Firmware Sensor Hub Arbitration for User Awareness

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing information handling systems lack effective arbitration among user awareness detection solutions, leading to a disjointed user experience.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a sensor hub in the firmware of a platform controller hub, which includes sensor physical microdrivers, algorithm microdrivers, and a user-awareness arbitration microdriver to receive and apply arbitration logic to sensor information for seamless user awareness detection.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If multiple user awareness detection solutions are implemented, then detection capability and versatility are improved, but system complexity and difficulty of arbitration increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedetection capabilityVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a sensor hub as an intermediary component that centralizes the arbitration of sensor data from multiple user awareness detection solutions. This mediator receives data from various sensors (cameras, microphones, keyboards, mice), applies arbitration policies, and delivers processed awareness information to the operating system, thereby managing complexity while preserving multi-solution versatility

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system segments user awareness detection into distinct functional layers: physical microdrivers for individual sensors, algorithm microdrivers for processing specific sensor types, and a user-awareness arbitration microdriver for coordinating multiple solutions. This segmentation allows each component to specialize while the overall system benefits from diversified detection capabilities

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Measurement precision

If multiple user awareness detection solutions are implemented, then detection accuracy is improved, but user experience disruption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedetection accuracyVSAvoiduser experience

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The sensor hub pre-establishes arbitration policies that define how multiple sensor inputs should be combined and prioritized before user interactions occur. By configuring weighting factors, selection criteria, and fusion algorithms in advance, the system ensures accurate and seamless user awareness detection without requiring real-time complex decision-making that could disrupt user experience

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Adaptability or versatility

If sensor arbitration is implemented in operating system software, then flexibility is improved, but processing speed and efficiency decrease

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvearbitration flexibilityVSAvoidprocessing speed

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSSpeed

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces software-based arbitration in the operating system with a firmware-based sensor hub that operates at a lower system level. This substitution moves the arbitration mechanism from high-level software processing to low-level firmware execution, significantly improving processing speed and efficiency while maintaining configuration flexibility through programmable arbitration policies

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS11513795B2Systems and methods for firmware-based user awareness arbitration

Publication Date: 2022.11.29 DELL PROD LP

AI summary

A method may include, in an operating system, implementing a sensor hub in firmware of a platform controller hub of an information handling system, the sensor hub configured to implement a plurality of sensor physical microdrivers, each of the plurality of sensor physical microdrivers corresponding to a respective sensor of a plurality of sensors and configured to communicate a signal representing a physical quantity sensed by the respective sensor; a plurality of algorithm microdrivers implemented as virtual microdrivers, each of the plurality of algorithm microdrivers corresponding to a respective sensor physical microdriver of the plurality of sensor physical microdrivers; and a user-awareness arbitration microdriver implemented as a virtual microdriver and configured to receive an arbitration policy for user awareness detection, receive sensor information from the plurality of algorithm microdrivers, and based on the arbitration policy, apply arbitration logic to the sensor information to determine a user awareness.