Portable Device Reads Cemetery Marker Symbols
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Visitors to cemeteries face difficulties in accessing and learning about deceased loved ones due to limited information on grave markers and the need for extensive searching, especially when trying to find relationships between individuals buried in the same cemetery.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that uses a portable device to read machine-readable symbols on grave markers, querying a database to present biographies and locations of related decedents, allowing for interactive and dynamic information access within the cemetery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If information is provided only on grave markers, then the marker remains simple and readable, but the information available to visitors is limited and insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions information from a two-dimensional marker surface to a multi-dimensional digital space accessible via portable devices. Machine-readable symbols encode references to extensive biographical data, photographs, and family relationship information that exists in a virtual dimension beyond the physical marker's surface constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces machine-readable symbols as intermediaries between the grave marker and the visitor's portable device. These symbols act as bridges that connect the physical marker to a digital information repository, enabling access to comprehensive decedent information without adding physical space to the marker itself.
2Loss of time
If visitors search for decedent information manually, then no additional system complexity is introduced, but the time and effort required to find information increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-encodes machine-readable symbols on grave markers with decedent identification information before visitors arrive. This preliminary preparation allows visitors to immediately scan and access information without manual searching, as the identification data is already in place and ready for rapid digital retrieval.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical process of manual information searching with an automated optical scanning system. Portable devices use cameras or scanners to read machine-readable symbols, automatically querying databases and retrieving information without requiring visitors to manually search through records or ask cemetery staff.
3Adaptability or versatility
If cemetery guides provide information about famous decedents, then some information is available, but the information is not interactive, dynamic, or cross-referenced to related individuals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms static cemetery guide information into dynamic, on-demand digital content. Information displayed on portable devices can be updated, expanded, or modified without physical changes to markers or guides. The system adapts to visitor needs by providing customized information based on the scanned marker and can dynamically display family relationships, photographs, and biographical details.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal information access system that works across all grave markers in the cemetery through standardized machine-readable symbols. The same portable device and scanning process provide access to information for any decedent, whether famous or ordinary, and the system can universally display various types of content including biographies, photographs, family trees, and interment locations.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for facilitating a visit to a cemetery, the system including a machine readable symbol encoded with a first set of information, a reading device to read and decode the symbol, a transmitting device to send a first query based on the first set of information to a data repository, a receiving device to receive a second set of information, and a display device to display a first biography of the decedent. The biography story is based on the first and second sets of information.