Personal Device Evacuation Guidance System

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing emergency evacuation systems in public and private venues are inadequate as they do not provide real-time, personalized guidance to attendees during emergencies, especially when signage is obscured or communication systems fail, and they lack the ability to adapt to changing situations.

Innovation Solution

A system utilizing location-based services and personal devices to provide real-time evacuation instructions, allowing venue administrators and emergency response personnel to update information and redirect attendees through a mobile application that includes maps, voice, text, or visual indicators, and uses sensors to detect emergencies and track attendee locations for efficient traffic flow management.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If traditional emergency evacuation systems use fixed signage and public address systems, then the system structure is simple, but the system cannot provide real-time personalized guidance and fails when signage is obscured or communication systems fail

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveevacuation guidance reliabilityVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces personal devices (smartphones, tablets, wearables) as intermediaries between the evacuation system and attendees. These devices receive real-time location data, detect emergency conditions via sensors, and provide personalized evacuation instructions through applications, replacing the need for fixed signage and public address systems while improving reliability and adaptability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces mechanical/physical evacuation guidance systems (fixed signage, physical emergency equipment) with electronic and software-based solutions. The evacuation guidance is delivered through digital applications on personal devices, which can dynamically update instructions based on real-time conditions, eliminating the limitations of static physical signage

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Adaptability or versatility

If the system provides personalized real-time evacuation instructions using personal devices, then the evacuation efficiency and adaptability improve, but the device complexity and implementation difficulty increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveevacuation system adaptabilityVSAvoidsystem implementation complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent leverages the universality of personal devices that attendees already possess. These multi-functional devices serve as emergency detection sensors, location trackers, communication tools, and evacuation instruction displays. By utilizing existing personal devices rather than requiring specialized equipment, the system achieves high adaptability without proportionally increasing implementation complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables self-service evacuation guidance where attendees use their own personal devices to receive customized evacuation instructions based on their real-time location. The application automatically detects emergency conditions, calculates optimal evacuation routes, and provides guidance without requiring manual intervention from emergency personnel for each individual, thereby improving adaptability while managing complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Productivity

If the system uses sensors and location-based services to track attendee locations, then the ability to manage traffic flow and provide real-time updates improves, but the loss of information privacy and security risks increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveevacuation management efficiencyVSAvoidinformation privacy loss

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements location tracking and information processing at the local level on personal devices rather than centralizing all data collection. The application processes location data locally to generate evacuation instructions, minimizing the transmission and storage of sensitive personal information on centralized servers, thereby reducing privacy risks while maintaining evacuation management efficiency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system establishes feedback loops where the application continuously monitors emergency conditions, attendee locations, and evacuation progress, then dynamically adjusts and updates evacuation instructions in real-time. This feedback mechanism enables efficient traffic flow management by redirecting attendees based on current conditions while processing information locally to minimize privacy exposure

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS10171982B2Emergency evacuation service

Publication Date: 2019.01.01 INTEL CORP

AI summary

Various systems and methods for providing an emergency evacuation service are described herein. An apparatus to provide an emergency evacuation service comprises an emergency event detection module to detect the existence of an emergency event at a venue; a transceiver to request and receive evacuation instructions from an emergency evacuation system, in response to detecting the existence of the emergency event; and a controller to process the evacuation instructions and display, to a user of the apparatus, information related to the evacuation instructions.