Doorbell Network Mediator for Neighborhood Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing doorbell systems do not effectively share visitor information across multiple doorbells, limiting the ability to monitor and communicate suspicious activities among neighbors, which can lead to increased crime and theft in neighborhoods.
Innovation Solution
A doorbell system that allows users to create a user group, enabling the sharing of visitor information, including pictures and traits, across multiple doorbells, even if they are not directly communicatively coupled, using a database and remote computing devices to facilitate secure and selective information sharing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If doorbell systems share visitor information across multiple doorbells in a neighborhood, then neighborhood security is enhanced and crime is reduced, but system complexity and data management requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
A centralized server acts as an intermediary between multiple doorbell systems, receiving visitor information from individual doorbells and distributing relevant information to neighboring doorbells. This mediator architecture enables neighborhood-wide security sharing without requiring direct peer-to-peer connections between doorbells, thus reducing system complexity while maintaining enhanced security reliability
2Reliability
If doorbells continuously share all visitor information with neighbors, then collective monitoring capability is improved, but user privacy control and data management become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts information sharing based on user preferences and situational context. Users can configure their doorbell to share specific types of visitor information (e.g., suspicious visitors only vs. all visitors) with neighboring doorbells. The server processes these dynamic preferences and selectively distributes information, maintaining collective monitoring capability while respecting individual user control over their data
3Speed
If doorbells are directly communicatively coupled for information sharing, then data exchange speed is improved, but system installation and scalability are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The centralized server provides a universal communication platform that handles information exchange between any number of doorbells in the neighborhood. Instead of requiring direct point-to-point connections between doorbells, the server mediates all communications, enabling the system to scale from a few doorbells to many without increasing installation complexity. Data exchange speed is maintained through efficient server processing and selective broadcasting of relevant information
Data Source
AI summary
Doorbells can send data to each other to enable a first doorbell user to warn a second doorbell user regarding a suspicious visitor. A first user can indicate a first trait of a visitor via a first remote computing device. The first user can create a user group to enable the members of the user group to use their doorbells to take pictures of suspicious visitors and to send the pictures of the suspicious visitors to other members of the user group.