Smartphone AR App for Physical Distancing Alerts
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for effective and convenient systems and methods to warn individuals when they are getting too close to others in public settings during epidemics or pandemics, as maintaining a safe distance is crucial to mitigate the spread of viruses and bacteria, but existing solutions are inadequate in providing real-time and user-friendly alerts.
Innovation Solution
A smart device with a camera and display that uses a physical distancing app to capture images, calculate distances, and overlay augmented reality graphics to indicate safe distances, providing visual and audible warnings when individuals are too close to others, leveraging existing smartphone technology and augmented reality capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If physical distancing monitoring systems are implemented, then safety and health protection is improved, but device complexity and system cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the smartphone's existing camera and processing capabilities to perform physical distancing monitoring, allowing the device to serve itself rather than requiring external specialized equipment. The smartphone autonomously captures images, processes them through machine learning models, and provides feedback without needing additional dedicated hardware components.
Solution Approach 2:
The smartphone camera serves multiple functions: it captures images for physical distancing monitoring, stores images in memory, and displays augmented reality feedback. The same device components are leveraged across different functions, eliminating the need for separate specialized equipment for each task.
2Loss of information
If real-time image processing and augmented reality display are implemented, then user awareness and compliance is improved, but energy consumption and processing load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system processes images at selective intervals rather than continuously, and only activates full augmented reality display when distancing violations are detected. This partial action approach provides sufficient user awareness while avoiding the excessive energy consumption of continuous real-time processing and display.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-loads machine learning models into the smartphone's memory before execution, and pre-processes images to identify key features before applying complex analysis. This preliminary preparation reduces the computational load and energy consumption during actual real-time monitoring operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for helping a user carrying a smart device to maintain safe distances from other persons during an epidemic or a pandemic. A portable smart device measures the approximate distance to persons in the vicinity of the user, and notifies the user whenever he or she is too close to other persons. The portable smart device may overlay augmented reality graphics (such as arcs, lines, text, numbers, or other graphics) over images captured by the smart device's camera, to indicate safe distances. The graphics serve to inform and/or warn the user that he or she may be getting too close to other persons.