Natural Language Building Control for Zone-Specific HVAC Requests
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Solution Overview
Problem
Building control systems often lack intuitive and user-friendly interfaces, restricting occupants' ability to easily interact with and manage building environments, such as HVAC systems, which can lead to discomfort and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A building management system with an I/O port for remote user interfaces and a controller that provides natural language interaction, allowing users to make requests and receive responses, determining the location of users for zone-specific adjustments, and managing HVAC operational changes while informing users of unexecutable requests.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a traditional building control system interface is used, then the system structure is simple, but the ease of operation deteriorates because users cannot easily interact with the system
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a natural language processing intermediary layer between the user and the building control system. This intermediary translates casual user speech into system commands, making the system as easy to operate as having a conversation while maintaining a structured backend architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical or graphical user interfaces with a voice-based natural language interface. This substitution eliminates the need for physical interaction with buttons, switches, or complex menu navigation, allowing users to interact through speech alone.
2Ease of operation
If zone-specific HVAC adjustments are implemented, then occupant comfort is improved, but the device complexity increases due to location determination and zone-specific control
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically determines user location and applies appropriate HVAC controls without requiring manual zone selection. The system serves itself by using sensors and algorithms to identify which zone the user is in and automatically adjusting that zone's environmental settings.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by providing customized HVAC control for different zones within the building. Each zone can have independent temperature and environmental settings tailored to the specific needs and occupancy of that area, rather than uniform building-wide control.
3Ease of operation
If natural language processing is added to the system, then the ease of operation improves, but the use of energy increases due to processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system processes only the essential components of user speech required to determine intent and execute commands, rather than performing exhaustive analysis of all speech features. This partial processing approach reduces energy consumption while maintaining effective natural language interaction.
Data Source
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AI summary
A building management system includes a controller that is configured to provide a natural language interaction on a remote user interface via an I/O port and to receive one or more building management requests from one or more users as well as to ascertain whether the received one or more building management requests can be carried out by the building management system. The one or more building system components of the building are instructed to carry out the received one or more building management requests unless one or more building management requests cannot be carried out, in which case one or more natural language messages on the remote user interface via the I/O port that informs the user that one or more of the building management requests cannot be carried out.