Virtual reality for situational handling

Systems, methods, and computer programmable products are described herein for situational handling using a virtual reality application. A procurement system receives an order including one or more goods and a situation. A cloud platform receives sensor data of a package containing the one or more goods. A scanner scans the package and a storage location of the package. The procurement system provides the storage location to an virtual reality (VR) application for display and a notification of the situation once it occurs.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject matter described herein relates to software utilizing virtual reality for diverse applications including for goods received.

BACKGROUND

Goods shipment is a complex process. During the shipment of goods, a package containing such goods can undergo various environmental temperature conditions such as temperature, humidity, and acceleration, jostling during shipment, and/or any other condition measurable by a sensor. Some goods may be susceptible to being damaged when encountering these conditions. Additionally, the location of a package during shipment or its storage may be needed to facilitate more expeditious shipping.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a procurement system receives an order having one or more goods and a situation. A cloud platform receives sensor data of a package containing the one or more goods. A scanner scans the package and a storage location of the package. The procurement system provides the storage location to a virtual reality (VR) application for display and a notification of the situation once it occurs.

In some variations, a virtual view of the package in its storage location can be displayed on a display of an electronic device based on an image captured by a camera of the electronic device. On top of the virtual view, a visualization of directional features can be displayed to identify how to locate the package.

In other variations, one or more remedies for the situation can be provided via the VR application based on the notification. The one or more remedies can include generating a communication to a supplier of the one or more goods or generating a re-order of the one or more goods.

In some variations, the VR application can display at least one of a user's view of the storage location or a top down perspective view of the storage location.

In other variations, the sensor data includes at least one of temperature data, global positioning system (GPS) data, or accelerometer data.

In some variations, the situation occurs when the temperature of the package exceeds a temperature threshold or when the package experiences an acceleration that exceeds an acceleration threshold.

In other variations, the sensor data can be correlated with the situation identification. The correlating can be performed by either the cloud platform or the procurement system.

The subject matter described herein provides many technical advantages. For example, the current subject matter provides a virtual reality (VR) application for identifying and/or tracking locations of goods which, in turn, more readily provides visual information about such goods.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The shipment of goods is a dynamic process. During the shipment of goods, the needs of suppliers and/or consumers may change. For example, the demand for a particular good may be urgent and require the acceleration of the delivery process. During a high volume season, the number of goods being shipped may require a heightened awareness of the exact location of a good. In some circumstances, the good may be perishable and tracking of its location may be imperative to ensuring the good does not perish. Under any of these circumstances, use of an VR application that identifies specific locations of goods as provided herein can be used to ensure the goods are more efficiently tracked throughout the shipment process. Use of the subject matter herein can speed up the delivery process for goods received.

FIG.1is a diagram100illustrating a database system105that can be used to implement aspects of the current subject matter. The database system105can, for example, be an in-memory database in which all relevant data is kept in main memory so that read operations can be executed without disk input output (I/O) and in which disk storage is required to make any changes durable. The database system105can include a plurality of servers including, for example, one or more of an index server110, a name server115, and/or an application server120. The database system105can also include one or more of an extended store server125, a database deployment infrastructure (DDI) server130, a data provisioning server135, and/or a streaming cluster140. The database system105can be accessed by a plurality of remote clients145,150via different protocols such as SQL/MDX (by way of the index server110) and/or web-based protocols such as HTTP (by way of the application server120).

The index server110can contain in-memory data stores and engines for processing data. The index server110can also be accessed by remote tools (via, for example, SQL queries), that can provide various development environment and administration tools. Additional details regarding an example implementation of the index server110is described and illustrated in connection with diagram300ofFIG.3.

The name server115can own information about the topology of the database system105. In a distributed database system, the name server115can know where various components are running and which data is located on which server. In a database system105with multiple database containers, the name server115can have information about existing database containers and it can also host the system database. For example, the name server115can manage the information about existing tenant databases. Unlike a name server115in a single-container system, the name server115in a database system105having multiple database containers does not store topology information such as the location of tables in a distributed database. In a multi-container database system105such database-level topology information can be stored as part of the catalogs of the tenant databases.

The application server120can enable native web applications used by one or more remote clients150accessing the database system105via a web protocol such as HTTP. The application server120can allow developers to write and run various database applications without the need to run an additional application server. The application server120can also be used to run web-based tools155for administration, life-cycle management, and development. Other administration and development tools160can directly access the index server110for, example, via SQL and other protocols.

