Building system control utilizing building occupancy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current home and office automation systems rely on fiducial elements, such as smartphones, to communicate with humans, limiting their ability to initiate actions based on human presence and requiring binary on-off responses, which is inefficient and insecure, especially in detecting multiple humans or children without smartphones.
Innovation Solution
The system uses Network Presence Sensing (NPS) to detect human presence within a structure without relying on fiducial elements, allowing for proactive communication and action based on occupancy, differentiating multiple humans and tracking their movements to adjust environmental controls and security systems accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If fiducial elements like smartphones are used to communicate with humans in automation systems, then the system can identify and interact with users, but it cannot effectively detect human presence without the fiducial element and requires binary on-off responses which is inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces motion sensors and occupancy sensors as intermediary devices that detect human presence indirectly through physical movements and environmental changes. These sensors act as mediators between the automation system and humans, enabling the system to detect presence without requiring fiducial elements like smartphones, thus resolving the contradiction between detection accuracy and system responsiveness.
2Reliability
If the system relies on fiducial elements to represent users, then it can identify authorized users, but it cannot detect multiple humans or children without smartphones and creates security risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the detection process into multiple independent sensor inputs (motion sensors, occupancy sensors, temperature sensors) that can individually detect different humans in the space. Each sensor provides separate data streams that the system processes independently, enabling reliable identification and tracking of multiple humans simultaneously without relying on a single fiducial element per user.
Solution Approach 2:
The automation system is designed with multi-functional sensors that can serve multiple purposes: detecting presence, determining occupancy levels, tracking movement patterns, and identifying authorized users. This universal approach allows the system to adapt to various scenarios including single users, multiple users, children without smartphones, and security verification, resolving the contradiction between reliability and adaptability.
3Device complexity
If binary on-off responses are used in automation systems, then the control logic is simple, but the energy efficiency and granular control of environmental systems is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic control where environmental systems respond continuously to occupancy levels rather than using static binary on-off states. The system adjusts lighting intensity, temperature setpoints, and HVAC operation based on real-time occupancy data from multiple sensors, enabling granular control that optimizes energy efficiency while maintaining simple control logic through automated decision-making algorithms.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods that can utilize the detection of human occupancy without fiducial elements to control an environmental, security, or other system within a structure. The systems and method can initiate communication to a human user directly, and can alter their operation based on human presence.