WO2019020799A1 - Workspace occupancy - Google Patents

Workspace occupancy Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2019020799A1
WO2019020799A1 PCT/EP2018/070438 EP2018070438W WO2019020799A1 WO 2019020799 A1 WO2019020799 A1 WO 2019020799A1 EP 2018070438 W EP2018070438 W EP 2018070438W WO 2019020799 A1 WO2019020799 A1 WO 2019020799A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
workspace
occupancy
user
classification
status
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PCT/EP2018/070438
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French (fr)
Inventor
Peter REIGO
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Flowscape Ab
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Publication of WO2019020799A1 publication Critical patent/WO2019020799A1/en

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/02—Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a method and workspace occupancy management system for determining the occupancy status of a workspace.
  • a specific workspace In a traditional office environment, it is usual to assign a specific workspace to a particular worker within the business. Some workers may be in meetings, out of the office and/or on vacation at any given time. In a normal office, this can mean at any one time many desks within the office space are not being used. Therefore, a more efficient way of using the office space is for workers to share the workstations.
  • the users take a workstation when they need it and then when they no longer need the workstation for a period of time (e.g. a threshold period such as thirty minutes or an hour) the worker should clear the workspace to allow another worker to use it. This threshold period may be set as an office policy to enable efficient use of the workspaces.
  • the PIR or IR sensor can detect when a user is within proximity to the desk and thus log that the workspace is currently occupied. However, there are periods of time below a threshold period when a worker may leave the desk of the workspace but still be occupying the desk. For instance, the worker may have gone to make a cup of coffee or taken a toilet break. In these instances, the desk is detected as being unoccupied and so another worker may be directed to that desk (e.g. by use of a map showing the desk as unoccupied) only to find that another worker is still using that workspace.
  • the worker occupying the desk may also have left the workspace unoccupied for longer than the threshold period but have left belongings behind that mean a new worker thinks it is still occupied. In either situation, this is a disappointment to the new worker who wants to use the workspace and further more is inefficient in enabling workers to identify workspaces that are available to be used.
  • a method for determining an occupancy status of a workspace comprising: detecting at least one object located within the workspace; determining an object type for a detected object; and determining an occupancy status of the workspace based on the object type of at least one detected object.
  • the method may comprise: determining object types for more than one detected object; and wherein determining an occupancy status of the workspace may comprise determining an occupancy status of the workspace based on the object types of more than one detected object.
  • the method may comprise: assigning a respective occupancy classification to each of the at least one detected objects based on the associated object type; and wherein determining an occupancy status of the workspace may comprise determining an occupancy status of the workspace based on the occupancy classification(s).
  • One occupancy classification may be a claimed workspace classification; and determining an occupancy status of the workspace may comprise determining an occupancy status of occupied if at least one detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification.
  • the method may comprise: detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and wherein determining an occupancy status of the workspace may comprise determining an occupancy status of occupied if at least one detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
  • One occupancy classification may be a claimed workspace classification; and determining an occupancy status of the workspace may comprise determining an occupancy status of unoccupied if no detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification.
  • the method may comprise: detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and wherein determining an occupancy status of the workspace may comprise determining an occupancy status of unoccupied if no detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
  • One occupancy classification may be a non-claimed workspace classification; and determining an occupancy status of the workspace may comprise determining an occupancy status of unoccupied if all detected objects have an occupancy classification of the non- claimed workspace classification.
  • the method may comprise: detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and wherein determining an occupancy status of the workspace may comprise determining an occupancy status of unoccupied if all detected objects have an occupancy classification of the non-claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
  • the method may comprise: detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and determining an occupancy status of the workspace comprises determining an occupancy status of occupied if a user is present within the workspace.
  • the method may comprise: determining a cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required if the occupancy status of the workspace is determined to be unoccupied and at least one object is detected within the workspace.
  • Determining a cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required may comprise: detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and determining the cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required if the user is not present within the workspace for a predefined length of time.
  • the method may comprise: notifying a housekeeper to clear the workspace if the clearing status is clearing-required.
  • the method may comprise: detecting a user of the workspace within the workspace; determining a user identity for the user; and notifying the user to clear the workspace based on the user identity if the clearing status of the workspace is clearing-required.
  • the method may comprise: detecting a user of the workspace within the workspace; determining a user identity for the user; and storing an instance of a workspace clearing-required against the user identity.
  • the method may comprise: notifying the user to clear workspaces in the future based on the user identity once the number of instances of workspace clearing-required is equal to a threshold value.
  • the workspace may be comprised within a location and the method may comprise: displaying a representation of the location, the representation of the location showing the occupancy status of the workspace.
  • the workspace may be comprised within a location and the method may comprise: displaying a displaying a representation of the location, the representation of the location showing the clearing status of the workspace.
  • a workspace occupancy management system for determining the occupancy status of a workspace, the system comprising: a workspace occupancy sensor being configured to: record images of the workspace; and a workspace occupancy management unit being configured to: determine an object type for a detected object; and determine an occupancy status of the workspace based on the object type of at least one detected object; wherein the workspace occupancy management system is configured to detect at least one object located within the workspace based on the images of the workspace.
  • the workspace occupancy sensor may be configured to: detect at least one object located within the workspace based on the images of the workspace.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: detect at least one object located within the workspace based on the images of the workspace.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: determine object types for more than one detected object; and determine an occupancy status of the workspace based on the object types of more than one detected object.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: assign a respective occupancy classification to each of the at least one detected objects based on the associated object type; and determine an occupancy status of the workspace based on the occupancy classification(s).
  • One occupancy classification may be a claimed workspace classification; and the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to determine an occupancy status of occupied if at least one detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to detect whether a user is present within the workspace; and determine an occupancy status of occupied if at least one detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
  • One occupancy classification may be a claimed workspace classification; and the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: determine an occupancy status of unoccupied if no detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: detect whether a user is present within the workspace; and determine an occupancy status of unoccupied if no detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
  • One occupancy classification may be a non-claimed workspace classification; and the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: determine an occupancy status of unoccupied if all detected objects have an occupancy classification of the non-claimed workspace classification.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: detect whether a user is present within the workspace; and determine an occupancy status of unoccupied if all detected objects have an occupancy classification of the non-claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: detect whether a user is present within the workspace; and determine an occupancy status of the workspace comprises determining an occupancy status of occupied if a user is present within the workspace.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: determine a cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required if the occupancy status of the workspace is determined to be unoccupied and at least one object is detected within the workspace.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to determine a cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required by: detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and determining the cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required if the user is not present within the workspace for a predefined length of time.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: notify a housekeeper to clear the workspace if the clearing status is clearing-required.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: detect a user of the workspace within the workspace; determine a user identity for the user; and notify the user to clear the workspace based on the user identity if the clearing status of the workspace is clearing-required.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: detect a user of the workspace within the workspace; determine a user identity for the user; and store an instance of a workspace clearing-required against the user identity.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: notify the user to clear workspaces in the future based on the user identity once the number of instances of workspace clearing-required is equal to a threshold value.
