Lighting IoT System for Contact Tracing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile phone-based contact tracing applications are inadequate in commercial settings as they fail to track brief encounters when individuals forget their phones, and are prone to inaccuracies due to environmental factors like walls and human bodies, leading to incomplete data and ineffective tracing.
Innovation Solution
A lighting IoT system with embedded advanced sensor bundles (ASBs) is used to associate phones with individuals, detect forgotten devices, and record BLE information from nearby phones, providing notifications and supplementing contact tracing data to ensure comprehensive tracking of social contacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mobile phone-based contact tracing applications are used, then contact tracing capability is provided, but tracking completeness deteriorates when individuals forget their phones
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces fixed sensors (cameras, RFID readers, weight sensors) as intermediary devices that automatically detect and track individuals who have forgotten their phones. These sensors act as mediators between the contact tracing system and individuals without phones, capturing data through multiple modalities (visual recognition, RFID tags, weight changes) to maintain tracking completeness despite phone absence
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical requirement of carrying a phone for tracking with an automated sensor-based detection system. Fixed cameras, RFID readers, and weight sensors automatically detect individuals through passive observation and environmental sensing, eliminating the need for active phone-based participation while maintaining tracking capability
2Ease of operation
If BLE technology is used for contact tracing, then proximity detection is enabled, but measurement precision deteriorates due to environmental factors like walls and human bodies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple detection technologies (camera-based visual recognition, RFID scanning, weight sensor detection) with BLE proximity detection. By combining these independent detection modalities, the system cross-validates proximity information and compensates for BLE's environmental vulnerabilities, achieving more accurate proximity measurement
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where fixed sensors continuously monitor environmental conditions and detectability of individuals. When BLE signals are compromised by walls or bodies, the system receives feedback from alternative sensors (cameras detecting line-of-sight obstruction, RFID signal strength variations) and adjusts proximity determination accordingly
3Reliability
If social distancing restrictions are enforced, then virus spread is prevented, but economic and social cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the contact tracing system to automatically self-monitor and self-report compliance status. Fixed sensors continuously detect individuals and their movements, automatically generating proximity alerts and compliance reports without requiring manual intervention or complex restriction management, thereby reducing the operational complexity of enforcement
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively complements mobile phone-based contact tracing by providing accurate and comprehensive data on social contacts, even in situations where phones are left behind, reducing estimation errors and enhancing the confidence in proximity detection.
Implementation Method 1
illumination device that provides a visible light effect and that is configured to detect position information for the first person and the first mobile device
Implementation Method 2
The illumination device is configured to transmit the contact tracing data to the first mobile device
Data Source
AI summary
A method for enforcing contact tracing is provided including: associating, via a processor associated with a plurality of connected sensors, a first person with a first mobile device based in part on a first distance between the first person and the first mobile device; determining, via the processor, that the first person and the first associated mobile device are separated from each other by a second distance; notifying, via at least one light effect provided by an illumination device in communication with the processor, the first person that the first person and the first associated mobile device are separated from each other by the second distance. The method can further include: determining, via the processor, that a second person is positioned within predetermined proximity to the first person, and receiving, via the illumination device, contact tracing data on behalf of the first mobile device from the second mobile device.