US20170364924A1

US20170364924A1 - Mobile units for furnishing, repairing and refurbishing residences

Info

Publication number: US20170364924A1
Application number: US15/622,573
Authority: US
Inventors: James Duane Bennett; Bindu Rama Rao
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2016-06-15
Filing date: 2017-06-14
Publication date: 2017-12-21
Also published as: US10942989B2; US10726103B2; US20170365150A1; US20170364667A1; US20180365394A1; US10127362B2; US20170364091A1; US20170364828A1; US20200334340A1

Abstract

A network of modular, multitier user's device (mobile unit) that identifies wear, tear and stains, and repairs and refurbishes indoor and outdoor of a house or building using historical data. The user's device also provides interior decoration and designing support, and supports bidding from the handymen or repair contract companies as well. In addition, the user's device supports subsequent promotions and sales, walls and floor underground mapping. A tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services provides support for a plurality of the user's devices, to perform abovementioned functionalities. In addition, a tier 3 handyman/repair contract company server and tier 1-2 handyman/repair contract company device provide, sales and after sales support for the user's devices. Moreover, the infrastructure also provides layer based mapping services and supports an augmented reality presentation for the authorized people.

Description

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present U.S. Utility Patent Application claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/350,187, entitled “Modular Mobile Units,” filed Jun. 15, 2016, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and made part of the present U.S. Utility Patent Application for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to artificial intelligence based service devices, and, more specifically, devices that repair and refurbish, and perform interior decoration and designing at a household.

2. Related Art

There are vacuum cleaners and lawn mowers available today that perform only their primary functionalities of vacuum cleaning and lawn mowing, albeit in an intelligent fashion. There are many robots available that perform a plurality of primary functionalities, yet though the number of functionalities is very limited.
For example, robots with some functionalities, such as vacuum cleaning, litter cleaning, window cleaning, grill cleaning, floor wiping, body massaging, pet feeding, pet and children toys, lawn mowing and companionship built into them, are available today. They function more or less autonomously, except for charging the robots.
These robots and other intelligent machines do come with limited support from the manufacturers or sellers and their limited functionalities necessitate many robots to be purchased to ease out the modern household service needs. Once bought, the only fallback is the warranty provided by the manufacturers or stores, these devices do not come with limited automatic software support.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art through comparison of such systems with the present invention.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to apparatus and methods of operation that are further described in the following Brief Description of the Drawings, the Detailed Description of the Invention, and the claims. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective block diagram of identifying wear, tear and stains, repairing and refurbishing using historical data, interior decoration and designing support and bidding, and subsequent promotions and sales, walls and floor underground mapping infrastructure, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective block diagram illustrating tier 0-2 user's device of FIG. 1, in detail;

FIG. 3 is a perspective block diagram illustrating tier 3 handyman/repair contract company server and tier 1-2 handyman/repair contract company device of FIG. 1, in detail;

FIG. 4 is a perspective block diagram illustrating repairing and refurbishing, interior decoration and designing, bidding, promotions and sales, walls and floor underground mapping infrastructure, wherein a tier 3 cloud system manages a plurality of user devices;

FIG. 5 is a perspective block diagram illustrating the concept of layering, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective block diagram illustrating functionalities of an exemplary repairing and refurbishing, interior decoration and designing, bidding, promotions and sales, walls and floor underground mapping infrastructure 605, wherein a lawnmower repairs a road in field;

