Lid Controller Hub for Low-Latency Laptop Sensor Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing laptops face challenges in efficiently processing sensor data from lid-mounted components like microphones, cameras, and touchscreens due to the need for data transmission across a hinge, leading to latency, power consumption issues, and compromised privacy and security.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of a lid controller hub that processes sensor data locally in the lid, reducing latency and power consumption by synchronizing touch data with display refresh rates, enabling features like Wake on Voice and Face ID, and ensuring secure data processing within a trusted execution environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If sensor data is processed by the base computing resources through hinge transmission, then the laptop can maintain a simpler architecture, but latency increases and power consumption rises
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the computing architecture into two segments: a simplified base and an intelligent lid controller hub. The lid controller hub independently processes sensor data locally, while the base handles higher-level computing tasks. This segmentation reduces latency by eliminating the need for constant hinge transmission while maintaining architectural simplicity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The lid controller hub acts as an intermediary component between the lid sensors and the base computing resources. It receives sensor data, performs local processing, and selectively communicates with the base only when necessary, thereby reducing latency and power consumption while maintaining system simplicity.
2Device complexity
If sensor data is transmitted across the hinge to the base, then the lid can remain simpler, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lid controller hub performs preliminary processing of sensor data locally before transmission to the base. By filtering, preprocessing, and preparing data in advance at the lid, the system reduces the amount of data that needs to be transmitted across the hinge, thereby lowering power consumption while keeping the lid structure simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The lid controller hub extracts and performs critical processing functions locally within the lid, separating these functions from the base. This extraction allows the lid to operate more independently, reducing the communication overhead and power consumption associated with continuous hinge transmission while maintaining lid simplicity.
3Loss of time
If sensor data is processed locally in the lid, then latency is reduced and privacy is improved, but the lid becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The lid controller hub is designed as a multi-functional integrated component that handles sensor data processing, privacy protection, communication coordination, and synchronization tasks. By consolidating these diverse functions into a single hub, the system achieves low latency and improved privacy while managing complexity through functional integration rather than separate components.
4Adaptability or versatility
If more wires are used across the hinge to support additional features, then the lid can have more capabilities, but the hinge becomes more complex and heavier
Solution Approach 1:
The lid controller hub creates a localized copy of essential processing functions that would otherwise require complex wiring to the base. By implementing processing capabilities directly in the lid through the controller hub, the system achieves enhanced features without proportionally increasing the wire count, as the hub handles data processing locally rather than requiring constant data transmission across the hinge.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
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AI summary
A lid controller hub (LCH) comprising processing components located in the lid of a mobile computing device, such as a laptop, processes sensor data generated by input sensors (microphones, cameras, touchscreen) and provides for improved and enhanced experiences over existing devices. For example, the LCH provides hardened privacy and the synchronization of touch display activities with the display refresh rate, the latter providing for a smoother and more responsive touch experience over existing designs. The LCH comprises neural network accelerators and digital signal processors that enable waking a device upon detection of an authenticated user's voice or face. The LCH also allows for video- and audio-based contextual awareness and adaptive cooling. By enabling a reduced hinge wire count and a typical day's usage with a single battery charge, an LCH can also provide for an improved industrial design to a simpler hinge and smaller battery.