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US 10,380,506 B2Granted
Generation of occupant activities based on recorded occupant behavior
AssigneeAutodesk, Inc.
InventorsRhys Goldstein, Azam Khan, Alexander Tessier
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for simulating occupant behavior in buildings may be used to predict the energy use of a building structure. The activities of actual building occupants are recorded and provided as an input to the occupant behavior simulation. The occupant behavior simulation generates simulated occupant schedules with similar behavioral patterns. An arbitrary set of factors can be used to select plausible activity types, durations, and numbers of participants during an occupant behavior simulation. The simulated occupant schedules may then be incorporated into a building performance simulation to help architects predict the energy demand associated with different building design options.
Claims22
A computer-implemented method for generating an attribute of simulated occupant behavior for a target building structure, the method comprising:
- receiving, by a processor included in a computer system, recorded occupant behavior data associated with a representative building structure, wherein the recorded occupant behavior data includes actual tasks performed during a plurality of time intervals;
- constructing, by the processor, a first histogram that includes a plurality of bins populated with the recorded occupant behavior data, wherein the histogram comprises a plurality of dimensions, and wherein a first dimension relates to two or more of the actual tasks performed, and a second dimension relates to the plurality of time intervals;
- smoothing, by the processor, at least a portion of the recorded occupant behavior data of the first histogram associated with a first bin included in the plurality of bins based on multiplying the at least a portion of the recorded occupant behavior data associated with the first bin by a first factor determined based on a smoothing parameter that represents a smoothness level for the recorded occupant behavior data and multiplying at least a portion of the recorded occupant behavior data associated with a second bin included in the plurality of bins by a second factor determined based on the smoothing parameter;
- generating, by the processor, the attribute of the simulated occupant behavior that is performed during a first time interval for the target building structure based on the smoothed recorded occupant behavior data;
- generating, by the processor, the attribute of the simulated occupant behavior that is performed during a second time interval for the target building structure based on an actual task performed during the first time interval;
- and
- controlling an environmental impact associated with the target building structure based on computing an energy demand estimate associated with the target building structure based on one or more of the attributes of the simulated occupant behavior.
4 more elements
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause a computer system to perform an operation for generating an attribute of simulated occupant behavior for a target building structure, the operation comprising:
- receiving recorded occupant behavior data associated with a representative building structure, wherein the recorded occupant behavior data includes actual tasks performed during a plurality of time intervals;
- constructing a first histogram that includes a plurality of bins populated with the recorded occupant behavior data, wherein the histogram comprises a plurality of dimensions, and wherein a first dimension relates to two or more of the actual tasks performed, and a second dimension relates to the plurality of time intervals;
- smoothing at least a portion of the recorded occupant behavior data of the first histogram associated with a first bin included in the plurality of bins based on multiplying the at least a portion of the recorded occupant behavior data associated with the first bin by a first factor determined based on a smoothing parameter that represents a smoothness level for the recorded occupant behavior data and multiplying at least a portion of the recorded occupant behavior data associated with a second bin included in the plurality of bins by a second factor determined based on the smoothing parameter;
- generating the attribute of the simulated occupant behavior that is performed during a first time interval for the target building structure based on the smoothed recorded occupant behavior data;
- generating the attribute of the simulated occupant behavior that is performed during a second time interval for the target building structure based on an actual task performed during the first time interval;
- and
- controlling an environmental impact of the target building structure based on computing an energy demand estimate associated with the target building structure based on one or more of the attributes of the simulated occupant behavior.
4 more elements
A computing system configured to generate an attribute of simulated occupant behavior for a target building structure, comprising:
- a memory configured to store an application program and recorded occupant behavior data associated with a representative building structure associated with the application program;
- and
- a processor that is coupled to the memory and, when executing the application program, is configured to:
- receive recorded occupant behavior data associated with a representative building structure, wherein the recorded occupant behavior data includes actual tasks performed during a plurality of time intervals;
- construct a first histogram that includes a plurality of bins populated with the recorded occupant behavior data, wherein the histogram comprises a plurality of dimensions, and wherein a first dimension relates to two or more of the actual tasks performed, and a second dimension relates to the plurality of time intervals;
- smooth at least a portion of the recorded occupant behavior data of the first histogram associated with a first bin included in the plurality of bins based on multiplying the at least a portion of the recorded occupant behavior data associated with the first bin by a first factor determined based on a smoothing parameter that represents a smoothness level for the recorded occupant behavior data and multiplying at least a portion of the recorded occupant behavior data associated with a second bin included in the plurality of bins by a second factor determined based on the smoothing parameter;
- generate the attribute of the simulated occupant behavior that is performed during a first time interval for the target building structure based on the smoothed recorded occupant behavior data;
- generate the attribute of the simulated occupant behavior that is performed during a second time interval for the target building structure based on an actual task performed during the first time interval;
- store the attribute of occupant behavior of the simulated occupant behavior that is performed during the first time interval and the attribute of occupant behavior of the simulated occupant behavior that is performed during the second time interval in the memory;
- and
- control an environmental impact of the target building structure based on computing an energy demand estimate associated with the target building structure based on one or more of the attributes of the simulated occupant behavior.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.