Work Area Occupancy Sensing With Motion-Triggered Privacy Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current occupancy monitoring systems in work areas face challenges in efficiently tracking changes in human presence and asset usage, often requiring continuous power and infrastructure, which limits their deployment and maintenance, and may not preserve privacy or security.
Innovation Solution
A method using sensor blocks equipped with optical and motion sensors that transition between active and inactive states based on motion detection, recording images and extracting non-visual insights for remote computer systems, which can update schedulers and control actuators, while minimizing power consumption and ensuring data security and privacy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If continuous occupancy monitoring is implemented using traditional systems, then occupancy tracking accuracy is improved, but power consumption and infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor block transitions between active and inactive states, performing occupancy monitoring periodically rather than continuously. The motion sensor triggers the optical sensor to activate only when motion is detected, enabling periodic monitoring that reduces power consumption while maintaining occupancy tracking accuracy when needed
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional continuous mechanical/electrical monitoring systems with an optical-based detection system. The optical sensor captures images and extracts non-visual insights, substituting continuous electronic monitoring with periodic optical detection that consumes less power
2Measurement precision
If traditional occupancy monitoring systems are deployed, then occupancy detection capability is improved, but device complexity and maintenance requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into independent functional modules: a motion sensor for detecting movement, an optical sensor for capturing images, and a processor for extracting non-visual insights. Each module performs a specific function, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining occupancy detection capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the essential visual information needed for occupancy detection by using non-visual insights from optical sensor images. This approach eliminates the need for complex continuous video streaming and processing infrastructure, reducing device complexity while preserving occupancy detection capability
3Loss of information
If continuous monitoring is performed, then real-time occupancy data is improved, but data privacy and security risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only non-visual insights from optical sensor images, removing personally identifiable visual information while retaining occupancy status data. This extraction process provides real-time occupancy information without capturing or storing images that could compromise privacy or security
Solution Approach 2:
The processor acts as an intermediary between the optical sensor and the monitoring system, processing images locally to extract only occupancy-related non-visual insights. This intermediary processing step prevents raw image data from being transmitted or stored, reducing privacy and security risks while maintaining real-time occupancy data availability
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
This approach enables efficient monitoring of occupancy and asset usage in work areas, improving facility operations, occupant comfort, and productivity while reducing maintenance and power consumption, and ensuring privacy and security.
Implementation Method 1
an output of a motion sensor, integrated into the sensor block, indicating motion in a field of view
Implementation Method 2
recording a first image through the optical sensor at a first time
Data Source
AI summary
One variation of a method for monitoring occupancy in a work area includes, at a sensor block: transitioning from an inactive state into an active state when an output of a motion sensor indicates motion in a work area; during a scan cycle in the active state, recording an image through an optical sensor at a time, detecting a set of humans in the image, detecting a second set of human effects in the image, predicting a second set of humans occupying but absent the work area based on the second set of human effects, and estimating a total occupancy in the work area at the time based on the set of humans and the second set of humans; and transmitting the total occupancy to a remote computer system for update of a scheduler for the work area.