Dynamic seating and workspace planning

• US 10,289,966 B2
• Filed: 03/01/2016
• Issued: 05/14/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FMR LLC
• Original Assignee: FMR LLC
• Inventors: Daher, Ameed, Ewing, William David
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn, Kevin H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zeroual, Omar
• Application Number:
  US15/057,838
• Publication Number:
  US 20170255880A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,169 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0861 using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using biological data H04L9/3231
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses are described for dynamic seating and workspace planning. A server computing device determines an identity and a workspace location of people within a facility by analyzing digital images from cameras at the facility and data elements of interactions with hardware devices at the facility. The server computing device determines the workspace location for each person within the facility using (i) a physical location associated with a digital image in which the person appears and (ii) a physical location associated with at least one of the hardware devices being used by the person. The server computing device generates a workspace reservation chart indicating a portion of workspace locations currently being used and a portion of workspace locations reserved for future use. The server computing device provides advice to remove computing devices regarding available workspace locations at the facility.

Claims

1. A computerized method of dynamic seating and workspace planning, the method comprising:

determining, by a server computing device, an identity and a workspace location of each of one or more people within a facility, comprising;

capturing, by one or more cameras coupled to the server computing device and distributed in different locations in the facility, digital images of the one or more people within the facility;

extracting, by the server computing device, digitized facial features of the one or more people appearing in the images and comparing the facial features to a database of facial images to identify the one or more people appearing in the images, including segmenting the digitized facial features of the one or more people, creating a 3D digital map of a face of each of the one or more people, and matching the 3D digital map to one or more 2D images from the database of facial images;

capturing, by one or more hardware devices arranged in a distributed network throughout the facility and coupled to the server computing device, data elements generated from interactions by the one or more people with the one or more hardware devices, wherein the data elements include user identification credentials and user access transactions recorded by the one or more hardware devices;

analyzing, by the server computing device, the data elements to identify the one or more people interacting with the one or more hardware devices;

determining, by the server computing device, the workspace location being utilized by each of the identified one or more people within the facility using (i) a physical location associated with a digital image in which the one or more people appears, based upon a physical location of the camera that captured the digital image; and

(ii) a physical location associated with at least one of the one or more hardware devices being used by the one or more people, based upon a physical location of the one or more hardware devices;

generating, by the server computing device, a workspace reservation chart indicating a portion of workspace locations currently being used and a portion of workspace locations reserved for future use;

receiving, by the server computing device, a request from a remote computing device to reserve a workspace location within the facility, the request including an identifier associated with a requesting user;

retrieving, by the server computing device, a user profile based upon the requesting user identifier, the user profile including workspace location preferences and workspace capability preferences of the requesting user;

determining, by the server computing device, an available workspace location for the requesting user based upon the user profile and the workspace reservation chart, comprising;

(a) determining a geographic location of the remote computing device in relation to the facility and a mode of transportation of the requesting user;

(b) determining an estimated time of arrival for the requesting user based upon the geographic location and the mode of transportation;

(c) comparing the estimated time of arrival with a time that the facility is expected to reach capacity; and

(d) generating seating advice based upon step (c), wherein;

when the estimated time of arrival is within a predetermined reservation time window and one or more workspace locations are available;

the computing device transmits a message to the remote computing device to recommend that the requesting user reserve a workspace location before arriving;

when the estimated time of arrival is before the time that the facility is expected to reach capacity, is outside the predetermined reservation time window, and one or more workspace locations are available;

transmitting a message to the remote computing device to inform the requesting user to select a workspace location upon arrival; and

when the estimated time of arrival is after the time that the facility is expected to reach capacity and is outside the predetermined reservation time window;

transmitting a message to the remote computing device to inform the requesting user that no workspaces are available at the facility; and

providing, by the server computing device, the available workspace location to the remote computing device for display.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein capturing data elements generated from interactions by the one or more people with the one or more hardware devices comprises capturing, by the one or more hardware devices, one or more physical access events relating to interactions with security system hardware controlling physical access to locations within the facility.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the interactions with security system hardware comprise presenting an access credential to a security reader.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the access credential includes an access badge, a biometric data element, or a passcode.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein capturing data elements generated from interactions by the one or more people with the one or more hardware devices comprises capturing, by the one or more hardware devices, one or more logical access events relating to interactions with computing devices located at a workspace location.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the interactions with computing devices comprise entering authentication credentials to log into the computing devices.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the available workspace location to the remote computing device further comprises:

providing, by the server computing device, the workspace reservation chart to the remote computing device; and

