AR Smart-Home Device Placement for Sensor Coverage Visualization
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Solution Overview
Problem
The installation and optimization of smart-home devices are challenging due to invisible fields of view, such as sensor ranges and communication areas, which are difficult for non-expert users to visualize and optimize, leading to inefficient placement and potential gaps or overlaps in coverage.
Innovation Solution
A method using a mobile computing device with a camera to render and display virtual objects representing the fields of view of smart-home devices, allowing users to visualize and optimize device placement by overlaying augmented reality views onto the physical environment, including obstruction clipping and sensitivity adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users install smart-home devices without visualization tools, then installation process is simple, but device placement optimization is difficult leading to coverage gaps or overlaps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses color-coded visualizations to represent different aspects of sensor coverage and device placement quality. Colors indicate coverage status, overlap regions, and placement optimization levels, enabling users to intuitively understand and adjust device positions without complex technical knowledge.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates virtual copies of sensor fields and coverage areas that are overlaid onto the real-world view through the mobile device camera. These visual representations allow users to see projected coverage patterns before actual device installation, enabling precise placement planning.
2Device complexity
If invisible fields of view are not visualized, then device complexity is low, but users cannot optimize placement leading to inefficient coverage
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile computing device serves as an intermediary between the invisible sensor fields and the user. It captures the real-world environment through the camera, processes the sensor coverage data, and presents visualized coverage information that bridges the gap between complex technical parameters and user understanding.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms invisible three-dimensional sensor coverage volumes into two-dimensional visual representations on the mobile device screen. This dimensional transformation makes the invisible fields perceptible while maintaining the underlying complexity management.
3Manufacturing precision
If augmented reality visualization is implemented, then device placement optimization improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs automatic processing of sensor coverage data and generates visualizations without requiring manual configuration by users. The mobile device automatically captures the environment, processes coverage calculations, and presents optimization suggestions, reducing the burden on users despite the complex underlying processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile computing device leverages its existing multi-functional capabilities (camera, display, processor) to perform the augmented reality visualization task. This avoids adding dedicated specialized hardware, managing complexity by reusing existing universal components.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for guiding installation of smart-home devices may include capturing, by a camera of a mobile computing device, a view of an installation location for a smart-home device; identifying a wire in the view of the installation location for the smart-home device; determining an instruction for connecting the wire to the smart-home device; and displaying the view of the installation location for a smart-home device with the instruction for connecting the wire to the smart-home device.