Worker Congestion Detection Using Stay-Time Position Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inappropriate layout and traffic flow lines in facilities like factories lead to unnecessary congestion and proximity of workers, affecting operational efficiency and increasing the risk of infection, especially with pathogens such as the novel coronavirus.
Innovation Solution
A determination apparatus and method that uses position sensors and image sensors to track worker positions and proximity, determining congested areas and proximity states by analyzing stay times and distances, and displaying this information for visual analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If workers are assigned to areas based on traditional layout optimization, then operational efficiency may be improved, but worker congestion and proximity increase leading to infection risk
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors worker positions using image recognition and proximity sensors, providing real-time feedback on congestion levels. This feedback loop enables dynamic adjustment of work assignments and layout configurations to maintain both operational efficiency and safe social distancing, directly resolving the contradiction between productivity and infection risk
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of worker spacing by enforcing minimum distance thresholds and monitoring proximity levels. By dynamically adjusting spatial parameters based on real-time positioning data, the system optimizes both operational efficiency and infection prevention without requiring fixed layout constraints
2Device complexity
If traditional monitoring methods are used to track worker positions, then system complexity is reduced, but measurement precision of congestion and proximity is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual or mechanical monitoring methods with automated image recognition technology and electronic proximity sensors. This substitution significantly improves measurement precision of worker positions and congestion detection while the modular architecture keeps system complexity manageable through standardized integration protocols
3Measurement precision
If real-time position tracking is implemented, then congestion identification accuracy is improved, but use of energy and computational resources increases
Solution Approach 1:
The image recognition system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it tracks worker positions for congestion detection, monitors traffic flow patterns for layout optimization, and enforces social distancing compliance. This multi-functionality improves congestion identification accuracy while distributing computational load across shared processing resources, reducing overall energy consumption compared to dedicated single-purpose systems
Data Source
AI summary
According to an embodiment, a determination apparatus for determining congestion of persons includes a first database, a stay information acquisition unit, and a first determination unit. The database stores position information indicative of a position of a person together with time information, in association with identification information of the person. The acquisition unit acquires information on one or more persons who have made a stay and to acquire, for each of the one or more persons who have made a stay, information on a time slot during which the stay was made, based on the position information and the time information stored in the first database in association with the identification information of the each of the one or more persons. The determination unit determines that an area in which multiple people have stayed for a predetermined continuous time length or more is a congested area.