Redundant links for reliable communication

Abstract

In order to maintain performance during wireless communication, the sending electronic device can transmit redundant information to the receiving electronic device in parallel and independently. In particular, information associated with the data stream can be transmitted to the receiving electronic device using one or more channels by using two radio devices of one or more wireless local area networks. The packets sent by the radio device can preferentially include the same information. In addition, if the performance indicators associated with one or more channels deteriorate, the sending electronic device can attempt to maintain redundant communications. For example, if the throughput is below a threshold, the sending electronic device can transfer the communication to a different channel, or can compress the information in the packets in one or more channels. In addition, parallel communication can allow the sending electronic device to determine the link quality without interrupting the communication of information.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application based on the Chinese patent application with application date of December 23, 2015, application number 201580070838.0, and invention name “Redundant Link for Reliable Communication”. Technical Field

[0002] The described embodiments relate to techniques for transmitting information in a wireless network. In particular, the described embodiments relate to techniques for reliably transmitting information between a sending electronic device and a receiving electronic device in a wireless network using redundant communications. Background Art

[0003] Wireless communication is an increasingly popular technology for transmitting information between electronic devices. In particular, these electronic devices may include a network subsystem that implements a network interface for a wireless local area network, such as the wireless networks described in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards, (from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group in Kirkland, Washington) and / or other types of wireless networks.

[0004] However, the performance during wireless communication between electronic devices can vary significantly over time. For example, nearby interference sources can significantly degrade performance. This degradation in performance can result in packet loss or even loss of connection between the sending electronic device and the receiving electronic device. Therefore, changes in performance can result in reduced throughput, which can degrade the user experience when using the sending electronic device and / or the receiving electronic device. Summary of the invention

[0005] The described embodiments include a transmitting electronic device. The transmitting electronic device includes: an input port that receives information associated with a data stream; a first antenna; a second antenna; a first interface circuit coupled to the first antenna, and a second interface circuit coupled to the second antenna. Moreover, the first interface circuit can transmit a first packet including information associated with the data stream from the transmitting electronic device to the receiving electronic device via a first channel using a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication protocol. In addition, the second interface circuit can transmit a second packet including information associated with the data stream from the transmitting electronic device to the receiving electronic device via a second channel using a WLAN communication protocol, wherein the second channel can be different from the first channel, and the second packet is transmitted from the transmitting electronic device to the receiving electronic device at the same time as the first packet. In addition, the transmitting electronic device can instruct the receiving electronic device to use the first channel during communication of the first packet, and to use the second channel during communication of the second packet.

[0006] Note that the WLAN communication protocol may be compatible with the IEEE 802.11 standard. Furthermore, the communication of the first packet via the first channel may be independent of the communication of the second packet via the second channel.

[0007] In addition, the first interface circuit may transfer the communication of the first packet to the third channel in the following cases: when the connection with the receiving electronic device associated with the first channel is lost; when the performance indicator associated with the communication via the first channel degrades to below the first threshold and / or the performance indicator associated with the communication via the third channel exceeds the performance indicator associated with the communication via the first channel. The parallel communication of the second packet can ensure that the information is transmitted to the receiving electronic device without interruption during the transfer. Alternatively or additionally, the second interface circuit may transfer the communication of the second packet to the fourth channel in the following cases: when the connection with the receiving electronic device associated with the second channel is lost; when the performance indicator associated with the communication via the second channel degrades to below the second threshold and / or the performance indicator associated with the communication via the fourth channel exceeds the performance indicator associated with the communication via the second channel. In this case, the parallel communication of the first packet can ensure that the information is transmitted to the receiving electronic device without interruption during the transfer. In any case, the sending electronic device can instruct the receiving electronic device or communicate with the receiving electronic device to use or switch to the first channel during the communication of the first packet, and use or switch to the fourth channel during the communication of the second packet.

[0008] Note that when the connection with the receiving electronic device associated with the first channel is lost or the connection with the receiving electronic device associated with the second channel is lost, the remaining communication of the second packet or the first packet, respectively, ensures that the information is transmitted to the receiving electronic device without interruption and without the need for further action by the sending electronic device.

[0009] In some embodiments, the transmitting electronic device compresses at least one of the information included in the first packet and the information included in the second packet in the following circumstances: when a performance indicator associated with communication via the first channel degrades below a first threshold; and / or when a performance indicator associated with communication via the second channel degrades below a second threshold. Such compression can maintain a substantially common margin in the performance indicator associated with communication via the first channel and in the performance indicator associated with communication via the second channel.

[0010] In addition, the sending electronic device may display a communication warning message and may selectively terminate redundant communication of information via the first group and the second group in the following circumstances: when a performance indicator associated with communication via the first channel is lower than a first threshold; and / or when a performance indicator associated with communication via the second channel is lower than a second threshold.

[0011] Note that the transmitting electronic device may jointly encode the first packet and the second packet to provide information gain and / or error correction based on parallel communications.

[0012] Furthermore, the transmitting electronic device may detect a drop in the first packet and / or the second packet based on the parallel communication.

[0013] In addition, during information communication, the transmitting electronic device can perform channel estimation, determine link quality and / or perform channel calibration associated with the first channel and / or the second channel without interrupting the communication of information. In addition, during information communication, the transmitting electronic device can dynamically perform spectrum analysis of channels associated with the WLAN communication protocol using the first interface circuit and / or the second interface circuit without interrupting the communication of information.

[0014] Another embodiment of the transmitting electronic device uses different WLAN communication protocols to transmit the first packet and the second packet. In these embodiments, the first channel may be different from the second channel or may be the same as the second channel. In addition, the second packet may or may not include all information (i.e., less than 100% redundancy may be used).

[0015] In another embodiment of the transmitting electronic device, the second packet may or may not include all of the information. In these embodiments, the first channel may be different from the second channel or may be the same as the second channel. In addition, the first interface circuit may or may not use the same WLAN communication protocol as the second interface circuit.

[0016] Another embodiment provides a computer program product for use with a sending electronic device. The computer program product includes instructions for at least some of the operations performed by the sending electronic device.

[0017] Another embodiment provides a method for transmitting information associated with a data stream from a sending electronic device to a receiving electronic device. The method includes at least some of the operations performed by the sending electronic device.

