BACKGROUND
The disclosure relates generally to an intelligent building system for
providing occupancy information with anonymity5 .
Elevator cabs have finite capacity and, when full, may bypass a hall call
(“load bypass”) to increase throughput and, thereby, minimize overall passenger wait
time. The bypass feature, in general, is implemented by estimating elevator cab
occupancy with load sensors. Unfortunately, load is not directly related to area
10 occupancy, particularly when the elevator is transporting people in wheelchairs, or
there are luggage carts, hospital gurneys, etc. This may result in a cab stopping
unnecessarily or bypassing a hall call unnecessarily.
That is, bypassing a hall call is potentially annoying to waiting passengers
who sent the hall call and only know that an elevator cab did not stop for them.
15 Without additional information, the waiting passengers do not know why the cab did
not stop and may assume the hall call button is broken. Further, with some elevator
cabs, the bypass feature can be itself disabled so that a full car will stop, open and
close its doors, and then resume its trip despite not having the capacity to receive
additional passengers. Disabling the bypass feature may help relieve the annoyance
20 and stress of the waiting passengers, but at an expense of longer travel times for
current passengers.
SUMMARY
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method that
25 comprises detecting an occupancy of an elevator cab of an elevator to generate
3
occupancy information; generating anonymized occupancy information based on the
occupancy information; and providing the anonymized occupancy information to
enable the occupancy of the elevator cab to be presented with anonymity for
occupants is provided.
According to another embodiment or the above embodiment, wherein th5 e
detecting of the occupancy of the elevator cab of the elevator to generate occupancy
information can further comprise capturing by a detector images of an inside of the
elevator cab.
According to another embodiment or any of the above embodiments, the
10 occupants can include mobile entities and accoutrement of the mobile entities.
According to another embodiment or any of the above embodiments, the
anonymized occupancy information can include a real-time image stream of the
elevator cab with each occupant anonymized.
According to another embodiment or any of the above embodiments, a
15 display in an elevator lobby can be configured to perform the providing of the
anonymized occupancy information.
According to another embodiment or any of the above embodiments, the
method can further comprise receiving a request for the occupancy information
initiated by a device external to the processor.
20 According to another embodiment or any of the above embodiments, the
method can further comprise providing an image rectified with obscuration to a
device to enable the occupancy of the elevator cab to be presented via the display of
the device with anonymity.
4
According to another embodiment or any of the above embodiments, a
computing device of an elevator sub-system can be configured to control operations
of the elevator including a bypass feature with respect to the occupancy of the
elevator cab.
According to another embodiment or any of the above embodiments, th5 e
occupancy information can include a total number of occupants or a location of each
occupant.
According to another embodiment or any of the above embodiments, the
generating of the anonymized occupancy information based on the occupancy
10 information can include generating an image rectified with obscuration.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a system comprises a
detector configured to detect an occupancy of an elevator cab of an elevator and to
provide occupancy information based on the detection of the occupancy; and a
processor, communicatively coupled to the detector, configured to receive the
15 occupancy information from the detector and to generate anonymized occupancy
information based on the occupancy information, wherein the anonymized
occupancy information enables the occupancy of the elevator cab to be presented
with anonymity for occupants.
According to an embodiment or the above embodiment, the detector can be a
20 camera configured to capture images of an inside of the elevator cab in support of the
detecting of the occupancy of the elevator cab of the elevator to generate occupancy
information.
According to another embodiment or any of the above embodiments, the
processor can be a computing device of an elevator sub-system of the system, and
5
wherein the computing device can be configured to control operations of the elevator
including a bypass feature with respect to the occupancy of the elevator cab.
According to another embodiment or any of the above embodiments, the
occupancy information can include a total number of occupants or a location of each
occupant5 .
According to another embodiment or any of the above embodiments, the
processor can be configured to generate the anonymized occupancy information
based on the occupancy information to include an image rectified with obscuration.
Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the
10 present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the invention are described in
detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed invention. For a better
understanding of the invention with the advantages and the features, refer to the
description and to the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
15 The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed
out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The
forgoing and other features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the
following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings
in which:
20 Figure 1 illustrates an example of a schematic of an intelligent building
system according to one embodiment;
Figure 2 illustrates a process flow by an intelligent building system according
to one embodiment;
6
Figure 3 illustrates an example of another schematic of an intelligent building
system according to one embodiment; and
Figure 4 illustrates a computing device schematic of an intelligent building
system according to one embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIO5 N
Embodiments relate to an intelligent building system for providing
occupancy information with anonymity, and more particularly, to providing elevator
information, including anonymized cab occupancy information, to potential elevator
users. The occupancy information can explicitly include both the human occupants,
10 such as the number of people; mobile entities, such as luggage carts, animal crates,
hospital gurneys, etc.; and accoutrement of the mobile entities, such as luggage, pets,
patients, etc. Further, the occupancy information can include autonomous entities
such as robots, automated delivery vehicles, contents of robots and vehicles, etc.
In general, embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein may
15 include an intelligent building system, method, and/or computer program product
(herein “intelligent building system”) that utilizes a detector to monitor an occupancy
of an elevator and notifies a user of the occupancy with anonymity to the occupants
when the user makes a hall call. In this way, the embodiments of the present
invention improve upon existing building and elevator schemes by adding/modifying
20 operations and/or devices of those schemes to present elevator occupancy
information and thereby reduce annoyance and stress of the users (e.g., waiting
passengers).
Referring now to Figure 1, an example schematic of an intelligent building
system 100 is shown. The intelligent building system and elements therein may take
25 many different forms and include multiple and/or alternate components and facilities.
7
The intelligent building system 100 is only one example of an intelligent building
system and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or
operability of embodiments of the invention described herein (indeed additional or
alternative components and/or implementations may be used). The intelligent
building system 100 includes an elevator sub-system 101. The elevator sub-syste5 m
101 comprises an elevator 103 that includes an elevator cab 105, a detector 107, and
a computing device 109. Further, the intelligent building system 100 includes a
display 111 and an interface 113.
The intelligent building system 100 may implement operations and/or
10 communicate signals between the elevator sub-system 101 and elements therein, the
display 111, the interface 113, and other systems and sub-systems that assist users of
the elevator 103. Examples of operations and/or signals may include generating an
elevator call (e.g., a hall call), canceling an elevator call, detecting occupants,
receiving requests for occupancy information, obscuring the occupancy information,
15 providing notifications to the users, etc. Further, the communications of the
intelligent building system 100 can be encrypted, e.g., a protocol such as hypertext
transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) for communication to a mobile browser or an
advanced encryption standard (AES) for communication to a display. Further, the
intelligent building system 100 can utilize the same protocols, and even hardware,
20 for its components as are used by a user and a user device to leverage cost and
implementation benefits.
The elevator sub-system 101 can comprise electromechanical arrangements
(e.g., a controller and/or computing device, such as computing device 109, that
communicates with at least one motor) that control speed, position, and door
25 operation of an elevator or bank of elevators (e.g., elevator 103). The elevator cab
105 has a finite capacity to hold occupants, which include objects and people, based
on the dimensions of the elevator.
8
The computing device 109 of the elevator sub-system 101 may control and
monitor (or communicate with other systems and sub-systems through any network
communication technologies that can control and monitor) the elevator 103, the
elevator cab 105, and the detector 107, such that the elevator sub-system 101 may
operate the elevator or bank of elevators as a user or a user device interacts with th5 e
intelligent building system 100 (e.g., makes hall calls or requests occupancy
information). Examples of communication technologies include electromagnetic,
e.g., radio frequency (“RF”), magnetic (near field communication, “NFC”), short
wave radio, proximity systems, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons, etc. Further
10 schematics of the computing device 109 and communication technologies are
described below with respect to Figure 4. The computing device can also implement
a bypass feature, communicate with devices external to the intelligent building
system 100, perform additional reliability and convenience communication
operations, e.g., a time-out feature to long-term cellular communication, etc.