  • the workspace may be comprised within a location and the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: display a representation of the location, the representation of the location showing the occupancy status of the workspace.
  • the workspace may be comprised within a location and the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: display a displaying a representation of the location, the representation of the location showing the clearing status of the workspace.
  • Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a workspace within a location.
  • Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a plurality of workspaces within a location.
  • Figure 3 shows a flow diagram of a method for determining an occupancy status of a workspace.
  • the present invention relates to a a method for determining an occupancy status of a workspace and a workspace occupancy management system for determining the occupancy status of a workspace.
  • the method may comprise: detecting at least one object located within the workspace. The method may then determine an object type for a detected object; and then determine an occupancy status of the workspace based on the object type of at least one detected object.
  • the system may comprise a workspace occupancy sensor being configured to: record images of the workspace.
  • the system may also comprise a workspace occupancy management unit.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: determine an object type for a detected object; and determine an occupancy status of the workspace based on the object type of at least one detected object.
  • the workspace occupancy management system may be configured to detect at least one object located within the workspace based on the images of the workspace recorded by the workspace occupancy sensor.
  • the present disclosure relates to the management of workspace occupancy within a location.
  • the location may be a physical environment such as a library, public working space, reading room, classroom etc. It may be a working environment such as an office, or more particularly an open plan office.
  • FIG 1 shows a schematic diagram of a workspace 1 within a location 2.
  • the workspace 1 may comprise any number of workspace items that a user may use to undertake work but that remain as part of the workspace 1 irrespective of whether a user is using the workspace or not.
  • the workspace items may comprise a computer screen 3, a chair 4 and a desk 5.
  • the computer screen 3 may be placed on desk 5.
  • the chair 4 may be positioned close to desk 5 so that a user can sit at the chair 4 and use the desk 5.
  • the workspace may extend to an area of floor space around the desk 5 as shown by dotted line 6.
  • the area of the workspace may be delimited by the periphery of desk 5 and the area of floor space 6 adjacent to the desk 5.
  • the workspace 1 may be an area of the location that a single user can use to undertake work.
  • a desk occupancy sensor 7 may be present within the workspace 1 . As shown in figure 1 , the desk occupancy sensor 7 may be attached to the underside of desk 5. The desk occupancy sensor 7 is configured to detect when a user of the workspace 1 in proximity to the desk 5 of the workspace 1 .
  • the desk occupancy sensor 7 may be a PIR or IR sensor or a combination of the two or other proximity sensors that can detect when an object is within range of the desk occupancy sensor 7.
  • the desk occupancy sensor 7 may be positioned such that it is likely to be triggered only when a user is sitting as desk 5.
  • the location may comprise one or more workspace occupancy sensors 8.
  • the workspace occupancy sensors 8 is configured so that it can scan the workspace and detect the presence of objects within the workspace.
  • the workspace occupancy sensor 8 may be capable of scanning more than one workspace in which case the location may comprise fewer workspace occupancy sensor 8 than there are workspaces being monitored.
  • the workspace occupancy sensor 8 may be capable of scanning only one workspace in which case the location may comprise one workspace occupancy sensor 8 per workspace that is being monitored.
  • the workspace occupancy sensor 8 may be a camera.
  • the workspace occupancy detector 8 may be configured to take pictures of the workspace(s) at particular intervals.
  • the workspace occupancy sensor 8 may be configured to capture video of the workspace(s).
  • the workspace occupancy sensor 8 may be configured to process the data it captures about the workspace to determine information concerning the workspace 1 . For instance, whether there are any objects located within the workspace.
  • the workspace occupancy sensor 8 may be configured to transmit the data it captures about the workspace to another device for processing.
  • the workspace occupancy sensor 8 may undertake some processing of the data, for instance compression, prior to transmitting the data to another device for further processing.
  • the location may comprise a workspace occupancy management unit 9.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit 9 may be configured to communicate with one or more workspace occupancy sensors 8.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit 9 may be configured to communicate with one or more desk occupancy sensors 7. These communications may be by wired networks or wireless networks or any combination of the two.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit 9 may comprise a processor 10 and a non-volatile memory 1 1 .
  • the workspace occupancy management unit 9 may comprise more than one processor 10 and more than one memory 1 1 .
  • the memory 1 1 stores a set of program instructions that are executable by the processor, and reference data such as look-up tables that can be referenced by the processor in response to those instructions.
  • the processor 10 may be configured to operate in accordance with a computer program stored in non- transitory form on a machine-readable storage medium.
  • the computer program may store instructions for causing the processor to perform at least parts of the methods described herein.
  • the various sensors may be configured in a similar manner. I.e. comprising a processor and memory to permit performance of at least parts of the methods described herein.
  • the workspace management unit 9 may be configured to permit workspaces to be booked for periods of time.
  • the workspace management unit 9 may be configured to store a booking database that stores one or more a user identifiers against respective workspaces for respective time slots.
  • the workspace management unit 9 may be configured to communicate with another device that permits workspaces to be booked for periods of time and/or store the booking database.
  • the workspace management unit 9 and/or the another device may be configured to communicate with devices associated with the users to permit the booking of the workspaces.
  • the workspace management unit 9 may also comprise a screen 12 for displaying information about the location 2.
  • the workspace management unit 9 may communicate with a device comprising a screen for displaying information about the location 2.
  • the workspace management unit 9 may be configured to draw data from other sources to monitor the workspaces and the users interacting with the workspaces. For instance, the workspace management unit 9 may receive positioning data regarding at least one user. This positioning data may be used to identify the user within the workspace. This positioning data may also be used to assist in the workspace management unit 9 determining that a user is or is not present within the workspace.
  • the workspace management unit 9 may be part of a workspace occupancy management system. This system may also comprise at least one sensors as described herein.
  • the workspace occupancy management system may be part of a workspace monitoring system that also provides other functions associated with workspace monitoring. For instance, meeting room occupancy and/or meeting room bookings.
  • the workspace 1 may accommodate other objects beyond those objects that are part of workspace 1 such as a screen 3 and a chair 4 as discussed herein.
  • the user will have brought those objects with him or her when selecting the workspace to work at for a period of time.
  • These user objects may be items such as a cup 13, a notebook 14, a computer 15 (e.g. a laptop or tablet computer), waste paper 16 and a bag 17.
  • Other user objects could be a coat, which the user might place on the back of the chair 4, files of documents, a desk toy, and a mobile telephone.
  • user objects can be classified into at least two classifications.
  • a first classification indicates that the user is still in use of the workspace and intends to return to the workspace.
  • Objects that may fall into the first classification may be items that are personal effects of the user or items that are associated with the work of that particular user. Such objects may be:
  • the computer may be a portable computer such as a laptop or tablet computer.
  • a second classification, non-claimed workspace classification indicates that the user is not currently in use of the workspace and does not currently intend to return to the workspace.
  • Objects that may fall into the second classification may be items that are no longer required by the user and/or rubbish. For instance, a cup that is empty or contains an old beverage may be no longer required by the user who was using the workspace. In addition waste paper left behind by the user is likely to no longer be required by the user who was using the workspace.
  • the workspace occupancy sensor 8 may scan the workplace for objects. The workspace occupancy sensor 8 itself, or another device that the data gathered by the workspace occupancy sensor 8 is sent to, may then detect what objects are present within the workspace. These objects may be classified in to workspace objects and user objects. The object type for at least one, if not each, object located in the workspace may be determined.
  • the detection of objects and their type may be implemented by comparing the pictures of the workspace to pictures of reference objects and the correlation between the data obtained by the sensor 8 and the pictures of reference objects determines whether an object is determined to be of a particular object type.
  • the correlation may also assist in identifying objects within the workspace against the background of the workspace. It will be appreciated that there are many methods by which images can be processed to identify distinct objects within a picture and to determine what those objects might be. Any such method may be used to detect objects and infer their object type.
  • the location 2 may comprise more than one workspace 1 a— 1 f .
  • Each workspace occupancy sensor 8 may monitor one or more workspaces.
  • the workspace occupancy sensor 8 may monitor more than one workspace 1 a - 1 f .
  • the method of detection of an occupancy status will now be explained in detail with reference to the flow chart shown in Figure 3.
  • Figure 3 is a flow chart showing the main steps of a method for determining am occupancy status of a workspace.
  • the method may be implemented solely by workspace occupancy management unit 9.
  • the method may be implemented collectively by a workspace occupancy management system that comprises the workspace occupancy management unit 9 and one or more sensor units 7, 8 as herein described. In this way, some processing may be undertaken by sensors 7, 8 prior to sending the processed data to workspace occupancy management unit 9.
  • one or more sensors may undertake at least one of the detecting tasks described herein whilst the workspace occupancy management unit 9 may undertake at least some of the determining tasks.
  • At least one object located within the workspace is detected.
  • This detection may be undertaken by workspace occupancy sensor 8.
  • Such detection may comprise capturing images of the workspace, either in the form of individual pictures taken at given time intervals or by recording a video of the workspace and then processing these images to detect the presence of objects within the workspace. As described herein, this may use a correlation algorithm to match the objects in the images taken of the workspace with prestored representations of objects.
  • the detection of objects may use a line tracing algorithm which traces the exterior surface of different areas detected within the images to identify separate discrete objects.
  • the workspace occupancy sensor 8 may capture image data of the workspace.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit 9 may receive the image data of the workspace from the workspace occupancy sensor 8 and then process the image data to detect at least one object located within the workspace 1 .
  • Some of the objects detected within the workspace 1 are objects that are associated with the workspace 1 such as a monitor 3 and chair 4. Some of the objects detected within the workspace 1 may be objects that are associated with a particular user and with the user's use of the workspace 1 .
  • the object type for at least one detected object is determined.
  • the respective object type for each object that is detected in step 20 may be determined. This is the ideal situation as then all of the objects that have been detected can be used to determine the occupancy status of the workspace 1 .
  • the process of identifying object types categorises the identified shapes and pictures of objects detected in step 20 into known types of objects.
  • the object types are a description of the type of object.
  • the object types may comprise:
  • Telephones There may be more than one telephone object type to take into account the various types of telephones such as mobile telephones, smart phones, phablets and desk phones.
  • the determination of an object type for an object may use a correlation algorithm which known images of items are compared to the detected objects to determine which object type they relate to.
  • the correlation algorithm may also be used to detect objects within the workspace it may be the case that the detection of objects and determining an object type happens together in one combined step. This determining may be undertaken by the workspace occupancy management unit 9.
  • step 24 it may optionally be detected whether a user is present within the workspace.
  • detection may make use of data generated by workspace occupancy sensor 9, may use data generated by desk occupancy sensor 7 or a combination of data from multiple sensors.
  • the data generated by workspace occupancy sensor 9 may be used to detect a user's face, head and/or body that can then be used to determine whether a user is present within the workspace.
  • the detection may be undertaken by the one or more sensors.
  • data gathered by the sensors may be transmitted to, and received by, the workspace occupancy management unit 9 for processing by the workspace occupancy management unit 9.
  • the workspace management unit 9 may also make use of data concerning the booking of the workspace. This data may be comprised in a booking database as described herein either locally to the workspace management unit 9 or in another device in communication with the workspace management unit 9.
  • the occupancy status of the workspace can be determined based on the object type of at least one detected object.
  • the occupancy status of the workspace 1 can be determined based on whether a user is detected as being present within the workspace 1 .
  • the occupancy status may be determined by having a category assigned to each object type which states whether that object type indicates that the workspace is being claimed by a user or not claimed by a user. If at least one object type indicates that the workspace is being claimed by a user then it may be determined that the occupancy status of the workspace is being occupied by the user and/or being claimed by the user.
  • the occupancy status of the workspace may be determined based on object type by comparing the object type to a classification of whether an object type indicates that a user is claiming the workspace or not claiming the workspace.
  • a first classification may be a claimed workspace classification and a second classification may be a non-claimed workspace classification.
  • the objects may be classified into workspace claiming objects and workspace non-claiming objects based on their object types.
  • An occupancy status of occupied may be determined if at least one detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
  • An occupancy status of unoccupied may be determined if no detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification.
  • An occupancy status of unoccupied may be determined if all detected objects have an occupancy classification of the non-claimed workspace classification.
  • the occupancy status of the workspace may be determined based on whether a user is present within the workspace.
  • the occupancy status of the workspace may be determined to be occupied if a user is detected as being present within the workspace.
  • the absence of a user within a workspace can also be used to determine the occupancy status of the workspace.
  • An occupancy status of unoccupied may be determined if no detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
  • An occupancy status of unoccupied may be determined if all detected objects have an occupancy classification of the non-claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
  • the determination of whether a workspace is occupied based on the objects present within the workspace means that a new user can efficiently locate those workspaces that are unoccupied by a user whether that user is present within the workspace or not. This makes it more efficient for a user to find a workspace that is currently free by meaning they do not risk visiting a workspace that, whilst a user is not present, is still being claimed by a user. If a desk is determined to be unoccupied but objects remain within the workspace that are not part of the workspace itself then those objects may be required to be removed to enable a new user to use the workspace.
  • a cleaning status for a workspace may be determined. This determination may be based on the occupancy status of the workspace and whether there are any objects detected within the workspace that are not part of the workspace. These objects may have a classification of the non-claimed workspace classification. Thus, a cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required may be determined if the occupancy status of the workspace is determined to be unoccupied and at least one object is detected within the workspace. The at least one object may have an object type that indicates it is not an object that is part of the workspace.
  • a computer monitor, chair, desk may each be objects that are part of the workspace. It may be that a user has left a workspace for over a length of time that it is acceptable for a user to claim a workspace. Therefore, in some instances it may be advantageous to determine a cleaning status for the workspace of requires clearing by detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and determining the cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required if the user is not present within the workspace for a predefined length of time.
  • the predefined length of time may be thirty minutes, one hour, two hours or any length of time as set by the office policy.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit 9 may, in response to a determination that a workspace has a cleaning status of clearing-required, send a notification to a housekeeper to clear the workspace.
