{"schema_version":1,"experiment_id":"eoa_inverse_innovation_exp12_substrate_denial72_20260805","research_id":"eoa_inverse_innovation_exp12_light_screen_20260805","cell_id":"emergent_pattern_detection__computer_science","search_lanes":{"direct_problem_and_intervention":{"queries":["data center rack air recirculation server inlet temperature hot spots blanking panels official guide","data center rack thermochromic temperature strips airflow recirculation","server rack thermochromic indicator array temperature map patent"],"source_ids":["SRC1","SRC2","SRC4"],"no_result_note":null},"synonyms_and_historical_terms":{"queries":["rack front temperature mapping strips multiple locations data center intake temperature survey","data center \"temperature strips\" rack inlet multiple","data center rack \"temperature mapping\" passive label"],"source_ids":["SRC2","SRC3","SRC4"],"no_result_note":null},"products_practices_and_standards":{"queries":["passive irreversible temperature indicator label grid thermal mapping thermochromic array","data center \"temperature strips\" rack inlet multiple","site:energy.gov data center air management recirculation blanking panels rack"],"source_ids":["SRC1","SRC3","SRC4"],"no_result_note":null},"component_combination":{"queries":["thermal mapping panel irreversible temperature labels spatial array","server rack thermochromic indicator array temperature map patent","site:patents.google.com/patent US20240013545 thermochromic sensor patch rack"],"source_ids":["SRC2","SRC3","SRC4"],"no_result_note":null}},"sources":[{"source_id":"SRC1","title":"Manage Airflow for Cooling Efficiency","publisher":"ENERGY STAR, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency","url":"https://www.energystar.gov/products/data_center_equipment/16-more-ways-cut-energy-waste-data-center/manage-airflow-cooling-efficiency","source_type":"OFFICIAL_GUIDANCE","claims_supported":["Hot exhaust mixing with server-intake air is a recognized data-center airflow problem.","Blanking panels, structured cabling, floor-pressure conditions, tile placement, and obstructions affect recirculation and hot spots.","Thermal imaging and CFD are established methods for exposing otherwise invisible airflow and temperature patterns."]},{"source_id":"SRC2","title":"Performance evaluation and modeling of active tile in raised-floor data centers: An empirical study on the single tile case","publisher":"Frontiers in Energy Research","url":"https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/energy-research/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2023.1073879/full","source_type":"PRIMARY_RESEARCH","claims_supported":["Field measurements found nonuniform rack-inlet temperatures and hot-air recirculation at different rack heights.","Hot air returned through an under-rack gap, while blocking that gap reduced bottom-rack inlet temperature by up to 6 degrees Celsius and sharply reduced temperature variance.","The study measured rack inlets and outlets with vertically distributed sensors and compared reversible airflow configurations."]},{"source_id":"SRC3","title":"Upsite Temperature Strip","publisher":"Upsite Technologies","url":"https://www.upsite.com/products/hotlok/upsite-temperature-strip/","source_type":"FIRST_PARTY_PRODUCT","claims_supported":["A commercially available rack-mounted liquid-crystal strip measures IT-equipment intake-air temperature passively and visibly.","The strip identifies hot and cold spots, uses ASHRAE-derived color bands, and supports airflow-management decisions.","The product uses nonpermanent mounting and carries stated fire-rating and RoHS information."]},{"source_id":"SRC4","title":"US20240013545A1—System, apparatus, and method for monitoring edge compute sites","publisher":"United States Patent and Trademark Office via Google Patents","url":"https://patents.google.com/patent/US20240013545A1/en","source_type":"OTHER","claims_supported":["The disclosure places respective thermochromic sensor patches on each 1U server or other rack asset and monitors the rack with a camera.","Each patch may contain an array of thermochromic materials or multiple temperature-responsive regions, enabling U-level thermal profiling.","The disclosure explicitly addresses patch orientation and minimizing airflow obstruction because even small obstructions can affect server cooling."]}],"problem_evidence":{"status":"SUPPORTED","finding":"Official guidance and field research directly show that rack geometry, airflow supply, pressure effects, gaps, blanking, cabling, and other obstructions can produce spatially nonuniform hot-air recirculation at server inlets. The empirical study also shows that a reversible gap-blocking change can materially alter the rack-inlet temperature field, supporting the proposed problem and comparison logic.","source_ids":["SRC1","SRC2"]},"closest_prior_art":[{"name":"RF Code per-U thermochromic rack-monitoring system (US20240013545A1)","source_ids":["SRC4"],"overlap":"Uses arrays of thermochromic materials on patches distributed across server positions, preserves rack location, provides multiple temperature-response regions, and produces a rack-level thermal profile while addressing airflow obstruction.","remaining_difference":"It is camera- and analytics-centered, attaches separate angled patches to assets, and does not clearly disclose a removable intake-plane panel of irreversible witness cells whose persistent connected pattern is visually interpreted as a recirculation plume across intake and return-gap coordinates."