Apparatus and method for inspecting assets in a processing or other environment
First Claim
1. A portable apparatus, comprising:
- a camera operable to capture images associated with an inspection of each of multiple assets;
a sound recorder operable to, concurrent with the capture of the images, capture sounds associated with the inspection of each of the assets, the sounds related to the images and including one or more oral notes from a user inspecting each of the assets and one or more sounds associated with an operation of each of the assets;
a detector operable to automatically identify each of the assets at the portable apparatus;
a display operable to present a checklist relating to the inspection of at least one of the assets;
a controller configured to associate at the portable apparatus the images of the assets and the sounds associated with the inspection of the assets with information identifying the assets;
a memory configured to store the images of the assets, the sounds associated with the inspection of the assets, and the information identifying the assets; and
an interface operable to transmit the images of the assets, the sounds associated with the inspection of the assets, and the information identifying the assets;
wherein the apparatus is further configured to compare at least one of the images of the assets, the sounds associated with the inspection of the assets, and the information identifying the assets with data relating to at least one of the assets in order to perform an examination of the at least one of the assets; and
wherein the interface is operable to transmit the images, the sounds, and the information identifying the assets to a server that is configured to;
analyze the images and the sound recordings to determine characteristics of each of the assets including a health of each of the assets and any identified problems associated with the assets;
verify that required inspections of the assets have been performed; and
in response to detecting an ambiguity in the information identifying one of the assets, at least one of;
collect additional information regarding the specific asset from the user and request verification of the identity of the asset from the user.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A portable asset inspection device can be used during the inspection of one or more assets, such as assets in a processing or other environment. A camera in the portable asset inspection device can be used to take digital photographs of assets being inspected. A sound recorder in the portable asset inspection device can be used to record oral notes of a user or other sounds associated with the inspection of the assets. Other data could be collected from the user using the portable asset inspection device. The collected data can be transmitted in either real-time or non-real-time to an external system. The external system could associate photographs, sound recordings, and other data with specific assets, such as by automatically storing the data in records associated with the correct assets. The external system could also use the data in any suitable manner, such as to schedule asset maintenance.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A portable apparatus, comprising:
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a camera operable to capture images associated with an inspection of each of multiple assets; a sound recorder operable to, concurrent with the capture of the images, capture sounds associated with the inspection of each of the assets, the sounds related to the images and including one or more oral notes from a user inspecting each of the assets and one or more sounds associated with an operation of each of the assets; a detector operable to automatically identify each of the assets at the portable apparatus; a display operable to present a checklist relating to the inspection of at least one of the assets; a controller configured to associate at the portable apparatus the images of the assets and the sounds associated with the inspection of the assets with information identifying the assets; a memory configured to store the images of the assets, the sounds associated with the inspection of the assets, and the information identifying the assets; and an interface operable to transmit the images of the assets, the sounds associated with the inspection of the assets, and the information identifying the assets; wherein the apparatus is further configured to compare at least one of the images of the assets, the sounds associated with the inspection of the assets, and the information identifying the assets with data relating to at least one of the assets in order to perform an examination of the at least one of the assets; and wherein the interface is operable to transmit the images, the sounds, and the information identifying the assets to a server that is configured to; analyze the images and the sound recordings to determine characteristics of each of the assets including a health of each of the assets and any identified problems associated with the assets; verify that required inspections of the assets have been performed; and in response to detecting an ambiguity in the information identifying one of the assets, at least one of;
collect additional information regarding the specific asset from the user and request verification of the identity of the asset from the user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method, comprising:
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capturing, at a portable device, images associated with an inspection of each of multiple assets; concurrent with the capture of the images, recording sounds associated with the inspection of each of the assets at the portable device, the sounds related to the images and including one or more oral notes from a user inspecting each of the assets and one or more sounds associated with an operation of each of the assets; automatically identifying the assets at the portable device; presenting a checklist relating to the inspection of at least one of the assets on a display of the portable device; associating at the portable device the images of the assets and the sounds associated with the inspection of the assets with information identifying the assets; storing the images of the assets, the sounds associated with the inspection of the assets, and the information identifying the assets at the portable device; communicating the images of the assets, the sounds associated with the inspection of the assets, and the information identifying the assets; comparing at least one of the images of the assets, the sounds associated with the inspection of the assets, and the information identifying the assets with data relating to at least one of the assets in order to perform an examination of the at least one of the assets; analyzing the images and the sound recordings to determine characteristics of each of the assets including a health of each of the assets and any identified problems associated with the assets; verifying that required inspections of the assets have been performed; and in response to detecting an ambiguity in the information identifying one of the assets, at least one of;
collecting additional information regarding the specific asset from the user and requesting verification of the identity of the asset from the user. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A non-transitory computer readable medium embodying a computer program, the computer program comprising:
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computer readable program code for receiving (i) an image associated with an inspection of a specific asset, (ii) sound recordings associated with the inspection of the specific asset, the sound recordings related to the images and including one or more oral notes from a user inspecting the specific asset and one or more sounds associated with an operation of the specific asset, the sound recordings received concurrent with the images, and (iii) information identifying the specific asset; computer readable program code for presenting a checklist relating to the inspection of the specific asset on a display; computer readable program code for performing speech-to-text conversion of the one or more oral notes to produce converted text; computer readable program code for associating the received image, the sound recordings, and the converted text with the specific asset using the information identifying the specific asset; and computer readable program code for analyzing the image and at least one of the sound recordings to determine characteristics of the specific asset, wherein the characteristics comprise a health of the specific asset and any identified problems associated with the specific asset by relating the identified characteristics of the specific asset with previous data associated with at least one characteristic of the specific asset; computer readable program code for verifying that required inspections of the specific asset have been performed; and computer readable program code for, in response to detecting an ambiguity in the information identifying the specific asset, at least one of;
collecting additional information regarding the specific asset from the user and requesting verification of the identity of the specific asset from the user. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification