US 11,675,617 B2
Sensor-enabled prioritization of processing task requests in an environment
Dean Frederick Herring, Youngsville, NC (US); Adrian Xavier Rodriguez, Durham, NC (US); Abhishekh Padmanabhan, Cary, NC (US); David A. Bernath, Cary, NC (US); David John Steiner, Raleigh, NC (US); Phuc Ky Do, Morrisville, NC (US); Jonathan M. Waite, Cary, NC (US); and Brad Matthew Johnson, Raleigh, NC (US)
Assigned to Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation, Tokyo (JP)
Filed by Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation, Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Mar. 21, 2018, as Appl. No. 15/927,853.
Prior Publication US 2019/0294468 A1, Sep. 26, 2019
Int. Cl. G06F 9/48 (2006.01); G06Q 30/0601 (2023.01); G06N 3/08 (2023.01)
CPC G06F 9/4831 (2013.01) [G06Q 30/0641 (2013.01); G06N 3/08 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A computer-implemented method to prioritize processing task requests in an environment comprising a plurality of items available for selection by one or more persons, the environment comprising a plurality of sensors distributed throughout the environment, the method comprising:
detecting one or more persons in the environment, wherein each of the one or more persons is associated with a virtual tracking record, wherein each respective virtual tracking record associated with each respective person of the one or more persons comprises:
identification information and location information for the respective person during a current traversal of the environment,
items currently selected for purchase by the respective person, and
information tracking actions of the respective person in the environment;
identifying, using the plurality of sensors, a first person of the one or more persons in the environment, wherein the first person is associated with a first virtual tracking record for a current traversal of the environment;
in response to detecting one or more predefined actions performed by the first person during the current traversal of the environment, obtaining one or more predefined task requests associated with each of the one or more predefined actions and adding each of the one or more predefined task requests to a task request queue, wherein each of the one or more predefined task requests comprise processing tasks for updating the first virtual tracking record for the first person, wherein the task request queue comprises a plurality of task requests comprising each of the one or more predefined task requests and additional task requests for updating virtual tracking records associated with additional persons detected in the environment, and wherein each of the plurality of task requests is assigned a priority level; and
using one or more computer processors communicatively coupled with the plurality of sensors:
beginning execution of the task request queue according to the priority level of the plurality of task requests beginning with a task request with a highest priority level when compared to other task requests in the plurality of task requests;
monitoring the one or more persons in the environment and updating respective virtual tracking records associated with each of the one or persons based on the monitoring;
detecting one or more subsequent predefined actions performed by the one or more persons in the environment
in response to detecting the one or more subsequent predefined actions performed by the one or more persons in the environment:
adding one or more task requests associated with the one or more subsequent predefined actions to the plurality of task requests in the task request queue;
adjusting a priority level of one or more non-completed task requests of the plurality of task requests in the task request queue, wherein the priority level of the one or more non-completed task requests is adjusted to provide prioritized execution of the one or more task requests associated with the current traversal of the environment;
continuing execution of the task request queue according to the adjusted priority level of the plurality of task requests;
detecting the first person in a checkout area of the environment indicating a completion of the current traversal of the environment;
determining a set of one or more task requests of the plurality of task requests in the task request queue that are associated with the first person and are required to complete prior to the first person completing a checkout process;
adjusting a priority level of one or more non-completed task requests of the plurality of task requests in the task request queue, wherein the priority level each task in the set of one or more tasks is increased to provide prioritized execution of the set of one or more tasks;
continuing execution of the task request queue according to adjusted priority levels;
updating the first virtual tracking record upon completion of the set of task requests in the task request queue associated with the first virtual tracking record; and
completing the checkout process in response to the updating.