Device Detection System for Automated Occupancy Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
In large, flexible office environments with many floors, meeting rooms, and shared spaces, employees face inefficiencies in finding available seating and meeting rooms due to the lack of a centralized, automated system for tracking occupied spaces and devices.
Innovation Solution
A device detection system comprising a processor, communication module, and display module that detects connections to external devices, generates data structures with user and device information, and transmits status information to a server for tracking occupancy, allowing efficient monitoring and display of available spaces without requiring additional installations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If employees manually register on a webpage to track occupied seats or meeting rooms, then other employees can check availability online, but the process becomes inconvenient and time-consuming in large office environments with many floors, meeting rooms, and shared seats
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automatic self-registration of occupancy status through device detection. When a local host connects to external devices in a meeting room, the monitoring program automatically detects the connection and registers the occupancy status on the server without requiring manual employee intervention. This eliminates the time-consuming manual registration process while maintaining real-time occupancy information availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of employees physically registering their presence with an automated electronic detection system. The monitoring program uses device connection detection to automatically determine occupancy status, substituting the manual webpage registration mechanism with an automated sensor-based system that continuously tracks and reports occupancy information.
2Reliability
If employees search for empty seats or meeting rooms one by one in large office areas, then they can find available spaces, but the process is inefficient and reduces productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements real-time feedback by continuously monitoring device connections and automatically updating occupancy status on the server. When a local host connects to external devices in a meeting room, the status is immediately detected and reflected on the webpage, providing accurate, real-time feedback to all employees about space availability without requiring manual updates or searches.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring program serves multiple functions: it detects device connections, determines occupancy status, communicates with the server, and updates the webpage display. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require separate manual actions into a single automated system, improving both accuracy and productivity simultaneously.
3Measurement precision
If additional detection devices are installed in meeting rooms to track occupancy, then real-time detection capability is improved, but the cost and complexity of the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the local host (employee's laptop or device) as an intermediary to detect occupancy status. Instead of installing dedicated detection devices in meeting rooms, the system leverages the employee's existing device as the detection medium. The monitoring program on the local host detects connections to external devices in the meeting room, eliminating the need for additional infrastructure while maintaining detection accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system copies the detection functionality from dedicated detection devices to the employee's local host. The monitoring program replicates the occupancy detection capability that would otherwise require specialized hardware, allowing any standard computing device to serve as the detection instrument. This approach maintains measurement precision while dramatically reducing device complexity and installation requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
An equipment detection system includes a processor, a communication module, and a display module. The processor is configured to detect a connection to an external device. The processor enumerates device information about the external device, obtains user information from a local host, and generates a data structure according to the device information and the user information. The processor is included in the local host. The communication module is configured to transmit the data structure and receive status information. The status information includes a placement space corresponding to the external device or the status of the external device. The status information is associated with the data structure. Moreover, the display module is configured to display the status information.