FIG. 7 is a perspective block diagram illustrating functionalities of an exemplary repairing and refurbishing, interior decoration and designing, bidding, promotions and sales, walls and floor underground mapping infrastructure, wherein a house drone and custom-built bot map the interior and exterior of a home, into multiple layers.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the processes involved in cataloguing household items; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the exemplary processes involved in displaying 905 augmented reality based information, when a request for interior decoration or furniture comes along.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective block diagram of identifying wear, tear and stains, repairing and refurbishing using historical data, interior decoration and designing support and bidding, and subsequent promotions and sales, walls and floor underground mapping infrastructure 105, in accordance with the present invention. In specific, a tier 0-2 user's device 151, by interacting with a tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 111, tier 3 furniture vendor server 181 and tier 3 handyman/repair contract company server 171, performs and manages a plurality of functions in and around a house or building, that includes the abovementioned functions. The tier 0-2 user's device 151 could be any of the mobile units such as vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers, drones, robots (or bots) and custom-built user devices. The tier 0-2 user's device 151 is an autonomous mobile unit that moves around the interior or exterior of a house or building based on its own volition or by the user's orders and manages or performs the abovementioned functions.
A vacuum cleaner or bot, for example, can move around the interior of a house and generate the historical data based on the sensor inputs. Periodically, the vacuum cleaner or bot stores thus generated historical data (the carpet color, for example) in the databases of the tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 111. If the change in carpet color is more than certain predetermined quantity, the vacuum cleaner or bot informs the user regarding the need of replacement or repair, after interacting with the tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 111 or tier 3 handyman/repair contract company server 171.
Similarly, for example, a mobile unit such as a drone or custom-built furniture monitoring system (tier 0-2 user's device 151) can hover or move around the furniture of a house or building and generate the historical data, which then is stored in the tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 111. By comparing the original condition with the current condition, such as changes in the fabric color or fabric stitches, the tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 111, via the drone or custom-built furniture monitoring system (tier 0-2 user's device 151), informs the user about need for repair or refurbishing of the furniture.
For example, the drone or custom-built furniture monitoring system (tier 0-2 user's device 151) might say, “Hi John, the fabric behind the three seater furniture is tearing apart, would you like to request the handyman or repair contract company about this?” or “Hello Robert, there is a stain in the recliner, would you like to get it refurbished?” Then, based on the user's input, the drone or custom-built furniture monitoring system (tier 0-2 user's device 151) interacts with the tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 111 and tier 3 handyman/repair contract company server 171 to get the bidding from different companies for the best possible refurbishing price. For these purposes, the tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 111 contains repair/refurbish module 121 and historical data module 139.
Furthermore, the infrastructure 105 provides support for interior decoration and design, renovating and bidding. To perform these actions, the infrastructure 105 has augmented reality (AR) facilities.
To begin with, the user can order the mobile unit (tier 0-2 user's device 151) to layer map the interior and exterior of the house or building, either periodically or only when ordered to do so. Then, the mobile unit (tier 0-2 user's device 151), equipped with radar and other underground or interior of the walls layer mapping equipment, moves around the walls and floors, and maps the entire interior of the house or building and garden (exterior of the house or building) and separates them into layers. These layers contain both fixed layers (immovable layers, such as walls and floors, electrical wiring, plumbing pipes, tubes and other hidden objects inside the walls and floors, furniture, wall hangings and so forth) and movable layers (such as newspapers, books, keys, smartphones, people and so forth). Some of these layers can be hidden from the viewers, for security reasons, for example. For these purposes, the tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 111 contains layering module 119, augmented reality module 133 and layer hiding module 135, the tier 0-2 user's device 151 contains AR and layering module 157 and the tier 3 handyman/repair contract company server 171 contains AR module 175.
The user, handyman and repair contract company possess their own augmented reality equipment, that comes along with tier 0-2 user's device 151 or tier 1-2 handyman/repair contract company device 185, wherein, if authorized, they can superimpose certain house or building layers (just the wall and floor layers, for example) with the handyman/repair contract company products to see which of their products fits/matches best for the layout. The tier 3 handyman/repair contract company, based on the AR equipment and layer maps, can suggest many different types of products (such as furniture for living rooms or plumbing fixtures for bathrooms) and the user can try and workout which products suit best. All these can be done even when any of these people are not in the house or building and instead happens to be in remote locations. For example, at a store, the user can remote view house or building using augmented reality, and then figure out if furniture in store “will fit” the remote room back at the house or building.
Such remote augmented reality viewing of the house or building can “hide or remove” specific items in the house or building that the user wishes to hide, such as the location of a safe, or of expensive equipment. In other words, the AR equipment (within the tier 0-2 user's device 151 or tier 1-2 handyman/repair contract company device 185) display hides some “layers” of information/objects, and display other layers. Similarly, it can hide or make fuzzy faces of children, for privacy reasons.
