Automated Kiosk Disaster Response via Sensor-Driven Goods Relocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automated kiosks lack effective protection mechanisms against natural disasters such as high winds, fires, floods, and earthquakes, which can compromise the safety of stored products and infrastructure.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of sensors and a processor system within automated kiosks that receive weather reports and sensor data to identify potential natural disasters, triggering adaptive responses such as relocating goods, deploying protection measures like vents, heat shields, and stilts, and activating external protection actions based on the type and likelihood of the disaster.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If automated kiosks are deployed in various locations to provide customer service, then accessibility and convenience are improved, but vulnerability to natural disasters increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by detecting natural disaster conditions through sensors and weather data before the disaster fully impacts the kiosk. It proactively relocates goods to protected areas and activates protection measures (heat shields, vents, stilts) in advance, preventing damage rather than responding after damage occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The kiosk transitions from a static structure to a dynamic system that can adapt its configuration in real-time. The internal conveyor system dynamically relocates goods based on detected conditions, and external protection structures (vents, heat shields, stilts) are dynamically deployed or retracted based on the type and severity of the natural disaster detected.
2Reliability
If protection measures are added to automated kiosks to protect against natural disasters, then reliability and safety are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system and protection mechanisms serve multiple functions. The same sensors detect various types of natural disasters (heat, smoke, water, wind). The internal conveyor system serves both its primary function of delivering goods to customers and the protective function of relocating goods during disasters. External protection structures like vents, heat shields, and stilts can protect against multiple disaster types.
Solution Approach 2:
The kiosk monitors its own environmental conditions through integrated sensors and automatically triggers appropriate protection measures without external intervention. The system self-manages the relocation of goods and deployment of protection structures based on real-time sensor data and weather information, reducing the need for external control systems.
3Reliability
If goods are relocated within the kiosk in response to natural disasters, then product safety is improved, but operational time and response delay increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system detects natural disaster conditions and initiates goods relocation before the disaster fully impacts operations. By using sensors and weather data to predict incoming disasters, the system proactively moves goods to protected areas, minimizing the time goods are exposed to damage and reducing operational interruption when the disaster strikes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors environmental conditions through sensors and adjusts its operations in real-time. When disaster conditions are detected, the feedback loop triggers automatic goods relocation and activation of protection measures. After the disaster passes, the system monitors conditions and can resume normal operations, creating a responsive cycle that minimizes operational disruption.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for an automated kiosk which responds to natural disasters. Such a system can: receive, at a processor in an automated kiosk, an electronic weather report for weather associated with a geographic location of the automated kiosk; receive, from an exterior sensor mounted on the automated kiosk, exterior sensor data; and receive, from an interior sensor mounted inside the automated kiosk, interior sensor data. The system can then identify, via the processor and based on at least one of the electronic weather report, the exterior sensor data, and the interior sensor data, a likelihood of a natural disaster affecting the automated kiosk. The system can initiate actions to protect the kiosk and/or the products stored in the kiosk from the natural disaster, based on the likelihood and the type of threat encountered.