[0018] The present disclosure is provided only for the purpose of illustrating some exemplary embodiments, so as to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the subject matter described herein. Therefore, it should be understood that the above-mentioned features are merely examples and should not be interpreted as narrowing the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description, drawings and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system having an electronic device that performs wireless communications according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 2 The present invention is a method for Figure 1 A flowchart of a method for transmitting information associated with a data stream between electronic devices in the present invention.

[0021] Figure 3 The present invention is performed during communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1 Schematic diagram of channel estimation between electronic devices in .

[0022] Figure 4 The present invention is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 Illustration of communication between electronic devices in .

[0023] Figure 5 The present invention is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 A block diagram of one of the electronic devices in FIG.

[0024] Table 1 provides the following information according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 Use case of radio equipment during communication between electronic devices in.

[0025] Note that like reference numerals denote identical parts in the drawings. In addition, multiple instances of the same part are designated by a common prefix separated by a dash from the instance number. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In order to maintain performance during wireless communication, the sending electronic device can transmit redundant information to the receiving electronic device in parallel and independently. In particular, information associated with the data stream can be transmitted to the receiving electronic device using one or more channels by using two radio devices (radios) of one or more wireless local area network (WLAN) communication protocols. The communication may involve the coordination of the channel to be used during communication between the sending electronic device and the receiving electronic device, and may involve the coordination of the channel to be used during communication between the radios and / or the coordination of the channel to be compared with the received information. The packets sent by the radio device may preferentially include the same information (i.e., the information transmitted via one or more channels may be completely redundant). In addition, if the performance indicators associated with one or more channels deteriorate, the sending electronic device may try to maintain redundant communication. For example, if the throughput drops below a threshold, the sending electronic device may transfer the communication to a different channel, or may compress the information in the packet in one or more channels. In addition, parallel communication may allow the sending electronic device to perform channel estimation, determine link quality, and / or perform channel calibration associated with one or more channels without interrupting the communication of information.

[0027] By transmitting redundant information, the sending electronic device can avoid or reduce the possibility of discarding packets even if the connection between the sending electronic device and the receiving electronic device is lost. Therefore, the sending electronic device can maintain throughput and thus improve the user experience when using the sending electronic device and / or the receiving electronic device.

[0028] In the following discussion, the transmitting and receiving electronic devices include radio devices that transmit packets according to one or more WLAN communication protocols, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (sometimes referred to as From Austin, Texas alliance), (from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group in Kirkland, Washington) and / or other types of wireless interfaces. In the following discussion, Wi-Fi is used as an illustrative example. However, a variety of communication protocols may be used.

[0029] Figure 1 The communication between electronic devices is shown in FIG. Figure 1 A block diagram is presented showing a system 100 having a transmitting electronic device 110 and one or more receiving electronic devices 112 (e.g., consumer electronic devices, such as televisions, set-top boxes, etc.) that perform wireless communications in accordance with some embodiments, and an access point 114 that provides a connection to a wired network such as the Internet. In particular, these electronic devices may communicate wirelessly when transmitting advertisement frames on a wireless channel, when detecting each other by scanning a wireless channel, when establishing a connection (e.g., by transmitting an association request), and / or when transmitting and receiving packets (which may include an association request and / or additional information as a payload).

[0030] As reference below Figure 5As further described, the sending electronic device 110, one or more receiving electronic devices 112, and the access point 114 may include subsystems such as a network subsystem, a memory subsystem, and a processor subsystem. In addition, the sending electronic device 110, one or more receiving electronic devices 112, and the access point 114 may include a radio device 116 in the network subsystem. (Note that the radio device 116 may be an instance of the same radio device, or may also be different from each other). More generally, the sending electronic device 110, one or more receiving electronic devices 112, and the access point 114 may include (or may be included in) any electronic device having a network subsystem that enables the sending electronic device 110, one or more receiving electronic devices 112, and the access point 114 to wirelessly communicate with each other. The wireless communication may include sending advertisements on a wireless channel to enable electronic devices to make initial contact or detect each other; then establishing a connection by exchanging subsequent data / management frames (such as association requests and responses); constructing security options (e.g., Internet Protocol security); sending and receiving packets or frames via the connection, etc.

[0031] from Figure 1 As can be seen in FIG. 1 , wireless signals 118 (represented by jagged lines) are transmitted from a radio 116-1 in a transmitting electronic device 110. These wireless signals 118 are received by at least one of the one or more receiving electronic devices 112 and / or access points 114 (e.g., receiving electronic device 112-1). In particular, the transmitting electronic device 110 may transmit packets. In turn, these packets may be received by a radio 116 in at least one of the one or more receiving electronic devices 112 and / or access points 114 (e.g., radio 116-5). This may allow the transmitting electronic device 110 to transmit information to the receiving electronic device 112 and / or access point 114. Although Figure 1 The sending electronic device 110 is shown sending packets, but it is noted that the sending electronic device 110 may also receive packets from one or more receiving electronic devices 112 and / or access points 114 .

[0032] In the described embodiment, the processing of packets or frames in the transmitting electronic device 110, one or more receiving electronic devices 112, and / or the access point 114 includes: receiving a wireless signal 118 carrying the packet or frame; decoding / extracting the packet or frame from the received wireless signal 118 to obtain the packet or frame; and processing the packet or frame to determine information contained in the packet or frame (e.g., information associated with the data stream). For example, the information may include audio and video displayed on at least one of the receiving electronic devices 112 or on a display (e.g., a television) coupled to at least one of the receiving electronic devices 112. Note that the communication between the transmitting electronic device 110 and a given one of the receiving electronic devices 112 and / or access points 114 (e.g., the receiving electronic device 112-1) can be characterized by various performance indicators, such as: data rate, data rate of successful communications (sometimes referred to as "throughput"), error rate (e.g., retry or retransmission rate), mean square error of the equalized signal relative to the equalization target, inter-symbol interference, multipath interference, signal-to-noise ratio, eye width, ratio of the number of bytes successfully communicated in a time interval (e.g., 1 to 10 seconds) to the maximum number of bytes estimated to be communicated in the time interval (the latter is sometimes referred to as the "capacity" of the channel or link), and / or the ratio of the actual data rate to the estimated data rate (sometimes referred to as "utilization"). In addition, the performance during the communication associated with different channels can be monitored individually or jointly (as further described below) (to identify, for example, discarded packets).

[0033] However, performance during communications can vary, for example, there may be a nearby transient interference source (e.g., a microwave oven), there may be too many receiving electronic devices 112 associated with the transmitting electronic device 110, the amount of information that the transmitting electronic device 110 needs to communicate with one or more receiving electronic devices 112 may exceed capacity, there may be movement, and / or there may be another factor that can affect performance. This may result in degradation of performance (or even loss of connection between the transmitting electronic device 110 and one or more receiving electronic devices 112), which in turn may increase the number of retransmitted packets, and therefore, may increase latency in communications and may degrade the experience of a user of the receiving electronic device 112. For example, the quality of a video streamed to a television may degrade, or there may be pauses in the video.

[0034] To solve this problem, the sending electronic device 110 may implement a communication technology (which is described below with reference to Figures 2 to 4Further described), where information is redundantly transmitted between a sending electronic device 110 and a given one of the receiving electronic devices 112 (e.g., the receiving electronic device 112-1). In particular, two radio devices (e.g., radio devices 116-1 and 116-2) in the sending electronic device 110 can establish a connection or link with the receiving electronic device 112-1. These links can each have a separate or different service set identifier on a wireless network (which can be a private network) associated with the sending electronic device 110 and the receiving electronic device 112-1. (If the network is a private network, these service set identifiers may not be broadcast to any receiving electronic device or receiving electronic devices outside the private network). The radio devices 116-1 and 116-2 can then use one or more channels in the connection and one or more Wi-Fi communication protocols to transmit information associated with data streams (such as audio, video, and more generally data) to the receiving electronic device 112-1. (Note that one or more channels can be identified by the radio devices 116-1 and 116-2 performing channel calibration and determining one or more associated performance indicators when the transmitting electronic device 110 is turned on. Channel information specifying one or more channels to be used during packet communication can be provided to the receiving electronic device 112-1 by the transmitting electronic device 110. Thus, the transmitting electronic device 110 can instruct the receiving electronic device 112-1 which channel to use. In addition, relative performance information about the remaining channels can be stored and, as described below, this relevant performance information can be used to guide channel transitions.) Packets sent by the radio devices 116-1 and 116-2 in one or more channels can preferably include the same information, that is, as long as conditions in the radio environment permit, the information transmitted via one or more channels can be completely redundant. For example, radio 116-1 may transmit packets carrying information to receiving electronic device 112-1 on a channel using a Wi-Fi communication protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.11b or 802.11n), and radio 116-2 may transmit additional packets carrying the same information in parallel to receiving electronic device 112-1 on another channel (i.e., a different channel with a different carrier frequency) using the Wi-Fi communication protocol. (However, as further described below, in other embodiments, radio 116-2 transmits additional packets carrying only some of the same information (e.g., at least a majority of the information (e.g., at least 50% of the information)). Furthermore, in some embodiments, radio 116-2 transmits the additional packets in the same channel as radio 116-2 and / or using a different Wi-Fi communication protocol than radio 116-1.)) In the case where the Wi-Fi communication protocol between the transmitting electronic device 110 and the receiving electronic device 112-1 is not coordinated (as is the case in the disclosed communication technology), such parallel communication on a particular channel is not possible. Note that the communication of a packet in a channel by the radio device 116-1 can be independent of the communication of an additional packet in another channel by the radio device 116-2.

[0035] Furthermore, it should be noted that when the connection with the receiving electronic device 112-1 associated with a channel is lost or when the connection with the receiving electronic device 112-2 associated with another channel is lost, the remaining communication of additional packets or packets, respectively, ensures that the information (or at least a large portion of the information) is transmitted to the receiving electronic device 112-1 without interruption and without requiring further action by the sending electronic device 110.

[0036] However, if one or more performance indicators associated with one or more channels degrade, the transmitting electronic device 110 may attempt to maintain redundant communication of information. For example, the radio device 116-1 may transfer communication of packets to a third channel (which is different from the channel used by the radio device 116-1 or another channel used by the radio device 116-2) in the following cases: when the connection with the receiving electronic device 112-1 associated with the channel is lost; and / or when the performance indicator associated with the communication via the channel degrades to below a threshold. For example, the performance indicator may be throughput, and when the throughput degrades to below a minimum value or threshold (e.g., 35 Mbps) that ensures high-quality video playback on the receiving electronic device 112, the radio device 116-1 may transfer or convert the communication. Alternatively, the radio device 116-1 may transfer the communication when the throughput degrades to below the previously characterized performance indicator of the available channel. The parallel (and redundant) communication of packets through the radio device 116-2 can ensure that information is transmitted to the receiving electronic device 112-1 without interruption during the transfer through the radio device 116-1. Similarly, radio 116-2 may transfer packetized communications to a fourth channel (which is different from another channel used by radio 116-2 or different from a third channel used by radio 116-1) when: a connection with a receiving electronic device 112-1 associated with another channel is lost; and / or when a performance metric associated with communications via another channel degrades below another threshold (which may be the same as or different from the threshold associated with the performance metric of the connection used by radio 116-1). Again, parallel (and redundant) communications of packets through radio 116-1 may ensure that information is delivered to receiving electronic device 112-1 without interruption during the transfer through radio 116-2. Thus, parallel communications may allow for seamless (i.e., without delay) transition of packetized communications when radios 116-1 and 116-2 use one or more Wi-Fi communication protocols. (Note that channel transitions may not require reauthentication or use of dynamic host configuration protocol.) Moreover, because the communication of packets through radios 116-1 and 116-2 may be independent of each other, transitions through these radios may occur independently of each other. (In some embodiments, it should be noted that when the performance metric associated with communication via the third channel exceeds the performance metric associated with communication via the first channel, radio 116-1 transfers the communication to the third channel. Similarly, when the performance metric associated with communication via the fourth channel exceeds the performance metric associated with communication via the second channel, radio 116-2 transfers the communication to the fourth channel. These transitions may be based on predefined characterizations of the channels and / or based on dynamic quality assessments of the communications as further described below.)

[0037] Note that before converting (or transferring or switching) from the first channel or the second channel, the transmitting electronic device 110 may indicate or provide channel information to the receiving electronic device 112-1, thereby specifying the third channel or the fourth channel. Therefore, there may be coordination between the transmitting electronic device 110 and the receiving electronic device 112-1 (as opposed to the case where the transmitting electronic device 110 performs a jump and the receiving electronic device 112-1 subsequently performs a scan to find a new channel to regain connection with the transmitting electronic device 110). In addition, there may be coordination between the radio devices 116-1, 116-2, 116-3, and 116-4 so that these radio devices can avoid using the same channel (if possible), otherwise using the same channel will degrade the ability to transmit information redundantly.