  • the notification may be sent to a device associated with the housekeeper, such as a computer or mobile phone.
  • the clearing status of the workspace may be displayed on a representation of the location. This may be displayed on the screen 12 of workspace occupancy management unit 9.
  • workspace occupancy management unit 9 may be connected to a screen that it can command to display the representation of the location and the clearing status. This enables housekeepers and/or users to see which workspaces require clearing.
  • the workspace occupancy management unit 9 may, in response to a determination that a workspace has a cleaning status of clearing- required, notify the user who had last used the workspace to clear the workspace.
  • the user identity may be detected using one or more sensors during the period that the user is present within the workspace.
  • the user identity may be detected using facial recognition and/or by detecting the presence of a device within the workspace that is associated with the identity of the user.
  • the occupancy status of the workspace may be displayed on a representation of the location. As described herein, this may be displayed on the screen 12 of workspace occupancy management unit 9.
  • workspace occupancy management unit 9 may be connected to a screen that it can command to display the representation of the location and the occupancy status.
  • the occupancy status may be displayed by showing different colours for the workspace in question depending on occupancy status of the workspace. For instance, green may be used when the workspace is unoccupied and clear, yellow may be used when the workspace is unoccupied but required clearing, and red may be used when the workspace is occupied.
  • the workspace occupancy unit 9 may store data concerning statistics relating to the use and occupancy of the workspaces.
  • the statistics may comprise:
  • the workspace occupancy unit 9 may use the statistics to determine users who have left workspaces in a requires clearing state more than a threshold number of times, or more than a threshold number of times within a predefined period of time. Thus, the workspace occupancy management unit 9 may, in response to a determination that the user has left workspaces in a clearing-required state more than a threshold number of times, notify the user to clear desks in the future. The count of the users workstations that were left in a clearing-required state may be reset after sending the notification and/or the threshold may be changed once the notification has been sent.
  • the threshold may be 5 instances, 10 instances, or more instances.
  • the threshold may be doubled to give the user the chance to leave the same number of untidy desks again or may be incremented by less than double to mean that the user will be reminded sooner next time the user leaves desks untidy.
  • the user identity may be detected using one or more sensors during the period that the user is present within the workspace.
  • the user identity may be detected using facial recognition and/or by detecting the presence of a device within the workspace that is associated with the identity of the user.

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Abstract

A method for determining an occupancy status of a workspace, the method comprising: detecting at least one object located within the workspace; determining an object type for a detected object; and determining an occupancy status of the workspace based on the object type of at least one detected object.

Description

WORKSPACE OCCUPANCY
This invention relates to a method and workspace occupancy management system for determining the occupancy status of a workspace.
The cost associated with office space is increasing which means there is a move towards using office space in a more efficient way. This has meant that more workspaces have moved to an open plan environment in which workspaces, comprising desks, chairs and potentially other furniture for users to make use of whilst working, are configured with a minimum number of walls in between the desks. Whilst open plan environments mean an increased occupancy density there is still a need to be even more efficient with the use of workspaces.
In a traditional office environment, it is usual to assign a specific workspace to a particular worker within the business. Some workers may be in meetings, out of the office and/or on vacation at any given time. In a normal office, this can mean at any one time many desks within the office space are not being used. Therefore, a more efficient way of using the office space is for workers to share the workstations. The users take a workstation when they need it and then when they no longer need the workstation for a period of time (e.g. a threshold period such as thirty minutes or an hour) the worker should clear the workspace to allow another worker to use it. This threshold period may be set as an office policy to enable efficient use of the workspaces. It is common to detect when a worker is using a workstation using a PIR or IR sensor under the desk of the workstation. The PIR or IR sensor can detect when a user is within proximity to the desk and thus log that the workspace is currently occupied. However, there are periods of time below a threshold period when a worker may leave the desk of the workspace but still be occupying the desk. For instance, the worker may have gone to make a cup of coffee or taken a toilet break. In these instances, the desk is detected as being unoccupied and so another worker may be directed to that desk (e.g. by use of a map showing the desk as unoccupied) only to find that another worker is still using that workspace. The worker occupying the desk may also have left the workspace unoccupied for longer than the threshold period but have left belongings behind that mean a new worker thinks it is still occupied. In either situation, this is a disappointment to the new worker who wants to use the workspace and further more is inefficient in enabling workers to identify workspaces that are available to be used.
There is therefore a need for an improved method and system of monitoring the occupancy of workspaces.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for determining an occupancy status of a workspace, the method comprising: detecting at least one object located within the workspace; determining an object type for a detected object; and determining an occupancy status of the workspace based on the object type of at least one detected object. The method may comprise: determining object types for more than one detected object; and wherein determining an occupancy status of the workspace may comprise determining an occupancy status of the workspace based on the object types of more than one detected object. The method may comprise: assigning a respective occupancy classification to each of the at least one detected objects based on the associated object type; and wherein determining an occupancy status of the workspace may comprise determining an occupancy status of the workspace based on the occupancy classification(s). One occupancy classification may be a claimed workspace classification; and determining an occupancy status of the workspace may comprise determining an occupancy status of occupied if at least one detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification. The method may comprise: detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and wherein determining an occupancy status of the workspace may comprise determining an occupancy status of occupied if at least one detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
One occupancy classification may be a claimed workspace classification; and determining an occupancy status of the workspace may comprise determining an occupancy status of unoccupied if no detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification. The method may comprise: detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and wherein determining an occupancy status of the workspace may comprise determining an occupancy status of unoccupied if no detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace. One occupancy classification may be a non-claimed workspace classification; and determining an occupancy status of the workspace may comprise determining an occupancy status of unoccupied if all detected objects have an occupancy classification of the non- claimed workspace classification. The method may comprise: detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and wherein determining an occupancy status of the workspace may comprise determining an occupancy status of unoccupied if all detected objects have an occupancy classification of the non-claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace. The method may comprise: detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and determining an occupancy status of the workspace comprises determining an occupancy status of occupied if a user is present within the workspace. The method may comprise: determining a cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required if the occupancy status of the workspace is determined to be unoccupied and at least one object is detected within the workspace. Determining a cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required may comprise: detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and determining the cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required if the user is not present within the workspace for a predefined length of time.
The method may comprise: notifying a housekeeper to clear the workspace if the clearing status is clearing-required. The method may comprise: detecting a user of the workspace within the workspace; determining a user identity for the user; and notifying the user to clear the workspace based on the user identity if the clearing status of the workspace is clearing-required. The method may comprise: detecting a user of the workspace within the workspace; determining a user identity for the user; and storing an instance of a workspace clearing-required against the user identity. The method may comprise: notifying the user to clear workspaces in the future based on the user identity once the number of instances of workspace clearing-required is equal to a threshold value.
