Checklists of tasks and/or procedures are used by enterprises to ensure that no items are omitted by the person performing the tasks and procedures. Further, by using a checklist, tasks and procedures are performed consistently by different employees. Checklists may be printed out on sheets of paper and used manually with a clipboard and writing utensil. Alternatively, electronic checklists may be implemented on mobile devices in the form of a PDF (portable document format) document or other type of word processing document.
The accompanying drawings illustrate various examples of the principles described below. The examples and drawings are illustrative rather than limiting.
As technology becomes increasingly prevalent, it can be helpful to leverage technology to integrate multiple devices, in real-time, in a seamless environment that brings context to information from varied sources without requiring explicit input. Various examples described below provide for a digital context-aware platform (DCAP) that may aggregate experience data for a user from different sources, and based on the aggregated data, provide a context-aware checklist to a user for performing tasks. Non-limiting examples of checklists may include maintenance procedures for a piece of machinery or repair procedures for an object. In some implementations, the DCAP may receive location information for the user, and based on the location information, provide turn-by-turn directions to the user to the site where a checklist should be used. The granularity of the items or steps in the checklist may be based upon a level of experience of the user. Further, additional information may be provided by the DCAP when requested by the user, where the additional information is selected based upon the experience level of the user.
As used herein, the terms DCAP experience and experience are used interchangeably and are intended to mean the interpretation of multiple elements of context in the right order and in real-time to provide information in a seamless, integrated, and holistic fashion. In some examples, an experience or DCAP experience may be provided to one or more networked devices of a user of a checklist.
The DCAP experience is created through the interpretation of one or more packages. Packages may be atomic components that execute functions related to devices or integrations to other systems. As used herein, the term package is intended to mean components that capture individual elements of context in a given situation. In some examples, the execution of packages provides an experience. For example, a checklist package may provide to a user a checklist of items to be performed at a particular location, and a supporting information package may provide to the user information pertaining to one of the items of the checklist, such as videos, schematics, and instructions.
In some examples, the DCAP includes a checklist experience that may be provided to a user of a checklist, and the platform may include a plurality of packages that are accessed by the experience device to provide the experiences. The packages may, in turn, access various information from a user or other resources and may call various services, as described in greater detail below. As a result, the user may be provided with contextual information seamlessly with little or no input from the user. The DCAP is an integrated ecosystem that can automatically bring context to information. For example, the DCAP can select and provide information about an item in a checklist without input from the user, where the selected information is based on the experience level of the user, and the experience level of the user may be determined from other sources besides the user.
The checklist experience device 134 of the DCAP 130 may provide a checklist to a user, where the granularity of the items of the checklist is based upon the experience level of the user. The checklist experience device 134 may also select and provide additional information, such as explanatory videos, pertaining to one of the checklist items based upon the experience level of the user.
Networked devices 110 may include any number of portable devices associated with a user that has a processor and memory and is capable of communicating wirelessly by using a wireless protocol, such as WiFi or Bluetooth. Examples of networked devices include a smartphone, tablet, laptop, smart watch, electronic key fob, activity tracking devices, smart glass, and any other device or sensor that can be attached to or worn by a user. In some implementations, a user's networked devices are configured to communicate with each other, for example, as indicated by networked device communication network 111 in
Access point 120 may be a standalone access point device that transmits and receives data and connects networked devices 110 to other networked devices 110 and the DCAP 130. In some implementations, the access point 120 may be embedded in another device, for example, a printer. The access point 120 may include a processor and memory configured to communicate with the device in which it is embedded and to communicate with the DCAP 130 and/or networked devices 110 within wireless communication range. While only one access point 120 is shown in the example of
Additionally, while in the example of
In the example of
The outdoor navigation package 221 may be called to provide turn-by-turn directions to the location where a checklist is to be executed. The directions may be provided to the user's preferred device, for example, as determined by the preferences engine 654, to be described below with respect to
In some instances, the indoor navigation package 222 may be called to provide directions within an indoor site to the user. Thus, the outdoor navigation package 221 may provide directions to the user to navigate to a specific building; however, the location where the checklist is to be executed may be a machine located within a large building, for example, a manufacturing facility. In this case, the indoor navigation package 222 may provide directions within the building to the user, such as a particular floor, a particular wing of the floor, and the left or right side of the corridor where the machine is situated. The directions to the indoor site may be provided on the user's preferred device, which may be different from the user's preferred device for receiving outdoor navigation directions. For example, once the user leaves the vehicle to enter the indoor site, the user may prefer to receive indoor directions on the user's smartphone.