[0038] Alternatively or additionally (e.g., when there is no better available channel to transition), the transmitting electronic device 110 may compress the information included in the packet sent by the radio device 116-1 and / or the information included in the packet sent by the radio device 116-2. Thus, compression may be used in either or both of the connections between the transmitting electronic device 110 and the receiving electronic device 112-1. Such compression may occur in these cases: when a performance indicator associated with communication via a channel degrades below a first threshold; and / or when a performance indicator associated with communication via another channel degrades below another threshold. Such compression may maintain a substantially common edge in a performance indicator associated with communication via the channel and in a performance indicator associated with communication via another channel. For example, a common edge may be 10% to 30% above the minimum throughput (e.g., 35 Mbps). Note that the same or different compression techniques may be used for information in a packet in a channel and information in a packet in another channel. In addition, the compression technique may be lossless or lossy. In particular, the initial compression technique may be lossless, but if the degradation becomes too significant, a lossy compression technique may be used (e.g., sending every other packet or only sending I frames in MPEG video). Thus, as the degradation increases, the sending electronic device 110 may attempt to reduce redundant communications seamlessly and smoothly.

[0039] In addition, the transmitting electronic device 110 can encode the information in the packets transmitted by the radio devices 116-1 and 116-2. The encoding for the packets transmitted by the radio devices 116-1 and 116-2 can be the same or different. For example, depending on the conditions in the wireless environment (e.g., performance indicators associated with the channel and another channel), the radio device 116-1 can use a modulation coding scheme index value different from that of the radio device 116-2. In some embodiments, the transmitting electronic device 110 jointly encodes the packets transmitted by the radio device 116-1 and the packets transmitted by the radio device 116-2 to provide (encoding) information gain and / or error correction based on parallel communication through the radio devices 116-1 and 116-2. Therefore, in some embodiments, the packets transmitted by the radio devices 116-1 and 116-2 can be encoded as if they were transmitted in a single channel (even if more than one channel is used during the communication between the transmitting electronic device 110 and the receiving electronic device 112-1).

[0040] Although the sending electronic device 110 may attempt to maintain redundant communication of information when one or more performance indicators associated with one or more channels degrade, if the degradation is severe enough (e.g., when the performance indicator of the channel and one of the other channels is below a threshold), redundant communication of information may no longer be maintained. If this occurs, the sending electronic device 110 may display a communication warning message to the user of the receiving electronic device 112-1 (which may explain the performance degradation and / or may suggest remedial actions), and may selectively terminate redundant communication of information transmitted via packets through the radio device 116-1 and transmitted via packets through the radio device 116-2. In particular, redundant communication may be selectively terminated in the following circumstances: when a performance indicator associated with communication via a channel is below a threshold; and / or when a performance indicator associated with communication via another channel is below another threshold. Note that selectively terminated redundant communication may be applied to all packets sent by the radio device 116-1 or the radio device 116-2, or may be dynamically applied on a packet-by-packet basis.

[0041] In addition to providing robust communications in a dynamic wireless environment, concurrent communications through radio devices 116-1 and 116-2 can facilitate additional monitoring and quality of service (QoS) characterization, which can allow the best available channel to be identified at a given time. For example, the transmitting electronic device 110 can detect drops in packets transmitted by the radio device 116-1 and / or packets transmitted by the radio device 116-2 by comparing feedback (e.g., acknowledgment messages) from the receiving electronic device 112-1 regarding the received packets. (Alternatively or additionally, errors can be detected through coordination between the radio devices 116-1 and 116-2, such as by comparing the payload received in the packets.) Therefore, if there is currently 100% redundancy in the channel and another channel, and packets A, B, C, and D transmitted by the radio device 116-1 are received, while only packets B and D transmitted by the radio device 116-2 are received, the transmitting electronic device 110 can conclude that packets A and C were dropped during communications conducted through the radio 112-2. This capability, along with one or more of the QoS characterization techniques described below, can enable continuous channel monitoring of throughput, which can enable a transition to a different channel with improved performance (such as a channel having a performance indicator that exceeds a threshold and a current performance indicator associated with communications via the channel associated with the current connection).

[0042] In addition, as referenced below Figure 3As further described, parallel communication may allow the transmitting electronic device 110 to perform at least one of the one or more QoS characterization techniques (e.g., perform channel estimation, determine link quality, perform channel calibration, and / or perform spectrum analysis associated with at least the channel and / or another channel) without interrupting the communication of information. (Alternatively, the transmitting electronic device 110 may perform at least one of these QoS characterization techniques on a channel associated with the Wi-Fi communication protocol). For example, during the communication of information between the transmitting electronic device 110 and the receiving electronic device 112-1, one of the radio devices 116-1 and 116-2 (e.g., a radio device with a higher performance indicator value (e.g., a higher throughput, and thus an increased margin)) may temporarily stop sending packets and may perform a full (channel-by-channel) scan of the channel associated with the Wi-Fi communication protocol. Spectral analysis may then be performed by calculating the spectrum and / or power spectral density using a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) or a fast Fourier transform (FFT). Alternatively, one of the radio devices 116-1 and 116-2 may perform channel estimation, determine link quality, perform channel calibration, and / or perform spectrum analysis during the time intervals or gaps between the transmission of packets. Such QoS characterization of the channel may be possible during the communication of information and still be possible in a manner that is compatible with the Wi-Fi communication protocol (even though such QoS characterization is not included in the existing IEEE 802.11 standard) because Figure 1 The provider of the illustrated system 100 (which implements the communication technology) can control the sending electronic device 110 and the receiving electronic device 112-1. In particular, when performing QoS characterization, the provider can coordinate the communication between these electronic devices. (Thus, QoS characterization can be performed without requiring the sending electronic device 110 to lose or remove the connection with the receiving electronic device 112-1 via the first channel or the second channel.) Note that QoS characterization can be performed in real time, for example, at least once per second as the data stream is sent.

[0043] Although described Figure 1 The network environment shown is used as an example, but in alternative embodiments, there may be different numbers or types of electronic devices. For example, some embodiments include more or fewer electronic devices. As another example, in another embodiment, different electronic devices send and / or receive packets or frames. Although the receiving electronic device 112 is shown as having a single radio device 116, in other embodiments, the receiving electronic device 112 may include multiple radio devices.