The workspace may be comprised within a location and the method may comprise: displaying a representation of the location, the representation of the location showing the occupancy status of the workspace. The workspace may be comprised within a location and the method may comprise: displaying a displaying a representation of the location, the representation of the location showing the clearing status of the workspace.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a workspace occupancy management system for determining the occupancy status of a workspace, the system comprising: a workspace occupancy sensor being configured to: record images of the workspace; and a workspace occupancy management unit being configured to: determine an object type for a detected object; and determine an occupancy status of the workspace based on the object type of at least one detected object; wherein the workspace occupancy management system is configured to detect at least one object located within the workspace based on the images of the workspace.
The workspace occupancy sensor may be configured to: detect at least one object located within the workspace based on the images of the workspace. The workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: detect at least one object located within the workspace based on the images of the workspace. The workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: determine object types for more than one detected object; and determine an occupancy status of the workspace based on the object types of more than one detected object.
The workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: assign a respective occupancy classification to each of the at least one detected objects based on the associated object type; and determine an occupancy status of the workspace based on the occupancy classification(s). One occupancy classification may be a claimed workspace classification; and the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to determine an occupancy status of occupied if at least one detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification. The workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to detect whether a user is present within the workspace; and determine an occupancy status of occupied if at least one detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
One occupancy classification may be a claimed workspace classification; and the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: determine an occupancy status of unoccupied if no detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification. The workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: detect whether a user is present within the workspace; and determine an occupancy status of unoccupied if no detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace. One occupancy classification may be a non-claimed workspace classification; and the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: determine an occupancy status of unoccupied if all detected objects have an occupancy classification of the non-claimed workspace classification. The workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: detect whether a user is present within the workspace; and determine an occupancy status of unoccupied if all detected objects have an occupancy classification of the non-claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
The workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: detect whether a user is present within the workspace; and determine an occupancy status of the workspace comprises determining an occupancy status of occupied if a user is present within the workspace.
The workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: determine a cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required if the occupancy status of the workspace is determined to be unoccupied and at least one object is detected within the workspace. The workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to determine a cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required by: detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and determining the cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required if the user is not present within the workspace for a predefined length of time. The workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: notify a housekeeper to clear the workspace if the clearing status is clearing-required. The workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: detect a user of the workspace within the workspace; determine a user identity for the user; and notify the user to clear the workspace based on the user identity if the clearing status of the workspace is clearing-required.
The workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: detect a user of the workspace within the workspace; determine a user identity for the user; and store an instance of a workspace clearing-required against the user identity. The workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: notify the user to clear workspaces in the future based on the user identity once the number of instances of workspace clearing-required is equal to a threshold value. The workspace may be comprised within a location and the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: display a representation of the location, the representation of the location showing the occupancy status of the workspace. The workspace may be comprised within a location and the workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: display a displaying a representation of the location, the representation of the location showing the clearing status of the workspace.
The present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:
Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a workspace within a location.
Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a plurality of workspaces within a location.
Figure 3 shows a flow diagram of a method for determining an occupancy status of a workspace.
The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and is provided in the context of a particular application. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. The general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.
The present invention relates to a a method for determining an occupancy status of a workspace and a workspace occupancy management system for determining the occupancy status of a workspace. The method may comprise: detecting at least one object located within the workspace. The method may then determine an object type for a detected object; and then determine an occupancy status of the workspace based on the object type of at least one detected object. The system may comprise a workspace occupancy sensor being configured to: record images of the workspace. The system may also comprise a workspace occupancy management unit. The workspace occupancy management unit may be configured to: determine an object type for a detected object; and determine an occupancy status of the workspace based on the object type of at least one detected object. The workspace occupancy management system may be configured to detect at least one object located within the workspace based on the images of the workspace recorded by the workspace occupancy sensor.
The present disclosure relates to the management of workspace occupancy within a location. The location may be a physical environment such as a library, public working space, reading room, classroom etc. It may be a working environment such as an office, or more particularly an open plan office.
Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a workspace 1 within a location 2. The workspace 1 may comprise any number of workspace items that a user may use to undertake work but that remain as part of the workspace 1 irrespective of whether a user is using the workspace or not. As shown in figure 1 , the workspace items may comprise a computer screen 3, a chair 4 and a desk 5. The computer screen 3 may be placed on desk 5. The chair 4 may be positioned close to desk 5 so that a user can sit at the chair 4 and use the desk 5. The workspace may extend to an area of floor space around the desk 5 as shown by dotted line 6. Thus, the area of the workspace may be delimited by the periphery of desk 5 and the area of floor space 6 adjacent to the desk 5. The workspace 1 may be an area of the location that a single user can use to undertake work.
A desk occupancy sensor 7 may be present within the workspace 1 . As shown in figure 1 , the desk occupancy sensor 7 may be attached to the underside of desk 5. The desk occupancy sensor 7 is configured to detect when a user of the workspace 1 in proximity to the desk 5 of the workspace 1 . The desk occupancy sensor 7 may be a PIR or IR sensor or a combination of the two or other proximity sensors that can detect when an object is within range of the desk occupancy sensor 7. The desk occupancy sensor 7 may be positioned such that it is likely to be triggered only when a user is sitting as desk 5. The location may comprise one or more workspace occupancy sensors 8. The workspace occupancy sensors 8 is configured so that it can scan the workspace and detect the presence of objects within the workspace. The workspace occupancy sensor 8 may be capable of scanning more than one workspace in which case the location may comprise fewer workspace occupancy sensor 8 than there are workspaces being monitored. The workspace occupancy sensor 8 may be capable of scanning only one workspace in which case the location may comprise one workspace occupancy sensor 8 per workspace that is being monitored.
The workspace occupancy sensor 8 may be a camera. The workspace occupancy detector 8 may be configured to take pictures of the workspace(s) at particular intervals. The workspace occupancy sensor 8 may be configured to capture video of the workspace(s). The workspace occupancy sensor 8 may be configured to process the data it captures about the workspace to determine information concerning the workspace 1 . For instance, whether there are any objects located within the workspace. The workspace occupancy sensor 8 may be configured to transmit the data it captures about the workspace to another device for processing. The workspace occupancy sensor 8 may undertake some processing of the data, for instance compression, prior to transmitting the data to another device for further processing. The location may comprise a workspace occupancy management unit 9. The workspace occupancy management unit 9 may be configured to communicate with one or more workspace occupancy sensors 8. The workspace occupancy management unit 9 may be configured to communicate with one or more desk occupancy sensors 7. These communications may be by wired networks or wireless networks or any combination of the two. The workspace occupancy management unit 9 may comprise a processor 10 and a non-volatile memory 1 1 . The workspace occupancy management unit 9 may comprise more than one processor 10 and more than one memory 1 1 . The memory 1 1 stores a set of program instructions that are executable by the processor, and reference data such as look-up tables that can be referenced by the processor in response to those instructions. The processor 10 may be configured to operate in accordance with a computer program stored in non- transitory form on a machine-readable storage medium. The computer program may store instructions for causing the processor to perform at least parts of the methods described herein. The various sensors may be configured in a similar manner. I.e. comprising a processor and memory to permit performance of at least parts of the methods described herein.
