the network <NUM>'s rules of engagement. Broadly, a "smart contract" is self-executing code that carries out a set of instructions in accordance with terms of the contract, and this carrying out of the set of instructions is then validated by the blockchain <NUM>. For instance, the self-executed code is sent to an address on the blockchain <NUM> as a blockchain transaction and, at the address, the code sent is validated, e.g., by a consensus mechanism of the blockchain <NUM>. Once validated, this transaction may be included in a block <NUM>, such that the smart contract is initiated and irrevocable.

In addition or alternatively, tokens, implemented according to a token standard (e.g., ERC-<NUM> or ERC-<NUM>) and by leveraging the architecture and protocols of the blockchain <NUM>, can be programmatically encoded as non-fungible assets that are individually unique and cannot be directly interchanged with other similar tokens "like-for-like". In accordance with the described techniques, for instance, the architecture and protocols of the blockchain <NUM> can be leveraged to create non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the blockchain <NUM>. By using the transaction validation carried out by the nodes <NUM>, the blockchain <NUM> certifies that a given NFT is digitally unique and thus not interchangeable with other NFTs. When an NFT is minted (i.e., programmatically brought into existence), the blockchain <NUM>'s protocols generate a unique token identifier that is encoded in the NFT - the unique identifier may be generated using one or more randomization approaches. As used herein, the term "non-fungible" refers to the property of a token to uniquely represent an asset, such that a digital signature of the token represents the underlying asset in a way that is not directly interchangeable with (e.g., "like-for-like"), or equal to, any other tokens. This contrasts with cryptocurrencies, which are "fungible" because two coins of a same cryptocurrency (e.g., two Ether or two Bitcoins) can be traded or exchanged for one another and are of equal value.

Instead, each NFT is programmatically created to include a unique, non-transferable identity which distinguishes it from other NFTs. In one or more implementations, an NFT may encode underlying digital content, e.g., underlying digital art, an image, music, a video, in-game content, text (e.g., a story or writing), a composition of multiple types of digital media, a file, or a 3D-model, to name just a few. Alternatively or additionally, an NFT may encode an association with or to the digital content, e.g., a uniform resource locator (URL) or other location information that describes a location where the digital content and/or data about the digital content is stored. In one or more examples, for instance, rather than encoding the digital content for storage in the NFT, the digital content may be stored in third-party storage, e.g., storage of the service provider system <NUM> or storage of another service provider. As discussed above and below, an NFT created and maintained on the blockchain <NUM> is configured to encode other information in addition to underlying digital content, or an association with the underlying digital content.

In accordance with the described techniques, the service provider system <NUM> includes a variety of functionality for creating NFTs and executing transactions involving NFTs, e.g., listing NFTs for sale, purchasing NFTs, easily creating smart contracts with different terms (e.g., royalties and/or fractional ownership structures and rules) to govern transactions involving an NFT, initiating execution of smart contracts encoded by NFTs, and so forth. As illustrated herein, the service provider system <NUM> includes a minting system <NUM>, a fingerprint capture system <NUM>, an authentication service system <NUM>, and listing platform <NUM>. The authentication service system <NUM> is depicted having storage <NUM> which stores distinguishing feature data <NUM>, which the authentication service system <NUM> uses to authenticate physical items, including physical items for which digital twinned NFTs are created as discussed above and below.

It is to be appreciated that the service provider system <NUM> may include more, fewer, and/or different components than illustrated without departing from the scope of the described techniques. Additionally, portions or entireties of one or more of the components may be implemented at client devices, such as part of applications at the client device <NUM> and/or the client device <NUM>. For instance, at least a portion of the fingerprint capture system <NUM> (or the other illustrated components) may be implemented at the client devices <NUM>, <NUM>, e.g., as at least part of an application, as a plug-in, via a web page output (e.g., displayed) by the client devices, and so on.

The illustrated environment <NUM> also includes physical storage vault <NUM>, which may be utilized in one or more implementations, e.g., to store physical items having digital twinned NFTs for safe keeping. The physical storage vault <NUM> may be included as part of the service provider system <NUM> or may be controlled by a third party and simply associated with or otherwise accessible to the service provider system <NUM>.

To enable respective users to initiate operations to create NFTs and to perform transactions involving NFTs, the client device <NUM> and the client device <NUM> include components to interact within the environment <NUM>. The client device <NUM> is illustrated including application <NUM> (e.g., a computer application) and storage <NUM>, which is depicted storing digital wallet <NUM>. The client device <NUM> is illustrated including application <NUM> (e.g., a computer application) and storage <NUM>, which is depicted storing digital wallet <NUM>. The applications <NUM>, <NUM> may be configured in a variety of ways in accordance with the described techniques. For example, the applications <NUM>, <NUM> may be mobile applications, plug-ins, or web-browsers to access web pages providing NFT-based services, to name just a few. The applications <NUM>, <NUM> may be separate installations of a same application, e.g., a mobile application of the service provider system <NUM>. Alternatively or additionally, the applications <NUM>, <NUM> may correspond to a digital wallet service provider (not shown), which provides respective digital wallets <NUM>, <NUM>. Alternatively or in addition, the digital wallets <NUM>, <NUM> may be accessible to the respective applications <NUM>, <NUM>, e.g., via an application programming interface (API), to carry out operations involving NFTs on the blockchain <NUM>.

By way of example, the respective applications <NUM>, <NUM> may receive user input via a user interface to initiate ownership transfer of an NFT from a user associated with the client device <NUM> to a user associated with the client device <NUM>, e.g., by transferring the NFT from the digital wallet <NUM> to the digital wallet <NUM>. The digital wallets <NUM>, <NUM> may store public and private cryptographic keys that are used to digitally link transactions on the blockchain <NUM> to user accounts corresponding to the wallets. Generally, the information stored on the wallets may point to assets' locations in terms of blocks on the blockchain and there is a unique cryptographic address issued by a wallet, such that the transaction data <NUM> encodes wallet addresses of parties to the transaction.