[0044] Figure 2 A diagram showing a method for transmitting information associated with a data stream from a sending electronic device to a receiving electronic device (eg, Figure 11 and 2. The embodiment of the flowchart of the method 200 of the transmitting electronic device 110 and the receiving electronic device 112-1 of FIG. During operation, the transmitting electronic device performs channel characterization (operation 210) to identify the channel used in the subsequent communication. The transmitting electronic device can then transmit information or instructions about the selected channel to be used during the subsequent communication to the receiving electronic device. In addition, the transmitting electronic device can receive information associated with the data stream via the input port of the transmitting electronic device.

[0045] Furthermore, the transmitting electronic device transmits a first packet carrying information associated with the data stream to the receiving electronic device via the first channel using a first interface circuit (in the first radio device) in the transmitting electronic device and a first WLAN communication protocol (operation 212). In addition, the transmitting electronic device transmits a second packet carrying at least some information (e.g., at least most of the information) associated with the data stream to the receiving electronic device via the second channel using a second interface circuit (in the second radio device) in the transmitting electronic device and a second WLAN communication protocol in parallel.

[0046] For example, the first channel may be different from the second channel. However, in other embodiments, the first channel may be the same as the second channel. Moreover, the first interface circuit and the second interface circuit may use the same WLAN communication protocol (i.e., the first WLAN communication protocol may be the same as the second WLAN communication protocol) or different WLAN communication protocols (i.e., the first WLAN communication protocol may be different from the second WLAN communication protocol). In addition, in some embodiments, the second packet may include the information (i.e., the communication may be completely or 100% redundant) or may include only a portion of the information (i.e., the communication may be partially redundant).

[0047] If the transmitting electronic device determines that the performance indicator associated with the communication (operation 212 or operation 216) has degraded (operation 220) (or determines that improved communication via another channel is feasible), then the transmitting electronic device can perform remedial actions (operation 222). For example, based on the previously determined channel characterization (operation 210), the transmitting electronic device can transfer the communication (operation 212 or 216) to a different channel that currently has better performance. As previously noted, the transmitting electronic device can provide instructions specifying a different channel to the receiving electronic device or transmit information specifying a different channel to the receiving electronic device. Alternatively or additionally, the transmitting electronic device can compress the transmitted information (operation 212 or 216).

[0048] Moreover, during the communication (operation 212 or 216), the sending electronic device may optionally perform QoS characterization (operation 214 and / or 218) without interrupting the communication of information. The QoS characterization may allow the channel characterization to be updated. Alternatively or additionally, the QoS characterization may allow the communication (operation 212 or 216) to be optimized.

[0049] Note that method 200 may continue as long as there is additional information to be communicated (operation 224).

[0050] In these ways, a sending electronic device (e.g., an interface circuit, driver, and / or software executed in the environment of the sending electronic device) can facilitate communication with one or more receiving electronic devices. In particular, the sending electronic device can independently, in parallel, and redundantly transmit information to the receiving electronic device to ensure reliable and high-quality communication. This can reduce delays and / or interruptions in the service (e.g., when displaying a video on a receiving electronic device), and thus can improve the user experience when transmitting via the sending electronic device.

[0051] In method 200( Figure 2 ) In some embodiments, there may be additional or fewer operations. In addition, the order of the operations may be changed, and / or two or more operations may be combined into a single operation.

[0052] In addition, in some embodiments, the transmitting electronic device is designed to: support up to four wireless streams, have a target minimum throughput of at least 35 Mbps per stream (although this value is an example and other values ​​may be used), facilitate independent frequency planning, provide robustness in the presence of interference, and / or provide redundant communications. The transmitting electronic device may include four radio devices. Three of the radio devices may support one or more Wi-Fi communication protocols and / or may use multiple-input / multiple-output (MiMo) communication technology (e.g., a 3×3 configuration) so that spatial diversity and / or beamforming may be used to improve communication performance. The remaining radio device may use Bluetooth.

[0053] Table 1 shows the Figure 11 . Radio device use cases during communication between electronic devices in . In particular, three radio devices can support fully redundant communication of information. For example, for one data stream, radio device 2 can redundantly transmit the same information as radio device 1 (as shown in Attachment 1 in Table 1). The corresponding available link bandwidth can be reduced from 450Mbps in the case of one data stream to 157Mbps in the case of two data streams, 157Mbps for radio devices 1 and 2 and 75Mbps for radio device 3 in the case of three data streams, and 112Mbps for radio devices 1 and 2 and 75Mbps for radio device 3 in the case of four data streams. Note that more than two radio devices can be used to transmit redundant information. For example, for limited redundancy capabilities, three radio devices can be used to transmit redundant information. In particular, the second and third radio devices can transmit redundant information.

[0054] Table 1

[0055]

[0056] In addition, as previously described, redundant communications can facilitate QoS characterization of channels used in communications and / or channels associated with the Wi-Fi communication protocol. In particular, during communications between a transmitting electronic device and a receiving electronic device, QoS characterization can include: channel estimation (e.g., for a given channel, estimating the distance to the receiving electronic device and determining the associated phase distortion), link quality, channel calibration (e.g., determining the transmit power and phase of a given channel based on the estimated distance to the receiving electronic device and the associated phase distortion), and / or spectrum analysis. Figure 3 The channel estimation is shown in . In particular, Figure 3 As shown, the transmitting electronic device 110 can use a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) (more generally, received energy or power) to provide a rough estimate of the distance to the receiving electronic device 112. For example, based on the estimated distance loss, the receiving electronic device 112-2 with an associated RSSI of -50 dBm can be estimated to be closer than the receiving electronic device 112-1 with an associated RSSI of -70 dBm, and the receiving electronic device 112-1 with an associated RSSI of -70 dBm can be estimated to be closer than the receiving electronic device 112-3 with an associated RSSI of -100 dBm.

[0057] RSSI ranging based on angle of arrival (AOA), round trip time (RTF) and / or time of arrival (TOA) can be used to specify a relative position (front / back) and angle relative to the receiving electronic device to improve channel estimation. In particular, AOA can use phase information from the receiver circuit to estimate the impact of a given channel on the phase. In addition, RTT can be based on request to send (RTS) and clear to send (CTS) messages, which can allow the transmitting electronic device 110 to perform a unilateral calculation of the distance to a given receiving electronic device 112. Alternatively, TOA can be based on a timestamp in the transmitted packet and can involve collaborative calculations by the transmitting electronic device 110 and a given receiving electronic device 112.

