Abstract:
A system is provided having a plurality of sensors for affixing to a person&#39;s torso, hands, feet, head, etc. The function of each sensor is to determine the distance between itself and the other sensors to ascertain the distance between the hands and feet, for instance, in order to measure the relative activity of a person&#39;s hands and feet. Other sensors, placed on the individual or in the individual&#39;s environment, may obtain biological data relating to the person, such as heart pulse, blood pressure, or data relating to the individual&#39;s attention level, i.e., gaze data. The system further includes a processor having a memory for storing data collected from the sensors. The data collected by the sensors and stored in the memory provide at least information about different types of movements associated with a particular set of tasks. The processor is programmed with a set of instructions to relate the movements associated with work with different levels of productivity, and even different levels of performing work, e.g., whether the work is being performed carefully or not, i.e., whether the same movements for a given task vary from slow to quick or whether they have a constant pace. The processor is preferably in a remote location and obtains the sensed data via a network. The system is also capable of analyzing sensed data obtained from different individuals, providing feedback to the individuals regarding their level of productivity, either alone or as a group, and offering advice on improving their level of productivity.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is related to the field of determining and improving productivity of individuals, and specifically, to a system and method of using a plurality of sensors for determining and improving an individual&#39;s level of productivity, as well as productivity of a group of individuals. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Level of productivity among individuals tends to vary. Employers often evaluate an employee&#39;s productivity, especially an employee performing manual and/or repetitive tasks, by videotaping the employee and/or by hiring independent monitoring groups. Such monitoring actions do not necessarily provide reliable results in quantifying the employee&#39;s level of productivity, since these monitoring actions only provide a snapshot of a few minutes to a few hours of the employee&#39;s work progress, and typically do not apply to professionals. 
     Professional employees are typically evaluated by their output, e.g., number of patients seen, number of sales in the last quarter, and quality level of a published publication. The evaluation of their output is a feedback mechanism on the macro level, i.e., after a task is completed. There are no unobtrusive feedback mechanisms that might help a professional better manage their time and tasks on a micro level, i.e., during the execution of a task. 
     In general, individuals benefit from better managing their time and tasks, even household chores. A group of employees and a group of individuals, e.g., a family, also benefit from better managing their time and tasks. 
     It has been greatly reported in the literature that in order to provide statistically significant results of an employee&#39;s level of productivity, the employee&#39;s amount of participation and involvement in performing his assigned tasks must be monitored objectively and over a long period of time. One reason for this is that studies have concluded that certain individuals with particular biological rhythms find it easier to work in the early hours, while other individuals having different biological rhythms find it easier to work in the afternoon, or even in the evening. Typically, when the employee&#39;s level of productivity is determined by monitoring the employee, these factors, among others, are not taken into consideration. 
     Accordingly, there exists a need for a system and method for determining the productivity of individuals which overcome the disadvantages of prior art systems and methods and provide a reliable, accurate and statistically significant determination of a particular individual&#39;s level of productivity. Also, there exists a need for a system and method for providing a group of individuals with feedback on its level of productivity. 
     SUMMARY 
     An aspect of the present invention is provide a system and method for determining the level of productivity of individuals which overcome the disadvantages of prior art systems and methods. 
     Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a system and method for determining the level of productivity of individuals using a plurality of sensors. 
     Yet another aspect of the present invention is to provide a system and method for determining the level of productivity of a group of individuals using a plurality of sensors. 
     Accordingly, in an embodiment of the present invention, a system is presented having a plurality of sensors for affixing to a person&#39;s torso, hands, feet, head, etc. The function of each sensor is to determine the distance between itself and the other sensors to ascertain the distance between the hands and feet, for instance, in order to measure the relative activity of a person&#39;s hands and feet. Other sensors may obtain biological data relating to the person, such as heart pulse, blood pressure, etc. The sensors are designed to function non-intrusively and to be non-intrusively placed on the person&#39;s body. The system further includes a processor having a memory for storing data collected from the sensors. 
