Air Conditioner Position-Aware Control Using AI and Acoustic Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Air conditioners often waste energy by blowing air to unnecessary spaces as they do not consider the position of occupants, leading to inefficient cooling or heating.
Innovation Solution
An air conditioner equipped with a microphone, temperature sensor, and processor using AI technology to detect user voice commands, determine the user's position, and adjust temperature settings based on a learning model trained with ambient and positional data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If air conditioner blows air to the entire room without considering occupant position, then the air conditioner operates simply with basic temperature control, but energy is wasted by blowing air to unnecessary spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the simple mechanical temperature control system with an intelligent system that uses acoustic field (microphone array) to detect user position and AI algorithm to determine optimal air blowing direction. This substitution enables the system to avoid blowing air to empty spaces, reducing energy loss while maintaining operational simplicity for the user.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors user position through the microphone array and provides feedback to the control algorithm. The AI algorithm processes this feedback in real-time to adjust the air blowing direction dynamically, ensuring air is directed toward the user's location and preventing energy waste in unoccupied areas.
2Productivity
If air conditioner uses AI technology to detect user position and adjust temperature, then energy efficiency improves by targeting user location, but device complexity increases with additional sensors and processing
Solution Approach 1:
The microphone array serves multiple functions: it detects user position for temperature control, identifies user presence/absence, and can potentially recognize voice commands. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate sensors, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while achieving improved energy efficiency through AI-based position-aware control.
3Stability of the object's composition
If air conditioner blows air continuously to maintain set temperature, then temperature stability is maintained, but energy consumption increases due to unnecessary air blowing
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by directing air blowing specifically toward the user's location rather than uniformly across the entire room. The AI algorithm determines the optimal direction based on detected user position, ensuring temperature stability is maintained only in the occupied zone, thereby reducing energy consumption in unoccupied areas.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution reduces energy loss by targeting the user's location, enhancing user convenience and satisfaction by providing an optimal cooling or heating environment.
Implementation Method 1
obtain first sound data including a user's voice data through the microphone when the user utters a voice
Implementation Method 2
a temperature sensor configured to sense a current temperature around the air conditioner
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a system that obtains at least one of a recommended temperature and an operation mode to be set on an air conditioner by applying a position of a user and an ambient temperature of the air conditioner to a learning model trained by using an artificial intelligence algorithm, and sets at least one of the obtained recommended temperature and the obtained operation mode on the air conditioner. In this case, the learning model may be, for example, a model generated by using at least one of machine learning, a neural network, or a deep learning algorithm as the artificial intelligence algorithm.