Home Graph Control Hierarchy for Smart Device Voice Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing consumer technologies for controlling media playback in multiple rooms are limited in their ability to provide a seamless and intuitive voice control experience across a home graph hierarchy.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a home graph control hierarchy that allows users to control smart devices in a home using a voice user interface (VUI) or graphical user interface (GUI), by assigning human-readable names to sets of devices and organizing them into rooms, areas, and the home itself.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a home graph control hierarchy is implemented to organize devices into rooms and areas, then device management and control become more intuitive and user-friendly, but system complexity increases due to the hierarchical structure and naming conventions
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments devices into hierarchical groups (rooms, areas, home) to make control more manageable and intuitive. Each level of hierarchy organizes devices spatially, allowing users to control devices by location rather than by individual device identifiers, thus improving ease of operation despite adding structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The home graph hierarchy acts as an intermediary layer between users and devices. Instead of directly controlling individual devices, users interact with the hierarchical structure (rooms and areas), which then translates commands to the appropriate devices. This intermediary structure improves user experience while managing system complexity through standardized organization.
2Ease of operation
If voice user interface is used for controlling media playback, then user interaction becomes more natural and hands-free, but voice recognition accuracy and handling complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces mechanical interaction (buttons, remote controls) with voice-based acoustic input. Users speak natural language commands that are captured by microphones and processed through speech-to-text conversion, enabling hands-free operation. This substitution improves ease of operation but introduces complexity in voice recognition and natural language processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The voice user interface enables users to control the system without physical contact or complex navigation. By using natural speech, users can independently issue commands without needing to learn specific button sequences or interface layouts, making the system more accessible while requiring robust voice processing capabilities.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple devices are controlled across different rooms, then media playback flexibility and coverage improve, but synchronization and coordination between devices become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple devices across different rooms into unified control groups (rooms and areas). By combining devices spatially organized in the home graph hierarchy, users can control multiple devices simultaneously through single commands. This merging approach improves versatility and flexibility while managing coordination complexity through centralized hierarchical management.
Solution Approach 2:
The home graph hierarchy provides a universal control structure that works across all devices and rooms. A single command can target individual devices, entire rooms, or multiple areas, making the control system multi-functional and adaptable. This universality improves flexibility while standardizing device coordination through consistent hierarchical rules.
Data Source
AI summary
Example techniques involve a control hierarchy for a “smart” home having smart appliances and related devices, such as wireless illumination devices, home-automation devices (e.g., thermostats, door locks, etc.), and audio playback devices, among others. An example home includes various rooms in which smart devices might be located. Under the example control hierarchy described herein and referred to as “home graph,” a name of a room (e.g., “Kitchen”) may represent a smart device (or smart devices) within that room. In other words, from the perspective of a user, the smart devices within a room are that room. This hierarchy permits a user to refer to a smart device within a given room by way of the name of the room when controlling smart devices within the home using a voice user interface (VUI) or graphical user interface (GUI).