Smart Home Event-Driven Control via External Data Alerts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Programming connected home devices to respond to external events can be burdensome for users, especially casual users, and may not be maximized in initial deployments, leading to inefficiencies and potential missed opportunities for timely responses.
Innovation Solution
A server or smart home hub controls smart home devices by detecting them via IP addresses, receiving event alerts from external data sources, and initiating device functions based on these alerts, allowing for automatic responses without extensive user programming.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users manually program connected home devices to respond to external events, then device functionality and responsiveness are improved, but user burden and programming complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables devices to automatically detect external events and trigger appropriate functions without requiring user programming. The server monitors external data sources and automatically associates events with device functions, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring manual user configuration for each event-response pair.
Solution Approach 2:
A server acts as an intermediary between external data sources and smart home devices. The server receives event alerts from external sources, determines which devices are relevant, and automatically initiates appropriate device functions, eliminating the need for direct user programming between devices and external events.
2Productivity
If users program devices during initial deployment, then device utility is maximized, but casual users may not maximize utility due to complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically discovers external events and configures device responses without requiring user intervention during deployment. Devices and their optimal configurations are provisioned automatically based on detected external data sources and event types, enabling casual users to achieve maximum utility without understanding programming complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The server performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring device functions and associations before users need them. External data sources are monitored in advance, and appropriate device configurations are prepared and deployed automatically, so users receive fully functional devices without needing to perform complex programming tasks.
3Loss of time
If devices are controlled manually without external data integration, then system simplicity is maintained, but timely response to external events is lost
Solution Approach 1:
A server intermediary is introduced to handle communication between external data sources and smart home devices. This centralized mediator receives event alerts, processes associations with device functions, and triggers appropriate responses, enabling timely automatic responses while managing system complexity in a centralized manner rather than distributing it across multiple devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes feedback loops where the server continuously monitors external data sources for events, automatically triggers device functions in response to detected events, and maintains associations between events and device functions. This feedback mechanism enables timely automatic responses without requiring complex point-to-point configurations between external sources and individual devices.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and method are provided for controlling a smart home device. In one embodiment, a method, performed by a server, for controlling the smart home device including detecting a smart home device in response to an internet protocol address of a data packet transmitted on a network, determining a function of the smart home device, receiving an event alert from an external data source, associating the function of the smart home device with the event alert, and transmitting a control signal to initiate the function of the smart home device in response to the association of the function with the event alert.