Home Automation Icon Positioning on Dwelling Images
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Solution Overview
Problem
The control of home automation devices becomes increasingly complex and non-intuitive as the number of devices grows, with simple alphanumeric identifiers failing to effectively differentiate between devices, leading to impractical user interaction.
Innovation Solution
A touch-screen controlled system that associates home automation devices with icons and alphanumeric identifiers, allowing users to visually select and command devices through a touch-screen interface connected via radio links, enabling intuitive device control by positioning icons on images of the dwelling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If simple alphanumeric identifiers are used to identify home automation devices, then the system structure remains simple, but the user interface becomes non-intuitive and difficult to use as the number of devices increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from one-dimensional alphanumeric identifiers to two-dimensional visual spatial representation by displaying device icons on a photographic image of the room. Users can visually locate devices in their actual physical positions within the room image, making device identification intuitive without increasing system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a visual copy of the physical room environment through a photographic image displayed on the interface. Device icons are overlaid on this image at positions corresponding to their real-world locations, allowing users to interact with a visual representation rather than abstract identifiers
2Ease of operation
If visual icons are overlaid on images of the dwelling, then user identification of devices is simplified, but the visibility of the actual automation devices in the image may be obscured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies transparency effects to the device icons overlaid on the room image. The icons are rendered with varying degrees of transparency so that users can simultaneously see both the icon identifier and the actual device in the background image, preventing obscuration while maintaining identification clarity
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method and a system for controlling home-automation devices of a dwelling, which comprise: determining (E50) a list of the home-automation devices; associating (E51) each home-automation device with an icon and an alphanumerical identifier; obtaining (E52) an image of at least one portion of the dwelling; displaying (E53) the image on the touch screen; detecting (E54) the selection of one icon from a list of icons; detecting (E55) the position of the icon within the image and storing the position of the determined icon; detecting (E56) when the image is pressed at the stored position of the icon; generating (E57) a command in the control unit, intended for the home-automation device with which the icon is associated, or displaying another icon associated with the icon of which the position is stored if the position of the icon in the image is detected as having been pressed. DRAWING: FIG. 5: E50 Determine list E51 Associate identifying icon E52 Obtain image E53 Display image E54 Select icon E55 Place icon E56 Select icon E57 Associated action E58 Modify visibility