Market Context — Why This Technology, Why Now

The global push for smart infrastructure and sustainable urban development is accelerating, driven by demands for operational efficiency, energy conservation, and enhanced public safety. Businesses and municipalities are actively seeking advanced analytics to transform physical spaces into intelligent environments. This technology directly addresses these trends by providing granular insights into human and asset movement, enabling optimized resource allocation and significant cost savings across diverse sectors, from commercial real estate to public transportation networks.

Key Competitive Advantages
01

Quantifies and Visualizes Space Utilization: Accurately identifies moving object positions, velocities, and activity levels using range sensors and proprietary analysis, clearly visualizing space usage with numerical data.

02

Ensures Privacy-Conscious Data Collection: Utilizes range sensors, making individual identification more difficult than with camera footage, enabling high-precision spatial data acquisition while protecting user privacy.

03

Optimizes Facility Operations and Reduces Costs: Enables optimized control of HVAC/lighting and personnel reallocation based on space activity data, potentially reducing annual operational costs by up to 30%.

Market Opportunity
Smart Building & Facility Management
$300M–$400M globally (AI est.)
This technology could optimize space utilization in offices and commercial facilities, enabling automated control of HVAC/lighting and efficient cleaning/security. This is expected to reduce operational costs and improve user satisfaction.
Commercial real estate developers Facility management service providers Smart building technology integrators
Retail & Commercial Spaces
$200M–$300M globally (AI est.)
Analyzing customer flow, optimizing store layouts, and evaluating dwell times in specific areas could contribute to increased sales and enhanced customer experience.
Large retail chains Shopping mall operators Retail analytics solution providers
Smart Factories
$150M–$250M globally (AI est.)
Analyzing the movement paths of workers and robots within factories and visualizing work efficiency could enhance productivity and strengthen safety management.
Industrial automation companies Manufacturing equipment OEMs Factory digital transformation consultants
Smart Cities & Public Spaces
$150M–$250M globally (AI est.)
Analyzing congestion and managing pedestrian flow in public facilities and transportation hubs could optimize urban functions and improve citizen services.
Urban planning and development agencies Public transportation authorities Smart city solution providers
IP Defensibility — Why Competitors Can't Replicate This
What This Patent Covers

This patent protects an analysis system and method for quantifying space utilization by identifying moving object positions and activity levels from range sensor data. The claims cover the core algorithms for setting activity weight values and integrating them over multiple periods, providing a robust and multi-faceted scope of protection.

Competitive White Space

This patent primarily covers the software algorithms for spatial activity analysis using range sensor data. White space exists in integrating this analysis with other sensor modalities (e.g., environmental, biometric) for richer contextual insights, or developing predictive AI models for future space utilization and dynamic resource allocation.

Economic Impact
~$50K/year estimated operational cost reduction per facility (est.)
estimated ROI · USD · AI analysis
ROI Calculation Logic

Assuming a facility currently employs 3 personnel for patrols and utilization monitoring, incurring an annual labor cost of ~$120K (AI est.). This technology could replace duties equivalent to approximately 0.7 personnel, reducing labor costs by ~$28K (AI est.) annually. Additionally, optimizing space utilization could reduce HVAC/lighting energy costs by 10%, saving ~$15K (AI est.) annually from an estimated ~$150K (AI est.) annual energy expenditure. This totals an estimated annual economic impact of ~$43K (AI est.).

Speed to Market
6× faster than in-house development
Developing this technology in-house from scratch could require at least 3 years for establishing data processing algorithms from range sensors, developing activity weight value logic, and optimizing integration processing over multiple periods. However, by licensing this patent, these core technologies are already established and protected, enabling market entry in approximately 6 months through software integration into existing range sensor systems and validation testing. This offers significant reductions in development time and cost.
Competitive Positioning

X: Space Utilization Optimization Efficiency
Y: Implementation & Operational Cost Performance

Business Models & Applications
📝 Licensing Model
This model involves licensing the analysis algorithms of this technology to existing facility management systems or smart building platforms to generate revenue.
💡 Solution Provision Model
This model provides a spatial analysis solution combining range sensors and this technology, offering implementation and operational support to client facilities for a service fee.
📊 Data Analytics Service Model
This model involves analyzing acquired space utilization data to offer improvement proposals and consulting services for facility operations, generating recurring revenue.
Adjacent Application Opportunities
🏢 Architecture & Real Estate
Next-Gen Office Design Support
This technology could analyze activity data within offices to inform the design of high-productivity layouts and focused work environments. It could optimize hot-desking arrangements and improve meeting room utilization by up to 20%, enhancing worker satisfaction and corporate value through data-driven space optimization.
🛍️ Retail & Marketing
In-Store Customer Behavior Analytics
Detailed analysis of customer flow within stores could visualize attention to specific products, dwell times, and purchase pathways. This enables optimized product merchandising, measurable promotion effectiveness, and serves as a data foundation for delivering personalized customer experiences, potentially increasing sales by 15-20% for optimized layouts.
🏥 Healthcare & Elder Care
Patient & Resident Monitoring System
In hospitals and care facilities, continuous monitoring of patient and resident activity levels could enable early detection of abnormal behavior and prediction of fall risks, potentially reducing incidents by 30%. This technology could reduce staff workload and contribute to high-quality, privacy-conscious care, ensuring user safety and peace of mind.
Integration Roadmap — Estimated 18-Month Deployment
Phase 1: Concept Validation & Requirements Definition
Duration: 3 months
Define the implementation objectives and target space for this technology, along with integration requirements for existing systems. Validate technical applicability and effectiveness through a small-scale Proof of Concept (PoC).
Phase 2: System Development & Prototype Implementation
Duration: 6 months
Develop the analysis module based on defined requirements, integrate with range sensors, and build the data processing pipeline. Implement the prototype in the target space for initial data collection and adjustments.
Phase 3: Validation & Full-Scale Deployment
Duration: 9 months
Evaluate analysis accuracy and system stability through prototype validation, implementing necessary improvements. Subsequently, initiate full-scale system deployment and operations, conducting continuous data analysis and impact measurement.
Technical Feasibility
This technology relies on software to identify moving object positions/velocities, set activity weight values, and calculate integrated values based on measurement data from general-purpose range sensors. Therefore, it does not require extensive physical modifications to existing facilities. The patent claims clearly describe the combination of a range sensor and a processing unit, indicating high technical feasibility for relatively easy implementation in facilities with existing range sensor infrastructure, via software updates or add-on module integration.
Success Scenario
Implementing this technology could increase office floor utilization rates from 70% to 90%, enabling more efficient space usage and potentially reducing per-employee office maintenance costs by an estimated 15% annually. In commercial facilities, optimizing product placement based on customer flow data could lead to a potential 20% increase in sales for specific products.
Patent Record
APPLICATION NO.
特願2020-038043
REGISTRATION NO.
7470964
FILING DATE
2020/03/05
GRANT DATE
2024/04/11
EXPIRATION DATE
2040/03/05
PATENT HOLDER
学校法人 中央大学
Examination History
2022年12月23日
出願審査請求書
2023年10月31日
拒絶理由通知書
2024年02月28日
手続補正書(自発・内容)
2024年02月28日
意見書
2024年03月26日
特許査定