System and method for utilization of device-independent scenes in a smart home environment

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for implementing a device-independent scene in a home automation environment. One embodiment is a method comprising receiving information regarding a home-independent home automation scene, the information identifying a zone property and an identified zone type; identifying, in the designated home, a zone corresponding to the identified zone type; identifying at least one home automation device capable of affecting the zone property in the identified zone; for each of the identified devices, identifying a device state of the respective device that contributes to the zone property; storing a home-automation scene for the designated home, wherein the home-automation scene comprises information identifying the at least one identified devices and the respective identified device states of those devices; and in response to user selection of the stored home-automation scene, causing the at least one identified device to perform the respective identified actions.

1 . A method comprising:
 in response to activation of a scene, where the scene is associated with at least one zone property of a zone that includes at least one smart device:
 determining, based on environmental data, whether changing a device state of at least a first one of the smart devices will affect the zone property; and 
 in response to a determination that changing the device state of the first one of the smart devices will affect the zone property, causing the first one of the smart devices to change the device state. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the environmental data includes information regarding a current time of day. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the environmental data includes information regarding current weather conditions. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the environmental data includes information regarding a geographical location of the zone. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, in response to the activation of the scene:
 determining whether changing a device state of at least a second one of the smart devices will affect the zone property; and   in response to a determination that changing the device state of the second one of the smart devices will affect the zone property, causing the second one of the smart devices to change its device state.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the determination of whether changing a device state of the second one of the smart devices will affect the zone property is independent of the environmental data. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the second one of the smart devices is a light and the first one of the smart devices is a window covering. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the zone property is an illumination level of the zone, the first smart device is a window covering, and the environmental data includes data indicative of an outdoor illumination level. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the environmental data is obtained through a link to an external data source. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the zone property is a property relating to a temperature of the zone. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein causing the first one of the smart devices to change the device state comprises transmitting action instructions to the first one of the smart devices. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein activation of the scene comprises receiving user input selectin the scene. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the environmental data comprises current environmental data. 
     
     
         14 . A system comprising one or more processors configured to perform at least:
 in response to activation of a scene, where the scene is associated with at least one zone property of a zone that includes at least one smart device:
 determining, based on environmental data, whether changing a device state of at least a first one of the smart devices will affect the zone property; and 
 in response to a determination that changing the device state of the first one of the smart devices will affect the zone property, causing the first one of the smart devices to change the device state. 
   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the environmental data includes information regarding current weather conditions. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the environmental data includes information regarding a geographical location of the zone. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 14 , further comprising, in response to the activation of the scene:
 determining whether changing a device state of at least a second one of the smart devices will affect the zone property; and   in response to a determination that changing the device state of the second one of the smart devices will affect the zone property, causing the second one of the smart devices to change its device state.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the zone property is an illumination level of the zone, the first smart device is a window covering, and the environmental data includes data indicative of an outdoor illumination level. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the zone property is a property relating to a temperature of the zone. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein causing the first one of the smart devices to change the device state comprises transmitting action instructions to the first one of the smart devices.