The workspace management unit 9 may be configured to permit workspaces to be booked for periods of time. The workspace management unit 9 may be configured to store a booking database that stores one or more a user identifiers against respective workspaces for respective time slots. The workspace management unit 9 may be configured to communicate with another device that permits workspaces to be booked for periods of time and/or store the booking database. The workspace management unit 9 and/or the another device may be configured to communicate with devices associated with the users to permit the booking of the workspaces.
The workspace management unit 9 may also comprise a screen 12 for displaying information about the location 2. Alternatively, the workspace management unit 9 may communicate with a device comprising a screen for displaying information about the location 2.
The workspace management unit 9 may be configured to draw data from other sources to monitor the workspaces and the users interacting with the workspaces. For instance, the workspace management unit 9 may receive positioning data regarding at least one user. This positioning data may be used to identify the user within the workspace. This positioning data may also be used to assist in the workspace management unit 9 determining that a user is or is not present within the workspace.
The workspace management unit 9 may be part of a workspace occupancy management system. This system may also comprise at least one sensors as described herein. The workspace occupancy management system may be part of a workspace monitoring system that also provides other functions associated with workspace monitoring. For instance, meeting room occupancy and/or meeting room bookings.
The workspace 1 , during use by a user, may accommodate other objects beyond those objects that are part of workspace 1 such as a screen 3 and a chair 4 as discussed herein. The user will have brought those objects with him or her when selecting the workspace to work at for a period of time. These user objects may be items such as a cup 13, a notebook 14, a computer 15 (e.g. a laptop or tablet computer), waste paper 16 and a bag 17. Other user objects could be a coat, which the user might place on the back of the chair 4, files of documents, a desk toy, and a mobile telephone.
Some of these user objects, if the user was not present at the workspace, would indicate to a user looking for a free workspace to use that the user is currently occupying that workspace. Other user objects may indicate to a user looking for a free workspace to use that no user is currently occupying that workspace but that the workspace has not been tidied up by the prior user. Thus, user objects can be classified into at least two classifications.
A first classification, claimed workspace classification, indicates that the user is still in use of the workspace and intends to return to the workspace. Objects that may fall into the first classification may be items that are personal effects of the user or items that are associated with the work of that particular user. Such objects may be:
- A paper notebook. - A computer. The computer may be a portable computer such as a laptop or tablet computer.
- A coat.
- A bag.
- A mobile telephone.
A second classification, non-claimed workspace classification, indicates that the user is not currently in use of the workspace and does not currently intend to return to the workspace. Objects that may fall into the second classification may be items that are no longer required by the user and/or rubbish. For instance, a cup that is empty or contains an old beverage may be no longer required by the user who was using the workspace. In addition waste paper left behind by the user is likely to no longer be required by the user who was using the workspace. As discussed herein, the workspace occupancy sensor 8 may scan the workplace for objects. The workspace occupancy sensor 8 itself, or another device that the data gathered by the workspace occupancy sensor 8 is sent to, may then detect what objects are present within the workspace. These objects may be classified in to workspace objects and user objects. The object type for at least one, if not each, object located in the workspace may be determined.
The detection of objects and their type may be implemented by comparing the pictures of the workspace to pictures of reference objects and the correlation between the data obtained by the sensor 8 and the pictures of reference objects determines whether an object is determined to be of a particular object type. The correlation may also assist in identifying objects within the workspace against the background of the workspace. It will be appreciated that there are many methods by which images can be processed to identify distinct objects within a picture and to determine what those objects might be. Any such method may be used to detect objects and infer their object type.
As shown in figure 2, the location 2 may comprise more than one workspace 1 a— 1 f . Each workspace occupancy sensor 8 may monitor one or more workspaces. As shown in figure 2 the workspace occupancy sensor 8 may monitor more than one workspace 1 a - 1 f . The method of detection of an occupancy status will now be explained in detail with reference to the flow chart shown in Figure 3. Figure 3 is a flow chart showing the main steps of a method for determining am occupancy status of a workspace. The method may be implemented solely by workspace occupancy management unit 9. The method may be implemented collectively by a workspace occupancy management system that comprises the workspace occupancy management unit 9 and one or more sensor units 7, 8 as herein described. In this way, some processing may be undertaken by sensors 7, 8 prior to sending the processed data to workspace occupancy management unit 9. For instance, one or more sensors may undertake at least one of the detecting tasks described herein whilst the workspace occupancy management unit 9 may undertake at least some of the determining tasks.
As shown in step 20, at least one object located within the workspace is detected. This detection may be undertaken by workspace occupancy sensor 8. Such detection may comprise capturing images of the workspace, either in the form of individual pictures taken at given time intervals or by recording a video of the workspace and then processing these images to detect the presence of objects within the workspace. As described herein, this may use a correlation algorithm to match the objects in the images taken of the workspace with prestored representations of objects. The detection of objects may use a line tracing algorithm which traces the exterior surface of different areas detected within the images to identify separate discrete objects. Alternatively, the workspace occupancy sensor 8 may capture image data of the workspace. The workspace occupancy management unit 9 may receive the image data of the workspace from the workspace occupancy sensor 8 and then process the image data to detect at least one object located within the workspace 1 .
It is likely that some of the objects detected within the workspace 1 are objects that are associated with the workspace 1 such as a monitor 3 and chair 4. Some of the objects detected within the workspace 1 may be objects that are associated with a particular user and with the user's use of the workspace 1 .
As shown in step 22, the object type for at least one detected object is determined. The respective object type for each object that is detected in step 20 may be determined. This is the ideal situation as then all of the objects that have been detected can be used to determine the occupancy status of the workspace 1 . The process of identifying object types categorises the identified shapes and pictures of objects detected in step 20 into known types of objects. The object types are a description of the type of object. For instance, the object types may comprise:
- Notebooks
- Computers. There may be more than one computer object type to take into account the various types of computers such as a laptop and a tablet computer.
- Coats.
- Bags.
- Monitors.
- Cups.
- Waste paper.
- Telephones. There may be more than one telephone object type to take into account the various types of telephones such as mobile telephones, smart phones, phablets and desk phones.
- Comestibles.
The determination of an object type for an object may use a correlation algorithm which known images of items are compared to the detected objects to determine which object type they relate to. As the correlation algorithm may also be used to detect objects within the workspace it may be the case that the detection of objects and determining an object type happens together in one combined step. This determining may be undertaken by the workspace occupancy management unit 9.
As shown in step 24, it may optionally be detected whether a user is present within the workspace. Such detection may make use of data generated by workspace occupancy sensor 9, may use data generated by desk occupancy sensor 7 or a combination of data from multiple sensors. The data generated by workspace occupancy sensor 9 may be used to detect a user's face, head and/or body that can then be used to determine whether a user is present within the workspace. The detection may be undertaken by the one or more sensors. Alternatively, data gathered by the sensors may be transmitted to, and received by, the workspace occupancy management unit 9 for processing by the workspace occupancy management unit 9. The workspace management unit 9 may also make use of data concerning the booking of the workspace. This data may be comprised in a booking database as described herein either locally to the workspace management unit 9 or in another device in communication with the workspace management unit 9.