[0058] Note that the link quality can be determined using Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) / User Datagram Protocol (UDP) ranging. In particular, the sending electronic device 110 can use the network testing tool Iperf to create TCP and UDP data streams, and then measure the throughput of the network carrying these data streams to a given receiving electronic device 112.

[0059] In addition, spectrum analysis can be performed by capturing time domain signals associated with one or more channels by the transmitting electronic device 110 during communication with a given one of the receiving electronic devices 112, and then performing a DFT or FFT. The resulting spectrum or power spectrum distribution can be used to characterize the one or more channels (e.g., identify hidden nodes) and / or optimize communication.

[0060] In an exemplary embodiment, as long as the conditions in the wireless environment allow, redundant communication is used preferentially. The sending electronic device that implements this communication technology can smoothly reduce redundant communication as performance deteriorates. In this way, the sending electronic device can maintain the advantages of redundant communication as long as possible. For example, as long as the TCP throughput on the link is at least 35Mbps (which is used as an example, for example, other values ​​of the minimum throughput can be used), the sending electronic device can maintain full (or 100%) redundancy.

[0061] If the sending electronic device determines that better throughput can be achieved on a different channel, the sending electronic device can seamlessly move to the better channel in order to have the highest throughput channel with full redundancy available. However, in embodiments where there are no other available channels that achieve the minimum throughput or bandwidth requirements, the sending electronic device can change communications based on different scenarios.

[0062] In particular, as long as the total bandwidth required by one or more data streams (e.g., video streams) is less than 80% of the current bandwidth, the sending electronic device can maintain full redundancy. For example, if the link bandwidth degrades to less than 35Mbps (e.g., degrades to 10Mbps), but the two data streams only require a total of 5Mbps, the sending electronic device may not take any action because the total bandwidth required by the two data streams only requires 50% of the current total available bandwidth.

[0063] However, if the total bandwidth required for the dynamic data stream exceeds 80% of the currently available bandwidth, the sending electronic device can try to intelligently compress the data stream so that at least 2Mbps is reserved for each data stream. For example, if there is a total bandwidth of 9Mbps, the sending electronic device can try to evenly / intelligently compress the data stream so that each data stream is as high as possible above the 2Mbps minimum bandwidth required for each data stream. Alternatively, assume that there are three data streams, including: a first data stream using 3Mbps, a second data stream using 1.5Mbps, and a third data stream using 7Mbps. Since the third data stream occupies a large amount of bandwidth relative to other data streams (far more than the minimum 2Mbps), the sending electronic device can try to compress the third data stream to 2.5Mbps, compress the first data stream to 2.4Mbps, and the second data stream can be maintained at 1.5Mbps, so that the total bandwidth required for the dynamic data stream is less than 80% of the currently available bandwidth.

[0064] If the transmitting electronic device cannot transmit multiple data streams even after compression and cannot maintain 80% throughput on any channel in both spectrums, the transmitting electronic device may begin discarding redundancy on the data streams to maintain a minimum throughput of at least 2 Mbps for each data stream. The transmitting electronic device may alert the end customer (user of the transmitting electronic device and / or the receiving electronic device) by displaying a communication warning message on the transmitting electronic device or the receiving electronic device (e.g., on a television), which may indicate how QoS is affected, poor wireless performance, and / or remedial actions.

[0065] At this point, the sending electronic device can transmit the data stream in a non-redundant manner. However, without redundant communication, the end customer may experience dropped packets, lost connections, etc.

[0066] The communication technology is implemented in Figure 4 It is further shown in FIG. 1 , which shows a transmitting electronic device 110 and a receiving electronic device 112-1 ( Figure 1). In particular, processor 410 in transmitting electronic device 110 may characterize (418) channels associated with one or more WLAN communication protocols based on feedback information 416 associated with communication of packet 414 with receiving electronic device 112-1 through one or both of interface circuits 412. Processor 410 may then select (420) one or more channels for use in subsequent communications and may store channel information 422 in a memory of interface circuit 412.

[0067] Furthermore, the interface circuit 412-1 may transmit a packet 424 carrying information associated with the data stream to the receiving electronic device 112-1 via a first channel of the selected one or more channels and the first WLAN communication protocol. Furthermore, the interface circuit 412-2 may transmit a packet 426 carrying at least some information associated with the data stream to the receiving electronic device 112-1 in parallel and independently via a second channel of the selected one or more channels and the second WLAN communication protocol.

[0068] If one of the interface circuits 412 (e.g., interface circuit 412-1) determines that a performance metric associated with the communication has degraded 428 (or that improved communication via another channel is available), the interface circuit may perform remedial action 430. For example, interface circuit 412-1 may access stored channel information and may select a different channel to use in a subsequent communication of packet 432 with receiving electronic device 112-1. Because the communication of packets 424 and 426 may be independent of one another, note that interface circuits 412 may switch to another channel (e.g., a different channel for transmitting packet 432) separately and independently of one another.

[0069] Additionally, during communication, one or both of the interface circuits 412 (e.g., interface circuit 412-2) can perform QoS characterization without interrupting the communication of information. For example, interface circuit 412-2 can perform QoS characterization (436) while interface circuit 412-1 transmits packet 432 carrying information. The QoS characterization can include: performing channel estimation, determining link quality, performing channel calibration, and / or performing spectrum analysis. Thus, QoS characterization (434) can update stored channel information 436.

[0070] Embodiments of electronic devices are now described. Figure 5 An electronic device 500 (eg Figure 11 or 10). The electronic device includes a processing subsystem 510, a memory subsystem 512, and a network subsystem 514. The processing subsystem 510 includes one or more devices configured to perform computing operations. For example, the processing subsystem 510 may include one or more microprocessors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), microcontrollers, programmable logic devices, and / or one or more digital signal processors (DSPs).

[0071] The memory subsystem 512 includes one or more devices for storing data and / or instructions for the processing subsystem 510 and the network subsystem 514. For example, the memory subsystem 512 may include dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), and / or other types of memory. In some embodiments, the instructions for the processing subsystem 510 in the memory subsystem 512 include: one or more program modules or instruction sets (e.g., program modules 522 or operating system 524) that can be executed by the processing subsystem 510. Note that one or more computer programs can constitute a computer program mechanism. In addition, the instructions in the various modules in the memory subsystem 512 can be implemented in the following languages: high-level programming languages, object-oriented programming languages, and / or assembly or machine languages. In addition, the programming language can be compiled or interpreted (e.g., constructable or constructed (which can be used interchangeably in this discussion)) to be executed by the processing subsystem 510.

