Smart Home Control Events Using Environmental State Inference
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Solution Overview
Problem
Smart home systems face challenges in providing a convenient and intuitive means of controlling networked home devices, as users often need to specify whether to perform primary or secondary control functions, which can be cumbersome and require multiple interaction steps.
Innovation Solution
A method and controller system that determine whether to perform a primary or secondary control function based on the current state of interaction between a networked home device and its physical environment, allowing the system to infer user intentions and reduce the need for explicit user input, thereby simplifying control events across different devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the system requires users to explicitly specify whether to perform primary or secondary control functions, then control precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically determines whether to execute primary or secondary control functions by monitoring the state of interaction between the first networked home device and its physical environment, without requiring explicit user specification. The controller infers user intent based on environmental context, allowing the system to serve itself in making control decisions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the state of interaction between the networked home device and its physical environment, using this feedback to dynamically determine whether to perform primary or secondary control functions. This feedback mechanism enables the system to adapt its control behavior based on real-time environmental conditions.
2Measurement precision
If the system requires multiple interaction steps to control different devices, then control precision is improved, but loss of time worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary monitoring of the environmental state and device interaction conditions before a control event occurs. When a control event is detected, the system has already gathered necessary contextual information, enabling immediate determination of the appropriate control function without requiring additional user steps or time for analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller automatically determines which control function to execute based on pre-monitored environmental state, eliminating the need for users to specify their intent through multiple interaction steps. The system serves itself by making the control decision autonomously and immediately.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the system provides multiple control functions for a single user input device, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically determines which control function (primary or secondary) to execute based on the real-time state of interaction between the networked home device and its physical environment. This dynamic behavior allows a single user input device to adaptively provide multiple control functions without requiring the user to understand or manage the underlying complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller acts as an intermediary that manages the complexity of multiple control functions. It receives simple user input through a single device and automatically determines the appropriate control action based on environmental context, shielding the user from the complexity while maintaining adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A controller handles control events in a system of networked home devices by: receiving a signal indicative of a control event, which is an actuation of a user input device; and in response, determining whether to perform a control function associated with a networked home device, that determination being made in dependence on a state of interaction between that device and a physical environment in which it is located at a time of the control event. If the control function is performed in response to the control event, it causes the networked home device to perform an action that changes the state of interaction between that device and the physical environment in which it is located. Otherwise, the controller causes another control function associated with a different networked home device of the system to be performed in response to the control event instead.