In addition, a plurality of handymen and repair contract companies can bid for many of the repairing and refurbishing (using historical data), interior decoration and designing. The handymen or repair contract companies can gather layer information interior or exterior to the house or building, before placing their bids. The layer information includes the leakages in plumbing inside the walls or floors, rodent and pest information, stain and discoloration information of carpet or furniture and so forth. In return, the user can decide which of the handymen and repair contract companies he or she wishes to choose to do the job, based on their capabilities or the price. Alternatively, the tier 0-2 user's device 151 can measure carpet for replacement, and calculate the amount of paint or packages of wood flooring necessary, and auto estimate price, and can tie in with installation fees, all as a part of the one click offers. For these purposes, the tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 111 contains bidding module 123 and rodent/pest control module 125, the tier 0-2 user's device 151 contains bidding module 159.
In general, the tier 0-2 user's device 151 can patrol house or building not just for security reasons (listen, sniff, photos) but also to spot repair needs, including problems that require immediate intervention—like flooding (pipe burst) and overflowing tubs, boiling overflow in the kitchen etc. For example, the user can order the tier 0-2 user's device 151, such as “Bot, come to the kitchen and watch the stove for me.” The tier 0-2 user's device 151 sits there and looks for over boiling, fire starts or turkey getting too dark and sniffs for burning. All tie ins and can control stove turn off and fire extinguish and call the cook, fire depo, etc. For the abovementioned purposes, the tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 111 contains artificial intelligence engine 127, the tier 0-2 user's device 151 contains artificial intelligence module 155.
As mentioned above, the tier 0-2 user's device 151 also has the capability to map the house or building backyard all the way up to a fence or a road (and entirely capable of being precise). If the tier 0-2 user's device 151 can detect pipes and underground layouts, it inserts into the layer map. Hence, the plants and trees of the yard can be utilized in the augmented reality viewing. In addition, the tier 0-2 user's device 151 can also map electrical, fiber, drainage and gas lines, powerline location, pipes, utility location, hot and cold water pipes, PVC running pipes, wiring pipes, etc. If the tier 0-2 user's device 151 is a house drone, it can move up and down walls collecting signals and provide the mapping. This can be done periodically or when the user orders it to do so. The tier 0-2 user's device 151 can also connect runs by overlaying maps from floor to floor in architectural plans with layering for electrical, plumbing, etc. Moreover, the tier 0-2 user's device 151 also moves exterior to the house or building, then interior to it, and collects all the layer map information, then produces architecture drawings. The tier 0-2 user's device 151, such as a drone, can also fly around the neighborhood to map and show the area. Moreover, the tier 0-2 user's device 151 can drive down a pipe taking pictures and measuring how far it travelled so that a defect can be detected and a hole dug which falls at the exact, correct spot.
To map the layers and produce entire area mapping, the tier 0-2 user's device 151 utilizes a technology known as ground penetrating radar (GPR)—which is also known as electromagnetic pipe detection (EPD). This science is based on the principle that an electrical current will flow along a conductive material, creating a magnetic field which can be received as a signal, and indicate the presence of a pipeline. (This technology is commonly utilized in oil and gas transmission lines since they are routinely comprised of carbon or low alloy steels which carry a current.) Since gas distribution lines are commonly polyethylene (PE), which do not carry a current, tracer wire is typically installed alongside the pipeline. The wire can be charged at various access points and the lines become traceable using instruments such as 3M Dynatel® underground locating equipment. The tier 0-2 user's device 151 also utilizes an acoustic actuator that connects with the surface and transmits a signal into the ground. The instrument is extremely sensitive, it measures the reflected energy and processes the data to illustrate the location of underground pipes.
To repair in field, the tier 0-2 user's device 151, such as a lawn mower, has a rake function to fill a hole that might trap a tire. Similarly, the tier 0-2 user's device 151 scraps nearby dirt into a hole area to fill it. Many similar functionalities of repair in field are contemplated. For example, rodents like moles or gophers are dealt with via hole raking and poison dispensing into those holes.
Furthermore, the historical data can also be utilized to remind the user where he or she has left the keys, TV remotes, wallet and so forth (based on when the tier 0-2 user's device 151 encountered them last). Moreover, the tier 0-2 user's device 151 also utilizes augmented reality to search by styles. For example, the tier 0-2 user's device 151 also uses “lamps like this” image search, African style, match my current color or furniture style as search criteria.
To perform the abovementioned functionalities, the tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 111 also contains operational control support 113, user/app command interface 115 (and voice recognition and synthesis 117), sensor processing support 129 (and video, security, recognition etc. module 131) and sales/advertisement module 137. In addition, the tier 0-2 user's device 151 also contains user interface module 153, tier 3 handyman/repair contract company server 171 also contains access request manager 173, sales module 177 and advertising module 179, and tier 3 furniture vendor server 181 contains access request manager.
The communication between the tier 0-2 user's device 151 and tier 1-2 handyman/repair contract company device 185 can occur wirelessly (via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth®). In general, the communication between the tier 0-2 user's device 151, tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 111, tier 3 furniture vendor server 181, tier 3 handyman/repair contract company server 171 and tier 1-2 handyman/repair contract company device 185 occurs via communication networks 191, that includes internet, intranet and household wired or wireless (via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, optical or infrared) communication networks.
A “furniture layout design module” in the furniture vendor server 181 enables remote virtual reality tour of the residence of a user by a furniture vendor/salesman. Such virtual tour enables review of furniture placement problems, estimate dimension limits, layout options and color matching needs. Such virtual tour of a residence or premises by a furniture salesman, for example, facilitates proper understanding of what the furniture needs are in the space available, and what types of furniture need to be purchased. For example, it also provides for realtime augmented reality walk through of a user's premises by a remote furniture salesman or interior decorator wherein both the user (owner of residence for example) and the remote decorator/salesman experience the same walk-through the user's residence guided by the user/owner.
