AR Heat Map for Hazardous Warehouse Navigation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In manufacturing and warehouse environments, human operators face challenges in navigating through dynamic and potentially hazardous areas, as automation and robotics systems do not adequately account for human presence and safety.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that assesses a surrounding area for a user by determining their location, receiving historical information, identifying items within the area, analyzing risks, and generating a heat map based on risk factors, which is then displayed to the user through an augmented reality device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If automation and robotics systems are deployed to handle products, then productivity is improved, but safety for human operators deteriorates due to constantly changing environments and inadequate sensing of human presence
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the environment into discrete items or objects of interest, each with its own risk level. The augmented reality device divides the field of view into multiple zones, with each zone corresponding to a detected item and colored according to its risk assessment, allowing operators to process information about multiple hazards simultaneously rather than as a unified complex scene
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different visual characteristics to different regions of the operator's field of view based on local risk conditions. Each item in the environment is assigned a specific risk level (e.g., green for low risk, yellow for medium risk, red for high risk), and the augmented reality device renders these as localized visual overlays, allowing the operator to quickly identify and respond to specific hazards in specific locations
2Reliability
If sensors are programmed to detect human presence, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases due to the need for multiple sensors and processing systems
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses existing automation and robotics system sensors for multiple purposes - both for their primary function of handling products and for detecting human presence and assessing risk. The same cameras, LIDAR, and other sensors that monitor product position and robotic operation are also utilized to detect operators and evaluate environmental hazards, eliminating the need for dedicated safety sensing systems
Solution Approach 2:
The augmented reality device serves as an intermediary that consolidates and processes risk assessment information from multiple sources, then presents it in a simplified visual format to the operator. Rather than requiring the operator to process raw sensor data from multiple systems, the AR device acts as an intermediary that translates complex sensor inputs into intuitive visual risk indicators overlaid on the operator's field of view
Data Source
AI summary
A method for assessing a surrounding area for heat map generation includes determining a location of a user and receiving historical information for the location of the user. The method also includes identifying a plurality of items in a surrounding area of the user, where the surrounding area includes at least a line of sight of the user as captured by an augmented reality device associated with the user. Analyzing the surrounding area of the user based on the plurality of items and the historical information to produce a plurality of risk levels for the plurality of items, where each risk level from the plurality of risk levels is associated with each item. Responsive to receiving sensory data for the user, the method also includes generating a heat map for the surrounding area of the user and display the heat map to the user in the augmented reality device.