Smart Home App Deeplinks for Unified Third-Party Device Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing smart device control systems face inefficiencies when managing multiple smart devices from different manufacturers, as they often require launching separate applications and navigating through complex interfaces, leading to increased computational resources usage and reduced user control over all devices from a single platform.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an interactive graphical interface within a home control application that includes a selectable element to execute a deeplink, allowing direct access to third-party applications for enhanced control of smart devices, with the deeplink generated dynamically by the third-party provider to ensure compatibility and relevance, thereby reducing the need for multiple app launches and improving user interface efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate third-party applications are launched for each smart device, then comprehensive control features are available, but computational resources and user input requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple third-party application functionalities into a single unified application interface. The system integrates device control capabilities from multiple manufacturers into one platform, allowing users to control various smart devices without launching separate applications. This merging approach maintains comprehensive control features while reducing the number of applications users need to manage and launch.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal application that can control multiple types of smart devices from different manufacturers through a single interface. The system implements multi-functional capabilities that allow one application to perform the roles of multiple specialized applications, providing diverse control features across different device types without requiring users to install and navigate multiple separate applications.
2Ease of operation
If multiple separate applications are used for different smart devices, then device-specific control is achieved, but the system complexity and memory usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the application architecture into modular components that can independently manage different device types and manufacturers. Each device category or manufacturer can be handled by a separate module within the unified application, allowing the system to maintain device-specific control capabilities while organizing complexity into manageable, isolated segments that don't interfere with each other.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer or framework that sits between the user interface and the various device control protocols. This mediator handles the complexity of communicating with multiple device types and manufacturers, translating user actions into device-specific commands without requiring users to understand the underlying complexity. The intermediary absorbs and manages system complexity while presenting a simplified interface to users.
3Productivity
If a unified application controls all smart devices, then computational efficiency improves, but control restrictions occur compared to dedicated applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-configuring and pre-loading necessary control protocols and device information when devices are first added to the system. The application anticipates future control needs by preparing device profiles, available commands, and control parameters in advance. This allows the unified application to maintain comprehensive control capabilities without requiring users to manually configure each device type, thereby preserving adaptability while maintaining computational efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Efficient control and/or linking of smart network connected devices. Some implementations are directed to rendering, within an active application that enables control of multiple smart devices from multiple parties, both: (1) an interactive graphical interface element that, when interacted with, causes corresponding control of smart device(s) of a third-party (3P); and (2) a selectable element that, when selected, causes execution of a deeplink to cause a 3P application to open in a state that presents additional information for the smart device(s). Some implementations are additionally or alternatively directed to, in response to determining that a 3P application is installed at a client device, but a smart device topology lacks any entries for 3P smart devices of the 3P, efficiently adding one or more particular smart devices of the 3P to the smart device topology.