The extended store server125can be part of a dynamic tiering option that can include a high-performance disk-based column store for very big data up to the petabyte range and beyond. Less frequently accessed data (for which is it non-optimal to maintain in main memory of the index server110) can be put into the extended store server125. The dynamic tiering of the extended store server125allows for hosting of very large databases with a reduced cost of ownership as compared to conventional arrangements.

The DDI server130can be a separate server process that is part of a database deployment infrastructure (DDI). The DDI can be a layer of the database system105that simplifies the deployment of database objects using declarative design time artifacts. DDI can ensure a consistent deployment, for example by guaranteeing that multiple objects are deployed in the right sequence based on dependencies, and by implementing a transactional all-or-nothing deployment.

The data provisioning server135can provide enterprise information management and enable capabilities such as data provisioning in real time and batch mode, real-time data transformations, data quality functions, adapters for various types of remote sources, and an adapter software development kit (SDK) for developing additional adapters.

The streaming cluster140allows for various types of data streams (i.e., data feeds, etc.) to be utilized by the database system105. The streaming cluster140allows for both consumption of data streams and for complex event processing.

FIG.2is a diagram200illustrating a variation of the database system105that can support distribution of server components across multiple hosts for scalability and/or availability purposes. This database system105can, for example, be identified by a single system ID (SID) and it is perceived as one unit from the perspective of an administrator, who can install, update, start up, shut down, or backup the system as a whole. The different components of the database system105can share the same metadata, and requests from client applications150can be transparently dispatched to different servers1101-3,1201-3, in the system, if required.

As is illustrated inFIG.2, the distributed database system105can be installed on more than one host2101-3. Each host2101-3is a machine that can comprise at least one data processor (e.g., a CPU, etc.), memory, storage, a network interface, and an operation system and which executes part of the database system105. Each host2101-3can execute a database instance2201-3which comprises the set of components of the distributed database system105that are installed on one host2101-3.FIG.2shows a distributed system with three hosts, which each run a name server1101-3, index server1201-3, and so on (other components are omitted to simplify the illustration).

FIG.3is a diagram300illustrating an architecture for the index server110(which can, as indicated above, be one of many instances). A connection and session management component302can create and manage sessions and connections for the client applications145. For each session, a set of parameters can be maintained such as, for example, auto commit settings or the current transaction isolation level.

Requests from the client applications145can be processed and executed by way of a request processing and execution control component310. The database system105offers rich programming capabilities for running application-specific calculations inside the database system. In addition to SQL, MDX, and WIPE, the database system105can provide different programming languages for different use cases. SQLScript can be used to write database procedures and user defined functions that can be used in SQL statements. The L language is an imperative language, which can be used to implement operator logic that can be called by SQLScript procedures and for writing user-defined functions.

Once a session is established, client applications145typically use SQL statements to communicate with the index server110which can be handled by a SQL processor312within the request processing and execution control component310. Analytical applications can use the multidimensional query language MDX (MultiDimensional eXpressions) via an MDX processor322. For graph data, applications can use GEM (Graph Query and Manipulation) via a GEM processor316, a graph query and manipulation language. SQL statements and MDX queries can be sent over the same connection with the client application145using the same network communication protocol. GEM statements can be sent using a built-in SQL system procedure.

The index server110can include an authentication component304that can be invoked with a new connection with a client application145is established. Users can be authenticated either by the database system105itself (login with user and password) or authentication can be delegated to an external authentication provider. An authorization manager306can be invoked by other components of the database system105to check whether the user has the required privileges to execute the requested operations.

Each statement can be processed in the context of a transaction. New sessions can be implicitly assigned to a new transaction. The index server110can include a transaction manager344that coordinates transactions, controls transactional isolation, and keeps track of running and closed transactions. When a transaction is committed or rolled back, the transaction manager344can inform the involved engines about this event so they can execute necessary actions. The transaction manager344can provide various types of concurrency control and it can cooperate with a persistence layer346to achieve atomic and durable transactions.

Incoming SQL requests from the client applications145can be received by the SQL processor312. Data manipulation statements can be executed by the SQL processor312itself. Other types of requests can be delegated to the respective components. Data definition statements can be dispatched to a metadata manager306, transaction control statements can be forwarded to the transaction manager344, planning commands can be routed to a planning engine318, and task related commands can forwarded to a task manager324(which can be part of a larger task framework). Incoming MDX requests can be delegated to the MDX processor322. Procedure calls can be forwarded to the procedure processor314, which further dispatches the calls, for example to a calculation engine326, the GEM processor316, a repository300, or a DDI proxy328.

The index server110can also include a planning engine318that allows planning applications, for instance for financial planning, to execute basic planning operations in the database layer. One such basic operation is to create a new version of a data set as a copy of an existing one while applying filters and transformations. For example, planning data for a new year can be created as a copy of the data from the previous year. Another example for a planning operation is the disaggregation operation that distributes target values from higher to lower aggregation levels based on a distribution function.

The SQL processor312can include an enterprise performance management (EPM) runtime component320that can form part of a larger platform providing an infrastructure for developing and running enterprise performance management applications on the database system105. While the planning engine318can provide basic planning operations, the EPM platform provides a foundation for complete planning applications, based on by application-specific planning models managed in the database system105.

The calculation engine326can provide a common infrastructure that implements various features such as SQLScript, MDX, GEM, tasks, and planning operations. The SQLScript processor312, the MDX processor322, the planning engine318, the task manager324, and the GEM processor316can translate the different programming languages, query languages, and models into a common representation that is optimized and executed by the calculation engine326. The calculation engine326can implement those features using temporary results340which can be based, in part, on data within the relational stores332.

Metadata can be accessed via the metadata manager component306. Metadata, in this context, can comprise a variety of objects, such as definitions of relational tables, columns, views, indexes and procedures. Metadata of all these types can be stored in one common database catalog for all stores. The database catalog can be stored in tables in a row store336forming part of a group of relational stores332. Other aspects of the database system105including, for example, support and multi-version concurrency control can also be used for metadata management. In distributed systems, central metadata is shared across servers and the metadata manager306can coordinate or otherwise manage such sharing.

The relational stores332form the different data management components of the index server110and these relational stores can, for example, store data in main memory. The row store336, a column store338, and a federation component334are all relational data stores which can provide access to data organized in relational tables. The column store338can store relational tables column-wise (i.e., in a column-oriented fashion, etc.). The column store338can also comprise text search and analysis capabilities, support for spatial data, and operators and storage for graph-structured data. With regard to graph-structured data, from an application viewpoint, the column store338could be viewed as a non-relational and schema-flexible in-memory data store for graph-structured data. However, technically such a graph store is not a separate physical data store. Instead, it is built using the column store338, which can have a dedicated graph Application Program Interface (API).

The row store336can store relational tables row-wise. When a table is created, the creator can specify whether it should be row or column-based. Tables can be migrated between the two storage formats. While certain SQL extensions are only available for one kind of table (such as the “merge” command for column tables), standard SQL can be used on all tables. The index server110also provides functionality to combine both kinds of tables in one statement (join, sub query, union).

The federation component334can be viewed as a virtual relational data store. The federation component334can provide access to remote data in external data source system(s)354through virtual tables, which can be used in SQL queries in a fashion similar to normal tables.

The database system105can include an integration of a non-relational data store342into the index server110. For example, the non-relational data store342can have data represented as networks of C++ objects, which can be persisted to disk. The non-relational data store342can be used, for example, for optimization and planning tasks that operate on large networks of data objects, for example in supply chain management. Unlike the row store336and the column store338, the non-relational data store342does not use relational tables; rather, objects can be directly stored in containers provided by the persistence layer346. Fixed size entry containers can be used to store objects of one class. Persisted objects can be loaded via their persisted object IDs, which can also be used to persist references between objects. In addition, access via in-memory indexes is supported. In that case, the objects need to contain search keys. The in-memory search index is created on first access. The non-relational data store342can be integrated with the transaction manager344to extend transaction management with sub-transactions, and to also provide a different locking protocol and implementation of multi version concurrency control.

An extended store is another relational store that can be used or otherwise form part of the database system105. The extended store can, for example, be a disk-based column store optimized for managing very big tables, which ones do not want to keep in memory (as with the relational stores332). The extended store can run in an extended store server125separate from the index server110. The index server110can use the federation component334to send SQL statements to the extended store server125.

The persistence layer346is responsible for durability and atomicity of transactions. The persistence layer346can ensure that the database system105is restored to the most recent committed state after a restart and that transactions are either completely executed or completely undone. To achieve this goal in an efficient way, the persistence layer346can use a combination of write-ahead logs, shadow paging and save points. The persistence layer346can provide interfaces for writing and reading persisted data and it can also contain a logger component that manages a transaction log. Recovery log entries can be written in the persistence layer346(in recovery log volumes352) explicitly by using log interface or implicitly when using the virtual file abstracting. The recovery log volumes352can include redo logs which specify database operations to be replayed whereas data volume350contains undo logs which specify database operations to be undone as well as cleanup logs of committed operations which can be executed by a garbage collection process to reorganize the data area (e.g., free up space occupied by deleted data etc.).