It should be clear that the mobile unit modelled after the tier 0-2 user devices 151 takes many forms, such as a CAR, a truck, a semi-robotic or robotic vehicle. For example, the tier 0-2 user devices 151 is anything that is robotic, mobile and capable of data collection and sharing in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective block diagram illustrating tier 0-2 user's device 205 of FIG. 1, in detail. A tier 0-2 user's device 211 can be a vacuum cleaner, lawn mower, house drone, bots or any other custom-built mobile units, with at least secondary functions fulfilling the requirements of identifying wear, tear and stains, repairing and refurbishing using historical data, interior decoration and designing support and bidding, and subsequent promotions and sales, walls and floor underground mapping. To perform these functions, the tier 0-2 user's device 211 should have support and services of at least historical data stored somewhere in the cloud and a plurality of additional functional modules available in the cloud based support systems (as described with reference to the FIG. 1). However, when in offline mode or breakdown of communication network 291, to continue to fulfill the abovementioned functions to a limited extent, the tier 0-2 user's device 211 has a plurality of elementary functionalities, as described here, with reference to the FIG. 2.
A user interface module 213 facilitates the tier 0-2 user's device's 211 interactions with the user, user's family members and friends. The user interface module 213 contains key boards, microphones, displays and speakers (somewhat similar to a smartphone's interfaces), as well as memories, with software to handle the interactions intelligently. These sensors and emitters make communications with the user possible, and in addition, the facilities of cloud server available to provide higher level, realistic, advanced and intelligent communications.
AR and layering module 221, artificial intelligence module 215 and bidding module 223 have the same functionalities as that of 157, 155 and 159 respectively, as described with reference to the FIG. 1. To identify the pipelines, plumbing pipes, electrical wires and such objects interior to the walls and floors, and separate them into the layers, and produce entire indoor and outdoor area mapping, the tier 0-2 user's device 211 contains indoor wall/underground mapping module 229 and outdoor underground mapping module 231.
Further, an object tracking module 237 records all the stationary and movables layering and sends them to the cloud based support systems for further analysis and storage. A ground penetrating radar (GPR) module 233 (which works on the basis of the scientific principle that an electrical current will flow along a conductive material, creating a magnetic field which can be received as a signal, and indicate the presence of a pipeline) supports the functionalities of indoor wall/underground mapping module 229 and outdoor underground mapping module 231.
A 2D/3D house plant generation module 217 generates the house plan (including multiple layers) upon order from the user and sends them to the cloud based support systems for further analysis and storage. An interior/exterior architectural drawer 239 prepares architectural drawings in conjunction with the cloud based support systems. A 2D/3D remote house plan AR viewing module 225 converts the abovementioned drawings into augmented reality (AR) map and sends them to AR viewing devices in the user's hands or handyman's/repair contract company's hands. This facilitates user to purchase products, such as a sofa set, recliners, other furniture, carpets, wall hanging artworks and so forth, from many different sellers.
An interior/exterior asset tracking module 243 allows the tier 0-2 user's device 211 to move around the house, to track assets such as lamps, wall hangings, furniture and other indoor or outdoor assets, catalogue them and store them locally or in the cloud based support systems. This allows the tier 0-2 user's device 211 to provide the user, at any time, details of assets upon request, instantly. A rodent/pest control module 235 wanders around the house to detect and identify pests and rodents in indoors or outdoors and informs the user as well as cloud based support systems and provides the user with details of handyman/repair contract company who can eliminate them.
Furthermore, an emergency/accident trigger module 219 and indoor/outdoor security trigger module 227 provide accident and security assistance to the user at any moment tier 0-2 user's device 211 senses of danger. Finally, a repair in field module 241 monitors for any situation in which it is possible to repair indoors or outdoors and fixes them quickly.
The communication between the tier 0-2 user's device 211 and tier 1-2 handyman/repair contract company server/device 217 occurs wirelessly (via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth®), whereas communication between the tier 0-2 user's device 211 and cloud based support systems occur via the communication networks 191, such as internet, intranet and household wired or wireless communication networks.
FIG. 3 is a perspective block diagram illustrating tier 3 handyman/repair contract company server and tier 1-2 handyman/repair contract company device 305 of FIG. 1, in detail. The tier 3 handyman/repair contract company server 381 is an independent server that belongs to the handyman/repair contract company and functions in conjunction with the cloud based support systems (described with reference to the FIG. 1), tier 1-2 handyman/repair contract company device 311 and tier 0-2 user's device 361. Similarly, tier 3 furniture vendor server 371 belongs to the furniture vendors and works in conjunction with the cloud based support systems (refer to the FIG. 1) and tier 0-2 user's device 361. The primary functions of the tier 3 handyman/repair contract company server 381 and tier 3 furniture vendor server 371 are to sell their products, provide after sales services and contract services.
Therefore, the tier 3 handyman/repair contract company server 381 contains a sales module 343 and AR sales module 351. The AR (augmented reality) sales module 351 provides in store facilities for the buyer to check out handyman/repair contract company products and services in a realistic way, by superimposing their products with the realistic conditions of the house or building. For example, if the handyman's/repair contract company's main objective is to sell paints (products) or painting the house or building (services), then the buyer can see how his or her house would look like after the painting is done, both indoors and outdoors. This is done by augmented reality headsets that superimposes the house or building with the products of handyman/repair contract company.