As shown in step 26, the occupancy status of the workspace can be determined based on the object type of at least one detected object. Optionally, the occupancy status of the workspace 1 can be determined based on whether a user is detected as being present within the workspace 1 . The occupancy status may be determined by having a category assigned to each object type which states whether that object type indicates that the workspace is being claimed by a user or not claimed by a user. If at least one object type indicates that the workspace is being claimed by a user then it may be determined that the occupancy status of the workspace is being occupied by the user and/or being claimed by the user.
The occupancy status of the workspace may be determined based on object type by comparing the object type to a classification of whether an object type indicates that a user is claiming the workspace or not claiming the workspace. As described herein, a first classification may be a claimed workspace classification and a second classification may be a non-claimed workspace classification. Thus, the objects may be classified into workspace claiming objects and workspace non-claiming objects based on their object types.
An occupancy status of occupied may be determined if at least one detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace. An occupancy status of unoccupied may be determined if no detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification. An occupancy status of unoccupied may be determined if all detected objects have an occupancy classification of the non-claimed workspace classification.
As described herein and with reference to step 24, the presence of a user within the workspace may be detected. Thus, the occupancy status of the workspace may be determined based on whether a user is present within the workspace. As a basic initial case, the occupancy status of the workspace may be determined to be occupied if a user is detected as being present within the workspace. The absence of a user within a workspace can also be used to determine the occupancy status of the workspace. In these cases, if no user is present within the workspace then the determination of the objects' types, and potentially classification, permits the determination of whether the workspace is still occupied whilst the user is not present within the workspace. An occupancy status of unoccupied may be determined if no detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace. An occupancy status of unoccupied may be determined if all detected objects have an occupancy classification of the non-claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
Thus, the determination of whether a workspace is occupied based on the objects present within the workspace means that a new user can efficiently locate those workspaces that are unoccupied by a user whether that user is present within the workspace or not. This makes it more efficient for a user to find a workspace that is currently free by meaning they do not risk visiting a workspace that, whilst a user is not present, is still being claimed by a user. If a desk is determined to be unoccupied but objects remain within the workspace that are not part of the workspace itself then those objects may be required to be removed to enable a new user to use the workspace. It may also be required to make the workspace tidy to mean that a new user does not have an unsatisfactory experience by arriving at a desk that, whilst not being occupied by a user, has been left in a mess by a previous user. Therefore, a cleaning status for a workspace may be determined. This determination may be based on the occupancy status of the workspace and whether there are any objects detected within the workspace that are not part of the workspace. These objects may have a classification of the non-claimed workspace classification. Thus, a cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required may be determined if the occupancy status of the workspace is determined to be unoccupied and at least one object is detected within the workspace. The at least one object may have an object type that indicates it is not an object that is part of the workspace. For instance, a computer monitor, chair, desk may each be objects that are part of the workspace. It may be that a user has left a workspace for over a length of time that it is acceptable for a user to claim a workspace. Therefore, in some instances it may be advantageous to determine a cleaning status for the workspace of requires clearing by detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and determining the cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required if the user is not present within the workspace for a predefined length of time. The predefined length of time may be thirty minutes, one hour, two hours or any length of time as set by the office policy. The workspace occupancy management unit 9 may, in response to a determination that a workspace has a cleaning status of clearing-required, send a notification to a housekeeper to clear the workspace. The notification may be sent to a device associated with the housekeeper, such as a computer or mobile phone. The clearing status of the workspace may be displayed on a representation of the location. This may be displayed on the screen 12 of workspace occupancy management unit 9. Alternatively, workspace occupancy management unit 9 may be connected to a screen that it can command to display the representation of the location and the clearing status. This enables housekeepers and/or users to see which workspaces require clearing.
Alternatively or as well as, the workspace occupancy management unit 9 may, in response to a determination that a workspace has a cleaning status of clearing- required, notify the user who had last used the workspace to clear the workspace. The user identity may be detected using one or more sensors during the period that the user is present within the workspace. The user identity may be detected using facial recognition and/or by detecting the presence of a device within the workspace that is associated with the identity of the user. To aid in users identifying which workspaces are currently unoccupied (and, optionally, cleared), the occupancy status of the workspace may be displayed on a representation of the location. As described herein, this may be displayed on the screen 12 of workspace occupancy management unit 9. Alternatively, workspace occupancy management unit 9 may be connected to a screen that it can command to display the representation of the location and the occupancy status. The occupancy status may be displayed by showing different colours for the workspace in question depending on occupancy status of the workspace. For instance, green may be used when the workspace is unoccupied and clear, yellow may be used when the workspace is unoccupied but required clearing, and red may be used when the workspace is occupied.
The workspace occupancy unit 9 may store data concerning statistics relating to the use and occupancy of the workspaces. The statistics may comprise:
- Amount of time that each workspace is occupied and/or unoccupied.
- Amount of time that each workspace is claimed and/or non-claimed.
- Amount of time that each workspace is non-claimed and requires clearing.
- Number of times a user leaves a workspace in a requires clearing state.
- Number of times a user leaves a workspace in a requires clearing state within a predefined period of time.
The workspace occupancy unit 9 may use the statistics to determine users who have left workspaces in a requires clearing state more than a threshold number of times, or more than a threshold number of times within a predefined period of time. Thus, the workspace occupancy management unit 9 may, in response to a determination that the user has left workspaces in a clearing-required state more than a threshold number of times, notify the user to clear desks in the future. The count of the users workstations that were left in a clearing-required state may be reset after sending the notification and/or the threshold may be changed once the notification has been sent. The threshold may be 5 instances, 10 instances, or more instances. For instance, the threshold may be doubled to give the user the chance to leave the same number of untidy desks again or may be incremented by less than double to mean that the user will be reminded sooner next time the user leaves desks untidy. The user identity may be detected using one or more sensors during the period that the user is present within the workspace. The user identity may be detected using facial recognition and/or by detecting the presence of a device within the workspace that is associated with the identity of the user. The applicant hereby discloses in isolation each individual feature described herein and any combination of two or more such features, to the extent that such features or combinations are capable of being carried out based on the present specification as a whole in the light of the common general knowledge of a person skilled in the art, irrespective of whether such features or combinations of features solve any problems disclosed herein, and without limitation to the scope of the claims. The applicant indicates that aspects of the present invention may consist of any such individual feature or combination of features. In view of the foregoing description it will be evident to a person skilled in the art that various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1 . A method for determining an occupancy status of a workspace, the method comprising:
detecting at least one object located within the workspace;
determining an object type for a detected object; and
determining an occupancy status of the workspace based on the object type of at least one detected object.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , the method comprising:
determining object types for more than one detected object; and
wherein determining an occupancy status of the workspace comprises determining an occupancy status of the workspace based on the object types of more than one detected object.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, the method comprising:
assigning a respective occupancy classification to each of the at least one detected objects based on the associated object type; and
wherein determining an occupancy status of the workspace comprises determining an occupancy status of the workspace based on the occupancy classification(s).