The persistence layer346stores data in persistent disk storage348which, in turn, can include data volumes350and/or transaction log volumes352that can be organized in pages. Different page sizes can be supported, for example, between 4k and 16M. Data can be loaded from the disk storage348and stored to disk page wise. For read and write access, pages can be loaded into a page buffer in memory. The page buffer need not have a minimum or maximum size, rather, all free memory not used for other things can be used for the page buffer. If the memory is needed elsewhere, least recently used pages can be removed from the cache. If a modified page is chosen to be removed, the page first needs to be persisted to disk storage348. While the pages and the page buffer are managed by the persistence layer346, the in-memory stores (i.e., the relational stores332) can access data within loaded pages.

FIG.4illustrates a process flow diagram400of component interaction of an example goods receipt process. A purchaser can order an item that is packaged within a packaging unit402by a supplier. The packaging unit402can include a sensor404affixed by the supplier and a packaging unit identification (ID) number406. Sensor404can continuously provide sensor data relating to the packaging unit402throughout shipment and/or storage of the packaging unit402. In some variations, sensor404can be a temperature sensor that provides exterior temperature information of the packaging unit402. This temperature information can be useful if, for example, the item within the packaging unit402has certain temperature restrictions. In other variations, sensor404can be an accelerometer that provides data relating to conditions experienced by the packaging unit402, such as whether the packaging unit402was dropped or experienced rough handling. Sensor404can also have location capabilities such as global positioning system (GPS) capabilities to track and transmit the location of the packaging unit402. A user can, for example, establish a geo-fence (i.e., a set of coordinates specified, for example, by user-generated input received via a graphical user interface rendering a map, etc.) defining where the package can and cannot go. If the GPS data shows the location of the packaging unit402somewhere that violates the geo-fence, the user can be proactively notified via one or more notifications. Some variations may include a sensor404that includes temperature measurement, location data, and acceleration measurements.

The data from sensor404can be provided to a cloud platform410for data storage and/or evaluation. More specifically, the data from sensor404can be provided to a cloud platform internet of things (IoT) service412. The cloud platform IoT service412can facilitate storing of the data within a sensor data storage414. Data from sensor404can be recorded and/or transmitted while packaging unit402is transiting (e.g., from its source to its destination). Data from sensor404be provided from the cloud platform410to a procurement system420, at416.

The packaging unit ID406can be a unique identification mechanism for the packaging unit402. For example, packaging unit ID406can be a bar code, a quick response (QR) code, or any other scanable identifier code. Packaging unit ID406provides an identifier for a particular packaging unit402so that it may be differentiated from other packaging units.

Upon arrival to a location, such as a storage facility or shipping location, packaging unit402can be scanned using a scanner408. This can be scanned either manually by a user432or automatically using an automated scanning system such as a stationary scanning device or a robotic scanning device. The packaging unit402can be transported to a temporary storage location. The temporary storage location can also have an identification means such as a bar code, a quick response (QR) code, or any other scanable identifier code. In addition to scanning the packaging unit402, the storage location identification434can also be scanned. An application belonging to a procurement system420, such as a purchase order application422, can receive the scanned information of packaging unit402and storage location ID434. This information can be stored, at424, within procurement system420.

Procurement system420can provide the packaging unit ID406and storage location ID434to a user436such as a worker of the storage facility. In order for user436to locate the packaging unit402within a storage facility, user436can use an VR application display438. VR application display438can run on a number of different electronic devices such as a tablet, mobile device, or head-mounted display (HMD). A virtual version of the storage facility can be portrayed on VR application display438(e.g., a 3-dimensional representation of the storage facility). The location of packaging unit402can be highlighted within VR application display438as illustrated inFIGS.5B-5C and6B-6C, described in more detail to follow. With the use of VR application display438, packaging unit402can be quickly located and retrieved. The VR application display438can be a camera image overlaid on top of an internal representation of the storage facility.