The tier 3 handyman/repair contract company server 381 also contains AR module 341, access request manager 347, remote living space explorer module 349 and advertising module 345. Similarly, the tier 3 furniture vendor server 371 contains access request manager 373. The remote living space explorer module 349 enables remote virtual reality tour of the residence of a user by a remote handyman. Such virtual tour enables review of problems, estimate generation for fixing problems, and facilitates proper understanding of what repairs need to be performed. For example, it also provides for realtime augmented reality walk through of a user's premises by a remote handyman wherein both the user (owner of residence for example) and the remote handyman experience the same walk-through the user's residence guided by the user/owner.
The tier 1-2 handyman/repair contract company device 311 is typically a handheld device, used by the handyman/repair contract company, for the purpose of sales and services in the vicinity of the house or building. It contains 2D remote house plan AR viewing module 319 and 3D remote house plan AR viewing module 321, for viewing the interior and exterior of the house or building, either layer by layer or exposing only certain layers while hiding others, and then superimposing it with the handyman's/repair contract company's products and services.
What is more, the tier 1-2 handyman/repair contract company device 311 also contains AR (augmented reality) sales module 323, which allows, for example, the handyman/repair contract company to check out the house or building and to figure out precisely what repair works need to be done and how to accomplish the job efficiently and economically. The tier 1-2 handyman/repair contract company device 311 also contains repair in-field sales module 327, rodent/pest control sales module 329 and home examination sales module 331.
The communication between the tier 0-2 user's device 361, tier 1-2 handyman/repair contract company device 311, tier 3 handyman/repair contract company server 381, tier 3 furniture vendor server 371 and cloud based support systems occur via communication networks 391, that includes internet, intranet and household wired or wireless communication networks.
FIG. 4 is a perspective block diagram illustrating repairing and refurbishing, interior decoration and designing, bidding, promotions and sales, walls and floor underground mapping infrastructure 405, wherein a tier 3 cloud system manages a plurality of user devices. The tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 411 manages a plurality of user devices, user device 1 461, user device 2 463, user device N 265, and thereby gains “experiences” via the stored memory of historical data of the plurality of user devices 461, 463, 465 and a plurality of tier 3 handyman/repair contract company servers/devices 471. Communication networks 491 makes the communication between a plurality of tier 0-2 user devices 461, 463, 465, plurality of tier 3 handyman/repair contract company servers/devices 471 and the tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 411 possible. The communication networks 491 include internet, intranet and household wired or wireless communication networks.
The tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 411 consists of operational control support 413, user/app command interface 415 (and voice recognition and synthesis 417), layering module 419, repair/refurnish module 421, bidding module 423, rodent/pest control module 425, artificial intelligence engine 427, sensor processing support 429 (and video, security, recognition etc. module 431), augmented reality module 433 (and layer hiding module 435), sales/advertisement module 437 and historical data module 439. The functionalities of these modules have been described with reference to the FIG. 1.
However, the historical data module 439 also consists of a database, where a plurality of the layer related timelines is stored, with reference to each of the plurality of the user devices 461, 463 or 465 and provided to the plurality of tier 3 handyman/repair contract company servers/devices 471, with the user's permissions to complete a sales or service transaction. Interpretations of these stored historical data from a plurality of user devices 461, 463, 465 is tantamount to gaining experience, as one set of historical data stored can be utilized to predict events in any one of the future similar incidents pertaining to the user device 461, 463 or 465.
For example, among the plurality of user devices 461, 463 and 465, many of them might have come across the situation wherein the user intending to purchase a recliner for a corner of the house. The circumstances related to such an event is stored in the database of historical data module 439. When, next time a user device 461, 463 or 465 enquires for a recliner for that corner of the room, having equipped with the map of the room and historical data of countless number of similar purchases, the tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 411 can suggest the right kind of recliner, matching in color, size, features and cost. It can also suggest the furniture shops where such recliners are available and make them bid with best offers.
FIG. 5 is a perspective block diagram illustrating the concept of layering 505, in accordance with the present invention. The layered maps of both indoor and outdoor of a house or building, as a concept, involves breaking up of the contents into multiple layers. For example, a dining room layered map would involve breaking up of its contents (that are visible in a photo image, for example) into multiple layers, as depicted in the current FIG. 505. In general, there are two types of layers, ones with movable contents and ones with immovable contents.
In the depiction, there are layers with movable objects, such as books 531, keys, wallets, people, pets and other objects that do not stand in there permanently. These are collectively formed into a layer, for example, a first layer. Similarly, the objects that are semi-permanent such as table 533, chairs 535, cupboards are formed into a second layer. The objects on the surface of the walls and floor, such as hanging artworks 519, carpets, electrical sockets are formed in to a third layer. The plain walls 517 and floors themselves are formed into a fourth layer. Similarly, the interior of the wall 511 and floor (an imaginary, but not physical, layer), containing plumbing pipes 515, tubes 513 and electrical wiring and the outer sides of the walls and floors are considered to be a fifth layer.
All these, first to fifth, layers are conceptual, and in the map, they are separable. Certain layers can be hidden while generating 2D or 3D maps for augmented reality, for example, or only certain other layers may be shown. For example, in a store, in order to purchase a sofa-set for the living room, only the walls can be shown in an AR headset. The user sees only the fourth layer (that is, walls and floors of the living room) and the sofa-set being superimposed on this fourth layer image, in the AR headset.
In the depiction, the layered mapping tools (tier 0-2 user's device of the FIG. 1) such as a house drone 537 and vacuum cleaner 539 can also be seen. These user's devices 537, 539 are equipped with tools to “see through” the walls and floors and map them into multiple layers, all by themselves, periodically or when the user orders them to do so.
