Invention Proposal
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1 Brian Emerick 607-342-1100 Organization (Unit/Div./Dept./Section) Electronic Mail Address Bldg. No./ Mail Stop Fax No. RIT [email protected] Proposal Submitted By (Please use legal name) Full First Name, Middle, Last Employee No. Outside Phone No.
2 Sarah Kaiser - Organization (Unit/Div./Dept./Section) Electronic Mail Address Bldg. No./ Mail Stop Fax No. RIT [email protected] Proposal Submitted By (Please use legal name) Full First Name, Middle, Last Employee No. Outside Phone No.
3 Yong Won Choi 585-750-6889 Organization (Unit/Div./Dept./Section) Electronic Mail Address Bldg. No./ Mail Stop Fax No. RIT [email protected] Proposal Submitted By (Please use legal name) Full First Name, Middle, Last Employee No. Outside Phone No.
4 Candice Latham 617-980-4417 Organization (Unit/Div./Dept./Section) Electronic Mail Address Bldg. No./ Mail Stop Fax No. RIT [email protected] Proposal Submitted By (Please use legal name) Full First Name, Middle, Last Employee No. Outside Phone No.
5 Anthony Spoto 412-491-1017 Organization (Unit/Div./Dept./Section) Electronic Mail Address Bldg. No./ Mail Stop Fax No. RIT [email protected] Proposal Submitted By (Please use legal name) Full First Name, Middle, Last Employee No. Outside Phone No.
6 Monica Porucznik 585-739-8895 Organization (Unit/Div./Dept./Section) Electronic Mail Address Bldg. No./ Mail Stop Fax No. RIT [email protected] Proposal Submitted By (Please use legal name) Full First Name, Middle, Last Employee No. Outside Phone No.
7 Organization (Unit/Div./Dept./Section) Electronic Mail Address Bldg. No./ Mail Stop Fax No.
Proposal Submitted By (Please use legal name) Full First Name, Middle, Last Employee No. Outside Phone No.
8 Organization (Unit/Div./Dept./Section) Electronic Mail Address Bldg. No./ Mail Stop Fax No.
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Form 53136 (8/2001) Legal Page 1 Invention Proposal (Office 97) Invention Proposal
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* If space for additional submitters is required, please use another sheet; and attach any supplementary Comments. Manager Electronic Mail Address Bldg. No./MS Karen Braun [email protected] 128-220B
Technical Category Name of Xerox Program (if any) (see attached list) 1.5, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9 Document Solution Thrust Opportunity for licensing revenue Who could be interested in it? How is this better than alternatives? Collaboration software and system vendor. It provides an intelligent, customizable, responsive, and emotion-adaptive future cubicle design and prototype.
Descriptive title of invention The Office-On-The-Go: an intelligent, customizable, responsive, and emotion-adaptive future work environment Describe the problem How was this problem tackled before your invention?
Our team has worked together since September 2010 on a Xerox-sponsored new media design project in order to answer the question “What will the workspace of 2010 be like?” We think many existing work places are mundane and boring. People go to work in their office or cubical counting down the hours until they have to leave work. Doing the same routine things day after day. The workspace is static and does not respond to the worker. This dull workspace will eventually drive workers crazy. After researching key technology trends, we set our goal is to re-invent the cubicle: Computers, desks and office work will still exist, even if the old room crammed full of cubicles goes away The existing office workspace needs to advance and adapt Technology is advancing and raising the bar The “cubicle” can benefit from new media (e.g. multi-touch interfaces) and interactive technology
Summary of the invention Describe briefly what the invention is and how it works in 5 –8 lines.
In this ID, we propose a novel “Office-On-The-Go workspace” design. The Office-On-The-Go workspace is unique in its overarching informational, navigational, collaborative, and emotional response features that take the mundane office cubicle of today’s world and bring it into future with simplicity, ease of use, and style. No longer must a worker respond to a static desk, office building, and piles of paper; instead the cubicle now responds dynamically to the worker based on his or her emotions, body state, and overall senses while providing complete customization and privacy settings. The interaction interface of the proposed workspace is refined and incorporates cutting-edge depth of field and touch friendly structures while remaining clean and responsive. The Office-On-The-Go workspace will be available globally in a multitude of hotspot locations and will respond directly to the worker utilizing the space, with no additional personal items or identification needed.