Returning to the components of the service provider system <NUM>, the minting system <NUM> is configured to "mint" NFTs. To mint an NFT, the minting system <NUM> causes the NFT to be created on the blockchain <NUM> and programmatically encodes an association of metadata with the NFT. In accordance with the described techniques, for example, the minting system <NUM> is configured to mint digital twin NFTs of physical items. The metadata for a digital twin NFT may include a fingerprint of the physical item (e.g., a high-resolution image of one or more features of the item, a LIDAR scan of the physical item, etc.) and digital content of the physical item (e.g., an image of the physical item for presentation, a video of the physical item, and/or a 3D model of the physical item). The metadata may also include other information, such as a description of the item, a condition of the physical item (which can change over time), an indication that the physical item is an authentic physical item, an indication that the physical item is not an authentic physical item, a physical location where the item was minted (e.g., at a residence, at a location corresponding to a facility of the service provider system, at an event such as a concert or sporting event, and so on), locations of transactions involving the physical item, public addresses of wallets of owners of the NFT, and/or a current location of the physical item, to name just a few.

The minting system <NUM> may encode an association of this metadata with the digital twin NFT by, for example, encoding the actual data (e.g., the unique fingerprint and/or the digital content) in the digital twin NFT, encoding unique identifiers of the actual data in the digital twin NFT, and/or encoding one or more addresses where such data is located (e.g., a storage location) in the digital twin NFT. In operation, the minting system <NUM> provides data as specified by a token standard associated with the blockchain <NUM> to one or more of the nodes <NUM> to mint a new digital twin NFT of a physical item. For example, the minting system <NUM> packages and communicates the actual metadata to be encoded and/or packages and communicates the association (e.g., identifier and/or addresses) to be encoded according to the token standard to the one or more nodes <NUM>.

The fingerprint capture system <NUM> is configured to generate digital fingerprints of physical items that uniquely identify a given physical item from other physical items. The fingerprint capture system <NUM> generates those fingerprints based on captured features of the physical items, such as features captured using sensors of one or more devices. As discussed below, the features may be captured using one or more sensors of client devices (e.g., the client devices <NUM>, <NUM>), one or more sensors of the fingerprint capture system <NUM> (e.g., when configured with hardware to capture the features of physical devices), and/or sensors of other devices. By way of example, the client devices and/or the fingerprint capture system <NUM> may include a high-resolution digital camera to capture high-resolution digital image features of physical items.

The authentication service system <NUM> is configured to verify whether a physical item corresponds to an authentic physical item. The authentication service system <NUM> may verify whether a physical item corresponds to an authentic physical item by matching the fingerprint of a physical item, as generated by the fingerprint capture system <NUM>, to distinguishing feature data <NUM> of a known authentic physical item. The authentication service system <NUM> may do so by comparing a fingerprint, or captured features encoded in the fingerprint, to portions of the distinguishing feature data <NUM>, e.g., searching the distinguishing feature data <NUM> for data having at least a threshold similarity to the fingerprint or portions of the fingerprint. The authentication service system <NUM> may then return a response indicating that a physical item is or is not an authentic physical item (or is unsure whether the physical item is or is not authentic) based on whether the fingerprint matches any of the distinguishing feature data <NUM>.

The listing platform <NUM> is configured to generate listings for items and to expose those listings (e.g., publish them) to one or more client devices. For example, the listing platform <NUM> may generate listings for items for sale and expose those listings to client devices, such that the users of the client devices can interact with the listings via user interfaces to initiate transactions (e.g., purchases, add to wish lists, share, and so on) in relation to the respective item or items of the listings. In accordance with the described techniques, the listing platform <NUM> is configured to generate listings for physical items or property (e.g., collectibles, luxury items, clothing, electronics, real property, physical computer-readable storage having one or more video games stored thereon, and so on), services (e.g., babysitting, dog walking, house cleaning, and so on), digital items (e.g., digital images, digital music, digital videos) that can be downloaded via the network <NUM>, and NFTs, to name just a few. Notably, the listing platform <NUM> is configured to generate a combined listing that includes both a physical item and a digital twin NFT of the physical item. The listing platform <NUM> may generate the combined listing, which lists both the physical item and the digital twin NFT, based on user input received from a client device associated with a user account (e.g., of the listing platform <NUM>) and received via a user interface to generate the combined listing. For example, the service provider system <NUM> may initiate the minting of a digital twin NFT of a physical item and initiate the listing of both the physical item and the digital twin NFT responsive to receiving such user input via a user interface of the application <NUM>, <NUM>, as output at the client device <NUM> or the client device <NUM>.

Optionally, the service provider system <NUM> may store physical items at the physical storage vault <NUM>, such as valuable physical items having digital twin NFTs. Storage of the underlying physical item at the physical storage vault <NUM> allows ownership of the digital twin NFT and the physical item to be easily transferred between owners without the hassle of physically moving the item to transfer possession, e.g., shipping the item or exchanging it between hands. Instead, the item may be transferred to the physical storage vault <NUM> for storage and remain in the physical storage vault <NUM> while ownership of the physical item and/or its digital twin NFT is transferred a number of times. The physical storage vault <NUM> may also maintain physical items where ownership is divided, using a digital twin NFT, into a number of fractions of ownership of the physical item, e.g., "shares" of the physical item issued according to terms of the digital twin NFT.

Having considered an example of an environment, consider now a discussion of some examples of details of the techniques for fingerprinting physical items to mint NFTs in accordance with one or more implementations.

<FIG> depicts an example <NUM> of a system to fingerprint physical items to mint NFTs. The illustrated example <NUM> includes from <FIG> the fingerprint capture system <NUM>, the authentication service system <NUM>, the minting system <NUM>, and the listing platform <NUM>. The illustrated example <NUM> also includes the blockchain <NUM>.

In this example <NUM>, the fingerprint capture system <NUM> is depicted obtaining sensor-captured features <NUM> of physical item <NUM>. In accordance with the described techniques the sensor-captured features <NUM> correspond to data describing one or more aspects of the physical item <NUM> and may include various information captured about the physical item <NUM>, e.g., using sensors of one or more devices. For instance, this information may be generated about the physical item <NUM> using one or more sensors of the client device <NUM>, the client device <NUM>, and/or one or more sensors of the fingerprint capture system <NUM> when the fingerprint capture system <NUM> includes sensors to capture features of physical items.

By way of example, the fingerprint capture system <NUM> may be implemented at least partially at a client device (e.g., a client device <NUM>, <NUM>) having the one or more sensors. Alternatively or in addition, the fingerprint capture system <NUM> may be configured as or include a receptable into which, or a platform onto which, physical items may be placed so that sensors of the fingerprint capture system <NUM> can scan the item to generate the sensor-captured features <NUM>.

