Smart Home Camera Interface Connection Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current smart home user interfaces are inefficient and lack informative content, particularly when viewing live or saved video feeds, with poor user control flow that fails to maintain context effectively.
Innovation Solution
A method is implemented on a client device with a display and processors to determine smart devices corresponding to specific spaces within a dwelling, displaying user interface sections with objects representing these devices, allowing users to select objects for additional information and establishing connections for video feeds from cameras, enabling efficient presentation of smart home information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If conventional methods are used to present smart home information, then the system is simple to implement, but the user interface provides little additional information and has poor user control flow
Solution Approach 1:
The user interface is segmented into multiple hierarchical levels: space-level interface sections, device-level user interface objects, and detailed information panels. This segmentation allows the system to present information at appropriate levels of detail without overwhelming the user, resolving the contradiction between providing comprehensive information and maintaining system simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a spatial dimension to the user interface by organizing devices into space-based interface sections and allowing users to navigate through different spatial contexts. This dimensional organization enables the system to present rich information about multiple devices and spaces while maintaining a clean, manageable interface structure.
2Loss of information
If the user interface displays detailed information for all devices, then the user gains comprehensive information, but the interface becomes cluttered and harder to navigate
Solution Approach 1:
The interface applies local quality by displaying detailed information only in the context of the currently selected space or device. Each interface section presents information relevant to its specific spatial context, while detailed device information is revealed on-demand through user selection. This approach maintains information completeness while preserving interface clarity and ease of navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary organization of devices into space-based groups and pre-structures the interface hierarchy before user interaction. This preliminary action enables the interface to present information in an already-optimized structure, reducing the cognitive load on users and improving navigability while maintaining comprehensive information availability.
3Speed
If the system establishes connections for all cameras before display, then video feeds are readily available, but the connection establishment time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary connection establishment for a subset of cameras that are most likely to be viewed, based on user behavior patterns or device importance. This preliminary action enables faster video feed availability for commonly accessed cameras while avoiding the time penalty of establishing connections for all cameras, thus resolving the contradiction between speed and time consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies partial action by establishing connections for only the necessary subset of cameras rather than all cameras. This partial connection strategy provides sufficient video feed availability for user needs while significantly reducing the total connection establishment time, balancing speed requirements with time efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
The various embodiments described herein include methods, devices, and systems for presenting video feeds in a user interface. In one aspect, a method includes: (1) receiving a request to execute an application for communicating with a plurality of smart devices, including a plurality of cameras; (2) in response to receiving the request, establishing a connection for each of at least a subset of the cameras; (3) identifying a user interface for display to a user via the display, the user interface including a video feed from a particular camera; (4) after identifying the user interface, determining whether a connection has been established for the particular camera; (5) in accordance with a determination that the connection has been established for the particular camera, requesting, via the connection, the video feed for the particular camera; and (6) displaying the user interface with the video feed for the particular camera.