Task management in a workforce environment using an acoustic map constructed from aggregated audio
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring and managing a workforce in a geographic region comprising:
- gathering audio from a plurality of different communication devices deployed throughout the geographic region within which a workforce performs a function, wherein the plurality of different communication devices comprise wireless devices for receiving and conveying sound, wherein said workforce comprises a plurality of employees that work within the geographic region and that utilize the different communication devices to communicate with each other;
aggregating the audio from the plurality of different communication devices to create an acoustic map of the geographic region, wherein the acoustic map comprises data which relates sound generating objects to their positions in the geographic region;
processing sound generated from at least one of the sound generating objects plotted on the acoustic map to determine a workforce relative event;
selecting among a set of plurality of different employees positioned in the geographic region wherein the selection is based upon the workforce relative event determined from the at least one sound generating object;
assigning at least one task to a selected one of the different employees selected from the set of plurality of different employees;
communicating the assigned task to the selected one of the different employees via one of the different communication devices; and
wherein at least one of the sound generating objects is not able to be accurately discerned from input from any single one of the plurality of different communication devices but that is able to be discerned by aggregating the audio from the plurality of different communication devices and triangulating positions of each of the sound generating objects within the geographic region from three or more of the plurality of different communication devices, each obtaining audio at approximately the same time, where the audio includes a sound generated by the each of the sound generating objects for which a position is being determined.
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Abstract
Incoming audio from mobile devices can be centrally processed, where a server can filter background noise in real time, such as by using an XOR function. Instead of discarding the filtered noise, however, it can be processed in parallel to dynamically construct an acoustic map of the environment. The acoustic map can be generated from an aggregation of sound data from multiple devices positioned in a geographic environment. The acoustic map can be linked to a configurable set of rules, conditions, and events, which can cause dynamic adjustments to be made to a workforce task management system. For example, employee availability can be assessed using the acoustic map and workforce tasks can be assigned based in part upon this availability.
29 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for monitoring and managing a workforce in a geographic region comprising:
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gathering audio from a plurality of different communication devices deployed throughout the geographic region within which a workforce performs a function, wherein the plurality of different communication devices comprise wireless devices for receiving and conveying sound, wherein said workforce comprises a plurality of employees that work within the geographic region and that utilize the different communication devices to communicate with each other; aggregating the audio from the plurality of different communication devices to create an acoustic map of the geographic region, wherein the acoustic map comprises data which relates sound generating objects to their positions in the geographic region; processing sound generated from at least one of the sound generating objects plotted on the acoustic map to determine a workforce relative event; selecting among a set of plurality of different employees positioned in the geographic region wherein the selection is based upon the workforce relative event determined from the at least one sound generating object; assigning at least one task to a selected one of the different employees selected from the set of plurality of different employees; communicating the assigned task to the selected one of the different employees via one of the different communication devices; and wherein at least one of the sound generating objects is not able to be accurately discerned from input from any single one of the plurality of different communication devices but that is able to be discerned by aggregating the audio from the plurality of different communication devices and triangulating positions of each of the sound generating objects within the geographic region from three or more of the plurality of different communication devices, each obtaining audio at approximately the same time, where the audio includes a sound generated by the each of the sound generating objects for which a position is being determined. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising:
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computer usable program code which when executed by a processor is operable to gather audio from a plurality of different communication devices deployed throughout a the geographic region within which a workforce performs a function, wherein the plurality of different communication devices comprise wireless devices for receiving and conveying sound, wherein said workforce comprises a plurality of employees that work within the geographic region and that utilize the different communication devices to communicate with each other; computer usable program code which when executed by a processor is operable to aggregate the audio from the plurality of different communication devices to create an acoustic map of the geographic region, wherein the acoustic map comprises data which relates sound generating objects to their positions in the geographic region; computer usable program code which when executed by a processor is operable to process sound generated from at least one of the sound generating objects plotted on the acoustic map to determine a workforce relative event, which is tracked by a task management system used by the workforce; computer usable program code which when executed by a processor is operable to select among a set of a plurality of different employees positioned in the geographic region wherein the selection is based upon the workforce relative event determined from the at least one of the sound generating objects; computer usable program code which when executed by a processor is operable to assign at least one time constrained task to the a selected one of the different employees selected from the set of the plurality of different employees; computer usable program code which when executed by a processor is operable to communicate the assigned task to the selected one of the different employees via one of the different communication devices proximate to the selected employee; and wherein at least one of the sound generating objects is not able to be accurately discerned from input from any single one of the plurality of different communication devices but that is able to be discerned by aggregating the audio from the plurality of different communication devices and triangulating positions of each of the sound generating objects within the geographic region from three or more of the plurality of different communication devices, each obtaining audio at approximately the same time, where the audio includes a sound generated by the each of the sound generating objects for which a position is being determined.
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18. A system for monitoring and managing a workforce in a geographic region comprising:
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a programmable data processing apparatus; a communication component configured to permit bidirectional voice communications between a plurality of employees that work within the geographic region and that utilize different communication devices to communicate with each other when within the geographic region; a mapping component configured to aggregate audio from the different communication devices to create an acoustic map of the geographic region, wherein the acoustic map comprises data which relates sound generating objects to their positions in the geographic region; a task management component configured to assign tasks to a selected one of set of different employees positioned in the geographic region, wherein the selection is based upon a workforce relative event determined from the at least one sound generating objects, wherein the communication component is used to communicate the assigned tasks to the selected one of the set of different employees; and wherein at least one of the sound generating objects is not able to be accurately discerned from input from any single one of the plurality of different communication devices but that is able to be discerned by aggregating the audio from the plurality of different communication devices and triangulating positions of each of the sound generating objects within the geographic region from three or more of the plurality of different communication devices, each obtaining audio at approximately the same time, where the audio includes a sound generated by the each of the sound generating objects for which a position is being determined. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification