Proximity Notification Apparatus for Spontaneous Collaboration

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing communication systems fail to efficiently facilitate spontaneous meetings among participants who need to collaborate briefly and are located close to each other, as they struggle to constantly track each other's positions.

Innovation Solution

A notification apparatus that registers participants for tasks, acquires their positional information, and sends notifications when participants are in a predetermined proximity, allowing for spontaneous task execution without pre-set meeting locations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If a system constantly tracks positions of communication partners, then communication efficiency is improved, but device complexity and energy consumption increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecommunication efficiencyVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The notification apparatus performs periodic position checks rather than continuous tracking. The system acquires position information at intervals and notifies participants when positional relationships meet predetermined criteria, reducing system complexity and energy consumption while maintaining communication efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

Participants' portable terminals autonomously acquire and transmit their own position information using built-in position acquisition devices. This self-service approach eliminates the need for complex centralized tracking infrastructure, reducing overall system complexity while enabling efficient communication coordination.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Reliability

If participants preset meeting locations, then communication reliability is improved, but flexibility and spontaneity are reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecommunication reliabilityVSAvoidmeeting flexibility

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically determines meeting locations based on real-time position information of participants. Instead of static pre-set locations, the notification apparatus identifies spontaneous meeting points based on current proximity relationships, ensuring both reliability (guaranteed meeting opportunity) and flexibility (adaptive location selection).

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The notification apparatus acts as an intermediary that processes position information and automatically determines optimal meeting locations. This mediator function ensures reliable communication by guaranteeing a meeting point while maintaining flexibility through algorithmic location selection based on participant positions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Speed

If the system notifies participants of proximity in real-time, then communication speed is improved, but information processing load increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecommunication speedVSAvoidenergy consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies notification only when local conditions are met - specifically when the positional relationship between participants satisfies predetermined criteria. This selective notification approach improves communication speed for relevant cases while minimizing energy consumption by avoiding unnecessary notifications during unrelated time periods.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS11341461B2Notification apparatus and non-transitory computer readable medium storing program

Publication Date: 2022.05.24 FUJIFILM BUSINESS INNOVATION CORP

AI summary

A notification apparatus includes a registration unit that registers plural participants for each work, a positional information acquisition unit that acquires pieces of positional information of the participants, and a notification unit that notifies at least one participant out of the participants when a positional relationship between the participants is a predetermined positional relationship based on the pieces of positional information of the participants.