Examples of sensors that may be used to generate the sensor-captured features <NUM> include, but are not limited to, imaging sensors (e.g., one or more high-resolution digital cameras, one or more low-resolution digital cameras), temperature sensors, LIDAR, biochemical sensors, and so on. Examples of the sensor-captured features <NUM> may include, but are not limited to, images (e.g., high-resolution images of the physical item <NUM>'s features), videos of the physical item <NUM>, data derived from various electromagnetic spectrum features captured by the sensors about the physical item <NUM>, measured temperatures at different locations of the physical item <NUM> (or a map of them), a LIDAR scan of the physical item <NUM>, or measurements (or estimated values) of one or more elements or compounds at different locations of the physical item <NUM>, to name just a few. It is to be appreciated that the sensor-captured features <NUM> may be produced by a variety of sensors of different devices and describe a variety of features about the physical item <NUM> without departing from the scope of the techniques described herein.

Based on the sensor-captured features <NUM>, the fingerprint capture system <NUM> generates a fingerprint <NUM> of the physical item <NUM>. The fingerprint <NUM> is unique to the physical item <NUM> and may be used to uniquely identify the physical item <NUM> from other physical items, including from another specimen of the same item (e.g., two luxury watches of the same brand, make, model, etc.). For example, the fingerprint <NUM> may be configured as a unique digital signature that identifies the physical item <NUM> from other physical items. Notably, the fingerprint capture system <NUM> can generate the fingerprint <NUM> to digitally encode the sensor-captured features <NUM> of the physical item <NUM> at various points in time after manufacture of the physical item <NUM>. In other words, the fingerprint capture system <NUM> is not reliant on the manufacturing process to generate the fingerprint <NUM> so that it uniquely identifies the physical item <NUM>. In this way, the fingerprint capture system <NUM> is configured to generate the fingerprint <NUM> without modifying the physical item <NUM>. This contrasts with techniques that rely on an identifier to be manufactured into or otherwise incorporated with the physical item <NUM>, examples of which include configuring a physical item with an RFID tag and/or applying (e.g., stitching in or printing) an identifier to the physical item.

In accordance with the described techniques, the authentication service system <NUM> is configured to authenticate the physical item <NUM> based on the fingerprint <NUM>. Here, the authentication service system <NUM> is depicted obtaining the fingerprint <NUM> from the fingerprint capture system <NUM>. The fingerprint capture system <NUM> may transmit the fingerprint <NUM> to the authentication service system <NUM> for authentication, in accordance with the described techniques. As noted above, for instance, the fingerprint capture system <NUM> may be implemented at least in part at a client device, e.g., as part of the application <NUM> at the client device <NUM> and/or as part of the application <NUM> at the client device <NUM>. Thus, one of the client devices <NUM>, <NUM> may transmit the fingerprint <NUM> to the authentication service system <NUM> over the network <NUM>.

Broadly, the authentication service system <NUM> verifies that the physical item <NUM> corresponds to an authentic physical item. To do so, the authentication service system <NUM> compares the fingerprint <NUM> to the distinguishing feature data <NUM> stored in the storage <NUM>. The distinguishing feature data <NUM> describes features of one or more physical items that are known to be authentic and is saved in the storage <NUM>. The authentication service system <NUM> is capable through a computerized comparison of the digital fingerprint <NUM> and the distinguishing feature data <NUM> of identifying those authentic items and/or differentiating them from items that are not authentic (e.g., knockoffs). Some of the comparison techniques used by the authentication service system <NUM> may not be possible by humans because humans do not have the sensory capacity to detect one or more of the same features and/or compare digital fingerprints to the distinguishing feature data <NUM> at the level required to identify a physical item as authentic.

If the authentication service system <NUM> determines that there is a match between the fingerprint <NUM> and the distinguishing feature data <NUM>, then the authentication service system <NUM> determines that the physical item <NUM> is an authentic physical item. If the authentication service system <NUM> does not determine that there is a match between the fingerprint <NUM> and the distinguishing feature data <NUM>, however, then the authentication service system <NUM> may determine that the physical item <NUM> is not an authentic physical item. In one or more implementations, the authentication service system <NUM> may determine that there is a match between the fingerprint <NUM> and the distinguishing feature data <NUM> based on identifying a threshold similarity between the fingerprint <NUM> and the respective distinguishing feature data <NUM>. In this way, a physical item that is not identical to a known authentic item, but is "close enough" to have a high likelihood of being authentic, may be determined authentic by the authentication service system <NUM>, such that the physical item <NUM> is considered a "match" to authentic physical items.

Based on matching the fingerprint <NUM> to data in the distinguishing feature data <NUM>, the authentication service system <NUM> provides an authentic response <NUM>, indicating that the physical item <NUM> is an authentic physical item. In the illustrated example <NUM>, for instance, the authentication service system <NUM> communicates the authentic response <NUM> to the fingerprint capture system <NUM>, although it is to be appreciated that the authentic response <NUM> may be communicated to and thus received by the service provider system <NUM> and any modules thereof. In the scenario where the authentication service system <NUM> does not find a suitable match between the fingerprint <NUM> and the distinguishing feature data <NUM>, the authentication service system <NUM> may determine that the physical item <NUM> is not authentic and may communicate a response indicating that the physical item <NUM> is not authentic, e.g., to the fingerprint capture system <NUM> or to another component.

The minting system <NUM> obtains the fingerprint <NUM>, such as from the fingerprint capture system <NUM> as depicted. Receipt of the fingerprint <NUM> by the minting system <NUM> may be responsive to the authentic response <NUM> indicating that the physical item <NUM> is an authentic physical item. In one or more scenarios, however, the minting system <NUM> may receive the fingerprint <NUM> for an item that is determined not to be authentic by the authentication service system <NUM>.

Regardless, the minting system <NUM> is configured to cause a digital twin NFT <NUM> of the physical item <NUM> to be minted on the blockchain <NUM>. To do so, the minting system <NUM> may provide NFT minting instructions <NUM>, e.g., to one or more of the nodes <NUM> in the network <NUM> of nodes. The NFT minting instructions <NUM> may be configured according to and include data specified by a token standard, e.g., ERC-<NUM> or ERC-<NUM>, for creating the digital twin NFT <NUM>. Once created, the digital twin NFT <NUM> has a unique token identifier that uniquely identifies the token from other tokens - the token identifier may be a uint256 variable, for instance. In accordance with the described techniques, the information included in the NFT minting instructions <NUM> enables a node <NUM> to programmatically encode in the digital twin NFT <NUM> information provided or indicated in the NFT minting instructions <NUM>. For example, the NFT minting instructions <NUM> may include an association with metadata, such as an association with the fingerprint <NUM> and physical item digital content <NUM>. The node <NUM> receiving those instructions may thus encode the association with the metadata into the digital twin NFT <NUM>.

Here, the digital twin NFT <NUM> is depicted including the fingerprint <NUM> and the physical item digital content <NUM>. It is to be appreciated that in one or more implementations, however, the digital twin NFT <NUM> may include references to the fingerprint <NUM> and the physical item digital content <NUM> instead of the actual content. Such references may be configured as pointers to the actual content (e.g., URLs or storage locations) and/or unique identifiers (e.g., GUID) of the actual content. By encoding associations with the actual content rather than encoding the actual digital content (e.g., the fingerprint <NUM> and/or the physical item digital content <NUM>), the minting system <NUM> may limit the use of hardware resources (e.g., processing) of the nodes <NUM> for minting the digital twin NFT <NUM>. By limiting an amount of resources used, the minting system <NUM> may proportionally reduce a "gas" fee required by the blockchain <NUM> to utilize those resources and mint the digital twin NFT <NUM>.

As noted above, the digital twin NFT <NUM> may also programmatically encode other information. For example, the digital twin NFT <NUM> may programmatically encode a public address of a digital wallet of a user associated with minting the NFT, e.g., a public address of the digital wallet <NUM> in a scenario where a user associated with the client device <NUM> provides user input via a user interface to mint the digital twin NFT <NUM>. The digital twin NFT <NUM> may also be configured to digitally record a provenance of the NFT, such that ownership information is captured each time the digital twin NFT <NUM> is transferred (in whole or in part). For example, if the minting user transfers the digital twin NFT <NUM> to a new user, then the transfer from the wallet address of the minting user to a wallet address of the new user is recorded in the digital twin NFT <NUM>'s data on the blockchain <NUM>. As with other transactions on the blockchain <NUM>, one or more of the nodes <NUM> validates such a transfer so that only valid transfers are committed to the blockchain <NUM>.

The digital twin NFT <NUM> may be minted to encode other data, examples of which include smart contracts (e.g., to govern royalties, fractional ownership processes and events, end-of-life of the NFT events, and so forth), description of other aspects of the physical item <NUM> (e.g., a condition of the physical item <NUM>, provenance of different parts of the physical item <NUM>, maintenance record of the physical item <NUM>, and so forth). The digital twin NFT <NUM> may also be minted to encode various metadata, such as a description of the physical item <NUM>, a condition of the physical item <NUM> (which can change over time), an indication that the physical item <NUM> is an authentic physical item, an indication that the physical item <NUM> is not an authentic physical item, a physical location where the physical item <NUM> was minted (e.g., at a residence, at a location corresponding to a facility of the service provider system, at an event such as a concert or sporting event, and so on), locations of transactions involving the physical item <NUM>, and/or a current location of the physical item <NUM>, to name just a few.

With regard to a physical item's condition, the service provider system <NUM> may be configured to determine a condition of a physical item and capture the determined condition as a state in the digital twin NFT <NUM> or other data associated with the physical item <NUM>. In one or more implementations, the service provider system <NUM> may be configured to determine a condition of the physical item <NUM> using the sensor-captured features <NUM>. The service provider system <NUM> may further be configured to generate or set metadata (e.g., a state) describing the determined condition of the physical item <NUM>. To this end, the minting system <NUM> may also cause an association with metadata describing the condition of the physical item <NUM> to be encoded in the digital twin NFT <NUM>, i.e., in addition to encoding the association with the fingerprint <NUM>.

In this way, a condition of the physical item <NUM> may be encoded separately from data that uniquely identifies the physical item <NUM> from other physical items, e.g., separately from the fingerprint <NUM>. Due to this separate determination and encoding, the condition encoded by the digital twin NFT <NUM> may change over time, but the fingerprint <NUM> of the item does not change over time. By way of example, the digital twin NFT <NUM> may encode an association with metadata that describes a condition of the item in terms of "new" or "used," an amount the item is used, a relative amount of use compared to other items, an age of the item, and/or changes to the item from one or more previous times features of the item were captured, to name just a few. Consider a scenario, after the digital twin NFT <NUM> is minted, in which additional features of the physical item <NUM> are captured e.g., by sensors of one or more devices. The service provider system <NUM> is configured to compare the newly captured features to the sensor-captured features <NUM> used in connection with minting the digital twin NFT <NUM>. Based on this comparison, the service provider system <NUM> may determine that the condition of the physical item <NUM> has changed subsequent to minting the digital twin NFT <NUM>. Based on determining that the condition of the physical item <NUM> has changed over time, the service provider system <NUM> may update the metadata of the digital twin NFT <NUM> to indicate the changed condition of the physical item <NUM>. It is to be appreciated that the digital twin NFT <NUM> may encode a variety of information in relation to the physical item <NUM> as discussed above and below.

In this example <NUM>, the listing platform <NUM> is depicted receiving NFT notification <NUM>. The NFT notification <NUM> may describe a location of the digital twin NFT <NUM> on the blockchain <NUM>. For example, the NFT notification <NUM> may include the token identifier of the digital twin NFT <NUM> and/or an address of a digital wallet of a current owner of the digital twin NFT <NUM>. Additionally or alternatively, the NFT notification <NUM> may indicate that the digital twin NFT <NUM> is to be listed by the listing platform <NUM> along with the physical item <NUM>. The NFT notification <NUM> may be received responsive to receiving a user request to generate a combined listing for the physical item <NUM> and the digital twin NFT <NUM>. Alternatively or additionally, the NFT notification <NUM> may be automatically received by the listing platform <NUM> responsive to the digital twin NFT <NUM> being minted on the blockchain <NUM>.

