Integrated Docking Platform for Localized Occupant Service Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current home and industrial automation systems are inefficient in providing personalized and localized sensory stimuli, leading to unnecessary energy consumption and cluttered environments due to the lack of integration and centralized control of devices such as lighting, fragrance, and sound systems.
Innovation Solution
A unified platform with a logical controller and sensor array that integrates multiple devices for localized delivery of light, sound, fragrance, and climate control, using artificial intelligence to detect user needs and optimize energy delivery based on real-time data from sensors and user interactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If multiple devices (lighting, fragrance, sound) are distributed throughout the space, then sensory coverage is improved, but system complexity and maintenance difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple previously separate devices (lighting fixtures, fragrance dispensers, sound systems) into a single integrated platform mounted on the ceiling. This consolidation reduces the number of individual components from multiple distributed devices to one unified system, thereby reducing system complexity and maintenance difficulty while maintaining comprehensive sensory coverage through the platform's multiple functional modules.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated platform performs multiple functions simultaneously - it provides lighting, fragrance dispensing, sound output, and sensor detection capabilities all within a single device. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated devices for each function, reducing overall system complexity while achieving comprehensive sensory coverage across the space.
2Ease of operation
If devices are distributed throughout the space, then localized service is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated platform incorporates sensor arrays that detect occupancy and generate heat maps to identify where people are located in the space. The system then selectively activates only the lighting, fragrance, and sound modules directed toward occupied areas, providing localized service precisely where needed while keeping energy consumption low by avoiding activation in unoccupied regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensors to continuously monitor the space for occupancy and adjusts device activation accordingly. When sensors detect people in specific areas, the platform activates appropriate sensory modules for those locations; when areas are unoccupied, the system reduces or shuts off energy consumption in those zones. This feedback loop enables localized service with optimized energy usage.
3Extent of automation
If centralized control is implemented, then automation level is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates control logic for lighting, fragrance dispensing, sound systems, and sensor management into a single centralized controller within the platform. This unified control architecture automates the coordination of multiple functions based on sensor input and pre-programmed scenarios, achieving high automation levels while managing complexity through consolidation rather than proliferation of separate control systems.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate devices are used, then functional versatility is improved, but maintenance cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated platform combines lighting, fragrance, sound, and sensing functions into a single maintainable unit. Instead of maintaining multiple separate devices throughout the space, facility managers need to service only one platform, reducing maintenance travel time, parts inventory requirements, and overall maintenance costs while preserving all functional capabilities through the platform's modular design.
Data Source
AI summary
An integrating device 200 for supporting one or more devices 207 capable of delivering mass, energy and/or information to occupants localized to a sub-area of a room is combined with sensors 212 capable of detecting occupants within one sub-area or another and processor 206 which correlates the coordinates of the occupants to those of the delivery devices 207 and a controller 206 that drives the specific sub-area device to provide a localized delivery of services such as lighting, heating, cooling, sound and video, intercom, noise cancellation systems, information, entertainment content, connectivity to the internet or social media, and light therapy in an automatic process based on the detected instantaneous needs of the occupant for services.