Using Augmented Reality To Create An Interface For Datacenter And Systems Management

• US 20130031202A1
• Filed: 07/26/2011
• Published: 01/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rackspace US Incorporated (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rackspace US Incorporated (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mick, Jason L., Wineland, Joel
• Granted Patent: US 9,557,807 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/00 Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method includes obtaining information to determine a location of a data center device, communicating the information and an identity of a user of a portable device to an augmented reality manager, and receiving in the portable device overlay information responsive to the communication and a type of the user. This information can then be displayed over a view of the data center device on a display of the portable device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving an image of a piece of data center equipment of a data center via an image capture device of a portable device;

sending a query to an augmented reality manager, the query including the image, an identity of a user and location information regarding a location of the portable device in proximity to the data center equipment piece; and

receiving overlay information responsive to the query and displaying the overlay information over a view of the piece of data center equipment on a display of the portable device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing an action on a component of the piece of data center equipment based on the overlay information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the overlay information is obtained from an event monitoring system of the data center.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the overlay information is of different types based on the user identity.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the overlay information includes maintenance information when the user is a technical user.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the overlay information includes financial information when the user is a financial user.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising using the portable device to perform a remote control operation on at least one component of the data center equipment piece, the data center equipment piece corresponding to a server rack, wherein the overlay information identifies a status of components of the data center equipment piece.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the status of components enables the user to identify a failed component within the server rack.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the location information comprises a machine-readable identifier of the data center equipment piece within the image.

10. A system comprising:

an augmented reality manager to provide an interface between remote users and an infrastructure system that maintains information regarding a plurality of controllable systems;

a storage device including an augmented reality application to enable a user to remotely access the augmented reality manager via a mobile device and to communicate identification information to the augmented reality manager including a type of the user and a location of a controllable system of the plurality of controllable systems in proximity to the mobile device, and to receive overlay information for the controllable system; and

the infrastructure system including at least one storage to store the information regarding the plurality of controllable systems, wherein the augmented reality manager is to access selected information of the controllable system from the infrastructure system responsive to the identification information received from the mobile device and to send at least a portion of the selected information to the mobile device to enable the selected information portion to be presented on a display of the mobile device to overlay an image of the controllable system.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the infrastructure system is to receive a machine readable identifier from the augmented reality manager corresponding to the controllable system and to provide a first type of selected information when the user is of a first type, and to provide a second type of selected information when the user is of a second type.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the augmented reality manager is to provide a first type of selected information to a first type of user, and a second type of selected information to a second type of user.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the first type of selected information includes maintenance information when the user is a technical user and the second type of selected information includes financial information when the user is a financial user.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the augmented reality manager is to provide different levels of selected information to different users based on the user type.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the controllable system comprises an access control mechanism that protects a secure location.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the augmented reality application is to enable a dynamic display of the selected information portion as a user moves an image capture device of the mobile device to view a different portion of the controllable system.

17. An article comprising a machine-accessible storage medium including instructions that when executed cause a portable device to:

obtain information to determine a location of a data center device;

communicate the information and an identity of a user to an augmented reality manager; and

receive overlay information responsive to the communication and a type of the user and display the overlay information over a view of the data center device on a display of the portable device.

18. The article of claim 17, further comprising instructions that when executed enable the portable device to remotely access the data center device to perform an action on the data center device via the portable device.

19. The article of claim 17, further comprising instructions that when executed enable the portable device to obtain the information as an image of the data center device using an image capture device of the portable device, the image including a machine-readable identifier.

20. The article of claim 17, further comprising instructions that when executed enable the portable device to present financial overlay information when the user type indicates a financial type, the financial overlay information obtained from a financial system of the data center.

21. The article of claim 17, further comprising instructions that when executed enable the portable device to present technical overlay information when the user type indicates a technical type, the technical overlay information obtained from at least one technical system of the data center.