Activity-Centric System for Cross-Device Resource Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional computer systems lack the ability to dynamically understand user activities and the necessary steps or resources required to complete them, forcing users to manually manage tasks across documents, applications, and devices, with little support for activity-centric interactions.
Innovation Solution
An activity-centric system that integrates activities across machines and devices, allowing asynchronous and synchronous use cases, with machine learning and AI components to infer user intentions and adapt user interfaces based on device and environmental contexts, enabling seamless activity roaming and resource management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional document-centric, application-centric, or device-centric systems are used, then users can access and operate individual documents, applications, or devices, but users cannot seamlessly manage activities across multiple devices and applications simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a universal activity model that can represent and manage user activities across multiple devices, applications, and documents simultaneously. The activity-centric framework provides a unified view that works regardless of the underlying device or application, enabling seamless activity management while abstracting away the complexity of individual system components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an activity model as an intermediary layer between users and the underlying device/application infrastructure. This activity model acts as a mediator that translates user intentions into coordinated actions across multiple devices and applications, eliminating the need for users to directly manage complex device interactions.
2Ease of operation
If users manually assemble and manage activities using existing documents, applications, and devices, then users can complete tasks, but users bear the burden of managing every aspect of their activities mentally
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically performs activity management tasks without requiring direct user intervention. The activity-centric framework automatically tracks user actions, identifies required resources, manages device coordination, and adapts to user needs, freeing users from the burden of manually managing every aspect of their activities while reducing the time spent on activity management.
3Ease of operation
If traditional systems store documents in a single filing cabinet and use one desktop, then system structure is simple, but user-friendly access to necessary resources for complex activities is not provided
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the traditional monolithic file system and desktop concept into activity-specific resource collections. Instead of a single filing cabinet, resources are organized into activity contexts that can span multiple devices and applications. This segmentation allows users to access relevant resources based on their current activity rather than searching through a single centralized location, improving ease of access while distributing system structure across multiple components.
Data Source
AI summary
A system that can integrate activities across machines and/or devices is disclosed. The innovation can be used in an “asynchronous” manner that enables a user to move or direct a set of activities and/or tasks within an activity from one device to another. Further, the system can facilitate adapting user interface factors with respect to a particular device such that a user can “synchronously” utilize all devices for the given activities and/or tasks. In other words, the “synchronous” scenario enables a user to share activity information between devices when simultaneously utilizing multiple devices in accordance with a particular activity.