An aerosol delivery device is provided that includes a housing, heating element, communication interface and microprocessor. The heating element may to activate and vaporize components of an aerosol precursor composition in response to a flow of air through at least a portion of the housing, with the air being combinable with a thereby formed vapor to form an aerosol. The communication interface may effect a wireless, proximity-based communication link with a computing device. And the microprocessor may be coupled to the communication interface, may control at least one functional element of the aerosol delivery device based on a state of the proximity-based communication link, or in response to a trigger signal received from the computing device over the proximity-based communication link.

Systems and methods for managing playback devices in accordance with embodiments of the invention are illustrated. One embodiment includes a method for modifying a system that includes several devices. The method includes steps for measuring a first signal pattern for wireless signals between the several devices, measuring a second signal pattern for the wireless signals after measuring the first signal pattern between the several devices, determining an updated state of the system based on a difference between the second signal pattern and the first signal pattern, and modifying state variables of one or more devices of the playback system based on the determined updated state.

Systems and methods that can utilize the detection of human occupancy without fiducial elements to control an environmental, security, or other system within a structure. The systems and method can initiate communication to a human user directly, and can alter their operation based on human presence.

Embodiments herein relate to ear-wearable devices that can be used to control other device and related methods. In a first aspect, an ear-wearable device is included having a control circuit, a wireless communications circuit, a microphone, and a motion sensor. The ear-wearable device is configured to receive an input from a wearer of the ear-wearable device, select a controllable device to be controlled based on factors including at least one of physical proximity between the ear-wearable device and the controllable device and a direction that the head of the wearer is pointing, and issue a control command to the controllable device. Other embodiments are also included herein.

Dual channel wireless communication system for monitoring and/or control of a machine (112), such as a press brake, by a remote interface device (10, 12) that communicates data with a machine controller (18) over two channels CH1, CH2 in parallel. Also, a system and method to determine whether a remote interface device (10, 12) is within a range or zone of a machine (112) that the remote interface device wirelessly monitors and/or controls, uses an ultrasound transmitter-receiver arrangement (100, 102) and an electromagnetic (EM) transmitter-receiver arrangement (104, 106, 108, 110) to determine difference in ultrasound and EM time of flight and therefore whether or not the remote interface device is permitted to monitor and/or control the machine or is within range to monitor and/or control the machine.

Provided is a control object and a method for controlling a plurality of pieces of equipment. The method includes determining, with the control object, a piece of equipment to be controlled from the plurality of pieces of equipment based on a user pointing the control object at the piece of equipment to be controlled, adapting, with the control object, a control interface of the control object as a function of the piece of equipment to be controlled, receiving, through the control interface of the control object, at least one command from the user to control the piece of equipment to be controlled, generating, with the control object, control data configured to control the piece of equipment to be controlled based on the at least one command received from the user, and controlling the piece of equipment to be controlled by transmitting the control data with the control object.

A portable electronic device can include a display, a processor, a sensor, and a wireless communication module. The sensor can detect a presence of an operable object near the portable electronic device. The processor can cause the display to depict an interface corresponding to the operable object based at least in part on a detection of the presence of the operable object. The wireless communication module can emit a signal instructing the operable object to perform an action based at least in part on an input to the interface.

A smart home device control method, a medium, a terminal, and an apparatus. By approaching a target home device and obtaining device information thereof, and executing a device control program of a corresponding target home device according to the device information, the user operation is simplified, and the user experience of the home device is improved. The use of hardware multiplexing of a mobile terminal can enrich the function of the home device without significantly increasing the hardware cost of the home device, and reduce the design difficulty and complexity of the home device. The method includes: obtaining a distance between a target home device and a mobile terminal, and obtaining device information of the target home device when the distance is less than or equal to a preset distance.

The present invention relates to a power-saving control system using remote-control communication wherein a remote-control transmitting means is embedded in one of a lighting device, a sensor, and a sensor-embedded program switch, which are installed in a space, so as to remotely control a control target device installed in the corresponding space, and a predetermined control signal such as a power-off command is transmitted to the control target device if no person exists in the space for a predetermined time, or if a measured temperature or the like satisfies a condition, such that the control target device can be remotely controlled. The power-saving control system is characterized in that a remote-control transmitting means is embedded in one of a lighting device (110), a sensor (120), and a program switch (130), which are installed in a space (S), so as to remotely control a control target device (140) installed in the space (S); and a predetermined remote-control signal is transmitted to the control target device (140) through the remote-control transmitting means if a signal indicating that the space (S) is maintained in an unmanned state or at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time is input.

Systems are provided that include electronic equipment and electronic devices. A system may include electronic equipment such as a thermostat or other equipment in a vehicle or home, vehicle navigation equipment, networking equipment, computer equipment, equipment with speakers for playing audio, and other electronic equipment. An electronic device such as a portable electronic device may be placed in the vicinity of electronic equipment by a user. In response to detecting that the electronic device is adjacent to the electronic equipment, control circuitry in the electronic device can automatically display content of the electric device such as a user control interface for the electronic device or information related to operation of the electronic equipment. The system may monitor the position of the electronic device relative to the electronic equipment and can dynamically update the displayed content based on the current device position.