COMPUTER SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING WORKFORCE OF EMPLOYEE

• US 20150206081A1
• Filed: 03/31/2015
• Published: 07/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: LEE, Kuo-Chu, OZDEMIR, Hasan Timucin, LIU, Lipin, YU, Jannite, MIWA, Michio
• Application Number:
  US14/674,338
• Publication Number:
  US 20150206081A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/174 Facial expression recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

A computer system for managing a workforce includes a camera that captures a video in a retail store, and a computer connected to the camera, wherein when the computer determines that there is a customer not being assisted by an employee and lingering in a particular place in the store based on the video captured by the camera in the store, the computer directs the employee or another employee to assist the customer lingering in the particular place while prioritizing the customer lingering in the particular place over another customer lingering in a place other than the particular place.

Claims

1. A computer system for managing a workforce, the computer system comprising:

a camera that captures a video in a retail store; and

a computer connected to the camera, wherein

when the computer determines that there is a customer not being assisted by an employee and lingering in a particular place in the store based on the video captured by the camera in the store, the computer directs the employee or another employee to assist the customer lingering in the particular place while prioritizing the customer lingering in the particular place over another customer lingering in a place other than the particular place.

2. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein:

the computer determines a positional relationship between a customer and an employee in the store based on the video captured by the camera in the store, and

the computer determines that the customer is not being assisted by the employee when the determined positional relationship is outside of a predetermined value range.

3. The computer system according to claim 2, wherein the computer detects faces of the customer and the employee in the store based on the video captured by the camera in the store to determine the positional relationship.

4. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the computer gives an alarm or generates a report when directing the employee or the another employee to assist the customer lingering in the particular place.

5. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein in a situation where there is no idle employee to assist the customer, the computer directs an employee who is assisting another customer in a place other than the particular place to assist the customer lingering in the particular place.

6. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the particular place is a place where a high-value item is placed.

7. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the particular place is a particular aisle.

8. A method for managing a workforce by a computer connected to a camera that captures a video in a retail store, the method comprising:

when it is determined by the computer that there is a customer unassisted by an employee and lingering in a particular place in the store based on the video captured by the camera in the store, directing, by the computer, the employee or another employee to assist the customer lingering in the particular place while prioritizing the customer lingering in the particular place over another customer lingering in a place other than the particular place.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

determining a positional relationship between a customer and an employee in the store based on the video captured by the camera; and

determining that the customer is not being assisted by the employee when the determined positional relationship is outside of a predetermined value range.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

detecting faces of the customer and the employee in the store based on the video captured by the camera in the store to determine the positional relationship.

11. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

giving an alarm or generating a report by the computer when directing the employee or the another employee to assist the customer lingering in the particular place.

12. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

in a situation where there is no idle employee to assist the customer, directing an employee who is assisting another customer in a place other than the particular place to assist the customer lingering in the particular place.

13. The method according to claim 8, wherein the particular place is a place where a high-value item is placed.

14. The method according to claim 8, wherein the particular place is a particular aisle.