},{"name":"Upsite HotLok Temperature Strip","source_ids":["SRC3"],"overlap":"A passive, directly visible, rack-intake thermochromic product with threshold color bands intended to identify hot spots and guide airflow management.","remaining_difference":"It is a reusable liquid-crystal point strip rather than an irreversible spatial grid that retains interval exposure and connected plume geometry."},{"name":"Distributed rack-inlet sensor measurements with reversible gap blocking","source_ids":["SRC2"],"overlap":"Measures temperatures at multiple rack heights, characterizes a spatially nonuniform inlet field, identifies recirculation through a gap, and compares blocked and unblocked configurations.","remaining_difference":"It uses electronic temperature sensors and downstream analysis rather than a passive irreversible material array."},{"name":"Thermal imaging plus airflow-management modifications","source_ids":["SRC1"],"overlap":"Makes rack temperature gradients visible and uses blanking, obstruction removal, and tile changes as corrective experiments.","remaining_difference":"Thermal imaging is a powered snapshot method and does not leave a passive, interval-integrated, irreversible physical record."}],"prior_art_disposition":"SUBSTANTIAL_COLLISION","contrastive_claim_remaining":"Relative to existing rack temperature strips and the RF Code per-U thermochromic patch array, the remaining testable contrast is a thin, airflow-neutral, removable intake-plane grid of irreversible multithreshold cells plus gap witnesses that preserves an interval-integrated connected plume pattern for direct human inspection without a camera, powered acquisition, or analytics.","contrastive_claim_falsifier":"The contrast fails if prior art is found that already combines irreversible multithreshold cells, rack-spanning intake-and-gap coordinates, retained spatial adjacency, and direct connected-plume interpretation without electronic acquisition; empirically, it also fails if controlled warm-return paths do not produce corresponding connected patterns or if false connected fields arise without independently measured recirculation.","gates":{"adequate_source_search":{"status":"PASS","rationale":"The bounded search covered the proposal directly, older and synonymous temperature-mapping terminology, official airflow practices, rack-specific products, thermochromic arrays, and combinations of distributed rack sensing with reversible airflow changes. Four retained sources from four publishers were opened and include official guidance, primary research, a first-party product, and a patent disclosure.","source_ids":["SRC1","SRC2","SRC3","SRC4"]},"supported_problem":{"status":"PASS","rationale":"Official guidance and field measurements visibly establish rack-inlet hot-air recirculation, spatial temperature nonuniformity, multiple airflow contributors, and measurable improvement after blocking a return gap.","source_ids":["SRC1","SRC2"]},"distinct_testable_claim":{"status":"PASS","rationale":"Despite substantial collision with per-U thermochromic rack patches, irreversibility, a unified intake-plane-and-gap grid, interval retention, and direct connected-plume interpretation without camera analytics define a narrow falsifiable comparison.","source_ids":["SRC3","SRC4"]},"bounded_next_test":{"status":"PASS","rationale":"An isolated-rack, order-balanced comparison of unchanged and deliberately recirculating configurations using fresh panels and a colocated thermocouple traverse is bounded, reversible, and can test correspondence, false patterns, and panel-induced obstruction.","source_ids":["SRC2","SRC4"]},"no_obvious_safety_or_authority_stop":{"status":"PASS","rationale":"No categorical stop is apparent if testing remains on an isolated or maintenance-window rack under facilities and service-owner authority. The principal visible hazard is measurement-induced airflow obstruction, expressly recognized in the patent; the proposed obstruction check, removable installation, compatible nonconductive materials, alarm stop rules, and restoration procedure address it, subject to site material and fire-safety approval.","source_ids":["SRC3","SRC4"]}},"screen_survival":false,"world_novelty_boundary":"This four-source bounded public-web screen found substantial prior-art overlap and therefore does not support screen survival. It cannot establish world novelty, patentability, freedom to operate, market size, expert acceptance, realized value, or the absence of closer undiscovered publications, patents, products, or practices."}