[0072] In addition, the memory subsystem 512 may include mechanisms for controlling access to memory. In some embodiments, the memory subsystem 512 includes a memory hierarchy including one or more caches coupled to memory in the electronic device 500. In some of these embodiments, the one or more caches are located in the processing subsystem 510.

[0073] In some embodiments, the memory subsystem 512 is coupled to one or more high-capacity mass storage devices (not shown). For example, the memory subsystem 512 may be coupled to a magnetic drive or an optical drive, a solid-state drive, or other type of mass storage device. In these embodiments, the memory subsystem 512 may be used by the electronic device 500 as fast access memory for frequently used data, while the mass storage device is used to store less frequently used data.

[0074] The network subsystem 514 includes one or more devices configured to couple to and communicate on (i.e., perform network operations on) a wired and / or wireless network, including: control logic 516, interface circuits 518, and associated antennas 520. (Although Figure 5The antenna 520 is included, but in some embodiments, the electronic device 500 includes one or more nodes such as the node 508 (e.g., a pad that can be coupled to the antenna 520). Therefore, the electronic device 500 may or may not include the antenna 520). For example, the network subsystem 514 may include a Bluetooth network system, a cellular network system (e.g., a 3G / 4G network such as UMTS, LTE, etc.), a universal serial bus (USB) network system, a network system based on the standard described in IEEE 802.11 (e.g., a Wi-Fi network system), an Ethernet network system, and / or other network systems. Note that a combination of a given one of the interface circuits 518 and at least one of the antennas 520 may constitute a radio device.

[0075] The network subsystem 514 includes a processor, a controller, a radio device / antenna, a socket / plug, and / or other devices for coupling to each supported network system, communicating on each supported network system, and processing data and events for each supported network system. Note that the mechanisms for coupling to each supported network system, communicating on each supported network system, and processing data and events on the network of each supported network system are sometimes collectively referred to as the "network interface" of the network system. Moreover, in some embodiments, the "network" between electronic devices does not yet exist. Therefore, the electronic device 500 can use the mechanisms in the network subsystem 514 to perform simple wireless communications between electronic devices, such as sending advertisements or beacon frames as previously described and / or scanning for advertisement frames sent by other electronic devices.

[0076] In electronic device 500, processing subsystem 510, memory subsystem 512, and network subsystem 514 are coupled together using bus 528. Bus 528 may include electronic, optical, and / or electro-optical connections that the subsystems may use to communicate commands and data to each other. Although only one bus 528 is shown for clarity, different embodiments may include different numbers or configurations of electronic, optical, and / or electro-optical connections between subsystems.

[0077] In some embodiments, the electronic device 500 includes a display subsystem 526 for displaying information (eg, a communication warning message) on a display, which may include a display driver and a display, such as a liquid crystal display, a multi-touch touch screen, or the like.

[0078] The electronic device 500 may be any electronic device having at least one network interface (or may be included in any electronic device having at least one network interface). For example, the electronic device 500 may be (or may be included in) the following devices: a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a small notebook / netbook, a server, a tablet computer, a smart phone, a cellular phone, a consumer electronic device (such as a TV, a set-top box, an audio device, a video device, etc.), a portable computing device, an access point, a router, a switch, a communication device, a test device, and / or other electronic devices.

[0079] Although the electronic device 500 is described using specific components, in alternative embodiments, different components and / or subsystems may be present in the electronic device 500. For example, the electronic device 500 may include one or more additional processing subsystems 510, memory subsystems 512, network subsystems 514, and / or display subsystems 526. In addition, although one of the antennas 520 is shown coupled to a given one of the interface circuits 518, there may be multiple antennas coupled to a given one of the interface circuits 518. For example, the case of a 3x3 radio device may include 3 antennas. In addition, one or more subsystems may not be present in the electronic device 500. Moreover, in some embodiments, the electronic device 500 may include Figure 5 One or more additional subsystems not shown. Figure 1 500. However, in some embodiments, some or all of a given subsystem or component may be integrated into one or more other subsystems or components in electronic device 500. For example, in some embodiments, program module 522 is included in operating system 524.

[0080] In addition, any combination of analog and / or digital circuits may be used to implement the circuits and components in the electronic device 500, including: bipolar, PMOS and / or NMOS gates or transistors. In addition, the signals in these embodiments may include digital signals with approximately discrete values ​​and / or analog signals with continuous values. In addition, the components and circuits may be single-ended or differential, and the power supply may be unipolar or bipolar.

[0081] The integrated circuit may implement some or all of the functionality of the network subsystem 514, such as one or more radio devices. In addition, the integrated circuit may include hardware and / or software mechanisms for sending wireless signals from the electronic device 500 and receiving signals from other electronic devices on the electronic device 500. Except for the mechanisms described herein, radio devices are generally known in the art and are therefore not described in detail. In general, the network subsystem 514 and / or the integrated circuit may include any number of radio devices.

[0082] In some embodiments, the network subsystem 514 and / or the integrated circuit includes a configuration mechanism (e.g., one or more hardware and / or software mechanisms) for configuring the radio device to transmit and / or receive on a given channel (e.g., a given carrier frequency). For example, in some embodiments, the configuration mechanism can be used to switch the radio device from monitoring and / or transmitting on a given channel to monitoring and / or transmitting on a different channel. (Note that "monitoring" as used herein includes receiving signals from other electronic devices, and one or more processing operations may be performed on the received signals, such as determining whether the received signal contains an advertising frame, calculating performance indicators, performing spectrum analysis, etc.). In addition, although there is no Figure 5 5. Although not shown in FIG. 5, network subsystem 514 may include at least one input port for receiving information in a data stream.

[0083] Although a communication protocol compatible with Wi-Fi is used as an illustrative example, embodiments of the described communication technology can be used in various network interfaces. In addition, although some operations in the aforementioned embodiments are implemented in hardware or software, the operations in the aforementioned embodiments can generally be implemented in various configurations and architectures. Therefore, some or all of the operations in the aforementioned embodiments can be performed in hardware, software, or both. For example, at least some operations in the communication technology can be implemented using a program module 522, an operating system 524 (e.g., a driver for the interface circuit 518), and / or firmware in the interface circuit 518. Alternatively or additionally, at least some operations in the communication technology can be implemented in the physical layer of hardware, such as in the interface circuit 518.

