Smart Home Capability Awareness for Low-Latency Task Routing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing smart home technologies face challenges in interoperability, data security, and user-friendly interfaces, leading to inefficiencies in integrating smart devices and enhancing user experience.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a smart home functionality awareness system that uses Functional Semantic Identifiers (FSIDs) to identify and recommend smart home devices and skills, enabling improved semantic interpretation of user requests and optimizing device usage through edge computing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If existing smart home technologies use traditional device tracking and command correlation methods, then basic smart home control functionality is achieved, but interoperability challenges and user-friendly interface limitations occur

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveinteroperabilityVSAvoidsystem integration complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a natural language processing intermediary that translates user commands into device-specific protocols. This mediator layer handles the complexity of interoperability between different smart home devices, allowing seamless communication without requiring users to understand device-specific technical details or system integration complexities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements a universal natural language interface that can control multiple types of smart home devices (lights, thermostats, locks, cameras) through a single unified command structure. This multi-functional approach allows one interface to serve multiple device types and purposes, enhancing adaptability while reducing the need for separate control mechanisms for each device category.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Ease of operation

If smart home systems implement comprehensive device tracking and command correlation, then basic functionality is provided, but user experience and ease of use deteriorate due to interface complexity

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser interface friendlinessVSAvoidfunctional capability information
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The natural language processing system automatically interprets user intent and translates it into appropriate device commands without requiring users to navigate complex menus or understand system architecture. The system serves itself by autonomously handling the translation and routing of commands, making the interface as simple as natural speech while preserving access to all functional capabilities through semantic understanding.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Productivity

If traditional smart home control methods are used, then basic device control is achieved, but computational efficiency and latency performance worsen

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommand processing efficiencyVSAvoidcommand latency
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary natural language interpretation and command routing decisions before executing device actions. By pre-processing the user intent and determining the appropriate target device and command parameters in advance, the system reduces execution latency and improves overall processing efficiency, as the actual device control can proceed directly without intermediate interpretation steps.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4580128A1Smart home functionality awareness for user tasks
Publication Date: 2025.07.02 INTEL CORP
  • EP4580128A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4580128A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4580128A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Smart home functionality awareness may improve the ability for a smart home system to identify existing and absent smart home skills or smart home devices that may be used to perform a specific task requested by a user. This smart home functionality awareness improves the ability of a smart home system to identify an existing capability of the smart home system that addresses requested electronic device command. This smart home functionality awareness improves the ability of a smart home system to identify a recommended capability, where the recommended capability provides improved functionality over the existing capability for addressing the requested electronic device command. This recommended capability may be identified based on determining that existing capabilities are sufficient to accomplish a task with low performance, and further identify what additional resources may be needed to improve the ability of the smart home system to execute the requested electronic device command.