Sanitary Enforcement for Shared Device Contact Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Shared information handling devices, such as head-mounted displays, often fail to maintain sanitary conditions due to users' non-compliance with cleaning protocols, leading to increased germ transmission, as existing solutions rely on human intervention which is costly and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
An information handling device equipped with sensors and a processor that monitors user contact portions for cleaning after an activity session ends, and performs a sanitary enforcement action if they are not cleaned, such as alerting users or restricting device access until cleanliness is confirmed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If human intervention is used to enforce cleaning protocols, then cleaning compliance can be monitored, but operational costs increase and efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The device performs self-monitoring of cleaning compliance through integrated sensors that detect whether cleaning actions have been performed on user contact portions, eliminating the need for external human monitoring while maintaining reliable enforcement of cleaning protocols
Solution Approach 2:
Manual human monitoring and enforcement of cleaning protocols is replaced with an automated sensor-based detection system that uses optical, capacitive, or other sensors to automatically detect cleaning actions and enforce compliance without human intervention
2Productivity
If automated sensor monitoring is implemented, then operational efficiency improves and human intervention is eliminated, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system is integrated into the existing device architecture to serve multiple functions including cleaning detection, user interaction monitoring, and sanitation enforcement, thereby minimizing additional complexity while maximizing operational efficiency gains
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning detection sensors are merged with existing device components such as display screens or touch surfaces, combining sanitation monitoring functionality with existing user interface elements to avoid adding separate complex subsystems
3Ease of operation
If cleaning is not enforced, then device accessibility is maintained, but germ transmission increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary cleaning verification before allowing device access, ensuring that sanitation requirements are met prior to use and thereby preventing germ transmission while maintaining seamless device accessibility
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides immediate feedback to users about cleaning status and enforces cleaning actions before permitting device use, creating a closed-loop control system that prevents germ transmission while maintaining ease of operation through automated enforcement
Data Source
AI summary
One embodiment provides a method, including: receiving, at an information handling device, an indication that an activity session has ended; determining, using a sensor, whether one or more user contact portions of the information handling device were cleaned after the indication was received; and performing, responsive to determining that the one or more user contact portions were not cleaned, a sanitary enforcement action. Other aspects are described and claimed.