Distributed Safety Sensing With Adaptive Alerts in Industrial Facilities
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing integrated control and safety systems in industrial facilities rely on static sensing systems and predefined responses, which are inflexible, non-robust, and inefficient, leading to inadequate monitoring and response to safety hazards, particularly in dynamic environments where personnel movement and equipment operation pose challenges.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an intelligent industrial facility safety system utilizing remote sensing devices (RSDs) with sensing units, processing units, memory, communications units, and alert units, including fixed and mobile RSDs that can be configured in various communication schemes to provide robust and efficient safety information exchange, enabling adaptive monitoring and response.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If fixed sensors are distributed throughout the facility to provide balanced coverage, then monitoring coverage is improved, but the system cannot adapt to dynamic personnel locations and safety risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the static sensing system into a dynamic one by enabling sensors to move throughout the facility. Mobile robots equipped with sensors can dynamically reposition themselves to follow personnel or focus on areas of interest, allowing the system to adapt to changing safety risks while maintaining comprehensive coverage. This resolves the contradiction by making the monitoring area dynamic rather than fixed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the facility into multiple zones and assigns different sensor types to different zones based on real-time risk assessment. Mobile sensors can be segmented and deployed to specific areas where personnel are located, while fixed sensors provide baseline coverage. This segmentation allows the system to provide balanced coverage while adapting to dynamic conditions by concentrating resources where needed.
2Device complexity
If sensors rely on direct communication with a centralized controller, then system simplicity is maintained, but monitoring reliability decreases when communication is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where sensors continuously monitor communication quality and autonomously adjust their operation. When communication with the centralized controller is lost, sensors can switch to autonomous operation, using local processing and decision-making capabilities to continue monitoring and alerting. This feedback loop maintains reliability while preserving the overall centralized architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent prepares the system for communication failures by implementing redundant communication paths and autonomous operation capabilities in advance. Sensors are equipped with local processing units and memory that allow them to continue functioning independently if communication is interrupted. This beforehand cushioning ensures reliability without requiring a completely decentralized complex architecture.
3Device complexity
If fixed sensors provide partial coverage of an area, then system complexity is reduced, but the ability to pinpoint event location and provide precise alerts is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses mobile sensors that can dynamically position themselves to precisely locate events. When an event is detected, mobile sensors can converge on the event location from multiple directions, triangulating the precise position. This dynamic approach provides high measurement precision without requiring a dense fixed sensor network, thus maintaining system simplicity while improving location accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs multi-functional sensor units that can perform both fixed monitoring and mobile surveying functions. These universal sensors can be deployed as fixed stations for continuous monitoring or mobilized for precise event location when needed. This multi-functionality allows the system to maintain low complexity in normal operation while achieving high precision when required.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2D
Figure 3A
AI summary
Provided are systems and methods for intelligent distributed industrial facility safety systems. In some embodiments an industrial facility safety system includes remote sensing devices (RSDs) disposed throughout an industrial facility, and a facility safety control system (FSCS) adapted to collect safety data from the RSDs, determine current conditions of the industrial facility based on the safety data collected, determine that an alert condition exists based on the current conditions determined, identify an alert associated with the alert condition, generate the alert for presentation to personnel in the industrial facility, monitor a response to the presentation of the alert, and dynamically adjust an alert level for the alert condition based on the response.