Precomputed Junction Path Routing for Secure Facility Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional routing systems in complex facilities like hospitals and military installations become computationally intensive when determining optimal routes, as they consider distance and time, and fail to account for user-specific factors such as security level and mode of transportation, especially when navigating through secured areas.
Innovation Solution
The system predefines paths to common junction points within a facility, allowing for efficient route determination by comparing paths from a source location to a junction point with paths from a destination location to the same junction point, incorporating user-specific factors like security level and mode of transportation to identify the best route.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional routing methods construct multiple routes and calculate desirability values based on distance and other considerations, then the route optimization considers comprehensive factors, but the computational load becomes intense and the processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-calculates and stores optimal paths from each location to a common junction point before routing queries arrive. This preliminary action transforms the computational burden from query-time multiple route calculations to offline path precomputation, significantly improving real-time computational efficiency while maintaining route optimization quality
Solution Approach 2:
The routing problem is segmented into two independent parts: (1) pre-computed paths from various locations to a common junction point, and (2) combination of these segments to form complete source-to-destination routes. This segmentation avoids calculating all possible routes between every location pair, reducing computational complexity from O(n²) to O(n) where n is the number of locations
2Productivity
If traditional routing methods determine routes based on shortest distance or time, then the navigation is efficient in terms of travel metrics, but user-specific factors such as security level and mode of transportation are not considered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different routing criteria to different users based on their local characteristics such as security clearance levels, mode of transportation, and accessibility requirements. Instead of a uniform shortest-path algorithm, the system customizes route evaluation for each user context, ensuring security protocols are respected and user capabilities are accommodated while maintaining navigation efficiency
3Productivity
If paths are predefined for every location to a common junction point and stored in a database, then the computational load for route determination is reduced, but the system complexity increases due to path storage and management
Solution Approach 1:
The common junction point serves as a universal reference that all locations connect to, making the path storage structure universally applicable across the entire facility. This universal junction point approach simplifies the data model compared to storing complete pairwise paths between all location combinations, reducing storage requirements and management complexity while enabling fast route determination through path concatenation
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and computer-readable media are provided to determine a route through a predefined space. A first path from a source location to a common path within the space is determined, as well as a second path from a destination location a common path. If a shared path, which is the part of the first path which overlaps a portion of the second path, exists, it is excluded. If any portion of the common path separates the first and second path, it is included. A route is returned which is the combination of the remaining path segments.