Surface Cleanliness Visualization for Contact-Based Contamination Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic devices, such as smartphones, can become contaminated with microbes through bodily contact, posing a risk of disease transmission, and existing technologies do not effectively monitor or visualize the cleanliness state of surfaces to remind users to clean them.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device monitors bodily contact on surfaces using sensors and machine learning algorithms to determine a cleanliness state, generating visualizations and notifications to remind users to clean the surface, and can enter a cleaning mode to facilitate cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If sensors and machine learning algorithms are used to monitor bodily contact, then cleanliness state detection capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the surface into multiple zones and tracks bodily contact in each zone separately. Sensors are distributed across different areas of the surface, allowing localized detection and visualization of contamination patterns without requiring a single complex sensor system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary visualization layer that translates sensor data into intuitive visual representations. This intermediary system processes raw sensor signals and presents cleaned/processed information to users, reducing the complexity burden on both the sensing system and the user interface.
2Loss of information
If visualizations are generated to indicate cleanliness state, then user awareness of contamination is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system updates visualizations periodically rather than continuously, reducing energy consumption while maintaining effective communication of cleanliness state changes to users. The visualization refresh rate is optimized to balance information accuracy with power savings.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses color-coded visual indicators to represent different cleanliness states, allowing users to quickly comprehend contamination levels without requiring complex displays. Simple color changes provide effective information transmission with minimal energy expenditure.
3Measurement precision
If the system monitors all surfaces continuously, then measurement accuracy is improved, but loss of time for processing increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different monitoring strategies to different surface zones based on their contamination risk and usage patterns. High-contact areas receive more frequent monitoring while low-contact areas are monitored less intensively, optimizing both accuracy and processing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements selective monitoring that focuses computational resources on critical areas where contamination is most likely to occur or pose the greatest risk. Rather than uniformly monitoring all surfaces at maximum precision, the system applies enhanced monitoring only where necessary.
Data Source
AI summary
In some examples, a method includes detecting, by a processor, bodily contact on a surface based on sensor data. In some examples, the method includes determining, by the processor, a cleanliness state associated with the surface based on the detected bodily contact. In some examples, the method includes generating, by the processor, a visualization of the cleanliness state. In some examples, the method includes outputting the visualization.