Mobile Camera Positioning Feedback for Device-to-Device Communication

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing device communication methods that require precise positioning often lead to user errors due to difficulties in accurately aligning devices for short-range communication, leading to frustrating experiences, especially when multiple devices need to be commissioned in an area.

Innovation Solution

A mobile device displays a real-time image of a target device with an overlay matching the device's indicia, providing visual feedback to ensure proper positioning for effective short-range communication, using camera-based augmented reality to align the devices.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If precise positioning is required for short-range communication, then communication reliability is improved, but user operation difficulty increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecommunication reliabilityVSAvoiduser operation difficulty

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements visual feedback by displaying a target indicator on the user interface that shows the relative position between the first device and second device. The target indicator provides real-time feedback about alignment status, allowing users to adjust positioning based on visual cues. This feedback mechanism maintains communication reliability while significantly improving ease of operation by eliminating the need for users to manually judge precise positioning.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a camera as an intermediary component to capture images of the second device and generate target indicators. The camera acts as a mediator between the physical positioning requirement and the user interface, translating real-world spatial relationships into visual feedback that guides user positioning without requiring direct manual alignment judgment.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If multiple devices need to be commissioned, then system functionality is improved, but time consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem functionalityVSAvoidtime consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary actions by automatically capturing images of multiple second devices using the camera before the user completes positioning. The system pre-processes device identification and target indicator generation, so that when users need to commission multiple devices, much of the positioning and identification work has already been prepared, significantly reducing the time required for each subsequent device commissioning.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent maintains continuous useful action by keeping the camera active and continuously capturing images during the device commissioning process. Rather than requiring users to manually reposition and re-acquire devices, the system continuously monitors the field of view and updates target indicators in real-time, allowing seamless transition between commissioning multiple devices without interruption or repeated setup steps.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Data Source

PatentUS12462452B2Positioning feedback for device-to-device communications

Publication Date: 2025.11.04 PASSIVELOGIC INC

AI summary

Displaying, on a screen of a mobile device having a camera, a real-time image from the camera; displaying, on the screen, feedback indicating positioning of a second device captured in the real-time image; determining that the positioning of the mobile device relative to the second device is sufficient to trigger an action on the second device; and triggering the action on the second device using the mobile device.