Visual Access Control Using Smart Lighting for Room Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multi-room facilities like hotels and office buildings, guests often face discomfort and anxiety in finding their assigned rooms due to the lack of effective visual guidance, leading to increased burden on front desk personnel and longer check-in times.
Innovation Solution
An access control system that integrates a building management system with smart lighting and locking devices, assigning a unique lighting attribute to guide users to their rooms, which is communicated through wireless devices and displayed on lighting fixtures and mobile devices, allowing for seamless navigation without direct personal interaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional access control methods are used (front desk check-in with room key distribution), then security and access control are maintained, but guest experience deteriorates due to discomfort and anxiety in finding assigned rooms, and staff burden increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color changes by assigning unique lighting attributes (colors) to guide guests to their assigned rooms. Lighting fixtures along the hallway change colors to indicate the direction and location of the guest's room, providing intuitive visual guidance that eliminates the confusion of finding rooms in unfamiliar buildings with indistinguishable doors.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces lighting fixtures as an intermediary between the access control system and the guest. These lighting fixtures serve as visual mediators that communicate room location information without requiring direct human interaction with front desk personnel, thereby reducing staff burden while improving guest experience.
2Ease of operation
If visual guidance systems are implemented to guide guests to rooms, then guest experience improves by reducing anxiety and providing clear directions, but system complexity increases due to integration of lighting systems with access control
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by making the lighting system multi-functional. The same lighting fixtures that provide ambient illumination also serve as information carriers by changing colors to indicate room locations. This eliminates the need for separate visual guidance devices, reducing overall system complexity while providing effective guidance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the access control system with the lighting control system into a unified system. The building management system integrates guest check-in data with lighting control, allowing the lighting fixtures to automatically display guidance information based on guest room assignments without requiring separate guidance infrastructure.
3Productivity
If unique visual indicators are assigned to guide guests to rooms, then staff burden is reduced by eliminating repeated direction-giving, but information management complexity increases due to tracking and managing unique indicators for multiple guests
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by having the lighting system continuously communicate room location information to guests based on real-time data from the building management system. The system automatically receives room assignment information and translates it into visual guidance, eliminating the need for manual information management by front desk personnel.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies self-service by enabling the lighting system to automatically provide guidance information without requiring front desk personnel to manually give directions. The system autonomously manages the distribution of visual guidance information to multiple guests simultaneously, reducing staff burden while maintaining accurate information delivery.
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 solution reduces the need for guests to visit the front desk, saves time, and decreases the burden on staff by providing a visually aided navigation system that efficiently directs users to their rooms, enhancing the guest experience and streamlining the check-in process.
Implementation Method 1
the lighting fixtures comprise light emitting diodes
Data Source
AI summary
An access control system including a building management system in communication with a wireless device, a smart lighting system and a locking device, wherein the building management system communicates and assigns a lighting attribute to at least one of the wireless device, the smart lighting system and the locking device; and method for providing visually aided access to a building location including: assigning a lighting attribute by a building management system to a user; communicating the lighting attribute from the building management system to a wireless device of the user; displaying the lighting attribute on the wireless device; communicating the lighting attribute to a smart lighting system in communication with the building management system, to display the lighting attribute; and terminating the lighting attribute when a locking device in communication with the building management system has been opened by the user.