Patent ID: 7225262

Claim:
A method for selecting a first external processor as a user interface to a first machine comprising: accessing control grid position information for the first machine; obtaining position information for the first external processor using a positioning system having an effective positioning area; using the control grid position information and the first external processor position information in determining whether a first external processor is in the control grid of a first machine, and only if the first external processor is located in the control grid of the first machine, transferring user interface control of the first machine to the first external processor, wherein the first machine is located in a space that includes a floor that can be referenced in dimensional coordinates and the control grid corresponds to a defined area of the floor in proximity to the first machine that is a subset of the space and the effective positioning area of the positioning system and wherein the space includes a second machine having an associated second defined control grid in proximity to the second machine that does not overlap with the first defined control grid; accessing control grid position information for the machine; obtaining position information for a second external processor; and using the control grid position information and the external processor or the second external processor based upon the position of each of the external processor and the second external processor.