15 The detector 107 can be any sensor that detects events or changes in
quantities and provides a corresponding output. For instance, the detector or
occupied-area estimation device may generally capture, record, identify, and/or
calculate a total occupancy of the elevator cab 105 and/or a volume of each occupant
of the elevator cab 105, and output occupancy information as an electrical or optical
20 signal to the computing device 109, the display 111, or other device that reflects the
total occupancy and/or the volume. The occupancy information can be expressed as
an image, but in alternate embodiments can be expressed as text or through
mathematics, e.g., a percentage of occupied floor area. Examples of a detector 107
include cameras, infrared sensors, motion sensors, radar, lidar, sonar, ultrasound,
25 depth sensors, microphones, etc. Further, detector 107 may be connected to the
computing device 109, the display 111, or other device through either wired
(traveling cable) or wireless communication. If the communication is wireless, a
9
short range communication technology can be utilized with additional privacy
protection so that any information communicated is protected from intrusion.
The display 111 can be any output device or technology for presentation of
occupancy information. One embodiment of the display 111 includes an electronic
visual display configured near an entry way of the elevator 103 from an elevato5 r
lobby (e.g., as shown in Figure 1) that outputs images transmitted electronically from
the detector 107 or the computing device 109 for visual reception by a waiting
passenger. Another embodiment of the display 111 includes a user device that is in
communication with the intelligent building system 100 and incorporates the display
10 111. Examples of a display include light emitting diode displays, liquid crystal
displays, flat panel displays, etc.
The interface 113 can be any shared boundary across which two separate
entities exchange information. The exchange can be between software, computer
hardware, peripheral devices, humans, and combinations of thereof. In turn,
15 embodiments of the interface 113 can include barcodes, two-dimensional barcodes
(e.g., as a quick response code), near field communications transmitters, etc. that in
response to a user device scanning or interacting with the interface 113 causes the
user device to connect with the intelligent building system 101 and receive the
occupancy information. Further, the interface may also be integrated with the display
20 111 such as a combination of the display with a touchscreen creating an interface
that can display the occupancy information and accept user inputs.
Operations of the intelligent building system 100 will now be described. In
general, occupancy of the elevator cab 105 can be visually displayed at a floor on the
display 111, which may be actual imagery, obscured imagery, a cartoon format, or
25 textually. Further, the occupancy can also be transmitted to a user device upon
request or in response to an elevator call, such as when a user device (e.g., cellular
10
phone, tablet computer, etc.) scans a code to receive elevator cab occupancy
information on the user device or can specify the elevator of interest in any other
way. Note that the information provided need not be restricted to elevator cab
occupancy, but cab occupancy has particular value when the cab is full and will not
stop for a hall call on the waiting passenger’s floor. The occupancy information ma5 y
include expected next cab arrival time, alternative elevator selection, elevator
position, elevator motion, known stops of all the elevators in a bank, recommended
alternative elevator, etc. In the case of emergency, when an elevator should not be
used, the information might consist of escape routes, places of refuge, etc. An
10 example of a set of operations by the intelligent building system 100 will be
described with reference to Figure 2, which illustrates a process flow 200.
Process flow 200 begins at start block 210 where the intelligent building
system 100 utilizes the detector 107 to detect the occupancy of the elevator cab 105.
Next, in block 220, the identity information of the occupants is obscured. In one
15 embodiment, the detector 107 is a camera equipped with a processor that captures
images or video of the inside of an elevator 103 (e.g., elevator cab 105). The
processor may also perform image rectification to correct the effects of distortion
from camera mounting location, lens effects, etc. In another embodiment, the
detector 107 may directly provide the captured images or video to the computing
20 device 109, the display 111, and/or the user device, which in turn locally performs
the image rectification.
Next, at block 220, the intelligent building system 100 utilizes the detector
107 (and computing device 109) to detect and implement privacy protection on the
images or video by image processing and/or masking technology that obscure the
25 identification of the people or objects (e.g., occupants) within the elevator cab 105.
For example, using a camera as the detector 107, the computing device 109 may
utilize video based background learning and foreground detection, such as a
11
Gaussian Mixture Model foreground object segmentation. The obtained foreground
information can be obscured, for instance, by replacing the foreground pixel color
with black to create a silhouette. As shown in the Silhouette Example 225 of Figure
2, the detector 107 and computing device 109 may produce an image where the
occupant is a silhouette within the elevator cab 105. In some instances, the images o5 r
video may be processed to depict a cartoon image of the elevator cab 105. Similar to
block 210, other embodiments of the intelligent building system 100 enable the
detector 107 to directly provide the captured images or video to another device for
the image processing, e.g., the computing device 109, the display 111, and/or the
10 user device, which in turn locally performs the image processing.
