Columbia Technology Ventures

Floor patterning array for spatially-optimized social distancing

This technology is a template for generating and optimally placing hexagonal arrays on flooring, lawns, or similar surfaces to facilitate social distancing while maximizing space capacity.

Unmet Need: Tools for maximizing occupancy in socially-distanced settings

Social distancing is a requirement for all establishments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Current guidelines require individuals to maintain 6 feet of physical distance from others in order to minimize risk of disease spread. Social distancing rules substantially reduce the maximum capacity of establishments, minimize throughput of patient check-ins at hospitals, and have a negative impact on the worldwide economy. There is a current need for methods that optimize social distancing in public spaces in order to mitigate further economic downturn and also expedite patient throughput in clinics.

The Technology: Adjustable tessellating hexagonal array for optimized floor planning

This technology is a template for generating and optimally placing hexagonal arrays on flooring, lawns, or similar surfaces to facilitate social distancing while maximizing space capacity. These patterns can be placed directly on an actual floor or other planar space to generate a tessellating array, based on an existing template that is highly versatile for accommodating spaces of various sizes. Additionally, individual hexagons or arrays can be projected onto the floor using a ceiling projection system to allow adjustments in real-time and/or illumination of specific components. Overall, this technology optimizes floor space by maximizing the number of individuals that can occupy or pass through a given area, and the amount of floor-marking material required is reduced by ~18% compared to conventional methods.

Applications:

  • Social distance layout design for public spaces
  • Optimized patient throughput in hospitals and clinics
  • Tool for open-space design of offices, food venues, libraries, classrooms, etc.

Advantages:

  • Maximizes use of space while adhering to social distancing guidelines
  • Can be assembled and disassembled like a tent pole for storage, easy access, and transport
  • Conserves floor-marking material (~18% of line-marking material)
  • Can use a ceiling projection system to project individual hexagons or arrays onto the floor
  • Can easily accommodate changes to social distancing guidelines

Lead Inventor:

Craig R. Smith Jr., M.D.

Tech Ventures Reference: