Adaptive Mobile Communication Device Interface for Smart Home Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users encounter difficulties in seamlessly controlling and configuring smart devices across different environments due to varying interfaces and control mechanisms, making it challenging to apply preferred settings consistently.
Innovation Solution
A client application on a mobile communication device discovers smart devices, learns their electronic models, and adapts user interfaces by transmitting control commands based on predefined environmental preferences, while also managing privacy settings by segregating environments into security categories.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the mobile communication device transmits control commands to smart devices based on predefined environmental preferences, then the ease of operation is improved, but the loss of information occurs when preferences are not shared in public environments
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different preference sharing behaviors based on the environment's security category. In private environments, full preference information is shared to enable seamless control, while in public environments, preference information is restricted to maintain security. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by allowing information sharing only where safe.
Solution Approach 2:
The client application acts as an intermediary between the user's preferences and the smart devices. It mediates the information flow by selectively transmitting preference data based on environmental security assessments, preventing information loss in private settings while maintaining security in public settings.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the client application learns electronic model identities of smart devices and looks up control interfaces, then the adaptability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-identifying smart devices and pre-loading their control interfaces into the data store before the user needs to interact with them. When a smart device is discovered, its identity and control interface are already prepared, eliminating the need for real-time complex configuration and reducing the perceived complexity during user interaction.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy of the smart device's control interface information in the data store based on its electronic model identity. This copied information can be quickly retrieved and applied without requiring the user to manually configure each device, simplifying the interaction while maintaining adaptability across different device types.
3Reliability
If the mobile communication device segments environments into security categories, then the user privacy is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to restricted preference access
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different access qualities to preferences based on the environment's security category. In private environments, full preference access is granted for seamless operation, while in public environments, access is restricted to protect privacy. This localized differentiation maintains ease of operation where needed while protecting privacy where required.
Solution Approach 2:
The preference access rights are dynamic rather than static. The system continuously assesses the current environment's security category and adjusts preference accessibility accordingly. This dynamic adaptation allows users to experience full functionality in private settings while automatically having preferences restricted in public settings, balancing privacy and ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of providing a user interface on a mobile communication device to control smart devices in an environment. The method comprises discovering a plurality of smart devices in an environment by a client application executing on a mobile communication device by initiating wireless communication between the mobile communication device and the plurality of smart devices, wherein the client application learns an electronic model identity of each of the discovered smart devices, communicating with a data store by the client application to look-up control interfaces of the discovered smart devices based on the electronic model identities of the smart devices, looking-up predefined environmental preferences associated with the mobile communication device in the data store by the client application, transmitting control commands by the client application to the plurality of smart devices based in part on the looked-up predefined environmental preferences.