Then, at block 230, the intelligent building system 100 receives a request for
occupancy information. Block 230 is shown with a dashed-line to illustrate that
receiving the request may be optional because the detector 107 of the intelligent
building system 100 may already be automatically providing the obscured rectified
15 image to the display 111. The request may be generated by a hall call, an elevator
call through a mobile device or device external to the elevator sub-system 101, a
direct interaction with the display 111, a direct interaction with the interface 117, on
a periodic basis, etc.
Next, at block 240, the intelligent building system 100 provides occupancy
20 information with anonymity. For example, the detector 107 can automatically
present the obscured rectified image to the display 111 (e.g., real-time imagery). The
display 111 can also provide the occupancy information with anonymity and/or
obscured rectified image in any form that accurately represents the occupancy of the
elevator cab 105. Additionally, the occupancy information with anonymity can be
25 provided inside the elevator cab 105 to demonstrate to passengers that the estimate is
accurate and thereby convince them that accurate decisions are being made when
they are bypassed.
12
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with respect to a
bypass feature and particularly with respect to Figure 3. Figure 3 is a floor-plan
schematic of an intelligent building system 300 with respect to a particular
intermediate floor (e.g., between the bottom and top floors). The intelligent building
system 300 and elements therein may take many different forms and include multipl5 e
and/or alternate components and facilities. The intelligent building system 300 is
only one example of an intelligent building system and is not intended to suggest any
limitation as to the scope of use or operability of embodiments of the invention
described herein (indeed additional or alternative components and/or
10 implementations may be used).
The intelligent building system 300 includes the elevator sub-system 101.
The elevator sub-system 101 in this embodiment comprises an elevator bank 302 that
includes two elevators 103a, 103b, each of which has a corresponding detector 107a,
107b that monitors occupancy. Further, intelligent building system 300 also
15 illustrates that, within a lobby 310 of the intermediate floor, a user 312 is waiting for
one of the elevators 103a, 103b and code 313 (e.g., interface 113) is oriented on an
elevator side of the lobby 310.
In one operation example, the user 312 presses a call button to initiate a hall
call for one of the elevators 103a, 103b. Further, the user 312 also utilizes a user
20 device to scan the code 313. Based on the scanning of the code 313, the user device
automatically connects to the computing device 109 through a wireless network and
requests occupancy information for the elevators 103a, 103b. In alternative
embodiments, a user device may detect the elevator of interest by other means, e.g.,
the use of wifi beacons, dedicated beacons, near-field communication (NFC), etc. in
25 proximity to the elevator.
13
In response, the computing device 109 causes a prompt or notification
indicating that the elevator call has been made on the user device, along with other
elevator information (e.g., assignment of the elevator 103b). Further, the computing
device 109 connects with the detector 107b to acquire occupancy information. The
detector 107b identifies that the elevator 103b is unoccupied and feeds thi5 s
occupancy information back to the user device through the computing device 109,
which is then displayed to user 312 by the user device. In alternative embodiments,
the occupancy information may be conveyed to an interested user through other
methods such as, display 111, an audio output device (for the convenience of
10 visually impaired people), etc.
Referring now to Figure 3, while the elevator 103b is traveling to pick up the
user, it may acquire a number of passengers 320 and objects such as cart 330.
Unfortunately for the user, this number is equal to a maximum capacity of the
elevator 103b. Therefore, before the elevator 103b arrives at the intermediary floor,
15 the detector 103b identifies that the elevator 103b is full and triggers a bypass feature
in the computing device 109. Next, the computing device 109 reassigns the elevator
103a to the hall call and enables the user to see the occupancy of both elevators 103a,
103b, as detected by the corresponding detectors 107a, 107b. In this way, the
annoyance and/or stress of waiting for one of the elevators 103a, 103b of the elevator
20 bank 302 for the user 312 is mitigated because the user 312 ascertains through the
user device that the first assigned elevator filled up and another elevator is being
dispatched.
