FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to the field of guiding objects and, in particular, the field of guiding people. More specifically, in one aspect of the invention, the invention relates to visually guiding objects, including people, by visual indication elements.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field of guiding people, often signs are used to visually indicate destinations for people. To mention one example, in airports, check-in counters are labeled with signs of the airlines servicing respective counters, so that people can identify the airlines and queue at the correct counter. It is further known, for example, to indicate a flight destination or a flight number on screens, which are arranged at the individual counters, so that people can identify a counter to check in for the respective flight. From WO 2004/094896 A2, tile lighting methods and systems are known. Lighting control signals can be supplied to generate a wide range of effects on the tile lighting units, including effects coordinated among different tile lighting units. The tile lighting system is, for example, installed on a building exterior for displaying graphical effects such as effects responding to an incoming video signal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a new system for guiding objects, which are capable of moving and have at least one sensorial capability. It would be advantageous to have a system for guiding objects, in particular people or animals, which system enables the object to easily find out whether it/he/she is in the correct area or place to be.

To better address this concern, in a first aspect of the invention an area indication system for guiding objects, which are capable of moving and have at least one sensorial capability, is provided, which system comprises: - a plurality of indication elements for effecting a property of areas within a space; and

- a control unit adapted to select an area for at least one of said objects to be located in; the selected area being within or outside said space; wherein the control unit is adapted to select a group of the indication elements based on the selected area and on positional information about the indication elements; and wherein the control unit is adapted to control the indication elements of the selected group in order to effect a property of the selected area.

Said property of areas is a property for being sensed by at least one of said objects, that is, a property which is accessible by said sensorial capability. In one embodiment, said at least one sensorial capability is related to a quality

(property of areas) which is accessible by human sensorial capabilities, such as, for example, a visual, aural, haptic or olfactory quality. But, also two or more sensorial capabilities could be used.

Moreover, the selected area in which the objects and in particular the persons could be guided could be inside the space or outside the space, wherein the indication elements for guiding the objects are within the space.

In a further aspect of the invention, an area indication system for guiding objects, which are capable of moving and have an optical recognition capability, is provided, which system comprises: - a plurality of visual indication elements for effecting a visual appearance of areas within a space; and

- a control unit adapted to select an area for at least one of said objects to be located in; the selected area being within said space; wherein the control unit is adapted to select a group of the visual indication elements based on the selected area and on positional information about the visual indication elements; and wherein the control unit is adapted to control the visual indication elements of the selected group in order to effect a visual appearance of the selected area.

In other words, in this aspect of the invention, the sensorial capability is an optical recognition capability, the indication elements for effecting a property of areas within or outside a space are visual indication elements; said property of areas being a visual appearance of areas; and said property of the selected area for being sensed by at least one of said objects is a visual appearance of the selected area.

Various embodiments of these and other aspects of the invention will be indicated below. The term "objects" includes animals and people. For example, the system may be a system for guiding animals on a farm. Other examples of such objects are autonomic vehicles and robots. For example, objects may comprise cameras and object recognition facilities. For example, vehicles or robots may comprise visual capabilities or optical recognition capabilities, e.g., by means of video analysis.

The objects are capable of moving. For example, the objects are capable of moving on legs or on wheels.

The sensorial capability enables the objects to sense said property of the selected area. For example, the sensorial capability enables the objects to sense said property when said objects are in the selected area. Additionally or alternatively, the sensorial capability enables said objects to sense said property when being outside the selected area. For example, a color of a selected area will be visible also from the distance. However, it is also possible to use two or more sensorial capabilities to sense one or more properties.

In one embodiment, the control unit may be adapted to select an area based on a logistic optimization of a process of arranging said objects. Thus, e.g., an appropriate throughput, a fluid workflow, or a fast adaptation to new circumstances may be facilitated by guiding the objects according to a logistically optimized process.

In one embodiment, the system is an area indication system for guiding people. The system is especially advantageous for guiding people, as it allows to inform people about the selected area without requiring an action, such as an inquiry action, from said people.

For example, said property indicates for which objects the selected area is intended. For example, at an airport, the system may provide different visual appearances for frequent flyers, business class, economy, etc. Said property, e.g. the visual appearance, of the selected area can directly indicate the selected area to said objects, so that these objects can directly and immediately recognize this area as the area to be located in.

For example, by selecting the area where people should be or go to, and by effecting a visual appearance of the selected area using the visual indication elements, people are enabled to easily check whether where they stand or walk is the correct area. Because the selected area is directly indicated by its visual appearance, people do not have to rely on abstract information like plans to find out where to be. Furthermore, for example when queuing, people do not have to extrapolate from an indication at a head of the queue towards their actual position to find out whether they are in the correct queue. The correct area is indicated locally, that is, at the location of said area or, e.g., at locations throughout said area. In contrast, when the kind of queue was only indicated near a head of a queue, it would be difficult to see whether one is in the correct queue. For instance, in airports, conventionally there is only one screen in the front of the queue that shows which queue one is in. The group of indication elements may consist of one or more of these elements.

In one embodiment of the invention, the control unit is adapted to variably select said area for at least one object to be located in. That is, the control unit can change or alter the selection of said area. Such a change of the selection of said area will then be reflected by accordingly selecting the group of the indication elements, so that, again, the currently selected area is indicated, e.g., by its visual appearance. In one embodiment, the system may provide flexible, adaptable queues, which can be sized in width appropriately to the amount of passengers or the size of a crowd, for example. For example, at an airport, guided by the indicated areas, queues can show, and adapt dynamically to, their check-in class, i.e. economy class, business class or 1st class. Thus, unused spaces can be efficiently reused if required.

In one embodiment, said property, e.g. the visual appearance, defines a spatial extension of said area for the at least one object to be located in. For example, a width, a length, a size, or a shape of said area may be indicated. Again, e.g., the direct visual indication of the selected area facilitates recognizing the selected area.

In one embodiment, the visual indication elements are arranged at fixed positions. Thus, the positional information about the visual indication elements is fixed or predefined.