Regardless, the listing platform <NUM> generates a combined listing <NUM>, which lists both the physical item <NUM> and the digital twin NFT <NUM> together. For example, the combined listing <NUM> may list the combination of the physical item <NUM> and the digital twin NFT <NUM> for sale together via the listing platform <NUM>. In the illustrated example <NUM> the listing platform <NUM> is depicted outputting the combined listing <NUM>. This output of the combined listing <NUM> may correspond to publishing the combined listing <NUM> to one or more client devices, e.g., associated with user accounts of the service provider system <NUM> or that navigate to user interfaces of the service provider system <NUM>. By way of example, the combined listing <NUM> may be displayed or otherwise output by a web application (e.g., the application <NUM> or the application <NUM>) via a user interface at the client devices <NUM>, <NUM>. In one or more implementations, the listing platform <NUM> may expose the combined listing <NUM> to a plurality of client devices, such that users navigating to the listing or searching for listings can view the combined listing <NUM>.

In the context of example user interfaces for minting a digital twin NFT of a physical item and listing the physical item and the digital twin NFT in a combined listing, consider the following discussion.

<FIG> depict an example <NUM> of various user interfaces output in an example scenario of fingerprinting a physical item to mint a digital twin NFT in accordance with the described techniques.

Beginning at <FIG>, the illustrated example <NUM> depicts a user interface <NUM> displayed on a display device of the client device <NUM>. The user interface <NUM> includes information <NUM> indicating that the user can "create a combined listing that includes both a physical item and a digital twin NFT of the physical item". The user interface <NUM> also includes a selectable element <NUM> which can be selected by the user to begin the process of generating the combined listing for a physical item. The user interface <NUM> may correspond to a user interface of the service provider system <NUM> that is associated with the listing platform <NUM>, such as a user interface displayed by a corresponding application <NUM> via a display device of the client device <NUM>. The application <NUM> may be configured in a variety of ways in accordance with the described techniques. For example, the application <NUM> may be a mobile application, plug-in, or web-browser, to name just a few. Here, the user interface <NUM> also includes a user account identifier <NUM> which indicates that the user "@giannis" is signed into a user account associated with the service provider system <NUM>.

<FIG> depict the user interface <NUM> displaying various screens and elements as part of generating a unique fingerprint for the physical item based on features of the physical item which are captured using one or more sensors of the client device <NUM>. These screens may be presented, for example, responsive to the user selecting the selectable element <NUM> to begin the process of generating the combined listing for the physical item. In example <NUM>, the physical item is depicted as a luxury watch and the client device <NUM> is depicted as capturing high-definition images of the luxury watch using one or more imaging sensors of the client device <NUM>. However, as described throughout, different types of sensors may be used in place of, or in combination with the imaging sensors, to capture features of the physical item, including temperature sensors, LIDAR, and biochemical sensors, to name just a few.

At <FIG>, the user interface <NUM> displays information <NUM> indicating that a unique fingerprint of the physical item can be generated using the client device <NUM>. The user interface <NUM> also includes a selectable element <NUM> which can be selected by the user to begin the process of generating the fingerprint for the physical item using client device <NUM>. Responsive to selection of the selectable element <NUM>, the user interface <NUM> displays instructions <NUM> for capturing one or more features of the physical item, as depicted in <FIG>. Generally, the instructions describe how the user is to control the client device <NUM> in order to capture features of the physical item. In this example, the instructions <NUM> are textual instructions which describe how the user is to utilize the imaging sensors of the client device <NUM> in order to capture features of the physical item. By way of example, instructions <NUM> instruct the user to "place the item on a flat, well-lit surface" and to "scan the item" using the one or more imaging sensors of the client device <NUM>. <FIG> further includes a selectable element <NUM> that can be selected to initiate the imaging sensors of the client device <NUM> to "scan" the physical item in order to capture features of the physical item.

At <FIG>, the user interface <NUM> is depicted as displaying an imaging sensor viewport <NUM> for aligning the one or more imaging sensors of the client device <NUM> to capture features of the physical item. In this example, an image <NUM> of the physical item is shown within the imaging sensor viewport <NUM> which indicates that the physical item, depicted as a luxury watch, is aligned within the field of view of the imaging sensors. The user interface <NUM> displays additional instructions <NUM> for capturing the features of the physical item, which in this instance instruct the user to "move the device closer to the item", e.g., so that the one or more imaging sensors is able to capture close-up images of the physical item. The user interface <NUM> is further shown as displaying feedback information <NUM> which indicates that the physical item is being scanned by the one or more imaging sensors of the client device <NUM>.

<FIG> depicts the user interface <NUM> displaying additional instructions <NUM> for capturing features of the physical item. The instructions <NUM> instruct the user to "turn the item on its side". Responsive to these instructions, the user can turn the luxury watch on its side so that the one or more imaging sensors can continue to capture images of the luxury watch from a different angle. It is to be appreciated that the instructions <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> are just examples of the types of instructions that can be displayed by the application <NUM> in order to direct the user to utilize the client device <NUM> in order to capture features of a physical item. Notably, a variety of different types of instructions may be displayed by the application <NUM> in order to capture features of a physical item which are usable to generate a unique fingerprint of a physical item. Generally, the types of instructions may also vary for different types of sensors. For example, the instructions output to capture features using an imaging sensor may vary from the type of instructions output to capture features using a temperature sensor. Moreover, the instructions may be output in forms other than text, such as audio prompts or video instructions.

<FIG> depicts the user interface <NUM> displaying information <NUM> indicating that the fingerprint of the physical item has been successfully generated using the captured features of the physical item. For example, based on the image features of the luxury watch captured by the one or more imaging sensors of client device <NUM>, the fingerprint capture system <NUM> generates a fingerprint of the luxury watch. Notably, the fingerprint is unique to the physical item and may be used to uniquely identify the physical item from other physical items, including from another specimen of the same item. For example, the fingerprint is usable to distinguish the luxury watch from other luxury watches of the same brand, make, model, etc..

<FIG> depicts the user interface <NUM> displaying information <NUM> indicating that the authentication service system <NUM> is currently authenticating the user's physical item. For example, after generating the fingerprint, the fingerprint is provided to the authentication service system <NUM>. The authentication service system <NUM> is configured to authenticate the physical item based on the fingerprint. In some instances, the fingerprint capture system <NUM> may transmit the fingerprint to the authentication service system <NUM> for authentication. As noted above, the fingerprint capture system <NUM> may be implemented at least in part at a client device, e.g., as part of the application <NUM> at the client device <NUM>. Thus, the client device <NUM> may transmit the fingerprint to the authentication service system <NUM>, e.g., over a network.