generating, by the server computing device, a graphical user interface for display on the remote computing device, the graphical user interface including a color-coded seating chart indicating which workspace locations are available, which workspace locations are reserved for future use, and which workspace locations are in use.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining an available workspace location further comprises analyzing, by the server computing device, historical facility workspace data and historical user workspace data to predict current availability of workspace locations.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising automatically reserving, by the server computing device, a workspace location for the requesting user based upon the analysis of the historical facility workspace data and the historical user workspace data.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising when no workspaces are available at the facility and one or more workspaces are available at alternate facilities, transmitting, by the server computing device, a message to the remote computing device to divert the requesting user to one of the alternate facilities.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring, by the server computing device, the captured digital images and the captured data elements to determine whether a previously identified person is still present at the workspace location;

when the previously identified person is no longer present at the workspace location;

determining, by the server computing device, a period of time since the previously identified person was present at the workspace location;

determining, by the server computing device, whether any of the interactions by the previously identified person with the one or more hardware devices indicate that the previously identified person has left the facility; and

making, by the server computing device, the workspace location available for use by others when the period of time since the previously identified person was present at the workspace location exceeds a predetermined threshold or when an interaction by the previously identified person with the one or more hardware devices indicates that the previously identified person has left the facility.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising

comparing, by the server computing device, a current time with predetermined working hours of the facility;

and

making, by the server computing device, the workspace location available for use by others when the current time is outside of the predetermined working hours, and when the period of time since the previously identified person was present at the workspace location exceeds a predetermined threshold or when an interaction by the previously identified person with the one or more hardware devices indicates that the previously identified person has left the facility.

13. A system for dynamic seating and workspace planning, the system comprising a server computing device configured to:

determine an identity and a workspace location of each of one or more people within a facility, comprising;

capturing, by one or more cameras coupled to the server computing device, digital images of the one or more people within the facility;

extracting digitized facial features of the one or more people appearing in the images and comparing the facial features to a database of facial images to identify the one or more people appearing in the images, including segmenting the digitized facial features of the one or more people, creating a 3D digital map of a face of each of the one or more people, and matching the 3D digital map to one or more 2D images from the database of facial images;

capturing, by one or more hardware devices distributed throughout the facility and coupled to the server computing device, data elements generated from interactions by the one or more people with the one or more hardware devices, wherein the data elements include user identification credentials and user access transactions recorded by the one or more hardware devices;

analyzing the data elements to identify the one or more people interacting with the one or more hardware devices;

determining the workspace location being utilized by each of the identified one or more people within the facility using (i) a physical location associated with a digital image in which the one or more people appears, based upon a physical location of the camera that captured the digital image; and

(ii) a physical location associated with at least one of the one or more hardware devices being used by the one or more people, based upon a physical location of the one or more hardware devices;

generate a workspace reservation chart indicating a portion of workspace locations currently being used and a portion of workspace locations reserved for future use;

receive a request from a remote computing device to reserve a workspace location within the facility, the request including an identifier associated with a requesting user;

retrieve a user profile based upon the requesting user identifier, the user profile including workspace location preferences and workspace capability preferences of the requesting user;

determine an available workspace location for the requesting user based upon the user profile and the workspace reservation chart, comprising;

(a) determining a geographic location of the remote computing device in relation to the facility and a mode of transportation of the requesting user;

(b) determining an estimated time of arrival for the requesting user based upon the geographic location and the mode of transportation;

(c) comparing the estimated time of arrival with a time that the facility is expected to reach capacity; and

(d) generating seating advice based upon step (c), wherein;

when the estimated time of arrival is within a predetermined reservation time window and one or more workspace locations are available;

the computing device transmits a message to the remote computing device to recommend that the requesting user reserve a workspace location before arriving;

when the estimated time of arrival is before the time that the facility is expected to reach capacity, is outside the predetermined reservation time window, and one or more workspace locations are available;

transmitting a message to the remote computing device to inform the requesting user to select a workspace location upon arrival; and

when the estimated time of arrival is after the time that the facility is expected to reach capacity and is outside the predetermined reservation time window;

transmitting a message to the remote computing device to inform the requesting user that no workspaces are available at the facility; and

provide the available workspace location to the remote computing device for display.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein capturing data elements generated from interactions by the one or more people with the one or more hardware devices comprises capturing, by the one or more hardware devices, one or more physical access events relating to interactions with security system hardware controlling physical access to locations within the facility.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the interactions with security system hardware comprise presenting an access credential to a security reader.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the access credential includes an access badge, a biometric data element, or a passcode.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein capturing data elements generated from interactions by the people with the one or more hardware devices comprises capturing, by the one or more hardware devices, one or more logical access events relating to interactions with computing devices located at a workspace location.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the interactions with computing devices comprise entering authentication credentials to log into the computing devices.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein providing the available workspace location to the remote computing device further comprises

