SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR COLLABORATING IN A NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING SYSTEM

• US 20140207874A1
• Filed: 01/22/2013
• Published: 07/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Baker Hughes, a GE Company, LLC (Baker Hughes Company)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Soorianarayanan, Sekhar, Ward, Robert Carroll, Domke, Michael Christopher, Messinger, Jason Howard, Sbihli, Scott Leo
• Granted Patent: US 9,954,908 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/00 Investigating or analysing materials by the use of ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves; Visualisation of the interior of objects by transmitting ultrasonic or sonic waves through the object G01N3/00, G01N5/00, G01N7/00, G01N9/00, G01N11/00, G01N13/00, G01N15/00, G01N17/00, G01N19/00, G01N21/00, G01N22/00, G01N23/00, G01N24/00, G01N25/00, G01N27/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063112 Skill-based matching of a person or a group to a task
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063114 Status monitoring or status determination for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/18 Network protocols supporting networked applications, e.g. including control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

A collaboration system may include a computing device that may communicate with the at least one other computing device via a computing network network. The computing device may receive data that has been acquired using one or more non-destructive testing (NDT) inspection devices, receive an input that may cause a list of one or more experts indicated as available to collaborate to be derived. The computing device may also receive a selection of at least one expert from the list of experts. After receiving the expert selection, the computing device may establish a communication connection between the computing device and the at least one other computing device that corresponds to the at least one expert. Here, the communication connection may share data depicted on the computing device with the at least one other computing device.

Claims

1. A collaboration system, comprising:

a computing device configured to communicate with the at least one other computing device via a computing network, and wherein the computing device is configured to;

receive data that has been acquired using one or more non-destructive testing (NDT) inspection devices;

receive an input configured to derive a list of one or more experts indicated as available to collaborate;

receive a selection of at least one expert from the list of experts; and

establish a communication connection between the computing device and the at least one other computing device that corresponds to the at least one expert, wherein the communication connection is configured to share data depicted on the computing device with the at least one other computing device.

2. The collaboration system of claim 1, wherein the list of one or more experts indicated as available to collaborate comprise one or more individuals or entities that broadcast one or more statuses via the computing network.

3. The collaboration system of claim 2, wherein the one or more statuses comprise information related to availability, expertise, or any combination thereof associated with the one or more experts.

4. The collaboration system of claim 2, comprising a database configured to:

couple to the computing device and to the at least one other computing device via the computing network; and

store the statuses, one or more profiles associated with the one or more experts, or any combination thereof.

5. The collaboration system of claim 4, wherein the one or more profiles comprise experience, one or more areas of technical specialty, or any combination thereof.

6. The collaboration system of claim 1, wherein the computing device is configured to establish the communication connection by sending a notification message to the at least one expert, wherein the notification message comprises information or an interface enabling the at least one other computing device to connect to the computing device.

7. The collaboration system of claim 6, wherein the notification message comprises an electronic-mail message, a text message, an automated call, or any combination thereof.

8. The collaboration system of claim 1, wherein the communication connection is configured to share control of the computing device with the at least one other computing device.

9. The collaboration system of claim 1, wherein the computing device is configured to superimpose one or more writings or drawings onto the shared data, wherein the writings or drawings are received via the computing device or the at least one other computing device after the communication connection between the computing device and the at least one other computing device is established.

10. The collaboration system of claim 9, wherein the writings or drawings are generated using one or more virtual whiteboarding tools.

11. The collaboration system of claim 1, wherein the data depicted on the computing device comprises one or more video streams, one or more audio streams, one or more data streams, one or more chat streams, one or more screen images, or any combination thereof.

12. A computing device comprising program instructions configured to:

receive data that has been acquired using one or more non-destructive testing (NDT) inspection devices;

receive an input configured to derive a list of one or more experts indicated as available to collaborate;

receive a selection of at least one expert from the list of experts associated with at least one other computing device;

establish a communication connection between the computing device and the at least one other computing device that corresponds to the at least one expert, wherein the communication connection is configured to share data depicted on the computing device and control of the computing device with the at least one other computing device;

determine whether computing device is configured to control at least one of the NDT inspection devices; and

disable one or more features of the one or more NDT inspection devices when the at least one other computing device is configured to control the at least one of the NDT inspection devices.

13. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the list of one or more experts comprise one or more individuals, one or more expert systems or expert logic reasoning systems, one or more groups of individuals having relevant expertise in one or more areas of NDT procedures, techniques, results, or any combination thereof associated with an application currently being executed by the computing device.

14. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the list of one or more experts is organized based on a level of expertise in an application currently being executed by the computing device, an NDT inspection process, the one or more NDT inspection devices, or any combination thereof.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions configured to:

receive data that has been acquired using one or more non-destructive testing (NDT) inspection devices;

receive an input configured to derive a list of one or more experts indicated as available to collaborate;

receive a selection of at least one expert from the list of experts; and

establish a communication connection with at least one computing device that corresponds to the at least one expert, wherein the communication connection is configured to share data with the at least one computing device.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions are configured to receive information from a knowledge base system stored in a database.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions are configured to establish the communication connection by sending a notification message to the at least one expert, wherein the notification message comprises information or an interface enabling the at least one other computing device to connect to the computing device.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the notification message comprises an electronic-mail message, a text message, a report, or any combination thereof.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the NDT inspection devices comprise a borescope, a pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera, an eddy current inspection device, an ultrasonic inspection device, an ultrasonic flaw detector, an x-ray inspection device, a digital radiography device, or any combination thereof.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the data depicted on the computing device comprises one or more video streams, one or more audio streams, one or more chat streams, one or more data streams, or any combination thereof.