     The data collected by the sensors and stored in the memory provide information about different types of movements, also referred as activity signatures, which are associated and not associated with work, e.g., a particular set of tasks. The processor is programmed with a set of instructions of various application processes to relate the movements associated with work with different levels of productivity, and even different levels of performing work, e.g., whether the work is being performed carefully or not, i.e., whether the same movements for a given task vary from slow to quick or whether they have a constant pace. The processor is preferably in a remote location and obtains the sensor data via a network. 
     With the system and method of the present invention, if a person is performing a task, it is possible to determine how productive the person is in performing the task. For example, if the person is writing, the system analyzes the motion of the hand holding the pen, the movement of the arm muscles, and the frequency of movement of the hand holding the pen with respect to the other hand, i.e., the system analyzes various activity signatures related to writing, as determined by the sensors on the body. The data can then be used to determine whether the person was able to think and write quickly or considerably pause and think before writing. 
     Also, as indicated above, with the system and method of the present invention, one can determine how one is performing their work. For example, in the case of a surgeon performing surgery, the system can determine whether the surgery is being performed slowly or quickly, or some pace in between, and whether the surgeon is tense or relaxed. The data can then be compared with data obtained from other surgeons; for example, a surgeon who is considered to be a great surgeon in performing the same surgery. The comparison can determine whether the surgeon is up to par or even better than the surgeon considered to be a great surgeon. Also, the data obtained by the present system can be used to relate how various events, e.g., the door being opened to one&#39;s office, the absence of one or more co-workers, the ringing of the telephone system, the visiting of other people, etc., affects productivity. 
     Further, with the system and method of the present invention, the sensors are also capable of communicating with sensors located on other people, e.g., co-workers, for determining a level of interaction between a particular individual and other individuals. The system of the present invention can also be linked to wireless devices, such as laptop computers, cellular telephones, and personal digital assistants, in order for a supervisor or manager to have instant access to one&#39;s productivity and to the overall productivity of a facility or just the level of productivity in completing a particular task, such as installing an engine in an automobile. 
     Additionally, by analyzing the sensed data from a group of individuals, it is possible to determine a productivity level of the group, offer performance feedback and even improve the level of productivity by suitably tuning communication tools. For instance, telephone calls can be forwarded to a voice mail system and e-mail can be delayed if an individual in the group is determined by the system of the present invention to be concentrating on an important task (the task can be gleaned from analyzing the individual&#39;s gaze and the content appearing on the individual&#39;s computer display, and the task&#39;s importance or priority can be determined by analyzing the individual&#39;s computer data and degree of concentration from the sensed data). 
     It is envisioned that based on the results yielded by analyzing the movements and biological data of productive workers and nonproductive workers using the system of the present invention, it is possible to generalize work-habits necessary for improving productivity. For example, the data obtained and analyzed by the system of the present invention may indicate that productive workers are working shorter shifts, that nonproductive workers are talking for long periods of time on the telephone, etc. Therefore, to increase the productivity level of the nonproductive workers, management may decide to instruct (by following a system advice) these workers not too talk on the telephone for more than one-half hour a day, and go home earlier. 
     Conventional sensors and their associated sensor systems can be utilized by the system of the present invention, such as sensors which when placed on a person&#39;s body can be located by capturing the image of the sensors on film and radio transmitters which emit signals capable of being detected by radio receivers. Other sensors, such as gaze sensing devices, can be placed in the environment. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
     FIG. 1 illustrates an individual mounted with a plurality of sensors and a block diagram of hardware for determining the individual&#39;s level of productivity, providing feedback and adjusting operation of an enterprise system according to the principles of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary record having a plurality of fields as stored within a database of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an activity analyzer as shown by FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an analyzing module of the activity analyzer, 
     FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an intelligent advisor module of the activity analyzer; 
     FIG. 6A is a flowchart of an exemplary method according to the principles of the present invention; 
     FIG. 6B is a detailed flowchart of a method step illustrated by FIG. 6A; and 
     FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an exemplary method of doing business according to the principles of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1 illustrates an individual and a block diagram of a system using a plurality of sensors for determining the individual&#39;s level of productivity according to the principles of the present invention. The system and individual are designated generally by reference numerals  100  and  102 , respectively. The plurality of sensors are mounted on the individual  102  and are designated generally by reference numeral  104 . The plurality of sensors  104  transmit signals which are received by a wireless router or other device and are routed through a network  110 , such as the Internet and/or Intranet, as known in the art. 
