Local Control Channel for Building Automation Latency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current home automation systems experience high latency and unsatisfactory user experiences due to reliance on central services for authentication, leading to inefficient control of building-internal electrical components, especially when the connection between the home network and central service is interrupted.
Innovation Solution
Establishing a local control channel between a control device and a building-internal access portal, where the control device authenticates with a building-external authentication server and receives a network address and access authorization, allowing direct communication with the access portal to control electrical components, thereby bypassing the central service and reducing latency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If control device communicates via central service, then authentication is ensured, but latency increases and user experience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the authentication process into two phases: initial authentication through the central service (building-external authentication server) to establish trust, and subsequent direct communication through a local control channel for time-sensitive operations. This segmentation allows security verification to be separated from time-critical control operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a local control channel as an intermediary communication path between the control device and access portal. This intermediary channel enables direct peer-to-peer communication for control operations, bypassing the central service for data transmission while maintaining security through pre-established authentication credentials.
2Loss of time
If direct local control channel is established, then latency is reduced, but authentication security may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
Authentication credentials are exchanged and verified through the central service before the local control channel is activated. This preliminary authentication ensures that only authorized devices can establish direct communication, securing the system before performance optimization is enabled.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy of the authentication credentials and trust relationship from the centralized authentication process and transfers it to the distributed local control channel. This allows the local channel to operate with the same security guarantees as the centralized system without requiring continuous connection to the central service.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method (500) for establishing a local control channel (203) between a control device (118) for controlling an internal electrical component, which is connected to an internal access portal (112), and the internal access portal (112), comprising: authentication (501) of the control device (118) to an external authentication server (114) via an external communication network; transmission (502) of a network address of the internal access portal (112) by the external authentication server (114) to the control device (118) upon successful authentication of the control device (118) to the external authentication server (114) via the external communication network (113);Transmitting (503) an access authorization to access the building's internal access portal (112) to the control device (118) by the building's external authentication server (114) via the building's external communication network (113) upon successful authentication of the control device (118) to the building's external authentication server (114) via the building's external communication network (113); and establishing (504) the local control channel (203) between the control device (118) and the building's internal access portal (112) responding to the reception of the network address (202b) of the building's internal access portal (112) and the access authorization.