<FIG> depicts the user interface <NUM> displaying information <NUM> indicating that the luxury watch has been verified by the authentication service system <NUM> as being authentic. For example, the authentication service system <NUM> verifies that the luxury watch is authentic by comparing the fingerprint of the luxury watch to the distinguishing feature data <NUM> stored in the storage <NUM>. The distinguishing feature data <NUM> describes features of items that are known to be authentic and saved in the storage <NUM>, and the distinguishing feature data <NUM> is capable through a computerized comparison of identifying those items and/or differentiating those items from items that are not authentic (e.g., knock-offs). If the authentication service system <NUM> determines that there is a match between the fingerprint <NUM> and the distinguishing feature data <NUM>, then the authentication service system <NUM> determines that the luxury watch is an authentic luxury watch, and provides an authentic response to the client device. The user interface <NUM> thus displays the information <NUM> based on the authentic response indicating that the luxury watch is authentic.

In <FIG>, the user interface <NUM> also displays a selectable element <NUM> that is selectable to initiate minting of a digital twin NFT of the luxury watch on the blockchain <NUM>. For example, responsive to a selection of the selectable element <NUM>, the fingerprint of the luxury watch is provided to the minting system <NUM>. The minting system <NUM> then causes a digital twin NFT of the luxury watch to be minted on the blockchain <NUM>, as described throughout. In one or more implementations, the user interface <NUM> may provide one or more additional screens for collecting additional information from the user that is usable to mint the digital twin NFT of the physical item.

<FIG> depicts an example <NUM> of a combined listing of a physical item and a digital twin NFT in accordance with the described techniques. The illustrated example <NUM> includes a combined listing <NUM> which lists both a physical item and a digital twin NFT together. For example, the combined listing <NUM> may list the combination of the physical item and the digital twin NFT for sale together via the listing platform <NUM>. In this example, the combined listing <NUM> lists the combination of a luxury watch and a digital twin NFT of the luxury watch which is minted on the blockchain <NUM>. Examples of generating a fingerprint for the luxury watch and minting the digital twin NFT is described above with regards to <FIG>.

The listing platform <NUM> can output the combined listing <NUM>, such as by publishing the combined listing <NUM> to one or more client devices, e.g., associated with user accounts of the service provider system <NUM> or that navigate to user interfaces of the service provider system <NUM>. The listing platform <NUM> may expose the combined listing <NUM> to a plurality of client devices, such that users navigating to the listing or searching for listings can view the combined listing <NUM>. In this example, the combined listing <NUM> is depicted as being displayed by a web application (e.g., the application <NUM>) via a user interface at the client device <NUM>. Notably, client device <NUM> corresponds to a different device than the client device <NUM> which is depicted in <FIG> as generating a unique fingerprint for the luxury watch and minting the digital twin NFT to represent that a different client device associated with a different user is viewing the combined listing, e.g., in order to obtain the luxury watch and the digital twin NFT in exchange for cryptocurrency.

In this example, the combined listing <NUM> includes a combined listing title <NUM>, an image <NUM> of the physical item, an authenticity indicator <NUM>, a price <NUM>, a combined listing description <NUM>, ownership information <NUM>, creator information <NUM>, a user account identifier <NUM>, and a selectable control <NUM> that is selectable to initiate the purchase of the luxury watch and the digital twin NFT.

The combined listing title <NUM> indicates that the combined listing <NUM> is for both the "Luxury Watch and NFT", and the image <NUM> corresponds to an image of the luxury watch. In some cases, the image <NUM> may correspond to digital content of the digital twin NFT itself. The authenticity indicator <NUM> indicates that the physical item has been verified as being authentic by the authentication service system <NUM>. The price <NUM>, in this example, is shown as <NUM> ETH which indicates that the user can obtain the combined listing for <NUM> ETH (which corresponds to $<NUM>,<NUM> Dollars based on a current valuation of <NUM> ETH being worth $<NUM>,<NUM> Dollars). The combined listing description <NUM> includes a description of the combined listing, and can be expanded in some cases to view additional information regarding the combined listing.

In the illustrated example <NUM>, the ownership information <NUM> and the creator information <NUM> indicate that both the current owner and creator of the NFT correspond to the same user profile, "@giannis". The user account identifier <NUM> indicates that the user "@harden" is signed into a user account associated with the service provider system <NUM>. Notably if the @harden user purchases both the luxury watch and the digital twin NFT of the combined listing <NUM>, e.g., by selecting the selectable control <NUM> and transferring <NUM> ETH to the @giannis user, then the ownership information <NUM> will change to indicate that @harden is the current owner of the NFT. In this scenario, however, the creator information <NUM> will remain the same to signify that @harden is not the original creator of the NFT. It is to be appreciated that the combined listing <NUM> may include different elements or information without departing from the scope of the described techniques.

Having discussed exemplary details of the techniques for fingerprinting physical items to mint NFTs, consider now some examples of procedures to illustrate additional aspects of the techniques.

This section describes examples of procedures for fingerprinting physical items to mint NFTs. Aspects of the procedures may be implemented in hardware, firmware, or software, or a combination thereof. The procedures are shown as a set of blocks that specify operations performed by one or more devices and are not necessarily limited to the orders shown for performing the operations by the respective blocks.

<FIG> depicts a procedure <NUM> in an example implementation of fingerprinting physical items to mint NFTs.

A request to generate a combined listing for a physical item and a digital twin NFT of the physical item is received from a client device associated with a user account (block <NUM>). In accordance with the principles discussed herein, the request indicates that the physical item corresponds to an authentic physical item. By way of example, fingerprint capture system <NUM> receives a request from client device <NUM> to generate a combined listing for a physical item <NUM> and a digital twin NFT of the physical item.

A fingerprinting interface is output at the client device (block <NUM>). In accordance with the principles discussed herein, the fingerprinting interface provides instructions for capturing one or more features of the physical item used to verify that the physical item corresponds to the authentic physical item. By way of example, the fingerprint capture system <NUM> displays a user interface <NUM> which provides instructions (e.g., instructions <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>) for capturing one or more features of a physical item <NUM>.