[0084] In the foregoing description, reference has been made to “some embodiments.” Note that “some embodiments” describes a subset of all possible embodiments but does not always specify the same subset of embodiments.

[0085] The foregoing description is intended to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the present disclosure, and the foregoing description is provided in the context of a specific application and its requirements. In addition, the foregoing description of the embodiments of the present disclosure is presented for the purpose of illustration and description only. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the disclosed forms. Therefore, many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. In addition, the discussion of the foregoing embodiments is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is given the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. An integrated circuit, comprising: an input port configured to receive information associated with the data stream; a first interface circuit configured to be communicatively coupled to a first antenna and configured to transmit a first packet addressed to a receiving electronic device via a first channel using a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication protocol, wherein the first packet includes information associated with the data stream; as well as a second interface circuit configured to be communicatively coupled to a second antenna and configured to transmit a second packet addressed to the receiving electronic device via a second channel using a wireless local area network communication protocol, wherein the second packet includes information associated with the data stream and the second channel is different from the first channel; wherein, in a first operation mode, the second packet is transmitted simultaneously with the first packet; wherein, in a second operating mode, the integrated circuit is configured to: determine, for one of the first channel and the second channel, a distance to the receiving electronic device and an associated phase distortion; and The determining includes determining a first estimate of the distance based on received signal strength while transmitting information using the other of the first channel and the second channel, and improving the first estimate of the distance using one or more of angle of arrival (AOA), round trip time (RTT), and time of arrival (TOA).

2. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein: The angle of arrival uses phase information from receiver circuitry in the integrated circuit to estimate the contribution of a given channel to the phase distortion.

3. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein: The round trip time is based on request to send (RTS) and clear to send (CTS) messages that allow the integrated circuit to perform a unilateral calculation of the distance to the receiving electronic device.

4. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein: The arrival time is based on a timestamp in at least one of the first packet and the second packet.

5. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein: The integrated circuit is configured to calculate the time of arrival based on information from the receiving electronic device specifying a partial calculation of the time of arrival.

6. The integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein: The wireless local area network communication protocol is compatible with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard.

7. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein: Communication of the first packet via the first channel is independent of communication of the second packet via the second channel.

8. The integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein: In the second mode of operation, the integrated circuit is configured to determine a channel calibration for the one of the first channel and the second channel when communicating information using the other of the first channel and the second channel.

9. The integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein: In the second operating mode, the integrated circuit is configured to: dynamically perform spectrum analysis of a channel associated with a wireless local area network communication protocol using one of the first interface circuit and the second interface circuit without interrupting communication of information; and Among other things, dynamic spectrum analysis involves capturing time domain signals associated with at least one given channel during communications, and performing a Fourier transform or a discrete Fourier transform to determine a frequency spectrum or power spectrum distribution.

10. An integrated circuit comprising: a first interface circuit configured to be communicatively coupled to the first antenna and configured to transmit a first packet associated with a transmitting electronic device via a first channel using a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication protocol, wherein the first packet includes information associated with a data stream; as well as a second interface circuit configured to be communicatively coupled to a second antenna and configured to transmit a second packet associated with the transmitting electronic device via a second channel using a wireless local area network communication protocol, wherein the second packet includes information associated with the data stream and the second channel is different from the first channel; wherein, in a first operation mode, the second packet is transmitted simultaneously with the first packet; wherein, in a second operating mode, the integrated circuit is configured to: determine, for one of the first channel and the second channel, a distance to the transmitting electronic device and an associated phase distortion; and The determining includes determining a first estimate of the distance based on received signal strength while transmitting information using the other of the first channel and the second channel, and improving the first estimate of the distance using one or more of angle of arrival (AOA), round trip time (RTT), and time of arrival (TOA).

11. The integrated circuit of claim 10, wherein: The angle of arrival uses phase information from receiver circuitry in the integrated circuit to estimate the contribution of a given channel to the phase distortion.

12. The integrated circuit of claim 10, wherein: The round trip time is based on request to send (RTS) and clear to send (CTS) messages that allow the integrated circuit to perform a unilateral calculation of the distance to the transmitting electronic device.

13. The integrated circuit of claim 10, wherein: The arrival time is based on a timestamp in at least one of the first packet and the second packet.

14. The integrated circuit of claim 10, wherein: The integrated circuit is configured to calculate the time of arrival based on information from the transmitting electronic device specifying a partial calculation of the time of arrival.

15. The integrated circuit of claim 10, wherein: The wireless local area network communication protocol is compatible with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard.

16. The integrated circuit of claim 10, wherein: Communication of the first packet via the first channel is independent of communication of the second packet via the second channel.

17. The integrated circuit of claim 10, wherein: In the second mode of operation, the integrated circuit is configured to determine a channel calibration for the one of the first channel and the second channel when communicating information using the other of the first channel and the second channel.

18. The integrated circuit of claim 10, wherein: In the second operating mode, the integrated circuit is configured to: dynamically perform spectrum analysis of a channel associated with a wireless local area network communication protocol using one of the first interface circuit and the second interface circuit without interrupting communication of information; and Among other things, dynamic spectrum analysis involves capturing time domain signals associated with at least one given channel during communications, and performing a Fourier transform or a discrete Fourier transform to determine a frequency spectrum or power spectrum distribution.

19. A method for transmitting information associated with a data stream from an integrated circuit to a receiving electronic device, wherein: The method comprises: receiving, by the integrated circuit via an input port in the integrated circuit, information associated with the data stream; In the first operating mode: communicating a first packet for a receiving electronic device associated with a first channel to a first interface circuit in the integrated circuit using a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication protocol, wherein the first packet includes information associated with the data stream; and communicating a second packet for a receiving electronic device associated with a second channel to a second interface circuit in the integrated circuit using a wireless local area network communication protocol, wherein the second packet includes information associated with the data stream and the second channel is different from the first channel; wherein, in the first operation mode, the second packet is transmitted simultaneously with the first packet; and In the second operating mode: For one of the first channel and the second channel, a distance to the receiving electronic device and an associated phase distortion are determined, wherein the determination includes: determining a first estimate of the distance based on received signal strength while transmitting information using the other of the first channel and the second channel, and improving the first estimate of the distance using one or more of angle of arrival (AOA), round trip time (RTT), and time of arrival (TOA).

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein: The angle of arrival uses phase information from receiver circuitry in the integrated circuit to estimate the contribution of a given channel to the phase distortion.

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