| 摘要 |
<p><P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To exactly predict wait time for queuing customers. <P>SOLUTION: An apparatus and a method for predicting wait time of queueing customers are provided. Upon arrival of a new customer to a queue, or at any other desired time, a system 100 classifies each customer in service according to one or more attributes. Then, the system generates a probability distribution of the remaining service time for each customer on the basis of the attributes. Preferably, the system 100 classifies each customer in queue according to one or more attributes and generates a probability distribution of service time on the basis of the attributes. From the probability distributions of the customers in service and the customers in queue, the system estimates a wait time for the new customer. The estimated wait time is communicated to the customers or to a system administrator. The estimated wait time includes the full wait time distribution or summary of the distribution. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT</p> |
