Clean surface sensor indicator and system

Abstract

Discloses is a workstation monitoring system. The system can include a camera configured to capture images and/or video of a workstation. The system can include a monitoring module configured to: receive images and/or video from the camera; identify a surface and a state for the surface, the state including any one or combination of occupied, vacant, clean, dirty, contaminated, attended to, or not attended to; track behavior of an individual, movement of an object, and/or an occurrence for the surface that causes a change in the surface's state; and generate a trigger event signal based on the change in the surface's state.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A workstation monitoring system, comprising:
 a camera configured to capture images and/or video of a workstation;   a monitoring module having a tracking engine and an inference engine, wherein:
 the monitoring module is configured to receive images and/or video from the camera; 
 the tracking engine, using a machine vision inference technique, is configured to:
 identify, using feature extraction object tracking a surface and a state for the surface, the state including any one or combination of occupied, vacant, clean, dirty, contaminated, attended to, or not attended to; and 
 track, using feature extraction object tracking, behavior of an individual, movement of an object, and/or an occurrence for the surface that causes a change in the surface's state; 
 
 the inference engine, using the machine vision inference technique, is configured to receive identification and tracking information from the tracking engine and determine a change in the surface's state based on plural states of the surface and one or more tracked behavior, movement, and/or occurrence for each state of the plural states; and 
 the monitoring module is configured to generate a trigger event signal based on the surface's state and/or the change in the surface's state. 
   
     
     
         2 . The workstation monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the workstation is an area in a factory, an area in a hospital, an area in a nursing facility, an area in a nursing home, an area in an assisted living facility, an area in a medical clinic, an area in a doctor or a dentist office, an area in a pharmacy, an area in a surgery room, an area in a sterile field, an area in a laboratory, an area in a grocery store, an area in a restaurant, an area in or on a vehicle, and/or an area in or on equipment.   
     
     
         3 . The workstation monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the surface is a surface of a human, a surface of an animal, a surface of equipment, a surface of a tool, a surface of an object, a surface of a floor, a surface of a table, a surface of a chair, and/or a surface of a shelf.   
     
     
         4 . The workstation monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the surface includes a surface of a human; and   the state includes whether personal protective equipment (PPE) is attached to or covering the surface.   
     
     
         5 . The workstation monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the surface includes one or more surfaces of one or more humans, one or more animals, one or more pieces of equipment, one or more tools, one or more objects, one or more floors, one or more tables, one or more chairs, and/or one or more shelves;   the state includes whether personal protective equipment (PPE) is attached to or covering the one or more surfaces; and   the monitoring module is configured to generate a trigger event signal based on the state or the change in state of the one or more surfaces.   
     
     
         6 . The workstation monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the workstation is an area in a grocery store;   the surface is a surface of a floor and/or a surface of a shelf; and   the trigger event signal is an alert to clean or attend to the surface.   
     
     
         7 . The workstation monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the workstation is an area in a restaurant, and the monitoring module is configured to transmit the trigger event signal to an online restaurant-reservation service software application; or   the workstation is an area in a vehicle, and the monitoring module is configured to transmit the trigger event signal to a vehicle fleet monitoring service.   
     
     
         8 . The workstation monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the surface is a surface of a human, a surface of an animal, a surface of equipment, a surface of a tool, a surface of an object, a surface of a floor, a surface of a table, a surface of a chair, and/or a surface of a shelf; and   the monitoring module is configured to generate a trigger event signal based on behavior of an individual that violates a social distancing rule.   
     
     
         9 . The workstation monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the monitoring module is configured to transmit the trigger event signal to a processor that is part of or in communication with an online restaurant-reservation service software application, a vehicle fleet monitoring service, a ride-sharing software application, or a point of sale (POS) terminal.   
     
     
         10 . The workstation monitoring system of  claim 2 , wherein:
 the area in or on the vehicle includes an area inside and/or outside the vehicle; and   the trigger event signal includes an assessment of whether the vehicle is or should be taken out of service or placed back into service based on the surface's state and or the change in the surface's state.   
     
     
         11 . The workstation monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the workstation includes an area in or on a vehicle; and   the change in the surface's state includes an object left at the area by a passenger.   
     
     
         12 . The workstation monitoring system of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the monitoring module is configured to transmit the trigger event signal to a processor that is part of or in communication with a vehicle fleet monitoring service and/or a ride-sharing software application.   
     
     
         13 . A workstation monitoring robot, comprising:
 a robot configured to operate in a facility having a workstation, the robot including:
 a camera configured to capture images and/or video of a workstation; 
 a monitoring module having a tracking engine and an inference engine, wherein:
 the monitoring module is configured to receive images and/or video from the camera; 
 the tracking engine, using a machine vision inference technique, is configured to:
 identify, using feature extraction object tracking a surface and a state for the surface, the state including any one or combination of occupied, vacant, clean, dirty, contaminated, attended to, or not attended to; and 
 track, using feature extraction object tracking, behavior of an individual, movement of an object, and/or an occurrence for the surface that causes a change in the surface's state; 
 
 the inference engine, using the machine vision inference technique, is configured to receive identification and tracking information from the tracking engine and determine a change in the surface's state based on plural states of the surface and one or more tracked behavior, movement, and/or occurrence for each state of the plural states; and 
 the monitoring module is configured to generate a trigger event signal based on the surface's state and/or the change in the surface's state. 
 
   
     
     
         14 . The workstation monitoring robot of  claim 13 , wherein:
 the robot is an autonomous robot.   
     
     
         15 . The workstation monitoring robot of  claim 14 , wherein:
 the autonomous robot is configured to roam the facility.   
     
     
         16 . A handwashing monitoring system, comprising:
 a camera configured to capture images and/or video of a handwashing station;   a monitoring module having a tracking engine and an inference engine, wherein:
 the monitoring module is configured to receive images and/or video from the camera; 
 the tracking engine, using a machine vision inference technique, is configured to:
 identify, using feature extraction object tracking an individual's hand and a state for the individual's hand, the state including any one or combination of clean, dirty, contaminated, gloved, or ungloved; and 
 track, using feature extraction object tracking, behavior of the individual, movement of an object, and/or an occurrence for the hand that causes a change in the hand's state; 
 
 the inference engine, using the machine vision inference technique, is configured to receive identification and tracking information from the tracking engine and determine a change in the hand's state based on plural states of the hand and one or more tracked behavior, movement, and/or occurrence for each state of the plural states; and 
 the monitoring module is configured to generate a trigger event signal based on the hand's state and/or the change in the hand's state.