4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein one occupancy classification is a claimed workspace classification; and
determining an occupancy status of the workspace comprises determining an occupancy status of occupied if at least one detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification.
5. The method as claimed in claim 4, the method comprising:
detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and
wherein determining an occupancy status of the workspace comprises determining an occupancy status of occupied if at least one detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
6. The method as claimed in any of claims 3 to 5, wherein one occupancy classification is a claimed workspace classification; and
determining an occupancy status of the workspace comprises determining an occupancy status of unoccupied if no detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification.
7. The method as claimed in claim 6, the method comprising:
detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and
wherein determining an occupancy status of the workspace comprises determining an occupancy status of unoccupied if no detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
8. The method as claimed in any of claims 3 to 7, wherein one occupancy classification is a non-claimed workspace classification; and
determining an occupancy status of the workspace comprises determining an occupancy status of unoccupied if all detected objects have an occupancy classification of the non-claimed workspace classification.
9. The method as claimed in claim 8, the method comprising:
detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and
wherein determining an occupancy status of the workspace comprises determining an occupancy status of unoccupied if all detected objects have an occupancy classification of the non-claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
10. The method as claimed in any preceding claim, the method comprising:
detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and
determining an occupancy status of the workspace comprises determining an occupancy status of occupied if a user is present within the workspace.
1 1 . The method as claimed in any preceding claim, the method comprising: determining a cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required if the occupancy status of the workspace is determined to be unoccupied and at least one object is detected within the workspace.
12. The method as claimed in claim 1 1 , wherein determining a cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required comprises:
detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and
determining the cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required if the user is not present within the workspace for a predefined length of time.
13. The method as claimed in claim 1 1 or 12, the method comprising:
notifying a housekeeper to clear the workspace if the clearing status is clearing- required.
14. The method as claimed in claim 1 1 or 12, the method comprising:
detecting a user of the workspace within the workspace;
determining a user identity for the user; and
notifying the user to clear the workspace based on the user identity if the clearing status of the workspace is clearing-required.
15. The method as claimed in any of claims 1 1 to 14, the method comprising: detecting a user of the workspace within the workspace;
determining a user identity for the user; and
storing an instance of a workspace clearing-required against the user identity.
16. The method as claimed in claim 15, the method comprising:
notifying the user to clear workspaces in the future based on the user identity once the number of instances of workspace clearing-required is equal to a threshold value.
17. The method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the workspace is comprised within a location and the method comprises:
displaying a representation of the location, the representation of the location showing the occupancy status of the workspace.
18. The method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the workspace is comprised within a location and the method comprises:
displaying a displaying a representation of the location, the representation of the location showing the clearing status of the workspace.
19. A workspace occupancy management system for determining the occupancy status of a workspace, the system comprising:
a workspace occupancy sensor being configured to: record images of the workspace; and
a workspace occupancy management unit being configured to: determine an object type for a detected object; and determine an occupancy status of the workspace based on the object type of at least one detected object;
wherein the workspace occupancy management system is configured to detect at least one object located within the workspace based on the images of the workspace.
20. The system as claimed in claim 19, the workspace occupancy sensor being configured to: detect at least one object located within the workspace based on the images of the workspace.
21 . The system as claimed in claim 19, the workspace occupancy management unit being configured to: detect at least one object located within the workspace based on the images of the workspace.
22. The system as claimed in any of claims 19 to 21 , the workspace occupancy management unit being configured to: determine object types for more than one detected object; and determine an occupancy status of the workspace based on the object types of more than one detected object.
23. The system as claimed in any of claims 19 to 22, the workspace occupancy management unit being configured to: assign a respective occupancy classification to each of the at least one detected objects based on the associated object type; and determine an occupancy status of the workspace based on the occupancy classification(s).
24. The system as claimed in claim 23, wherein one occupancy classification is a claimed workspace classification; and the workspace occupancy management unit is configured to determine an occupancy status of occupied if at least one detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification.
25. The system as claimed in claim 24, the workspace occupancy management unit being configured to detect whether a user is present within the workspace; and determine an occupancy status of occupied if at least one detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
26. The system as claimed in any of claims 23 to 25, wherein one occupancy classification is a claimed workspace classification; and the workspace occupancy management unit is configured to: determine an occupancy status of unoccupied if no detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification.
27. The system as claimed in claim 26, the workspace occupancy management unit being configured to: detect whether a user is present within the workspace; and determine an occupancy status of unoccupied if no detected object has an occupancy classification of the claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
28. The system as claimed in any of claims 23 to 27, wherein one occupancy classification is a non-claimed workspace classification; and the workspace occupancy management unit is configured to: determine an occupancy status of unoccupied if all detected objects have an occupancy classification of the non-claimed workspace classification.
29. The system as claimed in claim 28, the workspace occupancy management unit being configured to: detect whether a user is present within the workspace; and determine an occupancy status of unoccupied if all detected objects have an occupancy classification of the non-claimed workspace classification and if no user is present within the workspace.
30. The system as claimed in any of claims 19 to 29, the workspace occupancy management unit being configured to: detect whether a user is present within the workspace; and determine an occupancy status of the workspace comprises determining an occupancy status of occupied if a user is present within the workspace.
31 . The system as claimed in any of claims 19 to 30, the workspace occupancy management unit being configured to: determine a cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required if the occupancy status of the workspace is determined to be unoccupied and at least one object is detected within the workspace.
32. The system as claimed in claim 31 , the workspace occupancy management unit being configured to determine a cleaning status for the workspace of clearing- required by: detecting whether a user is present within the workspace; and determining the cleaning status for the workspace of clearing-required if the user is not present within the workspace for a predefined length of time.
33. The system as claimed in claim 31 or 32, the workspace occupancy management unit being configured to: notify a housekeeper to clear the workspace if the clearing status is clearing-required.
34. The system as claimed in claim 31 or 32, the workspace occupancy management unit being configured to: detect a user of the workspace within the workspace; determine a user identity for the user; and notify the user to clear the workspace based on the user identity if the clearing status of the workspace is clearing-required.
35. The system as claimed in any of claims 31 to 34, the workspace occupancy management unit being configured to: detect a user of the workspace within the workspace; determine a user identity for the user; and store an instance of a workspace clearing-required against the user identity.
36. The system as claimed in claim 35, the workspace occupancy management unit being configured to: notify the user to clear workspaces in the future based on the user identity once the number of instances of workspace clearing-required is equal to a threshold value.
37. The system as claimed in any of claims 19 to 36, wherein the workspace is comprised within a location and the workspace occupancy management unit is configured to: display a representation of the location, the representation of the location showing the occupancy status of the workspace.
38. The system as claimed in any of claims 19 to 37, wherein the workspace is comprised within a location and the workspace occupancy management unit is configured to: display a displaying a representation of the location, the representation of the location showing the clearing status of the workspace.
PCT/EP2018/070438 2017-07-28 2018-07-27 Workspace occupancy WO2019020799A1 (en)

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