Referring now to Figure 4, an example schematic of a computing device 109
of an intelligent building system is shown. The computing device 109 is only one
25 example of a suitable computing node and is not intended to suggest any limitation
as to the scope of use or operability of embodiments of the invention described
herein (indeed additional or alternative components and/or implementations may be
14
used). That is, the computing device 109 and elements therein may take many
different forms and include multiple and/or alternate components and facilities.
Further, the computing device 109 may be any and/or employ any number and
combination of computing devices and networks utilizing various communication
technologies, as described herein. Regardless, the computing device 109 is capabl5 e
of being implemented and/or performing any of the operations set forth hereinabove.
The computing device 109 can be operational with numerous other generalpurpose
or special-purpose computing system environments or configurations.
Systems and/or computing devices, such as the computing device 109, may employ
10 any of a number of computer operating systems. Examples of computing systems,
environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with the computing
device 109 include, but are not limited to, personal computer systems, server
computer systems, thin clients, thick clients, handheld or laptop devices,
multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable
15 consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, computer workstations,
servers, desktops, notebooks, network devices, mainframe computer systems, and
distributed cloud computing environments that include any of the above systems or
devices, and the like.
The computing device 109 may be described in the general context of
20 computer system executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed
by a computer system. Generally, program modules may include routines, programs,
objects, components, logic, data structures, and so on that perform particular tasks or
implement particular abstract data types. The computing device 109 may be
practiced in distributed cloud computing environments where tasks are performed by
25 remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a
distributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be located in both
local and remote computer system storage media including memory storage devices.
15
As shown in Figure 4, the computing device 109 is in the form of a generalpurpose
computing device that is improved upon by the operation and functionality
of the computing device 109, its methods, and/or elements thereof. The components
of the computing device 109 may include, but are not limited to, one or more
processors or processing units (e.g., processor 414), a memory 416, and a bus (5 or
communication channel) 418 which may take the form of a bus, wired or wireless
network, or other forms, that couples various system components including to the
processor 414 and the system memory 416. The computing device 109 also typically
includes a variety of computer system readable media. Such media may be any
10 available media that is accessible by the computing device 109, and it includes both
volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.
The processor 414 may receive computer readable program instructions from
the memory 416 and execute these instructions, thereby performing one or more
processes defined above. The processor 414 may include any processing hardware,
15 software, or combination of hardware and software utilized by the computing device
414 that carries out the computer readable program instructions by performing
arithmetical, logical, and/or input/output operations. Examples of the processor 414
include, but are not limited to an arithmetic logic unit, which performs arithmetic and
logical operations; a control unit, which extracts, decodes, and executes instructions
20 from a memory; and an array unit, which utilizes multiple parallel computing
elements.
The memory 416 may include a tangible device that retains and stores
computer readable program instructions, as provided by the intelligent building
systems 100, 300, for use by the processor 414 of the computing device 109. The
25 memory 416 can include computer system readable media in the form of volatile
memory, such as random access memory 420, cache memory 422, and/or the storage
system 424.
16
By way of example only, the storage system 424 can be provided for reading
from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media (not shown and
typically called a "hard drive", either mechanical or solid-state). Although not
shown, a magnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable, nonvolatile
magnetic disk (e.g., a "floppy disk"), and an optical disk drive for readin5 g
from or writing to a removable, non-volatile optical disk such as a CD-ROM, DVDROM
or other optical media can be provided. In such instances, each can be
connected to the bus 418 by one or more data media interfaces. As will be further
depicted and described below, the memory 416 may include at least one program
10 product having a set (e.g., at least one) of program modules that are configured to
carry out the operations of embodiments of the invention. The storage system 424
(and/or memory 416) may include a database, data repository or other data store and
may include various kinds of mechanisms for storing, accessing, and retrieving
various kinds of data, including a hierarchical database, a set of files in a file system,
15 an application database in a proprietary format, a relational database management
system (RDBMS), etc. The storage system 424 may generally be included within the
computing device 109, as illustrated, employing a computer operating system such as
one of those mentioned above, and is accessed via a network in any one or more of a
variety of manners.