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Describe your invention Describe how to make and use the invention and its novel embodiments. Cover the process, method, materials with sketches, flow charts, usage etc. What are the advantages of your invention for Xerox?
Our concept is to produce an intelligent and futuristic expansion of today’s boring and mundane “cubicle”. The proposed futuristic Office-On-The-Go workspace has the following key aspects: Emotion responsive: The workspace will tailor itself to the worker inside by measuring key senses and discerning certain emotional states from the data collected. When an emotional state is determined, the workspace will adapt and dynamically shift its atmosphere to accommodate for the worker’s changing feelings and bodily state. For example, if the workspace senses that the worker is beginning to feel angry, it might shift its music to a soothing tone, dim the lighting, and display a calming outdoors scene to relax the worker. (Detailed description in Section 1) Enhanced and immersive experiences for global collaboration: The workspace will focus on improving people-to-people connections in a globalizing world. It will provide enhanced video chat functionality as well as a feeling of complete immersion in any desired location around the world. Such collaborative video conferencing features allows you to be “in” the office even if you are at your virtual workspace, and others can still “see” you in the office and interact with you. Video conferencing will also assist in understanding and melding language and cultural boundaries by providing translations and informative cultural tips. (Detailed description in Section 2) Portable: If you decide to go on a trip you no longer have to drag your storage drive or save all your files on a flash drive simply log into one of our Office-On-The-Go hubs. These hubs will be located in many different areas around the world such as hotels, and other buildings where you could rent a cubical space. Simply log in and all your files will be already there, waiting for you as if you never left your everyday workstation. Therefore, your personal Office-On-The-Go workspace can be accessed exactly the same from any location. Enhanced information navigation and interaction experiences: Interaction and navigation interface in the workspace will be intuitive and simple to use while utilizing a new spin on the way browsing and launching occurs. (Detailed description in Section 3) Customizable: The workspace will highlight complete customization and will tailor to exactly what the worker desires for overall comfort and productivity. (1) Theme customization: The worker may change any of the environment settings at any time to override the computer’s dynamic selection; or, the worker may completely turn off the dynamic environment changes and choose their own settings at all times. Additionally, the worker may always change to custom defined themes which are not tied to a certain emotion; (2) Privacy customization: The worker may define what files, settings, and other personal information on the cloud should be kept private or shared with others. Private, Secure, & Independent: The workspace promotes on-the-go work and the globalizing culture by being completely independent of any certain career or individual. When not in use by a certain person, it is simply a blank slate of walls. An individual may enter the workspace at any time and the environment will immediately recognize and adapt to that person via retina scan and facial feature recognition. Personal settings, picture frames, atmosphere settings, and files in use by that person will be automatically called upon from a repository over a secure cloud and the individual will immediately feel at home in the environment as if it is the same physical location they go to work in every day. If identification is unsuccessful, the workspace remains a blank slate.
1. Emotion Responsive
The workstation will read the worker’s emotions and body senses at a level the worker has pre-customized, then respond accordingly by dynamically changing and adapting the workspace environment to better suit the worker’s changing attitude and desires. We will combine a set of existing technologies in our Office-On-The-Go workspace prototype.
A) Mental/Emotional state will be acquired from: Facial recognition o Expressions o Eye dilation Touch pressure Voice o Pitch o Jitter o Consonant & vowel lengths Body temperature Heart rate Witnessed and Understood By Date Submitter(s) Signature(s)
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Voice Pitch – In general, one’s voice pitch fluctuates with emotion. If an individual is happy, his/her pitch will have a high range that audibly expresses excitement. If an individual is sad, his/her pitch will degrade to a more monotone sound with a narrower pitch range. Figure 1 illustrates the associated voice pitch with “Happy” and “Sad” emotions.
Figure 1: Emotions and Voice Pitches
Facial Recognition – Expressions on one’s face, such as the position of the eyebrows or the draw of the mouth corner, can aid in understanding underlying emotions. Many automatic real-time facial expression recognition technologies and tools have been developed [1,2,3].
While in the future we hope that the workspace will be able to respond to a multitude of states based on emotion and sense status, as feasible deliverable for this prototype, pre-defined themes for a select number of emotions will be statically developed. These themes will include calm, upbeat, sad, angry, and happy.
B) Workspace will respond with changes to:
Lighting o Color o Brightness o Easing Audio o Ambient sound o Music Airflow Humidity Scent Imagery o Desktop background o Picture frames o Motivational posters o “Window to the World” scene
More involved examples include: o Lighting: depending on your mood the lighting will change to either very bright or dim and different shades in between. However users will be able to set the lighting themselves if they don’t like the current settings. We use Arduino, an open-source electronic prototyping platform that allows software code to control the room’s lighting. o Audio: also depending on their mood users will be able to set certain play lists and customize them based on how they are feeling. For example they can save a set of songs that they like and tie that to their happy theme. When the system then detects the user is happy the workspace will play the user’s happy songs.
C) Theme Structure:
The workspace will also allow for extensive customization through a database of user-defined themes. The worker will be able to define any number of themes for the workspace, where all aspects of the atmosphere can be set as desired. The worker can then define certain themes to be linked to certain emotional states. Thus, when the workspace detects a shift in emotion from the worker, it will know to automatically change to the theme the worker has defined to use when that emotional state is encountered. The workspace will also allow for complete overriding of its emotional adaptation if desired, and allows for a wide array of themes that are not tied to a certain emotion.
2. Enhanced and immersive experiences for global collaboration
The proposed workspace will focus on improving people-to-people connections in a globalizing world. It will provide enhanced video chat functionality as well as a sense of complete immersion in any desired location around the world.
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A) Window to the World This wall will display a large, moving image of a certain location, like a beach or Italy. These images can be prerecorded loops or may be live images from web-cams positioned around the world and accessed via a repository database. Also, these images are customizable, tied to themes, and changed by the application based on sense measurements. It can also be manually set if desired. This wall dually functions as the video conference wall in order to interact with other individuals. This window will double as a video conference call that can automatically translate different languages and provide cues about the emotional state of the person you are conferencing with by understanding the emotional context of a vast array of different cultures.
B) Conference Features When having a meeting with client or co-worker from another country, this will display information in a way to understand the culture of that person. The conference functionality can translate foreign languages and provides an emotion measurement meter to understand the emotions of the other individual. This aids in globalization by providing assistance in understanding a different culture that may portray emotions differently. The workspace allows any individual to be sensitive to other culture’s emotions and feelings without having to know the complete workings of how that culture expresses itself.
3. Enhanced information navigation and interaction experiences
Information navigation and interaction in the workspace will be intuitive and simple to use while utilizing a new spin on the way browsing and launching occurs.
A) Cylindrical Touch-Based Browsing The interface will involve a stacked cylinder based browsing system. Each cylinder is referred to as a roll and represents a certain category, such as images, music, calendar, email, etc. Each role contains icons of variable height, color, and content that represents files related to the roll’s category. The rolls may be “spun” via dragging to the left or right. A roll expands infinitely as it is rotated to display any number of files related to that roll. The worker may navigate between rolls by dragging his finger up and down along the left side of the screen. This section of the screen displays what roll the user is currently on and what rolls are above and below the roll in 3D space. This form of simple drag and slide in concrete space is more native and understandable to the everyday worker and is far more intuitive than today’s complex hierarchy system.
Icons on each roll provide more direct information about the contents of the file it represents. In general, the height of an icon depicts how often the file is used (e.g. the activity of an often replied email, the number of times opening an image file, or the number of to-dos for a certain day). The icon also displays a preview of the file’s contents – such as a thumbnail of the image or the initial text in an email. The user may also set the color of the icon.
Pressing an icon causes the corresponding file to open for work on the main wall in the workspace. Pressing and holding on an icon causes a circular wheel menu to appear at the fingertip. The menu is similar to today’s right click menu; it allows for file-specific options. Some options may include copy, paste, rename, etc. The center of the wheel contains a large button that launches a preview of the file. Thus, if the user presses and holds on the icon and then simply releases, they will receive a preview. The preview depends on the type of the file but may include an enlarged version of an image, or the textual content of an email. See Figure 2 for an example of icons on a roll and the press-hold wheel (note that the graphics on the press-hold wheel are not final and do not reflect exact functions mentioned here).
To the right of each roll is a menu allowing context-specific navigation and functionality depending on what category the roll is. For example, the right side navigation for the email roll allows the user to change to the inbox, outbox, personal mail folders, etc. This right side menu also allows for standard file organization tasks such as sorting by name, date, size, usage, etc. When the user presses an item on this menu, the roll responds and repopulates appropriately.
The worker starts out at the middle roll, known as the home roll, which contains icons that link to the most commonly used rolls, programs, and files. This likely includes, among other things, chat, social networking, email, weather, and the calendar. Icons on the home roll are informative, displaying item-specific information like the number of new emails, amount of chatting online, and a preview of current weather conditions. From the home roll, the user may navigate up or down to on the y-axis to the different rolls.
Please see Figure 3 for an example of navigating between rolls.
B) Intuitive Launching & Program Navigation The worker can browse, preview, and launch files and themes using the above noted hierarchy browsing system. When the user selects a program he wishes to work with, a simple touch of the icon will launch the program on the main application wall. Additionally, program navigation will exist on the launchpad wall. For example, if the worker launches a web browser, the web browser icon on the cylinder will expand outward to allow navigation within the browser - such as bookmarks, browsing history, and currently open tabs.
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Figure 2. 3D Roll Design & Press-Hold Navigation
Figure 3. 3D Rolls Y-Axis Navigation
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C) Interface Code Design The prototype for the Office-On-The-Go workspace is constructed using Adobe AIR with the Away3D library, PHP, and MySQL. The client pulls file information from the database and constructs the rolls and all associated data. When file data or reorganization is requested, client communicates back to the PHP server controller to acquire the desired information from the database.
A separate computer runs each wall in the workspace. All computers are connected via either a local area connection (shared switch/router) or ad-hoc. The launchpad wall acts as the server and primary brains to the main wall and Window to the World wall. The walls communicate with each other via direct socket connection over a shared port. The WallCommunicator class facilitates this communication.
The 3D portion is facilitated via Away3D’s open source 3D library. Away3D provides powerful view, scene, camera, and render objects that allow creation and manipulation of 3D space within a Flash/AIR environment. Please see Figure 4 for a diagramed layout of the primary objects and database structure.
Figure 4. Prototype Code Diagram
4. Physical prototype space layout
The physical space will consist of a 6’ x 7’ x 8’ box structure. When no one is logged in, it will appear as three white walls. The fourth wall will contain a doorway as well as standard storage (coat rack, shelves, etc.). Once an individual is logged in, the physical space will conform to that user’s personalized environment settings and load all of their information from a cloud server.
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Appendix A: The user experience through a story Tom is an engineer who lives in California with his family. He uses "The Office on the Go" to work from home daily. It allows him to not only store all his information on a cloud and access it anywhere else in the world, but to also communicate with co-workers and clients anywhere. The office integrates the computer and the physical office into one medium, which in doing so, allows for a more immersive and seamless work environment.
Tom and his family are required to travel to Rochester, NY to attend a family reunion. Because Tom uses "The Office on the Go" he is able to travel without leaving his job behind. He knows there is a lot that he has to do, including a meeting with an important client overseas, a status meeting with his boss, and work on some important projects.
After arriving at the hotel that he and his family are staying at, Tom reserves one of the hotel's "Office on the Go" workspaces. The next morning, Tom enters the workspace and is initially presented with three blank white walls. Soon after he is recognized by the workspace and all of his personal information is loaded. It is exactly the same way he left it last time he worked from his office at home.
Tom first notices on the launchpad wall that he has some emails. He presses the notification, and is zoomed into the email "roll/cylinder." The icons are varied in height and color. The tallest icons are the most replied to and most active messages. He presses once on a large email from his boss and it appears on the main screen.
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The message from his boss is about a project being due today rather than at the end of the week. The office can sense that Tom is already a little stressed from this news, so it dynamically adjusts the office lights and temperature to try to calm him. Tom then drags his finger along the left side navigation until he reaches the calendar roll. He presses and holds over the icon representing the current date and receives an option wheel of tasks he can perform. He releases, leaving his finger in the middle of the wheel, and receives a preview of the to-dos listed for the day. Tom contemplates his tasks for the day and decides he can make the new deadline. He clicks accept on the email deadline change, and immediately notices that his to-do list preview being displayed on the launchpad wall has been updated to reflect the new task.
Tom then receives a pop-up message asking him to join a videoconference with a client named Yong in Korea. He accepts and the videoconference appears on the wall to the left of him. Although Yong doesn't speak English, and Tom doesn't speak Korean, they are able to communicate without a problem via automatic translating by the workspace. Yong is calling to thank Tom for his excellent work on a previous project and bows as a sign of respect and thanks. The bow is recognized by the workspace and identified to Tom as a cultural mannerism native to Yong's culture; it informs Tom of the bow's meaning and shows a small animation of how Tom can bow back properly.
After the conference is concluded, Tom decides to finish the project that is due to his boss today. He again drags along the left side navigation bar to reach the roll containing all of his current projects. He is able to easily locate the correct project since each icon on the roll displays a preview of the engineering design. His specific project is one of the tallest icons since it is one he has been working with the most recently. He presses on the icon and it launches the project and its corresponding program on the main wall.
As Tom gets to work, the office automatically adjusts to another of Tom's themes – this one containing brighter lighting and a more upbeat feeling. Tom decides he wants to modify the theme some to gain even more motivation. He navigates to the theme roll and is presented with all of his available themes that he has accumulated over time. On the right side of the roll is a menu that allows for modification of the current theme's environment settings. He drags to lighting brightness bar to a slightly higher level. Next, he presses the "Window to the World" button to modify the live scene that is being displayed on the wall to his left. He is presented with a global view and spreads his fingers over Hawaii's location. The map zooms in to Hawaii and Tom continues to zoom in to a coastal section. "Hotspot" stars appear along this coastal strip representing locations where Tom can access live webcam feeds. He chooses a sunny beach area and presses the star. The wall to his left immediately begins to display live video from that location in Hawaii.
Tom completes his work on the project and decides to submit it to his boss. He navigates back to the project roll on the launchpad wall. Tom presses and holds briefly over the icon representing his project and receives the familiar navigation wheel. While still holding down, he moves his finger up and to the right to the "submit" button and then releases. Based on the file name, his boss's settings, and Tom's calendar deadlines, the workspace automatically recognizes whom it should submit the project to. A notification appears informing Tom that he has successfully submitted the to project to his boss.
When Tom completes his work for the day, he simply walks out of the workspace and it automatically converts back to a white walled room with no trace that Tom was ever there.
References: 1. Automatic facial expression recognition, http://transp-or2.epfl.ch/talks/LEEDS09a.pdf 2. Facial expression recognition using a dynamic model and motion energy, http://people.csail.mit.edu/paulfitz/present/review-essa-pentland- 95.pdf 3. Emotions and facial expressions, http://cedarseed.deviantart.com/art/Emotions-and-Facial-Expression-47118559 4. Determinism in Speech Pitch Relation to Emotion, http://portal.acm.org/ft_gateway.cfm? id=1655931&type=pdf&CFID=5964034&CFTOKEN=11256911 5. Classifying emotions in speech: a comparison of methods, http://www.netsoc.tcd.ie/~fastnet/cd_paper/EUROSPEECH/EUROSPEECH_2001/papers/page127.pdf 6. An acoustic study of emotions expressed in speech, http://sail.usc.edu/publications/yildirim_icslp_2004.pdf
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People List names of others known to have worked on this or a similar invention
Related concepts Check the Xerox Patent data base at http://xipo.wrc.xerox.com What have you found in a data base search of the topic? Give patent or IP number of the most relevant items.
Prototype Has a model, a prototype, or experiment of the invention been built, made, run or tested ? Yes No
A prototype is under construction.
Xerox product Is the invention used by Xerox or is there a definite plan for use in a future product(s) ? Yes No If so, please identify the program(s) or product(s), and introduction dates:
Disclosures Has this concept been disclosed to vendors, consultants, outside parties, partners, etc? Indicate the date(s) of any previous or planned future disclosure external to Xerox, and identify the type of disclosure (by agreement, demonstration, paper or presentation given, market probe, published article, etc., and if convenient, please provide a copy of the agreement, paper or article): No external disclosure.
Outside funding YES (Indicate Source of outside funding) NO
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Architecture and Document Services Digital Imaging 1.1 Advanced Print Services 2.1 Capture 1.2 Document Access & Management 2.2 Presentation 1.3 Document Capture & Analysis 2.3 Manipulation 1.4 Document Systems Architecture 2.4 Representation 1.5 Electronic Document Commerce 2.5 Systems 1.6 Networked Document Systems 1.7 Productivity Initiatives 1.8 Process, Workflow, Information Management 1.9 Smart Design & Service 1.10 Work Process Analysis Marking & Devices Materials & Materials Manufacturing 3.1 Latent Image Formation (Re-Imageable Process) 4.1 Toner, Developer and Components (For Re-Imageable 3.2 Development (Re-Imageable Process) Process) 3.3 Image Transfer & Fixing (Re-Imageable Process) 4.2 Photoreceptors and Components 3.4 Erase And Cleaning (Re-Imageable Process) 4.3 Dielectric Receivers 3.5 Fixed Image Marking (Incl. Direct To Plate) 4.4 Inks For Direct Marking 3.6 Imager (ROS, Optics, Modulator, Illumination) 4.5 Powders For Direct Marking 3.7 Thermal Ink Jet 4.6 Substrate Media (Paper, Transparencies, etc.) 3.8 Acoustic Ink Jet 4.7 Electronic Materials (Light Emitting Or Detecting, 3.9 Continuous Ink Jet Semiconductors For Printhead Or Other Use) 3.10 On Demand Powder 4.8 Display Materials 3.11 Other Direct Marking 4.9 Materials for Fusing 3.12 Controls & Diagnostics (For Marking Systems) 4.10 Drum And Belt Substrates 3.13 Media Handling (Feeding, Transport, Finishing) 4.11 Materials for Binding and Finishing 3.14 Marking System Integration & Architecture 4.12 Materials of Controlled Conductivity 3.15 Marking Hybrid Processes 4.13 Transfix Belt 3.16 Display Devices 4.14 Intermediate Transfer Belts 3.17 MEMS Devices 4.15 Magnetic Materials 3.18 Data Recording Devices 4.16 Recording Media 3.19 Digital Image Scanning 4.17 Packaging Materials Manufacturing Technology & Product Speculative Research Elements 6.1 Document Futures 5.1 Component Development 6.2 Applications outside Defined Xerox Direction 5.2 Manufacturing Processes 5.3 Production Systems 5.4 Industrial Design / Human Factors 5.5 Device Electronics 5.6 Product Packaging
Submitter(s):
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Manager’s Name Date
1. Problem addressed or function provided by the invention: Example 1A: Finisher cost reduction Example 1B: Uses low cost LCD to write annotation messages
2. Central thrust of the invention: Example 2A: Design incorporates fewer parts Example 2B: Uses low cost LCD to write annotation messages
3. Could invention have impact beyond current description? Example 3A: Could also function for printer finisher Example 3B: Could also function to erase/edit copy
4. Potential for Xerox application. Specify product or technology program if possible: Example 4A: Mainline approach in Program Q Example 4B: Adds significant feature to future products
5. Value to competitors; potential for license or trade: Example 5A: Enables much lower cost finishing than any known system Example 5B: Could be licensed in a business area un-related to Xerox and opens possibilities of moving finishing down-market
6. Please indicate any related patents, publications, or activities you know of:
7. I would recommend the following form(s) of protection: Patent Defense publication Keep trade secret None Comments:
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