In one embodiment, the control unit is adapted to select the area according to predetermined rules. For example, the control unit may automatically select the area. Alternatively or additionally, in one embodiment, the system comprises a user interface enabling an operator to control the control unit. For example, the operator may be enabled to change rules according to which the control unit selects said area. The user interface may also enable the operator to select said area or vary said selection. In one embodiment, selecting said area for objects to be located is performed by immediately selecting said group of the indication elements. For example, there may be a direct relation between sub-areas of said area and individual visual indication elements.

In one embodiment, the visual indication elements comprise lighting elements. For example, the visual indication elements are lighting elements. Lighting elements can, for example, provide a clear visual indication of the selected area. For example, the lighting elements may illuminate the selected area. For example, light emitted by said lighting elements may be reflected or scattered by the selected area, so that reflected light is visible to the objects. Alternatively or additionally, lighting elements may be arranged at the selected area to emit light from the selected area towards the objects. For example, the lighting elements may comprise a translucent cover for scattering light shining through said cover. Other examples of visual indication elements are signage and displays, for example, OLED displays or panels.

For example, light units may be arranged in the floor and/or in the ceiling of a queue space, or in objects for delimiting a queue area, e.g. poles. For example, the light units illuminate the floor to indicate where queue areas are. For example, an area next to, around and/or above a destination for each queue, such a destination e.g. being the proper desk, counter, gate or entrance, may be illuminated effecting a specific visual appearance to further indicate the destination. However, a visual appearance of the selected area may also be effected by other visual indication elements, such as optically passive visual indication elements, that is, elements that do not emit light. Such elements may, for example, be constructed similar to display elements of electronic paper.

Using colorless visual indication elements, for example, the visual appearance of the selected area may be darker or lighter than that of another area. For example, the visual appearance may be characterized by a grey scale value.

In one embodiment, the visual appearance of the selected area comprises a color. For example, the visual indication elements may comprise lighting elements for emitting colored light. When the visual appearance comprises a color, the selected area is particularly easy to recognize. For example, the area could be characterized as "the red area", or "the yellow area". When there are different selected areas for different groups of objects, these different areas having different visual appearances may be distinguishable by their color. Thus, e.g., orientation for people knowing which color they should approach or be at is made easier. Thus, for example, in transportation, a customer no longer needs to search for a monitor in which the class of each queue is indicated, because he only has to look for the color of e.g. the floor. Hence, throughput can be efficiently increased, because it is obvious from every spot which queue is intended for which passenger. Thus, the visual indication may become intuitive for everybody; it is, for example, language independent and text independent. Therefore, for example, also foreigners, elderly with seeing disabilities, and children not capable to read yet are enabled to intuitively absorb and use the information of, e.g., colored lighting. For example, at an airport, colored light may indicate the class of the queue, but also the width of the counter space or of the queue may be set as required, e.g. 1st class counters and queue width may be broader than economy class. For example, the colors of the queues may be standardized (e.g. yellow for 1st class, red for business class, etc.), so that they are intuitively recognizable. Alternatively, for example, queue colors may be predefined according to queue or event and e.g. indicated by ticket color or textual information on a reservation confirmation ("flight No. X on April 20th, business class, green queue") or even created/changed dynamically. Furthermore, for example, the counters and the front desk clerks can wear photonic textiles, which are harmonically colored accordingly.

In one embodiment, the visual indication elements are arranged in a regular pattern. This allows to simplify the relation between the positions of the visual indication elements and positions or sub-areas within said space. Moreover, when the visual indication elements are arranged in a regular pattern, controlling the visual indication elements is simplified. For example, the visual indication elements may form a matrix arrangement.

Thus, the visual indication elements are for example, addressable by "columns" and "lines".

In one embodiment, the visual indication elements are integrated in a floor and/or are arranged at a ceiling. When the visual indication elements are integrated in a floor, they may be adapted to illuminate at least parts of the floor from inside or from below. For example, the visual indication elements may comprise light emitting tiles e.g. having a light diffusing cover. The cover may, for example, form an upper surface of a floor element. The visual indication elements may also be individually floor integrated elements, for example LEDs. The visual indication elements may also be formed by photonic textiles, for example, photonic textiles in carpets. A high number of individually addressable visual indication elements per area allows to produce, for example, a graphically structured visual appearance. For example, the visual appearance may simulate or resemble a typical "first class carpet", e.g. a golden or red queue area. For example, the visual appearance may include graphical symbols or text or numbers. That is, at least a part of the selected area may be used as an information display, for example displaying information related to the selected area. When the visual indication elements are arranged at a ceiling, they may, e.g., be arranged to illuminate a floor below the ceiling.

However, the visual indication elements may also be arranged at other positions, for example, on or in poles or walls or a counter or other objects. For example, clerks at counters may wear photonic textiles which are harmonically colored according to the visual appearance of the respective selected area. Furthermore, the visual indication elements may, e.g., be arranged on static/fixed or dynamic/moving elements such as robots present in the selected area. Furthermore, for example, said people may be equipped with said visual indication elements. Passengers may wear, for example, sports shoes comprising photonic textile, said shoes being able to adapt an illumination or visual appearance accordingly. Thus, for example, the objects themselves may comprise the visual indication elements, indicating to which selected area or group of objects/people they are associated. In one embodiment, the visual appearance of the selected area comprises a visual appearance of a floor. Thus, the selected area is directly indicated by the floor itself. For example, as described above, the visual indication elements may be integrated in the floor or may be arranged above the floor in order to illuminate the floor from above. When the visual appearance of the selected area comprises a visual appearance of the floor, the selected area can easily be recognized, and one can look it down to see whether one is in the correct area. In one embodiment, the system further comprises an area selection unit, the control unit being adapted to control the area selection unit to select said area for at least one of said objects to be located in. In one embodiment, the area selection unit comprises a memory for storing information representing at least one of a size of the selected area, a shape of the selected area and a location of the selected area within said space. The area selection unit may also be integrated into the control unit. For example, the memory may store a matrix representation or a bitmap representation of the selected area. For example, information representing the space as well as information representing the selected area within said space may be stored in the memory. The memory allows to call up information representing the selected area by the control unit. Moreover, an operator may call up or change the information stored in the memory via a user interface of the system. For example, a user interface comprises a display for displaying the stored information.

In one embodiment, the control unit is adapted to select said area for at least one of said objects to be located in based on positional information on a destination for said objects. For example, said area may extend towards said destination. Thus, e.g., people can be guided towards the destination by indicating the selected area to the people. For example, the selected area may be a queue area for queuing. Then, a head of the queue will form at the destination of the queue. For example, in an airport, the destination may be a check-in counter. Furthermore, for example the system may be used to keep a passenger queue fluid by not only guiding them to the counter, but also further to destinations like, e.g., passport control, security check or even gate (depending e.g. on seat/flight number). Furthermore, for example, in a hotel, the system can be used to keep the check-in queue fluid by not only guiding the guests to the front-desk, but also to further destinations like, e.g., the lift or restaurant. In one embodiment, the control unit is adapted to select said area for at least one of the objects to be located in based on a signal received from at least one detector, said signal comprising information on free areas within said space and/or information on the presence of said objects within said space. For example, the signal may comprise information on positions where said objects or other kinds of objects have been detected. For example, said detector may comprise a light detector. For example, the light detector may be a light barrier. A light barrier may be formed by a lighting element, for example, arranged at a ceiling and one or more associated light receiving elements arranged at, in or below the floor. For example, the system may assume that wherever the light path is blocked, said objects are present. Another example of a detector is a camera, and the control unit may be adapted to evaluate the signal received from the camera, for example, using object recognition techniques. A camera may, for example, be installed at a ceiling. A camera may be oriented vertically or horizontally or may be inclined.

Another example for a detector is a pressure sensor or a weight detector. Such a detector may, for example, be integrated in a floor to detect said objects by their weight or pressure exerted onto the floor. For example, a pressure sensor may include a pressure sensitive element comprising, e.g., a piezo element.

Another example for a detector is a communication means adapted to communicate with portable identification means, e.g. an RFID communication means adapted to communicate with RFID-tags. Such RFID-tags or other portable identification means may, for example, be included in tickets or badges carried by people or other objects or incorporated in such objects. The RFID communication means may have a reduced functionality, since only a detection of the presence of RFID-tags is needed.

In one embodiment, the system comprises a detector for detecting free areas within said space and/or for detecting the presence of objects, e.g. people, within said space. For example, the detector comprises at least one of a camera, a pressure sensor, a weight detector, a light detector, and an RFID communication means as described above. In one embodiment, the control unit is adapted to vary the selection of the area for at least one of said objects to be located in based on a predetermined timing. For example, the selection may be day-time dependent or may be based on a predetermined time schedule.

In one embodiment, the selected area is an area for a queue for objects, e.g. people, queuing for a destination, and the control unit is adapted to change at least one of:

- a width of said area;

- a size of said area;

- a shape of said area; and

- a location of said area within said space. Thus, it is possible to flexibly resize, move, close or open a queue area. Thus, queue areas can be rearranged according to need, for example, following predetermined rules and/or can be modified by interaction with an operator.

In one embodiment, each indication element is associated to at least one sub- area within said space, each indication element being arranged for effecting a property of the associated sub-area(s), and the control unit is adapted to select the group of the indication elements based on positional information about the sub-areas to which the indication elements are associated. Thus, the selected area comprises the sub-areas associated with the indication elements of a selected group. For example, the indication elements may be individually addressable. For example, by changing the selection of the group of the visual indication elements, a fine adjustment of the visually indicated selected area is possible. In one embodiment, the system further comprises an indication elements controller for controlling the indication elements. For example, the controller is a controller for controlling the indication elements electrically and/or by radio communication. The control unit is, for example, adapted to control said controller to control the indication elements of the selected group in order to effect a property of the selected area. For example, the indication elements may be individually or block-wise addressable. For example, regularly arranged visual indication elements may be line-wise addressable, that is, the controller can address a line of a plurality of visual indication elements. Moreover, visual indication elements may be arranged in rows or lines adapted to receive a control signal for the row or line at a head of the row or line. Controlling a large number of visual indication elements may, for example, be performed as described in WO 2004/094896 A2 for lighting units of a lighting system.

In one embodiment, the control unit is adapted to effect a property of the selected area by controlling the indication elements of said group differently from those indication elements not belonging to said group. For example, other indication elements may be switched off or may be controlled to effect a different property. Thus, the selected area can easily be recognized.

In one embodiment, the control unit is adapted to select at least two areas for at least one of said objects to be located in, and the control unit is adapted to select, for each selected area, a group of the indication elements based on the respective selected area and on positional information about the indication elements; further, the control unit is adapted to control the indication elements of the selected groups in order to effect a first property of a first one of the selected areas and a second property of a second one of the selected areas, the first property, e.g. visual appearance, being different from the second property, e.g. visual appearance. The number of selectable areas and respective groups may also be three or higher than three. In one embodiment, each visual appearance of one of the selected areas may be different from any of the visual appearances of the other selected areas. In one embodiment, however, two or more of the selected areas may have a similar or the same visual appearance. In one embodiment, the visual appearance of a selected area is different from each visual appearance of neighboring selected areas. However, the visual appearance of a first selected area may be the same for a selected area which is further away from the first selected area.

Such different properties, e.g. visual appearances, allow an easy recognition of the different selected areas. For example, the visual appearances may differ in at least one of a color, a brightness, a colorfulness, a graphical pattern, a dynamical graphical pattern, e.g. a time sequence of graphical patterns and/or colors, and the like. For example, one selected area may be flashing, one selected area may be slowly fluctuating, and one selected area may be flickering, e.g. like stroboscopic light. For example, a speed of flashing, fluctuating and/or flickering of the different selected areas may differ.

Additionally or alternatively to guiding using visual indication elements as described above, the use of other sensorial capabilities is possible according to one or more of further aspects of the invention as described below.

In a further aspect of the invention, an area indication system for guiding objects, which are capable of moving and have an aural recognition capability, is provided, which system comprises:

- a plurality of acoustic indication elements for effecting an acoustic property of areas within a space; and - a control unit adapted to select an area for at least one of said objects to be located in; the selected area being within said space; wherein the control unit is adapted to select a group of the acoustic indication elements based on the selected area and on positional information about the acoustic indication elements; and wherein the control unit is adapted to control the acoustic indication elements of the selected group in order to effect an acoustic property of the selected area.

In other words, in this aspect of the invention, the sensorial capability is an aural recognition capability, the indication elements for effecting a property of areas within a space are acoustic indication elements; said property of areas being an acoustic property of areas; and said property of the selected area for being sensed by at least one of said objects is an acoustic property of the selected area.

The acoustic property of the selected area is effected by an acoustic irradiation of the selected area, that is, an exposure of said selected area to an associated sound. For example, specific sounds, audio tones, music or audio announcements may be emitted from acoustic indication elements like loudspeakers or acoustic projection devices. Acoustic properties of a selected area can be localized, e.g., by people even when heard from a distance. For example, different selected areas may be exposed to acoustic messages in different languages. This allows people to focus their attention on one language.

When using acoustic indication elements additionally to visual indication elements, for example, an acoustic message could instruct people to check whether they are in the correct area. For example, an acoustic message could be: "passengers with red tickets please come to the red area".

In a further aspect of the invention, an area indication system for guiding objects, which are capable of moving and have a haptic sensorial capability, is provided, which system comprises:

- a plurality of haptic indication elements for effecting a haptical property of areas within a space; and

- a control unit adapted to select an area for at least one of said objects to be located in; the selected area being within said space; wherein the control unit is adapted to select a group of the haptic indication elements based on the selected area and on positional information about the haptic indication elements; and wherein the control unit is adapted to control the haptic indication elements of the selected group in order to effect a haptic property of the selected area. In other words, in this aspect of the invention, the sensorial capability is a haptic sensorial capability, the indication elements for effecting a property of areas within a space are haptic indication elements; said property of areas being a haptic property of areas; and said property of the selected area for being sensed by at least one of said objects is a haptic property of the selected area.

The haptic indication elements are, for example, vibrators or micro -vibrators. Vibrators are known, for example, from vibration feedback game pads. For example, moving patterns of vibrations at a surface of the selected area could indicate a direction. For example, a vibration signal could indicate to a person that he/she is in the wrong area. Furthermore, for example, the haptic indication elements may effect the impression of a flooring. For example, the impression may resemble planking, a rubber coating, and the like. In a further aspect of the invention, an area indication system for guiding objects, which are capable of moving and have an olfactory sensorial capability, is provided, which system comprises: - a plurality of olfactory indication elements for effecting an olfactory property of areas within a space; and

- a control unit adapted to select an area for at least one of said objects to be located in; the selected area being within said space; wherein the control unit is adapted to select a group of the olfactory indication elements based on the selected area and on positional information about the olfactory indication elements; and wherein the control unit is adapted to control the olfactory indication elements of the selected group in order to effect an olfactory property of the selected area.

In other words, in this aspect of the invention, the sensorial capability is an olfactory sensorial capability, the indication elements for effecting a property of areas within a space are olfactory indication elements; said property of areas being an olfactory property of areas; and said olfactory of the selected area for being sensed by at least one of said objects is an olfactory property of the selected area.

For example, the olfactory property of the selected area may be a fragrance in the air. For example, fragrances may be emitted by the olfactory indication elements. For example, the olfactory indication elements may comprise sources of fresh air. One advantage of effecting an olfactory property of the selected area is that the olfactory property may be effected without blocking the view or the way of people, for example. Furthermore, fragrances may be used which are detectable by electronic devices but not detectable by the human senses. Thus, an unobtrusive guidance system becomes feasible. Other sensorial capabilities and respective indication elements and properties are conceivable to the person skilled in the art.

In a further aspect of the invention, a system for guiding objects which are capable of moving and have a sensorial capability is provided, the system comprising: - at least one area within a space, said area having a property for being sensed by at least one of said objects; and a control unit adapted to select one of said at least one area for at least one of said objects to be located in; wherein the control unit is adapted to communicate to said at least one of said objects information about said property of the selected area. Thus, the system allows to variably assign, e.g., waiting areas to people, these waiting areas being clearly recognizable by the people e.g. due to their visual appearance. In one embodiment, the system further comprises a communication unit for communicating to said objects information about said property; and the control unit is adapted to control the communication unit for communicating to said at least one of said objects information about said property of the selected area.

For example, the communication unit may be installed at an entrance to said space. Alternatively or additionally, the communication unit may be installed within said space. For example, the system may comprise more than one such communication units.

This aspect of the invention may be realized additionally or alternatively to other aspects of the invention as described above. In this aspect of the invention, the selectable areas is, for example, be fixed or stationary. That is, said property, e.g., a visual appearance, of the areas is predetermined. For example, other features of the selected area than said property may be predetermined, such as a size or a shape of said area. Nevertheless, the objects, e.g. people, may be flexibly assigned to one of different areas by selecting one of these areas and communicating to said object information about said property of the selected area. For example, when the different areas differ in their colors, the communication unit will communicate to an object the color of the area which has been selected for said object. For example, when people enter a waiting space comprising different queue areas, the system may communicate to each person entering the waiting space a color identifying a queue area for that person.

Although said property and/or size and/or shape of the selected area may remain the same throughout, people can flexibly be directed to proper selected areas. Therefore, the applications of this aspect of the invention are similar to the applications of other aspects of the invention as described above. This aspect of the invention may also be combined with those other aspects of the invention. That is, the areas within the space of which areas one area is selectable by the control unit may be the selected areas according to the other aspects of the invention. This offers even more flexibility for guiding objects.

In one embodiment of this aspect of the invention, the system further comprises at least one identification element for being carried by one of said objects, wherein the system further comprises an identification unit for detecting said identification element and generating a signal comprising information about said identification element; and wherein the control unit further is adapted to select said area based on said signal received from said identification unit. For example, the identification element is a portable identification element. For example, the communication unit comprises said identification unit.

For example, the identification element may consist of or may be included in a ticket, a badge, a coupon, a receipt, a map. For example, the identification element identifies a destination for the objects carrying said identification element. When the control unit receives said signal comprising information about the identification element, the control unit is informed, for example, about a destination of said object. The selection of an area for said object to be in may be based on said information. For example, when a person enters a check- in area of an airport, the identification unit may read information from a ticket of the passenger, and the communication unit may emit an acoustic message such as: "your waiting queue is in the red area". For example, when one queue area tends to fill up, the control unit may select a further queue area for next passengers having the same destination.

The identification unit may be adapted to detect the identification element by reading information from said identification element. Further, the identification unit may be adapted to detect said identification element by radio communication. For example, the identification unit may comprise an RFID communication means adapted to communicate with RFID-tags. For example, the identification element may comprise an RFID-tag.

In one embodiment, the identification element is adapted to indicate information about said property of the selected area to an object carrying said identification element, based on information communicated to the identification element by said communication unit. For example, when the property of the selected area is the color "red", the communication unit may communicate the color to the identification element through the identification unit, and a lighting element of the identification element may show a red light. For example, the energy for indicating said property may be transferred to the identification element by the communication unit. For example, the energy may be transferred by induction.

For example, the communication unit may control the identification element to temporarily or permanently indicate said property of the selected area. After the property of the selected area has been communicated to the object, the object may move towards the correct selected area autonomously. When this aspect of the invention is combined with other aspects of the invention as described above, the object may also be guided to the selected area by said indication elements, for example.

In a further aspect of the invention, a method for guiding objects which are capable of moving and have an sensorial capability is provided, said method including the steps of:

- selecting an area for at least one of said objects to be located in; said area being within a space;

- selecting a group of indication elements from a plurality of indication elements, said selecting being based on the selected area and on a positional information about the indication elements; and

- controlling the indication elements of the selected group in order effect a property of the selected area for being sensed by at least one of said objects.

In one embodiment, the method may be a method of operating the area indication system for guiding objects as described above. In one embodiment, the method comprises a step of storing information representing at least one of a size of the selected area, a shape of the selected area, and a location of the selected area within said space. In one embodiment, in the step of selecting an area, the selecting is based on positional information about a destination for objects. In one embodiment, the method comprises the step of receiving a signal from at least one detector, said signal comprising information on the presence of objects within said space, and, in the step or selecting an area, the selecting is based on said signal. In one embodiment, the steps of the method are repeated. In one embodiment, when repeating the step of selecting an area, the selection of the area for at least one of said objects to be located in is varied based on a predetermined timing. In a further aspect of the invention, a method of guiding objects which are capable of moving and have one or multiple sensorial capabilities is provided, the method including the steps of: - selecting an area for at least one of said objects to be located in; said area being one of at least one area within a space; said area having a property for being sensed by at least one of said objects;

- communicating to said at least one of said objects information about said property of the selected area.

In a further aspect of the invention, a computer program and/or a computer program product for performing one of the methods as described above when executed on a computer is provided.

In a further aspect of the invention, a data carrier including a computer program for performing the steps of one of the methods as described above is provided.

In a further aspect of the invention, a computer for executing a computer program as described above is provided. For example, the computer may comprise the control unit or a part of the control unit. For example, a computer may function as the area selection unit described above and may be arranged to control a controller for controlling the visual indication elements. For example, the computer may be adapted to receive said signal from said detector described above.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and indicated with reference to the embodiments described herein after.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in greater detail hereinafter, by way of non- limiting examples with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

Fig. 1 illustrates an area indication system according to the invention;

Fig. 2 illustrates a space with queue areas; Fig. 3 illustrates decreasing a width of a queue area; Fig. 4 illustrates a further embodiment of an area indication system according to the invention including lighting elements arranged at a ceiling; Fig. 5 illustrates a further embodiment of an area indication system according to the invention including lighting elements arranged in poles; Fig. 6 illustrates a further embodiment of an area indication system according to the invention including a weight detector; Fig. 7 illustrates a further embodiment of an area indication system according to the invention including a light detector; Fig. 8 illustrates a further embodiment of an area indication system using

RFID communication means; Fig. 9 illustrates a further embodiment of an area indication system according to the invention for use with a camera for detecting the presence of people;

Fig. 10 illustrates a further embodiment of an area indication system according to the invention allowing to automatically vary the selection of an area based on a predetermined timing;

Fig. 11 illustrates a guiding system according to the invention; and Figs. 12 and 13 illustrate a further embodiment of an area indication system for indicating colored areas on a platform.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In Fig. 1, the structure of an inventive area indication system for guiding people is schematically illustrated. A plurality of visual indication elements 10 are arranged in a regular pattern forming a two-dimensional array 12. In this example, the visual indication elements 10 are light tiles, that is, lighting elements having a shape that allows to almost continuously cover a floor of a space 14. The light emitting ability of the visual indication elements 10 is schematically illustrated by small arrows in Fig. 1.

A control unit 16 controls the visual indication elements 10 through a controller 18. An area selection unit 20 includes a memory 22 in which a representation of the array 12 is stored, as is schematically indicated by small tiles in Fig. 1. The representation in the memory 22 may also include objects surrounding the space 14. For example, the space 14 may be a waiting space of a check- in hall of an airport, and various check- in counters adjacent to such space 14 may be represented as objects 24 in the memory 22. Fig. 1 also exemplarily shows a power supply 26 and a user interface 28 for interaction with an operator. An example of a mode of operation of the area indication system of Fig. 1 will now be described in conjunction with Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 schematically illustrates a portion of the space 14 in front of a first object 24a and a second object 24b. These objects are, for example, counters, in particular check- in counters at an airport. In the example shown, the space 14 is coarsely subdivided into sub-areas 30 of general rectangular shape. A floor of each sub-area 30 is covered by a visual indication element 10.

In the example shown, locations immediately adjacent to the counters 24a, 24b are destinations for people which are to queue up in front of the counters. For example, one group of people has to queue for counter 24a, whereas another group of people has to queue for counter 24b. The area selection unit 20 of the control unit 16 selects a first area 32 associated with a destination in front of the counter 24a and selects a second area 34 associated with a destination in front of counter 24b. The selected area 32 is an area for those people to be located in who have to queue for counter 24a. The selected area 32 is indicated by effecting a visual appearance of the area 32 which distinguishes said area 32 from its surroundings and from other selected areas in the neighborhood, like area 34. In Fig. 2, individual visual appearances of the areas 32, 34 are schematically illustrated by hatching. In real life, however, for example, the visual appearance of the selected area 32 may be effected by colored light emitted from the corresponding visual indication elements 10. For example, the area 32 may be indicated by yellow light, whereas the area 34 may be indicated by red light. For example, queue areas or lanes may be colored over their full extension.

The selected areas 32, 34 are also represented in the memory 22, as is schematically illustrated in Fig. 1. Based on the selection of the areas 32, 34, the control unit 16 selects corresponding groups of the visual indication elements 10 and controls the controller 18 accordingly, which in turn controls the respective lighting elements to emit light of the corresponding color. The controller 18 may control visual indication elements 10 not belonging to one of the selected groups to emit no light or to emit light having a neutral color. Thus, the selected areas 32, 34 are clearly distinguishable to the people.

In the example of Figs. 1 and 2, there is a direct relation between the positions of the individual visual indication elements 10 and the sub-areas of the selected areas. This is due to one visual indication element 10 directly corresponding to the respective sub-area the visual appearance of which is effected by said visual indication element 10. Thus, there is a one-to-one relation of the visual indication elements 10 and their associated sub-areas 30, and each visual indication element 10 effects a visual appearance of only its associated sub-area 30.

As is indicated by an arrow in Fig. 1, the controller 18 controls the visual indication elements 10. For example, the controller 18 may control individual visual indication elements 10 by direct electrical connection or by radio communication. In a situation with long and crowded queue areas, the direct indication of the selected areas 32, 34 allows people to recognize the correct queue area even when they are far away from the respective counter 24a or 24b.

For example, the control unit 16 may be adapted to vary the selected areas. The area indication system may allow to resize, open, close and move queues of people as will be described below.

For example, in Fig. 2, the selected area 34 comprises three lines of four individual sub-areas 30. By selecting another line of sub-areas 30 to the right of the selected area 34, the width of the area 34 may be increased. In general, the control unit 16 may be adapted to change a local or global width of a selected area, a size of the selected area independently from the shape of the area, or the shape of the selected area simply by selecting suitably positioned sub-areas 30. Moreover, the control unit 16 may change a location of the selected area within the space 14, close a selected area (or set its size to zero) and open an area for queuing. An example of increasing the width of a selected area has been described above. Increasing the width of a selecting area may simply be performed by selecting a larger area which includes the previous area. People which are located on the selected area may then simply fill the added portions of the selected area.

Reducing a width of a selected area may be done in a sequence of steps of decreasing the width locally as follows.

Fig. 3 schematically shows a configuration of sub-areas 30 and a selected area 32 in front of a counter 24 of an embodiment similar to the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2. A selected area 32 is an area for a queue of people at the counter 24. Queuing people 36 are schematically illustrated by white disks in Fig. 3. The width of the area 32 is reduced in a gradual manner beginning at the head of the queue near the counter 24. In the situation of Fig. 3, the current shape of the selected area 32 is indicated by hatching. With respect to a previous shape of the selected area 32, the selected area has been reduced by a portion 38 the outline of which is indicated by dashed lines in Fig. 3. As can be seen, in the situation of Fig. 3, a few people are outside the currently selected area 32. These people will move into the selected area when people leave the queue after being served at the counter 24. Then, the narrowing of the queue may be moved a step further towards the end of the queue. The reducing of the width of the area 32 may be performed in steps following a predetermined timing. Alternatively, the reducing of the width may be performed based on a signal of a detector comprising information about the presence of people within the space 14; such a detector will be described below with reference to Figs. 5 to 9.

In a similar manner, a closing of a queue area may be performed by decreasing the length of the selected area stepwise, for example, by keeping the actual length of the selected area slightly smaller than required by the people present in said area. Thus, although people gradually moved towards the counter 24 and are served at the counter, the size of the indicated area will demonstrate that no further queue space is available.

Opening a new queue area may simply be performed by selecting an appropriate area at a location where no area has been present before. Moving a queue area may be performed by combining the steps of increasing and decreasing the selected area at different sides, for example. Moving a queue area may also be performed by gradually shifting the selected area. When the width of the area is small enough, people may adapt to the shifted area, for example, by moving sideward.

Fig. 4 schematically illustrates an area indication system having a structure similar to the system of Fig. 2. However, instead of visual indication elements in the form of light tiles arranged at the floor, Fig. 4 shows visual indication elements 40 arranged at a ceiling above the floor. In this example, visual indication elements 40 are lighting elements adapted to illuminate a certain area, said area including more than one of the sub-areas 30. Thus, there is no one-to-one relation of the visual indication elements and the sub-areas the visual appearance of which may be effected by the respective visual indication elements. One visual indication element may be associated to several of the sub-areas 30. Nevertheless, the representation of the selected area in the memory 22 of the control unit 16 may be the same as with the system of Figs. 1 and 2. The control unit selects a group of the visual indication elements in order to effect a visual appearance of the selected area which approximately indicates the shape of the selected area. For example, the areas illuminated by the visual indication elements 40 are schematically illustrated in Fig. 4 as disks having a sharp boundary. However, the boundary may be a soft boundary, so that the visual appearance of the selected areas gradually fades at the boundaries of the selected area. Nevertheless, the selected areas are recognizable and clearly distinguishable. Fig. 5 schematically illustrates an area indication system similar to the system of Fig. 4. However, instead of visual indication elements 40 arranged at the ceiling, visual indication elements 46 are arranged in poles 48 delimiting queue areas. In the example shown, two visual indication elements 46 are arranged at opposite sides of each pole 48. The visual indication elements 46 emit light towards a floor area next to the respective pole 48. Although the selection of an area of people to be in, for example, a queue area, may take place in the same manner as described with regard to the system of Fig. 4, the system of Fig. 5 differs from the system of Fig. 4 in that the positions of the visual indication elements 46 are not centered to the respective illuminated area. The visual indication elements 46 may even be arranged outside of said area.

Fig. 6 schematically illustrates a system similar to the system of Fig. 1. However, below the lighting tiles of the visual indication elements 10, weight detectors 42 are arranged for detecting a weight pressing on the visual indication elements 10. For example, there is one weight detector 42 arranged at each individual indication element 10. The weight detectors 42 may be, for example, pressure sensors receiving a gravitational force exerted on the sensor from above. However, the relation may be different. For example, one weight detector 42 may be arranged in an area comprising more than one visual indication element 10. A detector control unit 44 of the control unit 16 receives signals from the weight detectors 42. These signals comprise information on the presence of people at the positions of the weight detectors 42. Thus, the control unit 16 is informed at which locations people are present within the space 14. The control unit 16 may use this information, for example, when resizing, closing or moving areas for people to be located in, for example, the queue area of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 schematically illustrates an area indication system similar to the system of Fig. 4. Visual indication elements 40 in form of lighting elements are arranged at a ceiling. At the floor, light detectors 50 are arranged for receiving the light of the visual indication elements 40. When the light is blocked, for example by a person standing above a light detector 50, this is detected by the corresponding light detector(s). Similar to the system of Fig. 6, a detector control unit 44 of the control 16 is adapted to receive signals from the light detectors 50 comprising information about the presence of people above the light detectors

50. In an alternative embodiment, the light detectors 50 may be arranged to receive light from dedicated lighting elements which are separate from the visual indication elements. For example, the light detectors 50 may be arranged to receive light of a specific wave length which is not used by the visual indication elements. Fig. 8 schematically shows a part of a system similar to the system of Fig. 6.

However, instead of weight detectors 42, RFID communication means 52 are provided. The RFID communication means 52 are arranged to detect the presence of tickets 54 having an RFID tag 56. The RFID communication means are further adapted to send a signal comprising information about the presence of tickets 54, and, thus, of people carrying these tickets, to the detector control unit 44 of the control 16.

Fig. 9 schematically shows an area indication system similar to the system of Fig. 6. However, instead of weight detectors 42, cameras 58 are used for detecting the presence of people. A detector control unit 44 may comprise software means for detecting the presence of people, e.g., the size of a queue, from a video signal received from a camera 58. The software means may comprise object recognition techniques.

When the control unit is adapted to select the area for people to be located in based on the signal received from at least one detector as described above, for example, regarding the embodiments of Figs. 6 to 9, the control unit may be enabled to monitor a crowd of people and calculate, for example, average waiting times of people queuing for a destination. For example, the control unit may dynamically adapt the queue areas by changing the selection of the areas as described above. For example, the control unit may automatically adapt the selected areas based on information on the presence of people within the space. For example, the control unit may decide, according to predetermined rules, to redistribute queues of people by changing sizes, shapes or locations of the selected areas. Additionally or alternatively, an operator may, by the user interface, vary the selection of areas or set the rules according to which the control unit selects the areas.

By appropriately varying the selection of the areas, unused portions of the space can efficiently be reused if required. Thus, guiding people may be used to improve the efficiency of queuing.

Fig. 10 schematically shows a system similar to the system of Fig. 1. The control unit 16 further comprises a clock 60 as is symbolically shown in Fig. 10. For example, a control unit may vary the selection of areas based on the time of day or a fixed time schedule. Thus, the system may be day-time adaptive. For example, when the area indication system is used for guiding people towards a counter of a hotel, a check- in agenda of a hotel reservation system may be used as additional input to the control unit. Thereby, for example, guiding areas for special guests or groups of guests may automatically be arranged, or their size may be adapted according to the expected needs. In Fig. 11 , a structure of an inventive guiding system for guiding people on a floor of a space 14 is schematically illustrated. A control unit 16 includes an area selection unit 20. For example, the space 14 may be a waiting space of a check- in hall of an airport, wherein each waiting space has its predetermined fixed color. Fig. 11 schematically illustrates a portion of the space 14 in front of check-in counters adjacent to this space 14. A first counter 24a and a second counter 24b are shown.

Fig. 11 also exemplarily shows a power supply 26 and a user interface 28 for interaction of the control unit 16 with an operator. In the example shown, locations immediately adjacent to the counters 24a, 24b are destinations for people which are to queue up in front of the counters. For example, one group of people has to queue for counter 24a, whereas another group of people has to queue for counter 24b. There is a first area 32 associated with a destination in front of the counter 24a, and a second area 34 associated with a destination in front of counter 24b. The area 32 is an area for queuing for counter 24a. The area 32 has a different visual appearance than its surroundings and other such areas in the neighborhood like area 34. In Fig. 11, individual visual appearances of the areas 32, 34 are schematically illustrated by hatching. In real life, however, for example, the areas 32, 34 may simply be colored in different colors.

Passengers enter the space 14 through a gate 61 while carrying a ticket 62. The ticket 62 has an identification element 63 for identifying, e.g., a flight destination of a person carrying the ticket 62. For example, the identification element 63 comprises an RFID tag. An identification unit 64 comprising radio communication means is arranged at the gate 61. The radio communication means are arranged to communicate with the identification elements 63 of tickets 62 passing through the gate 61. For example, the radio communication means comprise RFID communication means. When the identification unit 64 detects a ticket 62, it sends a signal comprising information about the ticket 62 to a communication unit 65 of the control unit 16. Based on this information, e.g. information about the flight destination, the area selection unit 20 of the control unit 16 selects, e.g., the first area 32 associated with said flight destination. For example, the area 32 is coloured red, and the area 34 is coloured yellow.

Information about this property (color) of the selected area is then communicated by the control unit 16 via the communication unit 65 to the passenger. For example, the communication means 65 controls a loudspeaker 66 to emit an acoustic message such as: "please go to the red waiting area". Thus, the person carrying the ticket 62 is informed about which area is his waiting area. Additionally or alternatively, the communication means 65 controls, through the radio communication means 64 and the identification element 63, a light emitting area 67, which is integrated in the ticket 62 and connected to the identification element 63, to emit red light. When the control unit 16 is adapted to receive a signal from the identification unit comprising information about the ticket, the ticket may, for example, also identify a profile of the person carrying the ticket. For example, a passenger may be identified as being only French speaking, and the guiding system may select a correct queue area for the French speaking passenger of a counter with a French speaking clerk.

In a further embodiment, the control unit 16 of Fig. 11 may be combined with the controller 18 of Fig. 1, and the areas 32, 34 may be variably selectable by the control unit 16 as described with regard to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. For example, the floor of the space 14 may be formed by a plurality of the visual indication elements 10 forming a two-dimensional array 12. Furthermore, the area selection unit 20 may include the memory 22 storing a representation of the array 12 as described above. Thus, the control unit 16 may be adapted to vary the selected areas 32, 34 as described above.

Fig. 12 schematically shows an area indication system similar to the system of Fig. 2. However, in this example, the space 14 is a platform next to a railway 70. Selected areas 32 and 34 are colored to indicate recommended waiting areas adjacent to respective destinations, said destinations being the expected positions of entrances of a train to arrive.

Fig. 13 shows the same situation after arrival of a train 72. For example, first class and second class entrances may be indicated in different colors. For reserved seats, the seat number may be indicated by the visual indication elements, for example, by a regular arrangement of small lighting tiles. For example, as is schematically illustrated in Fig. 12 and 13, the number of empty seats available at the respective entrance may be indicated by the size of the selected areas 32, 34.

In a further embodiment, all seats to be filled by persons entering a train on a particular station may be illuminated in a specific color, for example via a downlight, i.e. a light illuminating the floor from above. For example, empty seats with no reservation may be illuminated in a different color. Thus, the selected area corresponds to a group of one or more empty or reserved seats. Thereby, persons entering a carriage may be guided towards available seats.

In a further embodiment, an entire platform and/or a train may be provided with a specific visual appearance, for example, a specific color. For example, this color may also be indicated on a travel plan. Thus, the selected area is an entire platform selected within the space of the railway station. Thus, passengers changing trains simply may look for the correct platform color without having to search for the correct platform number. For example, acoustic messages could be provided informing about the correct visual appearance, i.e. color, like: "The train to Utrecht is leaving from the green platform".

In a further embodiment, the space may be a parking garage, and the selected area may indicate a path a car driver may follow to a nearest empty parking place. The system may comprise a detector for detecting free parking places and/or the presence of cars within the space, and the control unit may be adapted to select said area (the path for the driver to be driving on) based on a signal received from said detector, said signal comprising information about free parking places and/or the presence of cars within the parking garage. In a further embodiment, the visual appearance of a selected area may change dependent on the number of people present in said selected area. For example, only lighting elements in that portion of the area where people are actually located may be turned on. Thus, the amount of energy consumed is reduced. In another embodiment, the visual appearance may be changed dependent on the number of people present in the selected area, in order to automatically (i.e. subconsciously) attract people to a shorter queue or a faster moving queue. For example, an intensity, or a color temperature, and/or a light direction of the illumination effecting said visual appearance may be changed.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive. The invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. For example, it is possible to operate the invention in an embodiment for guiding people on an exhibition. Furthermore, the invention may be operated in an embodiment for identifying and bringing conference participants together by effecting the visual appearance of an appropriately selected area on a conference. Furthermore, the invention may be applied in a hospital, e.g. to differentiate between different departments; in storehouse areas e.g. of malls or vendors; in a museum or gallery, e.g., to indicate different scenes/centuries/styles. Here, a system may be used for preventing people from entering areas for which they have no ticket. Furthermore, the invention may be applied in a multi- theatre cinema or in a scene park. For example, the selected area may be adapted to a current number of available seats in a cinema or in a ride or a performance of a scene park. For example, in a shopping mall, selected areas may indicate products associated with special incentives or premium products, or special offers.

Furthermore, for example, in room floors of a hotel, only doors of guests interested in/registered for/entitled to a newspaper may be indicated to a person delivering newspapers. For example, different colors of the selected areas may indicate which newspaper is to be delivered. Thus, the person delivering the newspapers will be guided to the appropriate doors. A further example is indicating doors of hotel rooms needing service to room service staff. Thus, service personnel may be guided to the proper doors.

Furthermore, the invention can be applied in a fitness center, for example, in order to guide people through a training program. For example, a color is assigned to a person for a training session, and the person is guided by visual indication from one machine/station to the other. The selected area may be selected dependent on the training progress, for example, a performance, time, or a number of repetitions of exercises. Furthermore, the progress itself may be indicated visually, for example by indication elements changing a light color or light intensity. For example, a wrist strap may comprise a visual indication element, e.g. resembling a thermometer bar.

Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. Furthermore, all the disclosed elements and features of each disclosed embodiment of the area indication system or the method can be combined with, or substituted for, the disclosed elements and features of every other disclosed embodiment of the area indication system or the method, respectively, except where such elements or features are mutually exclusive. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measured cannot be used to advantage.

In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. A computer program may be stored/distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunication systems. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.