20 Program/utility 426, having a set (at least one) of program modules 428, may
be stored in memory 416 by way of example, and not limitation, as well as an
operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and
program data. Each of the operating system, one or more application programs, other
program modules, and program data or some combination thereof, may include an
25 implementation of a networking environment. Program modules 428 generally carry
out the operations and/or methodologies of embodiments of the invention as
described herein (e.g., the process flow 200).
17
The bus 418 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures,
including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated
graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures.
By way of example, and not limitation, such architectures include Industry Standard
Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced IS5 A
(EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus.
The computing device 109 may also communicate via an input/output (I/O)
interface 430 and/or via a network adapter 432. The I/O interface 430 and/or the
10 network adapter 432 may include a physical and/or virtual mechanism utilized by the
computing device 109 to communicate between elements internal and/or external to
the computing device 109. For example, the I/O interface 430 may communicate
with one or more external devices 440 (e.g., the user device 312), such as a
keyboard, a pointing device, a display 442 (e.g., the display 111), etc.; one or more
15 devices that enable a user to interact with the computing device 109; and/or any
devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.) that enable the computing device 109 to
communicate with one or more other computing devices. Further, the computing
device 109 can communicate with one or more networks such as a local area network
(LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g., the
20 Internet) via network adapter 432. Thus, I/O interface 430 and/or the network
adapter 432 may be configured to receive or send signals or data within or for the
computing device 109. As depicted, the I/O interfaces 430 and the network adapter
432 communicates with the other components of the computing device 109 via the
bus 418. It should be understood that although not shown, other hardware and/or
25 software components could be used in conjunction with the computing device 109.
Examples, include, but are not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant
processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data
archival storage systems, etc.
18
While single items are illustrated for the intelligent building systems 100, 300
and the computing device 109 (and other items) by the Figures, these representations
are not intended to be limiting and thus, any items may represent a plurality of items.
In general, computing devices may include a processor (e.g., a processor 414 of
Figure 4) and a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a memory 416 of Figure 4)5 ,
where the processor receives computer readable program instructions, e.g., from the
computer readable storage medium, and executes these instructions, thereby
performing one or more processes, including one or more of the processes described
herein.
10 Computer readable program instructions may be compiled or interpreted from
computer programs created using assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture
(ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode,
firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object code written
in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object
15 oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional
procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or
similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may
execute entirely on a computing device, partly on the computing device, as a standalone
software package, partly on a local computing device and partly on a remote
20 computer device or entirely on the remote computer device. In the latter scenario, the
remote computer may be connected to the local computer through any type of
network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or
the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the
Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic
25 circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable
gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer
readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable
program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform
19
aspects of the present invention. Computer readable program instructions described
herein may also be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a
computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage
device via a network (e.g., any combination of computing devices and connections
that support communication). For example, a network may be the Internet, a loca5 l
area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network, comprise copper
transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers,
firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers, and utilize a plurality of
communication technologies, such as radio technologies, cellular technologies, etc.
10 Computer readable storage mediums may be a tangible device that retains
and stores instructions for use by an instruction execution device (e.g., a computing
device as described above). A computer readable storage medium may be, for
example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage
device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor
15 storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list
of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the
following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory
(RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory
(EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable
20 compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a
memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or
raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable
combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein,
is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other
25 freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating
through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a
fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.
20
Thus, the intelligent building system and method and/or elements thereof
may be implemented as computer readable program instructions on one or more
computing devices, stored on computer readable storage medium associated
therewith. A computer program product may comprise such computer readable
program instructions stored on computer readable storage medium for carryin5 g
and/or causing a processor to carry out the operations of building system and
method. The intelligent building system, as implemented and/or claimed, improves
the functioning of a computer and/or processor itself by enabling a seamless user
experience between elevators and system through providing elevator information,
10 including cab occupancy information with anonymity, to elevator users. In this way,
the embodiments of the present invention improve upon existing building and
elevator schemes by adding/modifying operations and/or devices of those schemes to
present the occupancy of the elevator to eliminate annoyance and stress of the users
(e.g., waiting passengers).
