Secure Companion Link for Private Smart Home Intercom
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic devices with intelligent automated assistants face challenges in managing personal or private user data securely, particularly when multiple users share a communal device, necessitating privacy-preserving communication mechanisms to handle personal queries and maintain data security.
Innovation Solution
A secure, encrypted peer-to-peer communication mechanism, known as the companion link, enables smart home devices to exchange data and facilitate intercom-like transmissions, allowing devices to securely stream audio and video data while maintaining privacy by redirecting personal queries to designated companion devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If personal data is accessed on a communal device, then functionality is enabled, but privacy security deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the communal device into multiple user-specific virtual assistants, each with isolated access to specific user data. This allows the device to serve multiple users (adaptability) while maintaining separate privacy boundaries (security) through data and access segmentation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism that routes personal queries between the communal device and designated companion devices. This intermediary layer enables functionality access while preserving privacy security by controlling and monitoring data flow through authenticated channels.
2Productivity
If multiple users share a communal device, then device utilization is improved, but data security risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the communal device's virtual assistant functionality into separate user-specific instances, each with dedicated data access rights. This segmentation enables high device utilization across multiple users while mitigating security risks by preventing unauthorized cross-user data access.
Solution Approach 2:
Each user's virtual assistant instance has localized quality characteristics with specific data access permissions tailored to that user. This local quality approach allows the communal device to serve multiple users effectively while maintaining individualized security profiles that prevent harmful data exposure.
3Ease of operation
If personal queries are handled on the communal device, then convenience is improved, but unauthorized access risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs an intermediary mechanism that redirects personal queries from the communal device to designated companion devices. This maintains convenience by keeping the communal device accessible while reducing unauthorized access risk by isolating sensitive operations to authenticated user devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts sensitive personal query handling from the communal device and relocates it to user-specific companion devices. This extraction maintains operational convenience for general tasks while eliminating unauthorized access risks associated with centralized personal data processing.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments described herein provide a communication mechanism that enables electronic device to perform device to device communication using a secure, encrypted, peer-to-peer data connection. The communication mechanism can also be used as a general-purpose communication mechanism that enables smart home device to exchange data, including configuration data. In one embodiment, the general-purpose communication mechanism can be leveraged to enable intercom-like transmission of audio or video data between electronic devices that are connected to the communication mechanism.