The one or more features of the physical item are captured using a fingerprint capture system of the client device according to the instructions (block <NUM>). By way of example, the fingerprint capture system <NUM> obtains sensor-captured features <NUM> according to the instructions output in the fingerprinting interface, e.g., user interface <NUM>. In accordance with the described techniques the sensor-captured features <NUM> correspond to data describing one or more aspects of the physical item <NUM> and may include various information captured about the physical item <NUM>, e.g., using sensors of one or more devices. For instance, this information may be generated about the physical item <NUM> using one or more sensors of the client device <NUM>, the client device <NUM>, and/or one or more sensors of the fingerprint capture system <NUM> when the fingerprint capture system <NUM> includes sensors to capture features of physical items.

Examples of sensors that may be used to generate the sensor-captured features <NUM> include, but are not limited to, imaging sensors (e.g., one or more high-resolution digital cameras, one or more low-resolution digital cameras), temperature sensors, LIDAR, biochemical sensors, and so on. Examples of the sensor-captured features <NUM> may include, but are not limited to, images (e.g., high-resolution images of the physical item <NUM>'s features), videos of the physical item <NUM>, data derived from various electromagnetic spectrum features captured by the sensors about the physical item <NUM>, measured temperatures at different locations of the physical item <NUM> (or a map of them), a LIDAR scan of the physical item <NUM>, or measurements (or estimated values) of one or more elements or compounds at different locations of the physical item <NUM>, to name just a few.

A fingerprint of the physical item is generated using captured features of the physical item (block <NUM>). By way of example, based on the sensor-captured features <NUM>, the fingerprint capture system <NUM> generates a fingerprint <NUM> of the physical item <NUM>. The fingerprint <NUM> is unique to the physical item <NUM> and may be used to uniquely identify the physical item <NUM> from other physical items, including from another specimen of the same item (e.g., two luxury watches of the same brand, make, model, etc.). For example, the fingerprint <NUM> may be configured as a unique digital signature that identifies the physical item <NUM> from other physical items.

The fingerprint of the physical item is transmitted to an authentication service via a network to verify that the physical item corresponds to the authentic physical item by matching the fingerprint of the physical item to distinguishing features of the authentic physical item (block <NUM>). By way of example, the fingerprint capture system <NUM> provides the fingerprint <NUM> to the authentication service system <NUM> to verify that the physical item <NUM> corresponds to an authentic physical item. To do so, the authentication service system <NUM> compares the fingerprint <NUM> to the distinguishing feature data <NUM> stored in the storage <NUM>. The distinguishing feature data <NUM> describes features of one or more physical items that are known to be authentic and is saved in the storage <NUM>. The authentication service system <NUM> is capable through a computerized comparison of the digital fingerprint <NUM> and the distinguishing feature data <NUM> of identifying those authentic items and/or differentiating them from items that are not authentic.

A response verifying that the physical item corresponds to the authentic physical item is received from the authentication service via the network (block <NUM>). By way of example, if the authentication service system <NUM> determines that there is a match between the fingerprint <NUM> and the distinguishing feature data <NUM>, then the authentication service system <NUM> determines that the physical item <NUM> is an authentic physical item. Based on matching the fingerprint <NUM> to data in the distinguishing feature data <NUM>, the authentication service system <NUM> then provides an authentic response <NUM>, indicating that the physical item <NUM> is an authentic physical item.

The digital twin NFT is minted on a blockchain (block <NUM>). In accordance with the principles discussed herein, the minting includes creating the digital twin NFT on the blockchain and programmatically encoding an association of metadata that includes the matched fingerprint and digital content of the physical item with the digital twin NFT. By way of example, the minting system <NUM> obtains the fingerprint <NUM>, and initiates minting of a digital twin NFT <NUM> on a blockchain <NUM> by programmatically encoding an association of metadata that includes the matched fingerprint <NUM> and digital content <NUM> of the physical item with the digital twin NFT <NUM>.

The combined listing for the physical item and the digital twin NFT is generated on a listing platform (block <NUM>). By way of example, the listing platform <NUM> generates a combined listing <NUM>, which lists both the physical item <NUM> and the digital twin NFT <NUM> together. The combined listing <NUM> may list the combination of the physical item <NUM> and the digital twin NFT <NUM> for sale together via the listing platform <NUM>. The listing platform <NUM> can output the combined listing <NUM>, such as by publishing the combined listing <NUM> to one or more client devices, e.g., associated with user accounts of the service provider system <NUM> or that navigate to user interfaces of the service provider system <NUM>. By way of example, the combined listing <NUM> may be displayed or otherwise output by a web application (e.g., the application <NUM> or the application <NUM>) via a user interface at the client devices <NUM>, <NUM>. In one or more implementations, the listing platform <NUM> may expose the combined listing <NUM> to a plurality of client devices, such that users navigating to the listing or searching for listings can view the combined listing <NUM>.

Having described examples of procedures in accordance with one or more implementations, consider now an example of a system and device that can be utilized to implement the various techniques described herein.

<FIG> illustrates an example of a system generally at <NUM> that includes an example of a computing device <NUM> that is representative of one or more computing systems and/or devices that may implement the various techniques described herein. This is illustrated through inclusion of the digital wallet <NUM>. The computing device <NUM> may be, for example, a server of a service provider, a device associated with a client (e.g., a client device), an on-chip system, and/or any other suitable computing device or computing system.

The example computing device <NUM> as illustrated includes a processing system <NUM>, one or more computer-readable media <NUM>, and one or more I/O interfaces <NUM> that are communicatively coupled, one to another. Although not shown, the computing device <NUM> may further include a system bus or other data and command transfer system that couples the various components, one to another. A system bus can include any one or combination of different bus structures, such as a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, a universal serial bus, and/or a processor or local bus that utilizes any of a variety of bus architectures. A variety of other examples are also contemplated, such as control and data lines.

The processing system <NUM> is representative of functionality to perform one or more operations using hardware. Accordingly, the processing system <NUM> is illustrated as including hardware elements <NUM> that may be configured as processors, functional blocks, and so forth. This may include implementation in hardware as an application specific integrated circuit or other logic device formed using one or more semiconductors. The hardware elements <NUM> are not limited by the materials from which they are formed or the processing mechanisms employed therein. For example, processors may be comprised of semiconductor(s) and/or transistors (e.g., electronic integrated circuits (ICs)). In such a context, processor-executable instructions may be electronically-executable instructions.