15 Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to
flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and
computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be
understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and
combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be
20 implemented by computer readable program instructions.
These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a
processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other
programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the
instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable
25 data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the operations/acts
specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer
readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage
21
medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus,
and/or other devices to operate in a particular manner, such that the computer
readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of
manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the operation/act
specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks5 .
The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a
computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a
series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable
apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the
10 instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other
device implement the operations/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram
block or blocks.
The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture,
operability, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and
15 computer program products according to various embodiments of the present
invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may
represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or
more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical operation(s). In
some alternative implementations, the operations noted in the block may occur out of
20 the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in
fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be
executed in the reverse order, depending upon the operability involved. It will also
be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and
combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be
25 implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified
operations or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and
computer instructions.
22
The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have
been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or
limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be
apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and
spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to bes5 t
explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical
improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of
ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular
10 embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein,
the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as
well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that
the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify
the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or
15 components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one more other features,
integers, steps, operations, element components, and/or groups thereof.
The flow diagrams depicted herein are just one example. There may be many
variations to this diagram or the steps (or operations) described therein without
departing from the spirit of the invention. For instance, the steps may be performed
20 in a differing order or steps may be added, deleted or modified. All of these
variations are considered a part of the claimed invention.
While the preferred embodiment to the invention had been described, it will
be understood that those skilled in the art, both now and in the future, may make
various improvements and enhancements which fall within the scope of the claims
25 which follow. These claims should be construed to maintain the proper protection for
the invention first described.
23

We Claim:
1. A method, comprising:
detecting an occupancy of an elevator cab of an elevator to generate occupancy
information;
generating anonymized occupancy information based on the occupancy information5 ;
and
providing the anonymized occupancy information to enable the occupancy of the
elevator cab to be presented with anonymity for occupants.
10 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting of the occupancy of the
elevator cab of the elevator to generate occupancy information further
comprises capturing by a detector images of an inside of the elevator cab.
3. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the occupants include mobile
15 entities and accoutrement of the mobile entities.
4. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the anonymized occupancy
information includes a real-time image stream of the elevator cab with each
occupant anonymized.
20
5. The method of any preceding claim, wherein a display in an elevator lobby is
configured to perform the providing of the anonymized occupancy
information.
25 6. The method of any preceding claim, further comprising:
receiving a request for the occupancy information initiated by a device external to
the processor.
24
7. The method of any preceding claim, further comprising:
providing an image rectified with obscuration to a device to enable the occupancy of
the elevator cab to be presented via the display of the device with anonymity.
8. The method of any preceding claim, wherein a computing device of a5 n
elevator sub-system is configured to control operations of the elevator
including a bypass feature with respect to the occupancy of the elevator cab.
9. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the occupancy information
10 includes a total number of occupants or a location of each occupant.
10. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the generating of the
anonymized occupancy information based on the occupancy information
includes generating an image rectified with obscuration.
15
11. A system, comprising:
a detector configured to detect an occupancy of an elevator cab of an elevator
and to provide occupancy information based on the detection of the
occupancy; and
20 a processor, communicatively coupled to the detector, configured to receive
the occupancy information from the detector and to generate anonymized
occupancy information based on the occupancy information,
wherein the anonymized occupancy information enables the occupancy of the
elevator cab to be presented with anonymity for occupants.
25
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the detector is a camera configured to
capture images of an inside of the elevator cab in support of the detecting of
25
the occupancy of the elevator cab of the elevator to generate occupancy
information.
13. The system of claims 11 or 12, wherein the processor is a computing device
of an elevator sub-system of the system, an5 d
wherein the computing device is configured to control operations of the
elevator including a bypass feature with respect to the occupancy of the
elevator cab.
10 14. The system of claims 11, 12, or 13, wherein the occupancy information
includes a total number of occupants or a location of each occupant.
15. The system of claims 11, 12, 13, or 14, wherein the processor is configured to
generate the anonymized occupancy information based on the occupancy
15 information to include an image rectified with obscuration.