FIG. 6 is a perspective block diagram illustrating functionalities of an exemplary repairing and refurbishing, interior decoration and designing, bidding, promotions and sales, walls and floor underground mapping infrastructure 605, wherein a lawnmower repairs a road in field. The lawnmower 657, depicted herein, has a built-in rake (a tool) 653 that can do minor repairs in field, on a road or on the lawn. It can fill up potholes on the road, fix minor damages to the lawn ground, upon order from the owner or during periodic inspections.
For example, the lawnmower 657 has a rake function to fill a hole that might trap a tire (that is, scraping nearby dirt into the hole area to fill it). The lawnmower 657 does this back and forth for hours till the hole or mound is level. Moreover, it is possible to pour in some dirt/mulch that could be toted and dropped, then rolled over and over to press it down. Similarly, the lawnmower 657 drops dirt where water has eroded pathways that need to be filled. In addition, the lawnmower 657 has the ability to map the backyard all the way up to a fence or the road 663, and therefore entirely capable of being precise, and if it can detect pipes and underground layouts, it inserts into the map. Based on historical data, the lawnmower 657 can identify where it can fix minor problems and informs to the owner about it. Based on the owner's order (via a AR headset 671, from the home 673), at present or in the past, the lawnmower 657 fixes these problems.
To support the above-said functionalities of the lawnmower 657, the cloud support systems (the tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 611) consist of operational control support 613, user/app command interface 615 (and voice recognition and synthesis 617), layering module 619, repair/refurnish module 621, bidding module 623, rodent/pest control module 625, artificial intelligence engine 627, sensor processing support 629 (and video, security, recognition etc. module 631), augmented reality module 633 (and layer hiding module 635), sales/advertisement module 637 and historical data module 639. Moreover, the lawnmower 657 has sensors and emitters 655 and a processing unit or brain unit 651, with sufficient memory, to be able to perform intelligent functionalities on its own, even when it is functioning offline.
The communication between the lawnmower (tier 0-2 user's device) 657 and the tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 611 occur via communication networks 691, which could be combinations of internet, intranet and household wired or wireless communication networks. The communication between the lawnmower 657 and AR headset 671, which also performs duty as a handheld controller, occurs via wireless (via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, optical or infrared) communication networks.
FIG. 7 is a perspective block diagram illustrating functionalities of an exemplary repairing and refurbishing, interior decoration and designing, bidding, promotions and sales, walls and floor underground mapping infrastructure 705, wherein a house drone and custom-built bot map the interior and exterior of a home, into multiple layers. The house drone 763 and custom-built mobile device 765 patrols indoor and outdoor of a home 761 not just for mapping (using radars and other ground/wall penetrating signals) but also to spot repair needs, including problems that require immediate intervention—like flooding (pipe 785 burst) and overflowing tubs, boiling overflow in the kitchen etc.
The house drone 763 and custom-built mobile device 765 move around the house (both interior and exterior to the home) and identify pipes 785, and other plumbing and electrical fixtures, on the wall and floor as well as inside the wall and floor. The house drone 763 and custom-built mobile device 765 coordinate between each other, complement each other in terms of functions and divide the mapping works between them. Ultimately, the docking system 783 (via its processing unit 781 or brain unit), in conjunction with a tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 711, assemble them into a single coherent multiple layered map (or architectural drawing).
The custom-built mobile device 765 has sensors (such as camera 775 and microphone 769) and emitters (such as speakers 773) and a processing unit or brain unit 771, with sufficient memory, to be able to perform the abovementioned types of functionalities. To support the above-said functionalities of the mobile devices 765, 763, the tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 711 consists of operational control support 713, user/app command interface 715 (and voice recognition and synthesis 717), layering module 719, repair/refurnish module 721, bidding module 723, rodent/pest control module 725, artificial intelligence engine 727, sensor processing support 729 (and video, security, recognition etc. module 731), augmented reality module 733 (and layer hiding module 735), sales/advertisement module 737 and historical data module 739.
The communication between the tier 0-2 user's devices 765, 763 and tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services 711 occur via communication networks 791, which includes internet, intranet and household wired or wireless communication networks. The communication between the tier 0-2 user's devices 765, 763 and the docking system 783, occurs via wireless (via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, optical or infrared) communication networks.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the processes involved in cataloguing household items 805. The method starts at a block 809, wherein the user's device (mobile unit or bot) gathers a list of items in the household (both indoors and outdoors), as sensed by a variety of sensors. The most prominent sensor being a video camera, it images the items in the house from a variety angles and either processes them to identify the item all by itself, or in conjunction with a tier 3 handyman/repair contract company server/device, tier 3 furniture vendor server and/or tier 3 user and manufacturer cloud based systems and services server.
At a next block 811, the user's device associates each of the listed items with a layer. For example, the floor itself is considered to be a layer, the next layer contains all the items on it, such as the furniture, TV stand, makeup unit and so forth. The movable items, such as key bunch, books, towels and so forth, on the furniture are considered to be a next layer. At a next block 813, the user's device catalogues all items in the list, along with date/time stamps. The user's device keeps on doing this periodically or upon user's order at any time, and stores the results in a database.
