Battery-Powered IoT Mode Switching via Wi-Fi Presence Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing IoT devices often operate in a standby mode to conserve power, which can lead to delayed responses when an end-user interacts with them, and there is a need for efficient power management and user interaction detection.
Innovation Solution
Utilizing a Wi-Fi module to detect end-user presence and motion, switching battery-powered IoT devices from standby to active mode when the user enters the monitored environment, and triggering specific actions based on user movement between environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the IoT device operates in standby mode to conserve power, then power consumption is reduced, but device responsiveness to user interaction is delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The computing device performs preliminary detection of user presence using Wi-Fi module before the IoT device needs to respond. By detecting user presence in advance and pre-triggering the mode switch, the system ensures the IoT device is ready to respond immediately when interaction occurs, eliminating the delay that would otherwise occur during standby mode activation.
Solution Approach 2:
The computing device acts as an intermediary between the user and the battery-powered IoT device. It uses its Wi-Fi module to detect user presence and then communicates with the IoT device to trigger mode switching, thereby indirectly enabling fast response without requiring the IoT device itself to continuously monitor for users, which would consume its limited battery power.
2Loss of time
If the battery-powered IoT device continuously monitors for user presence, then device responsiveness is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The computing device serves as an intermediary that performs the energy-intensive user presence detection using its Wi-Fi module, while the battery-powered IoT device remains in low-power standby mode. The intermediary computing device relays presence information to the IoT device, enabling fast response without requiring the IoT device to consume excessive power for continuous monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical approach of having the IoT device itself continuously monitor for users with a substituted system where the computing device performs the monitoring. This substitution leverages the computing device's existing Wi-Fi infrastructure and processing capabilities, freeing the IoT device from continuous operation while maintaining system responsiveness.
3Reliability
If the IoT device switches to active mode upon user detection, then user interaction responsiveness is improved, but power consumption during active operation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic action by having the computing device detect user presence and trigger IoT device mode switching only when needed, rather than maintaining continuous active operation. The IoT device alternates between standby mode (low power) and active mode (high power) based on user presence, thereby reducing overall power consumption while ensuring reliability during actual user interactions.
Data Source
AI summary
In one aspect, a method includes using a Wi-Fi module of a computing device to detect that an end-user has entered a monitored environment of the computing device, where the computing device is separate from, and communicatively coupled over an Internet of Things (IoT) network to, a battery-powered IoT device. The method also includes in response to detecting that the end-user has entered the monitored environment of the computing device, causing the IoT device to switch from operating in a standby mode to instead operating in an active mode, where operation in the standby mode comprises a mode in which the IoT device consumes less power than when operating in the active mode.