The geoboundary package 223 may be called to determine a geoboundary for a location where a checklist is to be performed. Further, the geoboundary package 223 may determine whether the location coordinates provided by the user's networked device 110 indicates that the user has crossed the geoboundary for the first location. The geoboundary may be a virtual boundary, for example, a circle having a 500 ft. radius around the first location, or any other shape around the first location. The user's networked device 110 may provide global positioning system (GPS) coordinates or some other location identification coordinates for the user, and the geoboundary package 223 may convert the coordinates provided by the networked device 110 into a suitable format to determine whether the user has crossed the geoboundary. The goeboundary package 223 may also notify the user of arrival at the location.
The checklist package 224 may be called to provide a checklist of items, such as tasks or procedures, to the user via a preferred networked device 110. The checklist should provide a list of tasks, where the selection of the tasks takes into account a set of experiences or capabilities for the intended user of the checklist. As different users may have different sets of capabilities for different tasks, a learning engine 640 in the DCAP (shown in
Further, the checklist provided by the checklist package 224 should take into account the levels of granularity that would be useful to the intended user. For example, if the goal is to create a peanut butter sandwich, for a user seeking to create a quick snack, the items on the checklist would not include tasks for baking the bread or making the peanut butter. However, if the user were a chef, or if the checklist package 224 is prompted by the user to provide more details on how to prepare the bread and/or peanut butter, the granularity of the checklist items may include an appropriate level of detail. The level of granularity of the checklist may also be determined by the checklist package 224 based on previous usage of the system by the user, user preferences, and/or data pulled from social media.
The preferences engine 654 of the DCAP, to be described below with respect to
In some implementations, the recognition package 226 may be called to distinguish a feature from a provided data signal. For example, the data signal may include one or multiple images captured of an object in the visible, infrared, and/or ultraviolet regions of the electromagnetic spectrum and sent by the user to the DCAP 130. Upon determination by the recognition package 226 that the correct object has been located, the checklist package 224 may be called to provide the appropriate checklist for performing on the object.
In some implementations, the data signal may be an infrared image used by the recognition package 226 to identify locations on the object that are emitting heat, or locations on the object that have abnormally high or low temperatures. In cases where an abnormal temperature location is identified by the recognition package 226, the checklist 224 may be called to provide a diagnostic checklist that addresses the abnormalities and/or a graphical representation of the abnormalities, for example, with respect to a baseline or other parameters.
In some implementations, the data signal may be an audio signal, and the recognition package 226 may be called to identify a sound from the audio signal that may indicate a problem with a piece of machinery. For example, if the machinery is generating noise in a certain frequency range, it may be an indication of a particular ball bearing fault in the machinery. Depending on the identified fault, the checklist 224 may be called to provide a checklist directed toward troubleshooting the identified fault.
In some implementations, the data signal may be based upon sensor data, such as temperature data or any other type of data sensed by a sensor. The recognition package 226 may analyze the data signal and provide a checklist based on the data signal.
The supporting information package 225 may be called to provide additional supporting information for a particular task on the checklist, for example, when the user does not understand how to perform the task, or when the user is having difficulty with successfully performing the task. In some implementations, the supporting information package 225 may be called upon a verbal request made by the user to the DCAP via the user's networked device, for example, the smart glass. For instance, the user may request a video applicable to the checklist item by using a predetermined voice command. The learning engine 640 of the DCAP, to be described below with respect to
The resource management package 227 may be called to certify a person as an expert resource for a checklist item on a checklist provided by the checklist package 224. Certification may include determining a level of experience of the person and a subject matter for which the person is experienced. For example, resource management package 227 may determine this information through testing or through previous experience where the person performed checklists provided by the DCAP checklist experience. Further, the resource management package 227 may be called to receive an availability schedule for the certified person. For example, the certified person may sign up to be on call for certain blocks of time as the expert resource for the checklist item for which the expert resource is certified.
Additionally, the resource management package 227 may be called to, upon receiving a request from a user for help with a checklist item, identify an available expert resource at a time of the request, and facilitate a connection, for example, a video streaming or remote viewing connection, between the expert resource and the user. In some implementations, the expert resource may have a network connection to receive a real-time video streamed by one of the user's networked devices, such as a smart glass, via the resource management package 227 and an audio/video streaming package 228, where the audio/video streaming package 228 facilitates streaming of audio and/or video from the end user to the remote expert. Further, audio and/or video from the expert resource may be sent to the user's networked device via the audio/video streaming package 228 in conjunction with the resource management package 227.
In some implementations, the resource management package 227 may operate in conjunction with the schedule package 220 and the checklist package 224 to ensure that there is an expert resource available to cover each item on the checklist during a given schedule.
Thus, for the example of
Preferences engine 654 may represent any circuitry or combination of circuitry and executable instructions to receive explicit preferences of a user. For example, a checklist user may explicitly provide preferences to the preferences engine 654 about the preferred networked device the user wants to use under particular conditions, for example, the device for receiving outdoor directions, indoor directions, and a checklist.
In some implementations, preferences engine 654 may search social media to determine a checklist user's capabilities, such as may be posted by the user on a website. In some implementations, preferences engine 654 may call an external service, for example services 670, to request that a social media searching service perform the social media search and return the results.
In addition, the sequence engine 658 may communicate with the context engine 656 to identify packages 620 to execute, and to determine an order of execution for the packages 620. In some examples, the context engine 656 may obtain information from the device/service rating engine 650, the policy/regulatory engine 652, and/or preferences engine 654 automatically (e.g., without any input from a user) and may determine which of packages 620 to execute automatically (e.g., without any input from a user). In addition, the context engine 656 may determine which of packages 620 to execute based on the sequence engine 658.
In some implementations, providing a checklist experience 610 to a user may include calling the schedule package 220 to provide to the user a schedule which includes a time and a corresponding location for each schedule item on the schedule; calling the outdoor navigation package 221 to provide turn-by-turn directions to a location on the schedule; calling the indoor navigation package 222 to provide directions within an indoor site of the location; calling the geoboundary package 223 to determine whether the user is within a geoboundary of a location of a schedule item; and calling the checklist package 224 to provide a checklist of items to be performed at the location on the schedule. Further, providing a checklist experience 610 to the user may include calling the supporting information package 225 to provide to the user information pertaining to one of the items of the checklist. The user may specify a type of information requested, such as videos, schematics, and instructions. In some implementations, the learning engine 640 may determine the skill level of a user and which specific information is most applicable to the user executing the checklist step based on characteristics of the user, such as experience level, and also based on learning from prior executions of the checklist step by the user.
Additionally, providing a checklist experience 610 to the user may include calling the recognition package 226 to determine whether an image signal provided by the user corresponds to an object on which the checklist is to be executed at the first location, or to determine a problem with the object based on audio data; and calling the resource management package 227 to identify an available expert resource at the time of a user's request, and to facilitate a connection between the expert resource and the user via the audio/video streaming package 228.
The checklist experience 610 may be initiated by the user via the user's networked device which communicates with the DCAP system 130 via network 105 (as shown in
Checklist engine 302 may represent any circuitry or combination of circuitry and executable instructions to receive a checklist of items to be performed at a first location upon crossing a geoboundary for the first location. The checklist engine 302 may also, based on input from a user, request from a DCAP 130 additional information pertaining to one of the items of the checklist, receive the information, and provide the information to the user. In some implementations, the checklist engine 302 may transmit the received information to another one of the user's networked devices 110 for providing to the user, for example, if the power supply of the networked device is running low, or if the user prefers to receive the information on a different networked device.
Location engine 303 may represent any circuitry or combination of circuitry and executable instructions to transmit an initialization request for the checklist to the DCAP. The location engine 303 may also receive turn-by-turn directions to a location listed on a schedule upon transmitting location coordinates to the DCAP 130 and continually updating the location coordinates.
The sensing engine 304 may represent any circuitry or combination of circuitry and executable instructions to provide a data signal to the DCAP 130, and receive any responses from the DCAP 130 to the data signal. For example, in some implementations, the data signal may include an infrared image, and the checklist provided by the DCAP may be based on an analysis of the infrared image. The sensing engine 304 may also provide an audio data signal from the first location to the DCAP 130, and the checklist provided by the DCAP 130 may be based on an analysis of the audio data. In some implementations, the data signal may be based upon sensor data, and the sensing engine 304 may provide the data signal to the DCAP 130, and the checklist provided by the DCAP 130 may be based on analysis of the sensor data.
The expert support engine 305 may represent any circuitry or combination of circuitry and executable instructions to, based upon input from a user, provide video taken of a portion of the first location to the DCAP for transmission to a certified expert for help with an item of the checklist. The expert support engine 305 may also receive guidance from the certified expert for the item. In some implementations, the video may be received from a second networked device; for example, the networked device may be a smartphone, while the video may be captured by a smart glass and sent to the smartphone for transmission to the DCAP.
Database 310 may contain information used by engines 302-305, such as a schedule and checklist received from the DCAP, images and/or audio data transmitted to an expert resource via the DCAP, and additional information received from the DCAP as requested by the user and pertaining to one of the checklist items.
The examples of engines, such as shown in
Various components in the networked device 110 of
Memory resource 360 generally represents any number of memory components capable of storing instructions that can be executed by processing resource 350. Memory resource 360 is non-transitory in the sense that it does not encompass a transitory signal but instead is made up of one or more memory components configured to store the relevant instructions. Memory resource 360 may be implemented in a single device or distributed across devices. Likewise, processing resource 350 represents any number of processors capable of executing instructions stored by memory resource 360, respectively. Processing resource 350 may be integrated in a single device or distributed across devices. Further, memory resource 360 may be fully or partially integrated in the same device as processing resource 350, or it may be separate but accessible to that device and processing resource 350.