providing the workspace reservation chart to the remote computing device;

and

generating a graphical user interface for display on the remote computing device, the graphical user interface including a color-coded seating chart indicating which workspace locations are available, which workspace locations are reserved for future use, and which workspace locations are in use.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein determining an available workspace location further comprises analyzing historical facility workspace data and historical user workspace data to predict current availability of workspace locations.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the server computing device is configured to automatically reserve a workspace location for the requesting user based upon the analysis of the historical facility workspace data and the historical user workspace data.

22. The system of claim 13, wherein when no workspaces are available at the facility and one or more workspaces are available at alternate facilities, the server computing device transmits a message to the remote computing device to divert the requesting user to one of the alternate facilities.

23. The system of claim 13, wherein the server computing device further:

monitors the captured digital images and the captured data elements to determine whether a previously identified person is still present at the workspace location;

when the previously identified person is no longer present at the workspace location;

determines a period of time since the previously identified person was present at the workspace location;

determines whether any of the interactions by the previously identified person with the one or more hardware devices indicate that the previously identified person has left the facility; and

makes the workspace location available for use by others if the period of time since the previously identified person was present at the workspace location exceeds a predetermined threshold or if an interaction by the previously identified person with the one or more hardware devices indicates that the previously identified person has left the facility.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the server computing device further:

compares a current time with predetermined working hours of the facility; and

makes the workspace location available for use by others when the current time is outside of the predetermined working hours, and when the period of time since the previously identified person was present at the workspace location exceeds a predetermined threshold or when an interaction by the previously identified person with the one or more hardware devices indicates that the previously identified person has left the facility.

25. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage device storing thereon software for dynamic seating and workspace planning which, upon execution by a server computing device, causes the server computing device to:

determine an identity and a workspace location of each of one or more people within a facility, comprising;

capturing, by one or more cameras coupled to the server computing device, digital images of the one or more people within the facility;

extracting digitized facial features of the one or more people appearing in the images and comparing the facial features to a database of facial images to identify the one or more people appearing in the images, including segmenting the digitized facial features of the one or more people, creating a 3D digital map of a face of each of the one or more people, and matching the 3D digital map to one or more 2D images from the database of facial images;

capturing, by one or more hardware devices distributed throughout the facility and coupled to the server computing device, data elements generated from interactions by the one or more people with the one or more hardware devices, wherein the data elements include user identification credentials and user access transactions recorded by the one or more hardware devices;

analyzing the data elements to identify the one or more people interacting with the one or more hardware devices;

determining the workspace location being utilized by each of the identified one or more people within the facility using (i) a physical location associated with a digital image in which the one or more people appears, based upon a physical location of the camera that captured the digital image; and

(ii) a physical location associated with at least one of the one or more hardware devices being used by the one or more people, based upon a physical location of the one or more hardware devices;

generate a workspace reservation chart indicating a portion of workspace locations currently being used and a portion of workspace locations reserved for future use;

receive a request from a remote computing device to reserve a workspace location within the facility, the request including an identifier associated with a requesting user;

retrieve a user profile based upon the requesting user identifier, the user profile including workspace location preferences and workspace capability preferences of the requesting user;

determine an available workspace location for the requesting user based upon the user profile and the workspace reservation chart, comprising;

(a) determining a geographic location of the remote computing device in relation to the facility and a mode of transportation of the requesting user;

(b) determining an estimated time of arrival for the requesting user based upon the geographic location and the mode of transportation;

(c) comparing the estimated time of arrival with a time that the facility is expected to reach capacity; and

(d) generating seating advice based upon step (c), wherein;

when the estimated time of arrival is within a predetermined reservation time window and one or more workspace locations are available;

the computing device transmits a message to the remote computing device to recommend that the requesting user reserve a workspace location before arriving;

when the estimated time of arrival is before the time that the facility is expected to reach capacity, is outside the predetermined reservation time window, and one or more workspace locations are available;

transmitting a message to the remote computing device to inform the requesting user to select a workspace location upon arrival; and

when the estimated time of arrival is after the time that the facility is expected to reach capacity and is outside the predetermined reservation time window;

transmitting a message to the remote computing device to inform the requesting user that no workspaces are available at the facility; and

provide the available workspace location to the remote computing device for display.