At a next decision block 815, the user's device determines if any request for information pertaining to a service is made. If no, the user's device continues to catalogue items periodically and stores them in a database. If yes at the decision block 815, at a next decision block 817, the user's device determines if the person who's making the request at the block 815 is authorized for the information pertaining to that service. If the answer is no at the decision block 817, the user's device continues to catalogue items periodically or upon user's orders, and stores them in a database. The authorized person, for example, may make request for the information to find a lost or misplaced key bunch.
If the decision is yes at the block 817, the user device exposes some layers pertaining to the requested service, at a next block 819. The authorized person who lost key bunch, for example, may request for a couple of prior records in terms of time and the user's device provides the past catalogue information. From those past records of movable items catalogue, the user is able to figure out precisely where the key bunch is.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the exemplary processes involved in displaying 905 augmented reality based information, when a request for interior decoration or furniture comes along. The method starts at a block 907. At a next block 909, the user's device (mobile unit) receives request for multi-layer information. The request can come from anywhere, locally or remote place, such as when the user is in a furniture shop or anywhere else where interior decoration products are available. However, the request is not limited to shopping alone.
At a next block 911, the user's device prepares for responding to the request of augmented display of the living room (for interior decoration or furniture), by removing all layers except wall layer and floor layer. The request could also be for living room with furniture (as in shopping for additional furniture for the living room, such as a recliner) and interior decoration (as in shopping for a painting, to figure out how it fits in), in which case the user's device also retains one more layer along with wall layer and floor layer. In addition, the request may also come from the user in a remote place, far away from the city where the user resides or where the house happens to be.
At a next decision block 913, the user's device determines if the request is for interior decoration or furniture. If no at the decision block 913, the user's device ends the processes at a block 921. If, on the other hand it is yes, at a next decision block 915, the user's device determines if the user is authorized for the requested information. Again, if no at the decision block 915, the user's device ends the processes at the block 921. If it is determined that the user is authorized for the information at the block 915, the user's device continues to process for the requested information.
At a next block 917, the user's device loads the augmented reality related interior decoration or furniture information. The information is that of hiding certain layers and delivering rest of the layer information, such as wall layer and floor layer alone. At a next block 919, the user's device delivers all the layer information and other augmented reality related information for the display. The AR headset then superimposes interior decoration or furniture information on the delivered information.
As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, the terms “operably coupled” and “communicatively coupled,” as may be used herein, include direct coupling and indirect coupling via another component, element, circuit, or module where, for indirect coupling, the intervening component, element, circuit, or module does not modify the information of a signal but may adjust its current level, voltage level, and/or power level. As one of ordinary skill in the art will also appreciate, inferred coupling (i.e., where one element is coupled to another element by inference) includes direct and indirect coupling between two elements in the same manner as “operably coupled” and “communicatively coupled.”
It should be clear that the term “mobile unit” used herein includes cars, vehicles, driver-assisted mobility vehicles, driver-less vehicles, etc. It also includes a self-drive vehicle or a driver assisted vehicle. The mobile units 151, user device1 461, drone unit 537, mobile unit 657 across the figures could be configured features and capabilities described herein. All of the concepts herein could be included in mobile units configured to be drones, user-assisted vehicles, passenger or passenger-less vehicles, self-driver cars, driver assisted cars, farm equipment, and industrial equipment.
Although the present invention has been described in terms of GPS coordinates/and navigational information communication involving mobile phones and computers, it must be clear that the present invention also applies to other types of devices including mobile devices, laptops with a browser, a hand held device such as a PDA, a television, a set-top-box, a media center at home, robots, robotic devices, vehicles capable of navigation, and a computer communicatively coupled to the network.
The present invention has also been described above with the aid of method steps illustrating the performance of specified functions and relationships thereof. The boundaries and sequence of these functional building blocks and method steps have been arbitrarily defined herein for convenience of description. Alternate boundaries and sequences can be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships are appropriately performed. Any such alternate boundaries or sequences are thus within the scope and spirit of the claimed invention.
The present invention has been described above with the aid of functional building blocks illustrating the performance of certain significant functions. The boundaries of these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined for convenience of description. Alternate boundaries could be defined as long as the certain significant functions are appropriately performed. Similarly, flow diagram blocks may also have been arbitrarily defined herein to illustrate certain significant functionality. To the extent used, the flow diagram block boundaries and sequence could have been defined otherwise and still perform the certain significant functionality. Such alternate definitions of both functional building blocks and flow diagram blocks and sequences are thus within the scope and spirit of the claimed invention.
One of average skill in the art will also recognize that the functional building blocks, and other illustrative blocks, modules and components herein, can be implemented as illustrated or by discrete components, application specific integrated circuits, processors executing appropriate software and the like or any combination thereof.
Moreover, although described in detail for purposes of clarity and understanding by way of the aforementioned embodiments, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments. It will be obvious to one of average skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be practiced within the spirit and scope of the invention, as limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A multi-tiered mobile electronic system infrastructure, comprising:

a plurality of user's devices;

a cloud based central support and services server system; and

a plurality of handyman's and repair contract company's systems;

the plurality of user's devices moves indoors and outdoors of a house or building, performing duties, comprising:

identifying wear, tear and stains;

providing repairing and refurbishing support;

the cloud based central support and services server system provides support and services to the plurality of user's devices; and

the plurality of handyman's and repair contract company's systems provide sales, aftersales support and repairing services to the plurality of user's devices.

2. The multi-tiered mobile electronic system infrastructure of claim 1, wherein the providing repairing and refurbishing support comprising support using historical data.

3. The multi-tiered mobile electronic system infrastructure of claim 1, wherein the duties further comprising providing interior decoration and designing support.

4. The multi-tiered mobile electronic system infrastructure of claim 3, wherein the interior decoration and designing support comprising augmented reality support.

5. The multi-tiered mobile electronic system infrastructure of claim 1, wherein the duties further comprising providing bidding support.

6. The multi-tiered mobile electronic system infrastructure of claim 5, wherein the bidding support comprising bidding from handymen.

7. The multi-tiered mobile electronic system infrastructure of claim 5, wherein the bidding support comprising bidding from repair contract company.

8. The multi-tiered mobile electronic system infrastructure of claim 1, wherein the duties further comprising providing promotions and sales support.

9. The multi-tiered mobile electronic system infrastructure of claim 1, wherein the duties further comprising providing walls and floor underground mapping support.

10. The multi-tiered mobile electronic system infrastructure of claim 9, wherein the walls and floor underground mapping support comprising layers in the maps.

11. The multi-tiered mobile electronic system infrastructure of claim 10, wherein the layers in the maps comprising a moving object layer.

12. The multi-tiered mobile electronic system infrastructure of claim 1, wherein the identifying wear, tear and stains comprising identifying in carpet.

13. The multi-tiered mobile electronic system infrastructure of claim 1, wherein the identifying wear, tear and stains comprising identifying in furniture.

14. A mobile electronic system, comprising:

a user's device, comprising:

a plurality of sensors; and

a processing unit;

the sensors collect data indoors and outdoors of a house or building; and

the processing unit processes the collected data, comprising:

identifying wear, tear and stains; and

providing repairing and refurbishing support.

15. The mobile electronic system of claim 14, wherein the plurality of sensors comprising a video camera.

16. The mobile electronic system of claim 15, wherein the video camera detects wear, tear and stains by comparing its present images with a historical data.

17. The mobile electronic system of claim 14, wherein the repairing and refurbishing support comprising sending the information of repair needs to a plurality of repair contract companies, for bidding.

18. The mobile electronic system of claim 14, wherein the user's device further comprising hardware that supports walls and floor underground mapping.

19. The electronic system of claim 18, wherein the hardware comprising a radar system.

20. A method performed by a user's device, when it receives request for a catalogue of assets of a house, the method comprising:

gathering a list of all the items, as sensed by a plurality of sensors and processed by a processing unit;

associating each of the items with a layer;

cataloging all items in the list, along with date and time stamp;

determining if the request for information pertaining to a service, determining if authorized for information pertaining to that service; and

exposing the layers pertaining to the requested service, along with catalogued items.