In one example, the program instructions can be part of an installation package that when installed can be executed by processing resource 350 to implement networked device engine 301. In this case, memory resource 360 may be a portable computer-readable medium such as a compact disc (CD), digital video disc (DVD), or flash drive or a memory maintained by a server from which the installation package can be downloaded and installed. In another example, the program instructions may be part of an application or applications already installed. Memory resource 360 can include integrated memory, such as a hard drive, solid state drive, or the like.
In the example of
In some implementations of a networked device engine 301a, as shown in the example of
At block 410, the DCAP, upon determining the user's networked device is within the geoboundary of the first location, may call the geoboundary package to notify the user of arrival, and may call a checklist package to provide a checklist of items to be performed at the first location. A level of granularity of the checklist items may be based on an experience level of the user.
At block 415, the DCAP, upon request from the user via the user's networked device for information pertaining to one of the items of the checklist, may call a supporting information package to provide information to the user. The information may be selected based on the experience level of the user. In some implementations, the user may specify a type of information requested. Example of types of information that may be requested include videos, schematics, and instructions.
At block 520, the DCAP, upon receiving from the user initialization information including a user identification, may call a schedule package to provide to the user the schedule that includes a time and a corresponding location for each schedule item on the schedule. User identification may be used by the DCAP to determine an experience level of the user.
At block 525, the DCAP, upon receiving location coordinates for the user's networked device, may call an outdoor navigation package to provide turn-by-turn directions to the first location on the schedule. For example, the location coordinates may be GPS coordinates.
At block 535, the DCAP, upon determining from the location coordinates that the user has entered an indoor site, may call an indoor navigation package to provide directions within the indoor site to the first location. For example, the directions within the indoor site may include direction to the particular floor and wing of the first location, and whether the location is on the right or left side of a corridor.
At block 540, the DCAP, upon receiving a data signal that includes an image of the first location from the user's networked device, may call a recognition package to determine whether the image corresponds to an object on which the checklist is to be executed at the first location. This information provides confirmation to the user that the checklist is performed on the intended object.
At block 545, the DCAP, upon receiving a data signal that includes audio data from the first location, may call the recognition package to analyze the audio data to determine a problem with the object. If a problem is detected from the audio data, a checklist is selected that addresses the identified problem.
At block 547, the DCAP, upon receiving a data signal based upon sensor data, may call the recognition package to analyze the data signal and provide a checklist based on the data signal.
At block 550, a resource management package may be called to certify a person as an expert resource for a checklist item on the checklist, where certification includes identifying a level of experience of the person; and to receive an availability schedule for the certified person. The resource management package may also be called to, upon receiving a request from a user for help with a checklist item, identify an available expert resource at a time of the request, and facilitate a connection between the expert resource and the user.
At block 555, the DCAP, upon an indication from the user that the checklist for the first location is complete, may call the outdoor navigation package to provide turn-by-turn directions to a second location of a second schedule item on the schedule.
The processor 603 may execute instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium 680. For example, the non-transitory computer readable medium 680 may be any type of volatile or non-volatile memory or storage, such as random access memory (RAM), flash memory, or a hard disk. When executed, the instructions can cause the processor 603 to perform a method of determining a level of experience of a user and transmitting to the user a checklist of items appropriate to the level of experience of the user.
The example medium 680 can store instructions 681 executable by the processor 603 to receive information to be provided audibly to a user. For example, the processor 603 can execute instructions 681 to determine a level of experience of the user. For example, the level of experience of the user may be determined from the configuration of the user's role as set by a manager; the job code for the employee user; social media data; and/or history of the user's previous usage of the DCAP checklist experience.
The example medium 680 can further store instructions 682. The instructions may be executable by the processor 603 to transmit to the user a checklist of items. The granularity of the items on the checklist may be based on the level of experience of the user.
The processor 703 may execute instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium 780. For example, the non-transitory computer readable medium 780 may be any type of volatile or non-volatile memory or storage, such as random access memory (RAM), flash memory, or a hard disk. When executed, the instructions can cause the processor 703 to perform a method of determining a level of experience of a user, transmitting to the user a checklist of items appropriate to the level of experience of the user, and calling a supporting information package to provide information for the level of experience of the user.
Instructions 781 may be similar to instructions 681 described with respect to the non-transitory computer readable medium 680 of
The example medium 780 may store instructions 783 executable by the processor 703 to call a supporting information package to provide additional information for a particular task on the checklist. The information selected to be provided may be based on the level of experience of the user.
Not all of the steps, features, or instructions presented above are used in each implementation of the presented techniques. Elements shown in the various figures described above can be added, exchanged, and/or eliminated so as to provide a number of additional examples of the present disclosure.
As used in the specification and claims herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2015/027474 | 4/24/2015 | WO | 00 |