Distributed Home-Automation Hubs for Low-Latency Offline Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional home-automation systems rely on a single hub for controlling secondary devices, which limits their capabilities, increases latency, and makes them vulnerable to network outages, as user requests often need to be processed remotely.
Innovation Solution
Implementing multiple electronic devices as hubs within the environment and a remote service, each storing and executing an instance of a control engine, allowing for distributed control and redundancy, enabling local processing of user requests and maintaining functionality even without a network connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single hub is used to control secondary devices, then the system structure is simple, but the system capabilities are limited and latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the centralized hub control function into multiple distributed electronic devices, each capable of independently controlling secondary devices. This segmentation allows the system to expand capabilities by adding more control devices without requiring a single powerful hub, thereby improving adaptability while managing complexity through modular distribution of control functions.
2Loss of time
If a single hub is used to control secondary devices, then the system structure is simple, but latency increases due to remote processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables local processing by allowing electronic devices within the environment to execute control engine instances and process user requests locally rather than requiring all requests to be processed remotely by a single hub. This local quality improvement reduces latency by eliminating unnecessary remote communication round trips while maintaining system functionality.
3Reliability
If a single hub is used to control secondary devices, then the system structure is simple, but the system becomes vulnerable to network outages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements redundancy by deploying multiple electronic devices with control engine instances that can independently control secondary devices. This beforehand cushioning ensures that if one control device fails or the network experiences an outage, other devices can continue to control secondary devices, thereby improving reliability and system continuity without requiring a fundamentally complex architectural change.
4Productivity
If multiple electronic devices are implemented as hubs with distributed control engine instances, then system capabilities expand and latency reduces, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes each electronic device multi-functional by enabling them to serve as control hubs for secondary devices. Each device can execute control engine instances and control multiple types of secondary devices (lights, thermostats, locks, etc.), thereby expanding system capabilities and improving productivity without requiring specialized devices for each function, which would increase complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Traditional home-automation systems utilize a single hub for controlling secondary devices within a home. The techniques described herein, meanwhile, utilize multiple hubs within the environment and/or located remotely from the environment. For instance, an environment may include multiple electronic devices, each configured to control one or more secondary devices within the environment. In addition, a remote service may be configured to control one or more secondary devices within the environment. As such, each controlling device stores and executes an instance of a control engine, rather than relying on a single instance of a control engine located at a single controlling hub.