     The plurality of sensors  104  are preferably mounted on the individual&#39;s torso, head, arms, hands, and feet and sense relative distance measurements between each other. The sensors  104  may also sense other data, such as biological data, e.g., heart pulse and blood pressure, while the individual  102  is working. The sensed data is transmitted via the network  110  to an activity analyzer  120  which uses the sensed data for determining at least the individual&#39;s level of productivity using a plurality of application processes as further described below. The activity analyzer  120  is preferably a remote server capable of receiving the data from the sensors  104  via the network  110 . It is contemplated that the activity analyzer  120  includes software and/or hardware for remotely controlling the sensors  104 , e.g., turning on/off particular sensors  104 , obtaining data from only a select group of sensors  104 , and obtaining data related to only a certain characteristic, such as the relative distance between each sensor  104 . 
     The system  100  can be configured such that the data is not routed through the network  110  and that it is only transmitted from the sensors  104  and recorded within at least a wireless computing device  106 , such as a badge or personal digital assistant (PDA), having a transceiver  107  and a processor, and/or within a local personal computer  108 . The processor of the computing device  106  and the personal computer  108  are programmed with a set of instructions for analyzing the data and determining a level of productivity of the individual and other data as described below, such as a level of interaction between the individual and other individuals. The data can be analyzed in real-time or in the future. The wireless computing device  106  can be programmed with a network interface program, e.g., a web browser, in order for the transceiver  107  to wirelessly transmit the received and/or analyzed data via the network  110  to the activity analyzer  120  and/or enterprise system  190  which is described below for processing of the data. It is contemplated that the wireless computing device  106  may be equipped with an interface for directly connecting the device  106  to a network routing device, such as a PC, router, etc., for transmitting and receiving data from an external processing device, such as the activity analyzer  120 , via the network  110 . 
     The analysis performed by the wireless computing device  106  or the personal computer  108  can be used by the individual or a group of individuals to adjust work habits and other work-related characteristics, e.g., switch to a different project, to increase or decrease their level of productivity. A camera  112 , such as a web-cam, or a gaze tracker, and a microphone  114  are preferably connected to the personal computer  108  to provide audiovisual information to the activity analyzer  120  or other remote server via the network  110 . 
     As illustrated by FIG. 1, other individuals  102   a - 102   b  in the work environment have sensors  104  mounted on them. It is provided that each sensor  104  in the work environment emits a unique identification signal such that data routing equipment connected to the network  110 , the wireless computing device  106 , the personal computer  108 , and the other sensors  104  can determine from which sensor  104  a particular signal received was transmitted from. This allows the system  100  to determine the relative movement of each sensor  104  with respect to other sensors  104  for analyzing at least the productivity level of each individual and the interaction between individuals. 
     It is contemplated that the signals emitted from the sensors  104  are also unique with respect to the individual&#39;s title or hierarchy within the work environment. Accordingly, the system of the present invention can determine a level of interaction between individuals having different titles or between a supervisor and his supervised employees. Further, the system  100  can determine how the level of interaction affects one&#39;s productivity level. For example, the system  100  can determine if an individual&#39;s productivity level decreases as a particular individual enters his vicinity or work area. 
     Further still, the system of the present invention can also determine the biological responses of the supervisor and the supervised employees as they communicate, in order to better understand and analyze the level of communication between the individuals. The analysis could help determine the role that the level of communication plays in the productivity level of the work environment. The analysis could also determine if a particular supervisor is oppressive and if a particular supervised employee is non-cooperative. 
     With continued reference to FIG. 1, the system  100  further includes a database of activity signatures  130  accessible by the activity analyzer  120 . The system  100  also includes a business center  140  for aiding in implementing within a company&#39;s work environment a method of analyzing the level of productivity of at least one individual, according to the present invention, from a remote location, such as the location of the activity analyzer  120 . 
     The business center  140  includes processing circuitry for providing requested productivity analysis and other types of analysis conducted by the activity analyzer  120  to the company on a regular or intermittent basis for a fee. It is contemplated that the business center  140  includes a database of productivity improvement suggestions mapped to respective levels of productivity. Based on the level of productivity determined for a particular individual or a work environment, the processing circuitry of the business center  140  maps the level of productivity to at least one productivity improvement suggestion. The suggestion is then routed electronically through the network  110  to the individual or a designated company employee, such as a manager or an officer. 
     The enterprise system  190  is connected to the individual&#39;s computer  108  and telephone (not shown) via the network  110 . The enterprise system  190  contains telephony control  195  and e-mail control  196  modules which can operate based on the correlations and analysis provided by the activity analyzer  120  and/or business center  140 . In a preferred implementation of the system  100 , each of the control modules  195 ,  196  include a processor having a set of programmable instructions for restricting or reducing the number of telephone calls and/or e-mail messages placed or sent to a specific individual and/or a group of individuals in a period of time to increase the individual&#39;s and/or the group&#39;s level of productivity. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary record  200  having a plurality of fields for a particular individual as provided by the database of activity signatures  130 . Each record  200  as stored within the database  130  contains a plurality of fields which display information which can change in real-time as information is routed through the network  110  to the activity analyzer  120 . The activity analyzer  120  contains a respective application process programmed with a set of instructions for determining the data stored within each of the plurality of fields using the sensor data or other data received via the network. 
     Each record preferably contains a field  202  for the name and other information related to the individual, such as age, sex, job title, period of time employed by the company, and annual salary and bonuses. Field  204  is also included for providing a description of the type of movements the individual did or is currently doing, such as sitting, standing, writing, curling fingers, and walking. Field  206  indicates the body part(s) that is related with the type of movements indicated by field  204 , such as the left hand, right arm, left foot, and lower torso. 
     Field  208  indicates information relating to correlations of the different parts of the body mounted with sensors  104 , such as the relative distance of the arms while the individuals is performing the movement indicated in field  204 . Field  210  indicates the type of activity or activities the individual is most probably performing, such as typing, lifting, pushing, and talking, due to the correlations shown in field  208 . Field  212  indicates the type of tasks the individual is performing, such as typing a work order, lifting a crate of screws, pushing a cart, and talking to the supervisor. Field  214  indicates the work environment, such as factory, airport terminal, office, and police station, that the tasks are being performed in by the individual. 
     Field  216  indicates any interruptions, such as telephone range, the individual&#39;s office door was opened or closed, a fire alarm rang, and the lights turned off, which occur or have occurred while the individual is or was performing the tasks indicated by field  212 . Field  218  indicates the level of productivity as it is correlated with the type of movements indicated by field  204 . Field  220  indicates information relating to any interactions between the individuals and other individuals within the work environment. Field  222  indicates correlations between the individual&#39;s level of productivity and the interruptions indicated by field  216 . 
     Field  224  provides an index for determining whether the various correlations and other data provided by the record  200  are significant, e.g., statistically significant, with respect to affecting the individual&#39;s level of productivity or level of productivity of the group to which the individual belongs. For example, whether the correlations provided by field  218  are significantly attributable to the individual&#39;s level of productivity. Field  226  indicates biological activity signatures or data, such as the individual&#39;s heart pulse, and blood pressure, while performing the movements indicated by field  204 . Field  228  indicates any correlations between the individual&#39;s biological data as indicated by field  226  with the individual&#39;s level of productivity. 
     With reference to FIG. 3, there is shown a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the activity analyzer  120  having several modules. Each module preferably includes hardware and/or a set of programmable instructions executed by a processor within the activity analyzer  120  for achieving the prescribed function of the module. The activity analyzer  120  includes a communication module  300  having a modem or other communication hardware as known in the art for communicating with the plurality of sensors  104  and other equipment via the network  110 . The communication module  300  also communicates with the database of activity signatures  130  and the business center  140 . 
