Smart Home Twin-Control Architecture for Reliable Linkage Actions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing smart home control systems face challenges in ensuring high success rates and reliability of linkage actions due to reliance on a single control path, which can fail if the local network apparatus or remote device fails, and lack flexibility in adapting to changes in device connectivity and capabilities.
Innovation Solution
Implement a 'twin-control' mechanism using a first endpoint (e.g., a gateway) and a second endpoint (e.g., a cloud server) to generate and send parallel commands to a responding device, with each endpoint maintaining a subset of rules and generating commands based on trigger events, ensuring redundancy and adaptability to device connectivity changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single control path is used in smart home systems, then the system structure is simple, but the reliability of linkage actions decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into multiple independent control paths: a first control path through a local gateway and a second control path through a remote device. Each path can independently generate and execute commands, ensuring that failure in one path does not compromise the entire system's reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements redundant control paths in advance to cushion against potential failures. By pre-establishing both local and remote control paths, the system ensures that if one path fails, the other can compensate, thereby maintaining reliable operation of linkage actions.
2Reliability
If parallel command generation from multiple endpoints is implemented, then the reliability of control is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides control functionality into separate segments: local gateway operations and remote device operations. Each endpoint maintains its own rule set and command generation logic, allowing parallel operation without requiring complex integrated control logic.
Solution Approach 2:
Both the gateway and remote device are designed with universal command generation capabilities. Each endpoint can independently generate commands for the same responding devices, allowing either endpoint to function as the primary controller depending on connectivity conditions.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple endpoints maintain rule sets, then the adaptability to connectivity changes is improved, but the information management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where endpoints communicate their operational status and connectivity state to each other. This allows dynamic adjustment of command generation responsibilities, ensuring that the active endpoint always has the necessary rule information to maintain adaptability to connectivity changes.
Solution Approach 2:
Rule sets are pre-configured and maintained at both endpoints before connectivity issues arise. This preliminary preparation ensures that when connectivity changes occur, each endpoint can immediately utilize its pre-stored rules without requiring real-time information exchange, thus maintaining adaptability while minimizing information management complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
This disclosure provides a device operating in smart home system, a smart home system, corresponding method and computer program product. The smart home system may include a first endpoint, a second endpoint, a plurality of trigger devices and a plurality of responding devices. Each trigger device is configured to generate one or more trigger events; and send them to the first endpoint and the second endpoint. The first endpoint is configured to generate a set of first endpoint commands and send them to a responding device among the plurality of responding devices. The second endpoint is configured to generate a set of second endpoint commands and send them to the responding device. The responding device is configured to perform a set of actions based on the set of first endpoint commands and the set of second endpoint commands.