The computer-readable media <NUM> is illustrated as including memory/storage <NUM>. The memory/storage <NUM> represents memory/storage capacity associated with one or more computer-readable media. The memory/storage <NUM> may include volatile media (such as random access memory (RAM)) and/or nonvolatile media (such as read only memory (ROM), Flash memory, optical disks, magnetic disks, and so forth). The memory/storage <NUM> may include fixed media (e.g., RAM, ROM, a fixed hard drive, and so on) as well as removable media (e.g., Flash memory, a removable hard drive, an optical disc, and so forth). The computer-readable media <NUM> may be configured in a variety of other ways as further described below.

Input/output interface(s) <NUM> are representative of functionality to allow a user to enter commands and information to computing device <NUM>, and also allow information to be presented to the user and/or other components or devices using various input/output devices. Examples of input devices include a keyboard, a cursor control device (e.g., a mouse), a microphone, a scanner, touch functionality (e.g., capacitive or other sensors that are configured to detect physical touch), a camera (e.g., which may employ visible or non-visible wavelengths such as infrared frequencies to recognize movement as gestures that do not involve touch), and so forth. Examples of output devices include a display device (e.g., a monitor or projector), speakers, a printer, a network card, tactile-response device, and so forth. Thus, the computing device <NUM> may be configured in a variety of ways as further described below to support user interaction.

Various techniques may be described herein in the general context of software, hardware elements, or program modules. Generally, such modules include routines, programs, objects, elements, components, data structures, and so forth that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The terms "module," "functionality," and "component" as used herein generally represent software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof. The features of the techniques described herein are platform-independent, meaning that the techniques may be implemented on a variety of commercial computing platforms having a variety of processors.

"Computer-readable storage media" may refer to media and/or devices that enable persistent and/or non-transitory storage of information in contrast to mere signal transmission, carrier waves, or signals per se. Thus, computer-readable storage media refers to non-signal bearing media. The computer-readable storage media includes hardware such as volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media and/or storage devices implemented in a method or technology suitable for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, logic elements/circuits, or other data. Examples of computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, hard disks, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or other storage device, tangible media, or article of manufacture suitable to store the desired information and which may be accessed by a computer.

"Computer-readable signal media" may refer to a signal-bearing medium that is configured to transmit instructions to the hardware of the computing device <NUM>, such as via a network. Signal media typically may embody computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as carrier waves, data signals, or other transport mechanism. Signal media also include any information delivery media. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media.

As previously described, hardware elements <NUM> and computer-readable media <NUM> are representative of modules, programmable device logic and/or fixed device logic implemented in a hardware form that may be employed in some embodiments to implement at least some aspects of the techniques described herein, such as to perform one or more instructions. Hardware may include components of an integrated circuit or on-chip system, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and other implementations in silicon or other hardware. In this context, hardware may operate as a processing device that performs program tasks defined by instructions and/or logic embodied by the hardware as well as a hardware utilized to store instructions for execution, e.g., the computer-readable storage media described previously.

Combinations of the foregoing may also be employed to implement various techniques described herein. Accordingly, software, hardware, or executable modules may be implemented as one or more instructions and/or logic embodied on some form of computer-readable storage media and/or by one or more hardware elements <NUM>. The computing device <NUM> may be configured to implement particular instructions and/or functions corresponding to the software and/or hardware modules. Accordingly, implementation of a module that is executable by the computing device <NUM> as software may be achieved at least partially in hardware, e.g., through use of computer-readable storage media and/or hardware elements <NUM> of the processing system <NUM>. The instructions and/or functions may be executable/operable by one or more articles of manufacture (for example, one or more computing devices <NUM> and/or processing systems <NUM>) to implement techniques, modules, and examples described herein.

The techniques described herein may be supported by various configurations of the computing device <NUM> and are not limited to the specific examples of the techniques described herein. This functionality may also be implemented all or in part through use of a distributed system, such as over a "cloud" <NUM> via a platform <NUM> as described below.

The platform <NUM> may abstract resources and functions to connect the computing device <NUM> with other computing devices. The platform <NUM> may also serve to abstract scaling of resources to provide a corresponding level of scale to encountered demand for the resources <NUM> that are implemented via the platform <NUM>. Accordingly, in an interconnected device embodiment, implementation of functionality described herein may be distributed throughout the system <NUM>. For example, the functionality may be implemented in part on the computing device <NUM> as well as via the platform <NUM> that abstracts the functionality of the cloud <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A method (<NUM>) comprising:
receiving (<NUM>), from a client device (<NUM>, <NUM>), a request to generate a combined listing (<NUM>) for a physical item (<NUM>) and a digital twin non-fungible token, NFT, (<NUM>) of the physical item (<NUM>), the request indicating that the physical item (<NUM>) corresponds to an authentic physical item;
outputting (<NUM>), at the client device (<NUM>, <NUM>), a fingerprinting interface providing instructions for capturing one or more features (<NUM>) of the physical item used to verify that the physical item (<NUM>) corresponds to the authentic physical item;
capturing (<NUM>) the one or more features (<NUM>) of the physical item using a fingerprint capture system (<NUM>) of the client device (<NUM>, <NUM>) according to the instructions;
generating (<NUM>) a fingerprint (<NUM>) of the physical item (<NUM>) using the captured one or more features (<NUM>) of the physical item (<NUM>);
transmitting (<NUM>), by the client device (<NUM>, <NUM>), the fingerprint (<NUM>) of the physical item (<NUM>) to an authentication service (<NUM>) via a network (<NUM>) to verify that the physical item (<NUM>) corresponds to the authentic physical item by matching the fingerprint (<NUM>) of the physical item (<NUM>) to distinguishing features (<NUM>) of the authentic physical item;
receiving (<NUM>) a response (<NUM>) from the authentication service (<NUM>) via the network (<NUM>) verifying that the physical item (<NUM>) corresponds to the authentic physical item;
causing (<NUM>) minting of the digital twin NFT (<NUM>) on a blockchain (<NUM>), the minting including creating the digital twin NFT (<NUM>) on the blockchain (<NUM>) and programmatically encoding an association of metadata with the digital twin NFT (<NUM>), the metadata including the matched fingerprint (<NUM>) and digital content (<NUM>) of the physical item; and
generating (<NUM>) the combined listing (<NUM>) for the physical item (<NUM>) and the digital twin NFT (<NUM>) on a listing platform (<NUM>).