     A pattern recognition module  302  is included which determines using pattern recognition techniques known in the art whether they are any patterns within the received data. For example, whether two types of movements, such as moving one&#39;s head up and down as that person types to look at the monitor and then at the keyboard, affect the individual&#39;s level of productivity. The pattern recognition module  302  also determines the type of activity being performed and inputs that information into field  210  of the database  130 . The type of tasks being performed by the individual or a group of individuals can also be determined by the pattern recognition module  302  and inputted into field  212 . It is contemplated that the type of tasks being performed can be inputted manually within field  212  by the individual via an Internet connection apparatus. For example, the user can access a web site corresponding to the activity analyzer  120  and then access the database  130  via the activity analyzer  120  to enter data within the database  130 . It is also contemplated that other type of data, such as the type of work environment and the interaction among the various individuals, can be determined by the pattern recognition module  302  and be provided within the database of activity signatures  130 . 
     Preferably, the pattern recognition module  302  utilized in the system is embodied using the apparatus and methodology described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/079,754 filed on May 15, 1998; the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. It is contemplated that the pattern recognition module  302  includes means for receiving multimedia data, as well as biological signals masking biological activity signatures. 
     The indexing module  304  generates a real-time index of all the data generated by the pattern recognition module  302  and/or received by the communication module  300 . For example, with the aid of the index, one can type “left hand” into a web site corresponding to the activity analyzer  120  or using a keyboard of the business center  140  and be provided with all the left-hand movements. One can also type an interaction, such as phone ringing, and be provided with data dealing with that interaction from the database  130 . For example, data obtained from fields  216  and/or  222  of the database  130 . 
     The analyzing module  306  analyzes data received by the activity analyzer  120  and generates data related to individuals&#39; productivity levels and other data. Data generated by the analyzing module  306  is transmitted to a representation module  308 . The representation module  308  displays the data on a display or other display means for allowing one to study the data to determine what movements or activity signatures are closely related or affecting one&#39;s level of productivity. For example, if one&#39;s level of productivity decreases as a result of certain activity signatures, including biological activity signatures, the representation module  308  will display these activity signatures or other factors, such as interruptions and type of work environment, in an understandable and comprehensive format. 
     Intelligent advisor module  310  provides recommendations and other information on the basis of data that is generated by the various modules and data that is received by the communication module  300 . A person can review the recommendations and other information provided by the intelligent advisor module  310  and appropriately reconfigure the factors affecting their own productivity level or someone else&#39;s productivity level. For example, the advisor can use the data provided by the intelligent advisor module  310  to recommend to a manager not to interrupt an employee at a certain time. The data from module  310  can also be used by an individual to refrain from pushing a cart with the left foot, because that action causes the individual to become tired quicker than if the individual pushed the cart with both hands. Intelligent advisor  310  can also send data with suggestions to the enterprise system  190 , and control modules  195 ,  196 . 
     With reference to FIG. 4, there is shown a block diagram of the analyzing module  306  of the activity analyzer  120 . The analyzing module  306  includes an input module  400  for receiving data of different formats. The data is routed to a data transformation module  402  where it is transformed or converted to a mathematical format, e.g., mathematical vectors, or other format. After the data is transformed by the data transformation module  402 , the data can be statistically correlated by a statistical correlating module  404  using statistical methodology. The statistically correlated data from the statistical correlating module  404  is routed to a data change detector module  406 . The data change detector module  406  detects changes in the data due to an individual having the sensors  104  mounted thereon changing movements or switching tasks. 
     Accordingly, the function of the data change detector module  406  is to detect the onset of significant changes in the sensed data. The detection of changes in the sensed data is important in statistically processing the data. After changes in the sensed data are detected by the data change detector module  406 , statistical methods are applied to interpret and analyze the new sensed data stream. 
     A hidden pattern detector module  408  detects patterns in the data that are not easily discernible by one studying the data. The hidden pattern detector module  408  uses methodologies known in the art for detecting patterns in the data. A pattern interpretation module  410  interprets patterns identified in the data and provides a user with statements, such as the level of productivity of the individual has increased or that interruptions by a particular individual causes the level of productivity of another individual to decrease. 
     FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the intelligent advisor module  310  of the activity analyzer  120 . A productivity matching module  500  matches pre-stored levels of productivity with the accumulated data. That is, the data is compared to the pre-stored levels of productivity until at least one level of productivity is determined which closely matches the data. The module  500  then provides suggestions and/or comments based on the determined at least one level of productivity. 
     Another module  502  provides data relating to patterns in movements and environmental characteristics of the individual&#39;s environment. If the intelligent advisor module  310  determines that the level of productivity increases when certain patterns in movements and environmental characteristics are present, then the module  310  provides suggestions and/or comments indicating that these movements and environmental characteristics increase the level of productivity. The opposite is true, when the level of productivity decreases. That is the module  310  provides suggestions and/or comments to eliminate the movements and environmental characteristics contributing to the decrease in the level of productivity. 
     With reference to FIG. 6A, there is shown a flowchart of an exemplary method according to the principles of the present invention. Step  600  obtains data from the sensors mounted on an individual. Step  602  correlates the sensor data with data regarding the level of productivity and the work environment of the individual stored within the activity analyzer  120 , the database  130  or other storage medium. This step is further described with reference to FIG. 6B below. Step  604  advises about changing or keeping the various factors, such as types of movements, interruptions, and types of activities, which affect the level of productivity of the individual to increase or decrease the level of productivity. 
     FIG. 6B provides a detailed flowchart of the correlating step  602  of FIG.  6 A. Step  610  determines whether there are any changes in an individual&#39;s movements or actions, e.g., the individual changes his typing speed. If yes, then step  612  verifies whether there is any change in the individual&#39;s level of productivity, e.g., a decrease in the amount of computer code typed during the last thirty minutes than a previous thirty minutes. If yes, then step  614  verifies whether there were any changes in the individual&#39;s work environment, e.g., a telephone rang. 
     If yes, then step  616  stores the information determined in steps  612  and  614 , e.g., there was a decrease in the amount of computer code typed during the last thirty minutes and the telephone rang. Step  618  determines whether there is a high or low level of coincidence in the individual&#39;s level of productivity taken in conjunction with the movements, work environment, etc. If such coincidence is high, then the factors, e.g., movements, work environment, etc., are stored and/or reported with advice on how to improve the individual&#39;s level of productivity at step  619 . If low, the process proceeds to step  620  to continue monitoring the data obtained from the sensors. 
     If there are no changes in the individual&#39;s movements or actions and no changes in the work environment as determined in steps  610 ,  612 , then the process proceeds to step  620  and continues to monitor the data obtained from the sensors. This data is analyzed and the process returns to step  610 . If step  612  determines there is a change in the individual&#39;s level of productivity but there is no change in the work environment, then the process proceeds to step  622  where the movements or actions which led to the change in the individual&#39;s level of productivity are analyzed, classified and stored. The process then proceeds to step  618 . 
     With reference to FIG. 7, a flowchart of an exemplary method of doing business according to the principles of the present invention is shown. The method is performed by programming a processor of the business center  140  with a set of programmable instructions to perform the method steps of FIG.  7 . Step  700  communicates with the activity analyzer  120  to obtain sensor data corresponding to a particular facility or company. Step  702  analyzes the data in a similar method as described above with respect to the analyzing module  306 . Step  704  provides advice based on the analysis to at least one individual affiliated with the particular facility or company. Step  706  bills the facility or company for providing the service, i.e., analyzing the sensor data and providing advice. 
     What has been described herein is merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. For example, the functions described above and implemented as the best mode for operating the present invention are for illustration purposes only. As a particular example, for instance, other design configurations may be used for obtaining and analyzing sensor data to determine one&#39;s level of productivity. Also, the invention may be used for other purposes besides determining one&#39;s level of productivity, such as comparing the work performance or level of productivity of two or more individual&#39;s, e.g., comparing the work performance of a novice surgeon with an experienced surgeon. Accordingly, other arrangements and methods may be implemented by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention.