The invention relates to a method for movement in a physically configurable space. More specifically, the invention relates to a method for movement in a physically configurable space, the physically configurable space including one or more physically configurable elements, wherein one or more sensors connected to a control unit register a user's position in the space, and the control unit configures the at least one configurable element in response to the information read by the at least one sensor, among other things. The invention also relates to a physically configurable space for use with the method.

In what follows, the at least one physically configurable space will be exemplified by a shopping centre, among other things, but the invention is not limited thereto, and the physically configurable space could also be a shop, a parking facility or a public- transport node.

Shopping centres may be large and have confusing layouts. The customers will often be left to their own devices, and it may be difficult to orientate and find the right shop and merchandise. The shopping trip may not be very exciting and efficient, and the shopping is often of a routine character and not very practical for the user.

The invention has for its object to remedy or reduce at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art or at least provide a useful alternative to the prior art.

The object is achieved through features which are specified in the description below and in the claims that follow.

By a user is meant, in what follows, a person who is in the physically configurable space, and various equipment that the user is making use of, whether it be, for example, hand-held electronic equipment like mobile phones and tablet computers, electronic devices worn on the body or clothing, like time pieces, bracelets, glasses, bio- sensors and other so-called "wearables", a shopping trolley or a vehicle that the user is in or on.

In a first aspect, the invention relates to a method for movement in a physically configurable space, the space including one or more physically configurable elements, a first user being at a first position in the physically configurable space, and the method including :

- providing the physically configurable space with at least one sensor;

- connecting the at least one sensor to a control unit; and

- sensing at least the first user's first position in the physically configurable space by means of the at least one sensor, characterized by the method further including the step of:

- configuring the at least one configurable element by means of the control unit on the basis of sensed information from the at least one sensor so that an instruction is given to the first user that he should move to a second position in the physically configurable space.

The physically configurable space may be a shopping centre, a shop, a parking facility, a public-transport node, a hospital or an office building.

The public-transport node may be, for example, an airport, a tram station, a bus terminal and so on.

The configuration of the at least one configurable element may take place in the form of, for example, changes in light, colour and/or graphics in the at least one configurable element. It may be light signals being switched on or off or some other type of configuration which is perceivable by a user. It may also be in the form of sound signals.

In accordance with the present invention, instruction about a change of position, for example, may be information to the user that he should move towards a particular shop in a shopping centre, to a particular sort of merchandise in a shop, to a checkout estimated to have the least waiting time in a shop, to a vacant parking space in a parking facility or to the right gate in an airport. The instruction may be, for example, light signals in the form of arrows that are indicated on floors, ceilings or walls.

In a more advanced version, the configuration may include live pictures or animations played back or projected on a surface or an object in the configurable space. Said object may also be a set of digital glasses that is worn by the user. Further, the configuration may include light sources integrated in the hand-held or body-worn electronic equipment and devices. They may be, for example, light sources like LEDs or lasers, integrated in the user's shoes, projected on floors, ceilings or walls in the physically configurable space. They may also be light or sound sources integrated in, for example, a shopping trolley that is being used by the user.

In one embodiment, the method may further include storing information about the first user's physical data in the control unit. It may be, for example, the user's weight, height, age, muscular mass, body-mass index, resting pulse, maximum pulse, oxygen uptake, blood-sugar level, blood pressure, iron level and general information on his health condition. Said data may be entered manually into the control unit, or the data may be read by the at least one sensor which may be of various kinds described in what follows. The at least one sensor may, for example, communicate with a user's hand-held or body-worn electronic devices. Body-worn biosensors may provide information for the control unit about the above-mentioned biometric data, among other things.

Further, the method may include storing information in the control unit about the first user's movements in the physically configurable space.

In addition, the method may include storing information in the control unit about a second user's movement in the physically configurable space.

In one embodiment, the method may further include connecting subusers to the first user in the control unit. For example, it may be appropriate to connect children to the user profile of one of the parents in the control unit. The children will then be able to participate, for example on a shopping trip. The children may then be guided in the same way as the parents, and the children's contribution when products are being collected and so on could be combined with the parents' contribution.

In one embodiment, the method may include using at least parts of the above- mentioned stored information to configure the at least one configurable element. It may be in order to prepare an instruction to the first user that he should move to the second position in the physically configurable space. This will be beneficial as the at least one configurable element may be configured to set up a movement pattern that is matched to the individual user and his needs and wishes. In accordance with the present invention, storing information may be used in order to, among other things, collect information about the user's shopping habits, and thus be used later to guide the user through a shopping centre or a shop. The information could also be used to estimate expected time consumption up to a gate in an airport, as the general walking speed of the user could be stored in the control unit. By storing information on the movements of other users as well, potential movement patterns may be retrieved from the control unit and used for guidance and/or inspiration to the first user. Stored information on other users could further be used to compare users with corresponding physical data, and thus be used to recommend purchases that the other user has made to the first user.

In one embodiment, the method may further include providing the first user with one or more transmitters arranged to output a signal that can be sensed by the at least one sensor in the physically configurable space. The first user may, for example, be provided with a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag or a near-field communication tag (NFC tag). The RFID tag and the NFC tag may be of active or passive types known per se. The second user or the subusers may also be provided with transmitters. This may be appropriate in order to keep track of subusers or other users in real time. Subusers and other users may also interact with each other, for example by means of hand-held electronic equipment communicating via the control unit.

In a second aspect, the invention relates to a physically configurable space, the space including :

- one or more physically configurable elements;

- at least one sensor arranged to sense at least a first user's position in the space; and

- a control unit, to which the at least one sensor is connected, characterized by the control unit being arranged to configure the at least one configurable element on the basis of sensed information from the at least one sensor, so that an instruction is given to the first user that he should move to a second position in the physically configurable space.

The control unit may include a storage unit arranged to store data.

In one embodiment, at least one of said at least one sensor may be taken from the group of:

- an optical sensor;

- a pressure sensor;

- a temperature sensor;

- an electrical resistance sensor;

- a radio-frequency sensor; and

- a near-field communication sensor. Optical sensors may include various forms of electro-optical sensors. It may be, for example, a position sensor in which the presence of a user is sensed by the user breaking a light beam. Optical sensors may also include different forms of cameras which, by means of image recognition and associated processing software, for example, or by triangulation or the like, are arranged to recognize a user and calculate a user's position and movement in the space by means of algorithms known per se. By a pressure sensor is meant a sensor which is arranged to sense a user's position in the space by the user's touch, in the form of a pressure change on or at the sensor. A temperature sensor could sense a user's position through his contact or proximity to the sensor, in the form of a temperature change. By an electrical resistance sensor are meant all forms of sensors reading a change in the electrical resistance. This includes, among other things, different types of touch screens that are known from mobile phones and tablet computers, among other things, in which a touch results in altered electric voltages either directly or indirectly in consequence of altered capacitance or altered flow patterns of surface acoustic waves. The at least one sensor may also be a radio-frequency sensor for reading data from the above-mentioned RFID tags, or it may be a near-field communication sensor for reading data from the above-mentioned NFC tags. The at least one sensor may further be arranged to read information from the above-mentioned hand-held or body-worn electronic equipment and devices. The above-mentioned sensors may be of types known per se.

The sensors could be used, individually or in combination, to recognize the user and to sense, among other things, the user's position, and time consumption at and between the positions. The data may be stored in the control unit and be used in future to recreate a user's movement in the configurable space, among other things.

Also, a number of substantially identical, physically configurable spaces could be established, the various physically configurable spaces being connected to the same control and/or storage unit so that movement sequences that are carried out and data that are stored in one physically configurable space could be available and possibly recreatable in another physically configurable space.

In what follows, examples of preferred embodiments are described, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which :

Figures 1-2 show a first embodiment in accordance with the present invention, viewed in perspective; Figure 3 shows a second embodiment in accordance with the present invention, viewed from the side;

Figure 4 shows a third embodiment in accordance with the present invention,

viewed from the side; and

Figure 5 shows a fourth embodiment in accordance with the present invention, viewed from above.

In what follows, the reference numeral 1 indicates a physically configurable space in accordance with the present invention. Like reference numerals indicate like or corresponding elements. In the figures, the physically configurable space 1 is drawn schematically and in a highly simplified manner.

Figure 1 shows the method of the present invention in its simplest form. A physically configurable space 1 includes a physically configurable element 11 in the form of a movement area on a floor. The movement area 11 is configurable by means of a control unit 5 which is arranged to control a plurality of light sources 111 placed in the movement area 11. The movement area 11 is further provided with several sensors 13 arranged to sense the position of a user 2 in the movement area 11. The sensors 13 may be of types known per se, mentioned in the general part of the application. They may be, for example, touch-sensitive sensors 13 placed in the movement area 11. The sensors 13 sense the first position PI of the user 2 in the movement area 11. The sensors 13 are connected to the control unit 5 and are arranged to communicate with it. The communication may take place via electrical and/or optical communication cables, not shown, or via wireless communication of types known per se. On the basis of sensed information about the first position PI of the user 2 in the movement area 11, the control unit 5 instructs the user 2 to move to a second position P2 in the movement area 11. This is done by activating light sources 111 in the second position P2, to which, desirably, the user 2 should move. As the user reaches the second position P2, the light sources 111 in the second position P2 will go out and new light sources 111 will light up to indicate a third position P3, as shown in figure 2.

Figures 3 shows a user 2 with a shopping trolley moving in front of a rack 113 in a shop 1, the shop 1 constituting the physically configurable space 1 in this exemplary embodiment. The rack 113, which contains a number of products 115, is provided with a sensor 13 arranged to sense the presence of the user 2. The user 2 has prepared a shopping list in advance. The shopping list may have been uploaded to the control unit 5 before the user 2 enters the shop 1, or the shopping list is made accessible to the control unit 5 via communication with the user's 2 mobile phone or the like. This communication may be established as the user 2 enters the shop 1, for example by means of near-field communication between the user's 2 mobile phone and a sensor, not shown, connected to the control unit 5 at the entrance of the shop 1. The control unit 5 may thereby guide the user 2 to different products 115. Physical information about the user 2 may further be stored in the control unit 5, and the control unit 5 may thus be arranged to make suggestions to the user 2 for purchases. The suggestions may be based on, for example, a recommended diet, given the user's 2 physical data, or the suggestions may be based on the preferences of other users. Recommendations may also be given on the basis of possible body-worn biosensors on the user 2, communicating with the control unit 5 via the sensor 13. In the exemplary embodiment shown, instruction on further movement in the shop 1 is given by means of light sources 111 shaped like arrows. The light sources 111 may be LED lamps integrated in the floor of the shop 1. Possibly, the arrows may be projected onto floors, ceilings and walls in the shop 1 from projectors not shown. By means of the sensor 13, the control unit 5 may further be arranged to sense what products 115 the user 2 is putting into his shopping trolley. This may be done, for example, by products 115 being scanned directly at the rack 113 or on the shopping trolley, or by the products 115 being marked with price tags having RFID tags or NFC tags. By the control unit 5 also keeping track of the positions of other users, not shown, and the number of products 115 in their trolleys, the control unit may guide the user 2 to the checkout estimated to have the least waiting time.

Figure 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the shop from figure 1. Two cameras 131 connected to the control unit 5 are arranged to follow the user 2 through the shop 1. Software for face recognition and position-finding, of types known per se, are used both to identify the user 2 and to determine the position of the user 2 in the shop 1. The user 2 is guided by means of a screen 117 integrated in the rack 113. The cameras 131 may also be used together with other sensors 13.

A fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown in figure 5. The figure shows a configurable space 1 in the form of a parking facility. A user 2 comes driving into the parking facility 1. Sensors 13 read the identity of the user 2 as the user 2 is driving into the parking facility. The parking facility 1 is also provided with sensors, not shown, for locating vacant parking spaces. Said sensors, not shown, communicate with a control unit 5. The control unit 5 guides the user to a vacant parking space 119 by projecting arrows 112 onto the floor of the parking facility 1. In one embodiment, it may be a parking facility 1 belonging to an airport. The user may have uploaded in- formation about his flight number to the control unit 5 in advance. Possibly, this information may be made accessible to the control unit 5 via communication between the hand-held or body-worn electronic devices of the user as the user 2 is driving into the parking facility 1. The user 2 may thus be guided to the most appropriate vacant parking space 119 relative to his check-in. Correspondingly, if the parking facility 1 belongs to a shopping centre, the user 2 may also, by making his agenda accessible to the control unit 5, be guided to the most suitable, vacant parking space 119.