A user440can place an order for goods using a purchase order application422. For a variety of reasons, user440may need to quickly retrieve the goods or be notified of damage done to the goods during shipment. User440can flag the need for goods within packaging unit402using the purchase order application422. A user440can be proactively triggered of a particular situation using situation handling framework426of the procurement system420. A notification framework428of procurement system420can provide notifications to user440of the status of packaging unit402. For example, a notification sent by notification framework428can alert user440that the temperature of packaging unit402has reached above or below a certain temperature threshold (e.g., a threshold at which the goods within packaging unit may no longer be acceptable, such as perishable goods). The notification can also notify the user of arrival at the storage facility, its destination, and/or any other intermediary locations. User440can interact with the notification and can be navigated to the purchase order application422. User440can be provided with a number of options to remedy the situation, such as contact the supplier or re-order the goods. Sensor data can be transmitted from cloud platform410to the procurement system420via cloud platform connectivity features418. Procurement system420can receive the sensor data and create/store relationships between the purchase order data from the purchase order application422and the sensor data414, at429. Cloud platform410can also create/store relationship between sensor data414, sales order data, and purchase order data. The cloud platform410and procurement system420can communicate between each other using, for example, HTTP.

FIG.5Aillustrates a block diagram of an example physical storage space500. A packaging unit402can be physically stored within a shelf of shelving unit510.FIG.5Billustrates an example VR application display530on an electronic device532. In this example, VR application display530provides a user's view (e.g., a view of a user through the viewpoint of pointing a camera at shelving unit510) of the physical storage space500. A user, such as user436, can orient a camera (not shown) of electronic device532(e.g., mobile phone, tablet, laptop, wearable computing device, etc.) at a physical storage space500. The user's view is then virtualized with highlighting to show the location of a packaging unit402. More specifically, VR application display530can display the physical storage space500on a display screen of electronic device532. In other variations, VR application display530can provide a view of the physical storage space500with additional information overlaid thereon on the display screen of electronic device532. Procurement system420can provide both the storage location ID434and packaging unit ID406to VR application display530(as described with VR application display438). VR application display530can render a highlighted location534of packaging unit402to a user. VR application display530can even provide the user with directional features536(e.g., arrows, highlighted aisle ways) as to how to physically navigate to the actual location of the packaging unit402. A user of electronic device532can orient a camera of the device at physical storage space500. As the user modifies the orientation of electronic device532, the image rendered on electronic device532may update accordingly to reflect the image being actively captured by the camera. The directional features536and highlighted location534can modify accordingly.FIG.5Cillustrates another example VR application display540on an electronic device542. The VR application display540depicts a top-down perspective of physical storage space500. Directional features546highlight to a user on the top-down perspective the location of packaging unit402.

FIG.6illustrates a process flow diagram600for tracking goods using a VR application. An order for one or more goods is received, at610, by a procurement system. Sensor data of a package containing the one or more goods is received, at620, by a cloud platform. The package and a storage location are scanned, at630, by a scanner. The storage location is provided, at640, by the procurement system, to an virtual reality application for display on an electronic device.

FIG.7is a diagram700illustrating a sample computing device architecture for implementing various aspects described herein. A bus704can serve as the information highway interconnecting the other illustrated components of the hardware. A processing system708labeled CPU (central processing unit) (e.g., one or more computer processors/data processors at a given computer or at multiple computers), can perform calculations and logic operations required to execute a program. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium, such as read only memory (ROM)712and random access memory (RAM)716, can be in communication with the processing system908and can include one or more programming instructions for the operations specified here. Optionally, program instructions can be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, recordable memory device, flash memory, or other physical storage medium.

In one example, a disk controller748can interface one or more optional disk drives to the system bus704. These disk drives can be external or internal floppy disk drives such as760, external or internal CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW or DVD, or solid state drives such as752, or external or internal hard drives756. As indicated previously, these various disk drives752,756,760and disk controllers are optional devices. The system bus704can also include at least one communication port720to allow for communication with external devices either physically connected to the computing system or available externally through a wired or wireless network. In some cases, the communication port720includes or otherwise comprises a network interface.

To provide for interaction with a user, the subject matter described herein can be implemented on a computing device having a display device740(e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor) for displaying information obtained from the bus704to the user and an input device732such as keyboard and/or a pointing device (e.g., a mouse or a trackball) and/or a touchscreen by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of input devices732can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback by way of a microphone736, or tactile feedback); and input from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. In the input device732and the microphone736can be coupled to and convey information via the bus704by way of an input device interface728. Other computing devices, such as dedicated servers, can omit one or more of the display740and display interface714, the input device732, the microphone736, and input device interface728.